SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
Volume IV, Issue III
Pages 60
`200
ISSN 2348-5027
Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence
Stay ahead of the cur ve With the PV200 diagnostic tool, PV system O&M has never been easier or more affordable. Perform safety tests and produce detailed I-V curves to view instantly on a mobile device. Fast and easy I-V curve tracing Quickly diagnose problems on under-performing PV systems PVMobile app for Android instantly displays I-V curve from PV200 tester Carries out IEC 62446 and 61829 electrical safety and perormance tests Easy to use push button interface Solarlink kit includes Solar Survey 200R meter for simultaneous irradiance and temperature measurements Simple and convenient CSV download format to Microsoft Excel or SolarCert software
Isothermal Technology Pvt. Ltd. Visit www.seawardsolar.com/PV200 Email solar@isotech.co.in Call +91-11-64691012 / 9810339072
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
Editor's Note Dear Readers, The solar Tracker market is poised to grow significantly over the period from 2016 to 2023. According to some reports Global solar tracker market size is anticipated to record annual growth rate of 12% from 2016 to 2023. In the Indian market that is witnessing substantial amount of solar installation, solar trackers are expected to surpass a revenue of USD 60 million by 2023. Solar trackers are fantastic system for energy output, but there are a few considerations to bear in mind before pursuing one for a particular jobsite. Foremost is solar trackers are slightly more expensive, require more maintenance and are a more complex system than fixed racking. When it comes to getting projects financed, these systems are more complex and thus are seen as a higher risk from a financier’s viewpoint. Solar trackers are generally designed for climates with little to no snow making them a more viable solution in warmer climates. Despite these considerations solar trackers are highly efficient installations and are a great fit for both large and small project sites given the proper location and site conditions. The cover story in this edition of Smart Energy Magazine delves deep in to the tracker technology and the different trackers available in the market along with their advantages and disadvantage. It further elaborates on the market size and opportunities for tracker technology in context of Indian market. The writer also gives insight into the different players actively involved in promoting the solar tracker technology in India. In addition to the cover story this edition features some interesting topics on solar PV technology, rooftop solar, inverters, energy storage and energy efficiency. Along with the regular features like industry updates, new product launches, and events updates this edition is packed with powerful stuff to keep you engaged. Enjoy reading and yes don’t forget to give your valuable feedback.
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 necessarily 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 Showroom, Manvelpada Road, Virar Dist Thane and printed at M B Graphics, B 28, 3rd Floor Shri Ram Industrial Estate,Wadala West, Mumbai.
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Content
SmartEnergy
24
38
INTERVIEW Samuel Zhou Country Head - India & US, Ningbo Osda Solar Co., Ltd.
44 Cover Story Follow The Sun: Making Solar more Efficient
26
SPOT LIGHT Leading I-V Curve Tracer for PV Modules
46 ENERGY STORAGE Indian Solar Companies Eying to Diversify their Business into Energy Storage Space
INVERTER TECHNOLOGY Getting Solar Power Plant Without Batteries to Work During Grid Failure
Authored By: Debi Prasad Dash
Authored By: Kripya Engineering Pvt Ltd
50
30 ROOFTOP SOLAR Realizing the 40GW Rooftop Solar Target Authored By: B. Krishna Prasad
BRAND CONNECT Selecting Panels for Rooftop Solar System: What to Look for? Authored By: Shashank Kumar Singh
54 ENERGY EFFICIENCY Energy Efficiency Examples In Bilbao
34 SOLAR PV Condition Monitoring of Solar PV Panels using Infrared Thermography Authored By: D.K. Chaturvedi & Akash Singh Chaudhary
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REGULARS 08. News & Views 17. To the Point 18. Products & Services 57. Events Watch 58. Advertisers Index www.supersmartenergy.com
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News & Views SOLAR PARK BIDS IN LAST 1 YEAR
Solairedirect emerge as the lowest bidder for the complete 250 MW.
State
Solar power tariffs dipped to Rs 3.15/ Unit, a new low, during bidding for the 250 MW ultra mega solar power park in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh.
Record LOW!
Rs 3.15/ Unit
Kadapa solar park being set up by NTPC
Capacity (Mw)
Levellised tariff for 25 years (in Rs)
AP
500
4.63
AP
350
4.63
AP
150
Rajasthan
420
MP
750
3.3
MP
250
3.15
5.12 5.13 4.3
Solar tariff creates history again, touches Rs 3.15/unit in AP Solar Park Swelect commisions India’s largest floating solar energy plant SWELECT Energy Systems Ltd (a leading Manufacturer of Solar PV Modules & Integrator of High Quality Solar PV Power Systems) has successfully built and commissioned India’s largest Floating Solar Energy plant in Kayankulam, Kerala for NTPC. The plant was commissioned in a short span of 22 days. Floating Solar PV Power plants harness the sun power with better efficiency without consuming the land area compared to a regular ground mounted SPV System. To reduce the cost of the system, a collaborative indigenous floater development project has been taken up by NETRA with Central Institute for Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Chennai. NETRA, NTPC and SWELECT Energy Systems Ltd worked jointly in this program. Features ii Indigenously developed floaters ii Cost effective (compared to commercially available floating PV system)
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Image curtsey NTPC Ltd.
ii India’s Largest installation of its kind at NTPC ii A good display of Make in India initiative Benefits ii No land required (no land cost/ availability/acquisition issues/no uprooting of trees) ii Reduction of evaporation of water and algae growth in water bodies ii Expected increased generation because of cooling effect on PV panels (water is at cool temperature when the atmospheric air is hot - per day generating around 5.7 kWh / kWp)
ii Reduced installation time when compared to land ii PV modules stay free from dust to large extent – resulting in low maintenance on cleaning. Details of Floating Solar PV system ii The Floating PV system consists of a Floater Platform & components of PV System. PV Modules ii Make : SWELECT - HHV Solar, 72 cells poly C-Si, each of 315 Wp ii Quantity : Total 324 No’s, 102.6 kWp DC Capacity ii Efficiency : > 16.3% ■ www.supersmartenergy.com
For Complete Solar Solutions
CONTACT
News & Views Rays Power Infra commissions 78 MW solar plant in Uttarakhand Following the successful commissioning of its 78 MWp Solar PV project recently, Rays Power Infra has now inaugurated the plant in the state of Uttarakhand. Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat honored the inauguration of Rays Power Infra’s plant in his state. Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Sanjay Garudapally, Co-founder & Director, Rays Power Infra, said, “This is yet another moment of great pride and honor for all of us here at Rays Power Infra. We started the project in the last week of November 2016 and accomplished the same in record period of 90 days. That’s not all; we not only inaugurated the plant, but also ready to appease major power necessities in the industrial areas of Bhagwanpur and Roorkee. Furthermore, what adds to our excitement is the fact that the vision and the mission of our organization coincides so well with the bottom line of the MNRE.”
Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat honored the inauguration of Rays Power Infra’s plant
“I would also like thank Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat for showing his support towards the cause of renewable energy and honoring us with his presence and inaugurating our plant in his state.” He added. The project is one of the superior projects by Rays Power Infra, where local farmers have been made stakeholders by giving them a source of livelihood. Instead of forcing farmers to sell their land, Rays Power Infra has devised a unique model, where
farmers can also become a part of the project. More than 1000 farmers will acquire direct and indirect benefits from this project by receiving a constant monthly source of income for more than 25 years. Furthermore, through this model, the company has created a land bank of more than 2000 acres, where it can implement more than 500 MW. This has enabled them to single handedly accomplish 100% RPO of the state for the next five years ■
"It was my vision to develop and construct the largest solar project in the state of Uttarakhand, the largest in the state so far. We have achieved this successfully, adding another remarkable milestone to Rays’ list of executed projects” - Ketan Mehta, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rays Power Infra
Hareon Solar expands its footprint in the Indian solar market Chinese solar modules manufacturer Hareon Solar is looking to expand its footprint in India by signing an agreement with Azure Power, one of the largest independent power producers in the solar power sector in India, to to develop 118 megawatt solar power project in the state of Telangana. The investment arm of
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the modules manufacturer will pick up 45% stake in the project at $11.1 million. The investment by Hareon Solar seems sound as the project was secured by Azure Power through a competitive auction organised by India’s largest power producer NTPC Limited. Power generated from the project
will be sold to NTPC through a 25-year power purchase agreement, thus securing long-term revenue stream. Last year, Hareon Solar and ReNew Power Ventures commissioned a 72 megawatt solar power project in Andhra Pradesh ■
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News & Views SgurrEnergy India Delivers Detailed Engineering Services for Adani’s 648 MW Solar Project SgurrEnergy India Pvt. Ltd. (SgurrEnergy India), a leading solar engineering consultancy in India, announce that it was selected by Adani Power to provide solar engineering services to the world’s largest solar project, the 648MW (AC) solar project located at Kamuthi village in the Ramanthpuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. Based on its strong track record of over 100 satisfied customers and over 6GW of solar projects which are either commissioned or under implementation, SgurrEnergy India was selected, following a rigorous tender process, out of eight local and international companies to deliver comprehensive engineering services. The project, which had a one year conceptto-commissioning timeframe, required engineering services within three months. SgurrEnergy delivered all services on time and on budget, including the project concept, technology evaluation, energy yield estimation, quality assurance plan, detailed engineering, and other associated design ser-
vices, to support the 648MW solar project. “We selected SgurrEnergy India after evaluating a number of consultants as we quickly understood that they had both the capabilities to execute on a project of this scale, but also the local experience and resources,” commented Jayant Parimal of Adani Power. “We look forward to working with them on other projects.” SgurrEnergy assembled its diverse, integrated team of experts to ensure an on time and on budget delivery, including solar advisors, electrical, civil, structural, and infrastructure engineers, plus project managers with a history of designing projects that maximize the value of the solar asset. The 648MW solar project was pre-conceptualized with effective cost-to-benefit analyses for all the commercially proven technologies even before it was awarded to SgurrEnergy India. Multiple technologies and vendors were deployed to supply modules, inverters, and mount-
ing structures to meet the large project’s strict timeline. Design innovation was implemented throughout the project, including a modular design to reduce execution time, and an eight row module table was utilized for the first time in India, reducing the project costs and construction timeline. Because land for the project was not all available at the onset, SgurrEnergy was very flexible in its design process in order to minimize land requirements. “We understand the competitive markets our customers operate in and there is no room for error, especially when it comes to costs. As the market becomes more and more competitive, developers are realizing that design innovation and cost control go hand in hand. SgurrEnergy India is striving to eliminate cost unpredictability and ensure bankable projects, and we clearly delivered in this situation,” commented Mr. Arif Aga, Founder and Managing Director, SgurrEnergy India ■
Vikram Solar commissions 10 MW solar plant in Andhra Pradesh Vikram Solar, the globally acclaimed EPC solutions provider and PV module manufacturer, successfully commissioned a 10 MW capacity solar plant in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been developed under the PPA scheme between Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (abbreviated TTD) and Vikram Solar Pvt. Ltd. The project will facilitate green power generation to cater to the energy needs of one of the
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most famous religious landmarks in India. Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD & CEO, Vikram Solar Pvt. Ltd., commended the meticulous planning and aggressive work pace that team Vikram has shown in handling the project, “This project is yet another reiteration of our decade’s experience and superior quality standards in the execution of EPC projects. With this project, our total commissioned EPC
project capacity has reached 305 MW in India, and we are looking forward to many more such projects to be executed in the near future.” Mr. Anupam Dhiman, Executive Director – EPC Solar, Vikram Solar added, “With thorough planning put in place right from the concept to its commissioning stage, we have been able to ensure quality at every step of execution to deliver the project.” ■
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News & Views SolarEdge Strengthens Business Position in India with New Office and Leadership SolarEdge Technologies, Inc., a global leader in PV inverters, power optimizers, and modulelevel monitoring services, is expanding its business in the Indian PV market with a new country manager, office, and recruitment of a local team. As a leading global PV inverter company, SolarEdge is already active in the Indian PV market and is now looking to expand its footprint in the region. With new offices located in Bangalore, SolarEdge has created a new entity, called SolarEdge Technologies (India) Private Limited, in India. As part of developing a local team of PV experts, SolarEdge has appointed Shashidhara B V, a veteran in the renewable energy industry, as Head of SolarEdge India. Having worked in the field of photovoltaics and telecommunications, Shashidhara B V is tasked with growing SolarEdge’s business in the country with a focus on developing the market, building a distribution network, and form-
ing a local professional support organization. “The Indian solar energy segment is considered to be a market with one of the fastest growth potentials in the world due to the country’s ever-increasing demand for energy,” stated Guy Sella CEO, Chairman, and Founder of SolarEdge. “With our global experience, innovative solutions, and dedication to developing a local presence, SolarEdge is well poised to support the Indian PV market in its rapid growth.” “I am excited to join SolarEdge, a global leader in PV inverter technology, which is positioned to become a leading player in the Indian market,” stated Shashidhara B V. “Increasing energy production from module-level optimization, improving O&M with pinpointed monitoring and remote troubleshooting, and enhancing safety feature, SolarEdge’s solution offers the Indian market great promise for advancing the local PV market.”
