Saurenergy International Magazine September issue 2020 by Saur Energy International

SAUR ENERGY www.saurenergy.com

September 2020 | `200

5 th

ANNIVERSARY

ISSUE

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

DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 | VOL. 5 | ISSUE 01 | TOTAL PAGES 76 | PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

PM-KUSUM

THE PATIENT GAMECHANGER The solar water pump scheme could change energy dynamics forever for Indian agriculture, but not by 2024 as targeted

NON CHINA SOLAR BRANDS

EYE OPPORTUNITIES

ELEGANT YET POWERFUL

SMART AND POWERFUL MAX

M I N 2 . 5 - 6 k T L -X

M A X 5 0 - 8 0 K T L 3 LV / M V

Better User Experience OLED Display & Touch Button

High Yields 6 MPPTs, Max. Efficiency 99%

Aerospace Grade Material Lighter and Flame-Retardant

Smart & Capable Quad-Core, One-Click Diagnosis

Safe & Reliable Type II SPD, AFCI Optional

Safe & Reliable Type II SPD, AFCI, Anti-PID

Easy Maintenance Online Smart Service

(MAX 50-80KTL3 LV/MV) (MIN 2.5-6KTL-X)

Service Hotline: 1800 120 600 600 (TOLL FREE)

› Solar pump systems use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity

to power AC/ DC pumps. Solar panels generate DC voltage and the DC voltage is then converted to the required AC voltage for the pump by a solar pump controller. Solar pump systems use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity The solar pump controller can have dual mode operation possibile; it can to power AC/ DC pumps. be operated on solar power at day time and on electric power at night. Solar panels generate DC voltage and the DC voltage is then converted to The controller has inbuilt MPPT algorithm to achieve maximum power the required AC voltage for the pump by a solar pump controller. output from the solar panels and incorporate protection features like The solar pump controller can have dual mode operation possibile; it can over voltage, under voltage, reverse polarity, dry run etc... be operated on solar power at day time and on electric power at night. The controller has inbuilt MPPT algorithm to achieve maximum power Infineon has on offer a wide range of products that are reliable and best output from the solar panels and incorporate protection features like suited to serve various sections of this application. over voltage, under voltage, reverse polarity, dry run etc... Discrete IGBT’s (TO247, TO247 Plus) Gate Driver IC’s Infineon has on offer a wide range of products that are reliable and best IPM’s suited to serve various sections of this application. iMOTIONTM controller Discrete IGBT’s (TO247, TO247 Plus) Gate Driver IC’s IPM’s iMOTIONTM controller

› ›› ›› › ›

› › › ›› › › ›

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL VOL 5 | ISSUE 01

GROUP EDITOR

Prasanna Singh prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

E |D |I |T |O |R |I |A |L

From the

Group Editor SAUR ENERGY

DIRECTOR

Prateek Kapoor prateek@meilleurmedia.com

EDITOR

Manas Nandi manas@meilleurmedia.com

STAFF WRITER

Ayush Verma editorial@meilleurmedia.com

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

DESIGN HEAD Sandeep Kumar

WEB DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Jitender Kumar

WEB PRODUCTION Balvinder Singh

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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

hy does the government love big? Perhaps it is the visibility, the larger impact, or even the impressive amounts of money involved. Be what it may, this month, on our 5th anniversary issue, we decided to bring you a view on the PMKUSUM scheme, for once, a big scheme with millions of small impact points. The scheme is probably the best hope for filling the ever increasing gap in targets versus actual capacity creation, though enough questions hang over its implementation too. Beyond that, we spoke to leaders across the solar spectrum, and EVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to bring you a flavour of the changes afoot in these sectors that will hopefully, compliment each other in time. What was it like to operate under the shadow of powerful, China based global leaders in the module and cell space? With winds of change blowing, we decided to take a look at that aspect too, in a special feature on marketing. 5 years after our first issue is also a good time to introspect on the journey for us too. And to thank you, dear readers, for your support. We can assure you that it is something we never take for granted, and each new subscriber, and every query or feedback , inspires us to try harder next time. So hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to you, and your support for a startup that has barely scratched its ambition!

PRASANNA SINGH Group Editor

I |N |S |I |D |E

CONTENTS VOL. 05, ISSUE-01

S E P T E M B E R 2020

S AU R E N E R GY . C O M

Policy and Legal

Gujarat Govt Revises Policy for Wasteland Allocation for RE Parks

Grid and Transmission

ISA to be Implementing Agency for ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ Initiative

Projects and Tenders

Finance News

Proposal for 41.5 GW Hybrid Renewable Park in Kutch Approved

Japan’s Orix To Invest `7200 Cr In Greenko for 20% stake

Milestone

EV Updates

Reports

Modules

Opinions

Innovations

Google Commits to 24/7 Carbon Free Energy for all Operations By 2030

Renewables Rich Rajasthan can Lead India’s Energy Transition: IEEFA

“Draconian” Proposal in Draft Electricity Rules To Hit Solar Sector: EPC Firms

Centre Planning EV Charging Points at 69K Petrol Pumps Across India

As India Presses for Domestic Manufacturing, Bifacial Modules Should Get Their Due

Researchers at IIT Madras Develop Feasible Alternatives to Li-ion Batteries

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

I |N |S |I |D |E

24 COVER STORY

PM-KUSUM: The Solar Saviour?

CONVERSATION

Dan Shugar, Nextracker

22 40 52 60 66

Stijn Vos

CEO, Esdec

Rahul Gupta

MD and CEO, Rays Experts

Rohit Bajaj

Head, Business Development, IEX

Inderveer Singh

Founder and CEO, EVage

Shriprakash Rai

Head C&I Business, Amp Energy India

COUNTER VIEWS

28 MARKETING

Non China Solar Brands Eye Opportunities

18 Rajinder K. Kaura 36 Dr. Rahul Tongia 52 Aditya Malpani

Chairman & MD, Bergen Group of Co.

Senior Fellow at the CSEP

Director Open Access Business, Amp Energy

SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

P |O |L |I |C |Y |& |L |E |G |A |L

Gujarat Govt Revises Policy for Wasteland Allocation for RE Parks

he state government of Gujarat has revised its policy for allocating wasteland for renewable energy i.e. wind, solar and hybrid (wind and solar) power parks. According to the new provisions, the renewable project/ park developer(s) will have a period of 3 years from the date of handing over of the sites to

build a minimum of 50 percent of the park’s total capacity and two years after that to complete the full work (100 percent capacity) on the RE park. The state revenue department’s resolution dated September 14, 2020, states that “If a developer is allotted land for 1000 MW, the developer will have to

create 500 MW capacity in the first three years. However, if the developer is able to build only 300 MW, the total capacity of the renewable park will be reduced to 800 MW at the end of the 3-year period. Also, the developer will be allowed to retain the land required only for developing 800 MW and the remaining land parcel will be taken back by the state government as per the recommendations of the high power committee (HPC).” The HPC, however, may provide the extension in exceptional cases. The state government further made it clear that even the developers who have been awarded projects by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the nodal agency for implementation of renewable energy projects in the country will have to ensure that they establish 50 percent and 100 percent of the capacity in 3 and 5 years, respectively. The park developer will be allowed to sub-lease the land to project developers. The state government will provide the wasteland on lease for 40 years, which includes five years for development and 35 years for power generation.

Manufacturing Boosted by Low Tariffs Will Help Atmanirbhar Bharat: RK Singh

nion Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh has said that the competitiveness of the Indian solar industry which has seen tariff drops to a record low will boost local manufacturing in the country, which in turn will ultimately contribute to achieving the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. In a written response to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said, “Low-cost power is an essential requirement for competitive manufacturing. Since solar tariffs have been declining, the use of solar energy could

contribute to manufacturing competitiveness, and thus to achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat.” In response to another question asked about the statewise progress made in the country, the Minister provided a brief of renewable energy capacities (solar/ wind/ bio/ small hydro) installed in each state and UT as on August 31, 2020. According to the data provided, the state of Karnataka is India’s leading state when it comes to installed renewable capacity with 15.262 GW operational. Followed closely by

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Tamil Nadu with 14.646 GW installed as on August 31, 2020. And, finally, Gujarat closing out the top three with an installed capacity of 11.113 GW. Answering a question on whether there are any plans to

manufacture solar cells and panels in India? The minister said that “solar PV cells and panels are already being manufactured in the country. Various steps like schemes with Domestic Content Requirement (DCR); ‘Preference to Make in India Order’; and tender for setting up of solar manufacturing capacities in India linked with Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for solar PV power plants have been taken for further augmenting the domestic manufacturing capacity of solar PV cells and panels/modules.”

P |O |L |I |C |Y |& |L |E |G |A |L

SECI Fails To Avoid MERC Jurisdiction. Faces MSEDCL Claims for Damages

n an order with possibly far reaching consequences for SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India), the Maharashtra Electricity Regulator (MERC) has opted to place the central government undertaking on the dock, for a claim brought in by MSEDCL (Maharastra state Electricity Distribution Company Limited). MSEDCL’s main complaint against SECI, which it opted to bring before the state regulator, was for payment of damages of over Rs 130 crores caused due to failure to honour a Power Sale Agreement (PSA) SECI had signed it with it for 1000 MW of solar power in 2016. SECI, on its part, chose to challenge the jurisdiction of MERC in the case, with a series of contentions, all of which were eventually set aside by the MERC. Almost all of SECI’s contentions were demolished on the basis of three key acts. That by charging a trading margin of 7 paise per unit, it was a fit and proper trading agency. That the power in this case as both being generated, and sold to in the state of Maharashtra, giving the state regulator eminent jurisdiction over the issue. And finally, even the PSA clearly specifies only a minimum of 90 percent of the power that needs to be sold to the state, not a maximum. And even should SECI want to sell it outside, it clearly has to give first right of refusal to the MSEDCL. Thus, SECI and MSEDCL now face an intriguing battle to see how the MERC adjudicates on the dispute. The solar power developers who have caused SECI to land in this situation could not be confirmed by us at this stage, as one assumes SECI will, in turn, look at getting back any penalties it incurs from them for the delay. As all of its PSA’s are signed with back to back PPA’s with developers.

Curtailment Or Grid Stability. APTEL Plays Safe in Tata Renewables Plea

n an order pronounced on September 11, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has ruled in favour of an APERC order that allowed the Andhra Pradesh State Load Despatch Centre to curtail power from wind energy developers. The curtailment had been done citing grid stability issues, as the transmission line evacuating the power produced was found to be incapable of handling the volumes being produced. The judgement was in response to a suit filed by Tata Power Renewable energy limited, a subsidiary of Tata power. In effect, APTEL accepted the contention of the state load despatch centre that the curtailment was necessary to prevent a bigger issue should the transmission line in question collapse. However, it is also clear that in situations like this, where the state load despatch centre holds out the risk of a line collapse should its advise be ignored, most regulators will probably side with safety,

rather than risk their judgement, however correct in law, from causing an accident. That doesn’t quite sound like justice to anyone actually running the energy assets, in this case, multiple wind energy developers, besides Tata Renewables. TPREL claimed that for the period April 2017 to March 2019, there was a generation loss of 32.66 MUs, which corresponds to a revenue loss of Rs.17.44 Crores. For investors in Renewable energy, such judgements highlight the increasing risk of grid stability being used as a crutch to curtail power purchases, despite MNRE instructions to limit curtailment from RE sources. Fresh capacities being set up on promises of appropriate evacuation facilities will also need to be seen more carefully, as clearly, failing to meet the transmission end of the bargain, which is not in the generators control, may not bring anything by way of compensation.

MNRE Offers Clarifications for Implementation of KUSUM Scheme

he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in a recent notification has issued clarifications on certain issues relating to the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme. According to the Ministry, the clarifications have been sought by a few State Implementing Agencies. The Ministry has made the following clarifications: For Component-B and Component-C, the state share of subsidy shall be a minimum 30 percent of the applicable MNRE benchmark cost or cost discovered through tender, whichever is lower. The states are free to provide a higher share of subsidy to reduce the beneficiary farmer contribution, however, the central financial assistance (CFA) would be limited to 30 percent of the applicable MNRE benchmark cost or cost discovered through tender, whichever is lower for pump capacity up to 7.5 HP. The option is available with the farmer to install a Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC) under Component-B, for which the farmer has to bear the additional cost for USPC. There is no CFA on the additional cost of USPC, however, the states are free to bear the additional cost for USPC fully or partly, to facilitate the farmer to install USPC. Under Component-C, there is no CFA for the replacement of existing less efficient grid-connected agriculture pump with an energy-efficient agriculture pump, however, the states are free to provide additional financial support for the replacement of existing pumps with energy-efficient pumps. MNRE had first issued the implementation guidelines for the KUSUM Scheme in July 2019 and has since supplemented it it with amendments and clarifications. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

P |O |L |I |C |Y |& |L |E |G |A |L

CERC Shutdown- Government Plans Review petition With SC?

he Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, which had effectively been shut down for September following a Supreme Court order, might yet start functioning a little sooner, with the government set to file a review petition, according to reports. We had reported how, since the order on August 28 last month, when the Supreme Court asked the two existing members to proceed on leave till a member- law was appointed, the CERC effectively stopped functioning. This has led to the expected build-up of cases, as the CERC typically was doing 60-75 hearings per month on different cases. As the sole authority with specific jurisdiction over many aspects of issues in the power sector, like central government power generators, etc, the shutdown was leading to huge problems. Predictably, the government has finally been forced to move to alleviate the problems caused.

The rethink has apparently been prompted after the realisation that appointing the member-law will take longer than expected. Earlier, the government representative had promised a revert by Sept 25, the next date of hearing. After a previous advertisement in April 2019 failed to lead to the selection of a candidate for the CERC, the power ministry has now re-issued the job vacancy circular for member-law in CERC on August 1. The ministry hopes to complete the process by October end at best this time. The deadline for applying was September 11. The SC has laid down that a member of the Commission shall be a person, who is, or has been holding a judicial office or is a person possessing professional qualifications with substantial experience in the practice of law, who has the requisite qualifications to have been appointed as a Judge of the High Court or a District Judge. The government had based its decision to go ahead with the two other member appointments without the member-law, on the basis of an opinion from the attorney general. The attorney general had depended on his interpretation of Section 77 1 (a) of the Electricity Act, which provides for the appointment of member engineering, and Section 77 1 (b) related to the appointment of member-finance should be complied with as and when vacancies arise. The case has some history to it. as the Supreme Court had directed state electricity commissions back in April 2018 to appoint a member from the field of law with qualifications of a high court or district judge to state regulatory commissions. Commenting on the possibility of a review petition, advocate Ravi Sharma, who had filed the suit in the SC, says that â&#x20AC;? In my opinion,if he central government had apologised in their counter affidavit, then the SC might have accepted their plea and this situation would not have arisenâ&#x20AC;?. In effect warning against a review, especially if the Sept 25 promise made in the last hearing is not fulfilled.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Andhra Govt to go Ahead with DBT of Free Power Scheme for Farmers

he Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to go ahead with the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of Dr. YSRC free power scheme to farmers, despite heavy criticism from the opposition parties. Energy minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy has reportedly directed the officials of his department to prepare an action plan by involving farmers to roll out the scheme. As reported by ET, the scheme will be launched in the Srikakulam district on a pilot basis. The state government is planning to roll out the scheme across the state from April 1, 2021. As part of the scheme, electric meters will be installed to all agriculture connections and the money will be transferred to the bank accounts of the farmers based on their consumption. Unlike in the present system, the farmers had to pay the bill for the power they consumed on agriculture and later the government will reimburse the same. The AP government argued that the new reform that is going to be implemented will empower the farmers to question power utilities to supply qualitative power to agriculture. Reddy said in a statement that the DBT will improve productivity, enhance rural productivity and improve the living standards of farmers. Adding that the reforms in the power sector were initiated by the Union government and the state government has taken all measures to safeguard the interests of farmers. He said the farmers need not pay anything from their pockets as the state government will deposit the entire amount into their accounts. As the farmers are now paying the bills, it will certainly enhance accountability and responsibility among power utilities to supply quality power to the farmers, he said.

P |O |L |I |C |Y |& |L |E |G |A |L

Performance-Based Financial Mechanism for MNRE’s CST Scheme: GERMI

new study has found that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE’s) off-grid and decentralised concentrated solar thermal (CST) scheme should have a performancebased financial support mechanism instead of the capital subsidy that was being provided earlier by the ministry. The ministry had announced this scheme in 2014, aimed at promoting the use of CST technology for reducing dependence on fossil fuels for thermal applications such as community cooking, process heating, cooling, and drying. The programme was extended to 2019-20 for the promotion of the application of solar thermal. MNRE in a notice has now requested stakeholders for their comments on the findings of the report by the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI). The third-party

evaluation was aimed at findings on how to revise the programme. The deadline for receiving comments from stakeholders is September 21, 2020. The study has proposed that the financial assistance should be provided over a period of five years after commissioning of the project. And said that in order to avail financial assistance, performance measurement instruments should be installed in the CST plant with an online monitoring system. “Financial assistance for the first three years will be allocated to the beneficiary and the fourth and fifth year assistance shall be allocated to the supplier,” the ministry said quoting the report. It said that the previous CFA allocation method took a long approval process, which many suppliers reported was a long process resulting in the distrust of the beneficiary. The report added that the financial

assistance to the supplier might be considered as a necessary aid for the operational and maintenance cost for that plant, which would reduce the financial investment by the beneficiary for operation and management of the plant. However it said that in all cases, till the final Assistance, data should be submitted by the beneficiary to MNRE. .

PEG

The revolution in the field of PV substructures ENORMOUS COST SAVINGS  Less construction material

 Less logistic cost

 No heavy machinery

 No cable trenching

 No concrete foundations

 Lowskilled labour required

 Simpler HSE

-90%

-50%

-70%

machine costs

logistic costs

labor costs

picture: meralli projects PTY Ltd

INCREASE YOUR LAND YIELD BY 225% 0.7 MWp/acre equals up to 225% yield increase compared to conventional tracker and fix-tilt solutions

Jurchen Technology India Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai - 400063 · Maharashtra · +91 9167775740 www.jurchen-technology.com

|T |H |E |C |O |N |V |E |R |S |A |T |I |O |N|

Bifacial PV’s Getting Indian Developers Interested In Trackers Again

I N T E R V I E W

Since co-founding Nextracker in 2013, CEO Dan Shugar has made it one of the manufacturing success stories of the sector. The firm has delivered trackers for over 35 GW of solar plants till now. The firm has now expanded its portfolio to include yield and performance software and global services. SaurEnergy Group Editor Prasanna Singh got these responses from Dan, on the Nextracker story.

DAN SHUGAR

CEO and Co-founder, Nextracker

What is Nextracker’s expectations from the global markets in 2020? Heading up to 2024? How do you see the India market for your offerings? Dan Shugar: Despite some headwinds

from the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic downturn and supply chain perturbations, we remain bullish on the large-scale global solar market this year and going forward. IHS Markit has forecast that the global market for ground-mount solar systems of >1 MW will grow 7.9% through 2023, with the tracker market seeing a healthy 22% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during that time, increasing its overall ground-mount installation market share versus fixed tilt. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region will enjoy the largest growth, exceeding 27% overall and 58% in the tracker segment. We’ve enjoyed several large EMEA project contract wins recently, so we see no reason to argue with their forecast. The market research group also sees the India market experiencing modest overall growth--something we’re seeing as well--while expecting an increasing, albeit renewed, percentage of projects to employ trackers over the next few years.

Your new product, the NX Navigator control system, seems to be a really timely offering at a time when extreme weather events are increasing in frequency. Tell us about a few use cases where it can make a difference. Dan Shugar: NX Navigator has received a very positive reception,

with the software either installed or soon to be deployed on 9 GW (and counting) of solar power plants around the world. NX Navigator helps plant operators to efficiently monitor and control their solar assets with timely sitewide information of key parame-

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

ters such as tracker availability and usage. It allows operators to proactively put the trackers into safe positions and help prevent damage under a wide range of extreme weather conditions, including hail, snow, high winds, and typhoons. It also features a remote cleaning mode to help facilitate easier O&M. These risk-mitigation features improve safety and reliability, reduce the cost of ownership and improve feedback on the operability and performance of the system—as well as allowing plant owners and operators to reduce their insurance premiums. I would add that Nextracker has done extensive wind and hail testing with independent engineers and labs to ensure that our systems are designed and built to withstand extreme weather conditions

As India is a very price-sensitive market, we have seen many developers avoid trackers on their projects. Do you see that changing soon? Have trackers managed to keep up with the drop in overall BOS prices?

Dan Shugar: Admittedly, India is a challenging market for trackers, but it’s an exception rather than the rule—although we have deployed more than 1 GW of systems on the subcontinent. We see the opposite in most of the thriving solar markets worldwide, with utility-scale project developers and EPCs in Australia, EMEA, Latin America and the U.S. choosing trackers over fixed-tilt ground mount systems. Several Indian-owned EPCs are choosing our trackers for their projects outside of India as well. This market transformation is remarkable, since only a few years ago, fixed tilt still reigned. The price gap between trackers and fixed tilt has narrowed, and trackers’ superior energy production over the lifetime of the power plant and increased system reliability more than overcome the initial capital outlay differential. Another factor is the advent of bifacial PV, which is causing developers in India to take a second look at trackers, given the even-greater performance boost inherent in the new technology. As a result, we’ve seen a bump in our Indian pipeline recently.

The market research group also sees the India market experiencing modest overall growth--something we’re seeing as well--while expecting an increasing, albeit renewed, percentage of projects to employ trackers over the next few years.

Increased energy yield, lower operating costs, or better availability, as Nextracker promises, should be a very powerful argument to close sales. Is there a minimum project size where you believe it becomes absolutely essential? Dan Shugar: It’s not a question of minimum project size but rather

the estimated benefit that we provide to developers and plant operators, based on modeled and measured performance gains. TrueCapture makes sense because the internal rate of return (IRR) “math” is compelling at the end of the day. We’re seeing beneficial gains on sites of <100 MW in Latin America, Australia, and the U.S., ranging from 1% to 4% . Such gains can translate into hundreds of additional megawatt-hours of output and hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in additional revenue annually for power plant owners. And when you combine bifacial PV with TrueCapture, the performance gains are even more profound, on the order of an additional 8-15%. On the services and O&M side, our systems have lower operating costs than our competitors due to our durable, service-friendly hardware and smart predictive monitoring and control tools as well as the ease of cleaning panels and keeping vegetation growth in check when using our independent-row tracker design architecture. The use of robotic cleaning on our tracker arrays has also been embraced, especially in areas like the Middle East, North Africa, India and other desert regions where dealing with chronic module soiling can be a challenge.

