SolarQuarter September Issue 2020

Empowering, Insightful, Engaging

W W W . S O L A R Q U A R T E R . C O M

|

R N I

N O . -

M A H E N G / 2 0 1 8 / 7 7 3 7 9

V O L U M E

1 0 |

I S S U E

S T H G I S N I

THE TIME HAS COME INDIA’S EXIGENT NEED FOR A PV RECYCLING POLICY

E V I T C E P S R E P

LINKING SOLAR POWER TO INDIA'S

AGRICULTURE SECTOR FIND OUT: UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES? T R E N D I N G

WHAT ARE THE LATEST TRENDS IN SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES?

TALKS POLICIES TRENDS PERSPECTIVES NEWS W W W . S O L A R Q U A R T E R . C O M

9 |

S E P T E M B E R

2 0 2 0

PROJECT MONTHLY ADB AND ENGIE PARTNER TO CONSTRUCT 200 MW SOLAR PLANT IN INDIA The Asi an Development Bank (ADB) and the ENGIE group si gned a long-term loan of up to 4. 66 bi lli on Indi an rupees (about $65. 5 mi lli on) to construct and operate a 200-megawatt alternati ng current solar photovoltai c-based power plant at Raghanesda Solar Park i n Indi a’ s western state of Guj arat. The agreement was si gned by Pri nci pal Investment Speci ali st at ADB’ s Pri vate Sector Operati ons Department Mayank Choudhary and ENGIE group’ s Head of Acqui si ti ons, Investments, and Fi nanci al Advi sory Phuntsok Wangyal. Electro Solai re Pri vate Li mi ted (ESPL), a speci al purpose vehi cle owned by the group, wi ll i mplement the proj ect. ADB, along wi th another i nternati onal lender, wi ll provi de the enti re debt requi red to construct the solar power plant. “The proj ect wi ll enable the ENGIE group to expand i ts renewable energy capaci ty i n Indi a and send posi ti ve si gnals to global i nvestors to conti nue supporti ng the growth of renewable energy i n Indi a, ” sai d Mr. Choudhary. The proj ect i s part of ADB’ s ongoi ng support to Indi a’ s renewable energy sector and wi ll help the Government of Indi a meet i ts targets for non-fossi l fuel-based electri c power generati on.

TATA POWER SOLAR SIGNS A PPA WITH TATA MOTORS TO COMMISSION INDIA’S LARGEST CARPORT AT PUNE Tata Power, Indi a’ s largest i ntegrated power uti li ty has achi eved a new mi lestone by si gni ng a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) wi th Tata Motors to commi ssi on Indi a’ s largest Carport. Wi th 6. 2 MWp capaci ty, the proj ect i s expected to reduce 1. 6 lakhs ton of carbon emi ssi on for Tata Motors i n i ts li feti me. The gri d-connected carport plant requi res hi gh-level engi neeri ng and customi sed desi gni ng to assemble the massi ve carport structures. Furthermore, advanced technology and i ntri cate planni ng i s Tata Power’ s strength whi ch wi ll faci li tate them to execute the proj ect.

NHPC SIGNS PPA WITH EDEN RENEWABLE AND ALTRAXERGI POWER PRIVATE LIMITED NHPC Li mi ted, Indi a’ s premi er Hydropower uti li ty has si gned Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) on 31. 08. 2020 wi th Eden Renewable Passy Pri vate Li mi ted for 300 MW and wi th Altra Xergi Power Pri vate Li mi ted(SPV of O2 Power SG PTE LTD. )for 380 MW for procurement of Solar Power at the tari ff of Rs. 2. 55/kWhat NHPC corporate offi ce for 25 years on long term basi s. The Power purchased by NHPC shall be suppli ed to Madhya Pradesh for whi ch Power Sale Agreement (PSA) has already been si gned. The PPAs were si gned by S. P. Rathour, General Manager (Power Tradi ng) on behalf of NHPC and Vi vek Kodesi a forEden Renewable Passy Pri vate Li mi ted and Parag Sharma, CEO for Altra Xergi Power Pri vate Li mi ted (SPVO2 Power SG PTE LTD. )

INDIAN RAILWAY SOLARISES MORE THAN 960 STATIONS In order to achi eve i ts obj ecti ve of becomi ng 100% self-sustai nable for all i t’ s power needs and also to contri bute to nati onal solar power goals, Indi an Rai lways has solari sed more than 960 stati ons ti ll date .

Orders have been placed for 198 MW solar rooftop capaci ty for 550 stati ons whi ch are under executi on. It may be noted that Indi an Rai lways had recently organi sed a meet of leadi ng solar power developers who had shared thei r expectati ons of bei ng partners i n the j ourney of Indi an Rai lways to become “net zero carbon emi tter” before 2030. Indi an Rai lways i s set to produce solar energy for meeti ng all i t’ s energy consumpti on needs of more than 33 bi lli on uni ts by 2030. Current annual requi rement i s about 20 bi lli on uni ts. Indi an Rai lways has a mega plan for i nstalli ng solar plants of 20 GW capaci ty by uti li zi ng i ts vacant land by 2030. Some of the Stati ons solari sed are Varanasi , New Delhi , Old Delhi , Jai pur, Secunderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati , Hyderabad, Howrah etc.

MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA TERMINATES SHARE PURCHASE PACT WITH CLP INDIA Mahi ndra & Mahi ndra sai d i t has termi nated share purchase agreement wi th CLP Indi a to sell the enti re stake held by i ts step down arm Mahi ndra Renewables i n Neo Solren Pvt Ltd (NSPL) for Rs 104. 67 crore.

In February thi s year, M&M had announced that i ts wholly-owned arm Mahi ndra Renewables would sell i ts enti re stake i n three subsi di ari es to CLP Indi a, a part of Hong Kong-based CLP Group, for nearly Rs 340 crore. As per the agreement CLP was to buy 93, 15, 000 equi ty shares of Rs 10 each of NSPL at a pri ce of Rs 112. 37 per share aggregati ng to Rs 104. 67 crore. The closure of the transacti on, ori gi nally expected to be completed by May 31, 2020, was extended ti ll September i n vi ew of di ffi culti es due to the coronavi rus pandemi c. The fi li ng, however, di d not menti on anythi ng about the other two transacti ons.

SOLARPACK CONTINUES ALONG GROWTH PATH IN FIRST HALF OF 2020 The Getxo-based solar photovoltai c (PV) multi nati onal Solarpack has posted soli d results for the fi rst half of 2020, reflecti ng an i ntensi ve level of constructi on acti vi ty for thi rd parti es and the contri buti on of the new capaci ty commi ssi oned duri ng 2019 and at the start of 2020 i n Spai n, Chi le and Indi a to the Power Generati on (POWGEN) uni t.

• Completes fi rst half of 2020 wi th operati ng i ncome of €78. 8 mi lli on, 191% hi gher than the fi rst half of 2019, plus an EBITDA of €31. 9 mi lli on (226% above H1 2019) and a net profi t of €4. 8 mi lli on, compared to €0. 6 mi lli on i n the fi rst half of last year • Increases backlog of contracted proj ects to 513 MW, after bei ng awarded the Gorbea proj ect i n Indi a at the end of last June • Closes refi nanci ng of seni or Spani sh proj ects, creati ng value through longer tenors and lower fi nanci ng costs and freei ng up €26 mi lli on i n free cash flow to conti nue supporti ng the profi table growth of the company • Completes constructi on of 150 MW i n Spai n and begi ns work on another 10 MW i n Chi le

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

ADANI GREEN ENERGY: CASH PROFIT INCREASES TO RS. 232 CR, UP BY 9% YOY FOR Q1 FY 21 1. Total Net Export i ncreased by 24% YoY on the back of capaci ty addi ti on of 425 MW and steady CUF performance.

2. Solar CUF has remai ned steady at 24. 8%, better than the P75 target of 24. 3%, supported by strong Plant avai labi li ty, Gri d avai labi li ty and Solar i rradi ati on.

3. Revenue and EBITDA from Power Supply has grown by 10% YoY and 12% YoY respecti vely on the back of added capaci ti es, steady Solar CUF and i mproved Wi nd CUF. 4. Cash Profi t has grown by 9% YoY backed by strong revenue and EBITDA performance.

Other Key Highlights during the quarter: 1. Won the single largest solar development bid ever awarded, totaling 8 GW 2. 2148 MW Joint Venture with French Energy major TOTAL SA and receives Rs. 3, 707Cr 3. Commissioned 50 MW Solar plant at Rawra, Rajasthan 4. Zero Operational Disruption during COVID-19 pandemic

PG 6

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 7

IN CONVERSATION

"Gearing up for 5GW Manufacturing capacity of PV Junction box by end of 2020" Mr Manjunath Reddy Managing Director, DhaSh PV Technologies Pvt Ltd

DhaSh PV, India’s leading PV Junction Box manufacturer, with the aim of supporting the domestic PV Module manufacturers, in the process of expanding its installed capacity to 5GW from the existing capacity of 2GW by the end of 2020. With enormous support and positive responses from its clients, DhaSh always strive to bring the better & right product in the market, considering all technological advancements & market demands. In recent interview with Solar Quarter. Mr.Manjunath Reddy, Managing Director, DhaSh PV Technologies Pvt Ltd, talks about recent developments in the Industry , the company’s current scale of operations, future targets and vision.

Excerpts….

Please tell our readers about products and services offered by DhaSh in India.

Within a span of 3 years, DhaSh has evolved out to be one of the most promising & trusted sources of indigenous supply for the module manufacturers in terms of quality & delivery commitment. Currently with the limited capacity, DhaSh holds nearly 35% of the market share among all the makes of PV Junction Boxes supplying to India. In its small journey, the organization has been able to increase the number of its happy clients surprisingly each year. The expertise of the company in terms of manufacturing, plastic injection molding & new product development has catered tremendous confidence among the buyers.

What are the technological advancements that have happened in this business category?

Currently we are hearing about Solar Panel power rating as high as 500wp and many Chinese companies has introduced 600wp module recently in SNEC Exhibition. A major driver of this shift has been the emergence of the p-Type mono-PERC, bifacial cells, half-cut and shingled technologies for modules, which are available in double-glass, multi-busbar and half-cell module configurations. Secondly wafer size getting change faster than we realize and there is high possibility that market will shift to 166mm x 166mm in near future, as all looking forward to push high-efficiency products into the mainstream high-volume markets.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

Rated current of high-power modules will increase significantly compared to conventional solar panels and thus the need of high rated junction boxes. Technological Innovation is core competency of DhaSh and to fulfill this technical gap, We have already developed 20A & 24A rated PV Junction box with excellent thermal conductivity which can fulfill requirements of such high power module as well as 12V (72 cell) Solar panels.

Increased customer satisfaction aided with strong focus on technological advancements and innovations kept DhaSh engaged into the continuous process of Research and Development. In 2020, DhaSh unveiled potted junction box with integrated module type diode, designed with more heat dissipation & better temperature rise ability.

How is DhaSh promoting the motto of “Self-Reliant India” during this pandemic?

During this time, DhaSh kept certain capacity in operation during the lockdown period and slowly operations geared up in the unlock phase.The enthusiasm and dependency of the module manufacturers on Indian suppliers seen distinctively and DhaSh had utilized this opportunity for smooth running of its operations to keep the supply chain of PV Junction Boxes live in Indian market.DhaSh will utilize this scope and move forward in the process of producing 50,000 pcs. of Junction Box per day by the end of 2020. The good results of capacity expansion & new product developments will be long lasting and the financial growth of the organization will be distinctively different from the FY 2020-2021 (AY 2021).

The expertise of the company in terms of manufacturing, plastic injection molding & new product development has catered tremendous confidence among the buyers.

Tell us about Future Roadmap DhaSh PV Technologies, day by day, is becoming more popular in India as well as in overseas. The company is receiving many requests and enquiries from overseas market frequently now a days. In near future, DhaSh is planning to slowly open up its overseas Sales offices across middle east, Europe, US, etc.

Further, with technology advancements, more new products will be seen in coming years and DhaSh is eyeing to bring more in terms of innovative products, like micro inverters, smart junction boxes, etc.

Capacity increase to 20GW by 2024 to become a largest junction box manufacture among the global producers.

Increased customer satisfaction aided with strong focus on technological advancements and innovations kept DhaSh engaged into the continuous process of Research and Development.

PG 8

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 9

IN CONVERSATION

"We will always be able to protect our customer as well as the supply chain” Xuhui Tang VP, China, LONGi Solar

What new technologies and innovations were in limelight during the event? How do you foresee the PV landscape evolving over the next 2-3 years?

Hi-MO 5 continues the hallmark of “Innovation” that is typical of all LONGi’s HiMO series products. Based on M10 (182mm) standard gallium doped monocrystalline wafers, this high-performance product has a conversion efficiency over 21%. It must be noted that this year, the top seven module suppliers joined hands to In this regard, this year, a total of seven PV manufacturers have officially started efforts to establish a new M10 (182mm x 182mm p-type monocrystalline) large-area wafer size standard to reduce manufacturing costs throughout the entire solar industry supply chain. It is expected that by the fourth quarter of this year, M10 products will be used widely in the Chinese market. And in the coming years, these products will become part of the mainstream offerings of large solar manufacturers supplying across the world.

Meanwhile, it is important to mention that HiMO 5 does not replace the existing Hi-MO 4 series – it complements, completes and strengthens the LONGi product portfolio for the specific needs of every PV application. HiMO 4 are best suited for rooftop solar application and LONGi is already placed quite well in this space with its offering of Hi-MO 4 series.

LONGi relies on technical progress to promote development.

Leading technical and reliable products bring our customers higher income and benefits. This, in turn, improves our profitability.

This profitable loop of operations is key to LONGi’s financial health.

LONGi’s market share has increased significantly in the past few years."

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

In your opinion, what would be the long-term impact of Covid crisis on the global solar supply chains? What has been LONGi’s strategy to deal with the impact?

Covid-19 has significantly impacted global supply chain. The movement of personnel as well as equipment has been affected due to lockdowns and border restrictions imposed by various countries. However, the impact has been relatively smaller on PV industry as compared to many other sectors. Due to economic pressure, most of the countries resumed manufacturing operations and other business activities by the end of second quarter or beginning of third quarter. So, overall, the impact on LONGi’s operations as well as demand for our products has been very limited. In the first half of 2020, LONGi matched the production capacity as per the demand of various markets including China, US and Europe. Presently, our order books are full. We expect to fully meet the set targets for 2020.

When you look at situations like the trade war do you see these as major problems for solar manufacturers or just another road bump? How do you think these will be viewed in the bigger picture?

In the past European Union and US had imposed restrictions in order to protect their local manufacturing companies. But In the long-term, these types of protection measures can actually lead to phasing out of companies which fail to upgrade their technical capabilities and offerings due to prevalence of protectionist measures. So, EU has already cancelled such trade protection measures but American government continues to protect its local players. This does not bear well for project developers as well as utilities. Take for instance the case for India. The country’s trade protectionism policies have not helped local PV manufacturing industry in scaling up and the project developers still rely heavily on imports from countries including China despite high duties.

What have been the key factors responsible for LONGi’s financial feat despite an extremely competitive environment?

LONGi relies on technical progress to promote development. Leading technical and reliable products bring our customers higher income and benefits. This, in turn, improves our profitability. This profitable loop of operations is key to LONGi’s financial health. LONGi’s market share has increased significantly in the past few years.

In the first half of 2020, LONGi matched the production capacity as per the demand of various markets including China, US and Europe. Presently, our order books are full. We expect to fully meet the set targets for 2020".

What are the biggest risks and challenges you foresee for the solar power industry in general and PV manufacturers in particular? What should be the strategy to minimise/mitigate supply and demand side risks?

Local protective policies are one challenge.

As the number one PV supplier, LONGi has successfully dealt with several policy challenges. There are some potential challenges like some day, some new technologies will come up those are totally game changing. That will be a big loss for existing PV players company. However, because LONGi continues to focus on the future of solar power generation technology, we believe that we will always be the first one to introduce such technologies and launch it globally. By doing so, we will always be able to protect our customer as well as the supply chain. We are ready for cooperation with upstream raw material suppliers to make sure that our supply chain remains intact.

PG 10

INSIGHTS

the continuous growth as well the necessity to scrape off as much of the incisor as possible. This is the primary reason why the rats keep biting each and everything they contact besides grinding the incisors against each other. Except for hard surfaces like rocks or metals, there is hardly any normal surface that can escape the sharp bites of the RODENTS. Many methods and practices have been tried, tested for making the cable auto-protect from the sharp incisors of the gnaws:

TEETHING PROBLEMS & EMERGED SOLUTIONS IN PV WIRES

While the Solar power developer world is wrestling with the continuous challenge of increasing the power generation efficiency of Module by points to go up above the 22. 1%, the copper cables that carry this generated electricity are indeed burdened with the immense task of carrying this energy without any loss.

1) ANTI RODENT -

Rodenticides – Barium carbonate, Bromadiolone, Phosphorous paste or sulfates of Zinc, Arsenic etc. . were widely used mixing them in a low dosage during the formulation of the polymers used for insulation. But later, these being poisonous substances, were banned by most of the countries and the practice was declared illegal and stopped.

2) RODENT REPELLENT –

A wide spectrum of highly specialized materials similar to Naphthalene, peppermint etc. are used as fine coating or mixing with the polymers.

This method is effective in repelling but can not be guaranteed as a long term solution. These chemicals are no doubt eco friendly but it is difficult to define the longevity of the repelling substance in the cable.

3) RODENT RESISTANT / Mechanical protection:

Similar to the technology advancement in the areas of Modules, Structures, Inverters etc. The wires also did undergo the metamorphosis from being the UL 4703 Spec to the TUVs 2pfg 1169 and then the current EN 50618 & IEC FDIS 62930. There are few critical challenges the wires need to survive besides ensuring no transmission loss. The challenges are :

The wire can be protected in many forms–

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

Last option was to add a layer of RODENT RESISTANT polymer so that the cable stays AUTO PROTECTED.

Rugged construction - Life expectancy beyond 25 years Fire retardant RoHS compliant UV resistant Anti Rodent & anti termite

Rugged construction - Manufacturing the wires using specially formulated high end Polyolefin polymer alloy insulation with electron beam irradiation cross linking process ensures Life expectancy and Fire retardant features. Unlike the other conventional technologies of cross linking , the ebeam irradiation crosslinking polymer is with the impingement of electrons at a very high acceleration where in the electrons penetrate between the weak covalent bonds of the polymer and crosslink the adjoining carbon links with each other. Such crosslinked polymer compounds exuberate highly increased characteristics of electrical, mechanical , physical and environmental resistance parameters.

RoHS compliance is ensured by way of using eco friendly hazard free polymers. The UV resistance is ensured by way of adding few special non degrading UV stabilisers during polymer compounding and the black colour secondary insulation.

The teething problem in PV wires is to make them auto protect from the attack of rodents and termites. The rodents are continuously in search of food and are habitual of biting each and every thing that they come in contact with. “ RODENT “ is the gnawing mammal of an order that includes rats and their relatives, distinguished by strong constantly growing incisors and no canine teeth. It shall be interesting to know that an average adult Rat’ s incisors grow by an average of 0. 3mm each day.

These incisors have no root unlike other teeth and they keep growing till the rat is alive. There is an inner irritation from the incisor to the Rat from

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

A) By way of laying them in a metallic conduit, B) By way of providing a metallic layer /armoring below the outer insulation - but both these methods needed compromise on very high increase costs as well as flexibility.

After extensive research and many trials, NYLON was adjudged as the most suitable RODENT RESISTANT polymer considering both technical & commercial parameters. The base element of NYLON being Ammonia it has a natural characteristic of repelling smell for rats. While Nylon retains the flexibility of cable, it is considerably hard to resist the Rat Bite( subject to thickness) In addition, NYLON is not very expensive and can easily be extruded.

The final tried, tested & proven model evolved is providing an intermediate insulation layer of Nylon. Though this design is a little costlier than the normal cable, it has proven to be the most ideal – It is globally accepted as the most successful solution. It saves huge costs on maintenance, frequent replacements and repair problems of electricals. Over a period of time, this design proved to be the most economic though it seems costly at the time of buy. Starting from the US, a major part of the world has already adopted this design.

SURESH BABU General Manager – Business Development , Apar Industries Ltd.

PG 11

POLICY TALKS

ARE MNRE'S NEW BENCHMARK RATES FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR SYSTEM IN SYNC WITH INDUSTRY TRENDS? The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has published benchmark costs for grid-connected rooftop solar projects for the financial year 2020-21. The benchmark costs will be applicable for all letters of award (LoAs) to be issued or for the vendors to be empaneled after July 31, 2020. The benchmark costs are inclusive of the total project costs, which include solar modules, inverters, the balance of systems, cost of civil works, installation, commissioning, transportation, and comprehensive maintenance for five years. The benchmark costs do not include net metering costs and battery back-up costs. Let's see what our industry experts have to say on the MNRE's Benchmark Rates for Rooftop Solar Systems

K.R. HARINARAYAN Founder and CEO,

which come at a range of costs such as bui lt - i n opt i mi zers, module level monitoring or micro-inverters wi t h bot h.

U-Solar Clean Energy

The MNRE benchmark costs are far t oo low si nce t hey are i nclusi ve of taxes and five years operations & mai nt enance. Thi s i s a bi t of an unhealthy practice by MNRE as the benchmark cost s should have sufficient buffers for various inclusions of condi t i ons t hat arri ve from different buildings or sites. For instance, t here are di fferent conditions that are present in each st ruct ure as t hese are uni que t o the facility which will give rise to cust omi zed bi lls of mat eri als.

Therefore, the benchmark costs must account for t hi s fact or wi t h respect to distributed rooftop power plant s. In addi t i on, t here are various technologies that can be implement ed

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

By fixing a “benchmark cost� the market has an unreali st i c expectation of prices while disregardi ng t hat solar plant s can also be customized to energy requirement s and t echnology capabi li t i es.

When they are marked very low, and each year i t i s reduced furt her, the MNRE is creating an eco-system for low quali t y i nst allat i ons as clients often are misguided by the benchmark pri ce (especi ally one that is all inclusive). The same is seen i n government t enders wherein the starting bids are not meet i ng t he i ndust ry value. When people are interested in lower price di scovery t here are ways of doing it through bidding and estimati on, however when set t i ng a pre-existing benchmark cost can lead t o poor-quali t y result s.

PG 12

SYED YASIR AHMAD, Consultant at Ernst and Young (State Coordinator under the SBI-World Bank Technical Assistance Program)

The competitive price bidding with BMR as the ceiling poses severe challenges for an active participation by small developers.

The major objectives of benchmarking for solar power systems have always been to determine the industry competitiveness, central subsidy and as a reference for regulatory commissions to determine various solar parameters i. e. cost of supply, timeline etc.

The trend of decreasing module prices reversed around 2017-18 and started stagnating and increasing in recent times. Major attributes to these are the introduction of GST, safeguard duty and the supply constrained demand in 2020.

MNRE has been publishing the benchmark rates (BMRs) for off-grid and grid connected rooftop solar (GRPV) for several years now. These BMRs have been guiding the industry for bidding and paved the way forward for pricing of GRPV systems.