Addressing a broad range of solar market segments, from residential to commercial and small utility-scale PV installations, the SolarEdge solution consists of inverters, power optimizers, storage solutions, and a cloud-based monitoring platform. The SolarEdge system enables superior power harvesting and module management by deploying power optimizers to each PV module while maintaining a competitive system cost by keeping the AC inversion and grid interaction centralized using a simplified DC-AC inverter. SolarEdge’s commercial solution offers improved bottom line and PV asset management by reducing BoS Costs, allowing more modules to be installed on the roof, module-level monitoring and remote troubleshooting. SolarEdge also offers support for the commercial PV project life cycle, including project design and pre-sale, project execution, and O&M support ■
Manufacturing Units without Electricity Grid connections now a reality Consul Neowatt, the Global Indian UPS company and manufacturers of Sunbird solar inverters, the preferred choice of system integrators in India, announced that setting up manufacturing facilities without electricity grid connections is now a reality. It has successfully completed one year of operations of a manufacturing plant in Satara, Maharashtra where the entire load of the factory including CNC machines, welding machines, paint booth as well as lighting requirements was powered by solar. At this factory, the captive solar power plant with energy storage is the primary source of power
for the whole factory. The daily requirement of the facility is met by a captive 80kW solar plant. At the heart of solar plant is a Consul Neowatt Sunbird hybrid solar inverter that is capable of generating around 320 units of electricity per day and also storing the excess energy in a battery for use when the sun is not shining. The factory does not have a EB connection and uses a DG set as a backup power source when energy demand exceeds the solar power plant capacity. With the solar power plant the factory has been able to turn green and reduce its carbon footprint.
akrishnan, MD & CEO, Consul Neowatt Power Solution said “with the successful demonstration of a captive solar power plant, a whole new avenue of industrial and commercial development is possible that will not depend on availability of electrical grid power. Also with captive solar power plants we can reduce the burden on the electricity grid and consequent need for the building or expansion of power plants burning fossil fuels.” Adding Sriram said, “We strongly believe that solar power with energy storage can give true independence from the grid"
Speaking on this Sriram Ram-
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JinkoSolar Exclusively Invited to Deliver a Speech at B20 Summit in Berlin JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., a global leader in the Photovoltaic (PV) industry, announced that as the only Chinese company, it was invited to dialogue at The Business 20 (B20) Summit held in Berlin on May 2-3, 2017. More than 700 representatives from top companies and business associations from all G20 countries and sectors participated in the summit, striving to make the global economy more sustainable and futureoriented. The themes of this year's G20 presidency are: Building Resilience, Improving Sustainability, and Assuming Responsibility. As the co-chair of B20 ECRE taskforce, Ms. Dany Qian, Vice President of JinkoSolar, together with Jurgen Heraeus, Chairman of B20, handed over B20 policy recommendations to the G20 president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as part of an official ceremony of B20 Summit 2017. Ms. Dany Qian was also exclusively invited to dialogue with Chancellor in the afterwards roundtable meeting. Ms. Dany Qian also attended the panel "Towards a FutureOriented Sustainable Economy:
Energy, Climate Change and Resource Efficiency" with IEA, BASF, Enel and Continental. The B20 is convinced that a future-oriented, sustainable, and competitive world economy can only be guaranteed if businesses keep finding innovative solutions to curtail climate change, foster the energy transition, and decrease resource intensity. The G20 can achieve this by implementing the Paris Agreement, accelerating the market readiness and deployment of low-carbon technologies, and by establishing a Resource Efficiency Platform. Concerning how business can best contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, Vice president of JinkoSolar, Ms. Dany Qian emphasized: "Government laid out the essential goals in Paris Agreement, but promise must be followed by action. The implementation of the agreement relies largely on the involvement and engagement of business community. The private sector plays a much bigger and even more important role in the success of the Paris agreement. Starting from their own expertise and experience, companies can, for exam-
ple, steer their capital towards direct investment in clean energy projects and low carbon, energy efficient technology and businesses, the purchase of and increased use of renewable energy and becoming carbon neutral. A few major companies are striving to run entirely on renewable energy. They are doing so by reporting emissions and disclosing climate change relevant data and information, adapting their business model and supply chain to seize this energy transition opportunity and create new jobs, internally pricing carbon, complying and aligning with government climate and energy policy, supporting the development of low carbon technology and science and of course taking a responsible approach to lobbying on climate action. " As the world's largest solar company, Jinkosolar will need to assume leadership in the transition to a future oriented sustainable economy by further driving down the cost of solar power to make it more economically viable to switch to renewable energy and more feasible to implement the Paris Agreement ■
KACO new energy guides almost 2.5GW of solar inverter shipments in 2017 German PV inverter manufacturer KACO new energy expects its shipment volumes in 2017 to reach almost 2.5GW after booking 600MW in the first quarter. This it announced through a release. KACO new energy’s managing partner, Ralf Hofmann said, “We laid the foundation for this strong first quarter back in 2016 with our technology, sales and marketing
activities. We were very keen to establish long-term partnerships. The best example of this is the framework contracts that we have put in place both in Asia and in Turkey. The total order quantity represents double what the company had booked in at the same point in 2016. In light of this, the annual forecast for the group as a whole is now approaching 2.5
gigawatts.” The strong order book was said to have been due to the market launch last year of its commercial scale string inverter, ‘blueplanet’ 50.0 TL3 INT, which has gained traction in the Middle East, Turkey and India. The company claimed a 40% market share in Turkey
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News & Views JA Solar Holdings ships 1GW of modules to India Chinese solar major, JA Solar Holdings announced that it has exported solar modules with a total capacity of 1,000 mw into India. “The 1GW of modules shipped to India represents electricity generation capacity of approximately 1.7billion units, which can reduce carbon emissions by 1.47 million tons annually. The company's shipments to India in 2016 represent significant market share in the region. JA Solar also believes that it held its leading market share position in the first quarter of 2017,” the company said in a statement. Over the past two years JA Solar has expanded quickly in the Indian market by establishing strategic partnerships with local developers, engineering procurement and contract companies, and independent power
producers. "India is emerging as one of the largest PV markets in the world, and JA Solar is well-positioned to continue to capture market share in the region. We remain focused on driving the R&D innovation that improves our products, which results in reliable modules and professional service to clients," said Baofang Jin, chairman and CEO of JA Solar. JA Solar claims to be a worldleading manufacturer of silicon wafers, cells and modules used in solar PV systems. By the end of 2017, its production capacity for each of these categories is expected to reach 3 GW, 7 GW and 6 GW respectively. Since its founding, JA Solar has cumulative shipments of over 20 GW. The company does business in more than 92 countries around the world ■
Government of India to auction 4 GW of wind energy in FY 2017-18 The Government of India is planning to auction 4 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity projects in FY 2017-18, apart from offering tenders for 750 megawatts of solar capacity projects in May 2017, as stated by Mr. Ashvini Kumar, Managing Director, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The government's goal is to add 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. Mr. Kumar further stated that India can add 5- 6 GW of wind energy capacity every fiscal year. Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, wants to double India's wind energy capacity to 60 GW and increase the capacity of solar projects by 10-fold to reach 100 GW ■
First hand review of ISRO’s new solar calculator app The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which is the space agency of the Government of India, has launched an app to help people know the benefits of solar power and help transition them to a life powered by solar panels and other renewable sources. The solar calculator app can calculate the benefits of installing solar panels in different regions of the country and is very handy for installation of Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for tapping the solar energy suited for the area. Functionality ii The app determines solar energy potential (in kWh/m2) at any given location, which is of great help in setting up photovoltaic thermal
power plants ii GPS helps in pinning down the location of the user ii The app provides monthly and yearly solar potential by processing data obtained from Indian Geostationary Satellites like Kalpana-1, INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR ii The app provides other useful information as well like elevation angles and daytime duration over different time periods in a year ii It also calculates the obstruction of sunlight due to terrain by employing Digital Elevation Model (DEM) ii In addition, the app also suggests the optimum tilt angle for the installation of solar PV ii The app provides information
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which is easy to understand and interpret using tables and visuals ii The complete report provided by the app can be saved by the user in the form of a PDF file ii The app at present can be downloaded from the 'New and Renewable Energy' section at vedas.sac. gov.in ■
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To the Point NATIONAL 1 GW Kurnool Ultra Solar Park to be operational soon In less than a month, the world’s largest single location solar park at Kurnool will be operational. Kurnool Ultra Solar Park of 1000MW is spread over a total area of 5,932.32 acres in Pinnapuram, Panyam mandal of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. The park in which 900MW of the 1000MW is already commissioned, surpasses 648MW Kamuthi solar park in Tamil Nadu and Topaz Solar Farm of 550 mw in California. The park is anticipated to produce 2,600 million units of power per annum, which will help to achieve production of 10000MW solar power by 2022.
Ujaas Energy completes solar energy project for Commercial Syn Bags Ujaas Energy Ltd has completed work on the 1 MW solar power generation system, built with an investment of about Rs 6 crores, which will provide power to Commercial Syn Bags' manufacturing unit at Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh (MP). The electricity generated through this system, which is located at Ujaas Solar Park, Sitamau (MP), will be used for captive consumption by Commercial Syn Bags (Comsyn).
India has achieved 12 GW of solar capacity, says Goyal Stating that India has already achieved 12,200 MW of solar capacity so far, Union power minister Piyush Goyal reiterated that the country is well poised to reach its target of 100 GW capacity by 2022. "This mark, we are going to achieve by this year-end, five years ahead of the target set by the earlier government. We are confident that we will achieve our 100 GW target
by 2022," Goyal added.
Govt to grant duty benefits to solar rooftop sector In a boost to India’s lagging solar rooftop sector, the Union ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has decided to give custom and excise duty benefits to it for ensuring high growth. The move will not only bring down the costs of setting up projects but also that of generation. "After examination of various issues involved, it has been decided to give customs and excise duty exemption certificates, with immediate effect, to all rooftop solar PV power projects up to a minimum capacity of 100 KW (Kilowatt) as a single project or bundled project,” said MNRE in an order dated 11 April.
Shakti Pumps India Ltd assigned Solar Energy Grading by CARE The rating agency Care Ratings has assigned a 'SP 1A' grading to Shakti Pumps (India) Limited for System integrator - Photo Voltaic (PV) the grading indicates highest performance capacity and highest Financial strength of the graded entity. The grading will remain valid till 30 March 2019.
ReNew Power commissions largest solar farm in Telangana ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd., India's leading renewable energy Independent Power Producer, has commissioned the largest 143 MW solar farm in Telangana. Welcoming the initiatives taken by the government in the renewable energy sector, ReNew Power Chairman and CEO, Sumant Sinha, said, "It gives us great pride to partner with the Government of Telangana and play a leading role in its mission of harnessing the solar potential of the state.
World Bank approves $100 million loan for Indian solar power parks According to a press release issued by the World Bank, a $100 million loan for the Rewa and Mandsaur solar power parks was approved. The solar power parks are part of the 40-gigawatt solar parks program announced by the Indian government. The World Bank has partnered with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA). The total debt finance for the two solar power parks is $200 million, of which $100 million will be provided by the World Bank while the balance will be arranged by IREDA. The $100 million loan from the World Bank will include a $75 million loan from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a $23 million loan and a $2 million technical grant from the Clean Technology Fund.
Mumbai can fulfil half of its electricity consumption by solar power: IIT Report Mumbai’s need of electricity is typically around 3 GW and out of this roof-top solar installations can make around 1.72 GW of energy, the joint study- 'Estimating the Rooftop Solar Potential of Greater Mumbai' -carried out by five organisations National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE), Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (C-USE) at IIT Bombay, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Bombay Chapter, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Bridge to India has shown.
GE Installed the First 1,500Volt Solar Inverter in Japan Following an agreement reached last year, GE has successfully delivered and installed one of two 1,500-Volt solar inverters in the Ibaragi prefecture ■
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Products & Services
Archimedes Green Energy unveils rooftop wind turbine
A
rchimedes Green Energys (P) Ltd showcased its rooftop wind turbine at RenewX 2017, a renewable energy exposition hosted in the city of Hyderabad, and soon manufacture turbines at a facility in Telangana. “The small wind turbine useful for small office, homes and outdoors will be manufactured in partnership with a Korean firm ESCO RTS and Dutch technology at Medchal near here,” Suryaprakash Gajjala, CEO of Archimedes Green Energys (P) Ltd, told the press during the exhibition.
Suryaprakash said: “The Company (a start-up) will set up a manufacturing unit with an outlay of Rs.5060 crore and begin roll out later during the year.” Named after the Greek mathematician and engineer, it can produce 1500kWh of energy at wind speeds of 5 m/s-approximately half an average household's energy use, Suryaprakash informed The first installation is likely to come up at the Lord Venkateshwara Temple (Birla temple) at Naubat Pahad, once all permissions are secured.
The product is outcome of 20 years of research work of the Dutch national Marinus Mieremet.
