SolarQuarter- India Aug-Sep(REI) Issue 2021 by SolarQuarter

Empowering, Insightful, Engaging

REI Special issue 2021

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CONTENT

IN CONVERSATION

THE CHAMPIONS CORNER

NEWS

ANKIT KANCHAL

POLICY DEBRIEF

THINK TANK

TENDER TRACKER

PROJECT MONTHLY

MD & CEO, ENRICH ENERGY

NEPAL

SOLAR WEEK

2021

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

INSIGHTS 38

INNOVATION, TANDEM MODULES AND INDIA’S SOLAR FUTURE

SELF-RELIANCE TO RESILIENCE STRENGTHENING THE DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING ECOSYSTEM

IMPROVING DISCOM HEALTH THROUGH RELIABLE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY

HOW TO MAINTAIN QUALITY UNDER THE NEW INDIAN BASIC CUSTOMS DUTY SCHEME IN 2022?

GAGAN VERMANI FOUNDER AND CEO, MYSUN

24 SUDHANSHU KAMBOJ, PRESIDENT BD, HINDUJA RENEWABLES

FEATUREDINSIGHT

FEATURED TALKS

SOLIS SEMINAR HOW DOES A SINGLE-PHASE INVERTER CONNECT TO SPLIT-PHASE GRID

SOLIS SEMINAR PV PLANT SAFETY. INVERTER POWER ON AND POWER OFF OPERATION

PIXON- A PREMIUM SOLAR MODULE MANUFACTURER ENGINEERED MORE THAN 700 KW SOLAR INSTALLATION IN GUJARAT WITHIN 25 DAYS

ENERGY STORAGE IN INDIA A NEW HORIZON IS VISIBLE

？

PERSPECTIVE 54 58

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE LARGE SCALE PV PROJECT PERFORMANCE

NIKUNJ SHUKLA

DEEPAK USHADEVI,

DIRECTOR, WAASOL ENERGIES LLP

MD & CEO, CIEL & TERRE INDIA

COMPANY FEATURE

PRODUCT FEATURE

64 65 68 69 70 72

74 76 78 79 80 82

EDITING

ENERMAN FIMER LONGI PV DIAGNOSTICS SUNGROW TRINA SOLAR

CONTENT

MANOJ GOPALAN NAIR, SR. DIRECTOR, SALES, ENPHASE ENERGY

VICE PRESIDENT-APAC, RENESOLA

IN PURSUANCE OF SELF RELIANCE: CHALLENGES & PROSPECTS OF DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS

LONGI FIMER AVI SOLAR SUNGROW PV DIAGNOSTICS TRINA SOLAR

30 KRISHAN KUMAR SHARMA,

THE EVER-EVOLVING ROLE OF DATA & AI IN GREEN ENERGY AMIDST COVID-19

PUBLISHING

OPINION 62

34 MAREN SCHMIDT,

GAURAV MATHUR,

MANAGING DIRECTOR UTILITY BUSINESS LINE AT FIMER

TRINA SOLAR INDIA DIRECTOR

36 DHARSHAN KUMAR JAIN HEAD OF SALES SOUTH INDIA, GOODWE

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POLICY DEBRIEF SEPTEMBER 2021

POLICY NEWS GOVT TO FOCUS ON DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING OF SOLAR PV CELLS AND MODULES

GOVT TO MAKE GREEN HYDROGEN MANDATORY FOR USER INDUSTRIES

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha Shri R.K. Singh, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy stated that The ‘National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules’ targets an additional 10,000 MW of integrated domestic manufacturing capacity of high efficiency solar PV modules with an investment of around Rs.17,200 crore. It also targets direct employment to 30,000 people and indirect jobs to 1.2 lakh people. The Union Cabinet approved a ₹ 4,500 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme namely, ‘National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules’ to boost domestic manufacturing capacity of solar PV modules.

The government is set to make it mandatory for user industries to produce or procure green hydrogen to meet part of their needs, a move that has the potential to make India one of the largest producers of what is being seen as a ‘fuel of the future’ that will play a key role in energy transition and carbon reduction. Oil refineries and fertiliser manufacturers will be asked to implement the policy immediately after the Cabinet approves the proposal, power and renewable energy minister R K Singh told in an interview. As per the policy, starting 202324, refineries will have to use green hydrogen for meeting 10% of their requirement. This will rise to 25% in five years. Fertiliser makers will start with 5% green hydrogen, which will go up to 20%. The policy will be applied to other industries such as steel and the transport sector gradually as the market evolves. “Currently refineries and other user industries produce grey hydrogen from natural gas. The policy will create a market for green hydrogen, which in turn will attract investments in its production,” Singh said.

INDIA NEEDS LOW-COST CAPITAL TO FUEL GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS: AMITABH KANT Addressing a virtual event organised by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said “India needs low-cost capital to help domestic entrepreneurs execute global scale projects in areas like green hydrogen, solar energy, electric vehicles and battery manufacturing. There is a need to build a sustainable country”. Kant further said India is in a very unique position in hydrogen and it should be moving towards green hydrogen in the oil refining and fertiliser sectors. “We need to build a sustainable India. India needs only low cost capital to fuel the Indian green entrepreneur to execute global scale projects in green hydrogen, solar, EV and battery etc,” he said. Kant noted that the government has pushed for green energy and India is the fourth largest in the world in renewable energy installed capacity.

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POWER MINISTER LAUNCHES REFORM AND REGULATORY KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR POWER SECTOR The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K Singh launched “Reform and regulatory knowledge base for power sector”, an e certification program to provide regulatory training to the practitioners from diverse backgrounds, through virtual mode. He also launched a Regulatory Data Dashboard which is an e-compendium of data containing State-wise details of tariff and DISCOM performance. The Regulatory Data Dashboard would assist benchmarking of the sector performance, over time and across the power sector utilities. This would help regulators and policy makers as well as the entities themselves to identify areas for improvement. Speaking at the event, the Power Minister expressed his appreciation for IIT Kanpur for taking the initiative and developing the dashboard. He said that India is preparing itself for the next generation by modernisation, but the process of making our system sustainable is work in progress. Challenges of energy access and supply have been resolved by establishing capacity generation making us a power surplus nation, he added.

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IREDA PLANS TO LAUNCH IPO IN Q3 2021 India Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA) is planning to launch its Initial Public Offer (IPO) in the 3rd quarter in Nov-Dec 2021, said Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), Pradip Kumar Das, IREDA. Speaking on future-plans of the company and RE sector for next five years, Das highlighted that IREDA expects five times growth in its loan book from Rs 28,000 crores (approx.) to Rs 1,35,000 crores (approx.) by FY 2026, with financing to the entire value chain in RE sector. The company is targeting to achieve its market share of more than 40% of RE sector debt funding by NBFCs by FY 2026. Currently, IREDA has a market share of financing to the tune of 19% (approx.) of total installed RE capacity in the country. IREDA is also expecting to receive equity infusion of Rs.1500 Cr by September-October 2021, as a part of budget 2021-22 allocation.

INDIAN GOVERNMENT UNVEILS INITIATIVES TO REDUCE DISCOM LOSSES The Government has undertaken several initiatives to lessen the loss of Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) informed Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. The Central Government has approved a “Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme. A Reforms based and Results linked Scheme” with the objective of improving the quality and reliability of power supply to consumers through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution Sector. The Scheme aims to reduce the AT&C losses to pan-India levels of 12-15% and Average Cost of Supply (ACS) – Average Revenue Realised (ARR) gap to zero by 2024-25. The Scheme has an outlay of Rs.3,03,758 crore. Under the scheme, eligible DISCOMs would be provided financial support for upgradation of the Distribution Infrastructure and Smart Metering Systems for the network as well as prepaid smart metering systems for consumers. The funding against the works other than prepaid Smart Metering and System Metering would be contingent upon DISCOMs meeting the pre-qualifying criteria and achieving at least 60% marks on the result evaluation matrix formulated on the basis of action plans for loss reduction and work plans of DISCOMs agreed upon by the Government of India.

PROJECTS TO PROMOTE GREEN ENERGY IN A&N ISLANDS: MHA The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to question in the Rajya stated that various projects been undertaken for the promotion of green energy such as the commissioning of Solar Power Plant (2×10 MWp) at Attam Pahad in Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the year 2020. The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has a Disaster Management Action Plan in place to mitigate the impact of Natural Disasters, including an Early Warning and Communication System for countering the threat of Tsunamis in the Islands. The said System inter-alia includes 31 GPS Strong Motion Sensors and Accelerometer, SMS alerts dissemination system, State Emergency Operation Center equipped with various facilities, 13 Automated Weather Stations etc. to mitigate the impact of Tsunamis.

INDIAN RAILWAYS TO RUN TRAINS ON HYDROGEN FUELBASED TECHNOLOGY Under the flagship programs of the Government, ‘Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Batteries’ and ‘National Hydrogen Mission’, to cut down on the Green House Gas (GHG) emission under Paris Climate Agreement 2015 and ‘Mission Net Zero Carbon Emission Railway’ by 2030, Indian Railways are set to run trains on hydrogen fuel-based technology. The Ministry of Railways said, “There has been recent budgetary pronouncement to kick off the concept of Hydrogen Mobility in the Country. Accepting it as a challenge, the Indian Railways Organization of Alternate Fuel (IROAF), Green Fuel vertical of Indian Railways, has invited the bids for Hydrogen Fuel Cell-based Train on Railways Network. The project shall commence in 89 km Sonipat-Jind section of Northern Railway.” The scope of work includes design, supply, retrofitment, testing, field trials of fuel cell and battery-based power stack modules, hydrogen storage, power electronics/controls and associated equipment, including necessary engineering & supervision work, for hydrogen uses for retrofitment of 1600HP DEMUs.

INDIA ACHIEVES MILESTONE OF 100 GW INSTALLED RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY The total installed renewable energy capacity in India, excluding large hydro, has crossed the milestone of 100 Gigawatts (GW), revealed the Ministry of Power. While 100 GW has been installed, 50 GW is under installation and 27 GW is under tendering. If large hydro is included the installed RE capacity increases to 146 GW. According to an official statement issued by the Ministry, currently India stands at the fourth position in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity, fifth in solar energy, and fourth in wind energy in terms of installed capacity. India has set ambitious targets for itself in the area of Renewable Energy, which the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is committed to achieve, added the statement. India has also enhanced its ambition to install 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. The achievement of installed renewable energy capacity of 100 GW is an important milestone in India’s journey towards its target of 450 GW by 2030, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shri R.K. Singh tweeted on the occasion.

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UJJAWALA YOJANA, SOLAR POWER SCHEMES EMPOWERING INDIAN FARMERS: PM MODI In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government’s flagship schemes including the ambitious Ujjwala Yojana and those related to solar power are helping empower the poor and the small farmers in the country. “In the past seven years, many government schemes have benefitted crores of Indians. From Ujjwala to Ayushman Bharat, the poor today knows the strength of these schemes. Today, solar power schemes are being taken to the farms. These things will strengthen the small farmers,” he said. The government has ensured that all the deserving people are connected with key schemes focused on road connectivity for villages, and bank accounts, ayushman bharat card and gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme. We have ensured 100 % household electrification. he said.

PM PLEDGES TO MAKE INDIA ENERGY INDEPENDENT BY 2047 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday formally announced the launch of a National Hydrogen Mission to accelerate plans to generate the carbon-free fuel from renewables as he set a target of 2047 for India to achieve self-reliance in energy. Delivering his Independence Day address he said, “For India to progress, for Atmanirbhar Bharat, energy independence is necessary. India has to take a pledge that it will be energy independent by the year we celebrate the 100th year of Independence.” The country has achieved the target of 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity ahead of the target. “I announce the National Hydrogen Mission” he added. India can achieve self-reliance in energy through a mix of a gas-based economy, doping sugarcane extracted ethanol in petrol and electric mobility. India spends over Rs 12 lakh crore on energy imports every year, Mody said.

POWER MINISTRY CIRCULATES ‘DRAFT ELECTRICITY RULES 2021’ TO PROVIDE GREEN ENERGY OPEN ACCESS The Ministry of Power has circulated the “Draft Electricity (promoting renewable energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2021”. The ministry has sought comments within 30 days. These rules are proposed for purchase and consumption of green energy including the energy from Waste-to-Energy plants. The draft rules will provide in detail for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO); Green energy open access; Nodal Agencies; Procedure for grant of green energy open access; banking; and cross subsidy surcharge. These draft rules with regard to tariff propose that “The Tariff for the Green Energy shall be determined by the Appropriate Commission, which may comprise of the average pooled power purchase cost of the renewable energy, cross-subsidy charges (if any) and service charges covering all prudent cost of the distribution licensee for providing the green energy.”

INDIA AND UK TO COLLABORATE FOR GREEN HYDROGEN AND LITHIUM-ION BIDS Power and renewable energy minister R K Singh expressed India’s interest in collaborating with the UK on offshore wind and has invited them to participate in the upcoming green hydrogen, lithium-ion bids. He also stressed on the need of the developed and developing countries to work together to bring down the cost of storage. During the meeting, discussions were held on the need to increase storage capacity in view of India’s 450-GW renewable energy capacity target by 2030. India has already retired 16,369 MW of inefficient thermal units till March, 2021 added Singh. He informed the delegation that India is the only G20 country whose actions are in accordance with the NDCs set by them under the Paris Agreement.

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MNRE UPDATES LIST-I UNDER ALMM ORDER FOR SOLAR PV MODULES The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued an office memorandum with an updated list of approved manufacturers in its ALMM (Approved list of module manufacturers) list. The updated list is valid with effect from 17th August 2021 to 16th August 2023. Central Electronics Ltd., Patanjali, and Jakson are the new entrants in the list. The revised list comprised 26 manufacturers with total domestic approved capacity at 8350 MW. On 10th of March this year the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had issued an allIndian list of approved Solar PV modules and manufacturers to be used for its projects. Only the 23 manufacturers and their vetted modules included in the list were eligible for use in government and government-assisted projects, schemes, and programmes for projects bid-out on or after April 10, 2021, as per the notification.

MNRE ISSUES BENCHMARK COSTS FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR PV SYSTEMS FOR FY22 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued an order notifying the latest benchmark costs for the installation of new grid-connected rooftop solar PV systems for the financial year 22. The benchmark cost for FY 22 applies to all projects to be awarded and empowerment of vendors by state implementing agencies under phase-II of the MNRE’s rooftop solar programme. The benchmark costs include solar photovoltaic (PV) modules with domestic cells and modules and inverter (single/3 phase). The balance of the system includes cable, switches, circuit breakers, connectors, junction boxes, mounting structures, earthing, lightning arresters, civil works, installation and commissioning, a five-year comprehensive maintenance contract, transportation, insurance, and taxes. These benchmark costs do not, however, include net metering cost and battery back-up costs. In the state other than the special category the benchmark cost for rooftop projects in the rage of 10 KW-100 KW is $41.64 ($0.56)/W. This is a 9.6% increased rate over the last year.

MINISTRY EMPHASIS UPON WIDE PUBLICITY AND AWARENESS OF PM-KUSUM AND ROOFTOP SOLAR PROGRAMME The Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh reviewed the progress of implementation of PM-KUSUM and Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II with States/UTs and discussed the issues in the implementation of these Schemes. Shri R.K Singh stated that the joint efforts of Central and States would help in successful implementation of these Schemes and achieving the renewable energy targets of the country. He emphasised on the importance of the PM-KUSUM Scheme for the farmers. The Scheme provides them a daytime reliable source of power for irrigation activities and also increasing their income. He discussed with senior officers from States/ UTs about the feeder level solarisation component, which would help in reducing the electricity subsidy, being given for the agriculture sector. He assured that all possible support will be provided for implementation of this Scheme. On the implementation of Rooftop Solar Programme Ph-II, the minister said that the installation of rooftop solar will bring down the electricity consumption of the households and will save the electricity expenditure. He stressed upon the need for wide publicity and awareness of PM-KUSUM Scheme and Rooftop Solar Programme Ph-II, so that every farmer and household know the provisions and take benefit under these Schemes.

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THINK TANK 1.5 GW OF UTILITY SCALE SOLAR CAPACITY ADDED IN Q2 2021 IN INDIA: REPORT JMK Research’s recent report stated that India added 1.5 gigawatt (GW) of utility-scale solar capacity in the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, about 30 per cent less than the previous quarter installations. In wind, about 475 MW were added, which is 56 per cent less than the Q1 2021 installations. In rooftop solar, about 417 MW were added, which is 55 per cent less than the previous quarter, as per the report. It further said that India is estimated to add about 3.1 GW of solar and one gigawatt of wind capacity in Q3 2021.India’s installed renewable capacity has reached 96.95 GW. When it comes to the total share, Solar is the major contributor with a 44 per cent share in the total renewable mix, followed by wind with a 41 per cent share. The current pipeline of solar, wind, and hybrid projects stands at about 56 GW which is likely to be commissioned in the next three to four years.

INDIAN RE DEVELOPERS RAISE OVER INR 26,300 CRORE THROUGH GREEN BONDS IN FIRST HALF OF 2021: CEEW-CEF Indian renewable energy (RE) developers have issued green bonds worth INR 26,300 crore (USD 3.6 billion) in the first half of 2021 alone, beating even previous one-year records, according to an independent study released today by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF). The study, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, also found that Indian developers have raised more than INR 78,200 crore (USD 11 billion) since 2014 through green bonds issued in international markets. Two of them, Greenko and ReNew Power, account for nearly 70 percent of all issuances by value. The findings highlight the potential of green bond markets to support India’s ambitious push to achieve energy independence by 2047, a target recently announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Proceeds from the INR 78,200 crore of capital raised have directly refinanced debt for over 10 GW’s worth of Indian RE projects. Wind and solar power account for 42 percent each of this refinanced portfolio and represent a combined 8.4 GW. Hydropower makes up the balance. This implies that 8.4 percent of India’s non-hydro RE capacity, totaling 100 GW, has been debt-financed with overseas capital.

INDIAN GREEN BONDS IS A KEY FACTOR IN MOBILISING FOREIGN DEBT CAPITAL TO INDIA’S RENEWABLE SECTOR Green bonds have become a key financial instrument for mobilising costeffective foreign debt capital into the Indian renewables market. Since 2016 Indian corporates and financial institutions have raised around US$14.43bn through green bonds as per Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) data. In 2021 to date, Indian companies have attracted US$4bn in green bonds, already beating the previous record of US$3.43bn in cumulative green bond issuance in 2017. The importance and popularity of Indian green bonds are likely to increase: they offer an opportunity for clean energy companies to leverage global finance for projects that will help India to meet its renewable energy (RE) targets and relatively higher and less volatile yields for global investors. Green bonds are playing an increasing role in financing these climate targets. 2021 has seen new records set both in terms of the amount of capital mobilised through green bonds and their low coupon rate (interest rate paid by bond issuers).

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TENDER TRACKER TENDERS ISSUED BY STATE AUTHORITIES

Authority

Tender Name

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd

RUMSL Invites ESIA Bids for 600 MW Floating Solar Project in MP

Maharashtra

MSEDCL Tenders for 487 MW Solar Projects Under Component A of KUSUM Scheme

Gujarat

GSECL Tenders for 224 MW of Grid-connected Solar Projects in Gujarat

Madhya Pradesh

MPUVNL Invites Bids for 225 MW of Solar Projects Under PM Kusum Scheme

TENDERS ISSUED BY PSU'S

Authority

Tender Name

NHPC

NHPC Invites Bids for 100 MW Floating Solar Project in Odisha

Coal India

Coal India Limited Issue Tender For 50/75 MW Grid Connected Solar Plant

BHEL

BHEL Issue Tender For O&M Works of 25 MW Floating Solar

Railways

Indian Railways Floats Tender for 210 MW Solar Projects under DCR Category

NTPC

NTPC Tenders For Setting Up India’s First Green Hydrogen Fuelling Station in Leh

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INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY INCREASING POST COVID PANDEMIC SLOWDOWN – IEEFA Renewable energy investment is rising again in India following the slowdown in the previous financial year due to the onset of the COVID19 pandemic, finds a new briefing note by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). In the first four months of this financial year (FY), from April to July 2021, investment in the Indian renewable energy sector reached US$6.6 billion, surpassing the US$6.4 billion level for FY2020/21 and on track to easily overtake the US$8.4 billion total achieved in 2019/20 prior to the pandemic. “Rebounding energy demand and a surge of commitments from banks and financial institutions to exit fossil fuel financing are helping to drive investment into Indian renewable energy infrastructure,” says author Vibhuti Garg, Energy Economist, Lead India at IEEFA.

INDIAN RE DEVELOPERS ISSUED GREEN BONDS WORTH RS 26,300 CR IN H1 2021 Indian renewable energy (RE) developers have issued green bonds worth Rs.26,300 crore (USD 3.6 billion) in the first half of 2021 alone, beating even previous one year records, says the CEEW-CEF study report. The study is titled Financing India’s Energy Transition Through International Bond Market. The study found that Indian developers have raised more than Rs 78,200 crore since 2014 through green bonds issued in international markets. Greenko and ReNew Power account for almost 70% of all issuances value. CEEW-CEF says the findings highlight the potential of green bond markets to support India’s ambitious push to achieve energy-independence by 2047, a target recently announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

SOLAR’S SHARE IN INSTALLED POWER CAPACITY STOOD AT 44,241 MW IN Q2 2021 As per the recently released report “India Solar Compass” by BRIDGE TO INDIA, India added 2,105 MW solar power capacity while the total installed capacity stood at 44,241 MW in Q2 2021. Utility solar installations increased by more than 33% in QOQ in Q1 2021. The report further explained that short term market outlook is murky because of the delays and increased cost of projects due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Tender issuance in Q2 was down 25% QOQ. 17 utility scale project tenders aggregating 8,062 MW and six rooftop tenders aggregating 94 MW were issued in the quarter. There were only three project development auctions totalling 625 MW with tariffs ranging between INR 2.51 to 2.68/ kWh.

RE SECTOR OUTLOOK SUPPORTED BY PROJECT PIPELINE, TARIFF COMPETITIVENESS AND POLICY SUPPORT ICRA’s outlook for the renewable energy (RE) sector is stable supported by the continued policy support from the Government of India, strong project pipeline and superior tariff competitiveness offered by wind and solar power projects – both in the utility and the open access segments. The demand outlook for the domestic solar OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) remains favourable, with the strong policy support through the imposition of BCD (basic customs duty) on imported cells and modules, the notification of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and a strong project pipeline from various schemes requiring the use of domestic modules, said Icra. The non-inclusion of the overseas suppliers in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) so far is also likely to support the demand for domestic module OEMs in the near term.

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CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER TO BE REBORN: STUDY SAYS Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), which has lain moribund for a decade, is about to be reborn according to a new report from Rethink Technology Research, with global capacity to increase several times over by 2030. CSP will claim its place serving power grids, green hydrogen complexes, and industrial process heat in California, China, Australia, Chile, Spain, Southern Africa, and elsewhere. The report, entitled Last Chance Saloon for Gen 3 CSP outlines how new technology developed in the West means that CSP can now provide temperatures of 1,000 degrees Celsius and even higher, enabling the technology to play a role in the decarbonization of the cement, steelmaking, and mining industries. Though still small compared to the photovoltaic or wind power sectors, we expect annual CSP development to be an over $10 billion global industry by the end of this decade.

PUBLIC MARKET FINANCING LIFTS RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT TO NEW FIRST-HALF YEAR RECORD IN 2021: REPORT New investment in renewable energy projects and companies totalled $174 billion in the first half of 2021, supported by record public market financing and record levels of venture capital and private equity commitments, according to the latest Renewable Energy Investment Tracker from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). This is the highest total ever recorded in the first half of any year, and 1.8% more than during the same time a year prior, although it is 7% below the high water mark set in the second half of 2020. The latest data on renewable energy investment in the first half of the year, drawn from BNEF’s database of deals and projects, show that a decline in investment in new renewables projects was offset by a jump in equity offerings of renewable energy companies. New equity raised on public markets hit a record high at $28.2 billion in 1H 2021, as did venture capital and private equity commitments to renewable energy companies at $5.7 billion. These were major contributors to the strong overall first half. At the same time, investment in solar projects was up 9% year-on-year. Wind asset finance, however, fell year-on-year, as it stands in contrast to 1H 2020, which was a bumper period for financings of major offshore wind farms.

