SolarQuarter April May 2021

Empowering, Insightful, Engaging

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CONTENT FEATURED TALK NEWS 17

PROJECT MONTHLY

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POLICY DEBRIEF

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THINK TANK

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TENDER TRACKER

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SOLIS INDIA BUSINESS DIRECTOR, GINLONG SOLIS

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PERSPECTIVE 30

VIEWS ON: LATEST BIDDING TRENDS & TARIFF DISCOVERY

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WHAT ARE THE NEW MARKET OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIAN DEVELOPERS IN SOLAR + STORAGE SPACE?

GS VENKATESH DIRECTOR & CEO AVI SOLAR ENERGY PVT LTD, BANGALORE

OPINION 44

HONEY RAZA

HOW LARGE SCALE SOLAR PLANTS WILL LOOK IN 2025?

24

ANDREW GILHOOLY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, TRINAPRO BUSINESS APAC, TRINA SOLAR

INSIGHTS

IN CONVERSATION

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POWER DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES IN INDIA

38

AUCTION TARIFF RATE TREND ANALYSIS FOR Q42020 : Q12021

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39 42 47 48

COMPANY FEATURE

PRODUCT FEATURE

LONGI SOLIS GOODWE TRINASOLAR

40 43 46 50

SHAJI JOHN, HEAD-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (DOMESTIC & GLOBAL MARKETS), RENEWABLES BUSINESS, L&T CONSTRUCTION

MEGAMIC SUNGROW ENERMAN TRINASOLAR

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HARMANJIT NAGI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EDF INDIA

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 11

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POLICY DEBRIEF MAY 2021

CENTRAL NEWS MNRE AMENDS GUIDELINES FOR 12,000 MW CPSU PHASEII SOLAR PROJECT SCHEME

MNRE GRANTS TIME EXTENSION FOR UNDER CONSTRUCTION RENEWABLE PROJECTS

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued the guidelines for the implementation of the Central Public Sector Undertaking phase II program for the construction of 12,000 MW gridconnected solar projects with Financing of the Profitability Gap (VGF) changed. It said that now power produced could be used on payment of mutually agreed usage charges of not more than Rs 2.45 per unit. According to the amended guidelines, power produced by the government producers could be used on payment of mutually agreed usage charges of not more than Rs 2.45 per unit. Earlier, there were mutually agreed usage charges of not more than Rs 2.80 per unit. It also stated that the maximum allowable VGF was kept at Rs 0.55 crore per MW, which was previously kept at Rs 0.70 crore per MW.

MNRE announced a timeline extension in the scheduled commissioning date (SCD) of renewable energy projects considering disruption due to the second wave of COVID-19 cases. MNRE said that all under-construction renewable energy projects which were to be commissioned after April 1 will be eligible to claim time-extension for completion of their work. The extension has been granted to all renewable energy projects being developed under various Central government agencies. The actual quantum of timeextension shall be decided in due course depending on the COVID-19 related developments that take place in the coming weeks. The MNRE order, reviewed by FE, clarified that such time-extensions are not used as a ground for claiming termination of power purchase agreement (PPA) or for claiming any increase in the project cost.

INDIA LIKELY TO GET ITS 3RD POWER EXCHANGE; PSL AFTER IEX & PXIL

In a recent order, CERC approve the petition for registration to establish and operate Power Exchange under Power Market Regulation “The PMR 2010” to PSL, a consortium of PTC India Ltd, BSE Investment Limited (BSEIL) and ICICI Bank (ICICI) on condition to comply with power market regulations before regulator grants registration. India has two power exchanges- India Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL). Power exchange facilitates over-thecounter sale and purchase of power via different types of contracts- Day-ahead, Term-ahead, Renewable Energy Certificate and recently introduced Real-Time electricity market.

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 8

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 9

MNRE ALLOWS DIGITAL INVOICES FOR RE GENERATORS KEEPING IN MIND RESURGENCE OF COVID-19

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in its memorandum has announced that the submission of a hard copy of invoice / bill for monthly energy supplied by RE power projects was waived off considering the prevailing lockdown due to Covide19. The implementing agencies will accept digital copies of the invoices. The arrangement will continue for a period to be decided based on the Covid-19 developments in the coming weeks. As per the latest notification, during the period, in cases involving joint meter reading, where signing is difficult, soft copies of invoices based upon the self-meter readings by the renewable generators, duly substantiated by photographs of the meter reading and downloaded meter data, will be accepted.

POWER GRID CORPORATION RAISES 2,736 CRORE VIA INVIT OFS

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), is an Indian state-owned electric utility company headquartered in Gurugram, India. POWERGRID transmits about 50% of the total power generated in India on its transmission network. State run Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) said it has received Rs.2,736 Cr through sale of 27.41 Cr units in the PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT) offer for sale. The units issued by PGInvIT were listed on NSE and BSE. PGCIL has created the InvIT to monetise its assets. PGCIL, under the process of monetisation of assets through the InvIT, has transferred 74 % of its shareholding to the PGInvIT, it said in a BSE filing.

MOP TAKES PROACTIVE MEASURES TO ENSURE 24×7 POWER SUPPLY TO OXYGEN PLANTS IN THE COUNTRY

In view of the pan India impact of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic across the country and the manifold rise in oxygen demand for both medical facilities and for home treatment of patients , the Ministry of Power has undertaken a number of proactive preventive and remedial measures to ensure that there is uninterrupted power supply to Oxygen Plants by the State Utilities. The Ministry of Power is monitoring the power supply to 73 major identified Oxygen Plants across the country out of which 13 Oxygen Plants supply oxygen to the NCR region . The proactive measures which have been put in place are Daily Review by Secretary, Power, Round the Clock (RTC) operation of Control Room, Preventive Measures for ensuring 24×7 Power Supply and Technical Audit of Power Supply and Proactive implementation of Remedial Measures

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SBI, EIB TEAM UP FOR $100 MILLION CLIMATE ACTION AND SUSTAINABILITY BUSINESS FINANCING

The State Bank of India (SBI) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) said they have agreed to back an initiative of €100 million for new high-impact climate action and sustainability business financing.

The importance of the new Neev Fund II to accelerating India’s green recovery from Covid-19 and strengthening sustainable investment was highlighted by EIB President Werner Hoyer in discussions ahead of the formal announcement at the EU-India Leaders Meeting in Portugal. The EIB and SBI will together support the new Neev Fund II investment fund that will unlock climate action and sustainability investment by businesses across India through new equity financing. Under the management of SBICap Ventures, an SBI group company, Neev Fund II will invest up to €100 million in Indian small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) and provide growth and expansion capital to companies offering solutions for clean energy, electric vehicles, efficient use of raw materials, and water and circular economy projects in the country. The fund will enable Indian innovative and emerging companies to fund their growth through equity or quasi-equity instruments.

GREEN MARKET PICKS UP MOMENTUM WITH 186 MU IN APRIL 21: IEX

Continuing its exceptional performance during the last fiscal year, the electricity market at Indian Energy Exchange entered the new fiscal year 2022 with 7707 MU volume in the month of April’21, achieving a 90.2% YoY growth. According to the power demand data published by the National Load Dispatch Center, the national peak power demand at 183 GW while the peak demand & power consumption registered close to 40% YoY growth on a weak base. While the growing electricity consumption has been one of the key factors behind the consistent performance of the Exchange market, its robust value proposition in terms of the most competitive prices, flexible, and efficient procurement positions Exchange as the most preferred destination for power procurement for both the distribution utilities as well as the industrial consumers. The green termahead market traded 186 MU volume during April’21 comprising 78 MU in the solar segment and 108 MU in the non-solar segment, achieving a significant 262% MoM growth.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 10

INDIA H2 ALLIANCE SUBMITS 6 POINT HYDROGEN AGENDA TO INDIAN GOVERNMENT

The India H2 Alliance (IH2A), an industry coalition of global and Indian companies, has proposed to the government to create a hydrogen-themed energy. It has submitted a six-point agenda to the Government of India for creating a domestic ‘Bharat H2’ supply chain and to build hydrogen systems at scale. The submission was made jointly by IH2A Steering Committee co-leads, Chart Industries and Reliance Industries, to the NITI Aayog and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India. IH2A was recently launched as a new energy transition coalition, to support commercialization of hydrogen technologies and systems to build net-zero carbon pathways in India.

NITIN GADKARI: BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR THE US TO INVEST IN INDIAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY SPACE

Union minister Nitin Gadkari while addressing the Indo-US Partnership Vision Summit recently said there is growing confidence between India and the US that all outstanding trade issues will be resolved soon. He urged American firms to explore huge investment opportunities in India. He also said India and the US have reached principal agreement in the area of defence, security, energy and trade. Mr. Gadkari mentioned that the Indo-US partnership is the most important partnership of the 21st century. In the new era of relationship, the national interest of India and US are converging and there is growing confidence between both administrations that all outstanding trade issues will be resolved and a major trade agreement will be signed soon.

MINISTRY OF POWER INVITES SUGGESTIONS TO FRAME NATIONAL ELECTRICITY POLICY 2021

The Ministry of Power(MOP) has invited suggestions from industry stakeholders for framing the National Electricity Policy 2021. Aims of the policy are: 1. Promote clean and sustainable electricity generation, 2. Development of adequate and efficient transmission system, 3. Revitalisation of Discoms, 4.

Supply of reliable and quality power of specified standards in an efficient manner, 5. Moving towards light touch regulation, 6. Promotion of manufacturing of goods and services in India in the generation, transmission and distribution segments of the power sector under the Make in India initiative and Atma Nirbhar Abhiyaan.

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STATE NEWS

HARYANA ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR PARKS

The New and Renewable Energy Department, Haryana, has issued guidelines for developing solar parks in the state. These guidelines are for development of solar power parks by private entrepreneurs. The minimum capacity of such a solar park should be 50 MW. The SPPD may submit a proposal to NRE/HAREDA along with the detailed project report and 100% land documents. No application fee will be charged by HAREDA. The solar park developers are required to submit their proposals to the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) along with the detailed project report and all relevant land documents.

After examining the detailed project report (DPR), a noobjection certificate for the solar park will be issued.

Once the Agency gives a nod to the program, the developer may apply for the feasibility of connecting to the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL).

8,723 MW RE CAPACITY COMMISSIONED BY ANDHRA PRADESH TILL APRIL 2021

New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP Ltd (NREDCAP) published status of RE Power projects commissioned in AP state. As per the data, Andhra Pradesh, a major producer of renewable energy (RE), had an installed RE capacity of about 8,723 megawatt (MW) till 30 April 2021. The state had an installed renewable energy capacity of about 8,646 MW till 31 March 2021. Of the 8,723 MW capacity installed, wind energy projects took the largest share with 4,084 MW capacity, followed by solar energy with a capacity of 4,047 MW commissioned which was 3,970 MW till 31 March 2021, according to the latest status report by the state’s nodal agency for implementation of RE programmes, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh. During 2020-21, the total capacity of solar commissioned stood at 76.50 MW.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 12

WBERC ALLOWS NET METERING FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR UPTO 30.06.2021

GOA CM LAUNCHES SOLAR-BASED ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMME FOR REMOTE VILLAGES

In a recent order, WBERC acknowledges the difficulty faced by the intending consumers falling under Net Billing/ Gross Metering as per WBERC (Co-generation and generation of electricity from Renewable Sources of Energy) (First Amendment) Regulations 2020.

Keeping in mind the difficulties faced by some consumers and solar entrepreneurs who invested in ongoing projects based on prior WBERC notification where Netmeter was allowed above 5Kw capacity.

The Commission observes the consumers who will install their Solar PV System and notify the same to the concerned licensee within 30.06.2021 shall be considered under Net Meter as per previous regulation. The distribution licensee shall verify and confirm the date of installation of Rooftop Solar Project before approving it under Netmeter.

Commission also observed that the consumers applying for Rooftop Solar connection falling under Net-billing shall not be able to get connected till such time the feed-in-tariff is notified by the commission.

Earlier MNRE issued the electricity (Right to Consumer) rules, 2020 mandating Net Metering for load upto 10KW and Gross Metering for loads above 10KW. Later ministry revised it to 500KW maximum capacity allowed under Net Metering

The solar PV-based home lighting systems for households was inaugurated only two days after the agreement was signed between Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) and Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA). Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday launched a solar-based electrification programme for rural households in the state. This project will bring electricity through renewable energy to areas in Goa where grid connectivity is not feasible.

“With a focus on delivering clean, affordable, and reliable energy to all, Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, inaugurated a solar-based electrification programme for remote rural households in Goa,” a CESL Statement said. The solar PV-based home lighting systems for households was inaugurated only two days after the agreement was signed between Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) and Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA).

INDIAN ARMY INAUGURATES FIRST GREEN SOLAR ENERGY PLANT IN NORTH SIKKIM

The Indian Army has inaugurated the First Green Solar Energy harnessing plant in North Sikkim, at an altitude of 16000 ft. The Army in its quest for harnessing renewable energy for its troops inaugurated this plant in collaboration with IIT Bombay. The plant is of 56 KVA and is based on Vanadium based battery technology. The project was carried out by a team of eminent faculty from the Institute led by Prof Prakash Ghosh and troops of the Indian Army. The project was completed braving extreme climatic conditions. The project will immensely benefit troops in the forward areas and will be environment friendly.

MNRE SANCTIONS 19,000 SOLAR STREET LIGHTS FOR JAMMU AND KASHMIR

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned 19,000 solar street lights (SSLs) to Jammu and Kashmir, where the J&K Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) has already installed 2,200 such lights so far, officials said. The SSL project has a central financial support of Rs 42.06 crore against the total project cost of Rs 47.84 crore with the remaining project cost of Rs 5.78 crore to be provided by the Union Territory. The project is being implemented by JAKEDA, under the command of its Chief Executive Officer Babila Rakwal, to ensure that the solar street lights are installed expeditiously at public places in consultation with the district administration of J&K, they said.

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GODAWARI POWER & ISPAT LTD TO BUILD 250 MW OF SELF-CONSUMPTION SOLAR

Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd, an Indian integrated steelmaker, will set up a 250 MW solar plant in Raigarh district, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd. (GPIL) a public Ltd. Co., formally Ispat Godawari Ltd (IGL), incorporated in 1999 to set up an integrated steel plant with captive power generation, which is an integrated steel manufacturer and has a dominant presence in the long product segment of the Steel industry, mainly into mild steel wire. The solar project will be built on 362 hectares acquired by the company in the fiscal 2011-12 period.

It will be commissioned by December 2022. The power will replace high-cost thermal and grid power and will be used for the company’s existing factory in the state’s Raipur district.

REGULATORY UPDATES CERC ISSUES DRAFT ANCILLARY SERVICES REGULATIONS

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission issued draft Ancillary Services Regulations with inclusion of Energy Storage under secondary and tertiary reserves with performance-based incentives. The comments/ suggestions/ objections may be sent to the undersigned on or before 30th June, 2021. The comments/ suggestions/ objections received after the stipulated date may not be considered while finalizing these regulations. These regulations may be called the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Ancillary Services) Regulations, 2021. These regulations shall come into force with effect from such date as may be notified by the Commission.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 13

CERC GRANTED RELIEF TO SBG CLEANTECH BY APPROVAL OF ‘CHANGE IN LAW’ EVENT DUE TO INTRODUCTION OF GST AND SGD ON SOLAR MODULE

The enactment of the ‘GST Laws’ is squarely covered as ‘Change in Law’ according to article 12 of the PPA and entities. The petitioner to get relief under article 12 of the PPAs. The imposition of SGD qualifies as ‘Change in Law’ under the PPAs and entitles the petitioner to get relief under Article 12 of the PPAs. SECI is directed to pay to the Petitioner as per mutually agreed mechanism for payment of such compensation on annuity basis spread over the period not exceeding the duration of the PPAs, subject to the outcome of Petition filed by SECI for approval of annuity methodology including annuity rate.

CERC REVISES NATIONAL LEVEL AVERAGE POWER PURCHASE COST (APPC) TO INR 3.85/KWH FOR FY 20212022

In a recent order, CERC has revised National APPC (Average Power Purchase Cost) for wind or solar generators that are regional entities and selling power under Open Access, which is not accounted for RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligation) compliance of obligated entities, and for captive power plants where PPAs do not exist, settlement shall be done at APPC determined at the national level. CERC has calculated APPC by taking into account the APPC of all states , UTs for FY 2020-2021 weighted by volume of conventional power purchased by the respective state/UT for FY2020-2021. The total cost of power purchase considered for calculating the APPC excluded the cost of generation or procurement from renewable energy sources and transmission charges.

