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RNI No.:MAHENG/2010/39548
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Issue No. 2
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Cover Focus
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Rooftop Solar India
India’s
ooftop
Mission 2022
Though, utility scale solar installations currently account for 87 per cent of the total solar capacity; rooftop sector has a small contribution but is all set to pick up over the coming years. Industry Insight
Electrical Insulators
Market Review
Special Feature
Offshore Wind PowerMarket www.powerinsight.vision-media.co.in
Hydro Power in India |
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Editor’s // Note
India needs enormous investments in renewables
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he removal of coal-fired power stations without complete use of their helpful lives may not be advisable, as it could lead to a sanding asset that would further harm a domestic banking sector. Coal will stay a key element in electricity generation in India. However, in India renewables will continue to expand because, as part of its climate commitments. India is planning to increase its renewables capacity to 500 GW by 2030 in order to make its share reach 40 per cent of the total installed capacity. The country is moving in the right direction so far, at the end of March 2019 the total installed power capacity of India stood at 358 GW, comprising renewables of 80 GW, representing 22 per cent. Currently, India ranks fourth among 40 nations in the EY 2019 Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index. The renewable energy sector in India has received $4826.65 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) over the last five financial years. In FY 19 alone the sector saw an investment of around $1446.16 million from outside sources, a rise of 20.1 per cent over FY 2018. In light of the large upcoming demand for funds to attain the ambitious 175 GW target by 2022, the government had opened the industry to 100 per cent foreign direct investments. However, the current pace of foreign direct investment coming in the sector is just a fraction of the total investment requirement. The 2019 Economic Survey that was presented to the House in July 2019 stated that the future green economy of the country would require additional investments of approximately US $80 billion by 2022, increasing to US $250 billion between 2023 and 2030.......
Pankaj V Chauhan Editor - Power Insight
Email : pankaj@vision-media.co.in
www.powerinsight.vision-media.co.in
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What’s // INSIDE
content Volume No. - 10 ; Issue No. -02 : June - July 2019
Cover Focus Solar Rooftop - India
18 Rooftop Solar Growth Mission 2022
Editor:
Though, utility scale solar installations currently account for 87 per cent of the total solar capacity; rooftop sector has a small contribution but is all set to pick up over the coming years.
Pankaj V Chauhan
Marketing & Sales:
22 Key Issues Hindering Rooftop Growth
Navin SIngh
marketing@vision-media.co.in
Though substantial attempts to develop and promote the Indian solar rooftop segment have been made, however, some regulatory and execution difficulties still exist, that hamper its development.
K. Pushpageetha
geetha@vision-media.co.in
Creative Head:
24 Industry Interaction: - MinSolar
Prashant S. Kharat
Graphic Designer:
Interview : M Krishna - CEO
G. Sanjay
26 Distributed Power Portfolio in India
Production Head: Shantanu Singh
Article Contributed By : Amplus Solar
Printed, Published & Owned by PANKAJ V CHAUHAN
28 Rooftop Solar Market In India
Column by: Kirtiraj Jilkar, Business Head – Solar, Thermax
Printed at
MAGNA GRAPHICS (INDIA) LTD., 101, C & D GOVT. IND. ESTATE, KANDIVLI (WEST), MUMBAI 400 067
30 Is the Sun really Shining on Solar Rooftop ? Column By: Suhas Pansare – RelyOn Solar Pvt. Ltd.
Published from
G-3A, JUNGLEE PEER DURGAH, K.A.GAFFARKHAN ROAD, WORLI, MUMBAI 400 018. Editor: PANKAJ V CHAUHAN RNI. NO. : MAHENG/2010/39548 All right reserved while all efforts are made to ensure that the information published is correct, Power Insight holds no responsibility for any unlikely errors that might have occurred. The information on products & projects is being provided for the reference of the readers. However, readers are cautioned to make inquires & consult experts before taking any decision on purchase of equipment or investment. Power Insight holds no responsibility for any decision taken by readers on the basis of information provided herein. All disputes are subjected to Mumbai Jurisdiction only.
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Special Article
Compliance with Strict Pollution Standards is too Costly
Power Insight
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Regulars
03 06 08 12 48 50
Editor’s Note Conventional Updates Renewables Updates T&D Sector Updates Company / Products Events Diary
wHAT’S // INSIDE
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Industry Insight
Electrical Insulators Industry and Market Trends - India As a result of the increasing expenditure on electrical infrastructure and continuing industrial expansions in the nation, the electrical insulators industry and market is growing in India.
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Growing Requirement for Strength of Insulators Column By: D P K Udas Polymers Insulators – Gaining Market Share
Due to overall performance and long-term value - composite insulators have generated considerable interest among utilities, including quality control and testing requirements
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Market Review
Offshore Winds Power
Increasing Attractiveness for Offshore Winds Offshore wind generation has become an area of interest for governments and investors in past number of years. Offshore wind is estimated to attract a cumulative investment of $350 billion by 2030 and $1.47 billion by 2050
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Special Article
Renewed Focus on Hydro Power Development Considering India’s decreased hydro-power shares, the government has implemented a variety of measures to boost hydropower sector through new hydro power policy..
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Key Issues Mitigating Hydro Power Growth
Due to diverse problems facing the hydro projects in India, the rate of growth has been slow, despite of its countless advantages and the compelling requirement for grid stability.
Next Issue Editorial Attraction Sector Focus: Indsutry Insight Market Review Special Feature
Solar Power Sector Wires & Cables Solar PV Mounting Structures Wind Turbines / Transmission Towers
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sECTOR // UPDATES
Conventional News
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Thermal Power
MP Govt plans to establish coal power stations in the midst of industry stress According to media reports, the government of Madhya Pradesh plans to install 2640 MW of coalfired greenfield energy.
Thermal Power
NHPC to aggregate 2500 MW from thermal source. NHPC will be aggregating 2,500 MW of power from coal-based power plants through e-tendering beneath the second leg of a Pilot scheme notified by the Ministry of Power. “The scheme is to facilitate the procurance of power for 3 years from coal-based power plants that are already commissioned and do not have power purchase agreements,” a NHPC statement mentioned. Power will be aggregated by NHPC for acquisition by PFC consultancy at a landed tariff of INR 4.41 a unit beneath the scheme for coal-based power plants. Effectively, thermal power plants that don’t have power off-take assurance agreements are ready to sell power to PFC at this value.
The government will call on private energy manufacturers to apply for the right to construct these assets, and the power will only be sold to the state, according to media reports. The proposition is waiting for authorization from the cabinet by the Madhya Pradesh Power
Thermal Power
GE Power India bags Rs 2,311 cr orders from the NTPC GE Power India has bagged Rs 2 311 crore orders ($335 million) from the NTPC. Contracts are for wet Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) delivery and installation at three coal-fired power stations. These include Aravali Power Company Private Ltd (APCPL) IGSTPP Jhajjar (3x500 MW) ; NTPC Station I & Stage II Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station and NTPC Stage I Sipat Thermal Power Station (3x660 MW). GE’s job area involves design, engineering, construction, supply, installation and commissioning of wet FGD systems, as well as auxiliary products including limestone and plastic handling systems and fully turnkey wet stacking .
Conventional Power
NPCIL allocation has declined sharply in Union Budget 2019 While The Atomic Energy Department has seen a drop in its financial allocation of Rs 40 crore in the annual budget of 2019. On the other hand, India’s Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) allocation has dropped dramatically from Rs 4,665 in 2018-19 to Rs 3,000 in 2019-20. The NPCIL runs in the nation 22 nuclear power plants. Customs duty reductions have also
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been suggested on fuels for nuclear power plants in order to further encourage domestic manufacturing. Customs duty, currently 2.5 percent, will be nil for all types of uranium ores and concentrate for nuclear power generation. The customs duty will also be nil for U-235 enhanced uranium or its compounds, plutonium and its compounds, nuclear power generation mixtures.
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Coordinating Committee. This would be one of the few fossil-fuel new crops in the nation at a moment when approximately 50GW of thermal power stations are stranded and unfit due to absence of fuel delivery or long-term public purchasing agreements. Aim for additional capacity commissioning is set for FY2024-25, a reputed national daily reported.
Thermal Power
Two natural gas thermal stations to be installed in Chennai Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco) is setting up two new thermal units based on natural gas in North Chennai, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said at the assembly. The units, each with a capability of 730MW, will be installed at Basin Bridge’s former GMR energy plant premises. The units of the GMR were based on naphtha. Most of Tangedco’s thermal units are based on coal. Tamil Nadu only has 516MW of natural gas-based thermal plants, much of which is in the private sector. It is expected that the two new projects will cost more than Rs 5,000. “Before floating tenders, we will prepare a detailed project report and seek loans from energy finance firms. It will take the units to produce energy for at least five years. The fuel will be supplied by a pipeline from Ennore’s Indian Oil Terminal,” Tangedco said.
SECTOR // UPDATES Conventional Power
More than 92 per cent of private power projects under construction face uncertainty Only projects with 1,825 MW have announced the date of commissioning out of 23,730 MW of private thermal plants presently under construction, whilst others are “unsure” according to an answer from the Government tabled in parliament Private energy players commissioned 53,660 MW of thermal generation plants in the five-year FY 13-17 period, 22 per-
Thermal Power
Thermal power to prepare for PLF drop owing to greater renewable grid integration
The center has advised thermal-energy producers to prepare for a bigger grid integration situation in renewable energies. The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energies (MNRE) said that the coal plant load factor (PLF) could fall to 35-40 per cent during peak summer months in a situation of 130 Gw installed renewable energy capacity by 2022. The country’s average thermal plant PLF during FY18 was 60,7 per cent. Since, a greater proportion of renewable energy will be able to meet the overall power requirement demanding thermal generators to adapt their activities appropriately. This presentation was made in conjunction with the instructions given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the preparing of a 5-year vision document for the two Ministries.
Hydro Power
cent higher than the initial goal. The research firm India Ratings says that eighty-five percent of under-construction private facilities are being stressed and are not getting any incremental loans from banks and equity markets. The possible fall has been ascribed to the annual deconstruction of almost 2 GW of old plants, lack of new funds, insufficient supply of coal, and absence of new PPAs. The country added only 3,600 MW of coal power plants in FY19. Currently, the central and state sectors are respectively, developing 20,420MW and 20,186MW of thermal power plant in the country.
Thermal Power
Tangedco has allocated Rs 3,000 to replace pollution control devices In all thermal units owned by Tangedco, the govt has also assigned Rs 3,000 crore to replace equipment to avoid air and water pollution. As the residents residing in regions close to thermal units have several complaints about fly ash pollution. The Tangedco had to replace several equipments in thermal units with modern ones on the basis of the Supreme Court order so that fly ash does not pollute air in the surronding regions.
India targets1,190 MW of hydropower capacity addition in the current year India intends to add 1,190 MW in the current year of hydropower capacity, which will help country reach over 50,000 MW in total. The government aimed the addition of 840 MW of hydroelectric capability last year, but only 140 MW was achieved. The nation is probable to cross a 50 GW installed capacity mark by July 2019 end according to the schedule drawn up by the Central Electricity Authority if NEEPCO succeeds in commissioning its suggested Kameng Units 1 and 2. As these units are planned to be commissioned in July 2019 and have a power capacity of 150 MW each. Commercial operation is scheduled to begin in August 2019. The number of big hydropower plants in India is 45,399 MW and 4,594 MW of small hydropower plants. The biggest hydro generation capacity is currently 19.7 GW in northern India, and 11.77 GW in southern India. The installed capacity of West India is around 7.55 GW, with an east region capacity of 4.94 GW.
Hydro Power
Subansiri hydel project costs soared the highest among stagnating hydroelectric projects Arunachal Pradesh, close Assam.
The estimated costs for the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower hydrogen project of NHPC Limited have more than tripled from Rs 6,285 to Rs 19,496 crore in 2002. At Rs 13,211 crore, the price of hydro projects in the nation remains the highest.
The second-highest costs overrun of Rs 6,551.80 crore by the 400MW Maheshwar project for Narmada in MP was the first private hydropower venture. Initially conceived in 1993, the project was stuck because of Narmada agitations and then due to restructuring within the promoter group.
This is one of 13 projects in the nation, totalling 4,706MW, the development of which has stalled on a number of grounds. The Subansiri River project has been suspended since 2011 following demonstrations by several student organizations and activists in
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Recently, some measures and budgetary support have been endorsed by the government, for the revival of stalled hydropower projects.
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sECTOR // UPDATES
Renewable News
Renewable Energy
Renewable Power
India’s investments in green energy exceeded thermal power in 2018. According to a study, investments in the country’s renewable energy industry have increased over the past five years to around $20 billion in 2018, exceeding capital spending in the thermal energy industry.
Tenaga is planning to establish a green energy platform in India Tenaga Nasional Berhad - owned by the government of Malaysia, explores an option to build a renewable energy platform in India that underlines the picture of India as champion of the field of clean energy. Company supplies to 31.7 million people of Malaysia with electricity. The interest from Malaysia’s largest electricity utility, with a market capitalization of around $18 billion, comes at a time when India’s
Renewable Power
In an effort to increase India’s evolving green economy, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has attempted to impress on India’s Reserve Bank for removing the renewable energy sector’s priority sector lending limit. This arises in the background of the agenda of the government of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to provide the masses with reliable, viable and inexpensive electricity in its second term of office and focus on tweaking the energy mix to green energy sources.