Despite the tenders based discovered rates in the GRPV sector largely being lower than these BMRs, developers have observed that BMRs are essentially not the only tool to reflect the market price trends and quality of installation. There has always been a strong demand to evaluate the efficacy of these BMRs over the true price on ground and monitoring of the overall performance of such subsidized GRPV systems.

The latest MNRE benchmark rates, the lowest ever, notified on 21st July 2020 for grid connected rooftop solar was the first where it split the smaller categories of 1-10kW to even further sub-systems i. e. 1kW, 1kW 2kW, 2 - 3kW, and 3-10kW to ensure developers’ participation in implementing small GRPV projects. Given that the percentage of subsidy is similar across the country as last year, the BMRs are continued to be provided separately for general category states and special category states. It however explicitly refers to the individual components and excludes the cost of net meter.

There has been a constant reduction in benchmark prices in each category for the last four years. Annually, the percentage reduction of BMR stands between 10 % and 24 %.

A quick analysis from various market sources (largely vendors) shows that the tentative cost for the system comes out to be approximately 34. 00 INR/Wp with solar modules comprising 50% of it. However, the costs that are additional to the rates quoted under BMR by vendors include cost of (customer) acquisition, logistics and annual and maintenance for five years.

In several states, it has been observed that the rates discovered have been higher than the MNRE BMRs. MNRE’ s expectations have been far exceeded given that the market prices (for subsidized sectors) have largely converged to BMRs and tender based price discoveries are lower than BMRs and BMRs have been rationalized as technologies improved.

At the same, what needs to be noted and addressed is that MNRE BMRs may become impractical for several small vendors who already fall under the neglected MSMEs. MNRE, as it envisaged during 2014, should closely monitor the market trends and systems’ performance and adjust the BMRs on a half-yearly basis. It may also allow the consumers to choose their own systems by ceiling the subsidy limit to BMR instead of L1 besides directly receiving the subsidy to ease cash flow. MNRE may explore a transparent process of evaluating annual BMRs for the benefit of the general public and the vendors to comprehend its rigor, accuracy and practicability.

MANJESH NAYAK, Director / COO, Oorjan Cleantech Pvt Ltd

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has vide Official Memorandum dated 21st July 2020 announced the benchmark costs for Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Systems (GCRSPS) for the Financial year 2020-21. These rates are indicative and the DISCOMs participating in the phase II of the Rooftop Solar Programme will have to discover the rates through a transparent bidding process.

There are two major highlights of these recently announced benchmark costs vis-à-vis those announced in the previous financial year. Firstly, the rates have been classified into six capacity brackets instead of the previous classification of three capacity brackets. Secondly, the rates have fallen drastically. The average benchmark rates for capacities ranging from 1 kW to 10 kW have fallen by about 22% to Rs 42/Wp whereas for capacity brackets ranging from 10 kW to 100 kW & 100 kW to 500 kW, the rates have fallen about 20% to Rs 38/Wp and Rs 36/Wp, respectively. These costs are inclusive of Installation, commissioning, monitoring and 5 years comprehensive maintenance.

This fall in the benchmark costs point at the falling prices of the solar modules and the falling EPC rates due to increased competition. Here, it is worth noting that the MNRE benchmark costs are important as all the Government Solar projects or the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for empanelled projects will be guided by these benchmarks. The

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

benchmark costs should be reflective of the current and expected market conditions viz. , the move towards Atmanirbhar Bharat (usage of indigenous supplies), Start-Up India and reducing our dependence on the Chinese imports. Further, as against the 2022 target capacity for rooftop solar projects of 40 GW, the current installed capacity is close to a meagre 3 GW. Looking at the current macroeconomic factors and our move towards indigenization, these benchmark rates seem to be lower than the Industry rates, especially in the lower capacity brackets viz. , below 10 kW. This capacity bucket majorly consists of the residential segment which is the key to achieve our rooftop solar target. Lower Benchmark Costs would mean lower CFA to the solar adopters and would also encourage usage of cheaper substandard hardware and might lead to poor quality service hampering growth of the rooftop market. As for the higher brackets(10 kW+), the benchmark costs seem to give an edge to EPCs with module manufacturing arm. For pure service players, even these rates would be tight to operate and coupled with risk of delayed payments from clients could be detrimental to the growth of young EPC firms.

To summarise, though the falling prices of hardware is clearly reflected in the recently announced benchmark rates, it somewhat dilutes the focus on the quality of hardware and sustainable growth of EPC firms.

India is already amongst the lowest cost producers of solar power and we have to move our focus towards making the solar market better and deeper using policy tools to control quality, defining engineering parameters and protection of customers as well as EPC interests.

PG 13

SIDDHARTH GANGAL CEO, The Solar Labs

Grid-tied solar proj ects have seen a change in the installation costs and this is because of the recent publication of the benchmark rates of grid-tied solar rooftop proj ects by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the year 2020-2021. These costs were effective from August 2020 and take into account the total proj ect costs which include solar panels, inverters, installation, commissioning, civil works, transport, GST (8. 9%) and complete maintenance for the following 5 years. The new costs have brought a 20% reduction for 100-500kW systems when compared to last year’ s rates. Also, the solar PV capacities have now been split into 1kW, 1-2kW and 3-10kW systems respectively. These rates are also flexible to vary for states that are classified as special categories such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the union territories of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

However, are these benchmark rates in alignment with the current solar PV industry trends? For this, we at The Solar Labs interviewed some of our EPC clients to understand the market perspective on these policies. According to Mr Keyur Rakholiya, CEO of Heaven Solar Energy Pvt Ltd, the new benchmark rates brought by MNRE will affect the quality of the solar plants and services provided by the supplier because the reduced benchmark rates combined with subsidies offered by the government leads to a disparity in the quality and the price of the solar PV system. He suggests that government officials look more into the manufacturing processes occasionally to maintain the standard. Mr Ajay Yadav, President of REAR Renewable Energy Association has also confirmed the same. He also stated that the bidding rates vary from state to state which also compromises on quality. He recommends streamlining the bidding processes by making the process online. He also recommended clarifying net metering policies which are currently not covered in the latest benchmark rates published by MNRE. Mr Amit Thussu, Chief Strategist at Solar Compare also considers the MNRE rates to not be feasible because the reduced costs in alliance with government subsidies affect the impression of solar technology apart from the quality. In terms of volume of panels installed, the benchmark rates align with industry trends because cheaper the panels, more are people willing to invest in solar technology. Yet, in terms of generation analysis of solar PV systems, the panels installed based on these reduced costs won’ t be generating optimum power after 5-7 years because the materials used are cheap.

He believes that this issue can be remedied by abolishing government subsidies stating that “we have to educate people on the value of solar, not on the price”. The idea of educating people on the value of solar PV technology has been reinforced by Mr. Abhimanyu Rathore, Founder and CEO of Solar Study ® .

He stated that from Solar Study’ s perspective, the real installation market’ s established stance in the industry plays a pivotal role in the tangible values provided to learners. Their exclusive courses such as Python in PV, Blockchain in PV and Production of Low-Cost Batteries from Shrimp Cells aim to educate students and professionals on the value of solar technology in the industry.

From these insightful perspectives, one can infer that although the MNRE has tried to establish solar technology in the Indian market, the current industry trends are not in sync with these policies. This discrepancy may be rectified through stringent government measures to maintain the minimum standard apart from reduced costs. This is because people need to look at the latest technology and the value they’ ll receive from the system for which they might have to pay a significant price initially but it’ ll be an investment of a lifetime!

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 14

INSIGHTS

THE TIME HAS COME INDIA’S EXIGENT NEED FOR A PV RECYCLING POLICY

Marek Zarorowski,

Team Leader, European Union-India Technical Cooperation Project: Energy

Jessica Mosahari,

Team member, EU-India Technical Cooperation Project: Energy

The Industrial Revolution brought about the expanded use of coal and it has been more than the past 150 years that humans had been heavily relying on coal, oil and other fossil fuels. Growing activism and awareness on climate change brought about various policies and mechanisms that promoted the deployment of renewable technologies to stave off climate change.

The world is looking at renewable energy as the panacea for climate change and energy demands. However, the renewable energy renaissance of recent years in wind and solar also means that there will be millions of tonnes of waste generation from windmills and solar PV plants. With most panels and turbine blades ending up in landfills, there will always be the possibility of end-of-life risks related to toxic materials and myriad other negative impacts on the environment.

As India is steadily moving towards achieving targets of 60 GW for the ground mount solar systems and 40 GW of solar systems on rooftops by 2022, there will be an enormous amount of waste to be dealt around 2040. Assuming that PV systems installed in 2020-2030 have a lifetime of at least 30 years, any capacity installed during this period will reach the end-of-life stage not before 2050. Although the end-of-life waste generation is limited at present, PV waste is still generated during transportation, installation and operation of the PV system. Currently, economical methods of conversion of laminated, complex components is unfeasible, but India has to be prepared to tackle the deluge of endof-life PV waste after 2040. As PV recycling’ s role is being discussed in the circular economy in different quarters, to prepare the market the work should start right now. The development of regulations and institutions should be evolutionary-tested and adopted to the country’ s conditions over the years. Some countries have already special, designated waste disposal sites to store dilapidated PV waste and wait for the development of the use for the stored derelict.

equipment) separately from the E-Waste Rules is recommended along with a legislative framework for a mandatory EPR for equipment coming from the Renewable Energy Industry. EPR instruments such as product take-back, deposit/refund, advance disposal fees, product/material taxes, combined upstream tax and subsidy and minimum recycled content requirements should be considered while framing the EPR principle. The point of intervention for the instrument selected depends on the point where the market fails to internalize the impacts from the disposal of products at their post-consumer stage. The instrument or mix of instruments that would best meet policy goals should be selected.

The new recycling technologies and innovative equipment should appear together with market development. Such an approach (together with Ecodesign) is being researched for its feasibility, and the impact it may have in all the EU countries. Developing sustainable product policies for PV modules, inverters and systems, such as Ecodesign and Ecolabel, based on globally recognised standards and a methodology that takes into account the full product lifecycle can go a long way towards standardization of every PV component in India. Policy makers can also consider developing a separate legislation to ensure that PV modules (and other equipment of a PV system) follow the Ecodesign rules, are adequately collected, treated and financed.

A study is being conducted by the EU-India Technical Cooperation Project: Energy, SolarPower Europe, PV CYCLE and National Solar Energy Federation of India to provide recommendations to the Government of India for PV waste management in India that will support the Government to design and implement a lean and mean legislative framework for Renewable Energy Equipment and its post-consumer waste. “*All the recommendations have been taken from the ongoing study. ”

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is best suited for the Indian context, as it constitutes the most effective means to perform sound PV waste management. The current waste directive for India PV modules is considered as “one product, one equipment” – one does not apply a waste law to “components” of an equipment. The Indian E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules are not applicable to PV modules and inverters because these E-Waste Rules only apply to the two categories of electrical and electronic equipment that do not include PV products. Taking a cue from the European WEEE Directive, the Indian Government should consider implementing an EPR law for PV modules which sets the principle of a Producer Responsibility for PV modules and – where required – other products of a PV system, such as inverters and batteries. Creating a self-standing EPR legislation for PV modules (potentially for all PV equipment or all Renewable Energy

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 15

PERSPECTIVE

LINKING SOLAR POWER TO INDIA'S AGRICULTURE SECTOR:

WHAT ARE THE UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES? India’s agricultural sector is responsible for the consumption of over 18% of overall national electricity usage. However, its contribution to the GDP is just over 5%. Well-intentioned reforms like subsidised electricity supply have had the adverse effect of increasing the energy strain even further. The solution, however, is not to curtail the power access to the agricultural sector. Solar energy has long been the beacon of India’s energy transition and can provide a greener energy avenue for the agricultural sector.

The first step towards the adoption of solar energy is solar agri-feeders installed by Discoms to transmit energy to farms. MNRE has asked states to prepare innovative business models for implementing Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Urja Suraksha Evan Utthan Mahaabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program. Let's review what are the upcoming opportunities & challenges experts see in linking Solar Power to India's Agriculture Sector

SUSHEEM PANDEY Head Solar, CEO Solar Parks, Vish Wind Infrastructure

India is an agriculture-based country. The agricultural sector provides a livelihood to over 50% of India’ s population. The sector contributes 18% to the country’ s GDP. However, the agricultural sector needs proper irrigation facilities and other amenities to reap proper benefits.

The maj or constraint in agricultural sector are: 1. Farmers’ dependency on pumps for irrigation. Most of the farmers use pumps some of which are connected to the grid 2. While some pumps run on diesel and other fossil fuels.

3. This sector consumes almost 20% of the installed power in India.

4. Another issue in this sector is related to the plight of farmers.

Most of the crops are seasonal 5. Most of the farmers are deprived of a regular source of income.

6. Furthermore, farmers are not being able to earn anything from their dry/uncultivated land.

Solar energy can be put to good use to address these critical issues of the agriculture sector. It has huge potential to benefit the agriculture sector. So, with an endeavour to offer financial and water

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

security to farmers, the Indian government has launched various schemes to promote the installation of grid-connected solar power plants and solar pumps. The scheme is divided into three different components – 1. Installation of standalone solar pumps, 2. Solarisation of grid-connected pumps and 3. Commissioning of grid-connected solar power plants.

Through this scheme, the government targets to add 25, 750 MW of combined solar capacities (all three components) by the year 2022.

Components of the new scheme The scheme has a total of three main components: Component A - 10, 000 MW of Decentralized Ground-Mounted GridConnected Renewable Power Plants of 500 kW to 2 MW individual plant size to be commissioned by 2022.

Component B - 17. 50 lakh standalone solar powered pumps with capacity up to 7. 5 HP to replace diesel-powered agricultural pumps.

Component C - 10 lakh grid-connected agricultural pumps with up to 7. 5 HP individual pump capacity to be solarised by 2022.

The government planned and successfully executed components A and C of the scheme in a pilot mode by 31st December 2019 whereby commissioning of 1000 MW capacity of ground-mounted solar power plants and solarisation of 1 lakh grid-connected pumps was to be completed. In the case of component B, the entire scheme would take place full-fledgedly.

PG 16

DEEPAK GUPTA, Ex-Secretary MNRE and Ex-Chairman UPSC

Solarising irrigation Compulsions of space necessitate brevity. But the subj ect is of critical importance.

60% of India’ s population is dependent upon agriculture. Incomes are low. Only about 40 % of cultivated area has assured irrigation, 70% coming from ground water, 90% of which is used for irrigation leading to the silent emergency of depleting groundwater resources. Highly subsidised or free power for irrigation drives this overexploitation. It is estimated that there are about 21 m electric and 9 m diesel irrigation pumps. A TERI report estimates agriculture electricity demand to increase from 204 BU in 2017-18 to over 250 BU by 2030.

Average cost of electricity supply was about Rs 5. 18 in 2013-14, which was over Rs 6 when I went to AP a few months back. This is increasing. Against a 22% share of agriculture in total electricity sold, realisation is only 8%. This gap is increasing. This gap is met by huge tariffs for the industrial, commercial and residential sector and subsidies by states, often delayed or not fully given.

Estimates of subsidy vary considerably ranging from over Rs 50000 cr to almost double that. In addition, power is supplied both in day and night, and in many places, it is unreliable and erratic. So, pumps are left on, wasting both water and electricity.

Financial position of discoms will only worsen. No Uday schemes will help.

Naturally, solar pumps are being promoted by governments.

Number had gone up to 0. 24 m by March 2019, mostly promoted through another aberration of 90% subsidy (30% central/state govt each and 30% through loan). This is not sustainable nor desirable because it creates perverse incentives.

Costs have dramatically reduced – for a 5 HP solar pump from Rs 1. 5 lakh to Rs 56000 per HP as per MNRE benchmark costs for 2019-20 compared to a decade ago. These will decline further with large quantities. Solar module prices have dramatically reduced.

Viability has increased tremendously.

The Kusum scheme has targeted 1. 75 million off grid pumps. A big programme is possible to replace existing pumps as their life runs out and add new pumps. Ideally, we should target areas where electricity supply will remain poor and water tables are high (East UP/Bihar/WB). Ideal cultivation would be vegetables and cash crops with drip irrigation.

The greater opportunity lies in electric pumps. There are two ways of solarisation. First, supplying solar power through a plant near the feeder. Cost to the government would be much less than today.

Excess generation will go to the grid. Both will reduce subsidies considerably. Second, replacing electric pumps with DC solar pumps in the feeder. Farmers will use solar power. Entire subsidy will be saved. Excess power will go to the grid giving farmers some income and saving more subsidy. Ideally, discom should own the pumps and given to a franchisee to manage for a fee. In both cases, water use will be restricted.

These are, however, complex issues. There are many studies done of different models. More needs to be done. Intensive discussions are a must to find viable solutions which will work on the ground.

Farmers” cooperatives are a must. Current focus is on large solar proj ects in some states with only some big companies. Solar offers a historic opportunity of decentralising electricity generation at point of consumption. A large programme of 10 million electric pumps, if not more, and possibly 5 million diesel pumps, if not more, can be started for 2030. This will save subsidy for government and discoms; provide better electricity to farmers, and in the day time; generate some entrepreneurship and increased employment in rural areas, reduce consumption of ground water and possibly lead to increased farmer incomes. 50 GW of solar can, and should, come from here. More thereafter.

Solar pumps will cause the next environmental-friendly agricultural revolution. We need to embrace it fully and comprehensively.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 17

ABHINAV RAJPUT Head

– Govt. Business (Solar

Water Pump). Mahindra Susten Pvt Ltd

Indian Agri Landscape and Power Requirements

With a national slogan of “Jai Jawan Jai Kissan” i. e. “Hail our Soldiers, hail our farmers” India leads as 5th largest agricultural producing country in the world. The country has marked a total production of 291. 5 million tonnes in the crop year 2019-20. A country blessed with rich agrarian inheritance and abundance of diversified cultivated lands from north to south and east to west.

With such a humongous production and operations in the agricultural segment, a proportionately huge demand for electricity has also been arising with every passing year.

Out of the total electricity produced in India, approx. 20 percent power is consumed by the agriculture segment.

Catering to such large demand puts a significant stress on conventional / hydro power producers in the country as well as on the transmission & distribution companies.

An adequate power supply to the agriculture segment thus becomes very vital for fuelling the growth of “self-reliant India. ” Considering the current power production and transmission & distribution infrastructure in rural parts of the country, decentralized renewable power sources are going to play a pivotal role in ensuring reliable power to our farmers as well as an additional source to their income.

Current Challenges and Pain points:

Benefit to Farmers Reliable and cheaper power Low operational and maintenance cost Additional Income – with farmers becoming Power Producer.

Benefit to Government and DISCOMs Power for all: A central Government initiative for rural India No Annual Subsidies (Savings of 40k Cr. Per annum) Grid Substitution: Savings on cost of T&D set up, cost of subsidized power to rural, reduced dependency on grid, reduced maintenance of grid infra Positive impact on environment: Clean and green power.

HOW SOLAR ENERGY IS LINKING TO AGRICULTURE SEGMENT:

Farmer issues: Dependency on diesel and other fossil fuels for running irrigation pumps and other machines for crop production and processing, resulting in high operational cost to farmers.

Power interruptions due to load shedding or grid failures and low voltage issues.

Under-utilized barren and uncultivable lands Government / DISCOM issues

Lack of transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural segments.

Last Mile Delivery: High T&D Cost and T&D losses Power theft by line tapping / meter bypassing: Huge losses are incurred due to electricity theft.

Free or subsidized power to farmers results in a reoccurring financial stress to the government funds.

Most of the states have a fixed rate regime for agriculture segments which are as low as approx. Rs. 400/Kw. Owing to such policies power consumption in the agriculture segment remains unmeasured.

Free or subsidized power also results in the exploitation of ground water by agricultural pumps.

Grid In-Stability: Unpredictable Agriculture Load Solar Power making a real sense for Agricultural Segment:

Decentralized solar systems and plants for the agriculture segment make a win-win proposition for all stakeholders i. e. farmers, government and DISCOMS. Implementation of solar PV systems will not only ease out the financial burden on governments and DISCOMS but will also make our farmers self-reliant by helping them produce their own power.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

Solar Irrigation Pumps:

A major portion of total power consumpt i on i n t he agri segment goes into irrigation. As per Mi ni st ry of New and renewable energy, there are around 30 Mi lli on agri cult ural pumps present in India out of which 10 Mi lli on Pumps run on Diesel generators. Over 20 Million gri d connect ed agricultural pumps are installed in the count ry whi ch consume more than 17% of total annual elect ri ci t y of Indi a.

The DISCOMs are not in a position to energi ze 10 mi lli on pumps through grid connection as seen from a long waiting list with such distribution compani es.

Running these pumps on solar energy wi ll reduce t he dependency on conventional sources of energy, whi ch i s currently supplied by DISCOMs. This wi ll reduce t he burden of subsidy. This will also provi de an addi t i onal source of income to farmers by making t hem i ndependent power producers and selling surplus power t o DISCOMs. States like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhat t i sgarh, AP and UP have very effectively implemented t he solar wat er pump schemes in their respective states. Duri ng 2019-20 i n Maharashtra, more than 1 lakh farmers benefited under mukhyamantri sour Krishi yojna by subsi di si ng solar pumps of 3hp, 5hp and 7.5 hp along with solar home li ght i ng systems.

Solar Mini Grid & Micro grid – A solution to Rural Power Woes

Microgrids are decentralized and small versi ons of a power grid for regions with no or poor central gri d connect i on.

Targeting towards the government's mi ssi on of “Power for all”, solar microgrids are proven, affordable and reli able sources of power for rural and agricult ural segment s. It offers a great substitute to the convent i onal fuel based microgrids.

PG 18

VIKRANT CHAUDHARI, Operations Manager.

PV Diagnostics

Indian agriculture has always been the lifeline of the Indian economy. India ranks second in crop cultivation globally and more than 58% of Indians find employment in agriculture, contributing 17-18% to the country’ s GDP. India also has the largest net agriculture land in the world followed by the US and China. These startling numbers might catch you dumbstruck with the fact that even though agriculture holds such high numbers, it is also one of the most undervalued sectors, not j ust in India but worldwide. As a result, the economic contribution of agriculture to India’ s GDP is steadily declining.

There are several concerns when Indian agriculture comes in light.

Electricity shortage even though the agriculture sector is the biggest consumer of electricity: The electricity consumption by the agriculture sector in India was about 210, 000 GWh in 2019 (23% of total consumption) and still experience long hours of power cuts. The main sources of energy consumption include farm equipment, animal agriculture, processing, packaging, transportation, etc.

Climate Adversities: The climate is not always a good friend to the farmers. Since the crops don’ t survive extreme weather conditions like droughts and floods, they directly affect the farmers.

Water consumption for irrigation: 84% of total available freshwater is consumed by farms for plant irrigation. Out of this, 18% is utilized by irrigation pumps. There is a need for more effective irrigation practices to reduce this consumption.

Some alternatives to this model are also under test. One of them is a 14 pv blind configuration in the form of a checkerboard to improve greenhouse energy performance. This provides intermittent shadows on plants but has no effect on the plant growth. PV trackers in these arrangements provide many fruitful results. The results indicated that a pv system with 22. 4% roof coverage could generate 47. 1 kWh/m2 annually (2 times more than the modeled greenhouse power demand). This number ranges from 31. 9% to 46% of power demand based on different configurations. The results also indicate that covering 19. 2% of a roof can reduce natural gas consumption, electricity demand, and CO2 emission by 3. 57%, 45. 5%, and 30. 56 kg/m2, respectively.

