SE Jan Feb 2015

SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

Volume II, Issue I

Pages 64

`100

ISSN 2348-5027

Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence

SmartEnergy Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence

Editor Santosh Khadtare santosh@supersmartenergy.com

Associate Editor Anisha Ganguli EDITORIAL ADVISER Pragya Sharma Editorial Co-ordinator Varsha Graphic Designer D. Vaidya Advertising & Marketing Head- Marketing & Business Development Sapna K sapna@supersmartenergy.com

Chief Executive Officer Rahul Raj Chandra Support Team Sunil Pawar Bharti Shetty Disclaimer All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy and information in this magazine, opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not neccessarily reflect the vies of the owner/ publisher and the editorial team. Genesis Info-Media shall not be liable for any consequences in the event such claims are found- not to be true

Editor's Note Happy Birthday, Smart Energy!!!

We at Smart Energy are in celebration mood, and why not? We have completed one year and are the youngest of all. Like the parents celebrating their children’s first birthday we too are feeling excited, delighted and honoured. We pride in the achievement as the dedication and yearlong hard work of the entire team of Smart Energy has bear fruits. We have been noticed, admired and have a dedicated followers from the industry. Today, leading companies from the renewable industry rely on Smart Energy for getting information and regular updates from the industry. Today we salute the writers, journalists and analysts for their efforts, and thank our readers. If it weren't for all of them, we wouldn't celebrate today. Their contribution has been, still is and certainly will be crucial to everything that makes Smart Energy a vibrant reality and a monthly event.

It has always been our attempt to give something different and unique to our readers in terms of topics, content and subject. We have tried to make the anniversary issue exceptional, unique and extra special.

Today all eyes are on India and its renewable program. Year 2020, 100GW and $100 B are the most trending topics. Taking cue from these developments we urged the industry to express their views on “Mission 100GW: Challenges, opportunities and Strategies for Success”, the response that we got was tremendous and beyond our expectations. We thank experts and leaders from the industry for sharing with us their views and valuable feedback on the topic.

Mission 100GW is our attempt to look beyond near term and focus on the big picture.

We once again thank you all for making this birhtday posible!!!

Santosh Editor Santosh@supersmartenergy.com

Like SmartEnergy on Facebook @

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Printed, published and edited by Santosh Khadtare on behalf of Genesis Info-Media, published at 208, pushp plaza, above snehanjali shworoom, manvelpada road, Virar Dist Thane and printed at M B Graphics, B 28, 3rd Floor Shri Ram Industrial Estate,Wadala West, Mumbai.

4 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

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SmartEnergy

NEWS THIS MONTH

Contents

View this issue online on www.supersmartenergy.com

22

50

MISSION 100 GW Challenges, Opportunities &

52

EXPERT SPEAK Dr. Abhimanyu Detha CEO & Managing Director Gangadan Energy Private Limited

IN CONVERSATION K. Srinivasa Rao Head of Business Development- India & Sub Continent, Hitachi Zosen India Private Limited

Strategies for Success

18

SPOT LIGHT Characteristic Measurement of PV Systems Authored by Klaus M. Schulte

44

IN FOCUS Innovating for India's Wind Energy Future Authored by Rohan Singh

56

SPECIAL REPORT Intersolar India 2014

61

CURTAIN RAISER intelect 2015

08. News Update 60. Product Review 61. Events Watch

58

SPECIAL REPORT Energy Storage India 2014

6 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

 www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH

Tata Power Solar completes 25 years of harnessing solar power to transform lives Tata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar player, today announced the completion of 25 years in the global renewable energy space. A pioneer in the Indian solar market, Tata Power Solar has touched the lives of over 30 million people and reduced carbon footprint by more than 6.2 million tonnes as of 2014.

With businesses in cell & module manufacturing, EPC (engineering, procurement & construction) services and off-grid solutions, Tata Power Solar is one the oldest solar energy companies in the world. They were recently ranked the #1 third-party EPC player, #1 domestic module supplier and #1 rooftop solar player in the industrial and commercial segment, for 2014, by Bridge to India. Tata Power Solar is globally recognized for its quality, efficiency, customer care and

reliability, and has more than 8 lakh off-grid solar installations / products across the country.

Commenting on the occasion, Ajay Goel, CEO, Tata Power Solar said, “Our 25 year journey is a testimony to the path-breaking work done in transforming lives of communities across the country. We hope to help countless customers adopt cleaner and efficient means of energy adoption, as well as mobilize communities with insufficient access to energy. As we steadily tread forward, we aim at expanding our reach into deeper parts of the country where we can contribute towards sustainability and make a mark by improving lives of millions more.”

The company has strived to make solar power accessible to the far-flung regions of India, touching thousands of lives in every corner of the country.

From farmers in Andhra Pradesh to fisherfolk in West Bengal, and from sheepherders in Kashmir to shopkeepers in Tamil Nadu, Tata Power Solar continues to energize communities. Having built strong partnerships with numerous governments, nonprofits and rural banks, Tata Power Solar has empowered those mired in energy poverty, and provided many access to electricity for the first time.

To mark their 25th anniversary, Tata Power Solar has launched a coffee table book titled “Chasing The Sun”, showcasing the impact of solar across India. A blend of reminiscent images of regions and lives of people transformed

by Tata Power Solar, the book was recently launched at the TERI ‘Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development’ held in New Delhi ■

Vikram Solar winner of EPC World Award 2014 Vikram Solar, internationally acclaimed enterprise which specializes in manufacturing of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and EPC contracts for solar power plants, won the EPC World Award in the category Outstanding Contribution in Renewable Energy EPC. Vikram Solar’s EPC division provides end-to-end EPC and O&M solutions with a guaranteed efficiency and the team has a proven track record of 420 MW installed solar capacity implemented worldwide including 70 MW in India. Currently the EPC team is working on a 48 MW PV power plant in Madhya Pradesh as well as on India’s first floating solar power plant which will be located in Kolkata.

The EPC World Awards rec-

8 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

ognise and honour companies and individuals broadly covering the entire infrastructure, energy, EPC and construction industry on the basis of their qualitative and quantitative performance during the year.

Now in its 5th year, it is the foremost event acknowledging the accomplishments of those active in the Sunil Rathi Receiving EPC World Awards mentioned market segments and has evolved as one of the VDMA – the German Engithe most cherished industry neering Federation as well as recognition awards in India. the European Business and Held on Dec. 18th the event Technology Centre ■ was supported by knowledge partner Ernst & Young (EY) and  www.supersmartenergy.com

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Rays Power Infra bags India’s largest Waaree Energies single solar EPC project of Essel Infra collaborates with GTAT on ‘Merlin’ Rays Power Infra Pvt. Ltd., one of Commenting on this, Mr. Ketan the biggest Solar EPC companies Mehta, Director, Rays Power Infra technology in India, today, announced bagPvt. Ltd. Said, “We are proud to ging of the largest single Solar EPC project of Essel Group. Rays Power Infra has been chosen for Complete Design, Engineering, Procurement and Construction of the project. The company is all set to execute these projects in Punjab and UP in record time of three months. The total capacity of these plants in Punjab and UP is 31.5 MW and 55 MW respectively and is expected to generate power by April 2015.

Together, they will power more than 30,000 households and is equivalent to planting 1.3 lac trees every year.

The total investment outlay on these projects is 700 crores. The power that will be generated will be sold to respective state governments at INR 8.5 per unit. The projects are in line with PM Narendra Modi’s aggressive plans to ramp up India’s solar power generating capacity to 1,00,000 MW by 2022 from roughly 3,000 MW currently.

be associated with Essel Group in execution of these land mark solar power projects in India. We have ramped up our in-house capabilities to execute up to one Mega watt every day in order to meet the timelines. We will erect 3 lac solar panels on an area of 400 acres in about 100 days.

These are exciting times for the sector and we hope to make India a power surplus country by 2022.”

“We have a long standing association with Rays Power Infra, which is one of the leading Solar EPC companies in the country today. We are confident that the team at Rays Power Infra would be able to deliver quality service within the stipulated time-frame.

The project is in line with the new government’s mission to ramp up solar power capacity five-fold to 100 GW by 2022,” said Harshad Joshi, Head Procurement, Essel Infra ■

HPPPL Bets Big on Clean Energy The government's target of achieving 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2022 has made renewable energy the future focus of conventional power generation companies such as Hindustan Powerprojects, which plans to invest Rs.12,000 crore over the next two years to install 2 gigawatts of clean electricity.

This amount is much more than what the company will invest in thermal generation over the same amount of time. This is because conventional power takes longer to build and so the investment is spread out over a longer period of time.

In making huge investments in

10 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

renewable energy, Hindustan Powerprojects can be seen to be broadly following the current trend line in India.

According to Ratul Puri ,Chairman –HPPPL over 2017-2022, India can create 100 gigawatts of solar capacity but only 50 gigawatts of coal thermal power. This implies that India will invest over two times more in solar energy. Adding 10-15 gigawatts of wind energy to this, the investment may be 2.5 times more in renewable than in conventional power. “So we will follow the trend line India is following. That's where the future lies” ■

One of India’s largest PV module manufacturer’s, Waaree Energies said it would collaborate with GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) on incorporating its new ‘Merlin’ technology into its existing production lines.

W a a r e e noted that it intended to address “Indian market’s diverse needs that range from multi-megawatt solar farms to low cost distributed power implementations,” with the use of GTAT’s cell metallization and interconnect technology, which the company claims the elimination for the need for tabbing and stringing processes, and an 80% cost reduction in silver paste consumption and an overall 10% cost reduction in system costs.

Waaree said in statement that it “plans to aggressively participate in the Indian EPC/IPP markets and offer industry best-of-class LCOE metrics.”

GTAT had said back in March, 2014 that it expected its first orders for the Merlin technology “soon” and expected its first customers to be based in Asia.

Waaree also noted that in addition to the GTAT cooperation in India, both companies were exploring the possibility of Waaree establishing a USbased module assembly plant to expand into the US market, using the Merlin technology. GTAT’s pilot production facility for the Merlin technology is based in California ■

 www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH

solar-energy credits price cut to boost demand According to reports, India cut the floor price for solar energy credits to revive demand as companies try to meet their year-end obligations for energy produced from renewable sources. Each solarcredit certificate will have a floor price of Rs.3,500, according to an order by the government’s Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. The maximum price will be Rs.5,800.

The prices of non-solar renewable certificates remain unchanged. The demand for solar energy certificates hasn’t picked up even as the fiscal year-end approaches on 31 March, said Vishal Pandya, director, REConnect Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The government requires state-run electricity distributors and large industrial companies to get as much as 10% of their energy from renewable. Companies not able to meet their obligations must purchase electricity from clean-power plants sold over power exchanges in monthly trading sessions ■

MNRE makes Rooftop Solar competitive, halves Subsidies Bogged down by subsidy dispersal issues, and taking a cue from falling prices in the solar market, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to limit consumers who can avail subsidy benefits for installation of rooftop solar power plants. The Ministry has also indicated that it might be readying itself to reduce the quantum of available subsidy.

This one is pure logic. Consumers who are paying higher tariff for conventional power and for whom solar rooftops are viable even without any subsidy, will from now on not be able to avail subsidy benefit. The rate of solar power announced by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) will be the benchmark for deciding who can or cannot receive the aid.

In doing so, the notification also points out that a number of incentives are already available to consumers. This includes — accelerated depreciation for industries and commercial establishments, net meter-

S Gomathinayagam, director general, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), inaugurated the Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA), AMS stations and the Calibration Laboratory at Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management. G Girdhar, director-head, SRRA, NIWE; Elena Berger, department of Energy, USA; Michael Elchinger and Manajit Sengupta, NREL officials, and Tiruvallur District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao, were also present during the inauguration ■

ing, and state-specific subsidies across the country.

In a major decision, MNRE has indicated that it could also reduce the subsidy from the current 30% to 15%. A detailed notification is expected to be released in the near future. The Ministry has cited limited availability of funds as a major reason for these revisions.

The Ministry has prioritised sectors which can claim the subsidies.

In a welcome break, MNRE has also advised the government agencies and system integrators to set up grid connected rooftop projects without waiting for subsidies but keeping in view of the viability of the project.

MNRE had already ended the central financial assistance of 30% capital subsidy for solar water heaters.

While a lot of hue and cry is expected in the short term from PV installers who were solely dependent on subsidies for their business, this is a step in the right direction and will be a boon to installers that are more competitive ■

India blacklists two domestic solar companies The solar firms HBL Power Systems and Veddis Solar have been placed on a blacklist by India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, according to a statement on the department's website.

The document, states that the reason HBL Power Systems has been placed on

the blacklist was, "Company came as L1 in the tenders.

However the projects were not executed."

With Veddis Solar, the MNRE said that it had been placed on the blacklist because, "[The] company has not executed to the placed work orders." ■

11

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

NEWS THIS MONTH

China Sunergy wins 30MW Solar India slashes duties for off-grid rooftop Module Contract in India Sunergy a specialized solar ground-mounted project in solar equipment cell and module manufacIndia. This will be the first turer, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, CEEG (Nanjing) Renewable Energy Co., Ltd., has won a 30 MW contract from Enrich Energy Pvt. Ltd, an integrated solar energy solutions provider and a pioneer in India focused on developing large scale private solar parks across India.

Enrich Energy will deploy China Sunergy's multi-crystalline modules in a groundmounted project in India's newly formed Telangana State. The solar modules will be supplied from the Company's Shanghai plant, and the shipment is expected to be completed by the end of January 2015.

Continuing China Sunergy's positive momentum in the fast-growing India market, the final selection by Enrich Energy was based on the Company's successful local market penetration with its diverse and quality product offerings.

Mr. Ankit Kanchal, Director of Enrich Energy said, "We are pleased to deepen our partnership with China Sunergy on this pivotal

private solar park in India with a Power Purchase Agreement being signed with the State Utility. Based on our cooperation with China Sunergy over the past few years, we are satisfied with the Company's dedicated team and comprehensive product offerings.

We firmly believe in China Sunergy's market presence and proven execution."

Mr. Tingxiu Lu, Chairman and CEO of China Sunergy commented, "We are honoured to be reselected by Enrich Energy for another prominent project in India.

We appreciate their pioneering model of turnkey solutions for small and largescale solar investors in India, and we look forward to jointly capturing additional market opportunities in the region. We believe this project win demonstrates our success in India and further validates our proactive commitment to the region in prior years. The Asia market remains our strategic priority, and we are confident to continue growing our business in the region in 2015."■

The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has notified that equipment for off-grid rooftop PV systems is now exempt from excise duty. The tax exemption was granted after developers notified the Ministry of Finance of the need to bring down the cost of off-grid solar installations, to also bring down the cost of generation and increase off-grid rooftop solar deployment.

MNRE said the exemption would encourage domestic solar manufacturers to supply the burgeoning off-grid solar market in India, and that it believed there was sufficient domestic manufacturing capacity to meet demand.

Also in support of rooftop solar, India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests has mandated rooftop solar to be installed at thermal power stations. New power stations will have solar rooftop installations included in construction. After feasibility studies, a three-year rooftop solar target will be implemented for thermal power stations.

The MNRE has also proposed to promote rooftop solar systems across the country by implementing the ‘Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme’ for all 1kW-500kW solar rooftops. The programme will be financed by Central Financial Assistance, with a tariff of INR24 per watt generated ■

Centre proposes 15,000-MW solar capacity by ’19 in 3 phases IIn a bid to achieve the target of 22-gigawatt solar capacity by 2022 under the national solar mission, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has proposed to set up 15,000 MW of grid-connected solar capacity in three tranches, with the first tranche of 3,000 MW likely to entail total investment of over R18,000 crore from the developers.

12 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

The first tranche is expected to be completed by 2017. The second and third tranches of 5,000 MW and 7,000 MW, respectively, will be implemented by 2019.

then commit to sell power from their plants to NTPC through its power trading arm NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) at the quoted tariff.

The scheme is proposed to be executed by NTPC that includes preparation of detailed e-bidding guidelines. As per the proposal, the developers will submit bids quoting a fixed levelised tariff for a period of 25 years. They will

The rate charged to the buyers will be weighted average tariff of the solar and thermal components (bundling ratio of 2:1), plus a trading margin of 7 paise per unit, which is expected to be attractive to utilities ■  www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH

Solar investment target revised to $100B by 2022 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ramped up his target for solar energy as he bets on renewables to help meet rising power demand and overcome the frequent outages that plague Asia's third largest economy.