From 2023 to 2030 India will need $250 billion in green energy funds. The 2019 Economic Survey said that India’s developing green economy would require some $80 billion in extra investment by 2022, that will risie more than three times to over $250 billion between2023-30. The estimates of investments have been made at present prices. and come at a time when India is now one of the world’s leading renewable producers with ambitious capacity-expansion plans. Thus, on an annualized basis, investment opportunity for over $30 billion per year is expected to come up for the next decade and beyond.
Renewable Power
L&T Infra Finance gets $100 million boost for renewable push The $100 million loan was provided by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd subsidiary to L&T Finance Holdings Ltd for the funding of renewable energy projects in India. The loan will be used for wind and solar infrastructure projects across India. The approval was the first advance for the multi-lateral bank headquartered in Beijing for a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
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AIIB announced at Luxembourg that the loan mobilizes private capital of sponsors, other financial institutions and own sources of the L&T Infrastructure Finance Company. Last fiscal, a total of around 12 gw of generating capacity was added across India through various energy segments, as per CEA data. Of this solar added 6.5 gw while wind contributed 1.6 gw. Between 2019 to 2023, there is a possibility of up to 50 gw of solar capacity additions happening across the country.
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emerging green economy requires additional investments of $80 billion till 2022 to grow more than threefold to $250 billion in 2023-30, according to the Economic Survey 2019. In April, one of India’s leading rooftop solar power generator, Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt, was acquired by a new Malaysia- owned firm, Petroliam Nasional Bhd or Petronas. Ltd. (ltd.).
Renewable Power
In Indian clean energy space in FY19, foreign investors pumped $1.02 billion equities. The quickly changing worldwide energy environment has seen an exponential increase of interest globally in India’s green power space. Foreign investment interests continue in India’s evolving green economy ; they have invested some US$ 1.02 billion in equity in the present financial year up to the date, according to information collected by Bridge to India consulting company. Investments in clean energy in India totalled $283 million in 2016, $532 million in 2017 and $1.02 billion in 2018. This investment has spread to industries like solar energy generation, wind power firms, electric vehicles and the electricity storage projects that are now gaining momentum.. The recent round of financing for these international investors was led by the GIC Holdings Pte Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) sovereign wealth funds, who agreed to spend $329 million more for Greenko Energy Holdings.
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sECTOR // UPDATES Wind Power
Solar Power
Andhra Pradesh calls wind power companies to loosen tariffs Even after Power and energy minister RK Singh highly expressed disappointment in his disgust with the government over the reopening or termination of renewable energy agreements, Andhra Pradesh called wind developers for a tariff renegotiation meeting. “Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Co.’s chief general manager, said in a letter to developers that wind PPAs that were concluded after 2012, created an unjustified burden on both distribution businesses and state customers.”
“It would be wrong and against the law to cancel all the PPAs. The appropriate course would be that action for the reopening and cancelling a contract is only taken in those cases where a prima facie case of corruption is made out based on objective evidence,” Singh said in the letter to Reddy dated July 9. He went on to say that investments will dry up if contracts are not honoured because tariffs were fixed after public hearings and examining input costs.
Total, one of the world’s major integrated oil & gas company along with French energy group EDF Renewables, will develop 700 MW of solar power projects in India through their joint subsidiary EDEN Renewables India.
Solar Power
Renewable Power
Solar energy body seeks capping of the NTPC, SECI auctions tariff at INR 3/unit.
In Q1 the industry for renewables adds 2.151 MW
The Indian National Solar Energy Federation has urged the government to set a tariff capping of INR 3 per unit for auctions by the state-owned NTPC and solar power companies from all the renewable power sources. According to the Indian National Solar Energy Federation (NSEFI), this will demonstrate a solution for differing electricity processing in the country and assist achieve ‘ one country, one grid, one renewable one cost ‘.
During the first quarter of this fiscal year the new capacity increase for the renewable energy sector was 2,151 MW compared to the added capacity of 1.541 MW in the same quarter last year.
The Body has further explained that the states tend to ask for the cheapest source of electricity owing to differences in the rate of energy from multiple renewable energy sources and even within the same sources.
Furthermore, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the complete installed capacity for the Indian renewable industry crossed over 80 GW during the June quarter.
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With a planned production of nearly 1,200 GWh per year, these solar PV projects will generate the energy required to meet the annual electricity needs of 1.1 million Indian households.
KSL Cleantech to enhance electric mobility with a total investment of 200 crore In next three years, Kolkata-based KSL Cleantech plans, in addition to sales and marketing, to invest some 200 crore in developing and extending its production ability in the electrical two and three-wheel drive systems.
The solar power sector continues to be the major driver of new capacity growth in the clean energy segment with a share of 1,369 MW (including 1,115 MW of ground-mounted and 254 MW of rooftop capacities) during April-June 2019 period.
June - July 2019
In a public statement, Total Eren and EDF Renewables announced signing of four 25-year long term PPA, for four solar power projects totaling 716 MWp of installed capacities in northern India. These projects have been awarded to EDEN Renewables India, their solar photovoltaic equally owned joint venture in India, it said.
Renewable Power
The solar power sector continues to be the major driver of new capacity growth in the clean energy segment with a share of 1,369 MW (including 1,115 MW of ground-mounted and 254 MW of rooftop capacities) during April-June 2019 period.
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Total and EDF Renewable energy projects to create 700 MW of solar power in India
The company, which has mainly been involved in solar power for the past 10 years, is also discussing partnerships with global companies in its electric mobility venture in areas such as product development and component
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supply, like Lithium-Ion Battery. In Northern and central India, KSL Cleantech has sold their three-wheelers under the brand Electeca. At its assembly facility close Kolkata, it has a manufacturing capability of about 10,000 units annually. The company has drawn up a plan for three-year. Company plans to invest around INR 200 crore across manufacturing, product development, marketing and branding..
sECTOR // UPDATES Renewable Power
Solar Power
Sembcorp to assign INR 516.9 in equity to SEIL to promote renewables
BHEL bags NTPC INR 100-cr order to build a solar energy plant
In order to promote its renewable energy business, Sembcorp Industries has announced that they have infused equity worth Rs 516.9 crore with its India arm Sembcorp Energy India (SEIL).
State-owned engineering company BHEL bagged NTPC’s INR 100 crore order to set up a 25 MW photovoltaic floating solar power plant in Simhadri, Andhra Pradesh. The plant will be installed on the Simhadri Thermal Power Plant’s raw water reservoir. BHEL has been awarded an order to install a floating SPV power plant of 25 MW on the base of the EPC (engi-
SEIL is one of the leading independent power producers (IPP) in India with a balanced portfolio of thermal and renewable energy assets totalling approximately 4.37 GW capacity in operation and under construction.
neering, supply and building). This is particularly the second order of NTPC Ltd floating SPV plants, the first 100 MW floating SPV facility in Telangana at Ramagundam.
Sembcorp said in a report to the Singapore stock exchanges that the equity injection is financed through a combination of internal resources and borrowings. Through infusion, Sembcorp Utilities (SCU), subscribed for 275 million extra SEIL shares.
This order has made BHEL the biggest EPC player with a portfolio of 130 MW in the floating solar photovoltaic segment in India.
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sECTOR // UPDATES Power Transmission
IndiGrid has completed the purchase of two Sterlite Power power transmission assets India Grid Trust, an infrastructure investment trust, has completed the acquisition of two power transmission assets from Sterlite Power for an enterprise value of INR 5,025 crore.
T&D News
Power Transmission
Madras HC dismisses plea against Tamil Nadu-Chhattisgarh power transmission project The Madras High Court refused to disrupt the Rs 24,000 Crore Power Grid Corporation project to install 1843 km of high tension power transmission towers from Tamil Nadu to Chhattisgarh. Dismissing a batch of pleas moved by V Palaniswamy and 10 others, Justice G Jayachandran said, “After enjoying all comforts of electricity in their houses and business establishments, misleading the public to stall the project which, by and large, is going to provide uninterrupted electricity, is only an attempt by some vested interest through the petitioners to keep the state in dark and perennial starvation of electricity.” The main object of the petitioners, that the towers are being set up on farmland and harm to people in the surrounding area by the high-voltage electricity conducted through these towers.
The acquisition of NRSS XXIX Transmission Ltd (NTL) and Odisha Generation Phase II Transmission Ltd (OGPTL) has been funded
Power Transmission
Chhattisgarh CM urged for timely completion of transmission projects
Shailendra Shukla, Chairman of all state power companies in Chhattisgarh said 36 transmission network numbers are to be completed in the next few years. Rs. 1000 crore will cost. When these substations are completed, all neighboring industrial units will get a voltage relief, and smooth delivery can also be guaranteed, the firm said in a press release.
Kalpataru to sell three assets in power transmission
The three assets in which Kalpataru is selling its stake include Kalpataru Satpura Transco Pvt. Ltd (KSTPL), Alipurduar Transmission Ltd (ATL) and Kohima Mariani Transmission Ltd (KMTL). The transaction is subject to requisite approvals and compliances, Kalpataru said in a statement.
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The remaining amount has been funded through debt raised by IndiGrid and OGPTL, the company said in a statement. IndiGrid had issued INR1,400 crore of AAA-rated debentures and INR 200 crore worth AAA-rated MarketLinked Debentures, first of its kind issuance by an InvIT in India. A loan of INR 550 crore at OGPTL has also been extended by Axis Bank.
Power Distribution
NTPC-Power Grid MoU, for National Electricity Discom
The Chief Minister, Bhoupe Baghel, advised the power company to finish all transmission projects in a time frame immediately following its appointment.
Power T&D
Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd has concluded a binding agreement with CLP India Pvt. Ltd., to sell its stake for the valuation of INR 3,275 crore in its three energy transmission assets.
through a preference unit issuance worth INR 2,514 crore, subscribed by KKR, GIC and other capital market investors in May 2019.
As part of the deal, the transaction for ATL and KMTL will be effective after commissioning of the projects and fulfilment of certain conditions. Techno Electric & Engineering Company Limited owns a 26% stake in KMTL. The estimated debt at these assets would be approximately INR 2,000 crore at the time of commissioning, Kalpataru said. The sale will lead to a significant reduction in Kalpataru’s consolidated debt and will help focus on strategic diversification.
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Two of the leading public utilities — the NTPC and Power Grid Corporation of India — have set up a joint venture to establish the National Electricity Distribution Company, marking a major change in the country’s power distribution sector. This allows NTPC, a major energy generator, and Power Grid, the biggest power supply network in India, to become a consumer electricity provider. The move could also hint at another round of power distribution reforms. “An agreement between Power Grid and NTPC has been concluded on 21 June to establish a JV company with 50:50 Equity base to establish National Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (NEDCL), according to a statement by the Ministry of the Power.
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sECTOR // UPDATES Power Transmission
Goa-affected by karnataka state power grid woes Being part of the southern grid, Karnataka’s power transmission problems are responsible for Goa’s keeps repeating power failures according to the state’s power minister.
Soon Discoms will have to pay users for power cuts
The Goa power department has been forced to temporarily shut down power from Karnataka’s south-eastern grid transmission lines and to feed power from the “most stable” western network via Maharashtra through a number of repeated
He said once the proposed 400-kv transmission line from Dharwad to an upgraded sub-station in South Goa’s Xeldem area is drawn, the state will resume drawing power from the southern grid. The new transmission line will pass through the districts of Dharwad, Belagavi and Uttara Kannada before reaching South Goa.
Power T&D
Power Distribution
In the past few months, state power suppliers have paid far higher prices to buy energy for short-term contracts, shelling out more crore rupees than they have done for spot markets. This caused concerns about the prudent procurement of electricity at these energy suppliers at a moment when many are facing financial hurdels because of the increasing electricity expenses.
The new government of Andhra Pradesh decided to cancel the proposed energy storage that its predecessor had requested. In February, Andhra Pradesh Ltd. Transmission Corp (APTransco) encouraged businesses to express their long-term interest in supplying a power-storage solution linked to the State power grid.
“Renewable energy and hydropower generation in recent months has been very nice. In summer, adequate coal ensured steady low-cost energy supplies on electricity exchanges. This indicates that countries missed a chance to decrease electricity buying expenses.
In May, five offers for constructing India’s biggest energy storage project were obtained from the Andhra Pradesh government. The offerors included Greenko, a renewable power company and Sterlite Power, a private transmission company.
The government of National Demoratic Alliance (NDA), which seeks to enforce financial discipline in state power distribution companies, aims at regular tariff revisions by the State power regulators to stop creating the so-called regulatory assets. A regulatory asset is created when the regulator accepts certain expenditures, but does not factor them in while determining present tariff. The expenditures are adjusted with future tariffs and, in the interim, are accounted for as regulatory assets.
The committee also decided at the same meeting to renegotiate current agreements to purchase solar and wind energy, citing high costs, which were a bad decision for the private sector.