2. PM KUSUM Yoj ana: Indian agriculture has 30 million irrigation pumps out of which about 70% uses grid electricity, 30% are powered by diesel and about 0. 4% only are powered by solar. To address this, the KUSUM scheme was initiated by the government of India to increase the income of farmers and provide sources for irrigation and de-dieselize the farm sector. It was launched by MNRE for the installation of solar pumps and other renewable power plants across the nation. The main obj ective of this scheme are: Setup of 10, 000 MW of decentralized renewable energy power plants which are grid-connected on barren land Support to farmers to install stand-alone solar agriculture pumps worth Rs. 17. 50 lacs. The capacity of these pumps will be up to 7. 5 HP for the replacement of existing diesel agriculture pumps.

The target is to solarize 10 lacs grid-connected agriculture pumps by 2025.

Farmer’ s irrigation needs shall be met by using the generated solar power.

To conclude, initiatives have already been taken to link solar power to the agriculture sector. We j ust need to broaden our horizons and support to make it a success.

HOW SOLAR POWER CAN ADDRESS THESE ISSUES Solar power is proving a vital tool in addressing many of the climatic and economic obstacles. Therefore, it’ s no surprise that solar power can help the agriculture sector as well. Some of the initiatives and solutions which have received limelight are discussed below: 1. Farm-based photo-voltaic installations: This hybrid model of food production in solar farms is gaining a lot of traction lately.

This concept has become famous via the name “Agrivoltaics”.

Since solar farms and crops both require acres of land, this model can make land use more efficient. A 2019 study says that converting j ust 1% of the world’ s farmlands to use solar plants could offset the entire globe’ s energy demands. The benefits observed till now are: Crops are cultivated in the shade of panels. This dial back the climate stress on the plant and they tend to reap efficiently Since crops are irrigated in the shade of panels, water remains accumulated for longer durations, saving a lot of water.

It has been observed that since the plants do not have direct access to sunlight, they grow 3-4 times extra to gain access to sunlight than the crops cultivated in sunlight.

Prevention of wind and soil erosion India has also been implementing this model and now hosts around 4-5MW of agrivoltaics in Jodhpur, Bhuj , Jamnagar, and Kutch areas.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 19

Farm top Solar:

As per recent KUSUM scheme introduced by cent ral government , renewable energy-based power plant s of capaci t y 500 kW t o 2 MW wi ll be set up by individual farmers/ groups of farmers. Those margi nal farmers, who have barren or uncultivable land, can i ncrease t hei r income by utilizing their land for solar or ot her renewable energy-based power plants. They may also use cult i vable land for solar proj ect s usi ng the Agro-PV model. In this model, the module mount i ng st ruct ure i s placed on stilts and the crops are grown below t hem. The energy generated can be sold to DISCOMs. New Technologies and Innovation

Universal Pump Controller for Solar Pumps: Uni versal cont roller enables the farmers to have a single power elect roni cs cont roller for vari ous applications such as driving motor pumps, t hreshers, fodder cut t er et c along with feeding the remaining power t o t he gri d. Therefore, t hi s controller is an all in- one controller, whi ch cat ers t o t he vari ous needs of farmers.

A solar pump is normally operational for 2-3 mont hs i n a year and t he rest of the 9 months, the pump remai ns unut i li zed and solar generat i on also gets wasted. A universal pump cont roller addresses bot h t he i ssues and increases the utilization of a solar i rri gat i on syst em.

Government’s Support and initiatives

KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Ut t haan Maha abhi yan): An aspirational scheme by the central government ai mi ng t owards providing decentralized and reliable power t o agri cult ural and rural segments.

Component-A: Setting up of 10,000 MW of Decent rali zed Ground/ Stilt Mounted Grid Connected Solar or ot her Renewable Energy based Power Plants; Component-B: Installation of 17.50 Lakh St and-alone Solar Agriculture Pumps; and Component-C: Solarisation of 10 Lakh Gri d Connect ed Agri cult ure Pumps.

Solar Power – A great deal for Agriculture Segment:

With increased use of technology and mechani zat i on i n agri cult ural practices, a reliable and affordable elect ri ci t y power becomes indispensable. Going forward decent rali zed product i on of power wi ll soon become a necessity for all stakeholders and hence solar powered solutions make an adequate proposit i on t o cat er t o agri cult ural and rural power needs. At the same time st ri ct governance and regulat i on will be required to put a check on the exploi t at i on of resources li ke ground water and other such natural resources.

VINAYAK DESHPANDE GM-SCM, Enrich Energy

Thomas Jefferson quotes ‘Agriculture i s our wi sest pursui t , because i t will in the end contribute most to real wealt h, good morals, and happiness’ Truly for India, Agriculture has been t he backbone of a st rong economi c growth over years. Its contribution to GDP may have subsi ded i n t he last decade, with Manufacturing and Servi ces gai ni ng moment um, but i t s impact runs well over 50% of the count ry' s populat i on. Indi a’ s robust rural consumption is primarily due to i t s agrari an nat ure, i t s very foundation deeply rooted in the success st ory of our farmers. Whi le many raised their eyebrows to a 23% drop i n GDP due t o t he pandemi c, a very few cheered in support of the 4% growt h post ed by t he Agri Sector. The need to make farmers economi cally i ndependent , post COVID crisis, has become more stressful t han ever before. Reduct i on i n cost of production, assuring adequat e wat er for i rri gat i on, provi si ons for a secondary source of income are some act i ons t hat can help reli eve a lot of stress in this sector.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

NITI Aayog reports that Agriculture account s for 18% consumpt i on of electricity, consuming around 225 TWh annually, 13% of di esel consumption equivalent to 85MTPA of coal consumpt i on annually.

Solar Energy, undoubtedly, provides a pract i cal solut i on t o all such problems. Amongst various options avai lable for energy selfsufficiency in agriculture, solar energy i ndeed t urns out t o be t he cheapest, compared to bio-fuels and di esel generat ors, t he cost of generation standing almost half at Rs. 3.50/Kwh. The govt . has undertaken measures to increase irrigat ed land by a healt hy 10% every year.

This will only add to more electricity consumpt i on i n agri cult ure.

Water, the most precious resource, can be ut i li zed effi ci ent ly i f pump operations for farming are coupled wi t h dri p i rri gat i on technology. Electricity needs in agricult ure are pri mari ly dri ven by water pumping. Because pumps can be operat ed wi t h a degree of flexibility across the day, this consumpt i on i s hi ghly flexi ble and can match the availability of solar output and wat er needs. Yet , i n many states water is pumped during the night -t i me. Thi s could be shi ft ed to the daytime to match solar generat i on. Apart from wat er conservation, solar pumps help farmers do away wi t h t he woes associated with erratic electricity supply schedules and wi t h lower crop yield due to irrigation at night.

Initiatives like AgDSM (Agriculture Demand Si de Management ) by the EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Li mi t ed) ai m t o replace inefficient electric pumps by BEE 5-st ar rat ed effi ci ent ones at minimal cost to farmers. With an estimat ed 21 mi lli on gri d connected pumps and half a million bei ng added every year, t he ambitious plan to get in more efficient pumps would save subsi di es up to Rs. 23000 Crore annually.

A special DISCOM program to separat e agri cult ure feeders i s under implementation in 9 states. It aims to i nst all 7.5 mi lli on met ered electric pumps.

The UDAY scheme, which seeks to allevi at e hi gh debt and i nt erest cost burdens on DISCOMs, and has improved t hei r fi nanci al healt h since its introduction. A combined annual out lay of around Rs 100,000 Crore is disbursed by state government s t o di st ri but i on companies (DISCOMs) as compensat i on. Ini t i al est i mat es show t hat around 130 GW of solar power can serve t he ent i re agri cult ure load with smaller ground-mounted plants (1-5 MW). The cost for a phased implementation over 5 years would be around Rs 525,000 Crore. This can be recovered in less t han 7 years per plant wi t h an internal rate of return (IRR) of around 20%. In t he long-t erm, t hi s i s economically judicious as it saves the st at e government from paying annual compensation packages t o DISCOMs. The prestigious KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) aims to:

Replace diesel pumps and install Solar powered pumps, 30-30-30% to be borne by the Centre, State and PSU Banks, wi t h t he farmer t o only pay for the balance 10% Allow the farmer t o sell excess power to DISCOMS at an attractive tariff thereby ensuri ng an alt ernat e source of income Allow setting up of Solar Power Plant s up t o 2MW with long term PPAs at healthy tariffs wi t h t he DISCOM. A host of challenges lie ahead of the APV i ni t i at i ve (Agro Photovoltaic). Poor financial health of DISCOMs, dependency on imported solar equipment, BCD and SGD ri sks, fragment ed land holdings, low interest by investors and developers are t o name a few Nonetheless, assured income to farmers t hrough st at e i ni t i at ed Feed in tariffs (FIT) over long term, reduced burden on st at e and DISCOMs due to reduction in subsidy, effi ci ent gri d operat i ons wi t h minimal losses, help DISCOM meet it s RPO obli gat i on, i ncrease i n crop yield due to better irrigation, conversi on of dry land t o cultivable land, are some benefits that far out wei gh t he ri sks and challenges.

A focused approach to drive solar energy deeply i nt o t he agricultural economy presents growth opport uni t i es t o t he elect ri cal equipment manufacturing industry, irri gat i on equi pment manufacturers, job creation for maint enance and equi pment t rade, and sustain small scale entrepreneurs for solar pump i nst allat i on over the next decade. Solar energy is i ndeed a pot ent i al game changer for the agricultural sector.

PG 20

JAYANT PRASAD,

MANOJ KUMAR UPADHYAY

Co Founder & Director,

Senior Research Officer in

cKers Finance

Energy Vertical, NITI Aayog, Government of India.

Solar Power in Agriculture : Opportunities and Challenges

Agriculture is India’s largest employer and i nt egral t o food securi t y.

However, farms are highly fragmented, have low mechani sat i on, limited irrigation (being mostly rain dependant ) and almost negli gi ble post harvest processing in the village, li mi t i ng crop product i vi t y and farmer incomes. As per MNRE, there are 30.0 mi lli on i rri gat i on pumps installed in India (2/3rds electrical, rest di esel based), yet i rri gat ed land forms less than 50% of overall farmland. Elect ri ci t y i s avai lable at irregular hours and is near free, which leads t o wast eful use of wat er.

Groundwater depletion is a significant i ssue i n most places. Di esel pumps often see under-irrigation as t he farmer has t o balance di esel cost against the uncertain harvests. Solar pumps are a transformational intervention which help DISCOMS reduce agriculture load losses and increase farmer’ s i ncomes by gi vi ng reliable irrigation.

Both central and state governments frequent ly roll out subsi dy based programs for solar pumps with the most ambi t i ous one, KUSUM, targeting 2.0 million pumps (equivalent t o almost 4-5 GW of solar capacity) in 3 years. The domestic solar pump i ndust ry has creat ed significant innovations and field operat i ons capaci t y, wi t h t he cost of pumps dropping to below INR 50,000/hp, whi le offeri ng remot e monitoring of uptime and water flow. Yet , penet rat i on remai ns very low with MNRE reporting only 0.25 mi lli on solar pumps i nst alled t i ll date. Common issues seen in subsidy schemes i nclude lack of demand aggregation, coordination delays wi t h local aut hori t i es and significant delays in the receipt of subsi dy payment s - oft en because either state or central subsidy component s are delayed. Syst em integrators are MSMEs who end up blocki ng si gni fi cant worki ng capital and manpower bandwidth.

Some states have streamlined processes and become more dat a oriented. They have also experimented wi t h fi nanci ng models such as cess funded schemes or multilateral agenci es t o reduce t he financing uncertainty (what the state pays i n pump subsi dy, t hey gai n in reduced discom losses).

The way forward We would like to see the market evolvi ng as follows : Immediate multi-state launch of solar pump schemes, at least 20,000-50,000 pumps per state, till KUSUM scales up. St at es could use C&I cess or multilateral loan models t o fund t hese rollouts. This will also act as a fiscal st i mulus t o t he economy (100,000 pumps implemented equals about INR 15.00 bi lli on of spends) and create/sustain many manufact uri ng and servi ces jobs in the country.

Scaled up use of online portals, real t i me moni t ori ng and i nt ense cluster allocation approaches (customers wi t hi n same and nearby villages) to improve quality of work, and reduce cost of implementation. Also linking pump dat a t o croppi ng pat t erns, whether using locally collected data or sat elli t e i magery could improve groundwater management and i ncrease crop yi elds.

Massive solar pump deployment would lead t he way i n creat i ng an ecosystem of solar implementers and servi ce provi ders across t he country, and other solar-based devices such as solar dryi ng, solar cold storages, solar-based post harvest processi ng, solar powered milk chillers would follow.

65% of India’ s rural population depends on 15 percent of i t s GDP contributed by agriculture, growing at an annual average of less than 2 per cent. Average income of agri cult ure households i n Indi a is less than ₹ 9,000 per month of which only about half i s contributed by farm income (NABARD All Indi a Fi nanci al Inclusi on Survey 2017). More than 80 percent of freshwat er i s used by agriculture, and more than 60 per cent of Indi a’ s i rri gat ed agriculture is via groundwater. The energy-groundwat er nexus has trapped farmers, power utilities, consumers, and government s i n an inefficient low-level equilibrium. “Unmet ered” and subsi di sed energy for agriculture has created a recurri ng fi scal pressure and burdened industry with cross-subsidy.

India cannot address its water and energy economy wi t hout addressing agrarian distress and findi ng non-agri cult ure i ncome options. Connecting the solar irrigation pumps t o t he gri d t o sell surplus electricity provides an additional source of i ncome for t he farmer which has been demonstrated by Int ernat i onal Wat er Management Institute (IWMI) through a pi lot proj ect i n Dhundi (Solar Power as a Remunerative Crop- SPaRC) and Nat i onal Dai ry Development Board’s solar cooperati ve i n Maj kuva (Guj arat ). Thi s model is being scaled up by the Government of Guj arat as Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY). In Punj ab’ s Pani Bachao, Pai sa Kamao, farmers have demonstrated a savi ng of about 30 per cent due to day time power supply and abi li t y t o opt i mi se use of wat er.

Furtherance to above, the Government of Indi a launched “Pri me Minister Kisan Urja Surakhsha evam Ut t han Mahabhi yan” (KUSUM) i n July 2019. The aim of the scheme is t o i ncrease t he i nt egrat i on between energy & land use along wi t h i ncreasi ng farmers’ income, provide a reliable source for i rri gat i on and de-di eseli st e t he farm sector. The scheme aims to add solar and ot her renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 with t ot al cent ral fi nanci al support of Rs. 34,422 Crore including service charges t o t he i mplement i ng agencies. The scheme have three component s (i ) Component A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mount ed Gri d Connect ed Renewable Power Plants of individual plant si ze up t o 2 MW (i i ) Component B: Installation of 17.50 lakh st andalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capaci t y up t o 7.5 HP and (i i i ) Component C: Solarisation of 10 Lakh Gri d-connect ed Agri cult ure Pumps of individual pump capacity up t o 7.5 HP. A recent analysis carried by the World bank on a few 11kV electricity feeders of Rajasthan shows t hat wi t h gri d-connect ed solarisation of pumps: (i) farmers would get subst ant i al i ncrease i n their income that is climate resilient and count er-cycli cal t o agriculture, and get daytime, reliable, free power supply whi ch reduces their production risk; (ii) recurri ng power subsi dy t o agriculture would get replaced by one-t i me capi t al subsi dy; and (i i i ) Discoms would get cheap decentrali sed di st ri but ed generat i on t hat would reduce their network losses.

Challenges

Due to pre-existing large stranded capaci t y & fi nanci al di st ress of DISCOMs, DISCOMs may not be incli ned t o encourage addi t i onal generation, therefore, Government can help t o cat alyse t he market by setting up the National Renewable Trader (NVVNL) t o buy power from FPCs and sell in the market.

The energy-groundwater nexus has trapped farmers, power utilities, consumers, and governments in an inefficient low-level equilibrium. “Unmetered” and subsidised energy for agriculture has created a recurring fiscal pressure and burdened industry with cross-subsidy. | SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 21

INSIGHTS

EMERGING TRENDS OF SOLAR PV

With the scenario of amid COVID-19, Solar PV Era has noticed a new range of power classes started to cross 520Wp during Q2 2020 and then 600Wp during Q3 2020 with Mono PERC Technologies topping the leaderboard compared to other existing technologies.

Mono PERC Technology projected with varied wafer sizes as mainstream products from all the top class global PV manufacturers has achieved efficiency more than 21% and has become an emerging trend with 182mm or more wafer size for most of the supplies scheduled for 2021.

Optimisation on the existing PV materials provided space for PERC to improve the CTM comparatively from the downstream Mono PERC products. One such advanced optimisations made with Jinko’ s Tiger or Tiger Pro series are with MBB, change of wafer size, Tiling ribbon /high efficient ribbon etc. , has made the path to break the hurdles of existing Energy density to High Energy Density Modules.

New doping techniques and use of advanced polymers also provided a significant change on the degradation pattern for the first year and on the consecutive year on year degradations.

Usage of PVF combinations on the outer layer of back sheets can withstand the UV exposure > 2000KWh/Sqmtr / Year has provided an extra reliability characteristic.

Bifacial started to take the road in India for 2020 and can expect to reach more than 15% per year on the market share of installations in India by 2022. With reduced degradation and the performance warranty for 30 years on Bifacial modules like Swan / Tiger / Tiger Pro series has reflected the benefit to some of the market leaders from the IPP / Developer fraternities locally and globally.

Futuristic projection on Solar PV Technologies can be estimated to touch 22. 7% with PERC and 24. 3% with TOPCON by 2022.

However PERC is in a more advanced stage of optimised improvisation and can expect 1% variation from the projections and TOPCON equally has the potential to vary upto 1. 6% in the coming two years.

Most of the Solar PV R&D teams are working extensively to cater the needs of all Solar PV fraternities for 2025 & 2030 by progressing on the Technologies like Hetero Junction, Tandem and Perovskite to cross 29. 5% Cell efficiency.

SAI CHARAN KUPPILI Technical Director, South Asia, Jinko Solar

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 22

INSIGHTS

Renewables Can Leapfrog Emerging Economies to a Sustainable Future!

As the world marks the beginning of the Decade of Action to deliver the objectives set in the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strong commitments will be needed to accelerate the implementation of the 17 goals. One of these, SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all has a strong bearing on other outcomes, as access to energy can improve healthcare, livelihoods, agricultural productivity, and other similar goals.

to rural economic development, from security concerns to the full empowerment of women, off-grid energy access has emerged as a critical solution to poverty reduction and a critical enabler of development. According to a 2019 census data, a potential of 4. 5 million off-grid, renewable energy, direct jobs could be created globally by 2030, which would account for more than one-sixth of the global renewable energy workforce, estimated to be 24 million by 2030.

While progress has been made on energy access through the deployment of renewable energy technologies, including solar home systems and green mini-grids, resulting in the number of people living without electricity dropping to roughly 840 million from 1 billion in 2016 and 1. 2 billion in 2010, a lot more needs to be done.

IMPROVING LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS

TACKLING THE PANDEMIC WITH IMPROVED ENERGY ACCESS

The Covid-19 pandemic has bluntly revealed the key role of SDG 7 within the 2030 Agenda especially in sub-Saharan Africa where only 28% of healthcare facilities benefit from reliable electricity.

Off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems now present a key opportunity to provide clean, reliable, and cost-effective electricity to remote health facilities that would otherwise not have access to reliable electricity which is essential for powering cold chains to safely preserve and store vaccines, blood, and other critical medicines. In Zambia, First Aid Africa, a Scottish charity, and Renovagen, a UK renewable supplier, have deployed a clean energy portable solar system in Mbereshi Mission Hospital, Luapula province, to speed up Covid-19 testing and reduce wastage of valuable reagents.

“Whether the driving factor for urgency is a global pandemic, a natural disaster, or population displacement, there will continue to be many scenarios where self-sustaining power is required at sites that are difficult to access. Often, the provision of that power without reliance on fuel for generators can be life-saving, ” said John Hingley, Renovagen managing director.

According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, at least 300, 000 people could lose their lives as a direct result of COVID-19, and push nearly 30 million into poverty— significantly setting back any progress realized in recent years. Small photovoltaic power plants with a battery can be quickly deployed and provide an estimated need of less than 5kW of power for 24 hours per hospital bed.

As former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability. ” New modular and scalable off-grid power technologies are opening up possibilities for individuals to climb out of persistent poverty by making small investments in energy products and services. From job creation

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

DRE technologies like solar-powered water pumps and other productive use appliances offer exceptional value for improving the living conditions and capabilities of households, access to energy is also a means to achieve the principle “Leave no one behind”. For instance, women around the world spend an average of about 200 million hours per day manually collecting water for household use. Innovations in solar-powered water pumps are alleviating the time spent by women and girls collecting water, resulting in more girls enrolling in school and women pursuing endeavors such as community gardens to improve nutrition and provide additional income.

A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT

Now more than ever, the clock is ticking for a New Social Contract with SDG 7 at its core. The speed of deployment for access to electricity solutions will be critical for the coming decade.

The SDGs are a powerful call to action on the multifaceted task of eradicating poverty, fighting inequality, and tackling climate change. It will not be possible to complete this task without establishing universal energy access, which is vital to creating gender equality, providing educational opportunities, and stimulating economic development. Accelerating the deployment of decentralized renewable energy can drive energy solutions that are more in line with people’ s needs.

As we set out to commemorate the 75th-anniversary of the UN, we must acknowledge the role of energy as the backbone of a better quality of life for remote communities facing a variety of disadvantages. We can no longer ignore our responsibility to provide the supportive resources off-grid communities need to not only meet their current minimum energy needs but to plan for plenty.

DR. YOGESH D. SONAWANE Head – Energy & Sustainability, Reliance Industries Limited (Retail Business)

PG 23

PERSPECTIVE

WHAT ARE THE LATEST TRENDS IN SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES?

Solar + storage has, and will continue to have, a symbiotic relationship. Ultimately, the wide-scale adoption of solar will lead to the wide-scale adoption of storage, which will in turn lead to more opportunities to deploy solar. According to market research firm IHS, the global energy storage market is growing exponentially to an annual installation size of 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2017 and over 40 GW by 2022 — from an initial base of only 0.34 GW installed in 2012 and 2013. It is expected to grow over 36% CAGR by 2027 due to the rising demand for solar energy. Let's find out more on the latest trends in Solar Storage Technologies from our industry experts

SUNIL BADESRA Business Head, Sungrow (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Given the increasing concerns about global warming and environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, policymakers pay more attention to energy storage solutions than ever before. Apart from having the ability to address the intermittent supply of renewable energy, energy storage assets can also offer a multitude of uses consisting of frequency regulation and ancillary service.

The solar-plus-storage solution becomes proliferating and it relies on deep analysis and technology integration of the whole system instead of a mechanical combination of two systems, so as to achieve a leap forward of “1+1>2” in terms of efficiency and performance.

