EQ Magazine June 2020 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

Global three-phase String Inverter Supplier

5 TOP

Capacity Range From 0.75-253kW

Growatt New Energy Technology Co.,Ltd Web:www.ginverter.com Email:info@ginverter.com SERVICE HOTLINE: 1800 120 600 600（TOLL FREE）

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

OWNER :

FirstSource Energy India Private Limited

PLACE OF PUBLICATION :

95-C, Sampat Farms, 7th Cross Road, Bicholi Mardana Distt-Indore 452016, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA Tel. + 91 96441 22268

www.EQMagPro.com

EDITOR & CEO :

ANAND GUPTA anand.gupta@EQmag.net

PUBLISHER :

ANAND GUPTA

PRINTER :

ANAND GUPTA

TRENDS & ANALYSIS

SAUMYA BANSAL GUPTA saumya.gupta@EQmag.net

PUBLISHING COMPANY DIRECTORS: ANIL GUPTA

ANITA GUPTA

CONSULTING EDITOR : SURENDRA BAJPAI

HEAD-SALES & MARKETING : GOURAV GARG gourav.garg@EQmag.net

EX. SALES & MARKETING : JAIKISH JAIN solardeal@EQmag.net

SR. GRAPHICS & LAYOUT DESIGNER : RATNESH JOSHI

SUBSCRIPTIONS :

GAZALA KHAN gazalakhan.eq@gmail.com RISHABH CHOUHAN rishabh.eqmag.net@gmail.com

CONT EN T

VOLUME 12 Issue #06

Disclaimer,Limitations of Liability While every efforts has been made to ensure the high quality and accuracy of EQ international and all our authors research articles with the greatest of care and attention ,we make no warranty concerning its content,and the magazine is provided on an>> as is <<basis.EQ international contains advertising and third –party contents.EQ International is not liable for any third- party content or error,omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material ,nor is it responsible for the availability of external web sites or their contents

india India records 12 GW drop in solar power generation during eclipse

16 india

AP govt renegotiates IREP contract with Greenko Group; to get additional revenue of Rs 3,495 cr

32 featured

Mukesh Ambani pushes for clean, affordable energy; tech to decarbonise

38 featured BlackRock Leads $50 Million Round in Hydropanel Startup Zero Mass

The data and information presented in this magazine is provided for informational purpose only.neither EQ INTERNATINAL ,Its affiliates,Information providers nor content providers shall have any liability for investment decisions based up on or the results obtained from the information provided. Nothing contained in this magazine should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sale any securities. The facts and opinions stated in this magazine do not constitute an offer on the part of EQ International for the sale or purchase of any securities, nor any such offer intended or implied Restriction on use The material in this magazine is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify,copy,reproduce,republish,post,transmit,or distribute any part of the magazine in any way.you may only use material for your personall,NonCommercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

JUNE- 2020

featured

Ramping up health infrastructure in times of pandemic With Smart Steel Structures from: Tata BlueScope Steel

www.EQMagPro.com

india featured

NHPC contributes rs. 1 crore to International solar alliance corpus fund

featured

Sovereign rating downgrade poses risk for India’s green energy investors

Investment in energy efficiency, renewables and electricity grids can generate 9 million jobs over 3 years: Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA

featured Challenges and Opportunities of Solar Power Utility Sector In India

featured Dutch pension fund APG eyes Tata Power’s RE InvIT

43 featured

Covid a blessing in disguise for electric mobility: Hero Electric CEO

featured

How AI is transforming the PV industry? Introducing Huawei latest FusionSolar 6.0+ solution

featured PFC in talks with bankers for $750 million overseas bond issue

EQ NEWS Pg. 08-60

featured

ARTICLE Pg. 74-75

GoodWe introduces much Powerful & Intelligent String Inverters – HT Series100-136kW

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

Founded in 2005, JA Solar is a manufacturer of high-performance photovoltaic products. With 12 manufacturing bases and more than 20 branches around the world, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business covers silicon wafers, cells, modules and photovoltaic power stations. JA Solar products are available in over 120 countries and regions. 6Â

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

7Â

india

List of top 15 solar energy startups, helping India transition to sustainable energy sources The world is quickly moving towards renewable energy as the pollution levels soar across the world and global warming threatens the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ecosystem. Various measures have been taken by governments across the world to help the transition to clean and renewable sources of energy.

olar energy is invariably one of the most underutilised clean and renewable sources of energy. The push from the Indian government to transition to cleaner energy sources has opened opportunities for growth in the Indian solar energy sector. Here is a comprehensive list of top 15 solar energy startups in India, helping the country transition to cleaner energy sources:

ReNew Power Gurugram-based cleantech startup ReNew Power was founded in 2015 by Sumant Sinha, a former investment banker. Sumant Sinha is the son of former Finance Minister of India Yashwant Sinha and brother of Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation. The renewable energy startup provides solar and wind energy solutions to boost the adoption of clean energy. It claims to have more than 200 distributed solar installation sites across 35 cities in 16 states and two union territories in India. ReNew Power last raised $144 million in an equity financing round from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. It backed by prominent investors including Goldman Sachs, Yes Bank, Asian Development Bank, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Global Environment Fund.

CleanMax Solar Mumbai-based solar energy startup CleanMax Solar was founded by Sushant Arora, Kuldeep Jain, and Andrew Hines in 2011. The startup provides solar energy solutions like rooftop solar for its clients, in order to help them reduce energy costs, reduce carbon footprint, and achieve sustainability goals. CleanMax last raised $15 million in a funding round from International Finance Corporation in November 2017. Earlier in July 2017, it raised $100 million in an equity funding round from private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Azure Power New Delhi-based clean energy startup Azure Power was founded by Inderpreet Wadhwa in 2008. It offers affordable and clean solar energy to its customers through utility-scale solar power projects. The cleantech startup claims to have more than 190 rooftop portfolio across 23 states in India. Azure Power last raised $135 million in a post-IPO debt round from International Finance Corporation in June 2018.

Fourth Partner Energy Hyderabad-based cleantech startup Fourth Partner Energy was founded by Saif Dorajiwala, Vikas Saluguti, and Vivek Subramanian in 2010. It provides turnkey rooftop solar energy solutions to its customers, to help them reduce energy costs and provide sustainable energy solutions. Fourth Partner Energy raised $70 million in series B round from The Rise Fund in June 2018. Earlier in September 2015, it raised $2 million from Infuse Ventures.

8Â

JUNE- 2020

Cygni Energy Hyderabad-based solar energy startup Cygni Energy was founded in 2015. It offers a novel solar DC solution to provide green solar energy and dc power at affordable costs to its customers. The startup has powered more than 20,000 homes across 10 states in India. Cygni Energy last raised $6.4 million in a mix of equity and debt funding in 2015. The equity funding was led by venture capital firm Endiya Partners and the debt funding was led by Induslnd Bank.

MYSUN Noida-based online rooftop solar startup MYSUN was founded by Gagan Vermani and Gyan Prakash Tiwari in 2015. It provides a platform to connect highly-rated solar installers to deliver high quality and best priced solar systems to its customers. In October 2016, MYSUN raised $2.5 million in series A round led by early and growth stage investment firm General Catalyst.

Orb Energy Renewable energy startup Orb Energy was founded by Damian Miller and NP Ramesh in 2006, with its headquarter in Bengaluru. It provides affordable off-grid and grid-tied solar rooftop solutions to its customers. It helps small and medium enterprises along with low-income individuals to reduce their electricity bills through their affordable solutions complemented by the collateral-free solar loan. In January 2018, Orb Energy raised $15 million in a combination of debt and equity funding. It raised $5 million in equity funding led by FMO, an investment firm based in the Netherlands. It further raised $10 million in debt funding from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

Claro Energy New Delhi-based solar pumping solution provider Claro Energy was founded by Kartik Wahi, Soumitra Mishra, and Gaurav Kumar in 2011. It provides solar-powered water pumping solutions to cater to the agricultural needs of rural farmers like irrigation and drinking water to foster productivity and economic growth. In February 2015, Claro Energy raised an undisclosed amount of debt funding.

Oorjan Mumbai-based rooftop solar startup Oorjan Cleantech was founded by IIT Bombay alumni Roli Gupta and Gautam Das in November 2014. The startup provides rooftop solar panels to help its customers bring down energy costs. It also helps its low-income customers to secure easy solar loans through its partnership with IDBI Bank and other banks. Oorjan Cleantech last raised $450,000 in seed funding led by online venture capital firm Globevestor in October 2017.

www.EQMagPro.com

india Oriano Solar Mumbai-based cleantech startup Oriano Solar was founded by Sachin Jain, Sameer Shah, and Yeshwant Rao in 2015. It offers turnkey EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) for utility-scale solar power plants, solar farms, and rooftops, to help businesses implement clean solutions and reduce their energy costs. Oriano last raised $3 million in series A funding from Samridhi Fund, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in March 2017.

8Minutes New Delhi-based clean energy startup 8Minutes was founded by Dev Arora, Anuj Gupta, and Arjun Srihari in 2015. The startup offers rooftop solar energy solutions to its customers to help them transition to sustainable and cleaner energy by providing flexible financing options. So far, the startup has 26 MW of solar assets under deployment, producing 39 million kWh of energy per year.

Nuevosol Energy Hyderabad-based solar energy startup Nuevosol Energy was founded by IIT graduate Himamshu Popuri in 2011. It provides various rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels for its customers based on their requirements. Nuevosol Energy has around 60 clients using its services and products across 22 states in India.

India Go Solar New Delhi-based solar e-commerce marketplace India Go Solar was founded by Dr Harish k Ahuja in 2016. It provides a platform for customers to buy various solar products including solar rooftop kit, solar water pump, solar back

pack, solar mobile charger, and a solar panel, among other services and projects. It aims to enhance the lives of its customers through its extensive product offering, leveraging the clean and renewable solar energy.

Solar91 Jaipur-based cleantech startup Solar91 was founded by Sandeep Gurnani, Prateek Agrawal, Saurabh Vyas, and Dhawal Vasavada in 2015. It leverages cutting-edge solar technologies to provide turnkey EPC solar solutions to its clients, in order to reduce energy costs and transition to clean energy source. So far, Solar91 has installed around 500KW of power and helped reduce more than 200,000 kgs of Co2 emission.

ONergy Solar Kolkata-based end-to-end solar solutions provider ONergy Solar was founded by Piyush Jaju and Vinay Jaju in 2009. It offers comprehensive solar solutions including design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation for solar rooftops, solar irrigation pumps, solar lighting, and microgrids. ONergy Solar’s solutions help its clients to transition to clean and renewable energy, whilst reducing energy costs, to become more efficient. The government of India has set an ambitious target to achieve 175 GW capacity in renewable energy by 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar power and 60 GW of wind power. This ambitious target has attracted many Indian startups to leverage the opportunity and grow in the solar energy industry, to help the country speed up the transition to cleaner energies.

1 MW solar power plant set up at Rs 5 crore dedicated to MS University The 1 MW (megawatt) power solar power plant was dedicated to the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University by information and publicity minister Kadambur C Raju in the presence of adi dravida welfare minister V M Rajalakshmi and Tirunelveli MP Vijila Sathyananth .

he plant that was established at a cost of Rs 5 crore can generate electricity required by all the buildings on its premises. Funded under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan – ministry of human resource development (RUSA – MHRD) a total of 3,080 solar panels were installed on 3.7 acres of the total of 543 acres university premises at Abishekapatti on the Tirunelveli to Tenkasi highway. Electricity generated will be connected to the Tangedco grid. While the varsity’s requirement is 750 KW, the remaining 250 KW will be sold to Tangedco. Outgoing vice-chancellor K Baskar said that they expect the solar plant to make optimum use of the annual nine-month sunshine period to generate 15 lakh units annually and will meet the futuristic needs of the varsity over the next few years. It may be recalled that foundation stone for the project was laid by Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit in December 2017. Stating that the installation of the panels and other installation work was completed in about three months, Baskar said that getting approvals took more than six months.

www.EQMagPro.com

Baskar expressed the need for a speedy single window approval mechanism to expedite the process and motivate those who are planning to go for green energy generation. “They are going to lose interest if they have to run pillar to post to get the approval. We had to wait for four stages of approval from Tagedco alone,” he said. This was apart from waiting for approval from the local authorities. “The system should be such that the application submitted to the Tangedco is passed onto the next table and approval is given in a time-bound manner,” he added. The mega solar power plant will also give hands-on experience for 20 students, who are pursuing the newly-started one year post graduate diploma course in renewable energy management and auditing from this year. They are pursuing the course with a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000.

JUNE- 2020

india

India records 12 GW drop in solar power generation

during eclipse

India’s electricity grid recorded around 12 giga watt (GW) drop in solar power generation during the solar eclipse. The power grid operators successfully managed the shock due to the sudden drop and surge in generation during the celestial event.

vents such as these prove India’s ability to manage its growing green energy generation and the impact on the national grid. This was also evident on 5 April, when India pulled off a feat in electricity grid management during a 9-minute blackout, called for by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the sun and the earth but doesn’t cover the former completely, leaving the sun’s visible outer edges to appear as a ‘ring of fire’. This leads to a drop in solar irradiance which impacts power generation. The drop in generation was expected to be around 11,943 mega watt (MW) during the eclipse, Mint had reported on 2 June. Eclipses occur every year, but annular solar eclipses are not common. India has experienced three solar eclipses in the past ten years—on 22 July 2009, 15 January 2010 and 26 December 2019.

The eclipse this year also comes in the backdrop of the lockdown which has led to a drastic fall in pollution, thereby improving solar radiation. India’s peak demand in FY19 was 168.74 GW and touched a record high of 183 GW in May last year. The country has an installed power-generation capacity of 370 GW. The grid management’s ability also adds heft to India’ ambitious global electricity grid strategy, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government calling for bids to roll-out the “One Sun One World One Grid” (OSOWOG) plan. The plan has been spread across three phases. The first phase deals with the Middle East—South Asia—-South East Asia interconnection for sharing green energy sources such as solar for meeting electricity needs including peak demand. This also comes in the backdrop of the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal and China’s attempts to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, a programme to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including railways, ports and power grids, across Asia, Africa and Europe.

JUNE- 2020

India has 34.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, with an aim of having 100 GW of solar energy capacity by 2022. It is also one of the largest interconnected power grid, capable of transferring 99,000 MW of electricity from any corner of the country. It is also connected with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. A report by state-owned Power System Operation Corp Ltd (Posoco) that oversees India’s critical electricity load management functions on 21 June solar eclipse, reviewed by Mint, said, “Electricity grids with such a significant penetration of solar capacity will be adversely impacted by astronomical events such as solar eclipse, due to variation in solar generation (reduction followed by rise in generation) and associated large ramp rates.”

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Introduction of mandatory BIS Certification on Solar PV modules, Inverters, Storage battery The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has made BIS Certification mandatory on Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) modules, Inverters, Storage battery.

owever, Office Memorandum was issued on the above subject and subsequent notifications issued in relation thereto, and implications of the order on lead acid batteries imported for various applications including for SPV applications. However, it is clarified that Secondary cells and Batteries of lead acid and nickel based chemistry are covered under ‘Storage battery (IS 16270)’ of SPV Systems, Devices and components Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2017, which are used in Solar Power Projects utilizing Solar PV Systems. Import of such products may be allowed subject to an undertaking from the vendor or supplier that the products will be utilized for SPV power projects in the country and the products will be regulated as per the MNRE Quality Control Order. For applications other than solar, the concerned agency importing such batteries may produce the relevant documents to customs for the use of batteries including orders for supply in the country and submit an affidavit that the imported batteries are not to be used in solar applications.

