SolarQuarter India - January Issue 2021 by SolarQuarter

Empowering, Insightful, Engaging

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JANUARY ISSUE 2021

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JANUARY ISSUE 2021

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CONTENTS CONVERSATION

NEWS 06

PROJECT MONTHLY

THINK TANK

POLICY DEBRIEF

TENDER TRACKER

DARSHAN PANDYA, MANAGING DIRECTOR (INDIA), FOXESS

OPINION 17

TOP TRENDS THAT INFLUENCED THE SOLAR ASSET MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY IN 2020

HOW ARE THE DEVELOPERS APPROACHING ASSET MANAGEMENT TODAY?

"The Fox inverter range aimed mainly at the ‘rooftop’ sector is available from 125kW, with single and 3-phase options available. Fox will soon introduce a range of utility-scale inverters sized from 25 to 100kW"

PERSPECTIVE 20

WHAT ARE THE EMERGING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SOLAR ASSET MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY?

WHAT ARE THE KEY PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS FOR BANKABILITY OF ASSETS?

HOW HAVE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS & MONITORING SOLUTIONS HELPED IN THE TRANSFORMING ASSET MANAGEMENT MARKET?

SHARAD DUTTA ACHARYA

FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, BULL POWER ENERGY PRIVATE LIMITED

"Bull Power Energy has its services from complete designing, signing and sealing engineering drawings for entire Rajasthan, to high-tech installation, and end-to-end technical support"

INSIGHTS 12

SURGE IN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND WAY FORWARD

"LEADING THE NEW NORMAL” TECHNOLOGY A KEY TO ASSET MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY INNOVATION

LET’S TALK ABOUT ACCREDITATION!

COMPANY FEATURE 10

SOLIS

MEGAMIC

SINENG

KRANNICH

PREMIER ENERGIES

HUAWEI

AVP, O2POWER

NEASE

BULL POWER

"We in India are having a vast grid where the RE power plants are connected to the State as well as Central Utilities SubStation."

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EDITING

ATUL PACHAURI

CONTENT

DESIGNING Neha Barangali

Firstview Media

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Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

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Sadhana Raju Shenvekar Sanjana Kamble

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CIRCULATION

PRINTING

Smriti Singh

Kunal Verma

Vaibhav Enterprises

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SUBCRIPTION

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JANUARY ISSUE 2021

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PROJECT MONTHLY AGEL COMMISSIONS 150 MW SOLAR POWER PLANT AT KUTCH, GUJARAT, 3 MONTHS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE Adani Solar Energy Kutchh One Li mi ted, a step-down subsi di ary of Adani Green Energy Li mi ted has commi ssi oned 150 MWac Solar Power Proj ect. Despi te all the challenges of global pandemi c Covi d-19, unprecedented rai n and flood i n Kutch, Guj arat, conti nui ng wi th the Group’ s commi tment to nati on bui ldi ng, the team of experts made i t possi ble to commi ssi on the proj ect 3 months pri or to i ts scheduled commi ssi oni ng date. Thi s plant has a Power Purchase Agreement wi th Guj arat Urj a Vi kas Ni gam Li mi ted at Rs. 2. 67/kWh for a peri od of 25 years. Wi th thi s commi ssi oni ng, AGEL’ s total operati onal renewable capaci ty grows to 3, 125 MW. Wi th the commi ssi oni ng of thi s proj ect, AGEL has a total renewable capaci ty of 14, 795 MW i ncludi ng 11, 670 MW awarded and under i mplementati on proj ects.

HARTEK SOLAR ANNOUNCES COMMISSIONING OF ROOFTOP PROJECT AT ALCHEMIST HOSPITAL, PANCHKULA Hartek Solar has synced the solar plant wi th a smart gri d-i nteracti ve i nverter system, whi ch wi ll enable the hospi tal to run i ts medi cal emergency servi ces and di agnosti c faci li ti es wi thout any gli tches. The solar plant wi ll generate 72. 5 MWh of clean electri ci ty annually, offsetti ng 1, 397 tonnes of carbon emi ssi ons. Extendi ng i ts footpri nt to the healthcare segment, Chandi garh-based Hartek Solar, the rooftop solar di vi si on of the Hartek Group, has announced the commi ssi oni ng of a 50-kWp rooftop proj ect i n the i nsti tuti onal category at Alchemi st Hospi tal i n Panchkula.

TOTAL ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF A 20% MINORITY INTEREST IN ADANI GREEN ENERGY The transacti on marks the deepeni ng partnershi p between the Adani Group – Indi a’ s leadi ng i nfrastructure platform – and Total, i n the transi ti on and green energy fi elds i n Indi a. The i nvestment i n AGEL i s another step i n the strategi c alli ance between Adani Group and Total, whi ch covers i nvestments i n LNG termi nals, gas uti li ty busi ness, and renewable assets across Indi a. Thi s i s i n li ne wi th the commi tment of both Adani and Total to be leadi ng parti ci pants i n the sustai nable economy of the future and help Indi a i n i ts quest for development of renewable energy. Duri ng the development of thi s partnershi p, i t was further agreed that Total and Adani shall conti nue thi s alli ance i nto the wi der renewable energy space. Total and Adani agreed the acqui si ti on of a 50% stake i n a 2. 35 GWac portfoli o of operati ng solar assets owned by AGEL and a 20% stake i n AGEL for a global i nvestment of USD 2. 5 Bi lli on. Along wi th thi s 20% mi nori ty i nterest i n AGEL, Total wi ll have a seat on the Board of Di rectors of the company.

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TOTAL COMPLETES 1 MW SOLAR CARPORT FOR RENAULT NISSAN AUTOMOTIVE INDIA Total Solar Di stri buted Generati on (DG), a di vi si on of Total, has completed a 1 MW solar PV system at Renault Ni ssan Automoti ve Indi a car manufacturi ng plant located i n Chennai , Indi a. The PV system i s an i ntegrated carport coveri ng an area of 9, 000 square metres and i s expected to produce 2. 1 gi gawatt hours (GWh) of renewable Energy per year, whi ch i s equi valent to 2, 000 tons of carbon di oxi de (t-CO2) emi ssi ons per year. The system, whi ch i ncludes the carport structure, was developed, bui lt and wi ll be operated by Total Solar DG over the contract peri od of 20 years. Thi s proj ect supports Renault Ni ssan’ s goal of reduci ng carbon emi ssi ons i n i ts operati ons worldwi de.

AMPLUS LAUNCHES THE MILES CHALLENGE FOR CLEAN ENERGY START-UPS Amplus Solar announces the launch of The MILES (M+Innovati on Lab for Energy and Sustai nabi li ty) Challenge for start-ups ready to deploy soluti ons i n the Clean Energy ecosystem i n Indi a. Launched i n associ ati on wi th GoMassi ve Earth Network, an angel i nvestor forum focused on sustai nabi li ty, The MILES Challenge wi ll provi de parti ci pants mentorshi p as well as access to resources i n the Energy Industry. Amplus has commi tted to support the wi nners of The MILES Challenge through seed capi tal that wi ll help them scale up. Ernst & Young LLP are the Process Advi sors for the event. A j ury compri si ng renowned experts from leadi ng Indi an and i nternati onal i nsti tuti ons li ke the World Bank, UNEP, IIM Ahmedabadamong others, wi ll evaluate the competi ti on.

TATA POWER TO DEVELOP 110 MW SOLAR PROJECT FOR KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD LIMITED Tata Power, Indi a’ s largest i ntegrated power company, announced that the Company has recei ved a Letter of Award from Kerala State Electri ci ty Board Li mi ted (KSEBL) on 6th January 2021 to develop a 110 MW solar proj ect. The energy wi ll be suppli ed to KSEBL under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), vali d for a peri od of 25 years from scheduled commerci al operati on date. The Company has won thi s capaci ty i n a bi d announced by KSEBL i n September 2020. The proj ect has to be commi ssi oned wi thi n 18 months from the date of executi on of the PPA. The Plant i s expected to generate about 274 MUs of energy per year and wi ll annually offset approxi mately 274 Mi lli on Kg of CO2. Wi th thi s, Tata Power’ s renewable capaci ty wi ll i ncrease to 4, 032 MW, out of whi ch 2, 667 MW i s operati onal and 1365 MW i s under i mplementati on i ncludi ng 110 MW won under thi s LOA.

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AGEL RECEIVES LOA FOR 600 MW WIND-SOLAR HYBRID POWER PROJECT

ADANI GREEN COMMISSIONS 25 MW SOLAR POWER PLANT IN CHITRAKOOT, UTTAR PRADESH

Adani Renewable Energy Holdi ng Ei ght Li mi ted, a wholly-owned subsi di ary of Adani Green Energy Li mi ted recei ves the Letter of Award to set-up 600 MW Wi ndSolar Hybri d Power Proj ect. AREHEi ghtL parti ci pated i n a tender i ssued by the Solar Energy Corporati on of Indi a (“SECI”) for setti ng up 1, 200 MW ISTSconnected Wi nd-Solar Hybri d Power Proj ect. The fi xed tari ff for thi s proj ect capaci ty i s Rs. 2. 41/ kWh for a peri od of 25 years. The proj ect i s expected to be commi ssi oned i n 18 months from the effecti ve date of PPA. Wi th thi s proj ect, total renewable energy proj ect capaci ty of AGEL now stands at 14, 795 MW, of whi ch 2, 950 MW proj ects are operati onal and 11, 845 MW proj ects are under i mplementati on.

Adani Solar Energy Kutchh Two Pri vate Li mi ted, a Wholly-owned subsi di ary of Adani Green Energy Li mi ted (AGEL) has commi ssi oned 100 MWac Solar Power Proj ect at Khi rsara, Guj arat, ahead of i ts scheduled Commerci al Operati on Date (COD) accordi ng to i ts 25-year-long Power Purchase Agreement (PPA ) wi th the Guj arat Urj a Vi kas Ni gam Indi a (GUVNL). The PPA i s pri ced at Rs. 2. 44/kWh, as on 29 December, 2020. Wi th thi s commi ssi oni ng AGEL’ s total operati onal renewable capaci ty grows to 2, 950 MWac demonstrati ng a CAGR of 55% si nce March 2016.

SEMBCORP ENERGY INDIA WINS 400MW CAPACITY SOLAR POWER PROJECT Wi th thi s wi n, Sembcorp Industri es ups renewables portfoli o to over 3, 000MW i n operati on and under development. Sembcorp Energy Indi a Li mi ted (SEIL), a wholly owned subsi di ary of Sembcorp Industri es (Sembcorp), announces that i t has recently won a new 400MW solar power proj ect. Through i ts renewables subsi di ary, Sembcorp Green Infra, SEIL won thi s bi d i n a closely contested aucti on conducted by the SECI. SEIL has recei ved the letter of award from SECI to develop the proj ect i n Raj asthan, a regi on i n northern Indi a. It wi ll be connected to the state’ s transmi ssi on uti li ty Raj asthan Raj ya Vi dyut Prasaran Ni gam Li mi ted (RVPN). The proj ect’ s enti re output wi ll be sold to SECI under a 25-year long-term power purchase agreement. It i s expected to be ready for commerci al operati on by mi d-2022. The proj ect wi ll be funded through a mi xture of i nternal funds and debt.

CLEANTECH SOLAR ENTERS INTO A LONG-TERM COOPERATION WITH ELANG PERDANA, A MAJOR INDONESIAN TYRE MANUFACTURER Cleantech Solar, one of the largest commerci al and i ndustri al (C&I) solar PV developers i n Asi a, enters i nto a longterm agreement wi th PT. Elang Perdana Tyre Industry for a 4. 5 MW solar PV proj ect. Cleantech Solar wi ll provi de the complete turnkey soluti on and guarantee the performance of the solar PV system throughout the li feti me of the 25-year agreement. Thi s proj ect wi ll help Elang Perdana wi th thei r sustai nabi li ty agenda by generati ng over 136, 300 MWh of clean electri ci ty; equi valent to offsetti ng over 117, 500 tonnes of CO2 emi ssi ons. Wi th the swi tch to solar power, Elang Perdana wi ll enj oy the benefi ts of a cleaner and cheaper source of electri ci ty to power i ts manufacturi ng processes at zero upfront capi tal i nvestment. Thi s contri butes to Indonesi a’ s ambi ti ous target to i ncrease i ts share of renewables i n the nati onal energy mi x to 23% by 2025.

TATA POWER PARTNERS WITH SIDBI TO LAUNCH AFFORDABLE & COLLATERAL-FREE FINANCING FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR FOR MSMES CONSUMERS Cleantech Solar, one of the largest commerci al and i ndustri al (C&I) solar PV developers i n Asi a, enters i nto a long-term agreement wi th PT. Elang Perdana Tyre Industry for a 4. 5 MW solar PV proj ect. Cleantech Solar wi ll provi de the complete turnkey soluti on and guarantee the performance of the solar PV system throughout the li feti me of the 25-year agreement. Thi s proj ect wi ll help Elang Perdana wi th thei r sustai nabi li ty agenda by generati ng over 136, 300 MWh of clean electri ci ty; equi valent to offsetti ng over 117, 500 tonnes of CO2 emi ssi ons. Wi th the swi tch to solar power, Elang Perdana wi ll enj oy the benefi ts of a cleaner and cheaper source of electri ci ty to power i ts manufacturi ng processes at zero upfront capi tal i nvestment. Thi s contri butes to Indonesi a’ s ambi ti ous target to i ncrease i ts share of renewables i n the nati onal energy mi x to 23% by 2025.

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THINK TANK IEX & FICCI WEBINAR ON CHALLENGES IN SOURCING CHEAPER ELECTRICITY FOR INDUSTRIES IN RAJASTHAN The Indi an Energy Exchange, Indi a’ s premi ere energy tradi ng platform powered by state-of-the-art technology, i n associ ati on wi th the Federati on of Indi an Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), organi zed a webi nar on “Challenges i n Sourci ng Cheaper Electri ci ty for Industri es i n Raj asthan” on 12 January 2021. Shri Parsadi Lal Meena, Hon’ ble Mi ni ster for Industry, Government of Raj asthan graced the webi nar as the Chi ef Guest and hi ghli ghted vari ous measures bei ng taken i n the state to support i ndustri al growth and attract i nvestments. The Electri ci ty Act 2003 allows consumers wi th connected load of 1 MW and above to procure electri ci ty through open access. Thi s opti on allows sourci ng of competi ti vely pri ced electri ci ty and power di rectly from power generators, traders, or through the power exchanges. Based on an assessment of large electri ci ty i ntensi ve i ndustri es, i t i s esti mated that procurement of cheaper electri ci ty through Open Access can lead to potenti al cost savi ngs of up to Rs. 3, 000 crores for i ndustri es i n Raj asthan.

IEEFA: INDIA COULD COMPETE AGAINST CHINA IN SOLAR MODULE PRODUCTION WITH THE RIGHT GOVERNMENT SUPPORT Although one of the top 10 solar module producers i n the world, Indi a i s laggi ng behi nd i ts bi ggest competi tor Chi na, fi nds a new report by the Insti tute for Energy Economi cs and Fi nanci al Analysi s (IEEFA) and JMK Research. The report, Vi abi li ty Assessment of New Domesti c Solar Module Manufacturi ng Uni ts, fi nds current producti on capaci ty i n Indi a i s only able to meet 35% of total annual domesti c demand. Co-wri tten by IEEFA’ s Vi bhuti Garg and JMK’ s Jyoti Guli a and co, the report seeks to explai n why Indi a i s laggi ng, and what can be done to i ncrease Indi a’ s energy securi ty whi le accelerati ng i ts ambi ti ous target to reach 450 gi gawatts of renewables by 2030.

PG 7

IN CONVERSATION

"The Fox inverter range aimed mainly at the ‘rooftop’ sector is available from 1-25kW, with single and 3-phase options available. Fox will soon introduce a range of utilityscale inverters sized from 25 to 100kW" Darshan Pandya Managing Director (India), FOXESS

How has the year 2020 been for FOX? How did the company tackle the Covid crisis? The year 2020 was a tough year for everyone and it presented Fox with many challenges. Thankfully, owing to the hard work, dedication and ingenuity of our workforce, we were able to negotiate these challenges and continue to grow and we enter 2021 in a very strong position. The company is now operating at full capacity and in as normal fashion as possible, employing all of the necessary safety measures at every stage of the process; through production, packing and dispatch..