Technically, the hybrid system needs to ensure the stable operation of PV, energy storage and the grid, creating smooth communication among hardware, software and systems. There exist a variety of devices from different manufactures, so the compatibility becomes a major challenge for the integrator who needs to be adept at all the protocols.

Particularly, the solar-plus-storage system needs to fully consider the management of batteries and PCS when dispatching the output, to mprove the safety and ROI of the whole hybrid plant. So only an experienced company which excels at both energy storage and PV iindustry can integrate an efficient system.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

In addition, efficient energy management is also crucial to safe operation and maximum yields of the whole system. As the brain of the solar-plusstorage plant, EMS can control the charge and discharge of the batteries, and instruct how the energy storage system cooperates with the PV system and the grid.

The intelligent EMS can manage different manufacturers’ equipment in a unified interface through an intelligent control unit; based on PV power prediction and millisecond response characteristics of energy storage, it can control the PV system smoothly and improve the grid stability in return. Meanwhile, a millisecond-level rapid linkage mechanism bridged among PCS, BMS and EMS can ensure the safety of the battery and the entire system.

Sungrow is among a few of the suppliers having expertise on EMS. The EMS developed by the company can be applied in a multitude of scenarios covering power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization, supporting multi-functional digital energy management.

When paired with renewable energy, the all-in-one system can meet requirements like frequency regulation, peak shaving, demand charge management, ancillary services. Flexible with DC-coupled or AC-coupled design, the solutions enable minimized cost, safe and reliable operation and competitive levels of profitability.

There’ s no doubt that the advancement of technology allows more integration between renewable energy and storage, indicating a mature multiple-energy era is imminent. The marketplace will see the integrated energy storage system which is more cost-optimized, safer and more efficient, getting rid of the instability and intermittent constraints of renewable energy.

PG 24

BRIJESH PRAJAPATI Managing Director- India, Sofar Solar

Energy storage is an integral part of modern society. A contemporary example is the lithium (Li)-ion battery, which enabled the launch of the personal electronics revolution. Most recently, Li-ion batteries have expanded into the electricity grid to firm variable renewable generation, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of transmission and distribution. Asia is On Track to Become the World Leader in Energy Storage. Sofar Solar are regarded as market leaders in ESS / li-ion battery manufacturing. We have our own hybrid inverters along with energy storage system and batteries which will help our customers in many ways.

The popularity of solar power has led to the rise of another renewable technology: solar batteries that can store extra solar power for later use.

Sofar Solar are developing batteries that can be installed with solar panels to create “solar-plus-storage” systems for your home.

Some benefit that solar batteries offer to homeowners – namely, the ability to store renewable electricity for later use – can also be applied at a larger scale for the entire electricity grid. Energy storage technologies like solar batteries provide electric utilities and energy users more flexibility in the way that they generate and use electricity, particularly electricity sourced from solar The declining cost of lithium-ion battery technology is the primary trend driving market growth for the energy storage industry this year. The downward price trajectory of lithium-ion technology continues to confound many projections that forecast the price to plateau or even reverse. Instead, experts now expect the cost reductions to continue as lithium prices fall an expected 45% by 2021.

Using batteries to do things like power vehicles and store electric energy on the grid were once thought to be completely uneconomic propositions. Today, because of falling costs across the battery industry, using batteries to perform these functions is not only possible, but can also offer advantages over the incumbent technologies of fossil fuel generation and internal combustion. As technology prices continue to fall, the economic benefits of energy storage applications will only see larger margins.

Important applications continue to emerge including de-carbonization of heavy-duty vehicles and the growth of renewable electricity and storage on the grid. The diversity of demands for energy storage requires a diversity of purpose-built batteries designed to meet disparate applications. In future technology for solar energy and other renewable types of energy, energy storage systems are expected to be a key element of this technology. There is a need to store energy in a way that is effective, both to withstand weather conditions and to keep the energy in a sustainable storage system. A cost-efficient solution is also key to increase access to alternative energy. The trend in energy technology within energy and utilities system software and energy efficiency software is sure to include a focus on implementing effective energy storage systems to meet these demands.

ESS simply refers to a combination of an advanced energy storage system, an energy management system, and a service contract which can deliver value to a business by providing reliable power more economically. The business model was initially developed by Constant Power, and it is being replicated elsewhere to generate steady returns for investors upon completion of an ESS project. With energy storage deals previously avoided by investors due to the complexity surrounding cash flow, new business models like ESaaS(Energy storage as a Service ) is a promising development to attract financing and further grow the industry.

HIREN SHAH CEO & Founder, Replus Engitech Pvt. Ltd.

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS Overview :

Due to increasing concerns about the ecological effects of petroleum derivatives and the limit and versatility of energy grids far and wide, engineers and policymakers are progressively directing their concentration toward energy storage solutions. Indeed, energy storage solutions can help address the irregularity of solar and wind power; it can likewise react quickly to enormous changes in demand & making the grid more responsive.

Energy storage systems will help contribute in meeting electricity demand during peak times.

Electricity becomes more expensive during peak times as power plants have to ramp up production in order to accommodate the increased energy usage. Energy storage allows greater grid flexibility as distributors can buy electricity during off-peak times when energy is cheap and sell it to the grid when it is in greater demand.

The International Energy Association (IEA) estimates that, in order to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, the world needs 266 GW of energy storage by 2030, up from 176. 5 GW in 2017. The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has estimated over 70 GW and 200 GWH of energy storage capacity in India by 2022, which is among the highest in the world.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 25

Energy Storage Technologies:

Replus Contribution

There are many different ways of storing energy, each with their merits and demerits. The table focuses on technologies that can currently provide large storage capacities (of at least 20 MW).

Replus aspires to be a leading manufacturer of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) by providing cutting edge and most advanced solutions for Stationary and E-Mobi li ty applications.

Our mission is to “Enable Global Transition towards Sustainable Energy”

ESS APPLICATIONS Load Shifting

Fully utilize power generation from PV system A typical 0. 5C to 2C LFP energy cell can fully Utilize power generation from PV system and also decrease contracted capacity with Utility company For cost saving.

Replus was founded in December 2018, in less than two years, have deployed more than 2MWh of Li-ion battery based solutions for more 5x projects, serving 10x di fferent customers. These projects shall generate power from renewable sources of energy with BESS and help in GreenHouse Gases (GHG) emission reduction of 2510 Tons of CO2 annually equivalent to planting 20, 000 Nos. of trees per annum.

Back-up & Power Quality

Improve power quality Seamless transition A LFP or NMC cell of rating 1C/2C is suitable for backup power application depending on the size of the system & back up time requirement. E. g. For a 30 min, 1 hr, 4 hr back-up, a 2C, 1C & 0. 25C battery type is Suitable respectively.

Peak Shaving

Defer distribution network and generation investment Avoid high demand charge A typical lithium-ion battery available on the market can provide up to 3 C. As specific capacity costs are higher than specific power costs, load profiles with peaks below 1 hour are ideal for peak shaving with BESS.

LOAD SHIFTING- IMAGE 1

BACK-UP & POWER QUALITY- IMAGE 2

Time of Use Optimization

Leveling power consumption at peak and off-peak hours Decrease contracted capacity with utility company for cost saving A LFP Energy Cell of 0. 5 C to 1 C rating can be used for time of day applications. An Energy storage helps in leveling power consumption at peak and off-peak hours. Also, it decreases contracted capacity with the utility company for cost saving.

PEAK SHAVING- IMAGE 3

TIME OF USE OPTIMIZATION- IMAGE 4

Frequency Regulation

Improve power quality through Active and Reactive power dispatch A High Rate 5C NMC Li-ion battery can be used to support frequency regulation applications.

FREQUENCY REGULATION- IMAGE 5

PV Smoothing

Smooth power output of PV system through ramp rate control of ESS Decrease power variation caused by PV system Lead-Carbon batteries are used in partial SOC operation for frequency regulation, that technology would be appropriate for a PV smoothing application.

PV SMOOTHING- IMAGE 6

Our mission is to “Enable Global Transition towards Sustainable Energy”

General Architecture of an ESS System

Replus offers an efficient energy storage solution which covers applications like Micro-grid, Renewable Integration, Transmission and Distribution (T&D deferral), Commercial & Industrial (C&I), Data Centre Back up, Community Storage & Residential Applications, etc.

GENERAL ARCHITECTURE OF AN ESS SYSTEM

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 26

SUHAS SUTAR Head – Energy Storage, Mahindra Susten Pvt Ltd

TRENDS IN SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES

As on date India stands at 372GW of power generation capacity, out of which 23. 8% i. e.

88. 79GW is renewable energy generation having majority share by wind & solar. Further looking at the aggressive targets set by government of India for installation of renewable energy sources in the form of Grid scale PV plant Distributed solar for residential & commercial installations Solarization of agricultural water pumps through KUSUM scheme will increase the penetration of renewable energy into the grid. This renewable energy being intermittent in nature will impose a lot of stress to the grid from a demand & supply management perspective.

FIGURE 1 SOURCE - MNRE

Energy storage will help to manage this demand – supply gap by providing spinning reserves at different levels from generation, transmission, distribution & even at consumption level.

Within energy storage there are various technologies prevailing, however Li-ion technology outperforms on energy density, power density, round-trip efficiency & response time, Government Incentives for Energy Storage are driving Growth in India, MNRE has floated multiple tenders with wind, solar and battery hybrid with different configurations such as Pure Play Wind Solar Hybrid (WSH): (30% CUF) Peak Power Supply: (30-40% CUF) Flexible & Firm Power: (60% CUF) Round The Clock (RTC): (80% CUF) Also, guidelines for Scheduling, Metering, Accounting and Settlement of Transactions in Electricity (SAMAST) are being implemented giving rise to the need of spinning reserve demand and ancillary services market in India.

India' s energy storage market is forecasted to grow to 64. 5 GWh by 2026. The major market segments include Grid-scale storage applications, renewable integration, T&D deferral, ancillary services, Behind the meter (BTM) storage applications such as telecom, rural electrification, solar rooftops, diesel replacements, inverter back-up, UPS back-up, thermal energy storage and railways.

Mahindra Susten has taken proactive steps by building the right team, battery & system sizing software and vendor base for BESS solutions since 2018. Currently Mahindra Susten is executing 6MW/ 15MWHr of BESS system in Gujarat for GPCL which encompasses supplying 24 hour electricity to Modhera village from Solar + Battery only.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 27

PERSPECTIVE

THE MODULE SIZE RACE IMPACT ON FUTURE SOLAR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

THE PV INDUSTRY HAS STARTED LOOKING ONTO INCREASING THE WAFER SIZES. WITH THE INCREASING WAFER SIZES, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE SIZE OF MODULES ENCAPSULATING THESE CELLS ARE BOUND TO INCREASE WHICH FURTHER LEADS TO MODULES WITH ENHANCED POWER OUTPUT. WITH EACH AND EVERY PLAYER LEAVING NO STONES UNTURNED TO PROMOTE THEIR MODULE AND PROVE THEIR SUPERIORITY WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER MODULES, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF ADVANTAGES OF SUCH MODULE TYPES. READ ON TO FIND WHAT OUR EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY

ADANI SOLAR

DR. SANJAY VASHISHTHA

SPOKESPERSON

CEO, Firstgreen Consulting Pvt Ltd

The PV industry has recently leapfrogged with higher wafer sizes and different module sizes. The industry is witnessing many manufacturers forming an alliance with either the M10 or G12 Wafer sizes going forward.

While 158. 75mm (G1) and 166mm (M6) remain the mainstream formats now globally, Indian manufacturers are still yet to come to terms with 158. 75mm (G1 Wafers) and not the entire industry has moved from M2(156. 75-157mm) to G1 wafers.

The change in wafer sizes impact the cell sizes equally and proportionally on the Module dimensions. Module manufacturers must ensure the right gaps between cells and gaps between strings and the subsequent clearance and creepage distances from current carrying component to the edge of the laminate as per the latest IEC / IS standards.

The industry is poised to adopt 166mm format as an intermediary technology of 2021 as the market shifts to larger wafer sizes of 182 and beyond from 2022 and 2023.

We expect the upstream wafer market will drive the changes along with the adaptation of the downstream segment and the BOS ancillary supporting the upstream market.

The bottleneck in large wafer development is the lack of furnaces for larger PV glass, which requires more than a year to be upgraded to accommodate larger modules. It remains to be seen how much the larger power will drive the BOS costs lower and drive the LCOE lower across the globe.

The change being destructive must move the entire market segment to larger sizes and not just 1 or 2 markets adopting it. Previously we saw American, US, European, Chinese, Japanese and Indian markets behaving differently with module sizes and no: of cells. Once the uniformity in market acceptance for module sizes for residential, C&I and Utility segments prevails, we would have similar module sizes rolled into the market.

The industry will see teething issues of resolving the cell breakage and downgrade rate and Inverter ratings and trackers to be ready shortly. The entire industry must go hand in hand to develop the larger wafer size.

It remains to be seen whether module makers choose ½ cuts or 1/3 cuts in their process of modules. The decision of cuts leads to different Isc and Voc parameters and different string designs at the system level.

Higher current modules would lead to change in cables and inverter subsequently.

Recently Trina Solar introduced 660 W modules And JA Solar also introduced 800 W modules. This has created a race among module manufacturers that by increasing PV module size and capacity they are able to capture the new market. There is a huge technology development pressure on module manufacturers to reduce the PV module cost and follow the learning curve of 20% annual price reduction in PV models.

If we look at the PV module technology trends most of the module manufacturers still operate below 20% module efficiency. However the recent launch of PV modules by JS solar and Trina breaks the efficiency band of 20%. Increasing the power capacity of PV modules reduces the manufacturing cost and thus meets the requirement of market expectation.

The industry is still striving hard to reach the efficiency levels to 21% for commercial PV modules and keep the cost optimum.

Until 2018 most of the PV module manufacturers developed modules with 72 cells and the typical cell size used to be 158 mm however now the cell size is increasing to 160 mm, and subsequently the recent largest power PV modules use the cells of 210*210mm size. The increasing cell size has led to increased model area and The typical area of 2 m ² has increased to 2. 2 m ² . There is a limit to handle the PV module safely which constrains the PV module weight and size. The recent launch of the large power capacity PV modules are generally of over 30 kg size, which is relatively difficult to handle by one person for installation. Similarly the increasing panel surface area makes it vulnerable to breakages and micro cracks. At times the increasing PV module wattage is assumed that it’ s a breakthrough in terms of increased cell efficiency, however the trend is on increasing number cells or cell size.

PV module wattage can reduce the BoS cost also. If the PV module power output is higher, the DC solar cable requirement reduces and to some extent the savings can be assumed in terms of reduced structure costs. PV module wattage are also being increased based on the bi facial modules, wherein about 20% of power is added in the module from the rear side of the PV module. There is a shift from the polycrystalline cells to monocrystalline cells due to higher efficiency. The efficiency gains are also being achieved using the mono-perc half cut cell technology. Traditionally the solar PV modules have been using two busbars, however the trend is to increase the number busbar for gain in efficiency and most of the new solar modules are with multi busbar designs.

A combination of the technological advancements are leading to increasing PV module wattage which is helping the developers to attempt the lower LCOE values. The recent IRENA report highlights that the technological advancements in solar PV module technology will further reduce the overall project cost and in utility scale solar PV projects it is expected to achieve the average price of solar electricity to the tune of USD0. 048/kWh by 2020. This is a reduction of about 44% in the PV electricity as compared to the average price of 2018.

We foresee module dimensions can become as big as 2. 3m long and 1. 3 m wide and with module currents becoming as high as 18A+ and in some cases voltages becoming 70V+ too. Downstream partners and EPCs to remain vigilant on the upcoming changes as an upstream change for better efficiency and cost optimization will lead to several changes at the downstream segment It is foreseeable that 166mm-modules will be adopted by the residential sector, while 182mm- and 210mm-modules will be used in utility-scale solar plants. As n-type heterojunction (HJT) and TOPCon technologies gradually advance, manufacturers will turn their R&D focus toward the combination of large wafers with n-type technologies to maximize benefits.

Indian module manufacturers will have more impetus in the ongoing changes happening globally and new production tool equipment that are being ordered should meet the power demand of 500-600W power ranges from the existing 300W+ power ranges that are prevalent across more than 70% of Indian manufacturers currently.

The changes that we speak are inevitable and adapting to the changes becomes all the more important and how soon we adapt to remain competent in a dynamic and disruptive technology change market.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 29

COMPANY FEATURE

GOODWE LISTED ON SHANGHAI STOCK EXCHANGE

IPO Paves the Way for GoodWe’ s Future Growth Strategy GoodWe announced its initial public offering of its common stock and is now officially listed as a public limited company. The shares began trading on the Shanghai Stock Market on 04 September under stock code 688390.

At 8 AM on Friday morning, the famous gong in the Grand Hall of the Shanghai Stock Exchange sounded in honor of the Initial Public Offering of GoodWe. The ceremony was attended by leading figures of the solar industry and coincided with GoodWe’ s 10th anniversary - 10 years marked by relentless hard work, continuous innovation and international success. The company executives look back on the 10-year success story and set their sights on future goals, enshrined in the company’ s Corporate Growth Strategy.

"GoodWe has achieved consistent, continuous and sustainable growth for several years and has proven, year after year, that its financial success is a result of its step-by-step approach of strategic growth and consolidation. We have been working relentlessly for over ten years and have reached new frontiers. The IPO marks the beginning of a new chapter” said CEO Daniel Huang.

"GoodWe is a stable, bankable and sustainable company with a sound financial management strategy. We have achieved good results in a relatively short time and we are confident about the company’ s future growth traj ectory. At GoodWe we don’ t wonder what the future holds, we shape the future with our actions and innovations” added Rong Shen, VP of International Sales.

MILESTONES & GROWTH IN 2019/2020

2020

GoodWe will continue to expand its storage portfolio to include the latest innovations and continue leading the storage revolution. In 2020, GoodWe launched its SMART HOME solution, designed to give users maximum choice and flexibility. Further improvements in inverter technology and battery compatibility are expected in 2021 and 2022. GoodWe will continue to lead research efforts in SEMS energy applications to enable owners to benefit from timely automated energy choices based on real-time operating conditions and maximize use of clean energy. GoodWe will likewise lead research efforts aimed at implementing energy trading technologies enabling shared energy communities and zerocarbon future.

Pioneer of Global-Local Strategies GoodWe has been operating continuously in over 80 countries and currently has offices and branches in 16 countries and also operates registered subsidiaries in the largest markets in the solar PV industry, including Germany, Australia, Korea and UK, with plans to expand this list to include the US and Japan, among many other countries. GoodWe maintains a strong local presence in every market with a robust network of sales, after-sales, technical and managerial staff employed locally. This enables the company to pay great attention to detail, not only on global market trends but also on local developments, policies and requirements. Following its IPO, the company has already implemented plans to expand its global reach with office premises in every maj or market while also increasing its localized presence to guarantee efficiency and quality of service worldwide. GoodWe has invested 160 million RMB in a new production line in its Guangde plant to match the growing demand from international markets and cater to the needs of each individual market in which the company operates.

Strength in Innovation & Development

Stock Listed - Shanghai Stock Exchange ("SHA688390”) Ranked Global No. 1 Hybrid Inverter Supplier by Wood Mackenzie 5 consecutive years of TÜV Rheinland All Quality Matters Award First non-European inverter manufacturer to obtain the VDE-ARN 4110-2018 certificate from TÜV Rheinland Awarded "Top Brand PV Netherlands & Australia 2020” by EuPD Research

GoodWe’ s innovation is the result of continuous and persistent efforts from its 200+ R&D team. Over the course of the next few years GoodWe will increase funds directed at R&D operations and will expand its team and continue to provide the market with groundbreaking technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency and component resilience, as well as contributing to research in industrial automation and artificial intelligence. Over 200 million RMB will be invested in a brand new Smart Energy R&D building that will focus on developing cutting-edge technology

2019 Strength in Utility

New Global Headquarter in Suzhou Hi-Tech New District GoodWe ranked Global Top 7 PV Inverter Brand by Wood Mackenzie and BloombergNEF, and ranked Global Top 4 PV String Inverter Brand by IHS Markit Awarded "Top Brand PV Australia 2019” by EuPD Research Future Business Strategy

Following its IPO, GoodWe’ s Board of Executive Directors outlined the pillars of its Corporate Growth Strategy.

Leader in Storage

GoodWe is already the undisputed leader in the storage segment with 15% global market share and is currently ranked as the World’ s No. 1 residential hybrid inverter supplier by Wood Mackenzie.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

The IPO marks GoodWe’ s transition from stable, bankable company to a global multinational backed by international investors and heralds a new era of unlimited opportunities for the company and stakeholders alike. This makes GoodWe a trusted partner for utilityscale proj ects, where financial readiness is a key component. On top of that, the new HT Series, with current capacity of 100-136 kW will see new versions released up to 250 kW from 2021. The HT inverter seamlessly incorporates different sets of technical strengths intended to achieve higher savings in the installation, enhance productivity and diversify monitoring options, taking safety to the maximum possible level in accordance with the most demanding national standards. GoodWe is committed to contributing to the development of PV technology and its recent IPO is a key event that is going to accelerate that process.

PG 30

COMPANY FEATURE

BULL POWER SOLAR WILL DEVELOP AN OPEN ACCESS CAPTIVE SOLAR PARK “MARTANDA”

Rajasthan has imbibed greater potential in terms of harnessing green solar energy while utilising it in prosperous ways, thereby nominating Rajasthan as the most eligible state for the development of an open access captive solar park. The place becomes more ideal having the business-friendly solar policy from the Government of Rajasthan. In such scenario, Rajasthan’s fast-moving and leading solar EPC Company Bull Power Solar is solely determined to introduce a new and resourceful angle to a new project while keeping in mind the savings in large industrial and corporate electricity bills with the installation of a 50 MW Captive Solar Power Park in Bikaner district of Rajasthan.

Mr. Dinesh Kumar Bishnoi, an enthusiastic young professional having more than 10 years of experience in the solar industry, is determined and confident about the immense possibilities that can be unravelled while bringing the unique concept of solar park into life. The main concept is to provide electricity to commercial and industrial users at very cheap rates and to contribute to mother earth making it more greener. According to initial preparations, Bull Power Solar will develop an open access Captive Solar Park “MARTANDA”, synonymous to “SURYA DEV” the lord of light, keeping in mind the savings in electricity bill for the consumers along with the provision of luxurious facilities and services.

Advantages for the end customers include the complete and most prolific service provision from Bull Power Solar. Right from the installation to the operational perspective, the company will take care of everything therefore offering maximum peace of mind to the customers.

This mammoth solar park will be feasible at a cost of about INR 3.0 billion and will have the potential to generate about 85 million units of electricity annually along with the contribution in reducing the carbon emission by 85 million tonnes every year. “MARTANDA” is a gem of an idea for all those consumers who are unable in harnessing green solar power due to certain limitation like unavailability of sufficient space, man power unavailability for plant

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

management, financial inability to invest hefty amount in one go, last but not the least time for the professional as well as personal family.

“MARTANDA” is the proj ect that is planned keeping each and every type of commercial and industrial consumers in mind like big manufacturing and trading facilities, Hospitals, Hotels, Commercial Complexes, Educational Institutes, Warehouses, Business Parks and many more.