India gets 2X as much sunshine as many European countries that use solar power. But the clean energy source contributes less than 1 percent to India's energy mix, while its dependence on erratic coal supplies causes chronic power cuts that idle industry and hurt growth.

Modi now wants companies from China, Japan, Germany and the United States to lead investments of $100 billion over seven years to boost India's solar energy capacity by 33 times to 100,000 megawatts (MW), said Upendra Tripathy, the top official in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

India had earlier set an investment target of $100 billion for the next five years for all types of renewable energy, with wind taking up two-thirds of the total. Solar

energy in India costs up to 50 percent more than power from sources like coal. But the government expects the rising efficiency and falling cost of solar panels, cheaper capital and increasing thermal tariffs to close the gap within three years.

Modi promised on high-profile visits to Japan and the United States last year to help solar companies overcome barriers to entering the Indian market.

"Their basic problems are who is the buyer, where is the land and can India have a regime where they can raise low-cost capital?"

Tripathy said. "These three issues have to be addressed and we are addressing them."

To create sufficient demand, power distributors will have to raise renewable energy purchases to 8 percent from 3 percent by 2020. There is also a plan to require new thermal plants to have a 10 percent renewable mix, which they can generate or buy from solar companies as credit ■

Welspun Renewables Commits Over 1 GW Renewable Capacity at Vibrant Gujarat Welspun Renewables, India’s foremost clean energy generator, has signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) - 500 MW Wind & 600 MW Solar capacities with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

INR 8300 crore investment will be poured to develop over 1 GW capacities in the state of Gujarat. The IPP made these commitments during the first day of the Vibrant Gujarat summit.

Mr. Vineet Mittal, Vice Chairman Welspun Renewables said, “We are deeply honored to the state of Gujarat for once again placing their trust in us. Welspun Renewables started its journey with Gujarat by commissioning its first clean energy project in Anjar. Gujarat has always been our natural choice in building projects not just for conducive climatic conditions but because of its investor friendly environment.”

Welspun Renewables has commissioned 308 MW solar capacities so far. It has been aggressively working to build its wind portfolio. The organization envisions developing power projects pan India, with existing projects located in other high radiation zones like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab ■

Modi government to revive Renewable Energy Bill to achieve long-term power target The Narendra Modi government has decided to revive the longpending Renewable Energy Bill in a bid to generate 1,00,000 MW of renewable energy by 2019.

The new legislation aims to ensure that 10 per cent of the county's power requirement is met by renewable energy sources by 2020. The Bill seeks to plug the loopholes in the Electricity Act of 2013 and the Energy Conservation Act of 2001 while

14 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

augmenting the energy supply by substituting fossil fuels besides promoting the development of renewable energy technology Through a multi-tier institutional framework, the draft bill seeks to create a National Authority on Renewable Energy (NARE) at the Centre with similar authorities at the state, district, village and Mohalla levels.

A policy will be made in accordance with the tariff policy and

a National Renewable Energy Technology Commission is proposed to be set up to promote research and development of renewable energy resources. The draft legislation places a binding legal obligation on all distribution licensees, captive and open-access consumers besides all kinds of consumers for purchase of a minimum percentage of electricity from renewable sources ■  www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH

Gamesa scales up Suzlon expresses an intent to Indian ambition develop upto 3000 MW of clean Gamesa has inaugurated its expanded energy projects in Gujarat wind turbine nacelle manufacturing facility in Mamandur, India, and reaffirmed plans to invest €100m in its business in the country. The production line now has an annual capacity of 1.7GW and will be used in the main to produce the G114 2MW model, which the Spanish manufacturer expects to introduce to the Indian market next year.

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting, Gamesa chairman Ignacio Martín said: “In order to reinforce our commitment to development of the country’s wind energy sector, over the next five years we plan to invest around €100m in strengthening our manufacturing capabilities, further developing our local supply chain and increasing our wind farm development pipeline."

The facility, sited close to Chennai, can also roll out the G97 2MW machine simultaneously. Both turbines are part of Gamesa’s 2MW to 2.5MW platform, some 500MW of which have already been installed in India.

The factory started operations in July 2013 and has to date manufactured 900MW of 850kW and G97 2MW turbines ■

Suzlon Group, the world’s fifth largest* wind turbine maker has expressed intent to develop clean energy projects in Gujarat of ~3000 over the next five years. Suzlon took up the challenge put forth by Shri Narendra Modi of establishing 2000 MW wind energy in Gujarat and till date has already generated 1800 MW thus accounting for 20% of Suzlon’s total pan-India capacity of over 8250 MW. The wind energy projects will attract investments with an aim to create sustainable economic growth for the state in addition to reinforcing the “Make in India” campaign initiated by the Indian Government.

As part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the project has

the potential to create 6000 direct and 75,000 indirect jobs in the state.

Speaking on the occasion Suzlon Group Chairman Tulsi Tanti said, “Renewable energy is the key catalyst for the economic growth of our country.

Wind energy will give a fillip to the manufacturing industry in the country. With the Central government’s goal of “Make in India”, Vibrant Gujarat is poised to attract investments and establish linkages across various the value chain participants.

This will reinforce Gujarat’s position as India’s leading market in renewable energy and illustrate the state’s commitment to power a low-carbon economy ■

IWEA, the apex body for Wind Energy Industry in India launched Indian Wind Energy Alliance (IWEA) an apex body for Wind Energy Industry in India was launched by Shri Piyush Goyal, the Hon'ble Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India.

IWEA is a consortium of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) and the Wind Independent Power Producers Association (WIPPA), the two leading trade bodies representing respectively the manufacturing and investing or customer side of the wind business. The objective behind the formation of this alliance is to promote and protect the inter-

ests of all stakeholders of the Wind Energy Industry including wind energy producers, investors, manufacturers, component makers and other stakeholders.

Present at the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said, “There is need to enhance wind power development in the country, and the government will provide all the necessary support to the industry to achieve the target of 10,000 MW of wind power installations every year. The formation of IWEA will not only benefit the Wind Energy Industry as a whole but also partner with the Government in fulfilling Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to bring power to every home by 2019”

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Sumant Sinha, the first Chairman of IWEA and Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, said, “The potential of the wind sector in India is far greater than what is currently being projected and the formation of IWEA will provide an impetus to the wind energy industry by establishing and assisting scientific laboratories, workshops, institutes and organization in the Wind Energy Industry. There is a lot of scope for the wind energy sector to grow in India and Government’s support is critical to achieving the national objectives specially given the government’s renewed interest on wind and other renewable.” ■

15

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

NEWS THIS MONTH QUICK TAKES NATIONAL WindStream Technologies to build its second manufacturing facility in Hyderabad WindStream Technologies announced that it has broken ground on its 50,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility outside of Hyderabad, India. This new facility will be the Company's second manufacturing plant focused on building its proprietary SolarMill® products and designed to service the India and South Asia markets.

Fortum commissions 10 MW solar plant in M.P Fortum Finnsurya Energy has completed its 10 MW solar power project in Madhya Pradesh, making it the first plant to be commissioned among the projects awarded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission’s Phase II Batch I round of bidding.

For this project, Fortum used 125,000 thin-film modules based on cadmium-telluride technology.

This is Fortum’s second investment in the Indian solar sector.

Azure Power to develop 1-GW solar farm in India's Rajasthan Azure Power India Pvt Ltd has signed an accord with the government of Rajasthan to develop a 1,000-MW solar project in the north-western Indian state. The company calculates that its total investment in Rajasthan will surpass INR 13 billion (USD 205.5m/ EUR 167.6m) with that scheme.

Rolta Power scouts for Chinese partner for solar cell facility With a view to emerge as a complete solutions provider in the solar power sector, diversified Rolta Group plans to set up a cells manufacturing facility and is in talks with Chinese firms for

16 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

the same. The company recently made a foray into the sector by setting up a 60 MW photovoltaic modules manufacturing capacity here with an investment of around Rs 100 crore.

"We want to move a step ahead in this sector which is poised to grow considering the emphasis given by the government. We are manufacturing modules, but now we want to also include cells in our portfolio," Rolta Power Promoter and Managing Director Aditya Singh said in a release.

JinkoSolar delivers PV modules for project in India China’s JinkoSolar has delivered 21.4MW of solar PV modules to Harsha Abakus Solar for a ground mounted project in India. The facility in Charanka, Gujarat, is in a region with one of the highest solar irradiation zones in India and deploys seasonal tracking technology. The project is expected to generate approximately 34.24m kWh of electricity and spare the emission of 30,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. It will be jointly owned by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited and Gujarat Power Corporation Limited.

Welspun Energy forays into solar rooftop space, builds 3 projects Renewable energy major Welspun has ventured into the solar rooftop segment by commissioning three projects.

The solar projects have been financed through 100 per cent equity infusion, with inflow split in three phase — pre, mid and post construction. The projects have been set up to meet captive power needs of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Ansal University and Medanta Medicity Hospital. Energy generated will help lower their thermal energy consumption, thereby reducing operating expenses, the statement released added.

ACME Group to invest $107 mn in Telangana state ACME Group, India's leading solar power player in India today announced that it has emerged as the successful Bidder for 80 MW solar PV power projects at the 500 MW tender opening under RFP floated by Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSPDCTL).

German firm TUV Rheinland commissions Solar PV modules testing facility at Sriperumbudur Germany based TUV Rheinland, a worldwide leader in Testing, Training, Inspection, Consulting and Certification, has announced that it has commissioned a Solar PV modules testing facility at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai.

Set up over an area of 5,000 sq. ft., this project called PVKlima, has been spearheaded by TUV Rheinland in collaboration with the Government of Germany, with an aim to answer the fundamental questions regarding the extent to which climatic factors have an impact on the energy yield of Solar PV modules.

SunEdison to enter Indian wind energy market The US solar major, SunEdison, will enter the Indian wind energy market, Pashupathy Gopalan, who heads the company’s Asia-Pacific operations, said in a statement released.

Suzlon Energy unveils hybrid wind turbine generator Suzlon Energy has launched a new hybrid wind turbine generator that is nearly one-and-a-half times taller than the conventional wind turbine. The first of the 120 m tall hybrid tower was launched at a wind farm at Naniber in Kutch district of Gujarat ■

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SPOT LIGHT

Characteristic Measurement of PV Systems

P

hotovoltaic systems generally do not contain serviceable elements, which is one of the main advances of the PV technology in relation to other technologies. Nevertheless several technical problems can guide to less energy yield and subsequently to a loss of money. That is why PV systems needs frequent monitoring and checks, beginning with the check of the feed-in over alarms generated by inverters up to online monitoring systems. Additionally a visual inspection should be done frequently, which may show surface pollution, damages or for example birds droppings (which may reduce the power of the module significantly!).

Seve r a l standards like the EN 62446 specifies necessary measurements for the technical documentation of a newly build or already working

18 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

Article Authored by Klaus M. Schulte, Managing Director PV-Engineering GmbH

PV installation.

At least if a loss of energy yield is detected, the reason for this misbehaviour has to be detected urgently. Different instruments allow the inspection of different attributes of the PV generator: thermal imaging cameras can show regions with higher (hot spot) or lower temperatures, where these temperature differences may be the result of technical problems in the module under test. Electroluminescence cameras are able to show defects in the structure of the PV cells very clearly.

But none of these both methods allow the determination of the Peak Power (which is the maximum power under Standard Test Conditions) of the modules under test, which is relevant for claims since this value is warranted at the sales date.

That is why it is so important to check the real installed Peak Power directly after installation and each time you are in doubt. Ideal is the check at the installed generator, since every dismounting/mounting of modules cost a lot of time, money and includes the risk of damages to the modules.

the curve tracers series PVPM returns the following values: short circuit current Isc, open circuit voltage Voc, the complete characteristic of the generator (that means its behaviour under load between short circuit and open circuit), the current maximum power (which is not the peak power!), the measured temperatures and the irradiance.

Based on these values the PVPM device uses our patented methods to calculate the values estimated at STC (1000W/m2, 25°C, AM1.5): currents, voltages, the peak power, the internal series resistance Rs, the internal parallel resistance Rp, and some more.

The comparison from measured and estimated values (data sheet) gives a quick picture of the performance as well as possible problems of the PV generator.

Characteristic uncovers errors

›› Low peak power, low fill factor ›› Low currents ›› Low voltages ›› High series resistance (connector/cabling problems), mostly combined with low peak power ›› Irregular shape of the IVcurve (mismatch, partial shading, pollution)

After the measurement of the IV-curve of the PV generator (module, string or even array)

The PVPM carries out the measurements very fast (between 20ms and 1s), so that  www.supersmartenergy.com

a fluently process in the measurement of big PV fields is given.

PVPM devices for up to 1000Vdc and up to 100Adc (for special purposes) are available.

While using this technology a check of the PV generator is done quick and with high accuracy on site.

This measurement approach can be found in-depth in the book „Photovoltaik Engineering - Handbuch für Planung, Entwicklung und Anwendung“, Andreas Wagner, Springer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-540-30732-7.

Properly prepare measurement As for a complete IV-characteristic measurement the PV generator also will be shorted, it must be disconnected from any load or inverter before measuring (otherwise the measurement would short-circuit as well the input of the inverter, which will result in

danger and serious damage). On the other hand the short-circuiting of a PV generator, even over a longer period of time, is possible without damage for the PV generator.

One of the elements that decide about the accuracy of the results is the irradiance reference sensor.

The standard describes a reference cell, that behaves spectral identical to the module under test.

That is why we prefer calibrated reference cells, that are build like a small module, with solar glass cover, EVA embedding and Tedlar back surface. The cell has to be the same material as the module (for example a mono-crystalline sensor for a mono-crystalline module). This set-up will behave like the tested module in nearly every detail and allows good precision of the results.

As explained above, the irradiance sensor is essential for the accuracy of the STC calculations.

Unfortunately these kind of sensors are not available for every technology. Additionally such sensors for thin-film modules, would show (more or less) the same dynamic behaviour as their “big brothers” – no favourable conditions for a calibrated reference.

Hint: even a regular PV module can be used as a sensor in special cases.

The irradiance sensor is attached before the characteristics measurement directly beside or next to the PV modules. Theoretically it is conceivable to align the sensor at a different location (in the yard) with the same angles (azimuth and elevation) to the sun as the modules. But since the sensor receives not only direct irradiation but as well diffuse light, the result of the irradiation measurement will depend on the ambiance: a green lawn or a white gravel pit will reflect different portions of light...

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SPOT LIGHT rent, will flow now briefly into the empty capacitor, the voltage is near 0V. While charging the capacitor, the voltage rises and the current decreases until, with full charged capacitor, no more current will flow - the open-circuit voltage is reached.

Flat Curve

Shading & Match Losses This potential source of error should be considered!

does unfortunately not exist for PV technology.

There is no “Standard Watt-Peak”

The process of measuring in detail

Speaking of accuracy: the accuracy of performance measurements is quite limited in photovoltaic. The “Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt PTB” in Braunschweig, the highest instance for this kind of technology, is able to calibrate for example crystalline single cells with an accuracy of slightly better than 1%.

The IV-characteristic measurements require sunny, stable weather with a sufficient irradiance in the plane of the modules to be measured. The standard responsible for these measurements (IEC 60904) requests an irradiation of at least 800W/m2.

According to our own studies irradiances of 500-600W/m2 are already suitable to carry out a performance check.

Every authority depending on these results will have unavoidable less accuracy. In the laboratory of TÜV Rheinland in Cologne an accuracy of 3% for crystalline modules is reached with a still high technical overhead. On-site measurements under natural sunlight can reach an accuracy of about 5%.

A high-accuracy “Standard Watt Peak”, comparable to the “Standard Meter” in Paris for the length,

20 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

To force the PV generator into the various areas of its IV-characteristic, a controlled transistor is used for small power sources (cell or single module). The use of capacitors has prevailed at higher power (strings or arrays): the capacitor is discharged before the measurement, then the PV generator will charge the capacitor. The maximum current of the generator, the short-circuit cur-

During this process, many current-voltage points are measured by the meter. This can be represented immediately as diagram on the graphical display. Since this process of charging is very smooth you can measure as well module types with high capacity.