In India, we will be making available chargers, hybrid inverters, batteries, fully integrated storage systems and battery cells. We have high expectations and recognize that the energy storage market in India is very buoyant, and Fox is ideally placed to be at the forefront of that growth." Please tell us in brief about the key product offerings of your company. Fox is a subsidiary of Tsingshan Group, a Fortune 500 company with annual sales revenues in 2019 of 37.6 billion USD. It is the world’s largest stainless steel manufacturer and operates the world’s largest nickel mining and production hub in Indonesia. The company is aggressively stepping into position for the energy transition with its investment in Fox, a new company specialising in the development, production, and distribution of distributed generation

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products and solutions for the residential PV and ESS market as well as the commercial solar and storage market, with a product range that includes grid-tied inverters, hybrid inverters, lithium batteries and battery cells. The Fox inverter range aimed mainly at the ‘rooftop’ sector is available from 1-25kW, with single and 3-phase options available. Fox will soon introduce a range of utility-scale inverters sized from 25 to 100kW

What have been the trends in the solar inverter market globally and in India in 2020? The global energy storage sector has seen substantial growth over the past year, and we see this growth accelerating further over the next 12 months. We see this trend being mirrored in India where we detect a growing demand for energy storage products. Fox is ideally placed to cater for this market. We are part of the Tsingshan Group, so we have vertically integrated supply chains and therefore have chargers and hybrid inverters within our portfolio, as well as our own range of lithium batteries. Our full range of storage solutions will be launched in India very soon.

What makes your inverter products unique and different from competitors? Fox believes India is a very promising market and wants to play a significant role in India’s solar demand. Fox is revolutionising the solar and storage sectors with ground-breaking product developments, a vertical supply chain that is driving up quality and driving down costs, and an unswerving commitment to after sales care. By controlling the supply chain, Fox able to offer the high-quality products with an attractive price to be more competitive in this market. Fox inverters are precision engineered to provide maximum performance, efficiency, reliability and longevity. They incorporate a unique heat-sink and cooling fin design that is integrated into the inverter casing to ensure

optimal direct contact with heat generating components. The pioneering fin design creates a larger surface area and this larger contact surface greatly increases the cooling effect, increasing the heat transfer ability of the inverter by up to 30% when compared to other leading brands. In addition to reducing heat stress, the R&D team at Fox paid special attention to the inverter capacitors, the most expensive electrical component. Fox has selected the market-leading tier one brand for their inverters. A key factor impacting on capacitor lifespan is their capacity to store charge during each cycle, and Fox have scaled up the number of capacitors, decreasing the amount of charge stored and prolonging the lifespan of the inverter.

What plans do you have for your storage products for this year? We already have a wide range of storage products available and will be expanding this with a view to launching the full range by the end of Q2 2021. In India, we will be making available chargers, hybrid inverters, batteries, fully integrated storage systems and battery cells. We have high expectations and recognise that the energy storage market in India is very buoyant, and Fox is ideally placed to be at the forefront of that growth. As a relatively new entrant into the Indian market, we are already receiving very positive feedback, thanks to our unswerving commitment to both product quality and customer service. We look forward to building on that success in the coming year.

The Fox inverter range aimed mainly at the ‘rooftop’ sector is available from 1-25kW, with single and 3-phase options available. Fox will soon introduce a range of utilityscale inverters sized from 25 to 100kW" PG 8

IN CONVERSATION

"Bull Power Energy has its services from complete designing, signing and sealing engineering drawings for entire Rajasthan, to high-tech installation, and end-to-end technical support" Sharad Dutta Acharya Founder and Chairman, Bull Power Energy Private Limited

As a leader in providing immediate solutions for solar EPC systems, Bull Power Energy is working hard towards the easy availability of green energy to all. Ever since its inception by Sharad D. Acharya (Founder and Chairman, Bull Power Energy), Bull Power Energy has focused on contributing to Mother nature. He believes that turning towards renewables is an inevitable choice due to climate change and solar solutions are the perfect alternatives to conventional sources due to both low maintenance cost and long-term sustainability. Focusing on the C&I sector, the aim of the company is to gain customer’s faith by offering end-to-end solutions while upholding superior levels of satisfaction. The vision and mission of the company remains clear in its operations. Bull Power Energy’s vision is to install systems to the highest engineering standards while making the switch simple for its customers. It has revolutionized the way energy is delivered by giving customers a cleaner, more affordable alternative to their monthly utility bill. Its mission is to serve customer interests by maximizing the value of their investments while mitigating the inherent risks. Bull Power Energy defines local development as a vital component in its affiliations with all its partners. It is this fundamental characteristic, due to which it builds long-term relationships based on mutual trust from development right through to the operation. Relying on its experience in the residential as well as the Industrial design-build specialty structures market, Bull Power Energy works with its clients to identify the most economical, durable, and robust solar structures

How has the year 2020 shaped up for you especially after facing the COVID-19 crisis? The year 2020 certainly brought with it many growth opportunities and setbacks. From the government funding for growth of Utility Scale (Power plants, through bidding), to the Right to customer Gazette of Government which declared that net metering will no longer be applicable after 31st march 2021, in turn affecting the employment and

JANUARY ISSUE 2021

organizations which focused on the Industrial and commercial sector for Solar rooftop systems. However, it will also be a boon as the government is focusing on domestic and agricultural sectors which will result in increasing both the growth of those sectors as well as the opportunities for solar systems in these sectors.

You are a known player in the Solar sector with a variety of offerings. Kindly give us more ideas about your unique services. Bull Power Energy has its services from complete designing, signing and sealing engineering drawings for entire Rajasthan, to high-tech installation, and end-to-end technical support to help its customers solve the toughest challenges in the industry. We have projects in Domestic, Industrial, Agricultural and utility scale projects and is a specialist in roof-top, and custom designed solar structures. As a very unique initiative, it also repairs & maintains other existing/defunct solar systems which are installed but are not functioning. We house an internal team for the installations and maintenance of all systems and also tracks and monitors all systems during their entire lifecycle, irrespective of the size of the project while providing the customers with a very detailed overview of their system on a continual basis. Bull Power Energy provides customers with referral schemes where for every referral they provide their customer with green coins which ultimately turn into rewards. This has helped us build relations with our customers. We have a dedicated relationship management team for our every customer. We also provide O&M services to our customers.

What are the differentiating features of your solar PV systems as compared to others? The key differentiating feature of solar PV systems is that structures can face wind speeds of up to 180 Kph, have a string monitoring system which daily monitors both the systems and the generating units.

Please tell us about some of your ongoing projects and the new projects in the pipeline. Currently, the company is working on various ongoing projects such as a 150 KW PV system for Woolen industries, 500KW PV system for Hotel Bhawar Niwas, Pushkar, 20KW PV system for Jindal Agro, 225 KW system for Sipani woolen mills, 110 KW system for Gaurav packaging and 2MW projects are in critical phases. We are also working on a 50 MW project for MARTAND Solar Park and have many new projects in the pipeline as well.

What are your future growth and expansion plans for the upcoming year 2021? For 2021, We will be focusing on the development of systems for electric vehicles which are to be fully solar efficient.

Bull Power Energy provides customers with referral schemes where for every referral they provide their customer with green coins which ultimately turn into rewards. This has helped us build relations with our customers. We have a dedicated relationship management team for our every customer. We also provide O&M services to our customers."

PG 9

IN CONVERSATION

"We in India are having a vast grid where the RE power plants are connected to the State as well as Central Utilities SubStation." Atul Pachauri AVP, O2Power

In an insightful interview with SolarQuarter India, Mr.Atul Pachauri, AVP, O2Power elaborates on factors that can improve the life and performance of solar projects, the best balance for achieving grid stability and contribution of RE plants to grid stabilization.

What can be done to increase performance of the project while improving the life of the project? Current Performance and Project life improvement can be achievable with the Sustainability concept, where the O&M Operator needs to take care of the plants like an Infant. For producing the optimum Energy Generation, the O&M Operator must save each breakdown to happen. This can be achieved by timely Maintenance of the Facility where Solar Modules needs Quality Cleaning, detecting the Bypass Diode failures, module degradation, SCB/ SMBs, Inverters, Switchgear and Transformers needs Timely Maintenance with no or less deviations in DONE vs DUE dates. All this is possible when the Facility is being monitored through SMART means and not through conventional means. In nutshell the O&M operator should Monitor, Analyze, Maintain & Manage the PV plant (plants) using Digitization

With geographical diversity of intermittent power, energy trading, energy storage and load management, in your opinion, what is the best balance for achieving grid stability given these tools or other tools that you are aware of? We in India are having a vast grid where the RE power plants are connected to the State as well as Central Utilities SubStation. Precise Scheduling & Forecasting and smooth Electricity Transmission (no load-shedding) can make the Energy Management easier. Eventually, large scale RE plants should be connected for Monitoring and Control to common platforms as Power Aggregators where they can be utilized optimally for Active Power (P) , Reactive Power (Q) , Voltage (V), and frequency (f) support to National / State Grids. Straight of the Art & Standard Power Plant Controllers (PPC) should be Installed at RE plants and to be controlled centrally. In addition to that precise Scheduling and Forecasting should be done by Power Plants so that Load Dispatch Centers can manage power in & outflow optimally.

How can RE plants contribute to Grid Stabilization? As the share of RE Energy is increasing into Indian Grid, hence the RE Generators should also contribute towards the Quality of Power Injection and be prepared for maintaining the pf (power factor) and f (frequency). This can be possible by installing a good quality Power Plant Controller, which enables the plant to run at Optimum P (Active Power), required Q (Reactive Power), V (Voltage) and f (Frequency) support to Grid. On the same time the Scheduling and Forecasting mechanism should be strong so that more precise Forecasting can be made which enables the respective SLDCs to manage the Power with ease.

What are the key milestones you are aiming at for 2021? Develop and Implement Digitization platforms for all RE assets, to make the dream of Sustainability and Stability a TRUE mark.

What are the major post – commissioning project failures that often occur in the Indian solar projects? Module Failure due to mishandling during installation (develops micro-cracks) & cable failures (DC & AC) due to inappropriate methods for laying and trench back-filling.

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PG 10

TENDER T R A C K E R

FLOATED BY CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

TENDERS FLOATED BY PSU

TENDERS FLOATED BY STATE AUTHORITIES

SOLARQUARTER | JANUARY ISSUE 2021

PG 11

INSIGHTS

SURGE IN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND WAY FORWARD

Reduced cost of energy. Improved reliability. Diminished carbon emissions. Better supply quality. If all of that sounds good to you, then key for you is to know a recent surge in Renewable power sector. The advent of renewable energy resources, especially Solar PV technology is revolutionizing conventional practices of the power sector industry including generation, transmission and distribution. Renewable energy has reached grid parity in almost all parts of the word and it is expected to meet 80% of the growth in global electricity demand by 2030. As depicted in figure 1, the price of electricity from solar has declined by 89% in the last decade and the price of on-shore wind has reduced by 70% in these 10 years.

Fig1:Levelized cost of electricity (Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis) Fig 2: World electricity generation mix by fuel – 2000 – 2018 (IEA)

In the latest annual World Energy Outlook 2020 report, the IEA states “Renewables grow rapidly in all our scenarios, with solar at the centre of this new constellation of electricity generation technologies”. It can be analysed in Figure 2 that from year 2000 there is gradual increase in percentage share of renewable energy and on the other hand there is reduction in share of conventional carbon-based fuels in electricity production. To sum up, reduction in cost, supportive policies and evolving technologies; large scale centralized solar and wind projects have now become the cheapest source of electricity compared to coalor gas fired power plants in most of the countries. Renewable energy is helping us to achieve an economical energy transition for greener sustainable and carbon neutral future and is evident from the analysis (fig 3) which shows an uptick in electric generation through renewable resources, however the benefits are accompanied with equal challenges due to its intermittency and distributed nature.

The advent of renewable energy resources, especially Solar PV technology is revolutionizing conventional practices of the power sector industry including generation, transmission and distribution.

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Fig 3: Change in global electricity generation by source and scenario 2020 – 2040 (IEA)

Large utility scale solar PV and wind projects rely on scale of economics; larger the size of project there will be lower cost of energy and better returns for the project. However, there are few constraints that need to be evaluated 1. Infrastructure: it will be difficult to have larger projects at all the locations due to constraints in evacuation infrastructure, access to grid and land availability. 2. Capital Requirements: large projects demand complex and huge capital funding 3. Grid Operation: It will also bring in additional challenges for grid operation due to its intermittent in nature and mismatch in energy supply available and load demand requirements. Addressing power regulatory requirements also becomes challenging in terms of voltage, frequency and power quality. Moreover, there will be more capital requirements for setting up an adequate transmission and distribution network and that will also add to more losses; reduce efficiency of the system and will affect overall viability and economics. To talk further on this topic there are some opportunities to explore and benefit from. Decentralised / distributed system and hybrid system (Standalone energy system, microgrid, co-generation) can be an alternative where we can mix various renewable energy technologies like wind, solar PV and solar thermal along with storage systems and for minimum backup generators are included. Energy storage plays a progressive vital role in ensuring the flexible and stable operation of power systems, with an increase in percentage share of wind and solar energy. It can help in efficient use of energy and better power quality. Infrastructure cost and energy loss due to transmission and distribution systems can be avoided. Further, we can have more systematic supply and load planning. During peak power demands, mostly in morning and evening hours, energy requirements can be met though storage batteries and when there is surplus renewable energy, batteries can be charged back.

Big-data will play a significant part in comprehensive flow of information and parameters among stakeholders and facilitating dynamic adjustments to realtime market and operational conditions, and promoting efficiencies in generation, transmission and distribution networks."

Along with advantages of decentralized / distributed generation comes with some challenges due to their operation and maintenance requirements. Compared to large utility scale centralized grid connect Solar/ Wind generation projects, cost of distributed system is at higher end. Further, Storage of energy is also required to overcome intermittent and vulnerable nature of solar and wind energy; which affects overall financials of the project. To overcome power supply uncertainty from renewable energy; a larger grid-based interconnection across geographies and connecting supply across borders arrangement can also be a promising alternative and can play an important part. Considering its importance and economic prospect for the World; International Solar Alliance (#IEA) has come up with the mantra of “One Sun One World One Grid” (OSOWOG), a trans-national electric grid that supplies solar power across the globe to leverage multiple benefits. The vision behind OSOWOG The Sun Never Sets and is a constant at some geographical location, globally, at any given point of time. This initiative can help in building a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources that are seamlessly shared for mutual benefits and global sustainability. To summarize we can state that advancement in renewable energy technology, along with policies has given hope for economical and sustainable energy transition but the picture is not always bright, and there are headwinds. As per IEA “To achieve net zero by 2050 goal, would involve a significant further acceleration in the deployment of clean energy technologies together with wide ranging behavioural changes”. Big-data will play a significant part in comprehensive flow of information and parameters among stakeholders and facilitating dynamic adjustments to real-time market and operational conditions, and promoting efficiencies in generation, transmission and distribution networks. Government agencies and Utilities companies should also look at ways to capture those opportunities with their own products and services; wider deployment of cross border grid connection and distributed electricity generation technologies. Coming century is for fulfilment to eradicating darkness, reaching electricity to each and every home through green renewable energy.

Fig 4: Energy curve for distributed renewable energy and storage system

VINAY VYAS, VP – Engineering, Acme Solar

JANUARY ISSUE 2021

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INSIGHTS

"LEADING THE NEW NORMAL” TECHNOLOGY

A Key to Asset Management and Productivity innovation

Having gone through a period of extreme stress world wide, thought leaders are guiding almost all agencies, formal and informal, to start talking and create a framework of new systems which can generate fast moving tracks. Some factors to be considered could be 1. Re-engineering of old systems of governance(SOPs), Creating Productivity Oriented Organisations 2. Installing IT backbones at each and every work centre, and their connectivity for “ Real Time” “ On line “ communication /and sensitise further actions 3. Create Auto feedback , monitoring and rerouting the tracks for timely delivery viz meaning that Older Industrial Engineering framework and methodology may be rewritten. 4. On the Asset Management side like Plant and Machinery,Buildings, Transport and material handling equipment may be assigned a Running Cost for each operation and Output. This setup will have to be installed in Centralised Control Rooms (WAR ROOMS) , and reached to individual networks of respective units.This is in fact the SPIRIT of the Organisation and a SOFTWARE built around the inner self of Organisation’s goodwill and brand- more qualitative in its dimension rather than having a quantitative value furthered by the INGENUITY of EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE/ CMD.