All the customers associated with us through the “MARTANDA” proj ect will also have full authority to subscribe to the specially designed ultra-luxurious in-house amenities like Club House, Swimming Pool, Hotel, Restaurant, Conference Halls, Learning Centre and many more to be added. Few remarkable attributes of the solar park will be: Highly efficient Made in India solar modules and BOS A fully automated cleaning system Complete operation and management by Bull Power Solar’ s highly experienced man power.

Black and smooth Road facilitating ease and comfort of communication.

24X7 Security and CCTV surveillance.

Access to Luxury Hotel and Restaurant.

Common/Shared Club House.

Corporate Branding and Marking (in-stadia) of the park.

Special provision for visitors (Guest Rooms and other common facilities).

DINESH BISHNOI Managing Director Bull Power energy Pvt Ltd.

PG 31

COMPANY FEATURE

BLOOMBERGNEF AWARDS SUNGROW THE 100% BANKABILITY RATING FOR TWO STRAIGHT YEARS

Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, was once again ranked “100% bankable” by BloombergNEF as per the latest survey of PV Module & Inverter Bankability 2020, becoming the only inverter supplier ranked “100% bankable” for two straight years. It demonstrates that banks are more likely to give non-recourse term loan to solar projects using Sungrow inverters, ensuring a favorable and steady return of investment for investors. Further as solar project sizes are growing bigger in tough climatic conditions, it requires significant capital investment with rigorous due diligence on supplier’ s credibility and hence bankability of OEMs becomes a crucial aspect to be evaluated.

BloombergNEF surveys solar industry participants covering 32 banks, funds, solar engineering contractors, independent power producers and technical advisers from a global landscape. The report considering the manufacturers’ capacity in the field, financial health, local support and service, the warranties and technical features as maj or indicators, is an essential reference for financial institutions in granting commercial credit and developers in choosing the inverter brand.

Sungrow attributes much of this honor to its continued efforts in fulfilling the mission of “Clean power for all”. Given the industry’ s largest R&D team and 23-year proven track record, the Company keeps bringing forth cutting-edge product portfolios to meet the global surging demand. Its industry-leading testing centers certified by maj or international bodies like TÜV, CSA, UL and CNAS, guarantee prominent reliability. Sungrow’ s agile local team can offer responsive technical support, sales and 24/7 after-sale service globally.

Notably, the Company’ s latest 1H financial report shows a 55. 57% year-on-year growth in revenue and net income grew by 34. 13% YoY, underlining a robust and preeminent performance in sustainable development.

The global solar market witnesses a proliferation as the LCOE is getting lower, thereby the proj ect financing gets more paramount for increasing industry players. As one of the most credible third-party renewable energy research hubs, BloombergNEF’ s inverter bankability survey offers noteworthy proof to the stakeholders.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 32

COMPANY FEATURE

SOLIS – 15 YEARS ON 2020 might be a year most firms would like to forget, but for Ginlong Solis, the global inverter manufacturer, the year remains a key milestone on the firm’ s j ourney to an ever-growing role in the global solar market.

This year marks the firms 15th year of operations, a j ourney every stakeholder can look back on with pride. From small beginnings in Ningbo, one of China’ s oldest historical cities in Zhej iang province, Ginlong (Solis) has today grown to be a global string inverter maj or; or tier 1 firm as the industry j argon goes. It has a 5 GW production capacity that is set to be expanded to 20 GW by 2021-22. With 15 GW of global deliveries behind it, the firm today has over $200m in assets, and a 1000 strong global workforce with 200 plus technicians.

To everyone’ s surprise, Solis’ s oversea sales revenue is still showing great strength despite the COVID-19 pandemic; which could be called a miracle. The financial reports showed that the company’ s half-year operating income was US$106. 6 million, an increase of 76. 73% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was US$17. 3 million, an increase of 281. 87% year-on-year.

In fact, as the only listed string inverter manufacturer, the firm is emerging as a key bellweather for the growth of string inverters worldwide. Ginlong’ s focus on string inverter technology has positioned it well to meet emerging customer needs across all segments of the solar industry. Be it residential, C&I and utility applications. A good example is its intelligent hybrid PV inverter designed for solar-plus-battery systems. Designed for flexibility and performance, the storage inverter, allows residential customers to maximize self-consumption while boosting efficiency and overall returns.

Independent validations have followed– including its third-place ranking among Asian brands in Bloomberg NEF’ s 2019 Inverter Bankability Report. In June this year, Ginlong Solis was conferred with respected industry body, TÜV Rheinland’ s “All Quality Matters” award for its commercial inverters Solis-(25-50)K-5G in recognition for the outstanding product quality in 2020. The company’ s founder Yiming Wang, dropped out of a PhD program at Bristol University in the UK, to found the firm. He is also a visiting professor at Ningbo University to boot, ensuring that his firm keeps a strong connect with academic research. The firm developed a j oint academic workstation with Shanghai University back in 2012.

Solis has set its sights firmly on the utility segment, as well as a stronger investment into its PV plant division. For the utility segment, where it sees a more predictable and higher growth market, its latest offering, the Solis 255K string inverter is its 5th generation offering.

The inverter incorporates a record 12 MPPTs design, a maximum efficiency of 99%, plus support 200% DC/AC ratio. That gives it an ability to handle 15 A maximum DC input current. It has 53 MPPT/MW high power tracking density and is compatible with higher Watt peak modules and the latest 500W Bi-facial modules.

Besides offering performance at high temperature up to 50 degrees, the inverter, with its fuse-less design, and IP66 protection is well built for harsh environments.

Boasting an integrated anti-PID Recovery function to improve system efficiency, this results in lower maintenance costs with extra safety. With the firm reporting a failure rate of less than 0. 2 percent in the independent DNV-GL reliability audit, Ginlong Solis is well positioned to ride the expansion and growth in solar energy, especially on the back of string inverters, worldwide.

The firm has its sights firmly on being a global firm, with a strong presence in European markets, as well as Asia. That is reflected in its status as the first string inverter manufacturer to be listed at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, combined with its aggressive expansion plans backed by a strong R& D culture.

Nestled in a particularly scenic part of Zhej iang Province, the firm was recently recognised with the province’ s “Hidden Champion” award by the regional Zhej iang Provincial Economic and Information Commission. The award takes into consideration the firm’ s positive impact on the local community, environment, and economy. It is an attitude that serves the firm well as it seeks to make a case for its role in the growth of solar power around the world. For Ginlong Solis, the 15-year j ourney has been a rewarding trip, with its products now sold in 100+ countries and regions, and a total installed capacity of over 15GW +. That translates to a reduction of 5, 864, 660, 000 tons of CO2 and 1, 764, 67, 000 tons of SO2 from the environment, which is the equivalent of planting 195, 700, 000 trees. Numbers any firm would be proud of.

YIMING WANG Founder Ginlong (Solis)

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 33

COMPANY FEATURE

ETi-SOL IIOT SCADA: THE NEW AGE OF PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE

“Monitoring data via a remote monitoring tool is a good decision. But a smart decision is using a data platform that makes sense in the real world, makes our lives profitable and easy” Setting up a solar power plant is not an easy task. But a more persisting and resource consuming activity to keep the plant going is Operation and Maintenance(O&M). On a Solar photovoltaic power plant, stakes are high for operation and Maintenance.

The fruits of commissioning and plant set up continue to bear the same amount of performance, only if there is a continual operation and maintenance activity. Although the traditional practice involves preventive maintenance activity done on a periodic basis, it is now time to make smart choices and decisions. Predictive maintenance is the key.

Predictive maintenance is a proactive maintenance strategy, that predicts the possible failure or low performance of an equipment in the future, backed by the data collected from the same equipments. This strategy not only reduces the downtime of equipment but also maximizes up-time and increases the reliability, making the equipment an enhanced revenue asset.

PERFORMANCE RATIO (PR) AND INSTANT GRID AVAILABILITY:

Simply login and check the performance ratio of each block, device, or room. Higher rates above average indicates that all is well. Lower rate raises an alarm for maintenance activities.

Another important feature is the grid availability. No need to go all the way in the field to check the grid status. It is displayed on the dashboard. If the grid is down, there are high alerts and red alerts generated to get you in notice. An SMS can also be sent if you are on the field. This reduces the downtime of the grid, so that you can get to work on the go.

INSOLATION/REFERENCE YIELD & GEO-TAGGING:

We take a quick raincheck for you and send out alerts. Rainy, summer, or winter we give your Kwh/m ² reading and let you know if the ratings are as expected for your area. The same will be reflected in the performance ratio and daily generation reports.

Got a huge power plant and new O&M personnel? Geo tagging helps you define the exact position of your equipment and guides the personnel to attend to the problem faster.

CUSTOMIZABLE TEMPLATES:

EnerMAN’ s ETi-SOL is your smart assistant for predictive maintenance. EnerMAN’ s product collects the data from various sensors and devices, analyzes the data and gives out reports and alerts, from which the operation and maintenance personnel can perform predictive maintenance, even before the device might need a corrective maintenance, thereby reducing the down-time and cutting extra costs.

This remote monitoring solution not only monitors the plant data but also analyzes the captured data to provide alerts on the health of the PV plant asset. It generates daily generation reports and gives out performance rates for each equipment on the horizon. ETi-SOL employs Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning (AI & ML) to generate secondary alerts on the health of each asset. This alert is your smart suggestion, to give O&M activities a go.

We listen to you. Render your needs. Get your dashboard the way you want it. Yes, we also take in customized alerts and reports. We represent the data the way you are used to see it. All we need is a template of yours and we are good to go.

EnerMan is a leading supplier of IOT based Remote Monitoring systems for solar PV plants. Cloud based platform ETi-SOL is monitoring over 1GW PV plants, helping customers improve plant performance. For more info on our products email sales@enerman. in .

Author:

Megha V Gopal Sr. Engineer - R&D, EnerMAN Technologies Private Limited

This is how ETi-SOL leverages your predictive maintenance activities: COMPREHENSIVE DAILY GENERATION REPORTS:

ETi-SOL monitors the health of PV plant assets and gives out daily generation reports. This includes device details, daily generation details, performance rates and import to export details. This paints a picture to the O&M personnel at the end of each day. Gone are the days, where each O&M personnel was required to spend few hours a day, noting down all the values and checking the health status of all equipments. All this data analytics is j ust a click away!

CAPACITY UTILIZATION FACTOR (CUF) RATES:

ETi-SOL reports page gives out a Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) in percentage. This is a very critical and important insight to O&M personnel. If the rates are low, it means that it is time for a routine check. Based on the same, there are secondary alerts created for further activities.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 34

PRODUCT FEATURE

IS A STORM BREWING IN THE PAINT INDUSTRY ?

What could be possibly brewing new in a “commodity” business like paints? Something very innovative …. ‘ solar paint’ ! A paint that can generate electricity, but still works as normal paint ? A possibility to turn not only a roof, but an entire building into a power-generating surface? Dream of a world where we could simply paint our roofs and walls with a type of paint that can generate electricity!

#3: PEROVSKITE SOLAR PAINT

Known alternatively as spray-on solar cells, what makes this type of solar paint possible is Perovskites. This material is derived from a calcium titanium oxide mineral. These were discovered more than a century ago, but it was only 10 years back that a research team in Japan debuted the first-ever application of Perovskite for the production of solar cells.

Well, that future is actually not as far off as you might think. Solar paint, also known as photovoltaic paint, is exactly what it sounds like ! It’ s a paint that you can apply to any surface that will capture energy from the sun and transform it into electricity. The paint would essentially be your average opaque paint, but with thousands of pieces of light sensitive material suspended in it, material that would transform the typical wall/floor into a superpowered energy-capturing surface.

What makes Perovskite solar cells particularly interesting is the fact that they can take liquid form, thereby making them the ideal candidate for solar paint. In fact, researchers have developed a way to spray liquid perovskite cells on surfaces, known as spray-on solar cells. The first-ever spray-on solar cell was developed at the University of Sheffield, UK in 2014. A Perovskite-based mixture was sprayed onto a surface to form a sun-power harnessing layer.

Solar paint: the next big thing in renewable energy?

HURDLES WITH SOLAR PAINT

Currently, solar paint is a little bit more than a concept and a little bit less than a consumer-level product. Many universities and some research groups have created their own iterations of solar paint.

Broadly, three different technologies lead to a product referred to as ' solar paint' .

Critics of this technology, question the commercial viability of Solar paint. Efficiency of Solar paint ranges anywhere from 2-8%.

Efficiency is essentially the percentage of the power of the sun’ s rays that the technology can capture. If a particular type of solar paint has a 5% efficiency, that means it’ s capturing only 5% of the total available sun energy. Most of the Solar panels manufactured worldwide now operate at around 18-19% efficiency.

#1 HYDROGEN SOLAR PAINT

A team of researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia have developed solar paint that generates energy from water vapor. The paint contains a newly developed substance called synthetic molybdenum-sulphide. This along with titanium oxide, a substance already present in conventional paint, helps use solar energy to break down the moisture in air into hydrogen and oxygen particles. The hydrogen can then be used to produce clean energy.

What makes this technology particularly special is that there is no need for clean or filtered water and that it outputs hydrogen, a clean source of fuel and energy storage. If they reach the point where they are ready for commercial use, this solar paint might j ust be an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to collect hydrogen for producing energy. #2 QUANTUM DOT SOLAR CELLS-PHOTOVOLTAIC PAINT

Colloidal Quantum dots, also known as photovoltaic paint, were developed at the University of Canada. Basically, they are nanoscale semiconductors that can capture light and turn it into an electric current. They are not only cheaper to manufacture, but are also significantly more efficient than traditional solar cells in the sense that by simply changing the size of the quantum dot, one can change its light-absorption spectrum. ” These are semiconductor crystals that are already used in solar panels as well as LEDs and computers. The University created an iteration of solar paint wherein they sprayed these dots atom by atom onto a backing. This backing could then be rolled up, sent to the place where it’ s to be installed, and then applied like a wallpaper.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

THE FUTURE OF SOLAR PAINT

The biggest radicalization might come in the auto industry. Future might see vehicles painted with Solar paints whose Sun-facing metallic bodies will generate power to cover longer distances.

Solar paint of any kind could make solar power systems ubiquitous around the world. Every roof has the potential to be solar painted.

But, alas, this reality is in the future - we are still years away from commercial applications of solar paint technology.

Finally, solar paint is still a technology in its infancy.

But remember, not too long ago, solar panels were at the same stage. The solar industry is a progressive industry and enough research is undertaken worldwide to improve it’ s practicality and applications.

AMISH GOSAR, PV POWER, MUMBAI

PG 35

Tsingshan Group is a Fortune 500 company with more than 56, 000 employees and 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, and now, the company is aggressively stepping into position for the energy transition. The company has made maj or investments in Qingmei Energy Materials, a producer of lithium NCM battery materials, and Ruipu Energy, a manufacturer of both NCM and LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries.

Tsinghan Group’ s latest investment is Fox, a company formed in 2019 with over hundred experienced engineers that specialize in the development, production, and distribution of distributed generation products and solutions for the solar proj ects.

locations around the world. Our aim is to lead the way in service levels by offering local support networks for our customers; coupled with an unwavering commitment to product quality by pushing back the boundaries at our advanced R&D centre, pioneering new technologies that enhance performance and longevity.

We want Fox to be most valuable and recognizable company in the solar inverter and energy storage sectors and to make solar power available to everyone.

We want to be most valuable company rather than set a specific target in sales. We want to make the products that can affect everyone and improve people’ s lives.

A. COMPANY’S PRODUCTS & SERVICES

1-25kw on-grid and storage systems. LFP/NCM battery cells.

B. QUALITY POLICY OF THE COMPANY: We have the required QC and product certifications for all key global markets, including the certification for battery cells in Japan, a very high standard to obtain.

C. SERVICE PLEDGE: HOW THE COMPANY WILL DELIVER THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF SERVICE

At Fox we produce high-quality, cost-effective residential solar inverter and battery storage systems, as well as battery cells. Our products have launched into a number of key global markets and we have established service and distribution centres in strategic

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

We look to globally recognized brands such as Lenovo, Tesla and Apple to see how those companies are structured and how they deliver their service to clients. We are committed to achieving industry leading levels of service by establishing a global network of local service centres and by offering 24 hour remote support through digital channels, and we will ensure that our technical resources are available online through an extensive knowledge base. In addition, through the Fox Cloud, systems connected to our online monitoring portal will allow for remote upgrade, diagnostics and configuration, minimizing the need for costly site visits.

PG 36

COMPANY FEATURE

LONGI ACHIEVED VOLUME PRODUCTION OF HI-MO 5 SERIES MODULES, DELIVERING TRUE VALUE TO GLOBAL CUSTOMERS

Xi’ an, China based LONGi, the world leading solar technology company, announced that it has achieved volume production of their Hi-MO 5 series module at its module factory in Xianyang City, Shannxi Province, China. The first Hi-MO 5 rolled off the production line on 8th September.

LONGi launched its new generation product Hi-MO 5 module with front-side power up to 540W in June 2020. Based on M10 (182mm) standard gallium doped monocrystalline wafers, this high performance product with conversion efficiency over 21%, is developed to deliver class leading value to utility scale applications. Hi-MO 5 will bring optimal LCOE to ultra large-scale PV proj ects.

Hi-MO 5 continues the hallmark of “Innovation” that is typical of all of LONGi’ s Hi-MO series products. LONGi designed Hi-MO 5 from the ground up specifically to deliver greater value for global customers of large-scale PV proj ects. Hi-MO 5 was launched after months of customer’ s insights, refinements and optimization of the module size, design parameters and high power.

“Smart Soldering” technology brings higher performance in applications Hi-MO 5 adopts innovative “Smart Soldering” technology for high reliability of micro gap interconnection, product efficiency and stable current output. This proprietary technology uses integrated segmented ribbons that maximize light capture and reliably connect cells with reduced gap distance.

The combination of these technological innovations can increase the module efficiency of Hi-MO 5 by 0. 3% (compared with conventional multi-busbar products) and reduce the tensile stress on the cell by 20%, thus improving the product quality.

Compatibility and reliability create ultra-high value for global customer

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

The working current of LONGi Hi-MO 5 module is about 13A. Including bifacial gain, the operating current remains within the maximum input current range of inverters, with no power generation losses.

The module size of Hi-MO 5 is 2256×1133mm, and its length is perfectly compatible with 1P and 2P horizontal single axis tracking systems. Hi-MO 5 adopts “double glass with frame” construction that provides high load capacity (front and back static load of 5400Pa, 2400Pa respectively) and proven long-term reliability without need for the addition of a rear crossbeam.

Mass production of advanced technology can deliver true value LONGi Hi-MO 5 adopts the M10 standard 182mm wafer size. This standard is established with thorough studies across the whole PV module manufacturing, transport and deployment processes.

To ramp-up Hi-MO 5 mass production, LONGi is now accelerating the construction of new production capacity. It is expected that the production capacity of LONGi Hi-MO 5 will reach 12GW this year.

Dennis She, Senior Vice President, LONGi Solar, said, “Creating, from the ground up, a high-power module that meets customers’ requirements is the inspiration behind Hi-MO 5. The mass production of advanced technology can deliver true value. We look forward to delivering value, higher power and lower LCOE to our global partners and customers that enable a new wave of photovoltaic grid parity. ” LONGi Solar’ s Module Factory in Xianyang City, Shaanxi is already running at full capacity in May with annual production capacity reaching 5GW. In addition, LONGi Solar’ s Module Factory in Jiaxing City, Zhej iang is under construction and will also bring another 5GW annual production capacity. LONGi will continue expand its global layout and continue to invest in production capacity to meet the needs of future solar market.

PG 37

INSIGHTS

DATA

AN IGNORED STRATEGIC ASSET

As cliche as it may sound, Data is indeed the new oil. Renewable Power asset owners are not new to dealing with Big Data. SCADA systems installed in their plants record data points at a baffling velocity, volume, and variety. A 100MW solar plant means 1.4 lac data points (volume) every minute (velocity) from 500+ sensors comprising 100+ unique parameters (variety).

Any performance management professional would vouch for the potential impact this data will have on maximising asset utilization. Yet organizations struggle to fully exploit the same. Biggest reasons that many Data Science initiatives fail to take off or yield expected output is due to poor quality of data. Here is what you must consider.

LAY A STRONG FOUNDATION WITH FOCUS ON DATA ACQUISITION & ENGINEERING

Importance of this phase is explained in the widely known concept of “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. Many organizations jump to the data science phase without paying due attention to the quality of data being provided as input. This could derail teams from objective and waste countless hours in cleaning and fitting data. Few suggestions to follow: Improve the quality of sensor data capture. Bad data due to communication breakdowns or poor calibration harm any subsequent analysis a lot. Consider being non-tolerant towards a sensor going offline equally as an inverter switching off. Trickle down the same vision to field teams.

Develop means to capture non sensor, yet highly contextual data e.g. panel cleaning cycles, faults in non-sensor based systems like cable faults etc. and preventive maintenance shutdowns. Digital record keeping of the above should be non-negotiable.

Develop means to ingest third party data e.g. drones, robotic cleaning systems, weather forecast data etc. into data pools. Retain raw data from your outsourced testing activities like thermography surveys, IV curves etc.

Create a comprehensive data lake based from above along with the data being received from SCADA system. Choose cloud platforms like GCP, AWS, Azure etc.

To run in-house/outsourced Proof of Concepts (PoC), create a small sub set from above data lake (also called data puddle) either for one or two plants, or one make & model of equipment across the portfolio; as aligned with the objective of a PoC.

Loss Bucketing to have targeted action on ground activities in order of priority in which they help increase generation. This is in lieu of calendar based maintenance schedules.

Automated Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and subsequent prediction of Mean Time to Restore (MTTR) and Mean time between failures (MTBF) Complete disruption of existing forecasting & scheduling models by amalgamation of third party meteo-data sets (undergoing their own transformation using ML) with live big data streams from plant.

Vision AI Use Cases

Smart Surveillance across very large perimeters (CCTV/Drones etc.). Digitized maps from existing aerial surveys can reduce cost of deployment for these solutions.

Classification cases for PV modules between soiled/cleaned, broken/intact, vegetation growth normal/high etc. (you existing drone survey data being used better) Image comparison/classification use cases for complicated switchgear & power electronics (ideal case vs as-is, e.g. a switch or an indicator which should be on is showing off, gets highlighted by clicking a picture or scanning the equipment etc.)

Periodic scanning of the entire plant to identify any damages especially after extreme weather events to raise red flags in time and support insurance claims, timey repairs etc. (image classification and cataloguing) Natural Language Processing (NLP) Use Cases

Pull out any performance parameters, error/fault descriptions, history of similar faults, solutions that worked over other relatable plants/equipment/OEMs etc. Vernacular layer of regional languages boosts the impact on ground.

Chatbot supports your customers, site teams and any other stakeholders for pulling any information from the data lake in a contextual manner. e.g. saying “Show me 5 lowest performing inverters with RCA” … and the list goes on It’ s a high time that organizations value and treat their data as a strategic asset; to survive, outperform and thrive.