The manufacturing unit to be set up on a two-acre site will have capacity for one lakh units per annum. Apart from catering to the local market, it
Describing it as a "Make in India" product,
will be an export-oriented unit, Suryaprakash informed. The windmill has a maintenancefree turbine that can be fixed on top of an apartment, in fields and anywhere. It can rotate 360 degrees and works in even low velocity winds from 0.9 metre/ second to as high as 14 metre/ second. In high winds such as 22 meter/second, it has a cut-off and stops to avoid damage to the turbine. The two rooftop wind mills variants come in 36 kg and 112 kg and can be transported without much hassles. The wind mill comes with Fibre Reinforced Plastic Blades and generates energy required for basic household needs. “Though I am an entrepreneur now, I have been working on the wind turbines from my college days, and developed a prototype,” he said ■
SKF India launches integrated solutions for wind energy applications
S
KF India, announced the launch of its Multilog On-line System - IMx-8 and SKF SRB for wind turbine main shafts, at Windergy 2017 in New Delhi, India. IMx-8 is a compact device, engineered to address the modern day maintenance issues of wind energy industry. The SKF SRB is light weight and has high performance that will improve turbine reliability for sustainable wind energy production offering up to twice the fatigue life, improved robustness and reduce down the cost. The launch of IMx-8 for remote monitoring and SKF SRB for wind turbine main shafts was added to the robust renewable energy portfolio of SKF India. SKF’s inte-
grated service offerings comprises of precise products, remote diagnostic services, data analysis and solutions for the wind energy industry. This will result in early fault detection; improvise the availability and performance of rotating equipment with automatic advice for correcting existing or impending conditions. Mr. Shishir Joshipura, Managing Director and Country Head, SKF India
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said, “The wind energy segment has been growing steadily over the last few years with the increased focus on sustainable sources of energy. SKF’s integrated solutions comprising of Data Analysis through IOT, Remote Diagnostic Solutions, and précised engineering products, will simplify the entire process of maintenance of Wind Turbines going forward.” SKF India showcased their entire range of products
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Products & Services and service solutions for Wind energy segment. With its century of experience and strong hold across 40 industries, SKF has an advanced understanding of how mechanisms and industrial processes are interconnected, which helps them offer customized solutions to each industry. The global footprint of SKF enables operators to secure spares efficiently and respond quickly to minimize downtime for maintenance
We are confident that the two new products added to the SKF’s renewable portfolio will help our stakeholders to achieve their wind power generation targets more efficiently. SKF India will continue to adopt the newest technology and offer their customers world class products and services as always Lokesh Saxena, VP- Industrial Business & Services, SKF India Ltd.
M
ono module manufacturer LONGi Solar has unveiled a PERC bifacial module at the SNEC exhibition in Shanghai.
that it had reached “mass production” of the Hi-MO2 modules making it more than an attentiongrabbing release scheduled to coincide with a trade show.
The 72-cell version of the Hi-MO2 panel has a power output of 360365W. According to LONGi, the front side cells will operate with a 21% efficiency. The rearside of the module will have an efficiency not less than 75% of the front. Bifacial modules have emerged as a key technology theme at SNEC this year with a host of manufac-
UPDATE
LONGi Solar launches mono PERC bifacial module
President Li Zhenguo of LONGi Group and President Li Wenxue of LONGi Solar unveil new product Hi-MO2
turers launching new products. LONGi confirmed in a statement
"Hi-MO2 extends the strengths of mono PERC to the backside of the module, and can achieve higher power and higher energy yield without increasing costs, which will help decrease the LCOE, and bring more value for PV power plant investors," said Li Wenxue, president of LONGi Solar ■
"LONGi has the confidence to continuously provide high efficiency monocrystalline PV products with the best cost performance ratio for global customers, to use technology to speed up progress towards grid parity, and to make more contributions to improving environment condition" Li Wenxue, president, LONGi Solar
Trina Solar Launches Bifacial PERC Module "DUOMAX Twin"
T
rina Solar Limited, a global leader in solar photovoltaic modules, solutions, and services, tannounced that it launched its high-efficiency bifacial module DUOMAX Twin at Clean Energy Expo China (CEEC Expo) 2017 in Beijing. The DUOMAX Twin, is an innovative solar module integrating the technology of Trina Solar's high efficiency bifacial PERC cell and
Duomax module. Trina Solar is an industry leader in the research and development of PERC cell technology and production, achieving several world records in monoPERC cell conversion efficiency. Trina Solar's extensive experience in mass producing DUOMAX module has been validated by its customers worldwide, with total shipments of over 1 Gigawatt over the past years.
20 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
DUOMAX Twin generates power from both the front and back sides of the solar module and performs well even under weak light conditions. The front side receives direct sunlight while the back side receives reflected and scattered light. Compared with traditional single-sided modules, the DUOMAX Twin can deliver as much as 25% additional generating capacity.
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Products & Services The DUOMAX Twin enables increased energy density and more electricity generation, as a result of which, the output of the projects will be increased with the same development costs as standard modules. By maximizing energy generation, the DUOMAX Twin significantly reduces levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Since bifacial modules absorb solar radiation from both sides, they
allow a variety of tilt and installation options and are ideal for elevated ground, rooftop, desert and snowy area installations or onwater applications. The dual-glass design used in all DUOMAX panels provides extreme durability even in the harshest environments. "In the past, we were focused on improving our overall product quality and reducing costs with
continuous technology development and optimization of materials," said Rongfang Yin, Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at Trina Solar. "Going forward, Trina Solar will put additional effort into product segmentation, which will allow our customers to choose products uniquely suited to their distinct project environments."
REC Launches TwinPeak 2S 72 Series Solar Panels
R
EC, the world’s most trusted brand for solar panels, has begun commercial production of its new generation 72-cell product based on its award-winning REC TwinPeak technologies.
resistance ii Half-cut cell technology to reduce resistive power loss in the panel ii PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) for increased light capture
Rated up to 350 Wp, the REC TwinPeak 2S 72 panel sets a new world record in power output for 72-cell multicrystalline panels, thus competing strongly with products of similar size using monocrystalline (mono) and mono-PERC technology by providing the highest power at a competitive cost. While REC has packed more power into a single panel, the REC TwinPeak 2S 72 weighs just 22 kg, up to 4 kg lighter than standard 72-cell-sized panels, enabling easier handling and quicker installation times.
ii Split junction box spread across the middle of the panel, allowing an innovative panel design and improved performance in shaded conditions Available worldwide, the REC TwinPeak 2S 72 Series is certified according to IEC 61215 and IEC 61730, as well as UL 1703 and comes in 1000 V or 1500 V configurations for maximum balance of system cost savings. Like all REC products, this new panel is 100% free from potential-induced degeneration (PID), avoiding performance losses under harsh climate conditions, such as high heat or humidity.
The new REC TwinPeak 2S 72 Series panel uses several evolving REC TwinPeak technologies: ii Cells made from larger wafers for increased current production
“With our new 72-cell panel, we have once again demonstrated our global leadership in multic-
ii Five bus bars for reduced cell
Panel Identification
rystalline technology,” says Cemil Seber, Vice President Global Marketing and Product Management at REC. “The REC TwinPeak 2S 72 addresses the needs of our customers in the C&I and utility-scale segments who demand large panels, with lighter weight, and high power combined with REC’s renowned product quality.” ■
Senvion presents its largest 2 MW turbine series for India Senvion, a leading global manufacturer of wind turbines, launched four new products in the market at Windergy India. The turbines in
the two-megawatt class with the series name Senvion 2.XM come from a suitable acquisition made in summer 2016, and are available
22 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
for sale in India with immediate effect and with installation in later 2017. The Senvion 2.XM modular platform is well adapted to Indian
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delivering lowest LCoE (Levelized Cost of Energy). The full converter system and the advanced control technologies fulfill the current local regulatory and grid requirements. Jürgen Geissinger, CEO of Senvion, says: "Senvion has arrived in India - within a few short months after its market entrance was announced." market and its climate conditions achieving constant yield at high temperatures up to +50 C. The modular concept of Senvion turbines enables to deliver cost competitive, robust and reliable product variants with four rotor sizes and specific towers with hub heights from 90 meters up to 120 meters.
With the launch of four products that have been optimized with Senvion technology, we can immediately offer our customers the right solutions for their wind power project in India. Further successful solutions and innovations will follow as the market demands in future Jürgen Geissinger, CEO of Senvion
Senvion's four product variants include 2.4M110, 2.4M114 and 2.3M120, as well as the 2.3M124 with a rotor diameters from 110 to 124 meters and power ratings from 2.3 to 2.4 megawatts (MW) with the ability to deliver additional power solutions for specific sites. With this high modularity, Senvion can therefore propose to customers the most optimized wind plant solutions adapted to the wind conditions from very low wind to medium wind speeds
Amit Kansal, Managing Director of Senvion India, adds: "The Indian Wind Power market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The transparent auction system set-up by the government is a welcome move in growing the demand for wind power from non-windy states. Senvion, with its global experience in high quality technology and participation in global auction markets, is ready to work with customers in India. With the new 2.XM products, Senvion meets the certification and the statutory rules and will Make-in-India to deliver high quality wind power solution and right LCoE. With our highly qualified team of sales, production and service experts, we are looking forward to delivering our customers optimum power in the future."
Nordex makes 3MW India play
N
ordex unit Acciona Windpower unveiled its new 3MW wind turbine for the Indian market. The AW125/3000, as the machine is named, was unveiled at the recently concluded The Annual Windergy International Conference & Exhibition. The AW125/3000 comes with a rotor diameter of 125 meters and a hub height of 120 meters. According to Nordex the wind turbines has the largest capacity in the Indian market. The product is manufactured at a facility in Chennai, while the
concrete towers are produced in Karnataka. AW 3000 DESIGN ADVANTAGES ii Double bearing-supported main shaft ii Robust gearbox with HALT completed ii 6 pole DFIG 12 kV generator ii Elastic coupling ii Cast hub with access from nacelle
including glass fiber and epoxy resin ii Steel and concrete tower options from 84m to 137.5m hub heights ii Yaw bearing and caliper brakes
ii Blades with structural shell design and proven materials
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Interview
Samuel Zhou
Country Head - India & US, Ningbo Osda Solar Co., Ltd.
"We look forward towards supplying good quality modules and solar cells along with good after sales services in the Indian market"
Q
.Give us a brief idea about OSDA Solar, your domain expertise and the products you promote for the solar market in India? Ningbo Osda Solar Co., LTD, founded in year 2005, is a hightech enterprise mainly engaged in R&D, Production and Installation of solar products, including solar cell, solar panels, solar home system, solar street lighting, etc. OSDA Solar has 2 production bases in Shandong and Ningbo. The production capacity is 400MW/Year for solar cells and 450MW/Year
for solar panels. The subordinate branch companies and representative offices are located in more than 10 countries like Germany, Denmark, India, Bangladesh, Burma, etc. The strategic location of our Ningbo Production facility that is 2 hours drive from Shanghai gives us the advantage of ease in shipping our products to overseas companies and countries especially India. For us India is a big market and we look forward towards excellent growth from the Indian market in the next 3
24 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
to 4 years.
Q
.When you say India is a big market for OSDA Solar, what are the opportunities for growth that you are looking at, especially when the central government is targeting 100GW from solar? We are very glad to know of the policy, the continued support and the focus of the Central Government on the growth of the solar sector in India. India is the biggest solar market not only for us but also for all the solar module man-
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Quality, technology and service are the key differentiators that set OSDA Solar apart from the others
ufacturers in China and around the world. And as one of them we would like to be part of it. OSDA solar has some excellent modules that come with 30 years warranty and efficiency of 270W to 290W, which is one of its only kinds available in the market today. We also manufacture bifacial modules with excellent design that can offer higher efficiency, better power and good warrant. So, we look forward towards supplying good quality modules and solar cells along with good after sales services in the Indian market.
Q
.There is apprehension among the Indian customers when it comes to Chinese cells and modules, how would you address it and how would you differentiate your modules from the other Chinese modules that are available in the Indian market? Quality, technology and service are the key differentiators that set OSDA Solar apart from the others. OSDA Solar has two production base, one in Shandong and another in Ningbo. The Shandon facility is build with an investment of USD 20 million covering an area of 60,000 m2. The total production capacity of OSDA Solar is 400 MW per year for solar cells and 450 MW per year for solar panels. We use world class German technology to manufacture solar cells and modules. The modules that we manufacture have higher efficiency, better power and as mentioned earlier come with warranty of 30 years. We have supplied modules and cells to many Indian customers and till date we have not received a single com-
plain about our product. Satisfied and Happy customers is our major achievements in India.
Q
Samuel Zhou with Tim Nie from Ningbo Osda Solar during their visit to RenewX 2017 at Hydrebad, India
.What is the after sale service strategy that OSDA Solar is working on in India? Excellent after sales service is the key strength of OSDA Solar and the same is what we are looking to replicate in India too. With headquarter in Ningbo, China we are planning to have overseas office in India. Location wise Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore are the options that we are currently evaluating to set our base in India. This overseas office will then act as a base to station after sales service staff to serve customers in India.
Q
.How different is the India market to its Chinese Counterpart? India and China are two totally different markets. The current trend in China is to use 260W to 265W solar modules for EPC while in India they still use 250W modules. The solar cell efficiency is also different as well. But, as the top two countries in Asia we look to cooperate with each other for a better future for solar. We are developing countries and we need and must use new energy like solar for the betterment of our society.
Q
.As a solar manufacturer what is the technology trend you see that is likely to gain traction in the future? With technology improvement we are likely to see more efficient panels been manufactured in the future. At OSDA Solar we are working on it. OSDA Solar is also
Satisfied and Happy customers is our major achievement in India
offering 5 Busbar technologies to some big companies in India. These are the few trends that are likely to gain traction in the future.
Q
.Apart from India what are the other markets that OSDA Solar exports its products to? Presently India is our focus market and it is the biggest market for us. In addition to India we serve clients in European countries like Germany, Spain etc. In the coming years we would like to establish ourselves in the US markets too.