The exclusion is in line with the determination of APPC to calculate the average cost of power from conventional sources.

CERC DETERMINES FEES AND CHARGES FOR REGISTRATION AND ISSUANCE OF REC CERTIFICATE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION FOR FY 2020-2021 AND FY 20212022

CERC recently passed an order to determine fees and charges payable by eligible entities for recognition and issuance of renewable energy certificates for renewable energy generation for FY 2020-2021 and FY 2021-2022. The commission directed the Central Agency (NLDC) to submit the detailed proposal for determination of fees and charges accompanied by audited accounts for the FY 16-17 upto FY 19-20 along with estimated figures for FY 20-21 and FY 21-22. After analyzing audited REC accounts of the central agency and its proposal, CERC has determined the fee and charges for registration and issuance of certificates for FY 19-20 and FY 20-21 as Processing fees (One Time) Rs.1,000, Registration Charges (One Time) Rs.5,000, Annual Charges Rs.1,000 and Revalidation charges at the end of 5 year Rs.5,000

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CERC REJECTS SECI’S PETITION FOR ADOPTION OF TARIFF FOR 150 MW FLOATING SOLAR PROJECT IN UP

CERC recently passed an order that it does not have any jurisdiction to adjudicate a petition filed by SECI for the adoption of a 150MW floating solar project in UP Rihand dam. As regard the PPA and PSA entered into by SECI with Solar power developers and UPPCL is of ‘Composite Scheme’ as per Section 79 of the Electricity act, 2003 : Commission does not persuade the SECI’s argument. The provisions of sale and purchase of power are only supplemental to the main scheme of generation and sale of power to Uttar Pradesh. The right to sell the allocation of buying entities to third parties is only a recourse envisaged to address the incidences of payment default. Thus, it does not envisage the composite scheme of generation and sale of power in more than one state as the entire capacity is tied up for sale to UPPCL within the state of UP. Also, SECI’s claim that in the event of a bill amounting to INR 25 Cr is unpaid to the extent of INR 10 Cr, it would have the right to divert and sell UPPCL’s allocation to third parties, only triggers when such an eventuality arises and not otherwise.

MAHARASHTRA COMMISSION GIVES APPROVAL TO BEST FOR 400 MW WIND-SOLAR HYBRID POWER PROCUREMENT FROM SECI BUT PARTLY APPROVE SOLAR & NON-SOLAR RPO TARGET RELIEF

In a recent petition, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) seeks approval for procurement of 400MW Wind-Solar hybrid power from SECI at a fixed tariff rate INR 2.41/Kwh discovered through competitive bidding process with trading margin of INR 0.07/Kwh for 25 years. SECI initiated a tariff based competitive bid process for procurement of 1200MW of the power generated from the ISTS connected Wind-Solar Hybrid power projects (Tranche III) under the RFS issued by SECI dated 14 Jan 2020.

Following three Hybrid Power Developers selected in the competitive bidding with lowest discovered tariff of INR 2.41/Kwh. Keeping in mind BEST’s analysis of procuring 1371MU renewable energy annually from a 400MW hybrid plant with 40% CUF and RE requirement for FY 2023-24 of 968MU; proposed 400MW hybrid power procurement is much more than the requirement. Also power flow from proposed hybrid projects is expected to start from Fy 2023-24 onwards.

However, the discovered tariff of INR 2.48/Kwh (including trading margin) is most competitive with respect to other sources of power and such excess power from hybrid sources would only help BEST to reduce its power procurement cost and meet its RPO targets. Thus the commission approves BEST’s proposal of contracting 400MW power from a wind solar hybrid project.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 14

THINK TANK SOLAR POWER’S DECADE OF FALLING COSTS IS THROWN INTO REVERSE: BLOOMBERG

A key selling point that made solar energy the fastest growing power source in the world – rapidly decreasing costs – has hit a speed bump. Solar module prices have risen 18% since the start of the year after falling by 90% over the previous decade. The reversal, fueled by a quadrupling in the cost of the key raw material polysilicon, threatens to delay projects and slow uptake of solar power just as several major governments are finally throwing their weight behind it in an effort to slow climate change. “The disruption to solar hasn’t been this bad in more than a decade,” said Jenny Chase, lead solar analyst with clean energy research group BloombergNEF. “Developers and governments are going to have to stop expecting solar to get much cheaper quickly.” BNEF slightly lowered its forecast for solar buildout this year in a report last week, citing rising prices of materials including polysilicon as one reason.

ABOUT 7 GW OF UNSIGNED PSAS POSE RISK TO RE TARGETS: CRISIL

According to CRISIL Research delays in power supply agreements (PSAs) for 7 GW of the bid out renewable energy projects is one of the main reasons that may lead to 35% shortfall in 160 GW renewable energy capacity target set for calendar 2022-end. This delay may, however, not impact the credit profile of developers since implementation and debt drawdowns have not yet started and project viability remains largely intact, supported by benign module price trajectory

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over the past 18 months. These projects were auctioned by central counterparties – the Solar Energy Corporation of India and the National Thermal Power Corporation – and are awaiting PSAs with the ultimate counterparties, the state distribution companies (discoms).

ABOUT 7 GW OF UNSIGNED PSAS POSE RISK TO RE TARGETS: CRISIL

According to CRISIL Research delays in power supply agreements (PSAs) for 7 GW of the bid out renewable energy projects is one of the main reasons that may lead to 35% shortfall in 160 GW renewable energy capacity target set for calendar 2022-end. This delay may, however, not impact the credit profile of developers since implementation and debt drawdowns have not yet started and project viability remains largely intact, supported by benign module price trajectory over the past 18 months.

These projects were auctioned by central counterparties – the Solar Energy Corporation of India and the National Thermal Power Corporation – and are awaiting PSAs with the ultimate counterparties, the state distribution companies (discoms).

TENDER TRACKER FLOATED BY CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

Authority

Tender Name

Technology

Capacity

SECI

SECI Again Extends Bid Submission Deadline of 50MW Solar Tender at Tamil Nadu

Ground Mounted

50MW

FLOATED BY PSU

Authority

Tender Name

Technology

Capacity

CEL

Central Electronics Tenders for 500,000 Multicrystalline Solar Cells

Solar Cells

500000

IREDA

IREDA Invites Bids for Solar PLI Scheme

Modules

Coal India Ltd

Coal India Limited Invites EOI for EPC and O&M of Ground Mounted and Floating Solar Plants

EPC and O&M

Airports Authority of India Invites Bids For Solar Project O&M At Kolkata Airport

Rooftop

2MW

Security Printing and Minting Corp of India Issues Tender For 1 MW Solar PV In Hyderabad

Ground Mounted

1MW

Airports Authority Security Printing and Minting Corp of India

FLOATED BY STATE AUTHORITIES

Authority

Tender Name

Technology

Capacity

PEDA

PEDA Floats 5 MW Solar Rooftop Tender

Rooftop

5 MW

CREDA

CREDA Issues Tender for Solar Modules in Chhattisgarh

Modules

MPUVNL

Madhya Pradesh Floats Tender for 270 MW of Solar Projects Under KUSUM Program

Ground Mounted

270 MW

UPNEDA

UPNEDA Tenders for Total 106 MW Solar Plants Under PM KUSUM

Ground Mounted

106 MW

OREDA

OREDA Invites RFP for 500 MW of Solar Project Under KUSUM Scheme

Ground Mounted

500 MW

UPNEDA

UPNEDA Extends Bid Submission Deadline for 75 MW Solar Project in Uttar Pradesh

Ground Mounted

75 MW

MSEDCL

MSEDCL Tenders for Procurement of 500 MW Solar Power

Ground Mounted

500 MW

Meghalaya Govt

Meghalaya Issues Empanelment Tenders For Renewable Energy Projects

EOI for Developers

MAY ISSUE 20215 | PG 15

OVER INR 9,000 CRORE WORTH OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES SOLD IN INDIA TO DATE: CEEW-CEF

INDIA RANK 6 IN IHS RENEWABLES MARKETS ATTRACTIVENESS 2020 RANKINGS

India’s Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market has recorded net sales worth INR 9,266 crore (~USD 1.24 billion) during its decade of existence, according to an independent study released today by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF). This is an encouraging sign, given that the country will increasingly bank on market instruments like RECs to support its energy transition. But REC trading has been suspended since July 2020 due to an ongoing legal arbitration. RECs are market-based instruments that can help power distribution companies (discoms) and others meet their renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) without actually buying renewable power. As many as 99 per cent of all RECs sold have served to fulfil RPO requirements. Still, poor RPO compliance across India has contributed to a demand shortfall of 7 per cent, represented by the 5.1 million RECs unsold as of December 2020.

The IHS Markit Global Renewables Markets Attractiveness Rankings, which tracks attractiveness for investment for non-hydro renewables (offshore wind, onshore wind and solar PV), placed the United States in the number one spot for the period ending December 2020. The United States claimed the top spot on account of sound market fundamentals and the availability of an attractive—though phasing down —support scheme. Strong ambitions and stable procurement initiatives in India (rank 6), and availability of attractive subsidies and a high degree of investor friendliness in Australia (rank 7) propelled these markets to top spots on the list. However, these markets are beginning to encounter infrastructure constraints on their continued path towards decarbonization. In the case of India, onshore wind build has suffered from lack of grid and land access, while in Australia the disconnection between federal and state ambitions have increased investor uncertainty.

UTILITY SCALE SOLAR INSTALLATIONS DECLINED 39% Y-OY IN FY2021: JMK RESEARCH

About 3.5 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity was added in India in the year 2021. This was 39% less than the previous year 2020. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh were the leading states with most of the large-scale solar installations in FY 2021. Despite lockdown and other restrictions, about 2 GW of new capacity was added in the rooftop solar sector in 2021. Gujarat and Maharashtra together contributed nearly 50% of all rooftop solar installations in FY2021. Other states that added maximum rooftop solar capacity in FY2021 include Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. According to JMK Research estimates, the capacity addition in rooftop solar in FY2022 will be about 2.5-3 GW.

SOLAR PLI SCHEME TO BENEFIT 8-13 % OF INCREMENTAL PANELS DEMAND TILL FY30: IND-RA

PRODUCTION-LINKED INCENTIVE SCHEME FOR SOLAR PV MODULES A POSITIVE FOR DOMESTIC OEMS: ICRA

The benefits available under the PLI scheme along with the imposition of basic customs duty (BCD) on imported solar PV cells and imported solar PV modules are likely to improve the cost competitiveness of domestic PV module manufacturers against imported modules by more than 10% at the prevailing imported module prices, under assumption of backward integration up to cells. Given the focus on development of integrated solar module manufacturing facilities, which is both capital and technology intensive, timely selection of such projects under this scheme and implementation of the manufacturing capacities with value addition thereafter remains important to reduce the dependence on module imports, said Mr. Girishkumar Kadam, Co-Group Head & Vice President, Corporate ratings, ICRA.

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) estimates the allocation of INR 45 billion towards the solar modules manufacturing industry by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) can benefit the sales of 20 GW from the capacity developed under the under production linked incentive (PLI) scheme across the five-year implementation period, assuming 100% localisation (up to 30 GW in case of 65% localisation). It also means sanction of the PLI facility which will benefit 4-6 GW of sales annually over five years from commissioning of the beneficiary manufacturing facilities. The scheme can facilitate additional 8-12 GW annual solar cell/module manufacturing capacity in India. Sales up to 50% of the manufacturing capacity set up by the winning bidder will benefit from PLI. This estimate assumes the base PLI rate of INR 2.25 per watt power and entirely greenfield expansion.

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 16

PROJECT MONTHLY ADANI GREEN ENERGY PLANS RS 15,000 CR CAPEX IN FY22

Adani Green Energy’s management announced that the company will scale up its capital expenditure in 2021-22 to Rs 15,000 crore from Rs 8,500 crore that it invested in the year ended March to expand capacity.

Adani Green Energy reported a consolidated total comprehensible income of Rs 116 crore in the fourth quarter of FY21, as against Rs 82 crore a year ago.

The company’s total income rose to Rs 1,082 crore in the March quarter from Rs 719 crore a year ago. In the year 2021 the company added 925 MW of renewable energy company operational capacity despite the disruption due to the pandemic. Its new projects, the ones which have been awarded and those where it has emerged best bidder, stand at 13,550 mw. With this, the company will have a portfolio of around 20,000 MW, the company said.

NTPC INKS ENERGY ACQUIRE PACT WITH GUVNL FOR 150 MW SOLAR POWER

Electricity generator NTPC said its newly formed subsidiary NTPC Renewable Energy has signed a energy acquire agreement with state-run energy utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) to sell energy from its upcoming 150 megawatt (MW) solar project in the state at Rs 2.20/unit. With this successful bid, the company’s total capacity under TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) tenders has reached 1.4 GW. The company has also been allocated land in Rann of Kutch by the Gujarat government for developing a solar park with a capacity of 4,750 MW. NTPC Renewable is presently constructing 6,000 MW solar capacity across the nation. The company is also in the process of receiving Rs 2,100 crore of long-term loans from banks for its under-construction projects.

ADANI GREEN ENERGY TO ACQUIRE SB ENERGY’S 5 GW INDIA RENEWABLE POWER PORTFOLIO

Adani Green Energy To Acquire SB Energy’s 5 GW India Renewable Power Portfolio For A Fully Completed EV Of USD 3.5 Billion – India’s Largest Renewables M&A Transaction. Adani Green Energy Limited signed share purchase agreements for the acquisition of 100% interest in SB Energy India from SBG (80%) and Bharti Group (20%). SB Energy India

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Adani Green Energy To Acquire SB Energy’s 5 GW has a total renewable portfolio of 4,954 MW spread across four states in India. The transaction marks the largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in India. The transaction values SB Energy India at an enterprise valuation of approximately USD 3.5 billion.

The target portfolio consists of large scale utility assets with 84% solar capacity (4,180 MW), 9% windsolar hybrid capacity (450 MW) and 7% wind capacity (324 MW).

CIEL & TERRE INDIA ANNOUNCES THE SUCCESSFUL INSTALLATION OF INDIA’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR POWER PLANT

CIEL & TERRE India, Subsidiary of CIEL & TERRE INTERNATIONAL, Global leader in floating solar, has successfully completed the plant engineering, float supply, supervision of the 14.7 MWp at Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) Limited, in its water storage pond in Thoothukudi in the State of Tamil Nadu. Hydrelio patent Equato floats, locally manufactured under “Make in India” campaign mounted 37,632 photovoltaic panels with 390 Wp capacity, over an area of 15.6 hectares.This plant will produce competitive electricity and avoid more than 18686 tons of CO2 emissions.

JSW ENERGY PLANNING FOR 55 % INSTALLED CAPACITY FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY

JSW Energy, an arm of the $12 billion JSW Group, is planning to have more than a half — around 55 % of its total installed capacity contributed by renewable energy projects - in two-and-a-half years. Currently, the company has a total installed capacity of around 4.6 Gigawatt (GW). Renewable energy projects account for around 30 % of this capacity. According to a report by The Economic Times, Prashant Jain, Chairman of JSW Hydro and Co-Managing Director and CEO of JSW Energy Limited, said The test run will start in the next 24 to 30 months. Upon completion of these projects, the share of renewable energy in the portfolio will exceed 55%. JSW Hydro, an arm of JSW Energy, raised $707 million (around Rs 5,200 crore), from an international green bond issue that was oversubscribed by over four times.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 17

ANUPAM RASAYAN TO INVEST RS 43 CRORE TO SET UP A 12.5 MW SOLAR POWER PLANT

Anupam Rasayan India Limited, the custom synthesis & speciality chemicals major, has issued a Letter of Intent to install solar power by investing a sum of Rs 43 crore. The company operates six manufacturing facilities in Gujarat. Anupam Rasayan came out with Rs 760 crore initial public offer (IPO) in March this year. The entire capital expenditure of Rs 43 crore will be funded from the company’s recently concluded IPO proceeds. The company said in a regulatory filing that in a conscious move towards reducing dependence on non-renewable energy and cost saving measures, Anupam Rasayan has issued a letter of intent to install solar power by investing a sum of Rs 43 crore. The size of the proposed solar power plant will be 12.5 MW and will cater to the energy requirements of Anupam Rasayan’s major units.