POTENTIAL THAT YOUR DATA HOLDS

Although what’s covered next might sound fascinating, it’s much easier said than done. However, if you have a vision to transform the way your organization manages assets on a daily basis, form a robust and long term (3-5 year) Data Strategy and get right ecosystem partners (like Prescinto) by your side as enablers. Let’s see what opportunities your data can potentially unlock: Machine Learning Use Cases:

GURPREET SINGH WALIA Vice President, Gensol Group Of Companies

Transform from Preventive to Predictive maintenance i.e. predict faults on real time data streams based on ML models trained on vintage data sets of plant/OEM/portfolio as suited.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 38

PERSPECTIVE

HOW HAS COVID-19 IMPACTED THE NEED OF DIGITIZATION OF SOLAR PLANTS?

As the solar industry continues on its quest to achieve lower and lower costs, the next step is to use digitalization to achieve further cost reductions by reducing unplanned downtime, improving asset reliability and availability, and guaranteeing long-term plant performance.

Putting digital twins to work helps the developers in many ways. This involves creating a virtual plant asset replica based on normal operating profile data that can then be used to simulate how a plant should perform under optimum working conditions. By comparing real-time asset performance with its perfectly healthy virtual equivalent, asset performance management (APM) can help fine-tune asset parameters to enable peak productivity. It can flag up when something is wrong or needs fixing. Alerting operators ahead of time to tackle potential operational headaches before they take hold. Covid crises have driven the digital transformation of solar plants. See what our experts have to say on this | SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 39

NEHA MEHTA Founder, FemTech Partners

In December 2019, the world experienced the unprecedented: COVID19 coronavirus, a seemingly innocuous virus that somehow affected 140 countries and was consequently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Everything that we have been accustomed to has changed.

One sector that has been affected is the power industry. The International Energy Agency’ s (IEA) documented(1) that based on its analysis of daily data through mid-April 2020, countries in full lockdown suffered an weekly average 25% fall in energy demand, and those in partial lockdown an average 18% fall.

Some areas of concerns include(2): The feasibility of energy security in a crisis The absolute necessity of resilient energy in modern societies Merge of clean energy and sustainability for the sake of economic revival This is a blatant indication that our energy sector has to evolve digitally. Despite many setbacks from the crisis, we can still create a golden opportunity out of the predicament. Now, with the prevalence of technology, our power industry can now incorporate digital technology in our systems in spite of declining energy demand, without exacerbating the state of our environment.

Out of the energy sector, the solar industry is crucial in providing one of the most flexible forms of power generation without burdening the environment. As the crisis continues to affect every nook and cranny of the world, the solar industry has to keep up tist Ian Marius Peters and 3 others in Singapore and Germany with these impacts and adapt accordingly. In comparison to conventional means of power generation such as coal and natural gas, renewable energy like solar is not as feasible as it cannot respond as efficiently to its demand.

With more people being conscious of the repercussions of unclean energy(3) , and more advocates for an eco-friendly movement arise, solar is slowly becoming an integral part of energy consumption, as many start to invest in this sustainable clean energy source despite steep costs.

However, the virus is a key source of a progressively global economic disruption. Worldwide consumption is plummeting, and this places a negative pressure on global oil prices, and demand for natural gas(4) is undermined as prices reach an all-time-low. Even renewable energy supply chains are temporarily suspended as the world’ s biggest energy producer, China, is facing the issue of tariff and trade disputes.

SOMASHEKAR TH MD & CEO, EnerMAN Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

If you are a Developer/Owner of Solar PV Plants, I am sure you would have realized the need for digitalization a long time ago even before Covid 19 hit this world. Many believe digitalization is a big thing, massive effort involved and is expensive. But in reality, it’ s not; it’ s just a mindset change, it' s about asking your Operation and Maintenance Services(OMS) team to provide all your data in electronic form.

Try to answer these questions and you will know how much digitalization has been done to your PV plant.

Q1. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW YOUR PLANT’S GENERATION & OTHER PERFORMANCE METRICS TODAY/HISTORIC HOW WILL YOU GET IT?

a. Your plant incharge/OMS team sends you a hardcopy file b. Your plant incharge/OMS team emails you the file end of day c. You browse an URL & get it yourself Q2. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY (ENGINEERS / TECHNICIANS) ARE WORKING IN YOUR PV PLANT, HOW WILL YOU GET IT?

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

With the emergence of Industry 4.0(5) , the world is seeing an opportunity to further cut costs for solar energy production and distribute it more effectively through a digital revolution. Especially in times of economic depression, the industry has to be innovative in order to keep up with the rising consumer demand due to remote working environments and mandatory quarantine orders.

One example of creative application of technology would be the advent of solar photovoltaic systems (PV). Solar PV is an abundant form of energy generation, which offers the stability and reliability that most renewable energy sources lack. This in turn causes the industry to be increasingly competitive, as it competes on the same grounds as conventional energy sources, without much difference in costs.

Amidst the pandemic, there is one unexpected positive impact: the campaign for climate change will no longer be neglected. Air pollution which was thought to never improve actually diminished as travelling has been halted globally and consumption in general has been significantly reduced. And this can be credited to solar technology.

Researchers(6) testified to the improved air quality as a result of the output from solar photovoltaic panels. With extreme conditions as a result of the crisis, on top of the shutdown of daily social activities and interactions, scientists(7) could afford to gather data from this spontaneous yet natural case study. Moreover, this situation pushes for a greater need to digitalise solar plants, as they are actually beneficial and curbs the one issue that humans have been trying to solve for years.

In conclusion, the COVID-19 coronavirus has resulted in devastation for the world economy and affected our daily lives in every way possible. Yet, we are constantly pushing for solutions out of this quandary, and innovating our current technologies to adapt to the world we live in now. The digitalisation of solar plants are just the start of a digital evolution that can potentially change the way we use energy sources, and is an impetus for a superior energy industry in future years.

(1) IEA’ s Global Energy Review 2020 (https://www.iea.org/topics/covid-19) (2) Singapore: Update on Energy Digitalisation (https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6fef0909-fa7448ee-aa88-2714fc12bd63) (3) Fossil Fuels: The Dirty Facts (https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fossilfuels-dirtyfacts#:~:text=Using%20fossil%20fuels%20for%20energy,such%20as% 20plastics%20and%20chemicals.)

(4) Experts react: COVID-19 Impacts the Energy Sector (https://www.csis.org/analysis/experts-react-covid-19-impactsenergy-sector) (5) How digitalisation is changing solar (https://www.pes.eu.com/solar/how-digitalisation-is-changing-solar/) (6) Covid-19 shutdown led to increased solar power output (https://news.mit.edu/2020/covid-19-solar-output-smog-0722) (7) MIT professor of mechanical engineering Tonio Buonassisi, research scien

a. OMS team compiles from attendance registers & sends it b. You login to a specific site and find out who is in the plant today, history etc.

Q3 . ARE YOU DEPENDENT ON YOUR OMS TEAM WHO HAVE KEPT ALL THOSE DOCUMENTS RECEIVED FROM THE EPC TEAM – LIKE ELECTRICAL DRAWINGS, WARRANTY CERTIFICATES, INSURANCE INSIDE THE SAFE IN MCR?

If you answered yes to the last question & chose a. as your answer to Q1 & Q2 you will have to take some immediate actions to digitize your plants.

Most plant owners realized the need for digitalization when Covid-19 hit us. Many plants did not have remote monitoring SCADA, their engineers could not travel to site to get the information of the plant, courier service was not functional. Plant owners lost visibility of their PV asset completely. Digitalization not only helps you to get plant data at fingertips, but also can greatly contribute in reducing manpower thereby reducing opex of your plant.

Last few months at EnerMAN, we are getting a lot of calls to retrofit their old SCADA which doesn’ t have remote monitoring capabilities, & also plant owners want to track their O&M activities in cloud servers. This is definitely a good sign. On a positive note, Covid-19 is acting as a catalyst that seems to be accelerating the process of digitalization.

PG 40

D. R. SHANTHI Group Sector Head of the Renewable Sector for the Power Business unit, TATA CONSULTING ENGINEERS LIMITED (TCE)

Covid-19 has taken the world by storm and the global economy has been heavily impacted. While the initial reactions of the nations were to focus their immediate attention to health care ensuring spread of virus is contained and providing much needed relief for the affected, the long- term action plans have been to revive the economy to the new normal levels. It is opined that the recovery will be slow, however there is positivity about the future as the economy is believed to gain some momentum in the last quarter of this year as activities start getting back to their pre-Covid levels.

Energy sector like all other sectors has been affected as the lockdown months saw a severe downtrend in energy consumption owing to reduced economic activities and suspension of construction activities due to requirements of social distancing and health related risks. Renewable sector also saw a slowdown mainly due to supply chain disruption, delay in construction activity leading to increased cost, poor financial condition of utilities, reduction in CAPEX spending for both utility scale and distributed generation, difficulty in getting finance from lenders among others. But the good news is that the pandemic has brought the focus on climate change and localization of energy supply both of which are good for the renewable sector. Also, it is seen that renewable plants have stood the test of time and have proved their robustness in this hour of need.

Some of the key attributes that can help the renewable sector to sustain and spring back to normal situations are cheaper and more efficient manufacturing, employing innovative construction methods, remote operations, agility, greater efficiency of operation of running plants, keeping operating costs low, collaboration and getting better return on investment to name a few.

Let us see how digitalization of the entire value chain from manufacturing to operating and maintaining the plants and use of smart technology for integration with grid can aid in meeting some of these objectives: Use of automation, robotics and other digital tools can increase the accuracy and reduce cost of module manufacturing.

Advanced systems can be employed to monitor cell and module lines and could allow predictive maintenance of solar manufacturing equipment thereby reducing outage and lead time and hence bring down cost.

For construction of solar plants, advanced construction tools such as Building information system (BIM), reality capture, 3D printing and precast, use of prefabricated and modular construction approach would prove beneficial in the long run to optimise both construction time and costs apart from maintaining enhanced health and safety standards for the construction workforce.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

To maintain the social distancing norms and deployi ng less people at solar plant sites, plant operat ors must shi ft t o remot e monitoring and control. With digital tools and advanced communication methods it is possible t o remot ely moni t or multiple assets at a single command cent re, get real t i me visibility into their performance and opt i mi ze asset ut i li zat i on, with I-V curve diagnosis at array level aggregat ed t o plant level, operators can remotely monitor the performance, and wi t h bi g data analytics and cloud computing analyse i n mi nut e det ai ls the performance of the plant and take act i on t o i mprove i t .

Owners of Solar plants need to take i nformed deci si ons at t he right time both for operation and for st rat egi c purposes and t hi s is possible if they have access to meani ngful dat a. Usi ng modern machine learning, AI, and digi t al t wi n t echnology, plant owners can efficiently monitor solar energy generat ed and derive valuable insights for decision-maki ng. They can participate in meeting demand responses qui cker and support the grid operators.

The concept of digital twin aims at creat i ng a vi rt ual repli ca of the plant based on normal operating profi le whi ch can be used to simulate plant performance under opt i mum worki ng conditions. Asset performance management t ools can be utilised to compare the real time plant performance wi t h i t s digital equivalent and take necessary correct i ve act i on t o improve plant productivity and enhance operat i ng effi ci ency.

Digitalisation helps operators to switch from prevent i ve maintenance to predictive maintenance based on dat a dri ven intelligence thereby reducing downti me, lower cost s and maximizing returns.

With analytics-based maintenance, soi li ng levels can be reduced. This will not only result in improved energy generat i on but also help in optimally utilising scarce resources. Drones can be used for visual as well as thermal i magi ng for moni t ori ng modules, inverters, cables etc., Satelli t e t echnology can also be used for forecasting irradiance measurement s apart from monitoring soiling accumulation. This helps i n keepi ng t he operating and maintenance costs low.

Plant operators shall collaborate with gri d operat ors t o bui ld stable grids with multiple energy sources along wi t h st orage and flexible demand. These grids shall use real t i me dat a t o optimise generation and demand and shall also allow t he plant operators to leverage the solar PV invert er’ s capabi li t y t o support grid in ancillary services such as react i ve power control, voltage support and frequency support and whi ch can act as additional revenue streams for t he plant owners.

By embracing digital technology, solar sect or can t i de over t hi s pandemic driven economic slowdown, despi t e havi ng mi ni mal operators at plant site by remote moni t ori ng t he di gi t al asset s still operating the plants at high effici ency and mai nt ai ni ng hi gh availability at the same time keeping t he operat i ng and maintenance costs low for ensuring sust ai ned busi ness. There is no doubt that the digitally enabled solar sect or wi ll emerge safer, stronger, smarter and more resi li ent t o meet t he challenges of the uncertain future.

PG 41

SACHIN ZACHARIAH

CHYTANYA ABHYANKAR

Research Analyst, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

At the onset of the year 2020, the net operational capacity of solar PV in India had reached above 32.5 GW. Additionally, 25 GW of solar capacity was at different stages of implementation. India was certainly a step closer to the National Solar Mission of 100 GW by the end of the year 2022. The CEEW-CEF Market Handbook indicates that RE capacity would need to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent to reach the 450 GW target by 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new set of restrictions and challenges in the sector. Industry stakeholders are looking for digital solutions to many of these problems. Studies indicate that solar plants with the application of IT solutions and digitisation could increase power generation and bring additional revenue of about 4-7 per cent.

Restrictions on the movement of people and freight caused by the pandemic have adversely impacted routine plant operations and maintenance activities. A massive shift in power consumption has also impacted the must-run status of solar plants. Currently, for most of the solar power plants, digitisation is limited to data gathering to monitor energy production, forecast generation and evaluate performance of the plant. At the same time, a majority of daily operations and maintenance tasks are conducted manually at most of the solar plant sites. However, with increased digitisation, data collection can be optimised and used in real-time for increasing plant efficiency, load balancing and coping with increasing system complexity. To effectively and efficiently dispatch solar power and improve generation and profit from solar plants, digitisation of solar plants is essential.

Firstly, digitisation of solar plants would help forecast and predict energy generation from different segments of the plant and would give remote accessibility in real-time. A significant improvement in power dispatch and load balancing will be seen, thereby synchronising energy generation from the plant with energy demand and consumption.

Digitisation would also enable efficient handling of the multi-directional flow of power in the grid in real-time, resulting in better grid reliability.

Secondly, fault detection techniques enabled through digitisation would reduce O&M costs. Faults occurring in the module, string, or at any system level, can easily be detected and isolated. It will significantly reduce the underperformance and downtime of the plant and would improve equipment reliability. A useful technique for digitisation is creating a virtual replica of the actual plant, called a ‘digital twin’, that can simulate optimum working conditions. It can alert the operator on errors ahead of time. Use of drones has proven very efficient for solar plant inspection. With installation of asset management devices and IT integration, faults can be diagnosed and addressed remotely.

With the 100 GW target for India, optimising generation from the installed capacity will be critical. By bringing up plant availability to 99 percent, digitisation will not only lead to efficient operation of the solar plant but will also increase the profit from these solar plants.

Head - Technical Due Diligence practice, Arbutus Consultants

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has led a quiet but perceptible transformation towards digitalisation. It is important to understand the difference between digitisation and digitalisation. A simple explanation is that digitisation is the conversion of analog to digital whereas digitalisation is the use of digital technologies and digitized data to transform how work gets done impacting entire business processes. For solar, it is not just the how but why and what we do with the data generated.

The ongoing pandemic has emphasised the need for transitioning to a hybrid model that permits physical distancing and reduced human involvement while adopting emerging technologies that can help physical assets, especially older ones, be more productive and autonomous. This extends to aspects like routine operation, monitoring and inspection, troubleshooting and predictive maintenance.

While digital tools are being used for managing asset performance, monitoring asset health, managing generation flexibility, their impact will be maximum for field service management. It would be ideal for an asset manager to drill down and direct a technician to a faulty junction box, a tall task in a field of 150,000 PV modules (a typical 50MW solar PV plant).

Solar PV asset management teams are typically lean with a significant portfolio to manage and optimise. They have to deal with numerous “events” or “occurrences” that seemingly merit their attention. Relying on manpower and data logged in analog records to arrive at meaningful conclusions is next to impossible.

Increasingly the adoption of digital asset management platforms, that consolidate multiple data sources and asset hierarchies to create a “single source of truth” and can be accessed remotely, are helping with timely decision-making and accurate corrective or preventive actions. Power-industry professionals are quite familiar with the “digital twin” concept. Digital twin refers to the mapping of the physical asset models in a digital platform, where a virtual digital replica model is created. This is created using relevant data obtained from multiple sources and deep domain knowledge. This virtual model is built using information from massive amounts of design, manufacturing, inspection, repair, sensor, and operational data.

Considering the tremendous impact that digitalisation can have or rather is having on energy systems, it is important to streamline and converge towards standards at the earliest. Challenges like cyber security, data privacy and stakeholder resistance to adoption (considering higher upfront costs) need to be overcome to unlock the transformational potential of digitalisation. Beyond skills in engineering, there will be a need for new technical, analytical, and leadership roles that are cross-disciplinary in nature. Asset management teams and O&M practitioners also need capacity building.

At ACOG Business Solutions, an Arbutus group company, we believe that the future of energy is digital and are working on aspects like benchmarking, pattern recognition and unstructured data analysis to hasten the meaningful digital transformation of the energy system. We need to be, after all, mindful that a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, the very antithesis of a good asset manager.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 42

STEP 1: DIGITALIZATION OF SOLAR PLANT OPERATIONS:

RAVI SHAW Head – Engineering & Projects, Hinduja Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd

Background:

The COVID-19 crisis is an unprecedented one in the history of mankind and caught the entire world by a big unpleasant surprise. The major challenge for the entire global economy is to sustain the Business Continuity amidst the lock down, social distancing and other challenges. While some organizations were better prepared because of early adopters of “Digitalization”, some got battered initially but eventually tackled it with the help Digitalization– rest grumbled and surrendered to the situation, and waited for it to get over.

“Digitalization” also known as “Industrial Revolution 4.0”. There were three prior industrial revolutions that have led to changes of paradigm of how Industries work. Industrial Revolution 4.0 is being presented as an overall change by “Digitalization and Automation” of every part of the Business.

STEP 2: DIGITALIZATION OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

When applied to solar PV, Digitalization is enabling the effective management of energy generation, providing much needed stability and reliability. Emerging technologies such as the IoT, Cloud Computing, and Data Analytics are enabling energy companies to build smart grids, better manage energy generation, distribution and consumption, and reduce wastage. Digitalization is allowing energy companies to remotely monitor assets, unearth insights, and improve operational performance from a service and maintenance perspective.

Why Digitalization is important?

Digitalization and adoption of cutting-edge tools and technologies can enable followings: Build smart grids, increase self-consumption rates, optimize grid feed-in, and increase the profitability of solar installations.

Accurately forecast energy demand and optimize generation.

Enable smart metering for quicker and more accurate billing.

Why is Analytics important?

When it comes to digitalization, next-gen data analytics can play a massive role in improving solar photovoltaic power plant operations and performance.

Using a data-driven approach, it can solve complex business problems and improve system efficiency – with the promise of building a sustainable future. Using modern machine learning, AI organizations can conduct efficient solar energy monitoring and analysis and benefit from valuable insights for decision-making. This enables all the eco-system’s stakeholders to improve productivity in the O&M & asset management.

STEP 3: DIGITALIZATION OF ENGINEERING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Conclusion

The corporate world is going to be very di fferent post COVID -19. Our current situation is a real test of how effi ci ent remot e worki ng can be wi t hout Digitalization of Business Operations. Teams are learni ng t o collaborat e i n new ways, companies are realizing they are able t o funct i on properly wi t hout having people in the office and leadershi p i s seei ng t hat t hey don’ t need to spend so much on office space. As a result , organi zat i ons wi ll be forced to consider how to digitally transform in order t o faci li t at e t he needs of a mass, remote workforce.

Get a common software platform that i s basi cally a cloud solut i on, i nt egrate all modules to seamlessly view data, t he analyt i cs part , t he dashboards, customized reports which will help in bet t er, fast er and t i mely deci si on making that will lead to boost revenue. Thi s wi ll overall bri ng effi cacy t o Business Performance. Given India’ s growth trajectory in Renewables, Digitalization will help companies in achi evi ng Sust ai nable Growt h and improving profit margins.

STEP 4: DIGITALIZATION OF PROCUREMENT, FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCE

Note: Special note of thanks to my colleagues for their contribution to the article. Mr. Kapil Maheshwari (CEO) & Mr. Subramanyam GV (COO).

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 43

DR. KEYUR GANDHI Co-founder and CTO of Apollo Energy Analytics (Helios IoT Systems Pvt Ltd)

The power sector, being one of the essential services, has seen enormous changes and upgrades in their operations during COVID by providing uninterrupted power to the entire country. The energy demand dropping to less than 50% during lockdown period and a 9minute power blackout at 9PM on Sunday 5 th April were some of the major highlights for the Indian power sector responding to the COVID situation. Solar power plants, being an integral part of the power grid system, have also seen numerous changes during the pandemic. As more solar power is being integrated in the power grid, there are some important concerns of reliable and accurate power generation to meet consumption demand and grid stability were addressed.

Digitisation of the O&M and asset management of the solar power plants is the core solution to address the concerns. Solar power industry has been slower to adopt a digitisation route compared to wind power. COVID has indeed given the IPP an opportunity to a quicker adoption for digitalisation on their solar portfolio. Most of the top IPP operating in India has adopted a digitisation roadmap for enabling their own growth in the coming years.

Some of the key factors driving digitisation in solar power plants are: 1. Reducing dependency on human interventions 2. Automated performance benchmarking of plant and their assets 3. Predictive maintenance activities before asset failure to reduce downtime 4. Optimum inventory and spare management on site for asset breakdown management 5. Effective manpower and resources management on site Instead of fully relying on human generated reports and analysis,

there are enterprise tools available in the market, which can efficiently acquire operational data from your power plants and can also automatically assess the performance and health of assets like inverter, transformer, PV module and trackers in real-time. The advanced digital tools like stream analytics and digital twin technology have enabled the industry to predict anomaly occurring in the asset before their failure occurs especially in critical assets like transformers and inverters.

The predictive maintenance of the assets has been an important step to make sure the assets are operating in good health under all environmental conditions. However, there are always breakdowns occurring in the plants due to manufacturing defects or engineering issues, which needs to be tackled immediately with great care of health and safety. Such breakdown activities need sufficient inventory of assets and spare consumables to carry out replacement or repairs. There are integrated tools, which can completely digitise the power plant and their assets inventory and spares along with their maintenance activities in an automated CMMS for their entire portfolio.

The need of the hour is to adopt advanced software tools driven by digital technologies such as IoT, digital twin and data analytics (AI/ML). With digitalisation, one can 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Effective O&M activities in the entire portfolio Automate tedious asset management process Reduce dependency on manual paperwork Increase power generation yield Optimise cost of operations

Hence leveraging digitalisation in solar power plants O&M and asset management will yield better efficiency, productivity, and costeffectiveness even in the post pandemic era. Undeniably, the pandemic had a short-term impact, but there were also some positive effects leading to innovations driven by digitisation in the power sector.

P. RAJENTHIRAN Country Business Unit Head – Services, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Power Pvt Ltd.

In China’ s Hubei Province, the Covid-19 was first identified in December 2019 and it slowly started to spread around the world impacting more than 140 countries and being labelled as a global pandemic later.