Q
.Where do you see OSDA Solar 3 to 5 years from now in the Indian market? We are doing well in the Indian market but there is still scope for us to do better. So, in the next few years, as I told you earlier, we will have overseas office in India with service team to better serve our customers in India. With our capacity, we hope, we can help India realise its dream of ‘Power for All’ through new energy resources like solar. That’s our long term vision for the Indian market
25
May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Inverter
Getting Solar Power Plant Without Batteries to Work During Grid Failure
A
growing number of people are now realizing the true potential of harnessing the sun to meet their energy needs. With solar power hogging a lion’s share of the recent news, thanks to Modi Government’s solar push, people are now adapting to solar energy. As of April 2017, cumulative solar installations has crossed 12 GW in the country. But is this quite enough for a country like India? With over 300 million homes in India, over 300 days of sunshine in a year, and ambitious solar targets set by the Government (40 GW of rooftop solar and 60 GW of ground-mounted solar projects by 2022) one would expect a solar revolution in India. But as we know, this is not really happening at a ground level.
Limitations of Solar Power We hear solar power today costs as much, or possibly lower than conventional power – especially for the commercial and industrial sector, in most Indian states. And yet just about one percentage of the Indian homes and factories/ commercial buildings has put up rooftop solar plants in India. Apart
from high capital costs, let’s look at what are the other factors that impair the wide-spread adoption of solar power plants on rooftops in India.
have their challenges, one to do with making the solar power plant unreliable and the other to do with increased capital and operational expenses.
Operation of solar power plants is controlled by inverters. Inverters are key components that convert the DC electricity produced by solar panels to usable AC form. It gives command signals to switch off the power production in case of a need for maintenance or when a power signal for the inverter is not available. The inverters available in the market today for rooftop solar installations are designed to function in two modes; either using power supply from the utility grid( grid-tied mode) or with expensive batteries or other secondary power sources like diesel generators. Operations in both these modes
The limitations listed above are especially relevant for a developing country like India where the grid power is not available in most places and even if available, is highly unreliable, especially in rural parts of the country. With the current grid-tied inverters available in the market, adop-
26 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Inverter tion of solar energy in cities also becomes challenging. This is because most cities and towns in India are plagued by load shedding, during which grid power is not available, rendering solar power plants using such inverters unable to generate power even during day-time.
How can these challenges be overcome? It is against the background of these challenges in the solar sector that a Chennai-based start-up, Kripya Engineering Pvt. Ltd., developed a unique solutionKripya dual mode micro-inverter. Now you may have heard of micro-inverters, Inverters that are attached to each panel. The current convention for rooftop solar power plants is the usage of a string inverter of moderate size for a series of a number of panels. Micro-inverters, on the other hand, are sized for individual panels and helps to improve the overall power generation by removing(or decreasing) issues like: ii Module to module mismatch losses ii Effect of shading of one panel on performance of others connected in the same string ii power losses that arise out of differently oriented panels on roofs.
The Kripya team is led by V.G. Veeraraghavan
Apart from removing these avenues for power losses that arise in a conventional rooftop solar design using string inverters, the usage of micro-inverters also come with added advantages like improved maximum power efficiency, better optimisation and superior means of monitoring and control of the plant, ensuring optimal power production. But these micro-inverters also do not address the challenge of the need for an alternative power source for its functioning. During a power-cut, these micro-inverters also become non-functional unless supported by a battery or diesel power generator. This is where Kripya’s dual mode microinverter scores.
Dual-Mode Micro-Inverters from Kripya Engineering Kripya’s microinverter, Kripya’s dual mode micro-inverter, is a break-through technology that allows solar panels to generate electricity even during a power failure or even when there is no secondary power source available. The dual mode micro-inverter, as the name suggests, works in two modes: on-grid and off-grid. The micro-inverters are capable of dynamically switching between the modes, depending on the availability of grid power. During the on-grid mode, the systems work as per conventional systems and during the off-grid mode (for example during a power cut), they continue to support the local loads based on power generated solely from the solar power plant but stops being connected to the grid or feeding
28 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
excess power back to the grid. However, solar radiation is not uniform during the day-time and the power generated from the solar panels are highly prone to fluctuations. Taking this into consideration, Kripya has also developed a load manager circuit that works along with the microinverters to ensure that the loads are not harmed due to these fluctuations. The load manager comes with features to segment the loads based on criticality and assigns priority to segmented circuits. During the operation, the load manager will automatically manage the segmented load circuits and turn off the non-critical circuits in case enough power is not generated from the solar power plant. It also ensures that it starts powering the loads only when the threshold of minimum expected energy for at least one load within a load segment is generated through solar. The technology has been patented and has already been tested in real life conditions. Kripya’s micro-inverters are also IP 65 rated, making it suitable for outdoor installations. On cost, the company estimates that it will be competitive with other microinverters available in the market today. The micro-inverters, introduced in late 2015, have already found takers and has been found to work well, especially for small solar power plant capacities ranging up to 10 kW. The Kripya team, led by Mr. V.G. Veeraraghavan, deserves accolades for not going the conventional route and developing a technology that has been designed to mitigate challenges that are limiting the progress of much needed adoption of solar energy in India.Kudos to them for delivering technology that could set a revolutionary path for the power deprived and power hungry millions in India
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Solar Energy for a Sustainable Future a part of
One Mega Event 10-12 May 2017 | Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
Exhibitor Profile Annual maintenance contractors Installers / EPC companies Inverters Manufacturers of solar cells Materials and equipment Module connectors Monitor, Mounting Systems, Trackers Photovoltaic (PV) modules Project consultants Smart Grid Technologies
Exhibition Statistics
20,000 Sqm Exhibition area
Solar cell manufacturers Solar consumer and commercial products Solar energy storage Solar LED’s Solar park developers Solar street and billboard lighting systems Solar water heating, cooling systems and solar pumps Suppliers of raw materials System integrators and assemblers Turnkey solution providers, etc.
20,000+ Trade visitors
500+
No. of exhibitors
300+
Speakers
50+
Conference sessions
www.solarindiaexpo.com / www.onemegaevent.com Diamond Partner
Workshop Partner
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India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) (A Government of India Enterprise) Department of Commerce
For more information, please contact:
29
Deepak Gupta | Mob. +91 9990 584 185 | E-mail: deepakg@eigroup.in Praveen Singh | Mob: +91 9899 786 777 | Email id: praveens@eigroup.in May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Rooftop Solar
Realizing the 40GW Rooftop Solar Target
I
Authored by: B. Krishna Prasad General Manager- SCM, Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd.
ndia has a huge potential for solar energy which needs to be fully harnessed for reducing pollution from diesel, coal and other fossil fuels. In this respect, Government of India has taken major initiatives in launching Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) during 201011 under the large purview of National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and National Solar Mission (NSM) to promote Solar Power Projects aiming to install 20GWp of grid-connected PV systems and 2GWp of off-grid systems by the year 2022. The Indian Solar PV market has seen significant growth with the installed Solar PV capacity from 40MW to 7,000 MW in the last five years. Considering this tremendous growth, Government of India has passed a resolution no. 30/80/2014-15/NSM, dated 1st July 2015 revising the National Solar Mission target of Grid connected Solar power projects from 20GW to 100GW through deployment of 40GW to come from Grid con-
nected Solar Roof top plants and 60GW through large and medium scale Grid connected Solar Power parks by 2022. Target of 40GW thru Grid connected Solar Roof top (RTS) will be generated from waste lands around buildings and un-utilized space on roof tops of residential, commercial, industrial sectors, hospital & educational institutes, Government and private enterprises sectors ranging from 1KW to 500KW capacity. The set target of 40GW of Roof Top Solar is a part of India’s commitment before United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which is really ambitious, aspiring, challenging and highly potential. However, Central Government had already estimated 7GW potential thru various methodologies and partnering with expert PSUs like SECI, PEC Ltd, REIL, CEL, BHEL etc. in identifying various ministries, government departments and other government
30 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
facilities and derived average usable roof space mapping. These expert PSUs had already identified 53 ministries / departments for facilitating grid connected Solar roof top programs. In this regard MNRE has recently revised ministries / departments wise allocation of expert PSUs under revised notification 30/88/2015-16/GCRT, dated: 31.05.2016. Referring to the same notification MNRE has also increased the budget from Rs. 600 crores during the 12th Five-year plan to Rs. 5,000 crores for implementation of Grid connected roof top and small solar plants over a period of five years up to 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM). The identified ministries / departments including expert PSUs will not be eligible for any subsidy but will be given achievement linked incentives and awards. Out of 40GW target, 7GW is estimated from government ministries / departments, the remaining 33GW is the challenge which requires year on year of 85% every www.supersmartenergy.com
year till 2022 to achieve the target. After having various central and state government schemes and improving economic fundamentals for roof top solar, many challenges still exist on the policy, technology and consumer awareness fronts. Now, the question arises that 40GW target is real achievable target or just a simple projection. The answer would be YES, it is a big target and definitely challenging to achieve by 2022. It is surely not an easy task, however, it is highly potential with lots of opportunity to boost solar sector and emerge as a leading country as roof top solar power generator. As per a report published by MNRE, India has a potential to produce 25GW per year thru roof top systems with average 1-3 KW capacity installations, without considering commercial institutional & industrial buildings, shopping complexes etc. which can further add up to huge potential for roof top solar power generation. Currently India has installed roof top solar capacity of less than 10% of the total power consumption in the country. Roof top solar is technically potential as unshaded roof top space is largely available for installing close to 100GW by 2022.
installed worldwide with China, Germany and Japan being in top three places. India is having abundant solar resource with 300 clear sunny days in a year, theoretically can produce 5000 trillion kWh per year on its land area. In such a potential country, only 55% of rural households have access to electricity. Hence India is forcing to develop solar energy as there
are limited reserves of fossil fuels to generate conventional power. India has focused largely on ground mounted grid connected solar power parks. Roof top solar is almost 5 years behind solar power parks in terms of level of interest, technology, policies, infrastructure, funding’s etc.
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Currently India is in 7th place in total solar power capacity
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Rooftop Solar Indian roof top sector is supported by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) which approved $625 million a 20 years’ loan to facilitate roof top solar across the country. Subsequently, other international financing agencies like ADB and KfW are also extending their helping hands at a reasonable interest rates. Government of India under National Solar Mission (NSM) also allocated Rs. 5,000 crores over a period of five years out of which Rs. 1,750 crores will be allocated during 12th Five-year plan (till 2017) and balance Rs. 3,250 crores during the remaining three years’ period. The central and state governments have taken various initiatives, policy regulations and financial measures to promote roof top solar systems. The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) would be 30% of the bench mark cost or the actual project cost (whichever is lower) for general category states / UTs and 70% for special category states i.e. North Eastern states including Sikkim, Uttarakand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep. However, this financial subsidy is applicable for roof top solar projects in residential and institutional sectors excluding commercial and industrial establishments in the private sector as they are eligible for other benefits such as accelerated depreciation, custom duty concessions, excise duty exemptions and tax holidays. Eligible CFA will be provided through state nodal agencies, state departments, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Empaneled government agencies like DISCOM, PSUs and other nationalized and private banks. The ministry of Finance has issued a notification to all public sector banks to encourage home loan / home improvement loans to install roof top solar systems. Reserve Bank of India has included renewable energy projects under
priority sector lending for which bank loans up to a limit of Rs. 15 crores will be available for renewable energy projects including grid connected solar roof top and ground mounted systems. For individual households, the loan limit is Rs. 10 Lakhs per borrower. However, providing capital subsidy alone by government may not be the solution to achieve 40GW target but support with many other attractive and encouraging schemes to respondents by providing generation based incentives and preferential feed-in-tariffs, easy financing and EMI payment options, simple approval procedures, creating awareness and providing technical training to service personnel thru national and regional level training centers etc. The role of private solar developers, installers, system integrators, solar equipment manufacturers and suppliers are also equally important to achieve 40GW target. Solar manufacturers, Installers, Project developers and Financiers are considered to be the four pillars in setting up solar systems. The cost involved in design & development of the roof top solar project, providing EPC & AMC services, supplying quality products with competitive market price will majorly contribute for successful installation. The project cost of a grid connected roof top solar system will include PV modules, inverters, meters, support structures, charge controllers, cables and batteries. The project cost also includes transportation, installation, connectivity, civil work and operation & maintenance for five years along with warranty of the system. Solar technology solutions should be easily available as a complete product or as a package in the market. There is also a need to study global experiences on roof top and adopt policies & regulations of countries who has successfully implemented roof top solar.
can be effectively and efficiently generated by creating awareness on technology and financing schemes. Critical challenges can be overcome with concreate policy, regulatory and technical frame works. The policy support is essential for regulations for net metering, grid inter connection etc. Technical framework including components, standards, documentation and inspection to be considered critical as the systems should perform efficiently for 20 years. Attracting foreign investments, reduce corporate and capital gain taxes, improve overall infrastructure will also contribute successful roof top projects. Last but not the least, after sale annual maintenance service from system suppliers is very important as it provides tones of confidence to roof top owners and third party integrators. Hence, roof top solar plants are definitely high potential and prospect source of non-pollution renewable power generation systems
B. Krishna Prasad is extensively skilled professional putting forth close to 18 years of experience in Global Sourcing / Procurement sector with an exceptional understanding of Global & Local Purchases, Vendor Development, Sub-Contacts in professionally managed manufacturing organizations & MNC’s under Inverter Electronics, Telecom & Solar domains. Currently he working with Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd. which is having a state of art production facility in Hyderabad and manufacturer of Solar Inverters, water heaters, street lights, charge controllers, solar fencing, water pumps controllers etc
Finally, to summarize and conclude, roof top solar power
32 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Solar PV
Condition Monitoring of Solar Photovoltaic Panels using Infrared Thermography Authored by: D.K. Chaturvedi & Akash Singh Chaudhary
Theory of Monitoring
Inspection of PV Panel using thermal camera (Image Courtesy: testo)
S
olar energy is becoming an alternative source of energy due to its good availability of solar radiations. The conventional sources of energy are not preferred because they are responsible for green house gas effect, pollution etc. Many of the power generation, industrial applications, irrigation etc are making use of the solar energy contributing in the increase in generation efficiency. The solar energy of India in a day and in a year are 4-7 kWh/m2 and 5X1015 kWh respectively. While the radiations received by earth and environment is 3.6x1024 Joules/ year. The solar panels have many solar cells, which converts this solar energy into electrical energy. These solar panels may suffer from different faults, which can be due to cell degradation, dirt, bird deposits, shading effects, open and short circuit faults, faulty components etc. Therefore, condition
monitoring represents the health condition of solar panels. Infrared Thermography helps to know the condition of solar photovoltaic panels more precisely by using thermal imaging camera.
