SolarQuarter- India Oct-Nov 2021(RenewX special) by SolarQuarter

Empowering, Insightful, Engaging

RenewX Special issue 2021

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V O L U M E

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OCT - NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 03

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OCT - NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 04

CONTENT

IN CONVERSATION

THE CHAMPIONS CORNER 78, 84

NEWS MANIKKAN SANGAMESWARAN

POLICY DEBRIEF

THINK TANK

TENDER TRACKER

PROJECT MONTHLY

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO, RADIANCE RENEWABLES

BANGLADESH SOLAR WEEK 2021

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

FEATURED TALKS

INSIGHTS 38 39

HOW DOES SOUTHERN INDIA FACILITATE INCREMENTAL SOLAR ROOFTOP DEVELOPMENT? WHAT MAKES SOUTH INDIA THE MAJOR THRIVING SOLAR UTILITY REGION?

GAIL CHEN

40 44

HOW RELIANCE CAN PLAY THE LEAD ROLE IN INDIA'S CLEAN ENERGY STORY

WHAT ADVANCEMENTS HAVE WE WITNESSED IN THE SOLAR + STORAGE SPACE IN 2021?

ROYALTY MEETS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WITH GOODWE AT THE OBEROI VANYAVILAS WILDLIFE RESORT - THE PERFECT FUSION OF HUMAN AND NATURE

GOODWE POWERS COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LTD (CIAL) OF INDIA 10 MW SOLAR PROJECTS INSTALLED IN INDIA’S FOURTH LARGEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

HOW HIGH POWER MODULES HAVE CHANGED THE DYNAMICS OF THE INDIAN SOLAR INDUSTRY IN 2021? WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2022?

HOW IS GUJARAT EMERGING AS A LEADING SOLAR MANUFACTURING HUB IN INDIA?

HOW WILL COAL CRISIS RENEW AND REVITALISE THE RENEWABLE DREAM FOR INDIA?

WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL OF AGRO PHOTOVOLTAICS IN REVOLUTIONISING INDIAN AGRICULTURE?

COMPANY FEATURE

PRODUCT FEATURE

66 67 68

71 72 74 75 76

PUBLISHING

EDITING

CONTENT

SHARAD D. ACHARYA

PUNIT MEHTA

FOUNDER AND CHAIRPERSON, BULL POWER ENERGY PRIVATE LIMITED

DIRECTOR, PIXON ENERGY

PERSPECTIVE

CEO & MD, ENERMAN TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD

FEATURED INSIGHT

ARCTECH SOLAR AVI SOLAR PIXON SINENG TRINA SOLAR

ASHOK DM

GENERAL MANAGER OF INDIA AND EAST ASIA, ARCTECH

SOUTHERN STATES DOMINATE IN SOLAR INSTALLATION - WESTERN STATES ARE CATCHING UP FAST

PIXON SUNGROW TRINA SOLAR

30 AYUSH MAHAJAN

LI JIANFEI

CO-FOUNDER AND HEAD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, PV DIAGNOSTICS

CTO/VP, SINENG ELECTRIC

33 HARSHAL AKHOURI

SUNIL BADESRA

CO-FOUNDER, STROLAR MOUNTING SYSTEMS PVT. LTD.

COUNTRY HEAD-SUNGROW INDIA

36 URVISH DAVE

PRADEEP KUMAR

CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, URON ENERGY

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS FOR INDIA AND SRI LANKA, LONGI SOLAR

DESIGNING

ADVERTISING

CIRCULATION

Radha Buddhadev

Smriti Charan

Sadhana Raju Shenvekar

Firstview Media

Nikita Salkar

Sadhana Raju Shenvekar

Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

Ashwini Chikkodi

Twinkle Bhattacharya

Neha Barangali

Kawaldeep Marwah

editorial@firstviewgroup.com

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 08

POLICY DEBRIEF NOVEMBER 2021

CENTRAL: MNRE UPDATES LIST-I OF SOLAR MODELS AND SOLAR MANUFACTURERS The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued an updated list of models and module manufacturers under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) order. The new entrants are Himalayan Solar, Sun N Sand Exim, Insolation Energy, Pennar Industries, Green Brilliance Renewable Energy, Sanelite Solar, Gautam Solar, and Solarium Green Energy. The validity of new entries is from 29.09.2021 to 28.09.2023. There are now 34 ALMM approved module manufacturers on the list. Only the models and manufacturers included in the list are eligible for government or government-assisted projects in the country, including the projects for the sale of electricity to the government under the guidelines laid down by the Union government. On the 10th of March this year the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had issued an all-Indian 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 programs for projects bid-out on or after April 10, 2021, as per the notification. Central Electronics Ltd., Patanjali, and Jakson were later added to the list.

POWER MINISTRY NOTIFIES ELECTRICITY RULES 2021 FOR EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN POWER SECTOR The Union Ministry of Power has promulgated the Electricity (Transmission System Planning, Development and Recovery of InterState Transmission Charges) Rules 2021. The Central Government has notified these rules with a view to streamlining the process of planning, development, and recovery of investment in the transmission system. The rules underpin a system of transmission access which is termed as a General Network Access (GNA) in the inter-state transmission system. This provides flexibility to the States as well as the generating stations to acquire, hold and transfer transmission capacity as per their requirements. In a change from the present system of taking transmission access, power plants will not have to specify their target beneficiaries. The rules will also empower state power distribution and transmission companies to determine their transmission requirements and build them. Also, states will be able to purchase electricity from short-term and medium-term contracts and optimize their power purchase costs. The rules also outline the recovery of GNA charges from the users of the transmission network and assign the responsibility of billing, collection, and disbursement of interstate transmission charges to the Central Transmission Utility.

RK SINGH ASKS THDCIL AND NEEPCO TO INCREASE ITS FOOTPRINTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR The power and new & renewable energy minister took review meetings of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd (THDCIL) and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO), on Friday, a power ministry statement said. Power Minister R K Singh directed the firms to diversify the operations in renewable energy and also expand their area of operations across the country. The minister asked both the CPSUs to bid for solar and wind projects. The minister also directed the CPSUs to increase their capital expenditure and to spend 90 % of their CAPEX by the end of Q3 (December 2021). Singh appreciated the progress made by THDCIL for the initiatives taken by them in the installation of Carbon Capture Technology for the Khurja Super Thermal Power Project (2 X 660 MW). He also commended the initiative of THDCIL for diversification in the field of ‘Green Hydrogen’ under the ‘National Green Hydrogen Mission’ and to develop 800 MW capacity Green Hydrogen production and storage project on a commercial scale in Chitrakoot District of Uttar Pradesh.

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GOVT ASKS PFC, REC TO EXPLORE CHEAPER FUND OPTIONS, INCLUDING OFFSHORE SOURCES R.K. Singh, Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy reviewed the performance of state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC. He asked both the non-banking financial companies to explore cheaper options for raising funds, including offshore sources, and to focus on ensuring that the power sector value chain gets access to cheaper funds, particularly renewable energy. The minister highlighted the government’s vision to make available affordable power for all round-the-clock, according to the statement. He advised that both the organizations should be nimble-footed and dynamically adapt to the changing market needs, increase renewables, and make efforts to reduce their cost of funds. He emphasized both PFC and REC to increase their outreach by establishing a physical presence across the country.

RESOLUTION OF SEBI-CERC JURISDICTION ISSUE TO OPEN GATE FOR THE POWER MARKET REFORMS The long-pending matter between the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and power regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) regarding regulatory jurisdiction of Electricity Derivatives has finally got resolved with the Hon’ble Supreme Court favorably disposing of the matter in terms of the agreement reached upon by SEBI and CERC. Electricity will now be traded like other commodities with forwarding contracts and derivatives on exchanges. This will further deepen the power market from the present level of approx. 5.5 % of the volume to the targeted volume of 25 percent by 2024-25. This has opened the gate for the introduction of longerduration delivery-based contracts on the power exchanges which has been currently restricted to only 11 days due to the pendency of the case, the ministry informed. This will enable discoms and other large consumers to plan their short-term power procurement more efficiently. Similarly, the commodity exchanges viz. MCX etc. can now introduce financial products viz. electricity futures etc. which will enable discoms and other large consumers to effectively hedge their risks of power procurement, it stated. This will bring newer products in the power/commodity exchanges and attract increased participation from Genco, Discoms, large consumers, etc., the statement said.

INDIA, UK COLLABORATE ON SMART POWER, RENEWABLE ENERGY AND STORAGE

CENTRE ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR CYBER SECURITY IN POWER SECTOR The central government released the guidelines for cybersecurity in the power sector with the aim to create a secure power cyber ecosystem. The ministry said this is the first time that comprehensive guidelines have been formulated on cybersecurity in the power sector. It lays down a cyber assurance framework, strengthens the regulatory framework, puts in place mechanisms for security threat early warning, vulnerability management and response to security threats, securing remote operations and services, protection and resilience of critical information infrastructure, reducing cyber supply chain risks, encouraging the use of open standards, promotion of research and development in cyber security, human resource development in the domain of Cyber Security, Developing effective public-private partnerships and information sharing and cooperation. The guidelines mandate ICT-based procurement from identified ‘trusted sources’ and ‘trusted products’ or else the product has to be tested for malware/ hardware trojan before deployment for use in the power supply system network, the ministry said.

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The third UK-India Energy for Growth Dialogue concluded with Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh and UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng agreeing on a new joint program on smart power and renewable energy. The Smart Power, Renewable Energy, and Storage Program will complement ongoing efforts to promote efficient power distribution, industrial energy efficiency, electric vehicles, solar and offshore wind generation, and energy storage. Both sides highlighted India’s advancement of solar energy to power the Indian Railways, welcoming close collaboration through the India-led International Solar Alliance, which aims to mobilize more than USD 1 trillion of investments in solar energy by 2030.

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INDIA SET TO ACHIEVE 450 GW RE INSTALLED CAPACITY BY 2030: CENTRE The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has said that India is set to achieve 450 GW of renewable energy installed capacity by 2030. Addressing the MNRE-FICCI – SECI event, RK Singh, Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, said that the world is on the cusp of transformation, and immediate corrective steps are needed to mitigate climate change. He said that India is already ahead of what “we pledged in our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” and added that, “already 39 % of our installed capacity is from non-fossil based sources. By 2022 we will reach our target of 40 %”. “India has embarked on an exciting journey and is treading where no one has ventured before, and SECI will continue to work towards meeting the ambition of 450 GW by 2030,” the minister added. Singh also said that the intermittency of renewable power is another challenge for the entire world highlighting that battery storage per unit currently is high and needs to come down. The government is coming out with bids for battery storage, he added.

INDIA, DENMARK AGREE TO STRENGTHEN ‘GREEN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP’ India and Denmark agreed on a five-year action plan to take forward their unique “green strategic partnership” by signing four agreements aimed at boosting cooperation in green technologies and management of natural resources. The five-year action plan for 2021-26 aims to consolidate green and low carbon growth and focuses on sectors such as water, renewable energy, climate action, circular economy, sustainable and smart cities, cooperation in intellectual property rights; maritime cooperation, food and agriculture, and health and life science. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “This partnership is an example of how by collective effort, through technology, one can work for green growth while preserving the environment. Today, we not only reviewed the progress made under this partnership but reiterated our commitment to increasing cooperation on climate change in the near future.”

GOVT TO INVITE EOI FOR 1000 MWH BESS AS PILOT PROJECT Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), has called for the expression of interest for procurement of 1000 MWh BESS. This will be published along with the RFS bid document and the draft comprehensive guideline for procurement and utilization of BESS as a part of a generation, transmission, and distribution assets and with all ancillary services. The government has given go-ahead for inviting the expression of interest for the installation of 1000 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as a pilot project. This is the joint effort of both Ministry of New and renewable energy and the Ministry of Power who have been working on this to provide a road map for the installation of the energy storage system in the country, said the statement.

BHUPENDER YADAV SEEKS RAPID REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS BY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES At the ministerial meeting of Like Minded-Group of Developing countries, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated that delayed climate action and lack of leadership from developed countries has increased the cost of mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. He was virtually addressing the meeting titled Preparations for COP 26 on Climate Change Expectations. He also noted that the commitments of carbon neutrality and to raise ambitions in nationally determined contributions to be in line with climate justice and principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The minister pointed out that the accelerated climate action by developing countries like India requires the contingent provision of climate finance technology and other means of implementation support. He also highlighted the importance of global partnerships and cooperation and requested the LMDC countries to join the initiatives of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) launched by India.

NITI AAYOG LAUNCHES GEOSPATIAL ENERGY MAP OF INDIA' INDIA ON ITS WAY TO ACHIEVING CLEAN ENERGY, EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS: RK SINGH India is well on its way to achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) relating clean energy and emission reduction well ahead of the target date, Union Minister RK Singh said on Wednesday. He was addressing the Ministerial session of the Green Grids InitiativeOne Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe Cooperative Event. Mr. Singh affirmed India’s commitment to the environment and the cause of clean energy and energy transition and highlighted India’s target of achieving 450 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. Acknowledging the challenges presented by the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy sources, and by the high cost of energy storage, Mr. Singh presented the GGI-OSOWOG (Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid) initiative as a possible solution for driving down the need for storage and in effect reduce the costs of the energy transition.

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“NITI Aayog in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) Energy Map of India with the support of Energy Ministries of Government of India,” a statement issued by NITI Aayog said. “The GIS map provides a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country which enables visualization of energy installations such as conventional power plants, oil and gas wells, petroleum refineries, coal fields and coal blocks, district-wise data on renewable energy power plants and renewable energy resource potential through 27 thematic layers,” it said. The map attempts to identify and locate all primary and secondary sources of energy and their transportation/transmission networks to provide a comprehensive view of energy production and distribution in a country. It is a unique effort aimed at integrating energy data scattered across multiple organizations and presenting it in a consolidated, visually appealing graphical manner. It leverages the latest advancements in web-GIS technology and open-source software to make it interactive and user-friendly.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 11

GOVERNMENT MAY DEFER DUTY ON SOLAR GEAR IMPORTS, EXTEND PROJECT DEADLINES

LOW-COST FINANCE IS THE KEY TO ACCELERATE ENERGY TRANSITION: AMITABH KANT

The federal government is mulling delaying the imposition of customs obligation on imported solar gear or permitting extension of the deadline for completion of domestic solar projects that are dealing with to provide uncertainties from distributors in China, energy and renewable vitality minister RK Singh informed ET. “We have received a demand saying there is this problem (Chinese companies delaying supplies by invoking force majeure). Of course, my orientation is ‘buy Indian’. But there are no sufficient stocks to buy Indian,” RK Singh, Minister of Power and New Renewable Energy, Government of India, said. “So we are mulling over either timeline extension or duty extension. We haven’t taken any view,” he added. Domestic solar companies allege that Chinese companies are taking advantage of the proposed 40% customs duty on solar equipment from April next year, making Indian firms pay more than 1.5 times the original signed contract. The Chinese government has imposed severe power cuts on its industry which has caused an increase in the cost of solar panels and retraction of signed bidding contracts. Thus, the equipment supply from China is also uncertain.

Speaking at Integrated Research and Action for Development’s (IRADe) webinar on Net-Zero strategies for India’s power sector, Shri Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog said that low-cost finance is the key to accelerating the energy transition. India should accelerate wind and solar power installations and bring down costs radically for its green hydrogen plans, he said. Wind installations need to be expedited which have been somewhat stagnant after 2017 due to the change in tariff regime, he expressed. He said that India was poised to become a global hub for electrolyzer manufacturing and green hydrogen products in the near future only because the solar prices are low and should be further brought down. The prices of green hydrogen need to come down to $2.5 per kg by 2024-25 and $1 per kg by 2030, he said. He also said India can export green ammonia to the far east countries including Japan and South Korea.

SOLAR ENERGY THE MOST VIABLE OPTION TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: R K SINGH Shri R.K. Singh Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy and the President of International Solar Alliance said, Solar energy, in particular, is now the most viable option to achieve universal access to sustainable energy due to its affordability and amenability to off-grid solutions. It is the most viable option for us to rapidly decarbonize our energy sectors. In his opening address at the inaugural ceremony of the ISA General Assembly where 106 countries are participating in the discussions, Shri Singh said that the adoption of renewable energy has gained significant momentum since the turn of the past decade. India has made rapid strides in the solar energy sector over the past few years and rapid capacity addition is a testament to India’s commitment to clean and affordable solar energy. India has a target to reach 450 GW of RE by 2030. We have 154 GW of installed non-fossil generation capacity and another 67 GW under construction. India’s non-fossil fuel-based capacity is on track to surpass the 40 % target under India’s NDC, he said. He further said Harnessing the full value of solar energy will require countries to invest in storage, grid infrastructure, and inflexibility in both demand and supply. And to connect solar power with parts of the economy that don’t currently use electricity, countries must invest in electric vehicles and clean fuels like hydrogen that can be produced.

MINISTRY NOTIFIES NEW RULE FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND PROMOTION OF CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR The Power Ministry has announced a new rule enabling the Discoms to either continue or exit from the PPA (Power Purchase agreement) after completion of the term of the PPA i.e. beyond 25 years or a period specified in the PPA and allow flexibility to the Generators to sell power in any mode after State/Discom exit from PPA. The ministry notified rules for the sustainability of the electricity sector and promotion of clean energy to meet India’s commitment towards climate change, a statement said. The rules provide that electricity generated from a must-run power plant may be curtailed or regulated only in the event of any technical constraint in the electricity grid or for reasons of security of the electricity grid. The ministry explained timely recovery of the costs due to change in the law is very important as the investment in the power sector largely depends upon timely payments.

POWER MINISTER UNVEILS THE GREEN DAY-AHEAD MARKET Shri R K Singh, Union Minister of Power & New and Renewable Energy launched the new market segment, Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM). “We are opening doors for renewable energy. In this new era of continuous reforms including the launch of GDAM, any interested party can set up and sell renewable energy,” Singh said during the launch. The launch will also provide competitive price signals, besides offering an opportunity to the market participants to trade in green energy, in the most transparent, flexible, competitive, and efficient manner, the Power Ministry said in a statement. “Benefits of free ISTS (inter-State transmission system) will be available for renewable energy and open access will be available within 15 days,” Singh said. The big industries can go green and the government would make efforts to make business simpler and GDAM is a step in that direction, he added. Singh stated we want to reduce our dependency on imported sources of fossil fuel. The government is working to putting in place the Green Hydrogen Mission under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister, he added.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 12

MINISTRY REVISES TERMS OF REFERENCE OF NCT TO FAST-TRACK ISTS PROJECTS

MNRE AMENDS BENCHMARK COSTS OF OFF-GRID SOLAR SYSTEMS FOR FY 2021-22 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued amendments in Benchmark costs for off-grid and Decentralized Solar PV Systems for the years 2021-22. The Ministry decided to amend the benchmark costs in light of the revised GST rates. Recently, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council revised the GST for solar energy applications and projects. The rates were changed from 5% to 12% by the council. Because of these fresh changes in GST charges and such changes in the future, Ministry has decided to issue benchmark costs for decentralized solar applications, without GST. MNRE has stated that the applicable GST rates may be added to the benchmark costs for the purpose of central financial assistance (CFA). For MNRE CFA, applicable GST rates may be added to these benchmark costs. The revised benchmark costs will be applicable from August 18, 2021, i.e date of the original order of the benchmark costs for FY 2021-22. The amended benchmark costs include the total cost of the system and its installations, commissioning, transportation, insurance, warranty, monitoring, and maintenance for five years.

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES SHOULD PROVIDE 1% OF GDP TO FINANCE GREEN PROJECTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: PM MODI Addressing the G20 summit session on “Climate Change and the Environment”, Prime Minister Modi said that by forgetting about climate justice, “we are not only doing developing countries injustice, but we are betraying all of humanity “. As a spokesperson for developing countries, India cannot ignore the neglect of climate finance by developed countries, he said. Without concrete progress on climate finance, lobbying developing countries for climate action is “not justice,” Modi said. Modi further added “When we announced our goals in Paris, many asked if India would be able to do something like (create) 175 GW of renewable energy. But India is not only meeting those goals quickly but is also busy setting higher goals.” “We would like to work with our G20 partners to take India’s experience to other developing countries,” he asserted. Noting that this is the first year of ‘Decade of Action’, PM Modi said, all have a shared responsibility that the benefits of global recovery reach all countries, and added that the role of G20 will be very important in this.

INDIA TARGETS NET-ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2070, SAYS MODI India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the prime minister has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. “Today India’s installed renewable capacity is fourth in the world. In the last seven years, our non-fossil fuel energy has seen 25% growth and the share of green energy in the mix reached 40%, ” Modi said, adding that India’s national transporter, Indian Railways, had declared a Net Zero the target year of 2030. “This entails 60 million tonnes of emission reduction every year. Another 40 million tonne emissions reduction will come from our LED program,” Modi said. “India has raised its ambition in setting its targets. They also need to raise ambitions in climate finance and tech transfer. The world cannot achieve newer targets with old goals of climate finance,” Modi stated.

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The Ministry of Power (MoP) has revised the terms of reference of the National Committee on Transmission (NCT) to fast-track planning and approval of inter-state transmission system (ISTS) projects. The move will fast-track the transmission planning and approval process thereby facilitating renewable energy development and integration into the power system. To expedite the approval of ISTS, the power to approve ISTS projects costing up to Rs 5 billion have been delegated. Now, the project proposals for expansion of ISTS costing up to Rs 1 billion will be approved by the central transmission utility, and the proposals costing between Rs 1 billion and Rs 5 billion will be approved by NCT. The Ministry of Power will approve a proposal costing more than Rs 5 billion, said the ministry. In the ISTS planning and approval process, there were two regional committees namely Regional Power Committee (RPC) and Regional Power Committee (Transmission Planning) (RPC-TP) which had to be consulted separately, which delayed the process of planning and approval of ISTS.

GOVT PROPOSES AMENDMENTS IN EC ACT TO BOOST CLEAN POWER CONSUMPTION The Ministry of Power has proposed amendments to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 which include provision for specifying minimum quantum of renewable energy in the overall consumption by establishments and industrial units. The amendments are aimed at promoting the consumption of renewable energy. The Ministry of Power has prepared amendments, after consultations with various stakeholders. Power Minister R K Singh reviewed the proposed amendments and was directed to seek comments and suggestions from concerned line ministries/departments and state governments. The amendments will have objectives of enhancing demand for renewable energy at the end-use sectors such as industry, buildings, transport, etc, and also support the climate goals commitments of the country. The proposal includes defining the minimum share of renewable energy in the overall consumption by the industrial units or any establishment, it stated. There will be provision to incentivize efforts on using clean energy sources by means of a carbon saving certificate.

PM MODI CALLS FOR GLOBAL SOLAR POWER GRID AT COP 26 SUMMIT At COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ to improve the viability of solar power. He also announced that India’s space agency ISRO will soon provide the world with a calculator that can measure the solar energy potential of any region across the globe. Emphasizing that everything is created from Sun, he said “In India, it has been mentioned in the ancient text, in the Suryopanishad, that everything is created from the Sun, the source of all energy is the Sun and it is the energy from the Sun that nurtures all. Ever since there has been life on earth, the life cycle of all living beings, the daily routine has been linked with the rising and setting of the Sun.” He further said that fossil fuel-powered many nations to become wealthy during the industrial revolution, but it made the earth and environment poor.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 13

STATE:

GOA TO SET UP FLOATING SOLAR PLANTS ON 4 DAMS

JHARKHAND CM CALLS FOR GENERATING SOLAR POWER, PROMISES SUBSIDY Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren called on common people to generate solar power in their backyards / on roofs and promised a subsidy for setting up the plants. Hemant Soren promised that the surplus power will be bought by the state government which will also help people generate additional income. The chief minister was speaking after virtually inaugurating and also laying the foundation stone for a total of 100 projects worth Rs 467.28 crore in the Chatra district. Eighty-two projects worth Rs 275.45 crores were inaugurated, and the foundation stone for 18 schemes worth Rs 91.79 crore was laid. Among the inaugurated projects, a grid substation at Itkhori and 108km-long Chatra-Latehar transmission line will provide an uninterrupted power supply to large parts of Chatra district, Koderma and Hazaribagh. With the commissioning of this grid sub-station and transmission line, the districts of Chatra, Hazaribag, and Koderma districts’ decades-long power woes will come to an end and so will their dependence on Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for power supply. Noting that electricity plays an important role in any state’s development, Soren said his government is committed to laying a network of grid sub-stations and transmission lines across Jharkhand.

PGCIL COMMISSIONS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN State-run Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has commissioned the transmission system related to Rajasthan Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) Part-C. This is one of the largest interstate tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) projects established in the state of Rajasthan, stated the Power Ministry in the statement. The Transmission Project involves a new 765 kV Sub-station at Khetri (Rajasthan) and connects the capital of the country at Jhatikara (Delhi) through a 765 kV Double Circuit Transmission line and also connects Sikar (Rajasthan) through a 400 kV Double Circuit Transmission line. The commissioning of the PKTSL system will facilitate the transfer of renewable power from Rajasthan to various parts of the country. The project will benefit from boosting the economic development of Rajasthan and the country in totality and will augment the transmission infrastructure to evacuate renewable energy thereby reducing dependency on fossil fuels stated the statement.

GO FOR CLEAN POWER AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE, PUNJAB CM TELLS PSPCL In line with the commitment to provide quality power to the consumers across the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi asked Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) to go for clean and green power at a competitive price. PSPCL Chairman and Managing Director A Venu Prasad informed the chief minister that PSPCL has floated two tenders for procurement of a total of 500-megawatt solar power. Out of this, 250 MW Solar Power is planned to be procured from solar projects located anywhere in India with a ceiling tariff of Rs.2.50/Kwh. Another 250 MW of Solar Power would be purchased from projects located anywhere in Punjab with a ceiling tariff of Rs.2.70/Kwh. The move would meet the rising demand for power in Punjab and simultaneously develop and promote Renewable Sources of Energy, said the CMD. The PSPCL is also endeavoring to sign an MoU with EESL for the development of 140 MW Solar PV power projects at vacant spare land of 66 KV Substations of PSPCL to increase the share of clean, green, and low tariff Renewable Power.

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Department of New & Renewable Energy (DNRE) Government of Goa, intends to invite Expression of Interest (EOI) for selection of Solar Power Developer (SPD) from prospective Floating Solar Power Plant Developers/ eligible Bidders/Companies for setting up of Gridconnected Floating Solar Power Plant on Salaulim, Amthanem, Anjunem and Chapoli Dams in the State of Goa on Design, Built, Finance and Operate Model for a period of 25 years. Scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of the plants with operation and maintenance and the evacuation of the power and its transmission up to the nearest substation. The bidder is also to assess the potential of the gridconnected floating solar power plant capacity at each location.

JHARKHAND GOVT ADOPTING SOLAR FOR IRRIGATION The Jharkhand government said it is focusing on adopting renewable energy-based irrigation projects to boost the income of farmers and curb their migration to other states. “The state government is installing solar-based lift irrigation facilities in the districts,” a statement issued by the state government said. The statement further said, apart from employment at the local steel plant as daily wage laborers, a substantial part of the population in Bokaro district is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Since a major part of farmland is used only during the rainy season for paddy cultivation, the administration has installed many solar lift irrigation pumps in the district, therefore, ensuring yearround availability of water for irrigation, it added. The administration is installing 48 solar pump units for the lift irrigation facility out of which over 20 units are functional, and work for the remaining part will be done in due course. Also, we are working on the implementation of solar-based mobile irrigation units across different parts of the district. Apart from this, we are also working on the utilization of abandoned mines for irrigation purposes, the Bokaro deputy commissioner was quoted as saying in the statement.