The Above concept in real terms is actually on ground and has been visualized, conceptualised and also available via systems to cater to Industry 4.0 requirements. Wrapping technology around the vertical functional outputs in a standalone manner (SCADA, etc) smartly helps vertical integration and MIS for the specific functional resource or machine. E.g. if we can understand the availability, utilisation, efficiency of machines we head towards OEE as a simple function. Yes this is managed very well by specific SCADA or equivalent software. The Question to maturing - matured organisation is : Do we have the same type of machine across the plant and the answer is NO. DO we have resources who manage these machine YES Do we have Key resultant areas to govern the performance of these resources YES Do we need to monitor these resources and help increase efficiency of these resources YES

The challenge however remains and points towards a smarter management of this available Data to help Increase productivity, better the bottom line and environmental Challenges. To Deliver the above basic and move towards Industry 4.0 in a well detailed and scientifically managed move towards IoT Platforms has become critical - viz convergence of all the above verticals.

Technology Schematic and single platform for all Energy Management requirements

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Single Platform for Industry 4.0 Productivity Enhancement

In addition to the convergence of Data - the key lies in how we can use the data intelligently to improve performance across the enterprise- the answer lies in developing strategies around KRA- KPI - making a benchmark of previous performance and continuous improvement." In addition to the convergence of Data - the key lies in how we can use the data intelligently to improve performance across the enterprise- the answer lies in developing strategies around KRA- KPI - making a benchmark of previous performance and continuous improvement. These need to be displayed and managed by business dashboards for MIS-EIS purposes and Specific functional areas for the organisation structure deployment.

E.g KRA - KPI basic drivers and concepts which can help improve and build better resources with increased better performance in “New Normal” Assuming we take the most highly used resources and qualify it as ENERGY (KWH) do we believe that Energy resources are the most expensive raw materials /usable resources which hurts the environment and bottom line (creates a Business case right here - manage ENERGY reduce Carbon footprint). Organizations are building thoughts and trying to help the business case vertically broadly using different tools and technologies. Deploying renewable energy - Monitoring Deploying Strategies across Assets - Building management Deploying Strategies across Component and Machine - Preventive and Corrective Maintenance The truth is all of the above verticals are very valid in any Energy Centric organization. How do we manage all this to meet our business goals? The answer is look for Energy Management Solutions are designed specifically keeping in mind the convergence, increased resource productivity continuous monitoring and better margins with the ever dynamic changing climatic conditions, political and business competitive needs

SHRI S K CHAWLA, Founder CEO & MD, Winnerspitch Energy Pvt Ltd.

NEERAJ CHAWLA, Managing Director, Winnerspitch

Our aim should be to stay lean, thin flat organization , SMART AND SWIFT, APPROPRIATE TO REMODEL ITS DESIGN TO BEAT ALL TIME LINES OF NEW NORMAL

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Energy Pvt Ltd.

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INSIGHTS

LET’S TALK ABOUT

ACCREDITATION!

Inspection is an essential part of ensuring that a product (and for instance a PV module, a PV inverter, or a battery system) conforms to general or projectspecific requirements. It involves examination conducted by competent personnel using very specific techniques. To avoid costly delays in manufacturing, there is no room for improvisation. A company might decide to perform its own inspections or call for the services of companies referred to as “third parties”. But before commissioning a third-party inspection provider, it is highly recommended to consider whether the service provider has the required technical competence, resources, adequate management system, and ways to safeguard impartiality, confidentiality and to effectively process complaints and appeals. But how do you find this out? What exactly is accreditation?

Inspections are performed every day on a wide variety of products and services from clothing to building structures or trading practices. Although we often don’t realize it, we couldn’t live without these inspections: we would not be able to trust what we buy, eat, wear or use. Accreditation is the formal recognition of the competence to perform these inspections. It is the first link in a chain of confidence. Accreditations are delivered by accreditation bodies, themselves appointed by the states (one accreditation body per country). In order to deliver an accreditation, the accreditation body will perform a series of thorough audits of the company to be accredited, including staff qualification, training, and work experience, inspection methods, suitability of equipment used, impartiality, confidentiality, code of conduct and processes for safe work, and quality assurance procedures to ensure that they are in continuous compliance with the requirements.

How to identify an accredited inspection body?

Accredited inspection bodies are authorized to issue inspection reports or certificates bearing a given mark indicating their accreditation by the national accreditation body. (ANSI mark for inspection bodies accredited in the United States, COFRAC mark for inspection bodies accredited in France, DAKKS mark for inspection bodies accredited in Germany, CNAS mark for inspection bodies accredited in China, etc.) No compromise on impartiality

Small or large conflicts of interest are omnipresent in today’s economy. Firms in many industries continuously have to navigate these conflicts, which can sometimes even take the form of bribery attempts. Inspection firms, because they issue judgments on how industry players perform, are even more exposed to these unethical, if not bluntly illegal practices. That is why customers relying on the results of an inspection to take business decision should always demand the credentials of the inspection firm they hire. Hiring a non-accredited inspection firm is in this context a risky decision. Mutual recognition

One additional benefit of using services from accredited bodies, is the recognition of the work performed by these entities. Under the umbrella of ILAC, regrouping over 120 accreditation bodies and more than 90,000 accredited bodies, entities recognize the work performed by any member, simplifying trade and related authorizations and saving time for different stakeholders.

Table 1: summary of differences between ISO17020 and ISO9001

For instance, prior to or after commissioning, a buyer undergoing verification on its power plant equipment by local regulatory bodies may be required to provide evidence that conformity assessment was conducted on imported equipment. A Certificate of Conformity issued by an accredited Inspection Body can be swiftly acknowledged and accepted by such regulatory bodies. As a mark of its membership, an accredited body’s report or certificate will bear the ILAC mark. Accreditation vs. certification Although these terms are often mistakenly used interchangeably, they are not synonymous. Unfortunately, some companies maintain the confusion to serve their interests by misleading customers about the differences. A certification represents a written assurance by a third party of the conformity of a product, a service, a company or a person to specified requirements. The certification against ISO9001 standard, for instance, provides assurance that the certified organization has a management system in place that meets the requirements of the standard. This potentially applies to any company, and is no proof of either competence, absence of conflict of interest, or impartiality. ISO9001 certification is necessary, but certainly not enough for an inspection firm. Accreditation, on the other hand, is the formal recognition by an authoritative body of the competence to perform the work to specified standards. Accreditation standards such as ISO17020 for inspection bodies go much beyond ISO9001, and for instance require demonstrating the technical competence of the inspection body to perform the work as required, impartiality, and the existence and the enforcement of an adequate Code of Conduct: no conflict of interests, no freelance inspectors, qualified staff, adequate procedures, etc. Accreditation in PV industry Surprisingly, there are not many ISO17020 accredited Inspection Bodies active in the PV and Energy Storage sector. This is all the more surprising that ISO17025 (the “sister”, equivalent ISO accreditation for measurement labs) is a fully-enforced requirement throughout the PV industry. No developer would rely on business-critical measurements that were performed by a non-accredited lab. Nonetheless, and surprisingly, some non-accredited companies offer today inspection services to PV and storage developers. Without accreditation, however, there is no assurance that the firm will deliver the business-critical inspection in full impartiality. Can they really demonstrate and ensure impartiality among their entire staff, in all factories, workshops and production lines where they are inspecting products? Can they demonstrate that they never enter into a commercial agreement that would jeopardize their integrity or create a conflict of interests? How will their staff (or one of their freelance inspectors) react when subject to an attempt of bribery? There is today only one way to demonstrate both competence and impartiality: presenting an up-to-date ISO17020 accreditation certificate.

THIBAUT LEMOINE, VP, - Global Operations, STS

JANUARY ISSUE 2021

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OPINION

TOP TRENDS THAT INFLUENCED THE SOLAR ASSET MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY IN 2020

CHIRANJEEV SALUJA, MD, Premier Energies

COVID-19 is surely a black swan event for t he global economy, impacting almost every business segment i n varyi ng proport i ons be it Hospitality &amp; Tourism, Aviat i on, FMCG, Educat i on or industries like Metals, Oil & Gas, Text i les, Cement , and Fi nanci al Institutions. One of the prime enablers i n t he government ’ s bi d t o achieve the clean energy target, the solar segment t oo i s faced wi t h a series of short- and long-term repercussi ons brought fort h by t he pandemic. The disruptions in global and domest i c supply chai ns have posed a serious concern for solar developers and solar equi pment manufacturers in the country, at least i n t he short -t o-medi um t erm. Moreover, the pandemic has impacted t he execut i on of ongoi ng projects as well. Nevertheless, post-pandemi c, manufact urers need to focus on solar asset management and operat i on & mai nt enance (O&M) as they are key to technical and economi c performance of solar systems and plants. While digit ali zat i on has played a key role in O&M practices around the world speci fi cally i n t he renewable energy sector, leading to the development of speci ali zed asset management platforms, solar has been slower t o adopt more advanced asset management approaches. However, t he solar sect or needs to adopt more advanced pract i ces i n O&M and asset management to emerge from this crisi s. Let’s take a look at the top trends in solar asset management t hat emerged in 2020: Resource allocation & cost-efficiency: Opt i mi zi ng plant capacities and using private investment s t o mi ni mi ze cost of capital can help in creating generation asset s wi t h low uni t cost . If the project involves construction of a t ransmi ssi on li ne or a substation, it is advisable to have a dedi cat ed t eam i n place from the outset to investigate issues pertai ni ng t o i t .

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Prioritization of preventive maintenance: Self-performers wi t h flexible in-house staff are expected t o follow t hi s approach gi ven that project sites are considered cont rolled envi ronment s and no external staff is allowed. Limiting ext ernal cont ract ors helps operators to protect their personnel and mai nt ai n scheduled maintenance business as usual. Harnessing technology in O&M management : The O&M of a project is no longer an afterthought but one of t he pri me considerations for the project developer, as i t has a di rect bearing on the competitiveness and t he effi ci ency of t he proj ect . Solar power companies should move from prevent i ve maintenance to predictive maintenance by employi ng art i fi ci alintelligence-based tools; this will make plant management more efficient, more productive, and more cost -effect i ve. Automation and Innovation: Automati on can play a role i n reducing operational costs in such a labor-i nt ensi ve i ndust ry. Monitoring and control systems are becomi ng i ncreasi ngly open and connected, and professional asset management soft ware solutions are gradually replacing manual processes. Current digital technology has benefits that could help asset owners during these challenging times, limit i ng pot ent i al reduct i ons on plant’ s availability and overall performance. It is possible that business priorities mi ght be revi sed i n t he post Covid-19 era, but the need for improved execut i on and O&M wi ll st i ll hold good. It is time to set newer busi ness t arget s and use technology optimally to achieve those goals.

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OPINION HOW ARE THE DEVELOPERS APPROACHING ASSET MANAGEMENT TODAY?

Solar asset management revolves around maintaining the physical equipment and components of a power generating site, and the generation and sale of energy. It is the systematic direction of a site’s physical assets to ensure optimal financial performance. Solar asset management is a challenging proposition, as its performance is affected by a multitude of factors, over its entire life span. The purpose of asset management is to realise the value of the assets, to lower the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), to apply preventative maintenance and increase power generation and to reduce risk and improve investment performance.

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MRIGESH KEJRIWAL Head – Asset Management, Fourth Partner Energy

Distributed solar asset management – An Integrated Approach

An asset is defined as any investment that will yield benefit in future. A distributed solar asset includes the whole package of the revenue generating long term PPA as well as the energy generation systems installed on the premises of the consumer to fulfil the obligations under the PPA. The energy generated is directly consumed by the consumers without touching the distribution grid except for surplus energy exported to the grid in case of a net meter or the entire energy exported in case of a gross meter. Like any resource driven business, solar asset management has four key aspects: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Development Employment Productivity Sustainability

A solar power developer invests in an asset to generate targeted long-term returns over the term of the PPA measured as the internal rate of return (IRR) for that investment. The concept is analogous to the required run rate in cricketing parlance. Asset management activities are centered around the achievement of this target IRR. The key difference is, while in cricket a high IRR can be successfully achieved by MS Dhoni by hitting sixes off the last few overs, in the solar industry a time wasted can never be recovered. If an asset has lost valuable revenues in the beginning it can never be recovered later. The generation potential of a plant is constrained by its initial design. Any change in design at a later stage can only be made if the technological improvement coupled with cost reduction of equipment makes it viable to invest more money behind an asset and still achieve the target IRR. Design is the crux of development. It is the most important aspect amongst the four listed above since it sets the boundaries within which the game will be played later. Key items like tariff, yield potential and revenue protection measures like deemed generation get frozen upfront. A good developer takes this stage very seriously and it is the prime responsibility of any asset management team to have a thorough understanding of the key PPA terms and the build quality of the installation to deliver the PPA obligations. Any potential challenges like shadows, polluting chimneys, weak roofs, heating influences, inadequate evacuation capacity, grid outages are identified and addressed or priced-in at this stage. Power demand-supply imbalance is addressed through net metering wherever possible. Once an asset has been developed the asset managers make sure that it remains fully employed for every minute of the PPA term. As already mentioned, time lost cannot be recovered later since the life of the PPA and the equipment is finite. So, plant availability or more accurately energy availability should tend towards 100%. Dedicated preventive and corrective maintenance, efficient spares management, plus a sophisticated and reliable remote monitoring and control system is indispensable to minimize the mean time to restore.

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Having ensured that an asset is fully employed, it is essential to ensure that it yields maximum productivity. The performance ratio is optimized with the cost of cleaning to maximise the operating profits. India is dusty and industrial establishments, being prone to polluting fumes, such assets suffer soiling between 0. 25% - 1% per day and need to be cleaned 3-4 times a month. Insufficient grid availability and load availability can curtail the generation and that is covered up through net metering deemed generation charges to the consumer. Productivity is further enhanced by regular debt refinance that helps bring cash flows upfront, reduce taxes and optimise the cost of capital. Finally, the asset needs to sustain over the entire term of the PPA. Here the sustainability of energy demand as well as supply is critical. The demand is sustained by forging a strong business partnership with the consumer by aligning mutual cash flows whenever needed and striking a strong interpersonal cord. If the customer’ s business reality looks unpromising then timely initiation of legal recourse becomes important. The intrinsic value of the physical assets of a solar power plant depreciates very quickly due to technological obsolescence, so withdrawal of equipment is usually not viable after the first couple of years. The supply is sustained through deployment of good quality equipment and their operation within recommended tolerance limits. Solar panels are fragile and need careful handling. Walking on them is strictly avoidable as bad handling tends to void the warranty terms. Provision of proper walkways is a prerequisite on sheds. Further keeping spoilt panels in a string tends to spoil the others as well. So regular imaging to check and eliminate such panels helps ensure the sustainability of the overall asset. Adequate insurance cover including loss of profit is key to de-risking a portfolio against unforeseen events and ensuring best refinance options. Maintenance of proper documents and records ensures a smooth claim process whenever needed. The items listed above need a lot of discipline, professionalism and focus. In India the distributed solar industry is still quite fragmented and barring industry leaders, other players are not in a position to recruit and retain suitable talent to hold the whole bandwagon together. This presents the opportunity for professional asset managers who can aggregate portfolios of several small and midsize players and render services equivalent to the operations of the industry leaders. Asset management is most successful when there is a certain asset density and scale which allows the full utilization of skilled and unskilled manpower and j ustifies the investment in technology. In some ways it is analogous to professional mutual fund managers. While an individual wants to invest, a mutual fund makes it possible for him/her to take a smaller bet while taking advantage of professional competence at a larger scale. The advent of professional asset managers also opens doors for specialist technology products available as a service to the asset managers. Overall, the industry will grow and prosper if there is a healthy ecosystem of developers, financiers, asset managers and technology providers.

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PERSPECTIVE WHAT ARE THE EMERGING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SOLAR ASSET MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY?

It is important to investigate the performance of solar power plants. Knowledge about the performance of solar power plants will result in correct investment decisions, a better regulatory framework and favorable government policies. It is essential therefore to list the various factors that contribute to plant output variation. The performance of the power plant however depends on several parameters including the site location, solar insolation levels, climatic conditions especially temperature, technical losses in cabling, module mismatch , soiling losses, transformer losses and the inverter losses. There could also be losses due to grid unavailability and the module degradation through aging.