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PROJECT MONTHLY OMERS INFRASTRUCTURE INKS AGREEMENT TO BUY 19.4% STAKE IN AZURE POWER FOR $219 MILLION OMERS Infrastructure said it has inked an agreement to acquire 19.4 % stake in Azure Power for $219 million (around Rs 1,628 crore). OMERS has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire from International Finance Corporation and IFC GIF Investment Company, an approximately 19.4 % stake in Azure Power Global Limited, for a total consideration of approximately $219 million, a statement said. Azure Power is a leading independent renewable power producer located in India, with an asset base of 2 GW of operational capacity and 5 GW of capacity under construction or awarded. “This agreement to invest in Azure Power demonstrates OMERS strong global interest in highquality renewable power and energy transition assets, as well as our interest in India as an investment destination and Asia-Pacific more broadly,” said Annesley Wallace, Executive Vice President and Global Head of OMERS Infrastructure.

M&M TO ADOPT 58 MWP CAPTIVE SOLAR PLANT IN MAHARASHTRA Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is adopting a 58 MWp captive solar plant that is expected to generate about 100 million units of power annually beginning 2022. The project will quadruple M&M’s renewable power share from 12 % to 56 % across its facilities in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Igatpuri and Nagpur, the company said in a statement. The solar plant, located at Parbhani district in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, will be built, owned, and operated for a period of 25 years by ReNew Sunlight Energy Pvt Ltd, which is a 100 % subsidiary of ReNew Power Pvt Ltd. “This new captive solar plant will further our sustainability journey and make a significant contribution in protecting the environment and contributing to the government of India’s solar power target of achieving 175 GW by 2022.” said Veejay Nakra, CEO Automotive Division of M&M.

S&W SOLAR TO PROVIDE EPC SOLUTIONS FOR HYBRID POWER PLANTS Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd announced that the company plans to expand its renewable energy offerings to include engineering procurement and construction (EPC) solutions for hybrid energy power plant, energy storage and waste to energy. Sterling and Wilson Solar, a Shapoorji Pallonji group company, is a global pure-play, end-to-end solar EPC solutions provider. The company provides EPC services for utility-scale, rooftop and floating solar power projects with a focus on project design and engineering and manage all aspects of project execution from conceptualising to commissioning. Hybrid energy power projects are a combination of two or more sources of power to improve overall system efficiency and reduce the inconsistencies in power generation from renewable sources. A large part of the global market is moving towards micro grids which are based on 100 % renewable energy. The company said there is a huge demand for decentralised power plants because not only are they environment friendly but are also economically viable. Besides, the waste to energy segment is a large and growing market in developed countries.

FFI, JSW FUTURE ENERGY TO EXPLORE POTENTIAL GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECTS IN INDIA Australia-based Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has entered into a framework agreement with India-based JSW Future Energy Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW Energy Limited, to explore opportunities to develop green hydrogen projects and utilising it for green steel making, hydrogen mobility, green ammonia and other applications in India. The collaboration will enable both parties to explore opportunities to tap into the significant clean energy market opportunity in India and be a front-runner in a future hydrogen economy, an official statement said. FFI is the 100% renewable green energy and industry company of Fortescue Metals Group Limited (Fortescue). FFI is establishing a global portfolio of renewable green hydrogen and green ammonia operations.

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TORRENT POWER ACQUIRES 50 MW SOLAR PLANT FOR ₹317 CR IN MAHARASHTRA Torrent Power inked an agreement with Lightsource India Ltd and Lightsource Renewable Energy (India) Ltd for acquisition of a 50 MW solar plant for value of ₹317 crore including the viability gap funding (VGF) receivable. Torrent Power has presence in power generation, transmission, distribution and manufacturing and supply of power cables. Its highly efficient generation assets and equally reliable distribution network are amongst the best in the country. Torrent Power currently has an aggregate installed generation capacity of 3,879 MW comprising 2,730 MW gas-based capacity, 787 MW renewable and 362 MW coal-based capacity. “Torrent Power Limited has entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Lightsource India Ltd and Lightsource Renewable Energy (India) Ltd for the acquisition of 100 % of the share capital and all securities of LREHL Renewables India SPV 1 Private Limited (SPV),” a BSE filing said. The SPV (special purpose vehicle) operates a 50 MW solar power plant, commissioned in April 2018, situated in Maharashtra. It has a long-term power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd for full capacity for a period of 25 years.

RENEW POWER, RACKBANK SIGN MOU TO SUPPORT INDIA’S FIRST HYPER-SCALE DATA CENTER ReNew Power announced the signing of a MoU with RackBank Datacenters Limited to provide power with 100% renewable energy. Under the MoU, ReNew will construct, co-own, and run a 500 MW of hybrid power generation facility especially to supply power to RackBank’s data center. RackBank would certainly acquire green power produced from this center straight from ReNew, via the “Open Access” system. Rackbank data center is set up in a vast expanse of 35000 sq. ft. with a capacity of 800 racks and growing. The company projects that it would have 500 MW of IT infrastructure capacity in the next five years. This unique project would serve as a future-secured platform for data-driven companies to thrive in a 100 % clean energy facility with zero carbon footprints. Speaking about the collaboration, Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ReNew Power, said, “The MoU between ReNew Green Solutions and RackBank reflects the commitment that responsible corporates are showing to shift towards cleaner energy sources to power their businesses. ReNew Power has been a pioneer in the renewable energy space and it has always been our endeavour to support firms looking to reduce their carbon footprint. We congratulate RackBank for embarking on this journey and look forward to our partnership for this potential 500 MW opportunity.”

KAJARIA CERAMICS TO INVEST IN SPV FOR SOLAR POWER CAPTIVE CONSUMPTION Kajaria Ceramics Ltd. has announced to invest Rs. 264 Lakhs in an Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for solar power captive consumption. The Board of Directors of the company have accorded its in-principle approval for making investment upto Rs. 264 Lacs in the equity shares of SPV to be formed by CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Private Limited for solar power captive consumption under the group captive model envisaged under the Electricity Act, 2003. CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Private Ltd. is a renewables & environment company based out of Mumbai, Maharashtra and claims to cross 200+ MWp in Rooftop solar plants, it has also received ISO 45001 Certification and commissioned the first Wind Farm at Hoshahalli, Karnatak. The proposed investment in the SPV is to be made as a part of the proposed transaction for generation and supply of power to the Company’s Sikanderabad (U.P.) plant and the Company, being a captive user, will. have to it’}vest in equity shares of the SPV upto Rs. 264 Lacs. The Objective of this investment is to reduce the power cost of Sikanderabad (U.P.) plant, by way of shifting towards the solar power energy which is cost effective and environment friendly.

RENEW POWER SIGNS FIRST ‘ROUND-THE-CLOCK’ PPA IN INDIA India-based clean energy developer ReNew Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for round-the-clock (RTC) electricity supply, the first-of-its-kind in India. The 25-year PPA is with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The project will be designed to operate at an 80% average annual plant load factor (PLF) and will have a minimum capacity utilisation factor of 70% monthly. ReNew Power anticipates the 400 MW RTC project will require 900 MW of wind capacity, 400 MW of solar supplemented by battery storage, because a typical solar/wind firm power renewable energy project in India has a lower PLF depending on site and technology selection. ReNew Power will set up this capacity through wind and solar farms across Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. Total project costs are expected to be $1.2bn.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 15

TATA POWER SOLAR BAGS RS.386 CRORE SOLARPLUS-STORAGE PROJECT IN LEH Tata Power has secured the order to build a 50 MW solar plant integrated with a 50 MWh battery energy storage system at Phyang village in Leh, Ladakh. The order value of the project is ÌNR 386 crores. The commercial operation date for this project is set for March 2023. This will be India’s first co-located Large Scale BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) solution as well as first Large Scale Solar PV Project in the Union Territory of Ladakh to be set up at a high altitude of 3600 meters above sea level. The scope of work includes design, engineering, supply & procurement, construction of Solar Photovoltaic grid connected power plant project and BESS on a turnkey basis along with ten years of operations and maintenance services.

RIL AND PARTNERS TO INVEST $144 MILLION IN USBASED ENERGY STORAGE COMPANY AMBRI INC Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), along with strategic investors Paulson & Co. Inc. and Bill Gates, and a few other investors, has announced an investment of $144 million in Ambri Inc, an energy storage company based in Massachusetts, USA. Reliance New Energy Solar will invest $50 million to acquire 42.3 million shares of preferred stock in Ambri. The investment will help the company commercialise and grow its long-duration energy storage systems business globally. RNESL and Ambri are in discussions for an exclusive collaboration to set up a large scale battery manufacturing facility in India.

EQUITY ACQUISITION BY AUGMENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR RS.1,650 CRORES IN CLEANMAX CleanMax recently said that Augment Infrastructure has acquired around Rs.1,650 crores of stake. Founded in 2011 by Kuldeep Jain, CleanMax is the biggest supplier of rooftop solar and other renewable energy solutions to commercial and industrial sectors. Augment Infrastructure is a US based investment firm. Augment will purchase a stake in Warburg Pincus’s Yellow Bell Investment Ltd and International Finance Corporation (IFC) in CleanMax. The company will also fund the growth pipeline and invest primary capital. Warburg Pincus is a leader in growth investing and is a private equity firm.

RENEW POWER ANNOUNCES TWO ACQUISITIONS TOTALING 359 MWS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSETS ReNew signs binding agreements for the acquisition of two operating portfolios - 99MW hydropower project in Uttarakhand and 260MW/330MWp solar projects in the state of Telangana. The combined enterprise value of the acquisitions is around INR 28.5 billion (US$ 384.0 million) - Adds approximately INR 3.8 – 4.0 billion (US$ 50.7 – 53.4 million) of EBITDA on a full-year basis. ReNew announces its entry into hydropower, enabling it to expand its offerings and provide value-added solutions to the market. The transaction is expected to earn an equity return within ReNew’s targeted range and is another step towards meeting its growth targets. ReNew announced that it will acquire L&T Uttaranchal Hydropower Ltd., which owns the Singoli Bhatwari Hydroelectric Project (SBHEP), from L&T Power Development Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the engineering and construction firm L&T. As a part of the transaction, ReNew will add the project operations team of SBHEP to its team. This acquisition marks ReNew’s entry into the hydropower sector which is expected to play an important role in providing innovative renewable energy solutions for ReNew’s customers.

GAMECHANGE SOLAR ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF 394 MW TRACKER PROJECT IN INDIA GameChange Solar announced the completion of its first Genius Tracker™ project in India. This 394 MW project is located 110 km from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This solar plant is expected to supply clean solar power to the equivalent of 376,000 households. This is the largest solar project utilizing single-axis trackers in India, and GameChange Solar’s Genius Tracker™ 1P was selected for the project because of the challenging ground conditions and high winds experienced in the area. GameChange Solar is proud to have been selected by Tata Power, a leading Independent Power Producer in India and part of Tata Group, an official statement said.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 16

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 17

EDEN’S 300 MW AC SOLAR FARM IN RAJASTHAN STARTS FEEDING POWER INTO GRID Eden Renewables India has announced that its 300 MW AC SECI III ISTS-grid connected solar farm located in Rajasthan is now feeding power to the grid. In July 2019, Eden Renewables signed PPAs with SECI for a 450 MWp (300 MWac) solar project in Rajasthan. The capacity was awarded to Eden Renewables for a winning tariff of Rs 2.60 per kWh at the SECI (Tranche III) auction for 1.2 GW of solar capacity. The tender was initially floated in January 2019, and capacities were allotted in the following month. In January 2021, Eden Renewables announced financial closure for the solar project. The company reported that it successfully financed the project through a green limited recourse project term loan of $165 million provided by DBS Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank and the Singapore branch of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The 450 MWp PV farm will produce 800 GWh per year, enough to supply more than 650,000 people in India with low-carbon electricity while saving about 760,000 tons of CO2 per year.

ENGIE COMMISSIONS 200 MW SOLAR POWER PLANT IN GUJARAT ENGIE has announced the commissioning of a 200 MWAC (290 MWp) Solar Power Project at the Raghanesda Solar Power Park, in Raghanesda, Gujarat. ENGIE collaborated with multiple Government of Gujarat entities to construct the project that will generate close to 546 gigawatt-hours of electricity, while reducing 387,056 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. With this project, ENGIE’s portfolio developed in India now stands at 17 projects with over 1.1 GWp of solar PV and 280 MW of wind power. This milestone reiterates ENGIE’s ambition to be a major renewable energy provider, as India becomes a rapidly growing market in the transition to clean energy. The project was won under a tender process run by GUVNL. and the Power Purchase Agreement for 25 years was signed in August 2019 with GUVNL (Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited), and the Implementation Support Agreement was signed in October 2019 with GPCL (Gujarat Power Corporation Limited). The project has been implemented through Electro Solaire Private Limited (ESPL), a special purpose vehicle owned by the ENGIE Group.

NTPC COMMISSIONS 25 MW FLOATING SOLAR PROJECT AT SIMHADRI The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC ) Ltd, has commissioned the largest floating solar PV project of 25 MW on the reservoir of its Simhadri thermal station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This is the first solar project to be set up under the Flexibilisation Scheme, notified by the Government of India in 2018. The floating solar installation which has a unique anchoring design is spread over 75 acres in an RW reservoir. The project has the potential to generate electricity from more than 1 lakh solar PV modules. This would not only help to light around 7,000 households but also ensure at least 46,000 tons of CO2e are kept at arm’s length every year during the lifespan of this project. The project is also expected to save 1,364 million litres of water per annum. This would be adequate to meet the yearly water requirements of 6,700 households.

LN MITTAL PLANS TO INVEST RS. 19000 CR. FOR SETTING UP 4,500 MW SOLAR PARK IN RAJASTHAN Mittal Group Chairman L N Mittal met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and expressed his desire to set up a solar plant in the state. Mittal has told the Chief Minister that one of his power sector company HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) wants to set up a solar park of 4500 MW capacity in the state, for which there is a plan to invest Rs 19,000 crore in Rajasthan. Mittal met Gehlot at his residence and discussed the facilities provided by the state government for setting up the solar plant. According to the statement, the chief minister also invited them to invest in the mining sector and other industries in the state.

AC ENERGY’S 210 MWP INDIA SOLAR FARMS START OPERATIONS The two solar farms of AC Energy Corp. and foreign partner UPC Solar Asia Pacific in India have started operations. AC Energy Corporation and UPC Solar Asia Pacific through its joint venture company UPC-AC Energy Solar, announced the start of commercial operations of its two maiden solar farms in India, the 140 MWp (100 MWac) Sitara Solar and 70 MWp (50 MWac) Paryapt Solar. UPC-AC Energy Solar is poised for a landmark year, with the company gearing up to start the construction of 420 MWp (300 MWac) more of solar assets in India within the year. With investment cost of about $100 million, these solar facilities consist of more than 466,000 solar panels, which are capable of producing around 358 gigawatt hours annually, or an estimated 323,990 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 18

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 19

IN CONVERSATION

ANKIT KANCHAL MD & CEO, ENRICH ENERGY

With SolarQuarter he shared his views on India achieving the 100 GW milestone of installed renewable energy capacity and the way ahead. He also spoke on emerging technologies and Enrich’s future plans. Thank you Mr. Ankit for taking time out of your busy schedule and talking to SolarQuarter team

India's renewable energy capacity recently crossed the milestone of 100 gigawatts (GW). How do you see the Indian story unfold into the decade ahead? That’s a stellar performance by India. From my point of view the achievement is both remarkable in itself and as when compared to other countries. Let me cite the two aspects. First is the target setting itself. India’s RE adoption target chart is almost linear, making it challenging right from beginning, unlike some countries which have set their long term RE target chart with a hockey stick effect, wherein the initial targets are low and only rise sharply towards the end of the period. Next is the achievement against the target which is even more interesting. India has been so close to achieving the target that targets were revised upwards midway, which speaks volumes of the determination and confidence that India has shown. To understand the shape of RE in next 10 years, it is pertinent to understand the power scenario during the past decade. India reduced its peak power deficit from about 10% in 2010 to about 0.2% now. Therefore, there is a subtle shift that is now emerging, wherein focus moves from addition in generation capacity to focusing on improving power Quality. While RE by nature has intermittency, a combination like Wind + Solar and other RE sources within themselves can help smoothen some of it. Further firming of output power can be achieved through energy storage solutions, which will play a vital role. There is also a shift emerging from dependency on power from DISCOM to captive RE generation or under Open Access, which is evident from an uptick on Corporate PPAs. More RE growth can be expected as our strong PSUs that are into energy

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SolarQuarter India interviewed Mr. Ankit Kanchal, MD & CEO, Enrich Energy. Mr. Ankit is a finance graduate with a Masters in Marketing and a professional turned entrepreneur. His expertise is business and organization development, and is passionate about renewable energy with about 16 years dedicated to the field. He has received numerous domestic and international accolades for his contribution to the renewable industry. He co-founded Enrich in 2011 and has been leading it to achieve higher echelon through the years. generation or related to it, commit to changing their energy generation mix from fossil to more RE over the decade. Therefore there is strong tailwind to renewables and for good. Moreover, to develop India into a USD 5 trillion economy, stable and sustainable energy is vital.

Which technologies will provide the most impetus to sustainable growth of Solar energy? The primary performance driver is the efficiency of Solar PV cells. The efficiency has significantly improved during the past couple of decades from single digit to close to 25%, and will soon achieve the next milestone of 30% which will be vital for crystalline silicon solar cells. In the decade ahead, multi junction and n-type material could be promising to reach higher performance levels. On the improvement in project performance, Enrich has adopted robotic cleaning for its large projects where the performance has been good and also provides a good way to reduce dependency on precious water resources.

What are Enrich’s plans ahead? Enrich was incorporated with a vision to develop solar energy in India. This September, Enrich celebrates 10 years since its foundation. It’s a celebration of

decade long service to the nation and supporting Customer’s sustainable energy initiatives. Enrich is grateful to the various stakeholders for their trust and support through the journey. As we look ahead, Enrich is well positioned to support Private and Government clients for development of solar projects. Also it will bring in the Hybrid projects alongwith energy storage through tieup with its industry peers. Enrich is also experimenting on other RE technologies like Wave and Tidal for which proposals have also been set afoot. Enrich is also expanding its geographical footprint to encompass ten key RE states, covering about 60% of the country within a year. As an organization, Enrich has embarked upon a transformational journey to be an Enterprise worthy of existence.

How challenging was Covid times and what were your key takeaway from these challenges? The team at Enrich strived to maintain business continuity through the pandemic period and though there were major disruptions, we still managed to commission multiple projects through the period. One of the projects that Enrich commissioned was Maharashtra’s largest group captive project. This project took shape amid the peak of the pandemic and despite numerous challenges, it was commissioned on 31 Dec 2020. Key takeaway is “Tough times don’t last, Tough people do”.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 20

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 21

IN CONVERSATION

GAGAN VERMANI FOUNDER AND CEO, MYSUN Mr. Gagan is known for his unconventional and growth-oriented leadership approach, Gagan has spearheaded the journey of MYSUN since its inception in 2016. Gagan has over two decades of rich and varied experience in areas such as Business Development, Strategy, Global Sourcing, Operations, Supply Chain, Cost Management, Capital Markets, and M&A. A member of FICCI’s Solar Energy Task Force, he is a renowned name in the solar industry, policy-making, and financial circles.

As a developer how has the year 2020 been for you overall? Any key learnings? The pandemic year was a year of acceptance and upgradation. There was a drop in the new pipeline as clients were grappling with their own challenges. And the on-going projects faced initial concerns related to manpower availability, travel, protocols, etc. We managed to complete our pipeline of projects though. We utilized this period to further upgrade our offerings as we launched our asset vehicle during this phase. We also further streamlined our technology tools, processes and systems and re-aligned our resources to key potential markets and industrial clusters. We also raised our pre-Series A funding round during this period and greatly enhanced our prospective client base. This proved to be of immense help to us as when the 2nd COVID wave hit us towards the end of FY20-21, we were much better prepared. And our pipeline is looking significantly better now with a healthy combination of large C&I, SMEs and individual homes. The year 2020, towards the year-end, also witnessed a steep rise in the module and BoS costs due to various reasons including commodities increase, raw material shortage and container shortage too. It did impact some existing client orders but were able to work out solutions with most of our customers.

In an exclusive interview with SolarQuarter India, Mr. Gagan Vermani, Founder and CEO, MYSUN threw light on his company’s new venture, opportunities in the rooftop sector in India. We thank him for sharing his views with SolarQuarter. Can you brief our readers about the company's new venture Solar Asset Vehicle MYSUN (Plus)? Before its launch, MYSUN was always focusing on a highly structured client acquisition strategy backed by technology. But we were letting go of some clients who wanted to work with us but specifically wanted the RESCO model. So last year, we decided that we will leverage our existing client acquisition efforts, project design and execution capabilities and asset management expertise to cater to the RESCO needs of our large C&I clients. And that’s how MYSUN+ was launched. Under this vehicle, we already have a pipeline of projects commissioned as well as under development. And we are also in early stages of development of a few Open Access projects for C&I clients. We have not only executed a few initial projects under this venture for highly reputed Indian and MNC corporates across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry, we have completed project finance raise for these projects from Tata Cleantech through their Global Climate Fund (GCF) line.

THE DISTRIBUTED SOLAR DEMAND IS RAPIDLY GROWING, DRIVEN BY THE C&I SEGMENT FOLLOWED BY

What are the current challenges and opportunities especially in the rooftop solar sector in India? How can the challenges be faced? The distributed solar demand is rapidly growing, driven by the C&I segment followed by homes, primarily due to the huge arbitrage between the DISCOM tariffs and solar energy costs. However, there are certain pertinent challenges which are restricting us to realise the full potential of distributed solar in the country. First and foremost is the regulatory aspect dealing with the lack of support from DISCOMs. However, new draft amendments in the Electricity Act 2003 are quite encouraging. Secondly, the business models of established solar companies are heavily built around the existing RESCO based demand from large C&I. And on the capex side, the landscape is highly fragmented with multiple local solar companies not having the requisite technical capabilities. With more than 95% of India’s industry falling in the SME/ MSME bracket and with millions of individual homes, the real demand for solar has not even been explored yet. This is where the next big opportunity lies but it requires patience, technology, scale, focus on customer experience and most importantly innovative financing to unlock this huge market. We, at MYSUN, are working on a 3600 approach by investing into developing our business model aligned to this great business opportunity.

HOMES, PRIMARILY DUE TO THE HUGE ARBITRAGE BETWEEN THE DISCOM TARIFFS AND SOLAR ENERGY COSTS."

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 22

MYSUN recently tied up with TATA Cleantech Capital for solar portfolio expansion, what capacity do you see being added this financial year? The recent debt raise from TCCL is a great beginning for us as we are able to give confidence to our lenders in our ability to manage the complete cycle of solar project development and operation. Our target is to become a major distributed solar player in the country and the region. As of now, we are not looking very far. And our target is to first reach a scale of 200+ MWs over the next couple of years while continuing to invest into our portfolio of large Open Access, Rooftop and Financing based offerings and developing our close-to-customer touch-points across the Country.

Will further investments by large strategic investors and global power firms etc. will bring about change in the industry? What are your future investment plans? Further investments by large strategic investors and global power firms will definitely fuel up the growth of solar power. Moreover, the adoption of smart meters, storage systems, and rooftop solar PV systems will bring about a change in the distributed solar industry. As I said earlier, we aim to invest Rs 600 crore to develop a 200+ MW solar portfolio in the first phase. But over the medium to long term, we plan to be amongst the largest and most credible solar players in the country and the region with a portfolio of solar assets under RESCO through Open Access and Rooftop projects and under our Financing offerings for SMEs and Homes. We are also keenly exploring newer and allied opportunities in the Green Hydrogen and Storage space.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 23

IN CONVERSATION

SUDHANSHU KAMBOJ PRESIDENT BD, HINDUJA RENEWABLES

Would you like to brief our readers on the current projects Hinduja Renewables are working On? We are currently developing a cluster of ~60MWp Group Captive Projects in Maharashtra & Karnataka with one of the largest pharma and manufacturing majors in India and a leading supplier of technology and Services. Apart from these projects, we have close to 300 MWp in pipeline (Group Captive + Rooftop) with renowned industrial clients in varied geographies & locations. We have a vision to be a leader in the sustainable energy ecosystem, through value creating partnerships and innovative business models.