GUJARAT ACCOUNTS FOR 15% OF INDIA’S INSTALLED CAPACITY FROM NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES The government said that Gujarat accounts for 15% of the country’s installed capacity for power generation from non-conventional energy sources. In terms of setting up solar rooftop systems on private residential properties, Gujarat is the first in the country, it added. Gujarat has 1,444 MW of installed capacity in relation to solar rooftop projects, these include residential, commercial, and industrial solar rooftop projects. Projects with the capacity of generating 14,963 MW of electricity from non-conventional sources are currently operational in Gujarat, the state government said. Solar rooftop systems have been installed on 2.84 lakh houses and 1,081 MW of electricity is being generated.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 14

THINK TANK INDIA’S SOLAR OPEN ACCESS INSTALLED CAPACITY SURPASSES 4.5 GW – REPORT India’s cumulative solar installations in the open-access market have now surpassed 4.5 GW as of June 2021, according to Mercom India Research’s newly released report – Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report Q2 2021. Solar open access installations in India increased nearly sevenfold to 209 MW in the second quarter of 2021 from 27 MW a year ago, it said. Solar open access installations in India totalled 209 MW in the second quarter of 2021, compared to 27 MW installed in Q2 2020. The pipeline of solar open access projects under development and pre-construction is estimated to be about over 1 GW, the report added. The top states for solar open access installations have been analysed based on the solar open-access project (captive/ group-captive/ third-party) installations, Discoms ratings, retail power tariff (industrial and commercial customers) structure, open access charges, and costs, it noted.

SHORT-TERM POWER PRICES LIKELY TO REMAIN ELEVATED DUE TO INCREASE IN IMPORTED COAL PRICES India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes short-term power prices are likely to remain elevated in the near term, on account of a continued increase in imported coal prices. Although a large part of the incremental generation would continue to be met through coal-based power plants, given the other sources of generation are already on must run and likely healthy growth in energy demand, coal output is not increasing to the desired level. This is reflected in low inventory stocks at power plants; therefore, a part of the incremental energy demand will have to be met through imported coal. Thus, in light of the expected high imported coal prices, the short-term power prices in India are likely to remain elevated. Ind-Ra estimates an increased imported coal requirement likely in 2HFY22 as domestic coal production would increase gradually. Alternatively, in case the PLFs of imported coal-based power plants would continue to remain low due to high international coal prices, Ind-Ra estimates the energy deficits are likely to increase in 2HFY22.

RENEWABLE ENERGY OUTPUT ROSE 53.6% IN SEPTEMBER, SAYS DATA India’s coal-fired electricity generation so far this month fell 1.5% from a year earlier, while the power output from renewable energy jumped 53.6%, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Overall electricity generation growth slowed to 1% in the first half of September, a review of daily load despatch data by federal grid regulator POSOCO showed, much slower than the 16.1% growth in August which had resulted in a 23.7% increase in coal-fired output. The slowdown in coal-fired power output and a pickup in renewable energy generation could provide relief to utilities across the country which are struggling with a coal shortage, forcing India to ask power plants to import coal. The share of renewables rose to 12.1% from 11.9% in August. Renewable energy output jumps in September, driven by a more than doubling of wind power production and an 18.6% rise in solar power generation, the POSOCO data showed, making up for a 5.3% fall in hydropower output, and a 33.7% decline in gas-fired power.

TENDER TRACKER TENDERS ISSUED BY CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

Authority

Tender Name

SECI

SECI To Floats 1000 MW Tender For Battery Energy Storage System

Ministry of Heavy industries

Ministry of Heavy Industries Tenders for 50 GWh of ACC Batteries

TENDERS ISSUED BY STATE AUTHORITIES

Authority

Tender Name

Delhi

DMRC Invites Bids for 2 MW of Rooftop Solar Systems

Punjab

PEDA Tenders for Setting Up 220 MW Solar Plants

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd

RUMSL Issues Consultancy Tender for 950 MW Solar Plus Battery Storage Park

PSU

CEL Tenders for 147 MW Solar Power Systems in Maharashtra

Maharashtra

MSEDCL Issues Empanelment Tender For 200 MW of Grid-connected Residential Rooftop Projects

Maharashtra Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd

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MSEDCL Tenders For Procurement of 1250 MW Solar Power in Maharashtra RUMSL Tenders for 600 MW Floating Solar Park at Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 15

INDIA’S ELECTRICITY DEMAND TO GROW BY 8.0 – 8.5% IN FY22 India’s electricity demand is expected to grow 8-8.5% in FY22, says the rating agency ICRA Ltd. Commenting further, Mr. Girishkumar Kadam, Senior Vice President & Co-Group Head – Corporate ratings, ICRA, said Based on the energy demand growth trends seen during the last sixmonth period, the electricity demand growth outlook for FY2022 is revised upwards to 8.0 – 8.5%, supported by low base effect in FY2021 and faster than ICRA had earlier estimated an energy demand growth forecast of 6.0% for FY2022 in January 2021 expected recovery in demand post-COVID second wave seen in April and May 2021. “The energy demand in H1 FY2022 also remained higher by 2.9% against the same in H1 FY2020 (pre-COVID), led by a relatively sharper recovery in the energy demand as reflected from 8.4% growth in Q2 FY2022 against Q2 FY2020,” the statement added. “Notwithstanding the recovery in electricity demand, the all India average thermal PLF level is likely to remain subdued, at below 60.0% in the current fiscal. Thus, the sector outlook on the thermal power generation segment is Negative. This is also because of the lack of visibility in the signing of new power purchase agreements (PPAs) for thermal IPPs and upward pressure on the cost of power generation with the strengthening in fuel price levels and tighter environmental compliance requirements,” the statement added.

INDIA SHOULD INCREASE ITS SOLAR CAPACITY TO 5630 GW, TO BECOME A NET-ZERO EMISSIONS NATION BY 2070: STUDY India’s total installed solar power capacity would need to increase to 5630 GW if it were to commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2070, the study titled ‘Implications of a Net-zero Target for India’s Sectoral Energy Transitions and Climate Policy’ said. India should increase its solar power capacity to 5630 GW in order to become a netzero emissions nation by 2070, according to a study. The government has set an ambitious target to scale up its total renewable energy capacity to 450 GW by 2030. To meet the target, India should also coinvest and co-develop new green technologies in partnership with other countries to create new jobs and markets. Green hydrogen is one such technology that could replace coal in the industrial sector, Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, said. According to the CEEW study, in 2070, electric or battery-driven passenger vehicles would comprise 84 % of the total cars sold in the country. Around 79 % of all trucks would run on batteryelectric technology and rest on hydrogen. Households across the country would also have to use electricity as the primary cooking fuel. India would also need to develop the requisite recycling capacities to handle the solar PV waste generated, the study said.

INDIA IS GLOBALLY MOST COST-EFFECTIVE IN ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER – REPORT According to a global study, India is the most cost-effective country for generating rooftop solar energy at USD 66 per megawatt-hour. Rooftop solar photovoltaics account for 40 % of the global solar photovoltaics installed capacity and one-fourth of the total renewable capacity additions. Due to the lower cost, rooftop solar photovoltaics (RTSPV) technology, such as roof-mounted solar panels used in homes, and commercial and industrial buildings, is currently the fastest deployable energy generation technology. This, according to this global study, is projected to fulfill up to 49 % of the global electricity demand by 2050. According to the study, India has a significant solar rooftop potential of 1.7 petawatt-hour per year. This is against the country’s current electricity demand of 1.3 petawatt-hour per annum, it said. To understand the electricity generation potential of RTSPV globally and its associated costs, the study mapped 130 million square km of the global land surface area to identify 0.2 million sq km of rooftop area using a machine learning algorithm. This rooftop area was then analyzed to document the global electricity generation potential of RTSPV and together represent 27 petawatt-hour per year of electricity generation potential for a cost between USD 40 and USD 280 per megawatt-hour and of this, USD 10 per megawatt-hour can be realized below USD 100.

OVER 10 GW OF NEW RENEWABLE CAPACITY ADDED IN INDIA DURING JAN-SEPT 21: REPORT From January 2021 till September 2021, approximately 8,811 MW solar capacity and 1,246 MW of wind capacity were added in India says a report released by JMK Research. This is about 280% and 101%, respectively, higher compared to the same period the previous year, it said. The main reason behind this significant increase is the commissioning of delayed projects in this period that was supposed to get commissioned earlier but got delayed due to COVID-19 disruption, said the report. As per the data released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) till September 2021, India’s RE installation capacity reached 101.53 GW. Solar energy contributes for approximately 46% share in the total RE segment, making it the major contributor followed by wind energy (39%), BioPower (10%), and Small Hydro (5%). Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra added maximum solar capacity in this period accounting for 68.53% of all solar installations. In the wind segment, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka contributed about 98.66% of India’s total wind installations.

SOLAR TARIFF LIKELY TO RISE BY 20-25 PAISE/UNIT IN UPCOMING BIDS: REPORT Solar energy tariff is likely to go up by 20-25 paise per unit in upcoming bids for projects as compared with rates seen over the past six months, according to an ICRA report on renewable energy. The report further adds that the tariffs are likely to remain competitive at less than Rs 3 per unit. The reasons behind the projected hike is the increased cost of module prices and the GST of solar equipment, stated the report. The increase in cell and module prices is likely to moderate the debt coverage and return metrics for the projects bid out over the past one year and with expected commissioning over the next 6-12 months, it said. Also due to the supply chain constraints arising from disruptions in China are delaying the project execution timeline, the report said.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 16

PROJECT MONTHLY ADANI GREEN COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SB ENERGY INDIA FOR $3.5 BILLION Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) said it has completed the acquisition of SB Energy India for USD 3.5 billion (Rs 26,000 crore). With this deal, SB Energy India is now a 100 % subsidiary of AGEL. Earlier, it was a 80:20 joint venture between Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp and Bharti Group. This transaction takes AGEL closer to becoming the global leader in renewables, said Vneet S Jaain, MD and CEO, AGEL in the statement. The value accretive acquisition boosts AGEL’s operational portfolio to 5.4 GW and its overall portfolio to 19.8 GW implying a 4x growth locked-in, the company said. In May this year the Adani Green Energy Limited had signed the share purchase agreements for the acquisition of 100% interest in SB Energy India from SBG (80%) and Bharti Group (20%).

CLEANTECH SOLAR SECURES INR 2 BILLION SENIOR SECURED LOAN FACILITY WITH NIIF IFL FOR OPEN ACCESS PORTFOLIO IN INDIA Cleantech Solar, a leading provider of renewable energy solutions to corporations in India and Southeast Asia, announces the financial close of an INR 2 billion senior secured loan facility with NIIF IFL for the company’s portfolio of Open Access projects in India. This loan facility will refinance the company’s existing loans on operating open access projects in India and help optimize the overall capital structure and funding costs for the portfolio. With this transaction, Cleantech Solar establishes a new strategic partnership with NIIF IFL – Infrastructure Debt fund set up by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

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TATA POWER TO USE AI FOR REAL-TIME ELECTRICITY OPERATIONS IN MUMBAI Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power utility, announced that it has signed a three-year commercial agreement with BluWave-ai, the world’s first renewable energy AI company. The agreement was signed after a successful trial project, during which Tata Power evaluated the performance of the BluWave-ai cloud platform to generate intra-day and day-ahead dispatches for use in its power scheduling operations said the statement. As an innovator in its industry, Tata Power decided to activate the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize power scheduling and thus address the new regulatory changes. Tata Power’s Mumbai Distribution team has implemented a sentiment analysis tool for email classification and routing that will help in the proactive assessment of consumer needs, the statement added. Apart from the forecast provided by BluWave, the PSCC team has also developed and implemented change overload prediction and RTM optimization, which utilizes neural network and linear programming, respectively, thus ensuring optimized power purchase and hence keeping the power purchase cost at the optimum levels.

NTPC, ÉLECTRICITÉ DE FRANCE INK PACT FOR INTERNATIONAL POWER PROJECT In a significant development for the global power sector, Électricité de France S.A. (EDF), one of the world’s leading power sector companies headquartered in Paris, France, and NTPC Ltd., India’s largest energy integrated company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore potential power project development opportunities in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa. The two companies will also collaborate for knowledge sharing, R&D, technical services, and consultancy assignments globally. The MoU will bear witness to the cooperation between EDF, France, and India’s largest power major NTPC for exploring power project development opportunities around regions of mutual interest like the Middle East, Europe & Africa. EDF and NTPC will jointly explore the possibility of power project development in the countries of mutual interest, as well as exchange knowledge and technical expertise. The parties will also explore collaboration around technical services, including international consultancy assignments, and will consider the possibility of pursuing pilot programs in the clean energy sector together.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 17

RELIANCE TO ACQUIRE UP TO 40% STAKE IN STERLING AND WILSON SOLAR Reliance Industries announced that its subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL) will acquire a 40 % stake in Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd through a combination of primary investment, a secondary purchase, and an open offer for around Rs 2,850 crore. Sterling and Wilson said it had agreed to sell a 15.46 % stake in the company to RNESL for 10.99 billion rupees ($146.3 million) by issuing new shares. Reliance said Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Pvt. Ltd, one of the promoters of Sterling and Wilson, will also sell 18.4 million shares, representing about 9.7% of the company’s post preferential share capital, to RNESL at a price of 375 per share. Sterling and Wilson Solar will make a preferential allotment of 2.93 crore shares (equivalent to 15.46 % post preferential share capital) to Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd at a price of Rs 375 per share, totaling Rs 1,098 crore. RNESL will further acquire 1.84 crore shares from SPCPL (equivalent to 9.70 percent) at a price of Rs 375 per share, totaling Rs 690 crore, the firm said in a statement. The acquisition announced on Sunday are part of the USD 2 billion Ambani had earmarked for acquisitions to create clean energy capabilities.

TATA POWER SOLAR GETS LETTER OF AWARD FROM EESL FOR RS.538 CR PROJECT Tata Power Solar has got a letter of award to build 100 MW of Distributed Ground Mounted Solar projects for Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). The total order value of projects is ÌNR 538 crores as the statement. The commissioning date of the projects is set for 12 months. With this win, the Utility-Scale EPC order book of Tata Power Solar now stands at 4 GW (DC) capacity with an approximate value of Rs. 9,264 crore. The EESL project sites are located in Maharashtra. The scope of work includes engineering, design, supply, construction, erection, testing, O&M and commissioning of the solar projects.

CLEANTECH SOLAR SECURES RS 2 BILLION LOAN FACILITY FOR OPEN ACCESS PORTFOLIO IN INDIA Cleantech Solar, a leading provider of renewable energy solutions to corporations in India and Southeast Asia, announces the financial close of an INR 2 billion senior secured loan facility with NIIF IFL for the company’s portfolio of Open Access projects in India. With this transaction, the solar developer has established a strategic partnership with NIIF IFL – An infrastructure Debt fund set up by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. It will also help optimize the overall capital structure and funding costs for the portfolio. Cleantech Solar has Royal Dutch Shell and Climate Investor One as its strategic investors. Last year, the company secured Asia Pacific’s largest green loan of US $75 million from ING bank and also has loan facilities from SBI-World Bank and Tata Cleantech Capital.

MYSUN BAGS 140 MW OPEN ACCESS SOLAR PROJECT IN UP RELIANCE BUYS NORWAY’S REC SOLAR HOLDINGS FOR $771 MILLION Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), acquired “100% shareholding of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd for an enterprise value of $771 million,” the firm said in a statement. The acquisition will help the Indian giant expand in green energy markets globally, including the US, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere in Asia. Reliance is targeting to generate 100 GW of renewable energy by the end of the decade, which will make up to nearly a quarter of the 450 GW target set by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The statement by the company added that its recent venture will help them explore opportunities in key green energy markets in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia. “It (buying REC Solar) will enable India to become a world leader in the green energy transition to overcome the climate crisis,” Ambani said in the statement.

JUBILANT INGREVIA ACQUIRES 26.6% STAKE IN AMP ENERGY’S 15.5 MW CAPTIVE PV PLANT Jubilant Ingrevia, has signed an agreement with AMP Energy C&I Private Limited, to acquire a 26.6% stake in AMP Green Energy Fifteen Private Limited to set up a 15.5 MW solar project in Maharashtra for captive power generation. The acquisition involves a subscription in the share capital through a combination of equity shares and a subscription of compulsorily convertible debentures for cash consideration of approximately Rs 5.11 crore. The acquisition is expected to be completed within six months. The acquisition will help the company to meet the green energy needs and optimize energy costs and to comply with the regulatory requirement for captive power consumption under the electricity laws. AMP Energy has a project portfolio of over 950 MW across 15 states and has been selling green power to more than 45 leading corporates and government institutions.

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Rooftop solar firm MYSUN has bagged 140-megawatt (MW) openaccess solar power projects from the Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corp Ltd (UPPTCL). “MYSUN, India’s leading distributed solar company, has been allocated 140-MW solar projects under the captive/open access mode by the Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (UPPTCL),” the company said in a statement. The allocation process saw active participation from most of the large solar developers from all over the country, the firm added. It will promote the use of solar energy in Uttar Pradesh for large industries and corporations. Under its recently launched asset vehicle MYSUN+, the company is expanding its presence across states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the national capital region.

RENEW POWER TO COMMISSION 10.2 GW RE CAPACITY BY 2023 ReNew Power is looking to commission its 10.2 gigawatts (GW) capacity by the financial year 2022-23. It also expects to generate an annual EBITDA of USD 1.1-1.2 billion with the commissioning of the 10.2 GW capacity, said the company. To lead India’s energy transition and global green energy transformation, ReNew aspires to have 18 GW of operational capacity by FY’25, it added. Going forward, ReNew expects to have significant opportunities for value-accretive growth in the Indian renewable energy market with the bid market representing about 300 GW, corporate PPAs representing 25 GW, and acquisition opportunities representing around 30-50 GW. ReNew’s current operational capacity stands at 6.4 GW following the commissioning of the SECI-4 solar project in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 18

MINDA INDUSTRIES BOARD APPROVES ACQUISITION OF 28.10% STAKE IN STRONGSUN RENEWABLES

TECHNIQUE SOLAIRS ACQUIRES 34 MW GROUND MOUNTED PV PLANT FROM JAKSON Technique Solaire group formalized the acquisition of a groundmounted solar power plant project from Jakson Group. The 34 MWp plant is located in Mahoba, in Uttar Pradesh, and produces 49,500 MWh of green electricity per year. The plant was commissioned in 2017 and benefits from a power purchase agreement with Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. With this acquisition Technique Solairs Indian fleet of PV plants in operation is reached 68 MWp. The company’s ambition is to have 1 GWp of solar photovoltaic plants in operation by the end of 2024. This installation is the first external growth operation through the acquisition of a solar power plant in operation, a path that the group wishes to pursue, in France and internationally, in order to achieve its ambitious objectives, said the statement.

ADANI GROUP TO INVEST OVER $50-70 BILLION IN GREEN ENERGY VALUE CHAIN Adani group companies will invest over $50 billion to $70 billion across its green energy value chain as it aims to become the world’s top renewable energy producer by 2030. The group’s renewable energy portfolio had reached the initial target of 25 GW, four years ahead of the schedule, he added. “We are tripling our solar power generation capacity over the next four years. This is a rate of growth currently unmatched by any other company anywhere on the planet,” Adani said. Hydrogen is a game-changer and Adani’s green energy portfolio will expand to become one of the world’s largest green hydrogen producers, said Gautam Adani. Adani said he is confident that his conglomerate’s integrated value chain, scale, and experience put it on the road to be the producer of the least expensive “green electron” anywhere in the world. Stating that the renewable energy landscape offered a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs, he said technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud platforms, will play a huge role in disrupting existing business models in the energy space.

GAIL PLANS TO BUILD 10 MW GREEN HYDROGEN PLANT GAIL (India) Ltd will build India’s largest green hydrogen plant in the next 12-14 months, as it looks to supplement its natural gas business with carbon-free fuel. Speaking at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said the company is looking at building a 10-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer capable of generating 4.5 tonnes of green hydrogen daily. It will take 1214 months to put the plant and the company has finalized 2-3 sites for the unit including one at Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh, where the company has a gas processing plant, he said. Green hydrogen is the cleanest of all with zero carbon emission. Hydrogen is the latest buzz for meeting the world’s energy needs. Jain said the plant planned is for 10 MW capacity, the largest announced so far in the country.

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Minda Industries said the investment committee of its board has given its go-ahead to the second tranche of stake purchase in Strongsun Renewables Pvt Ltd. The investment committee at its meeting has approved the second tranche of investment in equity shares of Strongsun Renewables, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company, said the company. Strongsun Renewables Pvt Ltd is engaged in the business of providing solar power solutions comprising of consulting, design, engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and monitoring of distributed rooftop solar power plants primarily for captive consumption of commercial and industrial customers in India. By this acquisition, the total stake of the company in the said SPV will be 3,41,600 equity shares i.e. 28.10 % of the paid-up capital of the said SPV, which enables the company to avail solar power from the SPV for its manufacturing units situated in the Maharashtra region added the company.

TATA POWER SIGNS MOU WITH IIT DELHI TO COLLABORATE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS Tata Power, one of India’s largest private sector integrated utilities, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, the country’s leading research institute, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in areas like Smart grid Technology, Clean Energy solutions. Both the institutions have agreed to work together to identify projects that can be transformed from the R&D stage to pilot projects and scaling in areas such as EV Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Hydrogen Technologies, Battery Energy Storage Systems, Monitoring, and Sensing Solutions, and Microgrids. Tata Power and IIT-D have also agreed to explore a possibility to develop the Tata Power Virtual Center of Excellence towards complementing and supplementing various technologies, labs, and infrastructure already ingrains at each other’s facilities. Under this MoU, both parties also wish to explore the synergies through cooperation with Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC) and IIT Delhi’s Startup infrastructure for incubation and development of startups. CEIIC is supported by Social Alpha, Tata Trusts, and the Government of India through the Department of Biotechnology, BIRAC, Tata Power, and Tata Power – Delhi Distribution Limited.

STEEL MAKER AMNS INDIA TO FORAY INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET Steelmaker AMNS India is looking to enter the domestic green energy market, the company’s CEO Dilip Oommen said. AMNS India is a 60:40 joint venture between Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel of Japan. In 2019, the two foreign entities completed the acquisition of Essar Steel Limited plant located at Hazira in Gujarat and later renamed it as ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) India. According to the sources, Lakshmi Mittal, the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal along with Oommen had met the Gujarat Chief Minister. In a meeting, Mittal had committed to invest Rs. 50,000 crore in the field of hydrogen gas and renewable energy. Earlier in January, the company has acquired Essar Power Orissa, a captive power plant of Essar Steel.

ADANI GROUP TO INVEST IN SRI LANKA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR The Adani Group is exploring the possibility of investing in Sri Lanka’s energy and wind sector, a senior official from the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said. The news came after the group sealed a deal with Sri Lanka to develop and run the strategic Colombo Port’s Western Container Terminal. According to the sources, the group chairman Gautam Adani called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa here, weeks after his company inked a deal with the stateowned Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to develop and run the strategic Colombo Port’s Western Container Terminal (WCT).

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 19

RNESL OFFERS RS 375/SHARE TO ACQUIRE 4.91 CRORE SHARES OF STERLING AND WILSON SOLAR Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL) has offered Rs 375 per share to acquire 4.91 crore shares (constitute 25.9 % equity stake or the entire public holding) of Sterling and Wilson Solar for over Rs 1,840 crore, said Sterling and Wilson Solar said in a regulatory filing. As per the filing, Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd has issued a “draft letter of offer for the open offer for the acquisition of up to 4,91,37,420 fully paid-up equity shares of the face value of Rupee one each representing the entire public shareholding constituting 25.90 % of the emerging Voting Capital of Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd.” Earlier in this month, Reliance Industries had announced that its subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL) will acquire a 40 % stake in Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd through a combination of primary investment, secondary purchase and open offer for around Rs 2,850 crore.

TATA POWER & TATA STEEL TO SET UP 41 MW SOLAR PROJECTS IN JHARKHAND & ODISHA Tata Power and Tata Steel announced that they have come together to develop grid-connected solar plants in Jharkhand and Odisha. The two companies have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a duration of 25 years to set up a 41 MW solar project, which will be a combination of rooftop, floating, and ground-mounted solar panels. Under the project, Tata Power will develop Photo Voltaic (PV) capacities for Tata Steel at Jamshedpur (21.97MWp) and Kalinganagar (19.22MWp). Under this PPA, at Jamshedpur, Tata Power will develop rooftops PV with 7.57 MWp capacity, while floating and groundmounted capacity would be 10.80 MWp and 3.6 MWp, respectively. The ground-mounted PV will be installed at Sonari Airport, Jamshedpur. Kalinganagar will have 9.12 MWp rooftop PV capacities, and floating PV will constitute 10.10 MWp, said the press release. The estimated energy generation through 41.19 MWp solar project is 6, 02, 80,095 kWh for the first year. During its lifetime (i.e. for 25 years), the total energy generation would be 1,40,93,61,488 kWh. The project will help save 45210 tonnes of CO2 per year and 1057021 tonnes during its lifetime (25 years).

TATA POWER ANNOUNCES STRONG Q2 RESULTS; CONSOLIDATED REVENUE AT ₹9,502 CRORE Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, announced its results for the quarter ended 30th September 2021, reporting a 36% increase in consolidated PAT as compared to Q2 FY21. On a consolidated basis, Tata Power Group’s Q2 FY22 Revenue was up by 13% at ₹9,502 crores as compared to ₹ 8,428 crores last year. This is mainly due to expanded operations in Odisha DISCOMs, higher project execution in Solar EPC Business, and strong business performance by all other businesses. Consolidated PAT stood at ₹506 crore up by 36% as compared to ₹371 crore in Q2 FY21 due to savings in finance cost & better performance in Renewables Business, the group said. The firm’s transmission and distribution segment (T&D) reported the highest growth, at 48% YOY to Rs 6787 crores.

AGEL’S Q2 & H1 FY22 RESULTS OUT: POWER SUPPLY REVENUE INCREASED BY 48% YOY Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL), a part of the Adani Group, announced the financial results for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2021. The company’s operational capacity increased to 5,410 MW (4,763 MW solar and 647 MW wind) as of September 30, 2021, a 93% growth from 2,800 MW in September last year. AGEL’s Revenue from Power Supply increased by 48% YoY to Rs. 1,682 cr in H1 FY22 and Cash Profit increased by 45% to Rs. 859 cr in H1 FY22. AGEL’s overall renewable portfolio increases to 20,284 MW mainly on account of the completion of the acquisition of SB Energy’s India Renewable portfolio of 4,954 MW, which includes 1,700 MW operational assets. AGEL was awarded a 450 MW Wind project from SECI in Oct 2021. The company has signed its first set of PPAs for 867 MW with SECI in Sep/ Oct 2021 under Letter of Award received for manufacturing linked solar projects of 8 GW. AGEL’s sale of Energy increased by 54% to 3,954 mn units in H1 FY22 and Solar CUF improves by 50 bps YoY to 23.2% and Wind CUF improves by 710 bps YoY to 40.7% in H1 FY22, said the company statement. Revenue from Power Supply increased by 48% YoY to Rs. 1,682 Cr in H1 FY22 EBITDA from Power Supply up by 50% YoY to Rs. 1,577 cr with 150 bps improvement in EBITDA margin to 93.1% in H1 FY22.

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NTPC’S 80 MW SOLAR PROJECT IN RAJASTHAN, STARTS COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) informed that it has commissioned the first part of the 80 MW of 160 MW Jetsar Solar PV Project in Rajasthan. The plant commenced its commercial operations on October 22. With this, the installed, as well as commercial capacity of NTPC and NTPC group, has become 53,572.5 megawatts and 66,997.5 megawatts respectively, NTPC said in a regulatory filing. NTPC group has recorded gross generation of 90.97 Billion Units in Q2 FY22 and 176.78 Billion Units in H1 FY22 as against 77.93 Billion Units and 145.88 Billion Units during the previous periods of last year registering an increase of 16.74% and 21.19% respectively.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 20

IN CONVERSATION

MANIKKAN SANGAMESWARAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO, RADIANCE RENEWABLES

Being a leading Solar player, how has the year 2021 been for Radiance Renewables overall? Any key developments? Radiance Renewables Pvt Ltd is a 100 percent subsidiary of the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), a pioneering climate impact fund managed by EverSource Capital. Radiance has positioned itself as a significant Pan India renewable energy service provider in the Commercial, Industrial and Institutional segments with exposure to long-term power purchase agreements to quality customers based on net metering/ open access models in the build-out of its distributed generation platform. We currently manage and operate an operational capacity of 268 MW PAN India. Radiance had a great start to the year with the acquisition of Azure Power solar rooftop assets of 153 MWp, one of the largest acquisitions of rooftop solar assets in India. Despite the pandemic-related challenges, Radiance has grown its team and business significantly in 2021 while earning the trust of its customers through timely delivery of projects. Further, as Radiance is building out its underconstruction portfolio of over 250 MWp, in the last couple of months, Radiance has cumulatively commissioned captive projects of 20 MWp in Maharashtra and Karnataka, with more projects expected to be commissioned by Q4 of FY22. Radiance also focused on reducing the time to commission projects for customers by providing a plugand-play model through the development of ~1350+ MWp of the solar park capacity across various stages of development in states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat & Rajasthan. As leading Renewable energy as a service (REaaS) firm, Radiance has introduced cutting-edge asset management tools such as real-time monitoring with analytics to maximize generation and minimize downtime, providing the best affordable and value for money offering to our customers.