ANKUR GUPTA AVP, New Products & Technology, Amplus Solar

As the Solar industry is growing and mat uri ng, new busi ness opportunities are opening in the Operat i ons and Mai nt enance domain. These include, but are not limi t ed t o, drone-based i magi ng, data monitoring and analytics, automat ed cleani ng, forecast i ng, et c. A common underlying theme across all t hese i s di gi t i zat i on. Solar assets can no longer be considered as a physi cal collect i on of solar panels producing only electricity. These asset s also produce valuable data which can be dissected and t ransformed i nt o valuable insights to further increase the value of t hese asset s. A very good example is the automated cleani ng of panels. Led initially by some foreign companies provi di ng such solut i ons, a lot of Indian startups have propped up i n t hi s space. There i s a lot of scope to help the solar developers maxi mi se t hei r ret urns by optimizing the cleaning requirements basi s act ual condi t i ons at t he site. Latest automated systems are able t o sense t he perfect conditions for cleaning and can do thei r work at ni ght wi t hout any interruption in the generation of power.

Another emerging field is that of drone-based i magi ng t o moni t or the health of the plant. This has been i ncreasi ngly becomi ng mainstream over the past few years as regulat i ons and t echnology around this area have come of age now. Drone based i mages and thermal images can help the developer qui ckly i dent i fy speci fi c issues and correct them timely. They are also a great help i n t he evaluation of an asset prior to any M&A deal as t hey can qui ckly cover very spans of area. So, overall, as the industry consolidat es and O&M of solar asset s move away from traditional technologi es t o new-age t echnologi es, a lot of businesses are being built in thi s space. There would be further specialization between small and bi g rooft ops, and bi g scale utility plants depending on the speci fi c i nt ri caci es i n each of t hem.

Given the shortage of water and increasi ng wages for manual labour, this space is definitely going t o grow i n t he comi ng years.

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KARTIKEYA NARAIN SHARMA Head - Growth & Strategy, Sunsure Energy Pvt. Ltd.

The Solar Asset Management Industry i s comi ng of age, and i t needs to. Thanks to the already burgeoning Solar Developer Ecosyst em which includes not only the World's largest Fund Managers but also some of the biggest names in Oil & Gas and almost all leadi ng Ut i li t y companies across the World. Think Shell, Pet ronas, Tot al, EDF, Enel, NTPC, Adani, and the list goes on. Wi t h t he Worldwi de Inst alled Solar Power capacity crossing 500 GW in 2020 and t he average asset age inching beyond the 2-year mark, Solar Asset Management has t aken centre-stage in the Solar Industry's collect i ve consci ousness. While the backgrounds might vary, the underlyi ng ret urns expectations and risk assessments of solar i nvest ors are qui t e si mi lar. The Solar Asset Management Industry i s founded on t he premi se of making these Risk-Return assumptions a reali t y and t hen keepi ng i t that way as the portfolios grow. The Solar Asset Manager’ s agenda branches out from two broad objecti ves: (1) Increase Port foli o Revenue, and (2) Reduce Overall Cost s. The below t able provi des a quick glance at how these Objectives branch out i nt o workst ream items:

Long-term Planning & Embracing Innovat i on: Solar plant s have a desi gn life of over 25 years. With such a life expect at i on, i t i s very i mport ant for Asset Managers to continuously implement measures t hat add t o t he long-term certainty of portfolio returns. Thi s i nvolves formulat i ng strategies for the hiring, training, upski lli ng and i ncent i vi si ng of on-si t e teams – a classic problem for the infrast ruct ure busi ness, yet lacki ng graceful solutions. Maintaining the ri ght i nsurance covers and ensuri ng that all necessary compliances are bei ng fulfi lled i n addi t i on t o managing warranties for critical component s i s a ni ght mare for Asset Managers. Especially so, in the case of acqui red solar plant s. Re-powering of Solar Plants such that i nvest ors can boost ret urns i s a possibility considered in almost every 5 t o 10 year old asset . The implementation, however, is often delayed or execut ed poorly. The same is the case with managing wast e from solar power plant s. Repowered or not, all the solar plants beyond t he 5 year age have considerable waste that needs to be di sposed of i n a sust ai nable manner but with few or no options in most geographi es.

As is clear, Solar Asset Management (AM) i s a t ruly cross-di sci pli nary business function and achieving excellence i n t hi s funct i on i s t he least that Solar Investors should aspi re for. For t hi s reason, t here are a multitude of business models that have emerged t o enable t he Solar AM industry. In this article, I will share my vi ews on t he 3 key Technical Challenges for AM teams and busi ness opport uni t i es t hat these create in the industry: Lack of Transparency into Portfolio Performance: Whi le t he i ndust ry i s over-run with businesses providing basi c dat a moni t ori ng syst ems for solar plants, there is a clear gap when i t comes t o easy-t o-use, hi ghavailability information management syst ems. Such syst ems, i f implemented well, will be able to draw from a wealt h of hi st ori cal dat a such as: energy generation, failure rat es, t i me-t o-resolve, et c. and wi ll guide asset managers in taking better deci si ons. An important expectation from these next -generat i on syst ems i s t hat these will shift the prevailing model of li near i nformat i on flow (Si t e Team Contractor Asset Manager CEO) t o a more cent rali zed information flow so that it can be accessed or be deli vered t o t he relevant stakeholders directly. Speed of Identifying Systemic Issues i n Solar Plant s: Di agnost i cs Services in Solar Plants is a business t hat i s fast gai ni ng i mport ance in the AM industry. With the rapid innovat i on i n t echnology across all active plant components, new diagnost i cs t ools and met hodologi es are also emerging. From module-by-module or st ri ng-by-st ri ng approach to testing, large asset owners are now adapt i ng regular drone-based studies to identify risky t rends wi t hi n t hei r much fast er. EL tests can now be done on-site and i n a fract i on of t he cost and time needed earlier. Professional agenci es wi t h experi ence of diagnosing solar plants in varied envi ronment s wi ll prove t o be instrumental in delivering Solar AM teams out of di ffi cult t echni cal situations. Such companies will also be i ndi spensable for large merger & acquisition deals as assets change hands across t he World and are in need of technical diagnost i cs and di li gence.

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Lack of Transparency into Portfolio Performance: While the industry is overrun with businesses providing basic data monitoring systems for solar plants, there is a clear gap when it comes to easy-touse, high-availability information management systems."

PG 21

SIMARPREET SINGH Director and CEO, Hartek Solar Pvt Ltd.

Solar asset management industry growing by l eaps and bounds Typically referring to the systematic operat i on and mai nt enance of assets over their life cycle in order to reali se t hei r value, solar asset management involves both physical and i nt angi ble asset s. Whi le physical assets include solar equipment and component s, i nt angi ble assets consist of cash and securities. While solar asset management, toget her wi t h i t s t echni cal, commercial and financial aspects, ent ai ls mai nt ai ni ng t he physi cal equipment and components of a power generat i ng si t e and generation and sale of energy, the end obj ect i ve i s t o ensure opt i mal financial performance. Technical solar asset management involves moni t ori ng and report i ng the real time and estimated power generat i on performance of t he project. It follows a holistic approach t o know how much energy a project should generate for a particular peri od, keepi ng i nt o account factors like weather and degradation of asset s. The i dea i s t o ensure that generation targets are met. Operations and maintenance basically refers t o t he labour i nvolved i n physically maintaining the site. Commerci al solar asset management , on the other hand, demands tracking cost s/warrant i es and complyi ng with regulatory requirements to quali fy for benefi t s li ke solar investment tax credit and renewable energy cert i fi cat es. The financial aspect of managing solar asset s i s also equally important. It requires managing the ent i re port foli o t o ensure t hat t he investment is meeting targets relating t o net present value and internal rate of return through an enti re gamut of funct i ons li ke invoicing, tax assessment, insurance admi ni st rat i on and equi t y management.

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The growing importance of solar asset management i n t he current business framework cannot be overemphasi sed. Not only does i t lower the levelized cost of electricity, aid prevent i ve mai nt enance and enhance power generation, it also helps mi t i gat e ri sks, i mprove financial performance and ensure adherence t o compli ances and regulations to avoid legal implications. To meet the growing demand for managi ng solar asset s, many companies have now adopted technologi cal advanced syst ems li ke asset management software and cloud-based asset management platforms to make the task easier and more effi ci ent . The busi ness opportunities in this domain are growi ng by leaps and bounds i n vi ew of the rapid transition towards the clean energy ecosyst em, whi ch has resulted in higher growth and increasi ng pri ce compet i t i veness. The focus on larger portfolios has brought t he focus on solar asset management like never before to reap maxi mum benefi t s out of t he advantages of economies of scale through more effi ci ent operat i ons. The solar industry is, therefore, turning t o t hi rd-part y asset managers like never before. Given the intense competition and growi ng demand t hat have led t o low pricing, asset management servi ces are li kely t o get only cheaper. With developers now looking to optimi se t hei r ret urns and i ncrease t he longevity of their plants, asset managers now have t hei r t ask cut out i n deploying resources, skills and strategi es t o t he best of t hei r abi li t i es with focus on advanced digital asset management plat forms. The expectations are high and the opport uni t i es aplent y. Gi ven t he hi gh stakes, it is clearly a case of survival of t he fi t t est . But for solar asset managers who live up to their billing, t he sky i s clearly t he li mi t i n t hi s sunshine industry.

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PERSPECTIVE

WHAT ARE THE KEY PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS FOR BANKABILITY OF ASSETS?

Solar asset management revolves around mai nt ai ni ng t he physi cal equi pment and components of a power generating site, and the generation and sale of energy. It is the syst emat i c di rect i on of a si t e’ s physical assets to ensure optimal f inancial perf ormance. Sol ar asset management is a challenging proposi t i on, as i t s performance i s affected by a mul titude of f actors, over its entire l if e span. The purpose of asset management is to reali se t he value of t he asset s, t o lower the l evel ized cost of el ectricity (LCOE), to appl y preventative maintenance and increase power generat i on and t o reduce risk and improve investment perf ormance.

FRÉDÉRIC DROSS PhD, VP-Strategic Development STS

As governments set new post-COVID decarboni zat i on t arget s across the globe, one may argue that access t o capi t al wi ll become, i f i t i s not already, a limiting factor for deployment of renewable energy assets. As global leader in PV module quali t y assurance, STS therefore receives regular enquiries about best pract i ces t o ensure “bankability” of PV assets. Bankability is ensured through the evaluat i on and mi t i gat i on of all risks potentially faced by the project. Si nce PV modules are t ypi cally the largest part of the hardware invest ment , evaluat i on and mitigation of modules technological ri sk i s oft en necessary t o get the project financed. This need for bankabi li t y i s exacerbat ed by t he emergence of a new generation of modules (larger, more powerful, based on M10 or G12 wafers) expect ed t o spread aggressi vely i n the market in the next two years. A complet e li st of manufact uri ng risks associated with this new generat i on of large modules i s available at: https://www.sts-certified.com/publi cat i ons. To systematically mitigate these risks, STS recommends consi deri ng the Product (here the PV module) as t he combi nat i on of Desi gn, Materials and Processes: Design: Bankability best practices include accelerat ed li fet i me t est i ng of t he design, through one of the long-durat i on t est sequences developed in the industry: Thresher Test from RETC, PQP from PVEL, IEC TS 63209 ED1 (draft), etc. To be relevant , t hese t est s should be performed by an ISO17025-accredited i ndependent lab and t he Bi llOf-Materials (BOM) of the modules should be wi t nessed duri ng production of the test samples.

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In addition, with such a radical change of desi gn happeni ng i n such a short time, STS recommends an audi t of t he product development process to ensure that best practices (e.g. APQC met hodology) were applied during product development and no corners were cut . Materials: It is of critical importance to ensure that t he mat eri als used duri ng manufacturing match the materials defi ned i n t he desi gn. For instance, larger modules are more sensi t i ve t o weat her event s, such as strong wind, or hail storms. If the front glass used i n product i on i s either thinner than the design or not fully t empered (whi ch i s oft en the case for glass &lt;3mm), the module mechani cal st abi li t y i s at risk, and so is the investment. Bankabi li t y best pract i ces t herefore include continuous BOM control by an ISO17020-accredi t ed inspection body. Processes: Similarly to materials quality control, manufact uri ng process quali t y should remain under control during the ent i re product i on. Larger modules may push the boundaries of t he lami nat or for i nst ance; or of the sun simulator, in particular for bi faci al modules. A small change in calibration may lead to a large di screpancy bet ween t he pro-forma energy model and the actual energy yi eld, wi t h consequences on financial returns. Manufact uri ng supervi si on by an ISO17020-accredited inspection body i ncludes quali t y cont rol of manufacturing processes as well as cont i nuous moni t ori ng of t he calibration of the measurement tools, reduci ng ri sks for developers, EPC and lenders, and therefore improvi ng bankabi li t y.

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VAMSI GADDAM Joint Managing Director, Visaka Industries Limited

Solar power is the largest source of clean, pollut i on-free, and environment-friendly energy available t o us. It i s clean, i t i s renewable, it is relatively easier to generat e, however i t i s not without its challenges. To ensure its const ant avai labi li t y, we need it to be “bankable” – for the user, the developer, t he fi nanci er. “Bankability” in the Renewable Energy sect or essent i ally means the possibility that an asset will recei ve funds from fi nanci ers banks and financial institutions. However, t hat i s a st rai ght forward explanation. The reality is that the bankability of an asset , i n t he renewable energy space, can mean various things dependi ng upon who you are and what is your stake in the asset /proj ect . To fi nanci al institutions and banks, a project is consi dered bankable when i t i s able to generate sufficient cash flow t o meet i t s obli gat i ons; t o others, an asset is considered bankable when i t i s able t o generate optimal returns. It speaks to t he level of confi dence, investors and financiers have in the asset . Solar power has great appeal for invest ors and fi nanci ers looki ng at opportunities in the sector. A solar power proj ect ’ s scalabi li t y and flexibility gives it distinct advantages over ot her forms of power generation which are constrai ned by source of power, availability of raw material to generat e power and t he geography. However, solar power developers, invest ors and fi nanci ers st i ll need to mitigate certain risks which wi ll det ermi ne an asset ’ s performance. Where to locate the solar asset?

While a solar power project can be locat ed anywhere where t here is sunlight, it makes business sense t o locat e i t i n areas where t he land is relatively cheaper and there are good solar i nsolat i on levels. Moreover, developers need to also consi der local infrastructure and capacity. Locating solar power plant s close t o consumers reduces losses associated wi t h t ransmi ssi on. Developers also need to consider envi ronment al and local community concerns before commissi oni ng t he proj ect .

The use of technology, whether proven or new, i mpact s t he bankability of a project. Most financiers would shy away from investing in projects which use technologi es whi ch are new and do not have a precedent. Financiers are not solar expert s and t hey would wait for such technologies to mat ure and develop a performance track record and gain mat uri t y. Solar power plant commissioning and operations

Commissioning a solar power plant i s not rocket sci ence, but i t can be a tricky proposition if not managed properly. Developers need t o ensure the presence of trained manpower who can handle t he equipment/components safely. Addi t i onally, a “j ust -i n-t i me” approach will ensure that the sensitive and expensi ve component s are immediately used and are not left open t o ext ernal element s whi ch increases the chances of the equipment get t i ng damaged. Additionally, there are other factors such as mai nt enance and servicing of solar assets which impact bankabi li t y and vi abi li t y of t he project. The road ahead

Solar power is essential to meet the global power demand and i t i s important to ensure that such project s are nurt ured wi t h t he participation of key and reliable players. Ensuri ng bankabi li t y of a solar asset needs careful preparation. Developers need t o look at a broad spectrum of areas such as finance, envi ronment , consumers, regulators, suppliers etc. to commissi on a successful proj ect . Developers need to ensure that capit al i s deployed effi ci ent ly and risks, associated with the project, are i dent i fi ed and a mi t i gat i on mechanism is put in place to assure t he fi nanci ers. While solar power plants in utility scale are mai nt ai ned by t he workforce to ensure reliability and bankabi li t y. Solar rooft ops usually are left unattended and un-serviced. Thi s i s where ATUM, bei ng a highly durable and reliable product, bri ngs i n bankabi li t y i n solar rooftops.

Asset Design and Technology

After the selection of an appropriate locat i on, i t i s vi t al t o understand and choose the right power generat i on, st orage, and transmission equipment which is a bi g capi t al out lay at t he commencement of a solar project. The choi ce of t ransformers, safety equipment and system designs are i mport ant considerations that would provide first cost and t ot al ownershi p cost savings.

While solar power plants in utility scale are maintained by the workforce to ensure reliability and bankability. Solar rooftops usually are left unattended and un-serviced. This is where ATUM, being a highly durable and reliable product, brings in bankability in solar rooftops.