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

india

Investment in energy efficiency, renewables and electricity grids can generate 9 million jobs over 3 years: Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA The global investment in energy efficiency, renewables and electricity grids can generate around 9 million jobs over the course of three years, according to Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA).

Energy efficiency, renovation, buildings and renewable energy especially solar power creates millions of jobs. Electricity grids, building renovation and modernisation along with energy efficiency and renewables can create 9 million jobs globally in next 3 years, Birol said at IEA’s Fifth Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency held recently. He added that these sustainable measures can boost global economic growth by an average of 1.0 percentage points a year. Energy efficiency is a job machine, even the governments who do not care about clean energy or climate change, do care about economic growth and jobs, Birol said, adding that the governments should go for energy efficiency measures if they take job creation seriously.

Ajay Mathur, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) who was also present at the conference said that all over the world we are seeing economic stimulus packages on jobs, sustainable livelihoods and economic growth and this is exactly what energy efficiency brings to the table. “Energy efficiency creates jobs which are sustainable and are there forever and at the same time it increases productivity by saving money and enhancing economic growth,” Mathur said. He added one thing which is emerging across the world geographies is the need for more and more cooling and therefore it is absolutely important that air-conditioners are energy efficient.

JUNE- 2020

According to Mathur, energy efficiency in industries increases productivity particularly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) creating huge employment opportunities. To encourage the SMEs to adopt the energy efficiency measures be it in efficient motors, boilers, furnaces etc, we need to provide them a certain economic package to gain their confidence, he said.

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Apollo Tyres sets up its fifth factory in India: Andhra Pradesh facility to run on solar power Production in this Andhra Pradesh plant of Apollo Tyres is expected to be ramped up by 2022; the plant will have a capacity of 15,000 passenger car tyres and 3,000 bus as well as truck radial tyres

RPO fines of up to Rs 1 per unit will lead to ‘exponentially huge’ demand: R K Singh The increase in penalties for non-compliance of renewable energy purchase obligations (RPOs) to up to Rs 1 per kilowatt hour (KWh) of the shortfall would lead to huge rise in demand, new and renewable energy minister R K Singh said He added that discoms would come to the market desperately looking for capacity in order to avoid these heavy fines, which would eventually help in achieving the ambitious target of 450 GW capacity by 2030. “The current set of penalties are very small… so we are increasing RPO penalties to an extent that the demand is going to be exponentially huge because all those discoms and states which have not achieved their RPOs will have to achieve that in a hurry or pay heavy penalties,” Singh said at the BloombergNEF Summit. He added that the penalties will begin with 50 paise per KWh of the shortfall and after a year it would be increased by one rupee per KWh of the shortfall, which is huge. “Ultimately, there will not be any auctions at all. The discoms would themselves be looking for renewable energy capacities and then the government would invite them to set up capacities, thus the demand would boom and whatever has been installed till now would be doubled,” according to Singh. RPO makes it mandatory for a discom to purchase a certain share of power from renewable energy sources. A sub-section has been added in the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 to address the non-compliance of renewable purchase obligations.

www.EQMagPro.com

pollo Tyres has gone ahead and built a new factory in Andhra Pradesh. This is the company’s seventh factory worldwide and fifth in the Indian market. The first tyre too has been rolled out of this facility and this event was virtually unveiled and organised by Onkar S Kanwar, Neeraj Kanwar and the board members. This new factory is spread across 256 acres and is situated in Chinnapanduru village in Chittoor district. In phase 1 of this plant, the company will invest close to Rs 3,800 crore. Production is expected to be ramped up by 2022; the plant will have a capacity of 15,000 passenger car tyres and 3,000 bus as well as truck radial tyres. Officials say that with minimal engineering as well as investment economies, the plant ramp-up will happen. Tyres rolled out from this plant will be supplied both to OEMs as well as the aftermarket requirements. The bigger news is that this facility is a greenfield one. Energy used for the processes here will be derived from the sun. For this, solar panel set-ups have been accommodated in the roofs. Not only this, but the shop floor will also use maximum sunlight. This plant is also a zero water discharge facility and also gets an in-built effluent treatment system. Environment-friendly coolants too are being used for a majority of the processes. 850 people are already working in this factory and the plant has been set up using 35,000 tonnes of steel. Commenting on the commissioning of AP facility, Onkar S Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said that this facility will be a reflection of the company’s growth aspirations. It will also showcase their manufacturing capabilities and at the same time, showcase the best practices across the globe in tyre manufacturing. This plant being highly automated plant, it uses several IT-driven systems and robotics. It also employs young as well as skilled workers on the shopfloor. These workers have been mostly hired from Andhra Pradesh, thereby promoting employment as well. Onkar also thanked the Andhra Pradesh government for its support.

JUNE- 2020

india

Shivraj govt announces reduction of electricity bills amid COVID-19 crisis Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that people having electricity bills between Rs 100 to Rs 400 have to pay Rs 100 only and those having electricity bills over Rs 400 have to pay half of the entire bill.

While interacting with the beneficiaries of the electricity, CM Chouhan said,” This decision will save Rs 183 crore of the consumers of the state. The state government will also pay this amount to the electricity department.” “People, having Rs 100 in April, will have to pay on Rs 50 in May, June, July i, e for three months. This will benefit 56 lakh consumers and will save their Rs 255 crore. The state government will also pay this amount to the electricity department,” he added.

M Chouhan further said that consumers who have been assigned fixed charges can pay in 6 equal instalments from October 2020 to March 2021, they will get a benefit of 183 crores. “Bills depositing on the due date in April and May will also be given 1 per cent incentive amount. With this 95 lakh families will be benefitted,” he added. Commenting upon the ongoing border issue situation with China, CM Chouhan said, “We will not purchase Chinese products, we will buy made in India products. This is today’s India, not of 1962. Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India, now. If someone messes with us, we will not leave.”

Gujarat: New industrial policy likely from June; Renewable energy in focus To boost the industry in the state and attract investment amid the major slowdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Gujarat government plans to announce a new industrial policy for 2020-2025 in June, to attract fresh investment and generate jobs.

he term of the industrial policy 2015-2020 ended in December-January, but was extended by six months until June this year. The new policy is likely to be announced soon on the basis of reports filed by various sectoral sub-groups and suggestions received from industry associations and trade bodies. The policy will also incorporate inputs from the Hasmukh Adhia-headed expert advisory committee (EAC) formed to revive the state’s economy after the Covid lockdown.

Manoj Das, principal secretary to the chief minister and in-charge principal secretary of the industry and mines department said, “The CM directed the administration to announce the new industrial policy as soon as possible after wide consultations, covering the situation before and after Covid-19. We are likely announce the new policy in June.”

JUNE- 2020

Listing the focus areas of the new policy, Das said, “Our focus is clearly on the renewable energy industry as well as other emerging industries. We are focusing on strengthening our core competence of manufacturing as well as on emerging opportunities in the service sector. We are focusing heavily in attracting Japanese, American and European industries which are trying to shift base from China. We will focus on providing plug and play facilities for these industries. With the help of GOI, we are aggressively trying to attract these industries,” he added. Sources in the government said one common bit of feedback from industry has been that land costs are exorbitant in Gujarat. Also, clearances regarding land take too long. “The government, in the new policy, has decided to offer large chunks of land on long-term leases at nominal rates. This will help industries begin production quicker,” an official said.

The state government is also expected to continue a number of benefits offered in the current industrial policy.

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Union Power Minister Shri R.K. Singh holds deliberations with Industry Associations and Power and Renewable Energy (RE) manufacturers Shri R.K. Singh, Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (IC) interacted through video conferencing with developers of generation and transmission projects in Power and Renewable Energy sector. The Union Power Minister emphasized the importance of the movement for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in order to promote manufacturing of goods and services in India and to create jobs.

he Hon’ble Minister pointed out that from the data on item-wise quantum of imports in power sector given by DGCI (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence), Department of Commerce it is seen that many equipment like transmission line towers, conductors, industrial electronics, capacitors, transformers, cables and insulators and fittings etc. in respect of which domestic manufacturing capacity exists, are still being imported. It was emphasised that for promoting Make in India and reducing import dependency, it is essential that developers in the Transmission, Thermal, Hydro, Distribution, Renewables need to join the national campaign of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and wholeheartedly adopt the ‘Make in India’ policy of Government of India. Hon’ble Minister pointed out that Power is a sensitive and strategically important sector, as all our communications, manufacturing, data management and all essential services depend on power supply and any malware may bring down the system. Therefore, ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ has a much higher level of significance for Power sector. Accordingly, he urged all the Developers to take the following pledge:Not to import any equipment/materials/goods in respect of which there is sufficient domestic capacity. In respect of goods and services wherein domestic capacity is not available and that import is inevitable then it should be allowed only for a fixed timeframe of 2-3 years during which indigenous manufacturing of these items would be developed by an enabling policy/tax incentives/ start-ups/vendor development/R&D support so that in the next 2-3 years all these items get domestically manufactured. Till such time goods so imported shall be tested in Indian laboratories for adhering to Indian standards and also to check the presence of malware. In respect of equipments/items required to be imported, the import of such equipments/items from prior reference countries shall be done only after obtaining prior approval of Ministry of Power/Ministry of MNRE. The Union Minister emphasized that Power is critical infrastructure for development of our country. Everything, including, communication, data services, health services, logistics, defence manufacturing etc. depends on power sector. Therefore, there is a need to reduce dependency on import in the power sector in order to protect safety and security of our country.

www.EQMagPro.com

The Union Minister, MNRE, further informed the meeting of the Ministry’s proposal to impose Basic Custom Duty (BCD) beginning August, 2020 on solar modules, solar cells and solar inverters. He said that a clear trajectory of BCD would be declared so that there is no uncertainty about government policy. Further, the approved list of models and manufacturers in respect of Renewable Energy will be made effective from October 1, 2020 as declared earlier. This will ensure that all solar power projects which are bid out as per the standard bidding guidelines will be required to procure solar cells and solar modules and other equipment from manufacturers figuring in the approved list. In addition, financing from Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will be structured in such a manner that lower rates of interest will be charged on the developers who will use domestically manufactured equipments. He also mentioned recent constitution of an FDI Cell and a Project Development Cell in the Ministries of Power & NRE. The FDI Cell will vet proposals for investment from countries that shares borders with India. The Project Development Cell will hand-hold investible projects so that the process of investment is accelerated. He further informed the meeting that the practice of issuing concessional custom certificates for certain import items in the RE sector will be discontinued from a date that will be specified separately. During the interaction with the Union Minister, the developers made important suggestions to strengthen domestic manufacturing of power sector equipments in India in the entire value chain, which, inter-alia, include the need for policy certainty, suitable regime for facilitating import of capital goods required for manufacturing of power equipments and the need for availability of finance and power to the manufacturers at competitive rates. They also emphasized the need for clarity on the new and old investments, encouraging the R&D efforts and maintaining the sanctity of contracts. Some of the developers also emphasized that import of critical equipment required for maintenance and overhaul of the existing projects needs to be allowed till such a time the domestic manufacturing capacity for the same is put in place. The developers from Generation and Transmission side, including developers in the renewable energy sector and also Industry Associations like CII, FICCI, PHD Chamber, Solar and Wind manufacturers echoed with enthusiasm their pledge to contribute to the domestic manufacturing by unanimously and wholeheartedly supporting the idea of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ to reduce the dependency on imports and agreed to abide by the pledge suggested by the Union Minister. The Hon’ble Minister assured the industry participants that suggestions made by them in respect of existing projects, availability of easy credit, etc. will be carefully examined. He directed Secretary, Power & Secretary, MNRE, to look into the concerns of the industry participants.

JUNE- 2020

india

AP govt renegotiates IREP contract with Greenko Group; to get additional revenue of Rs 3,495 cr The Andhra Pradesh government said it would get an additional revenue of Rs 3,495 crore from the proposed Integrated Renewable Energy Project (IREP) after it renegotiated the contract terms with the implementing firm Greenko Group. As part of the IREP, the Hyderabad headquartered Greenko Group is currently setting up a 550 megawatt (MW) wind power project, 1,000 MW of solar energy project and 1,680 MW of reverse pumping project in the state. “This significant financial gain is achieved owing to the efforts of the present government which has renegotiated the project terms and compensation payable by the Greenko group which is currently setting up this project in Andhra Pradesh,” an official statement said.

s a result, the state stands to receive an additional revenue of Rs 3,495 crore from the proposed project. “It is purely additional to the already agreed proceedings of the erstwhile government,” it said. As per the renegotiations, the state government said it has doubled the land prices to Rs 5 lakh per acre from the existing Rs 2.5 lakh the rate which was fixed by the erstwhile TDP government.This decision will alone fetch the state government about Rs 119.16 crore which is equivalent to the one-time compensation fixed by the previous TDP government, it said, and added the government will allot 4,766.28 acres of land to Greenko group for setting the proposed project. In addition to this, the government has also levied a ‘Green Energy Development Charge/Cess’ of Rs 1,00,000 per annum on each megawatt of power being produced by the group in all the three formats wind, solar and reverse pumping project. While this charge/cess will be applicable for the first 25 years, Greenko group has to shell out Rs 2,50,000 per megawatt per annum thereafter until the operating life of the respective projects. This itself would provide Rs 32.30 Crore per annum to the state’s exchequer, it said. The government has also decided to alter the compensation terms which will immensely benefit the state and its economy. It may be recalled that the previous TDP government had agreed to receive a one-time compensation of Rs 119 crore from the Greenko Group.

Owing to the efforts of the present government, the compensation to the state’s exchequer has increased significantly as we have achieved a recurring annual benefit of 27 per cent over the one time compensation fixed by the previous government, said A Jeya Kallam, Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister.

JUNE- 2020

He said the proposed project would reduce the intermittency associated with renewable energy generation. The success of this project would promote renewable energy generation in a big way in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The government said that it is imperative to promote renewable energy generation projects while discouraging the traditional thermal power generation plants in view of the environmental concerns and also for sustainable development. However, due to the intermittent nature of renewable power that would not be entirely possible unless a feasible storage solution is available, it said. The proposed reverse pumping project by Greenko would reduce this dependency to some extent. And this project is developed on the lines of a hydroelectric project and would have a very long life of operations. Globally there are some projects which have surpassed 100 years of operations, it added.

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Power Minister Bats For Basic Customs Duty On Imported Solar Panels Union Power Minister RK Singh has urged the finance ministry to impose basic customs duty on solar equipment in a phased manner to boost domestic manufacturing. Singh wrote a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking imposition of basic customs duty on imported solar cells and panels. BloombergQuint has reviewed a copy of the letter.

ndia is a signatory to the World Trade Organisation’s Information Technology Agreement signed in 1996 and solar photovoltaic cells and modules are classified under Customs Tariff Head 8541 and exempt from basic customs duty. The power minister, in his letter, sought a separate classification for solar panels. This comes over three months after domestic solar equipment makers requested for a safeguard duty on solar cell imports from countries like Thailand and Vietnam. To protect local producers, the government had imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports of Chinese and Malaysian solar cells and modules for the first year starting July 30, 2018, and 20 percent and 15 percent for the two subsequent six-month periods, respectively. The safeguard duty will expire in July 2020. Still India’s solar equipment imports have not come down despite the safeguard duty. “For the first seven months of 2019, 77 percent of the solar cells and modules imported into India have come from China,” Rohit Gadre, analyst at BloombergNEF, told BloombergQuint in an e-mailed response.