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SolarQuarter had an exclusive conversation with Mr. Manikkan Sangameswaran - Executive Director & CEO, Radiance Renewables, and understood the key developments that happened in the company recently. We also got some great insights on how Radiance Renewables is focussing on future growth through acquisitions and how it is planning to contribute to the growth of solar sector in India going ahead. Radiance Renewables made the largest acquisition of rooftop solar assets in India this year. Tell us a bit about it. Are you planning for more acquisitions in the coming year? Radiance acquired solar rooftop assets of Azure Power Global Limited (APGL) for INR 536.5 crore. The 153 MW portfolio being acquired by Radiance includes projects under construction with a capacity of 8.5 MW. The portfolio is well-distributed across 23 states of India with long-term PPAs with marquee customers such as DMRC, Indian Railways, etc., with net metering. We are always open to more acquisitions that meet our strategic objectives and are at the right valuation. So we do expect to add a few more assets in the coming years through the acquisition route as a part of our growth strategy.

According to you, what more needs to be done on the policy front to ease financing for solar energy projects in India?

timelines for long-term open access agreements in certain states would improve the timelines for debt financing. Continuation of banking with at least monthly settlement would help reduce uncertainty and capacity sizing for projects under the captive model. Clarity on regulations for renewable energy projects with energy storage across all states would help improve the economics of projects and thereby financing while also providing a valuable service in providing grid stability. Shorter timelines for settlement of surplus power sold to Discom - Currently, the payments are received after significant delays in many states. Clear guidelines to address this matter are necessary. Development of long-term bond market and deepening of the market through wider participation by long-term institutions such as insurance companies and pension funds would go a long way in providing significant relief to the banking system that has to deal with asset-liability mismatches.

A few changes at the policy front that would go a long way in improving financing for solar energy projects in the C&I space would be: A stable regulatory framework across states eliminates the inconsistency between policy and regulatory orders. Further, easing procedures and reducing

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 21

How do you think the solar sector is going to progress in India in the next few years? How do you see Radiance Renewables contributing towards the same? We estimate the total addressable renewable market potential for the C&I (Commerical and Industrial) segment will be 40 GW by FY 2030, which has a current capacity of 17 GW. Most players in the C&I segment would be to provide Renewable energy through Open Access captive and/ or third-party model under the REaaS concept. With significant thrust by the government through appropriate regulations and the increased interest from C&I customers to go green to meet their green targets across supply chains, we expect the demand to be quite strong in the next few years. We expect significant development of renewable energy projects that include hybrid projects through a combination of solar-wind hybrid or solarwind-battery hybrids. We also expect the adoption of green hydrogen by process industries that will require a significant amount of renewable energy for green hydrogen production. In addition, the electric vehicle revolution is beginning to pick up in the country with newer, efficient, and longer charge range models of electric vehicles supported by government tax breaks. These electric vehicles would need to be charged using green power. Radiance has been working on various business models across some of the latest technologies of energy storage, hydrogen and also to provide green power to the EV market.

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There is a lot of unlocked potential in the Indian solar sector, which can be complemented by meeting India’s commitments towards climate action announced at COP26. India will bring its non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. India will fulfill 50% of its energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030. India will cut down its net projected carbon emission by 1 bn tonnes from now until 2030. India will bring down the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45% by 2030 By 2070, India will achieve the target of 'net zero' carbon emissions. Radiance generates clean green power, contributes to the government’s net-zero ambitions, and creates ESG compliant sustainable green power that enables commercial and industrial off-takers to meet their ESG commitments. Radiance has aligned its sustainable development goals and objectives with India’s green ambitions. Through its unique and comprehensive EHS-ESG management (ESGMS) system, Radiance identifies physical climate-related risks about a prospective project at the inception stage and aptly assigns mitigating measures. ESG related risks for greenfield sites and new acquisitions are screened, evaluated, and mitigated at the conceptualization stage of a project. Radiance’s ESGMS outlines a procedure to identify potential

environmental, social, and governance risks of potential deals and projects before investment and institute monitoring mechanisms to supervise the ESG performance of deals/projects during the investment term. This mechanism empowers Radiance to operate sustainably and imbibe its sustainable development goals and objectives. Total CO2 emissions avoided target of Radiance from FY 22- FY 25 is around 5 million metric tonnes.

Lastly, please tell us what we can look forward to from Radiance Renewables in 2022? Radiance looks forward to partnering as a “trusted renewable energy partner” with its customers and helping them meet their sustainability requirements by providing solutions across the rooftop, behind the meter, open access projects, with and without storage, while being technology agnostic and driven by value creation for the customer in its sustainability journey. Radiance is one of the fastest-growing companies in the C&I space, with plans to be a leading pan India C&I player by 2022. Radiance looks forward to enhancing its portfolio of operational asset capacity in 2022 through a combination of organic and inorganic growth.

RADIANCE HAS ALIGNED ITS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES WITH INDIA’S GREEN AMBITIONS."

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FEATUREDTALKS After 5 years, now according to the Wood Mackenzie report, we have topped the ranking in the Asian Pacific region with a 35% market share, aided by the unparalleled leadership in the Indian solar market by maintaining the number 1 tracker supplier in the region for three consecutive years. Gail Chen

GENERAL MANAGER OF INDIA AND EAST ASIA, ARCTECH

Please elaborate on the solar tracker solutions that Arctech provides. Arctech is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and solution providers of solar tracking, racking and BIPV systems. As of the end of 2020, Arctech has supplied over 32GW of tracking and racking systems to nearly 1,100 PV plants in 40 countries, thanks to its extensive marketing networks with offices in China, Japan, India, the U.S., Spain, Australia, UAE, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Vietnam and Argentina. In Trackers, we have two products SkyLine (1P) & SkySmart (2P). Both the solutions are independent rows and these trackers clients can install all kinds of challenging lands.

Please throw some light on how the tracker technology has changed/improved over the years in India? Technology is shaking up the Indian market non-stop, when we came to India in the first place, Arc tracker Pro was one of the most heated products in our pipelines, as the cost of these block trackers which a single motor and gear are placed in one block is much less costly. Nowadays independent row trackers are more popular because of the land challenges and the increasing size of modules is posing a stability challenge to traditional single axis trackers, in response to this trend, we just launched SKYLINE II, the world&#39;s first 1P single-axis tracker equipped with pentagonal torque tube design and synchronous multipoint drive mechanism which allows for the highest stability at all tracking tilts.

Since your company Arctech entered the Indian market in 2015, how have your tracking solutions evolved? India is always on our radar for its huge potential. As per MNRE reports, India has achieved the 5th position globally in solar power deployment by surpassing Italy. Solar

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power capacity has increased by more than 11 times in the last five years. We entered the Indian market in 2016. We started our discussions with all the leading IPP’s & EPC’s and we found there’s a huge potential in the market. We explained to them about tracker benefits along with the same installation O&M Cost. Slowly clients start adapting the technology and now we have more than 2.4 GW of installed projects in India. After 5 years, now according to the Wood Mackenzie report, we have topped the ranking in the Asian Pacific region with a 35% market share, aided by the unparalleled leadership in the Indian solar market by maintaining the number 1 tracker supplier in the region for three consecutive years. Last year, despite the pandemic disruption in India, Arctech struck a deal with one leading Indian developer to supply 1.7 GW of 1P SkyLine trackers to two projects in Rajasthan. In particular, the 860MW AEML solar power plant is the largest bifacial+tracker power generation project in India.

What are your other solar products? What are their key highlights? We have multiple pipelines apart from trackers, for instance, we have a Robotic Cleaning Solution along with SCADA. For India, we have a specially designed package deal. On the package deal, we can offer Tracker, Robotic Cleaning Solution along with SCADA. In the package, the client is going to get a cost-effective solution along with hassle-free compatibility.

Tell us about your R&D focus, types of patents, and certifications awarded to your company? Our R&D team is working under the leadership of CTO Mr. Bruce Wang. He’s also a member of the IEC committee. So far, we have 170 patents which include Torque tubes, Clamps and other structural components. In the certificates, we have all important certificates like Wind Tunnel by CPP, IEC, TUV, UL, Black & Veatch etc.

Tell us about your recently launched Wind Tunnel Laboratory which will smartly increase the stability of trackers and lower the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) of PV power plants. The wind tunnel laboratory was successfully held at the headquarters located in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China on 6th September 2021. Arctech has become the first in the PV industry worldwide to own a wind tunnel laboratory. Equipped with the world-leading testing capabilities of structural static pressure and structural dynamic response, the laboratory can test the effect of wind on trackers at speeds of up to 30m per second, a speed that would cover most likely realworld scenarios. The technical database will be leveraged as the source of basic design parameters for product design, R&D and product structure design verification in the future. By applying the technical database for concept design and structure design for the product, the wind tunnel Laboratory will allow the company to mimic different local environments worldwide and serve the very purpose to lower the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) of PV power plants by increasing the stability of trackers.

What is Arctech’s growth strategy for the India Market in order to expand the business? Arctech focuses on the clean energy field and has a track record of 12 Years. We’ll keep a growing investment in R&D and continue to pioneer product innovation, thus we can provide a competitive product portfolio to customers in the India. To full fill the requirement of the market, our local team which includes Sales, Technical engineers, service engineers will always bring the world leading Tracker technology and most bankable product portfolio, to optimize the LCOE for projects in the India region. We are also working on local manufacturing facility and from next year onward will start our productions.

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FEATUREDTALKS

We provide IoT Cloud Software product (ETiSOL), a Software product for local standalone system (ETi-SOL-EDGE) and we can also provide both a Cloud product and a product for Local System. Ashok DM CEO & MD, ENERMAN TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD Please tell us how has the year 2021 been for EnerMAN Technologies? What have been some key developments? Despite COVID-19’s impact on our business, we have successfully installed our IoT SCADA (ETi-SOL) products in the countries –Sri Lanka, Nepal, Dubai, Rwanda and Poland through online support. ETi-SOL is deployed over 250+MWp capacity in 45+ PV Plants/rooftops in 2021. The total deployment to date crossed 1,100MWp (1.1GWp).

Please brief our readers about your energy management solutions and range of PV monitoring products. ETi-SOL is a cloud-based software product that collects data from the field IoT devices for Monitoring, Controlling, Analysis and Reporting of Solar PV plants/rooftops. ETi-SOL-EDGE is a software product that can be installed in Local PCs/Servers at PV plants/Rooftops and can collect data from the data loggers connected to the PV Plant equipment to Monitor, Control, Analyse and Report the Solar PV plant’s performance. ETi-LOG is an IIoT Datalogger, which collects the data through RS 485 (RTU/TCP) from PV plants end equipment and sends data to Local PC/Servers or to the cloud Servers through RS485 (RTU/TCP) or RF or Wi-Fi.

ETi-ZES PRODUCT COLLECTS THE DATA FROM SOLAR PV PLANTS’ END-EQUIPMENT AND CONTROLS/LIMITS THE OUT-POWER OF SOLAR INVERTERS BASED ON ITS

Kindly tell us more in detail about your specialised unique product ETi-SOL. We provide all types of products and solutions to Solar PV plants/rooftops for Performance Monitoring, Controlling, Analysis and Reporting at an affordable price using in-house developed Hardware, Firmware and Software. We provide a quick turnaround time (from PO to installation as fast as 2 to 3 working days subject to material stock and payment). We provide IoT Cloud Software product (ETiSOL), a Software product for local standalone system (ETi-SOL-EDGE) and we can also provide both a Cloud product and a product for Local System. Our Software product is hardware agnostic; it can work with 3 rd party Datalogger. Our CMS Software product (ETi-CONNECT) can interface with a third-party Plant SCADA using REST API or FTP data access. Our Product can share Plant data with any thirdparty Analytics/SCADA product. Within the plant, we can provide data collection through wired/wireless/hybrid solutions. We will ensure that there is no data loss through local storage in our ETi-LOG IoT data logger during any communication issues at the plant.

What are some latest technologies adopted by your esteemed company in the current year? We have developed a software product, ETiSLDC, which can be installed on local PCs/Servers to collect data from the Solar PV plant’s equipment and can send important processed clean data to SLDC in a few seconds as per SLDC guidelines. We have developed another software product, ETi-ZES, which will ensure Zero Export from Solar PV plants / Rooftops to Grid, as per DISCOM policy guidelines, to avoid penalty. This product collects the data from Solar PV plants’ end-equipment and controls/limits the out-power of Solar Inverters based on its load/consumption.

OUR PRODUCT CAN SHARE PLANT DATA WITH ANY THIRD-PARTY ANALYTICS/SCA DA PRODUCT. WITHIN THE PLANT, WE CAN PROVIDE DATA COLLECTION THROUGH WIRED/WIRELE SS/HYBRID SOLUTIONS."

LOAD/CONSUMPTION."

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 24

FEATUREDTALKS

Industrial solar energy systems are an investment in the future of the planet that can help to keep non-renewable energy sources and protect the environment. Sharad D. Acharya

FOUNDER AND CHAIRPERSON, BULL POWER ENERGY PRIVATE LIMITED Please tell us about Bull Power's On-Grid Rooftop Solar Services Bull Power Energy, is the leading turn-key solution provider for solar EPC systems. We design, engineer and install solar systems for Domestic, Industrial, Agricultural and utility scale projects. As a specialist in roof-top, and custom designed solar structures, we focus on providing best-in-class solar racking systems and project management capabilities to serve owners and integrators. Leveraging experience in the Residential as well as Industrial design-build specialty structures market, Bull Power Energy works with its clients to identify the most economical, durable, and robust solar structures. Our services include complete design, signed and sealed engineering drawings for the entire Rajasthan, high-tech installation, and end-to-end technical support to help you solve the toughest challenges in the industry Many people want to save money— Who doesn't? The easiest way to do so is going solar, average homeowners can save close to 80% off of their bill from the rooftop solar plants. Solar is one of the cleanest forms of energy production in the world. In addition to saving your wallet, you can help save the environment. As a business that uses lots of electricity to power equipment and interior and exterior lights, the best way to control your costs is to find alternative energy sources, like solar energy. Industrial solar energy systems are an investment in the future of the planet that can help to keep non-renewable energy sources and protect the environment.

What products do you have for the agriculture sector? What are the highlights of the same? We are an Authorized distributor for Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. We are having a complete range of Kirloskar Industrial, Agriculture and submersible pumps like Kirloskar Monobloc Pumps, Kirloskar High Lifter Pumps, Kirloskar Horizontal Split Casing Pumps, KU6 Oil field Pump, Kirloskar End Suction Pumps, Kirloskar Solid Handling Pumps and many more up to 325 meter head. These high performing pumps are procured from the world renowned company, "Kirloskar", which fabricates these from high grade raw material in compliance with defined industry standards. Our offered pumps are highly reckoned due to their efficiency, durability and reliability for the agriculture sector. We have almost completed more than 300+ solar pump installations also in the rural area where still no electricity, today these farmers are growing as nowadays they are doing irrigation successfully with solar pumps.

Please tell us about your 50 MW open Access Captive Solar Park 'MARTANDA'. Rajasthan has imbibed greater potential in terms of harnessing green solar energy while utilizing it in prosperous ways, thereby nominating Rajasthan as the most eligible state for the development of an open access captive solar park. The place becomes more ideal having the business-friendly solar

policy from the Government of Rajasthan. In such a scenario, Rajasthan’s fast-moving and leading solar EPC Company Bull Power Solar is solely determined to introduce a new and resourceful angle to a new project while keeping in mind the savings in large industrial and corporate electricity bills with the installation of a 50 MW Captive Solar Power Park in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. This mammoth solar park will be feasible at a cost of about INR 3.0 billion and will have the potential to generate about 85 million units of electricity annually along with the contribution in reducing the carbon emission by 85 million tonnes every year. “MARTANDA” is a gem of an idea for all those consumers who are unable in harnessing green solar power due to certain limitations like unavailability of sufficient space, manpower unavailability for plant management, financial inability to invest a hefty amount in one go, last but not the least time for the professional as well as personal family. “MARTANDA” is the project that is planned to keep each and every type of commercial and industrial consumers in mind like big manufacturing and trading facilities, Hospitals, Hotels, Commercial Complexes, Educational Institutes, Warehouses, Business Parks and many more.

WE WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT IN THE PAST, WE HAVE WORKED ON SOME AMAZING PROJECTS IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY, FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AND OIL INDUSTRY."

If you want to stop depending on the electricity trading companies and the prices they dictate, you have the option of investing in photovoltaic panels to provide electricity and thermal energy to have heating and sanitary hot water in your industrial facilities.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 25

How are you gearing up for the coming year? What new projects are you looking forward to? During starting of years, it was quite difficult for us to foresee what was coming. We had set up simple goals which we know we could achieve. In the upcoming five years, we want to test ourselves. we have set up targets which can bring out the best for us. These objectives deal with making decisions that were tough but fruitful. In our initial years, we tried to play it safe which most people do. The five years we see ahead of us are full of responsibilities that need better decisiveness. We are sure the years will be progressive for our organization as well as for Industry.

FEW YEARS AGO, WE WANTED TO BE WHERE TODAY WE ARE. SO FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, WE WILL SET UP REALISTIC GOALS FOR OUR ORGANIZATION."

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What are your future growth and expansion plans? Do you have any new products lined up? Growth is an integral phase of the business cycle, and there comes a time when every successful business owner has to decide whether to expand the business or maintain the status. Well, we are really excited that Green Day-ahead Market (GDAM) is coming. In the next five years, we would like to be recognised as an expert in this sector. Since we already have a great portfolio of C&I projects as well as Captive solar park work experience, we are excited to take up sustainability responsibilities in the coming few years. Besides, we have the potential to lead projects, and if we are able to deliver, we are sure this will give us the chance to become one of the forerunners. We would like to mention that in the past, we have worked on some amazing projects in Textile Industry, Food and Beverage Industry and Oil Industry. We are also ready for expansion with more jobs in this field. A few years ago, we wanted to be where today we are. So five years from now, we will set up realistic goals for our organization. We will keep the same fire alive within and we hope we will achieve our goal.

“MARTANDA” IS THE PROJECT THAT IS PLANNED TO KEEP EACH AND EVERY TYPE OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONSUMERS IN MIND LIKE BIG MANUFACTURING AND TRADING FACILITIES, HOSPITALS, HOTELS, COMMERCIAL COMPLEXES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES, WAREHOUSES, BUSINESS PARKS AND MANY MORE."

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FEATUREDTALKS The company is very well-equipped with a state-ofthe-art turnkey manufacturing facility of 400MW capacity. Our Modules exude excellence through quality & high yield. PIXON offers highly efficient modules tested in our in-house PV Module Test Lab. Punit Mehta DIRECTOR, PIXON ENERGY

Please give us a brief about Pixon energy's solar journey and evolution?

What are the EPC solutions provided by your esteemed company?

What are some technology innovations you are aiming at in the next couple of years?

One of the major factors that motivated us to enter into this market was Global Climate Sustainability. Having a vision of becoming a global leader in the solar industry and providing solar energy solutions to people encouraged us to provide highly effective services in this domain. With the coming transition in the solar industry, and fostering the enhancement of our earth’s ecosystem, the step towards change is necessary for society. So, keeping in mind the context of our global climate we aim at developing quality effective solutions.

Pixon provides turnkey Engineering, Procurement & Construction Services for the installation of solar projects. We have an inhouse, well-trained and dedicated EPC team for the execution of solar projects – from small solar projects to large-scale utilitybased projects. We also provide Ground Mounted Solar solutions, Rooftop Solar solutions, Floating Solar solutions. PIXON ensures turnkey solutions and support till your power plant is completely installed, configured to be fully functional up to stabilization.

We welcome new ideas and foster creativity into our system. Be it our technology, work culture, or processes; we understand the need for innovation to keep a consistent process. Our multi-disciplinary team showcases our belief in growth with innovations.

What are the different types of solar modules that Pixon Energy manufactures? Basically, Pixon manifests into solar products and developing quality solutions for the clients. The company is very well-equipped with a state-of-the-art turnkey manufacturing facility of 400MW capacity. Our Modules exude excellence through quality & high yield. PIXON offers highly efficient modules tested in our in-house PV Module Test Lab. . Our premium range of solar modules are engineered in India using European technology. We basically manufacture 5 different types of Solar modules:Mono-Crystalline PERC Modules. Poly-Crystalline Modules Poly-Crystalline DCR Modules Poly-Crystalline Half-Cut Cell Modules Mono-Crystalline PERC Half-Cut Cell Modules.

Your company has a manufacturing capacity of 800 MW for EVA Film. What are the major uses and highlights of the same? We are into the manufacturing of EVA films with the capacity of 800MW The major highlights of the same are:Conformable and flexible for ease of lamination. Durable bonding strength with both glass and back sheet Excellent UV and damp-heat stability Very low shrinkage rate High light transmission Suitable for crystalline, PERC and thinfilm PV modules. The major use of EVA films is to keep out moisture and other gases. It also provides electrical and optimal transmission.

We have also advanced the MES system that provides production and data with stringent Quality Control Systems. We constantly believe in improvising and exploring new technologies to harness solar energy. Advanced MES that provides production, quality and timer data with stringent Quality Control Systems integrated with the manufacturing line. Advanced MES that provides production, quality and timer data with stringent Quality Control Systems integrated into the manufacturing line.

BE IT OUR TECHNOLOGY, WORK CULTURE, OR PROCESSES; WE UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR INNOVATION TO KEEP A CONSISTENT PROCESS."

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 27

FEATUREDTALKS

These micro-services go beyond the regular monitoring and are available up to the module level and enable the digitization of the diagnostics at the component level. Ayush Mahajan CO-FOUNDER AND HEAD - BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, PV DIAGNOSTICS Kindly introduce us to the service offerings of your esteemed company We are a solar-tech consultancy offering services across the solar value chain. Our major services include:

Plant health check-up The main purpose of this check-up is to assess the plant’s current health quality and identify the action plan to optimize the plant’s performance. The aspects addressed during the study are: Identification of reasons behind underperformance in the plant Identification of nature of defects in the modules contributing towards degradation Evaluation of the health of BoS (both civil and electrical) Identification of feasible solutions to improve plant’s generation The major tests involved in this study are: Drone and hand-held thermography of modules and other BoS components Module and string IV curve measurement (for 1000 V and 1500 V system) EL image analysis PR analysis Visual inspection Inverter efficiency and THD analysis Insulation test, earth resistance test, and structure coating test Soiling analysis Review of O&M practices We also focus on preliminary site data analysis to identify the key locations that might be responsible for under-performance before the site visit. The major analysis includes plant historical generation and performance analysis, PVSyst report interpretation and comparison of benchmark losses to actual losses, inverter efficiency analysis, WMS data analysis, breakdown analysis, etc. We have conducted plant health check-ups for more than 3 GW of solar power plants.

Support during Procurement and Construction

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We have the following service portfolio during the EPC phase Factory audits to ensure the reliability of the product for the next 25 years of the module’s life. Module in-production inspection to ensure that the product is being manufactured as per the quality assurance plan, bill of materials and design specifications agreed with the manufacturer and the dispatch products are healthy. Finished goods inspection to ensure that the product dispatched is healthy, without damages, and as per the preagreed quality assurance plan. Transportation damage assessment Post-installation module quality assessment to identify any damages due to mishandling of the modules during installation Plant construction monitoring to ensure that all the designs are in line with the onsite designing and quality control during installation and commissioning as an Owner’s Engineer.

Technical Due Diligence Technical Due Diligence is conducted to understand the different technical, operations, management, and future revenue scope of the plant to analyze and estimate the OPEX, CAPEX, and revenue generation from the solar asset underbidding. The study focuses on Healthiness assessment of on-site testing of modules and other BoS components Complete plant design, documentation, data review, and technical assessment A detailed review of SCADA functioning Review of O&M practices Inverter efficiency measurements PR analysis

What are the differentiating factors for your company with respect to competition? In addition to the standard offerings, we add components of automation and analytics in our services, leading to better insights in the final reports.

Our services are highly customizable based on our customer’s requirements which helps us in improving and developing our services.

How does PV Diagnostics integrate microservices along the solar value chain? What products do you have for the same? We have developed multiple microservices that can be integrated with the existing CMS of the developers. These micro-services go beyond the regular monitoring and are available up to the module level and enable the digitization of the diagnostics at the component level. Additionally, we are regularly adding more micro-services to ensure that the latest technological developments are included. For example, tracker efficiency measurement, bifacial module incremental generation, etc.

How do you see solar technology evolving in the coming years? Over the previous decade, we have seen plain vanilla solar power plant integration. These power plants are intermittent in nature. The next decade is going to be about making solar and other clean energy resources into a round-the-clock and reliable supply of electricity.

How do you see solar technology evolving in the coming years? We are expanding in other geographies outside India like South-East Asia and Middle- East We are also working towards increasing our service portfolio to multiple segments like energy storage, hybrid plants, etc We will be rolling out our products for diagnostics and performance improvement which has been under testing for some time now.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 28

LAUNCHING NEW EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION for AFRICA Solar Industry

AFRICA For Advertising Opportunities, Contact: Smriti Charan, M: +91 7718877514, E: smriti@firstviewgroup.com For Editorial Participation, Contact: Ashwini Chikkodi, M: +91 93727 88474, E: editorial@firstviewgroup.com

FEATUREDTALKS

Having recognized the implication as early as 2020, Sineng has come up with state of art solution (string inverter model: SP-275K-INH) which is tailored for the high power modules. Li Jianfei CTO / VP, Sineng Electric

How has the average selling price of solar inverters changed over the last decade? How is Sineng working towards lowering its inverter prices? India has won the tag of the lowest cost producer of solar globally. As per the analysis of IRENA, the costs have dropped at a fast pace - 80% - in India since 2010. Allegedly, ASP of solar inverter is already in its consolidated phase and has reached a level where if further drop happens it will be a great threat to the industry. In particular, it is hard for Sineng Electric to talk about any further price reduction as it has already been offering the most cost-effective and favorable price to the customers while providing topclass high quality products. Nevertheless, an inverter is an evolving technology sector and Sineng R&D team reckons that there still is fertile space in power electronics innovation that can lower the per watt price and optimize the project cost for the customers year-onyear for the coming years.

What are some innovations happening in inverter technology? As is known to all, an inverter, which is the heart component of a PV power station system, has a crucial impact on the stability, durability and efficient operation of the station. Constant innovation and optimization at each level are the only way to exist in the present competitive environment. In recent years, we have seen that market moved from small block size to 6.25/12.5MW block size and 1000V to 1500V. In the near future, a higher capacity inverter (central and string), bigger block size and higher voltage system would appear to reduce the BoS cost and system cable loss.

inverter MPPT which leads to clipping, ultimately the inverter is not able to harness maximum power from the string. Due to that, we will lose some power with the solution available in the market which will effectively affect the LCOE. So customers will incline to higher current inverter massively so as to adapt to large wafer based modules. Having recognized the implication as early as 2020, Sineng has come up with state of art solution (string inverter model: SP-275K-INH) which is tailored for the high power modules. Inverter monitoring already forms the backbone of solar O&M strategies. As techniques are advanced and refined, predictive, corrective and preventive measures are increasingly able to reduce both the occurrence of failures and their impact. Hence, apart from power electronics innovation, we will also see more and more integration of artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, big data, cloud computing and deep learning in the inverter segment. A future inverter will be super intelligent and smart and they will be equipped with more tools than ever to detect faults faster and earlier, higher uptime and boost the generation.

How is Sineng planning to contribute to the ‘Make in India’ initiative keeping in mind the BIS certification requirements and increase in BCD? BIS certification is a recommended certification and well praised step by the government of India considering various factors defining quality product implementation in solar power systems.