As a developer, what key challenges do you face today? What policy interventions are required to boost the growth? Few of the key challenges faced in today’s renewable ecosystem by developer community would be high project cost fluidity due to erratic module and metal prices, uncertainty around regulations like net metering, Group captive policies in various states and a cumbersome land acquisition process. For India’s domestic manufacturing capacity to fulfil the demand for the installation of 25-35 GW solar power capacity every year for the next decade is not going to be easy, which is essential for the country to meet its renewable targets. But this can also be a game changer if domestic manufacturers can undertake vertical integration of various module components to bring down the costs while providing world class quality. Thus, major policy interventions are required to enable a conducive ecosystem for domestic module manufacturing (without compromising the quality as compared to incumbent international players) that will drive the module prices lower in this highly competitive segment. Additionally, policies should realign to gain an early mover advantage into emerging clean

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In an exclusive conversation with SolarQuarter, India Mr.Sudhanshu Kamboj, President BD, Hinduja Renewables has briefed us on multiple aspects of solar projects. He shared his views on current policy trends like BCD, ALMM and PLI Schemes and how they will affect the future tarif. He spoke in details about the current projects of his company and its future plan technologies like Hybrid & RTC Models, Battery Storage, Green Hydrogen, EVs Charging Infrastructure, etc. Robust enforcement of the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) mechanism will also provide a much-needed push to the sector.

In your opinion, how present market policy trends like BCD, ALMM and PLI schemes will affect future tender tariff? ALMM – Undoubtedly, this will enable the domestic module manufacturer to expand their market share as majority of the government supported projects are of a larger ticket size. However, the performance of the domestic modules as against the wellentrenched foreign player will be a major driver in determining the future trend in tariffs. BCD – Again, this will give a muchneeded push to the domestic module manufacturers. Considering the ambivalent stance of developers towards domestic modules, the imposition of BCD will definitely lead to higher tariffs in the near term with stabilization envisaged in the longer term. PLI – Apart from subsidizing the domestic module manufacturers, this will also encourage foreign players to set up manufacturing facilities in the country which will enable lower module costs translation into lower tariffs.

Will Residential Rooftop Solar Sector Continue To Grow With Its Existing Momentum in India? With continued government incentives and increasing consumer awareness towards the climate changes, we see the residential rooftop solar sector to continue its momentum in the future. There is a lot of potential for the residential rooftop sector and a conducive policy to promote rooftop solar in housing societies and residential complexes will further help in increasing this trend. Like solar water heaters were made compulsory for real estate construction, it is time now to make rooftop solar compulsory so that the roofs are designed to keep this aspect and generate green power for its occupants.

According to you, how important is storage for increasing renewable energy? Energy Storage is one of the critical enablers to achieve the country’s renewable energy targets given its ability to level the variability of electricity production, which in turn can increase grid reliability and stability. As prices decline, storage is expected to play a much larger role in revamping the energy infrastructure in the country. The main opponents of solar power highlight the infirm nature of this power resource and term it as non-dispatchable due to being intermittent, utility scale energy storage can change that in future.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 24

ENERGY STORAGE IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL ENABLERS TO ACHIEVE THE COUNTRY’S RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS GIVEN ITS ABILITY TO LEVEL THE VARIABILITY OF ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION, WHICH IN TURN CAN INCREASE GRID RELIABILITY AND STABILITY." | INDIA

What will be the Hinduja Renewables expansion plans for the renewables segment in next few years? Our mission is to create a positive impact on the environment through sustainable energy and mobility solutions. We plan to sustainably grow a robust renewable energy portfolio in the next few years catering largely to C&I clients and utility scale large plants. We are constantly exploring to foray into emerging technologies like energy storage solutions, EV charging, green hydrogen, etc. that will help us in diversifying our product offerings and achieve our targets.

What are some of the key community development initiatives taken by Hinduja Renewables in the clean energy space? Our foundation arm – Hinduja Foundation has the vision to transform the lives of the underprivileged in a self-sustaining manner and has been doing yeoman’s service to the communities. Following the same legacy, Hinduja Renewables promotes and catalyses education, health, and welfare among the underprivileged as well as the communities around its clean energy

assets. Our initiatives for development of communities around us include spread of education amongst the underprivileged, strengthening the native rain harvesting initiatives of the villages and supporting the health infrastructure of rural areas by providing medical dispensary infrastructure and organising free veterinary camps.

Anything else you would like to add for our readers. Our country is gifted to have an abundant resource of Solar Energy which we should harness for the energy security of our future. We see a strong push by the Government towards this direction which the developer community will support and help achieve the country’s clean energy targets.

WE PLAN TO SUSTAINABLY GROW A ROBUST RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS CATERING LARGELY TO C&I CLIENTS AND UTILITY SCALE LARGE PLANTS."

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 25

FEATUREDTALKS

Waasol is committed to the growth of nation by replacing fossil fuel consumption in the industry for heating and steam generations through SMART Solar Thermal Applications Nikunj Shukla

DIRECTOR, WAASOL ENERGIES LLP

Could you give our readers a brief introduction of Waasol Energies LLP and its offerings in the field of low-carbon and green economy? Waasol Energies LLP is one of the most promising names in the field of Solar Thermal applications in the country with over 24,00,000 Liters of Hot Water installation over a decade which includes the most critical installations in extreme climatic conditions. Waasol has developed indigenous SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Replicable and Time bound solutions for Solar Thermal Applications using IOT based solutions in the field of Heating, Drying and Cooking with state of the art solutions. It is a fact that over 48 % energy is consumed in Thermal Applications which can be replaced by SMART Solar Thermal Applications in the country. A big step to make Atma Nirbhar Bharat in Energy Consumptions. India is also a signatory to the Paris Agreement 2015 and committed to cut GHG, Green House Gas, emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35 % and increase Non-fossil fuel power capacity to 40 % from 28 % in 2015. This makes sense of acute urgency to develop Innovative Solutions of Renewable Energy so that we can be truly Atma Nirbhar with Clean & Green energy Solutions which are Conceived, Designed, Developed & Manufactured in India and thus become a hub for global needs.

WAASOL ENERGIES LLP IS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING NAMES IN THE FIELD OF SOLAR THERMAL APPLICATIONS IN THE COUNTRY."

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Waasol is focusing on Replacing Fossil Fuel Consumptions in the Industries for Heating or Steam generation through SMART Solar Thermal Applications. The applications are for Solar Thermal based Hot water systems, Drying solutions, Community Cooking solutions, Water desalination solutions and 24 x 7 Assured Hot Water systems to cater double the market size as compared to the power business.

What are the current challenges and opportunities especially in the SMART Solar Thermal Applications in India?

What have been some technology advancements made by Waasol recently in the field of the solar thermal market?

It’s inevitable to provide low-cost sustainable energy for the growth of the economy and thus focus on Alternate solutions for existing conventional sources in the Industry, Institution and Domestic Utility Applications.

Waasol has developed customized SMART Solar Thermal Applications for the people of cold regions for supplying hot water systems to over 6,00,000 litres per day for 9,000 + families with customized design to reduce GHG, Green House Gas, emissions equal to 9,00,000 tons of CO2 annually.

An aggressive support by amendment in policies which needs drastic change to actually develop solutions in the country rather than importing from other country. Many policies are actually creating Conflict for the benefit of the country and helping foreign countries to grow their GDP which must be replaced with Indigenisation of technology.

Our Techno Commercial professional has developed customised applications for the Dairies, Chemical, Textile, Pharmaceuticals and Utility applications of hot water systems of over 18,00,000 litres per day for 6000 + industry and other beneficiaries which has helped to reduce GHG, Green House Gas, equal to 28,80,000 tons of CO2 annually. Waasol has recently developed solutions to increase efficiency of ETP – Effluent treatment plant by over 50% in phase 1 and will have further development in process.

India is one of the fastest growing economies and 2nd largest Market & 5th Largest Energy Consumer in the World out of which 71 % + energy is supported with Thermal Energy.

We too lack a platform for Innovative solutions in the segment which can be bridged with right alignment with Policies, Corporate support, Strengthening MSME and Academic institutions to build talent for tomorrow. This segment requires special attention from ministries such as MNRE, MSME, Ministry of Industries and Commerce besides State nodal agencies to facilitate effective implementations of SMART Solar Thermal Applications based on IOT’s. We may have innovative solutions linked with Direct tax benefits in the Industries and extend benefits to the beneficiary for the promotion of Solar Thermal applications so as we can greatly save upon FOREX.

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What are the key milestones the company is aiming for in the near future? Waasol is aiming for developing sector specific industrial SMART Solar Thermal Applications solutions with Strategic alliance with global technology providers and providing state of the art solutions in the segment of primary heating such as water and air. We are also connecting with leading PSUs to charter out plan to reduce fossil fuel consumptions using SMART Solar Thermal Applications with extensive usage of IOT based solutions. Waasol is likely to play a pivotal role between policy makers of the country and with the leading academic institutions to develop new technology solutions in the segments. It’s herculin task considering the huge market potential of 1200 MToE ( Million ton of Oil Equivalent ) and would like to partner in the growth of the nation with an initiative of SMART Solar Thermal Applications.

WAASOL HAS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING SOLUTIONS FOR HEATING APPLICATIONS OF WATER AND AIR THROUGH CLEAN AND GREEN ENERGY." Anything else that you would like our readers to know? Team Waasol is Strongly believes in Principle of ISA - Innovative, Simple and Affordable Solutions in the field of Solar Energy which has played a pivotal role to enjoy leadership position in the segment with Pan India service support. In order to understand market potential better way, let us take view of following case study. For instance replacing primary energy consumption in hot water used for bathing and if we can replace over 50 Million of 6 KW electric geysers, can actually save over 250 GWh and millions of working capital.

Considering one more fact that Industry in India is importing over INR 1800 billion of fossil fuel. If we can use SMART Solar Thermal Applications, it actually improves FOREX reserves. Few leading countries have actually implemented above logic and helped the country to reduce demand supply gap for power.

WAASOL HAS DEVELOPED INDIGENOUS SMART SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, REPLICABLE AND TIME BOUND SOLUTIONS FOR SOLAR THERMAL APPLICATIONS USING IOT BASED SOLUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF HEATING, DRYING AND COOKING WITH ROI LESS THAN 3 YEARS."

Higher pollution Industrializations to SMART Solar Thermal Applications

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FEATUREDTALKS

The installation is different and requires experienced engineers and technicians. The know-how of floating array load/ distribution and buoyancy is very crucial to implement and any wrongdoing during installation will be a disaster in the making. Deepak Ushadevi MD & CEO, CIEL & TERRE INDIA

How Floating Solar can change the dynamics of the renewable energy sector? FSPV is gaining a lot of traction recently and it has influenced the environmental/economic/social section more than any other renewable segment. Environmental benefits: Minimizes water evaporation, Improves water quality and reduces algal Bloom Economic benefits: Converts unused spaces into profitable areas, Enhances electricity generation (thanks to the cooling effect), Reduces grid-connection costs and major infrastructures investments, lower O&M costs due to less soiling, Social benefits: Preserves valuable lands for other uses, Rehabilitates contaminated areas with clean energy, Compatible with recreational activities, Environmental amenity, positive aesthetics A third pillar to the Solar PV sector- this is the appropriate sentence to describe floating solar importance in the renewable energy sector now. Standards on ground-mounted and rooftop solar projects are well established and proven and these standards are used as references for floating solar plants by most of the stakeholders. However, an international dedicated standard for floating solar plant design must be developed that defines based on field test results, analysis, and theoretical and empirical study allowing building safe FPV while doing viable and profitable investments.

Where does India stand in such floating solar plants in respect to the rest of the world? The FSPV as a technology is still in the nascent stages of development in India. India still standing in 6th position behind China, Japan, North Korea & Taiwan.

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However, at this moment there is close to 50 MWp commissioned capacity in India and more than 1GW worth of projects, which are in various stages of development and much more are in pipeline making the outlook very positive for this new segment. The FSPV sector is now getting a lot of attention in the country, which can be seen via an increase in the numbers of tenders and EOI that are released in the past 2 years.

How floating solar projects are different in terms of installation and maintenance. The installation is different and requires experienced engineers and technicians. The know-how of floating array load/ distribution and buoyancy is very crucial to implement and any wrongdoing during installation will be a disaster in the making. One has to visualize the site conditions. The use of appropriate tools, understanding the use of different make materials for each specific site, etc is very much essential while during installation. The onus is on us now to develop quality projects in India, and asset is protected for 25 years. Another aspect is on the O&M part. The cost is cheaper than a ground-mounted system, as there is less soiling due to the water around, plenty of water availability for cleaning. Conventional brush cleaning reduces O&M expenses.

What are the challenges and opportunities in India’s floating solar market? Floating solar became a realistic market now as India is currently witnessing a growing energy need, with scarcity in the land, legal issues in land acquisition, disputes, infinite acquisition delays, and ground mount / roofmounted solar are becoming challenging in recent times, the floating solar is the apt solution. The primary challenge is that the

floating solar projects must be sustainable for 25 years. All others come second. Unlike ground mount, floating solar must Keep the fundamental techniques intact. Each site should have different designs depending on the topography of the area. There should not be a replication of the project. The variation in the water level and the undercurrent of the water also pose challenges, especially when it comes to anchoring and moving the floating platforms. A proper study of the topography, good knowledge of engineering techniques, and bathymetric study would be able to solve some of the problems faced by the developers. Bathymetric, SPT, Wind speed, Wave analysis, should be considered while making a designer suit. Henceforth quality is paramount to protect the asset for 25 years at least.

As an ‘innovative’ solar option, floating solar is priced higher than utility-scale solar, and also faces some unique challenges. Tell us more about this aspect and the long-term trends as you see them. As compared to ground mount ~ 10 % higher when it comes to floating solution. This may vary depending on the complexities of the project site and conditions. However, you need to consider the extra energy generation due to the cooling effect of the water on the panels. Although in demo trials, we see more than 10% extra generation, we could conservatively say that there is a 5-7% extra generation depending on the irradiation, wind, temperature of the water, size, and depth of the water bodies, etc. This extra generation may negate the delta difference between the Capex cost to a certain extent for sure. In terms of commercials, installing a floating solar plant is indeed higher than a utility-scale solar. But, considering in the longer run, floating solar saves land space, which can be used for something beneficial in the line. Also, the ROI is high.

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FEATUREDTALKS

Indian solar market is one of the largest solar markets in the world and India is well prepared for yielding the benefits from the country’s high insolation level and has set challenging ambitions in regard to solar PV renewable energy. Krishan Kumar Sharma VICE PRESIDENT-APAC, RENESOLA

Take us through Renesola’s journey in India, so far? Also, tell us about your key product and service offerings in solar space? ReneSola started its operations in India in 2012. Since then, we have been supplying Solar PV modules to all the major solar developers in the Indian market. We offer our High-Efficiency Polycrystalline Solar PV modules in the Indian market.

What is your opinion on the growth witnessed by the PV Module market in India in recent years? Indian solar market is one of the largest solar markets in the world and India is well prepared for yielding the benefits from the country’s high insolation level and has set challenging ambitions in regard to solar PV renewable energy. The stakes are very high for India’s thriving and the renewables business must not fail to deliver on expectations. it’s surely a major chance for Solar module producers all throughout the planet to come and be a part of this market.

Which are your key global markets today? Renesola has supplied more than 21GW+ globally, whereas India has always been a key market for Renesola and supplied more than 3.2GW+ solar PV modules. China, Brazil, Europe and Australia are the other key markets where we are focusing on.

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Could you brief our readers about the new offerings ReneSola is providing in the Green Energy space? ReneSola has always spearheaded the innovations and tries to always keep updating our products for a clean & green earth. Foreseeing the shift of the solar market from Standard Poly technology to Mono PERC Modules, we have enhanced the production of Mono PERC modules and will be following the same trend in 2021 & beyond. Meanwhile, we are also working on some innovative products for the Indian market which will help developers to save a significant amount on the BOS part. We have recently unveiled the TWIN 3.0 having a power rating up to 550Wp with efficiency 21.5%. The series is being offered with 12 years of product warranty and 30 years of the linear power warranty. The series will offer a number of distinctive advantages to the developers globally who will have a reliable product with high conversion efficiency. Since the time Twin 3.0 has launched, it has been highly recognized in the market.

Please enlighten us about the quality aspects followed at the company? At ReneSola, we do not treat our customers as one-time buyers, but consider them as business partners for long-term relationships. It applies a strict quality assurance plan in order to deliver the best quality products at an affordable rate. Our team of fully trained and equipped experts to leave no stone unturned to make the customer happy &amp; satisfied. Our solar PV modules are BIS, TUV and UL certified. Apart from that, we are ISO9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 certified.

What are some of the key milestones achieved recently by ReneSola with respect to technological advancements and innovations? ReneSola, a global leading brand, is a provider of green energy technologies and solutions. The company’s growth chart was visible from day-1, where it continuously keeps achieving its benchmarks year-afteryear. Major milestones include global shipment reaching 21GW in 2021 and Indian shipment reaching the milestone of 3.2GW+ in 2021. ReneSola serves a large number of customers around the world ranging from small rooftop owners to large solar farm developers. Apart from that, we have touched 145MW modules supplied in Brazil, 38MW in Poland, 150MW Distribution Contract Signed in Australia &amp; 10MW in Utah, to name a few.

RENESOLA HAS SUPPLIED MORE THAN 21GW+ GLOBALLY, WHEREAS INDIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A KEY MARKET FOR RENESOLA AND SUPPLIED MORE THAN 3.2GW+ SOLAR PV MODULES."

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FEATUREDTALKS

Enphase aims to be a leading global provider of energy solutions that incorporates smart, customer-friendly solutions into a single, intelligent platform, including solar generation, storage, and communication. Manoj Gopalan Nair SR. DIRECTOR, SALES, ENPHASE ENERGY

Could you give our readers a brief introduction of Enphase Energy? A word about the organization’s recent achievements. Enphase Energy is a NASDAQ-listed energy technology company, headquartered in Fremont, California. We have revolutionized the solar industry with our Microinverter-based technology and a fully integrated solar-plus-storage solution. Raghu Belur and Martin Fornage founded the company in 2006. Both have extensive experience in the clean energy and high technology industries. Enphase energy helps create, develop, manufacture, and sell Microinverter systems for the solar industry. We also offer software-driven home energy solutions that include solar generation, home energy storage, and web-based monitoring and control. A few notable achievements so far have been: We have shipped more than 34 million Microinverters, and approximately 1.5 million Enphase-based systems have been deployed in more than 130 countries. With the support of the government, under the Make in India initiative, Enphase India started operation in Chennai, in October 2020. So far, the manufacturing unit has done ~400,000 units per quarter and can ramp up to 1 million units per quarter. All units are exported to the US currently. In December 2019 we deployed our 1 millionth micro inverter based solar system

MAJOR MARKET FOR ENPHASE IN INDIA IS RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL COMMERCIAL PROJECTS UPTO 500KW."

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How has the last financial year been for your company? What expectations do you have for the next financial year? Major market for Enphase in India is residential and small commercial projects upto 500kw. Despite covid shut downs there was a strong demand for Microinverter systems which are safer, reliable, higher generation among technologies in the market. With markets emerging out of Covid, we are experiencing a similar trend of strong growth for smaller systems from residentials & small commercial segments for energy savings, increased go green awareness with middle- and upper-income groups as well from corporate go green and CSR initiatives.

Please brief our readers on your different energy system solutions for different application Scenarios. Enphase works with both the installers and the homeowners to meet their individual solar system needs and requirements. Installers on the Enphase network, work with homeowners and small business owners. Enphase provides these installers with guidance through initiatives such as the EIN (Enphase installer network) and pan India webinars. Consumers can invest in the Enphase Microinverter system, which consists of four components: Enphase Microinverters, the AC Battery, an Envoy gateway and Enlighten cloud-based software. Enphase Microinverters provide power conversion at the individual solar module level by a digital architecture that incorporates custom applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASIC), specialized power electronics devices, and an embedded software subsystem. Our semiconductor-based microinverter system converts direct current (DC) electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity.

The Enphase AC Battery is an integrated energy storage system that delivers high performance, superior reliability, modular architecture, and safety. Please note that this product is not available in India currently . Envoy is Enphase MicroInverter System’s gateway. Envoy keeps the entire system in constant communication by collecting real-time data from Microinverters and delivering remote updates to users. It offers features like bi-directional interface enabling optimal benefits, Indepth monitoring and remote problem solving. MyEnlighten app is a system where homeowners can track their energy production, monitor their system’s health, and share their data with family and friends, all from a simple, mobilefriendly interface. The app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

ENPHASE ENCHARGE™ STORAGE SYSTEM IS AN ALL-IN-ONE AC COUPLED STORAGE SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES EMBEDDED, GRIDFORMING MULTIMODE MICROINVERTERS."

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What have been some technology advancements made by Enphase Energy recently? What technological breakthroughs can we expect from your company in the coming years? Enphase aims to be a leading global provider of energy solutions that incorporates smart, customer-friendly solutions into a single, intelligent platform, including solar generation, storage, and communication. Enphase’s micro inverterbased technology has revolutionized the solar industry, and we now provide a fully integrated energy management system. We are continuously investing in building innovative and robust solutions to address the energy needs of consumers. Currently we are working on 3 fronts: Ensemble (Home Energy Management System), Portable Power Storage (akin to power on the go with your own power pack that can be charged with various sources) and Commercial products (IQ8D which is the first in line with dual panel microinverter) With Ensemble technology, homeowners have power when the grid goes down and can save money when the grid is up. Ensemble technology systems include the following Enphase products. Enphase Encharge™ storage system is an all-in-one AC coupled storage system that includes embedded, grid-forming multimode Microinverters. Portable power stations are the smaller storage systems that keep your power tools, phone and other electronics charged and running smoothly. These versatile, briefcase size power gadgets can go with you to construction sites, on camping trips or wherever else you need electricity off the grid. Each IQ 8D micro inverter fully supports two series connected PV modules and integrates with the Enphase IQ Commercial Envoy and Enphase Enlighten monitoring and analysis software will result in cost savings / watt

Please highlight the USPs of your Microinverters & monitoring solutions. How will you differentiate from the competition? Enphase Energy brings a system-based, high-tech approach to solar energy, leveraging expertise in semiconductor integration, power electronics, and networking technologies, to continually advance the performance, intelligence, and reliability of solar energy systems. Enphase Energy products make solar power systems productive, smart, and safe, increasing the energy harvest of solar panels by up to 25 percent. The main component of a solar energy system is inverters. It converts direct current (DC) power from the solar panel into alternating current (AC) power that can be used to power your devices in your home. Traditionally, conventional - or “string”inverters were the industry standard for rooftop solar. If just one inverter fails, the entire system fails. And this is where Enphase Microinverter brings a key differentiation, with its distributed architecture. Unlike the conventional inverter, Enphase Microinverter is individually connected to each panel, ensuring optimum output. In case of any panel failure, the entire system will not be compromised as the system is built on 4 key parameters: Production (higher energy production): Enphase Microinverters have the most sophisticated inverter technology available, resulting in increased productivity, increased dependability, and unrivaled intelligence. Enphase’s seventhgeneration micro inverters are based on a one of a kind software-defined architecture, which allows for a costeffective design with a single

WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY INVESTING IN BUILDING INNOVATIVE AND ROBUST SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE ENERGY NEEDS OF CONSUMERS." hardware SKU available globally. Each micro inverter operates individually, ensuring each panel reaches its maximum capacity. Microinverters use burst technology that helps generate more energy even during dawn, dusk, and in low-light circumstances, resulting in a longer solar day. Reliability (both unit and system reliability): Enphase’s micro inverters are intrinsically more dependable since they work independently. A microinverter system has no single point of failure. Enphase Mcroinverters are subjected to the industry&#39;s most stringent product testing. The company also provides the best warranty and service packages in the industry; Enphase microinverter comes with a 10-year warranty . Safety: Enphase microinverter are safer as they are an all-AC system, with no highvoltage DC power on the roof. Streamlined components make for quicker and less costly installations. High-quality materials and remote problem-solving make Enphase more reliable and secure. Smart (with app-based updates, over-theair updates): Enphase Envoy gathers realtime data from installed Microinverters and sends remote updates to them, ensuring that the entire system is always in sync. With in-depth monitoring, energy use insights, remote update capabilities, and load control, the Envoy makes life easier for both installers and system owners. The Envoy communicates with each component to form a single, integrated system that is smart, easy, and effective. System owners may also use MyEnlighten to measure their energy output, check the health of their systems, and share their data with family and friends, all from a simple, mobile-friendly interface.