Basic Customs Duty Proposed By Power Minister Nil basic customs duty on imported solar cells and panels from current date till March 31, 2021. 10 percent basic customs duty on imported solar panels and nil basic customs duty on imported solar cells from April 1, 2021 till Dec. 31, 2021. 20 percent and 15 percent basic customs duty on imported solar panels and cells respectively from Jan. 1, 2022

Singh, however, said there should be no duty on wafers, silver paste, glass, aluminum frames, and other raw materials used for manufacturing of solar cells and panels till Dec. 31, 2023. Singh said solar PV cells and modules under Customs Tariff Head 8541 should be separated into two custom tariff heads—solar PV cells and solar PV panels. “This will help to provide differential import duties and differential duty trajectory for both solar cells and panels.” Higher Power Tariffs The proposal, if implemented, will increase total project cost of solar power developers by almost 20 percent which will further increase tariff to Rs 2.9 per unit, Shashi Shekhar, vice chairman at Acme Solar, told BloombergQuint over the phone, adding that distribution companies won’t buy at higher tariffs. “This is not the way to increase domestic manufacturing capacity,” he said. “The way to make domestic manufacturing competitive is increasing domestic production of glass manufacturing, wafers, raw materials used for solar cells and panels. This should be done with technology upgradation.” According to Indian Solar Manufacturers Association, the current installed capacity is 9 gigawatt for solar modules and 3.3 GW for solar cells.

Kolkata: Global report shows city’s e-bus success The International Energy Association’s (IEA) flagship report – Global Electric Vehicle Outlook (GEVO) 2020 — was released at Paris. The report is based on the study of deployment of e-buses in Kolkata that shares the spot with the three cities of Shenzhen, China; Helsinki, Finland and Santiago, Chile.

he GEVO-2020 has showcased Kolkata — the only Indian city covered by the report — as a role model in e-bus operation. The head of energy efficiency division, IEA, Brian Motherway, said the city is an inspiration for other cities across the world. Transport minister Suvendu Aadhikari said, “With the motivation and inspiration from the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, we have taken up several measures to introduce electric mobility in the state.” The International Energy Agency published a case study on the impact of increasing e-buses in Kolkata. The WBTC introduced 80 domestically manufactured e-buses to reduce pollution while 150 more will be introduced in the mid-term.

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

india

CERC Announces New Forbearance & Floor Price for REC Framework, 2020

The Honorable CERC published the final order on revised price bands for RECs which will be valid from July 1, 2020 onwards and shall remain in force till June 30, 2021 or until further orders of the Commission. The new floor and forbearance prices are given below:

his represents a drastic reduction of 100% for both Solar and Non Solar RECs from the existing floor prices. CERC has directed its staff to review the REC mechanism in the light of the prevailing market developments including the need for floor and forbearance price for REC mechanism and vintage or technology multiplier. The new price will be applicable to Non Solar RECs issued after 1st April 2017. Non Solar RECs issued prior to 1st April 2017, the trading shall take place in accordance with Commission’s letter dated 28.05.2018 and shall be subject to the final decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 4801/2018. No public hearing was held before this order was released. The expected loss to be approximately Rs 1,600 Crores per Annum

Brief Analysis: The reduction in floor prices is a drastic one. Solar floor prices have reduced from Rs 1,000 to Rs 0 (-100%), and non-solar RECs prices have reduced from from Rs 1,000 to Rs 0 (-100%). Most of the suggestions given by various stakeholders were rejected by the commission to finalise the Draft Floor and forbearance prices without conducting a public hearing which holds high importance to the RE Generators who are already suffering heavy financial losses due to previous price revision in 2017 and have become NPAs or will become after this price revision. However, a positive take away from the order is CERC has directed its staff to review of REC mechanism in the light of the prevailing market developments including the need for floor and forbearance price for REC mechanism and vintage or technology multiplier

JUNE- 2020

Immediate impact on the market:

Overall, existing RECs projects will take a loss of approximately Rs 1,600 crore* per annum due to reduction in the value of existing REC inventory (this includes previous reductions in 2017 and No Vintage multipliers were issued). With such a significant loss, it is likely that several projects will become NPAs. Reduced trading in June 24th trade session – With the prospect of significant saving by trading in July, many obligated entities are likely to postpone trading to the next month. Many Obligated entities have been deferring the Purchase of RECs due to the Draft Floor & Forbearance Price issued earlier.

Long-term impact on the market: Potential (marginal) higher demand going forward – RECs prices have come down to such an extent that most captive and open access based consumers are likely to find buying RECs cheaper way of meeting RPO than buying green power. This may also apply in the case of several DISCOM’s, particularly in states that are power surplus. These low prices may therefore result in an increase in demand for RECs but may have not have a significant impact due to pegging/Capping of RPO on Captive Plants to their Date of Commissioning. However, it must be kept in mind that R EC price reduction is always beneficial to the Obligated entities which are non-compliant as they will have an option to purchase RECs and fulfill their RPO compliance at lower prices whereas Obligated Entities who have been regularly meeting their RPO compliance will have incurred significantly higher cost. Therefore, a regularly reducing floor price actually incentivises postponing purchase of RECs, rather than meeting RPO. Without strict enforcement and any risk of penalty, Obligated entities still have no incentive to comply. We believe that RECs demand will increase, but only to a very limited extent, as most obligated entities still don’t face any reason to comply with RPO at all and capping of RPO on Captive Plants.

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Maharashtra: Decision of relief in power bill payment welcomed

The industrialists in Kolhapur have welcomed the state government’s decision on relaxation in payment of power bills. As per the government’s decision, industries can now pay the existing power bills in June. Welcoming the decision, Sanjay Shete, chairman of Kolhapur Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) said, “We welcome the decision of government as it will give some respite to financially reeling industries from payment of power bills and power cuts over the delay in payment of bills.”

e had, however, expected the government to take some drastic decisions regarding waiving off the fixed power charges for three months. When we enquired with government officials about the decision regarding our demands, we were told that the government had postponed the issue and will takeit up for discussion sometime later. The industries from Kolhapur, including the Foundry industries, were desperate over the demand and have decided not to start operations till government makes a decision regarding the cancellation of fixed power tariff,” he said.

An industrialist from Kagal MIDC welcomed the move. He said that the industrialists are quite satisfied with the government’s decision as most of them face fund shortage during lockdown. “It will take more than one month to complete the cycle of production and sell the material in the market and generate funds. By this time we need financial assistance to continue production and some relaxation in the form of delay in paying power bills will help us to function efficiently,” he said.

Pradeep Yadav appointed CMD of Tangedco

The Tamil Nadu government shunted out additional chief secretary Vikram Kapur as chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Tangedco and Tantransco, and handed over the responsibilities to principal secretary Pradeep Yadav, managing director, Chennai Metro Rail, as full additional charge.

W www.EQMagPro.com

hile Vikram Kapur will now head tourism, culture and religious endowments department, his transfer from TNEB comes amidst a raging controversy and public outcry over alleged excess billing over calculating electricity consumption during the lockdown period. Both Kapur as well as state electricity minister P Thangamani had denied that Tangedco indulged in excess billing. “Yadav would hold the full additional charge until further orders,” said chief secretary K Shanmugam in an order. Yadav takes charge of the state power utility at a time when its total debt has touched almost Rs 1 lakh crore. In the shuffle, home secretary S K Prabakar will hold full additional charge of the post of principal secretary of energy department in place of A Karthik, who was holding the responsibility so far.

Sandeep Saxena, who was handling tourism, culture and religious endowments, has been shifted to handle environment and forests department in place of Shambu Kallolikar, who has been transferred and posted as principal secretary of handlooms, handicrafts, textile and Khadi department. Kallolikar replaces Pradeep Yadav, who was also holding this portfolio as additional charge so far. Home secretary S K Prabakar is placed in full additional charge of the post of principal secretary of energy department in place of A Karthik, who was holding the posting, further said the order.

JUNE- 2020

india

Renewable energy investors to become ‘picky’ post-COVID, says industry The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the wheels of the Indian economy to a screeching halt and as a result the post-crisis financing of new renewable energy (RE) projects would be a challenge. According to industry players, investors across both debt and equity will become highly selective while financing projects due to uncertainty in the environment. They said that arranging capital, especially the debt capital, would be a challenge in the short-term post-COVID for RE projects. credit flow and enabling normal functioning of the financial markets. The net liquidity injected by the RBI over the past two months has largely been in negative territory. As of May 13, this stood at Rs 5.47 lakh crore.

Despite the government interventions and support in the form of repayment moratorium, there remains a severe funding and liquidity crunch in India, the renewables sector under construction projects may see delayed financial closures which is likely to worsen in case the COVID-19 crisis deepens further, said Sunil Jain, chief executive officer (CEO), Hero Future Energies (HFE). He added that liquidity remains a constraint and the interest rates over the last one year are not moving fast enough as compared to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reductions. This status quo exacerbated by the dire financial condition of discoms is leading to delays in their payments, which is likely to have a significant impact on immediate working capital requirements.

he bad loans of public sector banks have continued to remain high. Currently, banks are risk averse, unwilling to lend and are accumulating further bad loans, especially, when the ability to repay in these times for many businesses could be suspected. According to Jain, many developers may be unable to meet their statutory obligations in near future.

COVID-19 has adversely impacted the finances of the distribution companies and unless we see some structural reforms in the electricity sector, the existing stress in the distribution company finance may only deteriorate, said Sanjeev Aggarwal, founder and managing director of Amplus Solar, one of India’s largest rooftop solar power producers. He added that there would be too many projects chasing the few lenders who are active in this sector. And while banks have sufficient liquidity, NBFCs, which are the important lenders to this sector, are still struggling with their liquidity and following the ‘go slow’ approach. “However, projects backed by strong sponsors and a good credit profile would be able to raise debt at reasonable cost,” said Aggarwal. Last month, the RBI had drastically cut rates over the last month in an effort to maintain adequate liquidity in the system facilitating and incentivising banks to ensure better

JUNE- 2020

According to Jignasa Jani Visaria, head – renewable capital, Fourth Partner Energy, during and post-COVID-19, at least for the next 12-18 months, investors across both debt and equity will be very picky in what they finance. “Capital will be made available only to ‘good’ projects within the renewables sector – developer strength and off-taker credit will become very crucial. I expect the cost of debt to not be very high,” said Visaria. She added that the positive aspect is that for the top developers and projects, it would probably be marginally lower than pre-COVID era as there is liquidity with banks, as well as savings moving from equity markets to the debt market. According to a study by the think-tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water’s Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF), India needs a two-pronged approach to ensure that capital continues to fund the energy transition post-COVID-19. One, the sanctity of renewables’ ‘mustrun’ status needed to be rigorously upheld and evidence of its enforcement to be effectively communicated. This is because if evidence mounted of RE being increasingly curtailed, the credit taps for new capacity were expected to run dry very quickly. Two, the study said that recycling of lenders’ RE loan books should be facilitated, allowing them to extend credit without inordinately increasing power sector exposure. According to HFE’s Sunil Jain, in order to maintain the trajectory of future deployments independent power producers should be financially supported by offering additional credit facilities through ad-hoc facilities to meet their short-term working capital requirements. He also suggested credit enhancement facilities by IREDA or PSBs to enable RE firms to use liquidity infusion by RBI in the form of bond or non-convertible debentures issuances. And a long-term take-out financing for existing projects. On the state-level, Amplus Solar’s Aggarwal said that the governments should accelerate the regulatory processes and the release of guidelines related to solar policies. Other industry players suggested expediting the release of SECI grants, setting up of a single-window clearance and monitoring authority, quicker approvals to give comfort to lenders, announcement of policies for longer duration, and promotion of rooftop projects.

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Adani Says Enough Room to Dilute 10-15% Stake in Adani Green Energy After French energy major Total SA, more foreign investors have shown interest in partnering Adani group in its renewable energy business, its chairman Gautam Adani said. “We have headroom for diluting 10-15 per cent stake in Adani Green Energy,” he said on a call to announce Adani Green Energy winning the world’s largest solar order to build 8 GW of photovoltaic (PV) power plant along with a domestic solar panel manufacturing unit at an investment of Rs 45,000 crore.

romoters holds 75 per cent of Adani Green Energy and can dilute 10-15 per cent, he said. Foreign investors are interested in investing in renewable energy in India with local partners, he said. “Couple of more partners are also talking to us (for Adani Green Energy),” he said without giving details. Adani Green, which is the clean energy arm of the conglomerate, aims to scale up capacity to 25 GW by 2025. With the latest contract, its portfolio has grown to 15 GW and the rm hopes to win contracts for another 10 GW this year, he said. The Adani group has committed to invest over 70 per cent of its budgeted capex into clean energy

and energy-efcient systems so as to become the largest solar player in the world by 2025 and the largest renewable player in the world by 2030. Adani said the Rs 45,000 crore or USD 6 billion investment in the 8 GW solar projects and 2 GW of solar panel manufacturing units will be funded through a combination of debt and equity.

He expressed condence of procuring debt for the project over the next ve years. “Adani Green Energy is the only renewable company outside of OECD countries which enjoys credit rating equal to the sovereign,” he said adding the company was well-equipped to fund the projects. Total had previously bought a 37.5 per cent stake in the group’s other company, Adani Gas Ltd. The two companies plan to invest in infrastructure and assets worth over USD 1 billion, which span LNG infrastructure and marketing and fuel retail business.

Discoms, open access consumers can save Rs 550 cr due to RTM trading: Icra

Discoms and open access consumers are likely to save around Rs 550 crore even if there is a 50 per cent transition in procurement of power to the new real time market (RTM) trading from deviation settlement mechanism in the near to medium term, Icra said. According to the ratings agency, the real time market for trading power, which was launched on June 1, is expected to lead to an efficient price discovery in the power trading market.

The introduction of RTM trading would enable efficient price discovery for electricity and support grid balancing activities. This is especially significant in the context of rising share of renewable energy in electricity generation in India, Icra Group Head & Senior Vice President - Corporate ratings,Sabyasachi Majumdar said.

www.EQMagPro.com

e further said that considering a 50 paise per unit saving under RTM trading against deviation settlement mechanism (DSM), and assuming a 50 per cent transition in procurement from DSM to RTM in the near to medium term, the annual savings for discoms and open access consumers is estimated to be Rs 550 crore. "Further, a robust communication and software systems remain crucial for implementation of real time market," he added. With strong policy support and improved tariff competitiveness of wind and solar power, the share of renewable energy in the all India electricity generation has increased to 10 per cent in FY2020 from 5.6 per cent in FY2016.

JUNE- 2020

india

Centre's draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 'inhuman', aimed at destroying federal structure: Mamata Banerjee said the move by the Centre to amend the Electricity Act, 2003 was "completely unjustified" amid the socio-economic crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.

est Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed outrage over the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, describing it as "inhuman" and an attempt by the Centre to "destroy" the country's federal structure. In a strongly-worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee said the move by the Centre to amend the Electricity Act, 2003 was "completely unjustified" amid the socio-economic crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I feel constrained to inform that the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 has been drafted without any consultation with the states, despite the fact that 'electricity' as a subject is on the Concurrent List. This is a clear and blatant violation of the constitutional provisions, the spirit of cooperative federalism and our democratic values. "The government of India should have held consultations with the states before the bill entered the legislative process," Banerjee said in the letter sent to the prime minister .