We appreciate that BIS certification has been extended to December 2021 by MNRE due to COVID-19 disruption and the abilities of limited test facilities. As per the MNRE notification published on 4th August 2021, the inverter manufacturers must have IEC certificates corresponding to IEC 621092:2011 and IEC 62116:2008 and test reports from the international test lab - Sineng already has these certifications and reports done. More clarity on the timeline of BIS testing for larger capacity inverters would help us to plan in a better way. At the same time, more infrastructure availability along with better ITES could automate the backend work of documents processing. BCD on inverter imports has been imposed since 1st February 2021. However, Duty increment has no impact on Sineng Electric, as it has established localized company in Bangalore in 2018. At the moment, the Bangalore manufacturing base has a 3 GW annual manufacturing capacity and a 10 GW brand new modernized manufacturing base is expected to put its full operation by the Q4 of 2021. In 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India would achieve the target of 450 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030 and 175 GW before the deadline of 2022. With a long term commitment to the Indian solar market, we were, and are very passionate to contribute to “Make in India” and bring success to the goal.

To keep up with the lower bidding price year by year, penetration of large wafer182/210mm will accelerate in 2022, and large wafer based module production will dominate in the coming years. Due to the increased short circuit current rating of the module, there will be some implications on the module –inverter interface. That is the short circuit current limitation of string

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As one of the leading companies in the solar industry, what challenges are you presently facing in the Indian market? Indian solar industry is a mature market growing at a decent speed. Indian Government has always been highly supportive and has shown its intent to drive growth. Reportedly, many inverter manufacturers are seeing 20% BCD on inverter imports as a great hurdle. And, BCD has no impact on Sineng Electric as it has a total 10GW manufacturing base in Bangalore, India. We acknowledge and appreciate the ‘make in India’ policy. It is no secret that India is a highly price-sensitive market and for any industry to make a significant footprint, price is a key indicator. On the other hand, inverter manufacturing is in its infancy in India, hence price reduction would have a huge impact on the deployment of solar projects as well as the PPAs. Other challenges are minor like BIS certification, incentives, and uniform and stable policies etc. Tender cancellations and tariff re-negotiations had increased the uncertainty of some of the large-scale projects in recent years and hence delayed their executions. Similarly, policy flip flops and regulatory changes have also posed a challenge. A uniform National Solar Policy would remove bottle-necks and hasten further adoption and boost the industry growth.

HOWEVER, DUTY INCREMENT HAS NO IMPACT ON SINENG ELECTRIC, AS IT HAS ESTABLISHED LOCALIZED COMPANY IN BANGALORE IN 2018."

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What potential do you see in the PV+ESS segment? Also, please help our readers understand your energy storage solutions. There is great potential in the storage segment and that is why so many inverter players have entered this field. Storage options have now been applied to many different scenarios including groundmounted PV stations, C&I projects and rooftop residential PV. For large-scale PV stations, storage can help shave peaks and improve power quality. For C&I projects, it can improve off-grid utilization. Storage technologies will allow for more reliable and flexible operation of the electricity distribution and transmission grids, enhancing electric power quality and making renewable energy user-friendly. So, there is still a lot of potentials and we expect the market to boom in the next few years. We saw the turning point coming last year and we know it’s just the beginning. Sineng has been offering its DC/AC coupled energy storage solution with various rating PCS. Our energy storage solutions have extensively been adopted in various places in China and Korea etc. Our Energy storage products are as follows: Central PCS solution ( EH-2.5/3.15/3.45HA-UD ) - Max. efficiency 99.0%; IP65 protection; PQ, VF, SVG, VSG and other functionality; Off-grid operation and black start etc. String PCS solution ( EH-0200-HA-M ) Max. 220kW; IP66+C5 protection; Pack level management; Independent charging and discharging etc.

DC-DC converter (EH-0182-HA-M ) - Max. 200kW; IP66+C5 protection; Pack level management; Independent charging and discharging etc. Battery container - Outdoor design; Smaller footprint; Liquid cooling system; Three level BMS protection etc.

What is your current manufacturing capacity and how do you plan to expand further in the near future? By virtue of cutting edge high-quality products, better performance and competitive price, Sineng Electric has achieved the recognition of capital market in the last successive years. Consequently, it has been listed as a public company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) in April, 2020. At present, the annual production capacity of China’s manufacturing base is 10GW and India’s manufacturing base is 3GW. To meet exponentially increased demands due to the vigorous development of the global PV market, we have increased the production capacity of China to 20GW in total with 10GW in Wuxi and 10GW in Ningxia. In the meantime, we will also increase the production capacity of India’s manufacturing base to 10 GW in Q4 of 2021, respectively. At the same time, Sineng Electric will continuously expand the international market and beef up its core business in the coming years. As a part of the expansion plan, the Spain branch for the European market and the Dubai branch for the MNEA market has started its full operation in May 2021 to better serve the customers in the respected areas in terms of spare parts and after-sales services along with collaboration, cooperation and communication etc.

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FEATUREDTALKS

Strolar has been a part of the largest installed carports and is a leading carport solution provider in India for frameless, framed or bifacial modules. Harshal Akhouri Co-Founder, Strolar Mounting Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Strolar is a premier mounting systems company, please give us a brief background of the company's evolution. Back in 2013, the mounting solutions deployed in India were expensive and catered to the expensive manpower of the international market. We knew we had to close this gap as India needed low cost solutions and being the 2nd largest population, manpower added to India’s strength. This is how Strolar was conceived. Our products were accepted by the industry and in no time Strolar grew from a 5 to 65 people company, focusing on intelligent tracking systems.

What are the types of rooftop mounting products that Strolar provides? Strolar provides solutions for all roof types, ranging from a tin shed to a tiled roof, from ballasted RCC to shingle roofs, from elevated residential canopies to customised roofings. Strolar has been India’s leader in rooftop for consecutive 3 years, with supplies of more than 1.1 GW in India and overseas.

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Please tell our readers about the carport solutions Strolar provides.

What have been some major projects executed by your esteemed company?

In 2015, Strolar set up their first carport for DMRC and hasn’t looked back ever since. Strolar has been a part of the largest installed carports and is a leading carport solution provider in India for frameless, framed or bifacial modules.

Strolar has been a forerunner with monumental achievements in projects we have executed. 2.5 MW on Railway Tracks for AMP Solar at KMRL 20 MW Carport for KEC at MSIL 75 MW Largest Bifacial Ground Mount Plant in India for Prozeal Infra 14.1 MW rooftop plant for AMP Solar at Volkswagen

How are your ground mount products unique and what are their key highlights? Ground Mounts are practically the same in India, Strolar has the market reputation of providing cost effective ground mounts utilising their in-house design team. With the advent of larger modules, we will soon be launching a new series of purlins that are universal for all modules without increasing the cost.

What have been some recent updates of your company that you would like to talk about? With the successful stints in Africa, the Middle East and ASEAN region, Strolar is focusing on expanding its services in the region including Europe. The product offering will be different from that of India and will be released in Q12022. India’s product range will also see a diversification, which we will be releasing in our upcoming newsletters.

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FEATUREDTALKS

In terms of finances, Sungrow is a listed company so everything is open. In India, we have a 10 GW manufacturing set up and we have the service team and operations set up. Everything is ready in India. Sunil Badesra COUNTRY HEAD-SUNGROW INDIA

How many Inverters have you supplied to India till now? In India, Sungrow has achieved 10 GW shipments up till now. We will continue to offer our world-class products and services, and accelerate the step to fulfill our mission of “Clean power for all” in the future.

Budget 2021 increased Import Duty as BCD on Inverters in India. Do you think the government will increase it more in the near future? If yes, do you plan to make it in India? The government has imposed a 22 percent duty on inverters. Many competitors have dropped the prices, and rather than focusing on local production, their focus is on price reduction. Sungrow already has manufacturing set up in India. With a unique perspective, our focus is on the manufacturing setup in India and therefore, we have expanded it from 3 GW to 10 GW annual production including PCB manufacturing line and testing facilities. Further, Sungrow is committed to improve the capacity required as per the market demand.

WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY LAUNCHING OUR NEW INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS, IN FUTURE ALSO, WE ARE READY FOR THE KIND OF REQUIREMENT THAT

What are the biggest challenges in India’s goal of 175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030? How much can we achieve by 2022, 2025 and 2030? In my opinion, India can achieve the target of 175 GW. The next target of 450 GW by the year 2030 is also achievable. The coming policies are supporting the mission, but the challenge is that the policies need to be planned in advance. Stable policies are required to take care of inverters, modules, or other suppliers whose components are used in solar projects. We want the government to address those challenges.

What are your views on Inverters- Make in India? Sungrow is always promoting “Make in India”, which is the best part where we talk about such a big GW capacity in India, which is not limited to modules but inverters, cable and the major components used in any solar project also part of it. SUNGROW has a 10 GW setup here in India.

What are the current opportunities and the biggest challenges in Indian Solar Market? A lot of big projects are coming in all segments like Utility, C&I, the MSME sector and other sectors like residential are also booming. C&I segment is playing a vital role in achieving the solar target. There is no limitation in residential. We have such a big population and potential in India for the residential segment. Currently, I think it is not going up to the mark, but I would say that it will grow a lot in the coming years. In India, we are full of potential which can be utilized in the solar segment. From a challenging perspective, especially, in the residential segment, the policies keep on changing. There are some challenges related to government policies, which is a major parameter not only for the investors and

manufacturers but for overall solar development growth like the Net metering policy. Such problems come up regularly until the policies are not aligned as per the market requirement.

What are the expectations from the Indian Government, Policy Makers and Regulators? As a manufacturer, we want the kind of PLI scheme, which has been given to the module manufacturer and missing for the inverter manufacturer. In my opinion, if such motivations also continue for inverter manufacturers, then it will help the solar and renewable market in India. Aside from this, the policies/guidelines that hamper the project timeline and other things should be avoided. As a supplier, we understand if a delay happens because of the pandemic, but like in the case of tariff revision, they are expecting revision in products and pricing as well, which negatively impacts the market. These kinds of things should not happen as it demotivates manufacturers and developers.

Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Inverters in India in various geographic locations and customer feedback? Seven years ago, we commissioned our first project with a string inverter, and it’s almost six and a half years since we first installed our central inverter. The same customer has given us multiple orders in the last six years, reflecting our product quality and service offerings. Sungrow has wide experience in India. In the Rajasthan area, string and central both are commissioned in hightemperature zones and operating perfectly fine. We have supplied our string and central inverters in other areas, like the ones near the sea, and performing well. So, we have products that can sustain all kinds of environments. So, the geographic location of the project is not a challenge for us. We have many performance appreciations letters from our customers in all the segments.

COMES."

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Please tell us in brief about your company. Sungrow India is a big team, and we are continuously growing. It is more than seven years in India, and we are going to be in this market for a long time. With the kind of products and solutions we offer to Indian customers, I am confident that Sungrow is going to remain in this market forever.

What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans, revenues, shipments etc.? In total, including India and oversees set up, Sungrow has 90 GW of annual production capacity Sungrow is ready for the fulfillment of future demand. We have storage solutions as well and a separate set-up for that. In terms of finances, Sungrow is a listed company so everything is open. In India, we have a 10 GW manufacturing set up and we have the service team and operations set up. Everything is ready in India.

Describe the various technologies and their suitable applications such as Central Inverter, String, Micro Inverter, 1500V inverter, Outdoor, Container solutions etc.? We have the products which suit the requirements of all the customers as per their project. We have string inverters, majorly used for the rooftop segment and utility-scale (provided the land is uneven). If it is a small project size, we always recommend from our side that string inverters are better. Whereas in case, customer has a big land, and the land is flat, it is always recommended from our side to use the central inverters.

IN INDIA, WE HAVE A 10 GW MANUFACTURING SET UP AND WE HAVE THE SERVICE TEAM AND OPERATIONS SET UP." Kindly comment on Energy Storage as a game-changer, its technology, cost trends etc. In energy storage, recently there were two tenders - one in Chhattisgarh and the other one is in Leh. We have proposed our solution to EPCs and the developer, who are bidding on this project. In past, the storage was not taken so seriously, and now it is considered seriously. Still, the storage solution is not getting viable. Customers are expecting better pricing, but we are also dependent on our vendors. So, battery pricing is going to take some more time. I think the EV and storage market is going to move together. Maybe after three or five years, we can expect to see some sharp price decrease in the battery pricing. After that, I would say that the energy storage market will pick up. Right now, projects are happening but not to that level. Energy storage has good potential, and Sungrow is also looking at it.

Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc. Sungrow is a global company and that’s our major strength. Our products have been accepted across the globe, reflecting the quality and different kinds of solutions the company provides. We keep on growing and launching new products as per customer requirements.

What are the trends in new manufacturing technology equipment, materials, processes, innovations etc.? Till now, majorly assembly was happening in the production in India. Sungrow is taking the next step now, even though we are setting up the assembly line manufacturing here. All the PCBs used inside the inverters are going to get locally manufactured. We are doing this because we have a long-term plan to stay in India. We want to make as much as we can make this product locally and support the ‘Make in India’ initiative. We are targeting to have at least 50% of local content, by this assembly line manufacturing under the latest technology, testing laboratories and other things in our factory. We are going to have a world-class testing facility in our factory.

What is your commitment to the solar sector in India? Our commitment to the solar industry is to provide a good quality product, good quality service. In the end, we want to contribute as much as we can. At least we are targeting to achieve 40 percent of what the government is targeting.

What are the expectations from Tech Suppliers like Modules, Inverters, BOS, Trackers etc? What is the tech solution you are thinking of deploying? Everything has to go together for any technology up-gradation. All these complement each other. Technology upgradation is happening in all the fields, and this market is going to innovate constantly. Otherwise, it is going to be tough for everyone. Aggressive bidding and other things will not be possible that easily.

On the technological front, 1500V inverters are already there in the market. Looking forward, we are expecting that this voltage is going to be higher. In terms of micro-inverter, it is a bit costlier. So as per the Indian market scenario, I would not recommend these kinds of inverters because we have seen many companies which keep on launching new products but later on when products need service, they are not able to provide them. So, I would say it is better to use new technology. The new technology keeps on coming in string and central inverter as well. We have all the products which are required by the Indian industry. We are continuously launching our new innovative products, in future also, we are ready for the kind of requirement that comes.

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FEATUREDTALKS

On the product front, we developed unique solutions integrating Storage, EV & Robotics that are bundled together to create value for our clients. Urvish Dave CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, URON ENERGY

Kindly tell our readers how the journey of Uron Energy began? The idea and concept for URON actually began in 2009 as a CleanTech Engineering & Project Management company with an objective to provide design & engineering services to developers giving optimum results by adopting state of the art technologies & building energy efficient facilities. We always believed in value creation to get maximum benefits of clean & green energy with negligible upfront costs. With our engagement & feedback that we received from our clients, even after stringent monitoring & quality checks, we always knew there exists a gap between what our client needs & what is delivered by the companies which executed the project. It was then in 2019, along with my co-founders Kush Choksi & Raj Patel, the journey for URON as a Cleantech Engineering & Management Company, with a major focus on handling turnkey executions for Solar PV Rooftop & Ground Mount projects for the Commercial & Industrial ( C&I ) sector. Our sincere work & passion to deliver committed results for our clients influenced & fuelled our growth which now spans around seven countries & we are already looking forward to explore emerging markets in the Asia Pacific. We are very excited as the company is in a fast growing stage & we are also expanding quite rapidly. We now also have set up our office in Toronto, Canada to oversee the US & Canadian markets. We have the right skills, Execution capabilities & Competence to grow in the challenging but very demanding markets with our unique value proposition.

Please tell us about your company’s offerings in the solar field. We are a technology focussed company & our major efforts are towards creating and adding more value to our customers. In the cluttered market segment of EPC players, URON energy stands out with its unique

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value proposition. We hate to call ourselves an EPC player as our major interest is not to just build a plant but create a project that leaves a lasting impression not just in terms of project quality but delivers the highest generating plants. We believe customers are always interested to adapt to new technologies & want to always have the best but somewhere between the price per kWp of the project & Wp capacities of modules, the plot is lost. URON believes if you are able to focus on the key factors like the Levelised Cost of Energy ( LCOE) & choosing the right products, with the best possible engineering optimizations specific to the site, area of installation & environment can yield the best of the best results. It is not surprising, we have plants that are generating the highest results as compared to anyone in the specific region.

What have been some key developments in your company this year? We are extremely proud to have a passionate team with rich experience, competence & capabilities. To further enhance our positioning, we are very happy to have added Mr. Rajesh Kulkarni, a senior industry veteran to look at our strategic Business Development in India, APAC & ME region. He brings with him 25 plus years of rich experience from the C&I sector in these regions especially on the sales, marketing & distribution activities for leading European companies. Known for his networking abilities & active engagements in URON has already started penetrating the promising markets with strategic tie ups & partnerships. We have already entered the Canadian Markets & are exploring consulting & EPC opportunities in Solar Rooftops & Storage in the C&I sector. On the product front, we developed unique solutions integrating Storage, EV & Robotics that are bundled together to create value for our clients.

What have been the major projects executed by your esteemed company? What projects are you looking forward to?

We have more than a 50MW++ project portfolio & we treat every project as unique in terms of technology adoption. We executed one of the projects in Kutch for the world’s largest clock manufacturer & the project has been one of the most talked-about projects on many professional platforms. This 1MW project is tagged as the highest generating plant in India & has also been covered by you at SolarQuarter. The generation figures of this ground, mount plant with mono perc half cut modules are higher than any other plant in the near vicinity and across India & can be compared to a project with Bifacial modules. We are very technology agnostic & are always at the forefront when it comes to adopting new technologies. Going forward, you will witness in the next couple of months, URON energy has on its name some of the “First” in the new technology installations & would be a great reference point for our industry peers. To mention a few projects, Currently, URON is executing One of India’s to be Largest rooftop Bifacial Solar projects, An extremely unique BIPV project as a part of green building, One of its kind of bifacial rooftop project for India’s leading snack-food manufacturers & distributors with finest state of art automation and artificial intelligence

Any plans on expanding your services to regions within/outside India? Yes very much. The key driver to put our foot outside India is due to our customers who have footholds in the International Markets & who are seeking our support in going carbon neutral & fulfilling their sustainability goals. We mentioned earlier, we have already started our operations in Canada, USA & are focussing on the new and emerging markets in the Asia Pacific, ME & African Region. We are building strategic business in these regions & are open to partnerships & opportunities in consulting & turnkey EPC services.

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FEATUREDTALKS

The strategy from the government looks promising with an intent to develop Renewable energy on a massive scale over the next 10-15 years. Pradeep Kumar DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS FOR INDIA AND SRI LANKA, LONGI SOLAR Please tell us about your journey with LONGi? How has it been so far?

What differentiates the Indian PV module market from the International market?

We all know that the industry is going through a lot of uncertainties over the past couple of years. Building the business base for Longi in India, and building a reliable team to do business has been very much challenging under such circumstances. LONGi is indeed the largest solar company in the world with module capacity exceeding 50 GW per annum, and also the largest wafer manufacturer in the world with capacities exceeding 100GW per annum. While the Covid-19 crisis is the biggest shock to the global energy system in over past 70 years, solar power represents the most stable option in the marketplace. Under such a scenario, the journey has been very much exciting and I hope it will be much more challenging and promising in days to come.

Indian PV module market is a very conservative market compared to international markets. Though technology advancement plays a vital role in the generation, at what cost they are affordable to their project tariffs will play a major role. Under the National Solar Mission, India has done a phenomenal job in terms of its transition to Renewable energy. We have always been one of the top countries in the world when it comes to adding renewable capacity. The major reason is, we have been implementing a proactive approach towards the acceptance of new technologies and working closely with all reliable and bankable partners – thus making the projects very competitive and reliable for the long term. The strategy from the government looks promising with an intent to develop Renewable energy on a massive scale over the next 10-15 years. So is the strategy from investors and project developers, who continues to do GW-level projects despite facing a lot of challenges in the industry over the past couple of years. India is indeed a very promising market for us.

What have been the major business developments for LONGi in the current year? Till the end of 2019, Longi Indian business was at a very small scale. We started with the small and contented team by end of 2019 with a focused approach to the Indian market. We could do around 1.5GW supplies to India in 2020 with our initial efforts. Now we are about 60 members dedicated to Indian business, with a mix of Indian and Chinese employees, including all sales and non-sales functions. This team takes care of the entire business with a completely decentralized approach in terms of decisionmaking. We have built a strong base and strong relationship with customers which we will continue in years to come, and strive to maintain the market leadership in terms of shipments every year and also to be the first in introducing advanced reliable and sustainable technology in the PV module industry. This calendar year (2021), we have done around 3.8GW of shipments to India already despite facing several challenges in the industry, and hope to end with 4+GW supplies by December. We hope to do much more in years to come.

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IN 2021, WE COULD SEE THAT THE INDIAN MARKET IS SHIFTING TOWARDS BIFACIAL TECHNOLOGY."

What have been some product and technological innovations at LONGi that you would like to highlight? In terms of technology innovations, LONGi's technological innovation will quickly be transformed to mass production and be promoted and applied on the consumer side, promoting the continuous reduction of the cost of PV power. From the monocrystalline technology, PERC cell, Bifacial PERC, Halfcut, M6 standard wafer and M10 ultimate size, we all did a great contribution to the PV industry by improving the quality and reliability of solar PV systems. For example, Diamond-wire slicing was introduced into mass production to the PV industry by LONGi, which saved almost 4 billion dollars every year in the PV industry. It can increase production capacity significantly and also reduce the wafer manufacturing cost. Also, LONGi’s bifacial module has been well accepted by global customers. Until now, over 20GW bifacial modules have been shipped to global customers. Bifacial modules account for 30-40% of the global market share now. The bifacial module can utilize the backside light and generate more power and the double glass structure is more reliable, thus can deliver more value to our customers. We can see this year more and more Indian customers begin to choose bifacial modules. Another key innovation is LONGi’s Hi-MO 5 based on M10(182mm) wafer, which also got the 2021 Intersolar award. It is also powerful evidence of technology innovation. Hi-MO5 adopts unique smart soldering technology, which can increase module efficiency by 0.3% and also reduce the stress applied on the cells resulting in better reliability. Over the past few years, we have seen a rapid advancement in technology. I think this trend will continue for the next few years and as the technology improves we will see higher reliability and efficiency. We are constantly working on new technologies such as P and N-type, mono HIT, BIPV solutions etc – we believe our job is to bring the best product which can be produced on a large scale to satisfy our customer’s needs.

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What is LONGi's India growth strategy for 2022? What is going to be the main focus of development?

ANOTHER KEY

The country is already working on the initial target of having 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 which includes 100 GW of solar. Furthermore, the targets for 2030 looks very promising and encouraging for any solution provider. From a technology provider’s perspective, this number is clearly a piece of music to our ears and we strongly believe India has the potential to achieve its plans. We think technology will play a key role in bringing renewable energy cost further down to make it more lucrative. Solar is now a tested and reliable source of power. We will continue to build our base, enrich our relationships by providing the most reliable and efficient solutions to all our customers in India. In 2020, the Indian solar industry saw a major transition from poly to Mono. In 2021, we could see that the Indian market is shifting towards bifacial technology. 2022 – we will roll out our new products with new technology, which will make solar more affordable and reliable.

WHICH ALSO GOT THE

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INNOVATION IS LONGI’S HI-MO 5 BASED ON M10(182MM) WAFER, 2021 INTERSOLAR AWARD."

How do you see the Indian module industry evolving in the coming years? We at Longi very much welcome the PM’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and understand that this concept is of strategic importance for India to manufacture locally with an ultimate aim to achieve energy independence. However, it will require a lot of creative thinking and hard work. The solar industry has a lot of overcapacities globally, but India being a large market on its own, does give us an advantage as of now. In terms of opportunities and challenges – We have recently heard a lot of announcements of new capacity addition in cells and modules including the manufacturing tender. We as a country must focus on not just assembling cells into modules but to bring the entire

supply chain into India. For Longi, being the biggest company globally in this field in monocrystalline technology, India has always been tempting for us to set up a shop and we are currently engaging with local partners to see if something can be worked out. If policies look favorable and stable for the long run, we are also on our toes to put up a manufacturing base in India. We are definitely here for the long run. However I would like to end my statement with caution by saying that: Developing the entire supply chain is not easy it will take a lot of time, investment and hard work. We are on the right track and the Indian module industry would be achieving new heights in years to come with the government rolling out more favorable policies for local manufacturing.

IN TERMS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES – WE HAVE RECENTLY HEARD A LOT OF ANNOUNCEMENTS OF NEW CAPACITY ADDITION IN CELLS AND MODULES INCLUDING THE MANUFACTURING TENDER."

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INSIGHT

HOW DOES SOUTHERN INDIA FACILITATE INCREMENTAL

SOLAR ROOFTOP DEVELOPMENT?

Renewable energy is being adopted at a rapid rate over the world these days. India is also establishing itself as a major source of renewable energy on a worldwide scale. The government has set a goal of achieving 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the end of 2022 as part of its attempts to get closer to sustainable development. Solar installations are expected to reach 100 GW of this total. India has achieved a renewable energy installed capacity of 100 GW, but large-scale wind and solar power plants account for the vast majority of this — roughly 78 percent. This is when scientists and environmentalists have frequently promoted rooftop solar as a viable alternative to large-scale renewable energy projects, which have a number of environmental and social drawbacks. 5.1 GW of rooftop solar has been installed in the country so far (through July 2021).

Wind energy has the greatest installed capacity of grid-connected renewable power (10,562.39 MW) on March 31, 2017, followed by Maharashtra (7,647.60 MW). In Tamil Nadu, a 1-MW panel produces 1.5 MU per year on average, according to a 2014 book by S. Gandhi, former head of the EEA – (Electrical Engineers' Association) of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. This conversion takes into account a number of parameters, including the fact that electricity generation occurs exclusively during the day and that production efficiency changes by season. According to the book, Tamil Nadu requires 3,333 MW of installed capacity to create 4,999 MU. Nuclear power has been promoted by the Indian government and different state governments as a safe, sustainable, and preferred alternative to coal power.

India and Russia declared in September that they would work together to build 20 nuclear power plants in India over the next two decades. Nuclear energy, according to India's nuclear establishment, can only be beneficial to the country's economic development and prosperity. Nuclear power isn't the only kind of energy that can claim this. Tamil Nadu has two nuclear power plants: Kalpakkam and Kudankulam. The Kalpakkam complex includes four operational units and was completed in 1986. Two of them have a capacity of 235 MW while the other two have a capacity of 600 MW. In 2017-2018, the facility generated 1,194 MU in gross revenue (at 64 percent availability; in 2015-2016, with an availability of 97 percent, it generated 1,861 MU). The Kudankulam nuclear power facility is India's largest nuclear power plant.

While nuclear power plants emit very little carbon dioxide and have historically caused the fewest deaths, these benefits are significantly outweighed by the cost of disposing of radioactive waste and an opaque administrative structure in India that has frequently disadvantaged marginalized communities living near power generation complexes. Solar panels, on the other hand, reduce the productivity of the land on which they are installed, and the batteries used to store power include harmful elements whose extraction and manufacturing have hurt people in other, generally poorer, nations. In the current case, however, both difficulties are swiftly remedied. The issue of land productivity is irrelevant because the panels will be put on rooftops. Second, the Tamil Nadu government said in February 2019 that it now has the technology to support gridconnected solar panels on a significant scale in its solar energy program. This means that even small-scale solar panels can be connected to the grid, removing the requirement for power storage batteries.

It has two working units with a total capacity of 932 MW (net). It generated 2,797 MU in 2018-2019, with a 33 percent availability. The electricity provided by these plants does not only benefit Tamil Nadu. It took 100,319 MUs in 2016. It received 99,691 MU from a variety of sources, including state, central, and private funds, as well as renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Nuclear reactors provided 4,999 MU of this total. It turns out that 4,999 MU can be generated entirely from solar panels on the roof.

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Conclusion The state government's policy states that by 2023, it hopes to have a solar power generation capacity of 9,000 MW installed. The Tamil Nadu government now mandates that every new building constructed in the state include a rainwater harvesting system. If lawmakers impose a comparable requirement for solar panels, at least for apartment complexes and non-residential buildings, Tamil Nadu might soon be energy selfsufficient, if not generating a surplus to sell to its neighbors.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 38

INSIGHT WHAT MAKES SOUTH INDIA THE

MAJOR THRIVING SOLAR UTILITY REGION?