Power Insight
However, industry players have expressed scepticism, saying it will be hard to determine wilful blackouts, most of which will be passed off as technical faults.
Government wants discoms to implement periodic revisions in tariff
But the AP Power Coordination Committee decided during its latest meeting to cancel expression of interest and return the bank guarantees it received.
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The move is part of the government’s efforts to ensure the states fulfil their commitment of 24x7 power supply they gave by signing the ‘Power for All’ document. The penalty will be the second tough measure taken by the ministry in recent times to discipline discoms, after last month’s tough norms for timely payments by discoms to power stations.
Power Distribution
Of the five offers, two were for pumped storage, which stored and produces energy through the moving of water between two reservoirs of various heights, whereas the remaining three were offered for battery alternatives.
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Soon all power distribution companies (discoms) in the country will have to compensate consumers for unscheduled power cuts used by cash-strapped state
utilities to artificially reduce demand and avoid buying additional electricity.
Distribution companies pay more on short-term contracts
The new government of Andhara Pradesh cancels the proposal for energy storage
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Power Transmission
power failures in the State’s coastal belt, especially in South Goa district, sometimes as often as a dozen times per day. The minister said, “We will draw power only from Maharashtra for now. The state government has sought permission from the Power Grid Corporation of India for this purpose,.
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This step is to tackle the continuing economic crisis in discoms, which has led to a delay in payments to generation utilities. The distribution sector is an important part of the overall value chain of electricity. Power sector sustainable development depends heavily on distribution industry sustainability and development. Discoms in the electricity value chain have been the weakest link so far. Poor discoms payments have impacted not only power generation businesses adversely, but also the banking sector.
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Special // ARTICLE
Compliance with Strict Pollution Standards is too Costly
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ooftop solar market in India has a very healthy growth in the recent past on account of falling prices and increasing cost of power, especially for industrial & commercial customers.
The current installed capacity of rooftop solar systems is 4.3 GW as of March 31, 2019 and it is estimated that by 2022 the installed capacity will reach 15 GW, which shall be around 38% of the government’s 40 GW target. The major source of air pollution in India is considered to be from coal-fired power stations. Currently, the majority of electricity generation comes from Thermal power based plants in India. Thus, it becomes imperative that these plant owners to install latest pollution control technology to comply with the air pollution norms of the country.
Checking the Harm In India, coal power plants release into the environment damaging gasses and particles that has severe health consequences affecting respiratory and vascular systems and in some case leads to premature deaths. In addition, air pollution also leads to other dreadful consequences such as corrosion of all forms of infrastructure while adversely impacting the agricultural productivity, among others.
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Eighty per cent of Indian industrial emissions of particulate matter, sulphur and nitrous oxide are represented by thermal energy generation. As the nation will continue to rely on coal in order to satisfy approximately half its energy requirement by 2030, it is vital to remove pollution from thermal power stations in India at the earliest. In December 2015, new standards for lowering concentrations of pollutants such as sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and charcoal-powered particulates affecting respiratory and vascular systems (CPPS) were introduced by the Indian Minister for Environment and Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The Ministry had set a time limit by December 2017 - a two years period for thermal plants to meet the requirements. However, almost no coal plants had installed the equipment. As per one study conducted - up to now, the necessary flue gas technology has been commissioned by only 2 out of 441 plants. Looking at the scenario the government has extended the deadline to 2022 – a five-year extension as a supporting hand. However, the environmental compliance target date is at the end of 2019 for thermal plants situated in the vicinity of the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). According to media reports, industry has been under considerable pressure and
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Special // ARTICLE
periodic debates have been held by the power ministry, which led to the extension of the deadline.
High Cost: Procedural delays and a lack of proactive industry action seem to be the key issue for non-compliance with emission standards. This needs to be addressed at the earliest; otherwise it will lead to severe consequences. As per a recent study of air pollution by CSTEP, around 300,000-320,000 premature deaths and 51 million hospitalisation cases are estimated to occur from respiratory disorders between now and 2030 if the emission rules were not complied with. On the other hand, a recent research showed that the installation of technology to control poisonous emissions of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter from coal-fired energy plants would cost around INR 730660 billion. Moreover, the investments and operational costs necessary for these equipment’s would raise coal power plant electricity costs by INR 0.32-0.72 per kWh, which means an increase of 9-21 per cent that might lead to a rise of INR 0.6 per unit of power for consumers, on an average. In this regard, the Indian Power Ministry has given its nod to plant owners for tariffs raise in May 2018 to meet the cost for installing the equipment for pollution control. However, the issue is that upon passing a tariff rise to the utilities, state regulators would need to move again
to raise their electricity rates charged to the consumer. Unfortunately, for state governments, hiking energy prices are often politically unwanted, and regulators are seldom pressurized. Thus the government should look into some more sustainable method to tackle the initial investment pressure to be faced by the plant owners.
Way forward: Most experts think that many plants will not be able to meet the terms of the new standards within the deadline. In order to prevent this scenario, the Union Power Ministry has a stricter stance to take which precludes the power generation of any non-compliant plant unless a definite retirement or phase-out schedule is present. All coal power plants have to be refitted with necessary equipment’s to function by 2023, but “retirement” is necessary if the price of refitting is demonstrated to be significantly higher than yields based on helpful life and usage factor. There is necessity for the government to implement a policy of zero tolerance and to impose rigid sanctions on power plants that do not respect emission norms. Right now there are no rules specifying what would occur to those plants that do not comply with these norms. For those who don’t follow these norms, we need to ensure that penalties and punishments are put in place. n
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sECTOR // FOCUS Cover Focus
Solar Rooftop Sector
Rooftop Solar Growth Mission
2022
Though, utility scale solar installations currently account for 87 per cent of the total solar capacity; rooftop sector has a small contribution but is all set to pick up. The growth curve is expected to rise aggressively in the years to come.
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he growth of solar energy in India had been phenomenal, over the recent years. Nearly 53 per cent of the country’s fresh power capacity added was from solar during the past financial year. Currently, with 28.4 GW of installed solar power capacity at the end of FY2019, India stands as the second largest solar power market in the world. Though, utility scale solar installations currently account for 87 per cent of the total solar capacity; rooftop sector has a small contribution but is all set to pick up. The growth curve is expected to rise aggressively in the years to come.
Segment Overview: Rooftop solar power generation is increasingly gaining market share in India. According to Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report, the rooftop solar power generation segment has become the fastest growing renewable energy sub-sector in
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SECTOR // FOCUS
Installed Rooftop Solar Capacity at the end of FY-2019 Segments Commercial Industrial Public Sector Residential Source:
Installed Capacity in ( MW) 926 MW 2140 MW 619 MW 690 MW Bridge to India:- Rooftop Solar Map June 2019
Rooftop Solar Capacity under OPEX / CAPEX at the end of FY-2019 Model
Installed Capacity in ( MW)
OPEX
1320 MW
Capex
3055 MW
Source:
India, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 116 per cent between 2012 and 2018. Rooftop solar power installations in India witnessed a strong growth during 2018-19 (FY19), where the country added a record 1,836 MW of new capacity. According to Bridge to India, the installed rooftop solar power generation capacity at the end of FY19 stood at 4,375 MW, mounting 72 per cent over FY18. The installed capacity split between OPEX and CAPEX has been estimated at 1320 MW and 3055 MW respectively by Bridge to India. The new capacities were added across commercial business, industrial sector, public and residential segments. The industrial sector is the largest contributor to the solar rooftop energy portfolio, with installed capacity of 2,140 MW.
Bridge to India:- Rooftop Solar Map June 2019
Nadu (365 Mw), Gujarat (314 Mw) and Karnataka (298 Mw).
On the other hand, commercial segment installed capacity stood at 926 MW, while public sector and residential segment capacity stood at 619 MW and 690 MW respectively.
These five states together accounts for 60 per cent of the total rooftop market share during the FY19. On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha are the two states that witnessed the highest growth rate during the FY19.
Since, India has a very heavy crosssubsidy from Commercial and Industrial (C&I) users to residential and agricultural users. This acted as a key incentive, making self-generation for C&I immediately cost effective.
Latest Development: Though, the Government has instituted multiple enablers in order to propel the rooftop market in India.
Thus, these two sectors have driven around 70 per cent of the growth. In addition, the increased adoption of rooftop solar power production in Indian states can also be attributed to favourable net metering policies, corporate social responsibility programs, and increased consumer awareness.
These include a 30 per cent capital subsidy on the system cost for systems being implemented on residential rooftops, benefits of accelerated depreciation of 40 per cent, encouraging financing of systems under the priority sector and lower interest rates, among other.
The top five rooftop solar power generating states are Maharashtra (618 Mw), Rajasthan (393 Mw), Tamil
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sECTOR // FOCUS However, despite of enablers India has achieved as of FY19 a little over 10 per cent of a solar rooftop capacity set target of 40GW by year 2022. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in February 2019 approved Phase-II of the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme. This aims to achieve a cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW from rooftop solar projects by 2022.
In case of group housing societies or residential welfare associations, the maximum capacity eligible for the assistance is 500 kW and CFA will be limited to 20 per cent for rooftop solar projects for supply of power to common facilities.
In comparison to significant increase in deployment of large-scale projects a relatively lower growth has been witnessed in rooftop segment, mainly due to the lack of suitable policy initiatives.
Rooftop Solar offers India a promising future, where land is scarce. Going forward, the demand for rooftop solar is likely to increase significantly with increasing industrialisation and rising conventional fuel costs, thus improving the project economics.
Increase in commercial and industrial consumers opting for rooftop solar means that discoms will lose out mainly on prime and higher tariffs pay-
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Though, this is not a significant barrier currently but may emerge once the installations starts going up.
Way Forward:
Discoms have a major role to play in the success story of solar rooftops in India. However, the financially weak discoms are not so enthusiastic towards the solar rooftops due to perception that it can be detrimental to their business.
As per government release, “DISCOMs will receive performance incentives based on Rooftop Solar’s capabilities achieved in a financial year beyond base capacities, i.e. the
Other problems associated with the grid, such as the impact on energy control, power quality, grid security problems, along with prediction and scheduling problems, must also be addressed.
Key Challenges:
In addition to this approvals and clearances between multiple departments are also pain staking and cause delays. In addition, the unavailability of qualified and skilled workers is another significant challenge.
The second phase is also to enhance distribution company participation. This stimulus will allow DISCOMs to develop a supporting atmosphere to allow the solar rooftop program to be implemented more quickly in their area. “
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In terms of distribution infrastructure, there are limits on the total amount of electricity that can be injected in the grid at one point owing to the transformer capacity at that location.
Although there are net metering rules in place, but due to absence of business knowledge and experience along with market immaturity, it takes significant time for an application to obtain a rooftop solar system connectivity grant.
The residential category CFA will be delivered on the basis of benchmark cost or tender price whichever is lower, for 4,000 MW. However, central financial support will not be available for other categories such as institutional, educational, social, government, commercial, industrial, etc.
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In a separate decision, the Cabinet approved the launch of the “Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan” aimed at providing financial and water security to farmers. Through the scheme, farmers will be given financial assistance to set up solar panels in their unused or fallow land.
The time is necessary to tackle the difficulties and problems affecting the development of the country’s rooftops solar projects at fast pace.
The maximum capacity eligible for the help is 500 kW and the CFA will be restricted to 20% for solar rooftop projects that provide energy to common installations in case of group housing societies or residential welfare associations.
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ing customers that were paying their charges in full and on time.
The government aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022, through the scheme. The complete core financial assistance given under this system is pegged at INR 34,422 crore.
The programme will be implemented with a total central financial support (CFA) of INR 11,814 crore. The Phase II programme provides for central financial assistance (for residential rooftop solar installations) up to 40 per cent for rooftop systems up to 3kW and 20 per cent for those with a capacity of 3-10kW.
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cumulative capacity achieved at the end of the previous financial year.”
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Although, most states have developed rooftop solar policies and are actively amending them to be more inclusive in order to encourage adoption by consumers. On the other hand, though the allIndia average duration of power cuts has reduced to almost 50 per cent as compared to couple of years back – still the power supply position across country continues to be erratic. Thus, most of the growth in the rooftop segment will continue to come from C&I segment - as they need uninterrupted power supply to ensure continuity of their business operations and mitigate revenue losses, which can be provided by rooftop solar systems. C&I segment is set to emerge as the mainstay of the rooftop solar business in India over the coming years. The need of the hour is that state governments need to avoid drastic swings in policy implementation and concentrate on encouraging adoption by smaller consumers. n
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sECTOR // FOCUS Cover Focus
Rooftop Solar Sector
Key Issues
Hindering Rooftop Growth Though, Government has made substantial attempts to develop and promote the Indian solar rooftop segment. However some regulatory and execution difficulties still exist, that hamper its development.
