Smart energy Jan Feb 2017 by SmartEnergy

SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

Volume IV, Issue I

Pages 52

`200

ISSN 2348-5027

Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence

GREEN

HIGHWAYS

OF POWER Power to The People: An Innovative Finance Model for Solar Power Generation p26 Grid Parity and Role of Solar Energy In Clean Development of India p44

S PRODUCT UPDATE N, DY EB W UJAAS ENERGY, RM TROTHE , INGETEAM, ELEC NEXTRACKER

SmartEnergy Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence

Editor Santosh Khadtare santosh@supersmartenergy.com

Associate Editor Anisha Ganguli EDITORIAL ADVISER Pragya Sharma Editorial Coordinator Varsha

Graphic Designer D. Vaidya Advertising & Marketing Head- Marketing & Business Development Sapna K sapna.smartenergy@gmail.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 Printed, published and edited by Santosh Khadtare on behalf of Genesis Info-Media, published at 509, 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 2017

Editor's Note Dear Readers, As 2016 ends, the year 2017 heralds a new beginning that is full of hope, aspirations, dreams and expectations, and why not? The year 2016 was a momentous year for the solar and wind sector in India and around the globe. In 2016 the solar sector in India hit 10GW of deployment taking 1% of the Nation’s electricity share. The sector witnessed lowest tariffs of Rs.4.34/- per unit and the rooftop sector emerged from the shadows of the large scale PV plants hitting the 1GW mark. The solar park policy was doubled to 40GW and a new ‘Solar Zones’ policy was approved. The sector also witnessed M&A activity, prominent once being Greenko buying SunEdison’s majority of assets in India and the takeover of Welspun Renewables by the Tata’s. The wind sector was also not far behind with India emerging as the fourth largest wind-power producer in the world after China, USA and Germany. Together, power generation from the renewable sources like solar and wind now contributes 7.54% to the Nation’s total electricity generation. Though 2016 saw the coming of age of the solar and wind energy, the sector has its set of challenges that needs to be overcome to keep the momentum going into 2017. Few of them are the lack of proper evacuation infrastructure, non availability of easy and low cost financing, quality of equipments used in projects, dumping of products emerging from low cost destinations like China and Taiwan. As we enter 2017 the industry is approaching the year with great anticipation and hop and so are we. For us it has been an exciting, enduring, fulfilling and learning journey of three years. From being a new entrant we have been successful in creating a space and brand value and today Smart Energy is widely followed and read by the leaders and professionals from the solar and wind industry. It has been our constant endeavour to keep the industry updated with the latest happening from the industry in India and around the globe. As the industry grows and strives to set and create benchmarks, we at Smart Energy are all set to bring to you the finer points from the industry and keep you updated. Happy New Year 2017! Santosh K Editor Santosh@supersmartenergy.com Like SmartEnergy on Facebook @

www.facebook.com/smartenergymagazine

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Content

SmartEnergy 32

38 INTERVIEW Vikalp Mundra Jt. MD, Ujaas Energy Limited and Organising Committee Member, INTELECT 2017

Cover Story Green Highways of Power

22 Special Feature The Brewing Indian Power Sector Authored By: Anisha Ganguli

26 FINANCE Power to the People: An Innovative Finance Model for Solar Power Generation Authored By: Prof. Dr. Ajay Chandak & Anurag Chandak

40 ENERGY STORAGE Microcell TM Carbon Foam (MCF) batteries for Photovoltaic application Authored By: Firefly Batteries

REGULARS 08. News Updates 15. Inshorts 48. Events Watch 50. Advertisers Index

SPOTLIGHT Grid Parity And Role Of Solar Energy In Clean Development Of India Authored By: Dr. Vikas Khare

EVENTS report 46. Energy Storage India 2017

6 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

prpduct updtaes 16. Ujaas Energy 16. Webdyn 18. Ingeteam 20. Electrotherm 21. NEXTracker

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Structural EPC Solutions Design, Manufacture & Installation of Solar Module Mounting Structures

News Updates AES and Mitsubishi Corp. to Deliver India’s First GridScale Energy Storage Array to Tata Power DDL AES India, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation, announced a joint partnership agreement to deliver India’s first grid-scale energy storage array to the electric grid operated by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata PowerDDL). AES and Mitsubishi Corporation will develop and own the 10 megawatt (MW) Advancion energy storage array, which will demonstrate peak load management, increase system flexibility and support high levels of reliability for more than 7 million customers in the region. This is the first grid-scale project in India, and part of a larger global trend to solve critical infrastructure challenges using batterybased energy storage. “For a rooftop solar program to be successful, it is important for the distribution network to integrate it with energy storage solutions to take care of power generation spikes and fluctuations, system stability, reactive power compensation and grid emergencies. Tata Power-DDL has implemented many smart grid technologies and is privileged to implement India’s first

utility-scale 10 MW storage solution with AES and Mitsubishi Corporation. This will prove to be an important learning for developing integrated rooftop solar and storage solutions for India,” said Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD, Tata Power-DDL. India plans to install 160,000 MW of solar and wind generation over the next five years and energy storage will play a critical role in ensuring its integration into the grid. “Rapidly growing generation capacity will need large scale deployment of energy storage for transmission decongestion, protecting processing plants from grid frequency and voltage drop triggered outages,” said Rajendra Shrivastav, President of AES India. “We expect electricity regulators in India will understand and appreciate the value of ancillary services these storage systems bring into the system operation.” With this 10 MW Advancion array, Tata Power-DDL will benefit from the platform’s fourth-generation design and AES' experience gained from more than 3.5 mil-

lion megawatt-hours of delivered service across the global fleet of deployments. “By choosing energy storage over other alternatives, Tata PowerDDL is taking smart steps to modernize their power system, improve grid efficiency and provide better integration of distributed and renewable resources,” said Manish Kumar, Managing Director of AES Energy Storage. “Their pioneering work will pave the way for the rapid deployment of energy storage throughout the country.” The Advancion energy storage array will be constructed in Rohini, Delhi at a site operated by Tata Power-DDL. The array will provide peak load management, grid stability, and renewable integration services in the region when operational by the end of 2017. Advancion is the world’s most proven energy storage platform, with 166 MW in operation and 270 MW in construction or late stage development across seven countries, four continents, and eight different power markets ■

3 GW of new solar soon to be tendered in India The Indian solar market is all set to witness two large-scale solar projects auctions hits. Combined, the two tenders are for 2.8 GW of new solar PV that will be spread across various utilityscale projects. The larger of the two tenders is a SECI auction for 2.3 GW of solar projects. SECI managing director, Ashvini Kumar, made the announcement for the tender, stating that it was the final stage of the 5.5.GW of solar energy that the organization had committed to, as 3.2 GW of that commitment had already been

8 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

tendered, and power purchase agreements (PPAs) already in place. In addition to the 2.3 GW of solar that will make up this new tender, Kumar also announced that the new and renewable energy ministry had approved a separate tender for 100 MW of rooftop solar to be installed on various government buildings. Over to Tamil Nadu, and the state is still taking a leading role in the country’s solar deployment, this time with the initiation of a 500 MW solar tender. TENGEDCO is

conducting the tender, as part of its renewable purchase obligation (RPO), with bids now being accepted up until 10 February. The bidders can enter projects any from 1 MW to 500 MW in any one site, with the upper tariff limit for energy generation being set at Rs. 4.50 (USD 0.066) per kWh. This is a 12% reduction from the Rs. 5.10 (USD 0.075) it had issued in October, which is testament to the price direction in which solar energy is heading. The reward for the winners in the auction, however, is a 25-year PPA ■  www.supersmartenergy.com

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News Updates Hartek Power doubles solar capacity to 528 MW in this fiscal Hartek Power has completed solar power projects of 270 megawatts spread across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka in the first three quarters of this fiscal, taking its total solar projects capacity under EPC contracts to 528 mw.

in grid connectivity. As of March 31, 2016, it had completed 258 MW of solar projects. The company has presence in 18 states for solar projects. It is focusing in South India and places like Jharkhand to consolidate its position.

The Chandigarh-based company undertakes engineering, procurement and construction projects from independent power producers and specialises

"At the same time, we are strengthening our hold in states like Punjab where we have traditionally been doing well," Chairman Hartek Singh said. "In fact,

NEXTracker Partners with CleanMax Solar to Deliver Solar Power in TN NEXTracker™, a Flex company, announced it has partnered with CleanMax Solar, India’s largest solar developer for corporate consumers, to supply 30 MW of its advanced NX Horizon singleaxis trackers to a project in Tamil Nadu. The grid-connected project will deliver energy to a major IT consumer in Chennai, under a long-term contract with CleanMax Solar. Set up under the Group Captive Scheme, 100% of the electricity generated will be consumed in Tamil Nadu. The system is expected to be operational by the end of Q1 2017. “We are proud to be partnering with India’s leader in the corporate solar market, CleanMax Solar,” said NEXTracker CEO, Dan Shugar. “In the five years since its inception, CleanMax Solar has assembled an impressive portfolio of global industrial corporations to which it is providing clean energy generation. Our advanced solar tracker technology and experience in the India market will complement CleanMax Solar’s efforts to accelerate India’s private sector adoption of renewable power generation.”

10 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

“We are pleased to be working with NEXTracker on this project. The Company has a strong global track record of executing projects with superior design engineering and exceptional customer service,” stated CleanMax Solar Managing Director, Kuldeep Jain. “As the leading provider of solar power to corporate in India, we are always looking for the best technology to increase the output from our solar plants, and NEXTracker’s technology complements this approach perfectly.” Traditionally a non-tracker market, India’s solar tracker market is expected to grow exponentially by 2021, amounting to 31% of ground mount projects, up from 7% in 2016. Many developers, such as CleanMax Solar, are expressing interest in solar tracking systems for private PPAs. NEXTracker recently supplied India’s largest solar tracker project to date – the 105 MW Adani Power Plant in Punjab. NEXTracker’s proven high quality design, coupled with local deployment, installation and commissioning support are ideal for large-scale solar in India ■

out of the 500 mw solar projects awarded by the Punjab government in the phase-3 auction, Hartek Power has bagged orders for 200 mw projects," he added. India's installed solar generation capacity has increased four times to 10 GW from 2.5 GW in less than three years, offering huge opportunities for growth to companies like Hartek Power ■

Hero Future Energies raises $125 million from IFC In the first major fundraising exercise in the renewable energy space this calendar year, Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Pawan Munjal-led Hero Group has raised $125 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC)–the private sector investment arm of the World Bank–and the IFC Global Infrastructure Fund. The deal, according to Rahul Munjal, chairman and MD of Hero Future Energies, will help power the company towards achieving its aim of developing 2,700 MW of clean energy capacity by 2020. The independent power producer has an operating capacity of around 360 MW at present and has another 1,400 MW of projects under development. Its clean energy portfolio is skewed in favour of wind power at present, which comprises 80 percent of its total capacity, with solar power accounting for the rest ■  www.supersmartenergy.com

Rays Power Infra successfully commissions 5.75 MW Solar PV Project in Telangana Maintaining its streak of successful projects, Rays Power Infra, one of India’s leading Solar Energy companies, announces the commissioning of its latest Solar PV project in the state of Telangana. The 5.75 MW project was undertaken for the company’s most prestigious client – Earth Solar. The Project execution commenced within 7 months of its inception. It was executed by

Rays Power Infra on turnkey basis, right from land acquisition till commissioning. Additionally, the extensive project was completed at a remote location with very tough site conditions. Commenting on the milestone, Sanjay Garudapally, Director Business Development, Rays Power Infra, said, “This project is very special for us as it was the first secondary acquisition for our group. I want to con-

Metro Cash & Carry partners with Amplus Energy Solutions for Solar Rooftop projects METRO Cash & Carry, India’s leading wholesaler has partnered with Amplus Energy Solutions to install solar rooftop projects at selected METRO outlets across India. METRO will begin with solar rooftop units at 5 of its outlets in Telangana, West Bengal and Punjab, and intends to follow up with more installations in the coming months. With this partnership, Amplus would invest around INR 25 crore to install rooftop solar on the METRO outlets across the selected states - Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal. Metro Cash & Carry plans to reduce its CO2 emissions by 1,72,500MT or reduced consumption of 12,75,000 barrels of crude oil which will be equivalent to planting 2.15 lakh trees in India with this installation. The Gurgaon-based Amplus will install the solar at METRO outlets, operate and maintain the project for a minimum period of 25 years. Amplus is on a rapid growth path and is looking to further expand

its geographic footprint in India and hire resources. Amplus is currently serving more than 30 clients in 200+ locations across India. Going forward, Amplus has plans to achieve 100MW of solar rooftop projects in this fiscal year with over 50MW already clocked in. Speaking about this project, Mr. Sanjeev Aggarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Amplus Energy said “The large format retail outlets provide a perfect avenue for us to install solar rooftop panels. Metro Cash & Carry in India has been making big inroads in Indian retail sector and we would like to be part of their growth story by helping them cut down their emissions by installing solar rooftop system. We are very excited to work with them to meet their clean energy requirements in India”. Industry experts believe the Indian rooftop market is currently growing at over 100% annually. The government aims to increase energy sourced from solar rooftop systems to 40 gigawatts by 2022 ■

gratulate my highly skilled team of professionals, who played a vital role at every stage of this project’s execution and commissioning within the set timeline.” With this project, the total portfolio of commissioned projects under Rays Power Infra goes up to 320 MW in India, and 76 MW in the state of Telangana ■

Tata Power’s non-fossil fuel capacity stands at 3133 MW Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, today announced that the Company’s total generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources stands at 3133 MW, making it the largest renewable energy Company in India. The Company’s robust non-fossil fuel portfolio comprises of 693 MW of Hydro, 990 MW of Solar, 1074 MW of Wind, and 375 MW of waste gas based generation. Taking a step further towards building a greener portfolio last year, the Company revised its share of non-fossil fuel based capacity up to 35-40% by 2025. The Company’s wind generation capacity has also increased by 82% in FY17, up from 591 MW in FY 16 to 1074 MW in FY 17, and solar generation capacity has by 1554%, up from 60 MW in FY16 to 990 MW in FY17. The Company has several renewable energy projects located in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan ■

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

News Updates Waaree Energies bags CBIP Award Greenko Energy for Best Solar PV Module Manufac- Holdings Orders turer & Solar Power Developer 616 Megawatts Solar Inverters Waaree Energies announced that it has bagged CBIP Award for from SMA Best Solar PV Module Manufacturer & Solar Power Developer.