Though many sectors were affected because of this pandemic, the power sector being an essential service showed a lot of resilience and coped up well during this time of crisis. Most of the power generating stations were already digitally enabled to work remotely, and they were only constantly improving upon them. This applies to major RE power sources such as the wind and solar. It is quite evident that operating the wind and solar plants remotely carries less risk compared to that of the Nuclear and Thermal. As we move forward the RE installation capacities are set to overtake the other sources, the need for digitization is definitely going to rise. Having said that, in my opinion the Covid-19 has impacted the need of digitization of Solar plants much more than before for the following reasons.

Covid-19 lockdown experience has changed the perception of the people towards the use of digitalization, its capabilities and usefulness. This new culture will promote a digital mindset among the people who operate and manage the Solar farms going forward.

The Sector has realized that digitalization is a means to achieve higher revenue, reducing the operational cost by improving the reliability , availability and predictive capabilities.

Digitalization has been a buzz word for a long time and now it has reached a stage where it can deliver real value integrating various aspects such as Business objectives , strategies , technology and people.

In the challenging times of the economy the digitalization can be an enabler in controlling the controllable and giving a sort of revenue comfort to the investors.

The large amount of data gained through the challenging times like Covid where the operations were subjected to many constraints and restrictions would help to build certain models which will make the sector future ready to face such challenges.

The pandemic like Covid 19 is not seen as a force majeure event by the investors of Solar farms, and they expect the Solar farms to continue business as normal. The risks like this can only be better managed with digitalization going forward.

The remote operation and support experience during the Covid times has shown the difficulties due to the lack of data standardization across different technologies and left the owners being unable to optimize their resources and operations. This is set to change post Covid 19.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 45

Introduction of Green Term-Ahead Market' (GTAM):

HOW WILL IT INFLUENCE MARKET DYNAMICS?

PERSPECTIVE

Union Minister R K Singh launched the Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) for electricity, a move that will lead to an increase in the participants in the renewable energy sector. The initiative will also help in achieving the renewable energy(RE) capacity addition targets of the country. The GTAM contracts will allow additional avenues to RE generators for sale of renewable energy, enable obligated entities to procure renewable power at competitive prices to meet their RPOs and provide a platform to environmentally conscious open access consumers and utilities to buy green power. The GTAM platform will lead to an increase in the number of participants in the renewable energy sector. Find out more on how will it influence market dynamics

VIBHUTI GARG,

P K AGARWAL,

Energy Economist, Institute for

Former Director & CISO,

Energy Economics and

POSOCO Ltd., IEEE

Financial Analysis(IEEFA)

The start of trading on 21 August 2020 of Green Term-Ahead Market (GTAM) contracts on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) platform marked a significant milestone in India’ s transition to renewable energy (RE).

By August 2020, India had 88 gigawatts (GW) of installed RE capacity. As of June 2020, there was a pipeline of 47 GW of solar, wind and hybrid projects and another 24 GW of projects under bidding phase (where tenders have been issued but auctions are yet to complete).

India has gained substantially from moving from a feed-in tariff regime for RE to competitive bidding. Prices have fallen continuously and many states have entered into long-term power purchasing agreements (PPAs) to lower their power purchasing costs. This has given developers and investors confidence as it minimises power offtake risk.

However, curtailment of RE is still rampant in states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Further, Andhra Pradesh is renegotiating its contracts, while in Haryana RE projects are suffering due to the state granting open access.

Given the variability of RE power, the sector stands to gain tremendously by participating in the short-term market. Although participation of RE in the short-term market has been limited (less than 1%), RE generators have benefited from the introduction of the real-time market because it allows them to sell their unanticipated surpluses and earn revenues.

The recent launch of green markets on the IEX platform will offer consumers a sustainable choice, help the government to achieve its RE goal and enable integration of RE in the most flexible and efficient way.

The distinction between trade of conventional vs RE power at the power exchange means the discoms and large consumers can now meet their renewable purchase obligation (RPO) by buying power from these products. It will also incentivise RE-rich states to become export hubs and sell surplus power at the exchange beyond their own RPO obligation.

More importantly, it has created an alternative market to long-term PPAs for the sale of RE which will give developers and investors more confidence. This is critical as the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is struggling to sign power sale agreements (PSAs) for 12 GW of auctioned capacity.

On 17-Aug-2020, CERC, in its order, allowed introduction of Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in power exchange in India. GTAM market segment is a special segment of the electricity market wherein energy from RE resources is traded. Though in DAM and TAM, energy from renewable resources were also allowed to take part but there were no special benefits of RE neither to seller nor to buyer and they were required to trade their green power as normal power.

CERC has crafted the GTAM market in the term ahead product segment of the power exchange market with two categories; solar and non-solar green energy. Many products have been provided in GTAM like Intraday, day-ahead contingency, daily, weekly. Until now only bilateral trading was available to RE wherein benefits of green attributes of the traded RE energy can be utilised. With GATM, now power exchange platform has also become available for the trading wherein benefits of a green attribute of RE power can also be harnessed. With GTAM, merchant based RE power will come into the market and purchasers will have an additional tool to meet their RPO without entering into long term binding.

In the past it has been seen that though RE capacity is a must run plant, but certain states are finding it difficult to schedule RE power in view of its higher cost other than conventional energy. There was litigation on this subject also. RE generation in spite of having PPA with state Discoms are facing uncertainty because of premature termination of PPA. GTAM will be able to solve this problem to a great extent.

GTAM is expected to influence the market dynamics in following way:It will provide new avenues to RE merchant capacity to sell power.

New RE merchant plants may come up which will inter-alia help to achieve ambitious renewable energy capacity addition targets of the Government of India.

It is a market-based mechanism where RE surplus and RE deficit States can trade RE and balance their RPO targets.This would incentivise RE resource-rich States to develop RE capacity beyond their own obligations.

RE sellers and buyers will get more options to sell/buy renewable RE generators need not tie up capacity in advance or depend on PPA with the Discoms especially when the tariffs discovered in the PPAs are falling sharply.

RE generators under preferential tariff in States having excess wind/solar power are being curtailed due to Discoms’ inability to pay. Such generators will now be able to sell power in the market.

The energy markets are deepening with the introduction of competitive pricing-based market products, and with better forecasting techniques more players will trade RE. Given its falling cost, RE will be a more competitive source of electricity generation than conventional energy sources. This will help to build a sustainable and profitable economy.

Crucially, India needs to invest in its transmission sector because availability of the transmission corridor will determine the market’ s liquidity. For a deepening of the short-term market, states must allow short-term open access to encourage RE generators to trade.

This is the first time when renewable generation is being traded separately in power exchange (Px). Though there was a Px market of REC but that was mainly for meeting the RPO obligations of the utilities. But with G-TAM there is a paradigm shift in how RE energy is procured and sold. There was no scope for merchant RE plant until now. RE plant setup was set up in general with PPA. GTAM has open opportunities for merchant capacity and a second option and opportunity for fulfilling the RPO requirements of utility.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 46

VIKRAM MADAN

DEEPAK KUMAR THAKUR

Director - Business

Partner, L&L Partners

Development & Head- Open Access, Cleantech Solar

Recently, the Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) was launched to provide a pan-India based, exclusive and alternative open market platform for short-term trading of green power, without getting into traditional long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The transactions in GTAM are bilateral in nature with clear identification of buyers and sellers for a corresponding trade thus offering seamless Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) accounting.

Further, price discovery in GTAM happens on a continuous basis like the stock market i.e. price-time priority basis. The introduction of GTAM is expected to provide stimulus to the Indian Renewable Energy (RE) space with multiple positive influences as described below: ADDITIONAL CAPACITY & PARTICIPATION:

India being a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement has an ambitious capacity addition target of ~500 GW (40% of total capacity) RE capacity by 2030. GTAM can contribute towards meeting such goals by providing an alternate business model in addition to the traditional bidding route and can be a big enabler to promote merchant capacity addition in the country from additional participants. However, obtaining debt for merchant RE plants can be a bit challenging without adequate precedence and revenue certainty.

RPO COMPLIANCE & GREEN ENERGY TARGETS:

Most State Discoms consider procuring RECs as an additional financial obligation that provides only green attributes, which has resulted in low RPO compliance in the past. However, with GTAM in place now, Discoms can take physical delivery of competitively priced green power to not only bridge their RPO gaps but also meet their short-term energy needs. Further, GTAM can be a good alternative for environmentally conscious businesses such as RE100 companies to achieve their sustainability goals through a transparent and flexible market mechanism. The implementation of National Open Access Registry (NOAR) is expected to remove current barriers imposed by States in the form of restrictive open access practises and hence, can further boost participation in GTAM from corporates.

NATIONWIDE MARKET ACCESS:

RE projects, especially wind power plants, could potentially have the geographical constraint of being situated at resource-rich States, while such States may be reluctant to add and procure intermittent capacities beyond their RPO needs to limit the burden on their respective grids. With the initiation of GTAM, capacity addition in such States can continue to happen efficiently without significant additional burden of variability on local State grids. Thus, GTAM can benefit both the sellers and buyers in providing access to nationwide demand and supply.

RISK MANAGEMENT:

For C&I focused Independent Power Producers (IPPs) selling RE under the open access mechanism, GTAM can be a valuable riskhedging mechanism, especially in the event of PPA termination or business disruption / force majeure at the buyer end. GTAM can also be explored as an interim solution in cases where the operationalization of open access approvals happens post COD or are delayed due to unforeseen situations. Such risk mitigation sale at GTAM can limit exposure for the stakeholders including lenders, and most importantly RE assets can be put in use for the larger national interest.

Term ahead markets i.e., the markets “where physical delivery of electricity occurs on a date more than one day (T + 2 or more) ahead from the date of transaction (T)” (1) are an established concept in terms of conventional electricity and pose as an alternative to the traditional long-term power purchase agreements between the generators and the offtakers, and are regulated under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2010 (“Power Market Regulations”).

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (“CERC”) is authorized to permit a power exchange to introduce contracts that provide for termahead trading. (2) Pursuant to the same, Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. (“IEX”) had recently approached CERC with regard to the introduction of Green Term-Ahead Market (“GTAM”) contracts (being the term ahead contracts for transaction of renewable energy (“RE”)).

In its petition to CERC, IEX highlighted the benefits of introduction of GTAM contracts, which inter-alia include development of RE capacity in India, increased options for buyers and sellers of renewable power and availability of RE at competitive prices. These potential benefits are also expected to increase participation by buyers and sellers. IEX highlighted that the opportunity to sell across the country makes GTAM contracts desirable for sellers, in light of the incentives like waiver of Inter-State Transmission charges(3). IEX submitted that since the increased number of sellers will ensure competitive pricing of RE, the chances of increase in demand of GTAM by the potential buyers, is higher. CERC has recently, i.e., order dated August 17, 2020 (4) , granted its approval for trading of GTAM contracts on IEX’ s platform.

It is expected that the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (“SERCs”) would look forward to GTAM contracts for meeting their Renewable Purchase Obligations (“RPO”). GTAM regime is better for them, as it would not require distribution licensees, captive users, open access consumers, etc. to fulfil their RPO targets. RE is also expected to drive corporates to purchase power at competitive prices via GTAM contracts, in furtherance of their Corporate Social Responsibility obligations. Besides advantages resulting from increased participation as above, the supply of RE through GTAM contracts would be clean as the source of generation would be identified in the No Objection Certificate obtained from the Regional/ State Load Despatch Centre (5) .

In our opinion, the GTAM contracts is in furtherance of the transition, the Indian power sector is undergoing, marking a shift from long-term generation and power purchase contracts to short term contracts. In any event, despite the possibility of initial liquidity concerns,(6) GTAM contracts are expected to flourish in the Indian power sector, given the massively overriding anticipated benefits. In fact, due to this anticipation, IEX’ s GTAM has been receiving support from the Central Government, which essentially aims at accomplishing India’ s RE targets. This however comes with an understanding that unless these contracts do not appeal to the financiers and lenders, to match the stability offered by long term power purchase agreements, the GTAM transactions will only be an additional option, and not the primary means of trade in the power market.

(1) Regulation 2(i)(jj) of the Power Market Regulations.

(2) Regulation 6 of the Power Market Regulations.

(3) Regulation 47 of the Power Market Regulations.

(4) Indian Energy Exchange Limited v. M/s Power System Operation Corporation (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Petition No. 25/MP/2019).

(5) Note 2 of Regulation 37 of the Power Market Regulations.

(6) Note 2 of Regulation 25 of the Power Market Regulations.

Since inception, Cleantech Solar has focused on delivering worldclass solar power solutions to enable committed corporates meet their sustainability goals across Asia. Over the years, we have built up the leading market position in corporate PPAs and look forward to exploring opportunities to actively participate and contribute towards the success of GTAM in India.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 47

LAKSHMAN RAO R SUTRAVE

SHRUTI BHATIA

Principal Consultant,

Vice President, Corporate

Bahwan CyberTek

Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX)

The much-needed Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) for the renewable energy industry was introduced by the GOI in September 2020. This initiative is expected to benefit the entire renewable (RE) energy value chain not only in India, but also in countries that export RE equipment to India.

While the energy exchange model has been in existence for quite some time, the time is right to adopt these energy exchange models exclusively for green energy to give the Indian renewable energy industry the much-needed push to achieve its Paris Agreement Commitments of 450 GW by 2030.

What will change with the introduction of GTAM?

There are a whole lot of current dynamics that will change with the introduction of GTAM. Key areas include De-risking Investments and Securing Cash Flows

For a predictable ROI, most of the RE generators go for a longterm PPA model. However, there are several disadvantages such as payment delays, risk of renegotiations and the fact that excessive generation is bought only at 75% of the agreed tariff.

GTAM will help in de-risking the investments of RE generators and will give an avenue to sell excess power produced as per renewable market prices in the open market.

With GTAM, RE generators can also keep a portion of capacity reserved for selling in GTAM for optimized revenue generation and reduced cash flow risk.

Exclusive Market Place for Solar and Non-Solar based Renewable Energy

Though the energy exchange model in India existed for quite some time, participation from renewable energy power generators was low as the power exchange was common for both conventional and renewable energy sources with the same price.

This barrier will be done away with GTAM, where renewable power will have a marketplace of its own, improving the competitive landscape among renewable energy players.

Compliance to RPOs

States with low RE generation purchase RE power from other states or buy RECs to comply with RPO targets. However, there were not many RECs traded in the exchange due to excess demand, which made RPO compliance difficult. With GTAM, contracts shall be considered RPO-compliant as the trading will be physical, and hence buyers can comply with RPO targets without much of a challenge.

Boosts Investments in New RE Projects

GTAM opens a new avenue for the renewable energy producers to sell power and hence, new investments are likely to be coming in the building capacities. This will also spur projects capacities in the mid-to low-sized capacities.

IEX Green Market: How will it Influence Market Dynamics?

As a Paris Agreement signatory, India is working towards achieving the objective of increasing its renewable capacity to 450 GW by 2030. Being a nation that aspires to become a sustainable energy economy, India has made significant developments towards this direction with the support of favorable policy and regulatory environment. In fact, in his recent speech at an event, the Honorable Prime Minister emphasized upon India’ s commitment to renewables with an aim to realize clean energy capacity to 220 GW by 2020 .

The launch of green markets at IEX platform has been a significant development which will play a key role in achieving India’ s aspirations towards building a sustainable energy economy. The new market segment provides pan India market access to the renewable generators to sell beyond the power purchase agreements and the OTC market and realize immediate payments. On the other hand, the obligated entities will be able to procure green power while also fulfilling their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) compliance in the most efficient and competitive manner. Perhaps, one of the biggest impacts of green markets would be that the generators will not have to tie up all their capacities in advance under the rigid Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). As the market opens up further, we expect it to accelerate investments in the segment further as well as and setting up of new green merchant capacities thereby increasing the installed renewable capacity in the country.

The Green markets will also be a boon to renewable rich states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat among others as they can now sell surplus power at better prices as compared to earlier when they had to sell it as conventional power, and realise meaningful gains. Most importantly, coupled with a realtime electricity market, the green markets will help in addressing the intermittency issues related with renewable energy and facilitate in ensuring better grid discipline and security.

Since its commencement on August 21, 2020, the market has generated significant interest from the participants. With 38 customers participating in the first month on the platform, the market registered 13.20 MUs of trade in the first three weeks of its launch.

The key participants included distribution utilities of Haryana, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, CESC, Tata Power Company and open access consumers such as Amplus Green Power Pvt. Ltd, Jindal Stainless Ltd, Dalmia Cement, CESC amongst others. Currently, trading in the intraday and day-ahead contracts in both solar and non-solar categories is live and trading in the daily and weekly contracts will commence shortly.

We see a great potential for growth in the green markets including introduction of several new and innovative products going forward.

While we already have growing demand on the buy side, we would undertake policy advocacy, market development and awareness dissemination initiatives in the near future to also build liquidity on the sell side.

Enables Transformation towards Pure Green Energy

Corporates who wanted to power their organizations with 100% renewable energy will be benefited to buy power from the GTAM depending on the energy demand. This will help in achieving optimized costs for their renewable energy purchases in fluctuating demand conditions such as during COVID-19.

With GOI expected to unwrap more schemes and business models, there is no doubt that the RE industry will be an exciting space to watch. Such avenues not only help adding capacities, but also spur investments in manufacturing and R&D. If the trajectory of growth continues this way, India can breeze through its renewable energy targets of 450 GW by 2030.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 48

NIKHIL GUPTA Business Head- PVI, Delta Electronics India Pvt Ltd

The newest programme on the horizon, The Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) for electricity, will soon be responsible in bringing a more reinforced attention and enhanced participation in the renewable energy sector. In addition to that, it is worth mentioning that this initiative will actively contribute in achieving the specified renewable energy (RE) capacity addition targets of the country.

As per the government “Successful implementation of this platform would further lighten the pre-existing burden on RE-rich states along with promoting them to augment RE capacity in extension of their own RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligation). As a consequence, RE merchant capacity addition will be amplified, besides further attaining the country’ s objectives in relation to RE capacity addition.” Furthermore, on account of competitive prices with an overall transparent and flexible procurement, GTAM will be exponentially advantageous to the RE consumers and will also bring a surge in the number of contributors to the renewable energy sector. Through the provision of access to a pan India market, RE sellers will enjoy potentially long term benefits in various domains.

RE generators will make the most of Green Term Ahead Market contracts in multiple spheres such as in the provision of renewable energy, persuading obligated entities to procure renewable power at competitive prices to acquire their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO). And also providing a way for the vast population

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

of environmentally conscious open access consumers and utilities to consume greater amounts of green power thereby effectively giving the impetus to long term sustainability. The significant features of GTAM to be considered are that all its primary transactions will have a bilateral nature, owing to a clear distinction between the corresponding buyers and sellers. Moreover, accounting for RPO will be facilitated with much more ease.

Both the RPO targets and GTAM contracts will be segregated; with the latter being further divided into Solar RPO and Non-Solar RPO. Additionally, GTAM contracts will also constitute the events like Green Intraday, Day Ahead Contingency, Daily and Weekly Contracts.

Price discovery will take place on a continuous basis i.e. price time priority basis. In consequence, open auctions can be introduced for daily and weekly contracts depending on the market conditions. Besides, the energy procured through GTAM contract shall be considered as deemed RPO compliance of the buyer.

Thus, GTAM holds immense potential to transform the renewable energy sector for the greater good of society. The sustainable alternatives and benefits arising as a result will leverage not just economic efficiencies but would also bring a heightened environment oriented consciousness amidst the consumers of the green energy sector.

PG 49

T H I N K RENEWABLES-RICH RAJASTHAN HAS POTENTIAL TO LEAD INDIA’S ENERGY TRANSITION As Indi a looks to expand i ts renewable energy capaci ty, a new report from IEEFA fi nds that Raj asthan can play a key leadershi p role i n the country’ s transi ti on to a low-cost, low-emi ssi on, profi table electri ci ty system.

Raj asthan Leads i n Renewable Potenti al. Raj asthan’ s i nstalled renewable energy capaci ty reached 9. 6 gi gawatts (GW) at the end of fi scal year (FY) 2019/20. It also added more solar power capaci ty (1. 7GW) i n FY 2019/20 than any other Indi an state, ahead of Karnataka (1. 4GW), the state wi th the hi ghest i nstalled solar capaci ty, and Tami l Nadu (1. 3GW). Raj asthan has a bri ght future as a renewable energy leader i n Indi a, ” says the report’ s author Kashi sh Shah, Research Analyst at the Insti tute for Energy Economi cs and Fi nanci al Analysi s (IEEFA). “But i ts power di stri buti on compani es (di scoms) are among the worst performi ng i n Indi a.

HOW STATE GOVERNMENTS CAN MANAGE MOUNTING POWER DISTRIBUTION SECTOR DEBTS State governments should be made responsible for improving the finances of their struggling power distribution companies (discoms), which continue to incur huge losses, according to a briefing note prepared

by IEEFA for the Fi fteenth Fi nance Commi ssi on of Indi a. The fi nanci al di stress of the state-owned di scoms has led to maj or li qui di ty i ssues across Indi a’ s power sector. As of May 2020, the di scoms had overdue payments to generators totalli ng Rs116, 340 crore (about US$16bn).

State Governments Should Be Made Di rectly Responsi ble And Accountable For Fundi ng The State Power Sector And Future Fundi ng Should Be Conti ngent On Improvi ng The Di scoms’ Poor Fi nanci al Health, say the authors Ti m Buckley, Di rector of Energy Research at the Insti tute for Energy Economi cs and Fi nanci al Analysi s (IEEFA) and Vi bhuti Garg, Energy Economi st at IEEFA.

USAID-NREL PARTNERSHIP OFFERS SOLUTIONS TO ACCELERATE DISTRIBUTED PHOTOVOLTAIC MARKET GROWTH IN INDIA As part of a long-term effort to faci li tate DPV market desi gn i n Indi a, the Uni ted States Agency for Internati onal Development (USAID)-Nati onal Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Partnershi p released two reports addressi ng deployment concerns for DPV technology. One report PDF calls attenti on to common quali ty and safety i ssues at vari ous stages of an RTPV system’ s li fe, and offers soluti ons for addressi ng them, whi le the other report PDF presents regulatory consi derati ons for DPV-plus-storage program desi gn for retai l customers. Although the two reports assess di fferent aspects of DPV deployment, they share the broader conclusi on that there i s tremendous opportuni ty for Indi a’ s leaders to create supporti ve standards and regulatory frameworks to enable DPV deployment and meet Indi a’ s 2022 targets.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

INDIA RATINGS ASSIGNS SOLAREDGE POWER AND ENERGY’S BANK FACILITIES ‘PROVISIONAL IND A1’; MAINTAINS EXISTING DEBT ON RWE SEPEPL i s one of fi ve operati onal solar assets wi th an aggregate capaci ty of 317MW (peak) bei ng sold by Shapoorj i Pallonj i Infrastructure Capi tal Company Pri vate Li mi ted (SPICCPL, a wholly owned subsi di ary of Shapoorj i Pallonj i and Company Pri vate Li mi ted (the group flagshi p company)) to the affi li ate(s) of Kohlberg Kravi s Roberts & Co. L. P. (together referred to as KKR). Whi le the share purchase agreement was executed i n Apri l 2020, the acqui si ti on i s i n the closure stage. SEPEPL proposes to refi nance i ts exi sti ng term loan wi th the proposed short-term bri dge faci li ty upon the acqui si ti on. The assi gned provi si onal rati ngs reflect SEPEPL’ s demonstrated operati onal hi story of over 26 months, the presence of a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) wi th a strong counterparty, adequate li qui di ty wi thi n the proj ect and comfortable proj ected coverage rati os for the PPA tenor. However, the rati ngs are constrai ned by the presence of substanti al refi nanci ng ri sk i n the form of a bullet maturi ty at the end of 12 months of date of draw for the proposed short-term bri dge faci li ty.