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enewables currently account for about 20 per cent of the total installed capacity of India. A drastic increase in India’s share of renewable electricity can be ascribed to the accomplishments in the solar power segment in recent past. With a capability of just 3 GW installed in 2014, its current share exceeds 27 GW. Unfortunately, the addition of solar capability occurred primarily in the utility space and rooftop solar segment, slowly trailed. The present rooftop installed capacity is around 4.3 GW at the end of FY19. Without powerful rooftop solar support measures, India will not be able to meet its 2022 target of 100 GW solar capacity as the rooftop solar segment forms a
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large part of 40 GW. Government and relevant organizations have made substantial attempts to develop and promote the Indian solar rooftop segment. Some regulatory and execution difficulties still exist, that hamper its development. These include absence of inclusive knowledge and access to competitive capital resources, as well as problems concerning billing and payment.
Issues & Challenges: Fundamental structure is currently in place for execution of rooftop solar based power plants in India. This is quite evident in a sense that the rooftop solar based segment in India has been developing at a lively pace. The aggregate installed
SECTOR // FOCUS rooftop solar capacity touched 4375 MW mark at the end of financial year 2019, as indicated by Bridge to India. Be that as it may, rooftop solar projects still just make up near 14% of total solar installations in the country. Considering the targets and objectives submitted by India, there is an enormous degree for advancement possible in the rooftop based solar power market. The need of great importance is to address issues and difficulties hampering the development of the segment.
Policy Challenges: In order to make distributed solar energy more accessible and economical the policy of net metering was introduced in India. However, the lack of proper implementation of the policy on the ground level - is currently one of the biggest challenges faced by the segment. In a study carried out in November 2016, it was found that while the net metering rules were in place, respondents from 12 states and 6 UT have stated that their region distributors are still at the point of announcing the processes to grant connectivity to
which may lead to further delays.
Other problems relating to the grid, such as voltage control, power quality, grid security problems, forecasting and scheduling challenges, are other variables that need to be addressed.
Developers Challenges : RESCO mode is presently the most promising technique for execution of rooftop solar projects. However, since the developer is at danger of this mode, they are not prepared to introduce schemes with beneficiaries that lacks with impeccable ratings or prior records under this technique. Since, the lack of qualified and trained staff is one of the significant challenges faced by the segment.
Conclusion: Solar PV net meters could indeed surprise the industry, owing to the shrinking expenses of photovoltaic and increasing commercial tariffs in India. The pace of changes in solar photovoltaic economics could actually change the game across the whole consumer base. The Indian distribution infrastructure will have to be ready to take in enhanced photovoltaic penetration. System should be well equipped with transformers that allow reverse flow during peak solar power generation and intermittency generation, prevent reverse flow during grid outage, etc.
Projects under these mechanisms are therefore usually only installed in large companies and not smaller customers. There is a need to capture the market share of smaller consumers, yet the decentralise nature of small systems installation at many locations doesn’t produce important developer yields and scale savings.
The Net Metering Policy would be fantastic in terms of savings to business customers, but it would decrease utility revenues. It is well known that policies and incentives are much quicker implemented than system modifications, primarily owing to inertia of incentives. These incentives might encourage utilities to cut business losses, particularly when subsidizing certain customer categories such as agriculture.
Customers Challenges: From the customer view, one has to spend a lot of time every day fulfilling complex procedures involving multiple departments. It involves activities for installing the project, applying for grid connectivity along with monitoring of the To make distributed solar distribution licensee’s settlement of bills energy more accessible and economical the and using CFA. In policy of net metering was introduced. However, addition, a narrowly draft rooftop the lack of proper implementation on the ground lease contract with level - is currently one of the biggest challenges the developer and faced by the rooftop solar segment.. the rooftop owner, sharing roles and duties is another challenge. rooftop solar power plants. The reason Discoms Challenges: It is a widefor this is the absence of needed spread perception that the achievemarket knowledge and maturity. The ment of the solar rooftops could be situation is still not much improved, damaging to Discoms ‘ in the sense The situation has not greatly improved that they lose out primarily to the top across the states ; it could still end up clients who pay their complete dues taking 3-4 months from the applicaon time and at better rates as well. tion date to receive connectivity As regards distribution, the overall award, even for a residential rooftop quantity of electricity that can be solar power system. injected into the grid at one stage is In addition, multiple departments, limited due to the transformer ability including the Regulatory Committee, at that locality. At present, this is not a nodal officials, DISCOMs, local metromajor obstacle, but can arise in an area politan organizations, etc. have extra with rise in rooftop solar projects at a joint authorizations and clearances particular location.
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Net meters can take solar rooftops into the mainstream and require very little participation on the basis of overstrained bureaucracy and budget. The states have already taken the path to develop their solar-roof policy, because of the absence of centre steering. The MNRE should come out with a national policy on rooftop solar and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions need to create state level regulation for how net-metering will function. Once the national policy is completed what is required is an industry of solar rooftop developers and this industry will in turn need technicians and electricians trained in installing and linking solar power to the grid on the rooftops. This can create thousands of skilled employment. n
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Industry // INTERACTION
Industry Interaction M Krishna - CEO - MinSolar
Opting for a solar rooftop plant is a valuable proposition for a business. Your comment. In a competitive market, businessmen try to stay ahead of competition through optimization. Reducing the electricity bill is a very effective strategy, especially, when you pay much more than your competitors in other countries. With availability of third party loan for your solar installation with flexible EMI and down-payments, you can start generating free power right from the first day and the EMI is less than your electricity bill. In addition, PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) is also an attractive scheme where the solar developer installs the rooftop power plant free of cost to you, and charges only for the energy consumed by you at a much lower tariff/rate than your current Electricity tariff. On one-hand the solar modules on your rooftop converts the sunrays into usable electricity, while on the other hand these modules protect your roof from the sun’s direct heat. This considerably reduces your air-conditioning and temperature control inside the building, in-turn resulting in overhead savings.
What about plant maintenance and related expenses? The solar rooftop has an expected life of more than 25 years and the energy it generates costs much less than the electricity purchased from the grid right now. While the cost of electricity purchased from the grid will increase considerably over the next few years, the electricity from the solar rooftop is free. Since a solar power plant does not have any moving parts like a windmill or a generator, its wear-andtear is considerably low. A well designed and installed solar rooftop only requires regular cleaning and no other complex maintenance (cleaning solar modules is as simple as cleaning a window glass). On the other hand, while every other source of renewable is either seasonal or requires purchase of raw material; solar is available almost throughout the year in most parts of India and the only raw material here is the sun’s rays.
Tell about your company, its USP and key services offered in rooftop space? MinSolar is driven by a strong work ethic and strive to ensure that we deliver the best value possible to our customers. We are one of the few companies in India with a combination
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of the following business aspects: penchant for technology, emphasis on employee training and strict safety & quality adherence. This we strongly believe is our USP. We design and introduce advance installation techniques or protocols to achieve perfection with minimal resource utilization. MinSolar has the right mix of solar technical expertise, projects experience and strong financial backing. We provide flexible investment options to our customers which suits their requirements and their finances. Loans are offered at attractive rates (generally lower than bank rates) and EMIs are fixed lower than their current electricity expenditure.
In your view, what are the key factors to consider before financing a solar investment? Financing a solar rooftop is a slightly different from any other financing because this is a non-movable asset installed inside the customer’s campus. Hence we look out for (1) The financial profile of the organization including their principals, (2) clients appetite for the generated energy, (3) third-party payment commitment and (4) technical feasibility of the project which includes availability of the roof real-estate for the duration of the contract.
Can you throw some light on current challenges in the rooftop segment? With our experience we have identified two important challenges which are very specific to India. (1) Insensitiveness towards honouring payment commitments due to poor financial planning and (2) Avoiding safe practises while designing or execution of the project. In our opinion such acts, legitimise poor business practices only to provide an insignificant discount to the customer. We believe that this trend would have an adverse effect on the solar industry in the long run.
Where do you see your company in the next 5 years? Enhancing our engineering and project management capabilities is our topmost priority as we see changing trends in the solar rooftop sector. We have paired up with a European company to diversify our offerings into emerging fields like energy storage, EV charging and wind-solar hybrid. We look forward to establishing ourselves in the renewable energy sector as a brand that people recognise for top quality turnkey solutions with emphasis on high business ethics.
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Distributed Power Portfolio in India Contributed By: Amplus Solar
Photo: Arial view of Rooftop solar plant built by Amplus at India Expo Centre in Noida, India
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he Energy industry in India has undergone massive changes in the last decade. In Electricity act 2003, the competition in electricity generation was increased followed by shifting focus to renewable energy through National Action Plan on climate change in 2008. In 2013, national electric mobility mission promoted the electrification of transport sector. Another major change that the industry saw was the advent and subsequently the adoption of distributed energy generation. Traditionally, energy generation was concentrated in one place, transmitted through Government-owned transmission lines and distributed through DISCOMs. The consumers had to buy power from the grid at a standard tariff. Government owned DISCOMs monopolising the electricity sale left consumers choice-less and dependent on the existing tariff. Secondly, there was a huge gap between the supply and demand for power due to lack of good transmission and distribution infrastructure. Distributed solar generation meant setting up plants at the consumer location for their own consumption, thus empowering them to be their own producers of electricity. This would also allow increased utilisation of limited urban space without burdening of the existing distribution infrastructure. This would also mean that customers’ needs of green, reliable, affordable, measurable and sustainable energy is being met.
Key Benefits: Distributed generation has inherent benefits in a country like India such as:
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1. In a populous country like India, land has multiple uses and will always remain in demand for varied purposes like agriculture, industry and housing. Ground mounted plants block this scarce resource for upwards of 25 years. Rooftop solar plants on the other hand utilize idle or dead space that has no alternate commercial use. 2. Transmission and Distribution losses range from 15% to 40% in India due to both technical and commercial issues. These losses are almost zero in rooftop generation as the power is consumed at the source itself! 3. In distributed generation, additional transmission and distribution infrastructure which is expensive and time-consuming to set up is not required and the limited resources that the state owned utility has can be utilised for improving customer service. 4. Grid Balancing is better vis a vis utility scale solar plants due to the ‘distributed’ nature of generation as large scale simultaneous movement of power is not required.
Distributed solar affect on the economy: With more and more private players entering the solar generation market, India saw a gradual shift from the centralised to decentralised (distributed) generation. This has been and will continue to affect India’s energy market in many ways: 1. Reducing Current Deficit: India is net importer of fuels such as petrol, diesel and natural gas. Addition of renewable capacity will save more than hundred bil-
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SECTOR // FOCUS lion rupees in coal import bill. 2. Creating competitive market for electricity sale: Consumers can now choose whom they can buy the electricity from. Thus, price of electricity has become elastic and competitive. 3. Creating jobs: Distributed solar segment is creating new jobs across its value chain, from construction to operations and maintenance.
The Underlying Challenge India’s commitment to the historic Paris Agreement by UNFCCC in 2015 translated into the ambitious yet actionable target of ‘100 GW solar power generation’ for the Country. Out of the 100, 40 GW is expected to be achieved through decentralised rooftop-scale solar projects by 2022. The trends in solar energy over the last few years have been driven majorly by this target. To aid the industry reach this target, the government of India has offered many benefits to promote distributed solar PV such as accelerated depreciation, net-metering mechanism for commercial settlement, and subsidies for residential and non-profit organisations. In 2015, RBI had declared distributed solar segment as a priority lending sector. MNRE collaborated with financial institutes such as World bank and ADB to easily access debt funding for projects. ADB and World bank’s line of credit through SBI announced to Amplus solar in late 2017 was a testimony of such push. Despite all the support from government, there still remains some challenges in the widespread adoption of distributed rooftop segment. This segment still needs further encouragement. Lack of Long-term visibility: Due to the nature of the RESCO business model, the investments are recovered in the longer run. They need to be planned with inputs from utilities and private investors. It is therefore crucial that distributed generation needs long-term visibility in terms of regulatory frameworks. Policy makers must remove barriers that constrain long term investments and think about mechanisms to have smooth flow and recovery of investments. When policies are drafted and applied correctly, they work as a tool to create financial stability and maintain the confidence of stakeholders. Non-uniform regulations: Since power sector is a concurrent subject, it becomes a non-standard area when it comes to government regulations. Different policies in different states makes it difficult for private players to implement projects seamlessly. There is a wide variation in interconnection guidelines, application procedures, timelines for approvals and capacity limits on installed rooftop solar capacity. It is not enough that these regulations are framed uniformly, but it is also required that they are implemented in the same way as framed at the top level.
DISCOMS vs Private players: DISCOMS are competing with the private players for retaining large customers. Since DISCOMS play an important role in implementing the regulations, there is often conflict of interest. Regulations hence need to be balanced and be a win-win situation for all – DISCOMs, private players as well as the customers. Lack of awareness: Other challenges that need immediate attention are lack of awareness among the consumers, lack of awareness among lenders, and lack of awareness on the ground level of policy implementation.