Solar power generation in India has a promising future, and the National Solar Mission is responsible for a large part of that accomplishment. The mission's ambitious goal is to have the country producing 100GW of solar energy by 2022, while the government now says that this may be accomplished by 2020. As a result, there have been a growing number of large-scale corporate expansions and agreements among the country's leading participants in the solar energy sector. Several large-scale solar deals have recently been announced in various sections of the country, with the government playing an important role. In this regard, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka have been particularly active. Starting with Andhra Pradesh, the most significant recent development has been the signing of a MOU - memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Power and the state government for the construction of three major solar projects in the state, with a combined capacity of 2500MW. The NTPC - National Thermal Power Corporation will be in charge of the projects. A 1000MW solar power plant will be built at Kadiri, Anantapur district, with a Rs 70 billion investment and 2.25 square meters of land allotted to NTPC. NVVNL Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited will build a 1000MW project on 2.03 sqm in Panyam, Kurnool district. A 500MW solar facility will also be built on 12.14 sq km of land in Galiveedu, Kadapa district, in addition to these two. According to reports, a 4000MW solar facility is set to be built in Visakhapatnam.

gradually becoming interested in Kerala and Tamil Nadu's solar energy opportunities. When one considers the recent boom in solar projects in the southern United States, one begins to question what is driving it. Bikesh Ogra, chief of the solar division, Sterling & Wilson Ltd, goes back to the beginnings of the Indian solar sector while discussing the causes for the recent surge in activity in this area. According to him, the northern states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, as well as Gujarat in the west, were the first to attract solar enterprises' interest, owing to the high levels of irradiation in these areas. To counteract the early concentration on the north and west, and to achieve greater demand-supply balance, India's south is now receiving all of the attention. He also emphasizes Karnataka's solar policy's clarity, which has attracted investors. Another key factor is the lack of power in Telangana and parts of Tamil Nadu. They've been relying on wind energy as a backup power source, but it's only available at certain times of the year. Strong winds can create power for only four months of the year, but there is a deficiency the rest of the year. As a result, solar power has been given a high priority in order to achieve an appropriate blend and assure power distribution equilibrium." The solar sector currently considers Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh to be the most investment-friendly states. Aside from the different factors cited by industry experts, the abundance of land could also be a big factor.

Surprisingly, government and public sector organizations such as NTPC have been involved in solar transactions. In recent years, some private businesses have entered the Andhra Pradesh market. Welspun Renewables and Acme Cleantech Solutions Ltd are two of the most famous examples of this. With a total expenditure of Rs 12.5 billion, the former will construct solar facilities with a combined capacity of 160MW in the Chittoor and Anantapur, Kurnool districts. With a Rs 7 billion investment, Welspun Renewables would build a 1001MW solar photovoltaic facility in Andhra Pradesh.

There is a clear demand for the proper scale and type of land in order to produce cleaner and greener solar energy. Thanks to the Western Ghats, these southern states feature enormous swaths of green land and a relatively fresh environment. However, these areas are prone to a substantial quantity of rainfall, which can act as a big deterrent to solar power generation at times. Surprisingly, the amount of rain that this region receives hasn't changed significantly in recent years.

Karnataka is indeed not far behind in the solar race, with several large transactions involving global investors signed in the state. The largest of them all was a memorandum of understanding inked by SunEdison and the state government to build solar power facilities with a total capacity of 5GW. Telangana is another southern state undergoing a solar energy transformation. This is evidenced by Tata Solar's recent announcement that it plans to build a 100MW solar power facility in the state. Solar firms are

The return on investment is the ultimate consideration in deciding whether or not to build solar plants in a given area (ROI). According to those in the industry, the returns in the southern states range between 15% and 18%. As a result, the solar energy movement in south India is being driven by a number of causes. When these projects are commissioned, it will be interesting to see how productive and profitable they are.

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Conclusion

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 39

INSIGHT

SOUTHERN STATES DOMINATE IN SOLAR INSTALLATION WESTERN STATES ARE CATCHING UP FAST

AUTHOR: SUDHIR KUMAR DIRECTOR, CARE RATINGS

solar energy is gradually blossoming with relatively better prospects. From an investor standpoint, the solar energy sector has displayed reasonable ease of implementation and a relatively more stable operational profile as compared to other renewable segments. As per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the total installed renewable energy capacity in India was at 101.5 GW as on September 30, 2021. Solar and wind capacity accounted for 45.5% and 39.2% of the total share, respectively. Since March 31, 2017, India has added solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity of at least 5.5 GW each year, which is impressive.

Introduction

Current status of solar capacities

Recently, during the COP26 summit held at Glasgow, India has laid out the targets for non-fossil fuel capacity addition to 500 GW and 50% of the country’s energy requirements to be met using renewable energy sources by 2030. India has also stated the intent of attaining net zero carbon emission by 2070. While the specifics are yet to be received, the renewable sector is expected to get enhanced focus by Government of India on account of these positive announcements. Within renewables,

Within the overall solar capacity additions, the southern region led by states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have displayed strong capacity additions. The installed capacity in southern region, which was only 5.96 GW as on March 31, 2017, increased to 20.87 GW as on September 30, 2021. Share of capacity in the southern region as compared to all-India installed solar capacity, though moderated from high fifties in the past to 45% as on September 30, 2021, continues to be dominant.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 40

Western region led by Rajasthan is catching up The pace of capacity addition in the southern region has gradually declined over the years with the western region catching up. For example, in FY18, out of the 9.36 GW of solar capacity added in India, 69% of the capacity was added in southern India, whereas 22% was added in western India. However, during the last 18 months ended September 30, 2021, 11.65 GW of the capacity was added in India, of which only 20% was added in the southern region, with 61% capacity being added in the western region.

Source: MNRE, CARE Analysis

Source: MNRE, CARE Analysis The major reason for this transition towards western states, particularly Rajasthan, is the waiver of Interstate State Transmission System (ISTS) charges and losses. Ministry of Power, initially in September 2016, notified that no ISTS charges and losses would be levied on transmission of the electricity through the ISTS for sale by renewable projects commissioned by specific dates. Such waiver was applicable for 25 years from the date of commercial operations and was available to projects awarded through competitive bidding. The waiver was subsequently extended and is now available for projects commissioned up to June 30, 2025. The ISTS charges waiver has ensured that power plants are set up at the places with best renewable resources leading to cost-efficient generation. Other reason for decline in capacity additions in the southern region is the tariff dispute in Andhra Pradesh as well as delay in payment by Telangana and Tamil Nadu Discoms, which has badly affected the investors’ sentiment affecting solar installation during the last couple of years in the southern region.

Supportive policy environment

Overall, while western states are closing the gap in terms of solar installations, southern states could still be in reckoning given their strong industrial base leading to good demand from commercial and industrial (C&I) customers and reasonable irradiation levels. Also, resolution of the tariff renegotiation matter without much delay in favour of developers coupled with payment of their past dues in a timebound manner shall also augur well for solar installations in southern states.

As evident from the chart, the southern states clearly have highest share in cumulative installed solar capacity among all the regions in the country. The healthy capacity addition in these states is attributed to a couple of reasons, among which conducive state renewable polices and investorfriendly environment have largely driven the growth. Most of the states in the region came out with their solar policies between 2014 and 2019, which backed by state electricity regulatory commissions (SERC) focus on renewable energy procurement by the distribution companies (Discoms) led to healthy capacity additions. Among the other reasons for higher-than-national average capacity addition by the southern region was the level of solar irradiation which has been assessed to be comfortable especially in Karnataka. Secondly, the developers have faced lesser challenges in land acquisition for setting up the projects, which otherwise is an issue with agrarian states like Punjab and Haryana.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 41

INSIGHT

HOW RELIANCE CAN PLAY THE LEAD ROLE IN

INDIA’S CLEAN ENERGY STORY

Reliance’s ambition will bring a critical mass of investment into the clean energy space

AUTHOR: KASHISH SHAH ENERGY FINANCE ANALYST, INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (IEEFA) India, with more than 100 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy on its grid, is now commencing what some energy industry experts are referring to as chapter 3 of its clean energy story. The first chapter began back in 2010 when the government set a 20GW solar capacity target by 2020 under the National Solar Mission. Five years later in Paris at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP21, India agreed to build significant renewable energy capacity to have 40% of electricity on the grid coming from renewable sources by 2030 and to reduce its carbon emissions intensity by 33-35% compared to 2005

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levels. From 2016, in chapter 2 of the story, India’s power sector saw incredible deflation in solar and wind energy tariffs – an ongoing trend that is being driven by state-backed, competitive renewable energy auctions. The solar and wind tariffs in India are now 30-40% cheaper than the average coal-fired power tariff of Rs4/kWh (US$54/MWh). In IEEFA’s view, this next chapter of India’s clean energy story will be the most critical one. The challenge will be to step up the rate of activity threefold so as to accelerate the decarbonization of the most energyintensive components of the economy – the electricity, transport, and industrial sectors. Electrifying everything will massively enhance India’s energy security. It is clear that ultra-low-cost solar and wind will fuel this transition. Deploying 500GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 is only a part of the challenge and achieving that target still doesn’t entirely solve India’s energy security and reliability problems. India relies heavily on imports of solar modules, wafers, and cells, which impacts trade and current account balances.

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Reliance’s grand plans To be ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) for its energy needs, India requires a significant localization of the clean energy value chain. And it appears that one of the country’s largest industrial conglomerates, the Reliance Group, plans to do exactly that with its belated but grand entry into India’s clean energy scene. After disrupting the telecoms market, Reliance now aims to propel India’s renewable energy targets by enabling 100GW of clean energy capacity by the end of this decade. In addition to its 2030 renewables target, Reliance aims to enter into battery manufacturing and green hydrogen production to play a key role in India’s energy transition. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, recently unveiled a plan to develop four gigafactories on 5,000 acres of land in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as part of an investment outlay of Rs75,000 crore (US$10bn) by 2024. If commissioned as per the stated plan, this would be one of the largest clean energy hubs in the world. The plan includes an integrated solar photovoltaic module factory, an advanced energy storage battery factory, an electrolyzer factory for the production of green hydrogen, and a fuel cell factory for converting hydrogen into motive and stationary power. The group entered the market by investing in several foreign leading-edge technology entities in recent months. Reliance is closing in on three big acquisitions to build its portfolio across the solar energy value chain to include polysilicon, wafer, cell, module manufacturing, and engineering procurement & construction (EPC) capabilities. Reliance has acquired REC Group of Norway for US$771 million. REC is a long-established solar module manufacturer with two facilities in Norway for making solar-grade polysilicon and one in Singapore which makes PV cells and modules. Reliance has further invested US$29 million in German solar wafer manufacturer NexWafe GmbH and is entering a strategic partnership to commercialize NexWafe’s product in India. Reliance is also in the process of buying a 40% stake in India’s leading solar EPC and operations & maintenance (O&M) company, Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd (SWSL). The solar industry, which is heavily dependent on imported Chinese equipment, has support for domestic manufacturing from the Government of India’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. In the

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Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency’s (IREDA) recent tender for 10GW of integrated module manufacturing capacity, worth Rs4,500 crore PLI, Reliance bid for 4GW of polysilicon to modules integrated manufacturing capacity. Reliance aspires to replicate its drive for dominance in solar manufacturing in two other important clean energy technologies – battery storage and green hydrogen. Reliance has partnered with the Bill Gates-owned investment management firm Paulson & Co to invest a total of US$142 million into US-based battery development company Ambri Inc. which is exploring alternatives to Li-ion for a longer duration (4-24 hours) battery storage systems. Reliance has acquired 42.3 million shares for US$50 million. Currently, grid-scale battery storage systems globally are only capable of providing a storage capacity of up to 4 hours. Investing in the proliferation of longer-duration battery storage systems looks to be a part of Reliance’s long-term strategy to dominate the clean energy industry in India.

Growing a green hydrogen industry Aligning with India’s ambition to become a hub for the production of green hydrogen, Reliance has moved into space by partnering with Henrik Stiesdal to develop and manufacture hydrogen electrolyzers. Stiesdal is a world-leading clean power technology innovator in wind, long-duration storage, and fuel cells technologies and Reliance will look to scale up Stiesdal’s commercially proven technologies in India. The production cost of green hydrogen currently ranges between US$2.5/kg for fossil hydrogen and US$7/kg for green hydrogen. The electrolyzer cost is roughly US$850/MW. This should drop significantly to US$200/MW to bring green hydrogen production costs down to US$1.5/KgH2 to be competitive with fossil hydrogen produced from methane gas reformation. Reliance has announced a seriously ambitious objective to bring the green hydrogen production cost even lower to US$1/kg within a decade to make India a hub for green hydrogen production. Reliance has a track record of disrupting the market by bringing down prices and has set objectives to do the same in the clean energy industry. The group is acquiring world-class technology and will look to scale it up in the Indian market which right now relies heavily on cheaper Chinese imports. Over the last 3-4 years, India’s clean energy sector has not been able to achieve consistent momentum – that could be about to change as Reliance’s ambition brings a critical mass of investment.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 45

INSIGHT

WHAT ADVANCEMENTS HAVE WE WITNESSED IN THE

SOLAR + STORAGE SPACE IN 2021?

AUTHOR: MUKUL OJHA COO, SUNDISCON

The year 2021 has seen major economies and corporates taking a pledge to drive towards achieving net-zero emissions This along with ambitions for energy independence are going to drive large-scale adoption of renewable energy to replace the coal and oil used in energy production. This largescale adoption of renewable energy creates the challenge of intermittent energy availability. Large-scale energy storage will have to be deployed in concurrence with the renewable capacity addition to provide round-theclock power. The year 2021 has been an interesting year for solar + storage solutions with a variety of technologies competing to gain mind, investment and market share. Solutions are being developed to solve intermittency challenge at three levels. Storage for peak demand hours: This problem is primarily addressed by Li-Ion batteries today. CATL announced launch of a new Sodium Ion battery to take on the Li-Ion technology, driven by the expectation of lower price given the wider availability of Sodium. The year also saw the launch of hydrogen-based storage solutions for residential applications. While hydrogen solutions are expensive today, the energy density offered by them holds promise for a 100% decentralized renewable energy home in the future. 2. Storage for 24 hours renewable grid: The high cost of storage and low cycle efficiencies have been a deterrent in mass adoption of gridscale storage technologies. There are multiple technologies

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trying to address this problem such as pumped-hydro storage, compressed air storage, liquified air storage and alternate low-cost battery solutions. 2021 saw investment of $144 million for development of molten calcium battery technology from Ambri to provide an alternative to Li-ion batteries. The key question driving grid-scale storage problem today is the tradeoff between environmental impact, capital-expenditure and round-trip efficiency offered by different technologies. 1. Pumped Hydro is the most economically effective solution available today, especially in developing countries. However, the environmental impact and limited capacity of potential sites mandates the need to develop other grid-scale storage technologies. 2. Li-Ion batteries offer high round trip efficiency but involve steep capital expenditure and limited productive life. 3. Compressed air and similar technologies can potentially provide environmentally safe, low capex solutions but provide low round trip efficiency. Storage for deep decarbonization and inter-day energy storage: The energy crisis in February 2021 in Texas raised the question of renewable energy feasibility during long periods of snow storms. Multi-day storage is an area of active research that requires very lowcost storage solutions that will be used only a few times in a year. Form energy announced a $20/KWh Iron-air battery and raised $ 240 Million to solve this problem to drive deep decarbonization and expedite the transition to 100% renewable grids. We will be actively watching the development of new technologies in this space that can help countries around the world to meet their carbon emission reduction goals and eventually drive the world towards a net zero economy.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 46

FEATUREDINSIGHT

ROYALTY MEETS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WITH GOODWE AT THE OBEROI VANYAVILAS WILDLIFE RESORT

THE PERFECT FUSION OF HUMAN AND NATURE

Background: Rajasthan in India is among the top locations for estimated solar energy potential in the country. The geographical conditions of the state are favorable for solar power generation. Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan is home to Ranthambhore Fort: a vast UNESCO World Heritage Site that overlooks the park and dates back one thousand years. The National Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957 and in 1974 it gained the protection of the Government of India’s Project Tiger conservation program. Since then, the number of resident tigers has been increasing because of dedicated conservation efforts in the area. The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort is the best 5-star hotel in Ranthambore and offers luxury tented accommodation inspired by the opulent caravans of the royal families. Set in 20 acres of landscaped gardens, lakes and fountains, the resort borders on the Ranthambore

GOODWE’S MT SERIES OF INVERTERS IS THE IDEAL CHOICE FOR LARGE-SCALE COMMERCIAL ROOFS AND FARM PLANTS." | INDIA

National Park & Tiger Reserve. A fine restaurant serving authentic Rajasthani and international cuisine. All accompanied by the hospitality that is genuine and sincere. The luxury hotel offers guests an unforgettable experience of staying in camps that are designed tastefully. The hotel has won many prestigious awards for its services. Capitalizing on the advantages of abundant sunlight in the area, the Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort has chosen to adopt clean and green energy. It also drew inspiration from the National Park that conserves the Tigers and helps to maintain an environmental and ecological balance.

Challenges: The Resort is a Royalty Place and installing a solar power plant was a challenge because altering the beauty and aesthetics of the place was not permitted. The entire team ad to be careful not to distort the property’s architecture while commissioning the project. The resort is surrounded by an open zoo and wild animals are free to roam on the premise so it is impossible to move around without the presence of security guards. The absence of any other mode of transport inside the area also made it difficult for team members to commute from one point to another.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 47

Solutions: The team overcame all these challenges and successfully installed a 400kw Solar Plant in the resort with the support of Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd. 8 GoodWe inverters of different capacities (1 GW60K-MT, 4 GW50K-MT, 1 GW25K-MT & 2 GW15KT-DT) power this Plant now! GoodWe’s MT series of inverters is the ideal choice for large-scale commercial roofs and farm plants. It boosts your power output up to an extra 115% to achieve a higher yield and quicker return on investment, improve your energy harvest with four MPPT trackers to minimize output losses caused by partial shading and other mismatch effects. The MT series is equipped with an IP66 enclosure, which means that the inverter can prevent dust from entering and heavy storms caused by natural weather. The C5 corrosion class perfectly protects the inverter from animal damage, chemical gases and adverse atmospheric conditions. The heat dissipation performance of the GoodWe MT series is guaranteed by the excellent air channel design, smart cooling system control and deployment of high-quality components. The inverter can operate in normal status and ensure generation for customers even on a hot summer day of tropical areas.

Total Capacity: 400KW Inverter Models and Quantity: GW60K-MT*1, GW50K-MT*4, GW25KMT*1, GW15KT-KT*2.

Commissioning Date: July-2021 Detailed Location: Ranthambore, Rajasthan, India Buyer (EPC/Developer) Info: Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd. Panel Supplier: JA Solar-445Wp

GoodWe is a world-leading PV inverter and energy storage solutions manufacturer and is listed as a public limited company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 688390). With an accumulative delivery of more than two million inverters and installation of 23GW in more than 100 countries and regions, GoodWe was ranked as the Global No.1 storage inverter by Wood Mackenzie in 2020. GoodWe has also ranked as one of the Top 10 inverter suppliers by IHS Markit and has achieved six consecutive TÜV Rheinland “All Quality Matters” Awards. The great reputation of the MT-Series is spreading across continents and the pace of our global deployments is expanding rapidly.

SINCE THEN, THE NUMBER OF RESIDENT TIGERS HAS BEEN INCREASING BECAUSE OF DEDICATED CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN THE AREA." sales@goodwe.com | service@goodwe.com www.goodwe.com

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 48

FEATUREDINSIGHT

GOODWE POWERS COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LTD (CIAL) OF INDIA 10 MW SOLAR PROJECTS INSTALLED IN INDIA’S FOURTH LARGEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Background: CIAL is the fourth largest international airport in the country in terms of international passengers. The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has taken the lead in utilising renewable energy in the aviation sector by becoming the first fully solarpowered airport in the country. It is the first greenfield airport in the country built with a public-private partnership. Planned and constructed from scratch, the airport has been acclaimed for setting a novel idea in infrastructure development. According to the CIAL authorities, the airport had last year opened a stateof-the-art new international terminal for passengers and the renovation of the old domestic terminal will serve new commercial purpose.

IT IS THE FIRST GREENFIELD AIRPORT IN THE COUNTRY BUILT WITH A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP." | INDIA

Project Name: Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) INFRA Total Capacity: 10 MW Inverter: GW60KN-MT, MT-G2 *137 units Buyer (EPC/Developer) Info: Sterling & Wilson Solar Limited. Panel: Trina-325Wp (Ground Mounted-7.2MWp) & 330Wp (Car Parking-2.6MWp)

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The airport will require more solar power to make new extensions and other infrastructure facilities functional. Sterling and Wilson have set up a 7.5-MW ground-mounted plant for airport facilities and a 2.4-MW rooftop carport array. The new 2.4-MW rooftop carport array is located in front of the domestic terminal. The airport company has already developed a solar car park with solar panels fitted on the rooftop of the car bay in front of the international terminal which has an installed capacity of 2.5 MW.

Challenge: The Kerela Government also has very strict guidelines regarding the ‘Grid Harmonics System’. For every installation, verifications are required to ensure harmonics are within the specified limit for grid tied systems. The security systems and processes are very strict in the airport premises so installation time was also extended. The team also had to face climatic challenges during the commissioning of the project such as rain and lightning.

Solution: In spite of these challenges, GoodWe has successfully installed a total capacity of 10MWp with a total number of 137 GW60KN-MT, MT-G2 inverters. Built to achieve maximum efficiency, GoodWe MT series inverters boast maximum efficiency of 99%, aimed at maximising long-term returns and profitability using advanced topology and innovative control technology. This project has generated 28628.33 MWh of clean energy till July 2021, further contributing to CIALs efforts to sustain the power-positive status of the airport.

Innovation- Floating Project: India subsidiary Ciel Et Terre Solar Pvt Ltd. (CTSP) has installed its first floating solar project of 450kW at Cochin Airport’s CIAL golf course, Mercom India reported. This is the first installed Hydrelio floating photovoltaic project in the country. According to a company statement, installing the initial 100 kW demonstration project to a delegation visiting the airport for International Solar Alliance, took less than two weeks. CIAL successfully executed the idea of Total Sustainability Management (TSM) in its golf course where treated water from the sewage treatment plant of the airport is used for water harvesting with the help of 12 artificial lakes. The water from these lakes is used for irrigating the lawns of the golf course and now, with the installation of the floating power plants, it has leaped one more step forward in TS

BUILT TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY, GOODWE MT SERIES INVERTERS BOAST MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY OF 99%, AIMED AT MAXIMISING LONGTERM RETURNS AND PROFITABILITY USING ADVANCED TOPOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY."

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 50

PERSPECTIVE

HOW HIGH POWER MODULES HAVE CHANGED THE DYNAMICS OF THE INDIAN SOLAR INDUSTRY IN 2021? WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2022?

CHRIS LIU TECHNICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR FOR APAC, LONGI SOLAR

Since 2018, large format modules of various designs have emerged on the market. LONGi firstly launched its HiMO4 series PERC module with M6 166mm size wafer. And in the next two years, it dominated the PV market with over 20GW shipment globally, and only in India, Longi supplied over 1.5GW of modules in 2020. In following HiMO5 series with M10 182mm brought another innovation. Since the joint launch of the M10-type wafer standard by JA Solar, Jinko Solar, and Longi Solar, the wafer size has been gaining widespread recognition and acceptance in the PV industry. LONGi’s modules using 182mm wafers have been widely accepted by partners and customers in India for their added value during transportation as well as better compatibility and convenience for system design and execution. The modules are also well regarded for high performance and reliability. This year, three companies released a joint statement to announce they have reached a consensus on the standardization of PV modules produced with 182mm (M10) wafers, aiming at standardizing component specifications to reduce manufacturing costs and simplify design and installation in the downstream business.

LONGi always believes that high performance and reliability are key requirements of our customers. So what’s next for the innovation race? What can help customers achieve lower BOS costs and lower LCOE? So in 2022, we can expect two major trends in this industry. The first one is product reliability. Any product without compromising reliability and long-term cost savings and benefits can never win the market. So during SNEC 2021, LONGi demonstrated its technology, management, and customer values to be above and beyond basic industry benchmarks and launched LONGi Lifecycle Quality, the first such standard for the solar PV industry, aiming to provide global customers with access to

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the highest levels of quality and reliability throughout the lifecycle of the company's product portfolio. From module design, through mass production to post-sales support, LONGi adheres to its core concept of 'Customer Value First' and ensures that quality practices are incorporated at every stage of production and application. In the R&D phase, Longi carries out product development under the six ‘pillars’ of high optical utilization, reasonable electrical design, high encapsulation density, low degradation, stable supply chain guarantee, and transportation compatibility. By adopting differentiated test methods under different application scenarios and extreme climatic conditions during module design, it is possible to effectively monitor both products and materials to ensure their suitability and reliability in challenging environments. In terms of management standards, LONGi applies the most stringent criteria to BOM, reliability monitoring, and the material introduction process. For raw materials such as glass, EVA, back sheets, etc., only those suppliers meeting the LONGi BOM standards can be considered. Only those that pass this rigorous testing process can be introduced into mass production. At the mass production level, Quality control systems, including ISO9001, ISO45001, ISO14000, and IEC TS 62941, are observed to comprehensively control LONGi's manufacturing quality. LONGi is committed to providing a reliable guarantee of the whole life cycle of products to achieve the improvement of customer perception and the comprehensive establishment of the LONGi quality brand benchmark. The second one will be the improvement of module efficiency. It is true that BOS savings generally increase as module power increases, but only to certain levels before other factors act to reduce the savings or introduce additional reliability risks. So instead of further expanding the module or wafer dimension, more efforts will be put on how to increase the module efficiency. LONGi has announced a new world record of 26.30% of HJT cells, representing the world’s highest efficiency for a Front-Back Contact (FBC) solar cell this October. LONGi Solar has reported achieving 25.19% power conversion efficiency for its P-type TOPCon cell and 25.26% power conversion efficiency for N-type TOPCon cell. LONGi will introduce higher efficiency and more competitive product globally next year and details will be provided soon.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 51

SAI CHARAN KUPPILI TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, JINKOSOLAR

High Power Modules with 182mm X182mm wafer size has become the latest trend for 2021-2022 on P-Type Crystalline Silicon Technologies. Increasing power densities is the mandatory requirement for most project developers in order to derive reduced LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy).

The price of polysilicon has been increasing since the second half of 2020, pulled by the strong demand. Due to the expansion period of polysilicon (1.5 to 2 years) being longer than the downstream sectors like wafer (1 to 1.5 years) or module (6 to 9 months), this mismatch effect made the polysilicon in short supply. As per the latest data from the PV Infolink during mid of Oct, the price has reached 263 RMB/kg, increasing 217% YTD. Under the forecast of expected demand and polysilicon supply, the expected demand line will not be covered by polysilicon supply until 2022Q1. With some new polysilicon capacity being put into production, the tight polysilicon supply will mitigate gradually until 2022. Snapshot from Singapore Solar Exchange has clearly indicated the rise of Module price since 2021 crossed beyond 30%.

Quite contrary to the same, PV Industry post-COVID noticed a rise in different cost variables, specific to the material composition of Polysilicon, Coal deficit, etc., which has resulted in the rise of product, process, logistics costs. Eventually ended with the rise of CAPEX increment (cost of Solar PV Module) resulted in shattering the initial estimated LCOE and IRR’s. Thus, these kinds of uncertain scenarios to be mitigated with some technology optimizations or with the push of newer PV Technology which can lower a bit on the intensity of such project uncertainties. Below is the snapshot which details the delta incremental cost in $ Cents/Wp of different materials of Solar PV Module collected from global market intelligence reports for the year 2021 from January to October. The rise of Polysilicon is the major cost adder due to the shortfall of Crystalline Silicon, which is followed by EVA due to Power shortages.

Figure-3: Spot Market Price of PV Products Thus, the above factors evolve to optimize the cost metrics of Solar PV Technologies to have sensitive trajectories on the PV Product variants, in order to achieve reduced LCOE and increased IRR benefits.