NX Global Services uses remote monitoring and data analytics in a big way to deliver. Considering India’s traditional strengths in outsourcing, are you doing work for other countries out of India? Any plans in the area? Dan Shugar: Nextracker is connected to 70%+ of our 30 GW+ fleet

worldwide. Without connectivity, our smart monitoring and control software such as TrueCapture, NX Navigator, and Digital O&M cannot function properly. We expect that percentage to continue growing, as the performance and operational benefits of our intelligent software ecosystem, machine-learning capabilities and big data analytics become evident to our customers. We have close to 400 staff worldwide, including 100 in our Hyderabad office. Our NX Global Services hub is located in Nashville, Tennessee. We have field technicians, data scientists, quality/reliability teams, local construction crews, asset managers and performance-focused staff constantly monitoring our fleet around the clock. We received feedback from a major U.S. developer and owner recently, who said it was impressive that we could detect eventual wear and tear on particular components well in advance, just by looking at the data. Our data science team likes to say we give customers the luxury of time because so often plant downtime -- especially with sudden extreme weather events-- cannot be predicted.

We can predict, replace, and properly maintain systems, without causing any production losses.

Can you share a breakdown of revenues and shares between your software, services and tracker offerings? Dan Shugar: While we can’t go into specifics on our actual revenues

or how they break down by category, we can say that tracker sales remain our bread and butter, accounting for the lion’s share of our revenues. One thing we can say is that bifacial PV projects are becoming a growing part of our business. But our software and services offerings have become key contributors to our bottom line. Nextracker’s TrueCapture energy yield enhancement software solution has had an incredible response in the market. The platform is now being used on more than 80 power plants on four continents worldwide, with some sites enjoying production gains of over 4 percent.

Projected growth rate for the firm, and the tracker industry in general? Current size of the global trackers industry? Which segments are likely to grow fastest now? Dan Shugar: We are experiencing continued strong growth in 2020.

This is in line with the double-digit, year-on-year increase in global tracker market forecast by IHS Markit, who expect to see more than 26.65 GW of installations this year. Looking ahead to 2021, we are especially bullish on our rapidly growing Middle East, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa pipelines and see continued strong project activity in the U.S., Australia, and Latin America as well as renewed interest in India. I would also add that we are actively engaged worldwide with regional trade organizations such as MESIA and NSEFI on local content policy and economic development initiatives.

What technology innovations do you see having an impact on the tracker market in the coming years? Dan Shugar: Nextracker has always been an innovator, with a strong

investment in R&D and product development. In addition to smart control and monitoring software like TrueCapture and NX Navigator, we believe bifacial PV technology is a game changer. We have seen a tremendous uptick in interest from developers and have gigawatts of orders for bifacial systems under fulfillment or already fielded. Nextracker and its partners have done and continue to do extensive bifacial testing at our Center for Solar Excellence as well as at other field testing sites. We know that for bifacial to achieve its market potential, investors and financiers must be able to confidently predict bifacial performance. The ability to accurately model and measure bifacial performance is crucial. A new technical white paper presents Nextracker’s test methodology and findings with the goal of providing actionable content for developers, financiers, independent engineering firms, and performance engineers working to characterize fielded bifacial system performance. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

G |R |I |D |A |N |D |T |R |A |N |S |M |I |S|S |I |O |N

ISA to be Implementing Agency for ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ Initiative

he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced that regarding its Request for Proposals (RfP) for developing a Long Term Vision, Implementation Plan, Road Map and Institutional Framework for implementing the ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ (OSOWOG) initiative, it has now been decided that the International Solar Alliance (ISA) will be the implementing agency for carrying out all the activities of OSOWOG initiative. Under its role as the implementing agency, ISA will now handle the bid process management and all subsequent activities of the initiative. The RfP for the project was first issued by MNRE on May 26, 2020. Subsequently, a pre-bid meeting was held on June 22, 2020, through video conferencing, and around 30 bidders participated in the meeting. Various queries had been received from interested bidders. However, later the RFP was put on hold till finalisation of certain administrative arrangements. In its notification, the ministry had stated that “it has been

decided by competent authority too put on hold the RfP, for developing a long term vision, implementation plan road map, and institutional framework for implementing the One Sun One World One Grid initiative, on hold until further notice.” Now, the ISA will issue appropriate

corrigendum to the RFP based upon prebid queries and invite the final bids. India’s motive behind the OSOWOG initiative is to take another leap towards building a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources that are seamlessly shared for mutual benefits and global sustainability.

India has Attained “One Nation, One Grid, One Frequency”: Nandan Sahai

anjiv Nandan Sahai, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Power, has recently said that India has already attained the status of “One Nation, One Grid, One Frequency”, and that there are now no constraints in inter-regional transfer of power. Sahai, while deliberating on the Amendments to the Electricity Acts said that the Consumer/Prosumer is at the heart of renewable energy power generation. Towards this end, amendments are being considered to the Electricity legislations which will recognise the right of the

consumer to get good quality power at reasonable rates. For the renewable energy sector, the “prosumers” will be allowed to set up roof-top solar

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

units up to their sanctioned loads. Speaking at a webinar organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on ‘Innovations in Renewable Energy’, the Powermin Secretary also mentioned how the Long-term PPAs lie at the heart of all renewable energy contracts. “Of late the Discoms, which are themselves financially stressed, look for escape routes when they see the renewable energy prices falling every day.” He further informed that a ‘Liquidity Scheme for the Power Sector’ with an outlay of

Rs 1,20,000 crore has been started under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Scheme to prevent any crisis of confidence in this sector. For this, an amount of Rs 68,000 crore has been sanctioned and out of this, Rs 25,000 crore has already been disbursed. Further during the Webinar, J. N. Swain, IAS, MD, SECI appealed to NBFCs to come forward and fund RE projects. Pension funds can also contribute to long term financing. It’s only a matter of time that PPAs are signed as soon as PSAs are finalised.

G |R |I |D |A |N |D |T |R |A |N |S |M |I |S|S |I |O |N

First Real Sign of Recovery; Peak Power Demand Returns to Normal

he Peak Power Demand in India, which has perhaps taken one of the biggest hits that lasted nearly 4-6 months due to the lockdown imposed for containment of COVID-19, has finally found its way back to ‘normal’ as India touched 174.33 GW demand on September 9, 2020. Showing a spurt in commercial and industrial activities in the country that had been halted during the lockdown, the peak demand surpassed the highest level of 173.15 GW in September last year. According to data made available by the Power Ministry, the peak power demand met had reached its previous highest level of 173.15 GW also on September 9 last year.Of course, keep in mind that the 2019 figures themselves were a little dissapointing, with demand 1.5 percent below September 2018 levels. So in some ways, the new ‘normal’ is benefiting from the lower base effect too. The government had imposed the lockdown from March 25, 2020, to fight the deadly coronavirus in the country. It also resulted in lower commercial and industrial demand in April onwards. The government started easing lockdown restrictions from April 20, 2020. The relaxation in lockdown resulted in perking up electricity demand in the country due to the increase in economic activities. The experts had earlier exuded confidence that the power demand will not only be back to normal levels but will also achieve marginal growth from September onwards. However, bucking the trend, the slump in peak power demand met rose marginally to 5.65 percent in August from 2.61 percent in July, largely due to the onset of monsoons in most parts of the country.

TN, AP and Telangana Account for 71% Discom Dues to RE Generators

iscoms are the weakest link in the entire value chain of the Indian electricity sector. Their inability to pay generators on time, manage their losses and improve on other inefficiencies weighs down the entire power sector. Discoms in India have been functioning sub-optimally and have even been described as a “leaking bucket”, due to their inability to break-even despite multiple financial bailouts over the years. In 2015, Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) was launched by the government wherein financial and technical targets were given to the states. The states took over 75 percent of the debt of the Discoms and issued bonds that were subscribed to by banks and financial institutions. Five years since the scheme was launched, the condition of Discoms have remained the same- debt-ridden. The government, in May 2020 announced liquidity infusion to the extent of INR 900 billion through Power Finance

Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation (PFC-REC) to help cash strapped Discoms pay their dues till March 2020. Now, the government is set to hike this to INR 1,200 billion to help discoms pay their outstanding bills until June 2020. Though this move has been welcomed by various stakeholders, it does not provide a long- term solution. According to PRAAPTI portal, the overdue of conventional generators amounts to Rs 106,500 crore in July 2020 whereas Rs 10300 crore is overdue to nonconventional generators. Infusion of one time-liquidity cannot ensure the improved effectiveness of Discoms in the longer run. Several past instances of liquidity infusion have done little good to improve the financial health of Discoms. As can be seen from the above graph, the RE rich states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana account for ~81 percent of the total outstanding dues from Discoms to RE generators.

Power Consumption up 0.9% on Yearly Basis in September: RK Singh

ower consumption rose 0.9 percent on a yearly basis in the first fortnight of September, indicating a spurt in commercial and industrial demand for electricity, the Lok Sabha was informed on September 17, 2020, by Union Minister RK Singh. Power consumption had declined following the COVID-19 outbreak as economic activity came to a standstill due to the lockdown. Power Minister RK Singh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said power consumption has increased by 0.9 percent at 53.17 billion units (BU) from September 1 to September 14, compared to 52.68 BU in the same period last year. Power consumption had declined by 8.7 percent in March, 23.2 percent April, 14.9 percent in May, 10.9 percent in June, 3.7 percent in July, and 1.7 percent in August compared to the same months last year. According to the power ministry data, electricity consumption had grown by 11.73 percent in February. Thus, the COVID-19 situation affected power consumption for six months in a row since March this year. The data provided by the minister also showed that peak power demand in the first fortnight of September surpassed last year’s level, recording a growth of 0.7 percent at 174.33 GW. And that, peak power demand met was the highest supply of power in the country in a day. “The peak demand and the energy requirement had dropped by around 23-24 percent in the month of April 2020 compared to April 2019 due to the effect of the COVID pandemic,” Singh said. “The peak demand and the energy requirement are increasing on a month to month basis since May 2020. There is a marginal increase in peak demand and energy requirement in the current month of September 2020 (up to September 14, 2020) vis a vis the corresponding period last year,” he added. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

G |R |I |D |A |N |D |T |R |A |N |S |M |I |S|S |I |O |N

Ministry of Power to set up `2000 Cr JV to Ease Smart Meter Rollouts

he Ministry of Power has begun the process to set up a Rs 2,000 crore joint venture (JV) for providing a common backend infrastructure facility (CBIF) to power distribution companies (Discoms) for faster roll-out of smart electricity meters in the country. The JV would have four promoters, NTPC Ltd, REC Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC). All the firms are under the administrative control of the Ministry. The CBIF will enable the fast-track implementation of smart meters across the country. It will simplify smart meter rollout for discoms by offering a plug and play architecture with standardised, preconfigured, pre-integrated, scalable back-end infra for rollout of smart meters. There would be an ease of scalability, avoiding asset duplication and flexibility to discoms in installing smart meters in a phase wise manner, wherein the Meter Data Management (MDM) services can be expanded on the basis of requirement. Discoms would be required to pay only for use of the asset without incurring additional capex, along with features of built-in upgrades, which would lead to cost reductions and savings to discoms. The boards of PFC and REC have approved an equity investment of Rs 150 crore each in the JV for the CBIF, according to regulatory filings. The boards of NTPC and PGCIL are yet to approve the equity investments of Rs 150 crore each in the joint venture. There would be an equity investment of Rs 600 crore by the four promoters and the debt component would be of Rs 1,400 crore.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Power Ministry Drafts Rights of Electricity Consumers for the First Time

he Ministry of Power has announced that it has drafted rules providing for the Rights of Electricity Consumers for the very first time. In its notification, the ministry claims the electricity consumers are the most important stakeholders in the power sector, the sector exists because of them. The main feature of the draft regulation are: Recognition to the emerging category of consumers known as “Prosumers”. Persons who are

consumers and have also set up rooftop solar units or solarised their irrigation pumps. They will have the right to produce electricity for self-use and inject excess in the grid using the same point of the connection up to limits prescribed by the SERC. Reliability of service: State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) to fix the average number and duration of outages per consumer per year for Discoms. Timely and simplified procedure for connection: Only two documents for connection up to load of 10 kW and no estimation of demand charges for loads up to 150 kW to expedite giving connection. Time period of not more than 7 days in metro cities, 15 days in other municipal areas and 30 days in rural areas, to provide new connection and modify existing connection.

DERC Cuts Fixed Charge for Unutilised Capacity by C&I Segment

n a relief to industrial and commercial (C&I) consumers, power regulator Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has ordered for the slashing of fixed charges for unutilised capacity of sanctioned load or contract demand by Rs 125 for the months of April and May when the lockdown was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain also welcomed the move. “This will be a huge relief for non-domestic and commercial users. The expected impact of the said waiver is around Rs 160 crore. The move will benefit around 44,000 industrial consumers and around 10 lakh nondomestic (commercial) consumers,” he said. The fixed charges for the unutilised capacity for April and May 2020 (Contract Demand/Sanctioned Load - MDI) for eligible industrial and non-domestic consumers shall be billed at a reduced rate of Rs 125/ KVA/month as against the existing rate of Rs 250/KVA/month, the DERC said. The Commission also observed that during the lockdown period (till May 30), the majority of non-domestic and industrial consumers did not use their system to the contracted capacity.

C |O |U |N |T |E |R |V |I |E |W

Policies for An Atmanirbhar Energy Sector

s India moves towards a new paradigm of ‘AtmaNirbhar’ Bharat, our energy security is a key component of this new resolve. The Prime Minister has already given pride of place to solar power, describing it as ‘sure, pure and secure’. But there is a lot more to our energy policy that requires a converted effort from government and industry. With the government playing the role of enabler. We list down the 7 key areas.

Solar Policy

At this stage, it is quite clear that to encourage domestic manufacturing to take deep roots, and draw investments for growth, a certain amount of basic customs duty will be needed on imports. With a target of 500 GW by 2030, we are potentially looking at a demand for 50 GW per annum. That raises the stakes to a level where hard decisions in the short term will need to be taken. Wafers, Cells & Modules production all need to be targeted, by using the tool of Viability Gap Funding (VGF). To encourage manufacturing of Metallurgical Grade Silicon (MGSi), PolySilicon, Ingot/Crystal & Wafers, subsidised electricity, water and free pollution treatment will be needed. The national Semiconductor policy needs to be revised by including Solar for the subsidy on the lines of Germany where 50% of CAPEX was provided by the Government. To promote the indigenous manufacturing of inverters heavy import duty must be imposed on the Chinese products.

Hydrogen Policy

Hydrogen Energy is fast emerging as the most viable option for thermal and nuclear energy. That explains the high focus and interest in developed economies in research and establishment of infrastructure for production of green hydrogen, or Hydrogen produced using renewable energy.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

RAJINDER K. KAURA

India must prepare a strategic energy plan for next 10 years to replace the import of petroleum products and use of Coal. Strategtic road map for Hydrogen & Fuel Cells to use Hydrogen for EV & Storage of electricity. Prepare a white paper on Hydrogen Energy in line with Japanese Policy on Hydrogen (NEDO report, 2014). Hydrogen production from Brown Coal mines & its transportation by Hydrogenation & Dehydrogenation in the intervening period. To ensure focused research, an independent university for research and innovation in the field of Hydrogen for the commercialization of technologies to be developed for generation, storage, transportation and dispensing of hydrogen. To setup demonstration parks to convince users that hydrogen is a safe energy source and non-hazardous. To setup an independent department for hydrogen energy.

Policy On R&D And Innovation

We need institutes in line with Fraunhofer Institutes of Solar Energy (ISE) in Germany funded by industry, academia and government to innovate and commercialize technologies. Currently, the projects allotted to universities/technical institutes do not meet industry needs as they are starved of sufficient resources. Easier access to funding and industrial participation must be made mandatory from R&D to innovation and commercialization.

Industrial R&D to be supported by government through launch of an industry managed advanced Energy Technology Centre in India to engage in precompetitive collaborative industrial R&D. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for an independent entrepreneur ministry to support and ensure success of indigenously developed technologies. Our apprenticeship policy need to be revised to ensure extended industrial engagements for students, some of which has been covered in the proposed National Education Policy too.

Policy On Manufacturing Of Capital Equipment

To attract entrepreneurs/industry in the manufacturing of capital equipment needs a strong hand holding by the Central and State governments by granting liberal subsidies and loans with the liberal terms and conditions. We have seen this done, selectively, with great results, as in case of telecom equipment like obile handsets. Its time to make this the new normal. A 3 years moratorium for re-payment of loan to the new units will help cover for the many unexpected delays and other challenges entrepreneurs face.. Like startups, a tax holiday to be introduced at least for 5 years. Capital subsidy to the tune of 50% for establishing equipment manufacturing units in line with the M-SIPS as the infrastructure for this industry needs heavy investment. BCD on imported equipment should be introduced to encourage the indigenous manufacturers on level playing field. Import substitution by indigenously produced capital equipment should be treated as deemed export and all export related incentive should be allowed to be availed.

Policy On Ev Mobility Vis-Ă&#x20AC;-Vis Hydrogen Energy

When it comes to mobility, lithium ion is definitely not the last word on the many options possible. We need to actively consider hydrogen for EV mobility to reduce the use of batteries which have limited life and disposal problems. Besides access to raw materials This will create opportunity for converting existing vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells kits thus generating the employment as well reskilling the mechanics who will go out of job due to

introduction of Electrical Vehicles. The manufacturing of fuel cells in India will open huge opportunities for technical jobs in automobile industry as well as for regeneration of electricity from stored hydrogen energy. Special undergraduate/post-graduate courses to be introduced in technical institutions on Hydrogen Energy.

Policy On Hydroponics For Agriculture Segment

The world over, Hydroponics has made massive strides as a viable option to conserve resources, as well as farm in dense, land stressed areas. Our government must prepare a policy for adopting hydroponics as new technology to give a boost to agriculture sector. A thrust on hydroponics offers multiple benefits for all stakeholders. Photovoltaic energy and LEDs market will get a very big boost if this technology is introduced to the farmers. Our apprenticeship Agriculture Universities / Technical Institutes should introduce the study policy need to be as well as courses to popularise revised to ensure Hydroponics for giving better return on the agriculture produce. extended industrial The industry will get a boost as engagements for infrastructure for hydroponics will require electrical appliances, students, some of electronic and environment which has been controls. Indian government should covered in the proposed collaborate with universities like Osaka in Japan, where IT is used for National Education respective study of different plants to Policy too. make software programmes for the operation of Hydroponic system. When land holdings are getting reduced in size due to partitions from generation to generation, Hydroponics will be a panacea for small and marginal farmers. Besides opening up urban farming opportunities, building food security capabilities for emergencies like the pandemic we are still experiencing.

Policy On Bridging Of Research Achievements For Commercialisation

In order to utilize the investment in R&D in Academia, Laboratories and Industries to the maximum benefit of society an interactive organization/ institute should be created, with an aim to share results with industry. This would be mandated to convert the developed technologies through R&D and innovation into production worthy technologies for industrialization. It will ensure goal oriented basic research which forms the basis of innovation, bridge its outcomes with industry and nurture human resources for future innovations. In any major R&D project, potential impact in terms of its industrialization & commercialization and its impact on society with respect to quality of life, should be addressed. Therefore, in such projects technical researcher, business management researchers and social scientist need to be involved from ab initio. Rajinder K. Kaura is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Bergen Group of Companies. He is an acknowledged pioneer and pathfinder in developing solar & electronic industry in India. Mr Kaura has been President SMTA (Surface mount Technology Association); former president of IPCA (Indian Printed Circuit Association); Founder Member of EDCI (Electronic Designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council of India) and now the Senior Vice President, Solar Energy Society of India. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

S |T |O |R |A |G |E

8minute Signs PPA for 400 MW Solar Plus 540 MWh Storage With CPA

minute Solar Energy has announced that the company has executed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Clean Power Alliance (CPA). The 400 MW(300 MWac) Rexford 1 Solar and Storage Center in Tulare County includes 180 MW/540 MWh of energy storage, which means it will reliably deliver renewable energy to the grid day or night or on cloudy days. When it becomes operational in 2023, Rexford will provide enough energy for over 370,000 Californians, making it not only the largest solar-plus-storage project for CPA but also the largest for any community choice aggregator (CCA) to date. The plant will offset about 600,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, or the equivalent of planting 12,000 trees every single day, for ten years in a row. “The recent blackouts and continued wildfires in California offer sobering proof of the urgent need for more renewable and reliable energy generation that both fortifies our grid and fights climate change – and large-scale solar paired with energy storage is the most efficient, lowest-cost way to achieve just that,” said Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, Founder and CEO of 8minute. “We are proud to partner with Clean Power Alliance, the largest clean choice energy provider in California. Our new generation of solar-plus-storage power plants are the future of energy – replacing an aging fleet of fossil fuel power plants with more economical and cleaner solutions and creating good jobs when they are needed most. This partnership is yet another example of California taking the lead on next-generation technology, and we expect to build a lot more solar and energy storage centers across the United States.” The Rexford 1 Solar & Storage Center will be constructed on private, lowproductivity disturbed farmland in Tulare County. Construction on the project will begin in early 2022.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Total and PSA Form JV ‘ACC’ to Manufacture EV Batteries in Europe

roupe PSA/Opel and Total/Saft have signed an agreement for the creation of the joint venture ACC. With this partnership, the parties are setting up a world-class player in the development and manufacture of highperformance batteries for the automotive industry from 2023. As per the JV agreement Total/Saft will contribute its expertise in R&D and industrialization, and Groupe PSA its knowledge of the automotive market and its experience in production. The R&D centre in Bordeaux and the pilot site in Nersac (France) have already started in order to develop the new highperformance lithium-ion technologies. At the end of this R&D phase, mass production could be launched in two “gigafactories”, in Douvrin (France) and Kaiserslautern (Germany). Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of Total said that “the creation of ACC

illustrates Total’s commitment to meet the challenge of climate change and to develop as a broad energy company, a major player in the energy transition, by continuing to provide affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy. Our ambition is to leverage the recognized expertise of our subsidiary SAFT in batteries and the industrial know-how of our partner PSA to meet the strong growth of electric vehicles in Europe. I would like to offer my encouragement to the teams who will be joining ACC to make this adventure a real European technological and industrial success”. Yann Vincent has been appointed Chief Executive in order to implement and develop it. Ghislain Lescuyer has been appointed Chairman of the Board. This project also benefits from the financial support of French and German public authorities representing EUR 1.3 billion.