Upcoming trends : In the rooftop sector, which accounts for 40% of the government’s solar target, market forces as well as regulatory challenges are shaping up various upcoming trends: Adoption among C&I consumers: Over the last few years, C&I segment have been looking at solar power plants to adopt renewable energy. In recent times, increase in awareness, better solutions like OPEX Solar by Amplus and global corporate campaigns such as RE100, have increased the adoption of Solar power multi-fold. This will continue to be an upward trend. More number of Commercial and Industrial organisations will continue to opt for OPEX solar. ‘Solar Plus’ trend: With increase in adoption of Pure Solar PV systems today, consumers are now looking to improve their renewable energy consumption or managing their load during peak hours through improved solutions. Developers are thus catching the ‘Solar Plus’ trend which includes R&D in Solar plus battery storage and Hybrid models such as Solar plus wind. Open Access in new states: On the regulatory front, many states are now following Karnataka by facilitating their industries adopt renewable energy under open access regulations. Recently Haryana and UP have released their Open-Access regulations. This will further open the distributed Solar market with more C&I players adopting solar. Residential not far behind: In the recent past, there has been an upward momentum in the residential space. Many household consumers being early adopters of the same and with many more players jumping in, the coming year would see a growth of residential solar. However, with regulatory challenges such as untimely disbursements of subsidies and net-metering challenges, it may take a more than just 2019 to have this market warm and opened to smooth functioning. n The Article is contrinuted by the management of Amplus Solar Amplus Solar - Asia’s leading distributed energy company providing environment friendly energy solutions to industrial and commercial customers. Amplus provides clean energy to its clients by setting up both on-site solar projects (rooftop and ground-mounted) and off-site solar farms. For details visit: https://www. amplussolar.com
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Rooftop Solar Market in India
An insight into Current Growth, Challenges and Future Outlook of Solar Rooftop Column By: Kirtiraj Jilkar, Business Head – Solar, Thermax
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ooftop solar market in India has a very healthy growth in the recent past on account of falling prices and increasing cost of power, especially for industrial & commercial customers.
The current installed capacity of rooftop solar systems is 4.3 GW as of March 31, 2019 and it is estimated that by 2022 the installed capacity will reach 15 GW, which shall be around 38% of the government’s 40 GW target.
Capacity addition in FY 2019 is expected to be more than 2300 MW, which is likely to be almost 50% higher than in 2018 with commercial & industrial segment likely to dominate the overall growth. Commercials have been and shall continue to remain the key driver in this segment. Rooftop solar systems have already achieved grid parity for commercial and industrial consumers, and are gradually becoming attractive for large residential consumers. Despite huge potential, the availability of finance and high upfront investment remains a huge constraint. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the top 5 states and account for more than half of the share of the total market in rooftop solar sector. Rooftop market has seen a lot of churn in past 5 years with the share of projects finalized on opex basis going up from an almost negligible number in 2012 to more than a third of the total market in 2018.
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SECTOR // FOCUS Given the limited entry barriers, this segment has been highly fragmented with share of unorganized players and customers opting for self EPC going up from 1/3rd of the total market in 2014 to more than 3/4th in 2019, with more than 25 players competing for a place in the remaining 2/4th of the addressable market. While this increased competition has resulted in falling EPC prices, it has also resulted in sub-standard projects with delayed completion and below par performance on account of improper engineering & execution from local players on account of limited or no experience of handling complex rooftop projects. There have been challenges for the rooftop segment in the recent past because of regulatory changes like imposition of safeguard duty, GST, BIS implementation niggles and policy reversals resulting in project delays; however overall sentiment remains optimistic with the segment expecting a healthy growth in the coming years. While the government is trying to encourage growth in this segment which is mainly driven by private players from the commercial & industrial segments, clarity around regulatory approvals required from state authorities, single window clearance in a time bound manner for the same and implementation of net-metering policies across states will go a long way in sustaining and boosting the growth rate as these are key imperatives for private players to decide on implementing rooftop solar projects within their premises. Even those states that allow net metering have a cap on the amount of power that can be fed back into the grid with metering guidelines and their on-ground implementation varying widely across states. The disparity among states in terms of drafting of netmetering policies or solar policies in general also vary significantly thereby posing challenges for quick proliferation of rooftop solar, for e.g. Gujarat does not allow for solar projects to be installed on opex basis, furthermore the state policy also caps installation of solar at 50% of the connected load or up to a MW whichever is lower. Tamil Nadu has set up a condition wherein approval for installing solar is available subject to TANGEDCO clearance, which is only available for customers connected to the grid vide an express feeder. Uttar Pradesh recently issued a notification whereby they want to shift from a concept of net-metering to gross me-
tering with a reduced compensation for excess power fed into the grid; this will adversely affect the viability of solar. While these are some of the examples, the inference from such disparities is a considerable amount of ambiguity around possible capacities that could be installed and hence delayed decision making impeding the growth. These indirect restrictions on possible solar capacity that can be installed are also result of the fact that most of the DISCOMS in India, barring a few, have a negative bottom line and industrial & commercial customers happen to be cross-subsidising the heavily subsidized agricultural & residential power consumers. Any reduction in off-take of power by the industrial and commercial clientele on account of self-generation will result in further deterioration of the financial health of DISCOMS. Rooftop systems, in our opinion, requires a very fine system design and integration capabilities, technology strength, EPC expertise and experience to carry out O&M of small power generating projects. To conclude, the rooftop solar market has a promising future as it has entered a phase of self-drive mode on account of falling EPC prices, increasing industrial tariffs & increased environmental awareness among end-users. Addressing some of the challenges mentioned above will go a long way in ensuring that this momentum continues to drive growth in coming years. n The Article is contrinuted by the management of Thermax Designing solar system which ensures seamless integration is key for any rooftop project and such multi-dimensional expertise is indeed the core strength of Thermax that is evident from more than 100 satisfied customers with many of them being repeat customers, thereby reinforcing their faith in Thermax’s capabilities. For details visit: https://www.thermaxglobal.com/solar-solutions/solar-photovoltaic/
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sECTOR // FOCUS
Is the Sun really Shining on Solar Rooftop ? Column By: Suhas Pansare – RelyOn Solar Pvt. Ltd.
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he Energy industry in India has undergone massive changes in the last decade. In Electricity act 2003, the competition in electricity generation was increased followed by shifting focus to renewable energy through National Action Plan on climate change in 2008. In 2013, national electric mobility mission promoted the electrification of transport sector. Another major change that the industry saw was the advent and subsequently the adoption of distributed energy generation. It is no secret that India has huge potential of solar power. Its importance gets further boost when we consider its critical role in reducing dependence on precious crude oil for our power need. It was hence logical for Indian Government to set ambitious target of 100 GW of solar power capacity to be achieved in seven years between 2015-2022. This had a mix of 60 GW large solar parks and 40 GW of small to medium capacity but large number of rooftop systems. By the end of June 2019, India has reached total of 31.5 GW of installation base of solar power plants – which is close to 9% of India’s total capacity of power generation. India ranks among top five in installation base of solar
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SECTOR // FOCUS power at global level. The above includes close to 4.5 GW of rooftop and remaining large solar parks. While the solar parks have reached 50% of its target, rooftop is a laggard with achieving only 10% of the target. This has been a bumpy ride for rooftop solar so far. Rooftop segment is lucrative for customers in I & C (Industrial & Commercial) segment. Even without any subsidy, solar power is economical over grid power in majority of the states. It is no brainer not to adopt solar power. But the dismal penetration speaks different story. Last two years witnessed four major factors (imposition and ambiguity on GST, imposition of 25% safeguard duty import of solar PV panels and its component(s), state level implementation of regulations and reneging the past deals) contributing to hurdles on this journey.
customers. Another factor which does not relate to rooftop segment directly, but has an impact is re-negotiation of past PPAs (power purchase agreements). Couple of years ago, UP Discom called the developers to renege the PPAs. Recently, AP Government also took steps in this direction. This sent a wrong signal to the developers, investors and even customers. While the above are macro level issues on plaguing the rooftop sector, the operational issues too have cast shadow on its penetration. All the stakeholders of the sector mentioned above are at receiving end due to these factors. The prices of solar panels dropped dramatically over last ten years. But this also means no norm for the right price. Every customer thinks he may get a further lower price and suppliers are more than willing to offer the same.
Before GST regime, most of the states had zero VAT on solar power plants. Post GST, in the initial period, the industry operated with 5% GST, which itself was adding to the costs. Over the time, there were multiple advanced rulings declaring solar power plants would come under 18% GST. This was a rude shock for the industry which was poised for exponential growth.
This often takes toll on the quality of design, components, installation, operations and maintenance of the system. The system which is supposed to perform at pre-determined level for duration of 25 years is found to underperform.
The clarity by December 2018 settled the issue albeit it levies gross 8.9% GST on the plant cost. This not only meant the solar power plants became expensive by almost 10% but these flip-flop in the policies had many stakeholders of the sector like developers, investors and of course customers step back from their ambitious plans.
The lower cost does come with compromise in quality. The largest cost component being solar panels is likely to be the first casualty. Strict quality norms for solar panels would mean quality on its specifications (bill of material), manufacturing process and acceptance testing. This has a marginal higher cost.
Adding to the woes, in August 2018 India imposed safeguard duty of 25% on import of solar panels and its components from certain countries (China). This meant an impact on the project costs to the tune of 8-12%. These measures do not auger well for the sector which is supposed to leapfrog for some time.
Currently, there is no standard which will clearly define quality of solar panel which will ensure projected performance for 25 years. Compromise on quality of solar panels has permanent effect on performance of the plant in its lifetime.
Power falls under both the Central and State level subject. Diversity of policies in different states and its inefficient implementation is a dampener. Owing to its unique nature (power generation during limited time of the day) solar power needs support through mechanism of net metering. This is a mechanism which rooftop customers are so keen to leverage. But this is equally cursed due to its shoddy implementation. DISCOMS’ hostile attitude towards rooftop segment and net metering or open access policies and regulations have the potential customers of solar power think twice before its adoption. Industry has made many representations at various forum to streamline this. However, a lot needs to be still done on this front. Solar power is economical over grid power. Even then, the Government offers well intentioned subsidies to the residential and non-profit organizations. These are distributed through State Nodal Agencies (SNA). Claiming these subsidies is a tedious process and tries patience of the
Another factor affecting the cost and hence the plant performance is quality of structure. In a rush to lower the costs, there is trend to lower the tonnage per KW for structure. This is a risk as the structure forms the backbone of the plant. The incidences of structures giving way even in not-so-harsh weather conditions are frequently reported. In summary, to boost the penetration of rooftop solar, it is necessary for the Government to provide clarity and stability in policies like net metering, taxes and duties (GST, safeguard duty). Efficient implementation of these by way of single window clearance, faster processing of various applications and approvals would go big way in quicker execution of the projects. Basic norms or standards for project BoM will support good quality plants and its performance. Rooftop solar has large potential which can be converted in real opportunity benefitting all including the Government, Customers, Developers, Investors and EPC companies. It needs fine tuning on the factors mentioned above.n
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INDUSTRY // INSIGHT Industry Insight
Electrical Insulators
Electrical Insulators Indian Industry & Market Trends
E
lectric insulators are materials that are used for supporting and separating electrical conductors without permitting the passage of current. Insulators are categorized into ceramic or porcelain, composite or polymer and glass, on the basis of their material types. These electrical insulators find suitable applications for mechanical and electrical assistance in the electrical network. The main application sectors and industries include T&D networks, traction systems, telecommunications lines and electrical equipment’s. As a result of the increasing expenditure on electrical infrastructure and continuing industrial expansions in the nation, the electrical isolators industry is growing. The development of the sector will continue to be supplemented by increased investment made by the governments to reduce transmission losses.
Industry Overview: The Indian Insulator Industry continues to keep
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pace with global technological advances. In combination with worldwide innovations, the Indian insulators industry has developed considerably over the years. Today, the Indian insulator industry has the knowledge to create a variety of low voltage, high voltage and additional high voltage insulators. The Indian Insulator Industry also produces 1200 kV isolators which is presently the world’s largest voltage. The manufacturers of insulation systems in India have already supplied significant amounts of 765 kV insulators. According to Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) this quantity is estimated to be more than 4 million insulators. In addition, all significant national insulator manufacturers have also undertaken to construct adequate capacities in order to satisfy the country’s increasing demand of up to 1200kV. Altogether this industry’s main clients are central power sectors, state boards of electricity, electrical distribution businesses, private-sector transmission businesses, and the railway and telecom-
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INDUSTRY // INSIGHT munications sectors. In addition to catering for Indian markets, Indian companies reached over 75 nations. This clearly demonstrates domestic insulator industry’s technological ability to deliver high-quality goods. The main industry players are Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., Olectra Greentech, Modern Isulators, Deccan Enterprises, Spark Insulators and BHEL among others. Established supply network, price competitiveness and product accreditation are some of the key strategic resources that companies are pursuing for strong presence in the industry.
Indian Market Overview:
attractive option of late because they consist of manufactured polymers that provide greater strength, flexibility and durability.
Meanwhile, several insulator companies have increased their production capacity in the recent years in anticipation of a huge demand from the power market that led to overcapacity. Moreover, as many generation project developers also opt for the engineering, procurement and construction model, this affects small and mediumsized businesses order inflows.
Various industry reports are of view that the composite electric insulation systems market will be boosted by the increasing need to overcome transmission breakdowns and the need for environmental pollution mitigation. Some of the main characteristics that will increase product acceptance include low weight, good hydrophobic surface property, low surface energy and increased mechanical strength.