The speed of measurement plays an important role for the accuracy. On the one hand the IV-curve should be recorded in shortest possible time, so that fluctuations in ambient conditions have only a limited impact on the result, on the other side, the characteristic may be distorted if the measurement runs too quickly: many (mostly thin-film) modules have a more or less high capacity, and exactly this capacity “bends” the IV-curve at too short measuring times. Inspection time should be significantly more than 10 ms for a single module for this reason to obtain a precise and reliable characteristic. Unfortunately, this requires a large load capacitor, which inevitably affects the dimensions of the instrument.

What can the measurement fulfil?

It has already been mentioned, that the appropriate generator power, converted to STC conditions (peak power) can be compared directly with the manufacturer’s data. It is clear to read, whether the PV generator reaches the required performance. A second result of the IV-curve measurement (with e.g. a device PVPM1000CX) is the internal series resistance. This value indicates whether the resistances of wiring, plugs, etc. existing in the PV generator are within the range of tolerable values.

If this error appears in the results, it can be eliminated and  www.supersmartenergy.com

the correctness subsequently confirmed by a quick new measurement of the characteristic curve - additional power losses are avoided. A measurement of the series internal resistance is possible only with instruments of the type PVPM (patented method).

Shadings are frequent At PV generators, a frequent problem is the performance loss due to

(partially) shading of modules/ strings. Circumstances and shading effects are sometimes harde to notice with the naked eye and are therefore easily overlooked.

But even small shaded areas can lead to significant performance and loss of earnings.

Shadow effects are very easy to identify in a measured IV-characteristic. The “bump” in the IV-curve immediately suggests this problem. Of course a technical problem of the module can produce the same shape of the IV-curve.

If only one module is affected, and if this module is not found immediately, a little trick can help:

cover one module completely with something like a cardboard box and make an IV-curve measurement. If the right module was covered the error will disappear from the IV-curve (because the covered module does not produce power and thus will not affect the IV-curve).

The measurement of I V characteristic is a meaningful instrument to assess the state of the PV generator and allows, compared to the thermal imaging, the determination of power losses, as well as a quantitative evaluation of errors in the generator.

The summary for the practitioner: Fast error detection is the most important requirement for a quick troubleshooting. And an early detection of generator defects facilitates warranty processing ■

For further information please contact: Four-C-Tron, Phone: 080-25252506, Email : fourctron_cs@yahoo.com

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

NEWS THIS MONTH

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he energy landscape is undergoing a change all over the world. More countries are embracing renewable resources in an attempt to phase out consumption of fossil fuels. India, with its huge population, economic growth and ever increasing demand for electricity has more than one reason to do so. One is to reduce dependence on coal and gas that have witnessed volatility in prices, which has led to high energy prices in turn affecting the government’s aim of providing affordable and reliable power to all, second is to meet high demand for energy and the last is to address the larger issue of global warming and climate change.

India’s Renewable Program The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a major initiative

by Government of India, was launched under the leadership of former PM of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. The aim of the program is to establish India as a global leader in solar energy by creating enabling policy conditions and encouraging adoption of solar technology both at centralized and decentralized levels. But, inaction, adverse decisions and uncertainty of policy decisions on part of the previous

22 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

government had lead to a general feeling of gloom and despondency in the industry. The subsequent election and change of guard at the centre has altered the mood and a new hope has swept the industry.

That the newly elected government is serious and committed to promote green and clean energy can be gauged by the immediate decision that the new government took on coming to power when it dropped plans to impose antidumping duties on solar panels imported from U.S, China, Taiwan and Malaysia. The real push to the sector came when the MNRE revised the target of generating power from solar energy under JNNSM from earlier 20GW to 100 GW and PM Modi significantly raised solar investment goal to $100 B by 2022. To put the number in perspective the current solar installed capacity in the country is 3,000 MW, to ramp up the current 3,000 MW to 100,000 MW means an annual growth of over 55% in 8 years, requirement of massive amount of barren and non productive land, and massive infrastructure for evacuation and grid connection. Though the target looks impractical it is definitely possible, only requirement would be the will power to implement

and achieve the targets.

The narrative for wind industry in India is no different, at 22 GW India is fifth largest installed wind power capacity in the world.

Due to the withdrawal of Accelerated Depreciation (AD) in 2012 the sector saw a significant decline in capacity growth. The restoration of depreciation benefit has changed the fortunes for the sector; the sector is expected to attract investment to the tune of Rs. 20,000 crore as companies across sector add 3,000 MW of capacity powered by this renewable source of energy.

As per GWEC estimates the annual capacity addition in India would increase to 5GW. The Indian government, however, has intentions to add 10GW capacity over the next 5 years. The government hopes to achieve this ambitious target by encouraging developers to set up projects in regions with comparatively low wind power potential. The government also announced plans to set up offshore wind energy projects following which leading wind energy solutions providers also announced plans to set up similar large-scale offshore projects.

The government also plans to launch the National Wind Energy  www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH Mission in the near-term. While the details of this mission are not known yet it could significantly boost India’s wind energy capacity. As per GWEC estimates, the wind capacities can surpass 150 GW if more ambitious policies are implemented.

Targeting 100GW by 2020 2020 is going to be a salient year for renewable energy, there are quite a bit research conducted and targets set that set this near future date as an important milestone. Though the government aims to generated 100GW from solar energy alone by 2020 and 10GW of capacity from wind

energy every year over the next 5 years, one can positively envision India to generate 100GW from renewable resources, solar and wind combined, by 2020.

countries leadership to deliver on the promise. At the same time we apologise to you all for the liberty we have taken in short listing and publishing the top 15 responses.

Considering that India is all set on a mission to achieve 100GW from renewable resource by the year 2020, we invited industry experts and business leaders to express their views on the mission 100GW- The challenges, opportunities and strategies for success.

Reading the responses one can definitely say that the Indian renewable industry, solar and wind both, has gained critical significance, is full of potential and is poised for long and sustainable growth. The industry is prepared for the challenge and is ready to partner with the government in making India a renewable hub.

We got a huge response to our initiative and we thank the industry for their enthusiasm, optimism and their belief in the unfolding renewable story in India, trust in the vision and confidence in the

Mission 100GW is our attempt to look beyond near term and focus on the big picture ■

Mission 100 GW Preview Pg 24. Manoj Kumar Upadhyay - Stringent steps could ensure Mission 100GW becomes a reality I Pg 26. Ramesh Kymal - Stricter compliance of RPO I Pg 27. Hitesh Doshi – Encourage entrepreneurs to be part of this revolution I Pg 28. Sanjay Aggarwal - Sheer scale and momentum can make this a reality I Pg 30. Mariasundaram Antony - Wind will play an important role I Pg 31. Ketan Mehta - 100 GW is “very ambitious” target I Pg 33. Anurag Garg - Promote smart energy systems I Pg 34. Dr. Abhimanyu Detha - The current market dynamics do not reward innovation and R&D by manufacturers I Pg 35. Shubham Sandeep - It will require a change in mindset I Pg 36. Vineet Mittal - Solar energy should be made a priority sector I Pg 38. Abhijit Kulkarni - Assure the investors of a viable market to invest I Pg 39. Mahathi Parashuram - Address uncertainties in the policies immediately I Pg 40. Dr. Anil K. Garg - Focus on Smart Cities I Pg 41. Rajya Ghei - A perfect ally for the 24X7 power to all I Pg 42. Sreehari Marar - The State government should promote small-scale projects

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

COVER STORY

Mission 100 GW

Stringent steps could ensure Mission 100GW becomes a reality by 2020 Manoj Kumar Upadhyay

Founder & Chairman, ACME Group

A

s the NDA Government prepares to tackle the challenge of boosting infrastructure, ensuring affordable homes for all and meeting other policy goals, the success of these programs will revolve around its ability to provide power across the country 24x7 – something it is already committed to doing by March 2019, including its ambitious target of generating 100 GW (100,000 MW) solar power by 2020.

But numerous hurdles need to be overcome before ambitious goals can be achieved. Presently, one-third of India’s rural and more than 5% of its urban populace (300 million-plus people) lack access to electricity. Moreover, even covered areas are subject to erratic power supplies, especially during scorching summer months. Given that two-thirds of India’s electricity is generated from coal, dependence on such polluting fossil fuels should be reduced and the percentage of clean renewable energy sources in the energy mix increased. Presently, this is barely six percent. Solar power too constitutes only one percent of India’s total energy mix.

Dismantling Barriers Given this scenario, the Union

24 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

Cabinet’s approval for establishing 25 solar parks of 500 MW capacity each, besides mega solar power projects across India, should be lauded. With such projects being

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The Government should incentivize production of renewable energy sources and promote energyefficient storage systems too eligible for Central Government financial support of Rs 4,050 crore, the Government has brought renewed focus to its target of generating 100GW solar power within the next few years. The decision to drop anti-dumping duty on import of solar cells will also boost the

100GW plan.

Despite positive moves, numerous challenges remain in solar power promotion. With the power sector’s financial woes making it difficult to secure funds at competitive rates, the prevalent sectoral cap on domestic lending compounds problems. The renewables sector should be removed from the sectoral cap for power sector lending. Instead, solar producers should be included in the list of priority sector lending for banks, which will facilitate cheaper rates for debt funds.

Alternately, there could be a separate banking limit for solar producers, distinct from the power sector limit. Although there has been some recent funding to the power sector from IFC, ADB and other international financial institutions, the country cannot expect such funding for the 100,000 MW dream. It should be borne in mind that 1 MW of a solar power plant needs approximately Rs70–80 million to commission. Funds therefore need to be tapped from multiple sources, including domestic ones, to finance a project of this magnitude.

Another major hurdle for solar power plants is the requirement of huge tracts of land. But in the past decade, land acquisition in  www.supersmartenergy.com

India has proved to be the biggest stumbling block for projects of all hues. Naturally, this would be a major challenge for power producers too. The other concomitant hurdle is the lack of evacuation facilities for the vast number of solar plants that would need to be built in the next few years to meet targets vis-à-vis the 100GW goal.

But both challenges would be resolved if the Government sets up designated solar parks, which would be the best way forward.

Furthermore, solar producers need rigorous policy support visà-vis fulfilment of solar purchase obligations by power utilities that fail to meet annual commitments.

The Government should move against defaulting discoms by imposing stringent penalties on repeat defaulters. Annual audits are necessary to ensure discoms adhere to solar power purchase obligations.

Regarding the target to generate 100GW solar energy by 2020, it will be practically impossible to float tenders for such capacities.

Therefore, like wind, solar should be brought under the Feed-inTariff Mechanism (FIT). In fact, countries such as Germany, Japan, China and the US have added large capacities based upon the FIT mechanism. Moreover, there should be a difference between AD (accelerated depreciation) and non-AD tariff in order to attract foreign investment and IPPs (independent power producers), which will help boost production targets more quickly.

Storage and Sustainability Another challenge to bedevil renewable energy, including solar power, is sustainability. For example, during monsoons and winters, the availability of sunlight is minimal or low. To promote any energy source, sustainability is imperative. This is where energy storage systems (ESS) can play a crucial role in the success of renewable energy sources by boosting their reliable and availability. Energy storage systems

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like wind, solar should be brought under the Feedin-Tariff Mechanism (FIT) can boost energy efficiency and ensure increased savings.

Several countries have acknowledged the importance of energy storage and notified mandates with tangible targets. The Government of Japan had announced installing 100 MW of energy storage projects by end 2014. The fiveyear plan of China announced in October 2011 forecasts 25 GW of storage for renewable energy.

Germany announced a subsidy for 30% of storage associated with PV in the country.

During the past decade, the introduction of lithium ion-based energy storage systems (LIB ESS) has helped increase focus on green energy generation. Various industries now utilize green energy due to its availability as a captive, continuous power supply, thereby decreasing dependence on fossil fuels or grid-connected sources. With solutions available on the megawatt-scale, ESS can provide backup to ultra-mega power projects in the renewables space to ensure continuous power supply. ESS is now used in domains such as telecom, transport, defence, utilities and others.

ESS can be especially beneficial in hinterland and remote areas prone to power blackouts because of limited or no connectivity. Additionally, they can play a key role in oil and water pumping stations, sewage systems, defence installations, hospitals and operation

theatres, where even temporary loss of power can affect the wellbeing of people or cause loss of lives.

Safe systems of power storage can help make renewable energy part of India’s mainstream energy sources and help augment the country’s share of clean energy in the overall power mix. Ultimately, the carbon footprints of all users can fall substantially, helping India curb its carbon trail and adding the nation’s mite towards worldwide efforts in controlling global warming.

While lead-acid batteries are being used for decades to store energy, these have disadvantages such as energy inefficiency, pollution, recurring maintenance, the need for frequent replacements as well as environmental hazards.

In contrast, LIB ESS offers a safer, efficient and cost-effective option to store energy.

Consequently, the Government should incentivize production of renewable energy sources and promote energy-efficient storage systems too. Policy reforms and other measures are required to create an enabling environment for investments in clean fuel. But this should be done judiciously to ensure a level-playing field for all stakeholders. Open-ended incentives can sometimes be misused by non-serious stakeholders simply seeking to capitalize on incentives in the short term, before divesting their stake to others for remunerative considerations. Suitable safeguards should be included to make certain only serious players with the wherewithal to sustain operations over the long haul are part of an enabling, efficient energy ecosystem promoting renewable sources.

Such stringent steps could ensure Mission 100GW becomes a reality by 2020 ■

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

COVER STORY Mission 100 GW

Stricter compliance of RPO clubbed with a central level Policy framework shall form the right mix of strategy for meeting the set targets Ramesh Kymal

Managing Director, Gamesa Wind Turbines Pvt. Ltd.

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he government of India recently announced an investment plan of USD 100 Billion towards renewable energy development in India in the next five years with a capacity addition target of 100GW for solar and doubling the current wind capacity to 40GW in the same period.

India lately has been initiating many efforts to revive the power sector to meet the need of our growing economy. Clean tech being drawn to the center of these developments is a very positive sign for the industry.

The Indian wind industry has an estimated potential of over 100GW at 80m height in the country, we have only captured 1/5th of the potential leaving us with a huge resource of untapped energy.

Wind power with an annual manufacturing capacity of 10000MW, the industry offers many opportunities in scaling its supply to meet the government’s target of 10GW annually.

Lately we are seeing a flurry of PSU from the conventional power sector showing their interest in investing in the renewable space. This is attributed not just to meet their renewable obliga-

26 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

tion, but it is also an outcome of the poor performance of the conventional power sector in India linked with increased shortage and cost escalation of fuel source.

The government is also making valiant efforts to raise capital to meet the projected capacity addition through low cost funding locally and through foreign collaborations. Governments effort for a public offering of the IREDA (indian renewable energy development agency), ICICI plans to develop a Clean tech funding, kfW along with German government lending 1billion for infrastructure development etc are among such initiatives.

Apart from PSU’s and IREDA we are seeing a lot of private companies and Independent Power Producers (IPP) within India diversifying and expanding their renewable portfolio. Companies like Indorama, Malpani, Greenko, CLP, Mytrah, Renew, Orange Power, Energon, Panama, etc are amongst them.

In the technology front we are seeing the industry moving towards bigger machines specifically designed to tap the low wind Indian conditions. These machines are not just bigger but are much smarter with advanced

inbuilt cutting edge technologies able to capture maximum energy from the available winds. This has opened up new possibilities for investment as many sites across India were economically unviable due to low wind conditions.

Though the industry offers great opportunities for the investors, there are certain issues haunting the industry that needs to be addressed at the right time to facilitate a smoother transition towards scaling up. Issues such as uniform and long term policy visibility across the states, stricter implementation of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO), lack of infrastructure for power evacuation, Simpler and faster process for approvals and permits, etc are being a hindrance to large scale developments. Being a part of the industry, we believe the national wind mission will be able to address these bottlenecks and facilitate growth. Having said these amendments in Electricity act and a proposed new Renewable energy act are steps already initiated towards this directive.

We believe by removing the subsidies offered to the conventional power sector we can create a level playing field for renewables as reported by HSBC and other  www.supersmartenergy.com

consulting firms, wind power has already reached grid Parity in certain states in India. Stricter compliance of RPO and proposed Renewable Generation Obligation

(RGO) clubbed with a central level Policy framework shall form the right mix of strategy for meeting the set targets. We foresee great possibilities in this field and would

be happy to see India meeting its targets and facilitate economic growth ■

Mission 100 GW

We have to encourage entrepreneurs to be part of this revolution and the recent skill development program is in the right direction Hitesh Doshi

T

Chairman & Managing Director, Waaree Group

he Indian government has decided to increase the share of renewable in the energy mix from 6.5% to 12% in the next three years. They have realized the solar potential in our country and our Prime minister has set a target of 100GW of solar power by 2022. Current solar installation in the country is around 3 GW, which means we have to install approximately 13 GW per year. According to government estimates to reach 100Gw it would require an investment of $ 110 billions. That is the size of potential market.