Siemens and Fluence to Develop 15 MW Storage System on Portuguese Island

iemens Smart Infrastructure, in partnership with Fluence, was awarded a contract by the Portuguese energy provider EDA – Electricidade dos Açores to build a batterybased energy storage system on Terceira, the second biggest island in terms of electrical consumption of the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. The project aims to make the island more sustainable and is scheduled for completion in 2021. The Azores have nine isolated autonomous energy systems with significant potential for renewable energy, mainly from wind, hydro and geothermal sources. “The energy storage system we’re implementing will help Terceira Island transition to a new energy mix. The technology will enable an increased share of renewable energy, limiting the consumption of fossil fuels and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will also strengthen the island’s energy independence by providing more flexibility, capacity, resilience and autonomy to its power grid,” explained Fernando Silva, Director of Smart Infrastructure at Siemens Portugal. The system uses Fluence’s latest generation technology, which combines factory-built hardware, advanced software and data-driven intelligence. With a power capacity of 15 megawatt (MW), the Gridstack system will be one of the largest stand-alone (island) battery-based energy storage systems in Europe. Pre-configured to handle the most demanding grid applications, it will mainly regulate frequency and voltage of the electrical grid, increase the security of supply providing spinning reserve, and absorb and store excess energy produced by renewable sources and feed it back into the grid during times of peak consumption or low production.

Turnkey Solution Solar Company

Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan

Gujarat

Madhya Pradesh

Maharastra

Telangana

Andhra Pradesh Karnataka

Ground Mount # Solar Street Light # Rooftop Address: Plot No-318, 3rd Floor Spaze Platinum Tower Sector 47 Gurugram -122018 (Haryana) Mobile: 9871115441 | Email:Marketing@tanashenergy.com | Web: www.tanashenergy.com

|T |H |E |C |O |N |V |E |R |S |A |T |I |O |N|

Esdec is still an

installer focused company Ever since it was started in 2004 by two installers, the Netherlands based Esdec has carved a unique niche for itself, focusing on the rooftop solar segment with their mounting systems. The firm has been in the news recently for its acquisition led strategy, especially in the US market. With a focus on the US and Europe till recently, Esdec has finally come to India, in collaboration with the renewable products focused SRPL group, which is based in Mumbai.

I N T E R V I E W

We interviewed Stijn Vos, CEO, Esdec, on their India plans and more.

STIJN VOS CEO, Esdec

Congratulations on the entry into the Indian market. What convinced ESDEC to enter the market? Stijn Vos: Thank you. India is a key solar power leader today.

The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solar installed capacity reached 33.730 GW as of 31 December 2019. India is on course to be the 2nd biggest market globally to install solar power and will remain in top 3 position for the next 10 years. That made it impossible to ignore the market for us. As the Indian government policies encourage the renewable energy sector to develop more capacity, we are aiming for 10-15% Indian market share.

Where does ESDEC stand today in terms of global share, total employees and plans for the future? Stijn Vos: Together with our 250 fulltime employees Esdec is

currently active around the globe in more than 20 countries. Esdec has a market share of 60% in the US and 25% in Europe. Since Esdec was founded in 2004, over 7GWP of Module Mounting Systems for both flat and sloping roofs have been installed by the firm. By entering the Indian market we want to contribute to providing the most comprehensive portfolio of rooftop solar systems and components.

As a price sensitive market, do you have offerings that you believe can compete effectively in the market? Or will you

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

be looking to market ESDEC solutions to a smaller, targeted user segment? Stijn Vos: Our FlatFix Fusion has a huge demand and interest, it

is a quick, fast and reliable yet cost effective mounting system for the Indian market. Esdec offers mounting systems for all roof types which are quick and easy to install with a minimum number of components. Esdec focuses on a total cost of ownership proposition which includes: cost of material supplies cost & weight of ballast installation time cost of cable management material transportation and handling cost availability of the materials 20 year warranty With these propositions our products are highly competitive.

As a player that is very strong globally in the rooftop segment, what are the absolute pre-requisites for the segment to grow in a market? Stijn Vos: Esdec is known for its state-of-the-art innovation

centre, R&D strength and intellectual property portfolio. We believe it is important that all our products fit the latest technological developments. That is why we combine international expertise and continuously invest in innovation and R&D. Our mounting systems were extensively tested and meet the strictest safety standards. Expansion to the Indian market will enable us to invest even more heavily and efficiently in new product development. We usually consider stable policies, a large market size, and demand growth among the key factors in any market. India meets these criteria very well.

What are your expectations from the Indian market? Tell us a little more about your key offerings? Stijn Vos: Esdec’s strategy of growth through both acquisition

and organic expansion has helped it achieve strong market share in several countries. For India we see great opportunities, as the rooftop segment here grows across segments. With a target for 15 percent marketshare, we have some way to go , so its going to be a very exciting period ahead!

With the close coordination with EPC’s and Installers, how does ESDEC plan to differentiate itself in India? Do they need specific training on your products? Will you be building an exclusive network of installers? Stijn Vos: Esdec offers support for the whole solar project, from

design to installation. As Esdec was founded by 2 installers in 2004, it still is an installer focussed company. We are launching a

new training program with online training on installation videos and a weekly webinar. Also we are appointing PAN India installation and commissioning partners and working with distribution partners to make stock available at PAN India to save transportation cost and shorten lead times. As we are providing solutions for residential, commercial & industrial roofs , we are working with EPC, distributors, and I&C partners. Since our entrance to the Indian market, most of our clients have placed repeat orders which shows the satisfaction and commitment of the customers and partners.

Tell us more about SRPL, your India distribution partner, and the nature of the arrangement with them. Stijn Vos: The SRPL-GROUP is a young, dynamic and very

motivated service and distribution partner. With the Indian PV market capacity expected to grow over 40% in the next 5 years, Esdec’s balanced product portfolio provides installers and distributors the certainty they need for their supply chain. As the exclusive distributor and service partner of Esdec the Indian PV industry will highly benefit from this cooperation through an enormous pooling of technical and long term know-how and experience of all employees. We have the opportunity to benefit from each others strengths while still remaining focussed on innovation. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

C |O |V |E |R |S |T |O |R |Y

PM-KUSUM

THE SOLAR SAVIOUR? The PM-KUSUM scheme seeks to be the ultimate gamechanger for energy security and the rural economy. We examine the early challenges that it is facing, and come to a conclusion. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great idea that will need tweaks to increase coverage, and some key policy interventions to get on schedule. By Prasanna Singh

ou know a scheme is truly big, and has generated strong interest when scams to take advantage of this interest come up. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PMKUSUM) falls squarely in this category. Loosely translated as the Prime Ministers Mass Mission for Energy Security and Progress of farmers, not only has PM-KUSUM energised a host of stakeholders across the supply chain and its intended beneficiaries, the ministry in charge, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has had its hands full, clearing up questions around it. Its latest denial warns people against fraudulent websites that have come up claiming to ensure subsidies, while charging a registration fee. The ministry makes it clear that each state has designated implementing agencies for the scheme.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

So just why is the PM-KUSUM scheme generating so much interest and dare we say it, excitement? For one, the scale of the scheme. According to the ministry, PMKUSUM aims to add solar and other renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 with total central financial support of Rs. 34,422 Crore . The Scheme consists of three components. Component A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants of individual plant size up to 2 MW. Component B: Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP and Component C: Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP. Under Component B, individual farmers will be supported to install standalone solar Agriculture pumps of

C |O |V |E |R |S |T |O |R |Y

capacity up to 7.5 HP. Under the scheme, 20 lakh farmers will be provided subsidy for setting up stand-alone solar pumps. Another 15 lakh farmers to be helped to solarise their grid-connected pump sets. This scheme will enable farmers to set up solar power generation capacity on their barren lands and to sell it to the power grid. These numbers have been broken up by state, an exercise the MNRE plans to repeat once every year. The sheer scale means that the scheme offers an opportunity to providers across the supply chain to benefit, if they can meet the government’s tough pricing challenge. Currently the benchmark cost of 1-10 KW solar capacity has been set at Rs 54 per watt. A reduction of RS 6 from the Rs 60 cost from the previous year(2017-18). Interestingly, with EESL in the middle of finalising massive tenders on behalf of the International Solar Alliance, there is every chance of an even lower price discovery, and hence, a further drop in the coming year. So just what are the big challenges the scheme faces? Right up there is the matter of domestic availability of equipment itself. While pumps are not a challenge for domestic suppliers, the solar part definitely is. Manish Gupta, Managing Director at Insolation Energy, a participant in KUSUM tenders for Rajasthan, points out that the strict DCR (Domestic Content Requirements) mean that module suppliers trip up on the issue of domestic cells sourcing. “There simply isn’t enough domestic cell manufacturing capacity, unlike say, module making capacity. That means, despite the target of 25,000 for Rajasthan in this year, we have barely reached 1500 installations”. The story is repeated in multiple regions, especially Andhra and Gujarat, where slow pickup has been blamed on the same issue too. A second issue that has been highlighted is the way the scheme targets its beneficiaries. Thus, be it the relative omission of small and marginal farmers, thanks to the higher focus on pumps of 3 HP and higher capacities, or even solarising existing pumps which can be energy guzzlers, everyone has a view. Dinesh Patidar, CMD of Indore based Shakti Pumps says that “17% of total energy consumption in India is attributed to agriculture pumps. In terms of energy availability, solar is the best choice with advanced technology. Farmers can also switch over to drip irrigation mode which saves water and power with increased crops output. Subsidies were earlier distorting water use, but if farmers are provided with grid connected solar pumps, they will use it judiciously as he can make money on the surplus generation now. Even for stand alone pumps (component B), with predictable solar hours, farmers will not overdraw water “. On the other hand, many sector experts decry the relative omission of small farmers. Victor Lesniewski, Co-Founder and COO at Pune based Khethworks, which works with small farmers hold-

States wise Allocation of capacities under the three components for implementation during the first year of the KUSUM Program Allocation of capacities under Component A Small RE Projects (MW)

Component B Standalone Solar Pumbs (Nos)

Component C Solarization of Grid Connected Pumbs (Nos)

25,000

22,000

Assam

DNR

700

100

Bihar

DNR

2,500

3,200

Chattisgarh

15,000

4,000

Gujarat

4,000

18,500

Haryana

DNR

15,000

DNR

States

Andhra Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

1,700

DNR

Jammu & Kashmir

1,000

DNR

Jharkhand

DNR

10,000

2,000

Madhya Pradesh

DNR

12,600

5,600

Maharashtra

DNR

9,000

DNR

Meghalaya

DNR

1,700

DNR

Mizoram

DNR

200

DNR

Odisha

1,700

DNR

Punjab

4,500

3,900

Rajasthan

25,000

12,500

Tamil Nadu

25,000

12,500

Telangana

1,000

6,000

Tripura

1,300

Uttar Pradesh

15,000

7,500

Uttarakhand

300

200

West Bangal

DNR

700

526

173,700

100,000

Total

Source: MNRE; Note: DNR (Demand Not Received)

DINESH PATIDAR CMD, Shakti Pumps

ing less than an acre of cultivable land, has a different take. “ We manufacture small solar power pumps. We supply in eastern India. But they don’t fall under the PM Kusum scheme. Our broader observation is that we still don’t see solar pumps reaching farmers who need them the most - marginal farmers . There are some states like Chhattisgarh who have looked at smaller pumps.” Highlighting the need for financing for such small farmers, besides irrigation solutions over just water pumps, Lesniewski is hopeful of a change in scope at some stage to make the scheme more inclusive. Lesniewski’s view is countered by people pointing to the high subsidy component, as well as the reality SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

C |O |V |E |R |S |T |O |R |Y

of low water tables, especially in North India and parts of South India, which make small sized pumps limiting for the farmer. A third issue is as usual with the pressure to keep prices low, even as there is high pressure to deliver not just a robust product but quality service too. Patidar adds here that “For effective implementation and serious participation by stakeholders, the scheme should be more attractive in terms of benchmark prices in view of the challenges on account of higher costs of implementation and comprehensive maintenance for five years. It also needs to run without diluting products specifications and scheme guidelines for another 10 years.” Timely payments by the government, in terms of subsidy disbursal, which can go upto 90 percent of the cost in states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, is an issue flagged by every stakeholder we spoke to, other than the government. For Shakti Pumps, which has got an aggregate installed capacity of over 229MW till now, major

ABHISHEK JAIN Fellow and DirectorPowering Livelihoods program, CEEW

Top 5 States and Implementing Agencies: PM-KUSUM With Number of Pumps Allocated States

Component A

Maharashtra

Maharashtra State Energy Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) (300)

Maharashtra Energy Development agency (30,000)

MSEDCL (9000)

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) (100)

MPUVNL (25,000)

MPUNVL (15,000)

Tamil Nadu

No Demand

Agriculture Engineering Dept,Govt Of Tamil Nadu (17,500)

Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (20,000)

Rajasthan

Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (325)

Horticulture Department, Govt. Of Rajasthan (25,000)

Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (12,500)

Haryana

Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitaran Department Nigam of New and Limited, Renewable Dakshin Energy (DNRE) Haryana Bijli (15,000) Vitaran Nigam Limited (25)

Component B

Component C

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

DNRE (468)

part of which includes KUSUM apart from other solar schemes knows this only too well. “ The scheme holds potential business opportunities to stakeholders but it is challenging to maintain a smooth cash flow in view of the current payment terms. Our expectation from the tendering authorities is better project pricing which will ensure quality of product and after sales services. “, says Patidar. And then there is the issue of power subsidies. Expert after expert that we spoke to highlighted this as a key reason for the slow uptake by farmers, in states ranging Gujarat, to Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Farmers in poorer eastern states, who get power erratically and would have considered it, are usually too small to make the cut. Abhishek Jain, Fellow and Director- Powering Livelihoods program at CEEW says that besides the issue of pumps being too large for many farmers, there is the economic case too, which can make it difficult to shift. “Those who have grid connected pumpsets, which are provided free or at nominal costs, the incentives for them to move to solar pumps is very limited. Even though government is providing subsidy, despite that the economic case is not always there for the farmer” He adds that “In a country where 58% of the farmers are marginal and own less than 1 ha of land, if you are not providing focus on smaller pumpsets, it means subsidy outlay will get cornered by larger farmers”. Jain also highlights the sustainability risks. “Look at the northern states. The recurring cost o electricity is so low because you are getting subsidy that you keep on pumping water and the water table is going down. In a solar installation it becomes a more difficult job to upgrade to higher capacity pumps in case water table falls because you will have to add new solar panels which are expensive. “ Operators opine that while this is a real issue, it was probably the pressure to show big numbers and meet targets, and the viability of larger pumps, that has led to a focus there for now. Lesniewski also reminds us that not only does the scheme ignore pump sizes under 1 HP, but even the norms to certify such a size, should it be considered in the future, are quite fuzzy right now. Another interesting issue that gets highlighted is the coordination between EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited ) , the central government owned entity coordinating the scheme with various state nodal entities. With every state designating a different department or agency to coordinate, both information flow to the beneficiaries, and for the equipment vendors , can be a major issue. Even though centralised tenders try and tackle the problem to a large extent. Interestingly, vendors would lie nothing more than to see the scheme expanded to cover pumps larger than 7.5 HP, the current limit. Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, the beneficiary share is minimum 40% up to 10 HP solar pump

C |O |V |E |R |S |T |O |R |Y

capacity . In states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, the state governments have given additional top-up on the subsidies thereby reducing the farmer’s share to 10%. This makes the scheme more attractive and farmer friendly with increased participation which ultimately contribute to the success of the project.

The objective Vs Returns

The PM-KUSUM started off with three key objectives. For state governments, this is a potential way to reduce their subsidy outlay towards irrigation. The other motivation is to expand the irrigation cover by providing decentralized solar based irrigation and moving away from polluting diesel. The final and key motivation is obviously increasing farmers’ income. By providing solar energy to farmers, they can sell back excess electricity to the grid and generate income. Typically a 5 hp solar pump would cost around 2.5 lakh rupees. After the scheme, going for the pump is no longer a difficult proposition for a relevant farmer. Atul Bhatnagar, director at Sun Moksha, a firm into sustainability solutions expects more. “ PM Kusum could be using the latest IoT technology much more effectively to manage grid integration and usage better. If you want to know how the solar pumps are being used from another location, you have to talk to PM Kusum executive. He will ring up the village pradhan. “ It’s a flaw we have tried to cover. In our case, if a panel is showing less electricity output the message goes to the villager. And they are able to take the appropriate action.” He is also sceptical about the sustainability, especially in off grid stand alone pumps. “Under PM-KUSUM installed pumps will come . As long as sun is up water will keep coming. The water will start at 7 am and finish at 7 pm unless somebody is motivated to switch it off. In our case people are able to conserve water and do three crops rather than one.” “The government does not understand IOT. They are more bothered about providing electricity to the grid.”, he adds.

VICTOR LESNIEWSKI Co-Founder and COO, Khethworks

The Change

For all its challenges, the scheme has started to show some early results too. Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary of Power, Karnataka , says that solar pumps have led to a shifting of electricity loads for agricultural use from night-time hours to solar hours(daytime hours). He says that the state had set itself a target of being largely free of coal-based power in the next five years. Currently, the state receives 63% of its energy from renewable sources. Karnataka has already established the world’s largest solar park in the semi-arid region of Pavaguda and is now planning two more such facilities to meet its clean energy goal.

ATUL BHATNAGAR Director, Sun Moksha

Other Indian states are likely to follow Karnataka’s example soon. The shift in agricultural loads to solar hours is corroborated by Dr Nikit Abhankar too. Dr Abhankar is a scientist in the International Energy Analysis Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “ What is happening in many utilities of Indian states is that they are shifting their agricultural loads to solar hours. Karnataka has shifted out of 2,000 Megawatts from night time to solar hours. By 2030, 40-50 Giga watts of agricultural load will shift from night time to solar hours. Around 50% of the state’s electricity needs are used up by the agriculture sector . “ This shift, besides the opportunity to shift out of agricultural power subsidies, a bane for the whole energy sector, is one of the biggest promises of the PM-KUSUM scheme. Green energy corridors, which are supposed to be dedicated power corridors exclusively for the agricultural sector, are counting on the surplus power from such solar water pumps in a big way to meet requirements, as well as generate income for the farmers selling such power. Component A of the scheme is almost completely focused on these. Local state schemes, with different rates ranging from Rs 7.50 (for seven years ) in Gujarat to lower amounts in other states, are also pushing solar adoption faster in the sector. In summation, PMKUSUM scheme, like many government schemes, is certainly well intentioned, except that it will fall short of its ambitious targets for 2024. Rather than a wholesale relook at the scheme, ensuring other related policy interventions, like manufacturing in India for solar cells, or even phasing out power subsidies, might give it the legs to deliver on its promise. If it does that even a couple of years behind schedule, it will be a huge achievement, capable of changing the energy dynamics of Indian agriculture completely, permanently. With inputs from Biman Mukherjee SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

M |A |R |K |E |T |I |N |G

NON CHINA

SOLAR BRANDS EYE OPPORTUNITIES As the focus shifts to alternatives to made in China brands, domestic as well as other international brands sense an opportunity to grow faster in the Indian market

olar has been one of those few sectors where we can be proud of our achievements, thanks to special attention it received from the government. But even as installed capacity is on course to cross 40GW this year, there has been an unexpected shift in the course of the market. The skirmishes in the Himalayas, along with a renewed focus on ‘Atmanirbhar’ or self reliant India, has meant that the high dependence on one supplier country, China, is no longer acceptable. After the reimposition of safeguard duty (at 14.9 percent in year 1) , and talk of a further customs duty on China origin imports, changes are afoot in the market . Firms, both Indian and foreign, that were till now confined to narrow niches of the market, or waiting for a change in fortune, suddenly see the opportunity for a larger market share. The good news? Most see it as a longer term opportunity to establish a brand and build a bigger business. With a huge capacity addition target between now and all the way to 2030 and beyond, domestic players finally see a long enough runway to plan and build for the future, though critical issues remain. It’s open season on the 70 percent plus market share that was enjoyed by Chinese brands until not so recently. For domestic manufacturers, the market hasn’t changed much, yet, as the impact of the Chinese dominance will take time to wear off. . Sushil Bansal, Director and CEO at Novasys Greenergy, a firm with a 100MW manufacturing line says that “ The Chinese dominance in

terms of market share is very strong. To counter it, we focused on relatively medium/smaller sized projects whether utility or rooftop and solar pumps market which are not so cost sensitive but need strong technical support and after sales service”. It’s a view supported by Manish Gupta, CEO at Insolation Energy, a Jaipur based manufacturer, who lists quality of the products, relationship and trust maintained with clients, and post sale services as their secret sauce to surviving through the China market dominance. He also adds that they have also got their modules tested with DCR cells, and are actively working with projects as part of the PMKUSUM scheme (Solar Pumps). For international players, the picture is slightly different. REC Group, the Norway headquartered firm for instance,

which has its operational base in Singapore, it has been a mix of the latest technology, strong warranties and well trained after sales service, that has worked. The firm also points to its sole manufacturing plant location in Singapore as a key strength. Rohit

SUSHIL BANSAL Director and CEO, Novasys Greenergy

MANISH GUPTA CEO, Insolation Energy

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

M |A |R |K |E |T |I |N |G

Kumar, Head of Indian Sub Continent (REC solar) points out that very few firms invest in training as they do. “Indian market has been a volume driven market- which was used for a lot of dumping at crazy prices, but we need to understand that solar is once in lifetime

purchase. Most people pay lip service to the 25 year old lifespan of a solar installation, but we take it very seriously Its in our DNA. Our warranty claims of less then 50 parts per million is an industry benchmark .” Pawan Pandey, Founder at Tanash

PAWAN PANDEY Founder, Tanash Energy

ROHIT KUMAR Head of Indian Sub Continent (REC solar)

Energy , who has worked with leading utility scale developers like Azure , Renew Power etc, believes that the wheel has finally turned for non-Chinese firms “ Many Firms in India, as well as other global players offer options that meet every budget and quality requirement. Solar projects take longer to close, so the impact of the change in sentiment, or even duties, will be visible from the next quarter onwards”. Sirish Parolkar, who has plans for a 10 KW solar rooftop at his industrial unit in Noida, probably speaks for a lot of customers when he says that “ I would leave the decision on modules to my installer normally, as they have to service the set up post installation. However, too many Indian brands are effectively Chinese manufactured in any case, so I would only look for a firm that truly does its own manufacturing at least”. Pandey looks back at his experience here, adding that “ We have used multiple brands, Indian as well as other non-Chinese brands across projects, and almost all have held up well so far, though some have performed much better than even their Chinese counterparts. For these firms, marketing also takes centre stage now, as they eye a larger market opportunity. Sushil Bansal at Novasys adds that “ at the marketing level, we have plans to update and expand our existing infrastructure to bring latest technology to India so that Indian made products can compete with international products and gain confidence. We can prove that we can also make a product which is latest in design, better in quality and most importantly cost effective.” However, Indian manufacturers do add the caveat that real change will require a higher duty structure than the one that exists right now, to provide domestic manufacturers the space to invest for returns. REC Group’s Kumar adds that a higher awareness about technology, and what is really important in a module, (Energy density versus size, for instance), will help. “We welcome a client with better awareness, more exacting demands, as that helps us stand out. At the end of the day, the customer will always seek best value”.

SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

W |S |T |S |C |O |V |E |R |A |G |E

World Solar Technology Summit 2020

PM Modi Confident India Will Surpass Renewable Energy Target for 2022

t the World Solar Technology Summit that was held on September 8, New and Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh while reading out Prime Minister Modi’s message, revealed that PM Modi was confident that India will increase and surpass its renewable energy target for 2022, going beyond 175 GW to reach 220 GW capacity by 2022. Modi who was due to give the inaugu-

ral address at the event, had Singh read out his message as he got caught up with other commitments. “We have scaled up our non-fossil fuel-based generation to 134 GW, which is about 35 percent of our total power generation. We are confident of increasing it to 220 GW by 2022,” the Prime Minister’s message read. “Technology holds the key to scale up the use of solar energy. Technological advancements have already brought about a significant

Technology holds the key to scale up the use of solar energy. Technological advancements have already brought about a significant reduction in the price of solar power. A further reduction in the cost will provide a major boost to the use and expansion of renewable energy

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

reduction in the price of solar power. A further reduction in the cost will provide a major boost to the use and expansion of renewable energy,” Modi added. In his message the PM also mentioned the ‘One World, One Sun, One Grid‘ project which is aimed at clean energy supplies across nations. He asserted that ISA is part of this project which can bring transformational benefits for the entire humanity. He also stated that the government wants to take solar energy to all villages in the country and replace diesel with this clean source in the farm sector. Earlier the event, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is actively encouraging the industry, oil and gas companies in particular, to become participants in this transition to solar energy.

W |S |T |S |C |O |V |E |R |A |G |E

World Solar Technology Summit 2020

How Northern India’s Energy Systems can be 100% Clean Energy: Report

inland’s Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) and Delhi-based ‘Climate Trends‘ in a new report on Tuesday established how northern India’s energy systems, comprising the world’s largest metropolitan area — DelhiNCR — can be switched to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The study finds that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in northern India can be reduced from 825 metric tons of carbondioxide equivalent (MtCO2eq) in 2020 to zero by 2050 across all energy sectors as well as create five million new jobs. Presented at the virtual World Solar Technology summit organised by the International Solar Alliance, the study was a first of its kind modelling that uses geospatial and hourly-demand analysis to

design a cost optimal energy system in the future. Manish Ram, a lead author of the report said, “the study highlights how low-cost renewable electricity could emerge as the energy carrier of the future for India with an integrated energy system across the sectors of power, heat, transport and industry.” “A first of its kind study provides an economically viable integrated energy system model for power, transport and other energy consuming sectors that will bring multiple benefits of more jobs, better industrialisation and cleaner environment.” Christian Breyer, a professor for solar economy at LUT University, said,”Globally, the costs of solar and wind energy have been rapidly declining in recent years. Energy systems are poised to be transformed with

high shares of renewables having solar energy and battery storage as the backbone, the study highlights for north India.” This research shows how to get one of the largest metropolitan area in the world — Delhi-NCR — get sustainable energy by midcentury.

A NEW PALETTE PVIGU

Photovoltaic Insulated Glass Unit Glass to Glass c-SI PV module Space for Inert Gas Encapsulated Two Pane Safety Glass Desiccant Filled Al Spacer

Topsun Energy Limited B-101, GIDC, Electronic Zone, Sector 25, Gandhinagar – 382028, Gujarat (lndia)

OF POSSIBILITIES Architects and designers are featuring glass like never before combining solar energy with building envelope. Topsun brings a whole new aesthetic multi facet customised glass elements to building exterior applications such as curtain walls, vertical cladding, Parabolas, atriums, Skylights, Car Ports, facade so on.

Ph : +91 79 23288804 Telefax : +91 79 23288805 Toll Free No. : 1800 123 8804 E-Mail : marketing@topsunenergy.com

W |S |T |S |C |O |V |E |R |A |G |E

World Solar Technology Summit 2020

Manufacturing, Affordability And Efficiency in Focus at CEO Session

he CEO’s session at the first World Solar Technology Summit by the ISA saw head honchos make a strong pitch for a broader manufacturing supply chain, besides the need to maintain the price trajectory and seek higher efficiency. In a session moderated by Jeanette Rodrigues, Mumbai bureau chief of Bloomberg LP, gloal CEO’s weighed in on the key imperatives for solar to spread further. Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the

Mahindra Group with a strong presence in solar power development through group firm Mahindra Susten, made a strong case for domestic manufacturing. “A more aggressive stance in the solar space have almost been forced upon us. Our manufacturing facilities are woefully inadequate. We need manufacturing preeminence. A sustainable domestic manufacturing sector can create 50,000 direct jobs in the next 5 years”, he said. Mr

Mahindra was also keen to see the government take the initiative, along with top developers, to start an innovation prize in solar, to channelise more high quality focus on the segment. Supporting the argument was Uday Kotak, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Mr Kotak made a strong pitch for the creation of a development financial institution for the renewables sector, besides the possible addition of funding to the sector under priority sector lending. That, in his view, was critical if India is to seriously consider doubling its renewable capacity from he current 88 GW to 175 GW by 2022, and the higher targets beyond. rReferring to the gap between domestic supply and demand, Mr Kotak called it one of the biggest opportunities in India today, and ” one of those unique scale ups that India can achieve”. He also highlighted the opportunity in storage. He referred to the unfair disadvantage developers in India face, with interest rates in the 8-11 percent range versus sub 5 percent in most developed markets and China. The asset-liability mismatch of bank deposits(3-5 years) versus project lifetimes in the sector (15 years or more) made bank financing an inappropriate option for the sector, he said.

Focus on Breakthrough Tech at Disruptive Solar Technology Session

t the Disruptive Solar Technology session at the first World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) by the ISA yesterday industry leaders discussed the progress that solar photovoltaic technology has made over the years and the key technology trends that will lead it into the next decade and beyond. Professor Eicke Weber, Chairman of the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) discussed the meteoric rise of solar PV globally since its inception as an idea, growing at a CAGR of 38

percent since 1992 (till 2019). He then went on to detail how fast solar has caught on to other sources of alternate energy, and now trumps all of them for annual installations year after year. Almost double the amount of capacity installations every year for the last couple of years when compared to the next best source i.e. wind. He added that at the rate at which solar is expanding, we’re headed towards nearly 1 TW of installations being possible in a single year. Weber further added that

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

this rapidly growing solar market shows disruptive innovations along the whole value chain, from materials and wafers to cells, modules, and system integration. And that at the core that is the PV cell technology, we are experiencing a transition. A transition from

2nd generation (PERC) to 3rd generation (Passivating Contacts – HJT) high-efficiency technologies (graph). And that with this transition, we will witness the efficiency of panels increasing from the 20-21 percent to high 24 and even 26 percent in a few years. He concluded by stating that currently there are no majority of manufacturers of solar modules and cells are now only in China and that it is becoming more and more important for Europe, and even for India to establish large scale and local manufacturing units.

W |S |T |S |C |O |V |E |R |A |G |E

World Solar Technology Summit 2020

India Working on Clean Energy Mission With Collective Mindset: Piyush Goyal

nion Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is working on clean energy mission with a collective mindset. Speaking at the valedictory function of the First World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) organised by International Solar Alliance (ISA) on Tuesday, Goyal said that “the best part about India’s own engagement with clean energy is that we are working with a collective mindset, breaking all departmental silos and working to support each other to finally achieve a cleaner future for our future generations.” The minister who has previously served as the new and renewable energy minister said that solar energy and new technologies will certainly power our

tomorrow to make the world a cleaner and better place for living. “Going forward, we will have no choice but to be pure in our sources of energy & to be sure that we all participate in making this future happen & secure a better future for our children of tomorrow.”

Lauding the initiatives by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry under Dharmendra Pradhan to usher in a gas-based economy in India, the Minister said that the game-changing & transformational initiatives will help the country’s smooth transit from the Fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Goyal envisioned that one day power will almost become free in the world. He said “I envisage India, which has a demonstrated capability to go up to 745 GW of solar energy alone, will be providing power to other parts of the world in their peak hours. I see an interconnected grid across the world. I visualise a world grid with transmission lines crossing oceans, such that we can transmit energy throughout the world.”

SOLAR FROM THE CORE Leading EPC Player in North India With Rich Experience and High Quality Workmanship Our Services Include:-

EPC | Roof Top Solutions | Resco Sunsoul - Make Modules-

Poly crystalline | Mono Perc | Bi Facial

PC Agro LLP M 6 Anupam Plaza Block No 51 Sanjay Place Agra 282002

Branch - Noida | Chandigarh | Mangalore

Authorised Distributor

W |S |T |S |C |O |V |E |R |A |G |E

World Solar Technology Summit 2020

Solar Industry can be Enablers of Healthcare Industry: Sangita Reddy

pollo Hospital Enterprise Joint Managing Director and President of FICCI Sangita Reddy has said that the solar energy industry and players can play a crucial role as enablers of healthcare in areas where there is inadequate access to gridconnected power. Speaking at the Global CEOs session at the first World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) that was organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) yesterday Reddy, stating that India’s large number of primary healthcare centres and sub-centres are a huge opportunity for a “grid waiting to happen,” asked global majors in the solar technology sector to think about innovative solutions to apply their capability and talent to aid healthcare in the country.

“In the health sector, clinics, maternity wards, surgical blocks, medical warehouses and laboratories rely on electricity to refrigerate medicines, to power light to sterilise equipment and to operate live saving surgeries and devices,” Reddy said.

Intermittent or unreliable power puts medical facilities at risk and hence the use of solar to enable the area which is unconnected really opens up tremendous capability, she added. “So to provide this in communities of rural or solar resource constrained settings, we can play a vital role as an enabler of healthcare in areas where there is inadequate access to a grid-connected power,” she added. Referring to the large numbers of primary healthcare centres and sub-centres, she said, “This is a grid waiting to happen. This is an invitation to global powers across the world focussing on this (solar energy) to think about innovative new solutions to apply their capability and their talent to aid healthcare in India.”

Addwatt Power Bags 1.5 MW Solar Project at Swami Vivekanand Airport, Raipur Addwatt Power Solution, a leading solar EPC provider has bagged the project order from Airport Authority of India for 1.5 MW Ground Mounted Solar System. The project will be located at Swami Vivekanand Airport, Raipur, Chhattisgarh and is expected to have a solar generation capacity of 1800 KW DC and an energy yield of 26884.9 MWh/Year. The scope of the project includes design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the plant with their asset management for 10 years. The project is expected to finish in a span of 6 months form commencing. The Airport Authority of India is a ' Mini Ratna PSE' under the ministry od Civil Aviation, Government of India, and having 118 airports which includes 25 civil enclaves. Addwatt Power launched its journey in the year 2014 being set up in Noida –NCR(National Capital Region). Addwatt Power started with 100 kW projects and presently has projects more than 850 MWP installed capacity and works across solar value chain with PAN India presence. Mr. Pramod Kumar, General Manager – Business Development Addwatt Power, says " Addwatt Power is a leading and a diversified player in Solar EPC business having considerable presence in the nation. We are delighted to have been awarded this project by Airport Authority of India. They have always been focused towards supporting the green energy transition in India and we are proud to be a part of AAI's recent effort towards solar growth. This will be our first solar project in Chattisgarh, and will become a cornerstone in paving future solar projects in the region. We are keenly determined to execute the project successfully within the agreed time frame and our partnership will help achieve their ambitious dream of running all airports in India on solar power. "

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

CHECK OUT OUR FAST AND RELIABLE MOUNTING SYSTEMS WWW.SRPL-GROUP.IN

METAL ROOFS

FLAT ROOFS

SRPL-GROUP TM is the authorized service partner of Esdec B.V. Contact us:

W: www.srpl-group.in

E: info@srpl-group.in SEPTEMBM: ER +91 20 20 9867556726 SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

C |O |U |N |T |E |R |V |I |E |W

Old King Coal is Dead – Long Live The King

oal is the dominant source of energy in India because it’s locally available and has historically been quite cheap, more so because there hasn’t been aggressive regulation or taxation upon its externalities yet. However, future coal will look different than older coal because it will have to be more sustainable and also cost-effective. Renewable energy is now virtually all of new investment in electricity capacity in India except a handful of ongoing projects in hydropower and a few plans in nuclear power. There is almost 60 GW of under construction coal capacity but greenfield coal power capacity appears to be distant. Traditional lenses upon fuels focus not just on their price but also other aspects including energy security and impact upon the range of stakeholders in the ecosystem. This last point is critical to understanding coal’s present and future. Rupees per kilowatt hour, often measured as the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), is one metric by which RE beats coal handily. However, there are two limitations to this. First, we have an existing surplus of coal-based generation capacity and so from a state perspective, a cash flow choice they have is whether to pay the total cost of new RE (and RE has no fuel costs), or the marginal cost of coal, assuming they anyways have to pay the fixed costs due to a power purchase agreement. Second, almost all the headline grabbing bids for renewable energy are based on variable RE (VRE, meaning intermittent), which has both seasonality and time of day constraints. While there are now some limited bids for so-termed Round the Clock (RTC) power, if you dig into the details, you would find that there really isn’t so much battery in these deployments as would be required as renewable energy scales towards the ambitious targets that India has set. This is one reality that India, like other countries, will have to grapple with sooner instead of later. As the share of renewable

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

DR. RAHUL TONGIA

energy grows, assuming one isn’t adding in full storage to become firm power, then for VRE the marginal value declines while the marginal costs of integration increase. This is even more stark when we consider edge-based or rooftop solar where many consumers apply a metric of cost comparisons that pits their solar cost compared to their retail cost of electricity, which would always be higher than any procurement (wholesale) cost of energy (including solar). At an extreme, many people worry this leads to the so-called Utility Death Spiral. (Editors note: This refers to a situation when energy efficiency reaches a point when customers need less energy. They also find other energy sources, including distributed energy resources (DERs), making their utility bills and dependence, lesser over time.) Another important point to consider Renewable energy is is the winners and losers in the coal ecosystem both today and tomorrow as now virtually all of we adjust to the transition. While coal certainly has externalities, it also pays new investment in back to society in a range of ways electricity capacity in including its levies/taxes, dividends and India except a handful auction fees for mining companies or entities, as well as by overpaying for of ongoing projects in coal freight on the Indian Railways who hydropower and a few under charge passengers. This railways “tax” means that a coal power plant in plans in nuclear power Punjab pays about `0.60/kWh for

C |O |U |N |T |E |R |V |I |E |W

railways passengers! When we add the fact that RE is concentrated in western and southern India, we find that even a slowdown of coal, forget plateau or decline, hurts Indian Railways before the impact on Coal India Limited. The largest problem from a public policy lens is the fact that the winners and losers of coal are different. If we struggled with trade-offs before the transition, it will only get much harder as coal plateaus. One may call this the resource curse, but coal bearing regions are measurably underdeveloped compared to much of India. And they have paid the price not just in terms of mining but because many coal power plants are also disproportionately located and operate at higher PLFs in these areas as well, increasing combustion-based air pollution.

hile predicting the future is always a challenging task, even before black swans like COVID, a few trends are expected even if specific timelines have uncertainty. The heyday of coal is likely over and growth rates on average will slow down, even if there are fits and starts and shifts within the space, for example, with the rise of private sector commercial mining. In reality we already have “privatization by stealth” through the rise of MDOs (Mine Developer Operators). The mid-2020s will be critical for decision-making points because around then India would exhaust its surplus coal

Traditional lenses upon fuels focus not just on their price but also other aspects including energy security and impact upon the range of stakeholders in the ecosystem.

generation capacity, with two big unknowns, namely, completion of any under construction plants as well as retirement of older plants based on pollution emissions norms. At the same time, RE would have gone much past the 175 GW level, to the point where it requires both changes to grid operations as well as storage. India will then need to figure out what is the solution for meeting the evening peak. Probably two other trends or at least requirements are that the system must increase its flexibility and become much cleaner. The latter is on the books, but implementation has been a serious struggle. The former is difficult because of contractual lock-ins like PPAs as well as structural distortions that create predictable winners and losers based on vintage, location, and ownership type (public versus private). It’s very difficult to envision electricity market flexibility without liquidity and flexibility in coal. Ultimately, the challenges ahead are not merely techno-economic ones of policy choices and political economy. We need to stop applying silo-based approaches and move towards a holistic energy policy. We examined all these issues in our recent book, Future of Coal in India: Smooth Transition or Bumpy Road Ahead? We found no easy answers but the need for continued iteration, improvements, and innovation. Dr. Rahul Tongia is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), a not-for-profit research Think Tank (originally established as Brookings India), where he leads energy and sustainability studies. He is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and also Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also Founding Advisor of the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) and was Technical Advisor of the Govt. of India’s Smart Grid Task Force, bodies he helped establish. He is an interdisciplinary scholar of technology and policy, especially for Sustainable Development. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

M |I |L |E |S |T |O |N |E

Google Commits to 24/7 Carbon Free Energy for all Operations By 2030

lobal tech giant Google has announced that it has committed to becoming the first company in the world to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy in all of its data centres and campuses worldwide. A challenge it considers far greater than the traditional approach of matching energy usage with renewable energy, but it is working on getting it done by 2030. The firm is already the largest global corporate buyer of renewable energy, omething it was doing to match its electricity consumption since 2016. Now, it is moving to make every hour of consumption powered by renewable energy. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet said “the science is clear: The world must act now if we’re going to avert the worst consequences of climate change.” Further adding that the firm is committed to doing its part. “Sustainability has been a core value for us since Larry and Sergey founded Google two decades ago. We were the first major company to become carbon neutral in 2007. We were the first major company to

match our energy use with 100 percent renewable energy in 2017. We operate the cleanest global cloud in the industry, and we’re the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. “In our third decade of climate action, we are going even further to help build a carbon-free future for everyone.” The firm will also be investing in

technologies to help its partners and people all over the world make sustainable choices. For example, the firm is investing in manufacturing regions to enable 5 GW of new carbon-free energy, helping 500 cities reduce their carbon emissions and finding new ways to empower 1 billion people through its products.

751.52 MW of RE Capacity Added in August, Total at 88.65 GW: MNRE

he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a monthly summary for the Cabinet for the month of August 2020, detailing all the events and development that took place during the month. The first key point made was that a total of 751.52 MW of renewable (RE) capacity was added during the month, which took India’s total RE generational capacity to 88.65 GW at the end of August. Wind made up 38 GW of the total, closely followed by

solar at 35.74 GW and then 10.17 GW from Bio-power and finally 4.74 GW from small hydro projects. The ministry has revealed that projects of 45.11 GW capacity are at various stages of implementation and that 28.43 GW capacity currently under various stages of bidding. At the financial friend, the ministry has notified that an expenditure of Rs 1424.33 crore has been incurred up to August 31, 2020. Which is equivalent to roughly 24.7

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

percent of the budget estimate for the ministry for the year 2020-2021. The other key event in the month was the time extension of five months, from March 25, 2020, to August 24, 2020, in the scheduled commissioning date of renewable energy products in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension will also apply to all the schemes of MNRE, and the ministry had also asked all state governments to take similar action in respect of RE

projects being implemented by them or agencies. Other key highlights include: The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) conducting the e-reverse auction (e-RA) for 970 MW ISTS-connected wind power projects on August 14, 2020. A meeting of the standing committee on energy (201920) was held on August 18, 2020, on the subject “Action Plan for Achievement of 175 GW Renewable Energy Target.”

|T |H |E |C |O |N |V |E |R |S |A |T |I |O |N|

Govt. should do away with all financial subsidies for the solar business Rays Experts, an early entrant to the solar sector in 2011, has been a quite and dependable performer. Focused mainly on EPC and rooftop work till recently, the firm just inaugurated the first 10 MW of its solar park in Haryana, a first for the state too. We spoke to Rahul Gupta, MD & CEO, who also founded the firm.

I N T E R V I E W

Till now, the residential solar industry was marred by high CAPEX, lack of awareness, and unclear policies. Now, while these issues having been addressed to a great extent, I feel this segment has a long way to go.

Almost a decade since you started Rays Power Experts, has the industry growth and changes gone to plan for you? How do you look back at the past decade? Rahul Gupta: We started in solar industry when national solar

RAHUL GUPTA

MD and CEO, Rays Experts You have expressed optimism about the rooftop residential segment. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the basis for the same, considering how it has struggled so far Rahul Gupta: India has 330 Million Households. It is undoubt-

edly one of the biggest business opportunities present and hence it makes all the sense to be optimistic about it. Today the costs have fallen and subsidies are still present. States coming up with 40+MW tenders dedicated to the residential sector, and then banks making lending easy, it has all the reasons for the residential solar sector to flourish. The only hiccup is that there is no standard quality parameters or testing happening and bad work of some companies is creating hindrances for good players too. I would say that residential solar is still a sunrise industry and few companies will emerge to be big enough to make an impact in this opportunity. We see ourselves as one of the potential names in this aspect.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

mission had just started and hence consider myself lucky enough to witness several curves and trends this industry has had. We were always on our mission from day zero- Each individual should own solar plant in its own capacity. It was this drive only which made us start the first private solar park in the country and till date over 500 MWs have been commissioned in almost 9 solar parks. So, I would like to acknowledge that we are on the track we had thought. Though each business has its own ups and downs, we too had ours, but today, when we look at what we created, I feel it was worth the journey and I am happy we were stuck on our plans always. This industry has grown fast enough to be a textbook example for global solar scenario. While all major funds have invested in the Indian Solar business, the credibility, PPAs of our country have made me proud. When we compare the policy and process with other countries, I feel we are a more stable country and here the speed of work is far better than most of the western countries. At the same time, I feel disappointed to see that government support to small and distributed solar plants, mainly ground-mounted have been discouraging. A lot of people and companies want solar in their investment portfolio, but there is no such opportunity (except PMKUSUM, which was introduced a few months back). Moreover, a lot of small solar plants are struggling with payments and policy changes. This is where, I feel we as a country need to work a lot and make this industry much more stable and safe.