Waaree Energies, one of India’s most diversified and fastest growing solar power solutions company constantly endeavoured to deliver excellence across all verticals contributing towards the fast development of India’s energy sector. In recognition of the company’s commitment, Chairman of Waaree Energies Hitesh Doshi, and Sunil Rathi, Director has been honoured at the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) Awards for Best Solar PV Module Manufacturer & Solar

Greenko Energy Holdings, which now controls solar power assets of SunEdison India, has given a large order of solar inverters.

Power Developer by Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, MoS for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The company in a statement said “We would like to take this moment to thank all our customers, partners, employees and each and everyone who has been part of this success story. Thank you for showing your faith in WAAREE Group." ■

Ganges Internationale to install 10 MW ground mount structure at Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams Ganges Internationale Pvt. Ltd (GIPL) has bagged the mandate to set up 10 MW solar mounting structures and tracking systems for Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh. Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent trust managing the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. To harness solar energy, preeminent Temple trusts are now opting to utilize their vacant land and install efficient solar units. In a bid to contribute to a sustainable green eco-system in the country, GIPL structures are chosen by the developer to implement an effective solar solution and bring down its expenditure towards power

12 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

consumption. At TTD, the organization will install 10 MW ground mounting structure to help access approximately 44MWh units of electricity per day. TTD will utilize its unused land to generate solar energy, where the power generation will be utilized for different energy requirements in and around places. "It is a great initiative by TTD and contributes towards the concept of 'zero energy' buildings. Our organization has always been on the forefront, offering worldclass technology and exemplary engineered products to our customers looking out for sustainable green energy solutions," said CEO Ganges Internationale, Vinay Goyal ■

SMA, one of India’s major solar inverters providers, has landed an order to supply 616 MW of inverters for Greenko’s solar power projects in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. SMA shall supply Greenko with its ‘high-performance, cost-efficient’ Sunny Central 1000CP XT inverters. The solar inverters are likely to be used at, perhaps, the largest solar power project being developed by a single company in India. SunEdison India had secured the rights to develop a 500 MW solar power project in Andhra Pradesh. SunEdison had secured the project at a record-breaking tariff of Rs. 4.63 per kWh (US¢7.12/ kWh) beating several leading project developers, including Trina Solar, SkyPower, ACME Solar, Aditya Birla, Azure Power, Welspun Energy, ReNew Power, and Suzlon Energy. Greenko Energy Holdings seems to be progressing well with the project. Recently, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) received payment of $30 million as fees for the development of a 500 MW project. The project was secured by SunEdison India through competitive auction ■

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Suzlon achieves 10GW installed wind energy milestone in India Suzlon Group, one of the leading renewable energy solutions providers in t h e world,

achieved the 10,000 Megawatt (MW) cumulative wind energy installations in India (over 7,500-wind turbines installed pan-India). Suzlon’s 10,000 MW of wind installation is capable of powering over 5 million households per annum and offsets ~21.5 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission annually which is equivalent to plant-

ing over 1500 million trees. Two decades ago, Suzlon Group embarked on a journey in the clean energy space from Gujarat. Today, with cumulative wind energy installations of over 15,500 MW worldwide, Suzlon operates across 17 countries and has over 1700 customers across the globe ■

Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group, on achieving the 10GW milestone.

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This landmark achievement is a testament of the customer confidence in Suzlon’s technologically advanced products and project execution and service capabilities. We are proud to have played a pioneering role in providing clean energy solutions to the nation and making a significant contribution to its energy security and sustainability. We remain committed to enable the Government in achieving its target of 40% renewable energy by 2030. We are committed towards a ramp up in volumes, expand presence in focus markets, realizing business efficiencies, and introduction of new generation products and enable digitization to enhance services and continuous optimization of the capital structure. We have established a multi-pronged strategy that covers continuous R&D and innovation in design, manufacturing and O&M services. We also have a strong presence across customer segments. Our team is looking forward to work collaboratively with our customers, bankers and partners to scale new heights and contribute towards a greener tomorrow.

India emerges the fourth-largest wind power producer in the world With cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of 28,279 MW, India has emerged the fourth-largest wind power producer in the world, after China, USA and Germany. India achieved the largest-ever wind power capacity addition of 3,423 MW in 2015-16, exceeding the target by 43 per cent. During 2016-17, a total OF 1,502 MW capacity has been added till 31 October 2016, making cumulative achievement 28,279 MW. The country also achieved the biggest ever solar power capacity addition of 3,019 MW in 2015-16, exceeding target by 116 per cent. During 2016-17, a total 1,750 MW capacity has been added till 31

October 2016, making cumulative achievement of 8,728 MW. India installed 31,472 solar pumps in 2015-16, which is higher than the total number of pumps installed during last 24 years, i.e., since the beginning of the programme in 1991. So far, 92,305 solar pumps have been installed in the country (as of 31 October 2016). The government had auctioned solar projects of capacity of 20,904 MW in 2015-16. Of these, 11,209 MW capacity has already awarded ■

SECI’s 1GW wind tender sees bids totalling 2.6 GW The 1 gigawatt (GW) tender floated by state-run Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has received 2.6 times the quantum of bids offered for the grid linked capacity. This may potentially bring down wind energy tariffs which currently ranges from Rs3.9 per unit to Rs5.9 per unit.Bids totalling 2,600 MW have been received from 13 companies including Adani Power, Hero Future Energies Pvt. Ltd, Renew Power and Inox Wind for the twostage process—technical and financial. Once, the financial bids are opened, a reverse bid auction process will be run to select the developers. The last date for the bid submission was 9 January ■

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

News Updates Gamesa beats manufacturing record by Producing more than 1,800 Wind Turbines Spanish wind energy giant Gamesa announced that it has beaten its previous wind turbine manufacturing record, set back in 2008, by building more than 1,880 wind turbines so far this year. Gamesa reported that it had beaten its annual turbine manufacturing record, having already made more than 1,880 units with a total productive

capacity of 3,880 megawatts (MW). The new record was a long time in the making, taking eight years to beat 2008’s 3,787 MW. Further, the record was set with turbines assembled all over the world - India (36%), Europe (28%), China (26%) and Brazil (10%). Gamesa was also offered the

opportunity to merge with Siemens Wind Power, a move which was overwhelmingly approved by the company’s shareholders, with 99.75% in favor of the merger. If the merger is further approved by Spanish securities market regulators, “Gamesa will absorb Siemens’s wind power assets in exchange for newly-issued shares in Gamesa.” ■

Windar Photonics wins contract from India's National Institute of Wind Energy AIM-listed wind energy company Windar Photonics has won a public tender for a multi-beam Lidar system from the Indian National Institute of Wind Energy, a research centre. The company, which develops lidar wind sensors for use on electric wind turbines, said the Lidar systems will be installed during the first quarter of 2017 on a wind turbine produced by an Indian original equipment manufacturer in order to optimise the turbine. The Lidar system will enables the wind turbine to yaw and pitch according to the oncoming wind, increasing the power generated by as much as 1-4%

per year and will also prolong life of the wind turbine. The institute works under the Indian government's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and conducts research on wind turbine technology, resource assessment, and verifies wind turbine technology according to standards set by the International Electro technical Commission, a non-governmental body based in Geneva. It also certifies wind turbine technology for the Indian market by ensuring compatibility between the meteorological conditions in the country, with technologies that have been developed and certified for

other regions. Jorgen Korsgaard Jensen, interim chief executive, said: "The order from the Indian National Institute of Wind Energy is another positive development for Windar Photonics in the Indian market, as the Indian National Institute of Wind Energy is a well-respected institution within the Indian wind energy industry. “The expected verification by the Indian National Institute of Wind Energy of our Lidar systems is an important step forward, supporting our future business in India." ■

TN and Gujarat to benefit the most from off-shore wind-farming Huge ‘windfall’ is in store for the south-eastern tip of Tamil Nadu and the Kutch region of Gujarat, which are expected to make the most of off-shore wind-farming, an area that is in vogue in several countries, but still “emerging” in India. Though it entails a three-fold

14 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

increase in expenditure, compared to installing the same on land, the offshore option will obviate the need to use up precious landholdings and as well cut carbon footprint. Eight zones have been identified in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, including Kanyakumari,

Rameswaram, Toothukudi and Jakhau. As the offshore national policy has been gazette-notified, it is now open for the stakeholders to install wind farms up to 12 nautical miles from the coast ■

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Inshorts NATIONAL Vikram Solar announces MoU with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Vikram Solar, a globally recognized leading solar energy solutions provider today announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), an Institute of National Importance listed by the Government of India. IIEST is recognized as one of the Centres of Excellence in Solar Energy by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India. The announcement was made at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Hon'ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at a Session on Industry-Academia Collaborations with CII.

Dino Announces the Acquisition of a Solar Power Project in India Dino Energy Corporation listed on the US OTC Market, announced that it has entered into a conditional and non-binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) dated January 10, 2017 in which Dino intends to acquire a solar power project in India from Prestige Ocean Holding and Investments Ltd. , a Hong Kong based company.

Karnataka amends state solar policy, targets solar generation at 6,000 MW by 2021 In tune with the tariff policy announced by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) last year, the State Government has amended its 2014-21 Solar Policy and set an ambitious target for the solar generation at 6,000 MW by March 2021. Current installed capacity, including rooftop, is 300 MW.

A meeting of the State Cabinet, presided by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, approved the changes in the policy to encourage harnessing solar energy. The State’s solar energy potential is estimated in excess of 24,700 MW.

"A total of 2.51 lakh RECs were traded in the REC trading session held on 28th December, 2016 at IEX," it said in a statement

Grants to support net metering on anvil

Global solar EPC firm Sterling and Wilson announced the signing of agreement with a consortium led by ACWA Power to construct a 170 MW photovoltaic (PV) facility in Morocco. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at COP 22 in Marrakech, the company said in a statement.

India has proposed providing a grant of up to INR3.75 million per MW (US$54,100) to encourage distribution companies (Discoms) to support net metering of rooftop solar on their networks. In a ‘Concept Note’, the Indian government described a performance-based incentive scheme for Discoms to boost the implementation of grid-connected rooftop solar systems by supporting 1,350MW in various sectors.

Azure Power commissions 150MW solar power project in North India Azure Power, a leading solar power producer in India, announced that it has commissioned the largest (150 MW) solar power project in north India, in the state of Punjab in December 2016. For this project, Azure Power had signed a solar power implementation agreement with Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) under its Solar Policy Phase III. The 150 MW solar power plant represents a portfolio of three projects of 50 MW each. The weighted average tariff on these projects is Rs 5.63 (US$ 8.5 cents) per kWh and the company will supply power to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited for 25 years.

Sterling and Wilson bags 170 MW solar project in Morocco

"The NOOR PV I Program will consist of three projects: NOOR Ouarzazate IV, with a capacity of around 70MW, NOOR Laayoune, 80 MW and NOOR Boujdour, 20 MW. This is the first solar PV phase of the NOOR Solar Plan, which has already seen three major Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects in Ouarzazate," the statement said.

Sany Plans to Set up 1 GW of Renewable Energy Capacity in India According to a release, the group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Gujarat to set up 1 GW of wind and solar power capacity between 2017 and 2022. In addition to power projects, the company will also set up manufacturing facilities for wind energy equipment. The total investment planned by Sany in the state’s clean energy and infrastructure development is $2 billion ■

2.51 lakh RECs traded in December: IEX A total of 2.51 lakh renewable energy certificates (RECs) were traded in December, power exchange IEX said.