India will witness a solar growth at a scale, which no other country has ever seen, but to make it a reality we will have to overcome many challenges. First challenge will be to attract investment at cheaper cost than the domestic rates. At least 30% of the investment will have to come from foreign investors. The challenge lies in giving confidence to the inves-

tors about their returns; the off taker has to be financially capable to servicing the agreements.

Finding the right off taker who is buying power for right reasons at right price will make the project more bankable and give assurance to the investors.

Second challenge is ambiguity of policy around grid charges, any changes have direct impact on the profitability of the project and it’s a huge concern for the investors.

Third challenge will be land procurement and development of supporting infrastructure for power transmission and evacuation.

India wants to achieve scale in a very short time frame so the strategy of UMPP’s and utility scale projects are the right way to go now. But only when solar systems becomes as mainstream as mobile phones we can say that we have realized its full potential. The biggest strength of solar is that it can produce power at the point

of consumption. We have to allow for net metering across country so that people can start generating electricity on their own. We also have to ensure availability of finance for such projects. We have to move from the current upfront subsidy scheme to providing soft loans, which will work better.

We need to find ways and means for diesel abatement. Currently 90GW of power is generated by DG sets, we need to put a serious dent into this market.

This market exists because grids are not able to reach them and at some places they cannot fulfill the complete requirement.

We have to encourage entrepreneurs to be part of this revolution and the recent skill development program is in the right direction. We would need a lot of installers and service providers to reach this lofty goal ■

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

COVER STORY Mission 100 GW

Game Changers always look impossible in beginning, but sheer scale and momentum can make this a reality Sanjay Aggarwal

MD, Fortum India Pvt. Ltd.

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f you pick up a dictionary and look for the definition of “Game Changer”, it is defined as “a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way”. Advent of Solar Power on a large scale hitherto unseen globally is a game changer in more ways than one. It has transformed the whole energy landscape, created a new solar economy, shaken & disrupted utilities, given a new meaning to “renewables” taking centre stage. The ferocity and speed with which Solar Energy has grown has stunned regulators, transmitters, distributors all over, forcing fundamental changes in how electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed.

Now superimpose this to Indian context where Solar Power has installed capacity of less than 3 GW today, and Govt has expressed intent to pick a target of 100 GW by 2022!. Now compare this to total installed Solar capacity worldwide which increased from 3.7 GW in 2004 to 139 GW in 2013!. We want to do similar scale in India which the whole Globe together accomplished in last decade!!.

Now reflect back and think about the trials & tribulations that Solar

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Power went through in last decade and it would be naïve to expect that we in India would not go thru them albeit with a hindsight

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All India needs to do right now is to move away from being a good marketer to a good implementer with all the right policies to help achieve this target of experience. Can it be done?, Game Changers always look impossible in beginning, look at internet, mobile communication, E-commerce, but sheer scale and

momentum can make this a reality. Make no mistake, the credit for achieving a 3 GW number from a very modest base of 0.03 GW in less than 4 years cannot be taken away from the regulators & other stakeholders.

The general consensus is that India truly has a potential to produce hundreds of giga watts of solar power if it follows a coordinated and focused approach towards providing enabling environment for successful project implementation.

The recently released paper by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) estimates 748 GW as realizable potential of solar power in India and given that we are still expecting to grow more than 6% Y-o-Y with majority of our population & industries reeling under regular power cuts, we have a long way to go for ensuring “Quality power for all”. Solar can be the game changer for India. More so, with the recent decline in capital cost and focus shifting towards sustainable way of meeting energy security of the country. However, to achieve this 55% of annual growth in next 8 years with an outlay of more than $ 100 billion, the government has to focus on

 www.supersmartenergy.com

the following: ›› Land Availability: For a 100 GW capacity, approximately 5 lac acres of area would be required and majority of it would be from ground mounted solar plant.

Given the scattered ownership structure of lands in India, it is a challenge even for government agencies to aggregate lands and makes it available for solar project development. ›› Evacuation Infrastructure: As solar power is sunlight dependent, a large solar array could be generating large amounts of energy for the grid one minute and then completely shut off the next minute creating power fluctuations that can affect grid infrastructure. A 100 GW of solar would affect the stability of the current grid infrastructure. Also, dedicated grid infrastructure only for solar wouldn’t be cost effective. Therefore, a proper planning & significant addition to the base load in the vicinity of solar projects with well-balanced grid network will be required. ›› Further alongside increased Solar power generation, it is imperative that regulators, distributors, transmitters invest in technologies for better forecasting, energy storage and cloud tracking. It requires technology that’s much cheaper than the dedicated, high-speed IT and communications that link massive power plants and grid operations centres. ›› Rooftop Solar create a different challenge to grids. Distribution Grids will have to handle two-way power flow but they have been traditionally built to handle oneway power only. Additionally the whole customer dynamics would change as from being mere power purchasers before, customers now will have a two-way economic relationship. ›› Financing: Though the financing community has learnt & adapted well to the risks involved with Solar Projects, raising more than $ 100 bn over 8 years would be a mammoth task and India

will have to rely on all sources of money, both on-shore as well as off shore. Interest rate & currency risks shall be the major determinant in ensuring envisaged return for the investors & financiers. ›› Regulatory: There have been many contradictions in policy formulation in the past such as open access allowed but levy of prohibitory charges to ensure business for mostly inefficient state distribution utilities. Also, electricity being state subject, the policies differs across country and highly susceptible to incumbent government’s political will & motivation.

Strict enforcement of obligation on distribution companies and captive consumers to purchase fixed % of power from solar power producers, determined by state regulatory commission. Currently the obligations exist but are hardly enforced. Govt has recently indicated that these obligations would be increased and a roadmap for compliance has been suggested.

It should be addressed in right earnest.

The challenges aren’t too great to be overcome. All India needs to do right now is to move away from being a good marketer to a good implementer with all the right policies to help achieve this target.

Some of the action items, which could immediately yield, desired results are: ›› Enable right policy framework to support all segments such as: ›› Utility & large scale projects: Single window clearance, availability of cheap & clear title land, sufficient payment security mechanism in the form of budgetary support, letter of credit & escrow account, simple & progressive open access policies with sufficient visibility of applicable charges, Investment tax credit mechanism etc. Strict enforcement of solar power purchase obligations on distribution companies and captive consumers.

Large rooftop projects ›› (Commercial/Industrial): Conducive open access mechanism with low wheeling & banking charges, Net metering policy to enable offset of excess power produced, low voltage grid connectivity wherever required etc. ›› Residential Rooftop: Net metering to allow offsetting to reduce individual’s power cost, tax incentive at individual level etc. ›› Enabling smooth flow of money to ensure fast track development: ›› Separate sectoral credit exposure limit for Renewables. ›› Subsidized loan with longer tenor for certain percentage of project cost. ›› Risk hedging solutions taken up by government support in order to lower hedging cost for longer term loan. ›› Separate priority sector limit for solar. ›› Remove MAT to give a large push. 100 GW by 2022 requires a very large push as seen from a global experience.

Many of these initiatives have been discussed and debated for quite some time now but it is highly imperative that the government starts taking some actions on the ground. A lot has been talked and presented, now it is the time for all the stakeholder’s to get their acts together and show case to the world the that hundred is just a number and it so happens that it ends with only two zeroes. We have deliberated enough on problems, it’s time we start discussing and implementing “Solutions” rapidly ■

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

COVER STORY Mission 100 GW

Wind will play an important role because of the 100GW plus wind capacity we have in our wind corridors Mariasundaram Antony

General Manager, India Engineering Operations GE Power & Water

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hen we talk of renewable, we refer predominantly to Wind and Solar though Biomass and Hydro are other renewable energy options. The target of 100GW in five years is aspirational but definitely achievable if we strengthen the supply chain around Renewable power equipment, specifically for Wind and Solar. We also need stronger policies to encourage developers and investors to venture further into this space. We have a fairly mature ecosystem around Hydro energy, which was one of the first renewable energy forms implemented in the country. Biomass too has significant opportunities but needs policy support and entire fuel supply chain development to boost that energy option.

Opportunities Wind will play an important role because of the 100GW plus wind capacity we have in our wind corridors, where so far we have installed only 25GW equivalent of wind turbines to generate power.

So wind can play a key role in the 100GW target.

With the kind of investment, the wind industry can look forward to a strong supply chain around wind farm components development,

30 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

as importing the components will not work out favorably for the overall cost of a power plant over the long term. One example is the manufacturing of blades. Today we do not have too many manufacturers in this area, as it would involve investment in special technology to develop the blades from different exotic materials needing specialized processes. Another example could be tower manufacturing as we are seeing more and more push for increasing the height of the towers to capture higher wind speeds and increase the overall energy production.

From technology perspective, couple of key technologies will play a crucial role. One is technology development to extract wind energy from lower wind speeds and the second will be around integrated storage technologies which can leverage the intermittent nature of renewable energy from both wind and solar.

Today the storage solutions are not at the cost point where it can be scaled significantly. So there needs to be strong focus around developing storage technologies, which are competitive from an overall life cycle cost, standpoint.

Apart from the above, it will be important to look at technologies which can support hybrid power

generation from wind and solar in the same place.

Challenges The key challenges will be around developing the supply chain for the components of the renewable energy value chain, as well as financial support in terms of cost of capital and feed in tariff incentives to the renewable energy developers so that it can be a viable business proposition to attract more investments in this space. Apart from these, one another key challenge will be around talent – we need people with the right skills for this industry both from a manufacturing and installation expertise standpoint. A special initiative would be needed to drive skill development in this space and build a workforce into this as an attractive career option.

Policy Support Firstly, a Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) initiative is required to boost the confidence of investors and ensure compliance. The second policy need is around the whole tariff structure to incentivize the industry where in feed-in tariffs in the states have to be aligned with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commisďƒœ www.supersmartenergy.com

sion (CERC) norms with the only variable being Capacity Utilization Factor. The third is on creating open access, meaning implementing a uniform wheeling, banking & cross subsidy norm across India and streamlining approvals for allowing inter-state open access for wind energy from wind rich regions to load centres anywhere.

Finally, seamless grid integration is a pre-requisite and 100% evacuation and must run status is critical for wind power sector development. Non-evacuation of wind should be compensated.

Strategies for Success Apart from the different strategies

around technology and financial aspects, another important strategy for wind should be around logistics. The components of the wind turbine are up to 50 metres in size, which would limit their transportation through roads in most parts of our wind corridors. It will be important to develop strategies around site level assembly with component sizes as large as mentioned above. Driving implementation of Roof Top Solar solutions with the right policy support will help significantly to reduce the addition of back-up power into the nation’s energy consumption with dependence on imports.

Renewables is going to be an

important part of our energy mix as we expand our power generation capacity from the current 250GW to more than 400GW in the next 5-10 years. It will be important that as the percentage of renewables in the mix increases, we are well prepared to handle the intermittent nature of this form of energy with other forms of energy, which are more predictable from a standpoint of generation and dispatch. It will be important to incentivize the industry with the right infusion of policy reforms at this stage to support the ambitious target of adding 100GW of renewable energy in the next five years ■

Mission 100 GW

100 GW is “very ambitious” target keeping in view the funding requirements and land acquisition Ketan Mehta

Director, Rays Power Infra

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nder the new Government, India has hiked its Solar power capacity target by 5 times and seeks to install 100 GW capacity by 2022. India had around 3 GW of solar photo voltaic (PV) capacity around 2.8 GW of grid connected utility scale projects and around 200 MW of rooftop solar projects. This represents just over 1 % of the total installed capacity and much less of the generated electricity. A ramp up from current 3,000 MW to 100,000 Mw

sounds very ambitious from various perspectives.

If Achieved, 100 GW will ‘SOLARIZE’ its economy at a much faster pace in order to Improve its energy security and sustain economic growth, especially due to unstable Petroleum Market and fluctuating INR USD Exchange rate.

Challenges Before the 100 GW Project 100 GW is “very ambitious” target

keeping in view the funding requirements and land acquisition. It means an annual growth of 55 percent over 8 years, USD 100-110 BN in investments, 3.5 lakh acres of land (considering 70% installations of ground mounted Projects), massive new Power Evacuation infrastructure and convincing of State Discoms to buy all this solar power. Apart from this The Renewable Energy sector on the whole is suffering from inaction on the implemen-

» Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy 31

COVER STORY tation of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) that requires large industries and power distribution companies to procure a set minimum percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources. ›› Poor Financial Health of the State – Owned Power Distribution Companies. Investors have a doubt about the capacity of various Discoms to pay in time.

Failure of TNEB to Pay in time for Electricity purchased from earlier Renewable Energy Projects & other similar cases have jeopardized financial planning of many earlier Investors. ›› High Interest Rate for Solar Power Projects – The current rate of 13% p.a. is very high and makes the project unviable at the current tariffs. ›› Land Availability & Difficult Land laws: Land acquisition & conversion of Land use from Agriculture to Industrial is a very time consuming as well as unsure process. Recent provision in Rajasthan State policy, scrapping the requirement of Change of Land Use is a welcome step and should be followed in other states also. ›› Absence of Feed In Tariff and Less attractive Tariffs for smaller projects: Current Bidding Trends shows a levellized tariff of 6.5-6.75 per unit in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh. ›› Lack of focus on part of different State’s on solar power: High Open Access Charges, Reluctance of DISCOMs to facilitate Open Access is another grey area which need focus. ›› Grid Stability to absorb solar power: In most cases, Geographical areas with availability of Land & Higher Solar Radiation are far away from the actual points of Power Consumption, requiring use of EHV Evacuation infrastructure for power transmission from generating point to consumption point. To ensure that history of Wind Power Projects in Tamil Nadu (excessive Load shedding during Peak Wind Generation) is not repeated in Solar Power, Transmission system need to be

32 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

strengthened to absorb the Solar Power generated.

Opportunities ›› Expensive Imported coal with increasing cost trend ›› Solar being pollution free technology, keeping in mind Global warming and Pollution Free India. ›› Small Scale projects that would cover thousands of kilometers of Canals & millions of roof are also catching up fast. ›› Many States have started implementing Net-Metering regulations to increase adoption rates in domestic sector. ›› Ensuring every home in the Power- starved nation can run at least one light bulb by 2019.

Efforts for 100 GW Projects Despite the challenges, there seems to be all Stakeholders doing efforts in the direction of making it a success, some instances are given below ›› New government has gone out of its way to revoke the antidumping duties. ›› The Central govt. portion of the NSM phase 2 has been ramped up from 3.6 to 15 GW. ›› IREDA has tied up various financial institutions around the world for 12700 Crore in next three years. ›› The govt. is working on a comprehensive Renewable Energy Bill. ›› A rooftop solar policy and a revision of the Electricity Act 2003 ›› The PM is taking a personal interest in making the renewable energy investor summit in February 2015 ›› The land used for the Projects will be subsidized by the govt. to keep projects costs low. ›› State utilities will be expected to purchase at least 20 % of power generated at parks, leaving project owners free to export the remainder of electricity to consumers elsewhere in the country. ›› Bankers needed to re-organise their lending norms in such a manner that auto & home loans could be clubbed along with installation of rooftop solar panels.

›› Solar panels and other related equipment could be installed in arid and non- agricultural land on a 20-25 year lease and land owner could be paid compensation with funds generated by the investor.

Strategies 100 GW Target put India in direct competition with China, which has also announced a target to achieve an installed solar power capacity of 100 GW by 2020. Essentially, India wants to do in five years what China plans to do in 10 years.

This requires additional efforts and strategic thinking along with Strong willpower by Government.

The distributed generation target will be most challenging but perhaps also most rewarding for a sustainable growth. To facilitate this all states should make the Investor friendly Net Metering Policies as well as Feed In Tariff Policies for smaller Projects upto 3-4 MW Capacity. Additionally, accelerated depreciation benefit or tax credit could be made available to retail consumers for enhancing the viability of residential solar systems. Subsidy scheme of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has failed in accelerating the growth of Solar rooftop projects, only 36 MW out of the 285 MW (13%) of current projects have actually received it, a more supportive framework is required for Subsidy disbursement for small rooftop projects upto 1 MW. Declaration of Solar as priority sector and convincing the banks for easy funding norms with attractive interest rates will go long way into attracting investment in the sector.