Market Outlook: With favourable government reform initiatives, the insulator market is likely to continue its path of development. The “Power for All” and “Make in India” schemes should give electrical equipment producers, including insulator producers, a positive medium to longer-term growth opportunity.
At voltage level, demand for highvoltage electric insulators is set to increase due to their extensive deployment in different kinds of transmission infrastructure. Increased deployment and construction of high-capacity transmission networks in India will aid in boosting the demand for the product. Though, manufacturers’ advances to upgrade the technical and physical properties of the product will serve as a strategic element to compete in HV electrical insulators segment.
Though, on account of slowdown in the power industry over past years, the insulator industry witnessed a decline in demands. In addition, the declining finances of the distribution segment have also had a major influence on the generation and transmission sectors that are the most important customers of insulators. Another cause for concern to national producers has been the cheap imports from China that have eroded the top line both in porcelain and in composite insulators.
Key Issues & Challenges:
However, from the first half of 20152016 the conditions started improving for the insulator industry, primarily due to various reform programs initiated by the central government. The market for electric insulators in India will further be driven by increasing investments to modernize the aging grid facilities as well as quick urbanization.
While there are various concerns of the Insulator industry include rising raw material costs, dollar fluctuations and payment delays by government T&D companies. However, the major challenge faced by the domestic producers of insulators is cheap imports from China, affecting their market size and pricing margins.
As per latest data available, the India Electric Insulators’ market size in 2017 was worth more than INR 20.8 billion and is predicted to grow by 7 per cent through 2024 according to one market report. The India electric insulators market is set for a positive growth since there is increased demand for electricity for the rapidly expanding population, along with government initiative and investment aimed at promoting rural electrification programs.
Since, Chinese companies, along with other advantages give significant export subsidies. They are therefore unjustly competitive and have an unfair cost benefit on domestic producers. Over the last five years, the compound annual growth of the imports of insulators has increased considerably.
Material wise porcelain insulators have traditionally been in greater demand in the Indian market. However, composite insulators are becoming more
national demand.
The start of the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana is expected to tackle the problem cumulative losses of distribution companies and providing them fiscal comfort in the area of investment in infrastructures. Also, flagship programs such as the Dean Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and the Integrated Power Development Scheme will also assist to provide insulator suppliers with long-term possibilities. Moreover, the government’s ambitious objectives in renewable energy for 2022 also augur well for the sector. In 2015, the Government of India launched the Green Energy Corridor Project offering USD 1 billion in investment to build a separate renewableenergy grid infrastructure. The aim is to build a seamless national grid capable of absorbing high volumes of renewables. With insulators used to evacuate power from renewable energy projects, the industry’s landscape will be further enhanced.
Though the domestic insulator segment had appealed to the Central Government to charge the insulator s imported out of China with antidumping duties. Though, the imports from China have decreased with the imposition of the duties but still it accounts for more than one-third of total
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In addition, as the central government has proposed an extensive $50 billion transmission investment, with the plans to provide public and private sector players with a number of projects that will help increase demand for insulators over the coming years. n
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INDUSTRY // INSIGHT
Growing Requirement for Strength of Insulators Column By: D.P.K.Udas
I
n Transmission Line designs Strength of Insulator and Hardware plays important role. Both need to complement each other.
should not have ice touching 2 adjacent sheds which will form conducting path. There is practice of provision of higher diameter shed at top in case of suspension strings.
Earlier when voltage rating was low it was sufficient to have disc insulator of 45 kN rating and matching hardware. Later strength increased to 70 kN ,90 kN ,120 kN ,210 kN ,320 kN ,420 kN and so on.
Following measures are taken to avoid ice accumulation
Manufacturing strings with such higher kN has been big challenge. In case of ceramic and glass insulators metallic cap is affixed on Insulator stem by using cementing process. This is very tricky operation and due care needs to be taken. As such cement is good binding agent but then if tensile load increases in that case it is likely to give away and there are cases of de-capping in field. Countries like China have opted for glass reinforced polymer insulators for higher kV ratings and model replicated in other countries including India. FRP rods normally shows good tensile properties and ideal for higher strength. In this case also metallic caps are affixed on Insulator using crimping process. This manufacturing need to be done with due care so that this joint is perfect. The Insulator string is designed considering following factors n Weight of Conductor n Wind Load n Vibration n Ice accumulation The weight of conductor must be supported by hardware. As well a dynamic loads due to wind & ice accumulation & effect of vibration. Wet snow affects Conductor & Earth Wire. Snow sleeves are formed around them. Snowfalls are unavoidable & projections indicate that there shall be more in years to come. This warrants increase in mechanical strength of lines including Conductor, Ground Wire, and Poles & Insulators. It has been observed that snow up to 6 cm accumulates on Insulator and hardware string. The material of hardware should be such that no chirping occurs. Insulator string
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n Hydrophobic or Ice phobic treatment n Interphase spacers n Increase in temperature by anti-icing current Insulator is also subjected to vibrations when erected on transmission line. The continuous exposure to vibration can make Insulator weak. In view of this utilities are insisting for vibration test to be carried out as type test before they make bulk purchase. The rotation of conductors can be avoided by providing pendulum de tuners. When it comes to river crossing and valley crossing it becomes very important about strength of Insulator string. Many utilities play it safe and opt for higher strength of insulator. For example in case of 400 kV line instead of 160 kN they opt for 210 kN strength insulator. Compact lines are now coming up due to need for shorter right of way. In this case tower cross arm is made as insulated cross arm and Insulator is used as cross arm. This way Insulator not only supports load of conductor, electromagnetic force etc. but also has to take care of strength requirement of structure itself. Porcelain long rod is good alternative in such case. Mechanical Failing Load (MFL) of Insulator was earlier determined by factor of Safety of 2.5. However now due to so many uncertainties, changing climate factor of safety is increased up to 5. This puts heavy demand on designers and manufacturers to have product of higher strength. The Industry has reacted well to this demand and products with higher strength are manufactured.
Author is practicing Power Professional. He is having 31 years of Industry and field experience. He has interacted with Central &State utilities in India. He has also interacted with many foreign utilities. He can be reached on dpk.udas@rediffmail.com
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India’s Leading Manufacturer & Suppliers of
Composite Polymer Insulators Salient Features
Why Us
m Excellent Hydrophobic Properties m Excellent Mechanical & Electrical Properties m Good Resistence to Wheathering, Ozone & UV m High Tracking and Erosion Resistance m Light in Weight, Low Tansportation and Installaton Cost m No Breakages m Low Leakage Current m Low Maintainance Cost
We are engaged in manufacturing and supplying of Composite Polymer Insulator in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. These are are developed using silicone rubber and advanced technology under the guidance of our experienced professionals Through our dedicated endeavours, we have carved a niche for ourselves in the electrical industry, and power sector. Quality is the feature of our industry and to maintain unique quality standards we are equipped with a highly advanced infrastructure, that helps us to meet the demanding nature of the industry. Our products are manufactured with precision by our adept professionals using highly advanced techniques and is tested a number of times before dispatch to ensure its quality.
Navitas Insulators Private Limited Plot No.- 49, Road No.- 6, Obedanahalli Industrial Area, 3rd Phase, Doddaballapur, Bengaluru - 561203, Karnataka , India Phone: +91 (80) 28366628 ; Fax : +91 (80) 28366628 ; Mobile : +91 9844022956 / 9916603345 Email : navitasindia@gmail.com / upadhiar@gmail.com www.powerinsight.vision-media.co.in
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INDUSTRY // INSIGHT
Polymer Insulators Gaining Market Share
P
olymers are becoming more and more widely used in HV structures and parts serving at least two significant tasks of all electrical insulation materials:insulating the conducting parts, and as assistance for the load bearing.
History and Design Trends
At the beginning of their use as electrical insulation, they were also believed to offer very excellent resistance to degradation. However, it was later discovered that they are susceptible to degradation due to stresses or stresses caused in service that ultimately leads to system failure.
These materials are light weight, resistant to impacts and can be used for big complicated parts. Commercially introduced in the mid-1940s, Bisphenol and cycloaliphatic epoxy resins were the first polymers used for electrical insulation.
Interestingly in recent past, polymeric insulation materials have been developed with outstanding weather resistance and mechanical performance and insulators produced from such materials have been promoted for research, development and testing. As polymeric insulators have great pollution resistance and mechanical effect, the transmission lines size can also be reduced through these characteristics.
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The history of polymeric isolators began in the 1940s with the production of organic isolation materials for high voltage indoor insulators made from epoxy resins.
Outdoor Polymeric transmission lines insulators were developed as early as 1964 in Germany as well as by other producers in England, France, Italy and the US. However, the wide use of composite insulators only began in 1980’s that witnessed a rapid increase in use during the 1990’s. A composite insulator typically includes a core material, a rubber insulating housing and a end fitting. The heart of the tensile load is from FRP. FRP fiber reinforcement is glass (E or ECR) and matrix is of epoxy resin. The end-fitting parts
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INDUSTRY // INSIGHT Another important reason is to reduce costs, which would include lower transport and construction costs - narrowing Rights-of-Way and lowering maintenance costs. Due to its light weight the handling, transportation and installation becomes easy that helps save on labour cost.
not shatter, break or cause any damage to staff. This feature allows greater safety in handling the composite insulators. Further, they can also be used as phase spacers on compact lines to control galloping and to limit conductor motion due to through-faults. One major advantage offered by polymeric materials is to impart hydrophobicity to insulator surfaces. The hydrophobicity can prevent contaminated water films from forming on the insulator surface even in wet conditions, which contributes to suppression in leakage of current.
In addition the use of composite insulators reduces the maintenance costs such as of insulator washing which is often required for ceramic and glass insulators in heavily contaminated environment. It has been observed that they offer much better performance than ceramic insulators in outdoor service in the presence of heavy pollution. Also, composite insulators have been cheaper in recent years than glass and porcelain components, particularly for use in transmission lines.
There are also certain disadvantages attached to composite polymeric insulators. These are subjected to chemical changes on the surface due to weathering and from dry band arcing. In addition, they suffer from erosion and tracking which may lead ultimately to failure of the insulator. Also their life expectancy is difficult to evaluate and their long term reliability is still unknown. Moreover, detection of faulty insulators is quite difficult.
Conclusion The typical problem with non-ceramic insulators is the aging and deterioration of the shed material. However, the application of non-ceramic insulators is increasing rapidly in the world.
Increasing Popularity transmitting tension to the cable and towers are made of forged steel, cast iron and aluminum, etc.
Not surprising that these composite insulators have generated considerable interest among utilities, including quality control and testing requirements.
Though the design of the insulator is essential, but it was discovered that the housing material is more essential than the design in long-term trials. That is literally true; a nice design with bad materials does not work. Also, the alternative shed model has been discovered in comparison tests to be superior to the straight shed model and the straight shed design better than the distributed shed model.
There are different reasons for the increased use of composite insulators among utilities, but the low weight is one of the most popular reasons. Being lightweight, composite insulators allows designing and compacting of the towers that is not possible with porcelain or glass insulators. Moreover, it is possible to upgrade the voltage of existing systems without changing the tower dimensions.
Advantages & Shortcomings
The light weight of the composite insulator strings also permits an increase in the clearance distance between the conductor to ground and an increase in the phase-to-phase distance in order to reduce the electric and magnetic fields which are becoming a growing concern to some members of the general public.
Polymers have a major advantage over porcelain or glass insulators, particularly in the case of high HV transmission lines. It has been found that in case of misadventure, composite insulators do
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Polymeric insulators are increasingly being used in both the distribution and transmission voltage ranges and are steadily capturing a wider share of the market. The primary impetus for their increased acceptance by the usually cautions electric power utilities is their substantial advantage compared to inorganic insulators. A significant percentage of new lines are built with non-ceramic insulators. The main advantages of non-ceramic insulators are the reduced construction time and better contamination performance. The former is particularly important in emergency conditions when the use of non-ceramic insulators permits the fast restoration of service after a hurricane. In short, when it comes to selecting the best material for HV insulators used in power transmission and distribution applications, Polymer insulator are the best choice for overall performance and long-term value. n
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Market // REVIEW Market Review
Offshore Wind
Increasing Attractiveness of Offshore Wind Offshore wind generation has become an area of interest for governments and investors in past number of years. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global market for offshore wind energy is estimated to attract a cumulative investment of $350 billion by 2030 and $1.47 billion by 2050 in offshore wind sector. |
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A
serious production boom is experienced in the wind power industry. This is not just on growth of traditional onshore wind farms, but also on offshore farms, that are expanding rapidly. An overall offshore wind capacity of 80 GW by 2024 is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate of more than 25 per cent, according to a latest research published by the Global Industry Analysis. On the other hand, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has projected a continued worldwide development in offshore wind power, with the cumulative installed capacity increasing from 19.2 GW in 2017 to 520 GW in 2050. IRENA also estimates a cumulative investment of $350 billion by 2030 and $1.47 billion by 2050 in offshore wind sector.