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Product Updates

Ujaas Energy introduces UjaasHome, the power of sun to your doorstep

jaas Energy brings the power of sun to your doorstep through their newly launched segment, UjaasHome. Offering small on-grid solutions to the customer, Ujaas provides customers an opportunity to produce clean energy for their own house. The product was launched at the INTELECT 2017 & DISTRIBUELEC, the three day (23rdJanuary-25th January 2017) exhibition cum conference organized by IEEMA at the India Expo Center, Greater Noida. UjaasHome is the perfect Residential Solar RoofTop Solution for producing clean green energy.Consumers can now produce solar energy for their captive usages and save up to 50% on their electricity bills. The solutions provided by UjaasHome can produce power ranging from 1.92KW to 10.24 KW.

shadow / space issues. The value system for UjaasHome products provides consumers the following: One Stop Solution: Provide turnkey solutions where the customer needs to only sign on the dotted line & rest all (planning, designing, all Statutory approvals, Installation, Commissioning & Subsidy Claiming) is taken care by Ujaas Home. Complete Peace of Mind: Ujaas Home monitors your power generation in real time and provides Proactive Support which is India’s First. UjaasHome also brings with it the much-needed innovation in the field of Domestic RoofTop Solar System Installations – “The Elevated Fixtures” for roofs having

Lifetime Support: Ujaas Provides a 25 year power generation warranty for your Domestic RoofTop Solar System ■

Vikalp Mundra, Jt. MD, Ujaas Energy Limited on the launch of UjaasHome.

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UjaasHome carries forward the concept of “Own Your Sun” with primary focus on affordable RoofTop Solar System Solutions for the domestic / residential sector, providing an opportunity for households to not only save on the electricity bills but also generate clean & green electricity with a possibility that the surplus electricity will reach the underprivileged.Hence, our vision is to offer a simple, universally acceptable, easily maintainable system of green energy to humanity at large.

French Company Webdyn bring efficient solar energy to India The French company (Webdyn SA) of high customer value into the field of M2M connect and remote monitoring systems has entered in India with its product Webdynsun seeking India as the growing & hot market for Solar and hence the O & M activities for solar to get the maximum out of the solar energy.

trializes material and embedded software solutions for M2M Communication and has a strong presence in France and other European countries since the last 15 years. The company is a European leader of supplying multi-protocols concentrators and sensors that cover all the applications of teleservice and monitoring.

Webdyn is a research oriented company which designs, indus-

Also present for over a year in India, Webdyn helps its clients

16 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

with monitoring management of their solar plants, collecting heterogeneous data on the field and delivering it via Ethernet or GPRS to a monitoring portal. Indeed, to optimize the production, the output and the quality of service of a solar power plant, a good monitoring analysis of the PV system is required. To enable this,

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Product Updates it is necessary to collect three main levels of data: ii Meters that provide the exact status of the production or consumption and working information ii Parameters and alarms that come from the central device of installation, like inverters in a solar plant, to have a better view of the equipment situation ii Environmental information coming from sensors (irradiance, temperature, hygrometry, wind speed, etc) To help with the smart collection of data, Webdyn has developed two main products: WebdynSun The WebdynSun gateway is used to monitor and collect data from

…). We are ﬂattered by the acceptance of our products in the Indian market and very honored to contribute at our level, in the implementation of the announced commitments by the Government of India to the UN on solar energy. We will make every eﬀort to make this a long term commitment, particularly by manufacturing our products in India hopefully by the end of this year

Hervé Bibollet, Managing Director , Webdyn

a solar plant installation. The gateway brings together on a single unit all the indicators from the inverters, the electric meters and the environmental sensors (sunshine intensity, temperature, wind speed, etc.) through a set of multiprotocol interfaces (specific inverter protocol, Modbus, wired

WebdynModbus The WebdynModbus gateway enables to manage or collect data from Modbus equipment (slaves). On a single box, the gateway includes a RTU Modbus and TCP Modbus interface and Ethernet and GPRS interfaces to communicate with the information system. With already almost 100 sites set up across the country, the company is working with several clients in the area of Solar & Renewable energies such as Sterling & Wilson, CleanMax Energy, Renew Power, Waree, Amplus Solar... Discussions are also underway with Indian inverter suppliers to distribute WebdynSun gateways which can be integrated into their solutions ■

Ingeteam launches its new INGECON SUN CON40 Power Station Ingeteam has recently launched to the market its new INGECON SUN CON40 power station and has now started assembling the first units for different utility-scale projects. This 40-foot-long ISO container is able to reach an output power of 4.92 MWAC, as it features three 1,500 VDC central inverters, each one providing 1,640 kW. This new PV inverter series with a higher DC voltage is now in full production. The medium voltage solution IS CON40 has been conceived to maximise the compactness and cost-effectiveness of the overall equipment, as it is delivered

18 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

fully equipped: three PV central inverters, medium voltage switchgear, medium voltage transformer (with reduced power losses) and auxiliary services panel. Thanks to the use of outdoor PV inverters and its innovative design, all devices are readily accessible. The LV/MV transformer compartment and the PV inverters compartments are naturally air cooled, while the MV switchgear and auxiliary services panel are installed in an IP55 compartment, ensuring their maximum protection. Moreover, the power station can also be supplied with high-speed Ethernet / Fibre Optic communication infrastructure to connect to the power plant controller, monitoring and/ or SCADA systems, also supplied by

Ingeteam. The INGECON SUN CON40 has been specifically designed so that it can be marketed by sea freight anywhere in the world. The structure, that can withstand big loads, consists of a single block of welded steel, to ensure top resistance and durability over time. Furthermore, it is provided with all the internal wiring to facilitate an immediate plug-and-play installation on site. This power station series complies with the most demanding international grid codes, contributing to the quality and stability of the electric system with its low-voltage ride-through capability, reactive power injection and active power control. To date, Ingeteam has supplied over 39GW to the wind and photovoltaic markets globally, proving itself to be one of the leading power converter manufacturers worldwide ■

 www.supersmartenergy.com

17-19

MAY

Renewables | Fossil Fuels | Nuclear

PRAGATI MAIDAN, NEW DELHI, INDIA www.power-genindia.com

India is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world and energy consumption is projected to rise by 128% to 2035. As India is looking to meet rising energy demands and to secure a lower carbon future, now is the time your business should be showcasing its products or services to the Indian power sector.

Meet new business connections at Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading clean energy event

www.power-genindia.com

Event Organiz-

ers:

Presented by:

Supporting Organization:

Product Updates

Solar Inverter Duty Transformers The entire country is rushing towards supply and commissioning of Solar Power Stations of several MW. The initiative taken by Centre on implementation of 22 GW in the beginning of the financial year forced the Solar Industry to seriously think on demand supply value chain to diagnose right path for quick supply & commissioning of such large Power plant. In Solar Industry, even a year back, the trend was commissioning of 10 - 15 MW per quarter, which has seen a paradigm shift with revised announcement of 100 GW within 2015 by centre. This altogether has given a sudden jerk in the Solar Industry market and rate race has started. While Inverter Unit size has gone up in recent one year, ample supply of PV modules from the country as well as abroad also geared up parallely. The most essential equipment for the complete integration was left - & that was designing of large size Inverter Duty Transformers. Large size Inverter Duty Transformer help devel-

opers & EPC contractors to complete their project comparatively in less time plus the cable work also reduces leading to project cost savings. It is imperative to go for larger size Transformers to save time and of course the economy of the project also gets addressed at the same time. Electrotherm has been pioneer in designing multi secondary Transformers for last 2 decades and that has helped Electrotherm to cater to the need of Solar Market. Nowadays Developers are going for 33 kV or 11 kV, 4 to 5 MVA Multi winding (5 winding or more) Inverter Duty Transformers. In ET, we have been manufacturing similar Transformers for capacity up to 30 MVA for industrial applications which added benefits to the market to easily identify us as the most desirable manufacturer. Timely Delivery of consignment & continuous performance backed up by trained technicians for commissioning support has been the basic motivation for our customers to select us as the best partner. Efficiency carries

highest significance in Solar Duty Transformer. To cut short the installation/ testing & commissioning of Transformer, Breakers and laying and termination of cables, developers are nowadays looking for compact & fully integrated solution for the AC part. Electrotherm has been pioneer in supplying Solar Power House which includes all supplies from DCDB to AC Grid in a single container solution. The Solar Power House is a hot cake product in Solar Market which serves all need of AC part of the power generation & thus the developers are able to commission Power Stations of 100 MW size within challenging time line of 5 to 6 months ■

Sanjib Mitra- Country Head Sales & Marketing (Transformers & Solar Solutions), Electrotherm (India) Ltd. "Due to our excellent track record we have been blessed with continuous repeat orders from developers / EPC contractors in Solar Field. We are proud to say that ET Transformers has been found as most efficient and trust worthy Transformers in Solar Industry. Currently we are supplying Transformers worth 50 MW to 60 MW Solar Power Capacity per month on an average, which cumulatively serves 700 MW per annum. We have launched expansion plan to take the figure up to 1200 MW per annum in next 2 years time."

For More Information Contact: Electrotherm (India) Ltd.- 72, Palodia (via Thaltej), Ahmedabad – 382 115 T: +91 2717 660550/ E: tinfo@electrotherm.com

20 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

 www.supersmartenergy.com

NEXTracker™ Launches the Industry's 1st Solar Tracker Plus Storage Solution NEXTracker, a Flex company, announced today it has launched an innovative solar plus energystorage solution for U.S. and international markets. NX Fusion Plus integrates the latest, best-in-class solar tracker, battery, inverter, and software to deliver better return on investment to owners of solar power plants. By incorporating battery storage technology into its product, NEXTracker is further increasing the energy output and duration of solar power plants, just as tracking technology did for fixed-tilt solar applications. "NX Fusion Plus is an incredibly powerful development for the energy industry," said NEXTracker CTO Alex Au. "Our goal has always been to identify the best technologies for addressing solar generation's intermittency. We can now dispatch uninterrupted clean energy in the most effective manner possible for the customer. Our tracker becomes the data acquisition backbone of the plant, offering complete system analytics and monitoring. NX Fusion Plus enables higher return on investment than solar alone because we can now utilize more clipped1 energy and offset demand charges for end users. This is particularly attractive to customers such as farms in the Central Valley of California. We can also provide stable, reliable power in countries such as India, where power fluctuates."

The NX Fusion Plus enables customers to use more solar energy throughout the day while simultaneously lowering their electricity bills. As the #1 solar tracker supplier worldwide, NEXTracker is able to leverage economies of scale with parent company, Flex. In order to bring solar + storage into the mainstream, NEXTracker leverages Flex's secure data platform with NEXTracker's predictive smart control software, which is already embedded in the tracker's electronics. Complementing this product portfolio is machine learning capability, acquired through the purchase of BrightBox earlier this year. "We are excited about the new opportunities that NX Fusion Plus opens up for our agricultural customers," says Dylan Dupre, CEO of CalCom Solar. "It's a perfect match for distributed generation power plants. With large-scale solar + storage and smart software and controls, our customers will have a solution that lowers their energy bill and peak hour demand charges. We're anticipating an enhanced ROI from the savings NX Fusion Plus can create through

demand management and energy load shifting." Prior to the advent of solar trackers, fixed-tilt systems were the only mounting option for PV and delivered a single output profile. With the maturity of the solar power plants and accompanying technologies – such as NEXTracker's advanced self-powered tracker– the solar generation curve has broadened, delivering more energy production to owneroperators. With NEXTracker's solar + storage solution, NX Fusion Plus, the tracker generation curve is now even further broadened, by shifting excess energy from peak periods to later in the day. "This solution brings together the NEXTracker protocol, the machine learning and predictive analytics capability of Brightbox and Flex's cyber-secure software platform to ultimately deliver more value to the end-user," noted Scott Graybeal, Senior Vice President, Flex Energy Solutions ■

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Special Feature

The Brewing Indian Power Sector Authored by: Anisha Ganguli

he Indian power sector is undergoing an incredible change that has reshaped the industry outlook. Sustained economic growth continues to propel electricity demand in India. The Government of India’s focus on attaining ‘Power for all’ has accelerated capacity addition in the country. At the same time, the competitive intensity is increasing at both the market and supply sides (fuel, logistics, finances, and manpower). The Planning Commission’s 12th Five-Year Plan estimates total domestic energy production to reach 669.6 Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (MTOE) by 2016–17 and 844 MTOE by 2021–22. India’s wind power capacity, installed in 2016, is estimated to increase 20 per cent over last year to 2,800 MW, led by favorable policy support that has encouraged both independent power producers (IPP) and non-IPPs. India is expected to add nearly 4,000 MW of solar power