National Solar Policy or other similar policy should have provisions to deal with failure of various DISCOMS to pay in time for the Power purchased from Solar Power Projects.

Strengthening of Transmission System is also must to ensure that we are able to use this capacity in practical sense ■  www.supersmartenergy.com

Mission 100 GW

The Government ought to incentivize generation of renewable energy & promote smart energy systems too Anurag Garg

Vice President, Solar BU Schneider Electric India

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s the Modi government drives India’s affairs at the centre, there is an overall trust that the economy could perform much better in the days ahead however the progression of the economy will largely revolve around the government’s ability to provide power on a 24x7 basis – something that the it has already committed to doing by March 2019, including its ambitious target of generating 100 GW (100,000 MW) solar power by 2020.

However we need to keep in mind that a number of issues have to be resolved before ambitious goals can be achieved. Presently, one-third of India’s rural population lack access to power. Moreover, even urban areas are subject to untimely power cuts, given the current situation of the power sector it could well end up playing spoilsport in the efforts to boost production in various spheres thereby stalling the growth plans of the economy. Given that twothirds of India’s power is produced from coal and knowing very well the current situation of the coal reserves worldwide we should reduce our reliance on coal and start focusing upon clean renewable energy sources.

Given the current scenario, the

Union Cabinet’s decision to revive the renewable energy bill should be lauded. With this bill being the renewable energy sector would be declared as a priority investment sector and it would regularly be a part of the country’s investment priority plan. The decision to drop anti-dumping duty on import of solar cells will also boost the 100GW plan. Government has been amending its policies and incentives from time to time to attract investment in this sector which have been well accepted by developers and in some states response has been very encouraging. However, as we move forward, it appears much more needs to be done to reach the NSM Targets of Solar Power by 2017 and 2022. Government needs to look into barriers and processes causing delay after award of project to developers and help developers with policies which can speed up the implementation of projects (for e.g acquisition of Land / allotment of Land in Solar parks, Financing by Indian Banks, Evacuation issues for Large Projects etc).

Also some minimum guidelines for tariff should be issued and state policies should have similarities to promote solar across the country.

The states with less solar irradiation and higher demand for power should have additional incentives.

While there have been differential tariffs for developers with and without accelerated depreciation, tariffs could also be differentiated by size of project as larger projects have advantages of economies of scale vs small size projects and can help promote distributed energy through small size projects.

In the Union Budget 2014-15, government’s focus on climate change and renewable energy is appreciable. Power industry welcomed the budget’s emphasis on renewable energy, as it will give an impetus to the sector which is reeling under a crisis. This budget has attempted to address the shortterm challenges for the power sector, and at the same time laid a roadmap for more comprehensive measures over the medium to long-term. Implementation of the Green Energy Corridor Project will be accelerated in this financial year to facilitate evacuation of renewable energy across the country. Rs 5 billion provided for Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Laddakh will drive scaling up from demand side through mega solar plants. Also, Rs 4bn provided for a scheme for solar power driven agricultural pump sets and water pumping stations and Rs 1bn provided for the development of 1 MW Solar

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

»

COVER STORY Parks on the banks of canals are great initiatives. Exemption of excise duties on EVS Sheets and Solar glass sheets, cooper wire for PV ribbons, machinery for solar, bearing for wind, machinery for compressed bio gas plants is an encouraging step. Also, exemption of excise duty on machineries required for initial setting up of solar energy production projects will work positively for the sector.

As far as hurdles are concerned some policy issues, confidence of financial institutions in terms of funding solar projects, land clearances and land availability are some of the challenges faced

by the solar sector currently.

One of the biggest hurdles faced

by Schneider in the Indian solar industry has been the long gestation period of the projects for large solar farms and timely disbursement of subsidy for rooftop projects. This is primarily due to land availability-related issues, high capital expenses and low investor confidence in investing in solar and fund availability for subsidy. However, the company is now positive about the timelines for project execution due to the initiatives taken by the new government such as Solar parks and many others as well as review of subsidy mechanism and fund-

ing of rooftop projects. From the policy perspective, expediting work will now involve shorter timelines due to the integration of the various energy departments, including renewable energy, into one department The Government ought to incentivize generation of renewable energy and promote smart energy systems too. Policy reforms and other measures are required to create an enabling environment for investments in renewable energy. But it should be done judiciously to ensure a level-playing field for all stakeholders ■

Mission 100 GW

The current market dynamics do not reward innovation and R&D by manufacturers Dr. Abhimanyu Detha

CEO & Managing Director, Gangadan Energy Private Limited

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read the target as aspirational: it means “as much as we possibly can”

The target of 100 GW till 2022, it’s not so difficult to do when the economics clearly favour it; we have a government that is even more bullish than the entrepreneurs.

One hundred Giga-watts of solar would provide about two thirds of a kilowatt-hour per Indian per day. Starting from a fairly low base that’s a huge amount of electricity to add, Solar is perfect in a country like India with lots of sun

34 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

around the year and poor infrastructure. Giving even the most remote shed a possibility to get electricity. India has about 300 sunny days, which amounts to around 3,000 hours of sunshine in a year. That is equivalent to 5,000 trillion kWh. It is safe to derive that India gets 70% more solar radiation than the European nations.

These statistics would surely make Indians rub their hands in glee.

The target is possible but it is going to need a superhuman effort. There is a lot to do to get the actual capacity on the ground and to the people, and if they are successful in adding renewable

capacity while improving infrastructure we might see a fair amount of coal reduction one day, consistency in the investment flow in this sector, it would not be a difficult ride for the sector from where it is today.

I believe that renewables need to be a “self-sustained industry and not dependent on government subsidies,” but “Affordable solar power” should be the primary goal of the government, and government should ensure that the best technology at the lowest cost from anywhere in the world is available in India. If the Government gives tax break of 5 or 10  www.supersmartenergy.com

years, everyone from world will flock to put in solar; and a 5 to 10 paisa cess on petrol & diesel can help in creating a corpus that can be used to support distributed generation and rooftop solar.

Piecemeal policies will not be effective, reverse bidding was leading to extreme price pressure, and the current market dynamics do not reward innovation and R&D by manufacturers.

Indian manufacturers would need a minimum manufacturing capacity of around 1000 MW in order to be globally competitive.

As far as the project funding is concerned, I do not see the government doing much, Financiers and bankers provide funding to only very big and well-known

companies, but in most cases not realized fully. The bank financing should become an easy reach even for small rooftop domestic project sizes. Then only will the solar revolution becomes true throughout the country.

As far as evacuation facility is concerned land acquisition and evacuation policies should be very clear and time saving. Evacuation infrastructure, clarity on Open Access charges, policy uncertainties and financing challenges needs to be taken care of. Infrastructure and convincing of often bankrupt state discoms to buy all this solar power is not impossible, but the challenges have to be clearly addressed.

As far as contractors are concerned, there are a few who have

learned the ropes, but they need to pull up the socks and start doing a quality job. Another issue which is soon going to crop up will be the O&M of these projects. I do not presently see any company capable of systematic methods being adopted in this field.

The fact is that the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses are extremely high (to the tune of 30%) in India, and one of the easiest ways to prevent these losses is to focus heavily on in-situ/distributed solar power generation. There will be transmission and other infrastructure constraints to contend with. The power market will also need reforms if the share of subsidy has to be reduced and more private participation is sought ■

Mission 100 GW

It will require a change in mindset at the consumer’s end for us to even get close to this target Shubham Sandeep

Co-Founder & Director, Aeon Solaris Pvt. Ltd.

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he recent statements by the Minister for Coal, Power and Renewable Energy, Shri. Piyush Goyal , outlining the government’s intention to achieve 100 GW solar installed capacity by 2022 has stirred up the sector and intrigued all the stakeholders. However, it will require an unprecedented level of capital injection and a policy revolution on the supply side and a change in mindset at the consumer’s end for us to even get close to this target.

Out of this 100 GW, government hopes to do 30-40 GW through distributed generation which would see a 100 fold increase on the current capacity of 300 MW distributed solar. I believe this segment would define how serious the government is in achieving its stated target.

Despite the obvious benefits of distributed generation, why is it lagging behind centralized solar plants in the country? In the US and German energy markets,

nearly 50% of the installed solar capacity is via the distributed mechanism whereas in India, it is less than 10%.

This is due to the reluctance of the government to affect favourable policies to avoid confrontation with the state DISCOMs. Industrial and commercial consumers who are best suited for distributed solar are also the highest revenue generators for the DISCOMs who are loathe to let go of these clients.

» Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy 35

COVER STORY Though different states have enacted varying RPO targets for consumers, the enforceability currently is very poor. On this front, Haryana has taken the lead and come out with a schedule for implementation and penalty for non-compliance. A greater number of states need to follow the lead and adopt similar stringent policies. However the government must enable this via net metering to ensure no energy gets wasted at the consumer’s end. It needs to be adopted by all DISCOMs across the country without penalising the customer. A single window clearance for grid connectivity at the low level needs to also be promoted to avoid the hassle for both the consumer and the solar company. It is expected that these issues would be addressed in the process of amendment of the Electricity Act of 2003.

The subsidy component also needs to be made redundant as subsidies set back the market due to the time lag and uncertainty associated with it, MNRE is going

to reduce the subsidy component from 30% to 15% from the upcoming financial year which is a step in the right direction. The sector would flourish better if they were abolished altogether.

If the government were able to decouple the tax benefit of owning the solar assets from the actual investment and make it tradable like in the US, the sector would open up to professional project investors as well as retail investors who would park their capital in such assets and get an additional revenue stream.

The government is in talks with KfW for EUR 1 billion loans for rooftop solar and the finalization and implementation of a robust disbursement mechanism without delay would go a long way in boosting the sector.

Distributed solar utility firms similar to SolarCity and Sunrun will be the big winners especially if they are able to access low cost debt via foreign yieldcos or vendor financing. The major deterrents

to the sector are the long term tenure (typically 15-20 years) of these PPA contracts which results in a higher risk of payment default.

This risk of non-payment of dues post installation will need to be mitigated by the choice of creditworthy consumers and financial guarantees and strong legal contracts.

There would be a large market opportunity for an aggregator with links to clients, system integrators and project financiers as he would be able to scale up quickly and would charge a fee on each project that flows through him.

There will be further opportunities in other segments but I believe the challenges in the distributed segment are far fewer with a greater return on the line.

All the stakeholders need to move as one and address the sector’s needs at the technical, financial, regulatory and policy levels for this 100 GW target to turn into reality ■

Mission 100 GW

Solar energy should be made a priority sector and excluded from conventional power sector Vineet Mittal

Vice Chairman, Welspun Renewables Energy Private Limited

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enewable energy is the key to solving the energy-related issues – energy security and climate change. Quoting ‘Abundance The book’ - The German

36 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

Aerospace Center estimates that the solar power in the deserts of North Africa is enough to supply forty times the present world electricity demand! As per estimates the irradiation received in Rajas-

than’s Thar Desert can easily generate 700 to 2,100 GW. Honorable Shri Narendra Modi is known to lay emphasis on developing solar energy based  www.supersmartenergy.com

generation. We have already seen Gujarat leading the solar energy revolution under his leadership and we are hoping for a similar development nationally.

2015 looks like a strong year for the Indian economy, especially with 100 GW targeted capacity set by the Government. By bringing forth the solar targets to 2017 from previous 2022 year target, a much needed impetus has been provided by the Government. We are already seeing a balanced holistic view towards the sector. Doing away of the anti dumping duty is an instance where the immediate need of solar generation was given predominance. Since then the whole retinue of policy measures have been announced which will attract investments into the sector while addressing some of the key issues the industry has been facing. Over 25 solar parks will allow solar developers ample opportunity to bid for large sized projects. The states are already proactively identifying land banks, thereby reducing acquisition cycle time. By setting up large capacities, the overall development cost goes down, thereby making the projects more viable for developers due to economies of scale. This positive trend could also lead to solar closing on grid parity.

However, for the success of the sector it is important that the challenges faced by power developers be addressed. ›› Separate sectoral limit and priority sector status for lending to solar energy: Solar energy should be made a priority sector and excluded from conventional power sector and has a different sectoral cap, such that banks are encouraged to lend to the sector. ›› Project financing: This is one significant area that needs attention from the government. Renewable energy financing in emerging economies faces particularly daunting challenges, but there are creative policy solutions that could potentially reduce the cost of renewable energy support by

as much as 30%.

• Cheaper international funding required for development of solar project: Raising ECB limits, Tax-free RE bonds, Special Infrastructure RE Bonds, International long-term loans from multilaterals, bilateral and other international donor organizations to be explored and encouraged.

• Allow launch of Solar Park Financing Vehicles (SPFV) to issue solar bonds and finance group of Projects • Group fund raising and financing options for solar projects, which can help reduce cost of funds and risk through pooling and scale benefits is currently unavailable. MoF should issue guidelines and policy framework for setting up SPFVs • Make long-term foreign exchange hedging available at an affordable cost for RE project: Government should work with institutions such as the Currency Exchange Fund (TCX) to identify how long-dated FX swaps could be deployed for RE in India. ›› Ensuring payment security: Given the financial health of the DISCOMs, default in payment to developers is seen as a critical risk by financial institutions. It is necessary to take constructive steps for allaying the fears of the bankers and ensure investments in the sector. ›› Evacuation Infrastructure: The project development cycle of solar & wind is six to eight months. However while the projects are ready to be commissioned, the corresponding power evacuation architecture lags behind. Developers in most states are facing this issue wherein they lose revenues because the evacuation infrastructure has not been timely developed. Therefore based on the solar potential in the state the respective state government should develop evacuation architecture. This will ensure that as soon as the projects are

commissioned the evacuation infrastructure is already in place and they are able to transmit the energy generated to the state grid. ›› Land Banks: Land availability for the projects has been a challenge. Post assessing the solar potential of each state, government land banks should be created and allocated to the projects which are coming up in the state.

Additionally, as solar and wind are non polluting industries, these projects should fall under the Non – Agricultural Land Conversion exemption. For private land to be used for setting up solar power plants stamp duty exemption may be considered. ›› RPO: Renewable Purchase Obligations should be made enforceable for state distribution licensees, open access consumers and captive consumers of power. The sector is not witnessing the percentage increase in solar energy consumption to the degree it should have experienced. Without a legal enforcement mechanism for RPOs, India will not be able to make a steady and sustainable transition to green economy.

Enforcement of RPO must for growth of RE Sector. ›› Regulatory Uncertainties: There should be a consistent policy flow and bidding rules from Central government to the state agencies. Additionally the solar tariffs should be fixed on the basis of the local conditions of the locations. ›› Statutory Clearances: The clearance process for solar projects should be made much more simplified. Mainly for the reason that solar project are sustainable and do not emit any pollutants. ›› Solar PPAs signed between various agencies and the solar developers were based on the norms defined by the appropriate regulators/state nodal agencies.

These PPAs should be considered sacrosanct for the entire tenure of the PPAs ■

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Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

COVER STORY Mission 100 GW

The government needs to assure the investors of a viable market to invest Abhijit Kulkarni

Head of Sales - Renewable Energy Segment, SKF India

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he plans of the new government to accelerate the generation of wind energy by adding an ambitious 100 GW every year is a welcome change in the Indian power scenario. Wind energy is one the best form of renewable energy where we can generate power from wind, which is freely available. India is the 5th largest producer of wind energy. The power deficiency in the country needs to be addressed by increasing the production of renewable energy and reducing energy produced from costly energy imports. Globally the energy market trend is to reduce fossil fuels in energy mix and phase out coal and oil, keeping in mind emission and climate change considerations. There has been a shift from traditional markets (Western EU and USA) to new emerging markets (several major Asian markets like China and India as well as Brazil, South Africa and Mexico). From distribution of energy generation, larger investments in cost efficient energy storage to smart energy systems, the future of renewable energy will see a promising change from what we see today.

The wind energy sector is a promising sector in India. It has the lowest capital cost and generates power at rates lower than the grid rates. The turbine industry presently employs about 60,000

38 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

people and with the expansion of the industry it is expected to create 1, 20,000 new jobs by 2020. Since the turbines are mainly installed in the rural areas, it leads to development of the rural community. The turbines have a life of 25 years and hence the energy manufacturers invest in the development of the community around it. The wind industry contributes to the manufacturing sector and also creates export potential for the country.