Solar Cell and Solar PV Panels A solar cell is used to convert the incident solar radiations into the useful electrical energy. Depending upon the technologies there are different types of photovoltaic panels. Mainly these photovoltaic technologies can be categorized into two groups: ii Crystalline silicon type ii Thin film type The Crystalline Silicon PV cells can be Mono-Crystalline and PolyCrystalline PV Cells. Thin film PV cell consists of Cd Te (Cadmium Telluride), CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide), and a-Si (Amorphous Silicon).
34â&#x20AC;&#x201A;SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
Condition
The condition monitoring of any system is the state to know its current state of operation. To work in a satisfactory and stable operating condition any system must be monitored regularly. There are several reasons of fault in a solar photovoltaic. The faults may be in bridges, open circuit, short circuit, solar cells etc. Irradiance, temperature, shadow of tree and building, snow deposits, bird deposits, dust, dirt, soil deposits, cement deposits etc are some of the atmospheric factors causing faults in a solar photovoltaic panel. All of the above mentioned faults cause temperature of the solar photovoltaic panel to increase and produce heat in the solar panels resulting in formation of hot spots. These hot spots cause a huge power loss and may damage the complete solar photovoltaic panel. Cracks in solar panel surface, deframing of solar panels, delamination, degradation faults like discoloration, cracking of the encapsulant etc, burn marks of busbars, soldering of cells, rupture, bubbles at the back of solar panel surface etc are the defects that can be detected by visual inspection. The table shows visual defects observed in solar panels by visual inspection.
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Table 2 Problems in PV Panels Identified by Visual Inspection Problems in PV panel Deframing of solar frame, corrosion of PV modules interconnect
Cracks and soil deposits on solar panel transparent glass
Normal camera pictures
Fig 2(a)
Fig 2(b) Fig 2(c)
simply observation of physical deformations or defects. The following table 2 shows a brief description about the problems overcome in solar photovoltaic panels by visual inspection with normal camera p i c t u r e s captured.
The fig.2(a) shows deframing of solar photovoltaic panels. The aluYellowing of minum frame solar panels of the solar module gets Fig 2(e) detached from rest of the component parts. It Discolration of solar cell can be due to encapsulant, ageing effect burn marks of also. Fig. 2(b) busbars shows the corrosion of the Fig 2(f) Fig 2(g) iron part that is used to interBubbles, rupture connect the on back of solar solar modules. panels The cracks on the surface of Fig 2(h) Fig 2(i) the solar photovoltaic module were noticed Corrosion in junction box represented by components circle in fig. 2(c). Fig. 2(d) shows Fig 2(j) the soil deposition on the panel surface. Both fig. 2(c) Condition Monitoring of Solar and fig. 2(d) are due to atmosPV Panels by Visual Inspection pheric conditions with adverse The condition of solar panels can effect on degradation of ARC (antibe detected visually or by some reflective coating) and reduction in experimental methods. There power generation. Fig. 2(e) and fig. are many defects, which can be 2(f) shows yellowing of the white detected by visual inspection i.e., plastic surface material and disby naked eye. These visual defects coloration of solar modules and represent the condition of the solar cells respectively. The color solar panels clearly. The visual of solar cell changed from purple inspection techniques involve to blue clearly visible in figure. The Fig 2(d)
fig. 2(g) shows the burn marks of busbars due to heating. Fig. 2(h) and fig. 2(i) shows the defects occurring at the backside of solar photovoltaic panels. Two bubbles were observed at the backside of solar panels shown in fig. 2(h) and a small rupture was also observed at back of solar panel shown in fig. 2(i). The corrosion in the components of junction box is shown in fig. 2(j) by a yellow square box.
Condition Monitoring of Solar Photovoltaic Panels by Thermal Inspection The Second method used to study the condition of solar photovoltaic panels is through some experimental approach. Now a day’s infrared thermography is an emerging technique for condition monitoring. Infrared thermography can be applied using a thermal imaging camera. The thermal imaging camera senses the infrared radiations emitted by any object and produce a thermal image. These thermal images represent the temperature of the object in a colorful pattern. The normal camera pictures and the thermal images captured by thermal imaging camera are compared to monitor the condition of solar photovoltaic panels under different cases. A Kusam Meco Thermal imaging camera Model TE-P was used in the experiment. The effects, which can cause a fault and a huge power loss, includes dust and dirt, bird deposits, soil deposits, shadowing effect (shadow of tree, shadow of one panel on another, shadow of buildings etc). The real effect of these obstructions can be realized using infrared thermography by capturing thermal images with the help of thermal imaging camera. The following table shows the normal camera pictures and thermal camera pictures captured for the identification solar photovoltaic panel defects by thermal inspection.
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Solar PV Condition monitoring of solar panels under soil, bird and cement deposition by electrical measurements: For experiment, a solar string consisting of 18 solar modules in series was selected. The string was situated at the rooftop of a building facing south and tree on east and west side. Though shading of tree shows its effect on string but here the measurements are taken only without shade of tree. The table 5 shows the effect of soil deposition, bird deposition and cement deposition on the electrical parameters of solar panel string. The corresponding parameters were measured by electrical instruments with load remain connected to the solar string during the measurements.
Problems in PV panel
Parameters Ioutput (A) Voutput (V) Poutput (Kw) Soil deposits/ Bird deposits/ Cement deposits
Atmospheric condition
23.02.17
24.02.17
(10.30 am)
(12.30 pm)
4.45
5.46
502
505
2.23
2.75 No soil deposits, no bird deposits, cement deposits
Soil deposits, bird deposits, cement deposits
No shade, clear sky
No shade, clear sky
Thermal Images
Fig. 3(a)
Fig. 3(b)
Fig. 3(c)
Fig. 3(d)
Fig. 3(e)
Fig. 3(f)
Fig. 3(g)
Fig. 3(h)
Fig. 3(i)
Fig. 3(j)
Fig. 3(k)
Fig. 3(l)
Fig. 3(m)
Fig. 3(n)
Soil deposits on panel surface
Bird deposits on panel surface
Table 5 shows that the output current and output power of the solar panel string increase as the soil deposits, bird deposits were not noticed on the solar panel string. Though cement deposits were found
Effect of soil deposits, bird deposits, cement deposits on electrical parameters of solar panel string
Normal camera pictures
Cement deposits on panel surface
Shadow of tree leaves
Hot spots
in both cases.
Conclusion This article discusses the experimental work of condition monitoring by visual and thermal inspection. The practical problems occurring in solar panels are discussed. For visual monitoring normal camera pictures are captured. The thermal inspection includes a comparison of thermal images captured by thermal camera with the normal camera pictures to show the effect of some defects that cannot be identified by visual inspection. The deposition effects of soil, bird and cement without shading of tree on the solar panels are also studied, the corresponding electrical measurements show a decrease in the output power generation of solar panel string
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Bubbles at back surface of solar module
Rupture at back of solar module surface
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» May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy 37
Cover Story
FOLLOW THE SUN MAKING SOLAR MORE EFFICIENT
38 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
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Solar tracker help maximize energy yield from sun by orienting the solar panels to follow the sun’s path. Solar tracker is widely used in US and other European countries and is catching up in India. Viability and reliability of the tracker technology as peak generation resource are the main reasons for its acceptance. Though trackers have proven to enhance the financial value of PV solar as a generation asset. Considerations like high upfront cost, complex technology, and high cost of maintenance play on the minds of the project developers. In this Cover Story writer Sneha Shah delves deep into the tracker technology, its advantages and disadvantages, the market size and opportunities in India. The writer also gives insights into the major players actively promoting tracker technology in India.
A
Solar Tracker is a mechanical device which follows the movement of the sun as it rotates from the east to the west every day. Solar Trackers are used to keep solar panels oriented directly towards the sun, as it moves through the sky. The angle of rotation is very important as the relative position of sun changes daily from east to west. The angle of rotation varies from -60 degrees to +60 degrees (East-West direction), but for tropical countries like India, a single axis movement of -45degrees to +45 degrees is enough for extracting the maximum gain. These days solar trackers are becoming increasingly important and major solar panel manufacturers like First Solar and Trina Solar are selling solar trackers as well. Solar trackers were mostly used in the U.S. market, but given its economic benefits, developers in India and China have also increasingly started using these trackers for their projects. The main components of a solar tracker are: ii Tracker Mount is the skeletal structure holding the panel in proper inclined position. ii Driver used to control the rotation of the motor shaft based on the load. ii Sensors detect relevant parameters induced by the sun and
yields output. ii Motor controls the movement of the tracker. ii Algorithm used to calculate sun’s position from algorithms using the time, date and geographical location.
H istory and Development During the early 2000s there was much debate about whether tracker technology or fixed-tilt option was better for utilities. Developers were sceptical of shifting to a new technology largely on concerns of maintenance. However, tracker technology continued to develop as a viable alternative to fixed-tilt for utility-scale solar plants.
ing technology. The whole setup became getting sleeker, simpler to install without the requirement of many specialized tools. Solar trackers have continually evolved to become better and more efficient. From single axis to dual axis trackers, and from passive to active trackers, trackers today are equipped with smart features that guarantee better output. In India itself, solar trackers have features like weather proof mechanism, multimode intelligent operations, link tube with articulated joints, dust avoidance and rain mode. Some recent innovations also include simplified designs that have fewer motor parts and self-calibration. Through back tracking feature, solar trackers can also keep inter-row shading under check. These trackers are also capable of self-cleaning of the modules and
Various tracker components like motors, controllers and sensors became smaller and smaller. The tracking systems were also optimized to reduce component requirements. Gears became smaller and efficient; sensors became more compact, TechTrack Centralized Single-Axis Tracker, using SCADA 3.3 MW, Molakalmur, India and monitor-
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Cover Story can move along the sun’s apparent motion.
Typical Power Cover of Stationary Vs Tracking System 0%
The common implementations of dual axis trackers are:
0%
ii Tip-tilt dual axis tracker (TTDAT)
0%
ii Azimuth-altitude dual axis tracker (AADAT)
Percent Full Power Throughout Day
Dual axis trackers are more complex; require additional land, more O&M and lower reliability as compared to single axis trackers, although power generation efficiency is higher.
0% 0%
0% 5:00
7:00
9:00
11:00
13:00
Tracking
hence do not require any routine maintenance. According to Array Technologies CEO Ron Corio, “The best possible outcome for solar is that you install a system and you don’t have to do much with it - it just produces power for 30 years.”
Types of Tracker
Solar
There are two different drivers that dictate the motion of the trackers: passive and active. Passive Trackers: Depend entirely on the sun’s heat for the movement of the tracker using a hydraulic mechanism. A low boiling point compressed gas fluid is used that drives to one side or the other causing the tracker to move in response to an imbalance. They do not consume any power. Active Trackers : Uses a controller to monitor the sun’s movement in order to direct motors that move the trackers. Electrical circuits in the form of photo sensors are used. Active trackers thus use power. Active trackers are more precise than passive trackers, hence more widely used where accuracy is required, for instance when
15:00
17:00
19:00
Stationary
concentrating solar collectors are used. Passive trackers are more widely used in normal solar PV applications. The two basic categories of trackers are single axis and dual axis. Single Axis Tracker: These trackers have one degree of freedom that acts as an axis of rotation and they can have either a horizontal or vertical axis. The axis of rotation of single axis tracker is typically aligned along a true North meridian. They can be aligned in any cardinal direction with advanced tracking algorithms. There are several implementations of single axis trackers: ii Horizontal single axis tracker (HSAT) ii Horizontal single axis tracker with tilted modules (HTSAT) ii Vertical single axis tracker (VSAT) ii Tilted single axis trackers (TSAT) Polar aligned single axis trackers (PSAT) Dual Axis Tracker: These trackers have two degrees of freedom that act as axes of rotation and these axes are typically normal to one another. These trackers have both horizontal and vertical axis and
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Where Can Solar Trackers be used Solar Trackers are mostly used in ground mounted solar farms of capacity more than 1 MW. It is difficult to use solar trackers on residential rooftop installations. The combination of energy improvement, lower product cost and lower installation complexity results in compelling economics in larger deployments. Solar Trackers are almost universally used in case of solar thermal technology because they make use of optics to generate high amounts of heat.