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How do you see the residential energy storage market evolving in India in the near future? The Indian government has set an ambitious goal of solar deployment in the country; however, the residential solar sector has not really grown at an expected rate. Consumer awareness of the benefits and understanding of the technology is still lacking. Rooftop solar is in its infancy, and helping people get educated about the process of acquiring it will be critical for enabling growth of the business segment. Additionally, making the customer acquisition process simple and seamless will help drive the mass deployment of rooftop solar. The process of going solar for

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many is complicated. Finding a trusted installer, acquiring reliable information about the technology, and understanding the government policies can be difficult. Enphase aims to address this by providing an end-to-end platform that enables a hassle-free transition to solar with its dependable, safe, and AI-driven energy management systems. We believe, going forward, technology will play a key role in enhancing user experience and accelerating adoption in any industry. Even in Solar, especially in a market like India where the ecosystem is unstructured and lacks uniform policies, technology can bridge the gap. Our main focus is to demystify Solar for consumers and help them understand solar technology better, to make energy efficient choices.

Anything else that you would like our readers to know? Enphase recently launched the Enphase Installer Network (EIN) in India, in an effort to streamline and bring all relevant stakeholders in the solar ecosystem on a single platform. EIN provides installers exclusive access to new products, executive sponsorship, trade show invites, priority in product allocation, zero cost leads, discounted product warranty extensions, co-branding, and promotion opportunities. For homeowners, EIN offers easy access to best-in-class service and a platform to locate premium installers in the area, using the find an Installer tool.

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FEATUREDTALKS

FIMER is the fourth largest, tier one, solar inverter supplier in the world and provides market-leading inverter systems across the utility, residential and C&I solar sectors, as well as e-mobility solutions. Maren Schmidt Managing Director Utility Business Line at FIMER

Please tell us about your recent inverter shipments and future targets. We have been doing well in India in the utility, C&I and residential segments and also recently expanded our services into energy storage projects. Our installed base in India is >12GW+ spread across more than 5000 locations across the country. We foresee a bright future thanks to the push for 24/7 power encouraged by different government policies. India has recently achieved the 100GW milestone of installed renewable energy capacity, with a further 50GW of renewable infrastructure under installation and approximately 27GW under tender. India has also enhanced its ambition to install 450GW of Renewable energy capacity by 2030, with The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) encouraging and issuing tenders for 2,000 MWh of standalone energy storage systems. With such encouraging moves towards solar and renewable energy in the country, it is our ambition to support this growth with the advanced technology our solar inverters bring.

Please brief our readers on FIMER’s new high power string inverter platforms which are specially designed for the utility-scale market. FIMER’s two new platforms for the utilityscale sector – a high-power multi-MPPT string inverter and a modular conversion solution – are designed to cater for both decentralized and centralized applications and cover 100 percent of utility applications. The PVS-350 is the most powerful and power dense multi-MPPT string inverter in the solar industry, optimized for decentralized PV system architectures with a maximum efficiency of ɳmax >99 percent to ensure the highest energy yield. It also has the smallest footprint when compared to other similar

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products, and significantly reduces the risk of downtime that can occur with central inverters. For centralized system architectures – which currently account for almost 40 percent of the market – FIMER has also launched the PVS-260/PVS-300, a fully-modular solution engineered with a single-MPPT string platform. It can easily replace central inverters in more traditional designs, significantly improving performance and lowering BoP costs, optimizing the LCOE – achieving a 2.3 percent reduction on the LCOE of a modular conversion architecture compared to a central solution. It also has higher system availability, above 99.9 percent compared to 99.5 percent maximum from central solutions. In addition, the PVS-260/PVS-300 has a large capacity combined with super-compact design single MPPT power block, to enable system designers to keep a ‘centralized’ system architecture if preferred.

What is the current product range FIMER offers? FIMER is the is the fourth largest, tier one, solar inverter supplier in the world and provides market-leading inverter systems across the utility, residential and C&I solar sectors, as well as e-mobility solutions.

How important is R&D at FIMER? FIMER invests heavily in R&D - it is part of our DNA. We are constantly looking for new ways to improve our solutions and platforms. This is demonstrated by the recent launch of our new R&D Center of Excellence for the utility sector in Italy, close to our manufacturing facilities in Vimercate. This strategic move will enable us to increase our focus on solutions innovation while enhancing our responsiveness to customer needs. It also reinforces our strategy to utilize the capacity of our carbon neutral facility in Italy, with all resources combined in one site.

What is your view on energy storage and related inverters? Storage is expected to play a key role in the future success of solar PV – not just for residential and C&I, but for utility-scale as well. The cumulative installed capacity of energy storage projects is expected to increase from 11 GW in 2020 to 168 GW in 2030, according to Bloomberg NEF’s New Energy Outlook. As batteries become more powerful and last longer, the switch from fossil fuels to solar PV renewable energy will be further supported, increasing overall demand. Our new platforms have been specifically designed to easily integrate with future requirements for battery storage, providing a whole-system solution for the utility market now and in the future.

Your opinion on India’s inverter industry? Increasing demand for standby sources of power across industrial and commercial applications is one of the key factors driving the Indian inverter market. Additionally, factors such as growing urbanization and the rising demand and supply gap of electricity are further propelling the market. India has been a benchmark player in adopting renewable sources of energy, especially solar, leading to a growth of projects across the country. The Government of India has been very supportive towards local manufacturing of inverters in India. The imposition of 20% BCD on inverters has helped the local players to enhance local investment and boost local production. However, we also believe that the government should look to extend the PLI scheme for inverter manufacturing as well. Recent cost increase in commodity prices has also impacted overall costs in solar projects with inverter manufacturers facing the brunt with module prices increasing at a rapid pace.

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FEATUREDTALKS

By the first quarter of 2021 Trina Solar had shipped more than 70GW+ of modules, which can generate about 90 billion kWh of clean-energy power and reduced CO2 emissions by 94.22 million tons per year, equivalent to planting 5.1 billion trees. Gaurav Mathur Trina Solar India Director

How is the year 2021 progressing for Trina? What have been some major company updates? COVID-19 has brought very serious challenges to the PV industry as a whole. However, relying on Trina Solar’s global brand influence, global market channels and concentrated effort, the company not only overcame the impact on production and logistics during the pandemic, but also achieved further market share gains in some markets. By the first quarter of 2021 Trina Solar had shipped more than 70GW+ of modules, which can generate about 90 billion kWh of cleanenergy power and reduced CO2 emissions by 94.22 million tons per year, equivalent to planting 5.1 billion trees. Thanks to the continued acceleration of its globalized layout and constant enhancement of customer value through technological innovation, industrial synergy and channel construction, Trina Solar keeps growing prominently globally. The company’s financial performance, which is an important indicator to evaluate the bankability, also affirms and strengthens Trina Solar’s high bankability across the world. Trina Solar was approved for its bankability in 2020 by BloombergNEF, which is the only module manufacturer to be rated as bankable for five consecutive years. In June, Trina Solar was awarded for “Overall High Achievement in Manufacturing” in the PV Module Index Report (PVMI) 2021 published by Renewable Energy Test Center, LLC (“RETC”), while Trina Solar won its seventh consecutive “Top Performer” certified by PVEL for its high-reliability modules in May. In July, Trina Solar formally joined the global Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and signed the Business Ambition for 1.5°C pledge. Every step that Trina Solar takes will be in line with the 1.5°C pledge, and we will do our utmost to create a carbon-free world.

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Trina modules are the best available in the market today. Could you please give us their major highlights? Are there any new products in the pipeline? The 210mm ultra-high power modules have gained significant breakthroughs in production capacity, performance and adoption by customers. It sets a new benchmark and further advances the technology of the photovoltaic industry. Trina Solar’s 210mm modules have eight technological innovations, including lowvoltage design, high-density interconnection and auxiliary tools. 210mm modules provide a full reliability guarantee because the products are also fully verified in terms of dynamic mechanical load, hot spot, operating temperature and so on. 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.

IN JUNE, TRINA SOLAR WAS AWARDED FOR “OVERALL HIGH ACHIEVEMENT IN MANUFACTURING” IN THE PV MODULE INDEX REPORT (PVMI) 2021 PUBLISHED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY TEST CENTER, LLC (“RETC”), WHILE TRINA SOLAR WON ITS SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE “TOP PERFORMER” CERTIFIED BY PVEL FOR ITS HIGHRELIABILITY MODULES IN MAY."

Trina Solar’s State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology (SKL) announced that its proprietary Vertex highefficiency p-type monocrystalline silicon module, based on 66 pcs of 210 mm x 210 mm high-efficiency PERC cells, has achieved a record aperture module efficiency of 23.03% for larger-area industrial silicon p-type modules. This is independently confirmed by third-party certification laboratories by both TÜV Rheinland and TÜV Nord with identical efficiency results. Improving module efficiency is a key to help the customers to save land, labor and cables etc. Trina Solar always focuses on developing leading-edge PV techniques and products to achieve commercial success of customers with our innovations.

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How is the company focusing on keeping up with the technology trends? What have been some latest technological advancements at Trina? Traditional modules adopt the layout design of 610 or 6*12, while 210 Vertex modules introduce a various layout design of 5*8, 5*10, 5*11, 6*10, and 6*11, etc., based on the feature of 210mm silicon wafers. On one hand, these designs can match the half-cut or 1/3-cut cell technology to provide different application solutions for customers. On the other hand, these layouts are designed to balance the electrical performances of the modules, to optimize area, weight and other properties, and to improve installation compatibility. This can also eliminate additional costs and avoid the supply limitations of key materials. Under all kinds of application scenarios, Trina Solar’s 210 Vertex modules are 4090W above the average industry level, creating more value for customers. The core factor in reducing BOS costs is increasing string power. From cells and modules to strings, arrays and the entire PV power plant, the string is a basic circuit unit of a PV system. String power can be significantly increased based on the design of low voltage and high current. Under the same volume of installation, the higher the string power, the fewer strings are needed, so BOS costs fall. In conjunction with lower BOS costs, the cost of trackers, pile foundations, cables and labor for the downstream also falls. The string power of Trina Solar’s 600W+ Vertex modules is 41% greater than that of other modules in the industry, and BOS cost savings can be as high as 4 to 6%, thus providing a significant overall advantage for further reducing LCOE. Since the 210 Vertex modules have been adopted worldwide, logistics costs, safety of transportation and convenience of operation come into play. For 600W+ series products, Trina Solar changed packaging methods to vertical portrait, so that the width of the modules is no longer limited by the height of the container. This packaging method can make maximum use of the internal capacity of the container. Loading power is 12% higher than with more orthodox methods, resulting in an 11% cut in transport costs. Factory packaging is completed by automatic equipment to ensure safety and efficiency, and when the module's pallets are transported, they are closely arranged inside the container to avoid shaking. Finally, stable and reliable transfer is achieved at the project site to ensure safe delivery to customers.

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AFTER 11 YEARS WITH TRINA SOLAR TO MANAGE A DIVERSE TEAM OF PEOPLE IN INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA INVOLVED." 210 is not merely an innovative product technologically, but also provides greater value because it establishes a highly innovative product technology platform. With this platform, through the synergy of upstream and downstream innovation and R&amp;D, Trina Solar has solved the problems of product reliability, raw material supply guarantee and systematic compatibility and has achieved consistent product optimization and speedy industrialization. The platform provides more feasibility in photovoltaic module design and solutions for customers with great potential.

With your diverse professional experience, tell us how it is to be leading Trina? How has your experience been in the company? At Trina Solar, our team is tackling the world’s energy challenges. Our global community at Trina works passionately to bring smarter solar energy solutions to the world, ranging from modules to balance of systems to full power plants for our partners. Improving the lives of people around the globe is a critical mission and Trina is equally dedicated to the health, safety and development of our own employees. After 11 years with Trina Solar to manage a diverse team of people in India and South Asia involved in: sales, marketing, customer and technical support, I see a number of incredible opportunities to develop personally and professionally at Trina in a fast-growing industry like solar. We have also set many records in the Indian solar industry. As of now, we have delivered more than 5GW of solar modules, which is a great accomplishment for me personally and the team. As always, I am motivated by the company’s mission and continue to work with the team to push the PV industry forward by creating greater grid parity of PV power and popularizing renewable energy in the region.

Anything else that you would like our readers to know? 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 other module and tracker manufacturers 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. Many 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. 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. The team is sealing the first tracker deals in India in both commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility segments.

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."

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 35

FEATUREDTALKS

In 2022 Q2, Goodwe plans to launch 300kW+ inverter in utility scale solar markets and 100kW+ commercial energy storage products. Dharshan Kumar Jain HEAD OF SALES SOUTH INDIA, GOODWE

Please tell us about GoodWe's current product range. Are you planning to bring some new models to India in 2022?

Brief our readers on GoodWe's new HT 1500V Series (225/250kW) inverter for utilization in solar utilities.

How different is the Indian market dynamics compared to the other international markets?

GoodWe On Grid Solar string inverters have been used in residential and commercial rooftops, industrial and utility scale systems and range from 0.7kW to 250kW. GoodWe inverters Residential solutions ranging from 0.7 to 15 kW, Commercial and Industrial (C&I) segment ranging from 17 to 136 kW and utility scale solar power plants we are offering 250kW inverter. Also, GoodWe offers PV+storage (Hybrid) solutions inverters ranging from 3kW to 50kW for residential, commercial and industrial markets.

The new HT 1500V Series (225/250kW) is GoodWe’s top inverter for utilization in solar utilities with an extensive list of features designed to reduce system and O&M costs. This inverter boasts 12 MPPTs, PLC communication and is compatible with bifacial modules. The HT-1500V Series features string level monitoring and incorporates I-V curve diagnosis for intelligent detection of voltage and current issues. It features internal humidity detection, and It can realize 24-hour monitoring and O&M during nighttime. The configuration of the HT 1500V can be easily done via Bluetooth and firmware diagnosis and upgrading can be operated remotely. These outstanding sets of features were conceived to ensure the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE).

India continues to be one of the most attractive markets for solar investment in the world. An ambitious solar energy target of 100 GW, a focus on domestic manufacturing, and increased attention to distributed generation – including agricultural pumps and rooftops – are enabling policy initiatives.

In 2022 Q2, GoodWe plans to launch 300kW+ inverter in utility scale solar markets and 100kW+ commercial energy storage products.

How do you plan to accelerate your growth in India against the competition? Almost daily we are having new players in the string inverter market. However, the key is how sustainable and reliable one can be. When we are supplying such large volumes of inverter in the market, then Service is key to move ahead. In GoodWe we are always striving to make our products better and more perfect as per the market requirement and new policies and guidelines. Our inverters comprise the best component from the best brands that are available from Europe and U.S. Our R&D are constantly working on upgrading the inverters to increase the efficiency.

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India’s favourable climatic conditions, the Union Government has identified solar as a key pillar for its power supply strategy and is committed to one of the largest solar energy capacity expansion programmes in the world. For now, India’s solar market is driven by large-scale, ground-mounted projects. With many utility-scale projects in the pipeline, this trend is likely to continue. This is not unusual for emerging markets, if you see the European or the US markets, they are most driven by rooftop projects. In India Installing large quantities of utility-scale solar is much easier than establishing a distributed PV rooftop market, which takes a substantial period of time with having to educate many consumers. Moving forward, the distributed solar rooftop market is the key to reach the 40 GW milestone set by the government. Around 20 states have introduced dedicated policies and net metering regulations. Reliable products, O&M quality, Attractive policy & supportive DISCOMS are crucial for the current market.

THE NEW HT 1500V SERIES (225/250KW) IS GOODWE’S TOP INVERTER FOR UTILIZATION IN SOLAR UTILITIES WITH AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF FEATURES DESIGNED TO REDUCE SYSTEM AND O&M COSTS." AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 36

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 37

INSIGHT

INNOVATION, TANDEM MODULES AND INDIA’S SOLAR FUTURE

The Indian government has developed a comprehensive policy to support domestic solar production, and the country is poised to launch itself into a fast-growing, high-value sector that also supplies the products to meet the country’s massive power requirements. As India looks to carve out a new manufacturing leadership position, it’s most promising path can be forged through the embrace of innovation. These manufacturing innovations are still at the beginning of their learning curve, provide a pathway to overcoming existing efficiency barriers, and avoid the material and energy waste associated with legacy processes. They also provide a strategically competitive alternative to the existing solar supply chain and focus specifically on two steps of the manufacturing ecosystem – wafers and tandem modules.

INNOVATION HAS STALLED AND STANDARD WAFER MANUFACTURING HAS PLATEAUED, LEAVING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES OF THE 21 ST CENTURY TETHERED TO A LEGACY PROCESS

Harvesting solar energy is akin to farming, and just like the green revolution increased yield per acre in agriculture, it is essential to increase the efficiency of solar panels. Advanced tandem module technology does just that by increasing the energy output of a solar panel by thirty percent. While tandem builds on the manufacturing knowledge gained during the last 30 years, it replaces the basic approach to harvesting sunlight that has defined the solar industry to date with an approach for yielding more power. Existing panels rely on only one light absorber, namely silicon, to convert sunlight to electricity. Indeed, China has built world dominance using this basic “single junction” approach. But this technology is reaching its physical limits and future cost declines or performance gains can only come from solutions that are not constrained by single junction physics. Tandem offers an alternative. It works by combining two semiconductor materials into one solar device, with each material capturing different wavelengths of the light spectrum. Silicon, with its band gap of 1.1 eV, is particularly good at capturing the infrared portion of the spectrum, making it ideal for the bottom layer of a tandem structure.

WITH INTRINSIC INEFFICIENCIES."

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 38

However, whether a silicon semiconductor can be used in this way depends on cost. The bottom layer accounts for less than half of the energy produced by the tandem device, so an ultra-low-cost silicon wafer is needed for the total tandem package to prove economically superior. So while tandem represents the future of module technology, silicon wafer manufacturing is the keystone to realizing that future. As India embraces solar manufacturing, it should ensure it is building with the platforms that can deliver this future. Today, the world’s major wafer manufacturers employ conventional ingot and sawing equipment to produce silicon wafers. During the past decade, China has moved to capture 99% of the world’s wafer production/manufacturing. The scaling achievement, though remarkable, is also inherently flawed as the manufacturing process underpinning the growth is ripe for disruption. The industry relies on a highly-inefficient ingotbased production method. The most significant inefficiencies come from the sawing of the ingot. It is during this process that nearly half of the ingot turns to dust. This dust is referred to as “kerf” and this waste drives the largest loss of energy, as the silicon refining and crystallization process is extremely energy intensive. The more silicon wasted, the larger the carbon footprint and the longer the energy payback.

WHILE TANDEM BUILDS ON THE MANUFACTURING KNOWLEDGE GAINED DURING THE LAST 30 YEARS, IT REPLACES THE BASIC APPROACH TO HARVESTING SUNLIGHT THAT HAS DEFINED THE SOLAR INDUSTRY TO DATE WITH AN APPROACH FOR YIELDING MORE POWER."

While incremental improvements, such as diamond wire sawing, and China’s brute force in scaling led to dramatic cost reductions, wafers remain the largest cost driver of industrial solar cell production. Innovation has stalled and standard wafer manufacturing has plateaued, leaving one of the most important industries of the 21 st century tethered to a legacy process with intrinsic inefficiencies. A new alternative has evolved through a decade’s worth of R&D and commercial trials that have resulted in the ability to produce a solar wafer directly from molten silicon in a single-step, entirely eliminating the need for the ingot and sawing. The process heats the silicon to form a molten bath, then freezes a thin sheet of “silicon ice” on the surface and extracts this sheet (wafer) from the molten bath. The same equipment laser trims the sheet to the desired size and adds the trimmings back to the melt. This ability to morph melted silicon directly into a wafer is what gives “Direct Wafer” manufacturing its name. India has a choice its predecessors in crystalline silicon solar manufacturing did not have, to elect innovation such as the Direct Wafer process over generic silicon technology. In doing so, it can achieve the lowest cost of energy today and create the blueprint, through tandem modules powered by Direct Wafer silicon wafers, for global leadership. Earlier this year, 1366 Technologies (which invented the Direct Wafer process) and Hunt Perovskite Technologies, merged to form CubicPV. The new company’s patented technology achievements, the Direct Wafer process and durable perovskites, enable the leap to tandem solar and will create a solar future defined by high-efficiency and lower embedded energy and materials. Perovskites, though a relatively new solar semiconductor, are the ideal top layer material for a tandem device, exceptional at capturing the visible light of the solar spectrum. By avoiding the same technology roadmap as its economic rival and with synergistic innovation-led technologies such as those in the CubicPV portfolio, there is no doubt that India can become a center of gravity in solar manufacturing.

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AUTHOR: FRANK VAN MIERLO CEO, CUBICPV

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 39

INSIGHT

SELF-RELIANCE TO RESILIENCE STRENGTHENING THE DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING ECOSYSTEM

Three golden pillars of technology, policy and finance need to be strengthened India has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 gigawatts (GW) of RE capacity by 2022. To date, we have installed 44 GW of solar. Closing the gap between the target and installed capacity will mean higher demand for solar panels and modules in the next 2-3 years.

TO ENABLE MANUFACTURING OF ALL POWER SECTOR EQUIPMENT IN INDIA AND ALSO TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHY COMPETITION AMONGST STATES, THE MINISTRY OF POWER RECENTLY ANNOUNCED IT WILL SET UP THREE CATEGORIES OF MANUFACTURING ZONES IN COASTAL, LAND-LOCKED AND HILLY STATES."

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Technological advancement The PV supply chain consists of 5 sub-elements: silicon production from silicate; silicon ingots; solar wafers; solar cells and solar modules. The Indian solar manufacturing story still revolves around the latter two -cells and modules, which are in a nascent stage. As per the recent report by JMK Research & Analytics India’s cumulative solar cell and module manufacturing capacities are about 4 GW and 16 GW respectively. We have zero capacity to develop solar wafers or ingots and still depend on imports for raw materials like wafers, EVA, back sheet, reflective glass, semiconductors etc. This highlights our huge technology dependency and an urgent need to develop and fund domestic R&D in the semiconductor industry. Transitioning to a circular resource model would ensure efficient utilisation of raw materials along with creating ancillary markets to recycle and reuse solar cells and modules, which will, in turn, attract and motivate the private sector. Private players like Borosil Renewables Limited have the potential to lead and innovate in the solar panel glass recycling process to enhance the circular efficiency of the sector.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 40

Policy to practice Over the past few years the Indian government has introduced various initiatives and schemes to support the domestic manufacturing industry including Make in India, the Safeguard Duty (SGD), the Basic Customs Duty (BCD), the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme and the recent productionlinked incentive (PLI) scheme. The 40% BCD on solar modules and 25% on solar cells starts from 1 April 2022. Although developers have a window from July 2021 (end of SGD) to April 2022 to prepare and secure the required raw materials (non-availability of a domestic raw material supply chain would impact the success and cost of manufacturing). The Covid-19 pandemic has been an eye-opener for the renewable energy (RE) industry, spotlighting the impact of global supply disruptions on domestic solar capacity additions. India imported approximately Rs 16,000 crore (US$2.16 bn) worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, panels and modules in 2018-19. To enable manufacturing of all power sector equipment in India and also to encourage healthy competition amongst states, the Ministry of Power recently announced it will set up three categories of manufacturing zones in coastal, land-locked and hilly states. Here lies a great opportunity to create manufacturing hubs with availability of clean and affordable electricity; efficient usage of land and water; skilled human resources; and an ancillary equipment industry. However, structured focus would be required to open the ancillary market to smaller businesses, energy entrepreneurs and medium and smallscale enterprises (MSME).