Advantages of Offshore Wind: In contrast to conventional power generation techniques, onshore wind technology has become increasingly cost-effective, yet a number of factors have made offshore wind projects increasingly appealing.
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Market // REVIEW
With on-site wind farms requiring land that is otherwise suitable for farming, building and recreational purposes, and offshore wind does not interfere with land use. Most importantly, offshore wind does not endure the argument and legal fighting of inhabitants, since farms are usually in national waters. In general, offshore wind turbines are more effective than their onshore counterparts, as wind speed and direction are more compatible over water. Thus in principle, fewer turbines are required to produce electricity in the same quantity as inland turbines.
Global Market Scenario: With less than one-tenth of offshore wind power, offshore wind energy is one of the world’s most underutilized
ing cost of transmission wires.
assets. In 2018, global wind power capacity exceeded 600 GW, of which only 23 GW were offshore. However, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) expects offshore to account for nearly a quarter of the world’s wind power by 2023.
Currently, The UK, Germany and China are the leading nations in offshore wind development. UK has more installed capabilities than any other country in the world in the offshore industry.
The offshore wind share is presently very insignificant but it is a logical proportion. The reason being, offshore wind projects involve longer supply chains, more complicated logistics, and greater original capital expenses (Capex) and equipment than a standard on-land projects.
According to GWEC, around 34 per cent of the entire offshore facilities of the world are located here. Interestingly, since 2015, the costs for fresh offshore power in the UK have halved due to government policies promoting offshore energy and discouraging onshore winds.
While onshore wind technology has become increasingly cost-effective, several variables have made offshore wind projects progressively appealing when compared to landlocked farms. Thanks to technological breakups in turbine technology and the decreas-
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On the other hand, Germany is relatively a newcomer in the offshore wind generation. The first German offshore wind farm, Alpha Ventus, only began generating energy in 2009. It has since risen quickly and has
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Market // REVIEW While other Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan plans to install 18 GW, 10 GW and 5.5 GW of offshore capacity respectively, by 2030. India has also set a target of adding 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
become one of the world’s biggest offshore wind power manufacturers with 6.4 GW of installed capacity. Here also, offshore generation cost has been dramatically reduced in the past few years. The evolving and flourishing offshore industry of China is driven by rapidly increasing demand. It is ready to become the world leader in offshore wind. More than any other country offshore wind capacity was added last year in the nation.
On the other hand, Britain has also announced that by 2030 it intends to draw 30% of its energy from offshore wind. While, the United States – one of global leading wind power producers – has approximately 2 GW of offshore wind but is able to reach more than 20 GW in favourable market and regulatory circumstances by 2030.
According to media reports, in 2018, China accounted for almost half of the world’s 25-billion dollar offshore wind investment, spending 11.4 trillion dollars on 13 additional offshore wind projects. China plans to increase its offshore wind installations capability from 2 to 4 GW a year by 2025.
Key Challenges: Although significant amount of experience gathered from the oil and gas industry has been reassigned to offshore wind sector, however, it is clear that the circumstances for offshore wind are extremely distinct. Offshore wind systems have lower support structures and much more drastic overall circumstances that poses big implications for the design procedure.
Growing Appetite for Offshore : Formerly the main player in offshore wind growth, the European Union is now struggling to maintain pace with aggressive offshore wind additions happening in the Far East. The fresh motors for offshore power development include Asian nations such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Asian
Incredible material intensity is found in offshore turbines. The installation and connection of offshore wind energy turbine of 1 MW to the grids requires about 500 tons of steel, and 1000 tons of concrete.
The World Bank Group (WBG) has recently announced a fresh $5 million partnership program with the International Finance Corporation to assist developing countries explore their offshore wind potential.....
Offshore wind power costs depend on two variables: wind farm capital cost and wind farm maintenance and operation expenses. In addition, long underdeveloped supply chains and high material costs negatively impact the offshore wind segment.
economies are currently having a pipeline of around 100GW of cumulative offshore wind energy by 2030. By 2020 China intends to install 10GW of offshore wind electricity and in the previous two years it has increased its deployment pace. The offshore wind power capacities in China are estimated to be 30 GW by 2030.
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Foremost the turbine itself, followed by concrete and steel foundations, cable / electric power transmission and lastly the cost of installation logistics, make these offshore wind
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projects, the most costly as found in comparative cost analyses. Most importantly, like all intermittent renewable technologies, energy storage is a vital cost and efficiency element. For grid stability and load balance, adequate storage in the form of utility scale batteries is required – to deal with fast peaks or decreases of power output that places enormous stress on the grid.
Way Forward: In the offshore wind industry technological progress and innovation has resulted in bigger turbines, improved erection understanding, and ongoing improvements in the design and the installation of foundations. Though, from poor storage to underdeveloped supply chains, challenges continue. However, as sector grows, economic efficiency will increase, the demand for capital expenses will decrease, and supply chains will fall. Asian countries have planned huge capacity pipeline in offshore wind space. Thus, multilateral organizations are in line to aid emerging economies in Asia in achieving their wind energy objectives. The World Bank Group (WBG) has recently announced a fresh $5 million partnership program with the International Finance Corporation to assist developing countries explore their offshore wind potential. India, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam – all nations with large shorelines and rising power requirements, could most profit from the programme. In more than a century, global power demand is growing at its highest rate, with fossil fuels accounting for 70% of the power demand. As carbon-free alternatives continue to exacerbate the impacts of climate change, they become an increasingly relevant component of global energy demand balance. That is why the world requires as many low-cost low-carbon power alternatives as it can and offshore wind has an important role to play in this over to coming years. n
Market // REVIEW
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sPECIAL // FEATURE
Renewed Focus on Hydro Power Development
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ince it achieved its peak of 51 per cent in 1962-63, the share of hydro power in the complete energy mix is constantly falling. Today’s hydroelectricity share is only 13 per cent.
The main reasons why the hydro share has constantly decreased, apart from the lack of adequate infrastructure, can be ascribed to numerous variables. Also, the hydro power project environmental clearance system became increasingly stringent after the 1970’s, owing to global focus on economic and ecological problems and R&R issues. This led to consequent activism against developing hydro projects from NGO’s / Environment activists. In addition, more focus by government on the fast growth of coal based projects (with less gestation period) as a short-term measure to respond to increasing industrial and additional requirements, the share of the hydropower continued to slow down. Most importantly, various misunderstandings about large-scale hydro power projects had been responsible for impeded the growth of the hydro power sector in the country.
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Segment Overview:: India is the world’s seventh biggest hydropower producer. The country is projected to have an economically exploitable and feasible hydroelectric potential of 1, 48,701 MW. In addition, a potential of 6,780 MW of smaller hydroelectric power plants (with capability of less than 25 MW) along with 56 pumped storage plants with an installed total capacity of 94,000 MW have also been recognised. The overall installed hydropower capacity of India was 45 399.22 MW as of 31 March 2019 according to data of CEA, representing around 13 per cent of the total installed generating capability of the country. Around 93 per cent of India’s hydroelectric power production is accounted for by the public sector. The private-sector interest remained stagnant as visible by just 7 per cent of the overall hydropower installed has been added by private players, since the sector opened up to private involvement in 1991. Some of India’s government sector hydro-electric energy firms include the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, the North-eastern Electric Power Company (NEEPCO), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL), THDC and NTPC-Hydro. Over the past two decades India is witnessing a
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SPECIAL // FEATURE purchase the proportion specified renewable energy. The Hydro Purchase Obligation (HPO) is therefore ordered as a distinct scheme to cover the LHPs in non-solar RPOs that currently only covered SHPs. As seen that DISOMS had been reluctant, in particular during the first few years, to sign Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Hydro Power because of the increased tariff. This is mainly on account of loading of flood moderation costs and allowing infrastructure at the costs of the project resulting in high hydro power rates. Thus the government has also endorsed financing for infrastructures such as roads and bridges in tune of INR 1,5 crore per MW for projects of up to 200 MW. The same has been limited to INR 1 crore per MW for projects above 200 MW.
sluggish growth in the hydro power segment. During the period of 19992004 and 2004-09, the capacity addition of 7028 MW and 8553 MW was registered in the hydro power sector. The growth in the sector were pulled down further, as the new capacity added during the last decade was in tune to 2464 MW during 2009-14 and 4875 MW during 2014-19, respectively. The Indian hydro power sector witness a capacity addition of just 921 MW in the last two years (2017-19). Hydropower is not just an environmentally friendly source of energy but also has several other distinctive characteristics, such as quick-ramping, black-starting, reactive absorption etc., making it perfect for peak energy, spinning reserve and grid balance / stability. In addition, hydroelectricity also offers water safety, irrigation and flood mitigation benefits, in addition to socio-economic development through employment opportunities and tourism boosting, etc. The significance of hydro-power is
In addition, the back loading (reduction) of the tariff was permitted to LHPs following increasing the life of the project to 40 years and debt repayment to 18 years and introducing a 2 per cent escalating tariffs.
growing even more, as the nation aimed at raising 160 GW of intermittent solar and wind energy by 2022, and 40 per cent of complete energy from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
Summing Up The Govt continues to push big hydropower and has proclaimed a slew of extra subsidies for hydropower projects before elections. But the government requires realizing that even these extra subsidies for the already over-subsidized hydropower industry will not help make them feasible. So, why are there attempts to push big hydropower whose cost is widely above INR 5-6 per unit for at least the first few decades in comparison to solar and wind power that are accessible at a price below INR 3 per unit.
Recent Policy Measures Considering India’s decreased hydropower shares in 2018-19, which is approximately 13 per cent currently as compared to over 50 per cent in 1960. The government has implemented a variety of measures to boost hydropower sector. The main measure was the declaration of large hydro energy projects (LHPs) as Renewable Energy Source. Currently just small hydroelectric power (SHPs) projects, i.e. those up to 25MW, are classified as renewables. This will authorized LHPs selling renewable energy certificates to discoms under non-solar renewable power purchasing obligation (RPO).
The hydropower has numerous technical and environmental benefits making it an outstanding source for balancing the grid that is expected to take in a bigger supply of renewable energy. But to make it realistic, a policy and regulatory framework conducive to hydropower development is very important and the new policy on hydropower can be the much-needed facilitator.. n
Discoms must either purchase renewable energy certificates, or instead
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sPECIAL // FEATURE
Key Issues Mitigating Hydro Power Growth There are diverse problems facing the hydro projects in India. These includes problems such as Land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R), problems in water sharing among states, delays in obtaining clearances, and restricted long-term funding accessibility. This has caused interest stagnation as well as significantly influenced the investment and growth of hydropower...
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hough, India is blessed with enormous hydro potential, but only a part of it is being used at present. This is a matter of concern as to why the rate of hydropower growth has been slow in the nation, despite of its countless advantages and the compelling requirement for grid stability. There are diverse problems facing the hydro projects in India. These includes problems such as Land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R), problems in water sharing among states, delays in obtaining clearances, and restricted long-term funding accessibility. This has caused interest stagnation as well as significantly influenced the investment and growth of hydropower.
Key sector challenges: Discussed below are some of the key reasons/issues that hinder the growth of the hydro power sector and causes delay in commissioning of the projects. It is also to look at the various measures undertaken by the government to overcome these challenges and their effects. Land Acquisition : One of the most significant challenges in the growth of hydropower in India has been the procurement of land. Land acquisition for multiple project sites including Dam, HRT, Power House, Switchyard etc. delay the start / progress of construction work. Looking at the persistent issue involved in land acquisition Government has taken multiple steps towards
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SPECIAL // FEATURE lished / imposed by the government facilitating the hydro power development process in a timely manner. These includes - like National Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy 2007 and Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013. However, since the state government formulates and carries out R&R plans. The effective implementation of the R&R plan must be effectively supported and cooperated by the state. Mandatory Clearances : Since, environmental factors engaged in building of hydro-projects are monitored by the Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF). The hydro power project is taken up for construction only after required clearances are provided by the MoEF.
streamlining the process. In order to have more local people involved in acquisition and rehabilitation & resettlement of land - Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 has been notified by the Govt. of India on September 2013. The Act’s primary purposes are as follows, n To guarantee that the property owners and others impacted have a humane, participative, informed and transparent property procurement process with least disruption n Provide reasonable and fair compensation to households impacted whose land was purchased or suggested or is subject to this purchase n Provide appropriate rehabilitation and resettlement arrangements for such individuals impacted. n Ensure that the individuals involved become development
As the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) is responsible for granting three kinds of clearances, e.g. environmental clearance by the Expert Assessment Committee (EAC), Forest Clearance for Forest Consulting Committee (FAC) and National Board of Wildlife Clearance (NBWL) it makes the entire process very difficult and time-consuming.
partners, which will improve their social and economic status after acquisition. It has also been observed that in many cases, the non-accessibility of land records was one of the main reasons for challenges in land acquisition deals. This also leads to Rehabilitation & Resettlement issues arising because of several claimants.
As on Oct 31, 2018, around 30 nos. of hydro electrical projects totalling 23,424 MW that were agreed / assessed by CEA are pending because of environmental and forest clearing issues. Currently, the timeframe is between 570 and 750 days to seek Environment Clearance. However, it takes between 1680 and 2160 days to get EC actually. In this regard, the Power Ministry is in discussion on the Environment Clearance process and forest clearance with MoEF to streamline the same.