22 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

in 2016, nearly twice the addition of 2,133 MW in 2015.India’s wind energy market is expected to attract investments totaling Rs 1,00,000 crore (US$ 14.91 billion) by 2020, and wind power capacity is estimated to almost double by 2020 from over 23,000 MW in June 2015, with an addition of about 4,000 MW per annum in the next five years. Around 293 global and domestic companies have committed to generate 266 GW of solar, wind, mini-hydel and biomass-based power in India over the next 5–10 years. The initiative would entail an investment of about US$ 310– 350 billion.Between April 2000 and March 2016, the industry attracted US$ 10.48 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Some major investments and developments in the Indian power sector are as follows: ii French power major EDF Ener-

gies, has announced that EDF plans to invest US$ 2 billion in renewable energy projects in India. ii International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, plans to invest Rs 840 crore (US$ 125.3 million) in Hero Future Energies Limited, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group, which will be used to fund the construction of solar and wind power plants. ii GAIL India Limited plans to enter into a partnership with Californiabased Bloom Energy Corporation to pursue natural gas-based fuel cell power generation, which is expected to help the country move away from relying on capital intensive fixed power infrastructure to capital light and soft infrastructure. ii The State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an agreement with The World Bank for Rs 4,200 crore

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(US$ 626.3 million) credit facility, aimed at financing Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (GRPV) projects in India. ii The World Bank Group has committed to provide US$ 1 billion for India’s solar energy projects and plans to work with other multilateral development banks and financial institutions to develop financing instruments to support future solar energy development in the country.

to four years. ii Sembcorp Industries have launched a 2,640 Mega Watt (MW) Sembcorp Gayatri power complex worth US$ 3 billion in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, which is the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)–driven project on a single site in the thermal power industry in India.

ii Aditya Birla Group has announced a partnership with the Abraaj Group, a leading investor in global growth markets, to build a large-scale renewable energy platform that will develop utility-scale solar power plants in India. The Government of India has iden-

ii The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has signed an agreement with Germanybased KfW Development Bank to fund the Rs 300 crore (US$ 44.7 million) floating solar project in Maharashtra and Kerala, which is expected to generate over 310 MW of green energy. ii CLP India, one of the largest foreign investors in India’s power sector, has acquired a 49 per cent stake in SE Solar, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set-up by Suzlon Group for building a 100 MW solar energy plant at Veltoor in Telangana, for Rs 73.5 crore (US$ 10.96 million). ii Canada’s second largest pension fund, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), has set up its office in India and committed to invest US$ 150 million in the Indian renewable energy sector over the next three

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Special Feature tified renewable sector as a key sector of focus so as to promote sustained industrial growth. Some initiatives by the Government of India to boost the Indian power sector:

of Solar Energy and Nano Material Research, which is expected to yield high quality and high impact research outputs having industrial relevance, targeted towards addressing societal needs.

ii The Government of India plans to set up a US$ 400 million fund, sourced from The World Bank, which would be used to protect renewable energy producers from payment delays by power distribution firms, while at the same time protecting the distribution firms from the shrinking market for conventional grid-connected power, caused by wider adoption of rooftop solar power generation.

ii The Government of India plans to start as many as 10,000 solar, wind and biomass power projects in next five years, with an average capacity of 50 kilowatt per project, thereby adding 500 megawatt to the total installed capacity.

ii The Ministry of Power plans to set up two funds of US$ 1 billion each, which would give investment support for stressed power assets and renewable energy projects in the country. ii The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), which provides 30 per cent subsidy to most solar powered items such as solar lamps and solar heating systems, has further extended its subsidy scheme to solar-powered refrigeration units with a view to boost the use of solar-powered cold storages. ii The Ministry of Shipping plans to install 160.64 MW of solar and wind based power systems at all the major ports across the country by 2017, thereby promoting the use of renewable energy sources and giving a fillip to government’s Green Port Initiative. ii The Government of India and the Government of the United Kingdom have signed an agreement to work together in the fields

24 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

ii Government of India has asked states to prepare action plans with year-wise targets to introduce renewable energy technologies and install solar rooftop panels so that the states complement government’s works to achieve 175 GW of renewable power by 2022. ii The Government of India has already announced a massive renewable power production target of 175,000 MW by 2022; this comprises generation of 100,000 MW from solar power, 60,000 MW from wind energy, 10,000 MW from biomass, and 5,000 MW from small hydropower projects. However the pertinent question is whether the Indian energy sector is prepared to absorb such large renewable capacities. The major concerns for the industry are currently around transmission, evacuation, curtailment, timely payments and the outcome of the goods and services tax (GST). Solar park development is experiencing some setbacks due to incomplete infrastructure. In some cases, developers are incurring expenses to clean the land, build roads, and are waiting for power to be evacuated after

commissioning. “Next year will be crucial for India as it tries to install (capacities) at levels that have not been done in the country before,” says Mercom Capital. Apart from payment delays, the sector faces structural problems such as insufficient transmission capacities. Despite their mustrun status, the industry has seen instances of forced back downs due to poor transmission facilities. The existing system is not even able to meet current demand. Last few months, on an average, five million units were lost daily on the Indian Energy Exchange due to congestion on the interstate transmission corridor. There is also poor compliance with the renewable purchase obligation (RPO), which stipulates utilities will source a portion of their electricity requirement from green energy and provides business certainty for the renewable sector. The central government is addressing these concerns through construction of green energy corridors and advisories to state utilities. But progress and compliance on the ground is slow. The need of the hour is grid management. The infirm nature of solar and wind energy can easily destabilize the grid and disturb the whole distribution system, especially so with rising renewable energy capacities. The Government of India is taking a number of steps through various nodal agencies to address these concerns. The Indian power sector is brewing and now the country has to be ready to take advantage of the fruits of its labor ■

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Finance

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

An Innovative Finance Model for Solar Power Generation Authored by: Prof. Dr. Ajay Chandak & Anurag Chandak

olar power projects demand huge capital and that is the biggest bottleneck. 100 GW of solar power projects are expected to cost more than 6 lakh crore rupees for projects and infrastructure. Such huge capital outlay from banks and governments can adversely affect the economy and other flagship programs of GoI like ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Start up India’ etc. Elite economists like Swaminathan Aiyyar has warned against such huge cash outlay from banks can adversely affect ‘Make in India’. Major cost component of solar power is CAPEX which primarily depends on cost of debt, expected returns on equity (RoE), FOREX variations and repayment of debt. One needs to be very cautious on the terms of raising the capital. Any wrong decision here and the investors suffer for life of the project. At present there are utility scales solar power projects which are connected to the grid at high voltage levels and solar rooftop projects which work on netmetering principle and are connected at low voltage levels at tail end of the grid. Utility Scale Projects: Grid tied utility scale projects are promoted on large scale by GoI. Most of

26 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

the projects have come up with reverse bidding mechanism where power purchase agreements are executed with the bidder offering lowest tariff. After exceptionally low tariff of Rs. 4.34 per kWh by Fortum energy of Finland for a 70 MW project in Rajasthan, there has been upward correction and the tariff has settled around Rs. 4.70 per kWh in many of the recent bids. SECI has also introduced VGF (Viability Gap Funding) mechanism to maintain solar tariff in competitive range. With small component of capital subsidised by SECI to maintain tariff below Rs. 4.50 per kWh. Current tariff levels in VGF contracts are around Rs. 4.35 per kWh. Even though these tariffs appear on lower side, effective tariff is more than Rs. 6 per kWh after discounting effect of VGF and accelerated depreciation. This is almost double that of coal based power and we may need few more years for solar power to compete with dirty power. Rooftop Solar Power Installation: Solar rooftop net metering scheme is a big compromise. Solar rooftop projects make distribution network complex, increase accident proneness, compromise quality of power in terms of harmonic distortions and voltage

levels. However ‘Solar Rooftop Netmetering’ systems are adopted worldwide as this is additional source of financing from retail investors who are also the consumers. Reduction in distribution losses is another small advantage. A study released by economists at The Brattle Group finds that utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S. are significantly more cost effective than residential-scale (rooftop) PV systems. Their study shows that levellised cost of utility scale units is half of the solar rooftop systems and utility scale systems save almost double the carbon emission. Time has come to stop wasting money on solar rooftop schemes and divert these funds for utility scale projects. India is yet to learn from these failures and still many states are aggressively promoting solar rooftop netmetering schemes and are likely to end up with higher tariffs. Tariff structure in India is more socialistic where industry and commercial consumers pay higher tariff to subsidize farmers and small retail consumers. With more and more industries and commercial consumers shifting to solar rooftop netmetering, it will be impossible for the govern-

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ments to subsidize the tariff for the deserving consumers and it is likely to create social unrest. Few signs are already visible in the state of Maharashtra where industry is protesting against high tariff. With more and more solar rooftop net metering projects this tariff will further increase. An Innovative financing mechanism is proposed by the innovators, which brings best of both worlds together. Since, adoption of solar energy is on top priority of the honorable Prime Minister and GoI & hence the name of scheme is proposed as “Pradhan Mantri Surya Shakti Yojana” (PMSSY). This mechanism uses retail financing as is done in solar rooftop projects but the investment is done in utility scale projects. The investors get return by way of solar power is the most innovative feature. What is “Pradhan Mantri Surya Shakti Yojana”(PMSSY)? PMSSY is a financing innovation where retail investors finance for solar projects and all stakeholders use “Solar Power” as “Currency”. Retail investors, who generally invest money in bank deposits, gold, bonds, public provident funds etc., where returns are @8% p.a., will be generating all needed capital for the solar power projects. They are likely to earn returns of 13 to 25%. Solar Power is used as currency and all stake holders in the project get “solar power” as return on their investment. This innovation brings in 100% flexibility and liquidity to investors.

DISCOM sweat Equity Holder

Investor

Solar Power Project

Solar Power

Capital Consumer

Consumer

Fig. 2 Concept Diagram. Flow of Capital and Solar Power

A concept of solar power card is proposed which is on the same lines of debit card or mileage card. A project developer is expected to sell solar power cards to retail investors and raise capital for the project. For other stakeholders like O & M Company, DLs, innovator and land owners the project developer will issue solar power cards in proportion of their contributions in the project. These contributions are worked out to around 33% of the project cost incorporating Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) guidelines. Hence for any solar power project with PMSSY, 67% investors will raise 100% capital.

For 1 GW of solar power project say 753761 solar power cards are generated. Each of this card works similar to debit card, but with solar power as currency. Out of these solar power cards 33% are provided to the stake holder for their How does PMSSY Work? contributions and services. Proposed distribution is DLs to gets 15% against wheeling and losses, O & M Company gets 7%, project developer 5%, Innovator 2.5% and farmers who lease the land get 3.5%. Remaining 67% i.e. 505020 solar power cards are sold to retail investors Fig. 1 Concept of Solar Power Card

at Rs. 1 lakh each. Capital of @ Rs. 5050 crore rupees is deployed in the solar power project by project developer through EPC contractors. Operation of the concept on ground will be as below: ii Once the solar power project starts generating power this ‘Solar Power’ is recharged in the solar power cards every month. E.g. If a project has 700000 solar power cards and 140 million kWh are generated in a particular month then every solar card will get a recharge of 200 kWh (140 million/700000) for that month. ii Every solar power card holder is free to transfer solar power available on his/her card to any electricity consumer. Actual action on ground will be very similar to internet banking or payment using debit/credit card or digital valet. Currency here is “Solar Power”. Solar power card holder is expected to log in to unique ID of consumer (UID of electrical meter on which the DL raises the bill) and transfer what so ever amount of solar power (currency here) from solar power card to the UID of consumer. The balances of both sides will be adjusted accordingly. This is explained with illustration. Say solar power card holder “A” has a debit balance of 500 kWh

» Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy 27

Finance of solar power in his card. He logs in to account of consumer “B” who has credit balance of 700 kWh as bill raised by DL for his consumption of power. Then if “A” transfers 300 kWh to account of “B” then balance of “B” will be 400 kWh and balance in solar power card of “A” will be 200 kWh. This is shown in Fig. 3. DLs will get all 100% Renewable energy certificates (RECs). This is a big gain for them. As per notification of GoI dated 22-7-2016 Renewable Power Obligation (RPO) is set at 2.75% for 2016-17 and increased to 2% every year for next two years. Every DL will need huge quantity of RECs to comply RPO. Concept of power card can be replaced by internet banking, digital valet or similar instrument which uses solar power as currency. Innovator has initiated IPs for the same. Concept of Solar Power Exchange Concept of a retail solar power market is envisaged where solar power card holders will sell the power and consumers will purchase the power. It will be very parallel system like a commodity market. Power tariff will be decided by market forces. Electricity regulatory commission can set guidelines for such solar power exchange. This will bring 100% transparency in solar power costs. Schematic of Solar Power Exchange is shown in Fig.4 How Much Power/Returns a Solar Card Holder Will Get? Capital cost for utility scale project, power generation figures, O & M cost etc. are presumed on the basis of CERC order dated 23-32016 as below. ii Project cost at Rs. 530.02 lakhs/ MW, which includes cost of land. Project cost becomes Rs. 505.02 lakhs/MW excluding cost of land. ii Power generation at 16.64 lakh kWh per MW/year for first year with 19% CUF.