The PLI led to positive ripples in the clean power industry with giants like Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and First Solar announcing commitments and plans. RIL plans to invest approximately Rs 750 billion (US$10bn) over three years to build ‘giga-factories’ in Gujarat to manufacture integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, batteries, electrolysers to produce green hydrogen, and fuel cells. These plans, when implemented, will put India on the map as a global solar manufacturing player. To facilitate its push into solar manufacturing, RIL is now looking to buy the Norwegian solar module maker, REC Group. In addition, First Solar plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore (US$67.3m) to set up a solar manufacturing facility in India. These positive developments will all give a much-needed boost to the domestic manufacturing market. However, much more effort is needed to translate the commitments into action through accelerated R&D in semiconductor manufacturing; technology advancement; and increased private sector participation to assure investors.

Circular investment for growth Developing a domestic manufacturing and recycling ecosystem will be crucial to achieving deep decarbonisation and walking a net zero pathway. To achieve this, the Rs 4,500 crore (US$60.6m) PLI scheme ‘National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules’ focuses on three factors: development of an integrated plant (silicon + wafer + cell + module); performance of modules; and capacity and scale. The higher the efficiency of the module, the higher the PLI. The more integrated the plant, the better the PLI. Another crucial factor is ‘local value addition’ which encourages usage of local raw materials, such as glass and aluminium, but the value chain for it is still missing in India. In addition, more clarity is required to define ‘high efficiency’.

THE INDIAN SOLAR MANUFACTURING STORY STILL REVOLVES AROUND THE LATTER TWO - CELLS AND MODULES, WHICH ARE IN A NASCENT STAGE."

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AUTHOR: SALONI SACHDEVA MICHAEL ENERGY AND FINANCE CONSULTANT, IEEFA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 41

INSIGHT

IMPROVING DISCOM HEALTH THROUGH RELIABLE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY

India currently stands at a historic moment in its energy journey. It has recently electrified 100% of villages and has ambitious targets of reaching 450 GW by 2030. However, there is still a while to go to achieve 100% energy access, and ensure that every Indian has access to high quality, reliable and affordable electricity. The overstretched infrastructure of the country’s electric grid is already dealing with growing power needs and peak power shortfalls. There is significant doubt about its capacity to handle the additional load from the government’s target of 450 GW renewable energy by 2030. Significant efforts need to be made to upgrade grid infrastructure to deal with this increase and ensure that electricity distribution is fair, affordable and accessible.

Any discussion of affordable electricity must involve state-owned electricity distribution companies (a.k.a. discoms) as they are vital to the electricity infrastructure in the country. The history of discoms has often been one of ill health and they are regarded as the weakest link in the electricity value chain, plagued by low collection, high power purchase costs, inadequate tariff hikes and subsidy disbursement as well as mounting dues from government departments. Though significant progress has been made to improve the economics of electricity distribution, most discoms still have a gap between the average cost of supply for electricity (ACS) and the price at which it is distributed (ARR, or average realizable revenue). This ACS-ARR gap is a critical constraint disincentivizing discoms from catering to rural areas.

AN OCTOBER 2020 REPORT BY NITI AAYOG, THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, AND SMART POWER INDIA TITLED “ELECTRICITY ACCESS IN INDIA: BENCHMARKING DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES” CAN SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE MATTER."

There has been a positive trend in recent years as losses for discoms were lowering - they declined by 38% to Rs. 38,000 crore in FY20 from Rs. 61,360 crore in FY19 according to the Ninth Annual Integrated Rating for State Power Distribution Utilities report. Unfortunately, most experts predict that the financial health of discoms would have deteriorated in 2020-21 as a result of the pandemic. Though electricity usage in residential areas did increase, discoms were affected by lower realisations from Commercial & Industrial (C&I) activity halted by the lockdown. Though C&amp;I accounts for 50% of electricity usage, it provides 75% of revenue for discoms, who thus came out of the pandemic with higher losses.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 42

Areas for Improvement However, the situation is not all doom and gloom as there are many ways in which the health of discoms can be improved. An October 2020 report by NITI Aayog, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India titled “Electricity Access in India: Benchmarking Distribution Utilities” can shed some light on the matter. The study analysed gaps in the power distribution sector, and recommended pragmatic solutions to address them and help the sector realize its full potential. The recommendations can be sorted into the following categories.

Policy and Regulatory Recommendations This is one of the most difficult areas to achieve change but is also one of the most vital. For example, the ACS-ARR gap mentioned above is one that has survived many policy interventions and requires a revisit. Perhaps the solution will lie in instituting reforms based on “customer capacity to pay” or revising efficiency benchmarks for utility performance. What is clear is that the government needs to support discoms by extending programmes like the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) to rural areas as well. Other major recommendations include prioritising new connections for nonhousehold customers like agricultural or institutional ones, and an awareness campaign to set the stage for Direct Benefit Transfers for electricity costs.

Operational And Process Improvement Recommendations Only 66% of customers were satisfied with the overall level of service, while only 43% are happy with complaint resolution processes. Satisfaction with the reliability and quality of power is 63% and 55% respectively. This is especially true in rural areas where 50% of households experience 8 hours of power cuts a day and agricultural users only receive 7-8 hours of supply in most states (that too mostly during the night and with frequent interruptions). Due to this, almost 50% of rural enterprises use comparatively more expensive non-grid electricity supply options. There is thus significant scope for improvement. A few recommendations include standardising operational procedure for key activities like maintenance to be more proactive in dealing with problems, adhering to regulations prescribed by the respective state electricity commission, and forming customer engagement departments.

Infrastructure Recommendations Though some modernisation has happened, India’s electricity infrastructure is still not utilising the full benefit of modern tools like data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, a combination of data analysis and the latest in AI and material science advancements should be used in all future investments in electricity infrastructure. This approach can also be used at the customer end to digitise metering, billing, and collection, thus enabling smart metering, demand-side management measures and innovations like a pre-paid billing model.

Capacity-building Recommendations Though the Electricity Act of 2003 did reorganise state utilities according to geographical areas and populations, there were no accompanying reforms revising the organisation structure to reflect this new reality. There is an opportunity for real process re-engineering that will not only increase efficiency and productivity, but also the capacity of utilities to respond to markets.

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Governance Recommendations All of the above recommendations will only be effective if they are truly deployed and the only way that can be ensured is through good governance and monitoring. There are two critical aspects for improvement in this regard: ensuring that utilities are provided with clearly outlined Standards of Performance guidelines and compliance requirements as well as implementing a clear technological pathway to do so using the latest in computational and data science. If it is possible to implement a few, if not all, of these recommendations it is beyond doubt that it would have a dramatic impact on the health of discoms and improve their ability to provide reliable and affordable electricity to all Indians.

AUTHOR: SAMIT MITRA SENIOR DIRECTOR - MINI-GRID, DEMAND & INNOVATION, SMART POWER INDIA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 43

INSIGHT

HOW TO MAINTAIN QUALITY UNDER THE NEW INDIAN BASIC CUSTOMS DUTY SCHEME IN 2022?

AUTHOR: FRÉDÉRIC DROSS PHD, VP OF STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT, STS

Starting on April 1 st , 2022, solar modules and solar cells imported into India will be subject to a 40% and 25% basic customs duty (BCD) respectively. Concurrently, the Indian government is launching the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing under which 10GW worth of cells and module manufacturing facilities will be subsidized. Under these conditions, the PV industry expects a shift in the supply chain of Indian PV projects in 2022, from being today dominated (>85%) by importation of foreign (mainly Chinese) modules to a more domestic-centered supply chain.

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It is generally challenging to maintain a high level of quality through any disruption of the supply chain: it takes time for new factories to build stable processes, to design robust quality management systems, to integrate new requirements and for new operators to acquire training and experience. One important element to be looked at in this context is the Quality Control Plan (QCP) used during manufacturing of the components. The QCP describes all the quality control activities performed by a manufacturer during production as well as the criteria used to accept or reject the products. How often a flasher gets calibrated during a production run, and how many microcracks are acceptable in a finished module are, for instance, described in the QCP. Commanding manufacturers to use an appropriate QCP is the first step to ensure quality. Ideally, a standardized QCP, such as the one described in the Industry Standard STS-STD-PVM1:2018©, is used across the entire portfolio of projects, maintaining the same level of quality regardless of the evolution of the supply chain. The second step is enforcement, during production, of the quality requirements agreed upon beforehand and described in the QCP. This step is typically performed by second party experienced and accredited inspectors, regardless of the location of the manufacturing plant.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 44

Another approach to maintain quality is to internalize production. A developer may indeed ramp up its own production capacity to secure steady supply of modules, while capturing directly some of the government subsidies. Some major players in the Indian PV industry like ReNew Power, Azure Power and Adani Green have announced that they will build up PV modules and cells manufacturing capacity to cater their needs. This is not unlike similar approaches observed in India in other industries. For instance, Indian regulations also encourage cars to be assembled in India rather than being imported as completely built units by setting an import tax of 125% on foreign imported cars, while the tax on components is only 10%. Within this approach, controlling the quality of module components, instead of finished PV modules, becomes necessary. All components of the PV modules may benefit from a second-party quality inspection. However, the most critical component is the cell, for which not only quality matters (type and amount of silver paste, quality of the silicon material, bifaciality, current sorting, etc.); but also other elements matter, such as provenance of the silicon (for social or environmental responsibility reasons), or respect of intellectual property rights (in the design, or in the materials used), etc. Regardless of the approach, quality control is likely to take an even more predominant role in the context of this new customs duty, to secure long-lasting components for Indian projects

ONE IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO BE LOOKED AT IN THIS CONTEXT IS THE QUALITY CONTROL PLAN (QCP) USED DURING MANUFACTURING OF THE COMPONENTS."

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 45

FEATUREDINSIGHT

SOLIS SEMINAR HOW DOES A SINGLE-PHASE INVERTER CONNECT TO SPLIT-PHASE GRID

？

Background In some special countries and regions, the grid structure involves split-phase grid, but if there is no split-phase inverter when installing PV system, can the conventional single-phase inverter be connected to the grid?What problems should we pay attention to?We will share them with you in this Solis seminar.

About 120V/240V Split Phase 120/240 Vac split phase is a type of single-phase three-wire mid-point neutral power distribution system commonly found in America with a standard phaseneutral voltage of 120 Vac for residential and light commercial applications. The phase to phase( Live to Live) voltage is 240Vac for heavy industrial loads such as compressors, fridge, and pumps. Because of the 120-0-120 voltage configuration, it is also sometimes referred to as dual-phase, 2 phase / twophase or even mistakenly, single-phase 220Vac.

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SOLIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST EXPERIENCED STRING INVERTER MANUFACTURERS WITH A GLOBAL NETWORK OF SERVICE TEAMS."

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 46

How to use a traditional single-phase inverter in a split-phase grid system? Usually, customers in some regions will mistake 120/240VAC for single-phase 220VAC grid.Therefore, the PV grid-connected inverter purchased is single-phase inverter (L+N), which will cause trouble in the installation process, but do not worry about it. The L+N structure single-phase inverter can still be used in 120V/240V split phase power grid.

→ →

Main Menu Advanced Settings Password 0010 Standard Select Standard Code Save & Send

：

；

→Select

NOTE In this system,when using the zero injection function, please pay attention to the CT line entry method, which is different from the conventional thread method. We need to loop the L2 cable on the CT, which shown in Figure 3

Wiring topology

Figure 3 The wiring topology of zero - injection function in split - phase grid Figure 2 wiring topology

Summary

As shown in Figure 2, we only need to connect the Line and Neutral wire of the inverter with the two Lines of the Split Phase grid, and then the PE wire of the inverter is connected with the Neutral of it.

Single-phase inverter can be connected to the split phase power grid. Of course, this is an emergency solution under abnormal circumstances. For the split phase power grid, the best suggestion is to use the grid-tied inverter of Solis US version.

About Setting

Solis is one of the world's largest and most experienced string inverter manufacturers with a global network of service teams.

This wiring method does not need any special setting of the inverter, only need to set the local grid standard.

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If you have any other questions, you can contact Solis support engineers or go to www.solisinverters.com/aftersales.html

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 47

FEATUREDINSIGHT

SOLIS SEMINAR PV PLANT SAFETY. INVERTER POWER ON AND POWER OFF OPERATION

Background During the operation and maintenance of a solar PV plant, we often power off and power on the inverter, which is normally related to the safety of equipment and the personal safety of O&M personnel but is there anything specific we should look out for during what is seemingly a very simple process? In this Solis Seminar, we will share some relevant tips for you.

Powering Off the Inverter When powering off the inverter for maintenance, Please follow the steps below: First, select the "Grid off" option through the inverter LCD. Main Menu Grid OFF

；

→Advanced Settings→Password 0010→Grid ON/OFF→

Then turn off the AC side breaker corresponding to the inverter, and the next turn off the inverter DC switch. The reason for doing it in this order is: by opening the AC circuit breaker first, the PV system in an open circuit state, to make sure the DC switch is switch off under no current & load condition, which is good for DC switch lifetime and system safe.

It should be noted that even if the DC switch and AC breaker are turned off, the inverter will still be holding electricity. You should wait for 5~10 minutes and after checking that there is no electricity for both DC and AC, and then safely disassemble the inverter or check the PV plant. (Note When removing and checking PV strings, please pay attention to measuring its voltage. You must ensure that the voltage of PV Strings is lower than 30V or unplug the PV strings of the inverter in the evening.

：

）

SOLIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST EXPERIENCED STRING INVERTER MANUFACTURERS WITH A GLOBAL NETWORK OF SERVICE TEAMS."

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 48

Inverter Power-on and Grid-Connected Operation After maintenance of the PV plant or the inverter is completed, it is recommended to follow the steps below for power-on and gridconnected operation: After check all PV strings (positive and negative poles are not reversely connected) and the AC cable wiring is correctly installed (The line wire, neutral wire and PE wire are connected correctly ), first close the AC circuit breaker, and then close the inverter DC switch, which can avoids the 1 to 3 minutes of grid connection delay caused by the "NO GRID" alarm. Then, select the "Grid on" option through the inverter LCD.

→

Main Menu Advanced Settings ON/OFF Grid ON

→

；

→Password 0010→Grid

You must ensure that the grid parameters of the inverter are set to the local distributor’s requirements. Please pay attention to all the DC data and AC parameters displayed on the LCD should are normally displayed before you leave the site.

THE NEW HT 1500V SERIES (225/250KW) IS GOODWE’S TOP

Conclusion Although these are small points of attention and are easily overlooked, taking note of these finer details can lead to the components of your inverter working better and for longer, and at the same time improve the grid-tied efficiency of the overall PV system. If you have any other questions, you can contact Solis support engineers or go to www.solisinverters.com/aftersales.html

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INVERTER FOR UTILIZATION IN SOLAR UTILITIES WITH AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF FEATURES DESIGNED TO REDUCE SYSTEM AND O&M COSTS."

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 49

FEATUREDINSIGHT

PIXON- A PREMIUM SOLAR MODULE MANUFACTURER ENGINEERED

MORE THAN 700 KW SOLAR INSTALLATION IN GUJARAT WITHIN 25 DAYS

The best creates the best! Here is an overview of a landmark institutional project commissioned by PIXON. Within a very short span of 25 days, PIXON finished a remarkable installation at an institution in Gujarat. The total capacity of the project turned out to be 704.8 kW with a significant structure. The basic need of installing a solar plant is to save money by reducing electricity bills and to save the environment from toxic gases otherwise released in the air.

PIXON - A PREMIUM SOLAR MODULE MANUFACTURER INSTALLED IT'S HIGH QUALITY MONO PERC SOLAR PV MODULES OF 400 WP FOR HIGHEST GENERATION. PIXON ENVISIONS TO HELP PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE A GREENER AND POLLUTION FREE LIFESTYLE ALONG WITH SAVING HUGE ON ELECTRICITY BILLS.""

PIXON - a premium Solar module manufacturer installed it's high quality Mono PERC Solar PV Modules of 400 Wp for highest generation. PIXON envisions to help people to achieve a greener and pollution free lifestyle along with saving huge on electricity bills. Project Size: 704.8 kW Area of Utilization: 5640 sq. m. PV Module: PIXON Mono PERC 400 Wp LCOE: Approx. 1.1 rs/unit Annual Energy Generation: Approx. 12,67,200 units Trees Saved: 33,135 trees CO2 Emissions Avoided in a year: Approx. 1039.1 tonnes

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 50

Project Size: 704.8 kW Area of Utilization: 5640 sq. m. PV Module: PIXON Mono PERC 400 Wp LCOE: Approx. 1.1 rs/unit Annual Energy Generation: Approx. 12,67,200 units Trees Saved: 33,135 trees CO2 Emissions Avoided in a year: Approx. 1039.1 tonnes

Project Outline: The project was developed with an outlay of installing over 700 kW capacity in a rooftop structure. The major focus was on getting maximum generation without disturbing the aesthetic structure of the university. One of the major concerns of this project was commitment to the safety and security of the workforce due to the height of the buildings. The company ensured all the preventive measures and the entire project was completed accident-free which sets a benchmark in the industry.

Challenges The institution has different types of roofs including Domes, Shades & RCC roofs. This demanded different types of installation structures. The installation has a unique structure with a combination of Mini Rails, Dome Clamps & Ballast type of structure on a total 15 roofs. The height of the buildings was also one of the difficult parts as it made the task of material shifting, cable dressing and the rest more hectic. The structure of the university is such that the team required a lot of effort to find a shadow free area.

Benefits to Client Project life: 25 years ROI: above 25% Payback: within 2.5 - 3 years Project Revenue: approx. 20 Cr As the installation is grid connected, the system is also synchronized with DG which provides an option during the time of power cut. Our team of professionals completed the entire project in a very short time span of 25 days. The project was commissioned on 22nd July 2021.

About PIXON: We are a solar module manufacturing company – a venture of Marwadi Group of Companies. We manufacture solar modules as well as module raw materials such as EVA Films. With the state-of-the-art turnkey manufacturing facility of European origin, we offer the best quality products with enhanced performance. We ensure turnkey solutions and support till the project is up-and-running and functioning steadily. We offer turnkey EPC solutions to provide end-to-end solutions from site survey to procuring materials to installation as well as covering all the necessary government approvals. Not just this, we also offer O&M services post installation. All in all, PIXON becomes a one-stop solution for all the solar installation requirements. Most importantly we manufacture Solar Modules and module raw materials, which gives us a leverage over the guaranteed quality of efficiency of the project.

Giving shape to a huge installation during these tough times of pandemic when nobody would even step out of their houses is a challenging task in itself. There were two major aspects of this. Like every coin has two sides, the pandemic disrupted the entire supply chain for every industry and thus procuring materials was one of the major problems. Time boundations as per the government guidelines was also a major concern. But on the other side, PIXON had the advantage of working without any disturbances as the institute was not functional due to the pandemic. SolarEdge inverter was used in the solar plant setup to avoid the power losses due to shading effect.

ALONG WITH MANUFACTURING, PIXON ALSO OFFERS TURNKEY EPC SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE END-TO-END SOLUTIONS FROM SITE SURVEY TO PROCURING MATERIALS TO INSTALLATION AS WELL AS COVERING ALL THE NECESSARY GOVERNMENT APPROVALS.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 51

FEATUREDINSIGHT

ENERGY STORAGE IN INDIA A NEW HORIZON IS VISIBLE

Storage Tenders

Monetization

As per recent announcements by the Ministry of New Renewable Energy, the Indian government is planning to announce 4GW of storage tenders. As per feedback of NTPC senior management, grid frequency stabilization and peak power shifting are burning issues which have the attention of senior officials of the ministry. As per definition of IEA, flexibility of a power system refers to the “extent to which a power system can modify electricity production or consumption in response to variability, expected or otherwise”. Hence these initiatives by the Indian government for load shifting, due to controlled generation, are intended to result in the “desired profile”. The projected peak demand developing in India in the evening is due the emergence of aided cooling requirements and upcoming electric vehicles. With the advent of EV, A slow charger of 5KW is likely to be switched in the evening.

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Frequency containment reserve (FCR, aFRR, mFRR) in Internal Electricity Balancing Market means operating reserves necessary for constant containment of frequency deviations (fluctuations) from nominal value to constantly maintain the power balance in the whole synchronously interconnected systems.

GOODWE IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST DECENTRALIZED HYBRID ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (AS PER WOOD MACKENZIE) HAVING SUPPLIED THOUSANDS OF UNITS TO EUROPE WITH A LEADING MARKET POSITION."

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 52

What will be interesting is how the monetization opportunities are offered in India. As per industry experts, the “main valuation “for such FCR tender is the reserved reverse auction rate (e.g. $ 100,000 / MW/ year) to provide a guaranteed FCR response. In addition, there are minor upside valuations to the investor, like merchant power. To offer the above FCR by a centralized storage solution, however, the OPEX requirement is quite large, and profitability does not match the inherent risk. As per some estimates a EIRR of 8% -12% maybe expected on such FCR centralized projects with self-financing (debt is harder to secure)

RMB / T, in the below chart. LFP is the winner by leaps and bounds. For a cost sensitive market like India LFP battery will be the winner.

The grid operator will ask the buyer to commission (0-30 sec, 30 sec and above) grid balancing solutions and procure this capacity. The operator (& owner) guarantees that enough reserves are committed and activates balancing energy in case of actual frequency deviations. On the other side for decentralized storage players like GoodWe there are similar opportunities. Small scale storage with good cumulative flexibility, like the one offered by GoodWe, is also under the radar to provide services to grid operators. Till now decentralized are having lacune due to. Insufficient scale Failing to maintain technical requirements Licenses and fee Lack of market and regulator know how However, with advancement of technology like at GoodWe. If a company manages a VPP, with thousands of units of inter-connected storage systems then it is possible to participate in the TSO market to provide congestion relief. Usually, it means that some power from the GoodWe battery may be reserved to participate in the VPP i.e., Capacity vs Usable battery. In addition, over time the battery degradation needs to be accounted for. A smart VPP operator can exploit the battery reserves for the inner band of 50Hz and use the slower FCR units in the outer bands. Such methods will need three parties. A technology partner like GoodWe, a VPP partner (which is missing in India) and a contract which obligates the participating body.

Decentralized and Centralized Storage GoodWe is the world’s largest decentralized Hybrid energy storage system (as per Wood Mackenzie) having supplied thousands of units to Europe with a leading market position. The decentralized storage inverters are already very popular in existing smart grids where thousands of such units inter-communicate & interoperate as a cohesive unit. Decentralized inverters significantly reduce the need to increase transmission infrastructure to deliver FCR from far flung areas (like in central storage) to the city. Globally the centralized storage is co -existing with decentralization.

Technology (inverter, cell & battery) China will be our best friend India will need to take a stance on Li Ion cell technology to be adopted. For reasons of low cost, India has already taken baby steps for the LFP Cathode route, same as China. Compare the price difference between NCM 523 and LFP price in

NMC batteries, mostly promoted by the West, have better density compared to LFP. But two things go in favor of LFP batteries for India which cannot be ignored, are the lower cost of ownership in India and better temperature response for LPF is not needed due to Indian climate.

Patent Position The patents’ restricting China over LFP will start to expire in 2022. Limitation of LFP exports on Chinese producers will be largely removed, along with the licensing fee for non-Chinese LFP cell producers. The removal of this IP barrier could become the largest opportunity for LFPbased Li-ion batteries to rapidly gain market share in the energy storage market outside China. For LFP cathode technology West has already ceded defeat to Asian giants. Which is why amongst the deluge of new storage announcements, there is not even a single (except 1) announcement for LFB cell manufacturing. Rather the West is taking a gamble on high density batteries like SSB and NMC. For India to go the same path as the West and be as innovative, it is unlikely that any Indian company has any chance to succeed. Therefore, it may be the best interest of India to partner with China in LPF Cathode due to lower cost and temperature suitability.