GAUTAM SOLAR INSTALLS 1000 SOLAR PUMPS IN HARYANA

Gautam Solar, solar power equipment maker announced that they have installed solar pumps at 1,000 locations in Haryana under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PMKUSUM) scheme. The government has set a target of installing 15,000 standalone solar pumps in Haryana within the first year of the scheme. The scheme was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in 2019 to provide subsidies on solar pumps to Indian farmers. Under the scheme, the farmers only have to bear 40% of the pump’s cost, while the central and state governments subsidize the remaining 60% for solar pumps that have a capacity of up to 10 HP. OKAYA COMMISSIONS 100 KWP HYBRID SOLAR PLANT IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

Okaya Power has commissioned a 100 KWp hybrid solar plant at its manufacturing unit at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. The plant will generate more than 144 Mwh energy annually reducing its power consumption from the grid to 40 %. Okaya Power produces a wide range of batteries, suitable for all kinds of applications, with a very diverse product category viz. Tubular Battery- Inverter Battery and Solar Battery, SMF Battery, E-Rickshaw Battery, Lithium and EV charging solutions. The commissioned hybrid solar plant makes the unit selfsufficient for its daily energy requirement and also supports the uninterrupted production process with continuous power supply even in the scenario of unanticipated power cuts happening due to grid failure.

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RENEW POWER SELECTS GUJARAT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SOLAR COMPONENT MANUFACTURING FACILITY

ReNew Power, India’s leading renewable energy company, announced its plan to develop a solar cell and module manufacturing facility with 2 gigawatts of annual capacity in Dholera Special Industrial Region, Gujarat. The company said in a statement that the facility will manufacture solar cells and modules using state-of-the-art monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter & Rear Contact) and large wafer technology and will implement best practices in line with Industry 4.0 manufacturing standards. The project has been allocated 100 acres of land by the state government, ensuring adequate availability of land for future capacity expansion. The plant is expected to be vertically integrated in terms of processes and infrastructure for the manufacturing of solar cells and modules and is anticipated to commence operations from fiscal year 2023. The manufacturing capacity being set up will incorporate ReNew Power’s sustainability initiatives and ensure decarbonisation of manufacturing processes and supply chain to create a ‘Green Factory’ of the future.

TECHNIQUE SOLAIRE COMMISSIONS ITS FIRST ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER PLANT IN INDIA

JLTM Energy India Pvt Ltd (JLTM), the Indian subsidiary of the Technique Solaire Group in France, commissioned part of its 675 kW AC rooftop solar PV plant installed at the Goa Institute of Management (GIM) campus in Sanquelim, Poriem, Goa. This project is one of the first solar projects in North Goa. This project was built after signing a private Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with GIM, on October 23rd 2020, for a period of 25 years at an electricity price significantly lower than the rate charged by the government to private owned business schools. The contract requires GIM to purchase all the energy produced by the solar panels on the roof of its building. This agreement will also allow GIM to feed unused excess energy into the grid.

SUNSOURCE ENERGY SECURES FUNDING FROM SHV ENERGY TO FACILITATE GROWTH, TARGETING A 1 GW+ PORTFOLIO IN DISTRIBUTED SOLAR

SHV Energy and SunSource announced that SHV Energy, a Dutch family-owned multinational founded 125 years ago and leading global distributor of LPG, will invest in SunSource Energy, a leading provider of distributed energy for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in India with a presence across South-East Asia. SHV Energy's acquisition of a majority stake is part of the companies’ renewable solutions strategy and ensures a further expansion of SunSource’s solar portfolio to 550+ MWp by 2023. This new partnership will directly benefit SunSource’s ability to expand its portfolio of projects for C&I customers. SunSource Energy’s co-founders Kushagra Nandan and Adarsh Das will continue to run the company and remain shareholders.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 18

SOFTBANK SCRAPS RENEWABLE DEAL WITH CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD

SoftBank was planning to sell its entire 80% stake in SB Energy, in the joint venture to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for an estimated $525 million.

The Japanese technology and telecoms conglomerate have terminated its agreement after disagreements over valuation, terms and conditions of the shareholder agreement (SHA) and governance rights. SB Energy is focused on solar energy, which takes a shorter time from construction to application compared to other renewable energy sources. It takes advantage of the Feed-in Tariff scheme (FIT) and builds up the Mega Solar business. Capitalizing on SoftBank Group’s synergy, SB Energy serves as a hub for all stakeholders and manages the entire process from planning and construction to management after operation starts.

TATA POWER ANNOUNCES FY20-21 RESULTS: REVENUE STOOD AT RS 6,480 CRORE

For the Financial Year ended March 31, 2021 Revenue stood at ₹6,480 crore as compared to ₹7,075 crore last year EBITDA for FY21 stood at ₹3,366 crore as against ₹2,853 crore in the previous year PAT before Exceptional Items for FY21 stood at ₹907 crore as against ₹479 crore PAT for FY21 stood at ₹ 921 crore as against 148 crore mainly due to higher dividend.

Tata Power clocked a net profit of Rs 474.70 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a BSE filing.

Total income rose to Rs 10,222.48 crore in the quarter from Rs 6,793.95 crore in the same period a year ago.

VIKRAM SOLAR COMMISSIONS LARGEST SOLAR PROJECT AT A SINGLE LOCATION IN UTTAR PRADESH

Vikram Solar, one of India’s leading module manufacturers and comprehensive EPC solutions & rooftop solar provider, announced the completion of an 85 MW solar plant project commissioned for National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) at Bilhaur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Combining the latest 85 MW project at Bilhaur, UP with Vikram Solar’s recently commissioned 140 MW project for NTPC at the same location; the (85 MW+140 MW) 225 MW capacity project becomes the largest solar project in a single location in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Virescent Infrastructure has acquired Singapore-based Sindicatum Group’s operating solar assets in three Indian states, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The acquired PV projects benefit from long-term power purchase agreements with government counterparties.

The acquisition is in line with Virescent’s strategy to acquire operational renewable energy assets that have stable long-term cash flows with government counterparties across India.

ADANI GREEN ENERGY MARCH QUARTER NET PROFIT UP BY 86% TO RS 104 CRORE

Adani Green Energy, part of the India-based Adani Group having the largest global renewable portfolios of 14.8 GW of operating, under-construction and awarded projects catering to investment-grade counterparties posted a nearly 86 % rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 104 crore for the quarter ended March 2021, mainly due to higher revenues. The consolidated net profit of the company stood at Rs 56 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the company said in a BSE filing. Total income of the company rose to Rs 1,082 crore in the quarter from Rs 719 crore in the year-ago period. For 2020-21, the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 182 crore, as against a loss of Rs 68 crore in 2019-20.

TATA POWER SAURYA WINS THE MAHAGENCO AUCTION TO SET UP 250MW SOLAR PROJECT

Tata Power’s subsidiary, TP Saurya has been declared the winner in the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company’s (MAHAGENCO) auction for setting up 250 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic projects at the Dondaicha Solar Park in Dhule, Maharashtra. The other participants in the bidding process were SJVN and NTPC Renewable Energy. The quotes given by them were ₹2.53 (~$0.034)/kWh and ₹2.82 (~$0.038)/kWh, respectively. TP Saurya had quoted ₹2.51 (~$0.033)/kWh and won the full capacity of 250 MW. The estimated cost of the project is expected to be ₹8.75 billion (~$11.8 million). It must be commissioned within 15 months from the power purchase agreement (PPA) date. It must also achieve financial closure within nine months from the date of the power purchase agreement (PPA). Also, the project will be divided into three blocks – Block I (75 MW), Block-II (125 MW), and Block III (50 MW).

VIRESCENT INFRASTRUCTURE ACQUIRES 76 MW OF INDIAN SOLAR ASSETS FROM SINDICATUM RENEWABLE

Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy platform backed by global asset manager KKR & Co, has acquired the 76 megawatt (MW) India solar asset portfolio of Singapore-based Sindicatum Renewable Energy Company Pte Ltd. US investor KKR-backed

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 19

FEATUREDTALKS

HONEY RAZA SOLIS INDIA BUSINESS DIRECTOR, GINLONG SOLIS

Please tell us about your recent inverter shipments and future target.

Our shipments to India are now reaching around 1GW+. The first quarter of CY 2021 has been good, It has achieved rapid growth compared with the same period last year. According to the research report, India's installed capacity in 2020 is 4.6 GW, the estimated installation capacity in 2021 is 12.5 GW. The industry growth rate is around 50 %. We expect our growth rate is not below the industry average.

How is the present inverter scenario with respect to pricing?

On the pricing front we have to take the following phenomenon going globally.

Shortage of IC chips which is creating major hurdles, this is not just for solar but for every sector Price of IGBT is Increased Major commodities like Copper and Aluminum are also on the rise.

Container shortage is also translating into higher freight cost.

All these scenarios are putting tremendous pressure on the inverter rates. The rates of few suppliers in China have already increased and I won't be surprised if the same would translate to other parts of the world.

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"WE ARE PROUD AND OBLIGED TO SERVE ALL THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INDIAN SOLAR MARKET. MANY WELL-KNOWN COMPANIES ARE USING SOLIS FOR THEIR PRESTIGIOUS PROJECTS." What is your opinion on India’s inverter industry?

What are your views on the present Indian solar market?

An industry needs to grow healthfully and rapidly, and it should be open. The environment of open competition is more conducive to technological innovation and industrial chain cluster development. Currently, in the global ranking of inverters, China's intelligently made inverters lead the world in terms of design level, reliability and intelligent manufacturing. Companies are still trying to figure out some conducive business model in the present policy. Manufacturing related single window clearance and policy clarity being the first go ahead for such schemes.

Supply chain for the support components need to be developed and attracted parallelly. Import duty on such components should be eased.

Industry is having tremendous opportunities as the world is more concerned about the future and climate change which was earlier only talked about at International arenas.

People are more aware about the disasters and benefits for green energy. Certainly, this will have a positive impact on the overall industry towards the motivation and sentiments.

PBAs for solar inverters should be brought under the same tariffs as mobile phones.

Challenges are minor like the clarity on the policy and high import tariff.

State Governments Agencies should also have better policy replication as per the guidelines of MNRE.

What support do you need from the Government of India on the policy front?

GOI has done a good job by their continued support for the industry, regular feedback are taken from us.

Certainly some points as I have mentioned earlier regarding the transparency and clarity can boost the sector to new horizons.

AN INDUSTRY NEEDS TO GROW HEALTHFULLY AND RAPIDLY, AND IT SHOULD BE OPEN. THE ENVIRONMENT OF OPEN COMPETITION IS MORE CONDUCIVE TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND INDUSTRIAL CHAIN CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT."

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 20

What would be the effect of Covid on the projects?

Projects have a lifetime of 25 years and developers are well aware about the long term goals. Pandemic would have certain constraints in the short term but would overcome by the time.

Could you please tell us something about your current projects?

We are proud and obliged to serve all the major players in the Indian Solar market. Many well-known companies are using Solis for their prestigious projects. Few projects like DMRC, IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi, IGI Airport, TATA Motors, Andaman & Nicobar and many more which are powered using solis inverters.

How is the current order flow?

So far orders have been better than we expected. The company is currently at full capacity.

What have been some technology related innovations and developments?

Ginlong has always spearheaded the innovations. We have updated the monitoring platform-Soliscloud which is more advanced from our previous portal. This solution comes with the latest 4G Dongle stick imparting better local communication and higher bit rate transfer speed. On the product front the retrofit storage solution for the utility scale plant proved to be the need of time. This product shall be ready this year Q2.

SolisCloud is the new generation of intelligent PV system monitoring. This new monitoring platform will empower you like never before. You will have full control of your system whenever and wherever you are. You will benefit from upgraded accurate fault alarm messaging that is adjustable to notify you within hours that fit your needs.

For simple O&M the new platform features a full size display of all your installations with real-time data. You will have an intelligent alarm system that gives recommendations to quickly repair your field faults. In depth analysis tools allow you to understand the overall health of your system.

IV curve scanning can be done easily and quickly on your whole system.

A live power flow display gives visibility of both standard solar systems as well as storage systems. Most importantly you will have complete control of your systems and be able to monitor and adapt anything when and how you want.

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INDUSTRY IS HAVING TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES AS THE WORLD IS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE WHICH WAS EARLIER ONLY TALKED ABOUT AT INTERNATIONAL ARENAS. PEOPLE ARE MORE AWARE ABOUT THE DISASTERS AND BENEFITS FOR GREEN ENERGY. CERTAINLY, THIS WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE OVERALL INDUSTRY TOWARDS THE MOTIVATION AND SENTIMENTS.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 21

FEATUREDTALKS

GS VENKATESH DIRECTOR & CEO AVI SOLAR ENERGY PVT LTD, BANGALORE

Please tell our readers in brief about the consultancy services that Avi Solar offers.

Avi Solar specializes in harnessing solar energy through photovoltaic technology and provide quality and reliable Solar PV Project Management Consultancy (PMC) services for Ground Mounted and Rooftop Projects upto capacity of 100MW. Avi Solar Competency in PMC Services involves in Strong and experienced Inhouse Team for Engineering Design, Management, Procurement and Execution supervision having 7+ years’ in Turnkey execution of Utility Scale and Rooftops Solar PV Power Projects with different technology of Solar Panels, Solar Inverters, Fixed or Tracker systems. Our O&M experience of handling cumulatively 2.5GW Solar Projects with various types of modules, inverters, mounting arrangements and various levels of power evacuation systems also contributes to provide optimal solution and in design development of solar projects with superior technology making no compromise in Quality.

Avi Solar PMC Service involves in following key activities: Project feasibility , Optimal solution, Project Management & Quality control

AS AVI SOLAR IS AN INDEPENDENT O&M SERVICE PROVIDER, IT USES THE MONITORING SOLUTIONS ALREADY EXISTING IN ITS CUSTOMER SOLAR POWER PLANT. What are some of the advantages of having good quality maintenance systems? Can you tell us about your Operations and Maintenance services?

Good Quality Maintenance leads to Higher uptime, higher generation & better project ROI Longer equipment life and reduced OPEX Our O&M activities are system driven by annual and monthly O&M plans for each project with day-today maintenance activity is strictly driven by standardized checklists and SOP’ s through mobile app.

Our O&M activities include preventive, breakdown, and predictive maintenance of the solar plant with battery limit of our service varying from switch yard within the solar power plant to the incomer bay of the interconnecting substation.

Highest priority is accorded to safety with continuous training of all our team on all safety aspects.

We are enforcing strict implementation of all EHS guidelines of our company as well as of our customers to ensure safe work across all sites.

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 22

Please tell us how important is real monitoring of solar plants? Could you explain your PV monitoring solutions offerings in brief?

Real time monitoring of Solar power plants is a very critical aspect of O&M service which helps in improving plant performance as well as will help in optimization of manpower at site level leading cost optimization.

Also, real time monitoring coupled with AI & ML will help in predictive maintenance.

As Avi Solar is an independent O&M service provider, it uses the monitoring solutions already existing in its customer solar power plant.

In whichever sites, effective monitoring solutions are not available, it recommends an IoT based SCADA system developed by its own subsidiary company, M/ s EnerMAN Technologies.

What are some of your recent developments in business you would like to highlight?

We are happy to share that, recently Avi Solar has signed a long term contract with M/s Virescent Infra for providing O&M services for their 147MWp Solar power plants in Tamil Nadu. Apart from this we also signed an O&M contract with M/s Atria Power & Berkley Energy group for providing their O&M services to their roof top solar power plants.

Our other major customers to whom we are providing our O&M services are M/s Renew Power, Cleantech Solar, Cleanmax Solar, Hero Future Energy , Bosch , Oriano

What are your business development and expansion plans for 2021?

Currently we are providing our O&M services to around 425 + MWp solar power plants including both ground mounted and rooftop projects. With many more projects in our pipeline, we intend to add another 200 to 300 MWp to our portfolio in the next 5 to 6 months’ time and will be operating around 650 to 750 MWp solar power plants in the current FY 21-22.

OUR O&M ACTIVITIES INCLUDE PREVENTIVE, BREAKDOWN, AND PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE OF THE SOLAR PLANT WITH BATTERY LIMIT OF OUR SERVICE VARYING FROM SWITCH YARD WITHIN THE SOLAR POWER PLANT TO THE INCOMER BAY OF THE INTERCONNECTING SUBSTATION."

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 23

FEATUREDTALKS

ANDREW GILHOOLY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, TRINAPRO BUSINESS APAC, TRINA SOLAR

Could you give our readers a brief idea about Trina Bifacial + Tracker Solutions?