As the country fights to reduce the effect on environment, wind energy is the perfect example of how we can produce power and at the same time help our future generations have a better life and cleaner air to breathe in.

With the government, ministries and entrepreneurs talking about the 100 GW vision, the country is already looking forward to a sea change. The target is achievable provided issues like grid, storage, high cost of interest and inflexible regulations are addressed and a strong supply chain established.

The need of the hour is a change in mindset, understanding core competencies and leveraging them.

For India to grow at the projected eight per cent, with even its best energy initiatives in place, more energy generation is needed.

Hence, the goal of 10,000 MW is just the beginning.

The investment fraternity has

shown willingness to invest in the industry. It is necessary to win investors’ confidence and make wind energy projects bankable.

One of the key drivers of the industry is the gestation period.

It takes about 4-6 months to set up a wind energy farm. Investments come from equity and debt investors. Debt investors will only invest when they see equity investments are conducive and equity investors will invest once they see value and attractive returns. More than 80% of investments come from the private sector hence the government needs to assure the investors of a viable market to invest. Some of the key changes to be brought in are: mandatory enforcement of renewable purchase obligation, open access, permission to sell to private players, development of grid infrastructure, generation based incentives and also acceleratory depreciation.

One of the significant factors that can accelerate the growth of the industry is government policies. Enforcement of RPO compliance with penalties to achieve NAPCC goals, conducive policy environment, standard methodology for tariff determination across the country, removal of regulatory and purchasing of power by Discoms are some of vital steps the government absolutely needs to take.

ďƒœ www.supersmartenergy.com

At SKF we have a vision to equip the world with SKF’s knowledge with a view to create a better tomorrow. Keeping in line with this vision and the need for development of the wind energy segments SKF in association with the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) had organized a Knowledge Forum in Pune to explore the future of renewable energy and wind power in India. The event was attended by wind turbine manufacturers, independent power producers, wind farm developers, sub system manufacturers, innovators and

government representatives. The SKF Knowledge Forum is natural progressions of our vision where industry thought leaders interact together to define, understand and find solutions for tomorrow’s challenges in the field of renewable energy.

In the forum we agreed that challenges of wind farm management in India were unique to the country and different from other markets. Hence, offerings need to be customized as per geographies. Also, since reliability and availability of turbines, along with extension of the machine’s life and

performance, were of primary importance to wind farm owners, manufacturers need to innovate and stay updated with latest technological developments.To make the wind industry more sustainable, the forum also discussed ways to use technology. The focus should be on improvement of the power curve and annual energy production, bringing down cost of energy. Technology should also aim to make wind power more predictable, complete with brilliant turbines, smart wind farms and storage to make it more mainstrea ■

Mission 100 GW

The Government needs to address uncertainties in the policies immediately Mahathi Parashuram

Head – Public Affairs, Grundfos Pumps India Pvt. Ltd.

W

ith close to 300 million people in India who still don’t have access to electricity it is clear that the only means to provide this large segment with access to power would be through renewable energy sources.The new government’s focus on renewable energy is just the right push required to carry the momentum forward in terms of investment into this sector.

It is encouraging to note that the Ministry of New and Renewable energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to achieve a

100 GW generating capacity for this sector in the next five years.

However, to achieve this target, the Government needs to address some of the challenges like clarity on open access charges, evacuation infrastructure, and uncertainties in the policies immediately.

The fiscal incentives announced by the Government towards the production of renewable energy systems are highly motivating and some of the positive highlights here include: ›› Concessional customs and excise duties and provision of

loans at concessional rates for renewable energy by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) ›› The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of upto 100 percent under the automatic route for renewable energy projects ›› MNRE is providing various incentives for generation of power from renewable energy sources, including solar and wind energy ›› MNRE is also organizing the first Renewable Energy Global Energy Meet early next year to attract large scale investments for the

39

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

»

COVER STORY sector in India. This will also help connect the global investment community with the stakeholders of renewable energy in India All this will help the renewable energy sector a great deal in achieving MNRE’s target of bringing $100 million investment into the sector. A continued focus on generation based incentives, accelerated depreciation, capital/interest subsidy, concessional excise and custom duties to encourage use of alternative sources of energy in urban and rural areas, will also encourage the sector to move to the next level in terms of increasing its power generation capabilities.

Given that India is largely an agricultural country, the Government and corporates especially in the renewable energy sector have a responsibility towards offering energy efficient solutions for the betterment of this community. Free power or power subsidy offered by various state governments to the farmers are not entirely fulfilling its purpose.

Frequent power shortages, power losses due to antiquated trans-

mission lines, poor power quality and power theft are some of the factors that are still hurting the farming community. Due to the erratic power supply, farmers are finding it difficult to irrigate their farms during the day. As a result of this, farmers are forced to adopt flood irrigation irrespective of the type of crop they cultivate which leads to huge quantities of wastage of water and power.

The best solution to tackle these situations is a solar pumping system. Solar pumps normally run for nearly 8 to 10 hours per day, thereby ensuring that the farmer has a consistent power and water supply to his farms during the day.

In winter or during rainy season, solar pumps automatically operates at lower efficiency thus avoiding over irrigation. A solar pump also offers a clean and eco-friendly energy source.

It has been proved that solar pumping solutions help increase agricultural productivity, resulting in an increase of the net income of farmers by 3-4 times as compared to rain fed farming. Many state governments (including the

Central government) have therefore offered substantial subsidies to the farmers towards acquiring solar pumping solutions.

Solar pumps can also be used to supply water to the villages and tribal areas. Industries and commercial buildings are also adopting solar pumping solutions to save costs as well as bring down their carbon footprints.

We at Grundfos India have already completed thousands of solar pump installations across Maharashtra, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Through these solar pump solutions, Grundfos India has helped create a positive impact on the socio-economic lives of thousands of people in rural India. We are also working with the Grundfos Foundation and Sunlit Future, to bring clean water to 100 villages in India through solar pumping systems.

The first phase of this project will deliver water to 12,400 people in 28 villages in Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh ■

Mission 100 GW

Focus on Smart Cities

Dr. Anil K. Garg

CEO, Energy and Environment Foundation

A

s the Indian Government looks to bring its vision of 100 smart cities to reality, it is imperative that to boost productivity in different seg-

40 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

ments and enhance manufacturing. Smart city projects essentially involve ICT-enabled operation and governance in terms of wastewater management, efficient utili-

ties (power and water), intelligent buildings, efficient transportation and high safety and security standards of public services.

 www.supersmartenergy.com

The heart of any smart city is smart integrated infrastructure: the integrated development and operations of electricity, water and telecommunications services.

Smart integrated infrastructure makes these services more reliable. Faults can be resolved with greater speed. Billing is more accurate. Water and energy consumption can be reduced by the use of smart integrated infrastructure.

Solar power in the form of distributed rooftop generation will have a significant role in providing India’s smart cities with an environmentally sustainable power supply. Smart integrated infrastructure helps improve sustainability in many ways. Facilitating the use of renewable energy is one. Utility automation makes generation power and treating water more energy efficient. Dis-

tribution automation helps cut the loss of water and power in the transmission system, which reduces demand for water and generation feedstocks. Advanced metering has been shown to cut customer demand, it is crucial that information and communication technology systems are deployed across all existing cities in order to ensure efficiency and transparency ■

Mission 100 GW

India’s solar energy target is achievable and a perfect ally for the 24X7 power to all Rajya Ghei

CEO Solar Domestic, Hindustan PowerProjects Private Limited

T

he demand of the nation, today is to fulfill its aspiration – of a better life; of facilities & amenities; of access to 24X7 power, which opens up the road to these aspirations. India has the world’s fifth-largest electricity generation capacity which currently stands at 243 GW and also has a population of about 300 million without access to basic power. Hence the call of the Prime Minister to provide 24X7 power to all has met with some skepticism but lot of hope.

I believe that 24X7 is doable because on one hand you have a consumer who is ready to pay for uninterrupted access to 24X7 power and on other you have power generators ready to ramp up the production to meet the demands. The challenge for the government is to address the ailing discoms and fix the T&D

challenges, which the government has rightly focusing currently.

The availability of coal has been other challenge that Government has to look into with coal India’s supply going down from 70.78% to 44.87% of total energy consumption at the end of 11th Five year plan.

The other major challenge the country will have to face will during the period 2018-2022 when a low incremental capacity of coal fired thermal power projects will get commissioned. Going by the sentiment in the global markets, this period would overlay with the years when India’s GDP would be experiencing a surge similar to that of late 90’s and early 2000.

Hence, the call of 100 GW by 2022 by the Government is very critical.

In a diversified country like India, distributed generation would hold the key for meeting the demand and reducing dependency on

d w i n d l i n g resources like coal. In this backdrop, Government’s push for Solar PV is welcome step in the right direction.

With the falling cost of generation and advancement in research in module and storage arrangement, Solar PV would cater to the domestic load at affordable price.

Solar is the most stable and abundantly available source amongst all renewable. In a regular annual cycle, solar energy sees a buildup towards peaking from January to March, achieving 150% in April to July before subsiding in monsoon and then again surging post monsoon. This overlays with our seasonal and daily power demand cycle. Therefore India’s solar energy target is achievable and a perfect ally for the 24X7 power to all.

The Government is taking several policy initiatives and

» Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy 41

COVER STORY framework to build an environment conducive for growth of the power sector in India. But for this to become successful, a joint effort from centre and state is imperative in both spirit and form.

These concerted efforts should help us overcome critical issues like inefficient power distribution, inadequate coal availability, power outages, load shedding, rising fuel costs and infrastructure bottlenecks in the form of a limited bandwidth to expand grid connectivity.

Today it is about meeting the aspirations of a young nation and which cannot be done in a shortage of power scenario. By promoting an energy mix portfolio and mapping the demand across day to match it with the fuel availability, the new Government can address the energy deficit situation.

Coal based thermal power would be optimum for India to meet its base load power requirements in the near medium term

while power generation from renewable (solar) sources should be ramped up to meet the peaking power requirement. Additionally, 90,000 plus MW of pumped storage capacity should be tapped to provide the much needed peaking power on large scale.

The new government can steer the course for the country – and energy sector by proving 24X7 power to all should play a key role in this development!!! ■

Mission 100 GW

The State government should promote small-scale projects covering thousands of kilometres of canals and millions of roofs

I

Sreehari Marar

Analyst, Tractus Asia India Pvt. Ltd.

ndia’s significant economic growth, urbanization, rise in per capita consumption, and uneven spread of energy access has placed an enormous demand on its energy resources.

Tractus Asia believes, to reduce costs and dependence on fossil fuels, India needs to focus on investment and development in the Renewable Energy Sector (RES). The energy from Wind, Solar, Hydro and Biomass will play a pivotal role and make the country energy self sufficient. Some of the opportunities and challenges faced by this industry are outlined below

Opportunities: ›› India’s energy efficiency market is still at a nascent stage and lacking several new technologies avail-

42 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

able in more developed markets ›› Building technologies (LEED certification) are expected to have a big impact on India’s construction sector ›› Automobile industry expecting to gradually shift towards hybrid, electric and natural gas powered vehicles ›› Fiscal and financial incentives and easing policies by the Indian Central Government are helping foreign companies to invest in renewable energy projects in India ›› Lucrative areas to invest in are solar cells and panels as well as waste to energy technologies, lowcarbon tech and energy storage and distribution

Mission 100 GW 100 GW is a very ambitious target

and a lot of structural changes would be required in India’s power sector to achieve this. India is a country that has tremendous potential for solar, wind and hydro energy and the State government should promote small-scale projects covering thousands of kilometres of canals and millions of roofs. The new government at the center should bring in favorable legislation to land acquisition, give swift environmental clearance to renewable energy projects, have clarity on subsidy and foreign investments. Removal of bureaucratic hurdles, availability of lowcost and sustained finance, and attractive tariffs and paramount for achieving the 100 GW target.

Embracing a cleaner, low-carbon pathway, including investment in renewable energy will lead India to a healthier and more vibrant economy in the coming decade ■  www.supersmartenergy.com

CURTAIN RAISER

Efficient Electricity Eco-System Key for India’s Growth T

hree societies of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) will co-host the INTELECT Conference & Exposition from 22-24 January 2015 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, India. The conference theme is Smart Electricity for Emerging Markets, and the exposition will focus on the connected intelligence in the Electricity of Things. The concurrent Show UPTO 11 kV will demonstrate the readiness of the Indian electrical industry to help the Government of India to accelerate Distribution Sector Reforms and focus on rural electrification. It will be a unique opportunity for the Equipment manufacturers to effectively showcase their latest equipment, technology and services and interact with utility officials from all across the country. The expo cum conference will feature globally renowned keynote speakers and high-caliber panelists, as well as user-experience pavilions showcasing cutting-edge innovations and future technologies on HomeHotel-Hospital-Office (H3O), Digital Smart Cities, and Smart Rural Electrification.

INTELECT is designed to draw builders, architects, city planners, energy and government officials, transportation industry representatives, venture capitalists, utilities, contractors, consultants, academia, and others in learning about new technological advancements and knowledge to smart electricity. India is fast becoming more urbanized and digitized to adapt to the growing aspirations of the large young population. Its impact on electricity demand and consumption will be significant.

IEEMA, as the voice of the Indian

electrical sector is privileged to partner with IEEE which can provide invaluable global knowledge and expertise. For the first time, with the support of three ministries of the Government of India - Ministry of Power, Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Communications & IT – an all India Utility Round table will be organized. This will witness participants, such as, heads of distribution Utilities, Rural Electrification Corporation, Bureau of Energy Efficiency and First time in India: Bureau of Indian Standards. Also, an exclusive • Supported by three Ministries of Discom pavilion showGovt. of India: Ministry of Power, casing best practices, Urban Development and success stories, services & future plans, a Make Communications & IT In India pavilion and Micro and Small Scale • India Utility Roundtable Industries pavilion will be showcased. IEEMA is the • Conference: Smart Electricity for first ISO certified industry Emerging Markets association in India with 800 member organisations encompassing the • Pavilions: complete value chain -Make In India in power generation, -Micro & Small Scale Industries transmission and dis-Smart Tech tribution equipment, and its members have contributed to more than 90% of the power in the transmission and distribuequipment installed in India. IEEE tion segment. This will create a is the world’s largest professional massive demand for smart power association for the advancement and smart grid based solutions, as of technology. As per the Miniswell as solutions to help make the try of Power: In the next 5 years distribution sector more efficient. a billion tonne of coal producHence the timing of IEEMA and tion is planned. In parallel, 100 IEEE is perfect to respond to the Gw of solar power capacity are Government and the dire need proposed to be added along with of intelligent electricity for the investments of about $50 billion nation ■

43

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

IN FOCUS

Innovating for India's Wind Energy Future Article Authored by Rohan Singh

GE’s 1.7-103 wind turbine for India

44 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

 www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH

“I find out what the world needs.

Then I go ahead and try to invent it” - Thomas A. Edison

I

nnovators at the GE India Technology Centre work with a firm belief in the vision of the cofounder of their company. A company co-founded by one of greatest innovators of all time, Thomas Alva Edison, GE today continues to dedicate itself to finding solutions to some of the toughest technological challenges that the world is facing. The John F. Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore is GE’s largest integrated, multidisciplinary R&D centre having a robust strength of 4500 engineers and researchers. It is a state-ofthe-art facility working on fundamental research as well as providing engineering support to various GE businesses. Researchers at the wind energy lab of the centre are taking on technology challenges to innovate solutions to help India harness its wind energy to the maximum.

GE has been present in the renewable energy sector for almost a decade. As India increasingly turns to harness its clean energy, GE’s innovators are developing technological solutions that are affordable and locally feasible.

The idea is to use global technology for India specific needs and design turbines that suit Indian conditions.

wind energy is that it is highly unpredictable. It fluctuates with changing weather and time. Variations in wind power due to the variability of wind speeds translate into operational and economic challenges for the grid operator and also the wind farm owners.

Grid operators depend on power reserves usually generated by either hydropower or by gas to balance out wind variations. The financial impact of procuring such reserves are eventually passed on to the wind farm owners depending on the extent of variability of farm power.

tion using battery applications as part of our Brilliant turbine platform. The battery technology is configured in the wind turbine itself and enables short-term energy storage, without the high costs of farm-level battery storage installation. The complete system also offers three software applications, allowing power producers and the wind turbines themselves to make data-informed decisions and provide short-term predictable power,” says Arvind Tiwari, Manager - Power Conversion Systems Lab at GE Global Research, Bangalore.