She also expressed concern over the proposed bill having an adverse impact on consumers in terms of increased electricity tariff. "At present in every matter, attempts are being made to take away the powers of the state governments. This proposed bill is yet another attempt of the centre to destroy the federal structure as enshrined in our Constitution. "With regard to the proposed amendments, the bill is very much anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-unorganised sector, anti-consumer and more or less inhuman to the common people living in semi-urban and rural areas...as it proposes to completely end subsidies and cross-subsidies extended to consumers," Banerjee said. The chief minister said comments on the bill have been sought by the central government in a very hurried manner, "unfairly restricting" the scope of pre-legislative scrutiny on the part of the states and other stakeholders. She also took exception over the proposal that the electricity tariff is to be determined by a government-appointed commission, following the mandate of a centrally-determined tariff policy, which may be "tweaked to the whims and fancies" of the Centre. "This tariff determination by a central government-appointed authority will divest the state of its powers to the detriment of people's interests, and will adversely affect the ability of the state to discharge the onerous responsibility of improving the lives of its common people," Banerjee said in the letter. The Trinamool Congress chief opposed plans of setting up the Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority (ECEA) to adjudicate on matters relating to performance obligations under electricity contracts, when other regulatory bodies already exist. "The proposed creation of the ECEA clearly indicates the ulterior motive of the central government to snatch away full powers of the states and demolish its constitutional obligations," the chief minister said.

Introduction of mandatory BIS Certification on Solar PV modules, Inverters, Storage battery The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on May 28, 2019, has made BIS Certification mandatory on Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) modules, Inverters, Storage battery. However, Office Memorandum was issued on the above subject and subsequent notifications issued in relation thereto, and implications of the order on lead acid batteries imported for various applications including for SPV applications.

H 22Â

JUNE- 2020

owever, it is clarified that Secondary cells and Batteries of lead acid and nickel based chemistry are covered under â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Storage battery (IS 16270)â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of SPV Systems, Devices and components Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2017, which are used in Solar Power Projects utilizing Solar PV Systems. Import of such products may be allowed subject to an undertaking from the vendor or supplier that the products will be utilized for SPV power projects in the country and the products will be regulated as per the MNRE Quality Control Order.

For applications other than solar, the concerned agency importing such batteries may produce the relevant documents to customs for the use of batteries including orders for supply in the country and submit an affidavit that the imported batteries are not to be used in solar applications.

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Free solar installation training for the 10th pass by NISE and TUV The solar energy market in India is growing fast. There are various areas where it generates employments. At the core level of manufacturing the factory itself provides training. To install solar modules and total power systems, training is required for technicians to properly install modules and make them last longer. This type of training can be given to people who are less educated.

he leading test service provider, TUV Rheinland is partnering with National Institute of solar energy (NISE) to conduct a training program for solar installation called ‘Suryamitra’. Suryamitra will provide industry ready skill to technicians for installation, commissioning and operational-maintenance of solar modules and complete solar systems.

We are extremely pleased that NISE has chosen TUV Rheinland as one of the 3 agencies in India to conduct the ‘Suryamitras’ training program, said Thomas Fuhrmann, Managing Director, TUV Rheinland India. “This is a result of our rich expertise and experience in operating such vocational training centers across India. We own more than 80 TUV Rheinland NIFE academy centers and run Cairn Centre of Excellence (CCOE) in partnership with Cairn India which has been awarded as the best Centre of vocational training in Rajasthan.” “TUV Rheinland India has partnered with several Govt. agencies to offer best of skill education in India. Some of the major Government agencies with whom we have partnered include MNRE, Skill council for green jobs, Rajasthan Skills and Livelihood Development Corporation, Dept. of tribal area development etc. The partnership on the ‘Suryamitras’ program with NISE is yet another initiative by us to further our commitment to ‘Skilling India’, the dream project of the Honorable Prime Minister of India for creating job opportunities for the unemployed youth in various sectors throughout the country.” added Thomas Fuhrmann.

This will train the people who are just high school graduates and ITI diploma holders as field technicians to execute National Solar Mission (NSM) programs across the country. The academy and life scale division of TUV Rheinland is responsible for setting up this Suryamitra centers across India and they have already initiated to establish 35 centers in the current year and train around 5000 students. The total duration of the ‘Suryamitras’ program is 600 hours which is around 3 months. It is a free residential program where the trainer will provide boarding and lodging. Any 10 plus candidates can apply for this training program including ITI qualified technicians with a minimum age of 18 years. During the selection of the training special emphasis is given to students coming from rural background, unemployed youth, women, and SC / ST candidates. At the end of the training, the trainees are able to operate and maintain a solar setup, plan and install solar photovoltaic system, testing and commissioning of solar plant and also understand the basics of electricity. They are also trained into safety part of the solar system.

Goa govt plans open access policy in solar power World Trade Center (WTC) Goa organised a webinar titled ‘Solar Power – Need of the Hour’, recently with the objective of taking a holistic view of the policy, incentives and technical aspects of solar power. State Power Minister, Nilesh Cabral referred to reverse bidding formula by saying that the rates of Rs 2.50 to 3 per unit, was very high and will adversely affect the profitability of the projects. This has prompted the Government of Goa to encourage the setting up of solar roof tops.

abral added that he aims to provide subsidy of up to 50% or small prosumers in residential sector. “The Goa government is ready to welcome open access policy provided the service providers agree to give power back to the grid between 6 pm and 11 pm,” said Cabral. In fact this was a major policy component that is being hotly debated and is hindering the declaration of the solar policy for Goa.

www.EQMagPro.com

Sanjeev Joglekar, Member Secretary, Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) spoke on the Goa state solar policy and threw light on various aspects of the policy. He spoke on the different categories for generation solar power namely small prosumer and large prosumer and highlighted the role of GEDA, which he said was to announce the different schemes, look into allotment of solar power capacities, aid in the facilitation and development of solar power plants and look into identifying of land and its allotment for setting up of solar power plants. “GEDA will play a huge role in the development of solar power and will support in capacity building and generating awareness on the aspect of solar power,” added Joglekar. EQ

JUNE- 2020

india

India’s electricity output falls steeply in first half of June India’s electricity generation during the first half of June fell at a slightly faster rate than in May, provisional government data showed, driven by lower consumption in western states hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak.

ower generation fell 14.5 per cent in the first 15 days of June, a Reuters analysis of daily load despatch data from federal grid operator POSOCO showed, compared with a 14.3 per cent fall in May. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been citing electricity consumption to show there are “greenshoots” in the Indian economy. While power use has picked up from previous months when India was under a strict lockdown, electricity demand – which is impacted by seasonal changes – has been lower when compared with the same periods from the previous year. Electricity use by the industrial western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat – the top electricity consuming states in the country – fell over 24 per cent each, compared with declines of 13.8 per cent and 18.9 per cent in May. Consumption in Delhi fell nearly 30 per cent, a steeper fall than the 26.8 per cent decline in May.

Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi – which are among the most industrialised regions in the country – account for nearly threefourths of all deaths in India, according to government data. Industries and offices together account for over half of India’s annual power consumption. However, the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India’s auto manufacturing hub, registered a 8.5 per cent fall in power use, compared with a 15.3 per cent decline in May. Electricity use in the state is slated to fall in the coming days as it has imposed a strict lockdown in and around its capital city of Chennai until the end of June. Power generation from coal – India’s primary source of electricity – continued to fall in June. Coal’s contribution to overall electricity generation in May fell to 61.9 per cent, compared with 64.2 per cent.

India’s hydro power supply grew at coal’s expense – rising 14.4 per cent, compared with 3.6 per cent growth in May. Solar-powered electricity output growth slowed to 2.3 per cent, while gas-fired power output was over 15 per cent, the data showed. Wind-powered electricity production fell 10.2 per cent.

India’s total energy subsidies in FY14FY19 period In FY 2014, fossil fuel subsidies have fallen by more than half, largely driven by falling world oil prices and policy reforms to diesel and kerosene pricing, while subsidies for RE and EVs have increased over three and a half times, largely due to policy efforts to meet capacity targets.

E 24

V subsidies, in particular, have increased over 440 times from a very low baseline in FY 2014. Subsidies for fossil fuels are still over seven times larger than subsidies for alternative energy. Here is a snapshot:

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

india

Chandigarh private firms to tap solar energy on your rooftop Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (Crest) will now install solar plants under Renewable Energy Service Company Model (RESCO) model that UT administrator VP Singh Badnore has approved.

Debendra Dalai, director, Crest, said they will soon float a tender and rope in companies under the model, where they will install solar plants on private properties. In return, the building owner will be charged a much lesser tariff (Rs 3.44 per unit) for the solarproduced electricity in the bills as compared to normal electricity tariffs (Rs 2.75 to Rs 5.20 per unit). The plant will be installed for 15 years (the details of exact years will be finalised after tender process), and after that the house owner will be given the power plant, he added.

The building owner and private company will sign an agreement. The plant will be installed under net metering mode, whereby a solar power system is connected to the electrical connection of a building owner and solar energy exported to the grid is adjusted in terms of units imported from the electricity department during a billing cycle. Dalai said the building owner will have to pay Rs 3.44 per unit fixed tariff for 15 years, whereas in the current scenario there is a power tariff hike every year. Besides, a solar plant has a life of around 25 years, which means, after 15 years for the next 10 years, the building owner will not pay even a single penny for power consumption, he added.

Clarity on customs duty impact for already bid out projects required: ICRA As the 15 per cent safeguard duty on imports of solar cells and modules import is set to cease in July 2020, industry analysts seek clarity for a passthrough of customs duty impact for projects already bid out last year, which are likely to be executed after July. They added that there have been significant delays in implementation of such ‘change in law’ pass-through for the affected IPPs in the past.

According to Girishkumar Kadam, sector head and vice-president, ICRA, a clarity on long-term policy on customs duty along with other concessions after July this year is also awaited. “The long-term policy clarity on customs duty trajectory post July 2020 as well as other concessions is now awaited to promote domestic manufacturing till scale and cost competitiveness improves for domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” added Kadam. ICRA said that the government has recently increased its policy focus on domestic manufacturing in a move to support domestic module manufacturers.

Sabyasachi Majumdar, group head and senior vice-president, ICRA said, “Business outlook for domestic solar OEMs remains strong over the medium term, given the greater thrust towards encouragement of domestic manufacturing. This is evident from the schemes such as the 12 GW CPSU scheme, KUSUM scheme, and the domestic manufacturing linked orders.” He added that this is likely to result in a favourable order pipeline of about 35-40 GW over the next three to five year period for domestic solar players. However, timely implementation of the notified schemes through time-bound award of projects and availability of power supply agreements with the ultimate off-takers remains critical. “Further, the lack of scale and backward integration in the solar module manufacturing process for a majority of module manufacturers are likely to pose constraints,” Majumdar said.

www.EQMagPro.com

he government has formulated various schemes in the past one year such as the Central Public Sector Undertaking Scheme which envisages installation of 12 GW solar power capacities by FY23 with a defined sourcing requirement from domestic module manufacturers. Further, the railways ministry has a plan to meet 10-15 per cent of its energy requirements through solar power over the medium term by setting up about 3 GW of projects on barren land available alongside the railway tracks as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. India’s solar sector has been import dependent with respect to procurement of cells, modules and other equipment given the cost competitiveness of imports as compared to domestically manufactured products.

JUNE- 2020

featured

NHPC contributes rs. 1 crore to International solar alliance corpus fund NHPC, India’s hydropower major, which has diversified its portfolio to include Solar Power business has contributed an amount of Rupees One Crore to International Solar Alliance-Corpus Fund as part of first installment.

N 26

JUNE- 2020

HPC is eyeing on becoming Corporate Member of the ISA to avail the benefits of its membership. NHPC’s membership will open up collaborative opportunities with World Bank, ADB, AIIB, EIB, EBRD, AfDB, NDB and GCF (ISA’s financial partners) as syndicate/ consortium to fund infrastructure Projects. NHPC will also have access to low cost fund from solar bonds to be raised by ISA knowledge partners such as London Stock Exchange among others, who are ISA’s sub-sovereign partners. The membership will give NHPC new financing opportunities in emerging markets of ISA Member Countries and ISA will facilitate its entry into the markets in Member Countries. Becoming a Corporate Member of the ISA, would pave way for NHPC to mark its presence in other countries in near future. NHPC will also be joining the “Annual Conclave of ISA Corporate Partners” and get an opportunity to shape the ISA policies, programs, activities and functions that could further or supplement or align with its own policies.

The bank advice of contribution was presented to Shri Upendra Tripathy, IAS, Director General, International Solar Alliance by Shri R.K. Jaiswal, Executive Director (Renewable Energy), NHPC on 10th June 2020 at New Delhi. Shri Himangshu Saha, General Manager (Renewable Energy), NHPC and Shri K.S. Popli, Senior Consultant, ISA were also present on the occasion. NHPC has already ventured in Renewable Energy Sector with commissioned capacity of 100 MW and is all set to develop new renewable energy projects to the tune of 7500 MW in coming two to three years. NHPC recently conducted successful e-auction for 2000 MW of Solar Projects. Out of this, NHPC has issued Letter of Awards (LOA) to Solar Power Developers for interstate transmission system (ISTS) grid connected photovoltaic projects aggregating to 1600 MW installed capacity. NHPC is also in advance talks with the State Govts and UTs like Telangana, Odisha, Rajasthan and Leh to take our solar journey to a bigger canvas for more than 4000 MW of Solar power. NHPC is accordingly exploring the viability of developing various RE Projects in different commercially viable models such as Hydropower Projects blended with Solar Power, Pumped Storage Projects in Remote Areas with Solar Power in Pumping Mode and Floating Solar Project. NHPC has planned to add 10000 MW Solar Power under the various schemes of MNRE in addition to hydro capacity addition of 5000 MW by 2025.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Exclusive | Brookfield buys Emami Group’s solar business; deal part of conglomerate’s non-core asset sale strategy When contacted, Emami Group confirmed the transaction. Emami Power is not linked directly to the listed flagship firm Emami Ltd and is a unit belonging to the promoter group. Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management has sealed a deal to buy out Emami Power, the solar power business of Kolkata-based diversified conglomerate Emami Group.

As part of our divestment plan of non-core business assets, we are happy that we could conclude the deal with Brookfield Asset Management to sell our solar power business – Emami Power, said Harsha V Agarwal, director, Emami Group.

mami Power is not linked directly to the listed flagship firm Emami Ltd and is a unit belonging to the promoter group. “The Emami group is looking to speedily pare its debt burden at the group level and become debt free. This transaction is a part of their ongoing non-core asset monetisation exercise,” said a person familiar with the transaction. “Brookfield is very bullish on the solar power segment and is looking to build a platform or portfolio of solar and alternate power assets in India. The solar power assets they have acquired from Emami Group are operational and functional,” said a second person with knowledge of the deal. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the deal valuation. Both the persons spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity. Moneycontrol is awaiting an email response from Brookfield Asset Management and will update this article as soon as we hear from the firm. Yes Securities was the financial advisor to the Emami Group for the transaction while law firm Khaitan & Co was the legal advisor, according to company officials. Moneycontrol is awaiting an email response from Khaitan & Co and could not immediately contact Yes Securities. According to the Emami Power website, the company had already set up 11 MWp ( mega watt peak) solar power projects in Karnataka, 10 MWp solar power projects in Gujarat, a 3.3 MWp solar power project in Tamil Nadu and a 22.5 MWp solar power project in Uttarakhand.

www.EQMagPro.com

Debt issues engulfed Emami Group after the promoters pledged their shares in multiple entities, including Emami Ltd, to raise funds to invest into newer businesses like cement, paper and real estate. Currently, the promoter group owns about 52.7 percent stake in Emami Ltd, reduced from 62.74 percent as on March 31, 2019. Of the total promoter holding, 71.58 percent was pledged as on December 31, 2019.