Trina was first mover to large format modules and is unique in the industry in being the only module manufacturer to provide an integrated PV and tracker solution.

Accordingly, we had earlier visibility than any of our module and tracker competitors and understand the complexities and engineering challenges in successfully accommodating these large format modules into a single axis tracker structure in a fashion that is unequivocally structurally sound (with extensive independent verification from world leading wind consultancies RWDI and CPP) yet has been value engineered to optimise costs in the capex sensitive Indian market. With a highly bankable track record approaching 7GW of trackers over the best part of the past decade with some of the planet’ s largest IPPs and EPCs, and backing from the public listed Trina parent company by way of after sales support and warranty, only TrinaTracker unlocks the highest and most assured long term energy outcome for our clients. Please note however that TrinaTracker is also available for projects using modules from manufacturers other than Trina.

What are the differentiating features of Trina's single axis trackers?

TrinaTracker boasts a number of points of difference over our competitors. Firstly, through the

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TRINATRACKER UNLOCKS THE HIGHEST AND MOST ASSURED LONG TERM ENERGY OUTCOME FOR OUR CLIENTS. integrated design, every last engineering detail has been rigorously validated to optimise long term reliability and energy performance, such as how the modules physically integrate into the structure with minimal structural shading on the underside of the bifacial modules. This provides Single point accountability and eliminates blame shifting between different stakeholders if there are any performance or reliability issues in service and provides a lower technology risk profile as compared to traditional disaggregated procurement models where modules come from one company and trackers from another.

Secondly, our longer time spent evaluating and iterating our full scope aero elastic wind tunnel testing on both our 1P dual row Agile and 2P single row Vanguard models informed our thinking that we needed to pivot to a multiple point drivetrain concept to guard against second order dynamic issues (the propensity of which increase with the larger module form factor and longer strings, up to forty modules in a string with Trina’ s low voltage 210mm wafer Vertex modules). The multiple

points of driving act to break up the accumulation of torsional strain along the tracker tube and structure and increase the structural natural frequency to a level far in excess where wind induced dynamic phenomena could pose a risk.

Finally, TrinaTracker is the only solution on the market with the backing of a renewable industry major like the publicly listed Trina parent company. With the big brother and balance sheet of the Trina parent standing behind the tracker solution, we find our clients, especially those that take the long term view and Build-Own-Operate are much more comfortable in making the transition from traditional fix tilt to single axis tracker in markets where trackers are not yet ubiquitous, like India.

How TrinaPro trackers are designed to reduce risks, boost energy production and enable LCOE reduction for utility scale applications?

TrinaTracker can provide our intelligent tracker controller (known as SuperTrack) which utilises machine learning functionality to maximise yield,

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 24

and has been i ndependent l y v er i f i ed by CGC Gr oup t o del i v er mor e t han 3% mor e k Wh/ k Wp on t y pi cal s i t es t hr ough opt i mi s i ng t r ack i ng angl e wi t h r es pect t o bi f aci al per f or mance i n hea v y cl oud cov er , and up t o 8% on s i t es wi t h hi ghl y v ar i abl e t er r a i n.

Fur t her mor e t her e i s a “ v a l ue s t ack i ng” ef f ect wher e t he y i el d boos t f r om bi f aci al modul es i s mor e pr onounced t ha n on f i x ed tilt.

Fr om a cons t r uct i on per s pect i v e, f or r egi ons wi t h uncons t r a i ned l and wi t h l ower acqui s i t i on cos t encour ages depl oy ment a t a l ow GCR wi t h wi de pi t ch, t hi s us es mor e l and per uni t pl ant ca pa ci t y and i ncr eas es geot echni ca l a nd ci v i l r i s k . Tr i na Tr ack er r equi r es f ewer f oundat i ons , as l ow a s 100 pi l es per MW DC, whi ch mi t i ga t es r i s k s on unf or es een cos t s f or pi l i ng and f oundat i ons , pr e dr i l l i ng and s o f or t h as wel l a s del i v er cons i der abl y mor e i n cons t r uct i on s av i ngs as compar ed t o t he s ma l l cos t pr emi um on t he t r a ck er .

Fur t her mor e, our t r ack er s ena bl e i ndus t r y l eadi ng s l ope t ol er a nce ( up t o 30% i n any di r ect i on wi t h our 2P Vanguar d) whi ch gr ea t l y mi t i gat es r i s k s ar ound unf or es een ci v i l s wor k s , cut and f i l l a nd s o f or t h. So i t i s i mpor t ant t o wor k wi t h a t r ack er par t ner who ca n mi t i gat e t hes e t wo k ey cons t r uct i on r i s k s and unl ock a l ower cons t r uct i on cos t .

Regar di ng O&M, Tr i naTr a ck er ha s an ex t ens i v e t r ack r ecor d ov er t he bes t par t of a decade i n a l l k ey gl obal mar k et s . We hav e cul t i v at ed a r i gor ous v endor qual i f i cat i on pr ogr am t o ens ur e hi gh qual i t y of al l cr i t i ca l t r a ck er component s t o enabl e t y pi ca l t r ack er upt i me i n ex ces s of 99%.

And wi t h t r ack er s t he cos t of modul e cl eani ng wi t h our r obot i c cl eani ng s ol ut i ons , coupl ed wi t h wi der l es s i mpeded a cces s bet ween t he r ows f aci l i t a t es mor e cos t ef f ect i v e v eget at i on management , meani ng t he t y pi ca l f ul l s cope O&M cos t i s equi v a l ent or not t oo di s s i mi l ar t o f i x t i l t s y s t ems .

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TRINATRACKER’S AGILE 1P DUAL ROW TRACKER So f or hi gher ener gy t y pi ca l l y i n ex ces s of 20% mor e k Wh/ k Wp a s compar ed t o f i x t i l t s y s t ems f or s ame capaci t y , wi t h compet i t i v e t r ack er s uppl y pr i ci ng, l ower cons t r uct i on cos t s and s i mi l a r O&M opex , we s ee t he combi nat i on of t r ack i ng a nd bi f aci al modul es as unl ock i ng l owes t LCOE as compa r ed t o f i x ed t i l t s ol ut i ons .

Where do Trina's tracking systems make the most sense?

For trackers, we see the best economic outcome being attained in regions with a high Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) Solar Resource.

That said, while traditionally with monofacial modules the economic returns were not as favourable for trackers in tropical equatorial regions with high solar altitude and a sustained period of the year with heavy cloud cover, we find the value stacking synergy of bifacial modules on trackers can restore the yield advantage of trackers back towards 20% or more kWh/kWp as compared to fixed tilt for same DC capacity.

What is interesting in an India specific context is we have compared trackers and bifacials at 125% DC to AC overdrive to fixed tilt monofacial at the more common

150% overdrive. What we found is that even in consideration of cost of land, higher cost of tracker with additional loading for non domestic steel duty, an onerous adder for O&M opex even though we are confident O&M opex is similar for tracker and fix tilt, and a more than one cent premium on bifacial as compared to monofacial, is that in the same footprint and same MW AC capacity the tracker delivers 8% more energy on an absolute MWh per year basis and a lower LCOE by more than 13% - this is because with the tracker the DC capacity is 14% lower, driving an overall capex reduction of more than 8%. We expect this to remain while PV price remains high and especially so as the industry in India moves on to post BCD exemption next year.

Please brief about your recent order and your plans for Indian Market in near future.

Since the end of last year we have been closely supporting a number of large IPPs in India and expect to close our first orders for tracker in India before the end of Q2. Many of these customers are conveying a real urgency to us for the need to procure, install and monitor the tracker performance in the field to determine if they proceed with trackers for their larger project portfolios so that procurement can conclude in sufficient time ahead of the changes to BCD next year.

Our largest market in APAC outside of China is still Australia where more than 80% of utility projects utilise trackers, but we expect given the much larger size of the overall utility market in India coupled with the recent change in sentiment there towards trackers to rapidly establish India as our joint largest market in the region.

Accordingly we are rapidly growing the team there to ensure unrivalled customer service at every stage of your project’s lifecycle, from Pre Sale to Execution and on into After Sale/O&M. We are also currently evaluating localised procurement of certain components to overcome any applicable tariffs for non domestic steel.

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IN CONVERSATION

L&T has made significant breakthroughs in the Middle East Region with over 1.5 GW of projects and in ASEAN, began construction of a battery energy storage project in Thailand.

Shaji John, Head-Business Development (Domestic & Global Markets), Renewables Business, L&T Construction

Larsen & Toubro is a US$ 21 billion, Indian technology, engineering, construction, and manufacturing conglomerate, operating in over 30 countries worldwide. Globally, L&T Construction, the construction arm of L&T is one among the top 15 EPC Contractors. Further, L&T Construction, is India's largest construction organization offering end to end, EPC solutions to execute large scale industrial and infrastructure projects from concept to commissioning.

In an exclusive interview with Mr Shaji John, Head-Business Development (Domestic & Global Markets), Renewables Business, Power Transmission and Distribution IC, L&T Construction, Larsen and Toubro Ltd., we got some valuable insights on L&T’s Renewable Business. Mr Shaji also talked about the various projects the company is undertaking along with the digital transformation initiatives. We also got insights on the company’s future plans and its way forward.

Could you brief our readers about the engineering capacity – both in terms of innovation and execution of L&T’s Renewable Business Unit?

The Renewables Business of L&T Construction, is one of the leading players in the solar segment with proven EPC capabilities to indigenously design and execute utility scale solar projects including power evacuation systems.

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With more than a decade of experience in the solar segment, the company has a strong track record with vast experience in various module technologies, module mounting systems, storage technologies, etc. L&T surpassed a significant milestone of 5 GWp of Solar EPC Portfolio with its commissioned and under execution projects globally. L&T offers economically viable, technically superior, bankable solar power project solutions. Internationally, L&T has established a huge presence in the Middle East Renewables Market and is rapidly expanding into the renewables markets of Africa, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) regions.

L&T’ s Renewables Business has developed engineering capacities for utility-scale solar ground mounted, solar-wind hybrid, floating solar, battery energy storage and large microgrid segments.

Please tell us about the Battery energy storage solution that L&T provides.

L&T offers in-house products solutions such as containerised battery energy storage solution, solar trackers including bifacial adaptability, automated module cleaning systems, mobile solar

generator cum storage solution and operation and maintenance services.

L&T’ s containerised solution for battery energy storage systems (BESS) is an all-in-one design including power electronics, control systems and advanced battery technologies. With its flexible and scalable design, the company offers solutions ranging from kW to MW scale. The storage solution is specifically designed for a plug-and-play model, to reduce installation time. L&T’ s newly constructed BESS integration facility is located at Kanchipuram, near Chennai. Various tests are also carried out on integrated containers by replicating site conditions, to ensure smooth operation at sites.

What have been some of your recent projects and how does the project pipeline look like?

Among the numerous achievements across the renewables sector since its inception, L&T, recently commissioned India’ s first largescale solar PV-cum-battery energy storage project in Andaman and India’ s first MW scale Floating solar project in Andhra Pradesh.

Presently, L&T is executing multiple large-scale projects: 230 MW ground-mounted solar PV project in Tamil Nadu, 490 MW+ of ground

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mounted solar PV Projects in Gujarat, and another prestigious MW Scale floating solar PV project of 20 MW in Uttar Pradesh. Further, L&T is having a strong pipeline of projects cumulating to 1.5 GW+ under various stages of discussion. Globally, L&T has made significant breakthroughs in the Middle East Region with over 1.5 GW of projects and in ASEAN, began construction of a battery energy storage project in Thailand.

How do you ensure that the safety and quality parameters are met at your project sites?

Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) is a core value engrained in L&T. Well established systems are in place and are holistically implemented at all stages of construction. L&T is accredited with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. L&T has a strong focus on quality and safety standards, despite stringent timelines in renewables projects.

L&T had announced a strategic initiative for digital transformation. Could you please provide some details?

Launched i n Mar ch 2019, t he company ’ s t echnol ogy pl a t f or m, L&T Nx T, l ev er ages t he gr oup’ s deep i ndus t r y domai n ex per t i s e, i nf or mat i on t echnol ogy capabi l i t i es and l ear ni ngs f r om t he di gi t al t r ans f or mat i on of t hei r di v er s e bus i nes s es t o del i v er di s r upt i v e di gi t al out comes f or i t s gl obal cus t omer s . Some of t he di gi t al i ni t i at i v es i mpl ement ed i n r enewabl es pr oj ect s a r e dr onebas ed geos pat i al s ur v ey s , wor k er av ai l abi l i t y , machi ne a nd ma t er i a l t r ack i ng, pr oj ect pr ogr es s moni t or i ng, and v i s i on a na l y t i cs enabl ed qual i t y cont r ol . Thes e i ni t i at i v es opt i mi s e t he

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productivity of resources, avoid project delays and cost overruns.

L&T Nxt has launched several digital initiatives to maximise yield and reduce unplanned downtime to reduce operating costs and risks in solar plant O&M like online condition monitoring and predictive maintenance of critical plant assets, optimised spares stocking, optimised worker availability and yield maximisation, as well as remote monitoring of renewable assets.

What are the current and potential challenges faced by the solar EPC sector in India these days?

Some of t he k ey chal l enges f a ced by s ol ar pl ay er s i n I ndi a a r e pl ummet i ng t ar i f f s , i nt r oduct i on of bas i c cus t oms dut y , r i s i ng modul e pr i ces , commodi t y pr i ce f l uct uat i ons and l ogi s t i ca l i s s ues .

Fur t her , oper at i ng dur i ng t he ongoi ng pandemi c pos es ma ny chal l enges f or EPC pl a y er s a l ong wi t h del ay s and cancel l a t i on of PPA t hat af f ect t he pi pel i ne v i s i bi l i t y . Howev er , i t i s a nt i ci pa t ed t hat mar k et wi l l s t abi l i z e i n t he nex t s i x mont hs t o one- y ea r t i mel i ne

What is the way forward for the RE sector and L&T specially?` With the government planning to establish 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030, there is a lot to look forward to as the renewables market is moving towards round the clock power supply backed with a range of storage solutions.

In addition, the huge influx of foreign developers and investors into the market, lays greater emphasis on construction quality and bankable EPC partners.

With L&T’s engineering knowhow, technologies such as bifacial modules on trackers, and massive mechanised and digitalised construction resources, we are well placed to give customers the edge with total solutions for large EPC tenders of 1-2 GW scale. L&T is constantly innovating and exploring various new and advanced technologies like bifacial trackers, battery storage solutions for various applications etc.

Further, L&T sees Green Hydrogen as a next big game changer in the renewables market and aims to become a Global EPC solution provider for green hydrogen projects.

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IN CONVERSATION

EDF wants to double its renewable capacity from 28 GW to 60 GW and triple its business outside of Europe.

Harmanjit Nagi, Managing Director, EDF India

In an exclusive conversation with Solar Quarter India magazine, Mr. Harmanjit Nagi, Managing Director, EDF India talks about his company’s offerings in Indian market and globally. He also spoke about the company’s plan on smart meter expansion and solar portfolio in India.

Can you give a brief overview of EDF’s global portfolio?

The EDF Group is a French-based integrated electricity company active in all areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading, energy services. A key player in energy transition, EDF is a global leader in low-carbon energies and has developed a diversified generation mix based on nuclear power, hydropower and new renewables. The Group is involved in over 20 countries all over the world and supplies approximately 38 million customers.

As a European leader in the development of renewable energy sources and 5th biggest player in the world, EDF creates, builds, and manages renewable energy power plants across the globe. Wind and solar photovoltaic power are the mainstays of our growth. Offshore wind power is also a stronghold for our organisation; alongside we also have a strong presence in other areas of the renewable energy sector, such as energy storage.

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Historically, EDF has had a strong position in renewables in Europe and North America. The company is spreading to lucrative emerging markets like the Middle East, Brazil, China and of course India. Between 2015 and 2030, EDF wants to double its renewable capacity from 28 GW to 60 GW and triple its business outside of Europe. This strategic orientation is in alignment with the company' s raison d' être (corporate purpose), that is to contribute to a net zero energy future with low-carbon electricity and innovative technologies and services.

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

EDF Group has been present in India for more than 25 years and aims to support the country’ s energy transition towards a lowcarbon sustainable future by leveraging innovative solutions.

EDF counts India as one of the main growth countries, crucial for achieving two of our strategic goals: tripling our business outside Europe and double its renewable installed capacity worldwide by 2030. India has proven to be an important market for EDF primarily in renewables with solar and wind energy projects. Active in all the areas of the electricity value chain that are key for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, we are now among the top 15 solar and wind project developers in India,

especially after the most recent acceleration of our renewable energy portfolio.