Figure-1: Change in price of PV materials from Jan 2021 to Oct 2021

Specific to existing P-type 182mm X182mm wafer size products have reached 550Wp power class with 72 Cell and 600Wp with 78 Cell. Some expected optimizations on the higher power class Monofacial or Bifacial Dual glass technologies Replace double float glass instead of calendaring glass with no change in reliability test metrics and relevant standards Usage of CPC back sheet for the projects which are not falling under Aqua or desert zones Can try to replace Aluminium frames with Galvalnium Steel frames

Double Float Glass Merits & De-merits:

Figure-2: Price variation of Polysilicon and Demand Supply Relationship till 2022

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Compared to the double calendaring glass, the double coating float glass of the front light transmittance is 0.42% and the power is about 0.4% higher, respectively While the backlight transmittance is 0.38% and the power is about 0.85% lower, respectively with no change in the cost of double coating float. The only disadvantage can be the double coating glass’s porosity, marks, and scratches, which can be higher. Thus, production needs to have regular check The cell of float glass shows specular reflection under light, and it’s different from the calendaring glass

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 52

CPC Back sheet instead of 3rd Generation KPF/ PVDF Back sheet: CPC back-sheet have been mass-produced or entered into verification by many mainstream manufacturers CPC back-sheet outdoor has been used in power stations for more than 10 years. The performance is good after the on-site inspection of the CPC power station project. There are currently no visible scratches on the back-sheet, and there are no quality risks related to powder dropping and cracking The reliability tests of the CPC back-sheet are equivalent to the performance of the composite back-sheet

Steel frame instead of Aluminum Frame: Strength increases 40% Elongation at break increases 100% Double-side rate increases 9% When Al and Mg components are added into the coating, the densities of generated Mg(OH)2 and Al(OH)2 are increased, which can prevent the diffusion of air and inhibit the electrochemical reaction rate In addition, the corrosion resistance of Zn-Al-Mg is more than 10 times higher than that of an ordinary galvanized layer Carbon emission lowers to 1/4 than that of aluminum electrolysis The section of the Zn-Al-Mg steel plate possesses self-healing ability which can prevent further corrosion Power generation gains 0.8% Latest advancements in PV Technologies are expected to out more from Ntype Technologies on 182mm X 182mm wafer size Modules for 2022 and 2023. We could foresee TOPCON leading this transformation from the front towards N-type followed by HJT.

Figure-4: Trends of PV Technology Comparing N-type with P-type PERC can result in higher benefits on TOPCON Technology due to reduced Temperature co-efficient, increased Bifaciality factor, and reduced degradations. Specific to Jinko’s Tiger Neo, power output will increase with the reduced temperature coefficient 0.75% higher compared with PERC Under the same external environment, Tiger Neo’s operating temperature is lower ( >1 % compared with the same specification Ptype ) Under the high-temperature condition, the advantage will further expanded ~2% higher Increased Bifaciality factor results in increased rear side gain from the module under the same environmental conditions Reduced LCOE can be attained with reduced year on year degradation factors

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Topcon and HJT are the focus of attention of the current N-type technology and the focus of high-end products’ competition. Both Topcon and HJT achieve power improvement through passivation. The former one uses a tunneling oxide layer while HJT uses intrinsic amorphous silicon film. The differences in the methods lead to the differences in their respective processes, resulting in the difference in the commercial cost between the two.

Figure-5: Comparison between P-type and N-type on Temperature co-efficient and operating temperature

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 53

GAURAV MATHUR INDIA DIRECTOR, TRINA SOLAR

Through the upgrading of silicon wafers, cells, module technology, and manufacturing, the size of silicon wafers has increased from 125mm, 156.75mm, 166mm, 182mm to today's 210mm. This is an inevitable trend alongside increasing module power, reducing the costs of production and power generation. 210mm PV monocrystalline silicon wafer is considered the upper limit of silicon wafers in the PV industry, and it is expected that this roadmap will persist for at least 5 to 10 years. Standardization of 210 modules, that incorporate 210mm diameter solar cells, significantly boosts the PV industrial chain and system value. A year ago Trina Solar released its first 210 modules, signaling a new era in the entire photovoltaic industry. Maintaining the consistent ultra-high reliability of Trina Solar modules, the 210 Vertex series integrates design optimizations, including added frame wall thickness, larger cavities, optimized material selection, and matching designs, to ensure ultra-high structural robustness. In terms of module technology, Trina Solar’s Vertex series modules incorporate several state-of-the-art technologies such as non-destructive cutting, high-density interconnection, and multi-bus bar (MBB), which are ahead of similar products in terms of power, efficiency, and reliability. While pushing for advances in module technology and increasing power, supporting products such as inverters and tracking systems have also been fully upgraded to fit into the 600W+ era. Centralized inverters and a string inverter have both passed market testing. The compatibility of the 210 inverters and modules could result in more value in the application process. Specifically, low-voltage, high-current modules can realize a longer string, thereby reducing the number of strings and the cost of PV DC cables, lowering LCOE, highlighting the power generation gain and cost advantages of high-power modules. In June 2020 industry-leading silicon wafers, batteries, modules, inverters, tracker systems, materials, EPC, design institutes, professional research institutions, and owners jointly established the 600W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance. The upstream and downstream collaboration mechanism of the industrial chain was thus formed, with more than 66 members.

As an important link in the photovoltaic industry chain, inverters and tracker systems have entered the 210 eras, leading to more seamless collaboration, suggesting a more mature 210 industry chain and PV ecological system. By the end of 2021, 210 modules production capacity is expected to achieve 120 GW in the entire industry. At Trina Solar, 210 modules will account for 70% to 80% of its overall shipments this year. As ultra-high power 600W+ modules become an unstoppable trend in the PV industry, the industry will continue to deliver more support for the innovative 210 solutions both upstream and downstream. India needs to install an average of 25 GW solar capacity every year to reach its renewable energy target of ‘450 GW by 2030’ with over 60% from solar. 210 modules like Trina Solar’s Vertex series of modules reveal higher feasibility in reducing the balance of system (BOS) cost and Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), which will help achieve the country’s renewable energy goals. So far, more than 50% of industrial and commercial projects globally have selected and applied 600W+ modules. The solar installation of using 600W+ modules on industrial and commercial projects in India will become a common practice in 2022. The reason for choosing Trina Solar Vertex 600W+ modules is that the ultra-high power modules are designed to reduce the cost of the distributed power stations and significantly increase their revenue. Products with a higher power range and high energy yield represented by the 210mm Vertex modules will fully guarantee the investment income of distributed projects by virtue of their outstanding advantages. Since its establishment in 1997, Trina Solar has been driven by innovative, reliable quality and customer value. With its top-notch research and development of ultra-high power modules, Trina Solar has led the industry into the 600W+ era, with a host of high-power, high-efficiency, high-yield, and highly reliable products, offering new opportunities to further save the system costs of projects and benefit customers in India.

THE COMPATIBILITY OF THE 210 INVERTERS AND MODULES COULD RESULT IN MORE VALUE IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS." | INDIA

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 54

PERSPECTIVE

HOW IS GUJARAT EMERGING AS A LEADING SOLAR MANUFACTURING HUB IN INDIA?

HARDIK M VYAS AGM-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, ENERPARC

India has witnessed some of the biggest announcements lately with regards to Solar PV manufacturing activities. A long due push seems to have arrived on the backdrop of a very strong and robust demand for solar PV power in the country. After a rather shaky start during the period 20102013, India has emerged as one of the top markets for Solar energy in last 6-7 years. India is targeting about 450 Gigawatt (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 and, of that, a lion’s share – 280 GW (over 60 percent) – would come from solar. There has been some serious participation from Indian as well as Foreign power producers to take India

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on a world stage of solar energy production. This required more active participation from local vendors especially for solar PV module and inverters. However, till date, there is a huge dependency on imports (over 80% of requirement comes from imports), in spite of challenges in terms of imposition of import duties, exponential rise in logistics cost and erratic delivery schedules. Looking ahead, there seems to be a bigger challenge of Basic Custom duty (BCD) awaiting solar energy sector, and finding a permanent solution becomes imminent now for a market growing at approx. 8-10 GW per annum. With BIS requirements in place now and Approved List of Models and Manufacturers” (ALMM) getting implemented, there are positive interests from several industrial houses to come forward and set up manufacturing hubs to cater to domestic demand. Setting up a manufacturing unit is a lengthy process in India and it takes comprehensive due diligence to decide where to set up a manufacturing plant. First and foremost is to know the approval process for the respective state where the manufacturing plant is being planned to be set up. Gujarat

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 55

has been one of the leading industrial states in India for the last few decades mainly due to a simplified and streamlined approval process. The state government has been proactively supporting industrial houses to come forward and set up their operating base. Another advantage of Gujarat is the availability of transport facilities. Gujarat has one of the largest coastlines, of 1600 km with access to several important ports to provide logistics support. The state ranks first in cargo throughput amongst all Indian ports. The state has 42 ports which include 1 major port and 41 nonmajor ports which are geographically dispersed across south Gujarat, Saurashtra, and Kutch region. Also, the availability of a superior road network, extensive freight corridors, and improved airport facilities make Gujarat a very attractive place to set up a manufacturing base. Talking specific about the solar PV sector, Gujarat has been the pioneer and one of the leading states, at present, in terms of solar power generation due to its geographic position. Also, neighboring states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh have an aggregate capacity of over 40% of India’s solar capacity installed. Gujarat is a leading state in terms of rooftop installation in the residential sector which mandates the use of “Made in India” cells and modules. Apart from SECI schemes and the state-run GUVNL bidding process, Gujarat has implemented schemes to cater to the Agri sector and has launched a state-specific wind-solar hybrid policy that provides a plethora of opportunities to solar equipment vendors. This provides a huge customer base for manufacturing companies making them more competitive by leveraging lower logistics cost. In addition, Gujarat is a power surplus state which is a boon for manufacturing companies as they get uninterrupted good quality power to reduce their operating cost. Gujarat also has a very developed manufacturing base for various industrial sectors such as textiles, automobiles, electricals and electronics, glass, metals, etc which can directly support the production of solar PV equipment. Gujarat already houses some of the leading manufacturers of Solar PV modules and we will surely see a fresh influx of more production houses being set up in the state to leverage the advantages it offers.

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GUJARAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE LEADING INDUSTRIAL STATES IN INDIA FOR THE LAST FEW DECADES MAINLY DUE TO A SIMPLIFIED AND STREAMLINED APPROVAL PROCESS."

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 56

HITEN GIRISH PAREKH CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, SOLARSQAURE

Gujarat’s average power demand hovers around 16,500MW and approximately one-third of it is met through renewable power. The state’s average power demand is estimated to rise to 28,500MW by 2030. By then, the state’s installed RE power generation capacity would be more than double the average power requirement. Gujarat is also emerging as a hub of solar and RE equipment manufacturing with RIL being the latest entrant. Adani Solar, India’s largest integrated solar cell and module manufacturer, already operates solar PV cells and modules manufacturing facility at Mundra with a capacity of 1.5GW. The plan is to scale it up to 3.5GW. Adani Group already operates solar and wind power projects with a cumulative capacity of 925MW in Kutch, while projects to the tune of 880MW are either under construction or in the pipeline in the district. Surat-based solar panel manufacturer Goldi Solar is also planning to raise its manufacturing capacity from 500MW to 2,500MW in a phased manner. ReNew Power, India's leading renewable energy company, is moving ahead with its plan to develop a solar cell and module manufacturing facility in Dholera Special Industrial Region (DSIR).

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The state under the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 is incentivizing MSMEs to consolidate the momentum and enhance the current growth rate. According to the new policy, the government has come up with thrust sectors. The thrust sectors have been categorized into two groups; core sectors and sunrise sectors. Sunrise Sectors are sectors that have a significant potential for technological advancement and can contribute to sustainable economic development. Thrust sectors will be given incremental incentives as part of the policy. The thrust sector comprises electric vehicles (EVs) and their components, waste management projects, green energy (solar and wind equipment), and eco-friendly compostable materials. The new policy focuses on promoting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to make them globally competitive. The MSMEs would be eligible for capital subsidy of up to 25% of the eligible loan amount of up to ₹3.5 million. Additionally, if the eligible fixed capital investment is above ₹100 million, the unit would be eligible for an additional capital subsidy of up to ₹1 million.

ADANI GROUP ALREADY OPERATES SOLAR AND WIND POWER PROJECTS WITH A CUMULATIVE CAPACITY OF 925MW IN KUTCH, WHILE PROJECTS TO THE TUNE OF 880MW ARE EITHER UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR IN THE PIPELINE IN THE DISTRICT."

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 57

PERSPECTIVE

HOW WILL COAL CRISIS RENEW AND REVITALISE THE RENEWABLE DREAM FOR INDIA? Prelude In October 2021, India was faced with a sudden coal crisis of sorts, when electricity-producing power stations declared a coal stock of only four days. These stations cater to almost 70% of the nation’s electricity demand. The stock of coal is the lowest in decades and is a cause of worry for the nation. To deal with the coal shortages, many states have begun load shedding to reduce power consumption at the consumer level. Many states have also warned the populace about potential blackouts if an adequate amount of coal is not made available to produce electricity. Coal India Limited (CIL) is the chief coal-producing corporation, accounting for almost 80% of the total coal demanded. The other 20% demand is met by coal imports from Indonesia, Australia, the USA, and South Africa. Although the Central Government is budgeting the coal distributed from CIL, the coal crisis can potentially lead to an energy crisis in India in the upcoming years.

How will the coal crisis renew interest in the RE sector? Coal production facilities need to upgrade their extraction technologies, to improve efficiency in the production and distribution of coal. Also, various environmental clearances and litigations need to be sorted for smoother coal production in India. This is a time taking process and requires assent within the Parliament. Coal is a non-renewable resource. The scarcity of coal is a golden opportunity for India to focus on cleaner and sustainable sources of energy. In the post COVID era and the gradual opening up of the Indian economy, demand for electricity has boomed in the past year. Consumer sentiment which was in a slump has slowly improved, resulting in a flurry of economic activity across sectors. Added to this, the festive season from August onwards has further heightened the demand for electricity among consumers of all classes alike.

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The RE (renewable energy) sector has gained prominence in recent decades, with Government policy incentives and schemes promoting the usage of sustainable energy resources. India is blessed with a locational and geographical advantage when it comes to renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, and geothermal energy. Technological advancements in the RE sector have further made it economically viable to set up RE power plants for the production and distribution of electricity. The coal crisis has signaled a deadlock between coal producers and consumers, with coal reserves at an all-time low. This is the best time to invest our energies towards renewable energy sources. With more and more consumer interest in RE, electricity prices would also become stabilized and competitive with traditional modes of electricity generation. India is one of the leading nations invested in research and development and application of renewable energy sources in the world. It is now time to implement the research and drive grass-root level change in consumption patterns of electricity. This can be achieved by diverting attention from the coal crisis towards the RE sector as soon as possible.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 58

SABYASACHI MAJUMDAR SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & GROUP HEAD - CORPORATE RATINGS, ICRA LIMITED AND

GIRISHKUMAR KADAM SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & COGROUP HEAD - CORPORATE RATINGS, ICRA LIMITED.

Distribution utilities’ financial health remains a concern for the entire power sector value chain The policy thrust by the Government of India (GoI) towards Renewable energy (RE) remains solid, as also evident from the cumulative policy target of 500 GW (revised upwards from 450 GW) by 2030. To put into a perspective, cumulative installed RE capacity in India as of September 2021 stood at 101 GW, thus implying a strong investment trajectory so as to meet the policy target over the next 8-10 year period. Over the last 3-5 year period, the RE sector has also seen significant utility-scale project awards through bid route by central intermediary i.e. Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd and NTPC Ltd, besides the state nodal agencies. The share of renewables in installed capacity is thus estimated to increase gradually from 25% as of March 2021 to about 35% by March 2025, with the incremental capacity addition of about 60-65 GW & an investment requirement of about Rs. 3-3.5 trillion over this period. Within the RE segment, the solar segment will continue to occupy a dominant share, given the relatively more execution challenges persisting in the wind energy segment and concentration of wind energy resources only in a few states. The regulatory framework for renewable energy is highly supportive, given the must-run status for RE assets and applicability of renewable purchase obligation (RPO) norms for the obligated entities (mainly distribution utilities and open access consumers). More importantly, tariff competitiveness of both solar and wind energy in utility-scale has improved significantly as seen through bid tariffs remaining well below Rs. 3/unit for last 3-4 year period. With respect to fuel mix in installed power generation capacity of 388 GW as of September 2021, the thermal segment accounts for a majority share of 60%, followed by 26% share of RE (excluding hydro), 12% share of hydro, and rest by nuclear energy. Within the thermal segment, coal alone continues to be a dominant fuel source with an 85% share in overall thermal-based capacity and a 54% share in the overall power generation capacity. In terms of the generation mix, coal thus accounts for almost 70% of energy requirements in the country, though its share has steadily come down over the last 3-4 year period due to an increase in RE generation mix. On the coal availability front, the average coal stock level at the thermal power stations however witnessed a sharp decline from the level of 15 days as of March 2021 to about 4 days as of September 30, 2021, amid the sharper recovery in electricity demand and regulation in coal supply to state-owned generation stations in few states amid payment delays to Coal India Limited (CIL). Further, the sharp increase in international coal prices led to a decline in supply from imported coal-based plants leading to higher demand for domestic coal. Subsequently, the coal supply position has shown some improvement in October 2021 and is expected to improve further, aided by higher rake availability, the uptick in coal production levels as well as regulation of domestic coal supply to non-power sectors.

sector. The share of coal in the overall energy generation mix is set to gradually decline over the next 10 years from the current level of 70%, with a corresponding increase in the RE penetration. On the tariff front for renewables, there are near term execution & cost headwinds for the IPPs due to increase in module price environment over the last 6-8 month period, with the rising cost of inputs and supply chain bottlenecks due to prevailing power cuts in China (based on industry sources) and the fact that basic customs duty is effective w.e.f. April 2022 on imported cells & modules. As a result, bid tariffs in the upcoming solar utility auction are estimated to increase by about 20-25 paise/unit over the average bid tariff discovery as seen over the last 3-6 month period. Nonetheless, the bid tariff in the solar segment is expected to remain still well below Rs. 3/unit. From the perspective of ultimate off-takers i.e. state discoms, such RE tariffs remain cost-competitive given that marginal variable cost of power purchase (bottom 25%) for them across the key states remains well above Rs. 3/unit. From the regulatory standpoint, the resolution w.r.t. tariff renegotiation matter for the affected wind and solar IPPs in the state of Andhra Pradesh still remains awaited. More importantly, the financial position of state discoms still remains weak in the majority of the states on account of a higher level of technical & commercial (AT&C) losses compared to regulatory norms, inadequate tariffs in relation to their cost of supply, and inadequate subsidy support from the respective state governments. Moreover, significant delays in the tariff determination process for state discoms in key states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal remain a matter of concern. The annual book losses for stateowned discoms in FY 2021-22 are estimated at about Rs.75,000 crore. Further, overall subsidy dependence for state-owned discoms in FY 202122 is estimated at about Rs. 1.2 lac crore, given the highly subsidized nature of power tariffs mainly towards agriculture and certain sections of residential consumers. GoI has initiated several reform measures through the recent announcement of Revamped distribution sector scheme as well as the draft amendments in the Electricity Act among other things. The revamped distribution scheme has a significant focus on the CAPEX measures to improve the operational efficiencies through smart metering & up-gradation of distribution infrastructure, including the segregation of agriculture feeders & system strengthening, which in turn should enable the state-owned distribution utilities to curtail the Aggregate technical and commercial losses (AT&C), with scheme target set at 15% by FY 205-26. For every 1% reduction in AT&C loss level, state discoms are estimated to have a cost reduction/savings of about Rs.50 billion every year. Nonetheless, the proactive focus & timely implementation by the discoms remain critical, given that the current estimated AT&C level remained at about 21-22% on all India basis, and the same also varies widely between 10% to 40% across the discoms in many key states & remaining higher than regulatory targets as per the tariff orders issued by SERCs. Overall, there is also an urgent need for the state governments to have a strong political will with a focus on the sustained financial turnaround of their respective discoms – which remain the ultimate off-takers in the power sector value chain.

Notwithstanding the strong policy support & investment outlook for renewables, dependency on coal as a fuel source to meet the baseload is likely to continue in the near foreseeable future for the Indian power

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 59

GIREESH SHRIMALI PRECOURT SCHOLAR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Prime minister Modi has just announced India’s net-zero commitment at the Glasgow COP. Simply put India will reduce its net emissions – gross emissions minus carbon removal – to zero by the year 2070. While this will require complete decarbonization of all energy-related sectors, a significant short-to-medium-term component of India’s climate commitment is the 500GW renewable energy capacity target by 2030. India has already made significant progress in installing renewable energy capacity. For example, India has now crossed 100GW of non-large-hydro renewable energy capacity, with equal capacities of wind and solar energy, supported by biomass and small-hydro, and this capacity now generates about 1/10th of the power in India. However, coal power has remained a mainstay of the Indian power sector. Coal still generates more than 2/3rd of the power. This is not to say that the coal power sector is not witnessing headwinds in India. The coal power plant load factor has been steadily falling, many coalpower plants have become stranded assets, and now we are witnessing a shortage in the coal itself to power these coal power plants. The reasons behind these are manifold, including cost-competitiveness of renewable power, lack of demand, and changing market conditions in an environment that is not conducive to investments in coal mines and coal power. While there are many in India who believe that coal is here to stay, given reasons such as energy independence, baseload power, and low cost, this is the time for India to move aggressively on renewable energy and show climate leadership, via not only renewable power but also battery storage and green hydrogen. The reasons for doing so are well documented, and I have reproduced many of them below. First, the cost of producing renewable power is way down in the last decade. Solar power auctions are consistently produced tariffs around 2 INR/kWh or even below. Analysis after analysis has shown that coal power is no long cost-competitive with solar power, whether one looks at imported coal or domestic, except for coal power plants that are at mine mouth. As solar power cost continues its downward journey in this decade, like the last decade, it will simply make coal powerless cost-competitive over time.

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AS SOLAR POWER COST CONTINUES ITS DOWNWARD JOURNEY IN THIS DECADE, LIKE THE LAST DECADE, IT WILL SIMPLY MAKE COAL POWERLESS COSTCOMPETITIVE OVER TIME." Second, contrary to what the opponents may say, a renewables heavy system can be balanced appropriately, using available flexible resources. For example, analysis by various research institutions, including TERI, NREL, and LBL, have shown that high penetrations of renewable power, matching India’s current climate commitments to 2030, can be balanced cost-effectively using available coal, gas, and hydropower while deploying moderate amount of battery storage. However, doing so will require supportive policies for these flexible sources of power. Third, while there are significant concerns are energy independence and just transitions, they can be addressed via appropriate policies. For example, India has already started to move aggressively on domestic production of solar and battery storage hardware, and it has plans for becoming a superpower in green hydrogen. Furthermore, not only significant research has been made in addressing just transition issues in coal mines as well as coal power but also the international community is aligning behind the climate investment funds to provide the muchneeded technical assistance and concessional finance. Let’s make India’s climate ambitions a reality, by moving away from fossil fuels to a green future that shows India’s leadership globally! While this is not going to be easy, given known barriers to investment in the power sector, India can make the transition happen by creating the appropriate enabling policy environment, which provides confidence to domestic and foreign investors alike.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 60

VIBHUTI GARG ENERGY ECONOMIST AND LEAD INDIA, INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (IEEFA) A key takeaway from India’s recent coal shortage crisis is the urgent need for the country to accelerate its transition to a secure, reliable, and lowemissions electricity system. India faced huge coal shortages from mid-August till October 2021. Monsoons impact Coal India Ltd. (CIL) production every year, but this year was different – India witnessed an extended monsoon season which exacerbated the coal shortage crisis. Further, transportation logistics led to a lower offtake of coal. Analysis of the coal stock position reveals that there was enough coal at CIL’s end, however, the company has been regulating the despatch of supplies to coal power producers with outstanding dues on account of discom payment delays. This meant that the supply curtailment was worse in states where coal power producers have large outstanding dues. The situation deteriorated as more plants reported their supplies were reaching critical levels. The government sprang into action, ramping up domestic coal production and offtake to avert the blackout situation and reduce the energy shortages. The coal shortage led to a surge in prices at the power exchange. The prices at the power exchange hit a ceiling of Rs20/kWh during most of the time intervals on high coal shortage days. The average Market Clearing Price increased from Rs3/kWh in June-July to Rs5/kWh in AugustSeptember and further to Rs8/kWh in October. The high prices at the exchange have now started to stabilize and in November are hovering around Rs3-3.5/kWh. The price of imported coal is also at an all-time high. The price of imported Indonesian coal rose from US$60/tonne in March 2021 to US$200/tonne in September/October for 5,000 Kcal/kg GAR (Gross As Received) coal. Coal is an expensive source of generation and, further, it is inflationary. The current crisis revealed that coal is an unreliable source of electricity generation because it is heavily dependent on a long supply chain.

IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THESE AMBITIOUS GOALS, INDIA MUST ENSURE A POLICY ENVIRONMENT THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO ACCELERATING THE OFFTAKE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY." Renewable energy prices have gone down over the years and wind and solar are highly deflationary. With zero indexation contracts extending for 25-year terms, year one solar energy tariffs consistently below Rs2.5/kWh are now the low-cost source of electricity supply in India. The economics of low-cost renewables are threatening the viability of proposed new coalfired power plants. More importantly, there is little or no capital available to finance such plants. So what now needs to be done is to direct R&D and finance to emerging technologies like battery storage and green hydrogen so as to better integrate renewable energy into the system. India has pledged to increase the share of electricity generation from renewable energy sources to 50% by 2030 and also pledged to reach netzero emissions by 2070. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, India must ensure a policy environment that is conducive to accelerating the offtake of renewable energy. With cost economics favoring renewable energy, it’s clear that sustainable energy choices can and should lead on the path to economic growth.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 61

PERSPECTIVE

WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL OF AGRO PHOTOVOLTAICS IN REVOLUTIONISING INDIAN AGRICULTURE? | INDIA

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 62

REJI KUMAR PILLAI PRESIDENT - INDIA SMART GRID FORUM (ISGF); CHAIRMAN - GLOBAL SMART ENERGY FEDERATION (GSEF) Solar energy going to play the main role in India’s Net-Zero by 2070 target. In the ongoing program of 175 GW of renewable energy (RE) by 2022, the share of solar is 100 GW whereas, in the previously announced program of 450 GW RE by 2030, the solar share is kept at 280 GW. With the newly announced target of 500 GW by 2030 at COP26, the solar share could be300 GW or more. At the current price levels of PV panels and balance of plants, the cost of electricity from large solar farms may be between INR 2.70 to 3.00 per kWh (unit) while that from Rooftop PV (RTPV) systems is in the range of INR 4.50 to 6.00 per kWh. The cost of solar power from large solar farms is much lower than that from new coal, gas, hydro, or nuclear power plants. Similarly, the cost of RTPV power is lower than the cost of electricity from the grid for most categories of customers in India. This is an ideal situation to unleash a solar PV revolution in the country. Out of the 100 GW solar target by 2022, the allocation for RTPV is 40 GW. Out of this only about 7 GW has been installed so far owing to a variety of reasons. India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) has been advocating that the customers do not need any subsidies from the government for adopting RTPV in their buildings as it is already economically attractive. Rather the government support should be extended to the distribution utilities (DISCOMs) for upgrading their network to integrate the RTPV with the distribution grid. Our recommendations for scaling up solar PV in the country are following: RTPV to be made mandatory for certain categories of building such as schools, colleges, hospitals, office complexes and IT parks, industrial parks, malls, upscale residential colonies, etc. Building-integrated PV (BIPV) systems where PV panels are part of the roof of a building may be promoted where ever feasible. BIPV systems are yet to take off in India which requires the focused attention of the government. Smart cities and semi-urban and rural households may be mandated to adopt BIPV systems for all new buildings. Floating PV systems are also commercially viable now. In all water bodies floating PV systems may be installed. Solarization of Irrigation Pump (IP) sets through the KUSUM program. This is explained in later sections. Agrivoltaics to be promoted aggressively. Presently all large solar farms are in a few states with wastelands and deserts. This approach alone may not be able to meet the enlarged target of 300 GW of solar power by 2030. The concentration of large solar generation in a few western and northern states will create grid stability issues as high-capacity transmission corridors created to evacuate power from the solar farms will be underutilized during nights.