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MANJESH NAYAK Director / CFO, Oorjan Cleantech Pvt Ltd

India has set an ambitious solar target of 100 GW of i nst alled capacity by 2022 of which only about 37% has been achi eved so far. One of the key aspects to accelerat e t hi s solar adopt i on process is to make solar an attractive i nvest ment t ool for i nvest ors and lenders. In the current context there i s a lot t o be done t o make solar a bankable asset – that is an asset whi ch makes commercial sense for investors / lenders. Below are a few key considerations for bankabi li t y of solar from an Investors’ or lenders’ point of view: 1) The type of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – A Publi c PPA vis-à-vis a Private PPA has different power off-t aker ri sk. A PPA signed with a DISCOM with a track record of delayed or default ed payments cannot be considered low-ri sk even t hough t he offtaker is a Government backed entity. Si mi larly, t he off-t aker i n a private PPA has to be assessed thoroughly from a credi t standpoint. 2) The financials and terms of the PPA - Apart from t he bankabi li t y of the PPA signing authority, the exact t erms of t he PPA i t self are equally crucial. For example, does the PPA off-t aker commi t t o purchase the entire generation? Other fi nanci al aspect s li ke t he Long-term cash flows, the earnings before i nt erest , t axes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), t he debt servi ce coverage ratio (DSCR), the tenor of t he PPA (i deally, should be longer than the debt repayment period), et c are also i mport ant . Instruments like the Letter of credit t o secure t he payment ri sks and Liquidated damages clause should be clearly hi ghli ght ed i n the agreement.

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3) The regulatory environment is anot her key aspect . Clari t y on the requirement of permits and applicabi li t y of cross subsi dy, wheeling, transmission, power banking charges, REC mechani sm, etc reduces uncertainty and makes an asset more bankable. Thi s includes transparency in policies as well as t he poli t i cal wi ll t o support solar investment. 4) Project specifics including the hardware vi z., solar module technology, the background and bankabi li t y of Ori gi nal Equi pment Manufacturer (OEM), the structure type and make, t he Balance of System being used, the bankability of t he EPC cont ract or, t he warranties and performance guarantees and t he t erms for t he same, the O&M contractor and his experi ence are few very cri t i cal considerations for bankability of the solar asset . 5) Since solar assets are long term asset s wi t h plant li fe spanni ng a couple of decades, the location of t he proj ect and havi ng t he necessary unrestricted ownership and/or get t i ng t he access t o t he land secured, is also critical. 6) Availability of irradiation data for t he locat i on also reduces t he risks around performance uncertainty and helps carry out a reliable solar risk assessment report for t he prospect i ve i nvest ors. With continued focus on improving these key fact ors relat ed t o solar projects, the solar assets could be made an at t ract i ve investment tool. This would pull in the much-needed i nvest ment s in this sector to beef up growth and achi eve our nat i onal solar target.

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PERSPECTIVE

HOW HAVE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS & MONITORING SOLUTIONS HELPED IN THE TRANSFORMING ASSET MANAGEMENT MARKET? Recent trends in the technology utili sed wi t hi n t he solar power i ndust ry are providing more easil y accessibl e energy-ef f icient solutions to a broader range of businesses. Also, as t echnology cont i nues to evol ve and increase in popul arity, so do the benef its that it provides in saving costs and the use of energy. The appli cat i ons of I oT in renewabl e energy production invol ve sensors that are attached to the generation, transmi ssi on, and di st ri but i on equi pment . These devices hel p companies monitor and control the working of the equipment remotely in real-t i me. The i mplement at i on of IoT hel ps to avail of these cl ean energy sources to a f urther extent. The solar power monitoring devi ce i s i mport ant t o st ay i nformed about what the system is producing and how wel l it’ s performing.

DR KEYUR GANDHI Co-founder and CTO of Apollo Energy Analytics

All industries are slowly and steadily ri di ng on t he di gi t al transformation wave and Renewable Energy Indust ry i s no di fferent over the past decade, a lot has changed i n t he world of Operat i ons & Maintenance & Asset Management – and one of t he mai n cat alyst s for that change is technology. Organi zat i ons are wi lli ng t o i nvest i n digital technologies driven by innovat i on t o get a bi rd-eye vi ew of their entire portfolio. Not only that but a development whi ch seemed impossible before, is now taking place, as t he compani es and relevant stakeholders have the freedom t o access t hei r port foli o vi a a phone app and get a quick update of t hei r proj ect from any location, all of which have been made possi ble by t he advent of IoT, analytics and digital twin. The Internat i onal Dat a Corporat i on i n i t s report from 2017, predicted that the spendi ng on di gi t al transformation will be approx. $2.2 Tri lli on worldwi de, by t he end of 2022. - a whopping 43% increase from 2017. At the centre of this digital transformat i on, organi zat i ons are looki ng to drift away from proprietary ‘enterpri se IT’ syst ems whi ch requi re long development and upgrade cycles. Organi zat i ons are now looking towards a modern architecture whi ch enables much more agile methodologies where changes can be cont i nuously developed, integrated and mobilized i nt o operat i ons. A few ways through which innovation in technology can furt her t ransform t he asset management market are as under:

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A move to a cloud native technology t hat could essent i ally generate up to ten times in infrastruct ure savi ngs and over 100 times in faster responses. Adoption of Application Programming Int erfaces (APIs), whi ch provide a ‘ gateway’ to provide access t o dat a / servi ces for an external user or third-party provider. Use of microservices architecture to move away from ri gi d IT upgrades that provides the users wit h t he abi li t y t o replace or upgrade individual components ‘block by block’ . AI/ML will also provide greater transparency. Harnessi ng t he power of AI/ML technology can easily faci li t at e aut omat e manual processes and create seamless cust omer j ourneys. Use of IoT and Digital twin to enable asset operat ors t o: recei ve alerts & notifications; reduce manual asset search & asset li fe cycle cost as well as move away from mult i ple plat forms and establish a single channel for multiple manufact urers and servi ce providers. Benefits offered by digitizing O&M and Asset Management are: Reduce asset downtime by increasing t he response t i me. Real-time reporting of the assets from any locat i on. Access to the entire maintenance and operat i ons wi t hout bei ng physically on-site. Faster and better response rate in times of emergenci es. Prioritize critical assets for preventive, predi ct i ve mai nt enance that also aids in asset downtime and failure. Not only is there a significant reduct i on i n t he t i me spent on manual inspections but also the technicians have a freedom t o run t he analytics by themselves at ease with more accurat e result s. All t hese changes in modern digital technology wi ll be t ransformat i ve for t he asset management industry. A new era of i nnovat i on i n asset management, driven by a digital transformat i on i s at t he hori zon. And, adoption of technology innovat i on wi ll separat e t he leaders from the followers in the coming years.

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SIDDHARTH GANGAL Founder & CEO, Panelstack (previously TheSolarLabs)

A solar plant is designed to last for more t han 25 years. Society makes revolutionary technologi cal advances every 20 years. Markets emerge every fi ve years and so do threats. Therefore, a long-term planni ng approach is fundamental to solar asset management . Each solar plant should be considered as a st andalone business. Like any business ent i t y, t he ai m should be to improve profitability by i ncreasi ng revenues and reduce the levelised cost of solar electricity (LCOE). ISO 55000 (the int ernat i onally accepted standard for management of asset s) defi nes asset management as “the coordinated act i vi t y of an organisation to realise value from asset s”. Digital transformation of asset management revolves around data. Data integration from di fferent syst ems, data optimization and noise eliminat i on, smart dat a analysis and AI and machine learning algori t hms help us use this data effectively. They deli ver deep i nsi ght s at all stages of development, in an aut omat ed fashi on. Asset management is a holistic approach, rat her t han a technical one. HOTO (hand-over take-over) i s now becoming increasingly documented. For every proj ect nearing completion, information about t he di fferent broad aspects is captured. HOTO is essent i al i n t he early stages even from a financial perspect i ve. A misjudgement in output during the fi rst year can affect the overall NPV and IRR over 25 years. Digital Twins & IOT Digital twins are digital copies of physi cal syst ems, processes or devices. By creating a di gi t al t wi n of a solar plant, and running it through an analyt i cs engi ne, users can receive real-time updates on ext ernal weather conditions and failure warni ngs. These systems use Supervisory Control and Dat a Acqui si t i on (SCADA) to deliver features like benchmarki ng, fai lure mode and effect analysis, root cause analysi s, dai ly power prediction and performance forecast i ng. The implementation of IoT sensors and algori t hms can also predict output in various environment al scenari os. Structured Insights Uncertainty is an inherent property of PV syst ems. So, anything that tames the intermittency of solar energy is always welcome by the solar indust ry. Thi s where data patterns come in. Knowledge gauged from weather statistics and operational visuali zat i ons help manage variations in the grid. An LSTM i rradi ance predictive model developed by researchers i n Sout h Korea showed an error of only 13%. By predi ct i ng t he amount of solar energy generated, asset managers can optimize strategies for optimal performance. Predicting ROI With the massive push for renewable energy, t he market for solar investments is wideni ng. Wi t h an increasing number of investors and asset owners, reliable statistics for return on investment i s paramount.

With computer models that can predi ct weat her conditions, information about annual plant yi eld cans.

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also be determined. This data assists ROI i n t wo way Firstly, it can track performance output rat i os as a measure of investment. Secondly, it can help understand customer needs and purchase pat t erns. Predictive and Preventive Maintenance Site visits become especially tedious for plant s spread over vast acres of land or those situat ed i n geographically inaccessible areas. Moreover, t hey are costly and time consuming.This has gi ven bi rt h t o remote monitoring systems. They provi de i nformat i on like battery voltage, battery charging st at e, charge current, performance metrics, and module temperature. This is combined with li ve dat a loggi ng. Daily data logs give insights about energy usage and consumption. A multi-control status screen can allow users to access data logs of multiple si t es at once. Therefore, control of every single module and st ri ng lies in the hands of the remote user. Thi s reduces downtime by 80% as well as labor cost s. Predi ct i ve maintenance can reduce maintenance cost s by upt o 30%. By understanding performance, a mai nt enance schedule can be drafted. Computer Vision Enterprises engaged in solar maintenance have now shifted to a data driven approach aided by UAVs. Traditional thermographic inspections of solar systems are not logistically possible due t o t he lack of navigable space. The best case scenari o i s for technicians to walk the perimeter and scan t he st ri ngs of solar panels at an angle. This method, whi le possible, is not the most efficient at det ect i ng anomalies. Unmanned aerial systems wi t h t hermal infrared sensors offer a bird’s eye view at all st ages of development. They reduce reflections and allow t he vehicle to capture more accurate thermal i mages. For commissioning, warranty or regular mai nt enance, drone inspections are 90% more time effi ci ent . They can identify defects, hotspots, track mi sali gnment , acute soiling and shading that might be overseen i n manual checks. These systems requi re less t han 10 minutes per megawatt, and can save almost USD 1200 per megawatt. The data collected from drones i s analyzed by machine learning algorit hms whi ch can easily detect and classify problematic areas on a solar layout.

The ‘ install it and forget attitude’ previ ously associ at ed with solar installations is not enough t o meet t he ambitious targets set by investors. Asset managers must deploy resources, skills, and strat egi es for diverse solar portfolios from the pre-const ruct i on phase to post-onsite delivery. Accordi ng t o a report by LBNL researchers, average O&M cost s for ut i li t y scale PV projects have come down from USD 20/MWh i n 2011 to USD 8.4/MWh in 2017. The assi mi lat i on of smart sensors, Big Data and cloud comput i ng and Artificial Intelligence helps build an int egrat ed Computerised Maintenance Management Syst em (CMMS). This platform offers onestop access t o a complete energy portfolio, containing key KPIs on macro and micro levels. Data-driven deci si on maki ng produces 5% greater productivity and profi t abi li t y.

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PRAMOD DEORE Chief Operating Officer, CleanMax

Technology Innovation and Monitori ng Solut i ons have been key elements in the Solar Asset Management Sect or. Market i s evolvi ng everyday with new technologies being t est ed and used, result i ng i n direct impact on Solar Plant performance and revenue. Si nce dat a being the new oil of the industry and so i nnovat i ons i n moni t ori ng solutions are the need of the hour for bot h power producers and consumers. There are multiple new t echnologi es whi ch have already started finding their space in Asset Management li ke, artificial intelligence (AI), data mining, Block chai n, bi g dat a t o name a few of them. These technologies help i n convert i ng t he i mmense amount of data that these plants generat e, i nt o easi ly understandable and interpretable inf ormat i on, t hat can be used t o make optimised operational decisions. In t erms of equi pment t here is already a surge in the form of: Robotics (both for dry and wet cleani ng), Drones, Thermographic camera, PV analyser, Other highly efficient solar panel cleani ng t ools et c. They have proved to be of much help i n di agnosi ng t he solar plant , locating defects, cleaning of panels as per si t e locat i on i n much faster and accurate manner. Also, they help i n moni t ori ng t he overall asset’ s health condition for early det ect i on and rect i fi cat i on of failures. With the ongoing pandemic there has been a shi ft i n t he way Asset Management was being done and handled. Wi t h rest ri ct ed movements, unavailability of trained manpower and full-t i me

GOVINDA UPADHYAY CEO and Founder, SmartHelio

It is said that once the solar plant is inst alled, as long as t he sun i s shining, the plant will need minimal effort , whi ch i s not hi ng more than just a myth. Solar plants require consi st ent moni t ori ng and maintenance to perform at their best pot ent i al. Tradi t i onal O&M practices are Inverter based or work on decent rali zed moni t ori ng. As the assets grew, demand for CMS (cent rali zed moni t ori ng syst em) grew, paving the way for emerging technologi es li ke drone surveys, thermal imagery for panel degradation det ect i on, robot i c cleani ng, etc. Now there is a demand for business i nt elli gence usi ng dat a analytics to not only improve a site’s performance but provi de an overall impact on how solar compani es are conduct i ng busi ness. Emerging data analytics solutions are helpi ng moni t or consumer behavior to streamline pre-constructi on, const ruct i on, and post construction best practices. The problem with maintaining the asset st art s wi t h PV desi gn i s t hat with falling solar prices, the pressure i s surmount i ng on PV desi gn engineers to meet the scope under a t hi n cost margi n. The role of data monitoring is to make aware of t he current st at us of t he plant , whereas solar companies, looking for busi ness excellence vi a operational efficiencies are aiming at t ackli ng t he problem at i t s source and that’ s where innovative deep dat a analyt i cs provi ders are creating a value proposition sought by t he solar i ndust ry, especially post-pandemic. The stationary product i on est i mat i on

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technicians on site, technology usage i n predi ct i ve mai nt enance has picked up even faster than it was expect ed. Thi s t ransi t i on has not only helped in reducing the convent i onal mai nt enance cost and human intervention significantly, but also led t o deeper analysi s and unfolding of challenges that lie ahead for a 25-year expect ed li fe of the solar plant. Analysing plant performance with respect t o current i rradi at i on i n various ambient and atmospheric condi t i ons, (unli ke t he age-old analysis with PV system and taking care of i ssues li ke Smog et c.) Managing dynamic cleaning activities (as per requi rement against fixed industry practice of 2/3 cycles i n a mont h), Forecasting the performance (keeping st ubble fi res i n mi nd et c.), identification of losses due to shadow and hi gh soi li ng were probably the “low hanging fruits” that were qui ck t o be not i ced and resolved in this pandemic. However, in the present highly compet i t i ve renewable energy sector, firms are looking at ways to increase plant performance and energy yield while minimising operati on cost s. Proper Invent ory management leading to low TAT’s is t hus i mperat i ve and already technologies like SAP and Business Int elli gence (BI) dashboards have been started to be employed for t hi s domai n. These help i n making sure that the required spare part s are avai lable on t i me and at the nearest possible location and post usage repleni shed for future. The flow becomes seamless and t he losses are kept i n check and control. Another important aspect is the conservat i on of wat er, i t bei ng an important natural resource. Advance brushes for wet cleani ng whi ch help in reduction of water usage and dry-cleani ng robot s are bei ng extensively looked at. Water meters for recordi ng i t s usage duri ng cleaning operations are also finding i t s place at t he solar plant s. Thus, we can rightly say that innovati ve t echnologi es and monitoring solutions in asset management are bei ng deployed more aggressively in the renewable energy sect or t han ever before.

software is now complemented with dynami c cli mat e dat a (pollut i on, temperature, etc) to adjust the product i on est i mat es i n real-t i me specific to a geographical location. When i t comes t o operat i ons, a few emerging data analytics innovat i ons have t aken up t he call from the industry in providing intelligence at t he panel-level (usi ng IoT sensors) to meet the increasing demand of how problems at t he source (PV panel) i s impacting the performance of the whole plant . The need for automating operations and bri ngi ng a shi ft from reactive to proactive maintenance has gi ven an unseen push t o predictive analytics and guided actions usi ng t echnologi es li ke AI and ML. Now, instead of a fixed cleani ng schedule, asset owners are leaning towards dynamic, need-based, cleani ng schedules. Asset managers are extensively working wi t h emergi ng dat a analyt i cs companies to reduce system time by predi ct i ng fault s li ke i nvert er failure, fuses blowing, connector/wiri ng malfunct i on, ground fault s, etc. Asset Management, now, is more focused on deri vi ng i nt elli gence from their existing assets and adopting a new way of managi ng t hei r assets based on deep data analytics. Panel/equi pment level IoT sensors are being deployed to benchmark and compare product performance in real-time rather than organi zi ng 3rd part y-based halfyearly or annual plant health checkups. The use of sensors at specific locations in a solar plant has helped asset owners and t he O&M teams to decode reasons for fault s fast er and wi t h more accuracy and in real-time. Emerging dat a analyt i cs and moni t ori ng solutions are helping Asset managers opt i mi ze t he man-hours and allocate their resources, based on dat a and hence maxi mi zi ng t he ROI for solar companies.