FIRST ACCOUNTING OF GREEN INVESTMENT FLOWS IN INDIA REVEALS A NEED FOR SIGNIFICANT INCREASE A new report by Cli mate Poli cy Ini ti ati ve (CPI) launched today shows that “green sectors” such as renewable energy, energy effi ci ency, and low-carbon transport, are helpi ng to dri ve economi c growth i n Indi a.

The CPI report, supported by Shakti Sustai nable Energy Foundati on, ti tled ‘ Landscape of Green Fi nance i n Indi a’ (2016-18) i s a one of a ki nd study that presents the most robust i nformati on on green fi nance i n Indi a. It was launched on Fri day by Di nesh Jagdale, Joi nt Secretary, Mi ni stry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of Indi a, i n the presence of other experts such as Sharmi la Chavaly, Pri nci pal Fi nanci al Advi ser, Northern Rai lway, Government of Indi a, Balawant Joshi , Managi ng Di rector, Idam Infrastructure Advi sory Pri vate Li mi ted, Sati sh Mandanha, Seni or Managi ng Di rector and Chi ef Investment Offi cer, EverSource, Shloka Nath, Executi ve Di rector, Indi a Cli mate Collaborati ve, Dharshan Wi gnaraj ah, Deputy Di rector, Themes, Fi nance and Resi li ence, COP26, Cabi net Offi ce, Govi nd Sankaranarayanan, Vi ce Chai rman, ECube Investment Advi sors Pri vate Li mi tedand Chi ntan Shah, Di rector (Techni cal) i n Indi an Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.

THESE 7 AUCTIONS SHOW INDIA’S RENEWABLES SECTOR IS STILL PRIMED FOR GROWTH Whi le the pace of renewable energy growth has slowed i n Indi a, posi ti ve outcomes i n recent aucti ons suggest there remai ns plenty of appeti te among domesti c and forei gn i nvestors to bui ld renewable i nfrastructure, accordi ng to a new IEEFA bri efi ng note.

The note poi nts to the Solar Energy Corporati on of Indi a’ s (SECI) 2 gi gawatt (2GW) solar aucti on i n June as a parti cular hi ghli ght. It deli vered Indi a’ s lowest-yet renewable energy tari ff at Rs2. 36/kWh (US$31/MWh) wi th zero i ndexati on for 25 years. Developers from around the world secured wi nni ng bi ds: Solarpack (Spai n); Enel (Italy); Amp Energy (Canada); Eden Renewables (France); IB Vogt (Germany); Ayana Renewable Power (backed by the UK’ s CDC Group); and ReNew Power (Indi an, but backed by Abu Dhabi ’ s ADIA, Canada’ s CPPIB, Japan’ s JERA and the U. S. ’ s Goldman Sachs).

PG 50

T A N K SOLAR AND WIND REACH 67% OF NEW POWER CAPACITY ADDED GLOBALLY IN 2019, WHILE FOSSIL FUELS SLIDE TO 25% Photovoltai cs by far the world’ s leadi ng power-generati ng technology i nstalled i n 2019; 45% of capaci ty added was solar wi th one thi rd of all countri es maki ng i t thei r top choi ce. Photovoltai cs (PV) domi nated as the mai n new power-generati ng technology source added to gri ds i n dozens of countri es rangi ng from Australi a, to Indi a, Italy, Nami bi a, Uruguay and the U. S. i n 2019. Wi th a record 118 gi gawatts constructed, PV topped all other technologi es i n new-bui ld terms and was the most popular technology deployed i n a thi rd of nati ons, accordi ng to complete and propri etary data compi led by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). In all, 81 countri es bui lt at least 1 megawatt of solar duri ng the last calendar year and solar accounted for nearly half of all new power generati on capaci ty constructed worldwi de. The fi ndi ngs are hi ghli ghted i n BNEF’ s new Power Transi ti on Trends 2020 report and onli ne tool, whi ch tracks detai led capaci ty and generati on data over the past decade. Both are based on country-level data compi led by BNEF analysts di rectly from pri mary country sources, currently through 2019.

POWER MARKET UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2020 The electri ci ty market at the Indi an Energy Exchange traded 5467 MU i n August’ 20 wi tnessi ng a 1% i ncrease over volume traded i n August’ 19. The nati onal peak demand i n the same peri od sees a 6% YoY decli ne whi le the energy consumpti on decli nes 2% i n August’ 20 accordi ng to the data i ssued by the NLDC. The day-ahead market traded 4484 MU duri ng the month wi th average market cleari ng pri ce at Rs. 2. 43 per uni t. The pri ce saw a si gni fi cant 27% YoY decli ne over Rs

3. 32 in August’ 19. The attractive prices made electricity procurement from the exchange an attractive proposition for both the distribution utilities and industries yielding significant savings. The day-ahead market sees adequate availability of power with high sell side liquidity. The total sell bids at 10, 123 MU were twice of the buy bids at 5081 MU. The distribution utilities from states such as Southern, Western and Northern states continued to leverage the exchange market to meet their short-term electricity requirements. Moreover, as the COVID restrictions ease, industries have been procuring power at attractive prices which has been facilitating revival of industrial growth. One Nation One Price prevailed during all 31 days during the month. The trade in the term-ahead market at 115 MU increased 97% MoM basis indicating continued acceptance of TAM contracts by the distribution utilities for meeting their short-term power requirements.

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

DEMAND RECOVERY FROM KEY INDUSTRIALISED STATES STILL SLOW; THOUGH OVERALL ELECTRICITY DEMAND AT 96%-98% OF PRECOVID LEVEL The all Indi a electri ci ty demand i s wi tnessi ng a gradual recovery and stood at over 96% of the pre-covi d level i n July 2020 and further i mproved to close to 98% of pre-covi d level i n August 2020, mai nly led by recovery i n rural areas. As per an ICRA note, the electri ci ty demand recovery on all Indi a levels has largely been led by Northern and Eastern states wi th year-on-year (Y-o-Y) i ncrease of 6. 0% – 13. 0% i n demand i n July 2020. Thi s was mai nly dri ven by rural consumpti on, whi le the demand i n large i ndustri al states wi tnessed a 6. 0% -15. 0% decli ne i n July 2020 on a Y-o-Y basi s, on back of slower recovery i n i ndustri al acti vi ty. Also, the recovery i n the all Indi a demand i n August 2020 i s on a lower base, consi deri ng the demand decli ne wi tnessed on a Y-o-Y basi s i n August 2019. Commenti ng further, Mr. Gi ri shkumar Kadam, Sector Head & Vi ce Presi dent, Corporate rati ngs, ICRA, says, “The i mposi ti on of lockdown to control the Covi d-19 pandemi c led to a decli ne i n the all Indi a electri ci ty demand by 13. 1% i n the fi rst four months of FY2021. Whi le the monthly demand recovered from 85 bi lli on uni ts (BUs) i n Apri l 2020 to 112 BUs i n July 2020, i t remai ned lower on a Y-o-Y basi s. Also, whi le the peak demand recovered from 133 GW i n Apri l 2020 to 171 GW i n July 2020, i t remai ned lower by 3. 3% comparedto July 2019. Thi s was also because of the rei mposi ti on of lockdown restri cti ons i n many parts across the country, due to the ri se i n Covi d-19 i nfecti ons. Gi ven the energy demand trends so far across the key states, ICRA conti nues to mai ntai n i ts outlook for about 5-6% decli ne i n the all Indi a electri ci ty demand i n FY2021 over FY2020. The decli ne i n demand i s expected to suppress the thermal PLF on an all Indi a level to about 50-51% i n FY2021 agai nst 56. 0% i n FY2020. ”

GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL LEADERS IDENTIFY CLOUD AS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT SOLUTION TO SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN TODAY’S NEW NORMAL Industrial organizations are opting for Cloud, Digital Twin, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation technologies to address the complexities of today’ s challenging macro-economic environment, according to AVEVA, a global leader in engineering and industrial software. At a recent virtual press panel, hosted by the company and moderated by Craig Resnick, Vice President, Consulting, ARC Advisory Group, industry leaders exchanged views on how industrial organizations are innovating using technology to maintain business continuity and drive better supply chain and production planning. This is turning challenges into opportunities to increase productivity and profitability, especially when it comes to improving supply chain inefficiencies and driving sustainability initiatives. Craig Hayman, CEO, AVEVA concluded, “As the post pandemic world returns to a new normality, I urge industrial organizations to seize the opportunity to maximize the benefits of creating a more agile, resilient business and exploiting the many advantages that emerging new technologies can offer. Organizations that are waiting for the future need to wake up to today’ s reality and understand that the future is here now and that digital transformation investments that are made today will determine the continued success of their operations moving forward. ”

PG 51

TENDER T R A C K E R

TENDERS FLOATED BY CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

TENDERS FLOATED BY STATE AGENCIES

TENDERS FLOATED BY PSU

| SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 52

SEPTEMBER 2020

POLICY DEBRIEF STATES: CHHATTISGARH AMENDS RPO REGULATION Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC), in an announcement, amends the RPO target for Captive generating plants(CGPs) under CSERC(Renewable Purchase Obligation and REC Framework Implementation) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2020.Some important regulation are as Captive users, consuming electricity from captive generating plants (CGP), commissioned before 1st April 2016, shall have RPO target applicable for FY 2015-16, which is 1% solar and 6.25% non-solar, CGPs commissioned after lst April 2016 onward, the RPO levels as specified in these Regulations or MoP trajectory, whichever is higher, for the year of commissioning of the CGPs shall be applicable. In case of any augmentation in the capacity of the CGPs, the RPO for augmented capacity shall be the RPO applicable as specified in these Regulations for the year in which the CGPs have been augmented.

GUJARAT ISSUES NEW LAND POLICY The state government of Gujarat has issued amendments to its wasteland allotment policy for wind, solar, and hybrid power projects.Amendments state that the renewable power project developers selected by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will have to commit to install 50% of the total generation capacity in 3 years and 100% in 5 years. The amendments also mention that the land lease tenure will be 40 years for the renewable energy parks.

GERC INVITES COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION PAPER FOR DETERMINING WIND-SOLAR HYBRID TARIFFS The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) had invited comments from stakeholders on its discussion paper for starting regulatory process for determining tariffs for wind-solar hybrid projects.GERC proposed that power from wind-solar hybrid projects should be used to meet solar and non-solar renewable purchase obligations (RPOs). The Commission also ordered that the ratio of wind and solar power must be decided based on the availability of resources at the project location.

TAMIL NADU INCREASES ELECTRICITY DEMAND LIMIT TO 150 KW The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) issued notice regarding amendments to the state’s electricity supply and distribution code.Some amendments are that the electricity demand limit has been increased to 150 kW . The distribution licensee will bear the cost of the distribution transformer and accessories whereas the cost of the HT and LT lines and cables to be erected in the consumer’s premises must be bear by the applicant.

TAMIL NADU ISSUES ELECTRONICS HARDWARE MANUFACTURING POLICY 2020; AIMS TO INCREASE ELECTRONIC OUTPUT Tamil Nadu has prepared ‘Electronics Hardware Manufacturing Policy 2020’. The main aim of policy is to increase the state’s electronic output to $100 billion and also aims to contribute 25% of India’s total electronics exports to the world by 2025.The state is trying to improve the level of value addition mainly in areas of solar photovoltaic cells, mobile handsets, LED products, and automotive electronics.The incentives for mega projects will be approved by the industries department, and the structured package will be approved as per the recommendation of the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC).

SEPTEMBER 2020

POLICY DEBRIEF CENTRAL: UNION POWER MINISTER LAUNCHES GREEN TERM AHEAD MARKET As a first step towards Greening the Indian short term power Market, R. K. Singh, the Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy & Minister of State (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship), launched pan-India Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity through video conference in New Delhi on 1st September 2020.

While speaking after the launch Singh said, “The introduction of GTAM platform would lessen the burden on RE-rich States and incentivize them to develop RE capacity beyond their own RPO. This would promote RE merchant capacity addition and help in achieving RE capacity addition targets of the country.”

He further added that GTAM platform will lead to an increase in the number of participants in the renewable energy sector. It will benefit buyers of RE through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement. It will also benefit RE sellers by providing access to the pan- India market.

Key features of GTAM are Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for RPO, GTAM contracts will be segregated into Solar RPO & Non-Solar RPO as RPO targets are also segregated and Green Intraday Contract & Day Ahead Contingency Contract – Bidding will take place on a 15-minute time-block wise MW basis.

R.K.SINGH APPROVES PROPOSAL FOR ACCEPTANCE OF LETTER OF UNDERTAKING ISSUED BY IREDA, PFC & REC IN LIEU OF BANK GUARANTEES FOR EMD R K Singh, the Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power has approved a proposal for acceptance of Letter of Undertaking issued by IREDA, PFC & REC in lieu of Bank Guarantees for Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) by SECI, NTPC and NHPC in the case of tenders/biddings for developing Renewable Energy(RE) projects in the country.

In a letter written to SECI, NTPC, NHPC, the the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has conveyed that SECI, NTPC, NHPC or any other implementing agency on behalf of MNRE (henceforth implementing agencies) may accept Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), in the form of Bank Guarantee(s) or ‘Payment on Order instrument’.

The communication further mentions, “the above decisions may be treated as amendments to the respective Standard Bidding Guidelines (SBG) (solar/ wind) and notified accordingly.” The three non-banking financial institutions – IREDA or PFC or REC may issue such Letter(s) of Undertaking/ ‘Payment on Order instrument’ to pay as per their policy, on merits and after due diligence.

R K Singh Minister of New & Renewable Energy and Power said, “This decision of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy will go a long way in ensuring Ease of Doing Business in the RE sector as the developers will now have one more option in fulfilling the tender requirement.”

ISA TO BE NODAL AGENCY FOR DEVELOPING GLOBAL GRID, HELP NTPC DEVELOP PROJECTS From helping state-run NTPC Ltd secure solar projects in 47 of least developed and small island developing member countries of International Solar Alliance (ISA) to being appointed the nodal agency for implementing India’ global electricity grid plan, the ISA’ first World Solar Technology Summit, is expected to see some major announcements, said two people aware of the development.This comes in the backdrop of China’s attempt to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative. The other marquee partnerships expected to be inked on Tuesday include the one between the Seoul headquartered Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the ISA for providing technical assistance in deploying one million solar irrigation pumps.The development assumes significance given that the ISA has achieved global disruption by bringing down the cost of solar-powered agricultural pumps by half, Mint reported earlier. India’s state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd conducted the largest global price discovery exercise by aggregating the demand from 22 ISA member nations, in a potential order valued at $2.7 billion. ISA also plans to sign a partnership agreement with the Paris headquartered International Institute of Refrigeration for setting up solar heating and cooling demonstration projects in member countries.

MNRE ISSUES CLARIFICATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PM-KUSUM SCHEME Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) passed notice on Clarification for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme.

For Component-B and Component-C, the state share of subsidy shall be minimum 30% of the applicable MNRE benchmark cost or cost discovered through tender, whichever is lower. The states are free to provide a higher share of subsidy to reduce the beneficiary farmer contribution, however, the central financial assistance (CFA) would be limited to 30% of the applicable MNRE benchmark cost or cost discovered through tender, whichever is lower for pump capacity up to 7.5 HP. Under Component-C, there is no CFA for replacement of existing less efficient grid connected agriculture pumps with energy efficient agriculture pumps, however, the states are free to provide additional financial support for replacement of existing pumps with energy efficient pumps.

Another option available with the farmer is to install Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC) under Component-B, for which the farmer has to bear the additional cost for USPC. There is no CFA on additional cost of USPC, however, the states are free to bear the additional cost for USPC fully or partly, to facilitate the farmer to install USPC.

MNRE SEEKS SUGGESTIONS ON STANDALONE SOLAR PUMPS The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) seeked comments/ suggestions on implementation of Component-B of PM-KUSUM ie. Scheme for installation of standalone solar pumps — reg.MNRE Invited Comments/suggestions from all stakeholders on issues like eligibility for participation in the tender, technical and financial requirements, numbers of vendors to be empaneled for each category, cluster wise bidding, minimum capacity allocated to L1, provisions for MSME, contract performance guarantee requirement, specifications, etc.During the implementation of the 1 year target, the Ministry has received certain feedback on issues being faced by the vendors/implementing agencies/beneficiaries, which are being examined for suitably incorporating in the implementation process for the current year target.

SEPTEMBER 2020

POLICY DEBRIEF

THE COMMENCEMENT OF GREEN MARKETS HAS POSITIONED INDIA OF THE LEAGUE OF COUNTRIES WITH DEVELOPED ELECTRICITY MARKET : R.K.SINGH R.K. Singh, Minister of State Independent Charge for Power and New & Renewable Energy and Minister of State-Independent Charge for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched the green markets. The event saw presence from several eminent dignitaries including Sanjeev Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power; Sanjay Malhotra, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power; Ghanshyam Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power besides others from MNRE, CERC, NLDC, State distribution utilities and IEX. Addressing the participants at the occasion, the Minister in his keynote remarks mentioned, “The commencement of green markets has positioned India in the league of countries with developed electricity markets. The markets are aligned with the Honorable Prime Minister’s vision to build India as a sustainable Energy Economy. Going forward, we expect introduction of several new and innovative market products to deepen the green markets as well as work on integration of storage and other new technologies towards assuring round the clock and firm renewable energy. ” The Ministry of Power and Ministry of Renewable Energy will continue to focus on strengthening our energy market given the advantages like competitive prices, transparency, flexibility, and payment security that it offers. “the distribution companies are also moving towards the short-term market and do not want to be tied down under long-term contracts.” added the Minister.

MNRE SEEKS SUGGESTIONS ON FINDINGS OF THIRD-PARTY EVALUATION OF OFFGRID & DECENTRALIZED CST SCHEME The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued a request for comments of stakeholders on findings of third-party evaluation of the ‘OffGrid and Decentralized Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) Scheme’ and also on performance based financial support scheme.

The third party evaluation of ‘Off-Grid and Decentralized Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) Scheme’ of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was conducted by Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI). In the report GERMI has presented its findings and also suggested providing performance based financial support to CST projects instead of capital subsidy earlier being provided by MNRE. Ministry also requested all concerned stakeholders to provide their comments/suggestions/views on the same.

MNRE APPOINTS ISA AS IMPLEMENTING AGENCY FOR ONE SUN ONE WORLD The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued RFP for Developing a Long Term Vision, Implementation Plan, Road Map and Institutional Framework for implementing One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG).

The Ministry decided that International Solar Alliance (ISA) will be the implementing agency for carrying out all the activities of OSOWOG initiative, i.e., the bid process management and all subsequent activities. ISA will issue appropriate corrigendum to the RFP based upon pre-bid queries and invite the final bids.

The person appointed for the above activities is Jagjeet Singh Sareen, Director, International Solar Alliance Secretariat.

POWER MINISTRY DRAFTS ELECTRICITY RULES FOR CONSUMERS The Union Power Ministry has drafted Rules providing for Rights of Electricity Consumers for the First Time.

The Ministry stated that “Electricity Consumers are the most important stakeholders in the power sector. The sector exists because of them. Having provided access to electricity to all citizens, it is now important to focus on consumer satisfaction. For this, it is imperative to identify the key services, prescribe minimum service levels and standards with respect to these services and recognize them as rights of consumers”. With this objective, a draft of Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 have been prepared for the first time by the Government.

The main features are Reliability of service: SERCs to fix average number and duration of outages per consumer per year for DISCOMs, Timely and simplified procedure for connection: Only two documents for connection up to load of 10 kw and no estimation of demand charges for loads up to 150 kw to expedite giving connection, Time period of not more than 7 days in metro cities, 15 days in other municipal areas and 30 days in rural areas, to provide new connection and modify existing connection, 2 to 5% rebate on serving bills with delay of sixty days or more, Option to pay bills in cash, cheque, debit cards, net banking etc but bills of Rs. 1000 or more to be paid online and Provisions related to disconnection, reconnection, meter replacement, billing, payment, etc.

MNRE INVITES EXPERTS FOR EVALUATION OF OFF-GRID AND DECENTRALISED SOLAR PV APPLICATIONS PROGRAMME PHASE-III The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued Invitation for Expression of Interest (EOI) to engage reputed consultants/experts for undertaking evaluation of Off-grid and Decentralised Solar PV Applications Programme Phase-III. Reputed consultants/ consulting firms should submit an Expression of Interest to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy by 1800 hours on 14.10.2020. For any clarification bidders can contact at shobhit.srivastava@nic.in.

Reputed consultants or consulting organizations having an experience of at least 5 years in conducting similar assignments and an annual turnover of at least Rs. 1.50 Crore per year during the last three years are only eligible to participate.

SEPTEMBER 2020

EMPOWERING, INSIGHTFUL, ENGAGING

YES, I WISH TO SUBSCRIBE TO SOLARQUARTER MAGAZINE"

SUBCRIPTION FORM SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD

SUBSCRIPTION AMOUNT

1 YEAR (6 ISSUES)

INR 2500

2 YEAR (12 ISSUES)

INR 4000

PAYING

NAME: DESIGNATION: COMPANY NAME: TYPE OF ACTIVITY: ADDRESS: CITY:

STATE:

PIN CODE:

MOBILE:

EMAIL ID:

WEBSITE:

PAYMENT DETAILS:

DATED:

CHEQUE / DD NO.:

DRAW ON:

FOR RUPEES:

In favour of FirstView Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd. I have enclosed a cheque / DD no. for Rs. along with this form. Or wire-transfer the amount to the following account: FirstView Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd Account Holder: FIRSTVIEW MEDIA VENTURES PVT. LTD Name of the bank: Axis Bank Limited SWIFT CODE: AXISNBB386 ACCOUNT NO.: 911020047384733 RTGS / NEFT IFSC CODE: UTIB0001365 BRANCH CODE: 1365 (NERUL EAST, NAVI MUMBAI, INDIA) Please send the above information to subscribe@firstviewgroup.com

The Payment Should be made in the favour of FirstView Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd. via cheque or DD (payable at Mumbai, India) to the address mentioned below.

FirstView Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd., 907, 908, NMS Titanium, Plot 74, Sector 15, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India info@firstviewgroup.com Contact: Kunal Varma Email Id: kunal@firstviewgroup.com Mobile: +91 88505 70273

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE ONLINE:

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT WWW.SOLARQUARTER.COM FirstView Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

907, 908, NMS Titanium, Plot 74, Sector 15, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India info@firstviewgroup.com

EMOBILITY + | JAN FEB ISSUE 2020

w w w . s o l a r q u a r t e r . c o m

PG 37

LAUNCHING TWO NEW EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS for ASEAN & Middle East Solar Industry

EMPOWERING HIGH GROWTH ASIAN MARKETS

For Advertising Opportunities, Contact: Smriti Singh, M: +91 7718877514, e: smriti@firstviewgroup.com