Agrivoltaics (or agrovoltaics as often called in Europe) refers to solar PV systems installed in agricultural farms. There are many vegetables (for example potatoes, tomatoes, etc), medicinal plants, and fruit-bearing trees that do not require direct sunlight and can be grown below the solar panels. The PV panels can be erected either in the typical slanting position or horizontally facing the sky on support structures that are high enough for the type of crop planted below. Different types and shapes of PV support structures can be adapted for different types of plants. Even poles with suntracking systems can be installed in the farms. In some cases, interspace farming can be done between two rows of PV panels. The Kochi international airport has a 12 MW PV system with interspace farming. Another option is elevated structures below which manual farming is done. Agrivoltaics has been successfully implemented in poultry farms and grazing lands for livestock. It is also very attractive in the case of greenhouse plantations and horticulture farms. Agrivoltaics is becoming

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very popular in China, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, parts of the USA, and Japan. Thousands of rice farms in Japan have installed large PV systems of capacity from 10 kW to 2 MW. The main advantage of agrivoltaics is that it will not deprive the farmers of their land and livelihood; rather it supplements their income through annual land rent from the solar plant developer. For the solar plant developer, paying an annual land lease is better than the cost of land acquisition. Agriculture reduces the ambient temperature in the vicinity which helps increase the electricity output of the solar panels and the water used for cleaning the solar panels can be used to irrigate agriculture. Although this appears a win-win solution, detailed studies are required for ascertaining the correct mix of land use for farming/livestock and solar PV systems. Many experiments around the world have shown that tomato and potato production doubled below solar panels. I have visited a 50 MW agrivoltaic farm in Southern China in 2017. The solar plant developer formed a cooperative with the farmers and helped them change the crop pattern to fruits, oilseeds, and medicinal plants which they export to other Southeast Asian countries. This was facilitated by the solar plant developer. The farmer’s income has gone up several times from the high-value crops besides the land lease charges from the solar plant developer. There are large areas in most states in India where agrivoltaics can be promoted. The incremental cost of support structures is minimal compared to the cost of land acquisition. Since agrivoltaics can be distributed across a large geography, it can be integrated with existing medium voltage and high voltage grids at comparatively lower investments than building dedicated extra high voltage transmission lines for large solar farms. Many agrivoltaics pilot projects have been done in India which include kW-scale to 1 MW scale solar plants in grape farms, banana farms, poultry farms, and horticultural lands. It is often said that India is a graveyard of pilots! We should move out of pilots and scale up to large agrivoltaics plants. Detailed studies may be undertaken to assess the potential and the trade-offs between loss of farming income against land lease income from solar plant developers in different regions in the country as well as scope for changing the crops to accommodate the solar plants. Delighted to note that MNRE is promoting agrivoltaics in India and considered it under the KUSUM scheme. Agrivoltaics should play a key role in meeting the new solar targets and MNRE should align policies to promote sustainable business models to this effect. Under KUSUM, 60% cost of solarizing the irrigation pump set is offered as subsidy and the balance 40% cost to be borne by the farmer. In most cases, farmers are not able (or not interested) to invest this 40% cost. We suggest bringing in third-party aggregators who will invest the 40% cost and in return, they may be allowed to sell surplus electricity from the plant in the power exchange or to corporates who wish to buy green electricity at a higher price. Typically, farmers require electricity for less than 200 days in a year, that too is not 100% of the day’s production. Nearly half of the solar plant production can be available to the third-party aggregator to sell in the market. The aggregators may be incentivized to set up battery energy storage systems (BESS) which could store surplus solar power which they can sell during peak hours at attractive rates. This will help in building distributed storage systems in the grid. Policies and regulations in this regard may be framed on the fast track to promote this.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 63

RANVEER NAGAICH ECONOMIST (PUBLIC POLICY CONSULTANT), NITI AAYOG

The convergence of schemes and initiatives to achieve multiple policy goals has been a hallmark of the governance process in the past few years. Take the goals of climate change and increasing farmers’ income. With ambitious goals laid out towards the share of renewables in India’s power mix by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during his address at COP26, the share of solar energy will only rise. India has similarly ambitious goals to raise farm incomes. The key to the strategy of increasing farmers’ incomes has been the diversification of farm incomes. Prima facie, in terms of land use there seems to be a trade-off between agriculture and solar farms. Conventional knowledge would imply that a tract of land can either be used as a solar farm or a conventional farm. Yet, there are avenues through which these goals can be converged, and one of the mechanisms is agro photo-voltaics (APVs). What are APVs? It is a mixed land-use system, where crops and solar panels are used in conjunction with each other. So, rather than competing for land use, in APVs, crops and panels complement each other. With the diversification of farm incomes high on the agenda, APVs may serve this purpose as well, through earning farmers’ revenues not just from growing crops, but also from generating electricity. This, indeed, was the thought behind the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme. While the scheme does not cover APVs at present, it still seeks to complement traditional farm income through the generation of renewable energy. Three distinct forms of APVs have been found to be functioning in India, in a report published by the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF) & the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI). The first form is where cultivation takes place between the ground-mounted solar panels. The second form is where cultivation takes place between and below the ground-mounted panels, which are at a fixed tilt. In the third form, cultivation takes place below elevated panels. In terms of costs of enabling agriculture, the first mechanism is the cheapest, whilst the third one most expensive. The report by IGEF and NSEFI has identified several promising pilots throughout the country as well. 15 different pilots, spread across the country are currently being implemented. Gujarat is leading the way, with the most number of projects, and also starting the earliest, with the first pilots conducted in 2012. Encouragingly, the private sector has also been taking the lead. Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd in Jalgaon, Maharashtra has been leading efforts in cultivation below elevated panels. What is interesting is that they have been able to cultivate bananas, maize, and rice in these systems. Furthermore, they have also reported higher yields and lesser water consumption, through combining a drip irrigation system with solar panels. Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has been a commercially successful project, following interspace cultivation. The produce is entirely organic, and sold directly to consumers, or disposed of through other strong market linkages. The Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan has designed and developed an APV model, along with a rainwater harvesting system built-in. Through the harvested rainwater, they are able to supplement existing irrigation sources, saving groundwater. Santra et. al (2018) from CAZRI assert that close to 50% of the land under the area of the solar energy system can be utilized for cultivation in the model developed, which otherwise would be left fallow. The authors have also identified crops such as legumes & medicinal plants. Primarily, these are low-height crops and require lesser amounts of water. Additionally, the rainwater harvesting system can be used as supplemental irrigation. Efforts such as this are demonstrating the potential of APVs. However, whilst the technology has matured, much remains to be done. First, further research is required to quantify the impact on input use, yields, soil health, etc. While

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THE KEY TO THE STRATEGY OF INCREASING FARMERS’ INCOMES HAS BEEN THE DIVERSIFICATION OF FARM INCOMES." the pilots have demonstrated the concept, scaling such solutions would require documentation of best practices, which can then be tailored according to India’s various agro-climatic zones. The expertise of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare will both be required to popularise APVs at a larger scale in India. Modules must be developed that integrate not solar production, water harvesting, and crop production, and be sufficiently localized to reap the maximum benefits. Mechanization of agriculture & APVs may not be necessarily compatible. With 86% of India’s farmers falling in the small and marginal category, mechanization in such farms is usually not economically viable, given the relatively small size. This presents an opportunity to popularise APVs amongst small and marginal farmers. However, the affordability question still remains. An institutional mechanism has already been created under PM-KUSUM, which can be further leveraged to popularise APVs in India. Further product development may also serve the needs of small and marginal farmers better. For instance, the cultivation of perishables, such as fruits and vegetables, require storage, at a controlled temperature to maintain their ripeness. Expanding the APV models to include solar-based cold stores is another avenue for product development. The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has been promoting the formation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and has also instituted an Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). Through collectivizing farmers through FPOs, larger APV power projects can be undertaken. Farmgate infrastructure can be built through the AIF. An overarching mission or an expanded PM-KUSUM mechanism can be a focal implementing agency for popularising APVs in India. As a country pursues multiple policy goals, often some are thought to be at odds with each other. Yet, through effective governance, by converging efforts, and leveraging expertise, multiple policy goals can be converged. The case of solar power and agriculture is a pertinent example. APVs would allow agriculture to function on cleaner energy, and enable farmers to sell surplus electricity back to the grid. Further, when combined with rainwater harvesting systems, groundwater can both be conserved and technology permitting, even recharged. While the potential of APVs has been established, more research is required on the agriculture front to quantity impacts on input use and yields. Localizing crop recommendations and APV forms is another avenue for policy research. Private sector partnership will be crucial in not just technical know-how, but also as a source of financing. These steps will be crucial in kickstarting the APV revolution in India. Farmers will then not only be the ann daata as well as the urja daatas.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 64

YUVARAJA SK RESEARCH ENGINEER, CENTER FOR STUDY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND POLICY (CSTEP) In India, solar photovoltaics (PV), which is environmentally friendly and safer, is gaining popularity as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. With technological advancements in the last decade, India’s solar sector has made significant growth, with an installed capacity of 46.2 GW of the country’s total renewable energy (RE) capacity of 101.5 GW. In 2019, the Government of India launched the Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme, intending to transform farmers into power producers. The scheme aims to install 17.5 lakh stand-alone solarpowered irrigation pumps and solarise 10 lakh existing grid-connected irrigation pumps, with a total decentralised solar capacity of 25,750 MW. Despite good intentions, KUSUM has failed to interest small and marginal farmers, currently receiving free or highly subsidised power. This is so because farmers have to invest 40%–70% of the capital cost in the KUSUM scheme, which is often unattractive. The Indian agricultural sector consumes 17.67% of the country’s electricity. Fertile ground is being turned into gravel locks by huge solar facilities using large tracts only to produce solar energy. Large solar farms can also lead to the problem of heat islands. Agrovoltaics is a revolutionary new distributed solar technology that combines solar and agriculture to improve food and energy production. It allows agricultural land to produce solar power while simultaneously saving land and water. Co-benefits include preserving or, in some cases, boosting the yield of crops grown beneath solar panels. Dual usage of farmland allows developers to avoid costly land acquisitions while also providing farmers a second source of revenue from land. Research organizations are working on the ideal and most feasible technoeconomics for agrovoltaic facilities. It is necessary to quantify the costs involved in facilitating agrovoltaics based on the installation structure, as these differ for different landscapes and crop varieties. Data from pilot research on potential revenue generated must be made available to the farming community. Project economics determines the scalability of the technology. Second, separate stakeholders are currently accountable for the PV plant and farming activities in agrovoltaic setups. The government can develop an agrovoltaics platform to aggregate all stakeholders, including interested farmers and developers.

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LARGE SOLAR FARMS CAN ALSO LEAD TO THE PROBLEM OF HEAT ISLANDS. AGROVOLTAICS IS A REVOLUTIONARY NEW DISTRIBUTED SOLAR TECHNOLOGY THAT COMBINES SOLAR AND AGRICULTURE TO IMPROVE FOOD AND ENERGY PRODUCTION. The state government or power generation companies should invest in smaller solar PV in the form of agrovoltaics, diversifying the existing generation portfolio with RE. State governments can procure loans at reasonable interest from financial institutions and recover loans through subsidies provided to distribution companies (DISCOMs). Governments and academic institutions can carry out multi-phase pilot studies to analyze the viability and scalability of agrovoltaics in India. With agrovoltaics, farmers can enjoy uninterrupted electricity during sunny days as well as benefit from the feed-in tariff, while DISCOMs continue to receive state farming subsidies. Under the existing Indian legal framework, reform in land-use policy for agrovoltaics needs to be introduced. The government should establish a set of guidelines for developers and educate farmers about the ideal crop varieties with agrovoltaic installations. Further, governments, developers, and farmers need to work together to identify suitable business models, feasible cropping pattern changes, and revenue-sharing mechanisms that lead to the benefit of all stakeholders. This approach will lead to sustainable growth across the country.

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 65

COMPANY FEATURE

PIXON envisions to globally provide efficient solar energy products and solutions. PIXON is a solar module manufacturing company spread across 65000 Sq. ft area. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art turnkey manufacturing facility of 400 MW capacity for Solar Modules and 800 MW for EVA Films respectively. The company is backed with a strong financial background of its parent company – the Marwadi Shares & Finance Limited. The blend of a young team, under the guidance of experienced players, makes PIXON versatile for creative operations and futuristic innovations.PIXON envisions to globally provide efficient solar energy products and solutions. Thus, contributing and enhancing Global Climate Sustainability. The company is equipped with a state-of-the-art turnkey manufacturing facility of 400 MW capacity. The company is also backed with a strong financial background of its parent company the Marwadi Shares & Finance Limited. The blend of a young team, under the guidance of experienced players, makes PIXON versatile for creative operations and futuristic innovations. PIXON envisions to globally provide efficient solar energy products and solutions. Thus, contributing and enhancing Global Climate Sustainability.

Mission:To contribute and enhance Global Climate Sustainability, by promoting and providing solar energy solutions. To promote the transition towards solar energy and thus reduce carbon footprint globally, fostering the betterment of our Earth’s ecosystem. To constantly improvise and explore new technologies and their economical deployment to harness solar energy.

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Vision:To be a global leader in Solar Industry by providing efficient Solar Energy Solutions.

Our Values:Quality and Integrity Consistency Innovation Accountability Transparency

Advanced Manufacturing System:Automation- Manufacturing facility of 400 MW along with minimal human interference. Computation - Very well-equipped data analysis for forwarding integration and Reverse engineering tracking. Artificial Intelligence - Advanced MES that provides production, quality and stringent quality control systems.

PIXON ENVISIONS TO GLOBALLY PROVIDE EFFICIENT SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS. THUS, CONTRIBUTING AND ENHANCING GLOBAL CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY."

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 66

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: Become the global leader of clean energy conversion technology

Mission: 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-of-theart 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.

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 high-efficient, 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.

Quality Policy Of The Company: 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 industry-leading 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. 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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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 67

COMPANY FEATURE

Trina Solar - The Shining Star Of The Global Solar Industry Trina Solar, which was founded in 1997, 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 microgrid, and multi-energy complementary systems development and sales, as well as energy cloud-platform operation. The company promotes global sustainable development, for which it delivers PV products, applications, and services. In 2018, Trina Solar first launched the Energy IoT brand and is now aiming to be a global leader in smart energy. As of December 2020, Trina Solar delivered more than 70 GW of solar modules worldwide and ranked on the list of "Top 500 Private Enterprises in China”. In addition, Trina's downstream business includes solar PV project development, financing, design, construction, operations and management, and one-stop system integration solutions for customers. Trina Solar has connected over 5GW of solar power plants to the grid worldwide. Trina Solar has recently been awarded as bankable by all survey respondents in the 2021 PV Module and Inverter Bankability report issued by BloombergNEF. With the release of this report, Trina Solar is now the only module manufacturer to be rated as bankable for six consecutive years by 100% of the industry respondents participating in the annual BloombergNEF survey. The BloombergNEF report has researched Trina Solar’s financial health, a record of its modules in the field, and manufacturer warranties while awarding the company. The BloombergNEF 2021 Module and Inverter Bankability Report also cited the annual photovoltaic module reliability scorecard report issued by the internationally authoritative certification body PV Evolution Labs. The PVEL report affirmed the outstanding performance of Trina Solar’s modules in terms of reliability and power generation capacity. The 2021 scorecard marked the 7th consecutive recognition for Trina as "Top Performer" among global module manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.trinasolar.com.

Vision: Leading global energy transformation with standardized and high-value PV smart energy solutions

Mission: Solar energy for all

Business Goals & Objectives: Trina Solar believes in constant innovation and always strives to push the PV industry forward by creating greater grid parity of PV power and popularizing renewable energy. The company’s mission and aim are 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.

Ultra-high power modules significantly reduce project costs Trina’s Vertex module series, using 210 mm silicon wafers, boasts high power, high efficiency, high reliability and high power generation. The modules can be used in any setting, such as residential or industrial and commercial rooftops, or large-scale power stations. Whether in terms of the supply chain at the manufacturing end, or inverter and tracker compatibility at the system’s end, or even in terms of customer value aspects such as BOS or LCOE performance, Trina’s Vertex series of ultrahigh-power modules is ahead of the game: the non-destructive cutting + high-density interconnection + MBB(multi-Bus bar) combination forms a high-efficiency, high-reliability foundation, while low voltage and high string power boost single-string power by over 40%. With clear product value and hugely reduced BOS costs, customers get greater value, and our 600W+ ultra-high-power modules come with mature technical specifications and industry approval. The production capacity of 210 mm Vertex modules is expected to exceed 40 GW in 2021.

TRINA SOLAR’S FACTORY IN CHANGZHOU, CHINA

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 68

High-reliability tracker system solutions

Business Competitiveness:

TrinaTracker is Trina Solar’s tracker brand, which offers four key advantages—high reliability, low O&M costs, greater yield and unified module-tracker channels, contributing to the core component of our smart energy integrated solutions. Globally, PV power generation is currently in the final mile towards grid parity. TrinaTracker's Vanguard 600W+ series trackers perfectly match the mainstream 210 ultra-high-power modules up to 600W+ and 550W, massively increasing the energy yield, reducing LCOE and improving the returns of the PV power station. TrinaTracker's global installation has now exceeded 5 GW with production capacity up to 7 GW in 2021.

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 continues to set industry standards and benchmarks for performance and sustainability. The company boasts of robust and rigorous R&D, which facilitates Trina Solar's rapid rate of innovation and has led to over 2000 patent applications, including over 1000 invention patents. With world records of 23.22% with n-type iTOPCon Solar Cell on Cast-mono substrate in Nov. 2019 and aperture module efficiency of 23.03% for larger-area industrial silicon p-type modules in June 2021, Trina continues to set the standard for solar efficiency. The unmatched level of innovation and technological capabilities of Trina Solar has allowed the company to become a global leader by setting industry benchmarks for both quality and efficiency.

Utility projects & EPCM Trina Solar has been positioned as a world-leading provider of integrated smart PV energy solutions, and it continues to strengthen our business systems, especially core products such as PV cells and modules; Trina Solar is also furthering the expansion of integrated solutions toward the whole PV system, in order to provide higher-quality services to end-users. Following two decades of hard work, Trina Solar is now a leading global developer of PV power station projects, offering customers one-stop system-integrated solutions comprising development, financing, design, works and O&M. As of December 2020, the company’s global projects had a cumulative on-grid capacity of over 5 GW, with over 7 GW of top-quality project reserves.

Leading the energy transition through storage Trina Storage, a business unit of Trina Solar, is a global energy storage solution provider dedicated to enabling governments, corporates, societies, and communities to achieve a cleaner, greener and sustainable world. Using a sophisticated and advanced solution platform, Trina Storage is ready to solve today's complex renewable energy integration challenges. As the world's leading provider of PV smart energy and energy solutions, Trina Solar is committed to accelerating the global application of smart energy to create a new world of carbon-free energy.

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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.

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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, Trina Solar is now the only module manufacturer to be rated as bankable for six consecutive years by 100% of the industry respondents participating in the annual BloombergNEF survey As part of Trina Solar’s commitment to quality and reliability in its 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 global solar pioneer, Trina Solar helped change the solar industry, rapidly growing from one of the first PV enterprises in China to becoming 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, the United States, Japan, Singapore, and the 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 commercial and large public facilities.

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.

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

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 70

PRODUCT FEATURE

Arctech Tracking System SkyLine II is Taking the Industry by Storm

As stated in the study published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) recently, India now has 100 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, of which solar comprises 40 GW, indicating India has fully set some global context when it comes to sustainability and coming up with an efficient and clear path to its sustainable future. Echoing the trend to increase the national solar power capacity to 5630 GW in order to become a net-zero emissions nation by 2070, there is a flip side of the story. It has been indisputable that PV modules have been designed in a larger format for increased power. It enlarged both tracker chord and length, posing a stability challenge to traditional single axis trackers. As the new modules are no longer fully compatible with traditional flexible trackers, Arctech launched SkyLine II as a new solution.

SkyLine II’s top five innovations: Pentagonal torque tube design: This cross-section provides SkyLine II with larger bending and torsional capabilities with minimum steel utilization. The design does not only stiffen SkyLine II by equipping it with larger bending and torsional capabilities but also allows for the highest stability at all tracking tilts. It also facilitated SkyLine II utilizing the fewest posts per MW in the industry (180 posts/MW), which consequently decreases Engineering Procurement Construction’s cost by about 2%. Synchronous multi-point drive mechanism: This mechanism rigidifies the tracker to the point of enabling 0deg wind stow mode. This is critical to keep allowable pressure levels on the new large-format modules and prevent cracking and delamination. Moreover, while the whole tracker industry tends to reduce wind stow speeds, Skyline II only triggers wind stows at 22m/s, which leads to up to 2% more energy yield per year, hence a lower levelized cost of energy. Standardized design: It is the industry norm that trackers along the perimeter are very different from the edge and far interior trackers within a plant layout, Exterior trackers are commonly equipped with thicker components increasing steel utilization. SkyLine II, enabled by a stiff design and more design variables to optimize the outcome, challenges this norm by incorporating a new standardized design, which lowers the complexity and types of trackers in the field. This increases the flexibility of solar plant design and reduces the general cost.

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Modular design: Like “Playing Lego”, SkyLine II can be adapted to mounting the optimum number of strings per tracker for each PV module. That is done by adding or removing posts and drives. Thus, the modularized SkyLine II adapts more efficiently to difficult terrains without large cost oscillations. Meanwhile, due to good compatibility with string inverters, SkyLine II can release the potential of string inverters by reducing mismatch. New-generation AI tracking algorithms: SkyLine II uses machine learning based upon environment and operational data acquisition. Smart backtracking algorithms are also used to determine the optimum tracker tilt in each topography and environment, allowing for real time shading avoidance for up to 7% more energy generation. Arctech is a world leading manufacturer and supplier of intelligent solar trackers, fixed-tilt structures and BIPV systems for utility-scale and commercial solar PV projects. According to the Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables report 2020, Arctech topped the ranking in the Asian Pacific region with a 35% market share, aided by the unparalleled leadership in the Indian solar market. The company maintained the number 1 tracker supplier in the region for three consecutive years. "India will be the second-largest market for trackers in Asia, with an ambitious target to install 100 GW of solar by 2022 and a mature market with competitive tenders that have been significantly oversubscribed, which will lead to an increased need to reduce LCOE for future projects. India is also one of the first batch global markets as we are celebrating the fifth anniversary this year with the newly launch of SKYLINE II, Arctech will continuously to enhance our presence in expediting the energy transformation for this nation” Remarked by Gail Chen, General Manager of East Asia and India at Arctech.

ACCORDING TO THE WOOD MACKENZIE POWER & RENEWABLES REPORT 2020, ARCTECH TOPPED THE RANKING IN THE ASIAN PACIFIC REGION WITH A 35% MARKET SHARE, AIDED BY THE UNPARALLELED LEADERSHIP IN THE INDIAN SOLAR MARKET." OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 71

PRODUCT FEATURE

Rooftop PV Solar Power Plants –Best Practices in O&M Services Operation on hub concept: VENKATESH S OMS MANAGER, AVI SOLAR ENERGY PVT LTD

Avi Solar Energy Pvt Limited is an ISO9001 Company founded in 2010 with its headquarters in Bangalore and with a vision to contribute to Environment and Society by harvesting energy from sunlight. Avi Solar Energy entered solar O&M services as well as into solar EPC business in 2015 In its last 5 years journey, Avi Solar has provided its O&M services to more than 2.2GW solar power plants cumulatively across 11 states in India.

As customers solar roof top sites are spread across various cities, to provide cost effective O&M services to these customers along with qualified technical team and quick response, our O&M teams are deployed at selected cities with complete resources. This also helps in easy and quick scaling up of our resources / operations for providing O&M services for new projects in the same hub/city. Our hubs which are already functional in full scale are in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Vizag, Bhilwara etc providing our O&M services to customers like Cleanmax, Cleantech, Bosch, Atria, Renew Power, Fourth Partner etc.

Avi Solar Entered into Rooftop PV solar operations and maintenance(O&M) segment in October 2018 and as of date, we are handling O&M Service of around 130+ MW rooftop solar power plants, spread across 145+ sites in 11 states across India. Some of our Best O&M practices followed in Rooftop O&M services are: Well Defined Safety Criteria for Carrying out O&M activities on Rooftop Operation on hub concept i EHS Practices (HIRA, PTW, Toolbox talk, Work at height training) Best Centralized Monitoring

Well Defined Safety Criteria for Carrying out O&M activities on Rooftop: To ensure the safety of the team working on the rooftop, we have clearly defined this safety Criteria matrix which helps the team on the site itself to take appropriate & objective decisions.

Best EHS Practices:Training-

AVI SOLAR HAS PROVIDED ITS O&M SERVICES TO MORE THAN 2.2GW SOLAR POWER

All our Engineers and Technicians are trained as per a well-defined training calendar for work at height, Electrical hazards, FIRST AID, Environmental Awareness and some important Do’s and Don’ts in Rooftop Sites, etc.. including our customers’ safety compliances/ requirements. Frequent site visits and site audits are conducted to check the implementation of our EHS practice and constantly educate our Engineers and Technicians regarding the importance of our safety culture.

PLANTS CUMULATIVELY ACROSS 11 STATES IN INDIA." | INDIA

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 72

Rope Grab SystemTo ensure the team working at height is sufficiently protected against any fall, we have implemented a rope grab system apart from other conventional safety measures. Rope grab means a fall arrester that is designed to move up or down a lifeline suspended from a fixed overhead or horizontal lifeline, to which the full body harness is attached. In the event of a fall, the rope grab locks into the lifeline rope through compression to arrest the fall. Rope Grabs are designed as a means of fall arrest between a worker wearing a compatible full-body harness and a suitable fall arrest anchorage. Applications include roofing, ladder climbing, general construction and tower climbing.

TO ENSURE THE TEAM WORKING AT HEIGHT IS SUFFICIENTLY PROTECTED AGAINST ANY FALL, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A ROPE GRAB SYSTEM APART FROM OTHER CONVENTIONAL SAFETY MEASURES."

At our Head Office Bangalore, we have a dedicated competent team members for continuously monitoring the site performances, in case of any type of breakdowns our team will be immediately contacting and update it to our service team. Further actions will be taken by service team to avoid major generations losses.

TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE TEAM WORKING ON THE ROOFTOP, WE HAVE CLEARLY DEFINED THIS SAFETY CRITERIA MATRIX WHICH HELPS THE TEAM ON THE SITE ITSELF TO TAKE APPROPRIATE & OBJECTIVE DECISIONS."

Centralized SCADA Online Monitoring: | INDIA

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 73

PRODUCT FEATURE

PIXON houses a clean room environment facility to an 800 MW manufacturing line for EVA films. PIXON is a solar module manufacturing company spread across 65000 Sq. ft area. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art turnkey manufacturing facility of 400 MW capacity for Solar Modules and 800 MW for EVA Films respectively. The company is equipped with a state-of-the-art turnkey manufacturing facility of 400 MW capacity.

PIX FAST CURE:-

Our products are categorized majorly into 2 categories:-

PIXON houses a clean room environment facility to an 800 MW manufacturing line for EVA films. With higher productivity and lower shrinkages, the PIXON EVA films ensure that the solar cells are protected and solar modules provide a better performance, even while facing the utmost harsh weather conditions.

1. Solar Modules:-

PIX ULTRA FAST CURE:-

Our premium range of solar modules is engineered in India using European technology. Our Modules exude excellence through quality & high yield. PIXON offers highly efficient modules tested in our in-house PV Module Test Lab which are as follows:Mono-Crystalline Perc Modules. Poly-Crystalline Modules. Poly-Crystalline DCR Modules. Poly-Crystalline Half-Cut Cell Modules. Mono-Crystalline Perc Half-Cut Cell Modules.

2. EVA Films:EVA Films are divided into two sub-categories which are as follows:-

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PIXON’s PID-free EVA films are suitable for all types of solar cells and back sheets with cycling time less than 10 minutes that speeds up your module production to provide increased yield.