EDF has achieved a secured portfolio of 2.8GW of renewable energy capacity in less than four years. In solar, EDF counts 207 MWp operating plants, 450 MWp under construction, and over 1350 MWp under development in India as of 2020. In addition, EDF counts 269 MW of operational and 300 MW of wind energy projects under construction. We are also in discussions with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for the development and construction of the biggest nuclear plant in the world, with six EPR units totaling close to 10,000 MWe at the Jaitapur site, Maharashtra, India.

We have recently been awarded a contract by EESL, to install 5 million smart meters in India. This opens a new chapter in the development of EDF’ s business in India, a country that is key in our international strategy. This is one of the two 5 million smart meters contracts ever awarded in India. In terms of number of smart meters, such contracts are the most important.

Ours is by far the most competitive and the most innovative.

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Did you have to adapt the timeline of your projects, for instance in renewables or the 5 million smart meters project?

How much delay are you expecting due to the ongoing pandemic ?

Jus t l i k e f or mos t bus i nes s es , t he s ani t ar y cr i s i s has i nev i t a bl y ha d a cer t ai n i mpact on t he ex ecut i on of our pr oj ect s . I t i s nor ma l a s t he k ey pr i or i t y dur i ng t hi s t i me wa s t o r es pect t he s ani t ar y mea s ur es a nd pr ot ect our empl oy ees a nd cont r act or s . The ener gy s ect or ha s bounced back qui ck l y , whi ch mak es us conf i dent f or t he f ut ur e.

We ar e conf i dent i n our ca pa ci t y t o mak e up f or t he l ock down per i od.

Thi s has been a f i r s t of i t s k i nd pr oj ect t o be i mpl ement ed on a PAN I ndi a bas i s begi nni ng wi t h t he s t at e of Bi har . Her e, we woul d l i k e t o emphas i z e t hat EDF ha s been i mpl ement i ng an AMI s ol ut i on on Pr e- pai d mode, whi ch i s f i r s t of i t s k i nd i n I ndi a.

What I ’ d l i k e t o s t r es s i s t ha t t he ener gy s ect or has t he pot ent i a l t o pl ay a maj or r ol e i n t he economi c r ev i v al af t er t he cr i s i s ; i t ha s t he pot ent i al of cr eat i ng qua l i t y j obs , es peci al l y i n t he f i el ds s uch a s r enewabl es , s mar t ci t y , ener gy ef f i ci ency et c. Don’ t f or get t ha t t he cl i mat e emer gency i s s t i l l t her e.

We need t o addr es s t he cl i ma t e emer gency and economi c r ecov er y at t he s ame t i me.

EDF HAS ACHIEVED A SECURED PORTFOLIO OF 2.8GW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY IN LESS THAN FOUR YEARS. IN SOLAR, EDF COUNTS 207 MWP OPERATING PLANTS, 450 MWP UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND OVER 1350 MWP UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA AS OF 2020."

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WE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN AWARDED A CONTRACT BY EESL, TO INSTALL 5 MILLION SMART METERS IN INDIA.

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

The I ndi an s mar t met er ma r k et i s ex pect ed t o hav e a dema nd of 300 mi l l i on uni t s . EDF cur r ent l y hol ds one of t he t wo l ar ges t cont r a ct s i n t hi s s ect or f or t he i ns t a l l a t i on of 5 mi l l i on s mar t met er s i n I ndi a .

As f or t he l at t er , we j us t compl et ed t he f i r s t s t age of i t , whi ch i s t he i mpl ement at i on of 100, 000 s ma r t met er s i n Bi har . The mi l es t one mar k s t he begi nni ng of t he commer ci al r ol l - out of 5 mi l l i on s mar t met er s i ns t al l at i on a cr os s I ndi a, near l y hal f of whi ch wi l l be i ns t al l ed i n t he s t at e of Bi ha r . The cont r act was awar ded t o EDF ( 95%) i n as s oci at i on wi t h Accent ur e Sol ut i ons Pr i v a t e Li mi t ed ( I ndi a) i n 2019. Thi s i s t he f i r s t l ar ge s cal e pr epa i d s ma r t met er s ol ut i on t o be depl oy ed i n I ndi a.

Mor e t han 85 peopl e f r om EDF a r e f ul l t i me depl oy ed on t hi s pr oj ect .

Thi s f i gur e wi l l gr adua l l y i ncr ea s e t o mor e t han 120 peopl e f r om EDF depl oy ed on t he pr oj ect . EDF ha s hi r ed s o f ar 27 I ndi an engi neer s .

30 peopl e ar e depl oy ed by our I T s ubcont r act or s on t he pr oj ect .

Addi t i onal l y , i n Bi har , oper a t i ona l t eams ar e t r ai ned t o i ns t a l l met er s .

I t i s ex pect ed t hat ov er 3000 j obs wi l l be gener at ed f or t he i ns t al l at i on of 5 mi l l i on s ma r t met er s i n t he f i el d.

The s mar t met er pr oj ect i n New Del hi ( NDMC) ( wi t h 75, 000 i ns t al l ed s mar t met er s ) s t a nds compl et ed, wi t h t he s y s t em compl et el y oper at i ona l . I t wa s commi s s i oned i n Janua r y 2019.

We ar e cur r ent l y bi ddi ng on a number of s mar t met er pr oj ect s acr os s mul t i pl e I ndi an s t a t es .

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

Solar energy is a reliable, lowcarbon and increasingly competitive solution. The segment is developing rapidly as a result of improved technologies and lower generating costs. Worldwide capacity increased by a factor of 66 between 2004 (3.7 GW) and 2015 (247 GW). Meanwhile, the price of photovoltaic modules was reduced by 90% over a 10-year period.

EDF has a strong solar expertise.

The company is established in 13 countries with major projects such as DEWA 800MWc in the UAE, Bolero 146 MWc in Chile and Pirapora 400 MWc in Brazil. Last summer, our subsidiary EDF Renewables won the Al Dhafra project the most powerful photovoltaic power plant in the world (2000 MW) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. In view of this, EDEN Renewables India, a joint venture formed by EDF Renewables and Total EREN signed last October a 25-year long term PPAs for four solar power projects totaling 716 MWp of installed capacities in Northern India. EDEN Renewables aims to reinforce its development on solar photovoltaic in the Indian market with competitive tariffs thanks to its experts based in New Delhi. We also successfully participated in 2020 solar PV tenders and won 3 projects amounting to 1350 MWp capacity to be built by 2022.

Currently in India, EDF Group has a portfolio of 2.8GW of renewable projects (operating, under construction and under development), making us one of the top 15 players in this segment.

We definitely plan on pursuing our rapid growth supported by our local expertise and the resources of our shareholders and on growing our team and attracting new high levels of competences and talents. We plan to contribute to the Indian government’s plan to reach 220 GW of non-fossil generation by 2022.

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PERSPECTIVE VIEWS ON: LATEST BIDDING TRENDS & TARIFF DISCOVERY

PRELUDE: In order to achieve its renewable energy goals, India must increase its solar energy potential. Besides the policy commitments, the competitiveness of the cost of the tariffs of these renewal energies aids the adoption of the same. The Indian administration is taking up several measures to speed the process up. Moreover, the government also highlights that they are “greening the economy.” There have been a series of latest changes that took place with regards to the state’s solar energy sector, continue reading to get to know of the same.

Solar energy tariffs have witnessed a gradual decline over the years in India and globally. In the recent Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auction on November 23, 2020, India set a new record low solar power tariff of ₹ 2/kWh. The tariff-based bidding process was used to select solar power developers for the construction of 1,070 megawatts (MW) of grid-connected solar PV projects in Rajasthan on a “build-own-operate” (BOO) basis. In the recent Gujarat auction, the solar power tariff continued to fall to a new all-time low of ₹ 1.99 or ₹ 2 per kWh. Market recession in the months leading up to two auctions, an influx of major capital into the market, declining cost of capital, competitive offers by PSUs, and positive expectations about the use of new technology and equipment prices all contributed to the low bids.

Let us read what are the experts views on the latest bidding trends & tariff discovery

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MANJESH NAYAK CFO/Director, Oorjan Cleantech Pvt. Ltd.

Historically, Solar tariff in India has been constantly on a declining trend. For reference, the Solar tariffs have dropped by over 70% in the past 8 years. From the tariff levels of Rs 7.5 per unit in 2013-14, we have seen a low of Rs 1.99 per unit at the auction of 1070 MW by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) conducted in November 2020. This deflationary trend in the solar tariff has been majorly driven by falling module prices and increased availability of low-cost funds. As reported by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global average cost of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) has fallen by over 82% in the 2010-2019 period and has continued to fall further. Considering the continued trend of falling module prices, better funding prospects, growing consumer awareness and increasing installed capacities, the solar tariff seems to continue on its downward trajectory in the long run. However, the trend is facing some roadblocks in the short to medium term.

The COVID induced pandemic and the lockdown has resulted in a slowdown in project executions as well as in fresh capacity additions. Further, the delays in signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and power sale agreements (PSAs) is a major downside risk for investors.

As of March 2021, about 19 GW of renewable energy PSAs auctioned by SECI were yet to be signed by the State Discoms. This is mainly due to the Discom’s expectations of lower rates. The imposition of Basic Customs duty (BCD) on imported panels and further proposals to impose safeguard duties on imports coupled with the strained Indo-China geo-political relations is putting upward pressure on the PV costs.

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These factors are contributing to an upward pressure on the tariff. The recently concluded auctions have seen winning tariffs of up to Rs 2.58 per unit. Though there is an upward push on the tariff, the industry does expect this to be below Rs 3 per unit and remain cost competitive.

Overall, various positive factors at home like competitive tariff, pro-solar and pro-consumer policies, large to ultralarge solar project auctions and interests, increasing consumer awareness and falling PV costs are leading to increased interest of foreign investors in the Indian Solar market. This in turn has helped project developers gain access to low-cost funds which will push the tariff lower and make it further competitive. On the contrary, in the near term, factors such as implementation of BCD, delay in signing of PPAs and PSAs, geo-political condition and COVID induced pandemic has created an inflationary trend. While the market will settle between these factors in the long run, for a sustainable and competitive tariff discovery, the focus has to remain on quality of installation, the plant efficiency and longevity of the project. Similarly, from the macro economic point of view, policy certainty, addressing Discom’s financial and technical woes, incentivising domestic manufacturing of solar cells and modules, fast tracking land acquisition and allocation are factors which would enable developers to carry out proper risk assessment and financial modelling to quote a competitive tariff.

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VIBHUTI GARG Energy Economist, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)

Solar tariffs are deflationary, with 2020 seeing a new record low in India. Prices have fallen by 75% in 7 years. From 2019 to the first quarter of 2020, most of the newlyauctioned solar projects saw tariffs in the range of Rs2.52.87/kilowatt hour (kWh). Then in February 2020, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) removed ceiling tariffs for all new solar and wind tenders to hasten tender activity and capacity allocation. From Quarter 2 of 2020, prices were in the range of Rs.1.99-2.97/kWh, thereby hitting the new record low tariff in the bids.

The reasons for such low tariffs were access to low cost financing (cheaper interest rates) by international developers based out of Saudi Arabia (Aljomaih Energy and Water Co.) and Singapore (Sembcorp) as well as government entities like NTPC which can secure debt at a rate of 7-7.5%. Since they can source funds at lower rates their return on equity expectation is also lower. Also, these tenders are likely to be exempted from the Safeguard Duty (SGD) and Basic Custom Duty (BCD). Another key factor was the power purchase assurance for the developers as the power sale agreement (PSA) between the intermediary procurer Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the buying entity, Rajasthan Discom, Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RUVNL). The other tender was issued by Gujarat Discom, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL).

2021, however, witnessed an upward solar tariff trend. In January and February 2021, the lowest tariffs discovered were Rs2.22/kWh and Rs2.25/kWh in the bid auctions by Torrent Power Ltd. (TPL) and NTPC Ltd. The tariff increases could be attributed to lack of participation by international developers like Aljomaih Energy and Water Co and Sembcorp etc. Moreover, module prices increased from USD0.20/Wp in July 2020 to USD0.22-0.23/Wp in January 2021, causing an increase in solar prices. Further, module suppliers are now selling modules at FOB (free on Board) prices instead of CIF (cost, insurance, and freight) prices, impacting the solar prices in India.

In March 2021, the Government imposed 40% basic customs duty (BCD) on solar modules and 25% on solar cells from 1 April 2022 in a move to promote domestic manufacturing. The imposition of BCD is likely to increase solar tariffs by ~25%. GUVNL 500MW Gujarat, the first solar auction result after the BCD announcement, witnessed a lowest tariff of Rs2.22/kWh, a 21 paisa (12%) increase per kWh from the previous GUVNL tender with the same conditions. While lower prices are favourable for renewable energy growth, there are risks with aggressive tariffs and developers should factor these risks properly into their bids. With improved module technology, generation will be higher and access to low cost financing will be another factor pulling solar prices down. However, a rise in module costs because of various global demand supply factors, floating interest rates that change in line with RBI guidelines etc. can push prices upwards.

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NITESH NATH Head- Projects, Hero Future Energies

Going back to the prime point in bidding process during uncertain times Recent solar auctions witnessed higher tariffs compared to the historic low discovered during SECI bid of 1070 MW in Rajasthan and GUVNL auction of 500 MW auction earlier this year. The upward trend in tariff is an indication of cautious approach of developers owing to increasing module prices which are presently USD 24 cents/ Wp and not showing any signs of softening in near future. Though India’s cumulative solar installations hit the 40 GW milestone in February 2021, according to Mercom India research, without government intervention, the latest turn of events could cause the industry to be pushed back by a decade.

The pandemic has already demonstrated the ripple effects that disruptions in one part of the supply chain can have on supply of components and project completion. In the light of covid 19, most module suppliers have been offering modules at FOB prices instead of CIF prices, to take care of their increasing cost of shipping and logistics.

Rising prices of steel, aluminium and copper have added up to this situation.

This sector is also plagued by the government's decision to impose a basic customs duty (BCD) of 25% on imported solar photovoltaic cells and 40% on imported solar modules from April 1, 2022, leading to an imbalance in the supply chain ecosystem during these nine months of no duty period. Consequently, solar tariffs are going to remain high in FY 2021-22 unless some developers take on the aggressive bidding route. The pieces of the puzzle in historic low tariffs fall into place mostly with foreign players in Indian solar horizon with low cost of capital and predictions around southward movement of module prices.

Higher tariffs also pose a challenge for offtake of green power, as there is a gap in DISCOM’s tariff expectations and willingness of project developers to match those expectations. When our nation is committed towards a greener and cleaner transition, looking into affordability challenges and price sensitivity among state discoms can be a good start. Since India has a policy-driven model, in such challenging times, the government can encourage market-driven reforms in energy pricing and distribution to bridge such gaps.

To make solar projects viable as well as attractive for the global investors community, IPPs are embracing newer module technology and exploring integration of greener technologies. Since project completion timelines are a crucial cog, if the government prioritizes reforms around transmission and regulatory risks or land availability, developers can absorb 5-10% annual decline of solar tariffs over the coming decade and still be competitive among incumbent fossil fuel alternatives.

India is targeting about 450 Gigawatt (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 and, of that, over 60% is expected from solar. The industry’s major ask at this point is outlining clear roadmaps and details on policy measures to spur investment in renewables.

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PERSPECTIVE

WHAT ARE THE NEW MARKET OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIAN DEVELOPERS IN SOLAR + STORAGE SPACE? JAYMIN GAJJAR Senior Research Engineer Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a research-based think tank.

Solar-plus-storage technology is set for a promising future in India because of rapidly rising electricity demand, ambitious solar targets, higher solar penetration, and falling prices of solar and storage technologies in the nation.

As of 31 March 2021, the total power generation capacity in India is 382. 15 GW, of which 234. 7 GW is thermal and 94. 4 GW is renewable energy (RE), with nuclear and hydro accounting for the rest. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the electricity demand in India will be higher than that of any other nation in the next two decades because of growing population, urbanisation, and industrialisation. Considering this, the Government of India (GoI) aims to deploy 450 GW of RE (including 300 GW of solar) by 2030. To honour its aggressive climate goals, the Government expects to meet half of the nation’ s electricity demand with RE, particularly solar energy.