Where do you lie on the whole manufacturing debate of the need for high customs duty on top of SGD? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best way out here? Rahul Gupta: I feel the imposition of BCD over and above the SGD is not productive. SGD in itself has not shown results, and

instead of lowering costs of solar panels, the cost of installation has gone higher which ultimately results in higher tariffs ultimately a revenue loss for the Govt. Instead, those using domestic panels shall be permitted in form of incentives or interest subsidies. Those able to export in competition with global players, must be rewarded, thereby making Indian products more competitive.

How do you see the solar sector evolving over the next 5 years, considering that it is supposed to grow massively over the coming decade? Will segments like C&I, Residential make a bigger mark? Rahul Gupta: My projection- we have a lot to achieve as a sector.

In the next 5 years, big projects through reverse bids will see the lowest tariffs in the world. As RTC (Round the clock) based projects based on wind-solar hybrid or storage will be commissioned, the solar business will prove its worth in real sense and more and more projects would come thereby perhaps replacing conventional sources of power. At the same time, the residential solar contribution will rise significantly in these 5 years. People are getting more and more aware and this is helping the residential solar sector grow fast. However, in the C&I segment, discoms are still confused about whether to support the model or consider it as its competition. In an aspiration to make Discoms profitable, the C&I segment may get hurt.

Solar + storage is becoming the new buzzword. How do you see this growing in the coming 2 and 5 years? How is your firm approaching it? Rahul Gupta: We are doing a few projects on solar + storage. We

have also experimented with Li Ion based battery storage solutions on some houses and hence feel that stable storage technology is still to be discovered. I personally feel Li based storage is not the future, rather something with more durability with easy availability has to be developed. Hence, though storage based solar projects will keep developing, I feel the next 2 years would be a deep learning curve for the industry, but in the next 5 years, a lot of trivial issues like grid stability, power cuts, frequency mismatches, etc would be addressed. Overall, I am excited to wait for these 5 years and see how we change the way we use our electricity.

Over 5 years after your first few installations, what are the big lessons you have drawn? Rahul Gupta: Like there is no shortcut to success, there is no

shortcut to a good solar plant. Any solar plant installed with due respect and protocols will run for 25 years with minimum failures. While the right quality of solar panels and other types of

equipment are basic minima to talk about a good plant, the quality of installation makes all the difference. Similarly, while some say O&M of the solar plant is simple, we say, O&M of solar plants is all about discipline. It can’t be taken casually and the right maintenance of the solar plant will only make the solar plants produce the desired electricity. When we started as a novice in EPC business, we made a few mistakes and a few learnings. However, we never compromised on the quality and hence we are confident our plants will run smoothly for their life cycle.

What is the one big policy move, that in your view can push forward the solar sector the most? Rahul Gupta: I feel government should do away with all finan-

cial subsidies for the solar business. The solar sector has moved to a level where it doesn’t need the support of governments for making it sustainable. Though the Banking facility will always be an integral requirement, all waivers of Transmission charges, subsidies in the rooftop, etc have to be given away. At the same time, government has to make Discoms understand solar is just another way of producing electricity and in the long run, it would help Discoms save a lot of money. There should be a central agency for making policies around renewables or at least solar if our country truly wants to be “One Nation, One Grid”

Ray Power Expert plans for the next 5 years. Rahul Gupta: We see ourselves on 1,00,000 Houses in the form

of solar systems installed, we see ourselves in every state of the country in form of our solar parks where small investors can own a solar plant of their desired size and we see ourselves as a preferred choice for EPC for all major solar developers. In all, we want to remain associated with the solar story of the country and we are here for long run. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

R |E |P |O |R |T |S

Renewables Rich Rajasthan can Lead India’s Energy Transition: IEEFA

s India looks to expand its renewable energy capacity, a new report from IEEFA finds that Rajasthan can play a key leadership role in India’s transition to a low-cost, lowemission, profitable electricity system. The state’s installed renewable energy capacity reached 9.6 gigawatts (GW) at the

end of fiscal year (FY) 2019/20. It also added more solar power capacity (1.7 GW) in FY 2019/20 than any other Indian state, ahead of Karnataka (1.4 GW), the state with the highest installed solar capacity, and Tamil Nadu (1.3 GW). “Rajasthan has a bright future as a renewable energy leader in India,” said the

report’s author Kashish Shah, Research Analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). “But its power distribution companies (Discoms) are among the worst performing in India.” Expensive coal-fired capacity tariffs coupled with huge aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses led to the Rajasthan discoms booking a loss of Rs 6,355 crore in FY2019/20 after accounting for state government subsidies. “A shift to cheaper renewable capacity could help alleviate the Discoms’ financial liquidity and cash flow issues,” said Shah. The state has high solar radiation and wind speeds and an abundance of barren land that will make it suitable for utilityscale solar parks. A testament of which is that it is already home to the world’s largest solar park – the 2.25 GW Bhadla Solar Park, located in Jodhpur district. “These factors make Rajasthan an attractive destination for domestic and foreign investors looking for opportunities in renewable energy, electricity grid infrastructure and associated manufacturing,” said Shah.

The World can and Must Achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2050: Report

new report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) argues in its new report that the world can and must achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century and that “zero must mean zero” with no permanent reliance on negative emissions to balance continued energy and industrial emissions. It also lays out the steps needed in the next decade to achieve that objective. In the report ‘Making Mission Possible – Delivering A Net-Zero Economy’, the ETC shows that clean electrification must be the primary route to decarbonisation: it highlights that dramatic falls in the cost of renewable energy make this

easily affordable and argues that all growth in electricity supply should now come from zero-carbon sources with no need to build any new coal-fired power capacity to support economic growth and rising living standards. The report demonstrates that it is technically and economically possible to have a carbon-free economy by around mid-century at a total cost of less than 0.5% of global GDP by taking three overarching steps: Using less energy while improving living standards in developing economies, by

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

achieving dramatic improvements in energy efficiency and shifting to a circular economy;

Scaling up clean energy provision by building massive generation capacities of cheap clean power, at a pace five to six times higher than today, as well as expanding other zero-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen; Using clean energy across all sectors of the economy by electrifying many applications in buildings, transport and industry, and deploying new technologies and processes using hydrogen, sustainable biomass or carbon capture in sectors that cannot be electrified, like heavy industry or long-distance shipping and aviation.

R |E |P |O |R |T |S

bp Energy Outlook Explores Possible Paths for Global Energy Transition

he 2020 edition of the bp Energy Outlook explores possible paths for the global energy transition, how global energy markets may evolve over the next thirty years and the key uncertainties that may shape them. Looking out to 2050, the Outlook is focused around three main scenarios. In the main scenarios, it considers, global energy demand continues to grow for at least part of the period to 2050. However, over this time, the structure of energy demand fundamentally shifts, with a declining role for fossil fuels offset by an increasing share for renewable energy and a growing role for electricity. “Even as the pandemic has dramatically reduced global carbon emissions, the world remains on an unsustainable path. However, the analysis in the Outlook shows that,

with decisive policy measures and more low carbon choices from both companies and consumers, the energy transition still can be delivered,” said Bernard Looney, CEO of bp. “It is one of the reasons I remain

optimistic about the future and I hope readers will find the report helpful as we all try to make a difference.” The Outlook explores the energy transition to 2050 using three main scenarios. These are not predictions but, based on alternative assumptions about policies and societal preferences, are designed to help explore the range of outcomes possible over the next thirty years. Rapid assumes the introduction of policy measures, led by a significant increase in carbon prices, that result in carbon emissions from energy use falling by around 70% by 2050 from 2018 levels. Rapid is broadly in line with scenarios that are consistent with limiting the rise in global temperatures by 2100 to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels.

US Solar Market Installed 3.5 GW of new Solar Capacity in Q2 2020

he US solar market installed 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Q2 2020, a drop of 6 percent from Q1 installations. At the same time, utility-scale solar remained resilient despite the COVID-19 pandemic, representing 71 percent of all new solar capacity brought online in Q2. However, the US Solar Market Insight Q3 2020 report, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, noted that the residential and nonresidential segments saw a significant slowdown in the quarter. Installations were down 23 percent quarter over

quarter in the residential segment, and 12 percent quarter over quarter in the non-residential sector, due to restrictions and shelter-inplace orders imposed to curb the pandemic. “The growth we see in this report underscores the resilience of the solar industry as we deal with Covid work stoppages, a struggling economy, harmful trade policy and an uncertain tax environment,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of SEIA. “Tens of thousands of our workers have been laid off or furloughed amid this crisis, and SEIA remains firm in our

commitment to fight for equitable policy that allows the solar industry to compete and grow our workforce.” Solar accounted for 37 percent of all new electric generating capacity added in the US in the first half of 2020, as Texas and Florida each SEPTEMB ER 20 20

installed over 900 megawatts (MW) across distributed and utility solar in Q2. The report said a total of 8.7 GWdc of new utility PV power-purchase agreements were announced in the second quarter, bringing the contracted pipeline to a total of 62 GWdc. SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

O |P |I |N |I |O |N |S

“Draconian” Proposal in Draft Electricity Rules To Hit Solar Sector: EPC Firms

he Ministry of Power has recently issued the draft rules providing for the ‘Rights of Electricity Consumers’ for the very first time. However, one provision included in the draft rules has managed to roil up smaller solar EPC companies at a key proposal within the rules. The power ministry stated that “having provided access to electricity to all citizens, it is now important to focus on consumer satisfaction. For this, it is imperative to identify the key services, prescribe minimum service levels and standards with respect to these services and recognise them as rights of consumers.” While the rules claim to place the consumer in the middle of the power ecosystem as its most important stakeholders, small solar EPC players claim that the proposed rule fails on both measures, ie, being consumer-friendly, or being solar-friendly. The provision in question is the 4th sub-clause under the 9th clause of the draft rules “Consumer as Prosumer.” The sub-clause or point states that “the regulations on grid-interactive rooftop solar PV system and its related matters shall provide for net metering for loads up to 5 kW and for gross metering for loads above 5 kW. To understand the impact this can have on solar EPC developers and consumers or prosumers, the difference between net metering and gross metering needs to be understood. As explained by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), net metering is an arrangement in which electricity exports are adjusted against

unidirectional ‘gross meter’) and has to pay the electricity distribution company (Discom) at retail supply tariff for the electricity consumed from the grid. The feed-in-tariff and retail supply tariff are typically different rates, with the retail supply tariffs always considerably higher. thus, in Delhi, for instance, a retail consumer at the top end of the consumption slap could be paying Rs 8 per unit for her consumption, and in gross metering, earning well under Rs 3 per unit. Thus, under gross metering connections, the compensation or benefit of the installation of a rooftop solar system to the prosumer is drastically reduced. While at the very opposite end of the line, Discoms that provide the connection are benefited as gross metering can be seen as a revenue protection measure for them. imports, directly lowering the final electricity bills of the prosumers, such that, electricity produced is deducted from the total electricity consumed over a fixed period of time. The adjustment may be done either on a monthly, half-yearly or annual basis. Typically, a bidirectional ‘net meter’ accounts for both import and export of power. (If the exported electricity is higher than the imported electricity, a consumer may or may not be compensated for the excess electricity being fed into the grid – depending on a state’s net metering policy). While on the other hand, gross metering is an arrangement in which a consumer is compensated at a fixed feed-in-tariff for the total number of units of solar energy generated and exported to the grid (accounted by a

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

A revenue protection measure for Discoms provided in the ‘Rules providing Rights to Electricity Consumers’.

olar EPC developers have come up together against the move because net metering allowed them to sell the electricity they produced from their big rooftop projects for C&I customers to the grid and deduct its value from their bill for the power drawn from the Discom. A big revenue point for rooftop solar developers – their C&I customer projects – which are invariably of over 5 kW capacity will be moved to gross metering effectively slashing their profits to the bare minimum. The rule to move all installations above 5 kW to gross metering “will hamper all of us small solar EPC companies that rely on solar rooftop net metering for our bread

O |P |I |N |I |O |N |S

and butter,” said a Sr. Engineer working at one of the many small to medium solar EPC companies that currently operate across India. “This draconian rule must be highlighted and sought to be cancelled by any individual who is concerned about renewable energy,” he added. The view of the rest of the industry is also similar. A petition has been filed on change.org asking for the rule to get abolished in a move that will (as it claims will) save the solar industry! The petition states that this clause: will completely demolish the solar industry as consumers above 5 kW will have no option but to opt for gross-metering which doesn’t seem lucrative for them to sell the power to Discoms at even less than half the rate at which they are purchasing the power from Discoms. their payback period will get longer. Consumers having a requirement of >5 kW will also try to install a minimum capacity solar project in this case. MNRE Phase-II scheme for residential rooftop will completely fail since the major capacity of the projects are > 5 kW, but, if this clause applies consumer will either restrict the project size to 5 kW or will not at all go for solar. Interestingly, Discoms have been pushing to move rooftop solar generation to gross metering for a while now, having given up on the idea of resisting it altogether earlier. In states like Maharashtra, a strong pushback against similar ideas prevented such a shift. The draft rules have been circulated by the Ministry of Power for comments/ views/ suggestions from consumers latest by September 30, 2020. After this, the suggestions will be evaluated and the final rules issued. Our view on this is that the issue of net metering is an established option to drive rooftop solar growth worldwide. Setting such a low benchmark for net metering of 5 KW certainly doesn’t serve the consumer cause or the solar sector even, it only serves the Discom cause. In a draft titled “Rights of Electricity Consumers”, there is no place for such a provision.

Access To Capital Markets Becoming a Glaring Gap For Indian Solar Firms

his week, Suzhou, China-based GoodWe inverters celebrated its listing on the Shanghai stock market, coincidentally on its 10th anniversary. For the well-known inverter firm, the pubic listing is an obvious matter of pride, besides the huge new opportunities it opens up for it. “The IPO marks the beginning of a new chapter,” said Daniel Huang, Chief Executive Officer of GoodWe. That’s true in more ways than one, as the firm now sets its sights on expanding its focus on storage, more international expansion, and a higher thrust on utilityscale projects too. GoodWe follows many other Chinese firms that are listed and have ready access to public capital. These include Solis Ginlong, Sungrow (both inverter majors listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange). Module majors like Longi Solar (Shanghai Stock Exchange), Jinko Solar at NYSE(New York Stock Exchange) and Tongwei (Shanghai Stock Exchange) are also publicly listed. Even polysilicon manufacturer Daqo New Energy Corp is listed in the US. Hong Kong-listed Xinyi Solar, which makes glass for solar panels is the leading solar company worldwide in the category based on market capitalization, at close to $7.99 billion. By contrast, in India, finding listed solar firms is too easy, or tough, depending on your perspective. There is just Adani Green (Approx $13 billion market cap) , and global EPC leader, Sterling and Wilson Solar ($600 million market cap). Azure Power is of course listed at NYSE. The complete absence of manufacturing firms is a testament to the size of the manufacturing sector here, as well a the challenges small solar manufacturers have faced in scaling up. Readers will argue that major developers and aspiring manufacturers like NTPC, TATA Power, BHEL, etc are also listed. But in all these legacy firms, renewable is still a small part of their portfolio. And the focus remains on developers, demonstrating just how far manufacturing has to go yet. For manufacturing in India to take off, we need to see manufacturers feel confident about and aiming for a public listing. Only that will provide validation on quality, their processes, strategy, and expansion capital

accordingly. A financial analyst at a leading bank-owned brokerage e spoke to says that even the limited experience with the ‘pure play’ firms has not been very encouraging. “Adani Green and Sterling and Wilson Solar, with their wildly contrasting performances since listing, will not exactly inspire confidence.” While Adani Green has flummoxed all watchers to become one of the best performing shares in the past year, Sterling and Wilson, after an IPO at Rs 780 in August last year, has been dogged by multiple governance issues that have dragged down the share price. Another wealth management head opines that “Even well-regarded firms like Renew Power have had to drop IPO plans, because the market has simply struggled to understand valuations for the sector. Adani Green has the pedigree of a very strong promoter background with proven project execution abilities. Others will have to wait longer.” The shift in the sector to auctions driven mechanism has also not enthused analysts as many believe, with good reason, that the low bids have been irrational at times, and simply do not leave much on the table for firms to make money. A pressure that is passed on down the supply chain. At the ISA organised First World Solar Technology Summit, this week, Uday Kotak, Chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank pointed to the same anomaly, in terms of the far higher rates Indian firms need to pay for loans. Or even the asset-liability mismatch between tenure of bank deposits and solar projects, that makes banks not the ideal avenue for funding. He even pitched for a priority sector inclusion for solar, besides a possible lending institution on the lines of a development financing institution for the sector. It is no secret that being publicly listed adds a lot of dynamism, transparency to a sector. Pubic scrutiny ensures a better understanding of the risks, competitiveness, and for the best performers, a very strong incentive in the form of ready access to capital for growth or even acquisitions. We believe it is axiomatic that without an increase in the number of solar firms from India in the public markets, the odds of celebrating India mad success stories are much lower.

SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

O |P |I |N |I |O |N |S

How World Record Low Solar Prices

Moved Out of India

ack in 2016, when Acme Solar surprised, nay, shocked everyone with a bid of Rs 2.44 per KwH at the newly launched solar auctions, everyone celebrated. It was believed that much like telecom, the era of lowest cost solar in India had also arrived. A long, sustained boom was duly predicted, and many of todays survivors still look back at that bid ruefully. Because, somewhat like telecom, the promised boom duly arrived, without quite bringing the sort of robust health and financial rewards for the sector. Thankfully, investor interest still remains, thanks to frenetic efforts by the MNRE to somehow keep the momentum going, but its not quite panned out as predicted. Thus, the news, even if somehow expected, was shocking when it finally came two months back. ACME solar, the firm that had made the audacious Rs 2.44 per KWh bid for a solar project in Rajasthan back in 2016, was cancelling the project. While that cancellation will go through the familiar legal and bureaucratic hoops now, the fact is, India’s solar boom has been stalling for a while now. Corona hit 2020 might still see small wins, like solar overtaking wind in India, but the big picture remains hazy. While fresh capacity has been added since then, the rate of addition has certainly slowed down after hitting a peak in 2017. Ironically, the Rs 2.44 record, when it was finally broken this year in June, by Spanish major Solarpack , it hardly drew any such hopes of a coming boom. When we last checked, PPA’s for these bids were still pending, due to lack of demand. That’s just one of the reasons low prices are no longer going to cut it. What is really interesting is how, in the past 18 months, bids in the middle east and now, Portugal, have comprehensively broken those records. First, we had Abu Dhabi’s AI Dhafra 2GW project, promoted as the world’s largest single solar PV project where the winning bid came in at 1.35 US cents, a record at the time. Even before work had started here though, came news of a stunning bid at Portugal’s solar auctions, with the lowest bid of USD 0.132, or 98 paise in rupee terms. So just how did

these projects manage such low bids? In Portugal, these auctions come with an interesting 15 year PPA structure, at the end of which developers can sell the power produced at merchant rates for the remaining 15 year life of the project. It is this second half of the project where calculations have been based, on getting an ‘in’ to the grid at these low prices, to

independent due diligence costs, costs associated with registration, recordation and/or perfection of financing documents, lenders’ security interests, direct agreements and/or leases, travel, accommodation and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred by bidder up to and including financial closing.

presumably recoup profits in the second half of the project life cycles. That is one reason many analysts have called some of these bids ‘speculative’, although the government of Portugal is hardly complaining, as long as the projects come up. In the Al Dhafra project, the conditions in the RFP document were really investor friendly. These included: The request for proposal provided for reimbursement of development costs to the bidders. The development cost includes, costs of internal and external advisory services,

Bidders were provided with option of take out debt facility costs. Per the RfS, if the bidder includes short-term finance facilities in its proposal, they must also include certain transaction costs in relation to the take-out debt facility. Bidder can also avail development fee of up to $25 million. Payments will be made in Dirhams. Bidder will propose a percentage of each of the relevant components of the Electrical Energy Payment to be designated as foreign portion or local portion. These percentages will remain

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

O |P |I |N |I |O |N |S

constant throughout the term of the PPA. If bidder proposes a higher local portion of the charge rates it will be given more credit as part of the non-price criteria, provided that it correctly reflects the expected ongoing costs. RfS also specified that EPC Contractor will receive periodic fees during the Initial O&M period to cover the cost of performing the O&M works. This will be in addition to the contract price. RfS also specified that in order to execute the project; bidder will own 40% of the project and local holding companies will own 60%. In this project, Masdar and TAQA would own 60%; consortium of Jinko Power and EDF (The eventual winners) own remaining 40%.