VIVEK BHARDWAJ SALES HEAD – INDIA, GOODWE

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 53

PERSPECTIVE

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE LARGE SCALE PV PROJECT PERFORMANCE

Prelude In order to improve the plant performance there could be multiple focus areas, right at the plant design stage to integration stage to achieve optimized plant performance. It is important for developers, EPC Contractors, O&M service providers to consider various options/ strategies to increase their plant yield at a minimal cost. Knowledge about the performance of solar power plants results in correct investment decisions and better regulatory framework, technical enhancement of solar photovoltaic technology. Emerging Technologies are being used to reduce different losses like DC cable layout losses, shadow losses, inverter losses, AC wiring losses and module miss-match losses. Use of AI and ML is being done in performance monitoring and enhancement.

THE EVER-EVOLVING ROLE OF DATA & AI IN GREEN ENERGY AMIDST COVID-19 Let's read in details on Emerging Technologies To Enhance Large Scale PV Project Performance

JAYMIN GAJJAR SENIOR RESEARCH ENGINEER ENERGY & POWER SECTOR, CSTEP

Emerging Technologies Can Boost Solar ‘Power’ On the 75th Independence Day, the Prime Minister spoke about India crossing the milestone of 100 GW of installed renewable energy (RE) capacity. Of this, solar power accounts for 44 GW. Solar power is a key resource for RE installations, but low efficiency of solar power systems can pose considerable challenges in harnessing its true potential. Employing the emerging innovative technologies in solar panels and solar tracking systems can increase energy production and yield better economic benefits, enhancing the overall

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efficiency of solar plants. In doing so, the focus should be on largescale solar plants, as they comprise over 80% of the solarphotovoltaic (PV) installations across the country. Several solar technologies being explored at the global level are in different stages of development. While India has adopted some of the emerging technologies, it has not done so on a scale large enough to make a difference. To fully actualise India’s solar potential, their large-scale adoption is essential. The enabling features of some of these technologies are presented here.

GLOBAL RESEARCH SHOWS THAT A SOLAR PLANT WITH BIFACIAL PANELS AND SINGLE-AXIS TRACKERS CAN COST APPROXIMATELY 15% MORE THAN THE CONVENTIONAL SOLAR PLANT WITH MONO-FACIAL MODULES AT A FIXED TILT." AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 54

Solar Panels Presently, polycrystalline Si solar panels—which have an efficiency of 15-17%—are most commonly used in India. However, other current and upcoming solar panel materials, like crystalline Si, thin films, and perovskite solar cells, can offer higher efficiency. Their benefits and development stages are illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 2: Assumptions considered for PVSyst simulation

Figure 3: Generation and cost of energy profiles for 1 MW solar-PV system with and without single-axis tracking system Figure 1: Emerging solar panel materials/technologies

Solar Tracking Systems The demand for solar trackers is increasing globally (due to rising solar energy demand). According to "Solar Tracker Market, 2021-2028", Fortune Business Insights’ latest report, the market size is expected to reach $ 54.23 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 16.3% between 2021 and 2028. Tracking systems not only boost sunlight harnessing, but also maximise the overall efficiency of the solar power system. Currently, two types of trackers are available, single-axis and dual axis. Of these, single-axis trackers are expected to dominate the market due to lower cost and longer lifetime. Global research shows that a solar plant with bifacial panels and single-axis trackers can cost approximately 15% more than the conventional solar plant with mono-facial modules at a fixed tilt. However, the former can generate >20% energy and sometimes even up to 35-39% energy, under optimal conditions.

As seen in Figure 3, a 1 MW plant with a poly Si solar module without trackers generates the lowest energy (1,772 MWh). However, when trackers are employed, the same plant generates almost 25% more output. The combination of bifacial panel and tracker offers the highest generation (2,308 MWh) and has the lowest cost of energy (INR 2.90/ kWh).

Conclusion The ability of the emerging technologies to enhance the performance and cost-effectiveness of solar power plants makes a strong business case for their large-scale uptake. The Indian government should consider deploying these to fully harness the country’s huge solar resource, and drive the 2030 RE target of 450 GW.

Comparative Performance Analysis In order to understand the performance of a large-scale solar plant with and without trackers, the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) conducted an analysis using the PVSyst V6.62 platform. First, a simulation for a 1 MW solar plant was done. Then the performance of an actual power plant with the same capacity was evaluated using emerging trackers and module technologies. The assumptions and results of the analysis are illustrated in Figure 2 and Figure 3, respectively.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 55

MANJESH NAYAK DIRECTOR / CFO, OORJAN CLEANTECH PRIVATE LIMITED

Over the last decades, solar photovoltaic projects have been increasingly adopted in a bet to transition to renewable sources of energy. As reported by IRENA, about 48% of the renewable additions in 2020 have been in Solar photovoltaic (PV) capacities. So far, the crystalline silicon panel technology has dominated the solar photovoltaic market, particularly in utility-scale projects. However, in recent years, newer technologies have been adopted to make the most of the sun’s irradiation.

Multi busbars

Floatovoltaics “Floatovoltaics” are solar PV systems installed on reservoirs, dams, and other water bodies. These can be installed in huge capacities without using valuable real estate. Studies show that it generates up to 10% more due to the cooling effect of water. Further, floating solar farms reduce water evaporation as they limit air circulation and block sunlight; thus, helping in water management. Floatovoltaics also lower water treatment costs by reducing algae growth.

Bi-facial modules Bi-facial modules, that can capture sunlight from both front and rear, seem to be the way forward. There is a strong shift towards this technology worldwide. A report says, bifacials accounted for about a third of utility-scale projects installed during the second half of 2020 in China. Similarly, over a Gigawatt of installations across Europe, Africa and South America and the United States are using bifacial modules. Preliminary results of an ongoing three-year investigation by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggest that this emerging technology provides a considerable boost in energy gains up to 9% more energy as compared to monofacial modules.

Half Cells Another new technology seeing quick adoption is half cells, mainly, since no major changes are required from a manufacturing view point. As the name suggests, it involves cutting a fully processed cell into half with advanced laser machines. Half cells improve module performance and durability.

Multi-busbars solar cells are metallised with thin strips printed on the front and rear of a solar cell; these are called busbars (BB). Busbars conduct the Direct Current generated by the cell. The increased number of busbars has several advantages ranging from higher potential for cost saving to reduced series resistance losses and also additional rise in efficiency.

PV monitoring Drones Continuous inspection and monitoring of the solar parks is important to take timely preventive and corrective action and maintain plant performance. Traditionally, monitoring was done through manual inspections; however, drones are finding their way in. Due to a range of surveillance and monitoring capabilities, the possibility of longrange inspection and easy control, Drones are finding wide acceptance. Drones efficiently capture the necessary data using sensors and send them to the cloud for analysis – faster and more accurate.

Robotic cleaning Cleaning is a very crucial activity to maintain the PV plant performance. To ensure timely cleaning, optimise the use of water resources and comply with the tightening environment and labour laws, robotic cleaning is gaining popularity. Considering the current technologies, the larger the solar park, the more economical and effective it is to deploy the waterless robotic cleaning technology.

CONTINUOUS INSPECTION AND MONITORING OF THE SOLAR PARKS IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE TIMELY PREVENTIVE AND CORRECTIVE ACTION AND MAINTAIN PLANT | INDIA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 56

AYUSH SINHA ASSOCIATE, ANALYTICS, AMPLUS SOLAR

Solar power is the energy of the future. It is renewable, reliable, and fuels the vast majority of life on the earth. But, in recent years, less than 2 percent of the world’s electricity has come from solar power. One of the main reasons behind this is the relatively low efficiency of solar panels. On average, a solar panel converts 15-20% of the incident sunlight (irradiation) into electricity. The factors determining solar efficiency include insulation resistance, environmental factors, type and design of solar panels. Although efficiency has not improved much in recent years, there are various existing and upcoming technological advancements in this field that can enhance large-scale PV project performance. The solar panels are most effective when the sun’s rays hit them head-on rather than at an angle. That is why solar panels are installed at a fixed angle that gets the maximum direct sunlight at their specific latitude. But, the angle of the sun’s light changes depending on the time of day and season. Photovoltaic trackers or PV trackers move solar panels along tracks that follow the arc of the sun. The trackers ensure that the sun’s rays always hit the panels head-on, so they are always performing at their peak. These systems do use about 5-10% of the energy produced by the panels, but the gains outweigh the losses. It has been observed that they can boost the generation of a solar panel by up to 40%, depending on the geographic location. They are generally too heavy to be used on rooftops, but they are used in other settings. Solar efficiency reduces at high temperatures, as the electrons get excited due to the heat, they have less room to absorb energy from the sun. They work best in moderate conditions. Agrivoltaics, in which solar panels are installed over crop fields, helps in reducing the problem of overheating as the crops release water through the leaves. The water cools down the surrounding area and brings the plant’s temperature down. Floatovoltaics, in which solar panels are kept over bodies of water, which are also cooler than the air, helps keep the panels cool.

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The most commonly used material for solar panels is silicon. According to the Shockley-Queisser limit, the maximum possible efficiency for silicon p-n junction cells is 33.7 percent. However, researchers have found other materials that can offer higher efficiency. Perovskite, a compound of calcium, titanium, and oxygen, offers the possibility of achieving efficiency levels close to 30% as the raw materials are less expensive and fabrication methods do not require high temperatures and such high precision as silicon cells do. A film of carbon nanotubes, when added over a solar cell, can trap the thermal radiation bouncing off the surface of the cells and channel it into narrow bandwidth photons that can be easily converted to electricity. While all these technologies can enhance efficiency, and some of these are already being used commercially, the challenge to make these technologies feasible lies ahead.

SOLAR POWER IS THE ENERGY OF THE FUTURE. IT IS RENEWABLE, RELIABLE, AND FUELS THE VAST MAJORITY OF LIFE ON THE EARTH.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 57

PERSPECTIVE

THE EVER-EVOLVING ROLE OF DATA & AI IN GREEN ENERGY AMIDST COVID-19

Prelude The Covid-19 pandemic is having a major impact on energy systems around the world, curbing investments and threatening to slow the expansion of key clean energy technologies. The world is moving towards digitisation. The pandemic has reinforced the value of digitisation in our lives. Keeping in line with this trend, a lot of verticals in the economy are moving to upcoming technologies like Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things, etc. One of these verticals is the power sector. AI has the potential to cut energy waste, lower costs, and accelerate the use of clean renewable energy sources in power grids globally, along with improving the operation, maintenance, control, planning and plan execution of power systems. AI is thus closely tied to renewable, clean as well as affordable energy that is necessary for development. The renewable energy sector has a bright future with the advent of AI-managed smart grids if implemented well. AI and machine learning have become important technology solutions as the industry is constantly looking for ways to cater to the rapidly increasing demand for clean, cheap, and reliable energy. These advanced technologies have the potential to analyze the past, optimize the present, and predict the future. This means that AI and ML have the potential to solve most of the challenges that currently prevail.

Let's read more on the Ever-evolving Role of Data & AI in Green Energy Amidst COVID-19

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 58

MAHESH MAKHIJA DIRECTOR – BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & COMMERCIAL RENEWABLES , CLP INDIA

The Covid-19 pandemic has forever altered the ways of doing business and sharpened the focus on everything ‘remote’. Renewables-based energy (RE) projects, by their very nature, have almost always been remotely located and built with smart machines that operate with remote monitoring. Their importance has been underlined more strongly than ever by the pandemic. The chances of India achieving its target of installing RE generation capacity of 450 GW by 2030 can be improved greatly by using technology to integrate RE into the grid seamlessly and efficiently. Data-based and AI-enabled technologies have already been in use to enable the development and operation of RE projects; their role now needs to evolve to cover the entire value chain of the power sector. SCADA-based systems have been used by RE developers and operators for decades. Historically, RE projects have relied on weather data to predict the future and then operate in the hope of these predictions playing out. This made them vulnerable to variances in resource availability. Now, however, RE projects leverage the power of data and AI on a continuous basis to make more solid predictions and guide their decisions. Meanwhile, the continuous physical monitoring of assets in remote locations is enabled by technology platforms that are also capable of carrying out data-based predictability analysis to anticipate operational problems. Today, data analytics and AI tools are primarily being used to optimize the performance of assets. However, they can also prove very useful in integrating complex hybrid RE projects, meeting regulatory compliances on forecasting and scheduling, and meeting grid compliances.

Short-term applications of data analytics and AI Digital data mapping Asset performance monitoring Periodic maintenance planning

Medium-term applications of data analytics and AI Integration of complex projects – hybrid projects, energy storage, and other energy applications

Real-time integration with allied business areas

Predictive maintenance

Real-time network control

Real-time market operations

An effective data platform must have specific features, including but not limited to: segmentation of data/results on both macro and micro issues to enable quick decision-making. Data and results should tie in with the targeted objectives, with quantitative analysis on increased revenue or cost savings. asset monitoring (setting up Asset Performance Management practices to achieve better predictability of asset condition and recommend condition-based preventive maintenance).

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Long-term applications of data analytics and AI

Given its dependence on variable resources, RE simply must leverage technology to take on the lead role in India’s energy mix. The grid is the link between the generators and consumers of energy and should therefore be stable. As policies for and expectations from the RE sector evolve, the entire value chain – generation, storage/transmission/storage, and consumption – will benefit from smart technology in making the grid truly ‘clean’. Technology, backed by data analytics and supported by AI, will play a significant role in making RE the mainstay of India’s power mix. To achieve India’s RE targets, the entire value chain will have to recognize this fact and make appropriate interventions – the sooner the better.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 59

SURBHI SINHA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR WORKING IN THE AI AND DIGITAL LAB SECTOR AT CSTEP

The Changing Role of Data and AI in Green Energy The imperative to adopt low-carbon energy is driving revolutionary changes in the power sector value chain across the globe. Renewable generation sources are proliferating, unidirectional distribution networks are slowly evolving into bidirectional networks, consumers are changing into prosumers, and dynamic energy markets are emerging.

AI-BASED DEMAND PREDICTION SOLUTIONS, DAYAHEAD AND INTRADAY, ARE ALREADY USED BY SOME DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES (DISCOMS) IN INDIA.

India is still in the nascent stages of this revolution. Nevertheless, the journey towards a green energy future has begun. Artificial intelligence (AI) and the data that feed it are vital tools in this journey.

AI in the power sector AI’s role is evolving from supporting point solutions to large-scale distributed solutions, supporting a multi-actor ecosystem of energy markets, smart grids, and distributed generation and storage capabilities. Currently, AI is being used in labs to develop new solar fuels and improve battery technologies. In plant operations and maintenance, AI provides solutions for detection and management of plant performance (historical data), automated fault detection (thermal and image processing), and asset management (digital twinning, predictive maintenance). Automated fault detection on the transmission grid (e.g., detect vegetation overgrowth) is also being pursued actively. AI solutions for solar, wind, and hydel power forecasts are actively used in dispatch centres in a few developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. AI-based demand prediction solutions, day-ahead and intraday, are already used by some distribution companies (DISCOMS) in India. In the future, AI solutions might borrow climate modelling techniques (develop hybrid models: physical simulation and AI learning models) to increase the accuracy and range of predictions. AI techniques (neural nets, reinforcement learning, and genetic algorithms) have the potential to tackle power system optimisation problems and are being researched and developed. These aim to support dynamic scheduling for real-time automated grid balancing. Demand response solutions, aimed at shaping consumption patterns in favour of green energy by letting consumers or prosumers respond to real-time prices, are maturing . AI solutions for targeting the right customer base (data analytics), deriving real-time prices (neural nets, reinforcement learning, and genetic algorithms), and maximising the reward for prosumers (AI agent-based model) are being developed. However, these need to be tested and developed further for deployment at scale. The feasibility of partially decentralised scheduling and dispatch, with support from AI, is also under examination.

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The success of these AI solutions depend on the quality of data that can be fed to them. Data on plant operations, generation, consumption and storage, weather/climate data, and digitised data on the transmission and distribution network are essential, and AI is generating some of this data through image processing and other techniques.

The potential of blockchain in the emerging value chain Current technologies and industry structures do not support the participation of many small-scale prosumers in wholesale energy markets or support them in peer-to-peer trading. Virtual aggregation models, which promote cooperation among small-scale community prosumers and co-ordinate their distributed resources into virtual power plants, are slowly emerging. Blockchains that can record, verify, and enforce smart contracts between various parties while addressing data privacy might play a critical role in enabling this ecosystem of aggregators, virtual operators, and prosumers, making energy markets accessible to them and helping in managing the traceability of green energy. The application of AI in the power sector, especially in India, has barely begun. The power sector and the supporting AI technology are both evolving globally, and innovations are being tried every day. There is a long and interesting journey ahead of us.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 60

SHANKARANSH SRIVASTAVA HEAD- BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SMARTHELIO

The IPCC 2021 report on climate change has once again stirred global warming concerns with some alarming statistics. In the past few years, many countries have already pledged to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, among which the adoption of solar PV has been remarkable. IRENA's 2019 report, Future of Solar Photovoltaic, states that "By 2050 solar PV would represent the second-largest power generation source, just behind wind power and lead the way for the transformation of the global electricity sector. Solar PV would generate a quarter (25%) of total electricity needs globally, becoming one of the prominent generation sources by 2050." In India in the past 5 years, solar PV installations grew more than 7 times to over 40 GW as of July 2021. As much as one must be proud of this growth, the COVID-19 pandemic brought some unprecedented challenges in front of the Solar PV industry. One of the most noticeable ones was the requirement of manpower for the maintenance of the operational solar PV systems. This challenge further reinforced the need for digitization and using advanced technologies like AI in maintaining the systems. Currently, maintaining the solar PV plants is dominantly reliant on manual checks. As the portfolio of solar energy is increasing, the limitations of manual interventions are being replaced by the intelligence extracted from data. In India, 40+ GW produces billions of data points everyday. These data points are collected right from the pyranometers all the way to the point of evacuation of the solar electricity. Upon processing and technical analysis, data can help us to remotely detect problems in a solar PV plant. With smaller solar portfolios and younger plants, the manual inspection of solar assets

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could have been just enough, but now with the portfolio growing and even more importantly the assets growing older, the role of data and AI is irrefutably the key to maintaining the health of solar PV systems. Utilizing data will help us automate asset management and create an opportunity for skill development of the maintenance related workforce in other areas like manufacturing, installation, analysis etc. Often there are unknown and unresolved issues in a solar plant which data and AI can help uncover. For example, design issues, wiring related issues, early module degradation, long term impact of soiling, transformer losses, inverter losses etc can be quickly identified if data is being collected with good accuracy, digital twin algorithms are put into place to continuously track the anomalies and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are deployed over these algorithms to predict faults in the plants. PwC’s Dec 2020 report ‘AI: An opportunity amidst a crisis’ says “AI is being seen as a key enabler for organisations to repair (emerge from the present crisis), rethink (plan for transformation) and reconfigure (make fundamental changes to the operating model for lasting competitive advantage).” Data and AI will help restructure the clean energy industry and will make our clean energy assets future ready for situations like COVID-19.

IN INDIA IN THE PAST 5 YEARS, SOLAR PV INSTALLATIONS GREW MORE THAN 7 TIMES TO OVER 40 GW AS OF JULY 2021.

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 61

OPINION

IN PURSUANCE OF SELF RELIANCE: CHALLENGES & PROSPECTS OF DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS

SHREYAS GARG CONSULTANT, CEEW-CEF

Is the sun finally shining on domestic solar manufacturers? India’s rapid solar PV growth has relied heavily on imports from China. However, recent announcements by government and manufacturers indicate that the clouds over domestic solar manufacturing may finally begin clearing. Analysis by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance suggests that new capacity announcements by solar manufacturers can take module capacity from 10 GW to over 20 GW and cell capacity from 3 GW to over 10 GW.

Recent policy action has brightened the prospects for domestic manufacturers Solar imports are currently subject to multiple tariffs – safeguard duties on cell and module imports, anti-dumping duties on glass and EVA sheets, and countervailing duties on glass. The government also launched manufacturing-linked tenders and central subsidy schemes with domestic content requirements to support local manufacturing. Finally, the high cost and time requirements of BIS and Approved List of Modules and Manufacturers (ALMM) certification act as non-tariff barriers. However, these policies have not achieved self-reliance as India remains import-dependent and has no end-to-end supply chain from quartz to modules. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently took two steps to support Indian manufacturers. First, a basic customs duty (BCD) of 25 per cent and 40 per cent on cell and module imports, respectively, will potentially erase the price advantage enjoyed by Chinese solar products. Second, the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme provides up to INR 4,500 crore over five years. MNRE also

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recently released the ALMM, consisting of only Indian modules and effectively mandating domestic sourcing for government-tendered projects. Indian manufacturers have three clear benefits within this myriad of acronyms: market competitiveness through the BCD, subsidised production through the PLI, and a mandated domestic market through the ALMM.

Supply chain integration and a focus on R&D remain essential for industry and policymakers While the outlook for domestic module manufacturing is bright, the future of horizontal and vertical integration is less certain. Complexity and capital requirements make cell manufacturing challenging. Further, India has no wafer or polysilicon manufacturing, and policy incentives are far and few. Other raw materials, such as glass and metals are also largely imported. These challenges demand concerted action. First, governments can support fundraising in multiple ways, for example, through credit enhancements or by raising green bonds through public banks. Efforts are also required to increase awareness of bankers around green financing opportunities. Second, state governments must support production through manufacturing hubs powered by cheap renewable sources with low lease rates. This can be crucial for manufacturers not covered under PLI. Third, manufacturers must actively invest in R&amp;D and seek technology partnerships with leading foreign players and academia to stay competitive. Technology transfer can also be included in global climate negotiations. Fourth, MNRE can expand demand through specialist tenders focused on fully domestic products and high-efficiency modules, adding to the market created through the PLI scheme’s local value addition clause. Fifth, MNRE must also review ALMM and BIS standards and ascertain their suitability as non-tariff barriers for domestic manufacturers. With elements of the policy framework in place, it is time to view solar manufacturing end-to-end. A truly self-reliant manufacturing ecosystem not only reduces imports, but also adds to economic growth and creates new jobs.

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LAUNCHED NEW EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION for Energy Storage Industry

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COMPANY FEATURE

LONGi wins 2021 Intersolar award for Hi-MO 5 series module LONGi, the world leading solar technology company, has been recognized with the 2021 Intersolar award in the Photovoltaics category for its high efficiency Hi-MO 5 (182mm) series module during an online ceremony forming part of the smarter E industry days held by Intersolar’s organisers. The Intersolar award is presented to companies making a substantial contribution to the success of the PV industry, recognising technological innovations and groundbreaking solutions. Over a period of more than 10 years, the flagship award for the solar industry has provided companies with a unique platform to gain broad international recognition and distinguish themselves from the competition, with LONGi receiving this year’s award based on the advanced technology and innovation behind its Hi-MO 5 series module. The Hi-MO 5 module adopts high-performance bifacial + PERC technology. Designed for large solar plants worldwide, the module features gallium-doped wafers and integrated segmented soldering ribbon connectors, based on the company’s proprietary “Smart Soldering” technology. The wafer (M10 standard) material minimizes output losses over time, while the connectors allow cells to be packed more densely, in turn boosting efficiency to an impressive 21.3%. The high efficiency and power of Hi-MO 5 can reduce BOS costs at solar plants and, combined with a reduction in manufacturing and transportation costs, the module can also significantly reduce LCOE.

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LONGi is committed to developing and delivering high efficiency, high reliability and high-quality modules. At SNEC 2021, LONGi was also the first solar company to launch “Lifecycle Quality” standards under its brand concept of “Steadfast and Reliable Technology Leadership”, aiming to assist global partners and customers in securing the value of a power plant throughout its lifecycle via technology and product quality. “We are very excited to be the winner of the 2021 Intersolar award, which validates both the product value and the technological innovation of the Hi-MO 5 series module. LONGi values high performance and reliability in its products and, with this recognition, we’ll continue to provide cutting-edge solutions that will accelerate the clean energy transition across the globe and maximize investment returns for our customers and partners worldwide,” commented Dennis She, LONGi Solar’s Senior Vice President.