The increasing level of solar penetration in the power grid will create some serious challenges to the grid operations because of the intermittency in solar outputs. Energy storage technologies could be the most effective solution to maintain the balance between power supply and demand in the grid.

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Why is solar -plus-storage the future of India?

New opportunities for developers

Solar power has now become the cheapest source of energy in the country. For instance, in December 2020, a 500 MW capacity solar plant in Gujarat was auctioned at a new low tariff of INR 1.99 per unit. The key reasons behind the reduction in solar tariffs are low-cost financing and the decline in solar module prices.

Wide-scale adoption of solar will lead to wide-scale implementation of storage, which in turn will offer opportunities to developers to implement GW-scale storage technologies along with solar.

This would also create opportunities for energy storage providers to participate in wholesale electricity markets. Moreover, smart technologies and storage technologies could be deployed in power grids to modernise and stabilise the grid infrastructure.

Also, there are different energy storage technologies available in the market, viz. Batteries, flywheels, pumped-hydro storage, and supercapacitors. For grid-level applications, battery technologies have become the preferred option across the world because of their falling costs and technological innovations in the field. According to studies, lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) have high energy efficiency, high energy density, and a long cycle life compared to other battery technologies.

Studies also estimate the costs of grid-scale LiB storage systems. The estimated tariff rates for co-located LiBs (storing 25% of solar power) and solar-plus-LiBs in 2025 and 2030 are presented in Table 1.

Developers would also have possibilities to identify suitable locations to deploy storage technologies as they can be deployed in the transmission network or distribution network (near load centres), and co-located with solar generators. For siting the storage, it is essential to evaluate the costs and advantages of multiple locations to determine the optimal siting and have clarity on the expected revenue streams.

HENCE, SOLAR-PLUS-STORAGE IS A VIABLE OPTION TO SUPPLY AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE POWER TO CONSUMERS.

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MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 35

INSIGHT POWER DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES IN INDIA

OPPORTUNITIES & WINDS OF CHANGE Power Distribution Utilities (Discoms) are the last (but not the least) mile entities in the power supply chain.

The business touches each one of us in multiple ways and it has evolved over the past several decades.

There have been rapid changes in the sector in the past decade in which each stakeholder has played an important role. With the advent of aggressive RE targets, several challenges and opportunities have opened up for the Discoms. While It is a great cost-effective opportunity of decarbonizing their respective power portfolios, the legacy fixed cost PPAs, which are sometimes disproportionate to their base load, poses a commercial challenge in RE absorption.

Over the years the Discoms in India have incurred losses on account of multiple factors: high input power purchase cost (especially fixed component), operational inefficiencies of Discoms, lack of technology

implementation in the realm of Customer Metering & Billing, customer care etc. There are few shining examples of PPP models of Power Distribution in our country including Delhi, which have presented a very positive story and way to go for the Discoms in the country.

About 80% of the cost of Discom is power purchase cost and almost 50% of this cost is the Fixed cost of PPAs. The AT&C losses (national average) was 22.03% for 2018-191, while for the private / PPP discoms, the AT&C losses have now reduced to less than 10%.

The recent changes in the sector have now opened up new vistas for the reincarnation of the Discoms and transform to Distribution System Operator Role (DSO).

The draft National Electricity Policy 2021 has introduced the need for DSO for real time operation of distribution systems. The DSO has to deal with Distributed Energy

AGGREGATE LOSSES FOR STATE DISCOMS

Source: PFC report on performance of State Power | Utilities 2018-19.

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resources like Rooftop solar, EV charging, BESS, Demand response & DSM and ensure secure and reliable supply to the prosumers, while maintaining grid security.

The Discoms have an opportunity to utilize Rooftop Solar and other DERs to improve its operational efficiency, reduce power purchase cost, optimize on the cross-subsidy burden and thereby create headroom to liquidate Regulatory Assets, while optimizing the retail tariff of Commercial and Industrial consumers.

The infusion of technology on massive scale in the distribution operation including Distributed Energy Resources management System (DERMS), Non Wired Assets (NWAs), communicable metering infrastructure, cloud based infrastructure (with appropriate cyber security measures) is the way to go for Discoms. The DSOs may also diversify into the role of Distributed Market Operators (DMOs) in future in line with ISOs operating the wholesale markets.

In nutshell, the Discoms are today at the crossroads of rapid changes in the sector and the winds of change have already started. The opportunity beckons for the Discoms to align and reinvent itself and we see positive vibes in the shape of draft National Electricity Policy 2021.

AUTHOR: ABHISHEK RANJAN POWER DISTRIBUTION UTILITY PROFESSIONAL

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INSIGHT

AUCTION TARIFF RATE TREND ANALYSIS FOR Q42020 : Q12021

Last two quarters have been a roller coaster ride for India's solar auction tariff rate. In Dec 2020, GUVNL 500MW (Ph-XI) auction saw the lowest ever tariff rate of 1.99 INR/Kwh. After which tariff rate increased to 2.41INR/Kwh and 2.95INR/Kwh for 1.2GW ISTS connected wind solar hybrid power project (Tranche III) and NTPC 190MW Nokh Solar Park respectively.

In March 2021 MNRE imposed a Basic Custom Duty (BCD) of 40% on solar modules and 25% on Solar Cells, starting from April 1,2022.

The announcement to impose BCD on solar cells and modules does not allow 'Grandfathering' of projects already auctioned. Bidders were cautioned to take the BCD into account while quoting tariffs in all future bids where the last date of bid submission falls after this notification. In all such bids, the imposition of BCD will not be considered a 'Change in Law'.

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Industry was watching the impact of this duty on the projects under construction, especially those who quoted bids of 2INR/Kwh and below in recent auctions.

After the announcement of BCD, the first auction of 500MW GUVNL Solar Auction (Ph-XII) in March 2021 saw the lowest tariff rate of 2.2INR/Kwh, an 11% increase from historical lowest tariff rate of 1.99INR/Kwh. Though the bidders for the particular tender did not take into account the BCD factor, the uptrend of tariff rate could be the cause of higher module price trend, higher freight rate, higher aluminium, Silver, Copper price trend.

Also after the end of safeguard duty period from 31st July,2021 there will be a gap of no duty period for 9 month upto April,2022. It is expected all the solar developers will try to procure their modules in this no duty gap period which will suddenly increase the module demand exponentially in this no duty gap period.

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COMPANY FEATURE

AMIDST STEEP PRICE HIKES IN RAW MATERIALS, LONGI WORKS WITH CUSTOMERS IN INDIA TO FIND “WIN-WIN” SOLUTIONS TO DELIVER MODULES ON TIME; STAYS ON PATH TO MEET INDIA’S RE TARGETS. A recent article published by The Economic Times titled “Indian solar companies on edge as Chinese vendors exit deals” reported that “Leading solar module suppliers from China including Longi Solar and Jinko Solar are backing out of signed contracts with Indian power developers, citing rising commodity prices, said people aware of the matter.” This report inferred that LONGi unilaterally terminated contracts with our customers, which is factually incorrect.

LONGi would like to clarify that no contracts signed with developers in India have been terminated. Module price increase was necessary due to price hikes in the raw materials used in manufacturing. LONGi engaged with every developer to renegotiate terms of the contracts, always with an intent to find a “win-win” position for both parties. With modules making up 5560% of project CAPEX in a highly competitive market like India, LONGi recognizes that independent power producers (IPPs) have thin margins. LONGi has accepted negative margins and losses to bridge the price gap so our customers can realize their planned projects on schedule.

Raw material prices are driven by many factors which are not in control of OEMs like LONGi. The PV industry has experienced several rounds of raw material price increases since the second half of 2020-from polysilicon to materials such as PV glass and silver paste. Between June 2020 and February 2021, glass prices surged by around 80% per square meter. Prices for polysilicon and silver also skyrocketed by 64% and 55%, respectively. Silver is mainly used in manufacturing silver paste for solar cell metallization.

Overall module cost has increased about 35% and has remained high, due to the sharp price increases in these raw materials. All panel manufacturers are unable to fully absorb the steep rise in upstream cost.

Meanwhile, freight rates have also increased substantially due to a shortage of shipping capacity

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under COVID-19 regulations for the crew, pushing up module prices further.

“Our clients, which are leading IPPs in India and worldwide, are fully aware of the price increases in raw materials and freight cost. It is a difficult situation and beyond any of our control. It is in this scenario that LONGi and our partners mutually renegotiated the price terms in supply contracts to ensure on time project completion. We are happy to announce that we have been able to successfully fulfill almost all our clients’ orders and made deliveries on time. There has been no instance of unilateral contract termination whatsoever.

In fact, LONGi, being a vertically integrated player, was able to minimise the price impact for our clients as much as possible by realizing negative margins on the delivery of modules,” says Mr. Dennis She, Senior Vice President, LONGi Solar.

LONGi has strong, long-standing relationships with both large and small IPPs in India. The company has signed large, strategic contracts with several leading solar power developers and continues to deliver successfully on its commitments.

LONGi is committed to supporting the Government of India’s mission to promote domestic production of solar equipment. The company has been comprehensively assessing setting up a production base in India and preliminary preparations are already completed. It already acquired land in India to set up local manufacturing operations.

“India has always been a market we have paid great attention to. We hope to offer high-efficiency monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) products in India on a large scale as well as support the government’s policy of domestic manufacturing. In 2020, we brought over 1.5 GW PV products to India, and in 2021, we have already supplied 1 GW till date, which has been praised and trusted by Indian customers,” She added.

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PRODUCT FEATURE

SOLARNXT®: A CENTRALIZED MONITORING SOLUTION FOR DEVELOPERS OF DISTRIBUTED SOLAR ROOFTOP PLANTS BACKGROUND Tremendous growth is projected in small solar rooftop plant deployments in India.

A target of 40 GW has been set for the rooftop solar segment, and a subsidy program has been created to incentivize this.

On the ground, the program is driven by individual states by a tendering process.

Tenders are awarded and distributed across a few developers, each of whom is allotted a chunk. Post the commissioning, the developers are also responsible for the operations & maintenance (O&M) of these solar plants.

PROBLEM STATEMENT In the O&M phase, developers of large fleets of small rooftops face several challenges which are unique and not seen in utility scale projects.

Highly distributed: Even a 5 MW tender for 10 kW typical plant size would mean 500 solar plants on 500 roofs!

Spread across large geographies: To ensure equitable distribution of the subsidy, the state-level tenders usually target certain segments such as schools or hospitals or govt buildings spread over all districts of the state.

O&M Challenge: The first two challenges and the wafer-thin project margins mean that it is not viable to deploy site-level O&M personnel.

Multiple Inverter Brands: Low project margins means that developers often use a mix of higher cost, premium inverter brands and lower cost alternatives.

Monitoring of Performance by State Nodal Agencies: Every nodal agency has its own prescribed report format.

MEGAMIC’S SOLUTION Megamic’s SolarNxt® platform has been carefully designed, from the grounds up, to tackle the above challenges faced by distributed solar asset owners. It has been successfully deployed and is being used to centrally monitor diverse assets – Solar Rooftops, Solar Water Pumps, Solar Street Lights.

Reliable, yet low-cost hardware: The starting point of the monitoring solution is Megamic’s proprietary remote monitoring unit (RMU). The RMU is highly costoptimized with the right feature set.

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2G based hardware: Lower running cost compared to 4G solution.

Supports multiple inverter brands.

No loss of data: Store data locally, during network outages.

Robust firmware: Ensures operation even in areas with poor network coverage.

Data download: Using USB pen drive, in areas where network is absent.

Over the Air update: RMU firmware upgrade over the air.

SolarNxt ® Central Monitoring Platform: Aggregates data from all sites in the project in a single place.

Single screen visualization for plants spread across city/state/country, irrespective of inverter brand.

Intelligent filtering options to group and filter sites Location, generation, alarms etc.

Draws attention of O&M team to under-performing plants.

Intelligent classification of alerts and alarms for quick action Allows O&M actions to be prioritized Define new alerts in the portal, based on data trends over time Evolving analytics Data collected over time is used to design new algorithms to identify issues

PARTIAL LIST OF SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENTS Monitoring of 500 grid-tied solar plants (10 kW) across West Bengal Nodal Agency: WBREDA Monitoring of a large fleet of grid-tied solar plants (small commercial) across India Monitoring of ~ 1000 solar street lights across Nagaland Nodal Agency: DNRE Megamic Provides Monitoring, Analytics, Diagnostics and Asset Management Capabilities to O&M Teams and asset owners to Improve their ROI on large scale distributed solar PV Plants through its innovative portfolio of field proven products and solutions ranging from Dataloggers, String Monitoring Units, Smart SCADA Panels, Plant Power Controllers, Zero Export Controllers and SolarNxt® - Cloud based solution.

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COMPANY FEATURE

THE COMPANY STATED THAT THE 2021 ANNUAL OBJECTIVE IS TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN TO INCREASE ANNUAL OUTPUT AND FINALIZE THE BUILD OF A BRAND-NEW SMART FACTORY. Ningbo, China-Ginlong Technologies Co.,Ltd. (Solis) published its 2020 annual report. In 2020, the Company’s revenue reached USD 321.6 million, an increase of 83% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to the shareholders was USD 48.9 million, an increase of 151% year-on-year.

Net profit after the deduction of extraordinary items was USD 43.1 million, +130% year-on-year. Net cash flow from operating activities was USD 56.3 million, +154% year-onyear. The Company plans to convert 7 shares per 10 shares to all the shareholders in the form of capital reserve.

The Company operates in the field of distributed solar power generation, specializing in the research & development, production, sales and service of string inverters, core components within a distributed solar power generation system. Among the first batch of residential series grid connected inverter companies to enter the international market, the Company has adhered to the global strategy of developing domestic and foreign markets in parallel. In 2020, the global solar photovoltaic market experienced a boom. The Company implemented a global strategy to pursue balanced development, and technological innovation to promote continuous product iteration. Under these favorable conditions, the Company witnessed rapid growth. Sales within the China market reached USD 127.3 million, an increase of 93% year-on-year. The proceeds of sales in overseas markets (including Australia, USA, and

Europe reached USD 194.4 million, an increase of 76% year-on-year.

According to the 2021 Q1 report disclosed by the Company, revenue reached USD 95. 2 million, an increase of 119% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was USD 163, 580. 2 , an increase of 81. 29% v’ s the same period in 2020. In addition to rapid sales growth of string inverters, the Company said that the sales of energy storage inverters also increased. The 2021 Q1 sales of energy storage inverters reached USD 5. 6 million; almost the total annual sales achieved in 2020.

In 2020, the Company increased R&D investment, spending USD 14. 5 million, an increase of 122% yearon-year, which accelerated the R&D and development of new products. Within the reporting period, and responding to global market demand, the Company launched the Solis-(215-255)K-EHV-5G ultra-high power 1500V inverter series. This further enhanced the Company’ s competitiveness in sectors such as utility scale and ground mount solar power plants.

The Company stated that the 2021 annual obj ective is to implement the plan to increase annual output and finalize the build of a brand-new smart factory. This will deliver against efforts to raise the annual output target above 100% and transition from the existing man-machine manufacturing methods to automatic production and intelligent manufacturing.

ACCORDING TO THE 2021 Q1 REPORT DISCLOSED BY THE COMPANY, REVENUE REACHED USD 95.2 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF 119% YEAR-ONYEAR. About Ginlong Technologies:

Established in 2005, Ginlong (Solis) Technologies (Stock Code: 300763.SZ) is one of the experienced and largest manufacturers of PV string inverters. Presented under the Solis brand, the company's portfolio uses innovative string inverter technology to deliver first-class reliability that has been validated under the most stringent international certifications. Armed with a global supply chain, world-class R&D and manufacturing capabilities, Ginlong optimizes its inverters for each regional market, servicing and supporting its customers with its team of local experts, visit www.solisinverters.com

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PRODUCT FEATURE

THE WORLD’S MOST BANKABLE INVERTER BRAND Sungrow is the world’s most bankable inverter brand with over 154 GW installations worldwide as of December 2020. Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy systems for utility-scale, commercial & industrial and residential applications as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions. The company’s global annual production capacity reaches 90 GW, including 10GW of India factory.

The SG250HX-IN-20 is the 1500Vdc string inverter, featuring a high capacity of 250kW. The product is of a maximum efficiency of 99% and compatible with bifacial modules, offering a higher yield. The system features 12 MPPTs and a flexible block design allowing for up to 6.75MW blocks, significantly reducing LCOE.