India can Reduce Carbon Emissions by 35% in Next 10 Years: Javadekar

peaking to a market expert for the Portugal bids, we heard this. More Precision. Bidders assumed very negligible O&M / repair costs for the 15 year PPA period to just about break even. Then, 30 year useful asset life was assumed and merchant sales for the remaining 15 years with assumed market price at between 50 to 60 euros/MWH, which seems inflated to many watchers. Thus, the real value is post PPA. IRR expectation in these are also lower at 4 to 5%, due to much cheaper financing. Finally, Portugal as a young market (like India in 2016?) and this is a volume acquisition/market share game. On the Abu Dhabi bid, a local expert from one of the bidders points out that the Abu Dhabi procurement of solar PV projects (Dhafra IPP) – has some unique features (different from other Middle Eastern procurements). For instance, the RFP itself stipulates a series of “time of day” and “time of year” concepts which builds in a multiplication factor on the base tariff which is publicly read out (essentially it adjusts the actual generation with the multiplication factor). The RFP also asks for BESS (Battery and Energy Storage Service) option but that is not built into the LEC. The multiplication factors as below: Summer Peak Summer Off-Peak Winter Peak Winter Off-Peak-10 AM to 10 PM 10 PM to 10 AM 10 AM to 10 PM 10 PM to 10 AM Multiplication Factor 2.30 1.60 1.30 1.00 So generation is multiplied to arrive at the adjusted generation – in effect LEC is c. 1.6 times the public read out. The other factor is that the RFP allows a hard mini perm financing – which essentially implies a refinancing risk at the maturity date. The difference in this case is that the procurer takes the risk and based on the refinancing terms adjusts the tariff – so in effect (at a high level) the LEC as publicly declared now – can change up or down based on the refinancing terms. Add to these the certainty in terms of land availability, equipment pricing, power evacuation infrastructure, and assurance of timely payments, all issues plaguing the solar sector massively now in India, and you know that the world has moved on, at least when it comes to the best solar prices now.

nion Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Heavy Industries Prakash Javadekar has said that he is hopeful that India would be able to achieve its goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 35 percent in the next ten years. Addressing a session on Action Agenda for Sustainable and Self Reliant India during the 15th Sustainability Summit 2020, the minister said India was committed to reducing carbon emissions and was confident about upscaling solar power capacity from 175 gigawatts to 220 gigawatts by 2022. “The share of non-fossil sources in the installed capacity stands at 37 percent today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared and upscaled the target from 175 GW of solar power to 220 GW by 2022 and we are confident we will achieve this,” he said. He also said that it is important to achieve a green Earth with clean air and blue skies post COVID – 19 despite the odds and that it is possible to do so alongside industrial activity. He pitched for promoting sustainability as only it could “save humankind from nature’s worst fury.” Highlighting the country’s achievement towards a greener growth in the past few years the minister said, “India is walking the talk on climate change. Our work on Ujjwala, electric vehicles, BS-VI engines, biofuels, clean air, and disaster resilience pave the way for a sustainable and resilient India. Targeting 35 percent emission reduction, we have reached 21 percent already and in 10 years, we will achieve the target.” He further elaborated that the energy mix in the installed capacity now includes 37 percent of renewable energy sources. Adding that the country’s solar power capacity has been increasing rapidly and noted that 68 countries have ratified the International Solar Alliance Agreement. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

P |R |O |J |E |C |T |S |& |T |E |N |D |E |R |S

Proposal for 41.5 GW Hybrid Renewable Park in Kutch Approved

he Gujarat cabinet on September 9, 2020, cleared the long-pending proposal of the 41,500 MW or 41.5 GW renewable energy (solar and wind) park in Kutch district by approving a proposal of the revenue department to allot 60,000 hectares of land in the district for the mega project. Combined with the 7.5GW Leh-Kargil project which is also going through the approval process, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost 50 GW of super sized solar projects that will probably keep the solar pipeline going well beyond 2022. The hybrid energy park project is one of the select projects of national importance that the PM reviews at his monthly PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) system. Over the past two years, the PMO has sent several reminders to the state government to expedite land allotment for the project. The Gujarat project is off course far more easy to execute on paper, owing to much more easier access to land, to transmission infrastructure, and importantly, a high demand centre in the industrialised state. Although initial reactions indicate serious misgivings over

part of the land earmarked , as that might be breeding grounds for the great Indian Bustard too. The hybrid renewable energy park is projected to attract investment of around Rs 1.35 lakh crore. The PM had given a deadline of 2022 for the completion of the project. A high-powered committee of officials had earlier approved the land allocation

plans for five major companies and forwarded the draft allocation plan to the state cabinet for approval. Firms getting land allocation include SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India), NTPC, GIPCL, GSEC, Adani Power and Suzlon, which are expected to get land for their 23000 MW, 5000 MW, 2500 MW, 3500 MW, 3500 MW and 4000 MW solar and wind power generation projects respectively.

SECI Tenders for 100 MW Solar Plus 50 MW Storage in Chhattisgarh

he Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for the commissioning of a 100 MW (ac) solar project (200 MWdc) along with a 50MW/ 150 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. SECI had applied for financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the project for innovation in solar power and hybrid technologies and intends to apply part of the proceeds toward payments under the

contracts that will be signed under this tender. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the 100 MW (ac) solar PV project along with 50MW/150 MWh BESS at Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. The developers will also be required to provide comprehensive operations and maintenance services for the plant for a period of 10 years from the

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

date of successful commissioning. The last date for bid submission is October 27, 2020, and the technical bids will be opened on the same date. A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for September 29, 2020, to address the concerns raised by the prospective bidders. All bidders must submit an Earnest Money Deposit of Rs 7 crore along with their bids. To be eligible for participating in the bidding process, the bidder should

have experience in the renewable energy segment through contracts in the role of contractor, subcontractor, or management contractor for the last three years. And should have successful experience in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of ground-mounted solar power projects of a cumulative capacity of at least 50 MW or at least two projects having an individual capacity of 10 MW in the last five years.

P |R |O |J |E |C |T |S |& |T |E |N |D |E |R |S

New Jersey Opens Solicitations for 2.4 GW Offshore Wind Capacity

ew Jersey Opens Solicitations for 2.4 GW Offshore Wind Capacity The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in the US has voted unanimously to open the application window for the State’s second solicitation of offshore wind capacity. This second solicitation seeks to award between 1,200 MW and 2,400 MW (2.4 GW) of offshore wind energy, potentially tripling the State’s committed capacity from 1,100 MW to 3,500 MW. This represents a significant milestone toward achieving Governor Phil Murphy’s goal of 7,500 MW of offshore wind energy in New Jersey by 2035, which will power 3.2 million homes with renewable energy. The Board also approved the final New Jersey Offshore Wind Strategic Plan. “Developing New Jersey’s offshore wind industry will bring thousands of good-paying jobs and millions of dollars in

economic development to our state to aid our economic recovery from COVID-19,” said Governor Murphy. “This second solicitation not only reinforces our commitment to fighting climate change and achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2050, but it secures New Jersey’s foothold as a national leader in the growing U.S. offshore wind industry.” In addition to the solicitation, the Board approved the final New Jersey Offshore Wind Strategic Plan, the State’s comprehensive roadmap for achieving 7,500 MW of offshore wind energy by 2035. The plan was developed by Ramboll U.S. Corporation through an extensive public stakeholder process. It presents recommendations on establishing an offshore wind industry that achieves net economic benefits and gives New Jersey residents the best overall value, while also protecting the environment and commercial and recreational fishing interests, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The application window opens on September 10, 2020 and closes on December 10, 2020. The Board anticipates awarding the resulting offshore wind projects in June 2021.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Sterling and Wilson Solar Bags `462 Crore Solar Project in Chile

terling and Wilson Solar has announced that it has signed an order of 106.71 MW solar project worth USD 62.6 million (~Rs 462 crores) in Chile. The order has been received from a global independent power producer (IPP), work for which is expected to begin in Q4 FY 2021. The firm, one of the leading solar EPC and O&M players in the world, already has a strong presence in the region with one project of 93.3 MW in Argentina and three projects of 588 MW under construction in Chile. Bikesh Ogra – Director and Global CEO, Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited said, “we are excited to win our fifth project in Latin America. Our continuous focus in the market has reaped rich benefits with these prestigious project wins. We have established ourselves in Latin America with a cumulative order book of around USD 488 million (~INR 3,558 crores), making us amongst the leading players in the region.” On the Chilean market, he added that “Chile is one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies in recent decades thanks to its solid macroeconomic framework. This coupled

with a global race to energy transition enables increasing participation of foreign companies in the Chilean renewable energy market making it one of the key focus regions for us.” The firm has been executing projects globally and has to its credit more than 10.5 GW of solar power projects (commissioned and under various stages of construction) in various geographies. This portfolio includes a 1,177 MW Solar PV plant in Abu Dhabi – the world’s largest single-site solar plant. The Company also manages a portfolio of 7.8 GW of O&M projects globally.

P |R |O |J |E |C |T |S |& |T |E |N |D |E |R |S

REIL Issues 2 Tenders for Supply of 6 Lakh Solar Cells

he Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) has floated two tenders, seeking bids from eligible vendors/ suppliers for procuring 6 lakh multi-crystalline solar cells of ratings ranging between 4.5 W and 4.7 W. The first tender has been issued under the domestic content requirement (DCR) category for the supply of 3 lakh solar cells with wattages of 4.5W, 4.6W, and 4.67W (1 lakh each). While, the second tender â&#x20AC;&#x201C; also for the same type of solar cells in the same quantity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; has been issued under universal bidding. However, the

second tender will also see preference being given to domestic manufacturers of solar cells, and companies from bordering countries will be eligible to submit proposals. The tender states that the 4.5W solar cells should be 4-5 busbars in length and should be 156 x 156 mm +- 1 mm or 156.75 x 156.75 +- 1 mm in dimension. The 4.6 W and 4.67 W solar cells must be five busbars in length and 200 m in thickness with a permitted deviation of nearly 20 m. The last date for bid submission on both tenders is September 24, 2020, and the techno-commercial bids will

be opened on the next date i.e. September 25, 2020. All bidders will be required to submit an Earnest Money Deposit of Rs 3.75 lakh along with their bids. However, Micro and Small enterprise (MSE) vendors will be exempted from paying the EMD amount. Furthermore, particular preference will be given to MSEs participating in the tender, with 25 percent of the tendered quantity reserved for MSE suppliers. Out of the 25 percent reset ed for MSEs, 20 percent will be earmarked for procurement from MSEs owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs.

|T |H |E |C |O |N |V |E |R |S |A |T |I |O |N|

If RPO’s Are Drivers of Renewable Energy, An Exclusive Exchange for Green Power Is Fuel

I N T E R V I E W

The Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM), launched on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) in August, has been touted as a huge step forward for renewable energy generators and buyers. SaurEnergy spoke to Rohit Bajaj, Head, Business Development at IEX on the new development.

ROHIT BAJAJ

Head, Business Development, IEX

What is the single biggest impact of GTAM you see on the market? Rohit Bajaj: The introduction of the green market on IEX plat-

form is a significant milestone and will act as a key enabler in efficient and effective integration of renewable energy, in line with India’s vision of becoming a sustainable energy economy. This will also accelerate India’s path to achieve its objective of achieving installed renewable capacity to 175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030. Green markets will provide a pan-India wide market to buyers and sellers to trade renewable energy in the most competitive, flexible and efficient manner. It will be a more viable alternative than the rigid long and medium-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and RE generators will no longer have to tie up their generation capacities in advance. The green market will encourage RE generators to even adopt part market and part PPA models. In fact, some generators may create merchant capacity solely for the purpose of trading through Exchange market, on the mid to long term basis. Additionally, it will help obligated entities such as distribution companies, industries, captive power producers and open access consumers to fulfil their RPO compliance in a more flexible manner. Thus far, these entities could only fulfil their RPO commitments through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) but now they will have an option for meeting their short term energy

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

and compliance in an integrated manner through the green market.

What are the global counterparts to the GTAM market? How do they differ from the operating rules in India? Rohit Bajaj: In developed countries like European nations, both

conventional and non-conventional power are traded in the same market segment. These countries though have varied mechanisms such as Contract for differences (CFD) to treat renewable energy in a different manner but there are no distinct green markets. India is one of the first countries to have a dedicated market for green power. Earlier there was no differentiation of power as both the conventional and green power were clubbed together but now you have a separate market for selling and procurement of green power. So long as the RPO continues to drive the renewable energy growth, an exclusive green market on the Exchange platform would be of immense significance.

Do you believe a thriving market at GTAM could actually encourage renewable installations without PPA’s? Rohit Bajaj: As mentioned earlier, introduction of green markets will encourage the RE generators and distribution utilities to move towards Exchange platform for renewable energy trading instead of entering into the long term contracts. This would happen gradually though. While we expect existing generators to free up some percentage of their capacities to trade in the green markets, some generators will also increase or build new installed capacities specifically for the purpose of green markets. We believe the trend would be similar to what we witnessed in the conventional power segment. Today, we have about 20 GW of merchant power capacity trading power on the Exchange mar-

The green market will encourage RE generators to even adopt part market and part PPA models. In fact, some generators may create merchant capacity solely for the purpose of trading through Exchange market, on the mid to long term basis.

ket, however, about a decade back all capacities were tied up in long term PPAs and there was no merchant capacity. The power exchanges trade 4% of total electricity produced and the green market will certainly help the market to expand and gain a bigger share over a period of time.

We have seen electricity volumes and prices on market platforms fall to really low levels recently. Do you see that trend continuing? How has the long term trend been on the IEX’s own platform? Rohit Bajaj: Electricity trade volume on the exchange continues

to grow in a sustained manner. For instance, in August’20, while the national peak demand saw a 6% YoY decline and energy consumption declined by 2% in the same period, the exchange witnessed 1% YoY increase in electricity volume. The recent launch of real-time electricity market has received great response from all the market participants which has further contributed to this growth. It has enabled utilities and industries to balance demand-supply variation in the most dynamic and cost-efficient way at just an hour’s notice. The prices on the exchange have seen a significant reduction over the past few months. The two major reasons that have contributed to competitive prices have been ample availability of power on the sell side and improvement in coal supply since past few quarters enabling power generation companies to supply cheaper power. The average price in the day-ahead market from 24 March until August 31 was mere Rs 2.45 per unit and saw a 26% decline on YoY basis. This enabled distribution companies from Southern, Western and Northern states to buy aggressively on exchange, thereby, optimising their procurement cost and maintaining their financial liquidity during the difficult period of Covid-19 pandemic.

How do independent developers become part of the GTAM market? What are the minimum conditions and criteria? Rohit Bajaj: All the developers who want to sell renewable

power on the exchange will be required to obtain NOC from their respective state or regional load despatch centres with the clear mention of energy source as solar or non-solar. Once the NOC is obtained, they can start trading at IEX. Also, like all other clients and members in the conventional power exchange market, registration with IEX is required to perform trade in the renewables segment too.

What prevents some developers from getting on to trading their surplus generation in India? What sort of policy interventions could help? Rohit Bajaj: Until the launch of green markets, renewable

energy in India was majorly being traded under long term PPAs and some volumes under OTC trading leveraging open access. While the generators were obligated to supply a fixed amount of electricity as per the contracts, there was an ambiguity in terms of selling of surplus generation to a third party. SECI has been working with the ecosystem partners in this direction and of late, some new PPA contracts have in built clauses that allow generators to sell off the surplus capacity in the open market. We see this being favourable to those RE generators who want to trade their surplus power on the Exchange. There are a number of renewable energy generators who have been getting paid a fixed ‘feed-in tariff’ and whose contract period is coming to an end. These generators are now trying to re-negotiate their contracts with the distribution utilities. With the advent of green market, they now have the additional option of selling their power in the market.

What are IEX’s expectations in the first year of GTAM on its platform ? In terms of total power traded ? Do you do anything to educate prospective users about the potential here? Rohit Bajaj: We believe that green markets have a strong poten-

tial for growth. Given the advantages like competitive prices, transparency, flexibility, and payment security that Exchange offers, a robust green market is pivotal for achieving green energy aspirations. The new market segment will support states to sell their surplus renewable power in the market. On the other hand, the buyers will be able to procure energy as well as meet the renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) through this platform. Some states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat are RE rich states and often have surplus renewable power even after meeting their RPO commitments. The green market provides a market-based platform where RE surplus and RE deficit states can trade renewable energy and also fulfil RPO targets. While these are early days to share numbers on opportunity size and market potential but we are expecting active participation from the distribution utilities with significant quantum. The green markets and the real-time electricity market, together, provide a robust proposition towards facilitating seamless integration of renewable energy by addressing intermittency issues related with green power. We have been organising workshops for the distribution utilities as well as RE generators to build awareness about the green markets. In the coming months, we will continue to organise webinars and workshops for utilities, generators and industrial customers to develop the market including sharing the price trends and contract specifications. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

F |I |N |A |N |C |E |N |E |W |S

Japan’s Orix To Invest `7200 Cr In Greenko for 20% stake

iversified Japanese financial conglomerate, has made the largest single renewable energy investment into India, with a $980 million ( Rs 7200 crores) on renewable major Greenko Group Holdings. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year. The Tokyo based firm had $23.6 billion

in reported revenues last year, making the Greenko bet one of its largest investments anywhere outside Japan. For the Hyderabad-based Greenko Group, founded by Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli in 2004, the investment by Orix follows previous investments from sovereign wealth funds GIC Investment of

Singapore, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, that have together pumped in over $2.2 billion in the firm. While GIC owns 65.8 percent in the firm, ADIA owns 16.5 percent. After the transaction closes, the promoters are expected to be left with around 13 percent stake in the firm. Orix, according to its statement, will integrate its existing wind energy business (873 MW) with Greenko, as part of the transaction, where it will be buying most of its stake from the promoter’s equity, besides a fresh issue of shares. The deal will make Greenko the second most valuable renewable energy firm in the country with a valuation of over $6 billion, after the publicly listed Adani Green Energy, which has had a spectacular run on the equity markets recently, to take its own valuation to almost $13 billion. French energy major Total is the major partner at Adani Green Energy. Greenko, with an existing capacity of 4 GW, and a pipeline of over 8 GW, was probably one of the few firms that offered an opportunity to invest a significant amount, to the Japanese firm.

Fourth Partner Energy Raises `126 Crore to Expand Project Portfolio

ourth Partner Energy, one of India’s leading solar solutions firm for corporates, has announced that it has raised USD 16 million (~ Rs 126 crore) in mezzanine funding from a consortium of European impact investment funds, led by Symbiotics. This is the second round of funding announced by the firm this fiscal after responsAbility Investments A.G. pumped in USD 15 million in June. Symbiotics, a leading market-access platform for impact investing, has arranged for the issuance of this bond in partnership with Netherland’s

sustainable banking majors, Triodos Bank and ASN Bank. This bond marks the consortium’s foray into India’s commercial solar sector. The firm will utilise these funds towards the construction of around 150 MW worth of new solar assets. Pradhyum Reddy, Head – Corporate Finance at Fourth Partner Energy said, “this line of credit from marquee impact investors like Symbiotics, Triodos and ASN is testament to the role of Commercial & Industrial customers driving the transition to clean energy. At Fourth Partner Energy, we

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

are working hard to bring into India high-quality global financiers committed to the long-term impact of distributed solar. “We have a very healthy orderbook, and these two rounds of funding in quick succession, in what has

otherwise been a challenging year, will allow us to execute these projects and adhere to our client commitments. We will be utilising these funds for expanding our distributed solar footprint. We are delighted to welcome Symbiotics, Triodos and ASN as our Fourth Partners!” The Hyderabad based firm has an operational portfolio of 400 MW of solar assets currently and is looking to add close to 350 MW capacity this fiscal. The company is also constructing solar parks across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu as part of its Open Access portfolio.

F |I |N |A |N |C |E |U |P |D |A |T |E |S

Sterling and Wilson Q1 2020-21 Results. Familiar Problems Continue To Dog Numbers

terling and Wilson Solar declared its results for Q1 of the financial year 2021-21. The firm’s legacy problem of timely debt repayment from its promoters, despite assurances after the previous quarter results and analyst calls, continues to fester, something that will not inspire confidence at all. On top of that, the ‘lumpiness’ of earnings as an EPC player, combined with the Covid outbreak, has ensured that the firm has struggled for the quarter. Total income for the April may June period (Q1) period, at Rs 1099.38 crores, is a drop of 16 percent over the previous quarter (Q4) , while profit dropped 60 percent drop over the corresponding quarter of 2019-20 atRs 17.22 crore. Consolidated net profit was Rs 46.01 crores . On the issue of debt repayment from its promoters where the current outstanding was over Rs 1200 cores, the firm’s auditors note that out of the June installment of Rs 500 crores, only Rs 103.47 crores could be arranged by the promoters, leaving a further Rs 396.7 crores pending. The promoters were to repay another Rs 500 crores in September. Considering the situation, the board has seen fit to extend the period of repayment to September 2021 now, with a further 400 basis points added to the interest rate on the total outstandings, besides exploring ways to further secure the amount by way of securities offered by the promoters. A silver lining has been the continued growth in the Operations and Maintainance (O&M) segment revenues. The O&M revenues is one segment that the firm has high hopes on, hoping to grab both the market opportunity and the element of predictability on earnings they offer.

Adani Green Reports Strong Q1 2021, Moves Closer to 25 GW by 2025 Target

dani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL), a part of the Adani Group, also announced its financial results for Q1 for FY 2021. The firm reported that its total net power exports increased by 24 percent YoY on the back of capacity addition of 425 MW and steady CUF performance. The firms’ solar Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) remained steady at 24.8 percent, better than the P75 target of 24.3 percent, supported by strong plant availability, grid availability and solar irradiation.

While the firms’ wind CUF improved from 35.8 percent to 40.1 percent with improved plant availability and high grid availability. The firm also stated that its revenue and EBITDA from power supply has grown by 10 percent YoY and 12 percent YoY respectively on the back of added capacities, steady Solar CUF and improved Wind CUF. While its cash profit has grown by 9 percent YoY backed by strong revenue and EBITDA performance. A key highlight for the firm during the quarter was that it reported zero operational disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Operations, the firm claimed, continued normally with continuous off-take of energy during the COVID-19 pandemic with no material curtailment on a portfolio basis on the back of ‘mustrun’ status given to renewable plants in India and electricity being classified as an ‘essential service’ during lock-down.