28 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

300kWh

Consumer Bill 700 kWh

Balance 500kWh

New Bill 400 kWh

New Balance 200 kWh

Fig. 3 Illustrative Transaction of Solar Power ii Module degradation will be at 0.5% per year. ii O & M cost is Rs. 7 lakh/year. This amounts to approximately 7% share in solar power generated when calculated at Rs. 6 /kWh at consumer end. ii Tariff appreciation at 5% per year. Any investor who invests Rs. 1 lakh in a project will get @51800 kWh in lifetime of the project. These are conservative estimates and actual gains will be higher. There might be retail investors who will like to sell their share of power to other consumers. Depending on rate of realisation their returns on investment scenario is as in table 1. Who Can Work as Solar Project Developer Company? SECI, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) or such PSU can launch the project nationwide. As this model uses ‘solar power’ as currency, it is insulated from different tariffs in

different states. State Generation Companies, Distribution Licensee themselves or Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) of states or municipal corporations can also launch the project for their limited territory. SPV of smart cities can become project developer and comply their solar power obligation. Industry associations, chamber of commerce like CII, FICCI and any association of likeminded people/professionals/group of companies can also work as solar project developer and pass on benefit of cheaper solar power to their members. Practically any association of people who has capacity to raise finance from thousands of retail investors can work as solar project developer. Banks & oil companies with retail outlets can go 100% solar using this mechanism. Private investors have capability to raise huge finance. Many solar power companies, domestic and FDIs can’t participate in existing scheme of solar power projects. PMSSY model provides them opportunity where they can

Table 1: Return on Investment Scenario Investment Basis: Rs. 1 Lakh Rate of realisation in Rs./ kWh 6 6.5# 7 7.5 8

First Year’s Return on Investment in % 13.25 14.35 15.46 16.56 17.67

Avg. RoI for 25 years in % with 5% tariﬀ hike 19.46 21.42 23.37 25.33 27.28

# Most likely Scenario

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invest their own money in the solar projects and sell the power through solar power exchange. Distribution licensee will have no obligation to purchase power from them or sell power for them. How it is Different from ‘Rooftop Net Metering’ or Captive Consumers? ii In rooftop or captive generation investor is consumer. In PMSSY investors need not be consumers. Breaking this link provides 100% flexibility and liquidity to the investor.

Investor

Other Stake Holder

SOLAR POWER EXCHANGE

ii In rooftop net metering DISCOM gets nothing. In PMSSY, DISCOMs get 15% power and 100% RECs, without investing a single rupee. ii Rooftops systems change grid structure with thousands of systems connected to grid at tail end. In PMSSY no technical change in the grid. ii Rooftop net metering is limited for the investors who have disposable, shadow free rooftops. PMSSY is open for any investor, with or without disposable rooftop. ii PMSSY provides at least 50% more returns to the investors than rooftop systems. ii In rooftop or captive generation the investor has responsibility of O & M of system while in PMSSY it’s taken care of by expert team at utility scale. Why PMSSY is a Win-Win for all Stakeholders? This financing mechanism creates Win-Win situation for all stakeholders as described below. Govt. of India: ii Not a single rupee funding or subsidy required. GoI will save Rs. 150000 Crores with this model as subsidies, accelerated depreciation and tax rebates are not required. ii Participation of people in such projects is on the lines of “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’. All capital is raised from savings of retail inves-

Consumer Solar Power

Cash

Fig. 4 Concept of Solar Power Exchange tors and consumers without any debts from banks. Banks will have more funding available for ‘Make in India’, “Digital India” and all such missions and for social projects. ii Comply with global commitment on climate change mitigation. ii This is the only mechanism that can go in line with the vision of the energy minister Mr. Piyush Goyal, “One nation one grid” and “One grid one tariff”. In terms of solar power as currency all solar power card holders pay equal tariff which is 100% transparent. ii Farmers who lease land for the solar project will get @ Rs. 2 lakh per year for @ 3 acres of land. At national level this can benefit 2 lakh farmer families and farmer’s suicide issue can be averted to large extent. The projects have to come up in drought prone areas where water is scare, rainfall is poor and sunshine hours are more. That’s another biggest national gain that such non-contributing land will be put to good use.

ii For governments it will also solve the problem of land acquisition. Farmers will queue to offer their land for the projects. State Governments: State Governments will have everything to gain and nothing to lose. States will solve many financial and social problems as discussed below. ii Farmers and land acquisition issues will be resolved as discussed above. ii Industry will be highly benefited. Farmers, innovator and investors are likely to sell major portion of power to “Industries” at reasonable rate and Industry will also benefit. It is expected that the Industry will get rate of less than Rs. 6.50 per kWh. Friction between Industry and Government on issue of reduction in tariff will be greatly reduced. As solar power does not have fuel adjustment cost (FAC), such tariff will be stable for long duration.

» Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy 29

Finance ii Most of DISCOMs are in financial trouble and decentralized expensive solar power will fetch more trouble for them. State Govt. needs to put money in DISCOMs by way of different subsidies. PMSSY is the cheapest cost route for state DISCOMs. No business risk. PMSSY is a perfect replacement for Solar Rooftop Scheme and solar pump scheme with many added financial and social benefits. Solar Project Developer: ii Get 5% sweat equity that will fetch profits for the life of the project. Administrative expenses are negligible. ii All profits from the project development are booked upfront. ii Capital is raised in the form of prepaid cards from investors. The project does not have any sensitivity towards interest rates and FOREX variations. Lowest cost offers are expected from EPC companies as capital cost for the projects are paid up front. ii As all power is to be given back to investors and other stake holders, there is no responsibility of sell of power as well as recovery of bills for the power sold. ii Project developer can earn some operating profits through O & M activity. Industry: Farmers and other investors are likely to sell the solar at less than Rs. 6.50 per kWh to Industry. This is a win-win proposition for both, industry as well as investors. Will help in “Make in India” with lower power tariff. Smart Cities: As per clause 6.2 of guidelines, smart cities have mandate of getting 10% of their power requirement from Solar. PMSSY is the only mechanism at present that can fulfill this obligation. City administration will get solar power obligation complied without spending a single rupee or raising tax. It can also take credit

30 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

of raising funds and ask GoI for matching grants Distribution Licensee: Distribution licensee are the biggest beneficiary. ii Gets 15% power to compensate for losses and wheeling. ii Get 100% of RECs generated from the project. Solar REC target for year 2016-17 is revised at 2.75% as per GoI order dated 22-7-2016 and it will increase by 2% every year for next couple of years. This is a huge ask and DLs will need large quantities of RECs. PMSSY provides them opportunity of getting RECs without any investment. ii No responsibility of raising bills and recoveries. This is like 100% prepaid and 100% recovery system. No responsibility of sell of this component of power. ii If DLs adopt for rooftop net metering option then they are put at huge losses and operating inconvenience. They have no gains in case of rooftop solar or solar pump schemes, they get only huge liabilities. If DLs adopts PMSSY then all prospective beneficiaries who may opt for solar rooftop systems will give it up and participate in this scheme as they will get more returns for their investment. Losses of DLs because of rooftop net metering system can be eliminated and DLs can actually be net gainer. ii Solar pump scheme can be merged in this model with 60% savings in capital cost. Solar power cards can be issued to farmers to get their quota of free power. This scheme will end recovery issues of state DISCOMs with farmers. Will also bring in discipline in energy and water use. ii This is the lowest cost route for adoption of solar power for distribution licensee and financially most stable model. This is much superior model in comparison with all existing solar power procurement methods adopted till date.

Even in case of “PPA” mode there remains possibility of the project developer going in litigation on some defaults by governments and get higher tariffs. Similar cases have happened in Mumbai Metro, many toll cases of highways, natural gas in Godavari basin etc. If financing risks are not handled properly the project developer can go bankrupt and put the project in jeopardy as it happened with SunEdison. In PMSSY there are no such possibilities. Can PMSSY be Implemented for Farmers? Yes. Farmers can participate as consumers of solar power for agricultural pumps. In fact this is much superior to the “Solar Pump” scheme, especially for the areas where grid supply is available or can be made available in the farm. Instead of investment of Rs. 5 lakh in a 5 H.P. solar pump equivalent investment in solar power card is Rs. 2.0 lakhs. An investment of Rs. 2.0 lakh in solar power card can fetch minimum 4000 kWh per year. This investment of Rs. 2.0 lakh in solar power card can be raised through subsidies from GoI, state govt., NABARD loans and farmer’s contributions. Farmers will be free to draw allotted solar power from the solar power card. For any excess usage the farmers need to pay at normal tariff. This will also bring discipline in energy and water usage by farmers. Subsidy burden of governments will be greatly reduced and farmers are more assured of the power they get. As power is generated in daytime, it can be provided in daytime. Considering immense benefit PMSSY offers, urgent cognizance needs to be taken by MNRE authorities and electricity regulatory commissions. Target of 100 GW can be achieved in less than 3 years ■

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Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Cover Story

Green

Highways

of Power

enewable power generation has increased remarkably in recent years and forms a significant proportion in India’s energy basket. However, most of the generation is concentrated in just few states and transmission of this energy to other states is presently not complemented by a reliable grid infrastructure. Poor evacuation facility for renewable energy is a consideration which deters many investors and developers to bid for solar or wind projects. The integration of large scale renewable projects with the grid is the critical for India’s future energy security. Establishing an inter-connected high voltage network to synchronize renewable sources with conventional power stations is critical for India’s energy security. A dedicated transmission network for renewable energy or the ’Green Energy Corridor’ is the only missing link in India’s Renewable Energy Revolution.

The Green Corridor Project

Intermittency and other challenges for Clean Energy Energy

The Green corridor aims to transmit 2,000 MW of power from 34 solar parks across 21 states. India has already announced that it will invest

32 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

Rs.127 billion ($1.8 billion) on lines on dedicated transmission lines for renewable power. Once complete, the Green Energy Corridor is expected to facilitate evacuation from solar parks and large-scale grid-connected solar and wind projects. Developers across the country are struggling with evacuation and transmission issues, which account for huge losses leading to increased project costs. A stateof-the-art modern grid and robust transmission infrastructure is necessary for the power sector. The project is under implementation in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. Once complete, the green energy corridor is expected to facilitate evacuation from solar parks and largescale grid-connected solar and wind projects.

The biggest challenge for renewable technologies like Wind and solar lies in their intermittent nature. They only produce energy when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. We can’t effectively utilize renewable energy until

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In its effort to buttress 160GW of targeted capacity addition from renewable resources like solar and wind the Government has launched a Rs 43,000-crore ‘Green Energy Corridor’ project to facilitate the flow of renewable energy into the national grid. The project is under implementation in eight states including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Once completed, the GEC is expected to facilitate evacuation from largescale grid connected solar and wind project. It is also expected to address the issues of intermittency and variation in power quality from renewable resources. In this article writer Rohan Singh evaluates the current status of the GEC project and the reasons for its slow progress.

GRID INFRASTRUCTURE The Missing Link in the 179GW Renewable Energy Ambition

appropriate energy storage technology is developed. While the fact that wind and solar don’t produce energy around the clock is certainly a major disadvantage. This may result a sudden loss of wind power generation which may represent a risk to security of supply. The corridor is expected to address certain limitations of renewable energy like intermittency and variation in power quality. Under the project, renewable energy management centres are being set up to predict renewable power generation and demand. These centres will also be interconnected with load dispatch centres to gather real-time information, as well as monitor and control capacity addition, accord-

ing to CEA. Storage systems are required to take care of uncertainties in this category of generation sources. These may not only be pumped storage plants, but also battery storage systems in conjunction with the inverter system for AC grid. These systems necessitate the development of smart, or intelligent, grid that is controlled by the application of extensive information and communication technologies. The prevailing distribution system that carries power in one direction may require being bi-directional to transfer power in the reverse direction, too - for instance, from roof-top solar PV generation from customers with proper metering.

The project delays due to unavailability of grid network around wind farm sites that are generally located in remote areas. Despite policy provisions for ensuring grid connectivity to renewable energy projects, utilities have been reluctant to develop transmission lines for them due to the low utilisation of renewables during the lean period and to delays in securing budget approvals from the government. These developers generally create the evacuation infrastructure themselves, right from building a pooling sub-station near their wind farms, laying transmission lines from these sub-stations to the nearest grid sub-stations, and at times also strengthening

» Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy 33

Cover Story Average Summer Day Average Monsoon Day Average Winter Day

4.5

Normalized PV Generation

4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Hours of the Day

A typical solar generation pattern of all the three seasons i.e. winter, summer & Monsoon

the inter-connecting grid sub-stations and larger grid networks, as well as laying high voltage transmission lines up to 150 to 200 km.