In February 2019, the promoters offloaded 10 percent stake in Emami Ltd for ₹1,600 crore. In June, in a bid to reduce the debt burden again, the promoters sold an additional 10 percent stake in the company for Rs 1,230 crore. The debt then was Rs 3,300 crore, which was brought down to about Rs 2,200 crore. More debt reduction deals were struck later. In February 2020, the Emami Group announced the sale of its cement business to Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd, a Nirma group company, for an enterprise value of Rs 5,500 crore. Moneycontrol was the first to report the Emami Group’s plans to divest their cement assets on June 25, 2019. Rating agency CRISIL has highlighted the impact of pledged promoter stake in a report on Emami Ltd dated March 31, 2020. “CRISIL also notes the increase in pledge of promoter stake over 80 percent due to debt at group level. The increasing pledge of the stake has impacted financial flexibility of the company,” the report said. The report noted that the company management is in the process of liquidating certain business segments to reduce the promoter level debt in the near term to reduce the pledge to below 20 percent. “ The timely reduction of the pledge will remain a key monitorable,” it added. Emami Group, promoted by RS Agarwal and RS Goenka, has diverse business interests, including FMCG, newsprint paper, writing instruments, edible oil and cultivation, biodiesel, hospitals, real estate, retail, cement, and contemporary art.

JUNE- 2020

featured

Norway launches Green Transition package and hydrogen strategy On 29 May 2020, the Norwegian government put forward a “Green transition package” of NOK 3.6 billion. The investment objective is to underpin the green transition and use this as the motor of accelerating out of the COVID-19 impacts on energy and industry.

olutions such as hydrogen, building renovation, batteries, offshore wind, circular economy, green shipping and other forms of green energy are mentioned specifically. Funding will be provided through public and public-private mechanisms whereof the bulk will focus on supporting medium to high TRL activities supporting industrial competitiveness in emerging solutions. Following the announcement a hydrogen strategy was launched. Norway is following suit of many other European countries which are also looking into the hydrogen economy benefits , being a true cross-sectorial enabler and key for reaching net zero GHG emissions by mid century.

Norway’s investment into hydrogen and other green technologies is a good start, but more needs to be done. Urgently, says Nils Røkke, Chairman of the Board of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and Executive Vice President Sustainability SINTEF Energy, one of Europe’s largest independent research organizations. “Pilots and demo activities are highlighted, but we need to scale initiatives to create change. The hydrogen economy is crucial for Europe and Norway to reach ambitious energy and climate goals. We must dare to invest and take a bet on hydrogen now.”

Implementing a hydrogen economy would decarbonize the economy and significantly improve Europe’s ability to reach climate goals. When used, hydrogen only emits water. But for hydrogen to be a low or emission-free energy carrier, it must be produced with no or low emissions, for example by electrolysis using renewable power or from natural gas with CO2 capture, transport and storage (CCS). Hydrogen can also support the phase in of less controlable renewable power and become the preferred option for storing large amounts of energy over longer periods. “Hydrogen has in exciting opportunities in store for Norway, both as an energy and a technology nation. We must seize the opportunity to support the transition towards an emission-free Europe,” says Røkke.

Amazon to launch $2 bln venture capital fund to invest in clean energy: WSJ The new fund will be called “The Climate Pledge Fund”, the report said, adding that it will invest in companies across a number of industries such as transportation, energy generation, battery storage, manufacturing and food and agriculture

mazon.com Inc will launch a $2 billion internal venture capital fund that will focus on technology investments to reduce the impact of climate change, the Wall Street Journal reported. The new fund will be called “The Climate Pledge Fund”, the report said, adding that it will invest in companies across a number of industries such as transportation, energy generation, battery storage, manufacturing and food and agriculture. Amazon did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Cutting emissions is a challenging goal for Amazon, which delivers 10 billion items a year and has a massive transportation and data center footprint. The e-commerce giant, which has faced protests from environmental activists and pressure from its employees to take action on climate change, has also vowed to be net carbon neutral by 2040. In February, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos committed about $10 billion to fund scientists, activists, non-profits and other groups fighting to protect the environment.

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Cyrus Mistry questions Tata Group performance; says group’s loss at Rs 13,000 crore in 2019 Cyrus Mistry, who was unceremoniously removed as the chairman of Tata Sons alleging non-performance, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court said the Tata Group had an adjusted net loss of Rs 13,000 crore in 2019 — the worst losses in three decades.

n his reply to the Tatas’ petition challenging his reinstatement by the NCLAT last December, Mistry also demands that group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata should reimburse all the expenses to Tata Sons since his departure in December 2012 in keeping with best global governance standards. Early January, the Tatas challenged the December 18, 2019, order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in the Supreme Court, which had stayed the order. Then, the apex court on May 29 began hearing on the case and asked all parties concerned to submit their replies within four weeks. The Mistry family firms filed replies in response to Tatas’ affidavits. PTI has seen the copy of the same. Mistry was unceremoniously removed as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, in a boardroom coup offering no reason. But later in select press statements the group had claimed that Mistry was removed primarily for his non-performance and claimed that Tata Sons was in loss under his watch. But, according to Mistry, the loss numbers were arrived at by excluding the huge dividend that the group cash-cow TCS was paying, which was averaging at over 85 per cent annually.

The Tatas had sought to exclude the dividends from TCS to arrive at operating profit in a bid to discredit my performance. Applying the same yardstick, the adjusted profit after tax (excluding profit from TCS) stood at a negative Rs 13,000 crore in 2019 for the Tata Group, which is the worst loss in three decades, Mistry says in his replies to the Supreme Court. He also says Tata Sons had a 282 per cent increase in operating losses in 2019 at Rs 2,100 crore, up from around Rs 550 crore in 2016 and blames it for “the abysmal performance in recent years to legacy issues”. Mistry also questions the belated claim by the Tatas that his inexplicable removal was due to lack of performance, pointing to the unequivocal endorsement of his performance by the nomination & remuneration committee which was duly approved by the board just weeks before his dramatic removal. Emphasising that his removal had nothing to do with his performance, Mistry’s reply highlights that the Tata Group had annually outperformed the sensex by 5 per cent in terms of market capitalisation when he was the chairman. Mistry also says the group companies had logged in 34.6 per cent growth in annual net income in the first three years of his tenure and a 100 per cent rise in the patent filings, all leading to a $5 billion gain in brand value. The plea also seeks full disclosure of the expenses of Ratan Tata’s office as these are related party transactions.

www.EQMagPro.com

“It was hoped that in keeping with the global best practices in corporate governance, Tata would reimburse his expenses over the past five years as was done by Jack Welch, the chairman emeritus of GE, reimbursed all his expenses to the company.” Post-Mistry, the Tata Group’s debt rose by Rs 80,740 crore in just two years compared to Rs 69,877 crore in the previous four years when he was the chairman. The conversion of Tata Sons into a private limited company would also cause the cost of debt to increase, he says, adding the standalone borrowing cost of Tata Sons jumped 92 per cent to Rs 2,776 crore in 2019 from Rs 1,453 crore in 2016. Similarly, employee expenses in the first three years of his chairmanship rose only by Rs 96 crore, which under the new management jumped by Rs 210 crore over a similar timeframe.

He also notes that the company has seen huge value erosion of the investments when Tata was the chairman. In the past three years, Tata Sons invested about Rs 67,000 crore in portfolio companies but these investments have lost Rs 40,000 crore of the invested value. Though most of it was due to telecom ventures, the value of the listed non-telecom investments lost 23 per cent to Rs 16,243 crore, while during the same period the sensex rallied 27 per cent, underperforming the index by 50 per cent. Mistry also says when Tata was the chairman, the group had no proper investment strategy and that no strategy document ever presented to the board during his tenure. “All that one saw was mere a set of ill-conceived global acquisition and bad decisions on choice telecom technology platforms, and other business decisions all led to the largest value destruction in Indian corporate history. “These prejudicial actions led to the dividend yield from Tata Sons falling from around 0.26 per cent in 2005, the first year of the listing of TCS, to a paltry 0.06 per cent in 2019, when dividend yield of sensex companies was around 1.4 per cent,” he says. Seeking to hold the trustees of the dozen-odd Tata Trusts responsible for the mess at the group now, Mistry says he has evidence to prove that some trustees were involved in all major decisions and the same led to other shareholders getting negatively impacted. “Its time the trustees are held accountable.”

JUNE- 2020

featured

Chinese firm to invest $300 million in manufacturing solar equipment, chemicals at Mundra SEZ; signs MoU with Adani In a major move, Adani Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with one of China’s largest private companies that is ready to invest $300 million in setting up manufacturing units at Mundra special economic zone (SEZ).

he memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Adani and East Hope Group proposes to set up manufacturing units in Mundra SEZ in Gujarat to produce solar power generation equipment, chemicals, aluminium and animal feed, a statement by the Indian consulate in Shanghai said. It will also put in place East Hope Group’s engineering and industrial integration chain to recycle and economise the product cost at Mundra SEZ, it said. The MoU was signed between Amit Uplenchar, president of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Meng Changjun, president of East Hope Group (Investment) in the presence of consul general Prakash Gupta. The MoU is proposed to convert into a definitive agreement within a period of 180 days and would cover areas of specific cooperation outlined as per agreement between the two sides, the statement said. An estimated investment of more than $300 million is expected to be made by the East Hope Group in India, as part of the proposed cooperation between the two companies. East Hope, the Chinese counterpart signing the MoU, is a Renminbi 70 billion group, and is one of the largest corporate houses in China, having business interests in aluminium, polysilicon, power and animal feed.

Renewable energy min proposes basic customs duty on solar equipment from Aug: Singh Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said his ministry has proposed to impose basic customs duty (BCD) on solar cells, modules and inverters from August. Singh informed stakeholders about the proposal during a deliberation through video-conferencing with industry associations to discuss ways and means to ensure the success of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and the Make in India initiative “The Union minister further informed the meeting of the ministry’s proposal to impose basic customs duty (BCD) beginning August 2020 on solar modules, solar cells and solar inverters,” the power ministry said in a statement.

he minister, quoted in the statement, said that a clear trajectory of BCD would be declared so that there is no uncertainty about the government policy. He further said the practice of issuing concessional custom certificates for certain import items in the renewable energy (RE) sector will be discontinued from a date that will be specified separately. Currently, there is no BCD on solar equipment. However, a 15 per cent safeguard duty (SGD) is applicable on solar cells that would be zero or nil from July 30, 2020. In July 2018, India imposed SGD on solar cells imports from China and Malaysia for two years to protect domestic players from steep rise in the inbound shipments of the products. The government had imposed a 25 per cent SGD for July 30 2018, to July 29, 2019, which gradually came down to 20 per cent during July 30, 2019, to January 29, 2020, and 15 per cent during January 30, 2020 to July 29, 2020. Further, the minister said the approved list of models and manufacturers in respect of renewable energy will be made effective from October 1, 2020, as declared earlier. 30

JUNE- 2020

This will ensure that all solar power projects that are bid out as per the standard bidding guidelines will be required to procure solar cells and solar modules and other equipment from manufacturers figuring in the approved list. In addition, he said financing from Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC Ltd and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will be structured in such a manner that lower rates of interest will be charged on the developers who will use domestically manufactured equipments. The minister said that from the data on item-wise quantum of imports in power sector given by DGCI (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence), it is seen that many equipment like transmission line towers, conductors, industrial electronics, capacitors, transformers, cables and insulators and fittings, in respect of which domestic manufacturing capacity exists, are still being imported. The minister pointed out that power is a sensitive and strategically important sector, as all our communications, manufacturing, data management and all essential services depend on power supply and any malware may bring down the system. He also urged all energy developers to take the pledge to not import any equipment, materials or goods that are sufficiently available domestically. Also, in respect of goods and services wherein domestic capacity is not available and that import is inevitable then it should be allowed only for a fixed timeframe of 2-3 years, he said. Singh also added that during the 2-3 years, indigenous manufacturing of these items would be developed by an enabling policy, tax incentives, start-ups, vendor development and R&D support.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Avaada Energy will invest in Maharashtra to setup 350 MW Solar Power Plant Avaada Energy, India’s leading Renewable Energy Producer, has been accorded a Letter of Award (LoA) to develop a 350 MW solar project in Maharashtra from MSEDCL. The energy will be supplied to MSEDCL under a power purchase agreement, valid for a period of 25 years from scheduled commercial operation date. The project is expected to be commissioned by January 2022.

he plant is expected to generate about 525 million units annually which will help in reducing 4,98,750 tonnes of CO2 emission annually. Avaada Energy’s solar project has potential to to power 4.8 lakhs households with green energy. Avaada Energy is commitment towards crafting a sustainable future by creating a world powered through clean energy. Reinforcing its commitment towards bringing sustainable energy to developing economies, Avaada is targeting an extensive portfolio of 11 GW solar energy projects by 2025 across Asia and Africa. The project is in addition to 1 GW of operational capacity and 2 GW of project are under implementation that company is executing currently.

Speaking on this development Vineet Mittal, Chairman Avaada Group said, “At Avaada, we believe that business and sustainability go hand-in-hand. Being the leading Renewable Energy company of India, we are making significant investments in innovative clean energy solutions with a focus on solar energy sector. On the back of India’s green energy revolution led by Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi, India will continue its exponential growth in its renewable energy (RE) sector.”

Risen Energy Expands Global Footprint with 150 MW Module Order from Malaysian Power Station

Chinese solar panel maker Risen Energy Co., Ltd. recently announced the receipt of an order to provide 150 MW of high-efficiency solar PV modules to a power stations in Malaysia. Malaysia’s Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yb Yeo Bee Yin attended the agreement signing ceremony. It’s the biggest module order Risen Energy has to date won both in Malaysia and from an overseas floating power station.

As part of the agreement, Risen Energy will supply high-efficiency Jaeger 144 modules with an output power up to 395W each to the project. The modules will be shipped in batches starting this month and the delivery is scheduled to be completed by June 2020.

Risen Energy president Xie Jian said, “Malaysia is one of our key emerging markets as it boasts abundant light resources and policies favourable to the industry. We are excited to be a part of the project in Malaysia. To ensure the smooth operation of the power station, once completed, we will equip the facility with our Jaeger modules, which have proven better performance in resistance to light induced degradation (LID) and light and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID). Our optimised Jaeger modules can minimise hotspots and the impacts from shade effect on their performance in power generation. With lower total cost of ownership and labour expense, our modules will bring the project owner a lower levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) and higher income from power generation.”

www.EQMagPro.com

esides the PV market in Malaysia, Risen Energy has expanded its presence across major markets in the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, the company has achieved remarkable results in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, among other markets along “the Belt and Road.” Additionally, Risen Energy is accelerating the growth of its energy storage business as its integrated “PV + energy storage” and “PV + energy storage + charging”. Furthermore, smart micro grid solutions have been used in commercial applications. Risen Energy is experiencing an increase in both its top line and bottom line as the firm continues expanding globally at a steady pace. Its financial forecasts for the first three quarters of 2019 expects a net profit between 765-815 million yuan (approx. US$107-114 million), an increase of 262.40%-286.09% year-on-year.