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ADARSH DAS Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, SunSource Energy

Automated Cleaning Solution: ACS tech can help asset management t eams reduce manual operations & increase the yield of the plants. This also reduces resource i nt ensi t y (Manpower, Time & Money) over l ong periods. I t is more effective when considered initially at t he desi gn st age by savi ng ret rofi t t ing work. However, ACS options in general work better with larger capacity project s, wi t h less vari at i on i n ori ent at i on. We are eval uating depl oyment in some larger rooftops, and our ground mount open access proj ect s. Geo tagging apps for workers enable us t o have a close t racki ng & cont rol on the team in ground which is mostl y required in small rooftop projects where people are needed t o t ravel a lot dail y. I t al so hel ps to ef f ectivel y impl ement the ticketing system to carry out planned mai nt enance j obs. Ut i li zi ng t hi s tech hel ps us reduce manual reporting requirements and the need to check and veri fy t eam movement s. Self-cleaning coatings (Chemical based) These can pot ent i ally be a game changer as many probl ems rel ated to module cleaning can be solved semi -permanent ly. E.g., vacuum cleani ng of modul es can be ef f ective af ter such coating, reducing water usage, permanent deposi t i on, and mi ni mi zi ng bi rd dropping. This is highl y ef f ective in high dust environments where dry cleaning cycles can be i mplement ed t o i mprove the generation. However, there are some challenges with getting manuf act urers’ approvals for i n-warrant y usage and l evel s of these chemical s. Drone based plant inspections This tech wi t h bet t er cont rol over t he plant & saves resources, especial l y f or understanding solar array health, and pot ent i al fi re hazards ways t hat weren’ t possibl e earl ier, and with quick turnarounds. This is of great help for larger si ze ground mount proj ect s where the number of modul es is more typically 10 MW and larger solar plant s, and requi res a hi gher capabi li t y of the team to eval uate and anal yze incoming data over time. Multi MPPT Inverters enable us to be flexi ble duri ng syst em desi gn whi ch is more chal l enging due to dif f erent orientation of available roofs for any rooft op plant s. Even wi t h larger ground mounts, as sol ar arrays degrade unevenly over long durations, we beli eve usi ng mult i ple MPPT i nvert ers can potential l y improve yiel ds material l y over long durations. Advanced monitoring systems Use of an advanced moni t ori ng syst em hel ps identif y and diagnose underperf orming assets, minimize potential risks, and ensure expect ed ret urns are met . Additional l y, it hel ps add transparency and monitor KPIs like performance ratio (PR), t i me bet ween fault s, t i cket s rai s ed, variance between expected and actual values, etc. An integrated technical-commerci al moni t ori ng syst em helps identif y technical and f inancial performance and health of assets (people & mat eri als) and act s as a si ngl e window f or the entire portf ol io, at any given point in time, as well as over longer peri ods.

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POLICY DEBRIEF JANUARY 2020

CENTRAL: POLICY UPDATES MOP ISSUES AN ORDER FOR WAIVER OF INTERSTATE TRANSMISSION CHARGES AND LOSSES ON TRANSMISSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS The Mi ni stry of Power i ssued an order for the wai ver of i nter-state transmi ssi on charges and losses on transmi ssi on of electri ci ty generated from solar, wi nd and solar-wi nd hybri d sources energy. It has been brought to the noti ce of the Central Government that there may be renewable power proj ects whi ch are eli gi ble for wai ver of i nter-state transmi ssi on charges and losses and havi ng thei r scheduled commi ssi oni ng date on or before June 30, 2023. These proj ects have been granted extensi on by relevant i mplementi ng authori ti es due to transmi ssi on and government delays or force maj eure on account of Covi d-19.

CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND UZBEKISTAN FOR COOPERATION IN SOLAR ENERGY The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of signing of Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between India and Uzbekistan for cooperation in the field of Solar Energy. The main area of work under is to identify research/demonstration/pilot projects between the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, India and the International Solar Energy Institute (ISEI), Uzbekistan in the following mutually identified areas of Solar Photovoltaic, Storage Technologies and Transfer of Technology. Based on mutual agreement, both parties would work for implementation and deployment of pilot projects in International Solar Alliance (ISA) member countries.

MNRE ISSUES ADVISORY ON ROOFTOP SOLAR SCHEME To generate solar power by installing solar panels on the roof of the houses, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India is implementing Grid-connected Rooftop Solar Scheme (Phase-II). Under this scheme the Ministry is providing a 40% subsidy for the first 3 kW and 20% subsidy beyond 3 kW and upto 10 kW. The scheme is being implemented in the states by local Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs). It has been brought to the notice of the Ministry that some rooftop solar companies / vendors are setting up rooftop solar plants by claiming that they are authorized vendors by the Ministry. It is clarified that no vendor has been authorized by the Ministry. This scheme is being implemented in the state only by DISCOMs. The DISCOMs have empaneled vendors through the bidding process and have decided rates for setting up a rooftop solar plant.

IREDA SIGNS MOU WITH NHPC TO DEVELOP RE PROJECTS Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), under administrative control of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NHPC Ltd., the PSU under Ministry of Power, for providing its technical expertise in developing renewable energy projects. Under the (MoU), IREDA will undertake Techno-Financial due diligence of Renewable energy and Energy Efficiency & conservation projects for NHPC. IREDA will assist NHPC in developing an action plan to create and acquire Renewable Energy projects for the next 5 years.

INTELLISMART INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITS TO DEVELOPING DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR DATA ANALYTICS AND VALUE-ADDED SERVICES FOR THE DISTRIBUTION SECTOR Signs MoU to develop a ‘Sustainable Energy Digital Platform with Infosys. Announcement made at the IntelliSmart Leadership Roundtable on ‘Realising the Vision of Digital Smart Grid in India’. IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited, a joint venture of Energy Efficiency Services Limited and National Investment & Infrastructure Fund has committed to developing a digital platform for value added services. IntelliSmart signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Infosys Limited to develop a “Sustainable Energy Digital Platform (SEDP)” to accelerate digitalisation and integrate data analytics across the power sector enabling greater efficiency. The platform will help unfold data analytics and integrate one common platform for the utility operations and commercial systems end-to-end. The MoU was signed at the ‘Realizing the Vision of Digital Smart Grid in India’ roundtable hosted by IntelliSmart on 15th January 2021 attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Power, Department of Economic Affairs, and expert delegates from across India’s energy ecosystem

IEX ELECTRICITY MARKET TRADES HIGHEST EVER MONTHLY VOLUME 7260 MU REGISTERING 52% YOY GROWTH IN DECEMBER 2020 The electricity market at Indian Energy Exchange traded an all-time high volume of 7260 MU during the month of December 2020 witnessing an 52% YoY during the month. According to the data published by the National Load Dispatch Center (NLDC), the national peak demand in December’20 saw 7% YoY increase while the energy consumption registered 5% YoY growth. On 30 December when peak demand touched 182.9 GW, IEX electricity markets underpinning the core values such as most competitive prices, transparent as well as flexible power procurement, contributed to a significant 6.9% of the peak demand met.

POWER MINISTRY IN ASSOCIATION WITH BEE ORGANISES 30TH NATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION AWARDS The Ministry of Power, in association with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), organised the 30th National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) function. Shri R. K. Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy and Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship was the chief guest on this occasion. This year, due to the COVID pandemic, the function was organised as a Hybrid event transmitted from VigyanBhawan. Stakeholders from across the country and the Awardees participated through a virtual platform. The event included a virtual exhibition on achievements on Energy Efficiency. The awards were presented to the winners from different industries and sector establishments. During the event, the Standards and Labelling Programme for Air Compressors and Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV on voluntary basis was initiated; SAATHEE (State-wise Actions on Annual Targets and Headways on Energy Efficiency) – A portal for State Designated Agency for state level activities was also launched.

STATE: POLICY UPDATES GUJARAT CHIEF MINISTER (CM) VIJAY RUPANI UNVEILED THE “GUJARAT SOLAR POWER POLICY 2021” WHICH WILL BE EFFECTIVE FROM 20212025. Highlights of the policy: (1) Any person / developer / consumer can set up solar projects as per his requirement without any capacity ceiling; (2) Existing ceiling of 50% of sanctioned load / contracted demand for setting up solar project is removed (3) Consumers can set up solar projects on their roof / premises or can give their roof / premises on lease to third party for generation and consumption of power in same premises (4) New solar power policy will be operative for 5 years i.e. up to December 2025 (5) Security Deposit to be furnished by developer to DISCOMs for PPA has been reduced from Rs 25 lakh per MW to Rs 5 Lakh per MW

COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE SOLIS SUPPLIES (215-255)KW STRING INVERTERS FOR WORLD'S LARGEST TIDAL-FLAT 300MW UTILITY SOLAR PV PLANT

The first batch of units of the world' s largest tidal-flat utility PV plant (300 MW), contracted by the 12th Bureau of Hydropower, have been successfully connected to the grid for power generation. This completed the annual grid connection goal safely, efficiently and satisfactorily. The project, which is now the largest world’ s coastal tidal flat solar PV plant, has an installed capacity of 300MW, spread across a water surface area of 4, 516 acres. The project has been constructed using a total of 685, 216 440 Watt monocrystalline silicon modules combined with Solis 1500V 230kW string inverters. A new 220kV booster station has also been built for the site. This project uses Solis-(215-255) K-EHV-5G 1500V string inverters. The solution is comprehensively optimized and protected from the aspects of waterproofing, sandproofing, corrosion prevention, structure and internal electrical arrangement and protective algorithm. This ensures the inverter can operate for a long time, efficiently, safely and stably in the harsh environment. The system solution is high voltage, so the power transmission loss is small, delivering good economic benefits in energy savings and emission reductions. The PV power station comprises 75 PV generation unit arrays. The electricity generated from each array is converted into AC power using Solis 255kW string inverters, before being boosted to 35kV by a box-type substation. This is then connected to the distribution room of 35kV/220kV booster station through 35kV collector lines for grid connection and transmission. In terms of quality management, all materials were inspected in accordance with relevant requirements before entering the site and the quality of raw materials was strictly controlled in accordance with relevant requirements. Before construction began, tight quality boundaries were set, solutions were sought for identified project challenges and scientific methods were used to effectively control the quality of the project. In terms of safety management, Solis strictly adhered to the policy of "safety first, prevention first, and comprehensive management", clarified safety responsibilities, and implemented various preventive measures.

“This project was extremely tight scheduled and as the construction was on a tidal flat, the construction progress was affected by tidal fluctuations which made the construction more difficult. ’ ’ Said the Site Manager, ‘ ’ we increased the investment of personnel and equipment and optimized the construction plan to ensure that the project was completed on time. ’ ’ ‘ ’ The stability and reliability of inverters is especially important in PV systems. Electrical and electronic products are easily corroded in tidal flats because of the high content of salt and water vapor in the air’ ’ , Said Charles Hua, Senior Product Manager at Solis, ‘ ’ Our inverter’ s protection level is NEMA 4X with corrosion resistance to meet the requirements of high strength salt spray and prevent aggressive liquids from entering the body of the inverter even in force 12 winds. After the project is put into operation, the generating capacity is estimated to be 400, 000, 000 kW •h / year and deliver a reduction of 350, 000 tons of CO2, 12, 000 tons of SO2, and 110, 000 tons of Carbon dust. Solis commercial scale string inverters boast an abundance of technological features which can adapt to a variety of environments. We look forward to seeing more applications utilizing Solis inverters. We stand committed to our mission - Developing Technology to Power the World with Clean Energy” About Solis Established in 2005, Ginlong (Solis) Technologies (Stock Code: 300763. SZ) is one of the most experienced and largest manufacturers of PV string inverters. Presented under the Solis brand, the company' s portfolio consists of innovative string inverter technology with firstclass proven reliability in the field and 3rd-party validation. Armed with a global supply chain, world-class R&D and manufacturing capabilities, Solis optimizes its inverters for each regional market, servicing and supporting its customers with its team of local experts. For more information on how Solis delivers value while maximizing reliability and cost-saving for residential, commercial, and utility customers, visit solisinverters. com

As the power plant is located in the tidal flat area, in order to cope with the tidal fluctuations, the string inverters were installed at a greater than normal height of at least 5 meters above the ground. The inverters also needed to meet demanding conditions, and the Solis inverters, which boast IP66 protection level, excellent design, adaptation and technical benefits perfectly matched this project.

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE SINENG ELECTRIC TO EXPAND ITS STATE OF ART 10GW MANUFACTURING BASE IN NINGXIA, CHINA

On December 2020, Sineng Electric (300827. SZ) announced in a momentous ‘ Agreement Signing Ceremony’ that it has teamed up with Tongxin County Government, Ningxia and CNNC Rich Energy Corporation to actively respond to the vigorous energy transformation policy of China. Based on the principles of equality, voluntariness and win-win cooperation, it has signed an investment and construction agreement for "10GW inverter production line construction Project” to effectively accelerate the development of western clean energy base and jointly promote the construction of Ningxia Clean Energy Demonstration Park. According to the agreement, the project is slated to be completed in two phases. In the first phase of the project, an estimated 50 million Chinese yuan will be invested to lease a total area of 4000. 75 square meters in the poverty alleviation industrial park development zone of Ningxia. And, 2 inverter and energy storage bidirectional converter production lines will be installed there. It has also been planned to invest another 150 million Chinese yuan to expand the production scale in regard to the production and operation conditions of the first phase and the needs of industrial development in that region. After completion of the first phase of the project, it is expected that it will produce good economic and social benefits in the region with 10GW annual production capacity and value of output will be about 800 million to 1 billion Chinese yuan.

Sineng Electric’s Chairman Wu Qiang, president Victor Duan and associates from Ningxia Autonomous Region Development, Department of Commerce, CNNC Rich Energy and many leaders from three parties attended and witnessed the ‘agreement signing ceremony’.

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The expansion of the advanced production base not only illustrates the Sineng’s vigorous development strategy, but also it confirms the company's commitment to China's energy transformation policy and the development of the northwest clean energy base." The expansion of the advanced production base not only illustrates the Sineng’ s vigorous development strategy, but also it confirms the company' s commitment to China' s energy transformation policy and the development of the northwest clean energy base. The implementation of the project involved in the agreement will undoubtedly help further strengthen the market position of Sineng in the PV inverter industry. Sineng Electric’ s Chairman Wu Qiang, president Victor Duan and associates from Ningxia Autonomous Region Development, Department of Commerce, CNNC Rich Energy and many leaders from three parties attended and witnessed the ‘ agreement signing ceremony’ . In the pivotal ceremony, Sineng quoted that the agreement will allow parties to utilize each other’ s specialized areas and resources in a more efficient way. Sineng also believes that this cooperative innovation will further enhance Sineng’ s competitiveness in the PV inverter industry and operation management capabilities, which will bring about sustainable and long-term development.