Advantages Solar Tracker
of
The main reason to use a solar tracker is to produce more power by reducing the cost of energy. Using Solar Trackers increases the amount of solar energy which is received by the solar energy collector (solar panels) and improves the energy output. Solar Trackers can increase the output of solar panels by 15%-40%, which improves the overall economics of the solar panel project. A tracking system produces more power during peak demand hours compared to fixed mounted systems. Trackers make immense economic sense and typically there is a payback of less than 3.5 years on tracker investment and an overall
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increase in the IRR of the project. They also lead to lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) in solar projects. The increase in output easily compensates for the higher costs associated with solar trackers. Solar Trackers are very effective in places where solar insolation and efficiency of solar panels being used is high.
Solar Market
Tracker
The costs have come down drastically over the years due to an improvement in technology and growing competition. It is estimated that almost 50% of the overall market will be using trackers by 2022 which means almost 35-50 GW of solar trackers will be required annually by 2022. The overall market for solar trackers should grow to around $5-7 billion then, up from just $1 billion now. Improvement in price has been mainly due to better technology and bigger scale. Steel has become the biggest cost component accounting for 70% of the cost of trackers. Steel prices should remain subdued given the huge structural overcapacity globally. China’s huge amount of idle capacity will keep steel prices capped and solar tracker costs in check. Just like Chinese solar panels, Chinese Solar Trackers are also much cheaper than that available locally. However the operational history for most pure play Chinese tracker companies is not too long. India’s solar market is 5GW of which only 20% is currently catered by trackers. This means the country still has a huge potential. Today India has 1GW of solar power plants equipped with trackers compared to none two years ago. India is expected to add about 3-4GW of single axis tracker installations per year as a result of its ambitious solar target of installing 100GW of solar by 2022. It is expected that more than 50% of
CERC Benchmark Capital Cost Norm for Solar PV Power Projects Applicable During FY 16-17 Particulars
Capital Cost norm (Rs. lakhs/ MW)
% of Total Cost
310.19 25 35 35 30 40
61.9 5 7 7 6 8
26 26.13
5.1
501.32
100
PV Modules Land Cost Civil & General Works Mounting Structures Power Conditioning Unit Evacuation Cost up to Interconnection Point Preliminary & Pre-Operative Expenses including IDC & Contingency Total Capital Cost
Additional Revenue with Trackers Vs Fixed Tilt- Solar PV* Description Cost/ MW (Rs. Crs) Additional Cost Generation (Mus) Capacity Utilization Factor Tariff (Rs./ Unit) 25 years Revenue Payback Period (yrs)
Fixed tilt PV
Single axis tracker- PV
Double axis tracker- PV
5.01 1.50 19%
5.5 8.91 2.19 25%
5.9 15.08 2.72 30%
4.63 173.63 -
4.63 253.49 4 to 5
4.63 314.33 6 to 7
*The tariff considered are lowest tariff quoted in NTPC-developed solar park in Andhra Pradesh’s for calculating additional revenue and payback periods for respective tracker
the plants being installed after 2016 will use trackers in India. Compare this to the global markets, where 85% of the solar systems already use trackers.
Major Players in Solar Tracker Market Most of the tracker manufacturers have been bought by the large U.S. solar developers like First Solar and SunPower, who have been integrating tracker options into their product offerings. Solar trackers in India have seen a number of players entering the market. Some of the notable ones include Mahindra Susten, Vikram Solar and Sunmount Engineering. These firms are also large
solar panel makers or EPC/developers which means that they will use in-house products for their installations. Global players such as First Solar and NEXTracker are also present in India and have supplied hundreds of megawatts of products to different solar projects across the country. Major Indian solar tracker players are Mahindra and startups like Scorpius Trackers and SmartTrak Solar. Scorpius Tracker: Scorpius Tracker is a Pune based start-up backed by three angel investors who have an in-depth knowledge in the renewable energy sector. The company was incorporated in 2012 and grew revenues from INR 2.5 crore in 2014-15 to INR 17
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Cover Story crore in 2015-16. The company has installed over 300 trackers and structure designs for solar pumping, roof top and other distributed system applications. This three year old company has signed MoUs worth 1,250MW and has firm orders for 500MW. Scorpius Tracker manufactures single axis trackers between 100 kW to 500 kW. A single tracker block is generally 500kW. WiFi enabled inter-tracker controller and Wind station communication system are also available. Smarttrak Solar: Smarttrak Solar manufactures both single and dual axis trackers, enhancing energy level by 25-35% and also provides direct and easy access to monitoring and control. Smarttrak also provides tracker control system which allows online monitoring and control and configuration of tracking system at client’s convenience. Mahindra: Mahindra is one of the largest EPC players in India. The company through its portfolio company Mahindra Susten manufactures MSAT100, an indigenously designed single axis tracker which is significantly gaining traction in the Indian market because of its technology and affordable price. The company has so far supplied over 500 trackers and installed more than 10MW trackers in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. About 24% increase in generation has been observed at installed sites. Vikram Solar: Vikram Solar is a prominent solar panel manufacturer in India. The company also has a presence in the EPC market and recently entered the solar tracker market in a big way. The company launched HELITRAC which is an advanced solar tracker with intelligent operations and weather proof mechanism. The product is also easy to install. Relyon Solar: Relyon Solar is India’s leading solar company established in 2010 and headquartered in Pune. The company
manufactures single axis trackers which are proved to deliver average 20% more sunshine every day. The company claims its trackers to be the most flexible tracking solution with large tilt angle and stowage mode for wind. They are more accurate with smart algorithm tracking. These trackers are maintenance free and have a cleaning mode for routine cleaning. Ganges Internationale Pvt Ltd.: Ganges Internationale is a major module mounting structure provider in India. Last year the company announced the launch of solar trackers in India in collaboration with American solar solutions provider SunLink Corporation. The tracking system will be an innovative world-class tested product in single axis tracking technology that is expected to increase energy generation by 15-20%. NexTracker: NexTracker is the world’s largest solar tracker company and also has a large presence in India. The company has been taken over by one of the largest electrical and electronic OEMs Flextronics. NEXTracker designs and manufactures one of the world’s most advanced single-axis photovoltaic trackers that orient PV panels to maximize energy output. Other foreign tracker companies having a huge presence in India are Sun Track; and Power Way, Arch Tech and Patriot Solar of China.
42 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
While Array Technologies and
▲ The MSAT100, an innovative offering from Mahindra Susten, is an indigenously designed & developed tracker thereby providing best-in class quality at affordable prices. MSAT100 gives you the flexibility of choosing an array layout up to 60/63 module in the standard layout. NexTracker are still the biggest firms in this market globally, other players have started to enter making the field much more competitive. The top 5 international companies making solar trackers are Array Technologies, SunPower, First Solar, Nextracker and Soitec.
E c o n o m i c Coinsideration Mounting structures typically account for 7% of the overall capital cost of solar PV power projects, as per the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. The selection of tracker type is dependent on many factors including installation size, electric rates, government www.supersmartenergy.com
incentives, land constraints, latitude and local weather. Cost plays a major role in deciding the solar components especially in India. Trackers typically add upfront costs of 5%-10% on large utilityscale projects. The cost for solar trackers is ~INR 25-40 lakhs/ MW for single axis trackers in India. Dual axis trackers are more expensive than single axis trackers.
Future Prospects The tracking system should be designed in a way to be able to withstand years of harsh weather conditions. Single axis trackers have evolved a lot to what they are today but there is still room for improvement. For example, most of these trackers are installed with a limit switch which do not function in case of bad weather conditions and are also prone to improper installation and oper-
ating errors. At many locations these switches are now replaced with mechanical hard-stops which overcome all these limitations and thus improve efficiency. But there are still small hurdles to a successful tracker installation. Challenges exist in the form of bad weather or windy conditions, maintenance, cleaning and the overall efficient operation of the whole system. Innovations so far have been fruitful and have addressed the concerns, but with a booming solar market in India it will be interesting to see how the tracker market evolves over the next one or two decades.
Conclusion Single-axis trackers are more beneficial compared to double axis trackers in the Indian scenario. India has set up an ambitious target of installing 100 GW
of solar power by 2022. Both the market size and the market share of tracker is poised to increase at a rapid pace in India. Trackers will more than make up for their modest increase in upfront costs over the lifetime of the project. In the past developers were of the belief that trackers will significantly add up to maintenance costs which was a big challenge for installing trackers. However, that perception is quickly changing with mass adoption and increased overall efficiency of projects when using solar trackers. India has 100% rural electrification plan which will increase the country’s overall demand for energy. Utility-scale solar is here to stay in India for long and continued improvement in performance and cost of all major components including modules, trackers and inverters is going to make it a competitive source of electricity going forward
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Spot Light
LEADING I-V CURVE TRACER FOR PV MODULES
T
here are many applications for I-V curve tracing, here are a few examples:
Pre-installation
O n goi n g O per a t io n and Maintenance
Testing the modules prior to installation saves time in the long run… It also gives you an indication of the power output prior to installation so you can monitor the LID effect (light induced degradation)
Here we are able to quickly trouble shoot loss in generation by interpreting the I-V curve of an array. We can also test at a string level to identify issues on a modular level, saving a lot of time.
This gives piece of mind to your clients and saves you money and time on trouble shooting at a later date.
No need to wait till you get back to the office to send a report… email them directly from the field in an instant with the Seaward PV Mobile App.
Commissioning
The PV200 Solarlink Test Kit is an all in one tool that can perform all commissioning test requirements of the IEC 62446:2016. It holds the secret to making PV testing more efficient, easier and safer.
Taking an I-V curve of an array at the commissioning stage gives us a bench mark for future comparisons. It also helps the commissioning team to diagnose issues before going off site, saving return visits. The PV200 from Seaward can perform all required solar PV commissioning tests included in IEC 61829 and IEC62446.
Solarlink connectivity between the PV200 tester and Solar Survey 200R irradiance meter, allows irradiance, module and ambient temperature results from the 200R to be transmitted over a wireless link and be recorded in real time in the
44 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
PV200. This is very important in I-V curve tracing where accuracy of irradiance data, including changes in irradiance during the test, is so important. The PV200 tester is the only hand held PV electrical test instrument on the market offering short circuit current, open circuit voltage, insulation resistance, earth continuity and I-V Curve Tracing functionality.
I-V Curve Tracer for the health of your PV Module The electrical power produced by a solar PV cell or module is a function of the current (I) and voltage (V) characteristics. Measuring the relationship between current and voltage whilst varying the electrical load connected to the PV cell or module from open circuit to short circuit produces a characteristic current vs voltage (I-V) curve as shown below. www.supersmartenergy.com
Company Profile Current vs Voltage (I-V) Curve
Current
...........................................................
............................. Pmax Is/c Impp ............................................................................ Mpp
Voltage
Vmpp
Vo/c
take in the field to STC levels. We then compare these curves to get an indication of the plant’s predicted performance VS it’s actual performance. Portability is key here. As PV engineers we must be able to work quickly in the field. Therefore it is best to use a robust handheld instrument. We have already supplied a number of units all over India to companies like BHEL, Azure Power, ACME Cleantech , Anchor Electricals, Vikram Solar, Renew Power, NTPC etc.
The points where the curve meets the current and voltage axis are the short circuit current Is/c and open circuit voltage Vo/c respectively.
age is Vmpp will operate the PV module at the maximum power point ( Mpp) and result in the maximum power generation.
It’s an extremely portable, lightweight and battery operated unit which can be easily carried in the bag pack. Please see below the picture of PV200.
Power is the product of voltage and current and so the power vs voltage curve shown can be generated from the measured voltage and current data.
Use I-V Curve technology for maintaining your power plant
All the commissioning tests, irradiance, temperature and I-V characteristics can be recorded at the press of a button.
The power vs voltage curve shows the point at which the power is a maximum (Pmax). The corresponding maximum power point Mpp is shown on the I-V curve. Loading the PV module such that the current is Impp and volt-
Solar module datasheets show I-V curves that give an indication of the maximum power output of the module at Standard Test Conditions (STC). This reading is taken in the PV manufacturing plant under laboratory conditions. By using a handheld I-V curve tracer and intelligent software, we can transpose the I-V curves we
In case, you require more details please see below our contact details: W: www.seawardsolar.com E: solar@isotech.co.in T: +91-9810339072/011-64691012
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Energy Storage
Indian Solar Companies Eying to Diversify their Business into Energy Storage Space
A
t the end of last fiscal year 2016-17India crossed 12.2 GW of cumulative solar installations and still a way to go to achieve the ambitious target of 100 GW by 2022. Recently Honourable Minister of New and Renewable energy Shri Piyush Goyal said that India has plans to add 5 GW of rooftop solar and 10 GW from large scale solar power projects in the current fiscal year. To achieve the overall 100 GW of solar target, grid stability will be the major challenges for the Indian grid operators. Apart from grid level issues, solar ramping and smoothing of output will create challenges to the plant owner. For islands like Andaman, which are currently dependent on diesel generators as primary source of electricity and government have the plan to add 100 MW solar to the Island, might face the issue of power balancing and solar variability. Solar generation is inherently intermittent and supply may create very large instantaneous ramps. The problem will be accentuated in islands, where currently diesel generators are used for providing base load
Authored by: Debi Prasad Dash as well as balancing service. Solar power looks great when the sun shines, but stops at sunset. The operating hours are limited to the daytime, when the load is low for consumers. Due to which conventional thermal generators have to remain idle during the day. But when power demand soars to its morning and evening peak, solar production is almost negligible. This creates a higher ramp in the morning and evening for the grid. A similar situation has been forecasted for California for 2020 and it’s popularly known as California Duck curve. But for India the situation might be serious than California. As per POSOCO (POWER SYSTEM OPERATION CORPORATION LIMITED) analysis, IESA predicted that Indian load curve in 2022 could be a camel curve. The situation will be worse with the electric vehicle charging behaviour (evening and morning charging pattern). India has a target of 5-6 million of electric vehicles to run on the road by 2020. Through FAME-India Scheme under NEMMP (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan), the Government provides subsidies to manufacturers of electric vehicles.