(Source-LBNL)

reserves management. The proposed green energy corridor has been planned to accommodate for renewable energy additions up to 2030, with sub-intervals at the end of the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Plans.â&#x20AC;?

controllable electric generators. Today, the grid operator uses a three-phase planning process to ensure power plants produce the right amount of electricity at the right time to consistently and reliably meet electric demand. Because the grid has very little storage capacity, the balance between electricity supply and demand must be maintained at all times to avoid a blackout or other cascading problem. The idea of a renewable energy transmission network was mooted in the year 2010. Six years down the line it is still just at the planning stage. For a project that has already had its share of delays and is being touted as the cure-all for grid issues, the renewable energy sector is sceptical if it will get done in time to make an impact. The solar power sector is expected to add close to 9 Gigawatt capacity in 2017 as against 4 GW added in 2016 and this more than double capacity addition would require a better transmission infrastructure.

Planning the green transmission network Green Energy Corridor - A Far Off A planned approach is essential for establishment of the Green Dream? Strengthening of Energy Corridor so as to ensure that power system safety, security The Progress of green energy Inter-state & Intraand stability remains intact at all corridor looks very different on state transmission operating conditions. Therefore paper and on ground. The Cleardeployment of variable renewa- ance for this is required from the network bles viz. wind and solar power must be considered along with other key elements, such as RE forecasting tools, smart dispatching solutions, flexible generation with suitable market mechanism as well as robust transmission interconnections. Wind and solar, a variable, but predictable resources can be managed with careful day-ahead & hour-ahead scheduling. Load generation balance uncertainty introduces the need for additional reserves that supply the load in case of unpredictable reductions/ increase in generation or increases/ decrease in load. To deal with such variability and uncertainty in renewable generations, forecasts are crucial in the planning and operation process including resource or

34â&#x20AC;&#x201A;SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

STU, which analyses the load flow to determine the voltage level for inter-connection with the grid sub-station, depending upon the project capacity. Approval may be conditional upon creation of transmission lines to the grid sub-station and strengthening of the existing grid sub-station. The governing framework for system operations are the state and national grid codes, which elaborate on the functions included in grid operations such as scheduling, dispatch, metering, and balancing and control.

The difficulty associated with integrating variable sources of electricity stems from the fact that the power grid was designed around the concept of large,

The Green Energy Corridor will be developed in two parts. The inter-state level will be developed by the state governments and the intra-state level will be developed by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL). The intra state transmission strengthening scheme includes system strengthening within the state as well as transmission system to facilitate absorption of power within the host state. There is a need to rationalize the transmission charges for the system strengthening within state (Intra state strengthening) to reduce the burden on the consumers. The GEC is also expected to boost the inter-state sale of renewable energy, and coupled with ď&#x192;&#x153; www.supersmartenergy.com

All India Wind Pattern in Summer

Time

All India wind pattern in summer for any two days (source –POSOCO) the waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges, renewable energy costs are forecasted to come down enough to help states fulfil their renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) and energy demand. The GEC is also expected to address the curtailment of renewable energy in the future.

Concerns about Project Delay Solar sector research firm Mercom Capital in its report has said that Green energy corridor, which is important to evacuate renewable energy, is still far from reality and solar power project developers believe the current grid infrastructure is inadequate to handle the increased capacity. Developers are concerned about

solar park integration into the grid as the evacuation system and infrastructure is not yet ready. Due to faulty transmission lines and grid infrastructure, planning for the next batch of auctions has yet to begin and developers don’t know where these projects will be located. According to some developers, tenders are released in some states without consulting the state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs). When power purchase agreements go to regulatory commissions for approval they are getting held up because the SERC is citing a lack of transmission infrastructure. The infrastructural development under GEC is slow; it is not at par with the pace of tenders coming out. Within the next three quarters solar projects of close to 8.5 GW will be commissioned, but, the grid is not ready to infuse the power produced.

Progress of the project If government claims are to be believed, the GEC is on the track to meet its March 2020 deadline. The Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is developing the inter-state transmission corridor and the state transmission utilities are responsible for setting up and strengthening the intrastate transmission infrastructure. Power Grid says the interstate transmission network will be up and ready by the end of 2018. Power Grid is carrying out studies to identify transmission infrastructure and other control requirements for RE capacity addition programme along with estimation of capex requirement. Challenges Ahead: It is immensely challenging to integrate renewable production. Disturbances in

A Typical Daily Demand Curve for all Regions in All Season

140

Demand (GW)

130 Summer 120

Monsoon

110 Winter 100 90

12 Time

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Cover Story Issues in Large Scale Renewable Integration Intermittency Variability / Uncertainty Plants connected at remote/concentrated locations with weak transmission network RE plants providing lesser grid support during system disturbances/ exigencies than the conventional in terms of MVAR/active Power regulation Most of the wind plants are not FRT capable, may lead to collapse of large chunk of RE generation at a time in grid fault situations

the system wherein some wind turbines (especially near the disturbance area) disconnect themselves (FRT incapable). This may result a sudden loss of wind power generation which may represent a risk to security of supply. This requires adequate spinning reserves or high ramp up generations. Due to climate factors such as strong winds can lead to high generation of wind energy which may cause overloads or voltage excursions in the network. In such events, control centre issues limiting production orders to RE generators and within 15 min of order issue, generators have to take necessary actions for compliance Impact of transmission tariff: Generally load factor of renewable generation is low; about 20-30% for wind and solar and about 40% for Small hydro. Whereas load factor of thermal generation is about 80% and that of hydro is about 40%. RE developer intending to sell electricity in the market requires grid connectivity and transmission access. Depending on its size, an RE project may be embedded in the local distribution network, connected to the STU grid or directly to the Inter State Transmission System (ISTS). The renewable sources are confined in remote locations where

36 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

there is insignificant local load. Therefore, long distance haulage of renewable energy is required to reach the load centres. For this, and considering the right of way issue, establishment of long distance high capacity transmission systems are required. As a result cost of transmission per unit of renewable energy becomes high. It is estimated that cost of transmission built for RES generation would be about double the cost of that built for a conventional hydrothermal mix of generation. As the transmission system is evolved for substantive amount of renewable power in 12th Plan, it would increase the overall transmission tariff of the State, which would have to be mostly borne by its consumers. This may discourage investment in transmission for renewables. Further, the preferential tariff for renewable energy particularly for solar energy is quite high; the consumers may not be burdened additionally with higher transmission tariff. Therefore there is a need to establish transmission system at the Intra State level, by providing grant, to lessen burden due to transmission investments/tariffs. Implementation Strategy: Implementation needs to be carried out in a tight schedule so as to match

with the progressive RE generation availability, to avoid any transmission congestion. For this, it is necessary to expedite the development of proposed Intra State Strengthening. In this direction, support may be provided by some expert agency in form of consultancy with sound project management skill and technical expertise to STU. To facilitate evacuation of the RE power, it is necessary to integrate the plant/ RE Pooling station with grid network at PCC (Point of Common Coupling) through connectivity transmission system. Development of connectivity also needs special emphasis for faster implementation, as otherwise it may lead to generation bottleneck. Therefore, above must be implemented in a tight schedule for which efficient project management skills are required. Further, Pocket wise RE generation development should be prioritized in such a manner so that transmission infrastructure available in the pocket can be utilized optimally. Subsequently, other pockets may be developed along with commensurate transmission system. Financing the Green Grid: The estimated project investment on the Green Energy Corridor will be Rs. 43,000 Crore. Germany commits to aid €1 Billion for development and technical support. The task is to renew transmission infrastructure and services to introduce large scale renewable capacity. Initially eight renewableenergy rich states were selected including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Respective state nodal agencies of these sates are responsible to provide information regarding current capacity. Intra State transmission schemes under Green Energy Corridors (GEC) are to be funded as 20% equity of the State Govt., 40% grant from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and 40% soft loan, whereas, the inter State transmission schemes are to

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Mitigating Measures for Large Scale Renewable Integration Strong Grid interconnections Flexible generation, Ancillary Services, Reserves etc. for supply-balancing Demand Side management, Demand Response and Storage for load balancing Forecasting of Renewable generation & Forecasting of Demand Establishment of Renewable Energy Management Centers (REMC) equipped with advanced forecasting tools along with reliable communication infrastructure Deployment of Synchrophasor technology i.e. PMUs/WAMS on pooling stations and interconnection with centralized control centre through Fiber Optic Communication for real time information, monitoring & control Capacity building at respective LDC/PCC/Conventional/Non-Conventional Generator regarding RE handling Institutional Arrangements with deﬁned roles & responsibilities of various agencies/generation developer Technical Standard Requirements (Grid code, Connectivity standards, Real time monitoring etc.) Policy advocacy for development of power-balance market and pricing mechanism

be funded as 30% equity by PGCIL and 70% as soft loan. For Inter-state transmission projects pertaining to Part A, B and C of Green Energy Corridor, loan agreement for financial assistance of Euro 500 million from KfW, Germany has been signed by PGCIL and the projects are likely to be completed by 2018. Further, for implementation of transmission schemes under Green Energy Corridor-Part D, PGCIL has taken loan from ADB. For Intra-state transmission projects under Green Energy Corridor; the States of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have signed the loan agreements from KfW, Germany for financial assistance of Euro 76 million, Euro 49 million, Euro 57 million, Euro 68 million, Euro 114 million and Euro 124 Million respectively.

flexibility. The intermittent generation of renewable energy sources requires radical changes in the power system like separate connectivity standards, dedicated teams in the existing load dispatch centres (LDCs) to manage generation and dispatch, promotion of peak and ancillary generation sources, and suitable safeguards such as frequency controllers, reactive power compensators, harmonic protectors, and over current relays. While renewable sources cannot match the reliability of conventional fuels, they can fit in rather efficiently in a well-planned system. In the Indian context, managing renewable energy variability is no different than managing consumer demand that keeps varying throughout the day and also during the seasons.

Empowering Radical changes Grid required India’s power system is designed round controllable conventional sources of energy generation, limiting operational

the

India has set a vision of ‘24X7 Power for all’ by the year 2019. Various policies, regulatory and fiscal incentives have accelerated development of renewable

energy generation. To realize this vision, Ministry of Power, along with other central agencies, has put special focus on efficient utilization of conventional generation resources and development of 175 GW renewable capacities by 2022. Both government and private players in the sector are geared up to develop electricity infrastructure in the country. The rapidly growing demand will put pressure on existing transmission and distribution system. For inclusive and sustainable growth, electricity should be supplied to all people in all parts of the country at an affordable price. For this the grid should be equipped with intelligence through control & automation, communication, intelligence computing towards development of smart grid so that large scale integration of renewable is feasible. The green-energy corridor is part of the country’s plans to boost transmission capacity to enable a seamless flow of electricity from clean electricity producing states to consuming states that face power shortages ■

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Interview

 Vikalp Mundra

Jt. MD, Ujaas Energy Limited and Organising Committee Member, INTELECT 2017

"PV & EV will change CV of a country"

.What are you views on India Power Generation capacities as many of states are becoming surplus and facing a problem of excessive generation. Are we reaching towards a Power Surplus Nation? The real meaning of this in present context is not 24/7 power to each and every household. But, it ONLY means 24/7 power for them who are ready to pay a fair price for that. I hope you understand the real situation. Our major populations are still living in villages, who have adopted their lifestyle according to availability of power between 2 to 4 hrs a day. If you double the availabil-

38 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

ity to 6 to 8 hours do you think the consumption will be doubled? No, it may increase exponentially and nobody knows the exact figure, but the problem is will it be economically viable? This is the major question which needs to be answered. And I salute to our H’ble Prime Minister who is solving this problem from a difficult end. He is trying to put more money in pocket of consumer by various ways, raising aspiration of common man to grow, tackling bull of corruption by its horns and many such initiatives which are slow but resulting into long term solutions.

.There is a major thrust of Renewable from govt, how do you see the aggressive 175 GW Target and target of 2022. Coming from Solar Industry I could comment on 100 GW target of Solar till 2022. Although the target is very aggressive, but till time this Govt. seems to be going in right direction. In my view the target of 2022 is not significant but to reach to 100 GW is more significant, may be couple of years here and there.

.What are your views on Mega Ground Mounted and small Roof top Solar Plants. In my views Distributed generation

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is the USP of Solar and it should be used extensively, It would not only save a lot of cost, but more importantly time for a vast country like India.

this growth of PV (solar) as enemy to their business. I would like to give a simple parallel when Mobile telephony came; BSNL also saw them as enemy.

But, NO individual or organisation is big enough to block the “power of choice of the customer”. You love it or hate it you have to deal with it.

.Presently government is also putting more efforts on growing Rooftop Solar, according to you Off Grid or Grid connected solar will grow fast. What are the Challenges and opportunities? Off Grid Solar: Presently the Off Grid market in India is by Compulsion, but if this country has to grow, this market should be die down & a new market should be grown which is Off Grid by Choice. This means that a customer is Free to select its power source & time of use of power without falling prey of prevalent monopolistic power supply business. So Challenge is to convert Compulsive off Grid towards off grid by Choice, I see it as an opportunity. On Grid Solar: In a matured energy market everything needs to be connected & Grid connected Solar is must to grow this sector. The question may be Net-metering, FIT or something else. What policies, what technologies etc. Etc ? The answers will evolve with time.