JUNE- 2020

featured

Mukesh Ambani pushes for clean, affordable energy; tech to decarbonise

In his biggest push for clean and affordable energy, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said it was imperative to adopt technologies that can recycle to set the carbon balance right. With Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Energy Minister of the world’s largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, listening, Ambani said there is a need to provide efficient, clean, and affordable energy. “The way I see is that in the progress that humankind has made (between) industrial revolutions, we have disturbed the carbon cycle and now it is time to use technology…to reset that balance and adopt the carbon cycle right,” he said speaking at the FII Investment Institute Conference over a video link.

e went on to stress the need for technologies that can recycle carbon dioxide. Statement by the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s most valuable company, is significant considering that his firm operates the world’s biggest oil refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat. “I think that, where we are, if we take a clean sheet of paper and adopt technologies whereby we can complete the energy cycle, we can adopt new technologies particularly biochemical photosynthesis. Instead of treating carbon dioxide as a liability – we can make that as raw material,” he said. “It’s not only imperative for us to be net carbon zero but I think that we should opt to recycle carbon.”

Ambani said for those in the energy business, it is not so much about the decarbonisation but about completing the cycle for zero carbon emission. “Energy is an essential requirement for all 8 billion people on this earth. There is a need to provide efficient, clean, affordable energy. And we have to do it in a responsible way. That’s the business. We should not confuse that between clean and unclean,” he said. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate head said no one solution will fit all. “The important thing also is to allow energy equally. That means, everybody has to have access to clean energy for their quality of life at an affordable price,” he said. Ambani’s company buys a significant quantity of crude oil from Saudi Arabia for processing at its twin refinery complex at Jamnagar. It is in talks to sell a fifth of its oil-to-chemical business to Saudi Aramco for an asking of USD 15 billion.

JUNE- 2020

“The new supply of energy on an affordable basis is the prosperity of the planet. And only after these two, there can be prosperity for the companies and the shareholders, and I think with where we are today, in the coming decades we have no choice, but to meet these challenges to complete the carbon cycle. “And serve the energy needs of all its customers rather than thinking in terms of fossil and renewable and wind and so forth,” he added. Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF has picked up a 2.3 per cent stake in Ambani’s digital arm Jio Platforms Ltd. “For us, particularly in India, we have high growth so it is important that one works with consumers in spreading awareness. This virus itself has helped everybody realise the benefit of low carbon mindset,” he said. “Real touch with the community, understanding the community on the ground level and understanding different sectors of the economy and getting them involved in the energy movement is critical as for having a part of restoring the carbon cycle.”

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

ADB Approves $200 Million Loan to Modernize Power Supply, Distribution System in Nepal The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million concessional loan to improve power supply and distribution systems in Nepal. Nepal has made significant progress in electricity supply after years of chronic power shortages. However, its power transmission and distribution systems need further strengthening to increase network capacity, improve quality and reliability, and remove delays between generation hubs and load centers.

he project will finance, among others, the reinforcement and modernization of the power supply system in Kathmandu Valley, Bharatpur metropolitan area of Chitwan district in Bagmati Province and Pokhara of Kaski district in Gandaki Province, where supply interruptions are frequent and prolonged. The project also aims to support Province 2, where the quality of electricity supply is poor and about 20% of households are still without access to the national grid.

The project will help sustain Nepal’s improved electricity supply momentum over the past two years. This will facilitate meeting future demand from commercial and industrial activities as well as from communities, particularly women, who can now benefit from electricity-based enterprises and focus on productive economic and social activities, said ADB Principal Energy Specialist Jiwan Acharya. “It is also very timely because the project will create employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled labor during the construction phase as the country adopts measures to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.”

www.EQMagPro.com

Complementing ADB’s loan, the Government of Norway is providing a $35 million cofinancing grant for the installation and upgrading of power distribution networks in Province 2 and various substations to evacuate hydropower in the country. In addition, it is providing a $5 million technical assistance grant for capacity development of the Nepal Electricity Authority to ensure that gender equality and social inclusion are strengthened, and new technologies are used to make electricity infrastructure resilient. The project is aligned with the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation program on intraregional power trade through cross-border power exchange. The upgrading of substations in Khimti, Barhabise, and Lapsiphedi to 400 kilovolts will facilitate cross-border power exchange with India. ADB and other development partners have been engaged in Nepal’s power system reform efforts, including the approval of the Nepal Electricity Regulatory Commission Act of 2017, which created the Electricity Regulatory Commission as an independent regulatory body with respect to tariff-setting and consumer protection. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

JUNE- 2020

featured

LONGi releases “Technical Brief” for its new Hi-MO 5 module for ultra-large power plants

LONGi, a global leading solar technology company headquartered in Xi’an, China, released a “Technical Brief” of its recently announced Hi-MO 5 – an ultra-high power module designed for applications in utility-scale power plants – with front-side power up to 540W, 21%+ efficiency and module size of 2256×1133mm.

he “Technical Brief” gives an in-depth look at the technologies behind the innovations of the Hi-MO 5 module. Gallium-doped wafers and proprietary “Smart Soldering” technology bring higher performance. In 2020, LONGi and Shin-Etsu Chemical entered into a global patent agreement on gallium-doped technologies, which allows applications of LONGi’s products with gallium-doped technologies. LONGi’s R&D team has optimized the gallium-doped M10 standard silicon wafers (182mm) to produce a P-Type Mono PERC module with the lowest LID. Gallium-doped silicon wafers have been verified to show lower LID performance with stable, long-term power generation when compared to boron-doped ones. Though gallium-doped silicon wafers are more expensive, LONGi has effectively addressed this with advances in technology and production scale. With the gallium-doped cells, Hi-MO 5 has increased attenuation performance, power performance and long-term reliability. The 1st year power warranty is an industryleading 98% and linear annual attenuation is within 0.45%. LONGi also adopts “Smart Soldering” technology on Hi-MO 5 which increased module conversion efficiency by 0.3%. This proprietary technology uses integrated segmented soldering ribbons that maximize light capture and reliably connect cells with reduced gap distance. “Smart soldering” reduces the tensile stress of the cell for higher reliability.

Shaping the future, LONGi delivers true value to global partners and customers

The most valuable product is one our partners and customers need. Creating, from the ground up, a high-power module that meets customers’ requirements is the inspiration behind Hi-MO 5. Dennis She, Senior Vice President, LONGi Solar, said. “To do that, we engaged the full force of LONGi’s innovations and insights from our customers. The value of innovation lies in applications. The mass production of advanced technology can deliver true value. We look forward to delivering value, higher power and lower LCOE to our global partners and customers that enable a new wave of photovoltaic grid parity.”

JUNE- 2020

Product design based on industry insights and real-world applications The starting point in the development of Hi-MO 5 was insights from the PV industry and analysis of customer values. LONGi further considered real-world applications and the practicality of its new Hi-MO 5 module in the logistics chain.

The working current of LONGi Hi-MO 5 module is about 13A. Including bifacial gain, the operating current remains within the maximum input current range of the inverter, with no power generation losses. The module length is compatible with 1P and 2P horizontal single axis tracking systems. Hi-MO 5 adopts bifacial a “double glass with frame” design that provides exceptional strength for high load capacity. The strength of the frame negates the need for a cross-beam, hence there is no shading losses at the back of the module. In BOS simulations using fixed brackets and centralized inverters, LONGi Hi-MO 5 module can reduce BOS costs by more than ¥8 cents/W (US$1.2 cents/W) when compared to mainstream products in the market. With string inverters, Hi-MO 5 can improve the capacity ratio of the power plant, reduce AC equipment cost, and bring about the lowest LCOE for large power plants. LONGi has partnered with more than 20 global customers to verify the BOS savings, lowest LCOE and high performance of Hi-MO 5 modules in real world applications.

Driving the PV industry forward with breakthrough innovation in volume production LONGi firmly believes that continuous innovations that can be brought quickly into volume production delivers true value for its partners and customers. The module production capacity of LONGi has increased 20-fold: from 1.5GW in 2015 to 30GW in 2019. Hi-MO 5 will be produced in volume and receive IEC/UL certification in September, 2020. The production capacity of Hi-MO 5 will reach 12GW in Q3 2020, guaranteeing a stable supply for global customers.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Canadian Solar Announces a $150 Million Share Repurchase Program Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a $150 million share repurchase program for a six month period beginning December 9th, 2019 and ending June 8th, 2020.

he exact timing and amount of any repurchase will be determined by the Company’s management, based on market conditions, share price and other factors, and will be subject to the restrictions relating to volume, price and timing under applicable law, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc. commented, “The share repurchase program further reinforces our commitment to our shareholders. We have confidence in the Company’s long-term business plan and prospects and believe there is considerable value in investing in Canadian Solar shares, which are trading below book value and significantly below intrinsic value. We focus our disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy on driving profitable growth, strengthening our balance sheet and creating sustainable value for our shareholders.”

Dr. Huifeng Chang, Chief Financial Officer commented, “Over the past 18 years, we have built Canadian Solar into one of the world’s largest solar energy companies, with a dominant, fully-integrated module manufacturing and energy business. Globally, we have a 4 GWp pipeline of late-stage, utilityscale solar power projects, with another 415 MWp in construction. In addition, our module manufacturing business, which has been rated the Number 1 Bankable Module Supplier by Bloomberg New Energy Finance survey respondents for three consecutive years, continues to deliver industry leading profitability by commanding a premium for products due to our innovative technology, industry leading quality and reliability.”

TOGO: ADFD approves $15 million loan for solar photovoltaic project in Blitta The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has decided to allocate 15 million dollars for the construction of the future Blitta photovoltaic solar power plant in Togo. The project is being developed by the Emirati company Amea Power.

he General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) took placed, January 12, 2020, at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Delegations from the Agency’s member countries were present, including those of Togo. On the sidelines of this event, Sani Yaya, the Togolese Minister of Economy and Finance signed a financing agreement with Mohammed Saif Ghanem Al Suwaidi, the Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). The UAE financial institution is thus lending 15 million dollars for the development of the Blitta solar photovoltaic project. It is being developed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) by the UAE-based company Amea Power. The project will be developed in two phases. The first will allow the construction of a solar photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 30 MWp. This facility will be operational by June 2020. The second phase of the project will provide 20 MWp.

www.EQMagPro.com

Amea Power has already signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Togo Electric Power Company. The Togolese government estimates that the Blitta solar power plant will be able to supply electricity to 600,000 homes and 700 small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). The solar project is also supported to the tune of 11 million dollars by the West African Development Bank (BOAD). It will require a total investment of 20 billion CFA francs (nearly 34 million dollars). The project has several challenges: the supply of electricity to populations affected by power cuts, the diversification of the electricity mix and the strengthening of Togo’s energy autonomy.

JUNE- 2020

featured

LONGi Founder and President, Li Zhenguo, joined business leaders at the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Leaders’ Summit 2020

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Leaders’ Summit 2020 kicked off on 15th June, marking 20 years of uniting business for a better world. This year’s Summit was held virtually, which allowed participants and Global Compact Local networks to join in their own time zone.

lobal leaders and enterprise representatives from all over the world came together to discuss how to rebuild inclusive and sustainable economic and social solutions to achieve a world that combines social justice, low-carbon development, climate resilience.

LONGi is the only Chinese company involved in the Summit which saw participation of over 10,000 companies from 156 countries. On the morning of June 16th, Founder and President of LONGi Group, Mr. Li Zhenguo, spoke about “How to invest in an orderly and better way for the global sustainable future under the COVID-19 epidemic” in his keynote at the Asia-Pacific Arena, together with Dr. Gao Li, WHO Representative of China and Nicolas Vix, CEO of the French Agricultural Credit Bank (China) Co., Ltd.

The COVID-19 outbreak inevitably brings challenges to renewable energy companies. This epidemic, now in every part of the world, will eventually ends. Countries will renew focus in the development of their energy security and localization. The short-term imbalance of supply and demand will see prices of photovoltaic products falling rapidly, thereby increasing the competitiveness of photovoltaic power. We believe that clean energy, especially the development of photovoltaic power, will accelerate when the epidemic ends. Mr. Li Zhenguo said. “To develop clean energy, the industry itself must promote the reduction of LCOE and encourage more people use clean energy. The renewable energy industry can also be cleaner in their own manufacturing processes. Since 2016, LONGi has deployed production capacity in locations with ample hydropower. We took the lead in using clean energy to produce clean energy products. We will promote the sustainable development concept of ‘Solar for Solar” to gradually reduce the carbon footprint of LONGi clean energy products.” Mr. Li Zhenguo added.

JUNE- 2020

The UNGC has developed a portfolio of Action Platforms to inspire new and leading approaches to sustainable business. At the Summit, the “Sustainable Infrastructure” Action Platform was launched to help countries along the Belt and Road Initiative solve complex sustainability challenges and to innovate around the global SDG goals. As a solar technology company headquartered in Xi’an, at the starting point of the Silk Road, LONGi has provided insights for the sustainable development of the Belt and Road Initiative. “As we all know, many countries across the Belt and Road Initiative are neighbors with abundant resources. Clean energy transmission and applications can be achieved through collaborations. In coastal areas, clean energy can be used for seawater desalination while introducing desalinated seawater and freshwater into the estuary and into inland desert areas. This will achieve ecological restoration, turn deserts into oasis and achieve negative carbon development.” Mr. Li Zhenguo explained. LONGi joined the RE100 in March 2020, committing to sourcing 100% of renewable electricity across its entire global operations by 2028, with an interim target of 70% by 2027. The commitment to RE100 reinforced the company’s drive towards a negative carbon earth. Energy transition is a global issue of common concern and LONGi has joined the international community to face the challenges and develop opportunities for sustainable development together. Mr. Li concluded, “2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of UNGC. It is also the 20th anniversary of the establishment of LONGi. The principles that UNGC adheres to coincide with the clean energy concept LONGi holds dear. We are optimistic about the future of renewable energy, we will implement the concept of ‘Solar for Solar’, and promote the transformation of the energy mix with members of the UNGC and our partners worldwide.”

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Power generation falls 15% even after easing of coronavirus lockdown norms Data from Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) shows that coal-fired power generation alone dropped by a steeper 24 per cent. The easing of lockdown curbs has failed to buoy power generation. Nationwide, power generation from all sources fell 15 per cent between June 1 and June 15 when compared with the same period of 2019.

uring the pandemic, coal generation bore nearly all of the electricity demand drop, due to higher operating costs compared to renewables. The lockdowns underlined that demand for coal power had already been in a steady decline over the past five years. According to research by US-based think tank Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA), India’s coal expansion plan is based on an unrealistic economic modelling of coal plants that assumes utilisation rates of 70-80 per cent, double the rates observed in April 2020. Overcapacity in coal generation is creating a systemic problem of underutilisation for coal power plants in India. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the average plant load factor (PLF) fell to 42 per cent in April 2020, marking a 22 per cent reduction year-onyear (y-o-y). Load factors could drop to 35-40 per cent by 2022, according to global consultancy KPMG.

India’s fossil fuel power generation assets have upwards of $100 billion in non-performing assets (NPAs). While the Parliamentary Standing Committee identified a total of 34 coal power units as stranded assets, the drop in utilisation rates will hasten the timeline for further stranding of coal assets. On the coal demand side, the outlook seems uncertain as the government puts public funds to expand cheaper solar power instead of coal, due to a 30 per cent decline in electricity demand since March 25. India’s renewable energy target includes a near term goal of 175 GW of renewable capacity by 2022, up from 87 GW of installed capacity today. In September 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to double India’s renewable target to 450 GW by 2030. Renewables accounted for more than two-thirds of India’s new generation capacity additions wit 9.39 GW installed in 2019-20, while thermal coal power additions were 4.43 GW, according to IEEFA analysis. India has the world’s largest renewable auction market, and brought down the solar tariffs by 20 per cent y-o-y with 2 GW of utility-scale solar projects auctioned during the lockdown. More than 90 per cent of renewable capacity installed have tariff rates ranging Rs 2.43-2.80/ kWh, 60-70 per cent lower than the first-year tariffs set for proposed coal plants, IEEFA noted.

www.EQMagPro.com

Analysis by Carbon Tracker illustrates that 60 per cent of global coal power plants were operating at a loss even before the Covid pandemic surfaced. Building new solar and wind energy is already cheaper than 51 per cent of operating coal power in India, and new solar will cost less than all operating coal in 2020. India’s thermal coal assets valued at $76 billion are at the risk of being stranded by 2040 under a Paris compliant scenario.