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Instead of Camel Load Curve, India might see a Giraffe Load Curve in the future. As the side effect of the large addition of solar to the grid and a far bigger problem is that solar power is given preference/ priority for dispatch under NEP (National Energy Policy) when supply exceeds demand, so thermal plants have to back down. The plant load factor (PLF) or capacity utilisation of coal-based plants was 76% six years ago, but is now it is reduced to 58%. With addition of more solar in the grid, it might create critical situation to operational thermal plant and their PLF. Apart from grid connected large scale solar, solar installed in off-grid and microgrid system required energy storage (Battery) as an essential part of the full system. For shifting of solar and to provide energy at non-generating hours, batteries are used across the globe and also in rural parts of India, where, energy access is an issue. India Energy storage Alliance (IESA), the leading energy storage alliance in India works with various stakeholders in India to www.supersmartenergy.com
promote energy storage technologies and applications since 2012. IESA worked with various ministries like, MNRE, MoP and government bodies like CEA, CERC, BIS to create a robust energy storage ecosystem in India. IESA is the part of “MNRE standing committee on Energy storage & Hybrids Solutions” since 2014 and IESA also helped USAID to create and release a draft “National Energy storage Roadmap” for India in 2015. In 2016, IESA was part of the committee created by MoP and chaired by CEA to create a report on “Large Scale Integration of Renewable Energy & Deviation Settlement Mechanism”. Last month IESA organised a stakeholder consultation in association with FICCI on CERC Staff paper on “Introduction on Electricity Storage in India”. Recently IESA has also initiated the work with BIS on energy Storage standards for India. Last year IESA launched 3 focused working groups on Policy, Technology and Finance. Through
quarterly Working group meetings, IESA team and its members try to address business challenges related to government policies and technology due-diligence and financing & funding options. India already floated 46 MW + large scale energy storage projects last years and expecting 100 MW + projects for this year. Six Solar plus energy storage project by SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) was floated last year for Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2017, CEL also floated and completed the tendering process for a 1 MW of energy storage project for solar. Recently BHEL also completed the call for EOI (Expression of Interest) for Li-Ion technologies for a few pilot projects. The Government is planning to float a tender to set up Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) power plants with energy storage in two sites of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to replace 47 MW of diesel-run generation capacity. These two power plants
have energy storage (battery) of 25 MW capacity. In April 2017, Indian home minister Shri Rajnath Singh has laid the foundation stone for 25MW of PV projects in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These include a 17MW plant at Manglutan, near Guptapara Village and 8MW at Chidiyatapu in South Andaman District. The solar projects were the first to be tendered by NTPC to be combined with energy storage – although energy storage is tendered separately. Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd. (REIL) and Indian Oil Corporation is also assigned to undertake Pilot projects on solar integrated energy storage project by MNRE, Govt. of India. Apart from government bodies, this year we are expecting few large scale projects from Industries and Commercial establishments (Malls, Hotels, Hospitals, IT Offices, and resorts etc.) for solar integrated energy storage projects for captive consumptions. As a
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
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Energy Storage leading alliance in the energy storage sector, IESA is getting queries from various Industries to set up solar plus battery plants from KW to MW capacities. Currently Many MNC’s and Indian companies are considering to enter advanced energy storage technology manufacturing for Indian market. Recently, Suzuki, Toshiba, Denso announced to form a JV (joint venture) to produce lithium-ion battery packs in India. BHEL is also exploring the feasibility of manufacturing cells and batteries with technology developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). On January 2017, JSW chairman Sajjan Jindal says his group will consider setting up a joint venture for making batteries in the longer term in India in an interview at the WEF in Davos. In a recent interview Mr. Ajay Kumar Dixit, CEO, alumina and power business, Vedanta Ltd said that as part of its renewable energy strategy, Vedanta Resources is looking at developing battery storage solutions in India. The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) – Asia-Pacific’s largest national oil producer is also experimenting various advanced energy storage technologies and considering Li-Ion for trial purpose. If trials are successful, it may invest in battery production. Last year, India’s first experimental lithium-ion battery manufacturing lab open last year by Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI). It can produce 200-300 cells a day. Meanwhile, Enerrsto Solutions, a Chennai based firm, has signed a MoU with CECRI to start producing the lithium-ion batteries on a larger scale. Apart from cell manufacturing initiatives, currently there are more than five companies who are manufacturing modules and packs in India with imported storage cells from China, South Korea and other parts of the world. Through IESA networking events, we get to know that ten to fifteen companies are now evaluating the market to set up cell to module assembling
plant in India. Apart from manufacturing there is a huge opportunity lies in the other segments of the business value chain. To make the ecosystem complete for large scale energy storage projects, there are huge opportunities to be a project developer, integrator, power electronics manufacturer or O&M contractor. Many solar companies have already taken their first step in this regard and many of them are still evaluating the space. Currently IESA has over 60+ companies as part of the alliance including technology manufacturers (Lead Acid, Adv. Lead Acid, Li-Ion, Flow Batteries, Sodium based batteries, alkaline batteries and thermal storage, ultra capacitors), power electronics (Inverters, BMs, PCS) providers, engineering firms & integrators, electric vehicle companies, renewable companies, microgrid developers, PSUs, academic & research institutions and testing & certification companies. Currently IESA has various renewable companies like Vikram solar, Hero Future Energies, First Solar, Juwi Renewables, Sun Clean, SolaireDirect, L&T, ACME, Prayas, Om Sai Renewable, Continuum Energy, Relyon Solar, Grass Root Energy, Gram Oorja, and others as part of the alliance. Through IESA many of these companies are eyeing to enter energy storage ecosystem to get an early mover advantage. Recently IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has picked up an equity stake in Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group. Mr. Sunil Jain, chief executive officer, Hero Future Energies said: “This partnership will fuel our ambitions to tap into the incredible opportunity that lies in both domestic and overseas markets as well as new technologies namely storage, hybrid projects among others.” “Solar generation along with storage makes good sense for setting up charging stations along the highways. Due to integration hap-
48 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
pening with EVs where storage is required, solar can be an ideal solution for the EV ecosystem. Amplus is developing a battery storage system which can be used for EVs,” said Sanjeev Aggarwal, managing director and chief executive of Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd. Similarly, other companies are in continuous talk with IESA to expand their business vertical in energy storage space. Recently, IESA organised “Energy storage for solar applications in India” webinar for its members to enter Indian energy storage space. Many Indian and Global solar players attended the webinar and shown their interest in the Indian market. As part of various initiatives taken by IESA, IESA launched an India toll free Number (India Energy Storage Hot Line: 1800-123-3519) to help queries on battery applications, technologies and business. At IESA’s last annual conference “Energy Storage India”, Hon’ble Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu said “Renewable Energy integration with storage will be part of the wider picture in realizing India’s commitments towards climate change mitigation in its INDC”
Debi Prasad Dash is currently working the Director, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) at Customized Energy Solutions. He has been involved in technocommercial feasibility, financial modelling & analysis and consulting in emerging technology areas like energy storage, renewable integration, smart grid and microgrids. He is involved in policy recommendations for the energy storage roadmap for India, manufacturing policy for advanced energy storage technologies and development of ancillary markets in India.
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Energy Brand Connect Storage
Selecting Panels for Rooftop Solar System What to Look For?
Authored by: Shashank Kumar Singh
T
he growth of a Nation is assessed by the amount of electricity it generates and for developing country like India electricity is critical to fuel and fulfill its economic growth. Power is mainly generated from three sources viz. Thermal, Nuclear & Hydel. While generating power from Nuclear and Hydel have their own limitations. Thermal power generation totally depends on the availability of coal, which has its own set of problems and challenges. Fortunately India is a country with diverse climate system and lies in the sunny regions of world. Most part of our country receives 4.7kWh of solar radiation per sq. meter per day with 300-325 sunny days in a year ideally suitable to generated power from solar energy. In addition to the vision of the Prime Minister of India, Shree Narendra Modi to generate power of 100GW from solar energy by 2022. There are many other reasons that tends us to move towards solar energy like- High & continuously rising electricity bills, power cuts and rising diesel cost, dependence
on external power & diesel even for critical soft loads like general lighting & computer. The basic solution to get rid of all these problems and to move toward green India we have to adopt solar energy. Solar feeds into buildings power supply can reduces electricity bills and reduces diesel usage. And one of the solutions to generate power to fulfill our day-to-day electricity need is to embrace Rooftop solar plants.
What is Rooftop Solar? In order to understand rooftop solar we first need to understand what is a Solar power plant; A basic power plant consisting of solar photovoltaic panel, high efficiency Inverter-cum-charger, mounting system, remote monitoring system, cabling system & if energy storage is required then a Battery Bank. And a rooftop system is a small solar power project that can be installed on top of roof space of buildings, commercial, residential, educational institutes and factories. Typically
50â&#x20AC;&#x201A;SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
a rooftop project capacity ranges between 1kW to 300kW, but it can be higher depending on availability of suitable rooftops. While electricity generated can be stored in battery bank & used as backup power, as well as can be used for captive consumption or sold to grid/3rd party.
Guidelines for selecting rooftop solar panels Rooftops plants are totally different from MW plants, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different ball game & every rooftop is different from other. Before deciding for a rooftop system we must check for load bearing strength of the building, Shadow from neighboring building, hindrance form elements such as water tank, ability to use power generated if feeding back to grid. Before selecting modules or panels for rooftop system we need to check the history of panel manufacturer, efficiency of panel, degradation and loss of efficiency of panel over a period of time, MNRE rating of the panel, if the manufacturer is non Indian we ď&#x192;&#x153; www.supersmartenergy.com
ex-professor of National Institute of technology, founded Gautam Solar. Gautam Solar has 18+ years of experience in the field of solar, and 120 MW of solar modules manufacturing capacity at Haridwar, Uttrakhand. The company has been awarded SP-1A rating for 3 years in a row from MNRE for the highest performance solar modules & highest financial strength. The company has been manufacturing highest efficiency panels and its focus is on the quality of its product with continuous innovations.
POWERING AHEAD
Gautam Mohanka, CEO Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd.
Advantage Gautam Solar
"We will continue delivering innovative products with more efficiency at lower price because we have our own in house manufacturing and R&D facility that differentiate us from other industries leader and allow us to constantly improve our product range '"
need to check the service set up of the company in India and since how long is the company operating in India & in solar manufacturing business.
Why Gautam Solar While looking for the best solutions, Gautam solar Pvt. Ltd. offers its customers some of the best options for solar rooftop systems. Braj Kishor Mohanka, an
12
One of the major issues with the solar panels is they are prone towards damaging, as a result there will be either permanent damage to the solar panel or loss in efficiency or in some cases both of them. While Modules manufactured from Gautam solar have red corners made of fiber to reduce the damage, this new technology is very much capable of reducing the damage factor by up to 50%. Gautam Solar has patented this design. Solar panels manufactured by Gautam Solar are one of the best in the industry; they are designed specially to be free from Potential Induced Degradation (PID) which allows them to stabilize their efficiency over a period of time. Currently the best-achieved efficiency by the solar panel is 21.5
Industrial Electricity Rates: India, China, US
India China US
10 8 6
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2006
2005
2004
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2002
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% and solar panels manufactured by Gautam Solar are capable of delivering the efficiency of 16.6%, which we are working on it continuously to improve it further.
Addressing Efficiency Challeng The factors affecting the efficiency of solar panels are dust, grime and pollen that accumulate on the solar panel and reduce its power capabilities by up to 30% in high dust areas and for larger commercial rooftop systems, thereby inflecting huge financial losses. On average Solar panels loose a little less than 0.5% of overall efficiency per day. Solar panels manufactured by the Gautam Solar comes with anti reflected glass coating which doesn’t allow the unwanted particle to tarnish the photovoltaic cell helping the panels to be clean and produce high standard industry result.
Advantage Made-in-India Since these panels are totally made in India which makes them more reliable and trustworthy. These panel are already having IEC certificate 61215(crystalline solar), 61416(thin film certificate) 61730(all modules safety) which clearly make them best in the industry Shashank K u m a r Singh is Corporate Marketing Manager at Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd., & he looks after all the marketing related activities. He completed his graduation B.Tech with ECE from Dr. M.G.R. Educational & Research institute. Later on he joined IIITAllahabad to pursue his PostGraduation and did MBA-IT in 2015. He holds specialization in Operations & Marketing field.