Nearly `12,000 Crore Spent on RE Projects Over Last 3 Fiscals: RK Singh

nion Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh has confirmed that nearly Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 11,787.69 crore) has been utilised for the development of renewable energy (RE) projects in the country over the last three fiscal years i.e. 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. In a written response to a question raised in the upper house of the parliament, the minister said that “the Government has set a target of installing 175 GW renewable energy capacity in the country by 2022. As against this target, a cumulative renewable energy capacity of 88.79 GW has been installed in the country upto August 2020.” The minister also provided details of the amount of funds allocated and utilised for the development of RE projects during the last three fiscals. According to the data provided, the centre has allocated Rs 4080 crore in 17-18, Rs 5146.63 crore in 18-19 and Rs 3891.74 crore in 19-20 for a total of Rs 13,118.37 crore over the three years. And, of that, Rs 3768.73 crore has been utilised in 17-18, Rs 4476.20 crore in 18-19, and finally 3542.76 crore in 19-20 for the total of Rs 11787.69 crore. The minister also revealed that renewable energy generation in the country increased from 101839.48 Million Units in 2017-18 to 138318.66 MUs in 19-20. An increase of 36479.18 MUs in the three-year period. Answering another question, the minister said that most of the grid-connected renewable energy projects in the country are being implemented by the private sector developers selected through a transparent competitive bidding process. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

F |I |N |A |N |C |E |N |E |W |S

Verizon Prices Second Green Bond, to Fund Renewable PPAs

erizon Communications has announced the pricing of its second Green Bond offering which follows its recent completion of the allocation of its first Green Bond and solidifies its position as a telecommunications industry leader in green finance. The firm has tapped two nationally recognized African-Americanowned investment banking firms, Loop Capital Markets and Siebert Williams Shank, as lead underwriters, further strengthening its long-standing partnership with minority-owned businesses. Joining them as lead underwriters are BofA Securities and Citigroup. The company expects to use the net proceeds of the USD 1 billion offerings primarily for long-term renewable energy purchase agreements which support the construction of solar and wind facilities that will bring new renewable energy to the grids that power its networks. The telecommunication major has been supporting the transition to a greener grid by making substantial investments in

renewable energy. It has set two ambitious goals: to source or generate renewable energy equivalent to 50 percent of its total annual electricity consumption by 2025 and be carbon neutral in its operations by 2035. “Verizon’s second green bond affirms our commitment to take responsibility for protecting the environment, and Verizon remains the only US telecommunications

company to have completed a Green Bond. While Verizon has had a long history of partnering with diversity firms on capital market transactions, today marks an important milestone as we partner with minority- and women-owned firms as lead underwriters to execute such an important transaction for Verizon,” stated Matt Ellis, Verizon’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

RK Singh Approves LoUs by IREDA, PFC, REC to be Accepted for EMDs

K Singh, the Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power has approved a proposal for acceptance of Letter of Undertaking (LoU)

issued by IREDA, PFC & REC in lieu of Bank Guarantees for Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) by SECI, NTPC and NHPC in the case of tenders/biddings for developing Renewable Energy (RE) projects in the country. In a letter written to SECI, NTPC, NHPC, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has conveyed that SECI, NTPC, NHPC or any other implementing agency on behalf of MNRE (henceforth implementing agencies) may accept Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), in the form of Bank Guarantee(s) or ‘Payment on Order instrument’. Singh said, “this decision of the Ministry of New &

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Renewable Energy will go a long way in ensuring Ease of Doing Business in the RE sector as the developers will now have one more option in fulfilling the tender requirement.” The Ministry clarified that the ‘Payment on Order instrument’ means Letter of Undertaking from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) or Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) or REC Limited (REC) [the three non-banking financial institutions under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE)/ Ministry of Power (MoP)], to pay in case situation of default of renewable energy

power generator in terms of tender conditions and /or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) arises. And that such Letter(s) will have the same effect as that of a Bank Guarantee issued by any public sector bank. Such “Payment on Order instrument” would have terms and conditions similar to that of any Bank Guarantee given by any public sector bank and would promise to pay the Procurer on-demand within the stipulated time. RE power generators can seek such Letters(s) by offering due security to the above mentioned three non-banking financial institutions (IREDA, PFC & REC).

E |V |U |P |D |A |T |E |S

Centre Planning EV Charging Points at 69K Petrol Pumps Across India

he government is mulling setting up at least one electric vehicle (EV) charging kiosk each at nearly 69,000 petrol pumps across the country to induce people to go for electric mobility. Besides, the government is also thinking of making it compulsory to install EV charging kiosks at all Company-Owned, Company-Operated (COCO) petrol pumps of state refiners. In a review meeting on EV charging infrastructure, Power Minister RK Singh suggested oil ministry top officials that “they may issue an order for their oil marketing companies (OMCs) under their administrative control for setting up charging kiosks at all COCO petrol pumps”, a source told PTI. Other franchisee petrol pump operators may also be advised to have at least one

charging kiosk at their fuel stations, the source said adding this will help achieve “EV charging facility at all petrol stations in the country.” Under the new guidelines of the oil ministry, new petrol pumps must have an option of one alternative fuel. “Most of the new petrol pumps are opting for electric vehicle charging facility under alternative fuel option. But it will make huge difference when the existing petrol pumps would also install EV charging kiosks,” the source said. According to the industry estimates, there are around 69,000 petrol pumps in the country. The EV charging facility at all petrol pumps could boost e-mobility in a big way as lack of such infrastructure discourages people from buying EVs.

The power ministry has also chalked out a plan to focus on Delhi National Capital Region, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Vadodara and Bhopal for creating EV charging infrastructure in cities as well as on highways to encourage people to switch over to electric mobility.

E |V |U |P |D |A |T |E |S

Delhi Govt Agencies Begin Planning for Citywide EV Charging Network

ll government agencies in Delhi including the three MCDs, NDMC, DDA, PWD, transport department, DTC, DMRC, and DSIIDC will carry out a comprehensive planning exercise over the next two weeks to identify concessional locations within their jurisdictions for the purpose of setting up public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Through this exercise, the Delhi government will roll out a coordinated strategy to setup 200 public charging and battery-swapping stations at prominent locations in the city. This was among the key decisions taken at the first meeting of the Charging Infrastructure Working Group of Delhi government that met on September 17, 2020, under the Chairmanship of Jasmine Shah, Vice Chairperson, Dialogue & Development Commission of Delhi. “Delhi government will soon be rolling out financial incentives promised under the EV policy. By creating a Charging Infrastructure Working Group, the Delhi government has brought on board all the different agencies and DISCOMs of Delhi to initiate work on the accelerated rollout of charging infrastructure in a collaborative manner. This is critical to realising Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s vision of making Delhi the EV capital of India and among the top cities globally in terms of EV penetration,” said Shah. It was agreed at the meeting that given the emphasis of the Delhi EV Policy on mass adoption of EVs in the two-wheeler and threewheeler vehicle segments, the charging infrastructure should focus primarily on setting up a large number of slow-charging stations consisting of AC-001 charging points (3.3 kW each) and a limited number of DC-001 fast chargers (15 kW each), instead of setting up a few expensive fast-charging stations that cater primarily for premium fourwheelers.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Over 27,000 EVs Supported Under FAME-II Scheme so far: Javadekar

he central government has so far (until September 10, 2020) supported over 27,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by way of demand incentive amounting to about Rs 95 crore under the phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) India scheme. In a written response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Prakash Javadekar said that “under Phase-II of FAME India Scheme, 27,201 electric vehicles have been supported till 10.09.2020 by way of demand incentive amounting to about Rs 95 crore,” the minister said. Further, 5,595 electrical buses have also been sanctioned to various state/ city transport undertakings under Phase-II of the scheme. This involves government incentive of around Rs 2,800 crore, he said.

He also highlighted that the department of heavy industry has also sanctioned 2,636 electric vehicles (EVs) charging stations amounting to Rs 500 crore in 62 cities across 24 states/ UTs under the FAME India scheme phase II. The main objective of the scheme is to encourage faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles by way of offering an upfront incentive on the purchase of electric vehicles and also by way of establishing necessary charging infrastructure for EV. The second phase of the scheme will be implemented over a period of three years between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2022. It is the expanded version of the FAME India-I which was launched on April 1, 2015. Recently, the minister had said that he is hopeful that India would be able to achieve its goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 35 percent in the next ten years.

Delhi Govt Likely to Roll Out Subsidy Scheme Under EV Policy Soon

he EV policy of the Delhi government was notified last month. Launching the policy, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had said it aimed at registration of around five lakh electric vehicles in the city in the next five years. A demonstration of software for disbursal of the subsidy under the policy was made by officials of a private bank in a meeting with transport minister Kailash Gahlot on September 9, 2020, a senior government official confirmed. “The software developed by ICICI bank will be used for payment of subsidy to the people buying electric vehicles in Delhi. The subsidy scheme is expected to be launched from next week,” he said. Under the newly announced EV policy, the Delhi government will give an incentive of up to Rs 30,000 for two-wheelers, autos, e-rickshaws, and goods carriers while a subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh will be provided for the purchase of electric four-wheelers. It has been reported that, as per the scheme’s payment mechanism, the subsidy will be paid to the eligible buyers of electric vehicles within two days. “The vehicle dealers will access the software and fill the details of the electric vehicle and its buyer at the time of sale. Within 48 hours, the subsidy amount will be credited in the bank account of the buyer after verification by concerned motor licensing officers,” the government official said.

E |V |U |P |D |A |T |E |S

LG Chem to Split Battery Business into new Enterprise

G Chem has announced that it will split its battery business from the rest of its operations to create a new enterprise that will focus solely on the battery technology and related operations. The firm announced that in its recent board meeting the corporate spin-off plan to raise the corporate value and

stockholder value of the battery business by concentrating on the business area of expertise was resolved. Accordingly, LG Chem plans to receive approval from the extraordinary meeting of stockholders on October 30, 2020, and officially launch ‘LG Energy Solution’ as a new corporation exclusively in charge of

the battery business from December 1, 2020. This will be a physical division in which LG Chem will possess all of the stocks issued by the new battery corporation and LG Chem will possess 100 percent of the non-listed shares of the new corporation. Regarding this corporate spin-off, the firm issued, “we came to the judgment that this is the right time for the corporate spinoff as the battery industry is growing rapidly and structural profits in the EV battery sector are being made in earnest.” And added, “The corporate spin-off will make it possible to focus on the specialised business areas and enhance management efficiency, thereby upgrading corporate value and stockholder value.” Regarding the physical division method that will be used, it was stated, “Improved corporate value through the growth of the new corporation will also have a positive impact on the mother company, and we also considered the advantages from the synergy effects of the two companies such as R&D cooperation as well as the association of battery materials businesses such as anode materials.

Uber to be Fully Zero-Emission by 2040, 100% EVs by 2030

aking a cue from possibly the only positive outcome of the global lockdown due to Covid i.e. the one on the climate, with emissions in some months down nearly 17 percent over previous years. Uber has announced that it is taking this moment as an opportunity to reduce its environmental impact. The firm has committed to becoming a fully zeroemission platform by 2040, with 100 percent of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit, or with micromobility. We’re also setting an earlier goal to have 100 percent of rides take place in electric vehicles (EVs) in the US, Canadian, and European cities

by 2030. “It’s our responsibility as the largest mobility platform in the world to more aggressively tackle the challenge of climate change. We want to do our part to build back better and drive a green recovery in our cities,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO. Khosrowshahi has revealed that the firm is working with the World Resources Institute, Transport & Environment (T&E), and others to become a stronger partner in the fight against climate change by leveraging its innovation, technology, and talent to expedite the global transition to clean energy. The firm believes that it can achieve this 2030

goal in any major city where we can work with local stakeholders to implement policies that ensure a fair transition to EVs for drivers. In addition to its platform goals, the firm has also committed to SEPTEMB ER 20 20

reaching net-zero emissions from its corporate operations by 2030. “All told, hitting these goals would put us a decade ahead of Paris Climate Agreement targets,” Khosrowshahi said. SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

|T |H |E |C |O |N |V |E |R |S |A |T |I |O |N|

The charging infrastructure issue is an overhyped problem

I N T E R V I E W

Mobility tech startup EVage plans to soon launch the first home-built electric vehicles with a common platform for vans, delivery vehicles, trucks and SUVs. With the help of a team of scientists and aerospace engineers, the vehicles will have an “exoskeleton structure” that will not only enable it to launch multiple car variants on a single common platform, but it will also provide lightweighting and energy efficiency, according to Inderveer Singh, Founder and CEO of Evage. Biman Mukherji spoke to him at length about the design and technology of the new vehicles as well as the emerging energy landscape to support electric vehicles in India

INDERVEER SINGH Founder and CEO, EVage

What are the biggest challenges confronting India’s EV sector in terms of energy efficiency and costs? How do you see your vehicles filling this gap? Inderveer Singh: When we talk about EV adoption in India, one

the cost of the battery becomes the most critical function in pricing of vehicles. We need to look at how to localize the supply chain. Even if you set up a battery plant, we will still need to import the expensive chemicals that go into the pricing of the cells. Currently we are with the industry as far as pricing of cells is concerned. But what we have focussed extensively on is lightweighting of vehicles. Our focus has been on lightweighting so that we can draw out more efficiency from the vehicle and more range using less battery energy. Apart from that we have worked a lot on the battery pack design and management of cells so that we can optimise the use of the pack itself. We have worked extensively on the thermal management of the pack so that cells are at an optimum temperature. Indian temperatures in daytime can go upto 50 degrees on certain days. So we have to optimise the pack so that it’s more suited to Indian conditions. What happens is when we run the vehicle continuously the temperature increases. So we optimise the energy heat loss. We monitor each and every cell on the amount of electric current it will give. We are then able to maintain energy stability in the pack. Then the packs are integrated into the vehicle structure. We have integrated them into the platform. The sum total of the structure and the battery cells work in unison. We are the first to have a vehicle of this kind in India.

Why did you feel that there was a need to make a vehicle from scratch? Aren’t there energy efficient cars available in other markets which could have been assembled here?

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Inderveer Singh: When we started out in 2014, an ecosystem for electric vehicles was not present in India. We had to also keep in mind that the country is very price sensitive and we needed to bring a vehicle that is affordable. The customers that we have here and the Indian conditions are very challenging. Delivery vehicles in the west are far bigger. We have crowded seats, congestion and need smaller vehicles with high maneuverability. Importing from outside would not have worked. We then decided we will need to build something ground up that will do justice to the Indian market. Just putting a motor and a battery pack on a vehicle would not have satisfied the needs of our customer. Therefore we decided to focus on three thrings. We needed lightweighting, which has been ultra critical. We need modularity for high degree of customisation and we need integrated structure that brings in both the mechanical components and the electrical systems. Now modularity and lightweighting is a forte of aerospace engineers and that is when we decided to bring together scientists and aerospace engineers in our team. We came up with an exoskeleton structure, which is a lightweight structure, highly modular and integrates the mechanical and electric architecture. The focus has been to decrease the complexities in a vehicle.

Will having a single common platform for multiple cars lead to any energy savings? Inderveer Singh: Our platform is an aluminum composite platform that leads to the lightweighting of vehicles. Our vehicle weight will be upto 40% less than a conventional ICE car. We will be 12-14% more energy efficient than any vehicle. We will also have 10-15% more range than other vehicles.

Won’t the lack of charging infrastructure impede your electric vehicles?

Inderveer Singh: The charging infrastructure issue I believe is

an overhyped problem. Even when Tesla launched its vehicles in the US, about 76% of the charging happened at home or in an office. We need more grid electricity supply for electric vehicles mainly in India. Public charging is needed but it won’t be a game stopper. We also recognize that India is producing renewable energy at the one of fastest pace in the world. I don’t see why power supply would be a problem.

Even if more charging infrastructure is created, won’t it just shift the problem as the majority of the power is produced by thermal plants? Inderveer Singh: Thermal plants are being phased out. Efficiency of an electric vehicle is more than 90%. That is 90% of the energy produced is consumed. Vis a vis 30-40% energy is used and the rest is wasted in ICE vehicles. EVs are going to be more efficient, even if they draw energy from carbon-based sources. Worldover countries are putting up more solar systems as they are far cheaper than thermal plants. If the per vehicle cost of renewables is going to come down, it’s a no brainer what will happen. It’s only a matter of time. It’s the most amazing time to be in this space. The way we are going to consume energy is going to change forever.

Have you any plans to work with shared mobility transport given that one of your prominent investors is from Ola Electric ? How will you go about this? Inderveer Singh: EVage as a company is focussed on logistics as a sector. Whatever happens we will focus on creating efficient vehicles in logistics which are all shared vehicles. Our focus is to get it right in one segment. We will expand in a selected phased manner. These will be cities where there is more e commerce happening which we will focus on initially before expanding across the country. SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

M |O |D |U |L |E |S

As India Presses for Domestic Manufacturing, Bifacial Modules Should Get Their Due polyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued dominance even in 2019 is not really a good sign of evolving with the times. Global research agency Woodmac (Wood Mackenzie) reported earlier this year that till 2019, total bifacial installations worldwide had reached 6 GW. With a prediction of a 17 percent share of total installations for them by 2024. That number expects next to nothing installations in India, the global no. 4 in solar size. In recent years, not only have Bifacials cut down the gap with Mono Modules, thanks to the evolution of the PERC (passivated emitter rear cell) technology, we have also started seeing their use at increasingly large scale utility plants in China, Europe, US and the middle east. As discussed earlier, these are not necessarily projects that are much more expensive than projects in India today. Till now, detractors have pointed to the multiple challenges with bifacials, beyond

t last count, over 12 GW of manufacturing announcements or at least an intent to manufacture solar cells and modules had been announced in India. The names include firms with an established record for execution, as well as firms that are building one now. From the Adani Group, to Azure Power, Renew Power, to Tata Power, Vikram Solar and other industry incumbents. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cause for optimism. What would make it even better is if we finally see manufacturing move to the next level in India, in the form of a higher proportion of both, Mono Perc cells and modules and importantly, Bifacial Modules. We mention Bifacial modules especially because these remain a novelty in India, with no large scale utility solar project even considering using them, despite their obvious advantage over other options in terms of efficiency and output. Put that down to

the higher costs associated with Bifacials. But learning from the history of solar manufacturing, one can be sure that we will see efficiencies with production at scale. That, combined with ever higher CUF requirements for future solar projects, could help Bifacial modules present a far stronger case for their use. For the record, even in 2020, India remains primarily a polycrystalline market, especially when it comes to domestic production. Favourable cost and weather have meant that polycrystalline modules have delivered so far, but in doing so, not only has the country become one of the last outposts for the technology, it also risks falling well behind on the innovation race. The cumulative share of polycrystalline modules in installations in India is well over 90 percent currently. In every other key market today, mono share is 50 percent and above. While a large part is legacy in India,

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

cost to dismiss their use case in India. Their very design, that enables them to produce energy from the rear side of the module too, creates a need for special requirements in terms of project location, site ( the more light coloured ground, the better) and the additional parameters that can affect output now. That can mean using more string inverters with higher MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) density. Getting the most out of bifacials also requires using single axis trackers for example, which adds to the cost for many developers. But with falling costs thanks to ever higher production globally, and the possibility of an upto 35 percent gain in energy output, the case for bifacials is always getting closer to compelling.

M |O |D |U |L |E |S

ReneSola Forms JV to Establish 3 GW Solar PV Manufacturing Facility

eneSola, a world reputed Solar PV Module manufacturer & Zhongnan Industry, a well-known conglomerate in China, has decided to enter into a joint venture (JV) to set up an additional solar PV manufacturing facility of annual production capacity of 3 GW in Nantong, Jiangsu Province of China. The new facility will be focusing on the commercialization of new technologies in the Solar PV modules. The new manufacturing will add 3GW of additional capacity to ReneSola’s existing 3.65 GW Solar PV manufacturing portfolio. The cooperation between ReneSola & Zhongnan Industry is based on the long term commitments and a common vision to make clean energy more

available & affordable worldwide. Sky Wang, CEO of ReneSola Yixing, said that this “new venture will add more value to our supply chain and; will make the ReneSola modules more accessible and affordable for the customers worldwide and will further support our expansion plans in the new global

for Solar , Wind , Hydro, Waste to Energy Projects for customized solutions for:

Project Finance Debt Syndication Mergers and Acquisitions

Misha International Finance Consultants Email : mg@mishaint.com Mobile : 9971811352

markets. The new manufacturing unit will start production by the end of 2020.” Zheng Lei, CEO of Zhongnan Industry, a subsidiary of Zhongnan Holding Group, said that “Zhongnan attaches great importance to the green new energy market. China is the world’s largest photovoltaic module manufacturing center with huge potential. We hope to achieve a win-win situation through all-round cooperation with Renesola.” ReneSola since its inception in 2005 has supplied more than 20 GW of cumulative SPV module capacity worldwide and has benefitted from a large number of customers ranging from a small rooftop owner in Australia or the US to a large solar farm developer in the EU or India.

C |O |U |N |T |E |R |V |I |E |W

Value unlocking by creating demand and not just supply-side incentive or protectionist policies

ADITYA MALPANI

ost economic principles rely on the fundamental fact that both demand and supply exist and a market’s primary role is to bring this demand and supply to an equilibrium. However, demand is a summation of both Effective Demand (known) and Latent Demand (to be realized) and supply side incentives rarely work in the long term to effectively capture the full potential of the market. From the perspective of the Indian power sector, policies which focus only on supply side incentives and do not push enough for creating and meeting the demand, are the main reason for the chaos. Let us see the analyse these implications from the view point of the power sector in large and the solar sector in India.

Indian Electricity Markets

India’s power sector is facing conundrum of low per capital and high latent demand for a long time now. Inspite of being the 2nd most populous country with more than 1.3 billion people, India’s peak power demand stands at ~1.71GW against China’s peak demand of ~10GW (many developed countries with significantly lower population have higher peak demand than India). Moreover, equally worrying is the growth of demand as well as sharp reduction in deficit over a period of 10 years. In a nutshell, India’s demand grew by ~4% CAGR in past 10 years much lower than average GDP growth rate of 6.74%. Now, what could be the fundamental reason for this mismatch? Enabled by the infamous Enron fiasco and deteriorating situation of India’s power sector, Govt of India initiated bold reforms in the Electricity Act 2003 which largely delicensed the Generation act and planned phase wise opening of the distribution sector for private investments. At the time of introduction of Electricity Act 2003, India’s generation capacity stood at

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

~105GW which is now 356GW in less than 17 years. Similarly, India’s renewable energy capacity was just 1.6GW in 2003 (excluding Hydro) and is now 77GW and is increasing by leaps and bounds every year. It is quite evident that although Electricity Act 2003 was largely successful in eliminating electricity deficit in the country, it has not been as effective in catalyzing the growth of the sector. And the most probable reason for the same is half baked reforms which did not open the other end of the market – the Distribution segment. Political interference kept cost of electricity to a large segment of consumers much below the Average Cost of Supply whereas burden being borne by bulk consumers which largely belonged to the manufacturing and industrial It is quite evident that segments. This has impacted the landed cost of tariffs for industrial consumers although Electricity which are today one of the highest in the Act 2003 was world in turn making manufacturing in India unviable in the face of global largely successful in competition. eliminating electricity The average tariff for Industrial Consumers (Source: PFC Report on deficit in the country, Performance of State Power Utilities it has not been as 2010 and 2019) in 2010 increased from Rs 5.39/kWh to Rs 7.40/kWh in 2020 effective in catalyzing (exclusive of ancillary costs i.e. the growth of the sector. Electricity Duties and Taxes applicable

C |O |U |N |T |E |R |V |I |E |W

on purchase of power). Now, it should not be considered that the distribution reforms were not initiated or failed to gather steam. In 2011, the then Attorney General of India issued an opinion on Electricity Act 2003 that all the consumers with a demand of 1MW and above would be deemed to be open access consumers and regulators will have no jurisdiction over fixing of energy charges for them. This effectively meant that all 1MW and above consumers will have to bilaterally negotiate tariffs with a supplier of their own choice. This would have brought all the bulk consumers out of regulated regime of high cross subsidies. Though there would have been a tariff shock for the rest of consumer categories but it would have normalized over a period of time. If this regime would have been implemented at that time, Indian Power Sector would have been in a much better position today with significantly lower cost of power across consumer categories and much reliable power. Nevertheless, today the Indian power sector stands exactly opposite to Telecom’s success story where we pay one of the lowest call/data charges in the world. India has always been more comfortable with ‘incremental’ reforms as it suits the democratic statute and Ministry of Power has been trying to introduce a slew of reforms to help the discoms (not necessarily consumers) to bail them out every 3-4 years.

here can be a permanent solution to the issues of the Indian power sector and those lie in improving the ‘Demand’ which is a direct function of ‘Tariff’. Unless the Government effectively segregates the Wires (carriage) and Supply (content) business which will dilute the monopoly of Discoms on Consumers, there is a very limited possibility of any significant turnaround in the country’s power sector. Multiple Supply Licensee in a supply area shall enable the private sector to bring capital wherewithal, technical knowhow, and best business practices across the world to be able to offer lowest possible tariffs to attract consumers. In summary, we can say that largely focusing on Generation (more of supply side incentive) and neglecting the creation of enough demand for electricity is the root cause of problems being faced by Indian Power Sector. Hence, there must be

Source: MoP

Markets have played a huge role in reducing the cost of RE as reverse auctions led to a consistent fall in prices.

corresponding demand side measures to complement the demand side measures.