Rehabilitation & Resettlement : Another major barrier in the hindered growth of hydro projects is due to rehabilitation and resettlement problems. Dislocating persons from their homes, fields, workplaces etc. and relocating them is a delicate problem, with a lot of time and money involved. This problem often leads to a delay in the execution / completion of the project. Here also a number of policies and acts have been estab-
As on Oct 31, 2018, around 30 numbers of hydro electrical projects totalling 23,424 MW that were agreed / assessed by CEA are pending because of environmental and forest clearing issues.
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sPECIAL // FEATURE for 18 years but not to Lenders prefer public entiprivate companies. It’s a period too ties for 18 years loan but not to private long. In some companies. Sometimes, lenders may stop paying cases the lenders further loans installments because promoters may stop paying further loans once are unable to deploy required equity, or due to the loan has been unsatisfactory project progress ... released because promoters are unable to deploy required equity, like landslides, hill slope collapses, road or there is unsatisfactory progress in blocks, flood, and cloud bursts etc are the project or case of time and cost a cause of severe setbacks in construcoverruns, etc. tion schedules
In addition, failure to provide land for compensatory afforestation sometimes leads to delays in the execution of the project. As such, the regions in which the project developers could carry out these operations need to be identified without delay. Thus, the ministry of power suggests that the work on Compensatory Afforestation for which the project’s developer provides the required funding could be given to the State Government or the concerned Environment Ministry. In addition, with regard to ground realities, the Forest Department may take advance options such as land identification for compensatory reforestation in other States or the development of land banks so that individual hydropower projects are no longer postponed.
On account of these reasons, the sector is facing issues related to high financing costs with dearth of long tenure financing for hydropower projects. Currently, CPSUs are set to receive domestic loans at an annualized rate of around 8.5per cent. However the interest rate may vary between 10 and 13 per cent, based on the companies rating, for private developers.
Financing Issues: Financing of the typical hydro stations is based on the 70:30 ratio of debt / equity. Developers from own funds or from public / private placements, including the IPO, must manage the 30 percent equity. While the loan of 70% can be received from multiple sources such as Scheduled Commercial Banks, Financial Institutions such as PFC or bond issues.
Though, loans from global organizations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc. are also available at cheaper prices. The overseas credit interest rate varies from 0.50% to 5% per annum and is dependent on the source of the loan and currency. However, PSUs / CPSUs usually make use of such loans because the Government of India’s guarantees are needed.
A new Coal Based Thermal Power Plants usually cost about 8 Crs./MW, whereas a Hydro Project cost per megawatt differs extensively with an average of about 10 Crs./MW. Moreover it has been observed that the development costs estimated at the moment of the concurrence are generally lower than the real project development spending.
Additional Issues In addition to these key issues there are other related problems that need to be addressed for smooth growth of the sector.
The real project costs are established after tendering, which may differ further, for different reasons e.g. delay in the project’s commissioning, price increases, addition / removal of parts, change in the design / scale, change in the exchange rate / scale and other causes which can be avoided and unavoidable during the project development.
As these hydro power sites are in far flung areas of Himalayas - Difficult terrain & poor accessibility of the hydro project site takes lot of time & money to develop / maintain the infrastructures like road, establishments, etc. causing the delay in completion of hydro projects. In addition, Geological surprises resulting from weak geology in the Young Himalayan region, lack of technology to deal with weak geology, lack of major contractors with expertise in hydropower sector, natural calamities
Thus, before choosing to finance any project, lenders practice due diligence themselves. Lenders claim that they are prepared to lend to public entities
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Many a times Protest by the local people against the construction activities, leads to creating law and order problems and delays the completion of works. Moreover, Religious sentiments attached with the rivers, cultural importance of rivers, lacks political traction due to long gestation period also leads to uncalled for delays. Also as water resources comes under the umbrella of state - sometimes hydroelectric projects get delayed due to inter-state disputes between the states. In some cases levying of water cess by states also impacts project sustainability and increases tariffs by approximately 50p-Rs 1/unit.
Summing Up Although a number of beneficial modifications have been implemented under the hydropower policy, experts notice that they might not suffice. Some of the government’s extra actions could include waiving of free energy until the debt has been repaid by developers and waiving cross-subsidy charges along with elimination of long-term bulk transmission charges depending on the project’s capacity. In addition, there are number of other fields where developers need support, in particular the infrastructure. Before hydro projects are awarded, the government should assist to develop infrastructure so that the cost of infrastructure construction used by all is not borne by one project developer. Moreover, unnecessary interference by NGOs must also be controlled and single window clearances ensured. n
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COMPANY // PRODUCTS Exide Announces Entry Into Lithium-Ion Batteries Industry
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xide Industries Ltd, India’s largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries and power storage solutions provider, and Leclanché SA, one of the world’s leading energy storage solution companies, headquartered in Switzerland, announced a joint venture to build lithium-ion batteries and provide energy storage systems for India’s electric vehicle market and grid-based applications. With all the major cities in the world suffering from record-breaking pollution levels, there is an urgent need for radical new ways to power transport. Countries all over the world are working to find alternative solutions to reduce harmful NOx emissions, which are damaging to human health and the environment.
Exide MD & CEO, Mr Gautam Chatterjee (right) signing a joint venture agreement with Mr Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché in Mumbai on June 27, 2018
As part of the JV, Leclanché will provide access to its knowhow and intellectual property for lithium-ion cells, modules and battery management systems and Exide Industries will leverage its extensive sales network and brand. As a result of this unique combination, the JV is ideally positioned to be a leading provider of storage solutions for electric vehicles and energy storage applications in India and will also contribute to developing solutions to increase the amount of renewable energy that is used and reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels. The JV’s production plant will be based in Gujarat. Exide Industries, who are committed to setting up large-scale manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, will be the majority shareholder and Leclanché will be the strategic minority shareholder of the JV. A module and battery pack assembly line is expected to be operational by Q2 2019 and a lithiumion cell production plant is expected to be in operation by mid 2020. In the intervening period, cells will be sourced from Leclanché’s plant in Willstätt, Germany. The JV will focus on e-transport, stationary energy storage systems and speciality storage markets. In e-transport, the target segment is fleet vehicles including e-buses, e-wheelers and e-rickshaws. Gautam Chatterjee, CEO of Exide Industries, said: “Leclanché SA is the perfect partner for us in India. The Company brings superior technology, modules and battery management systems, as well as immediate access to engineering resources to build market-ready products. This ideally compliments our leading position in the lead acid storage battery market in India and will allow us to take the lead in the lithium-ion battery industry, which is expected to grow significantly in the next few years.
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Efforts to develop alternate state-of-the-art technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and energy storage solutions are an important step in tackling the environmental challenges.” Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said: “It is a huge honour that Leclanché has been chosen by Exide Industries, India’s largest battery manufacturer, to partner with them in their quest to help India achieve its zero emissions goals and reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel. Exide’s selection of Leclanché as its partner of choice is a testament to Leclanché’s deep knowhow and IP and a significant endorsement of our world-leading cell and energy storage technologies, which are the product of our strong heritage and a decade of investment in lithium-ion R&D and production. In a region that is expected to be one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets for electric vehicles, the JV shall provide Leclanché with giga-scale procurement volumes, which will help reduce costs, and increase recurring annuity revenues, generating recurring stable revenue growth for the Company. This is an important milestone in our stated growth strategy and further evidence that the opportunity for Leclanché is now. We very much look forward to working with Exide Industries in delivering the best that Leclanché has to offer: superior cell technologies, IP and knowhow that combines high quality German engineering and Swiss precision with deep experience in the design and implementation of battery storage solutions.” . n
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COMPANY // PRODUCTS
S
Schneider Electric announce new alliances with leading local partners
chneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation announced the initiation of a unique partnership model with leading local players in the energy segment, in a bid to ensure better and wider access to their innovative technology. Announced by Schneider Electric, the partnership model, known as the license model, is a strategic move towards supporting ‘Make in India’, while concentrating on world-class products and technical support.
understanding of the local needs, to create unique solutions. At Schneider Electric, we are working closely with our partners to ensure that our customers receive the best solutions possible from such partnerships.”
Leveraging the recently concluded event where the esteemed partners of Schneider Electric came together under one roof, the leaders of the organisation welcomed their new license partners on board. The licensees will have a defined role in terms of geographies and segments allowing them to participate in the world-class digital advancements, planned by the different stakeholders in the Indian energy landscape.
n Tricolite Electrical Industries Ltd.: Market leaders in manufacturing from small home use electrical equipment to custom build switchboards and turnkey solutions.
Speaking about the partnership model, Ponniah Sankarakumar, Director, Power Systems, Schneider Electric, India, said, “The partner community has always remained a core pillar in the business development for Schneider Electric. The community has aided, by bringing in its extensive
The partnerships which Schneider Electric announced includes the following: n Sudhir Power Ltd.: An Industry leader in the field of Power Generation providing complete turnkey Electrical solutions from generation, distribution to electrification.
n Amara Raja Power Systems Ltd.: An industry veteran with a presence in the automotive battery business, packaged foods and beverages, electronics products manufacturing, infrastructure sector, power system production and fabrication of sheet metal products and fasteners. n PSR Pvt. Ltd.: Manufacturer and exporter of Special Purpose Machines, Induction Furnace and Equipments, Epoxy Mouldings, C/T And P/T, Welding Automations, Hydraulic Power Pack, APG Machines and more. n
Schneider Electric India’s MD Anil Chaudhry is conferred the Horasis-KPMG Indian Business Leader of the Year award
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chneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced that Anil Chaudhry, Zone President and Managing Director, has been conferred the Horasis-KPMG Indian Business Leader of the Year award for ‘Business Transformation’. The award ceremony was held in Segovia, Spain at a glittering function that saw participation of a galaxy of business leaders and global corporates. A veteran of the energy and automation sector, Mr. Chaudhry was recognised for the outstanding work done in the field of energy and infrastructure segment. A strong votary of usage of technology and smart grid initiatives with extensive learning of digitisation, Mr. Chaudhry has played a pivotal role in transforming India’s rapidly expanding power sector with a focus on providing access to energy for all. Speaking on the side-lines of the Horasis India Meeting in Segovia, Spain, and after the award ceremony, Anil Chaudhry, Schneider Electric India – Zone-President &
Managing Director, shared: “I am extremely honoured and humbled to receive the Horasis Award. This acknowledgement is a testimony of Schneider Electric’s commitment to energy efficiency across the globe and particularly in an emerging market like India. Aligned with the company commitment to provide access to energy, we at Schneider Electric we will continue to be a part of the journey to ‘Make New India, Energy Positive’.” n
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eVENT’S // DIARY
Save The Dates 02-04
Aug 2019
Solar South 2019
10-12
Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India
Aug 2019
Power Asia 2019 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
Solar South 2019 Expo is a grand Fifth Edition event and a superb opportunity for anyone solar industry leaders to meet the cream of manufacturers, suppliers and newcomers. Exhibition will showcase people, projects and products that are driving solar and storage to new heights of innovation and excellence.
Power is one of the most critical components of infrastructure crucial for the economic growth and welfare of India. Electricity demand in the country has increased rapidly and is expected to rise further in the years to come. In order to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the country, massive addition to the installed generating capacity is required.
For Details Visit : https://solarsouth.in/
For Details Visit : http://www.powerasia.in/
21-23
Aug 2019
10th World Renewable Energy Technology Congress New Delhi
WRETC & Expo is visualized and planned as an event in the backdrop of India’s vision on achieving “Energy Independence and Power for all by 2022”. The WRETC & Expo aims to deliberate upon the challenges and opportunities faced by Energy sector in the wake of volatile energy markets and environmental concerns of India in particular and the energy security of other nations in general.. For Details Visit : http://www.wretc.in/
20-22
Nov 2019
CII Global Energy XPO Aerocity Central, New Delhi, India
18-20
Sep 2019
12th Renewable Energy India India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, India
India is set to become one of the largest solar Hub globally in the coming years. Driving on the surge is the growing renewable energy industry with vision on the future and systematic year on year growth. Renewable Energy India expo celebrated 12 glorious years of Global entrepreneurship and unparalleled industry collaborations during September 2019 For Details Visit : https://www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com/
27-29 Dec 2019
Intersolar India 2019
Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru, India
An Exclusive display of eminent brands of energy sector verticals featuring Renewable Energy, Conventional Generation, Transmission & Distribution, Energy Storage & Charging Infrastructure, Power Equipment Manufacturers & Service Providers, Oil & Gas, New Technologies and Start-ups, Electric Vehicles, International and State Pavilions
Intersolar India at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre is India’s most pioneering exhibition and conference for India’s solar industry and has a focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production and solar thermal technologies. 2019, Intersolar India will be held for the first time under the umbrella of The smarter E India – India’s innovation hub for the new energy world.
For Details Visit : http://www.gexpo.in
For Details Visit : https://www.thesmartere.in/en/intersolar-india
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