3. EPC Solutions:PIXON provides turnkey Engineering, Procurement & Construction Services for the installation of solar projects. We have an in-house, well trained and dedicated EPC team for the execution of solar projects – from small solar projects to large-scale utility-based projects. Ground Mounted Solar PV Solutions: Rooftop Solar PV Solutions: Floating Solar PV Solutions:

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 74

PRODUCT FEATURE

Sineng Electric is one of the few companies who manufactures both central and string inverters for utility projects.

Sineng Electric offers a wide range of smart inverter solutions tailored for customers worldwide, committed to a cleaner future for all. Sineng Electric is a leading global high-tech enterprise specialized in power electronics products covering its business in power generation, power supply, distribution and power utilization. With advanced R&D, manufacturing, marketing, maintenance and service departments, it provides customers with a full range of solar inverters, energy storage systems and power quality control solutions. Constant innovation and optimization at each level is the only way to exist in the present competitive environment. In recent years, the market has shifted from small block size to 6.5/12.5MW block size and 1000V to 1500V. Presently, our R&D team is working on a higher voltage solution than 1500V for the future. Storage is also going to happen at a big scale in near future. We have been providing DC/AC and DC/DC coupled PCS and integrated solutions in China and the global market. Sineng Electric is one of the few companies who manufactures both central and string inverters for utility projects. We launched a wide range of string inverters in order to satisfy the growing demands of global customers. Now the company’s string inverter technology is already mature and has been extensively adopted by many customers. Our string inverters are able to turn customers’ attention and that’s why we have set up production lines for string inverters in India manufacturing base this year. In 2020, we have added a new string model (SP-275K-INH) in our string inverter product line which gives an ease-to-design array with the larger wafer 210 mm high power module.

The maximum current for each string input of this inverter is 20A.On the other side, Sineng is also working to come up with higher capacity compact central inverter solutions in near future.

Central PCS Solution (EH-2.5/3.15/3.45-HA-UD) Max. efficiency 99.0%; IP65 protection; PQ, VF, SVG, VSG and other functions; Off-grid operation and black start etc. String PCS Solution (EH-0200-HA-M) Max. power 220kW; IP66 + C5 protection; Pack level management; Independent charging and discharging etc. DC-DC Converter (EH-0182-HA-M ) Max. power 200kW; IP66 + C5 protection; Pack level management; Independent charging and discharging etc. Battery Container Outdoor design; Smaller footprint; Liquid cooling system; Three level BMS protection etc.

As a technology-driven company, Sineng strives to bring innovative solutions that can offer more competitive advantages in the form of more power generation and BOS saving. Sineng has been and will always be holding on to its mission “high quality is low cost”, thus coping with the demands of the evolving market.

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 75

PRODUCT FEATURE

Trina Solar’s Vertex Double Glass Bifacial 600W+ Module Series: The Top Choice For Utility And Large Commercial Projects Trina Solar has a variety of modules and solutions to fit all solar project needs. The Vertex 210 family covers five power types of modules, namely 400W, 500W, 550W, 600W, and 670W, each of them suitable for the allaround application, including residential and commercial rooftops, power plants, and agricultural and fishing farms. As the PV industry embraces grid parity, the Vertex series has a prominent edge in LCOE as a result of Trina Solar's continued push to reduce costs by improving module power and efficiency. Besides this, Trina also introduced its tracking solutions. TrinaTracker is specialized in the design, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance of fixed tilts and solar trackers. With more than 5 GW developed worldwide, offices on the five continents, and more than 300 projects carried out, TrinaTracker is your partner of reference for large-scale solar projects. TrinaTracker offers its clients a product of optimal quality with the most advanced technology, thereby achieving a better performance in each project. They adapt to any request and provide custom-made solutions to their clients.

Introducing Trina Solar’s Vertex 600W+ Bifacial Dual Glass Monocrystalline Module The Vertex Double Glass Bifacial 600+ module series are based on the 210mm large-size silicon wafer and monocrystalline PERC cell. These modules come with multiple innovative design features allowing high power output of more than 600W. Excellent temperature coefficient and low irradiation performance bring greater power. Furthermore, with the benefit from square mono cells and high-density encapsulation technology, the efficiency of Vertex can reach up to 21.2%., which is one of the highest in the industry. This module absorbs solar irradiation from both sides and can generate up to 25% of additional power generation from the back side depending on the surface albedo.

Trina Solar’s Vertex 600W bifacial double-glass module, DEG20C.20

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Performance Highlights: These are some parameters on which the module performance can be highlighted. The Vertex 600W+ modules offer High customer value with lower LCOE (Levelized Cost Of Energy), reduced BOS (Balance of System) cost, shorter payback time. They also offer the lowest guaranteed first year and annual degradation. These modules are designed for compatibility with existing mainstream system components and generate a higher return on investment. The Vertex 600W+ modules generate high power up to 600W with up to 21.2% module efficiency with high density interconnect technology and multi-busbar technology for better light trapping effect, lower series resistance, and improved current collection. The Vertex 600W+ modules offer high reliability with minimized microcracks with innovative non-destructive cutting technology. They ensure PID resistance through cell process and module material control. Also, resistant to harsh environments such as salt, ammonia, sand, high temperature, and high humidity areas. The mechanical performance of up to 5400 Pa positive load and 2400 Pa negative load is an added feature when it comes to high reliability. The Vertex 600W+ modules have high energy yield with excellent IAM (Incident Angle Modifier) and low irradiation performance, validated by 3rd party certifications. The unique design provides optimized energy production under inter-row shading conditions. They have a lower temperature coefficient (-0.34%) and operating temperature and up to 25% additional power gain from the backside depending on albedo.

Based on the aim of improving the system efficiency and reducing the balance-of-system costs, Trina Solar's research and development team has introduced an innovative low-voltage design that allows more modules to be connected per string. Typically, Trina can interconnect 33 Vertex modules into a 1500V string. Compared with other module types, a single module string can achieve up to a 41% power increase, At the system level, there are potentials of 15% cracking decrease, 17% foundation decrease, and 35% combiner box decrease,(number varies depending on design and site conditions) indicating an innovative technological breakthrough and ushering in a new era of 600W+

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 76

Trina Bifacial + Tracker Solution Trina Tracker had early access to the new module technology, which meant TrinaTracker had a head-start on its tracker competitors when it came to wind-tunnel verification and performing the necessary due diligence to integrate smart trackers with the new, larger solar panels in longer string lengths. Trina is the only supplier of an integrated module and tracker solution in the entire solar industry which makes it highly unique and specialized in its offering. Trina Solar is unique because it is the only one that provides a lower risk profile for long-term asset owners through single-point accountability in service. In a recent study focused on the LCOE advantage and value of the Trina 600W+ Vertex Bifacial Dual-Glass Module with Single-Axis 2 portrait installation (2P) tracker, the report found that Trina Solar’s Vertex 210mm bifacial dual-glass module can cut BOS by up to 6.32% and LCOE by 3.72% compared with the 166mm bifacial dual-glass module.

can be 120 Modules Per Tracker. These trackers help in 2.4% - 4.5% LCOE reduction, provide up to 30% Angle Adjustability and provide up to 8% Smart Tracking Yield Gain. The Vanguard-2P tracker is a highly stable, multidrive system. A smart algorithm dynamically optimizes tracking angle, increasing receiving radiation and reducing shading loss. The two-in-portrait (2P) configuration and 4-string-per-row configuration allow for more modules per tracker, and fewer piles per MW. On the other hand, the Agile trackers have a Dual-row 1P system featuring innovative SuperTrack technology. With 2 Rows Per Tracker, they take 65% Less Assembly Time, provide up to 20% N-S Slope, and up to 8% Smart Tracking Yield Gain. With one in portrait module installation, the Agile system minimizes risks associated with torsional stresses under wind loads.

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

TrinaTracker in India “With the current high cost combination of modules, steel and shipping, we see the use of trackers, which can deliver same or better energy at a ~20% lower DC capacity to fix tilt systems, unlock not only lower LCOE for our customers but also 8-10% lower overall CAPEX as fewer modules and less steel is required to be procured, shipped and installed,” says Andrew Gilhooly, Head of TrinaTracker and Utility Solution Sales for Trina Solar in the Asia Pacific.

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

Tracker Types:

Trina Solar recently won its first combined module tracker deals in India. “We relentlessly pursue our growth strategy in India, a focus market for our tracker sales in APAC. We are expediting qualifying local steel suppliers to ensure we can provide local content to avoid the currently high shipping costs and circumvent import duties on non-domestic steel to further boost project economics for our customers,” says Gilhooly. The company is rapidly growing the tracker team locally in India to ensure best in class customer service and on the ground support in service, and under certain arrangements can provide tracker uptime guarantees to customers to make the switch from fixed-tilt to tracking as comfortable and risk-free as possible. For further details on how TrinaTracker mitigates risk and lowers O&M cost for customers, please download the white paper at https://pages.trinasolar.com/en-Preventive-andmaintenance.html

TrinaTracker comes in two types: Vanguard and Agile. When it comes to Vanguard trackers, they have a single-row 2P multidrive system featuring innovative SuperTrack technology. There

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OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 77

BANGLADESH SOLAR WEEK 2021

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Top Honors For The Pioneers In South Asia Solar Industry Corporates Share Their Success Stories At SolarQuarter Leadership Awards 2021

Awards do not only acknowledge success; they recognise many other qualities: ability, struggle, effort and, above all, excellence. It is an acknowledgement of appreciation for your Team's hard work and dedication to achieve the milestone. SolarQuarter set the stage to honor and award some of the finest achievers in the Bangladesh as well as Indian Solar Industry. The Individuals and Companies received their much deserved recognition virtually in front of a huge live audience.

Bangladesh Solar Week Leadership Awards 2021: The gala award ceremony became more grander with the opening remarks of our guest of honor Mr. Dipal Barua, Founder & Chairman, Bright Green Energy Foundation & President, Bangladesh Solar & Renewable Energy Association.

Unveiling the proud winners:

Business Excellence Awards: Solar Company of the Year: Module - Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Limited The company is a pioneer of the solar industry in Bangladesh. They are the only company who have a PV module manufacturing facility in the country.It has sold solar PV of almost 110 crore taka in the last fiscal year.They have till now produced a total of 43.1 MegaWatt peak modules.The company is not only producing the modules for local market but also have exported their product to other countries as well.

Solar Company of the Year: Inverter - Sungrow The company is one of the leading brands in solar inverter and till now they have commissioned SG 3.125MW central inverter in Bangladesh. The company commissioned a 35 MWspectra solar park project which is running very successfully . It has supplied 100MW central inverter in 100MW (AC) solar park by energon technologies, FZE & China Synergy Co ltd. and indeed very glad to mention that by supplying 135 MW the company has secured the No.1 position for the central inverters.

Best Consulting Company of the Year: Engineering - Energy and Climate Consultants Ltd The company has been working in the renewable energy sector successfully. The capability of this company in the field includes implementing any Government or Non-government project in any part of the country. The major services that are currently provided are consultancy (feasibility studies, EPC bid analysis, and contractor selection), project planning & design, EPC, documentation and reporting, financial analysis and much more.

Solar service provider of the Year: O&M - Solarland Engineering and Development Co., Ltd. The company is the first to start O&M services for the solar industry in 2016 in Bangladesh. Currently they are providing their services to all the government projects as well as and O&M of 7.6 MW project. Within the last 3 years the company has implemented 20 MW, 50 MW and 7.6 MW projects in the country.

Solar Service Provider of the Year: EPC - EXELON Bangladesh Limited The company has provided EPC, I&C, O&M, consultancy services in most utility-scale power plants and mini-grid projects in Bangladesh in terms of both capacity and quantity. It is directly involved in executing 3 major utility-scale projects among them is the largest IPP projects in Bangladesh. Moreover, they are now the only local EPC company which is directly involved in IPP project development with ownership and implementation.

Solar Service Provider of the Year: EPC (Rising Star) - Rays Power Infra The company has been awarded the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the largest solar PV power plant in Bangladesh having a capacity of 280MWp. This project will establish over 600 acres of land and save over 20,350 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. Over 518,000 solar modules to be installed supplying over 400 Mn Units of green energy annually, sufficient to power 200,000 of households in Bangladesh.

Solar Project Excellence Awards: Best Solar+Storage Project of the Year - HS Engineering and Technology Ltd. The company has commissioned 50+ Urban Roof-top Solar Projects at different locations in the country. It has deployed a total 2.171 MW solar net meter system in 179 BTS locations within the country. The company’s project - Solar Solution, is a 3.3 MW project. They have innovated their own Solar energy remote monitoring system off grid and on grid together over the internet.

Best Solar Project of the Year: Utility - HDFC SinPower Limited The company is a joint venture between Sinenergy Holdings Pte. Ltd., Ditrolic (S) Pte. Ltd. and IFDC Solar Power. The winning project by the company is a 50MW (AC) solar farm located on a 170acre land of which 168 acres is for PV modules and another 2 acres designated for road construction located in Mymensingh. The plant has the capacity to generate 73 MW of electricity, which will help meet the government’s target of generating 10% of the country’s total electricity. The solar power plant was fully installed with smart (PV) solutions to connect to the national grid

Best Solar Project of the Year: OffGrid - Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Limited The company has been bringing light in remote areas ever since its inception. They have installed 1685 Solar home systems within the scope of 100 percent electrification under the REB project . This project is located in those areas where grid lines electricity was not available and now it brings electricity to almost 9990 lives which is a great milestone in the country. This solar home system includes 85 KWp, 50 KWp, 30 KWp solar panels.

Best Solar Project of the Year: Floating - Solar EPC Development Ltd The project is the country's 1st floating project, which is a 10kWpeak floating solar PV system on the water surface of the reservoir of its water treatment plant. The successful operation of this 10kWpeak floating solar system with netmetered connection paved the way for installing many more similar systems and even developing megawatt-scale floating solar PV plants in Bangladesh.

Technology Innovation Excellence Awards: Best Solar Technology of the Year: Inverter - Huawei Technologies Ltd. The company has introduced the World's 1st fuse free IP65 design smart string inverter.It is an industry leader with its unique value that lies in its long-term R&D investment in digital and power electronics technologies. With the mission of Leading Energy Digitalization for a Smart and Sustainable World, they will continue to innovate and enable renewable energy to empower each individual, home, and organization.

Congratulations

to all the winners!

BEST TEAM AWARD

Best off-grid Solar Technology of the Year - Solarland Engineering and Development Co., Ltd

The company is doing Solar street light projects in Asia's largest Economic zone (Bangabandhu economic zone). This project is located near to the sea and as a new industrial area there is a lot of dust at the project site. Temperature also rises upto 50 degree celsius. The company has upgraded the system with an anti salt, humidity and temperature control system to protect the battery. This innovation at integration of light, controller and battery is a sure shot winner.

Team Excellence Awards: Best Engineering Team of the Year - EXELON Bangladesh Limited The company and its team aims to provide uncompromised support during the whole process and be a technology & engineering partner you can trust. The strong and expert engineering team of the company holds expertise in Solar resource assessment,site screening and selection, conceptual design, shading analysis, yield assessment and costing study, grid impact assessment, environmental & social impact assessment,technical specifications finalization and construction & commissioning.

Best Construction Team of the Year - Solarland Engineering and Development Co., Ltd

CEO of the Year (Gold) - Mr. Akhtar Hamid Khan, CEO, Solarland Engineering and Development Co., Ltd.

The company’s expert team comes with more than 10 years of experience in Rooftop project department, Utility scale project department, irrigation department & civil department. The team consists of highly experienced and trained engineers.The team has been very efficient in completing the construction of the projects on time.

He is an enterprising leader with over 11 years of experience in the Renewable Energy Sector. Under his leadership the company has done projects of 150 MW+ and is working on ongoing projects of 200 MW+. According to AsiaOne Magazine he has been awarded as the Fastest growing leader in Bangladesh.

Individual Leadership Awards:

COO of the Year - Mr.Syed Shafiqul Hassan,COO,HS Engineering and Technology Ltd.

CEO of the Year (Platinum) - Mr. Mohin Habib, CEO, Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Limited The CEO has over 21 years of experience. Enriched with diversified industries portfolios and possesses Project Management and Financial skills.Under the strong and influential leadership of Mr. Habib the company is achieving continuous success in different areas and ensuring the company's new business opportunities which has helped business turnaround goals and targets accordingly.The CEO's mission and vision is fully aligned with the Bangladesh government's green energy strategy, vision and accomplish sustainable development growth accordingly.

Mr. Hassan has more than 22 Years of experience and professional expertise in the field of Telecommunication, Electrical / Mechanical, sales, marketing & construction engineering, project management in professional local and multinational organizations.Under his guidance the company has achieved many milestones. He has been instrumental in making the company one of the fastest growing organizations in Bangladesh as EPC of Power and infrastructure development company.

Emerging Business Leader of the Year - Mr. Imran Chowdhury,Country HeadBangladesh Region, Sungrow Renewables Development Co. Ltd. He has been working in the Bangladesh Solar Industry for 11 years with an educational background from Electrical Engineering. He has worked with many esteemed solar companies in Bangladesh and acquired great experience and expertise in the projects like Utility Scale, C&I rooftop, Solar Mini grid & off grid projects. He has been instrumental in building great clientele for the company using his business development skills & ensuring sustainable business growth of the company.

Influential Leader of the Year Mr. Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, Director, Centre for Energy Research, United International University, Bangladesh Mr. Chowdhury has around 24 years of rich experience. He is M.Sc. in Renewable Energy from Germany. He has worked on various projects in various countries and received research grants. He is an Influential leader and a true asset for the nation with many awards, recognitions and achievements for his outstanding work in the field.

Visionary Business Leader - Mr. Zahidul Alam, Managing Director, Engreen Engineering Ltd Mr. Alam is one of the great influencers in the Bangladesh Solar Industry. He has introduced a green initiative that started with the Solar Power Purchase Agreement with a leading Mobile Network Operator and has already got their geo footprints spanned across all divisions of Bangladesh. He definitely has a futuristic approach. He has worked extensively to promote and develop renewable energy projects in the country.

PV Module Week India Excellence Awards 2021: This year the PV Module Week India Excellence Awards were more grander as we had our guest of honor Mr. YBK Reddy, Additional General Manager, Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited giving his very insightful opening remarks and an excellent jury panel with our esteemed juries Mr. Goutam Samanta, Head PV Technology,Juniper Green Energy Mr. Srinivas Popuri, Vice PresidentGroup Quality,Greenko Group Mr. Amresh Mahajan, VP (Technology/QA/EHS), O2 Power Pvt Ltd

Unveiling the proud winners:

Manufacturing Excellence: Manufacturing Excellence: Solar Modules - Saatvik Green Energy Private Limited The company is one of India's largest module manufacturers having fully automatic manufacturing line of 500 MW capacity, compatible to manufacture maximum 345 Wp Poly and 400 Wp Mono PERC modules. They are expanding 200 MW capacity and will be capable of producing Half Cut & Multi Busbar PV modules with Power range from 530 Wp to 545 Wp modules.

Manufacturing Excellence: Solar Modules - PENNAR INDUSTRIES LIMITED The company holds the highest market share for Module Mounting Structures (MMS) for more than 7 GW and with a supply of more than 1.5 GW for last financial year. Their state of the art Photovoltaic Solar Module manufacturing facility based out of Hyderabad has an annual capacity of 300 MW's. All their products are tested and certified by TUV Labs & BIS. They are further expanding and adding a new line of 700MW at the same location.

Manufacturing Excellence: Machinery - Aster e Technologies Inc. The company with its industry expertise offers comprehensive technology solutions to clients and complete Turnkey solutions for Solar Module manufacturing and Module testing lab from consultancy to installation, training and service support. They introduced MBB Soldering to the India market in 2019-20, within a year they have become No.1 supplier in India with a sales volume of more than 4GW.

Manufacturing Excellence: Component - Alishan Green Energy Pvt Ltd The company is supplying EVA Encapsulant to Solar PV Module manufacturers with the capacity of 600MW/Annum and planning to increase it to 1200MW/Annum by next FY. They have made their mark in the Solar PV Industry and are currently supplying materials to reputed module manufacturers.

Market Leadership Market Leadership (Domestic) Saatvik Green Energy Private Limited The company is one of India's largest module manufacturers with a current capacity of 500 MW. The company is adding another 300 MW in Ambala and 1.2 GW in Gujarat. Last FY’21 they have sold more than 100 MW of Solar modules to 1000+ clients with a turnover of 205 Crore.

Market Leadership (Domestic) ICON Solar-en Power Technologies The company in a very brief period of operations, has established a 125MW capacity unit. They are also included in the List of Modules and Manufacturers for Solar PV Modules empanelled by MNRE. The sales turnover of the company was around Rs 240 Crores for the year 20202021.They have a vast network spread across entire India mainly covering North India, Central India & North Eastern states.

Market Leadership (International) - Zhejiang Jinko Solar Co. Ltd. The company is one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world. Company has built a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated annual capacity of 22 GW for mono wafers, 11.5 GW for solar cells, and 31 GW for solar modules. As of March 31,2021, the company has done Global Shipment of 20 GW with Revenue 5380(USD Million). They are a Vertically integrated PV module manufacturer of 37 GW capacity globally.

Quality Excellence Quality Excellence: Solar Modules - Saatvik Green Energy Private Limited The company manufactures Poly, MonoPERC modules.They have tie ups with few of the esteemed organizations like NTPC, BHEL, ONGC, SECI, Hild Energy, Hero Solar etc.Their Integrated Management system complied is with ISO,EMS ,OHAS and their Quality standards are inspired from IEC and IS quality checks.

Quality Excellence: Solar Modules - SWELECT Energy Systems Limited This company is one of the leading Solar Power Systems companies with a strong presence in the global energy market for over 37 years. Operating a 140 MW class 100,000, dust-free, clean-room, worldclass PV module HHV Solar Technologies manufacturing plant , their product portfolio comprises High Quality – High Efficiency Solar PV modules in various Power ratings with International Certifications and compliance to BIS & IEC Standards.

Quality Excellence: Components DhaSh PV Technologies Private Limited The company is specialized in manufacturing of PV Junction boxes, Cables & Connectors with the state of the art manufacturing facility of 5 GW at Bangalore.They are a ISO 9001 certified company which has formulated a quality management strategy that encompasses initiatives like House of Quality and Quality Function Deployment.

Service Excellence Service Excellence - Felicitas Analytical Services Pvt. Ltd. The company provides Testing, Inspection and Certification Solutions to Renewable Energy, Mobility and Environment Sectors. They help manufacturers in designing, development & testing of their products apart from that they make sure their final products meet global or country specific regulatory compliance requirements.

PV Module Series Awards PV Module Series: Best Performer SWELECT Energy Systems Limited The company has a 140 MW of Solar PV Module capacity per annum and 200MW of MMS manufacturing capabilities. They are recognized as ‘Tier-1 Solar PV Module Manufacturer’ by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.They have also received certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for Solar PV Modules including the high efficiency PERC modules.

PV Module Series: Best New Product (Domestic) - Jakson Group The company is setting up its new line of solar modules of 500MW. Their Helia series covers the entire range from 440wp to 600wp modules, making it the best series for entire solutions like Rooftop, Residential, Industrial, Ground Mounted, MW/ utility scale. This product is with the latest Half cut MBB technology in M10 cells with efficiency of 21.39% and the first Indian manufacturer to produce the highest 600Wp module.

PV Module Series:Best New Product (Domestic) - Navitas Green Solutions Pvt. Ltd The company has a manufacturing capacity of 200 MW for solar PV panels.Their brand Toto-300 wppolycrystalline special edition is a popular three-wheeler public transport vehicle with an edition of solar power preferred by millions of Indians and it has now gone electronic. The Solar Module for EV kit is an out-of-box installation system to upgrade from Electric to Solar.

PV Module Series: Best New Product (International) - LONGi Solar Technology Co., Ltd The company has 1.5GW of Supply of Series product HI MO4 Solar modules with market share of 15.6% and has topped in Modules supplier of the year 2021. HiMO4 series modules are being supplied to large scale and rooftop solar projects. It has qualities of High Power Generation, Lower LID and PID resistance.

PV Module Series: Customer's Choice - SWELECT Energy Systems Limited The company has more than 37 years of field experience and with a team of experts in Power Electronics. The company even today stays close to its customers and caters to their needs through continuous technological innovation, rich expertise and customer centric approach.They have been recognized as ‘Tier-1 Solar PV Module Manufacturer’ by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Module Technology Innovation Technology Innovation Excellence RenewSys India Pvt Ltd. The company's product is a breakthrough in the field of encapsulant that increases productivity of solar modules by around 20% on existing line of module makers. Their giga- fast cure encapsulant 'CONSERV 7GFC' is 20% faster over any encapsulant available in the market. It is the fastest cure EVA encapsulant in the market.

Technology Innovation Excellence Navitas Green Solutions Pvt. Ltd & PLUSS

The company’s innovation-HIMACOOL is a specific innovation made by the company which can help farmers to a large extent. Their product is ThermoTab ACTIVE PCM PLATES based solar COLD room. Using solar modules with PCM plates is itself an innovation and with this HIMACOOL cold storage is formed. To bring farm productivity & gainful use Cold chain supply management, ThermoTab Active PCM Plates Cold Storage is invented by the company.

Technology Innovation Excellence Jakson Group The company is a leading player in the Solar sector, having its own manufacturing of Modules and structures. Their Helia series covers the entire range from 440wp to 600wp modules, making it the best series for entire solutions like Rooftop, Residential, Industrial, Ground Mounted, MW/ utility scale. This product is with the latest Half cut MBB technology in M10 cells with efficiency of 21.39% and the first Indian manufacturer to produce the highest 600Wp module.

Machinery Technology Excellence Machinery Technology Excellence Ecoprogetti Production Process (I) Pvt. Ltd. The company offers state-of-the-art Turnkey & Single-Equipments for Solar PV Module Manufacturing with the best Automation and Quality solutions for every step in the process. All machines are designed and manufactured with a manufacturing capacity of 5GW Yearly. They have the biggest installation base in India comprising more than 35 Turnkey Lines & more than 50 Individual Customers for Individual Equipments. To know more about our awards visit us at:

https://solarquarter.com/studio/

Solar Quarter Leadership Meet-South India - Consumer’s Choice Awards Unveiling the proud winners of Consumer’s Choice Awards:

New Innovation In Renewable Energy : Hydrelio® Floating Solar Technology - Ciel et Terre India The company has won 94+ MWp under its portfolio. Their innovation Hydrelio® is a patented technology in the floating solar industry. They have used this technology in many of their projects in India.The technology is being manufactured in India, contributing to the government's Make in India, Made in India Mission.

Solar DC Cables - APAR Industries Limited

Solar Modules <1000V - SWELECT Energy Systems Limited

The company is India's leading manufacturer of solar DC cables. They have installed the largest number of electron beam irradiation facilities dedicated to cable manufacturing in India. The company uses 1.5 MeV, 2.5 MeV and 3 MeV accelerators to crosslink elastomeric insulation and sheath of solar DC cables.

It is a company that operates a 140 MW class 100,000, dust-free, clean-room, world-class PV module HHV Solar Technologies (HST) manufacturing plant with R&D facility at Bangalore. It has been recognized as a Tier-1 Solar PV Module Manufacturer by bloomberg.

Solar Modules <1000V - ECE (India) Energies(P) Limited The company is First DCR Solar Panel Manufacturer in Maharashtra with State of Art 100 MW High Efficiency Solar panel manufacturing facility at Amravati.It forms a solid ground with 45 MW+and Quality product with 1000 Satisfied Customers.

Power Cable - APAR Industries Limited The company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of specialised power cables. It has International certification of the highest standards.The company’s cables are powered by Electron Beam Cross-Linking technology. They are halogen free and can operate up to temperature of 120°C.

Monitoring & Data-Log Equipment Mahindra Teqo Pvt Ltd The company has deployed 9500 MWp Digital Suite .The suite helps in central monitoring & Control system, Remote monitoring and analytics of wind & solar power plants, advanced and easy to use CMMS tools & Digital twin integrated predictive analytics.

Solar Modules : PERC - SWELECT Energy Systems Limited The PERC technology makes the company’s modules have the highest efficiencies and highest output generation making them Perfect for residential, utility and industrial applications. The company had sold about 1,60,205 modules in the last fiscal year with a total sales revenue of 100 crores. To know more about our awards visit us at:

https://solarquarter.com/studio/

| INDIA

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 85

| INDIA

OCT-NOV ISSUE 2021 | PG 86