JUNE- 2020

featured

BlackRock Leads $50 Million Round in Hydropanel Startup Zero Mass

BlackRock is making good on its pledge to focus more on sustainability by leading a $50 million Series C1 round for Zero Mass Water, which makes hydropanels that collect water from the atmosphere.

uke Energy (ticker: DUK) also participated in the round which saw both Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Material Impact Fund reinvest. So far, Zero Mass has raised a little over $100 million, including the current $50 million injection, according to CEO and Founder Cody Friesen. BlackRock (BLK) will have a minority stake in the company, executives said. Friesen, a materials scientist, founded Zero Mass in 2015. The Scottsdale, Ariz.–based company’s hydropanels add minerals, ozonate the liquid, and store it, so that it can be used for drinking and cooking, Friesen said. A standard array, or two panels, produces four to 10 liters of drinking water daily. Zero Mass has installed panels in 45 countries, including Mexico, Australia and Dubai. It employs about 100 people.

Zero Mass began fundraising in September and negotiations with BlackRock grew serious in December, Friesen said. The transaction hit a bump when Covid-19 began ravaging the U.S. economy. This caused some deals to be retraded or pulled. BlackRock, however, stayed the course, Friesen said. The deal closed on May 8 but Zero Mass delayed announcing. “We wanted to be respectful of the social justice work going on,” Friesen said, pointing to the Black Lives Matter movement taking hold across the U.S.

JUNE- 2020

Friesen told Barron’s that he started Zero Mass as a way to provide social equity. He believes that many of society’s challenges can be solved using technology. Access to drinkable water is more than just a race, class or socioeconomic issue. Most wars in the world were started over access to water, Friesen said. Climate change is expected to further impact the availability of water. “Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right that is often too expensive, too wasteful, too extractive, and too scarce,” Friesen said. The Zero Mass investment is coming from BlackRock’s Innovation Capital, which was formed in 2019. Innovation Capital takes non controlling stakes in technology-focused companies in sectors such as digital health, mobility and industrial. The BlackRock unit will typically invest, on the lower end, from $20 million to $25 million to, on the higher end, $75 million to $100 million, in growth companies that aren’t yet profitable, a person familiar with the situation said. The investment comes just months since Larry Fink, BlackRock’s CEO, pledged to make sustainability an integral part of the investment firm’s portfolio. Fink, in a January letter to CEOs, said BlackRock would exit investments that present a “high sustainability-related risk,” such as coal producers. BlackRock is the world’s largest fund manager with $6.47 trillion in assets as of March 31. “We are thrilled to be investing in Zero Mass Water and its proven team,” said William Abecassis, head of BlackRock’s Innovation Capital, in a statement. “The firm’s SOURCE Hydropanel technology provides a breakthrough solution to potable water generation across a vast range of climates and use cases.”

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Global primary energy demand growth by fuel and leading regions

Oil and coal together accounted for a quarter of global demand growth. Renewables, which grew by over 4 per cent, met around one-quarter of the growth in total primary energy demand. This was largely due to expansion in electricity generation, where renewables accounted for 45 per cent of the growth in 2018.

uclear also grew by 3.3 per cent in 2018, mainly as a result of new capacity in China and the restart of four reactors in Japan. Worldwide, nuclear generation met 7 per cent of the increase in energy demand. Increasing power generation was responsible for a little more than half of the growth in primary energy demand. Here is a snapshot:

Looking for the cheapest electricity rates in India? Here’s your answer

Now, that the last village in India has been electrified in alignment with the Prime Minister’s goal of lighting a bulb in even the most secluded villages in the country, the rest of us inhabiting concrete jungles are still trying to deal with piling electricity bills.

ost of us residing in India are habituated to do anything in our power to reduce the electricity bill that knocks on our doors every month. We browse for hours on the internet looking for ways to pay less for the electricity that we use, frantically trying to put unused appliances to rest. Now, that the last village in India has been electrified in alignment with the Prime Minister’s goal of lighting a bulb in even the most secluded villages in the country, the rest of us inhabiting concrete jungles are still trying to deal with piling electricity bills. The energy use per capita of India’s standing population of 132 crores, is currently 637.43 kg of oil equivalent, as per figures that were released in 2014. Reports released by the power ministry in January 2018 put the average hours of power supplied in a day to rural areas range from 11.5 in the hilly state of Mizoram to 17.72 in Uttar Pradesh to 24 hours in the states of Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Most of us residing in India are habituated to do anything in our power to reduce the electricity bill that knocks on our doors every month. We browse for hours on the

www.EQMagPro.com

internet looking for ways to pay less for the electricity that we use, frantically trying to put unused appliances to rest. Now, that the last village in India has been electrified in alignment with the Prime Minister’s goal of lighting a bulb in even the most secluded villages in the country, the rest of us inhabiting concrete jungles are still trying to deal with piling electricity bills.The energy use per capita of India’s standing population of 132 crores, is currently 637.43 kg of oil equivalent, as per figures that were released in 2014. Reports released by the power ministry in January 2018 put the average hours of power supplied in a day to rural areas range from 11.5 in the hilly state of Mizoram to 17.72 in Uttar Pradesh to 24 hours in the states of Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Surprisingly enough, electricity usage in India costs the lowest in Sikkim where, as per tariff orders dated between May 29 and May 30, 2017, in the lowest slab of billed electricity, power costs Rs 1.1 per unit. Mizoram follows closely with a cost of Rs 3.70 per KWH of domestic consumption.Figures dated 2018 put the electricity coverage in India at 82.53 per cent with an installed capacity of 340.53 GW. For the aforementioned figure, 81.9 per cent accounts for fossil energy while 15.3 per cent accounts for renewable energy. In March of this year, executives of India Energy Exchange, the country’s biggest electricity exchange claimed that the country’s daily average spot electricity price has nearly doubled over the last one month and is close to Rs 5 per unit.

JUNE- 2020

featured

The Energy Transition in 4 Charts

There is little debate that the energy transition is underway. However, the speed at which it is happening is very much in flux. ood Mackenzie recently compiled some of its latest power and renewables forecasts into a presentation (available here) that shows its most recent outlooks across sectors. Here are a few of the highlights. WoodMac’s analysts modeled a few different emissions scenarios in their latest Energy Transition Outlook. Even under an aggressive-action scenario, the outlook is dim for keeping global warming below 2° C, with emissions plateauing but not yet falling in the 2030s.

The energy mix is changing only gradually, and the world risks relying on fossil fuels for decades to come, Wood Mackenzie president Neal Anderson writes. “Despite great efforts to reduce costs in renewables, electricity, zero-carbon technologies and advanced transportation — not to mention burgeoning support in governmental policies — it is not enough,” Anderson said. “Our analysis sees carbon emissions continuing to rise into the 2020s, with growth slowing only in the 2030s. As a result, our Energy Transition Outlook (3° C) and Carbon-Constrained Scenario (2.5° C) fall outside the 2° C or lower trajectories.”

Source: Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Transition Outlook

Source: Wood Mackenzie’s Global Solar Market Outlook Update, Q2 2019

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Source: Wood Mackenzie’s Global Energy Storage Outlook 2019 Solar After its first down year in recent memory, the global solar market is poised for a rebound in 2019. However, Wood Mackenzie expects a relatively flat market between 2020 and 2024. Energy storage The world saw immense gains in energy storage deployments in 2018, and Wood Mackenzie expects the trend to continue. According to the analysis,

“The U.S. is the clear front-runner, making up 34 percent of deployed GWh capacity by 2024.” It continues, “China (driven by state-level mandates and policy), Japan, Australia and South Korea also lead the pack.” Wind Power On the wind front, WoodMac recently upgraded its forecast due in large part to new state-level targets and strengthening renewable portfolio standard mechanisms in the U.S.

Source: Wood Mackenzie’s Global Wind Market Outlook Update, Q2 2019

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

featured

Summary of RBI Circular on Asset Classification and Provisioning The RBI has issued a Circular on COVID19 Regulatory Package – Asset Classification and Provisioning pursuant to the Governor’s Statement of April 17, 2020.

his Circular is applicable to all Commercial Banks, All Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks/State Cooperative Banks/ District Central Co-operative Banks, All All-India Financial Institutions and all Non-Banking Finance Companies (including Housing Finance Companies). In terms of the RBI circular dated March 27, 2020 (the “Regulatory Package”), the lending institutions were permitted to grant a moratorium of three months on payment of all term loan instalments falling due between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020 (‘moratorium period’). As such, in line with the clarification provided by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, in respect of all accounts classified as standard as on February 29, 2020, even if overdue, the moratorium period, wherever granted, shall be excluded by the lending institutions from the number of days past-due for the purpose of asset classification under the IRAC norms. In respect of working capital facilities sanctioned in the form of cash credit/overdraft (“CC/OD”), the Regulatory Package permitted the recovery of interest applied during the period from March 1, 2020 up to May 31, 2020 to be deferred (‘deferment period’). Such deferment period, wherever granted in respect of all facilities classified as standard, including SMA, as on February 29, 2020, shall be excluded for the determination of out of order status. NBFCs which are required to comply with Indian Accounting Standards (IndAS) shall, as hitherto, continue to be guided by the guidelines duly approved by their Boards and as per ICAI Advisories for recognition of the impairments.

In respect of accounts in default but standard where provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) above are applicable, and asset classification benefit is extended, lending institutions shall make general provisions of not less than 10 per cent of the total outstanding of such accounts, to be phased over two quarters as under: (i) Quarter ended March 31, 2020 – not less than 5 per cent (ii) Quarter ending June 30, 2020 – not less than 5 per cent. The above provisions may be adjusted against the actual provisioning requirements for slippages from the accounts reckoned for such provisions. The residual provisions at the end of the financial year can be written back or adjusted against the provisions required for all other accounts. The above provisions shall not be reckoned for arriving at net NPAs till they are adjusted against the actual provisioning requirements as mentioned above. Further, till such adjustments, these provisions shall not be netted from gross advances but shown separately in the balance sheet as appropriate. All other provisions required to be maintained by lending institutions, including the provisions for accounts already classified as NPA as on February 29, 2020 as well as subsequent ageing in these accounts, shall continue to be made in the usual manner.

JUNE- 2020

The exclusions permitted in terms of paragraph 2 and 3 above shall be duly reckoned by the lending institutions in their supervisory reporting as well as reporting to credit information companies (CICs) i.e., the days past due and SMA status, where applicable, as on March 1, 2020 will remain unchanged till May 31, 2020. The lending institutions shall suitably disclose the following in the ‘Notes to Accounts’ while preparing their financial statements for the half year ending September 30, 2020 as well as the financial years 2019-20 and 2020-2021: (i) Respective amounts in SMA/overdue categories, where the moratorium/deferment was extended, in terms of paragraph 2 and 3; (ii) Respective amount where asset classification benefits is extended; (iii) Provisions made during the Q4FY2020 and Q1FY2021; (iv) Provisions adjusted during the respective accounting periods against slippages and the residual provisions.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

COVID-19: Surviving and thriving through a pandemic

COVID-19 Risk assessment survey OVID-19 is a global pandemic that has impacted the entire world, destabilised economies and severely affected organisations across industries and geographies. This COVID-19 risk assessment survey report is aimed at gauging the various impact points, which organisations are facing today and through this assessment present our point-of-view on what should organisations focus on, in order to deal with this pandemic better and to emerge out of it much stronger. Whilst the survey results largely indicate that organisations are currently focused on activities that require immediate attention, our belief is that organisations that view this calamity as an opportunity to introspect, redefine their strategy, assumptions and way of working will stand to benefit in the longer run. We are thankful to all the professionals for their whole-hearted participation in the survey and hope that the takeaways will help your organisations, to not only survive but also to thrive in a post COVID-19 world.

PFC in talks with bankers for $750 million overseas bond issue

PFC had raised over $2 billion through similar overseas offerings in the previous fiscal year. Its last offering of $750 million was in January and attracted bids for four times the bonds on offer. Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is in discussions with bankers to raise up to $750 million through an overseas bond issue though it is yet to decide on the timing of the fundraise, according to sources aware of the matter.

We are in discussions with our arrangers, Naveen Bhushan Gupta, director — finance of the state-owned company said. “We have not decided when to launch the issue or the size. Whenever we feel is the appropriate time, we will launch the issue.” The bond issue being planned would be the first overseas issuance this fiscal year by India’s largest lender to the power sector.

FC had raised over $2 billion through similar overseas offerings in the previous fiscal year. Its last offering of $750 million was in January and attracted bids for four times the bonds on offer. Citi, Standard Chartered and Barclays were amongst arrangers for the previous issue.

www.EQMagPro.com

PFC could raise 90,000 crore or close to $12 billion at current exchange rates for onward lending to power sector institutions in the current financial year from a combination of domestic and international sources, as per estimates of ratings agency Fitch. The company will be playing a key role in facilitating a government-sponsored bailout of power distribution companies announced in mid-May. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 90,000 crore liquidity infusion designed to help state-owned distribution companies pay off their dues to power generation companies and free up capital in the sector. “We will give the money owed by distribution companies to power generation firms directly as per the scheme,” Gupta said commenting on PFC’s role in the scheme. The government maintains a 56 per cent stake in PFC and has majority control of the company’s board. PFC acquired the government’s controlling stake in rival REC in March last year for 14,500 crore. The two companies together now account for 40 per cent of lending to the power sector and have collectively disbursed 6.4 lakh crore of loans.

JUNE- 2020

featured

FIRM AND FLEXIBLE RENEWBLE ENERGY PROJECTS WITH HIGH PLF Solar Photovoltaic and Wind Power have proved to be successful power generation technologies and these power projects have become ainstream sources of electricity like other conventional sources. RE power growth in India is well ahead on the path to achieve the Government of India’s target of 175 GW capacity installation by the year 2022. Further, it is expected to grow up to 450 GW by 2030 as declared by the Honorable Prime Minister.

nitial success of the Renewable mission has not seen any issues in integration with the grid as the grid is flexible to that extent to absorb the RE power and other conventional sources are being managed synchronously with the available balancing resources. As the RE power mix is now rapidly increasing, various grid integration issues need to be addressed simultaneously. As the RE power became the cheapest source of electricity in India, efforts are being made to initiate gradual replacement of existing conventional power generation capacities with clean RE power generation capacities as per the national targets. The major advantage of conventional sources of power generation are higher Plant Load Factor (PLF), firmness and flexibility in power supply. To replace the same with RE sources, these three characteristics are essential to be built into the RE power projects to keep RE power capacity addition targets on track.

Improving PLF of Renewables:

Currently the typical PLF numbers for RE projects are 20-25% for solar, 30-38% for wind and 40-45% for solarwind hybrid projects; such projects are being successfully implemented and are performing well. The PLF can be improved further above 60% for the Solar-Wind hybrid projects by adding higher generation capacity before the meter and employing energy storage to store the excess energy beyond the rated capacity of the plant and to release the stored energy during fall in generation below the rated capacity of the plant. Various combinations of solar or wind with storage capacities are possible to improve the PLF of projects beyond 60%.