About LONGi LONGi, founded in 2000, is a world leading solar technology organization. The company has had a long-term, unswerving commitment to monocrystalline technology, convinced, rightly, that its general adoption would bring about significant technological change for the whole PV industry. With 15 manufacturing bases and more than 30 branches around the world, LONGi produces monocrystalline silicon wafers and modules, delivering solutions for distributed and ground mount power station systems, promoting the development of the global PV industry and driving energy transformation. The company’s shipments have been among the industry’s highest for a number of years and, in 2020, it became the first manufacturer to ship more than 20GW of modules in a year. LONGi’s ongoing high investment in R&D is a significant contributory factor in its success and the company has been rapidly applying new technologies and processes to large-scale production, making important advances in cost control and efficient product innovation. In 2020, LONGi became the first Chinese solar energy company to join the RE100, EV100, EP100 and SBTi initiatives, set up to promote zero-carbon solar and sustainable development.

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COMPANY FEATURE

FIMER today is a company that is 100 percent involved in sustainability and committed to Innovation and Customer centricity. FIMER is a global leader in Solar Inverter Technology for solar systems and Emobility solutions. With one of the broadest portfolios of solar and storage solutions for all solar applications, we shape the future of renewable energy. For us investing and working in the solar and e-mobility sectors is a strategic choice for building a better world to leave to future generations. We are committed to leveraging the energy playing field to serve growing demands with clean, affordable energy which truly benefits people and places.

History of Growth: The evolution of our brand reflects a history of growth. Ambition for continuous growth, passion for innovation, and foresight is part of our tradition and so the small business founded in 1942 has become a leading global company in the future -oriented business. In 2020 our identity has been significantly renewed, in line with an extraordinary moment of transformation.

FIMER is proudly “Made in Italy” with its headquarters based out of Italy. At FIMER, commitment to sustainability is our mission. We are working at zero impact headquarter in Vimercate (Italy), with an installation of a 1MW systems , highly sustainable materials and the best technologies in the field of geothermal energy have been our practice so far.

Our DNA and our values are the same, but with the acquisition of ABB’s solar inverter business, FIMER has evolved into a new dimension and celebrates this occasion with a new visual brand appearance. Under the umbrella of our FIMER corporate brand, the newly acquired solar inverter portfolio continues to carry the ABB brand under trademark licenses agreement to ensure a smooth brand transition.

Global inverter installed base: 55GW+ Global repair centers: 12 in 5 continents Active in EV charging: since 2017, over 35,000+ charging stations installed globally Production , R&D sites based out of Italy & India.

Geographic distribution

Employees

Direct presence

+100 Countries

+1100

20 Countries in 5 Continents

Production sites

Research centers

WITH A HIGH FUTURE FOCUS ON INVESTMENT IN PARTICULAR IN R&D, SERVICE EXPERIENCE AND COMPANY BRAND RECOGNITION, FIMER, AS A EUROPEAN BRAND, WILL

Vision Our vision is to shape a new and powerful energy model that uses the power of the sun to drive progress and prosperity for a cleaner and sustainable world.

TAKE A LEADING ROLE IN THE SOLAR INVERTER BUSINESS AND WILL HELP

Mission

YOU MAKE YOUR BUSINESS

As a global leader in solar inverter technology, we have the energy to make positive change happen. We are committed to leveraging the energy playing field to serve growing demands with clean, affordable energy which truly benefits people and places.

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MORE SUCCESSFUL AND PROFITABLE."

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COMPANY FEATURE

Business Goals & objectives: FIMER is the right partner, with the advanced solar and EVC solutions that can help drive your business forward. The powerful combination of agility and experience allows you to expand your offering, and deliver bigger and better solar installations. With a high future focus on investment in particular in R&D, service experience and company brand recognition, FIMER, as a European brand, will take a leading role in the solar inverter business and will help you make your business more successful and profitable. FIMER today is a company that is 100 percent involved in sustainability and committed to Innovation and Customer centricity. We are now a strong player in the energy transition market with an ambition to become the solar sector’s technology leader. With our work, we want to enable our customers to successfully provide greener and smarter energy solutions leading the way. We work every day to improve our solutions, providing customer support and developing new technologies that respond better and better to the challenges of the future. Thanks to the continuous evolution of our offer, our inverters guarantee such high yields that they produce more energy than the market average. Preserving our leading position in the market, with an innovative approach, we offer highly reliable solutions, thanks to the continuous technological development of our portfolio carried out in R&D centers. We place customers at the heart of our day-to-day work creating a unique collaborative relationship with unrivaled post-sales assistance.

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In the e-mobility sector, our research and development activities assure cutting edge technologies to offer reliable and innovative solutions that meet the growing needs of the market. We are shaking up the future of mobility, leading the way to a New electric Era. In the next year we expect to see a strong increase in storage solutions and miniaturization of products, in response to trends for solutions to become smaller and smaller. In general, we will see a strong distinction between distributed energy and the centralized model and storage will be one of the stronger players in the market in the next year or so.

FIMER TODAY IS A COMPANY THAT IS 100 PERCENT INVOLVED IN SUSTAINABILITY AND COMMITTED TO INNOVATION AND CUSTOMER CENTRICITY. WE ARE NOW A STRONG PLAYER IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION MARKET WITH AN AMBITION TO BECOME THE SOLAR SECTOR’S TECHNOLOGY LEADER."

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COMPANY FEATURE Business Concept FIMER has one of the widest portfolios of solar inverters ranging from single and three-phase string inverters up to megawatt-sized central inverters, to meet the needs of any PV application. The offering is complemented by a series of AC and DC EV charging stations and advanced monitoring solutions Our solutions are suitable for the following applications: Residential: Product offering includes UNO- DM-PlusQ String Inverter and REACT2 (Hybrid inverter PV+ Storage ). Special 10 year warranty available in selected regions.

Usually projects below 10kW All about rooftop, typically single phase, one or very few inverters High value to connectivity, user friendly Commercial: Product offering includes PVS 10/33-TL, PVS 50/60-TL, PVS 100/120-TL string inverters. The offering includes a powerful line of three-phase string inverters for photovoltaic (PV) systems installed in C&I applications, as well as a series of AC and DC EV chargers. The products guarantee high total efficiency and reliability while optimizing the total cost of ownership in PV projects. The solutions are complemented by a series of cloud based advanced communication services which simplify the integration in smart environments.

Between 10 to 5000kW C&I roofs, all three phases, some or many inverters Flexibility, compactness and performances the keys Utility: Product offering includes PVS 175-TL and PVS-350-TL in String inverter. In the Central inverter available PVS980-58 up to 5 MVA and PVS -980-Cs up to 5 MVA (with skid solution). FIMER’s offering for utility-scale applications includes best-in-class indoor and outdoor central inverters supplemented with stations for indoor inverters as well as medium voltage stations suitable for a variety of site conditions and local requirements.

Above 5000kW Massively ground mounted From LV to MV, always big and many units $/W, performances and O&M on top

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Microgrids: product offering MGS100, Suitable for On/Off-grid projects

From kw up to MW Rural installations primarily in Emerging countries E-mobility: Over 35,000+ EV charging stations installed worldwide. We have developed two lines of charging stations (both AC and DC) for residential and commercial and public applications: FIMER FLEXA and FIMER ELECTRA.

FIMER FLEXA AC line includes AC Station, the charging unit which simultaneously recharges up to two electric vehicles, and AC Wallbox, the EV charging device installed on the wall or on a dedicated FIMER FLEXA Stand. FIMER ELECTRA DC station, available in different power configurations, is the best solution where fast charging is required.

Team & Management FIMER headquarters are based out of Vimercate, Italy. The organization is headed by Filippo Carzaniga, Chairman (BoD). Alessio Facondo is the Group Chief Executive Officer and Board Member. India operations are headed by KN Sreevatsa, Country Managing Director, based out of Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Customers & Projects FIMER has an installed base of > 55GW+ worldwide, spread across 100 countries. Last year, FIMER installed the first ever 5 MVA inverter for a textile mill in India. FIMER recently supplied its REACT2 Hybrid inverter and EV AC type charging station to the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) for a prestigious India-UK partnership under the Innovating for Clean Air (IfCA) program by Energy System Catapult, UK. From powering India’s biggest 750MW Solar REWA park to electrifying over 400 villas in Dubai, from solarizing airports in Africa to powering up energy projects in cold regions like Antarctica and Finland; from bringing in easy access to energy in smaller countries like Nepal to revolutionizing entertainment places like breweries in Australia--FIMER has touched the lives of a billion people across the world!

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COMPANY FEATURE

Leading Independent Solar O&M Service Provider in India with experience of more than 2.5GW Solar O&M Services

GS VENKATESH DIRECTOR & CEO, AVI SOLAR ENERGY PVT. LTD. Avi Solar Energy Pvt Limited was founded in 2010 with its headquarters in Bangalore and with a vision to contribute to Environment and Society by harvesting energy from sunlight. In its formation years, Avi Solar concentrated around solar lighting and solar project consultancy business and entered solar ground mounted O&M services as well as into solar EPC business in 2015. Major customers of Avi Solar O&M Services for ground mounted projects are Renew Power, SunEdison, Tata Power, Terraform, Lanco Power, Shapoorji & Pallonji , Mytrah Energy , Hero Future Energy , Oriano Power , Virescent Infrastructure etc Further, Sensing the rapid growth of rooftop solar power plants, Avi Solar also entered into O&M services of rooftop solar power plants in late 2017 and by now, is handling O&M services of more than 130MW rooftop solar power plants in 10 states providing its O&M services to roof top players like Cleantech Solar, Cleanmax Solar, Renew Power, Bosch , Berkeley Energy , Atria Power etc In its last 5 years journey, Avi Solar has become a leading Independent O&M service provider in India has provided its services to more than 2.5GW solar power plants cumulatively, successfully executed 22+MW of EPC works and also provided its project management consultancy to 21MW Solar power plants.

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Today Avi Solar specializes in providing O&M, EPC & PMC services for Solar PV Plants & Rooftops with a mission to be the first choice for O&M Solar PV Assets, be a Global Leader for Solar Monitoring Solutions , build high performing Solar Power Plants and to Enrich lives of Stakeholders. Our O&M activities varies from customer to customer, but include preventive, breakdown and predictive maintenance of the solar plant with battery limit. Our service varies from switch yard within the solar power plant to incomer bay of the interconnecting substation. Avi Solar is an ISO 9001-2015 company with highest priority accorded to Quality and Safety system. We are also enforcing strict implementation of all EHS guidelines of our company as well as of our customers to ensure safe work across all sites. Currently we are providing our O&M services to around 400+ MWp solar power plants including both ground mounted and rooftop across India. With many more projects in our pipeline, we intend to add another 200 to 300MW to our portfolio in the next 5 to 6 months’ time and will be operating around 600 to 700Mw solar power plants by the end of this FY 2021-22. Though the available market for Independent Solar O&M service providers is very large, at Avi Solar, we are very careful in selecting contracts which can provide us reasonable value for our services and also which are with reasonable commercial terms. With these aspects as guiding principles, our portfolio size planning for FY 22-23 will be around 800 Mwp and with any positive improvement in market conditions, our guidelines for the next FY will also have positive increment.

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COMPANY FEATURE

Sungrow is the pioneer in product innovations and rolls out industryleading products like the world’s most powerful inverter, the highefficient, durable and stable turnkey station. Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd is the world’s most bankable inverter brand with over 182 GW installed worldwide as of June 2021. Founded in 1997 by University Professor Cao Renxian, 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 storage systems for utility-scale, commercial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions. With a strong 24-year track record in the PV space Sungrow produces power installations in over 150 countries.

Sungrow vision:

Business Competitiveness: Sungrow focuses on the clean energy field and has a track record for over 24 years. Sungrow maintains a large proportion of R&D investment and boasts more than 2,100 R&D employees, accounting for over 40% of the total, having applied for more than 3,100 worldwide patents. Sungrow is the pioneer in product innovations and rolls out industryleading products like the world’s most powerful inverter, the highefficient, durable and stable turnkey station. Sungrow offers PV and energy storage systems covering comprehensive applications, well matching verified demands with premium and hassle-free solutions.

Become the global leader of clean energy conversion technology

Quality Policy Of The Company:

Mission:

Sungrow has a world-class testing center, which can make sure products pass rigorous inspections. The testing center is certified by TÜV Rheinland, TÜV SÜD, CSA, UL, etc. Sungrow also has the industryleading 10m anechoic chamber. It can test large electrical equipment like a PV inverter turnkey station as large as 5MW, and as heavy as 20 tons at a distance of 10m.

Sungrow always takes “Clean power for all” as the mission of our business, and is constantly committed to the research, development, promotion and application of clean energy conversion technologies.

Business Goals & Objectives: Sungrow aims to power more communities and facilities with state-ofthe-art products and solutions, facilitating carbon neutrality. As one of the few companies that can offer both PV and energy storage product solutions, Sungrow contributes to the global PV-plus-storage markets with increasing technical innovations, enabling an optimized LCOE and maximized yields for customers.

Company’s Products & Services: Featured products that Sungrow supplied for the Indian market include the 1500V, 3.125 MW central inverter solution and the 1500V string inverter, SG250HX-IN-20. The latest commercial series also saw huge demand in the thriving distributed rooftop market translating to a healthy market share in this price-sensitive segment.

With the efforts of dedicated Sungrow staff, our products are installed in over 150 countries. With over 20 subsidiaries and over 200 service outlets, Sungrow’ll reach out to customers immediately when they’re in demand. We provide 24x7 responsive service worldwide, which could perfectly address your different issues.

Customers & Projects: Riding on the wave of its latest offerings in both central and string inverters for large-scale utility projects, Sungrow secured some big and noteworthy orders in this highly competitive market. The Company takes the first place in market share in India and will facilitate the footprints in both utility-scale and distributed generation segments in this solar hub.

Sungrow has an increasing presence in BESS space with a proven track record of system integration capabilities which is critical for safe operation of the system and is poised to meet the upcoming hybrid and storage project demands in India. The Company offers highly integrated energy storage system solutions with a wide portfolio covering residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications.

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COMPANY FEATURE

PV Diagnostics is targeting to answer all the client’s needs with customized experience based on the individual’s needs. We enable solar plants to perform better PV Diagnostics is a solar-tech consultancy expertising in diagnostics of solar power plants and quality control across the solar value chain. Starting off as a diagnostics company focussing on performance improvement of solar power plants, we are now working with all the stakeholders in the solar value chain in the Indian solar market. We have evaluated more than 6 GW of solar assets which constitutes over 100 projects in India and abroad (USA, South Africa and SouthEast Asia). Our future developments include automation of plant diagnostics and enabling developers with in-house diagnostics of solar power plants. From a technical standpoint, the target is setting up industry standards for field testing of solar power plants. The technical team is actively working on setting up energy storage verticals.

Our top existing customers include Sterling & Wilson, KKR, Fourth Partner Energy, Jakson, Tata Power, Adani, Renew Power, Refex Energy, Mahindra Susten, Acme, Vector Green, Mahagenco, Softbank, SunCycle USA, and Upgrade Energy to name a few. We are now ISO 9001:2005 certified.

PVD has provided exemplar consultancy services to the clients PVD has supported several stakeholders and developers to assess critical aspects with the help of its strategic analysis and exhaustive reporting. Economic solutions Outcome: Improvement in generation capacity by 0.8% with an incremental cost of approx 7 lacs.

Approach: Our approach in this study was as follows Sample diagnostics study Strategizing the approach based on the results from the sample study Detailed diagnostics study for re-binning of modules and reduce mismatch losses. Use of proprietary algorithm for the best techno-commercial solution PID reversal of modules affected by PID ROI: Yearly benefit of approx 14 lacs, thereby proving to be economical for our clients

PV DIAGNOSTICS IS A SOLAR-TECH CONSULTANCY EXPERTISING IN DIAGNOSTICS OF SOLAR POWER PLANTS AND QUALITY CONTROL ACROSS THE SOLAR VALUE CHAIN."

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Support in warranty claims Outcome: Successful warranty claim and increased generation due to re-binning

Approach: The approach is listed below Sample diagnostics study conducted to understand the plant health Observation: Modules degraded excessively more than expected Next steps: Technical support to the developer for warranty claim and identification of all underperforming modules. Re-binning of modules and adding new modules in only one inverter to maximize the generation Sharing of exhaustive reports for warranty claim Quality Assessment during transportation damages (Container Toppling) Outcome: 1035 modules damaged out of 1409 tested modules. Damaged modules were replaced

Approach: Our approach includes EL Imaging of all the modules under consideration Production of exhaustive reports with segregation of healthy and damaged modules Technical support for warranty claim

Technological advancements Our R&D team is working on many fronts to ensure the best use of time and resources. Some of the technological upgradations include PV-D Digital Diagnostics Toolkit: This toolkit is based on machine learning, IoT, and realtime analytics. There are various objectives of this toolkit ( Are we planning to mention it in Public. This has to be done stealth mode)

Correlation between IV, EL and Thermal Imaging Failure analysis through monitoring data Generation, CUF, and PR forecasting Module monitoring solution Integration of SCADA analytics with O&M Predictive diagnostics through real-time analytics Heuristic fault detection Plant resource management Plant breakdown analysis Dashboard for diagnostics reports: This is a web-based platform for diagnostics and performance assessment of solar power plants which serves as a visual interactive report. It is highly customizable as per the need of the client. It is in the very initial stages of implementation and we have many interesting upgradations which will completely change the experience of our clients. Some of the key features of this product are:

Diagnostics and performance assessment Analysis of modules and other BoS components Real-time monitoring and diagnostics

OUR FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDE AUTOMATION OF PLANT DIAGNOSTICS AND ENABLING DEVELOPERS WITH IN-HOUSE DIAGNOSTICS OF SOLAR POWER PLANTS.

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Tech DD lite: The idea behind this product is to provide better analysis from the little data provided before the non-bidding offer stage to smartly handle the bids. Some of the key features include:

Improved energy yield analysis accounting for more details Performance analysis, breakdown analysis and even degradation estimation based on generation data Radiation data correlation with major sources available for better analysis

Our future roadmap Moving forward, we are looking for expansion opportunities in the international markets and are also exploring new verticals in the solar industry to extend our technology and consulting expertise. Our R&D team is working on many automation projects integrating machine learning and plant monitoring, diagnostics services, technical due diligence, etc. This will change the experience of our clients and accelerate our analysis with better accuracy on the field. We have added various services to our portfolio like system designing, system feasibility studies, remote module, and other component inspection, etc and are increasing our expertise to tap other areas in the industry, To conclude, PV Diagnostics is targeting to answer all the client’s needs with customized experience based on the individual’s needs. You can get a better understanding of our services by contacting us at rohit@pv-diagnostics.com or call us at +91 85275 31188.

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COMPANY FEATURE

Trina Solar - The Shining Star Of The Global Solar Industry Founded in 1997, Trina Solar is the world leading PV and smart energy total solutions provider. The company engages in PV products R&D, manufacture and sales; PV projects development, EPC, O&M, smart micro-grid and multi-energy complementary systems development and sales, as well as energy cloud-platform operation. 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. In June 2020, Trina Solar listed on the STAR Market of Shanghai Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.trinasolar.com.

Vision Leading global energy transformation with standardized and highvalue PV smart energy solutions

Mission Solar energy for all Business Goals & Objectives: Through constant innovation, Trina Solar continues to push the PV industry forward by creating greater grid parity of PV power and popularizing renewable energy. The company’s mission is to boost global renewable energy development around the world for the benefit of all of humanity.

Business Strategy As of Dec. 2020, Trina Solar has delivered more than 70 GW of solar modules worldwide, ranked “Top 500 private enterprises in China”. Trina Solar has always adhered to the six strategies of Innovation, Branding, Globalization, Platformization, Intellectualization and Industry-Finance Synergy, leading development in terms of innovation level, economic benefits, product quality and environmental safety. With its outstanding technological innovation capability and leading globalization level, it has accumulated excellent brand reputation and public praise, and won numerous domestic and international awards.

Company’s Products & Services As a global leading provider for PV modules and smart energy solutions, Trina Solar delivers PV products, applications and services to promote global sustainable development.

Business Competitiveness In 2014, Trina Solar realized the milestone of shipping over 1GW in one quarter. The company also broke the solar cell efficiency world record 7 times that year. To date, Trina Solar’s State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology has broken 21 world records on solar cell efficiency and module power. Trina Solar leads the industry in research and development with over 1300 solar PV patents filed to date. The unmatched level of innovation and technological capabilities of Trina Solar have allowed the company to become global leaders by setting industry benchmarks for both quality and efficiency.

TRINA SOLAR’S FACTORY IN CHANGZHOU, CHINA

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MR. JIFAN GAO, CHAIRMAN AND GENERAL MANAGER OF TRINA SOLAR

Quality Policy Of The Company Photovoltaic projects rely on high quality products that stand the test of time for inputs ranging from engineering design to financing and more. Trina Solar’s products have always maintained high reliability and solid performance based on its commitment to the quality-first policy. In the company’s upstream business model, Trina Solar tightly controls quality over every step of the manufacturing process, from silicon crystallization to module deployment in the field. The company guarantees the quality of its products with an industry-leading 25-year lifetime warranty. In its downstream business model ,Trina Solar follows strict compliance with national regulations and industry standards, including Chinese National Standards GB 50797 “Photovoltaic Power Station Design Specifications,” GB 50794 “Photovoltaic Power Plant Construction Specifications,” GBT 50866 “Design Code for Photovoltaic Power Station Connection to Power System” and GBT 19939 “Photovoltaic system Grid technology requirements,” among others. With an innovative solar design team, rigorous procurement procedures and experienced construction and operation team, Trina Solar has more than 15 years’ worth of hands-on expertise in PV project development.

Service Pledge: Trina Solar ensures the highest quality standards for its PV products across the entire supply chain. This mitigates risks and increases return on investment. Because of the company’s dedication to delivering high-quality PV products, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) named Trina Solar as a top bankable module supplier, five times in a row since 2016. Trina Solar is the only module manufacturer to be rated as fully bankable for five consecutive years by 100% of the experts participating in the BNEF survey.

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As part of Trina Solar’s commitment to quality and reliability in its own products and across the solar industry, Trina Solar has partnered with third-party testing groups, including TUV Rheinland Group, China General Certification Center, China Quality Certification Center and UL. In 2012, Trina Solar became the first solar PV company to obtain UL’s Client Test Data Program certification after undergoing a rigorous inspection and audit process. In 2017, Trina Solar received the first CQC’s witnessed Manufacturer’s Testing certification in the Solar Industry.

Ownership Structure 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. Trina Solar reached a milestone in 2020 when it was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and General Manager of Trina Solar, founded the company in 1997. At Trina Solar, the team is tackling the world’s energy challenges. The global community at Trina works passionately to bring smarter solar energy solutions to the world, ranging from modules to balance systems to full power plants for its partners. Trina Solar has regional headquarters in Switzerland, United States, Japan, Singapore and United Arab Emirates. It has also set up offices and branches in Germany, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, India etc. It has also set up production and manufacturing bases in Thailand and Vietnam, with operations in more than 100 countries and regions. The company is committed to working with installers, distributors, utilities and project developers worldwide to build a sustainable solar energy industry, constantly leading the industry in technological innovation, product quality, environmental protection and corporate social responsibility, bringing clean and reliable solar clean energy to households and to commercial and large public facilities.

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PRODUCT FEATURE

Data Acquisition from Solar plants by ETi-SOL® - IoT SCADA SCADA- “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition”, literally speaking is a platform to control, monitor and acquire data. while control and monitoring really happens on an application layer, the data acquisition happens on the physical layer. In layman terms, the SCADA solution providers must get their hands dirty and work on the field to provide a seamless remote monitoring and control. An end-to-end solution should be able to cover all aspects of data monitoring. ETi-SOL® is one such end-to-end solution.

Modbus data Be it Modbus RTU or Modbus TCP, our handheld in-house gateway, ETi-LOG, has plug and play ports for both. While it readily supports the two wire RS-485 system, it can also support the RS-232 with a little converter in between the field end device and ETi-LOG. In accordance with the theoretical Modbus protocol, ETi-LOG can support up to 32 Modbus end devices on the data link / daisy chained network.