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE PREMIER ENERGIES: SPECIALIZING IN PRODUCTS AND INNOVATIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Premier Energies, founded in 1995 by Shri Surender Pal Singh, is one of the leading Solar PV Cells & Module manufacturing companies, providing end to end solar power solutions to organizations across India, and in 30 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. For over two decades, we have been driving sustainability in the renewable energy sector with a range of products and innovations for energy generation and storage. Formerly Premier Solar, Premier Energies has today diversified from solar energy to a fully integrated clean energy company offering end to end solutions. With growing environmental challenges, we have been increasing our capacities to find solutions that would drive sustainability in the renewable sector. As a company, we aim to be among the top 5 employers of choice in the renewable energy space by 2025. Our vision is to be an impactful global leader in creating sustainable renewable energy solutions that contribute to cleaner air and a greener world, and our mission is to be one among the top 3 brands in the industry for solar manufacturing and EPC by 2023 by focusing on quality and reliable energy solutions. We take pride in fostering a culture of continuous innovation in the renewable energy sector. These innovations are largely with a view of saving space and with an aim to deliver unique products and solutions that will contribute to a greener tomorrow. Our focus on high quality and innovation has earned us ISO Certification. Premier Energies is also the first Indian solar module manufacturing company to be BIS certified and the world’ s 1st CB certified company for Solar PV modules issued by UL. We have an inhouse R&D lab wherein we simulate some of the tests our products go through as part of the internationally reputed IEC test cycle and the nationally mandated BIS test standards. We conduct rigorous internal testing of all key RM and finished products to ensure they adhere to the strict internal, national and global standards.

We are proud to be one of India’ s leading solar module manufacturing companies that offer a broad spectrum of photovoltaic products, ranging from Polycrystalline Silicon Solar cells to Mono PERC and Polycrystalline Solar PV modules. We provide customized services specific to the needs through our high performing products that promise years of performance, higher conversion, and efficiency. With a total annual capacity of 650 MW, our state-of-the-art- solar cell and module manufacturing lines are equipped with the latest technology, producing reliable, long-lasting, costeffective and energy saving solar cells and modules for a sustainable future. We are expecting to double this capacity with our new manufacturing unit soon. Solutions offered by Premier Energies: Rooftop: The rooftop installations optimize space for solar energy conversion at commercial buildings, industries, and residential properties. It helps you reduce electricity costs to create long-term savings. Ground mounted: On the ground, the panels can be pointed in the optimal direction for good sun exposure, which makes it the most easy and cost-effective solution. Water Pumps: Solar powered pumps can replace the regular pumping systems and can be used to irrigate crops, portable drinking water or water livestock. It is easy to install with low maintenance or fuel cost. Diverse Projects: We have delivered some of the most innovative solutions across the country like – Canal top & canal bank, Asbestos shed & parking structures, Floating solar solutions, Tracker & Hybrid solutions etc. Our dynamic team of technocrats, business professionals, researchers and developers operate from Hyderabad, led by Mr. Surender Pal Singh, Founder & Chairman and Mr. Chiranjeev Saluja, Founder & Managing Director. We aim to become one of the top players in India, with a strong overseas presence in the next 3 years. We have manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad spread 40, 000 sq feet. We aim to forge partnerships with leading global players with a view to work closely in helping solve the climate change crisis, by providing sustainable, clean energy solutions.

CHIRANJEEV SALUJA, MD, Premier Energies

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE NEETY EURO ASIA SOLAR ENERGY, GANDHINAGAR (NEASE) HAS A REGISTERED ANNUAL CAPACITY OF PRODUCTION UPTO 100 MW & PLANS TO EXPAND CAPACITY TO MORE THAN 500 MW

Neety Euro Asia Solar Energy, Gandhinagar (NEASE) has been very responsive by providing informed, innovative, actionable solutions to the sustainability challenges of our time since May 2010. Being committed to innovation and excellence in every aspect of solar design and construction, we have evolved & established ourselves as one of the best PV Module manufacturing facilities, which delivers Qualitative Innovative Products, Economical, Environment friendly clean sustainable Solar Power Solutions & Services. Since inception, NEASE has seen a consistent growth rate of more than 100% p. a. We started-off with a Semi-Auto production line capable of 35 MW and an Auto production line capable of 75 MW. Now, NEASE has a registered annual capacity of production upto 100 MW. & plans to expand capacity to more than 500 MW in a production area of approximate 12000 Sq. Mt. Some of our niche products are: On-Grid Rooftop PV Solar Plants, On-Grid PV Solar Farms, Solar Street Lights, Solar Home Lighting, Solar Water Pumps and Small Capacity Off-Grid Power Plants.

NEASE has also achieved ISO certifications, 9001: 2015, 14001: 2015 & 18001: 2007. We have always maintained the highest quality standards & are officially registered by Euro Tech which is a ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) certified company. We are an IEC certified company too by SGS. We also manufacture many other solar products which are recognized and approved by MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) specifications.

We plan to increase production capacity to more than 500 MW in a production area of approximate 12000 Sq. Mt. We are planning to come up with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in India with a minimum 1000 Crores to increase our capacity to more than 500 MW and increase our business all over India. Marketing Plan: NEASE Dealers and Service Providers across the Globe

We have offices across India & business Partners in China mainland, Nepal, USA, Europe, Russia, Dubai, Australia and New Zealand. We are confident that our sales professionals in these countries will raise our sales volumes effectively in the coming years. We are already exporting our solar modules to Entire East Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, UK. Our next target is South Africa, Asian country like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. We will also do OEM for some European Cells suppliers. NEASE’s Vision

At Neety Euro Asia Solar Energy, Gandhinagar (NEASE), we execute all types of Solar Photovoltaic Technology projects with clean, green power that is accessible and affordable for faster and higher socio-economic development. We offer expertise in integrated power solutions under a single roof with a world-wide network for engineering, international supply chain management and top-class project management skills along with construction management. With our commitment to Alternative Energy Resources, we strive to achieve a benchmark to provide pollutionfree renewable energy to the community.

Future Plans:

We aim to be a global innovative and competitive Solar Energy enterprise providing complete solutions to our customers.

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE MEGAMIC IS PROBABLY THE ONLY COMPANY IN INDIA WITH COMPLETE SOLUTION OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CLOUD PLATFORMS FOR RESIDENTIAL /COMMERCIAL ROOFTOPS, SOLAR WATER PUMPS, SOLARSTREETLIGHTS AND MICROGRIDS. Since 2015 , Megamic Electronics Pvt. Ltd. ( Megamic) has been actively involved in Design, Development and Supply of Energy Management solutions for Renewable Energy Market. It has a portfolio of Field proven products and solutions which aid Plant owners and O&M teams to data driven access to their assets. Megamic’ s Solar Nxt Platform offers it’ s customers an AI based Solar Plant Data Analytics platform which outputs deep insights about the generation from these assets, more so on the generation- loss contributing factors, offering actionable insights on a real time basis to improve RoI. Competitive Advantage:

Megamic has inhouse R&D teams working on software as well as hardware, to offer a one-stop shop solution to it’ s customers globally. Megamic is probably the only Company in India with a complete solution of Electronic devices and Cloud platforms for Residential / Commercial Rooftops, Solar Water Pumps, Solar Street Lights and Micro Grids. Products:

Hardware suite of products include 2 G/ 4 G LTE Data Loggers, Internet Gateways, Modbus to Wireless Convertors, String Monitoring Cards, String Monitoring Boxes, Remote Monitoring Units for Solar Rooftops, Solar Water Pumps/ Street Lights and Industrial converters.

Ambitious Projects:

1) Upgrading a legacy 17 MWp Ground Mount Solar Plant with Wireless String Monitoring Solution Close to 3750 individual String currents spread across an area of 70 acres are to be monitored wirelessly. Megamic’ s Wireless solution is a boon for legacy solar plants which do not have string monitoring infrastructure. 2) Centralized Monitoring and Control of Five Hundred Micro Grid Solar Plants All these five hundred installations are spread across remote locations with either bad or no GSM- GPRS connection. Megamic Controller’ s local storage feature and proprietary low bandwidth GSM connectivity ensures the available bandwidth is efficiently used for cloud connectivity and remote operations. 3) Deployment of Megamic solutions for Commercial & Industrial applications across Germany and Saudi Arabia. Megamic is presently in the middle of executing remote monitoring and asset management projects abroad for International Customers. . Key Customers:

Tata Power Solar, Tata Power Renewables, L&T, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Wipro, SunEdison, Refex Energy, SB Energy

Software suite of products include Centralized Monitoring Platforms with Analytics, Mobile Apps and Asset Management Platform for Solar PV systems. Major Tender compliant dashboards for Microgrids, Solar Water Pumps and Streetlights are also part of its portfolio of products.

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE THEY WERE GIVEN A CANVAS. THEY PAINTED IT WITH TRUST AND RELIABILITY

“We are proud to plant seeds of renewable energy in every corner of the country. ” With a direct presence in 24 countries and having a distribution network in over 100 plus countries, Krannich Solar is one of the biggest Solar Distributors today. It didn’ t succeed by simply supplying PV products, but providing value-added services to its customers. Krannich Solar has gone a long way from installing solar plants by the owner himself to distributing PV products across the globe. Founded in 1995 in Germany, Krannich Solar is one of the founding pillars in the PV distribution business and specializes in distributing solar modules, inverters and accessories to PV experts. In 2005, Krannich opened its 1st branch outside Europe and now successfully running 24 branches with 500 plus employees across the globe. The last 5 years are very interesting to the company. It won the Top PV Supplier Award from EUPD Research from 2016 to 2018. It was also awarded as “Top PV Supplier Europe” award by EUPD Research consecutively in 2019 and 2020. The company entered India in 2018 with its profound expertise and zero regional market base. Since its entrance into India, the company has faced tough competition from local players. But our hard work and determined customer service reflected in earning customer’ s trust, satisfaction and reliability. Within a very short period by continuously serving quality with commitment, it now captured more than 8% of the total addressable market of distributors and started strengthening its roots across the country.

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In India, Krannich started with just 2 people from Pune. We conquered one milestone at a time, now have a strong team of 34 employees serving from 2 offices and delivering from 6 warehouses across the country. During the period, we have captured a good market in the both residential and commercial segments. We are proud to say that 60% of our customers are regular customers. With our exceptional services, customer retention rate is consistently exceeding. The company gained a reputation for not only solar distribution but also giving customers the complete PV solution. It supports small EPCs with a free consultation and technical support. It helps them with project design, system design and development. It also forecasts economic and ecological benefits to customers and provides Solar generation reports. This is what makes Krannich different from the competition. With its stronghold and expertise in PV distribution, the company is looking to expand its operations in an uncaptured potential market.

RAJESH TOMAR, Operation Director, Krannich Solar

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE HUAWEI OFFERS LEADING SMART PV SOLUTIONS HARNESSING MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF EXPERTISE IN DIGITAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have more than 194, 000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. Strategy

Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they’ re at home, in the office, or on the go.

Customers & Projects Huawei has been working with many key customers in the PV industry. In 2020, Huawei contributes to the successful grid connection of the world’ s largest PV plant in China. The grid-connected 2. 2 GW PV plant is located in Qinghai Province at an average altitude of over 3000 m. Huawei — the supplier with the largest project share — provides 1. 6 GW inverters for this project. In India, despite the challenges during COVID-19 lockdown, a 50 MW PV plant in Rajasthan State was successfully connected to the power grid. This project was constructed by Adani Green Energy, a new energy subsidiary of the Indian energy conglomerate Adani Group. To date, Adani Green Energy has put 2. 6 GW of renewable energy projects into operation, among which over 96% use Huawei Smart PV Solution.

Business Concept

Huawei offers leading Smart PV solutions harnessing more than 30 years of expertise in digital information technology. By integrating AI and Cloud, Huawei further incorporates many latest ICT technologies with PV for optimal power generation, thus making the solar power plant to be Highly Efficient, Safe & Reliable with Smart O&M and Grid Supporting capabilities and builds the foundation for solar to become the main energy source. For solar energy users, Huawei launched advanced solutions for C&I and residential customers based on the ‘ Optimal Electricity Cost and Active Safety’ concept. By improving the utilization of solar power, Huawei has helped to power millions of residents and hundreds of industries globally. Huawei will continue to innovate and enable renewable energy to empower each individual, home, and organization. Our global team of over 800 R&D engineers and experts have innovatively integrated digital information, internet and PV technology while keeping simple, digital and Smart O&M design concepts at the core. We offer the industry-leading FusionSolar Smart PV Solutions and Inverters to customers globally so solar energy consumers can obtain the best Smart PV solutions for their needs. We believe 2021 will witness the comprehensive integration of cloud, AI and 5G technologies. Powered by AI technologies, the PV industry will be reconstructed and redefined, and the new world, where everything is sensing, connected and intelligent, will become greener and more vibrant. Team & Management Huawei FusionSolar business consists of 8 management regional teams spreading over 23 countries. The 3 global competence centers are based in China, Germany and Spain providing solution consultancy covering key regional markets.

50 MW PV plant in Rajasthan State was successfully connected to the power grid. This project was constructed by Adani Green Energy

Huawei Smart PV Solution Contributes to Successful Grid Connection of World's Largest PV Plant

| JANUARY ISSUE 2021 SOLARQUARTER | JANUARY ISSUE 2021

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COMPANY FEATURE COMPANY FEATURE BULL POWER ENERGY’S VISION IS TO INSTALL SYSTEMS TO THE HIGHEST ENGINEERING STANDARDS WHILE MAKING THE SWITCH SIMPLE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS

As a leader in providing immediate solutions for solar EPC systems, Bull Power Energy is working hard towards the easy availability of green energy to all. Ever since its inception by Sharad D. Acharya (Founder and Chairman, Bull Power Energy), Bull Power Energy has focused on contributing to Mother nature. He believes that turning towards renewables is an inevitable choice due to climate change and solar solutions are the perfect alternatives to conventional sources due to both low maintenance cost and long-term sustainability. Focusing on the C&I sector, the aim of the company is to gain customer’ s faith by offering end-to-end solutions while upholding superior levels of satisfaction. The vision and mission of the company remains clear in its operations. Bull Power Energy’ s vision is to install systems to the highest engineering standards while making the switch simple for its customers. It has revolutionized the way energy is delivered by giving customers a cleaner, more affordable alternative to their monthly utility bill. Its mission is to serve customer interests by maximizing the value of their investments while mitigating the inherent risks. Bull Power Energy defines local development as a vital component in its affiliations with all its partners. It is this fundamental characteristic, due to which it builds long-term relationships based on mutual trust from development right through to the operation. Relying on its experience in the residential as well as the Industrial design-build specialty structures market, Bull Power Energy works with its clients to identify the most economical, durable, and robust solar structures. The year 2020 certainly brought with it many growth opportunities and setbacks. From the government funding for growth of Utility Scale (Power plants, through bidding), to the Right to customer Gazette of Government which declared that net metering will no longer be applicable after 31st march 2021, in turn affecting the employment and organizations which focused on the Industrial and commercial sector for Solar rooftop systems. However, it will also be a boon as the government is focusing on domestic and agricultural sectors which will result in increasing both the growth of those sectors as well as the opportunities for solar systems in these sectors.

| JANUARY ISSUE 2021 SOLARQUARTER | JANUARY ISSUE 2021

Bull Power Energy has its services from complete designing, signing and sealing engineering drawings for entire Rajasthan, to high-tech installation, and end-to-end technical support to help its customers solve the toughest challenges in the industry. It has projects in Domestic, Industrial, Agricultural and utility scale projects and is a specialist in rooftop, and custom designed solar structures. As a very unique initiative, it also repairs & maintains other existing/defunct solar systems which are installed but are not functioning. It houses an internal team for the installations and maintenance of all its systems and also tracks and monitors all its systems during their entire lifecycle, irrespective of the size of the project while providing the customers with a very detailed overview of their system on a continual basis. Bull Power Energy provides its customers with referral schemes where for every referral they provide their customer with green coins which ultimately turn into rewards. This has helped them build a team of dedicated relationships. The key differentiating feature of their solar PV systems is that their structures can face wind speeds of upto 180 Kph, have a string monitoring system which daily monitors both the systems and the generating units. They also provide O&M services to their customers. Currently, the company is working on various ongoing and in pipeline projects such as a 200 KW, 150 KW, 100 KW PV systems for Woollen industries, 500KW PV system for Hotel Industry, 1. 5 MW PV system for mineral processing unit, 3. 5 MW PV system for a Delhi based contractor company, 200 KW PV system for Agro Processing unit (Jindal Agro), 225 KW system for Sipani woolen mills, 110 KW system for Gaurav packaging and its many more of cumulative 2MW capacities projects are under critical phases of execution and commissioning. It is also working on a 50 MW project for MARTAND Solar Park and has many new projects in its pipeline as well. For 2021, Bull Power Energy will be focusing on the development of systems for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure which are to be fully solar efficient.