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Particularly with an ingress protection level of IP66 and an anti-corrosion grade of C5, the inverter is resilient in harsh conditions like desert and coastal areas. With smart forced air-cooling technology, the SG250HX-IN-20 can operate without derating at extremely high temperatures. The system is also inserted with fault diagnostic and IV-curve scan function, making it easier for operation and maintenance. Embedded anti-PID function will lead to much less module degradation. Also, the improved Power Line Communication (PLC) shall decrease installation cost without excessive communication wiring.

THE INVERTER IS RESILIENT IN HARSH CONDITIONS LIKE DESERT AND COASTAL AREAS. WITH SMART FORCED AIRCOOLING TECHNOLOGY, THE SG250HX-IN-20 CAN OPERATE WITHOUT DERATING AT EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURES.

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OPINION HOW LARGE SCALE SOLAR PLANTS WILL LOOK IN 2025?

NIVESHRAM N Manager, GM Development from Amplus Solar

Utility Scale Projects in India India’s national solar mission commits to achieve 100 GW of grid-connected solar power by 2022, we are only at app.39 GW of solar installations and roughly around 93 GW of renewable energy installations as of Mar’21. One of the major roadblocks to achieving the 100 GW target is the regulatory uncertainty in the solar sector. Added to this, each of the states have a unique process & procedures from approval to commissioning. This makes the entire process complex and cumbersome for large solar developers.

Today states like Rajasthan and Karnataka have a combined solar installed capacity of approx. 12.5 GW of solar power, which is mainly due to their conducive solar policies accompanied by vast tracts of land availability which aided their growth. While solar policies across various states cover all aspects of solar power extensively, they tend to forget about land. Land is one of the most important resources which makes installation of utility-scale projects feasible. While availability of infertile land is preferred for a solar power plant, it is not always possible. Most of the upcoming solar plants today are constructed on agricultural land either by way of leasing or buying the land.

In the case of agricultural land, one worrying trend is the increase in the number of marginal farmers (who own less than 2.5 acres of land). Such small land holdings not only increase the number of landowners solar power developers need to negotiate with, but also brings in

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political affiliations in the picture. This in turn leads to uncertainty in the project timelines. A solar power plant on average requires an approx. 4 acres of land per MW, and the increase in capacity increases land proportionately.

Whereas when it comes to utility-scale conventional power projects, 1000 acres of land can be used to install thermal power plants of capacities 500 MW to 1GW, while solar developers are able to install only 250-300 MW of solar power.

With the falling solar power tariff and the rapid pace at which technology in the solar sector keeps changing, it makes solar power developers wary of investing in utilityscale projects with regulatory and land uncertainties. On an average the installation to commissioning time of utilityscale solar projects is short, usually varying between 6 months to 1 year. In comparison, an average thermal power plant has a timeline of around 4-5 years and nuclear power plants around 5-7 years. This trend has led solar developers to explore other alternative options to reduce the land per MW of installation, including change in the orientation of PV installations, usage of bi-directional trackers and bi-facial modules. These technologies which were once considered dearer, are now becoming feasible due to the increase in land prices.

Solar policies do not work in isolation for utility-scale projects, but it requires an intersection of and, industrial and solar policy to be on the same page. States are required to actively engage with solar power developers especially in the area of land leasing and acquisition, this would not only alley the fears of investors but will also bring the much-needed investment to the sector.

MAY ISSUE 2021 | PG 44

LAUNCHED NEW EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION for ASEAN Solar Industry

EMPOWERING HIGH GROWTH ASEAN MARKET

For Advertising Opportunities, Contact: Smriti Singh, M: +91 7718877514, e: smriti@firstviewgroup.com For Editorial Participation, Contact: Sangita Shetty, M: +91 88505 69133, e: editorial@firstviewgroup.com

PRODUCT FEATURE

ETi-SOL®: A device agnostic Solar PV SCADA solution by EnerMAN “THE INDIAN ELECTRICITY SECTOR IS ON THE CUSP OF A SOLAR ‐ POWERED REVOLUTION…….”INDIA ENERGY OUTLOOK 2021 BY INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, RELEASED IN FEBRUARY 2021 Going digital is the talk of the town in the solar sector.

Understanding the benefit and ease of digitalization, many have opted for smart meters and monitoring.

However, the big picture is still missing. Yes, the solar sector has remote monitoring gateways that send alarms, notifications on the operational aspects. But very few solutions provide decision driven data that emphasizes economic aspects. As a plant owner, it is righteous to have that economic overview and the big picture of the plant.

ETi-SOL® is one such software solution that provides meaningful insights and drives important economic decisions in a solar plant. In addition to that, ETi-SOL® is a leading brand in terms of hardware retrofits. With a proven track record of retrofits, ETi-SOL® is the first choice in the solar sector independent of the available hardware on-site. Here is why.

ADAPTIVE AND MODULAR ARCHITECTURE

ETi-SOL® is modular and adaptive by design. The data capture and storage, all happens in the application layer and is independent of the end device hardware or the local available gateways. The data capture endpoint is a machine-to-machine interface and this enables a separation between the application layer and the physical layer. ETi-SOL® is structured with application program Interface and is only operating system dependent. A link between the hardware data structure and the ETi-SOL® endpoint, and we are good to go.

SCALABILITY

Are you a plant owner who just bought additional sensor / data equipment and finding it difficult to Integrate with the monitoring system you have?

Well, with ETi-SOL® you can easily scale upon your hardware trouble-free. ETi-SOL® is scalable solution and additional monitoring of devices can be added hassle free.

ETi-SOL® also adapts to the increasing number of users for monitoring your plant. Just write to us on support@enerMAN.in and leave the integration to us.

FLEXIBILITY AND EASY INTEGRATION

Owing to the extensible design of ETi-SOL®, it gives you a great flexibility and interoperability to pick and choose any hardware you want. The integration happens in the application layer. Meaning, there is no restriction on the type of hardware that you need to buy. We can integrate any Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP, analog signals, digital signals and even RF data. You can choose extensive hardware wired or wireless as required for your plant and ETi-SOL® works with everything! We even integrate your existing traditional Programmable logic controllers with our ETi-SOL®.

ETI-SOL® EDGE

ETi-SOL Edge is the newest addition to EnerMAN technologies world class products. ETi-SOL Edge is a local monitoring solution that needs just one computer at your main control room (MCR). No internet & cloud storage required at all. All the required firmware and software can be installed in the computer & ETi-LOG at your MCR, and you have a monitoring solution. This can still be accessed remotely by static IP or third-party remote monitoring tools.

It is a light version of ETi-SOL®. If you are looking for a simple monitoring tool with no or very little Annual maintenance costs, ETi-SOL® Edge should be your choice.

In summary, ETi-SOL® is a flexible, adaptive and modular solar PV SCADA solution which is independent of the hardware used on the field. It integrates with anything.

Such is its architecture. Similarly, ETi-SOL Edge is a light version of ETi-SOL®, a local and device independent SCADA Solution. With the Pandemic striking the world, ETiSOL® is the best choice for going digital and remote.

ETi-SOL Edge is the newest addition to EnerMAN technologies world class products.

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COMPANY FEATURE

AS AN ADVOCATE FOR A GREENER ENVIRONMENT, IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE NEW GENERATIONS TO COME. GoodWe is a world-leading PV inverter company, established in 2010. With an accumulative delivery of more than two million inverters and installation of 23GW in more than 100 countries and regions, GoodWe successfully listed in Shanghai stock in 2020.

Technological innovation is GoodWe’s main core competence. With an in-house R&D team of approx.

400 employees in two R&D centers, GoodWe can offer a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions for residential, commercial and utility scale PV systems, ensuring that performance and quality go hand-in-hand across the entire range.

Vision Statement:

The impact of coal-fired power plants pose a huge threat to our environment and public health. As an advocate for a greener environment, it is our responsibility to provide a more sustainable future for the new generations to come.

Business Strategy:

We recently debuted our IPO which gives us confidence for capacity expansion in becoming world leaders for all types of grid connected inverters. To address the global storage market, we have a mid-sized Lithium battery and a compatible Hybrid inverter which has won laurels of being “Globally No 1” by shipments as per the consulting agency wood mackenzie.

Products & Services

Solutions for residential, commercial and utility scale PV systems.

Mission Statement:

To provide seamless and hassle-free products and solutions.

Business Goals & Objectives:

Top be amongst the Top 3 in each country and in each inverter segment. In India for the year 2020, we have achieved this Top 3 Goal for residential and C&I segments and by the end of 2022 we expect the same leadership in Utility String inverters.

Business Competitiveness

High technology, reliable quality and quick after-sales service.

Quality Policy Of The Company:

ISO14001, ISO9001, ISO45001.

Service Pledge:

More than 20 people after-sales team across India, quick response in 24hours.

Team & Management

GoodWe has a balanced team structure emphasizing not just on getting orders but hiring more than 20 people in service across India, on GoodWe payrolls.

There are service warehouses, and we maintain spares for a range of models which we have supplied.

Customers & Projects

TATA Power, Sterling & Wilson, Fourth Partner, Renew, Amplus, Adani, Harsha Abakus, Atria, etc.

Ambitious projects

Rajikok-15MW, Cochin Airport-10MW, MRPL-6MW, Bosch-4MW, Simens-2MW, etc.

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COMPANY FEATURE

TRINA SOLAR - THE SHINING STAR OF THE GLOBAL SOLAR INDUSTRY Committed with a mission to benefit all mankind with solar energy’, a fight for lower LCOE and the greater goal of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, Trina Solar is today the world leading PV and smart energy total solution provider developing proprietary smart PV solutions for large power stations, as well as commercial and residential solutions, energy storage systems, photovoltaic modules and energy IoT (internet of things).

Leading Through Innovation & Technology

Founded in 1997, Trina has come a long way in terms of its technology offerings to the industry. As a solar pioneer, Trina Solar helped change this solar industry, rapidly growing from one of the first PV enterprises in China to become a world leader in solar technology and manufacture. The unmatched level of innovation and technological capabilities of Trina Solar have led the company to become global leaders by setting industry benchmarks for both quality and efficiency.

The Trina Solar State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology is one of the first state key laboratories accredited by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Trina Solar has established a technology innovation team made up of top researchers and experts from across China and around the world. Trina Solar’s State

Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology has set 20 world records in PV cell efficiency and module output and holds the highest number of patents in the PV industry.

In 2018, Trina Solar launched its Energy IoT brand, established the Trina Energy IoT Industrial Development Alliance together with leading enterprises and research institutes in China and around the world, and founded the New Energy IoT Industrial Innovation Center. With these actions, Trina Solar is committed to working with its partners to build the energy IoT ecosystem and develop an innovation platform to explore New Energy IoT, as it strives to be a leader in global intelligent energy.

Among the many highlights of Trina Solar in 2020, the most dazzling was the launch of the industry-leading 210mm ultra-high power module series Vertex and the establishment of the 600W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance, which attracted companies and organizations from upstream and downstream of the industry chain, leading the industry to move toward a new era of high-efficiency 210 modules.

TRINA SOLAR STATE KEY LABORATORY OF PV SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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The global PV industry has experienced shortages and price increases of silicon, glass and other raw and auxiliary materials in the second half of the year.

Despite this, the company had stable operations across the year, which highlights its strong ability in supply chain risk control.

TRINA SOLAR HEADQUARTER IN CHANG ZHOU, CHINA

Achieving New Milestones - Year On Year

In 2020, Trina Solar was rated the World’s Top “Bankable” PV Module Manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for the fifth consecutive year. Trina Solar won the China Industry Awards in 2018, becoming the first PV company to receive this honor.

Trina Solar highly values and invests in environment, health, and safety. The Company has been ranked as one of the top 3 PV module manufacturing companies in the world. Trina Solar was awarded two successive Gold Level ratings in the Corporate Social Responsibility performance survey conducted by EcoVadis, an independent rating agency in Europe, due to its outstanding record of protecting the environment and employee rights.

In 2019, Trina Solar was recognized as the National Center for Enterprise Technology by the five ministries and commissions. This facility, which in fact comprises one laboratory and two centers (the State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology, the National Enterprise Technology Center and the New Energy IoT Industrial Innovation Center), has enabled the company to step up its investment in operational R&D, raise and broaden its innovation platform, and attract more highend talent.

Committed To Growth & Collaborations

Trina Solar’s total module capacity reached 22GW in 2020, and module shipments reached 15.915GW, ranking third in the world, tallying to the 2020 annual shipment guidance published in Q3 2020 by IHS Markit.

By the end of 2021 Trina Solar's total cell production capacity is expected to reach 35GW (of which 210mm cells will account for more than 70%) and it is expected to accomplish total module production capacity of 50GW, further consolidating its position as the 210mm module leader.

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Trina Solar has always been committed to promoting industrial synergy. In addition to continuously optimizing its own module material technology and processes and improving product performance, Trina Solar is also engaged in in-depth strategic joint ventures and collaboration with upstream suppliers to reduce costs, stabilize supply and achieve controllable risks.

In addition, in 2020 Trina Solar deepened its diversified operations and opened up multiple business units such as for modules, trackers and system integration, further enhancing the company's comprehensive strength and anti-risk capability.

The Future

Looking to the future, Trina’s people will continue to be guided by the company’s core corporate values, focus on the customer, persist in open innovation, persevere through dedication and hard work, strive for excellence, and share the responsibility, create and share value together, while also pursuing the company’s mission of Solar for All Mankind. Harnessing the strength of all parties in a spirit of openness and collaboration, Trina will lead the development of the industry to play its part in global energy saving, emissions reduction and sustainable development.

Today, Trina Solar is actively accelerating its pace of globalization and the development of its global management team. Trina Solar’s business footprint extends to more than 100 countries and regions. Trina Solar has always been committed to a cleaner and greener future and will continue to contribute to the development of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system and the development of renewable energy to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.

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PRODUCT FEATURE

VERTEX DOUBLE GLASS BIFACIAL 600W+ MODULE SERIES: The Top Choice For Utility And Large Commercial Projects

Besides this, Trina also introduced its tracking solutions. TrinaTracker is specialized in the design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance of fixed tilts and solar trackers. With more than 5 GW developed worldwide, offices on the five continents and more than 300 projects carried out, TrinaTracker is your partner of reference for large scale solar projects.

TrinaTracker offers its clients a product of optimal quality with the most advanced technology, thereby achieving a better performance in each project. They adapt to any request and provide custom-made solutions to their clients.

TRINA SOLAR’S VERTEX 600W BIFACIAL DOUBLE-GLASS MODULE, DEG20C.20

Trina Solar has a variety of modules and solutions to fit all solar project needs. The newly launched Vertex module series, benefit from square mono cells and highdensity encapsulation technology. The efficiency of Vertex can reach up to 21%, one of the highest in the industry.

The Vertex 210 family covers five power types of modules, namely 400W, 500W, 550W, 600W and the 670W, each of them suitable for all-around application, including residential and commercial rooftops, power plants and agricultural and fishing farms. As the PV industry embraces grid parity, the Vertex series has a prominent edge in LCOE as a result of Trina Solar's continued push to reduce costs by improving module power and efficiency.

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INTRODUCING THE VERTEX 600W BIFACIAL DUAL GLASS MONOCRYSTALLINE MODULE Based on the 210mm large-size silicon wafer and monocrystalline PERC cell, this latest double glass bifacial 600W module, DEG20C.20 comes with several innovative design features allowing high power output of more than 600Wp. This module absorbs solar irradiation from both sides, and can generate up to 25% of additional power generation from the backside depending on the surface albedo.

The module series is built with a focus on maximising the return on investment for the customers. The module series also offers the lowest guaranteed 1st year and annual degradation and is compatible with mainstream system components such as inverters and tracking systems.

The high-power mono PERC module series offers up to 21.4% module efficiency with high density interconnect technology. It also uses multi-busbar technology for better light trapping effect, lower series resistance and improved current collection

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Excellent temperature coefficient and low irradiation performance brings better power generation. Other key features of the module series include minimized microcracks with innovative non-destructive cutting technology and ensured PID resistance through cell process & module material control.

The module series is highly reliable and can be installed in harsh environments such as salt, ammonia, sand, high temperature and high humidity areas. The module offers mechanical performance up to 5400 Pa positive load and 2400 Pa negative load.

Most importantly, the module series offers a very high project yield. The technology offers excellent IAM (Incident Angle Modifier) and low irradiance performance, which has been validated by 3rd party certifications.

Based on the aim of improving the system efficiency and reducing the balance-of-system costs, Trina Solar's research and development team has introduced an innovative low-voltage design which allows more modules to be connected per string. Typically, Trina can interconnect 33 Vertex modules into a 1500V string.