Data acquisition is a meticulous task. There are several variants that need to be considered and worked through to present the data in a sensible manner. Top of the list are the type of protocol, network, data and architecture. Sewing these variants through the above-mentioned variants, here is the information on the bandwidth ETi-SOL® covers for data acquisition.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE THEORETICAL MODBUS PROTOCOL, ET i -LOG CAN SUPPORT UP TO 32 MODBUS END DEVICES ON THE DATA LINK / DAISY CHAINED NETWORK."

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Wireless RF Modbus RTU Data If you are worried about the mess the wired chain does for you, we have a solution for that too. We go wireless! With the Radio frequency (RF) technology, our in-house developed gateway can be fit right next to the end Modbus RTU device. This gateway relays all the data to our inhouse developed master gateway at the Main control room via RF. No long cables required at all.

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Retrofit Third party data Already invested in hardware for your plant? Or planning to scale your existing SCADA network? No worries. ETi-SOL® is compatible with most of the leading gateways in the market. Not only that. We can also get and post data from another machine-to-machine interface like File transfer protocol (FTP), Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and even Rest-API’s. Owing to its modular design, ETi-SOL® can integrate the data provided by third party hardware/platform on the application layer and provide insightful data without any design or structural trade-offs.

Input output - Analog, Digital signals

provided by Developers, Equipment data collection through wired network or RF network within the plant, Monitor and Control of Plants, Energy Forecasting, provide plant data to SLDC, PPC (Power Plant Controller), customized dashboards, customized reports, Products access using web and Mobile Apps (Android and iOS) …etc. Overall, be it Modbus, wired, wireless, analog, digital, retrofit or one computer. ETi-SOL® is a solution that is compatible with all the case scenarios on the field. EnerMAN with its informed knowledge on operational aspects of a solar plant, and a commissioning legacy of 1.1GW+ plants in less than three years, is a true end to end solution provider. To talk to us on this please write to

ETi-SOL® not only works with standard “digital data”, but also leverages and works with Analog or digital signals. When said as Input signal analog or digital, it can be the temperature from the transformer or the Irradiation from the weather sensor or any status of a breaker. It works with it all.

AUTHOR: TECHNICAL TEAM, ENERMAN TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED

ETi-SOL® can also control the status of breakers and similar devices via output digital signals.

KNOWLEDGE ON OPERATIONAL ASPECTS OF A

With just a converter between the digital Modbus RTU data and the Input-output signal, ETi-SOL® can both monitor and control the end devices with the aforesaid signal types.

OF 1.1GW+ PLANTS IN LESS THAN THREE YEARS, IS

ENERMAN WITH ITS INFORMED SOLAR PLANT, AND A COMMISSIONING LEGACY A TRUE END TO END SOLUTION PROVIDER."

ETi-SOL® Edge While all the above said SCADA architecture requires a fixed investment and regular maintenance costs, ETi-SOL® edge requires little to zero maintenance! ETi-SOL® Edge is a new age lightweight IoT SCADA developed by EnerMAN Technologies. It requires just one ETiLOG and computer in the Plant and no Internet required. All the necessary packages are installed in the Linux based machine at the Plant and the ETi-SOL® Edge is good to go. We have provided various Scada solutions like Local Monitoring, Remote Monitoring, data storage in Cloud servers or Own Servers

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 75

PRODUCT FEATURE

The new solutions maximize ROI on both conventional system architectures and all other emerging system arrangements including storage, while maintaining the essential values of modularity. Latest Product Description FIMER launched two new platforms for the utility-scale sector, the PVS350 string inverter for decentralized applications and PVS-260/PVS300 a modular conversion solution designed for centralized applications.

Technical Features and Benefits PVS-350-TL offers record-high AC capacity combined with a DC frontend optimized for the latest PV modules. With a record-high capacity and power-to-weight ratio exceeding 3kW/kg, it delivers up to 350 kVA at 800 Vac. It reduces logistics and installation costs and also the Electrical Balance of System costs for free field utility-scale ground mounted PV installations. MV stations of up to 15% higher capacity can be combined with PVS-350, increasing the single power block capacity and reducing the overall number of stations per MWac of installed power. The inverter comes equipped with 12 MPPTs, each rated 45A Impp and 60A Isc and has been specifically optimized for the connection of 2 strings of the latest ultra-high power PV modules based on M10 (182x182mm) and G12 (210x210mm) cells. The DC/AC ratio can be optimized to fully exploit the benefits of these new module formats while offering maximum system yields (ηMAX > 99%), enabling additional cost savings on trackers compared to traditional 166mm modules. Quick and easy installation, the existing PV module’s mounting systems can be used to install the inverters. PVS-260/PVS-300 is a fully modular solution engineered with a singleMPPT string platform. It can easily replace central inverters in more traditional designs, significantly improving performance and lowering BoP costs, optimizing the LCOE – achieving a 2.3 percent reduction on the LCOE of a modular conversion architecture compared to a central solution. It also has higher system availability, above 99.9 percent compared to 99.5 percent maximum from central solutions. In addition, it has a large capacity combined with a super-compact design single MPPT power block, to enable system designers to keep a ‘centralized’ system architecture if preferred. The new platform can compete with multi-megawatt scale station designs of the latest central inverters, allowing system designers to apply the modular architecture to systems of any size.

Applications The solutions can be used across 100% of utility-scale applications – centralized and decentralized

Availability in Markets/ regions/ presence LatAm, USA, Australia, Asia, EMEA

Performance Key features of the new PVS-350 multi-MPPT inverter:

The most powerful string inverter in Utility; Power to weight ratio > 3kW/kg 12 MPPT/45A – Optimized for the latest generation Ultra-High power PV modules (182mm & 210mm) Maximum Energy Yield, ηMAX > 99% String diagnosis through online IV curve analysis Fuse-free design Remote firmware upgrade and Multi inverter commissioning Segregated AC wiring compartment, support both Al and Cu Cable up to 400mm2 DC Series Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter PID recovery function (optional) Key features of PVS-260/PVS-300 modular conversion solution:

Higher system availability, above 99.9% compared to 99.5% maximum from central solutions Lower O&M efforts, typically 1,3 Euro cents/watt less than central solution over 25 years Remarkable 2.3 percent reduction on the LCOE of a modular conversion architecture compared to a central solution Record-high power density and power capacity, means less units to install for the same MVA capacity Centralized system architecture with modular conversion concept to replace any conventional central inverter solution within the same footprint with an unmatched flexibility and granularity. Combining 6 to 24 inverter modules in 2 units increment the capacity of the fully equipped ultra-compact plug & play 40 feet Medium Voltage Compact Skid can be selected at any value between 1560kVA to 7200kVA Minimum system downtime, availability > 99.9 % thanks to the inherent fault tolerance guaranteed by modular conversion which is not addressable with central inverters

Speciality The new solutions maximize ROI on both conventional system architectures and all other emerging system arrangements including storage, while maintaining the essential values of modularity. They are able to meet the needs of 100% of utility-scale customers.

| INDIA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 76

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

LONGi sets another record for P-Type TOPCon cell efficiency

LONGi has announced a new world record of 25.19% for P-Type TOPCon cell conversion efficiency, only one month after the company broke the previous record of 25.09%. The new record, based on monocrystalline cells developed at LONGi’s Cell R&D Centre, was confirmed in testing carried out at the German Institut für Solarenergieforschung (ISFH), and raises the conversion efficiency of cells based on CZ wafers to a new level. Based on its original innovative high-efficiency cell and module technology, the Cell R&D Centre consistently drives forward the PV industry’s technology development and industrialization with an impressive series of efficiency records. In January 2019, the conversion efficiency of mono-crystalline bifacial PERC cells reached 24.06%, a record still intact today, whereas, for N-type TOPCon cells, the Centre announced in June the world's highest conversion efficiency of 25.21%, certified by globally recognized testing institutions, further underlining the company’s industry leadership. "We always adhere to the development concept of high target traction, choosing the right direction, focusing on industry-leading technology and seeking to push back the boundaries for product development, thus driving technology change within the industry", commented Dr Li Hua, Head of the Cell R&D Center. Advancement in new energy technologies is one of the key elements in achieving the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. LONGi’s independent innovation and foresight guarantees its long-term leadership of the industry in terms of efficiency, performance and quality.

LONGI HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW WORLD RECORD OF 25.19% FOR P-TYPE TOPCON CELL CONVERSION EFFICIENCY, ONLY ONE MONTH AFTER THE COMPANY BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 25.09%."

| INDIA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 78

PRODUCT FEATURE

PV Diagnostics has launched a new tool for quick assessment of a solar portfolio for initial screening of different plants. Technical Due Diligence - A lite product PV Diagnostics is a solar-tech consultancy expertising in diagnostics of solar power plants and quality control across the value chain. Starting off as a diagnostics company focussing on performance improvement of solar power plants, we are now working with all the stakeholders in the solar value chain. We have evaluated more than 5 GW of solar assets across the country. Our technical due diligence service helps in analysing and estimating the OPEX, CAPEX and revenue generation from the solar asset under bidding. The main focus of this study is to understand different technical, operations, management and future revenue scope of the plant. One big challenge is observed at the Pre-NBO stage where the available data is very limited which makes the assessment of net present value of the plant a challenge. PV Diagnostics has launched a new tool for quick assessment of a solar portfolio for initial screening of different plants. This helps in developing a realistic estimate of energy generation for faster decision making and more accurate IRR predictions at pre-NBO stage.

Key features Accurate energy yield prediction at Pre-NBO stage Seller’s PVSyst is adjusted as per actual data from plant Improvements considered based on operational &amp; design parameters Re-powering potential checked Faster decision making Web-based platform with automated data upload and analysis One click report availability Customizable output Users can modify key assumptions like availability, re-powering, solar resource, etc. Estimated for P50, P75, P90, etc.

PVD leverages available data and technical & field expertise to provide realistic and customized P50/75/90 generation and CUF estimates.

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AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 79

PRODUCT FEATURE

Sungrow three-phase residential inverter solutions for India market The potential market in India for residential installations is on the rise. New innovative features ensure flexibility and the usability of PV systems under various circumstances.

Another highlight of the three-phase is the new Wi-Net module. The communication device combines Ethernet and WiFi in one port. The module will be part of the delivery scope of the new three-phase.

Sungrow’s latest three-phase residential inverters come in eight variants - 5kW, 6kW, 8kW, 10kW, 12kW, 15kW, 17kW and 20kW and are loaded with cutting-edge technologies. With IP65 protection level and C5 anti-corrosion capability, the residential inverters are durable in all types of residential scenarios.

Notably, equipped with smart IV scan and real-time monitoring for quick fault location and troubleshooting, the three-phase inverters enable easier management and huge cost-savings.

The new three-phase comes with AFCI technology. In case of an arc fault the switches in the inverter will open and interrupt the circuit in less than 200 ms. This feature improves personal safety, protects equipment, and prevents damage to the solar system. Another important merit is the integrated PID Recovery function. PV modules may be affected by potential-induced degradation (PID). The three-phase uses reverse potential at night to cancel polarization and restore the degraded modules. No more power losses. The new three-phase is quite compact compared to its feature richness and achieves very high yields. Thanks to a lower start-up voltage and a wider MPPT voltage range, the inverter can produce for longer times at nominal power. Another advantage is the fast and easy installation. There’s no need to open the inverter as all connectors are accessible externally.

SUNGROW’S LATEST THREE-PHASE RESIDENTIAL INVERTERS COME IN EIGHT VARIANTS - 5KW, 6KW, 8KW, 10KW, 12KW, 15KW, 17KW AND 20KW AND ARE LOADED WITH CUTTINGEDGE TECHNOLOGIES."

| INDIA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 80

PRODUCT FEATURE

VERTEX S CUSTOMERS BENEFIT FROM IMPROVED RELIABILITY, WITH AN UPGRADED PRODUCT WARRANTY OF 15 YEARS. As a global leading provider for photovoltaic (PV) modules and smart energy solutions, Trina Solar delivers PV products, applications and services to promote global sustainable development.

Featured Product: Vertex S Series of modules Universal solution for residential and commercial applications, the Vertex S boasts ultra-high performance despite its small size profile.

Technology Advancements Maximum power output 410W+, maximum efficiency 21.3%+ 1.75m module size, up to 60W+ power higher Power generation increase 10~23% Better performance against wind, excellent system adoption Lower attenuation, longer warranty, and higher revenue from power generation Full black aesthetics with ultimate appearance

Technology Specifications As the installed capacity for distributed photovoltaic systems continues growing, there is an urgent need for photovoltaic module products that are able to support this trend. Trina Solar’s 405W+ Vertex S meets the module requirements of typical distributed photovoltaic systems and excels in key areas such as power (efficiency), size, weight, appearance, ease of installation, load, reliability and safety. The product series is designed for compatibility with existing mainstream mounting systems, optimizers and inverters for residential and commercial application. The product has a dimension of 1754mm x 1096mm and weighs 21kg. Electrical parameters are kept within the operating limits of standard inverters.

Targeted/ Benefitted Customer Segment Vertex S series of high-efficiency PV modules are designed for residential and commercial rooftop applications. It is a universal solution intended for distributed photovoltaic power plants, available in a range of customizable options, and caters to the needs of both residential and commercial customers. The Vertex S product family comes in three versions: the DE09, DE09.05 and DE09.08. Each of these modules has been designed to feature an easy-to-handle format and lightweight for ease of rooftop mounting.

The cutting-edge Vertex technology platform combines 210mm wafers, multi-busbar design, non-destructive cutting and high density packing. By introducing this platform to the new Vertex S family, Trina Solar is able to boost Vertex S’s output power to more than 405Wp, a power increase of up to 60 Wp or 17% compared with previous product generations. Module efficiency has also increased by 1% to more than 21%. Vertex S customers benefit from improved reliability, with an upgraded product warranty of 15 years. At the same time, Trina Solar also ensures that Vertex S is a greener product by improving the production process and focusing on sustainable waste management within factories and manufacturing equipment. Due to its smaller dimensions relative to similar modules, Vertex S maximizes the number of modules that can be shipped per container, reducing carbon emissions caused by transportation. Furthermore, the new module series comes in completely recyclable wood and carton packaging.

| INDIA

AUG-SEP ISSUE 2021 | PG 82

NEPAL SOLAR WEEK 2021

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Corporates Share Their Success Stories At Nepal Solar Week Leadership Awards 2021 Awards do not only acknowledge success; they recognise many other qualities: ability, struggle, effort and, above all, excellence. It is an acknowledgment of appreciation for your Team's hard work and dedication to achieve the milestone. SolarQuarter set the stage to honor and award some of the finest achievers in the Nepal Solar Industry. Unveiling the proud winners Nepal Solar Week Leadership Awards 2021: Top Honors For The Pioneers In Nepal Solar Industry

Honorary Awards: Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Nepal Renewable Sector - Dr.Ram Prasad Dhital, Member, Electricity Regulatory Commission

Business Excellence Awards: Solar Company of the Year: Developer - REnergo Developers Pvt. Ltd. The company’s presence in Nepal is underlined by the fact that out of 150MW under the solar PPA, the company has played a key role in developing around 110 MW and in over 80% of the total projects which have been issued Survey Licenses until a date in Nepal.

Solar Company of the Year: Developer (Rooftop) - Comtronics Pvt. Ltd. The company has developed Solar Rooftop Grid-connected systems for various industries in different sectors such as Steel, Food, Hospitals, Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Educational, Fiber Processing with totals of about 3 MW in size. For all the projects the MoU has been signed and is under process for installation.

Solar Service Provider of the Year: EPC (Utility) - Kushal Project Nepal Pvt. Ltd.

Solar Service Provider of the Year: Turnkey Solutions - REnergo Developers Pvt. Ltd.

The company offers quality products and services to its customers in the field of industrial, electrical and Solar installations and its appliances. Its extensive sales network, broad product range, qualified manpower and knowledge of suppliers makes it an ideal contact for customers. The company has been instrumental in the construction of Nepal’s largest solar power plant with an A.C. capacity of 10 MW.

The company has been one of the most sought after EPC service providers in Nepal, working currently on a pipeline of around 110 MW capacity projects, including ADB funded projects as well. These projects are spread across the length and breadth of Nepal. The company is well known for its EPC quality and leveraging on the combined experience of over 2000 MW of Ground Mounted Solar Power Projects, with the highest quality delivery using the latest and most sought after equipment with most efficient specifications from the best OEMs across the world. The company has executed projects that ensure client confidence with close to 100%.

Solar Service Provider of the Year: EPC (Rooftop) - Sunbridge Solar Nepal Founded in 2016, the company has managed to establish its name in the Renewable Energy Sector. Working through its wide network of partners, it has managed to have its presence in more than 45+ districts right across Nepal. The company provides Innovative Engineering solutions, LowCost Solar Water Pumping solutions and Locally Fabricated Single Axis Solar Tracker and has handled 500.02KW Solar Rooftop Net Metering Projects.

Solar Company of the Year: Module - Trina Solar The company is a global leading provider for (PV) modules and smart energy solutions. Their PV products, applications and services promote global sustainable development. The company has delivered more than 70 GW of solar modules worldwide and ranked on the list of "Top 500 Private Enterprises in China”. In Nepal, it has sold close to 9 MW modules and has the highest Market share locally.

Best Consulting Company of the Year: Engineering - Promentute, Inc (PMIC)

Best Consulting Company of the Year: Techno-Commercial REnergo Developers Pvt. Ltd.

The company is actively involved in engineering consulting of transmission lines, communication systems, grid interconnection, solar irrigation systems, solar PV plants, turnkey projects and electrical construction of solar plants. Engineering consulting services related to survey, feasibility, and design of solar PV systems, transmission lines. It is the first company to design the solar PV plant to be integrated with the pump storage system in Nepal for the government institution.

The company has advised solar IPPs in Nepal for over 5 years now, including projects awarded under the very first FIT tender in Nepal. They have played an instrumental role in both helping potential IPPs understand the needs and vagaries of solar power space and have also worked along with the regulators/policymakers in the evolution of solar power space in Nepal. They are able to leverage on its extensive consulting experience spread over 5000MW of projects along with its developer cum EPC provider experience to provide investors with holistic advice, crucial in helping identify investible, technically feasible projects and handholding to take projects to a shovel ready stage.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Solar Project Excellence Awards: Best Solar Project of the Year: Utility - Kushal Project Nepal Pvt. Ltd. It is an EPC company in Nepal that has successfully executed the first utility solar project of 10 MW and 4 MW groundmounted in a short span of time. The company has executed a10 MW Mithila project in Nepal and has used 430 wp monocrystalline modules and Fimer inverters in the project to take care of minimum loss and make an optimistic design. The company is also going to install a 2 MW battery storage gridconnected solar project in Nepal.

Best Solar Irrigation Project of the Year - Sunbridge Solar Nepal The company built its project at Newargaun, which is highly cultivated land and is located just at the bank of the Arun River. Although the settlement is very close to the Arun river, the farmers in this place are fully dependent on rainwater for agriculture purposes. As a result, the lands in this area were mostly barren due to a lack of proper irrigation. The company installed a 30KW solar water pumping system under the financial support of the Provincial Government where the system is lifting 1,35,000 litres of water per day from the dynamic head of 125 meters. The project is currently helping more than 100 farmers of the Newargaun settlement to irrigate their lands through flood and drip irrigation.

Best EPC Team - REnergo Developers Pvt. Ltd. The team comes with an experience of over 2000 MW of Ground Mounted Solar Power Projects. In addition to this, their Design & Engineering team has a knack for handling technically challenging projects, making these feasible using different techniques while leveraging on the latest technologies. The team has been instrumental in providing unbelievable results even in the most challenging and difficult situations. The site execution team has played a stellar role in executing the project managing the difficult project terrain managing such challenging project realities, yet adhering to the highest quality standards and ensuring ESG and HSE compliances.

Team Excellence Awards:

Technology Innovation Awards:

Best Consulting Team of the Year - Promentute, Inc (PMIC)

Smart Technology Innovation of the Year - Tantra Ventures

The team is primarily focused on the engineering consulting services of solar rooftop, solar mini-grids, solar water pumping systems and utility-scale solar PV projects. The team comprising of electrical and communications engineers, IT experts, and financial and management specialists has helped create a synergy among the team to complete and deliver even a complex project in a timely manner. The expert team members are: Ramesh Maharjan Project Manager, Rastra Bhushan Pradhan - Project Director and Dipesh Shrestha - Solar PV Expert.

The company’s technology played a very vital role in functioning a smart traffic light which was installed in the heart of the city. Successful implementation of this technology by the company gave them various contracts and they installed various Solar Traffic lights in the country. This was a very smart and innovative system that could be operated centrally by the traffic control unit. This system is capable of integrating any other IoT based technologies within it.

Individual Leadership Awards: CEO of the Year (Platinum) - Mr. Nishant Goyal, Director, REnergo Developers Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Goyal has over 10 years of diversified experience in the Clean Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development space. His key strengths on the project execution front include sourcing & facilitating highly profitable power purchase agreements for potential investors, arranging project debt from various banks, handling procurement of key equipment thereby ensuring best price, quality and timely delivery, managing timely execution of projects through proper resource planning, budgeting, being ready with alternatives & improvising. Presently he is handling 150+ MW EPC projects in the pipeline and 300 MW+ consulting in Nepal.

CEO of the Year (Gold) - Mr. Prawin Aryal, CEO, Golyan Group Mr. Aryal holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering and Management with 24+ years of experience in handling the complete project management and operations entailing planning, resource utilization, preparation and evaluation of business development proposals and business appraisal in the Energy field. He has a large experience in construction supervision, handling multiple projects with excellent leadership and managerial skills.

Business Leader of the Year - Mr. Biraj Shrestha, Director, National Solar Power Company Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Shrestha is an integral part of a company that has been active and one of the successful developers in the energy sector until a date in Nepal. Under the leadership of our winner, the company has played a major role in developing a pipeline of around 25 MW including land and rooftop in Nepal. Along with the company, our leader also holds the vision of pushing the nation to a globally competitive platform in terms of energy generation and contributing to the advent of Solar Power as a global energy leader.

Innovative Business Leader - Mr. Sandeep Agarwal Founder & Managing Director, Kushal Projects Nepal Pvt. Ltd. Mr.Agarwal is an Engineering Alumnus from India’s one of the oldest as well as finest engineering colleges, IIT Roorkee, which has a global presence and a renowned name in the power generation business with a vision to develop solar power projects in Nepal on a large scale. With an experience of more than 20 years in the renewable sector, our leader has been instrumental in making his company achieve a 100% share in the engineering procurement & construction business of solar in Nepal for MW projects and making it one of the Business Leaders in the solar field of Nepal. Under his leadership, the company has grown from 14 cr to 360 cr in one year.

Emerging Business Leader of the Year - Mr. Roshan Silwal, Managing Director, Comtronics Pvt. Ltd Mr. Silwal has been working in the field of Renewable Energy for more than a decade. He has been involved in various renewable and energy projects in Nepal that were always one of the 1st projects of the kind may it be Nepal’s 1st Grid Tie Solar PV with Energy Storage, 1st Grid Tie Solar PV project for any community water pumping project, 1st Substation and Distribution Network Automation using AMR for the Utility and being the member of the 1st Nepali company to develop and pilot Smart Intelligent Street Lighting system “Made in Nepal”.

Entrepreneur of the Year - Mr. Akshay Golyan, MD, Golyan Group Mr. Golyan is a pioneer in the renewable energy development sector having a cumulative portfolio of more than 800 MW including both solar and hydropower projects. He is an expert who created an entire energy division in line with the country's focus on renewable energy and established an EPC company with worldclass technical and professional expertise. He has been instrumental in initiating diversification into new business verticals for the group including the agriculture division, solar farming and information technology.

To know more about our awards visit us at:https://solarquarter.com/studio/

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MODULE WEEK INDIA 2021

CONFERENCE & AWARDS

11-12 NOVEMBER 2021

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DECEMBER 2021

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SolarQuarter- India Aug-Sep(REI) Issue 2021

Articles inside

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE LARGE SCALE PV PROJECT PERFORMANCE