Indian Solar Sector

Enabled by consistently falling cost of renewable energy, we are at an inflection point of building a fledgling power sector in the next decade to come. This is to be noted that as contribution of cost effective solar and wind power increases in the power procurement mix of discoms, average power purchase cost (APPC) is likely to reduce significantly. Markets have played a huge role in reducing the cost of RE as reverse auctions led to a consistent fall in prices. It is imperative to note that reverse auction in the solar sector started way back in 2010 when the tariffs were at Rs 17/kWh and over the years have fallen to less than Rs 2.50/kWh in some of the recent auctions. While there is no second opinion on the success of markets in bringing efficiency, policy makers in solar have started imposing duties/taxes in a bid to promote domestic manufacturing. SGD for example was initially levied @25% on in 2018 and then reduced to 20% in 2019 and now extended @15% for the next year. However, these impositions have not been able to make any significant improvement in domestic manufacturing capabilities. It is to be noted that while India’s domestic module manufacturing capacities stands at 11GW (3GW for Cells) this year, the China Photovoltaic Solar Association (CPIA), an industry body of solar manufacturers in the country, has announced that manufacturers in the country churned out 15.7% higher production of solar panels, at 59 GW in the first six months of this year (a year of Covid induced slowdown!) To compete with chinese solar module suppliers in terms of quality and scale, India needs domestic manufacturing capacities of a global scale. Providing supply side incentives and tariff barriers i.e. SGD and BCD lead to sub-optimal scales which depends only on demand created to the extent of imposition of duties and taxes. However, if the Government focuses on reducing the cost of domestic manufacturing for modules and cells through means of cost subsidies and cost of financing and reduced cost of electricity for industries, domestic companies can bring scale and competitiveness to beat China’s global dominance. To summarise, it can be said that while supply side incentives are easier to design and implement than creating actual competitiveness, they fail to produce desired results in the long term. Hence, it is strongly recommended that policy makers should move from protectionist policies to embrace free market principles in both Indian Power Sector and Solar sector for long term viability. Aditya Malpani, Director Open Access Business at Amp Energy SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

S |T |A |R |T |U |P

Our aim is to double our portfolio in the next 2 years I N T E R V I E W

Canada -based AMP Energy has emerged as a significant player on the IPP side, including in India. The firm, which has stepped up its ambitions in India with a few recent wins in auctions, with bids as low as Rs 2.50 per unit, prides itself on empowering its different country operations. We got responses from ShriPrakash Rai, Head C&I Business at Amp Energy India, on their plans. Now, tariffs have decreased consistently over the years due to falling module prices and changes in financing costs, but they have more or less stabilised in the last 2 years at around Rs 2.502.87 per kWh.

On the policy front, what is the big policy change that you believe could really spark a strong growth momentum back into solar in India? Shri Prakash Rai: The government has been trying to promote

domestic manufacturing which we think is a step in the right direction. But to meet the 100GW target by 2022, we must introduce policies that support capacity deployment and not promote one segment at the cost of another. We believe that all stakeholders must be aligned to the same goal of 100GW and must work towards achieving it with the support of the government.

SHRI PRAKASH RAI

HEAD C&I BUSINESS, AMP ENERGY INDIA What is the best-case scenario for AMP Energy in the next 2 years in India? Shri Prakash Rai: Amp Energy India is the fastest growing renewable IPPs in India and is already one of the leading players with a 1GW portfolio in a short span of time. Our aim is to double our portfolio in the next 2 years and develop a balanced portfolio of assets supplying power to both C&I and utility customers.

In recent auctions, we have seen a strong show from foreign developers, with very aggressive price bids. Why do you think that is happening? Shri Prakash Rai: India is one of the largest renewable energy markets with an ambitious expansion plan driven by its policy thrust towards renewables and increasing investments in the clean energy sector. This makes it an attractive investment destination for foreign players. Additionally, the world is moving towards decarbonisation and investors are indulging in sustainable investment avenues by adding carbon risk to their portfolios.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Do you see the market shifting to Hybrid projects in a big way in 2021? Or later? Shri Prakash Rai: Wind-solar hybrid power, which harnesses both

solar and wind energy, is fast emerging as a viable new renewable energy option in India and rightly so. This is a very effective combination because it is cost-effective, improves the CUF of the project and helps in efficient utilisation of the space available. Although the wind solar hybrid model has not been accepted yet due to issues such as land availability, lack of transmission infrastructure and reliable power supply. Things can improve for hybrids if the power supply is guaranteed and hence, hybrids integrated with storage will make power dispatchable on demand.

What will it take to make an impact in the rooftop segment, in your view? It is currently at barely 15 percent or less of its target for 2022. Shri Prakash Rai: More than 70% of distributed generation in

India has been contributed by C&I customers. We expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future since C&I have the highest power needs as compared to other categories, and they also pay the highest tariffs. Also, renewable energy enables them to reduce their electricity costs and carbon mitigation. The sector needs its own set of policies directed to promote rapid deployment of assets such as removal of upper limit for net metering, better financing options, removal of CEIG approval for projects below 1MW and avoiding frequent policy revisions.

I |N |N |O |V |A |T|I |O |N |S

Researchers at IIT Madras Develop Feasible Alternatives to Li-ion Batteries

he Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has announced that a team of researchers has made significant advances in developing alternatives to conventional lithium-ion (Li-ion) and lead-acid batteries for industrial usage. According to the researchers, the study into vanadium redox flow battery stack development opens up possibilities for the indigenous fabrication of flow battery stacks by MSME units for domestic and grid-level energy storage applications. “Our team designed, fabricated and executed indigenous kW-scale vanadium redox flow battery for application in energy storage, which can be integrated into renewable sources such as solar and wind energy,” Sreenivas Jayanti, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras said. “We have developed operating protocols and design criteria for flow battery stack of power rating up to 10 kW using the prototype of a practical size that can be directly employed in industrial-scale stacks for grid-level storage,” Jayanti added.

According to the team, there are important advantageous characteristics of flow batteries. As the active species are in a liquid state and stored outside the battery, the energy can be stored indefinitely. The number of times the electrolyte can be charged or discharged is also very high. Also, there is no danger if the battery is completely drained. Thus, more percentage of energy storage capacity can be withdrawn effectively than what is possible with popular solid-state batteries. “Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries’ (VRFB), with their distinct features of

independent scale-up of power and energy, long cycling life, low Levelised cost of energy storage and milli-seconds response time, shows great scope in confronting with intermittency in renewable energy sources and load demand,” said Ravendra Gundlapalli, part of the research team.

bp & Microsoft Partner to Drive Digital Energy Innovation & Net Zero Goals

p and Microsoft Corporation have announced that they have agreed to collaborate as strategic partners to further digital transformation in energy systems and advance the net-zero carbon goals of both companies. This includes a co-innovation effort focused on digital solutions, the continued use of Microsoft Azure as a cloud-based solution for bp infrastructure and bp supplying renewable energy to help Microsoft meet its 2025 renewable energy goals.

“bp is determined to get to net-zero and to help the world do the same. No one can do it alone – partnerships with leading companies like Microsoft, with aligned ambitions, are going to be key to achieving this,” said William Lin, bp executive vice president for regions, cities & solutions. “By bringing our complementary skills and experience together, we are not only helping each other achieve our decarbonisation ambitions but also creating opportunities to support

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

others on their journey towards reducing carbon emissions.” Earlier this year, bp announced its ambition to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world reach net zero. By the end of the decade, it aims to have developed around 50 gigawatts of net renewable generating capacity – a 20-fold increase on what it has previously developed, increased annual low carbon investment 10-fold to around USD 5 billion and

cut oil and gas production by 40 percent. In January 2020, Microsoft announced its goal to be carbon negative by 2030 and remove more carbon from the environment than it has emitted since its founding by 2050. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two firms recognises the capabilities that each company can provide to accelerate progress towards their sustainability goals and help the world decarbonise.

YOUR MOST POWERFUL SOURCE OF LIMITLESS ENERGY

ASIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LARGEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY EXPO

Supported By

S |T |A |R |T |U |P

City logistics is best suited for EV Fleets I N T E R V I E W

COGOS, calls itself India’s fastest growing intra-city logistics company, with plans to induct 1000 EV’s in its fleet this year and a target of having 30% of the total COGOS fleet as EV by 2025. Prasad Sreeram: Renewable energy transport choices are needed for sustenance of the world and need of the hour for the Indian economy. EV being at the forefront of the revolution, for wider adoption we need both a strong policy framework and investments. These would lead to great solutions for the businesses and the public.

For your own fleet, are you looking to the emergence of a public charging network for EV’s, or your owned charging points? Prasad Sreeram: We would love to be able to charge anywhere, unlike gas stations and oil distribution network, EV charging should be more democratic and omnipresent. We are working for both our own charge points and the emergence of public charging.

PRASAD SREERAM

Founder and CEO, COGOS Technologies

heir e-commerce customers like Flipkart, Bigbasket, Amazon have shown interest in EV deliveries and have started their pilot projects across India. We caught up with Prasad Sreeram, the Bengaluru-based Founder and CEO at COGOS Technologies for a quick catch up on COGOS.

What is the current size of COGOS fleet size? Break up by type of vehicles and EV versus non EV if possible. Where do you expect to be in size by 2022, 2025? Prasad Sreeram: COGOS has 10K+ fleet in the platform currently and growing rapidly. We will be deploying 1K EV in this year and making renewable fleet contribute 25% of the total trips by 2023

What is the business case for COGOS for your clients? What are the key insights you have had so far? Prasad Sreeram: More than 50% of the logistics cost for a package or goods is influenced by City logistics and we believe EV would achieve ROI in commercial goods transport first than the passenger market and city logistics is best suited for EV.

For electrification of transportation, logistics is clearly a low hanging fruit, just like e-rickshaws worked at a personal transport level. How do you see the market changing? What are the key challenges to faster adoption?

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

Considering traffic, and other restrictions for larger commercial vehicles, do you see an opportunity in smaller, specialised cargo EVs for last-mile deliveries? Do you see Indian firms grabbing the opportunities here or foreign firms filling such need gaps? Prasad Sreeram: City Logistics is a wider gamut with Last mile, milk runs, a mid mile and first mile, which has varied sizes of the fleet with a wide variety of business workflows, this is where tech platforms like COGOS can fill in the gaps with innovative solutions. We need large firm participation in EV, while innovation and production is currently led by startups and smaller firms.

Tell us a little more about COGOS, in terms of company size number of employees, investors etc? Prasad Sreeram: COGOS is an AI-led technology platform digitally

transforming 60 billion City logistics in India, we help the enterprises by providing fleet and deliveries, with the network in 300+ cities in 21 states is fast becoming a preferred player for marquee clients like Flipkart, Amazon, ITC, Supr Daily, Udaan, Coca-cola, etc., COGOS is founded by Prasad Sreeram and Dr K. R. Mohan, serial entrepreneurs with decades of experience in logistics, technology, scaling and global operations, assisted by a 150+ member strong team and funded by VCs IAN and EV2 (Emergent Ventures) and Angels.

What are the firms, global markets you watch for cues on the future evolution of your sector? Or do you see India evolving in its own unique way? Prasad Sreeram: India is unique by itself with various cultures and as a market is quite large 200+ billion USD, we see similar trends in emerging markets around the world with parallels in South Asia, Middle East and Africa.

S |O |L |A |R |P |R |O |D |U |C |T|S

Five Solar Products That Impressed Us SolarPuff Solar Lantern PRODUCT BRIEF:

This award-winning solar light is engineered with an origami inspired, self-inflating design and creates beautiful, clean light in 3 colours: bright white, warm and multicolour.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s light weight, just 2.5 ounces and it floats and can withstand complete immersion under water. For as many hours as you charge it in the sun, it will provide light for just as long. For example, 5 hours of charging in the sun will provide illumination to light up a 10 X 10 room for 5-8 hours.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Made from eco-friendly, recyclable PET sailcloth, the SolarPuffâ&#x201E;˘ is lightweight, collapsible, waterproof and durable, even in extreme weather.

AVAILABILITY:

The product has moved from a $446,940 kickstarter campaign to full scale production and is available for purchase on the firms website.

Lumos Thrillseeker Solar Backpack Product Brief:

With a built in Solar Fabric, the Lumos Thrillseeker solar backpack, can take rain, dirt, and even big impacts. Primarily, a 12-liter hydration bag it has been designed for great stability and clings to the wearer even during the roughest of trail rides.

Product Features:

The backpack features adequate reflectors for safety and cross-straps for weight distribution. The bag is water-resistant and ships with a rain cover. The Solar Fabric charges a proprietary Lithium-based battery inside the bag which can be used to charge GPS devices, Bike Lights or Smartphones.

Benefits:

The curved profile of the backpack fits the rider snugly, thereby reducing the strain of carrying a backpack during activities. The lithium based battery can be used to charge any USB compatible device on the go, and the water rating of the backpack and solar fabric make it easily the preferred choice on adventure trails.

Availability:

The backpack is available on select e-commerce websites like amazon.in where it retails for Rs 4000.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

S |O |L |A |R |P |R |O |D |U |C |T|S

‘Argus PT’ Outdoor Pan Tilt Security Camera Product Brief:

Benefits:

Reolink’s has added to its flagship batterypowered security camera lineup with the unique and revolutionary ‘Argus PT’ outdoor pan tilt security camera.

Product Features:

The camera is powered by a rechargeable battery or Reolink Solar Panel, which enables customers to charge the camera directly without replacing the battery. The camera has an ultra-wide viewing angle with 355-degree pan and 140-degree tilt design. The IP65 weatherproof rating enables it to endure extreme weather conditions.

The camera adopts an industry-leading starlight CMOS image sensor and is able to shoot stunning images, even in the dark. The video footage can be recorded at the maximum rating of 1080p full HD. Customers can configure or access the camera with smartphones or computers and whenever there are motion events, the system sends out a real-time app or email push notifications to alert the user.

Availability:

The product currently retails for $118.99 on the company’s official website and a few select e-commerce websites.

AI-powered Earbuds PRODUCT BENEFITS:

PRODUCT BRIEF:

Pearl, a new wireless earbud that rivals Apple’s popular audio product, the Airpods Pro.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

The earbuds boast groundbreaking design, noise cancellation, and solar charging. Pearl earbuds allow for 60 hours of playtime when paired with the included solar charging case. In its first three days, the brand generated over USD 120,000 in pre-orders.

The product boasts of Active Noise Cancellation, Solar Charging, Premium Sound, Water Resistance and even Touch Control. The charging case comes with USB-C, Wireless Qi or industry first solar charging. Developed with Weide electronics, the case comes with solar discs that can be pulled out for charging in environments where outlets may not be available.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is now available for preorder on indiegogo.

SolarGaps Smart Solar Blinds PRODUCT BRIEF:

The smart solar blinds by SolarGap are the most economical and efficient solution for for those who can’t or don’t want to install rooftop solar panels to reduce their monthly power bill.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

SolarGaps smart blinds automatically track the sun throughout the day, adjusting position to the optimal angles to generate solar electricity to power devices in your home, apartment or office. Built-in solar panels can generate up to 100W-150W of

renewable energy per 10 sq. ft. of a window, enough to power 30 LED light bulbs or three MacBooks.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

With apartment renters in mind, the interior wall brackets are designed as a non-permanent, plug & play solution with additional installation options for homeowners to maximise energy production. In addition to generating solar energy, the window blinds also save energy by shading your home interior and reducing air condition cost by up to 80 percent.

AVAILABILITY:

The firm raised USD 102,354 through its kickstarter campaign and has since moved to production phase.

SEPTEMB ER 20 20

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

O |P |P |O |R |T |U |N |I |T |I |E |S

Vacancy Announcement Human Resources and Coordination Publication Date: 15 September 2020 Deadline for Application: 14 October 2020 (at midnight IST) Title and Grade: Director – Human Resources and Coordination P4/P5 Indicative Annual Salary: USD 73,512 – USD 88,162 (base salary per annum) and other benefits[1]

Post Adjustment for Delhi: USD 24,180 – USD 29,005

Head of Construction at Mahindra Susten Susten by Mahindra is a young, dynamic company with a focus on innovation in the renewables space. The firm has developed and is developing multiple solar and renewable energy projects in India and abroad. The company is looking for an Assistant General Manager / Deputy General Manager who will serve as the Head of Construction.

Job Location: Mumbai Job Description:

Publication Date: 15 September 2020 Deadline for Application: 14 October 2020 (at midnight IST) Title and Grade: Director: Technology and Innovation P4/

• To discuss and finalise with various internal and external stakeholders, clients about the construction work methods, sequences, productivities, equipment selection and method of construction etc and in-depth knowledge in PV installations, DC, LT, HT works, Heavy lifts (wind) and offshore construction is a must and ability to quickly adopt to technology demands like floating PV, storage etc would be desirable. • Responsible for construction and commissioning of Solar Power plant. Overall in charge to manage all EPC projects to target schedule, cost and performance. • Project Management through planning, implementation. Construction & site management which includes installation, testing and commissioning of the system. • Negotiate with EPC partners and/or subcontractors’ commercial terms and coordinate internal teams • Manage multiple projects, debottlenecking construction and providing MIS dashboard through site CMs and tracking construction projects, monitoring productivity benchmarks achieved, developments in construction equipment etc are desirable experiences.

Eligibility Criteria:

Indicative Annual Salary: USD 73,512 – USD 88,162 (base

• 20-25 years • B.E/BTech (Civil/Electrical/Mechanical) along with accreditation to global certification programs like PMP etc would be desirable. • Must have a keen understanding of HSE requirements in Substations, Switchyards, Heavy lifts, Offshore structures etc and certification to reputed HSE standards like OSHAS, IOSH, NEBOSH is desirable • Must be capable of supporting in constructability studies, HAZOP, HAZAN, Construction inputs required for Maintainability • Work experience in Green field and Brown field projects would be advantageous and experiences high safety standards like, O&G / Mines would be advantageous.

(current per annum) Duration of Appointment: One year, with possible extension up to a maximum of 9 years

Duty Station: Gurgaon, Haryana, India Expected Date for Entry on Duty: As soon as possible For more details, visit: Internationalsolaralliance.org

Vacancy Announcement Director, Technology and Innovation

salary per annum) and other benefits

Post Adjustment for Delhi: USD 24,180 – USD 29,005 (current per annum) Duration of Appointment: One year, with possible extension up to a maximum of 9 years

Duty Station: Gurgaon, Haryana, India Expected Date for Entry on Duty: As soon as possible For more details, visit: Internationalsolaralliance.org

Apply here: https://bit.ly/3cvog8c

Associate Power and Renewables and Business Development at CPP Investments CPP Investments, is one of the fastest growing institutional investors in the world. With current assets under management valued in excess of USD 400 billion, it is a professional investment management organization that globally invests the funds of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to help ensure long-term sustainability. The firm is looking for an Associate for Power and Renewables, Real Assets

Job Location: Chennai Job Description: • Responsible for working across two diverse, yet integrated, business verticals for CPP Investments and will report to the Director of Business Management, International (India) and

Senior Principal, Power & Renewables in support of CPP Investments’ growth strategy and business plan in the region, as well as evaluating and managing potential power & renewables investment opportunities. • Supporting the Head of Asia Pacific and Director with presentations, briefing memos, effective reporting, monitoring, financial analysis of the portfolio and reporting of investment activity • Identifying, developing and managing relationships and strategic partnerships with key peers, advisors, family offices and strategic corporates • Building pre screening investment thesis on companies of interest across investment departments

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL S E P TE M B E R 2 02 0 SAURENERGY .C O M

• Participating and contributing to special projects led by International e.g., strategy projects • Analysing and evaluating a variety of power & renewables investment opportunities, etc.

Eligibility Criteria: • 3-4 years experience in investment banking or private equity with an emphasis in infrastructure investments/ transactions is a plus • Experience in conducting research, data analysis and financial modeling • Ability to communicate structurally and effectively in a multi-cultural and multidisciplinary environment

Apply here: https://bit.ly/33W4MWa

PROVIDING COMPLETE TURNKEY

SAND TO ENERGY SOLUTION

India's Most Experienced Fully Integrated, Technology, Application and Knowledge Engineering Group with end to end O & M Capabilities. Cell Manufacturing

Module Manufacturing

Wafer

Ingot

Polysilicon

Inverter

Charge Controller

FCEV

Bergen Solar Power and Energy Limited

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

Saurenergy International Magazine September issue 2020

Articles inside

Innovations

Inderveer Singh

Shriprakash Rai

EV Updates

Finance News

Projects and Tenders

Opinions

Stijn Vos

Dr. Rahul Tongia

Rahul Gupta

Milestone

Rajinder K. Kaura

Reports

Grid and Transmission