Solving this power variability challenge is extremely crucial for a robust growth of the wind energy sector in India. GE Global Research claims that it has found an answer to this problem, made possible by innovative usage of storage, intelligent control design and advanced data analytics to drive farm predictability.

Arvind says that the battery applications have added a new dimension to the way we look at alternate power and energy storage. The batteries are sodium metal-based and the storage capacity of the system can be customized according to the turbine capacity and based on studies of the site specific power variability utilizing on-site data to

“The solution we are proposing here is GE’s breakthrough innova-

»

Turning Challenges into Opportunities Though India is blessed with high wind energy potential, harnessing it to the maximum encounters many practical challenges.

An understanding of the country’s wind energy potential and its challenges is the basis of research and development in the renewables space at GE. One key issue with

The John F. Welch Technology Centre campus in Bangalore, India

45

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

IN FOCUS To help manage wind’s variability, GE has introduced the worlds first “brilliant” wind turbine with integrated energy storage. Uisng a little bit of storage and advanced forecasting algorithms, GE is helping making wind power predictable

When wind gusts ramp up quickly, power can be wasted if the grid cannot absorb it all.

With GE’s Ramp Control Application, this extra wind power can be captured and stored short term in the abttery for use by operator when the grid needs it later.

Wind speeds vary by small amounts all the time, affecting how much power the wind turbin produces

GE’s Predictable Power Application allows wind farm operator to forecast their energy output in 15-60 minute intervals as wind speeds change.

Think of it as cruise control for your turbine.

Energy needs constantly fluctuate as consumers plug and unplug throughtout the day

extract patterns. These batteries are low maintenance and provide an effective back-up power. This helps manage wind variability and provides reliable, and to some extent predictable power supply.

“Our battery solutions can be adapted to various requirements.

The amount of storage changes with the power rating of a turbine, the site specific variability and the type of application. For instance, a 2X Brilliant turbine has 200 kW of storage. Farm operators have the choice based on the economics of their plants,” Arvind explains.

Elaborating on the centre’s research on energy storage, Arvind explains, “We are exploring multiple facets of energy storage. We started with energy

46 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

GE’s Frequency Regulation Application allows turbine to responde to fluctuating demand with total precision, which results in additional revenue for wind farm operators

storage solutions for locomotives.

Today, we have different kinds of research going on. For example, one is on electro-chemistry, another on durability of the batteries, and how they can work better in Indian conditions. We integrate the system together to minimize wind power intermittency.”

The life cycle of GE’s Durathon battery is competitive compared to other types of batteries. “It has an estimated shelf life of more than 20 years. But, it varies from application to application. If you avoid recharging and discharging the battery frequently, it will have a longer life. Another advantage of Durathon is that it can be recycled and it is environmentally friendly,” Arvind informs.

But can the advantages of the Durathon battery also extend to other renewable sources like solar? Arvind answers, “We have applied it to various uses like locomotive vehicles, UPS systems, solar, telecom applications etc. We developed it for wind, but now we are leveraging it for other renewables as well. The technology is highly adaptable; the control design can enable such adaptability depending on the end use requirements.”

The technology has the potential of making wind integration roadmaps at a national level a reality, by enabling reliable and economically feasible expansion of wind capacity into the power grid.

Industrial Internet The power needs of the world are changing. Power generation companies need to reinvent themselves and use smarter technology to meet the next generation requirements. GE has taken one of the pioneering steps for the integration of complex physical machinery with networked sensors and software. Coined as the “Industrial Internet”, it is a combination of big data and analytics to provide greater efficiency and thus more value to customers.

“The Industrial Internet has been at the heart of GE’s software division for the past three years. We have a software platform and in fact the wind farm controls application is one of the applications under the Industrial Internet framework. You will be seeing more of it down the line,” says Kannan Tinnium, Technology Leader, Electrical Technologies & Systems, GE Global Research.

Maximizing wind energy capture through better control mechanism The success of this innovative approach can be attributed to

»  www.supersmartenergy.com

IN FOCUS But bringing out these innovative technologies requires a lot of team efforts. The analytics team of GE provides a lot of statistics support to the researcher like estimating the wind speed etc. Not many power generation companies have R&D facilities like GE. Here, the researchers take a model-based approach to solve a practical technological problem.

Designed for India

The Renewable Power Systems lab at the John F. Welch Technology Centre campus the swiftness and accuracy of response to the changing wind conditions and turbine behaviour.

But rather than focusing on the optimization of a single turbine, GE’s approach is to ensure that the whole farm operates at its maximum efficiency.

Venkataro Ryali, Manager - Real Time Information & Control Systems Lab at GE Global Research says, “A wind farm suffers from wake losses when a velocity deficit created behind a turbine rotor reduces the wind available at downwind turbines, thus lowering plant-level energy production. GE’s wind plant wake management application is a controls application which reduces these wake losses. What we have developed is basically a technology to make wind turbines less selfish. To make them work together more cohesively. Each turbine should be aware of its influence on the rest of the farm."

What makes an efficient turbine?

It is smart business sense to invest a small amount on the design of the turbine blades and reap great profits out of increased power generation as a result. Better design means more wind capture.

When designing a wind turbine,

48 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

the goal is to attain the highest possible power output under specified atmospheric conditions.

From the technical point of view, this depends on the length and shape of the blade. By changing these two factors one can improve the efficiency of the wind turbine.

However, determining the optimal shape and size of blade is a complex problem, as the mathematical description of aerodynamic load is complex and a number of constraints and objectives have to be satisfied.

There are many project planning aspects that need to be accounted for to optimize wind energy competitiveness. Operation and maintenance costs are substantial and great care should be taken in planning for operational expenses. In order to get to the optimum system design, all aspects of the project must be planned and optimized as a single integrated system.

“We work with the controls part. We manipulate the manner in which the turbine captures the wind. You can either pitch away the blades, slow down the turbine or speed up the turbine.

The benefit that we estimate can be anywhere from 0.5 to 2 percent, depending on the site,” says Venkatarao.

In the wake of the increasing pressure on fossil fuels, India is swiftly moving towards tapping its renewable energy sources. Realizing the potential of wind energy in India and the challenges that the country poses, GE is working towards creating world-class turbines that are designed, tested and manufactured locally. They operate 10 manufacturing and service plants in India. GE engineers its wind turbine in India for ease of integration and delivers to a wide range of locations, including those with challenging site conditions. But GE’s support doesn’t end with designing and engineering the turbines. Their continued support includes project-related services to help customers with installation, commissioning and monitoring of their wind farms.

The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) packages are tailored to each customer’s needs. GE works with its customers in India from the earliest stages of a wind power development project.

In the last few years, GE has introduced its turbine technology designed for local conditions in India. GE’s flagship offering for the Indian market is the 1.7-103 turbine model designed specifically for the low wind environment in India. The 1.7-103 turbine uses an enhanced control system, which operates on a physics-based turbine model, to improve energy capture at low wind speeds.

A 100 MW wind farm powered by 1.7-103 turbines can generate the electricity required to fulfill the needs of 413,000 homes per

 www.supersmartenergy.com

year and save carbon emissions of 291,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The technology, originally developed for India, is now finding clients in other countries as well.

“When we started this product we had the Indian market in mind. But today the same product is being installed in Brazil, Australia, China and many other geographies.” Anil Rajanna, Executive - Renewables Engineering, GE Power & Water, says.

Dealing with a weak grid Power demand continues to rise in India in view of the increasing urbanization and industrialization, but the supply is unable to keep pace with it, especially in terms of the power evacuation infrastructure. One of the issues ailing the wind energy sector in India is the weak nature of the grid as seen by the wind farm. The abundant wind resource potential is significantly nullified due to the bottleneck in power evacuation capability, either due to a lack of high voltage transmission infrastructure or in some cases a complete absence of transmission. Poor transmission and distribution poses a big hindrance to India’s efforts to increase its dependency on renewable energy sources. In fact, the grid is literally absent in a large part of the country and millions of people are not connected to the grid.

“GE is definitely a player in this area. We make smart meters and we have an energy management system. We collect a lot of data in real-time and derive critical information through analytics to develop and deploy technology that can solve the toughest grid integration problems. So in terms of the technology point of view we look at it from the complete perspective. All the way from generation to transmission, distribution, till the appliances,” says Kannan.

A significant focus area for the research centre has been to develop turbines and farms that

are grid-agnostic, grid-friendly and based on the requirements, grid-assisting. The larger goal is to make wind turbines operate in a manner similar, if not better, than conventional power generation resources.

Making India an Innovation Hub Set up in the year 2000, the GE John F. Welch Technology Centre has emerged as one of country’s top innovation hubs. Over the years, from this centre alone, researchers and engineers have contributed to over 2250 patents.

The company knows that investing in R&D makes good business sense and the centre has already received US $220 million in investments so far. The centre collaborates with a lot of partners locally

and also sponsors research activities at premier universities.

Wind energy is poised to play a pivotal role in strengthening India’s power sector infrastructure and providing the nation with universal energy access. The country is all set to launch its ambitious National Wind Energy Mission.

The smart city project will also depend on renewable energy for its power needs. And achieving all this would require a huge investment in R&D and active participation from the private sector. By giving high importance to innovation, companies like GE not only showcase their business acumen but also kindle optimism about India’s wind energy future ■ ( All the photograph and images courtesy GE’s John F. Welch Technology Centre, Bengaluru- India)

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49

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

INTERVIEW EXPERT SPEAK

Dr. Abhimanyu Detha CEO & Managing Director Gangadan Energy Private Limited

"We are establishing India’s first Multi-junction technology based module assembly line with 50MW annual capacity"

Q

.Tell us more about Gangadan Solar Park, the advantages and key facilities available at these solar parks?

“Gangadan Solar Park” is India’s first, one and only CPV multijunction cell technology based project, with Project size of 50 MW in first phase, master planning for extended 2 x 50 MW. The Project is under basic implementation stage like: roads, boundary walls, site office, tube wells, transmission line and sub-station.

The CPV technology gives 37 to 40% efficiency and full power utilization , and the tracking technology increases energy output by roughly 30 to 33%.

Q

.What is your order book position today?

Today, there are 37 MW booked in first phase expansion. There are several more in the pipeline by investors who want to get depreciation benefit. Few foreign investors are ready to invest in

50 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

the same solar park, they are very much impressed by high DNI availability, positive Rajasthan solar policy 2014 and solar park policy of the GoI.

Q

.Do you organise funding for your customers?

Our customers have been able to organise finance on there own through a combination of local and foreign banks. But, project funding is a part of our additional services. We do help interested parties to get finance. We have been successful in India because of the backing we have received in the form of low-cost financing by any foreign funding institute.

Q

.Express your views on the solar future in India; what role do you envision solar energy to play in the objective of achieving Power to All? The future is extremely bright for India. With creative business and

financing models and with a commitment to quality and operations, solar is a superbly suitable, clean energy source for the country.

Energy is the backbone of any economy and If India needs to grow at 6-8%, we need to double the power that we have. If we are unable to take care of the deficit, the country will come to a standstill.

One needs to understand that these businesses, power generation, are made for 8-10 years.

Interest rates are higher but they will come down in the future. From a long-term perspective, India is still a consumer-driven country.

Overall, by 2016, wind and solar will be cheaper.

Apart of it, in future RPO will be enforced by the Government. The private PPA market can change India’s energy consumption dynamics. Behalf of the same we are developing solar park based on private PPA, it’s safe and more comfortable for individuals, small  www.supersmartenergy.com

entrepreneur and corporates.

Q

.What is Gangadan’s expertise ?

We have the expertise to develop projects, do EPC, get finance, both on debt and equity; maintain those assets for the investors.

The thing which we like about the development business is it helps to develop a pipeline. While the programme in India has been successful, it is lumpy in terms of demand. All the PPAs get signed on one day, everybody wants COD on the same day, and decisions are delayed till the last moment, either on expectations of a drop in prices or to work through the documentation. This creates stress on the system in terms of people like us or EPC contractors who have to stock inventories and keep people on the bench, or let go of the opportunity.

We are still the lowest cost project developer compare to any other international company. Therefore, it helps if we start developing our own module manufacturing, it helps us to bring predictability of demand which then enables us to leverage our backend organisation like - system design and EPC and plan for building capacity as it comes. That helps us become more competitive.

Our technology enjoys a good footprint in India and we want to broad base that relationship and get into a bit of development from our side, bring in our systems engineering expertise.

I think, as a stakeholder in the industry, it is our duty to make lenders comfortable with the asset. Only then will they lower their risks and only then will we see good quality capital. Right now, many of these projects have been built with recourse to the balance sheet. That is not really project financing. For Indian banks, ‘will it work’ is the question that they want to see because there is not much record of generation.

Large Indian lenders, for instance PFC and REC, who lend to other

parts of the power sector, have not really got into solar and unless that happens you cannot sustain an industry in India.

The point is, we are selling because our technology, at least in hot climatic conditions, produces more power than photovoltaic.

Q

.How do you intend to create a pipeline?

By developing our own projects, we are in discussions. As you would recognise, development and EPC construction requires a lot of local expertise. We do believe that in India there is enough local expertise available already.

So what we are trying to do is to structure partnerships. Like: you got local developers who want to build projects. We’ve got the technology, got the experience to do this. We know how to put a quality asset together. We also have some leverage in terms of financing. So we are trying to put our combined expertise together instead of recreating competencies.

Q

.What are your major concerns?

The big question mark is the enforceability of the RPOs (renewable purchase obligations). It has not really happened. Even if it happens in the industrial sector —because in energy terms they are a big consumer — if you start enforcing it across discoms, how are you going to monitor, there is not enough monitoring capacity available — even if you enforce it on a limited scale on the industries, I think that will give a fillip to the market. REC/RPO is a good programme, but without enforcement it has no meaning.

We are in the initial development stages with some partners, looking at land options, looking at how we get the optimal PPA pricing and as soon as we sort out some of these things we could probably begin construction.

Q

.What is your take on the manufacturing in India?

Should the Government mandate local procurement or not?

Our view, as a developer, is that there should not be any restriction on their ability to source stuff. For the manufacturers, it is a function of predictable demand - solar manufacturing is all about scale. The biggest issue is, is there enough scale domestically created which can justify manufacturing at the same time not impact the developers.

The solar developer community is trying to lower the cost of power so that it creates more demand, and at this point in time if you impose restrictions on them, saying they have to source only from domestic, they lose the advantage.

We cannot have and should not have a policy where you restrict the ability of the developer to bring to you the lowest cost of power. If you do that it is going to shrink the market, and it will be a non-starter. It will have exactly the opposite effect of what you are trying to create.

Q

.How do you define success for yourself and for your company? Where do you see Gangadan Energy 3 to 5 years from now?

Gangadan Energy has taken a dominant and leadership position in solar industry in India within a very short period of time. Our multidisciplinary engineering skills, inhome R&D and innovative solutions have helped us to achieve this position, which has been well recognised by our clients.

Apart from our “Gangadan Solar Park”, we are establishing India’s first Multi-junction technology based module assembly line with 50MW annual capacity, Behalf of only these businesses we will stand with 100MW installation, 50MW module production with projected turnover of Rs. 750 Crore within next three years ■

51

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

INTERVIEW IN CONVERSATION

K. Srinivasa Rao Head of Business Development- India & Sub Continent Hitachi Zosen India Private Limited

"We are the leading experts in the generation of energy based on waste as fuel"

Q

.To begin with could you highlight Hitach Zosen’s Indian operation and its tie-up with ISGEC Heavy Engineering Ltd in India? What are the different Waste-to-Energy solutions that you offer in India?

It cannot be called as tie up we call it as cooperation. Hitachi Zosen has a long time relationship with ISGEC, we are also operating a JV by name Isgec Hitachi Zosen Ltd which is a world class manufacturing set up for making pressure vessels for Oil& Gas industry at Dahej, Gujarat. But this JV is not for Waste to Energy solutions. As of now our cooperation will continue in building WtE projects on EPC mode where in Hitachi Zosen shall be responsible for designing core combustion & Flue gas cleaning technology related equipment’s and ISGEC will handle the engineering and procurement of Balance of Plant systems including all

52 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

site services. We have a module of 600 TPD mixed waste per day with energy recovery of 11.5 MW with a designed calorific value of 1650 cal/kg.