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THE SOLAR PIONEERS SHARE THEIR

SUCCESS MANTRA The Achievements of Solar Leaders Gets Recognized At India Rooftop Solar Congress 2021 Awards Ceremony TOP HONORS WERE AWARDED TO ENTREPRENEURS, INNOVATIONS, TECHNOLOGIES AND CORPORATES FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE INDIAN SOLAR INDUSTRY

TOP HONORS WERE AWARDED TO ENTREPRENEURS, INNOVATIONS, TECHNOLOGIES AND CORPORATES FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE INDIAN SOLAR INDUSTRY THE INDIA ROOFTOP SOLAR CONGRESS INDUSTRY AWARDS ARE POWERED BY SOLARQUARTER. THIS ANNUAL EVENT FOR THE PAST 7 YEARS HAS BEEN MARKED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DATES IN THE INDUSTRY’S CALENDAR, OFFERING OVER 200 OF THE INDUSTRY’S FINEST PROFESSIONALS THE CHANCE TO NETWORK WITH THEIR PEERS AND REWARDING PERFORMANCE, INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE. THE 8TH EDITION ‘INDIA ROOFTOP SOLAR CONGRESS 2021 AWARDS’ WAS CELEBRATED WITH EQUAL ZEAL AND ENTHUSIASM. THE WINNERS WERE ANNOUNCED AT THE VIRTUAL GALA AWARD CEREMONY ON 22ND JANUARY AT 6 PM. SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON THE TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATIONS, COMPANIES AND THEIR LEADERS, THE ACCOLADES AND AWARDS WERE PRESENTED TO SOME OF THE GREAT ACHIEVERS WHICH HAVE MADE AN OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE INDIAN SOLAR ENERGY SECTOR. THE AWARD CEREMONY WAS GRACED BY THE GUEST OF HONOR - SHRI. A.K. SINHA, ADDITIONAL GENERAL MANAGER (SCHEMES), SOLAR ENERGY CORPORATION OF INDIA. A RETIRED COLONEL, HAVING SERVED THE INDIAN ARMY, FOR MORE THAN 29 YEARS AND PRESENTLY WORKING AS A AGM (SCHEMES) IN SECI. TAKING CARE OF ALL THE GOVT SCHEMES PROJECTS INCLUDING SOLAR ROOFTOP. THE PROUD WINNERS OF THE 8TH EDITION OF 'INDIA ROOFTOP SOLAR CONGRESS 2021 AWARDS' ARE:

INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP & INNOVATION EXCELLENCE AWARDS: PROJECT DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR: RESIDENTIAL

Gupta Industrial Maintenance Services Pvt. Ltd.PROJECT DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR: COMMERCIAL (RISING STAR) - HFM SOLAR POWER PVT. LTD

Focusing on the C&I sector, the aim of the company is to gain customer’ s fai th by offeri ng end-to-end soluti ons whi le upholding superior levels of satisfaction. The vision and mission of the company remai ns clear i n i ts operati ons. Bull Power Energy’ s vision is to install systems to the highest engineering standards whi le maki ng the swi tch si mple for i ts customers. It has revolutionized the way energy is delivered by giving customers a cleaner, more affordable alternati ve to their monthly utility bill. Its mission is to serve customer interests by maximi zi ng the value of thei r i nvestments whi le mitigating the inherent risks. The company is a Solar Power Developer which develops projects on a turnkey basi s, deli veri ng solar power supply on a per-kWh basis, under long-term Power Purchase Agreements, at rates cheaper than gri d tari ffs to provi de competi ti ve clean electricity. As of date, HFM SOLAR POWER PVT. LTD has commissioned more than 6. 000 MWp and i s currently executing a 4. 075 MW Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Project.

HFM Solar Power Pvt. Ltd. PROJECT DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL -

SWELECT Energy Systems Limited-

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (75 MW)

The company is one of the leading Solar Power Systems Company with a strong presence i n the global energy market for over 37 years. Its core strength lies in technical expertise which is strongly backed wi th state-of-art manufacturi ng facilities for Solar PV Modules, Solar PCUs, MMS, Servo Stabilizers and electri cal Balance of Systems. SWELECT Energy Systems Limited has Installed and commissioned Solar Power Projects of around 8. 425MWp i n the last fi scal.

The company is a leading Solar EPC in India. Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt ltd offers both CAPEX and OPEX fi nanci al models to their clients. TheTotal cumulative capacity bagged by the company i s 250 MW and the bi ggest proj ect among them was of 75 MW Group Captive in Tamilnadu.

Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt ltd

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (70 MW)

Sunsure Energy Pvt. Ltd.

The company is one of the Largest Solar Power EPC Companies operating in the C&I Segment. Thei r current portfoli o includes 130 MWp of installed Solar Assets and another 100 MWp at various stages of Constructi on. Thei rTurnkey EPC Services, Expertise in Project Development and unique ability to plan and execute Long Term Energy Transi ti on plans for Industrial Conglomerates sets them apart in the Indian Industrial Solar solutions market. 70% of thei r 130 MWp installation base has come from repeat orders placed by their marquee Industri al customers.

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (14 MW) -Sunsure Energy Pvt.

The company specializes in the development & end-to-end execution of Solar Power Plants for Commerci al & Industri al power consumers. They have worked with more than 8 Industrial sectors and i nstalled World-Class Solar Power Plants with value added services such as Industrial Safety, Energy Management Systems and Comprehensi ve Operati ons & Maintenance to deliver optimum PR for life. The company has commissioned 14 MW of Solar Rooftop Plants i n the last fiscal and have bagged a total of 21 MW of Solar Rooftop Projects with the bi ggest one of capaci ty 4. 3 MWp for a Texti le Spinning Mill in Southern India.

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (11 MW )

The Company delivers solar operation and maintenance solutions and services to more than 48+ MW solar power plants worldwide. A dedicated project management team with technical expertise of more than 25 years has accompli shed plentiful EPC projects and have reduced the uncontrolled energy bills of the i ndustri es from the day 1 of the i nstallati on. In the last 2 year the company has completed a total 11 MW projects in the Industri al sector.

Ltd.

Grace Renewable Energy Private Limited

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (11 MW )

Gupta Industrial Maintenance Services Pvt. Ltd.PROJECT DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR: COMMERCIAL (RISING STAR)

The company is a Solar Power Developer which develops projects on a turnkey basi s, deli veri ng solar power supply on a per-kWh basis, under long-term Power Purchase Agreements, at rates cheaper than gri d tari ffs to provi de competi ti ve clean electricity. As of date, HFM SOLAR POWER PVT. LTD has commissioned more than 6. 000 MWp and i s currently executing a 4. 075 MW Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Project.

HFM Solar Power Pvt. Ltd. EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (2 MW) -

The Company is a pioneer in the field of Renewable Energy in Northeast India and offers OFF GRID/ON GRID/HYBRID SOLAR PV SYSTEMS. The company has done 6500 home lighting systems, more than 2 mw PV i nstallati ons and 6000 solar lanterns

NATSAKEE INCORPORATION-

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: COMMERCIAL

Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: RESIDENTIAL

Asterix Energy-

EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL

The company is a leading Solar EPC in India and has been in this space for the last 7 years. They have commi ssi oned a 25 MW solar project for a well known commercial company in Patan from whi ch the rural areas would get electri ci ty through transmission lines through substations. 40, 000, 000 units of electrici ty i s generated from that si ngle plant. Not only this the company has also added social development in the society by gi vi ng j obs to the locals i n that plant.

The company is into full-service solar solutions focussing on 2 main portfolios, 1. Resi denti al and small commerci al projects 2. Operation and Maintenance. They have tie-ups with financial insti tuti ons offeri ng EMI opti ons for i ndustri al and commercial establishments. . After establishing the EPC Business in 2017 the company has i nstalled over 25 MW projects till date. In Residential space, they would cross 1 MW capacity in installati on by March 2021. Thei r resi denti al projects range between 2 kW to 10 kW range.

The company is India' s Largest Module manufacturer and Vertically integrated solar company. It has executed over 600 MW of EPC projects and more than 10000 rooftop projects in the commercial and Industri al, resi denti al sector havi ng a presence in over 68 countries.

Waaree Energies Limited-

SYSTEM INTEGRATOR OF THE YEAR: NORTH EAST

The Company is a pioneer in the field of Renewable Energy in Northeast India wi th a team consi sti ng of Solar Professional with cumulative experience of 39 years in renewable Energy. The company have commissioned 6500 Home lighting systems under Saubhagya Scheme and 2 Mw of solar power plants

NATSAKEE INCROPORATION

DISTRIBUTOR/CHAN NEL PARTNER OF THE YEAR (15 MW)

J. S. Solartech India Private Limited-

DISTRIBUTOR/CHAN NEL PARTNER OF THE YEAR (4 MW)

Star Power Distribution Pvt. Ltd.

SMART TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

SOCOMEC INNOVATIVE POWER SOLUTIONS

The company over a period of these 5 years evolved as leading importers, Di stri butors & Channel Partners for Ti er-1 solar products such as Solar PV Inverters and Solar Modules. The company as a Di stri butor & Channel Sales Partner provides an great opportunity for EPC customers PAN India to choose the best avai lable Solar Products i n the i ndustry. They have clocked a sales figures of INR 280 Million in the FY 2019-20 and expect to touch a fi gure of INR 400 Mi lli on i n the current year. The Single biggest project bagged by the company was for a supply of Solar Equi pments to the tune of 15MW in the state of Gujarat The company has been associated with Tata Power as the channel partner since 2015. The company has till date commissioned more than 10 MW + rooftop projects and have emerged as a strong company by undertaki ng the Installation & commissioning projects in the past 1 year like Solar Water Pumps, Mi cro Gri ds , EV Vehi cle AC chargers , DC chargers etc. The company also offers financial models as per the tie ups of Tata Power wi th vari ous fi nanci al institutions & Tata Capital for capex & opex projects.

The company is a major player in the global low voltage power distribution market. The company has launched i ts latest innovation in the field of PV switching for Rooftop and utility scale segment , that helps opti mi ze the total cost of ownership on account of robust and reliable product offering. Created in 1922, i t has an i ndustri al group wi th a workforce of approx. 3600 people.

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS COMPANY OF THE YEAR: OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

SolarAMC Services Private Limited-

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: MODULE

The company has a total cumulative capacity of 420 MW with the Rooftop Portfoli o of Cumulati ve 223 MW. The Company has a clientele list of Tata Power Solar Solutions Private Limited, CleanTech Solar, BHEL, Amp Solar, Hi nduj a Renewables, ReNew Power, Bosch to name a few. The operations & Management system of the company has been a major differentiator, since the management itself gets involved and takes a note of day to day acti vi ti es, Apart from thi s, the company does not have any inhouse team for sending and creating daily reports (Analyti cal) as i ts End to end process is being taken up from their in house developed software.

LONGi Solar

The company' s Hi-MO 5 module is a new range of ultra-high-power modules desi gned for ultra-large power stati ons, wi th a maximum power of 540W and an efficiency of 21. 1%. Hi-MO 5 series includes 66C and 72C formats, i n bi faci al and monofacial applications. Hi-MO 5 deploys gallium-doped M10 standard silicon wafers and Smart Solderi ng technologi es to deliver high power performance and long-term reliability. The company has the hi ghest market share i n Indi a wi th 2020 shipments to exceed 2 GW.

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INVERTER (SMART ENERGY SOLUTIONS

The company is a global leader of smart energy solutions and provides residenti al, commerci al and uti li ty-scale PV inverters, energy storage, microgrid systems and smart energy management soluti ons. Over the years, the company has built strong and experienced local teams in key solar markets, and has been commi tted to provi di ng comprehensi ve and professional training in technologies of solar PV, battery storage, and smart energy management.

Shenzhen Growatt New Energy Co., LtdCOMPANY OF THE YEAR: INVERTER (SMART TECHNICAL INVERTER)

Ginlong Solis COMPANY OF THE YEAR: RESEARCH & CONSULTING

Ernst & Young Services Private Limited

COMPANY OF THE YEAR

BIPV - Spark Solar Technologies LLP DISTRIBUTOR/CHAN NEL PARTNER OF THE YEAR (15 MW)

J. S. Solartech India Private Limited-

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: CABLE

APAR INDUSTRIES LIMITED-

The company is the leading manufacturer of one of the Highest KW inverters i n the i ndustry, globally that i s 255KW1500V. It is the world' s most powerful string inverter with 99% maximum effici ency. The i nverters are compati ble wi th higher Watt- Peak and Bi-facial modules having high temperature tolerance and hi gh yi eld. An i nverter wi th Smart gri d compensation algorithm, From “Passive Adaption' ' to “Active Support”.

This category is awarded to the Technical Assistance program - SUPRABHA led by thi s company. The company j oi ned by IDAM Infrastructure Advisory Pvt. Ltd. , Emergent Ventures India, Skill Counci l for Green Jobs , Global Sustai nable Energy Solutions India and Edelman India Pvt. Ltd. , came together to execute the TA Program Under Gri d Connected Rooftop Solar PV Projects. The Sustainable Partnership for Rooftop Solar Acceleration i n Bharat (SUPRABHA) i s a USD 13 mi lli on program which is led by The World Bank and SBI and implemented in partnershi p wi th the Mi ni stry of New and Renewable Energy . Co

The company' s BIPV modules are certified by Mitsui PI Berlin Lab. These modules come i n customi zed desi gn made to order transparency and color. The company is one of the leading BIPV manufacturer i n the world, exporti ng i ts product to more than 27 countries

The company over a period of these 5 years evolved as leading importers, Di stri butors & Channel Partners for Ti er-1 solar products such as Solar PV Inverters and Solar Modules. The company as a Di stri butor & Channel Sales Partner provides an great opportunity for EPC customers PAN India to choose the best avai lable Solar Products i n the i ndustry. They have clocked a sales figures of INR 280 Million in the FY 2019-20 and expect to touch a fi gure of INR 400 Mi lli on i n the current year. The Single biggest project bagged by the company was for a supply of Solar Equi pments to the tune of 15MW in the state of Gujarat The company is one of the Leading Manufacturer and Suppliers to Solar Segment. It has i n-house developed sui table XLPO compound for Electron Beam Irradiation for a range of solar Photo-Voltai c Cables for emergi ng PV based renewable energy installations. The company is one of the First few in India having EN Certification for Solar Cable with E-beam Technology. These Electron beam cross linked cables work for max operati ng temp as 120 Deg c. & the cable life is beyond 25 Years.

BUSINESS TEAMS EXCELLENCE AWARDS OUTSTANDING TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR : PROJECT DESIGN & ENGINEERING

Valkan Engineering an AadhMin Alliance Private Limited OUTSTANDING TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR : PROJECT DESIGN & ENGINEERING

The company has a highly qualified and experienced team. Apart from project executi on and deali ng wi th cli ents the team has also added social values to their work like. With the exceptional ski lls and experti se of the team , any proj ect or hurdle are a piece of cake to handle. They all have successfully executed and commi ssi oned 25 MW Solar Park and 75 MW Group Captive Project.

Prozeal Infra Engineering Pvt. Ltd.EPC COMPANY OF THE YEAR: INDUSTRIAL (11 MW )

SUNINFRA ENERGIES PRIVATE LIMITED-

OUTSTANDING TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: SALES

J. S. Solartech India Private Limited

The company has an all rounded project execution / construction team from Desi gn to Safety & Executi on. The team has delivered really challenging projects within record execution timelines while adheri ng to the hi ghest level of Industry safety standards. The site specific execution SOP with suitable pictures and notes i n local language i s carri ed by the si te supervisor thus ensuring clarity of thoughts and actions at all times.

The company' s Sales team has been very closely monitoring the performance & warranty of all the solar equi pments sold in the last more than 5 years of the company and are regularly sharing the data wi th thei r servi ce team to ensure trouble free performance along with checking on the maintenance logbooks/records as well. Thi s factor has proved to be a major shift in their customer base. The ceremony also included ‘ Grand Masters Awards 2020’ whi ch were powered by SolarQuarter. These special awards were presented to the individuals who had contri buted outstandi ng to thei r organizations as well as the Indian Solar Industry.

GRAND MASTER AWARDS 2020 Procurement Strategy Excellence: Solar - Sanjeev Anand, GM Procurement, Renew Power

Techno- Commercial Excellence: Solar - Prerak Thekadi, GM procurement, Adani Green Energy Limited Supply Chain Management Excellence: Solar - Sarvesh Singh,SCM Head, Azure Power TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE 'INDIA ROOFTOP SOLAR CONGRESS 2021 AWARDS CEREMONY' VISIT:HTTPS://SOLARQUARTER.COM/STUDIO/

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