.How power companies are responding to massive growth of Solar? Some individuals holding important position in Power sector see

There are definitely some challenges to deal with in-firm power, but human being found solutions to every problem.

.How do you see future Energy space & relevance of renewable power? I feel we are on verge of witnessing DISTRUPTION in Energy space, when I say energy it includes auto sector also. According to me following 4 things will speed up this disruption. ii Distributed PV generation (Solar) ii Storage Technologies ii Electric Vehicles (EV) ii Self Driving Vehicles. Please allow me to say “PV & EV will change CV of a country’. And to my country India it is Blessing in Disguise we will be benefited by it, same as we got benefitted by Mobile telephony.

.How do you see relevance of Storage in near to midterm? According to me, the future relevance of storage in Indian energy space is in:

A) To feed Peak Time power B) To flatten the load curve C) To give freedom to customer on selection of energy source. D) Pave way for Electric and Driverless vehicles.

.As we understand the cost of Storage is prohibitive, how soon it will reach to a economic level As of now the cost is high but it is coming down at a very fast pace, it will follow rather beat the falling off price of PV. We had witness the rapid fall in price of PV in last 4 years. Economy of scale and new technologies will bring it down rapidly.

.Which technology will go to lead in Storage space? As of now Lithium Ion is looking very promising, but brilliant minds are working in labs to create better technologies with different chemistries. They are using combination with Lithium, Zinc etc. People are working to use Air as a cooling medium, which I see path breaking if succeed. So as of now it is very difficult to say who will win the race, but the race had already been started and one person will surely come as First and then there are Silver and Bronze medals too ■

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Energy Storage

Microcell TM Carbon Foam (MCF) Batteries for Photovoltaic Application

echnology improvement and infrastructure development has to go hand in hand for the betterment of a nation’s economy. Both have to complement each other in order to strive for a better tomorrow. Today we have been hearing and reading how fast the solar energy harvesting is growing or any renewable energy. But when it comes to energy storage we still rely on same old lead acid batteries. It is been more than 160 years since the advent of lead acid batteries and it remains as the safest and the proven chemistry with a limitation in life. When it comes to lithium ion battery, we are limited in terms of cost and chemistry. Firefly Microcell TM Carbon Foam (MCF) batteries offers a revolutionary new pathway to tap into the vast new global market for energy storage. Validated by demanding customers and third party testing, this product is commercially available worldwide. Its price and performance overcome the current barriers and offer a practical pathway to accelerate the explosive growth experienced by the global energy storage market. MCF Batteries offer 2-3 times the life and lower life cycle cost compared to current Deep Cycle Lead Acid batteries. It is compatible with legacy battery management systems and can be recycled within the existing infrastructure.

40 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

Firefly Batteries offers equal or superior performance compared to new and emerging battery technologies such as Li-Ion, Lead Carbon and Ultra-cap batteries at a fraction of the cost. History of Firefly MCF batteries Firefly’s revolutionary battery technology was born in the Research and Development laboratory of Caterpillar, Inc., a worldrenowned manufacturer of heavy equipment. Caterpillar has long been a consumer of batteries for its many heavy equipment products. These equipment, by their very nature, put a severe strain on the batteries. Hot and cold extreme temperatures, severe vibrations and prolonged periods of disuse are standard operating conditions for these heavy equipment. Caterpillar found that normal lead-acid batteries could not withstand this strain and with a new corpo-

rate focus on improving the performance and longevity of the batteries turned over this issue to their R&D arm who came up with Microcell Carbon Foam as the solution. This technology has been patented and allows for the exploitation of existing lead-acid chemistry to a much higher level and compete head-on with other advanced battery technologies, including the Lithium batteries. These batteries offer much higher efficiency and cycle life which in turn brings down the cost of ownership to a large degree. Lead Acid Battery Failure Modes To make an advance in battery technology that goes beyond evolutionary engineering Improvements requires a paradigm shift to new materials and/ or new processes. Some of the common failure modes found in the lead acid batteries are shown below.

Figure 1.failure modes of lead acid battery

corroded positive grid from a conventional lead acid battery

Corrosion

Shedding

Sulfation

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Why carbon foam technology? The signal advantage of Firefly’s Microcell™ technology is that it fundamentally changes the distribution of active materials within the lead acid cell due to its unique architecture. Overall, the Firefly composite foam electrode structure results in are distribution of electrolyte from the smaller separator reservoir to the pores of the foam plate(s), resulting in a 70/30 to 30/70% reversal, respectively, relative to conventional lead acid products. Each foam plate contains hundreds or thousands of spherical microcells (depending on the foam pore diameters). This leads to enhanced active material utilization levels, because each microcell has its full complement of sponge lead or lead dioxide and sulfuric acid electrolyte. Liquid diffusion distances are reduced from the traditional levels of millimetres over linear paths (the conventional “2D” diffusion mechanism found in the lead metal grid-based classic lead acid battery architecture) to the level of micron diffusion path lengths in the three-dimensional space within the discrete microcells that, collectively comprise a totally new type of electrode structure (what Firefly calls a “3D” electrode). Such a structure results in much higher power and energy delivery and rapid recharge capabilities relative to conventional lead acid products. Dramatic Cycle Improvements

Life

A full discharge of today’s lead acid battery causes extra strain, and each cycle robs the battery of a small amount of capacity. In leadacid batteries, deeper discharges convert larger amounts of charged active-material into lead sulfate. Lead sulfate has a significantly larger volume (about 37% more) than the charged material, and this volume change stresses the electrode structures. This expansion induces mechanical forces that deform the grid, and ultimately result in the lead grid “disappear-

ing” into the paste. The resulting expansion and deformation of the plates also causes active material to separate from the electrodes with a commensurate loss of performance. Additionally, over time, sulfate crystals can grow together, resulting in large lead sulfate crystals that are difficult or impossible to convert back into the charged state. This wear-down characteristic also applies to other battery chemistries in varying degrees. To prevent the battery from being stressed through repetitive deep discharge, a larger lead acid battery and shallower discharge is typically recommended. Depending on the depth of discharge and operating temperature, the sealed lead-acid battery provides 200 to 300 discharge/charge cycles. Short cycle life also results from grid corrosion of the positive electrode, which undergoes extensive oxidative stress during extended recharge conditions. These changes are exacerbated at higher operating temperatures. In contrast, Firefly’s Microcell™ composite plate technology provides a design which fully accommodates the volume changes of the active material during charge and recharge. Within each Firefly plate is contained a full complement of active materials, electrolyte, and volume which will allow complete discharge without causing physical stress on the plate itself. This results in an electrode plate which does not undergo volume change during deep discharges. Firefly’s electrode material is not reactive in the chemistry and so does not corrode. This is in part due to a natural stability of the base material, but is also due to the formation process used which maximizes exposure of the most chemically resistive surfaces and minimizes exposure of chemically less-stable surfaces. The growth of large sulfate crystals is also restricted, resulting in a low incidence of crystals which are too large to recharge. The strong resistance of Firefly’s elec-

trode material to corrosion also severely reduces the deleterious effects of long recharges. Because of the removal of grid corrosion as a life-limiting factor, the Firefly approach offers significant improvements over conventional lead-acid technologies in both float and deep-cycle applications. Cycling in irregular applications such as partial-state-ofcharge (PSOC) regimes used in hybrid vehicles and photovoltaic energy storage are also well suited to 3D technology. This is because the conditions of partial or heavy sulfation of the negative plate – a process that can render present-generation lead acid products unrecoverable – are easily reversed in 3D products, even after long periods of storage. Sulfation reversal is achieved because the nature of the lead sulfate deposits in 3D cells is fundamentally different from those in traditional lead acid cells. In the latter, lead sulfate is deposited on the surfaces of the plates in dense layers of relatively large crystals, somewhat remote from the lead grid members. Because the sponge lead active material in a 3D cell is deposited on the walls of the foam’s many small pores in thin layers, and the surface characteristics of the foam result in relatively low current densities, the lead sulfate deposits are comprised of small, porous crystal structures (on the order of 3-10 microns, much smaller than in commercial products) that are

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Energy Storage easily dissolved on the subsequent recharge. Moreover, these very small crystal sizes grow only slowly over time. A final factor that facilitates recharge is the proximity of the carbon-graphite foam (as well as residual sponge lead) that can act as efficient current-carrying paths during recharge for the small, local deposits of lead sulfate crystals. This resistance to the effects of sulfation make Firefly 3D batteries ideal for seasonal applications where devices and their associated batteries (electric lawn mowers, boats, RVs, motorcycles, etc.) may go unused for months on end, often in a partially or fully discharged state. Conventional batteries are difficult or impossible to recover from these conditions, and are often replaced far short of their potential life span. With 3D products this problem is greatly reduced.

microcell carbon foam technology which counteracts the sulphation of plates. The MicrocellTM carbon foam uses a porous conductive schema where about 95% pores are interconnected. The surface area of the carbon foam is about 2000 times than that of prismatic plates. These 4V 450 batteries can be charged with a current of about 0.3C10 (120 A) to 0.5C10 (200 A) with a constant voltage for better results under partial state of charge (PSOC).Under partial state of charge MCF batteries have a unparalleled charge efficiency of >98%.

applications possible or more favourable, as well as improving many lead acid “weak points” such as sulfation recovery and activematerial utilization limitations. At slow discharge rates, modest weight and volume improvements over existing lead-acid products (typically 15-20%) are achievable as well. For faster discharge rate applications (like HEV, Starting or UPS applications), the weight and volume saving can approach 50-75% or more ■

For More Details Contact:

3D Performance Summary

Firefly Batteries Private Limited

In summary, then, the 3D cell architecture results in numerous attributes:

Corporate Office: 199, Neelkanth Bungalows,Near D.P.S.School, Shilaj, Bopal Ahmedabad- 380 058, Gujarat (India)

ii Instantaneous Power (2 hours and faster run-time rates) ii Fast recharge capability ii Continuous power through discharge process ii Recovery to full capacity after off-season storage ii Excellent cold temperature capacity utilization

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ii High temperature resiliency New Foam

Used Fireﬂy Electrode

“The” Photovoltaic energy storage battery: Firefly has designed a 4V 450 Ah battery for energy storage application which overcomes the limitation of grid corrosion, active material shedding and sulfation. With traditional maintenance free batteries basic building blocks are either 2V or 6V cells. 2V cells presents a its disadvantage with respect to handling and manufacturing where as in 6V, the cell in the middle always end up with unequal charging and heating up. Firefly has found a right balance where the batteries contain 2 cells of 2V each. These batteries use 3D

42 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

ii Recovery to full capacity after discharge The remarkable attributes of the composite foam negative electrode noted above make certain

Figure 2. 4v 450 Ah MCF battery

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Spot Light

Grid Parity and Role of Solar Energy In Clean Development of India Authored by: Dr. Vikas Khare

ndia is an idyllic place for generates electricity by solar energy system because India is densely populated and has high solar radiation. India’s theoretical solar power reception, on only its land area is about 5000(PWh/year). The daily average solar radiation incident over India varies from 4 to 7 KWh/m2 with about 15002000 sun shine hours per year. In July 2009, India represents a 19 billion US dollar plan to produce 20GW of solar power by 2020. The amount of solar energy produced in India in 2007 was less than 1% of the total energy demand. The grid interactive solar power as of December 2010 was merely 10MW.Government funded Solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4MW/Year of power as of 2005, 25.1 MW was added in 2010 and 468.3MW in 2011.By July 2012 the installed grid connected PV had increased to 1040.67MW and India expects to install an additional 10,000MW by 2017 and a total of 20,000 MW by 2022. Grid parity is the tip at which revenue of generating electricity from alternative energy produces power at a cost that is equal to or less than the price of purchasing power from the grid .In view of the fact that a result of the condition the exact position of “grid pricing” varies not only from location to location but also customer to customer and even hour to hour. Grid parity is very imperative terminology in the solar energy

44 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

system and preferably photovoltaic panel because capital cost of PV panel is extremely reduced between about 1990 to 2010.In between late 2009 and mid 2011 it is dropped unpredictably 70%. Within grid parity solar energy is compare with natural gas because it is most expensive forms of power and solar energy considered as peaking power plant. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was one of three mechanisms recognized by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 to meet the environment Convention intention of stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would avert hazardous anthropogenic interference with the atmosphere. The other two mechanisms are Emissions Trading and Joint Implementation, both of which are not applicable to developing countries. Now a days solar energy system play important role in the clean development mechanism on India. The CDM projects can be from following categories: ii End-use energy efficiency improvements ii Supply-side energy efficiency improvement ii Renewable energy; for example wind, solar, small hydro, biomass etc. ii Fuel switching ii Agriculture (reduction of CH4 and N2O emissions) ii Industrial processes (CO2 from