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Event Report
RenewX 2017 Attracts Key Industry Leaders and Exhibitors
Inaugural ceremony of RenewX 2017
U
BM India, organisers of Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo launched the second edition of RenewX, a two-day expo (April 7-8) at Hitex, Hyderabad. The expo witnessed a congregation of South India's green economy community to discuss industry trends, challenges and market insights. It also served as an industry platform for organisations to capitalize and penetrate into the lucrative South Indian renewable energy market. The inaugural ceremony of RenewX 2017 took place in the presence of key dignitaries Shri Ajay Mishra, IAS, Chairman TNREDCL & Special Chief Secretary Energy, Government of Telangana; Shri A. Sudhakar Rao, VC & MD, Telangana New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation Limited; Mr. Shantanu Jaiswal, Bloomberg New Energy Finance; Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India and Mr. Rajneesh Khattar, Group Director, UBM India amidst an industry gathering.
second edition, RenewX has grown in size and depth, attracting industry leaders and key exhibitors, including Greenko Energy Projects Pvt Ltd, REC Solar, Cleantech Solar Energy, Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd., Zhuhai Gmee Solar Equipment Co., Ltd, MachinePulse Tech Pvt. Ltd, Oriano Clean Energy Pvt. Ltd., Avi Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd, Brij Encapsulants, Sileaf Pvt Ltd, Relyon Solar Pvt Ltd, Hero Future Energies, Phocos India Solar Pvt Ltd., MECO Meters Pvt. Ltd., Vision Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd, Bergen Associates, Premier Solar Systems Pvt. Ltd, Premier Solar Powertech Pvt. Ltd, Archimedes Green Ener-
The show brought together over 130 exhibitors that include manufacturers, EPCs, distributors and service providers. In its
52 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
gys Pvt. Ltd., Greenvision Technologies, Surana Solar Ltd., Greentek India Pvt. Ltd, Radite Energy, Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd., Nuevosol Energy Pvt. Ltd., and RenewSys India Pvt Ltd., amongst others. This year, the expo had a dedicated China Pavilion for the first time. Chinese companies such as Sunworld Tech Corp, Ningbo Aike Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., GuangZhou Mango Energy Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Minjian Alu Co. Ltd, Taizhou Hangning Refrigeration Equipment Co.Ltd, amongst others provided immense value addition and intel-
The Major attraction at RenewX 2017 was the launch of rooftop wind turbine by Archimedes Green Energy
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Efficiency of PV Cells and Cost Optimisation', a presentation on 'Financing RE projects in India' along with insightful technical presentations.
Team Ornate Solar at RenewX 2017
ligence sharing for visitors. RenewX 2017 was supported by central nodal agencies such as Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), Telangana New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation Ltd (TNREDCL) and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC). Adjacent to the expo, a two-day conference themed 'Sourcing the Sun' was held, which highlighted the needs to integrate renewable energy into business. The conference focused on the best solutions and practices that could lead to an increased integration of clean energy into businesses. The conference attracted over 45 speakers and over 150 industry delegates, the key focus was to
also include and invite industry leaders from other industries and give them a overview of the solar industry and it’s potential. Day one of the expo saw sessions on 'Converting Curiosity into Demand', 'International Perspective on the Indian Solar Rooftop Market', 'Sunny Side Up' (Where the industry leaders shared insights on the most pressing issues in the sector), 'Today or Tomorrow?' (A unique session which aimed at bringing the volley of questions from project costs to tariffs to finance that has been on the minds of each customer and technical presentations).
QXPV Solar Giving product insight
Day two saw sessions on 'Third Party Financing: Game Changer for Achieving the Rooftop Targets?', 'Walking the Doubleedged Sword: Project Financing and Risk Management in the Indian Scenario', 'The Inflection Point: Manufacturing Trends to Enhance the
Speaking at the inaugural session of RenewX 2017, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India said, "Renewable energy is key to India's electrification plan. Providing clean energy security has been one of the challenges our country is facing despite being endowed with numerous nonconventional energy resources. The government's ambitious goal of achieving 175 GW of renewable power in the country by 2022 has caught global interest and will offer massive investment oppor-
tunities across the value chain. Along with other states in South India, Telangana has been playing an active role in aggressively supporting solar energy and holds promise for the sector with its profitable and favourable government and industrial policies. Consequently, the sector in the region has seen an influx of international interest and in-turn, investments leading to the launch of major projects. Against this landscape, our second edition of RenewX intends to accelerate the growth of renewable energy industry in South India and contribute to the country's sustainable economic development."
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency Examples in Bilbao Utilisation of Energy Deriving from Regenerative Braking in the Metro of Bilbao The INGEBER system developed by Ingeteam company enables all the limitations associated with the return of energy from the units to be overcome. The system consists of power electronics equipment installed in the substation and connected to themain equipment that already exists in the substation, such as the transformer and rectifier. The system continuously monitors the catenary until it detects the point at which there is braking energy from one vehicle that is unable to be used by another vehicle. At this time the system extracts this energy from the catenary and transforms it according to the quality parameters of the supply grid so that this energy can be injected into the grid. Depending on the legislation of each country, this returned energy can then be discounted from the invoice for the energy consumed or it can be used in other infrastructures of the railway operator. Its installation provides a considerable energy saving and a high return on investment. In
BIDELEK SAREAK Project: Development of Smart Grids This project aims to deploy Smart Grids in both cities and towns, in order to increase the security and efficiency of the electric energy supply. The main challenge of this smart power grid is to develop a more flexible, efficient and
the case of Bilbao underground, the development of the system through reversible cell power substations scattered throughout the Metro network, has been achieved a lower consumption of 5.363.342kWh kWh / year. This system provides a double advantage to the surplus of energy produced in the braking of trains, specifically the part that is not used by o t h e r nearby trains pulling at that time. Therefore, by reversible cell system , regenerated energy during braking which could not be transferred between units subway through the catenary itself , is channeled towards the stations to be exploited in the consumption of them: that gains a saving of 1,879,288 kWh/year consumption. Even the surplus energy that still remains, is returned to the
secure system, causing a qualitative improvement of the electric distribution grid and customer services. The project stands on a publicprivate partnership between the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) and Iberdrola Distribución Eléctrica to develop advance smart grid
54 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
general distribution network, until 3.484.054 kWh/year, significantly lowering the final bill. The device is not affected by short-circuits in the catenary and in addition, it can be used as an active filter for regulating the consumption of the substation (with the resultant saving due to the cos φ improvements).
Bilbao Metro participates and also leads various forums at state level , in which are represented railway and industrial enterprises . The aim is to promote the joint procurement of energy and promote legislative changes that collect actual energy use in different activity sectors
technologies. In addition to financial support, EVE will contribute to the project with its vision and know-how on energy savings, energy efficiency and improvements in managing of energy demand for end users. The total amount invested in this project adds up to 60,000,000
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€ in 3 years. The following actions carried out in order to deploy the smart power grid: Smar Meters: In the urban development area, the existing meters were replaced by 230.000 new smart meters providing service to 410.000 inhabitants in the city of Bilbao and the nearby town of Portugalete. Smart Transformer stations: In the urban development area, 1.100 transformer stations were configured with management, supervision and automation services. New concept of transform stations: In the rural development area, 3 new concept of modular station will be located in the towns of Aulesti and Lekeitio-Gardata and new smart grid services will
San Ignacio Sports Center Energy Rehabilitation This Sport Center incorporates now technologies such as solar panels , cogeneration engines and intelligent lighting systems, that achieve a 50% saving in energy consumption. The extensive facilities installed, includes photovoltaics installation, solar thermal panels for heating water for showers, water recovery systems of the pools, cogeneration engines, together with an intelligent lighting system:
be deployed in existing substations in Ondarroa. Distributed Generation: Medium voltage cogeneration plants and low voltage generation plants will be integrated in the grid and in addition recharge points for electrical vehicles. Development and implementation of new services and tools: In order to allow an efficient performance of the grid and to provide information to the final user, as an automatic network reconfiguration. Among these user fiendly information tools, BIDELEK SAREAK has developed an application in its website that allows users to analize the way they are consuming their energy and how they can
ii One of the first site of the building that has undergone the action of this energy measures battery, is located on the roof of the Sports Center. Thus, the roof of the sports facilities is equipped with a complete park of solar panels . A facility oriented to the “use of solar radiation” to supply hot water to the showers of the resort, covering an area of 60 m2. Among the advantages of panels that preheated water is the possibility of using a “minor amount of natural gas” for this function by using only energy from the sun . It works both on sunny and cloudy days because they are configured to extend operation irrespective of the weather. ii The photovoltaic solar plant, located on the cover of the outer
get to reduce their invoice. Smart grid technologies improvement, also carries an important professional development. Investment in smart grids brings new job opportunities for people currently working in electricity and communications fields, creating direct and indirect jobs
tracks, provides near 50 kw of energy that can be redirected for use in the general electricity supply network of the neighborhood. ii The area of the pools is another facility that has been improved with cutting edge technology. A cogeneration engine, located under the pool, offers an energy power estimated at 500 Kw, that generates electricity from natural gas and produces free heat energy to heat the pool water. It also includes, a generator module that is capable of injecting energy into the grid through a combustion engine. ii It doubles the usual energy produced by this type of boiler installations and also saves considerably the economic cost incurred in the maintenance of the Sports Center. It is a facility that can be amortized in just three years ii The sale of the electricity produced by these stations is regulated in the market with a favorable price for the product. ii Highlight the presence of a mechanism of canvas, equipped
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May/ June 2017 SmartEnergy
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Energy Efficiency with various plastic layers, that remotely deployed to prevent evaporation of water vapor in the pools. It’s a system that eliminates the damage caused by the evaporation of water in the structure, which adds an important energy saving, avoiding the deleterious effect of moisture. ii There is a pioneering HVAC system, also located under the pool, to achieve a “no moisture” environment . Compared to the traditional air conditioning systems, the responsibles for the project, decided to apply its own heating system through a compressor. ii The system also incorporates a water disinfectant removing chemical additives such as the hypochlorite. It is produced with a salt solution, subjected to an electrochemical reaction, that achieves a healthier disinfectant.
“PAPELERA” Old Industrial Building Energy Rehabilitation An old paper Warehouse located in the new urban expansion area of Zorrotzaurre, the peninsula of the River of Bilbao, that will be transformed into an island under the project of Zaha Hadid architect. Although it was planned to be demolished for the rejuvenation of the area, ZWAP organization (Zorrotzaurre Art Work in Progress) claimed to use it as a cul-
ii Highly efficient lighting installation which is controlled by a centralized system. The gym and other rooms of sports are illuminated by fluorescent efficient that enable better regulation of light intensity. The lighting is monitored by a computer control system, that program the use of the light depending on calendar and schedules of sports equipment. The computerized system active schedules and calendar in the circuits. The circuits that serve to room exposed to external light are provided with presence sensors that decreases light depending on the solar radiation.
use of recycled materials and FSCcertified wood (Forest Stewardship Council ). ii It provides more comfort and health for users who can enjoy sustainable equipment. Air and temperature are controlled in each zone, in order to achieve a more optimal ventilation
ii Along with modern facilities, the external material used is “100 % sustainable”, due to the
tural infraestructure. Therefore, the City Hall owner of the building, decided to keep it and make an energy rehabilitation with a pioneering heating system. It is a 1800 m2 usable surface empty Warehouse with very high ceilings, therefore difficult to keep warm during the winter. That is why, the City Hall contacted Tecnalia R&D Center in search of an innovative solution. The solution they decided to apply was the following: ii To develop a heating system with low energy consumption , based on the seasonal thermal storage in combination with heat pumps and radiating floor.
and conduct it to a ten meters high cylindrical tank with special foundation. The volume of stagnant liquid will be about 200 cubic meters. A special insulation, that Tecnalia has developed, will allow the liquid to reach 90-95 degrees in the tank. The calculations show that the lost of temperature is only one degree per week, what allows to use the heat generated by sun during the summer, in cold winter time. Another advantage is that the stratification of the tank, allows to charge water while it is extracted for heating function. This means that, while the vessel is with hot water , the bill to pay will be zero euros
The idea is to get the sun power through solar panels installed in the roof to heat the water
56 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
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2017 EVENTS WATCH 17-19
MAY
2017
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.
19
MAY
MAY
2017
MAY
30
MAY
2017
10-12 2017
25
MAY
2017
Event: Electric Vehicle Conclave
Event: Green Ports Conclave 2017
Event: Pro Solar India 2017
ICAT Manesar, Gurgaon, India
BPX Terminal, Mumbai Port
HITEX, Hyderabad
AUGUST
21-23 2017 Event: 8th RETC New Delhi, India
26-27 2017
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
20-22 2017
DECEMBER
05-07 2017
Event: Renewable Energy India Expo
Event: Intersolar India 2017
India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, India
BEC, Goregaon, Mumbai, India
16-18 2017 AUGUST
AUGUST
24-26 2017
Event: Intersolar Middle East
Event: PV Guangzhou 2017
Event: AsiaSolar 2017
Dubai, UAE
Guangzhou, China
Shanghai, China
57 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
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May/June www.supersmartenergy.com 2017 SmartEnergy
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Gravin Earthing & Lighting Protection System (P)Ltd.
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Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt.Ltd.
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Intersolar India 2017
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Isothermal Technology Pvt.Ltd.
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Jinko Solar
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Mersen India Pvt.Ltd.
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Mtekpro Technologies Pvt.Ltd.
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Power Gen India 2017
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REI 2017
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Renewable Energy World 2017
IBC
Solar India 2017
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Swapnil Electricals
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SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
Volume IV, Issue III
Pages 60
`200
ISSN 2348-5027
ON THE COVER: JINKO SOLAR
Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence
ii A global leader in the solar PV industry ii World’s largest PV Module Manufacturer ii 6.5GW of Solar Modules capacity as of Dec 31, 2016 To find out more, please see: www.jinkosolar.com
58 SmartEnergy May/ June 2017
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17-19
MAY
PRAGATI MAIDAN, NEW DELHI, INDIA www.renewableenergyworldindia.com
How to Successfully Finance Renewable Energy Projects Examining the Policy Roadmap for the 175 GW, 2022 Target Energy Storage & Greater Renewable Energy Integration Register as a Renewable Energy World India conference delegate to hear about the real issues for Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renewable energy sector.
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