4+5 (UK), Lucerne (Switzerland), Vantaa (Finland), Ferrybridge (UK), Jabalpur (India), Buckinghamshire (UK), Severnside (UK) ,Poznan (Poland), Hartleburry (UK) , Dublin (Ireland).

Q

We are the leading experts in the generation of energy based on waste as fuel. Our core areas of in-house technology are combustion, steam and power, anaerobic digestion, and flue gas treatment, complemented by a comprehensive range of service, operation and maintenance capabilities.

.Presently there is little activity in India, in terms of turning waste to power, how do you access the potential and what are the opportunities and growth that you are looking at?

Hitachi Zosen and its predecessors companies have built more than 529 installation across globe which includes ongoing projects at Barcelona (Spain), Cleveland



»

This Projects shall be seen as epidemic eradication and living improvement Project rather than a Power generation Units



 www.supersmartenergy.com

INTERVIEW IN CONVERSATION



Most developed or developing Countries are considering WtE as one of the major thrust area to reduce the land fill issues at the same time adopt high Environmental requirement



The Ministry for Renewable energy has already assessed the potential and available on their website. Our company will endeavour to make this potential realised.

We anticipate more Projects will materialise in next five years’ time as the handling of garbage has become uncontrollable in urban Indian cities.

Q

.How is the public perception of waste-to-energy improving? How WtE is an important option in helping to reach targets for landfill diversion and renewable energy generation?

The public perception has to improve and the misgivings should be dispelled. Academia and positive minded NGOs with open mind have to participate in this mission. The societal gains should be emphasised. As per American Society of Mechanical Engineers the Energy form Waste is clean and green power. Most developed or developing Countries are considering WtE as one of the major thrust area to reduce the land fill issues at the same time adopt high Environmental requirement.

Q

.One problem associated with combustion/ thermal treatment of waste to generate electricity is the potential for pollutants to enter the atmosphere, how does Hitachi Zosen Inova’s WtE technology address this concern? What is the electric and total efficiency for this technology?

Technologies exist for mitigation of the emissions by a combina-

54 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

tion of measures such as design and treatment using lime & activated carbon. Our company has such technology. The efficiency of our systems had been proven.

We have been meeting the most stringent European incineration directive 2000/76/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 consistently without any question.

Most of the plants built in Japan belong to government. The Emission data are available on line and any interested person can collect the information from the owners of the plant.

Q

.The Hitachi Zosen’s WtE technology competes with other thermal and non thermal technologies, can you give us a rundown of how your WtE technology compares to other technologies, the advantages that makes it more attractive to WtE investor?

Seasoned, mature investors with adequate experience in this sector are capable of assessing the merits of the various technologies available. Our endeavour has been to make this technology adoptable to Indian conditions and with highest possible Indian content and 90% equipment’s are made in India meeting the norms as requested by the State Environmental Ministry.

regime must set in. Another concern is lack of mature and promotional tariff policy. It is a combination of tipping fee and preferential tariff that makes the WTE promising. Without this proven revenue model with an element of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) the PPP model may not be effective. This Projects shall be seen as epidemic eradication and living improvement Project rather than a Power generation Units.

Q

.Brief us about the current status of the R&D centre in Hyderabad, the role of the R&D centre in the growth and development of operations in India?

What are the solutions that are likely to be developed and exported to other countries?

There is no R& D centre in Hyderabad, it is an Engineering setup. We have a staff of 35 highly skilled Engineering & Project management people operating from Hyderabad. All R&D activities are centred at Osaka, Japan & Zurich, Switzerland.

Q

.What is the reasonable estimate for RoI where your WtE technology is adopted?

Also, currently where is your WtE technologies adopted in India?

It is for developers who will have to work out the commercial aspects. We assure that ours is a competitive solution that cannot be overlooked.

Q

.What do you see as future for Hitachi Zosen WtE technologies?

Very bright and we are very optimistic and we are here to stay for long term in our country ■

Q

.What do you see as the greatest challenge to growth in WtE market in India?

Outlook of the Urban Local Bodies and their finances. For deploying these technologies, the tipping fee  www.supersmartenergy.com

INTERSOLAR INDIA SPECIAL REPORT

Solar Industry Pins Great Hopes on Indian Solar Market T

he sixth Intersolar India, India's largest exhibition and conference for the solar industry, drew to a close on November 20. Here, 160 international exhibitors from the fields of photovoltaics (PV), PV production technologies, energy storage systems, and solar thermal technologies showcased the entire solar industry valueadded chain. Around 9,000 visitors, eleven percent more than last year, flocked to the exhibition from all over the globe, underlining the enthusiastic response to the event. Once again, the Intersolar AWARD for Solar Projects in India was awarded in three categories: Off-grid Solutions, Industrial and Commercial Use, and Utility-scale Projects. And for the first time, the Intersolar India Conference was held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC), where 100 distinguished speakers and 500 conference attendees discussed the latest market developments, new technologies, and application solutions.

From November 18-20, 2014, the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Mumbai acted as a magnet to the international solar industry. 160 exhibitors from all over the world attended this year's Intersolar India in Mumbai, and all were extremely happy with their

56 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

Seen from left to right Mr. Falk Senger (MD, MMI), Mr. Riccardo Amoroso, Vice President, EPIA, like Mr. Markus Elsasser, CEO, Solar Promotion, Mr. Marcus Wiemann, Secretary General, Alliance for Rural Electrification, like Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI India, Ms. Katharina Schlegel, Deputy CEO and COO, Messe Munchen International

success at the exhibition. "This is a great platform for industry professionals to know about new technologies and about the companies working in this sector. We are extremely happy with the visitor footfall and are glad to see international participation as well," commented Akhilesh Kumar Jain, Managing Director at Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd. But it was not only the number of visitors that met with praises - the quality of the exhibition and conference was also lauded by attendees. "Intersolar India has given us access to the stakeholder community and with the new government

showing strong directions to the solar sector and sourcing material from the domestic industry we can foresee a bright future for the company. We've been happily associated for the last three years and are definitely looking forward to participate in future editions also," declares Hemant Joshi, Managing Director at TMEIC Industrial Systems India Private Limited.

India increases backing for solar energy Around 400 million people in India still have no access to electricity. To counteract this energy

 www.supersmartenergy.com

deficit, the new Indian government has decided to strengthen the role of solar energy. Today, diesel generators are still in heavy use, both in agriculture and to supply power. The opening session of the Intersolar India Conference on November 18 saw Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate and Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), talk about the possibilities offered by solar energy in reducing India's greenhouse gas emissions. Large-scale PV power plants, decentralized power generation using photovoltaic instal-

lations and heat generation with solar thermal technologies have the greatest potential to solve India's energy supply problems, according to Dr. Pachauri. Publicprivate partnerships (PPPs) for roof-mounted solar installations may play an important part here: on the occasion of Intersolar India, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) published a white paper entitled "Harnessing Energy from the Sun". This paper uses a pilot program in the state of Gujarat to illustrate how the government, public administration, investors and executing companies can join forces to set up programs for the expansion of solar energy supply.

Solar industry presents technologies and solutions for India's energy supply In the run-up to the exhibition, the Indian Minister of State for

Power, Piyush Goyal, announced that the Indian Government intends to raise its targets under the National Solar Mission from 20 gigawatts (GW) to 100 GW by 2022. At the PV Executive Panel, important representatives of the Indian solar industry appeared optimistic that these new targets can be achieved if the political conditions are right. This particularly applies to photovoltaics. However, existing challenges in infrastructure and financing still need to be tackled if this is to happen. During his visit to the exhibition, Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said that installations providing an additional 6 to 8 GW may be realized within the coming year. According to Mr. Kapoor, the long-term objective is to promote both PV power plants and to achieve a share of 30 to 40% with roof-mounted PV installations. The products shown at the exhibition made one thing very clear: the technical solutions for such progressive expansion are available.

Encompassing photovoltaics, PV production technologies, energy storage systems, and solar thermal technologies, the event again showcased the solar industry's entire valueadded chain.

The Intersolar AWARD for the category Solar Projects in India was presented for the third time at Intersolar India 2014. The coveted innovation prize in the Industrial and Commerical Use category went to Bosch Ltd. for its Maruti Suzuki Lagoon PV power plant project, which has an output of one megawatt (MW) and serves both to generate electricity and enable the collection and use of rainwater. Trojan Battery won in the Off-grid Solutions category for their Trojan Smart Carbon™ Batteries, a plug-and-play solution consisting of a PV installation and a battery supplying energy to more than 150,000 telecom towers in India. The Intersolar AWARD in the Utility-Scale Projects category was presented to Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd. for a 50 MW PV power plant in Madhya Pradesh, which supplies some 90,000 households with electricity through a publicprivate partnership (PPP) ■

Intersolar AWARD for Solar Projects in India

57

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

ESI 2014 SPECIAL REPORT

Energy Storage India 2014 Concludes With Broad Consensus on Opportunities for Storage

T

he 2nd annual Energy Storage India Conference and Expo , hosted by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) from December 3-5, 2014, in New Delhi, was a successful event that brought together more than 500 industry professionals and 65 speakers from 15+ countries. It was the largest such gathering ever held in India, and highlighted the many opportunities available in a fastgrowing market.

Energy Storage India 2014 was attended by a diverse, businessfocused group that included utilities, developers, energy storage OEMs, solution providers, Government of India ministries, regulatory and policy officials, commercial/industrial end users, and other industry stakeholders.

Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, Executive Director of IESA, states: "We expect the next five years will see a dramatic transformation towards decentralized energy solutions in India. ESI 2014 demonstrated the progress India has made over the past 12 months in creating a solid ecosystem for advanced energy storage, with the country poised to become a global hub for technology deployment as well as manufacturing.”

Dr. Walawalkar continued: “During the conference a broad cross-section of industry stakeholders came together to agree on the need for storage to meet various development goals for India.

We also heard commitments from policy makers to develop policy framework, from R&D groups on the potential for cutting-edge research and from companies on setting up everything from incubation centers to full-scale manu-

58 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

facturing plants for advanced storage."

The conference began on December 3rd with three workshops covering key topics (Energy Storage 101, Power Quality, Microgrids), and a parallel “IRENA International Energy Storage Policy and Regulators” workshop. Subjects covered in workshops and the conference program included the full range of battery technologies, as well as other forms of energy storage including pumped hydro, compressed air and thermal.

In addition, the event focused on opportunities for advanced storage solutions in India including renewable integration, rural electrification, micro-grids, smart cities, utility and industrial applications, and transportation.

Other sessions covered financing models, project development, incentives and subsidies, and manufacturing options, with special panels on “Make in India” and “International Perspectives on Energy Storage” that generated significant interest among delegates.

Some of the highlights brought out during the conference include: ›› The energy storage market in

India is expected to grow to an aggregate capacity of between 15 to 20 GW by 2020. ›› Massive expansion of renewable energy installations over the next five years in India will drive the need for energy storage to manage variations in renewable energy and maintain grid stability. ›› India’s “100 Smart Cities” initiative is a smart grid deployment program aimed at increasing urban grid reliability and accessibility and that can be supported by energy storage. ›› Actions being taken by the Modi government should provide stimulus for the growth of the country’s energy storage industry. ›› Ongoing innovations in energy storage technologies will lead to cost reductions over the next 5-10 years ■

 www.supersmartenergy.com

NEWS THIS MONTH

59

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy

PRODUCT REVIEW

LED Bollards from K- LITE

K

-LITE introduces efficient and cost-effective LED bollards with rotationally symmetrical illumination for ground surfaces. The photometric design of these luminaires is based on LED integrated with K-Lite’s precision reflector module. Consistent implementation of new technological developments combined with the highest technical and structural quality has resulted in these states of art luminaires. These luminaires are characterized by their high luminous efficiency, extremely long service life and the uniformity of the degree of illuminance.

housing through homogenization for durability and thermal management.

polyester based powder coating for uniform deposition and excellent finish.

›› Stainless Steel hardware used for long life and for easy of maintenance.

›› CREE / OSRAM / NICHIA make LEDs, which are internationally recognized brands with higher lumen output are used for better illumination and longevity ■

›› Silicon EPDM gasket used for IP ratings and conforming to the safety and reliability requirements of the products. ›› UV stabilized, non-yellowing polycarbonate diffusers for better light transmission, vandal resistant and UV stabilization. ›› Finished with 60 micron thick

These luminaires are available in Ø100 and Ø166, three different heights to suit the installation site.

Their sturdy construction makes them especially suitable for areas in which considerable robustness is required to ensure vandal proof service.

Application: For the illumination of footpaths, entrance areas, driveway, private and public areas.

K-Lite Advantages - Powerful Design Powerful light ›› Extruded aluminium alloy

Waaree Energies introduced its solar study lamp ‘Scholar’ Waaree Energies Ltd introduced its solar study lamp ‘Scholar’ to support government programmes. Of the 12 crore children in India, 70% still rely on oil lamps for studying; these oil lamps are a health hazard due to the toxic fumes and soot emitted by these lamps. ‘Scholar’ is a light weight portable study lamp with a lithium battery which has lifecycle of

60 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

more than two years. Battery can be charged by both sunlight and AC/USB adaptors. It can be fully charged in 3-4 hours of sunlight and once charged it will work for 6-8 hours. This lamp is being distributed by dealers and NGO’s ■ Send your enquiries to Waaree Energies Limited 602, Western Edge-I, Off. Western Express Highway,Borivali (E), Mumbai 400066 L - +91-22-664444 44 e- waaree@waaree.com W: www.waaree.com

 www.supersmartenergy.com

EVENTS WATCH Event: intelect 2015

Event: Saudi Power

Event: Intersolar India 2015

Date: 22 to 24 Jan 2015 Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India

Date: 11- 13 May 2015

Date: 18-20 Nov 2015

Venue: Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Centre

Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India

Contact: alexis.sworder@ informa.com/ Tel: +971 (0) 4 407 2763

Contact: Swapna Kulkarni, +91 22 4255 4729, swapna.kulkarni@ mmi-india.in

Contact: Ajay Mahajan, +91 98150 49037, ajay.mahajan@ ieema.org

Event: Solar Middle East 2015 Date: 2- 4 March 2015 Venue: Dubai International Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE Contact: Feroz Parkar, +971 4 407 2406, feroz.parkar@informa. com

Event: Smart Cities India 2015 Date: 20- 22 May 2015 Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi Contact: sanjayb@eigroup. inmedia.com/ Tel: +91 11 4279 5000

Event: India Smart Grid Week

Event: Solar South 2015

Date: March 03 - 07, 2015

Date: 19-21 June 2015

Venue: Bangalore International Exhibition Center, Bangaluru, India

Venue: Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, TN

Contact: JoshiS@md-india.com

Event: Optimization Of Power Generation In India Summit Date: 26th & 27th March 2015 Venue: Ahmedabad, India Contact: +91 80 4963 7000/ shailaja.shet@besummits.com

Event: 7th International Battery Expo & Recycling Conference 2015 Date: 3rd- 5th March 2015 Venue: Marriott Resort, Goa, India Contact: +91 8860 786 963/ Ajay Ray Chaudhuri

Contact: +91 44 2250 1985 / 86 / 87 / 88

Event: 3rd International Conference & Exhibition on Energy Storage & Microgrids in India Date: 08-09 Dec 2015 Venue: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India Contact: Shraddha Malik, +91 (0) 11 2690 1659, MalikS@mdindia.com

Event: Enerasia 2015 Date: 18-20 Dec 2015 Venue: NA Contact: Enerasia Marketing Office, +91 79 27496737, 27494266, booking@enerasia.in

Event: GulfSol 2015 Date: 14-16 Sept 2015 Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE Contact: David Jones, + 44 (0) 208 638 0619, David@bowheadmedia.com

Event: 9th REI 2015 Date: 23-25 Sept 2015 Venue: India Expo Centre, Noida, India Contact: Rajneesh Khattar, +91 98717 26762, rajneesh.khattar@ ubm.com

61 

Jan/ Feb 2015 SmartEnergy 

ADVERTISERS INDEX 5th World Petrocoal Congress

55

Akshaya Solar Power (I) Pvt.Ltd

49

Electrotherm Solar Ltd. Exide Industries Ltd.

9 IFC

Four-C-Tron

19

Gangadan Energy Pvt.Ltd.

BC

India Smart Grid Week 2015

53

Intelect 2015

13

K-Lite Industries

7

Mersen India Pvt.Ltd

3

Middle East Electricity 2015

47

Saudi Power 2015

59

Smart Cities India 2015 Solar South 2015 Unik Power Pvt.Ltd

62 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2015

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