Cement etc., HFCs, PFCs, SF6) ii Sinks projects (only afforestation and reforestation) India’s solar power costs could plummet by more than 40 percent by 2015, allowing the industry to compete against domestic oil and gas firms without the help of state subsidies. Solar technology could provide a kilowatt hour of power at about 7 to 8 rupees (USD0.14 to 0.16) a unit in the next few years, down from the current 11 to 12 rupees (USD0.22 to 0.24), due to surging global capacity. That would enable solar power to become a more viable option to coal, which costs around 2 rupees a unit, in fuelling Asia’s third largest economy and the world’s third-large carbon polluter. Under the National Solar Mission plan, issued in 2009, India is to produce 1.3-GW of power by 2013 and 20-GW by 2022 at an overall investment of about USD70 billion. Lanco Solar, a unit of Lanco Infratech, is one of 37 companies selected by India last year to build solar power projects, as the country looks to boost production from near zero. Given the current scenario with the way it is growing and the way costs are coming down, our industry will most likely not require any financial support from the state going forward in maybe three to four years; Lanco Solar has tenable several state projects, including a PV module producing plant in Chhattisgarh

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and solar power generation plants in Punjab. It hopes to boost its solar capacity to 500 megawatts in three years. A project developer has bid for solar capacity in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh for a game-changing INR 4.79/ kWh (US$0.073), which takes solar to grid parity with other major sources of power generation in India, sources have confirmed to PV Tech. Tenders from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) already have a fixed tariff of four rupees in states that have already seen tariffs fall below INR 4.50/ kWh, (or 3.93 rupees if accounting the trading margins from SECI), but developers can claim viability gap funding (VGF) support on top of the tariff. Solar power is likely to become cheaper than or equivalent to conventional thermal energy prices over the next two to three years and reach INR4.0/kWh-INR4.5/ kWh by FY18, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). This will be driven by a decline in capital costs (solar modules and other balance of plant), an increase in efficiency, a shift towards large solar photovoltaic projects leading to the economies of scale and lower return expectations by developers. According to International Renewable Energy Agency, solar photovoltaic prices have fallen nearly 80% since 2008. Additionally, solar module efficiency has witnessed an annual increase of 3.5%-4.5%. The increasing size of projects to 10MW and above from 5MW earlier also leads to the economies of scale in component procurement and better absorption of fixed costs. Moreover, the return expectation of developers is likely to moderate as the market matures, leading to a reduction in overall tariffs. ii The recent solar bids conducted by MP Power Management Company Limited with per unit prices reaching as low as INR5.05/kWh are suggestive of the above trends. Globally in a recent bid, NV Energy, a Nevada utility, agreed to purchase 100MW solar power

under a fixed-price 20-year power purchase agreement at 3.87cents/ kWh (INR2.43/kWh). This path is very good towards the clean development mechanism in India. ii The solar space has already seen a significant decline in tariffs. Solar tariffs declined to INR7.49/ kWh-INR9.44/kWh in Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission phase I, Batch II during FY12 from INR10.95/kWh-INR12.76/kWh during FY11. In phase II, Batch I, the concept of VGF was introduced and the tariffs declined to INR5.45/kWh. However, the current tariffs are even lower than those offered by through VGF. The recent coal-based bids for the purchase of thermal power by Andhra Pradesh saw tariffs in the range of INR4.27/kWh-INR4.98/kWh, only 1%-14% lower than the solar tariff of INR5.05/kWh bid recently in the MP Power Management Company power purchase tender. ii The feed-in-tariffs (FITs), outlined by respective state electricity regulatory commissions based on the cost-plus return on equity model, have also seen a significant decline. FIT for solar energy in Gujarat was lowered to INR8.03/ kWh in FY15 from INR12.54/kWh in 2010. FIT for solar energy in Rajasthan has been declined to INR6.74/kWh for FY16 from INR15.32/kWh in FY11. In following way clean development mechanism and solar energy system are interrelated. ii To investigate and endorse exploitation of solar farm in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the country, including those under public private partnership. ii To promote investment in energy infrastructure to increase electricity generation through solar energy system. ii To encourage spatial framework and management of maritime non-conventional energy resources in the exclusive economic zone of the country through suitable incentives. ii To achieve energy security and reduce green house gas

emissions. ii To encourage indigenization of the solar energy technology. ii To promote research and development in the solar energy sector. ii To create skilled manpower and employment in the solar energy sector. Assumptions for Solar Grid Parity Analysis: ii Residential solar ii Installed cost of $4/W ii 5% cost of capital and 80% of finance ii 5% discount rate ii 3% inflation ii 25 years of project life ii Operation of cost of 1% of the installed cost/year output based on the local solar radiation data from NREL. The above discussion shows solar energy system is a future of electricity generation and key aspect of clean development mechanism of India. To allow the wide spread application of this emerging technology, there is a need for further R&D improvements in solar PV technologies that can reduce the cost of renewable system. According to the above discussion India reaches “Grid Parity” in solar energy in 2017.For further development it is necessary to focus on a specific technological system which requires better policy measurement and requires more effort of the government in that way ■ Dr. Vikas Khare is PhD from NIT Bhopal, M.Tech from School of Energy, DAVV Indore and B.E. in Electrical Engineering from GEC Sagar M.P.. He is certified energy manager under the bureau of energy efficiency of India. Presently he is working as an Asstt. Professor in Department of Electrical Engineering Medicaps University, Indore. He is author of book entitled “Basic Electrical Engineering”, “Fundamental of electronics” and “Renewable Energy”.

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

Events Report

Energy Storage India 2017 Brings Global Industry Leaders in Energy Storage and Micro-grids to India “Renewable Energy integration with storage will be part of the widerpicture in realizing India’s commitments towards climate change mitigation in its INDC” - Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Railways

While media attention was focused on Vibrant Gujrat, Mumbai hosted a specialized International Conference and Expo on Energy Storage and Microgrids with over 250 delegates and 1000+ visitors. The 4th edition of Energy Storage India Conference and Expo was held at the Nehru Convention Centre in Mumbai, organized by Customized Energy Solutions and Messe Dusseldorf India, powered by India Energy Storage Alliance. The event was also supported by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), US Commercial Services and IIT Bombay. Honorable Railway Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu, was the key note speaker with focus on Make in India and E-Mobility. Shri Suresh Prabhu reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to add 175GW of Renewable Energy (RE) in the grid

46 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

by 2022 and also emphasized the need of storage to augment integration of RE. Mr. John Zahurancik, President – AES Energy Storage delivered a key note address highlighting drivers for energy storage in India based on AES’s global experience. He announced a joint partnership agreement between AES and Mitsubishi Corporation to deliver India’s First Grid-Scale Energy Storage Array (10MW) to Tata Power DDL. Focus of ESI 2017 was “Moving from Vision to National Energy Storage Mission”. During the conference, Mr. Dalip Sharma, M.D. – Delta Power Solutions India announced expansion of Delta’s manufacturing facility in India to include production of Lithium ion batteries. Mr. John Wood, CEO – Ecoult announced a

strategic partnership with Exide industries to launch its UltraBattery in India with a plan to set up manufacturing in 2017. Mr. Brett Galura of AES also invited Indian manufacturers to supply components for AES’s Advancion system. IESA and UL jointly invited nominations from the industry for IESA-UL energy storage standards taskforce to formulize India-based standards on energy storage modules and packs. Mr. Sunil Misra, Director General – Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA), and Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, Executive Director – IESA signed an MoU to facilitate capacity building in Energy Storage Manufacturing, Policy Frameworks and Human Resource Development. The event witnessed strong participation from key policy makers and government bodies including Ministry of Power (MOP), NITI Aayog, MNRE, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) as well as state nodal agencies. The Policy and Regulatory session featured an eminent panel comprising of Dr. Pramod Deo (Former Chairperson, CERC), Dr. P C Pant (MNRE) and Mr. Pankaj Batra (CEA) among

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others. The panelists briefed the audience about various initiatives and policy changes being considered by government agencies to fast track adoption of Energy Storage and Micro grids in India. A key invite-only CXO Roundtable with key policy makers was attended by CEOs of IESA member companies to bridge the existing policy and regulatory gap in the sector and press for a national energy storage policy. The participants benefited from knowledge sharing by various international speakers covering USA, Canada, Europe, Russia, China, Australia and Japan. A key highlight of the event was European Space Agency’s announcement on partnering with IESA in leveraging space technology to support micro-grid applications and modeling. Dr Dinesh Arora, Executive Director, REC, confirmed that over 700 minigrids are in process of tendering in the country. He requested the industry to keep up the pace of technology innovation for bottom of pyramid. The Microgrid Initiative for Campus and Rural Opportunities (MICRO) initiative by IESA was demonstrated during the conference, explaining its unique value propositions for various stakeholders such as investors, developers and equipment suppliers catering to microgrid market. India saw 46MW of opportunities in 2016 and looks forward to over 100MW of RfPs for 2017. This includes projects by SECI, NTPC, PGCIL, NLC, CEL and REIL. Dr. Bhar-

ath Reddy of SECI announced that a total of 13 bids were received for the recently concluded 2x5MW Storage + 50MW Solar PV project in Andhra Pradesh Solar Park. He also mentioned that bidding for 4 similar projects in Karnataka is open till 24th January. IESA announced its first Industrial Awards for 2016-17 at the conference. The awards were divided into 4 categories – “Energy Storage Company of the Year” was awarded to Panasonic for deploying over 130MWh of Li-ion batteries for Telecom and Banking applications in India, “Energy Storage Project of the Year” was awarded to PGCIL for their Puducherry project, “Technology Innovation of the Year” was awarded to Pluss Advanced Technologies for their revolutionary work in Phase Change Materials, and “Microgrid Company of the Year” was awarded to Husk Power for electrifying 15,500 households in India. A special issue of Emerging Technology News (ETN) was also released at this occasion, which honors Business

Leaders, Researchers and Policy Makers of Indian origin who have made an impact in the global Energy Storage and Micro-grid sector. The issue will be available at www.indiaesa.info. This year, the conference featured a dedicated track on e-mobility applications and e-transportation with panelists representing Mahindra Electric, GoGreenBOV, Axiom Energy and other industry stakeholders. Advanced energy storage technologies such as Ultra Capacitors, Lithium Sulphur and flow batteries as well as Emerging Applications including thermal storage and fuel cells were highlighted during the conference. Quoting John Zahurancik from AES, understanding energy storage applications and its market possibilities is similar to the story of blind men who touch an elephant to learn what it is like. We have just learned this market by its tail and are yet to witness massive energy storage applications at grid scale. The event saw avid participation from key industry stakeholders, academicians, entrepreneurs, business leaders looking to enter the energy storage space and others keenly interested in Energy storage and Microgrids, deeming ESI 2017 a resounding success ■

Jan/ Feb 2017 SmartEnergy

2017 EVENTS WATCH 23-25 2017

14-16 2017

03-05 2017

Event: Intelect 2017

Event: Solar Middle East 2017

Event: North India Solar Summit 2017

Dubai, UAE.

IIA Grounds, Gomti Nagar, Luckhnow, UP, India.

India Expo Centre, G. Noida, India.

MARCH

08-10 2017 Event: India Smart Grid Week 2017 Manekshaw Centre,Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi.

MAY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

JANUARY

APRIL

07-08 2017

APRIL

26-27 2017

Event: RenewX

Event: India’s Renewable Energy Congress

HITEX, Hyderabad.

Delhi, India

MAY

17-19 2017

Event: Power-Gen India & Central Asia

Event: Renewable Energy World India

Event: 2nd Solar India 2017 expo

Pragati Maidan, N. Delhi, India

Pragati Maidan, N. Delhi, India.

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

AUGUST

21-23 2017 Event: 8th RETC New Delhi, India

48 SmartEnergy Jan/ Feb 2017

SEPTEMBER

20-22 2017

10-12 2017

DECEMBER

05-07 2017

Event: Renewable Energy India Expo

Event: Intersolar India 2017

India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, India

BEC, Goregaon, Mumbai, India

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ADVERTISERS INDEX 2nd Solar India Expo

Apar Industries Ltd.

IFC

Electrotherm (India)Ltd.

Exide Industries Ltd.

Fidelity Services

Gravin Earthing & Lighting Protection System (P) Ltd.

Intelect 2017

Mersen India Pvt.Ltd.

Pennar Engineered Building System Ltd.

Power-Gen India

19 IBC

Renewable Energy World India RenewX 2017

Solar Middle East

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24/7 POWER FOR ALL PROMOTING THE GREATER USE OF RENEWABLES IN THE ENERGY MIX

Renewable energy will play an ever-more important role as the Government of India seeks to provide universal access to power and to ultimately transform India’s power generation system into one that is low carbon.

There is no better time to participant at India’s newest renewable energy event Renewable Energy World India will bring together expert industry professionals to exchange knowledge and showcase new renewable energy technology developments to create 24/7 Power for All.

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