Compared with other module types, a single module string can achieve up to a 41% power increase, At system level, there are potentials of 15% racking decrease, 17% foundation decrease and 35% combiner box decrease,(number varies depending on design and site conditions) indicating an innovative technological breakthrough and ushering in a new era of 600W+.

TRINA BIFACIAL + TRACKER SOLUTION Having early access to the new module technology meant TrinaTracker had a head-start on its tracker competitors when it came to wind-tunnel verification a n d p e r f o r m i n g t h e n e c e s s a r y d ue d i l i g e n c e t o i n t e g r a t e smart trackers with the new, larger solar panels in longer string lengths. Trina is unique because it is the only supplier for an integrated module and tracker solution in the entire solar industry, providing a lower risk profile for long term asset owners through single point accountability in service.

In a recent study focused on the LCOE advantage and value of the Trina 600W+ Vertex Bifacial Dual-Glass Module with Single-Axis 2 portrait installation (2P) tracker, the report found that Trina Solar’s Vertex 210mm bifacial dual-glass module can cut BOS by up to 6.32% and LCOE by 3.72% compared with the 166mm bifacial dual-glass module.

T r i n a T r a c ke r c o n s i s t s o f t w o s e r i e s o f t r a c k e r s , t h e O n e in-portrait Dual Row Agile and the Two-in-portrait Vanguard both of which perfectly cater to leading 210mm ultra-high power modules.

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TrinaTracker has four core product advantages: high reliability, more yield gain through our proprietary “SuperTrack” intelligent machine learning tracker controller (which has been independently verified to boost yield by +3% on typical sites and up to 8% on sites with uneven terrain), low O&M (operation & maintenance) costs with well proven critical components and unified contact channel (modules and trackers). Up to 120 modules can be installed with both types of trackers.

Three major structural advantages in the product design significantly improve the efficiency of the trackers. One is the exclusive patented thirdgeneration spherical bearing design that prevents structural deformation and reduces the load on the drive system and motor, thereby reducing failure rate and effectively improving system stability. Secondly, to meet the demands of end users for lower O&M costs, TrinaTracker uses more easily replaceable spherical bearings and drivetrain components that reduce system failure rates and O&M costs. Trina Solar, with more than 10 years’ experience of design and installation, has now taken its spherical bearings applications to more than 40 countries. Finally, extensive structure design value engineering made possible through comprehensive full aeroelastic wind tunnel testing with world renowned wind consultancies RWDI and CPP means TrinaTracker requires significantly fewer foundations compared to other trackers, reducing construction cost and risk.

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SolarQuarter R Honors Leaders AT ENERGY HR SUMMIT INDIA & STATE

Awards do not only acknowledge success; they recognise many other qualities: ability, struggle, effort and, above all, excellence. It is an acknowledgement of appreciation for your Team's hard work and dedication to achieve the milestone.With this motive SolarQuarter organized these gala virtual award ceremonies, giving the companies and their teams a reason to celebrate the achievements and outstanding contributions.

HR EXCELLENCE AWARDS Best CSR Strategy of the Year Vector Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. The company has been a responsible corporate citizen caring for the welfare of all its stakeholders . It has taken a CSR initiative named “Together Towards Tomorrow”. The project name means a journey of the Community and the Company towards sustainability.

Best People Management of the Year (Solar) - SolarBull Energy LLP The company is in the solar sector. It has created specially designed training modules for the team with their help by discussions and brainstorming. Even while remote working the entire teams were in sync with each other for best utilisation of constructive time. Hands- on training including visits to operational and under construction projects and periodic assessment of the team has been a regular process of the company to manage the employees well.

Best People Management of the Year (Logistics)- Allied ICD Services Ltd The company hires qualified Industrial /Organizational psychologists as a part of the HR team to go above and beyond in understanding employee needs. Customized training sessions, workshops, counselling sessions, team building activities and 360 degree employee feedback is being performed based on manager feedback and under special supervision of the HR department.

Best HR Strategy of the Year Jinkosolar Trading Pvt. Ltd. The company created new channels of infotainment - a podcast (NVH), and informal virtual connect sessions (Egg Noodles) to recreate the mellow magic of meeting other team members at the cafeteria. They consciously made efforts to democratize communications.

Recognizes and ship Excellence BUSINESS MEET: GUJARAT AWARDS

Best HR Initiative of the Year - WFH Management - Shigan Quantum Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The company initiated discussion with the employees even during the lockdown on revival strategies.The Company was very humane in paying 50 percent salary during the complete lockdown when there was zero sales or zero production.They managed the migrant workers from going back to native place by giving them free accommodation, food etc in the factory premises itself. WFH Policy was immediately put in place for better management.

Best HR Team of the Year (Solar) Premier Energies Limited The company has a staff size of 500+. The HR team of the company has been very efficient and successful in implementing Work From Home policy, paternity leaves, Introducing HRone for employees. They have been instrumental in understanding employee needs and making the policy flexible accordingly.

Best HR Team of the Year (RE Consultancy) - Ven Consulting India Pvt Ltd With a staff size of around 643 the company has been giving the employees 100% assurance on Job security. They have been conducting an employee connect activity wherein engaging with all the team members and their families to comfort them and make them feel as a one big family to avoid the fears of pay cut.

COMPANY AWARDS: Best Recruitment Portal: Renewable Energy - Oorzo Recruitment portal is especially for employees and employers in the renewable energy space.

The Platform has presently registered a couple of thousands of renewable energy professionals and employers. It is User friendly, cost effective and reliable platform for recruitment.

Best Workplace: Pandemic Response Trident Group The company has done an extensive amount of welfare work for their employees as well as the community during the pandemic. Their ongoing initiatives for the Pandemic Response are Plasma donation, free vaccination, meals and delivery and 14 days special paid leave just to name a few.

Best Workplace: Work-Life Balance (Solar) - Varchasva Energy Pvt. Ltd. The company has as an organisation always believed in the work- life balance and to maintain this they have ensured that if someone is working overtime or during holiday, they are given complementary offs. Other than that if someone is out of station (for official and personal work) and if there is some emergency at personal front, the HR ensures everything be it medical or any other requirement to be taken care of.

Best Workplace: Work-Life Balance (RE) REConnect Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Best Workplace Company of the YearFronius India Private Limited

The happiness level and the work life balance of employees at this company is at 86% as per the survey. The company has initiated 5 days working a week, flexible work timings,no concept of loss of pay or penalty in case of late comings or if exhausted the leave balances, no rigid or fixed break time for the team,maternity and paternity leaves for employees. The company believes in supporting the employees with work from home and introduces fun and team building activities - in both office and work from home environments.

The company has a compassionate paid leave for 21 days without impacting paid leave balances for recovery from COVID. It has implemented No layoffs / pay cuts owing to COVID, providing financial assistance in case of hospitalization due to COVID, weekly engagement activities to allow employees to socialize virtually, monthly virtual birthday and anniversary celebrations. Applauding the employees who donate plasma / blood for COVID treatments and also welcoming back those who recover from COVID with a bouquet online.

Best Compliance Training Provider of the Year- Windcare India Pvt Limited The company is a GWO certified training provider for Basic Safety Training (BST) and Basic Technical Training (BTT). In 2020, they trained 1263 delegates from various OEM's, ISP's, IPP's with the top most training provider in India and ranked 5th place in Asia/Pacific.

Best Workplace: Health & Safety Practices - Vector Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. The company believes that Environmental, Health, Safety and Social protection are an essential and integral part of its business operations. The firm's conviction that the risks related to environment, health, safety and social aspects are preventable through continuous improvement in the working environment and compliance to relevant statutory requirements. The company and its Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are committed to provide a Safe, Clean and Healthy Working Environment in line with the industry best practices to its employees and stakeholders as an integral part of its business ethics and philosophy.

Best Workplace: Gender Equality - Trident Group The company believes in equal rights to all.

They do not belive in discrimination of any sort of monetary incentive and employment opportunities in their organization. Their motto is equal pay and equal respect.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP AWARDS: Employee Choice Award - Dr Sachin.A.Verma, General Manager- Human Capital, Goldi Solar Private Limited He is Business HR leader with over 15 years of experience in the complete spectrum of HR across various global geographies.He leads the implementation of several strategic and business projects and plays a key role in project outcomes, working closely with project stakeholders developing project objectives, timelines, costs and resources, & KPIs to motivate and reward project teams

CHRO of the Year (Solar) - Dr. Suyog Vankudre, Regional HR Director (South Asia), Jinkosolar Trading Pvt Ltd. He is an Organisation Development Coach, Trainer, Amazon Number 1 Bestseller Author. He is in this field for 22+ years, with exposure to 13 Industries while working with European, American, and Asian companies which were Industry leaders, number 1 in their respective industries in the capacity of HR and Strategy Leader. As a strategic leader in many organizations, he has turnaround the Employee Engagement Index, People Productivity by using effective HR strategies suiting the need and addressing issues coming up to the organization at that time.

CHRO of the Year (EV) - Sunitha Lal CHRO Ather Energy The leader is a dynamic CHRO in the Electric Mobility field. Her last four years in the company, has been about curating organisation design, tailoring a performance management philosophy, institutionalising learning, building culture, making it an inclusive place to work in.

Game Changer of the Year (Digital Transformation) - Bhavya Das, Manager HR, REConnect Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd The leader has more than 10 years of experience in HR. The key contribution has been to streamline and digitalise the HR processes and Build a connection between employees and the organisation.

CHRO of the Year (OEM) - Samar Mahapatra,Corporate HR Head, Shigan Quantum Technologies Pvt Ltd Under the leader’s guidance the company has managed to have a successful revival through the pandemic. His policies helped the employee retention and salary payment even when there was no production or sales. The policy is aimed at defining the guidelines & procedures for establishing remote working/working from home arrangements for eligible employees.

Game Changer of the Year (Zero Energy Housing) - Dr Nazim Padvekar, St.Scientist- International Research, Analysis and Designing , Mission Solar (India) The leader is a Sr. Scientist and owner of the company. The company is engaged in various Research and Designing of products in the Energy Sector to help society. With over 21 years of experience, he has achieved great success and in fact claims the concept of Zero Energy Housing was introduced to world in early 1990 by them

Game Changer of the Year (Digital Transformation) - Bhavya Das, Manager HR, REConnect Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd The leader has developed and implemented a Business Performance Linked Management System (PMS), devised world class end-to-end HR processes for a 700+ employee spread across 275 locations on PAN India basis, including business processes re-engineering, change management and performance management.He has won various accolades in the field of Best Emerging HR Strategy for Green Energy and awarded as a Best HR Future Leader from people first HR.

Game Changer of the Year (E-Human Capital System) - Dr Sachin.A.Verma, General Manager- Human Capital, Goldi Solar Private Limited The leader has developed and implemented a Business Performance Linked Management System (PMS), devised world class end-to-end HR processes for a 700+ employee spread across 275 locations on PAN India basis, including business processes re-engineering, change management and performance management.He has won various accolades in the field of Best Emerging HR Strategy for Green Energy and awarded as a Best HR Future Leader from people first HR.

SolarQuarter R Honors Leaders AT ENERGY HR SUMMIT INDIA & STATE

These Awards intend to recognize and celebrate the success and achievements of the companies, leaders and their teams that have made Gujarat as one of the leaders in the Solar Sector!

The Proud Winners of the 'Solarquarter State Business Meet Gujarat Awards 2021' are:

SOLARQUARTER STATE BUSINESS AWARDS: Best Project of The Year - Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt ltd The company has constructed a 75 MW Ground Mounted Group Captive Project for a leading automobile industry This 75 megawatts of Solar Power Plant generates 115 Mega Unit of electricity annually.The project has helped in saving 1,50,000 tonnes of CO2 annually which is equivalent to more than 21,429 nos of trees saved.

Solar EPC Company of The YearProzeal Infra Engineering Pvt. Ltd. The company is a leading solar EPC player and has been in this space for the last 11 years.The co. has successfully commissioned 450+ MW solar rooftop and Ground Mounted Power Plants and More than 190+ MW that are under construction. It has successfully constructed 50 MW Solar projects in Gujarat, contributing to the green and clean future.

State Market Leader Award - Shenzhen SOFARSOLAR Co., Ltd.T The company is currently known to be one of the top 5 string inverter companies.After breaking ground and gaining the reputation of being reliable, efficient, and professional, it has now become one of the famous companies in power storage inverters.Its production lines incorporate state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, high degree of engineering sophistication and precision manufacturing capability which create higher quality products that can last in harsh environments. The company has set a benchmark and is a leader in the Gujarat Market with a market share of around 70%.

Best Project Team of The Year - Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt ltd The company with the 4 team leaders has successfully commissioned more than 100 Mws. It has constructed a 50 MW Solar plant in Gujarat, contributing to the green and clean future.The team has worked through all odds, even during the testing times to successfully complete the projects.

Recognizes and ship Excellence BUSINESS MEET: GUJARAT AWARDS

State Customer's Choice Award Goldi Solar Private Limited The company is India’s leading solar panel manufacturer, EPC services provider and independent power producer. With expertise across the solar value chain, It is a one-stopshop for all solar related requirements. The co. has completed 10,000+ projects and are one of the few Gujarat based solar module manufacturers that have grown to become a global solar brand. The company has provided employment to more than 500 people and have changed the lives of at least 2000 people.

SOLARQUARTER STATE BUSINESS LEADER AWARDS: Best HR Team of the Year (RE Consultancy) - Ven Consulting India Pvt Ltd With a staff size of around 643 the company has been giving the employees 100% assurance on Job security. They have been conducting an employee connect activity wherein engaging with all the team members and their families to comfort them and make them feel as a one big family to avoid the fears of pay cut.

Solar Acumen of the Year - Mr. Nirankush Prasad , Project Head (SOLAR) , Greencube Energies Pvt Ltd. With the leader’s guidance and decisions the company was able to achieve 99.9% efficiency in their solar projects. With his insightful guidance the company completed 60 Projects in 1.5 Months with its Own Inhouse Installation team.

Entrepreneur of the Year - Mr Shobit Rai & Mr. Manan Thakkar, Directors, Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt ltd.

The leaders have been involved in procurement and project management of more than 100 MW of solar projects. Under their guidance the company has seen glorious achievements like successfully commissioning 75 MW & 50 MW solar parks in India.Their strengths together have brought tremendous growth for the entire company.

Young Business Leader of the Year - Mr. Brijesh Prajapati,MD, Shenzhen SOFARSOLAR Co. Ltd. The leader is a dynamic personality of 37 years old. He has a rich experience of more than 13 years in the field of renewable energy. In a span of 4 years in his present company our winner has inspired his team and under his leadership the company has grown up to having a market share of more than 68% in gujarat. With his great business sense and foresightedness, he has helped to grow his company to more than 550MW+.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Mr. Bharat Bhut, Director & Cofounder, Goldi Solar Emerging Leader of the Year - Mr. Mohit Agarwal, Director/CEO,Scorp Energy Private Limited He has over 8 years of experience in the solar industry. With hands-on, practical, on field experience, he guides his customers with genuine solutions and cost saving options. His prime focus is quality. With zero compromise on quality, taking complete accountability for his commitments, our leader has built long lasting relationships with over 200 customers, be it the project developers or EPC firm. Even during the tough times of COVID19, the entire staff was paid the salary. With his commitment to grow 10X and new work orders in hand, he has increased the team strength rather than reducing it.

Emerging Leader of the Year - Mr. Yash Gupta,Director, Gupta Industrial Maintenance Services Pvt Ltd. The Leader is 28 years old and In a very young age he has achieved big and greater heights in solar EPC and has executed different capacities of solar rooftop projects in a very short span of time. In the last financial year 20- 21 even due to the corona pandemic, in his leadership the turnover of the company in solar grew to 13 cr from 4.5 cr. He has keen interest in Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Make In India initiatives of the Government and hence is very keen to enter into solar Panel manufacturing in next financial Year with a long term vision to expand business into Solar cell manufacturing units in India.

The company has consistently bagged the title of 'Bankable Tier 1' solar panel manufacturer during the pandemic. This is owing to the leader who focuses on developing a quality conscious mindset in the organization.The leader has helped build connections in the foreign market and helped pave the way for the co. to become a global brand. Today, becoz of his leadership and hard work the company‘s name is synonymous with Quality Products and Quality People making it India’s most quality conscious brand.

Empowering High Growth.

launched new exclusive publication for Energy Storage Industry

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