Improving Firmness: As the solar and wind power generation is given a must-run status, it is inevitable to absorb such generated energy by the Discoms. However, as the share of RE capacity in India’s energy mix grows, very sharp fluctuations in intra-day generation, along with daily and seasonal variation of the generation will pose serious threat to the grid to absorb such infirm power beyond tolerable limits within the available balancing generation resources. Also to the Discoms and the generators the precise scheduling of this fluctuating RE power may lead to technical and commercials impediments. To meet the national targets of future RE power capacity addition, a gradual shift towards firm RE power is the need of the hour. Various nations which are having high targets of RE power capacity addition have already initiated various measures to address the issues in integration of infirm RE energy with the grid. The solutions vary from deploying huge energy storage capacities in the grid network, scheduled curtailments, developing virtual power plants, smart grids with micro storage network, adding the gas power plants into grid network etc.

JUNE- 2020

Deploying energy storage at grid level will add additional cost to transmission network and thereby increase the cost of transmission of power. Already, the cost of transmission for Renewables will be expensive due to poor utilization of the network established because of low PLF. Thus, it is required to address the issues of PLF and firming of renewables simultaneously. Hybridizing with Gas power plants also can be a solution to provide firmness, but this solution will not improve the PLF of RE plants. Therefore, the development of solar or wind projects with storage is an ideal solution to the make the RE power firm, which also improves the PLF. Depending on the location of the projects, hybrid RE power projects with storage can be designed to deliver 12-16 hours of firm energy as per the utility/grid needs.

Flexibility in generation: The electricity load today is quite dynamic in nature which demands good amount of flexibility in generation sources to maintain the health of the grid. As the RE power is infirm in nature, flexibility in generation is very much limited with respect to addressing the grid requirements. Recent amendments in the connectivity guidelines issued by the CEA, demand the same features from an RE power project, and addressing the same without adding storage capacity is difficult. Adding sufficient energy storage in the projects will address the concerns of the Discoms in flexibility of RE power. To begin with, a flexibility of 20-30% is proposed, wherein the Discoms can schedule the power requirement between 70-100% of the contracted capacity of the project based on the availability declared by the developer.

Solutions: Thus, it emerges from the above that in order to address all the above three requirements of High PLF, Firmness and Flexibility in RE Power, a possible solution is developing solar-wind hybrid projects with energy storage. The combination of solar-wind capacities and the storage requirements typically depend on site conditions based on the solar and wind resource availability and generation profiles. Solar power generation is more or less stable with constant profile throughout the year, except during overcast conditions. PLF > 60% can be achieved by adding 2.5 to 3.3 times of DC capacity with around 3 to 4 times of storage capacity with innovative mounting structure combinations like dual axis tracker or combination of vertical mount and latitude tilt structures, etc. The levelized cost of generation of such power will be a little bit expensive, but it will be suitable to the needs of the utilities. The storage requirements can be reduced by appropriately adding wind capacity into the system. The wind power generation profile is different at different sites in India. For example, for the sites in Gujarat, the lean season consists of only two months (Nov & Feb), where as for the sites in Tamilnadu, there are 5 months of lean season (NovMarch). As the solar generation is quite stable during these lean seasons of wind, the output requirements can be easily met. Therefore, by employing wind capacity in the solar project, the tariff can be reduced.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Goldman Sees $16 Trillion Opening as Renewables Pass Oil and Gas

Renewables including biofuels will account for about a quarter of all energy spending next year, up from about 15% in 2014, Goldman analysts including Michele Della Vigna said in a June 16 note. This is in part driven by diverging costs of capital, as borrowing rates have risen to as high as 20% for hydrocarbon projects compared with as little as 3% for clean energy.

lean energy could drive $1-$2 trillion a year in infrastructure investment and create 15-20 million jobs globally. Meanwhile the high cost of capital for fossil fuel developments is leading to underinvestment, which could lead to higher oil and gas prices that in turn spur a faster energy transition.

Clean energy could drive $1-$2 trillion a year in infrastructure investment and create 15-20 million jobs globally. Meanwhile the high cost of capital for fossil fuel developments is leading to underinvestment, which could lead to higher oil and gas prices that in turn spur a faster energy transition.

www.EQMagPro.com

The divergence in borrowing costs for high- and low-carbon developments implies a carbon emissions price of about $40 to $80 a ton, Goldman said. In the real world, however, only about 16% of global emissions are priced, and the average value is about $3 a ton. That’s creating a bifurcated investment model, with money flowing into mature technologies including wind, solar and biofuels while less-developed efforts such as like carbon capture and clean hydrogen could suffer without higher emissions prices, Goldman said. “A two-speed de-carbonisation process may therefore accelerate de-carbonisation in the short term, but ultimately delay the long-term path towards net zero,” Goldman said in the note.

JUNE- 2020

featured

Sovereign rating downgrade poses risk for India’s green energy investors

Earlier this month, Moody’s cut the country’s sovereign credit rating by a notch to the lowest investment grade with negative outlook. The recent downgrading of India’s sovereign credit rating poses increased risk for attracting global investors in the country’s renewable energy sector.

arlier this month, Moody’s cut the country’s sovereign credit rating by a notch to the lowest investment grade with negative outlook. The country’s credit rating was revised down to Baa3 from Baa2. In April, both Moody’s and Fitch had warned that deterioration in India’s fiscal outlook as a result of lower growth could exert pressure on its sovereign rating.

EEFA feels that with the decreasing cost of debt and solar module prices, it is an opportune time for the Government of India to accelerate the energy transition through better regulation and policy definition in the power sector. The government needs to reduce off-taker risk by ensuring discoms (electricity distribution companies) both honour contracts and make payments to generators, it suggested.

“Foreign investors would now be shy of investing in India’s promising renewable energy generation sector, especially solar power. In last fiscal, we pocketed some major overseas funding from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Orix and Temasek”, said a solar power developer.

Finally, to attract more investment, the government needs to ensure policy certainty and explore innovative financial solutions in order to attract more funds. With the global appetite changing in In 2019-20, Indian renewable energy generation favour of cheaper deflationary renewable sealed investment deals valued at $8.4 billion, a report energy technologies, and with over 130 from US-based think tank Institute for Energy Economand counting globally significant banks ics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said, quoting figures and financial institutions committing to collated by JMK Research. Over 63 per cent included divest their funds from the fossil fuel seccapital investment by five renewable energy companies tor, it is time to make India an attractive – Greenko Energy Holdings, ReNew Power, Adani Green investment opportunity, and in so doing, energy, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services build a strong economy with sustainable energy choices, said Vibhuti (IL&FS), and Sterling and Wilson – while 46 per cent Garg, energy economist with IEEFA India. was contributed by five investors: General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Orix, Temasek, Total and Shapoorji Pallonji, and Khurshed Daruvala. While Greenko Energy Holdings has been the top renewable energy developer in India during 2019-20, GIC and ADIA have been the biggest investors, with all capital invested in Greenko Energy Holdings46 per cent in the form of equity ($824 million) and the remaining in green bonds ($950 million). Greenko has also raised another $350 million from JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank via green bonds.

JUNE- 2020

“The government needs to undertake reforms and strengthen the supervision, regulation and capitalization of the financial sector to boost investor confidence”, Garg added.

The share of renewable energy capacity in the country’s power sector has been growing. In FY20, the sector accounted for twothirds share in fresh capacity additions. The country installed 9.39 Gw of new on-grid renewable energy capacity in last fiscal in addition to 1.5 Gw of behind the meter rooftop solar in calendar 2019.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

MOF issued OM in relation to Force Majeure Clause

As per the OM, in view of restrictions placed on the movement of goods, services and manpower on account of the lockdown, situation prevailing overseas and in the country in terms of the guidelines issued by the MHA under the OM Act 2005 and the respective State and UT Governments, it is not possible for the parties to the contract to fulfil contractual obligations.

M refers to ‘Manual for Procurement of Goods 2017’, ‘Manual for Procurement of Works 2019’ and ‘Manual for Procurement of Consultancy and other Services 2017’ issued by the Department of Expenditure. These Manuals recognize extraordinary events or circumstances beyond human control leading to delays in or non-fulfilment of contractual obligations as force majeure events allowing invocation of FMC after following due procedure. The OM draws attention to Public-private Partnership (PPP) concession contracts, saying that a period of the contract may have become un-remunerative and therefore, after fulfilling due procedure and wherever applicable, parties to the contract may invoke FMC for all construction/works contracts, goods and services contracts and PPP contracts with Government Agencies. Wherever, FMC is invoked the date for completion of contractual obligations which had to be completed on or after February 20, 2020 shall stand extended for a period not less than 3 months and not more than 6 months without imposition of any cost or penalty on the contractor/concessionaire.

www.EQMagPro.com

The concession period in PPP contracts ending on or after February 20, 2020 shall be extended by not less than 3 and not more than 6 months. The period of extension will be decided based on the specific circumstances of the case and the period for which performance was affected by the force majeure events. Further it is clarified that invocation of FMC would be held valid only in a situation where the parties to the contract were not in default of the contractual obligations as on February 19, 2020. It is further clarified that invocation of FMC will not absolve all non-performances of a party to the contract, but only in respect of such non-performance as is attributable to a lockdown situation or restrictions imposed under any Act or executive order of the Government/s on account of COVID-19 global pandemic.

JUNE- 2020

featured

Here Are the Top Solar Stocks for 2019

Solar-energy stocks got off to a strong start in 2019. Through March 28, the Invesco Solar ETF (NYSEMKT:TAN), which comprises 22 different companies across the solar industry, is up 24.5%, with a number of individual solar stocks up far more. That’s a big reversal from an ugly 2018, as major policy changes by both the U.S. and Chinese governments — the world’s two biggest solar markets — cratered expected demand for solar panels last year. In 2018, the Invesco Solar ETF lost 26% of its value, and many solar stocks fell 30% or even more.

et despite last year’s weakness, the future remains incredibly bright for top solar stocks. And a handful of stocks in the industry are set to benefit even more than others; investors should consider buying them for 2019 and well beyond.

What is a solar stock?

The solar industry is both dynamic and varied, and shares of very different businesses can be called solar stocks. Here are the main categories. Solar-panel makers are the companies that manufacture solar panels and the solar cells they’re made of. While most panel makers focus on the manufacturing and sale of solar panels, some also develop and build large utility-scale projects — solar projects that generate power consumed directly by the utility grid — and then sell them to utilities or independent power producers, also called “yieldcos.” Yieldcos operate, invest in, and develop largescale utility and commercial solar projects. Typically affiliated with a sponsor company, which is often either a renewable-energy project developer or a utility company, yieldcos primarily make their money by selling the power produced by their solar assets on long-term contracts, generally to utilities or industrial users with very high energyconsumption needs. Solar installers are companies that sell, install, and maintain distributed solar systems, primarily to residential and business customers. Solar component and accessory manufacturers are generally smaller, more specialized companies that make a specialized product; they often sell that product directly to a solar-panel maker for integration with a solar panel or a panel installation. Examples include solar-power optimizers, inverters, mounting racks, and battery storage systems.

Solar energy is already growing faster than fossil fuels, and as solar-panel and energy-storage technologies continue to improve and costs fall, that trend is likely to continue — and potentially accelerate — for years to come. According to a recent presentation by Brookfield Renewable Partners, one of the biggest renewable-energy producers in the world, it will take $11 trillion to replace all the current fossil-fuel and nuclear facilities around the world with renewable energy. Furthermore, this will be a multidecade trend, creating an amazing long-term opportunity for investors to build tremendous wealth. It’s worth noting the significant risks associated with solar that investors must consider — especially in the short term. While there will be enormous long-term growth, the global solar industry has proven viciously cyclical, as investors should have learned in recent years. This is driven by multiple things, including swings in demand for utility-scale projects due to the spending cycles and capital-investment priorities of large power producers, and changes in government policy. Utility-scale solar is the biggest segment of the market, and solar panels make up a substantial portion of the costs for these projects. In early 2018, a 30% tariff was implemented on the vast majority of foreign solar panels imported into the U.S.; a substantial amount of business was pulled into late 2017, as companies aggressively greenlighted projects before those tariffs would be enacted in order to avoid additional expenses. This led to a relatively weak 2018 for utility-scale solar. China’s decision to slash its domestic incentives in mid-2018 further weakened an already weak market for solar-panel makers. The result of two major policy headwinds in solar’s two biggest markets left panel makers with far more manufacturing capacity — and the underlying expense to operate it — than demand for solar panels.

Needless to say, when demand falls and there’s a big oversupply, prices fall, too. That’s exactly what’s happened; according to industry analysts, solar panels were more than 25% cheaper in last year’s third quarter than they were at the end of 2017. This has taken a big bite out of many solar-panel maker stocks in 2018:

What are the risks and rewards of investing in solar? The solar industry goes through big yearly swings in demand for new panels and equipment, primarily due to the ebb and flow of spending to build large-scale solar projects from one year to the next. But over the next several decades, a quickly expanding global population, along with the growth of electric vehicles, will require trillions of dollars in spending around the world to add new power capacity. Moreover, older nuclear and fossil-fuel power plants will need to be replaced, and cheaper and cleaner renewable-energy sources like solar are expected to get much of this investment. 48

JUNE- 2020

Furthermore, even with demand improving in 2019, there’s still a global oversupply of manufacturing capacity, and it will almost certainly take multiple years of demand growth to absorb that capacity. That’s expected to keep prices low, setting solar-panel makers up for another tough year. Put it all together, and the biggest risk with solar stocks is investing with a short-term focus: Year-over-year shifts in demand can cause very wide swings in a company’s results, and its stock price.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

What solar-energy terms should investors know? Cost per watt: Since different solar panels convert sunlight to energy at different rates, cost per watt is a measure that normalizes the price of panels based on a fixed unit of electricity: the watt. This measure is used in multiple ways by different solar companies. For instance, knowing how much it costs solarpanel manufacturers to make a panel on a cost-per-watt basis makes it easier for investors to compare them to competitors. Knowing solar installers’ installation costs on a per-watt basis is valuable for comparing those companies. Even as a consumer, comparing different solar options on a per-watt basis can help you determine which option delivers the most value. Megawatt (MW): This is a unit of 1 million watts. You will also see wattage measured in kilowatts (kW) and gigawatts (GW), measuring a thousand and a billion watts, respectively. In the solar industry, companies use these measures to report panel sales or installation volumes, and to measure the capacity of manufacturing plants. Companies often use this metric instead of revenue when discussing results from a specific period, as solar-panel prices can fluctuate greatly from one year to the next. Furthermore, yieldcos — companies that operate solarpower farms and sell the electricity — use these measures to describe how much power capacity they own and how much power they can sell. They often express results in watt-hours (Wh) sold — generally in multiples such as kWh, MWh, or GWh. Efficiency: This term is generally used to describe how much sunlight a solar panel can convert into electricity. It’s expressed as a percentage; a panel that converts 18% of sunlight into electricity would be considered 18% efficient. Two same-size panels with different efficiency ratings will generate different amounts of electricity. This is a key reason why the cost-per-watt metric is important: It normalizes costs based on power output, so that competing systems of different efficiency can be accurately compared. Cash available for distribution (CAFD): This measure starts with a company’s operating cash flow, then subtracts other cash items such as certain capital expenditures. The end result is leftover cash that a company could potentially distribute to investors in the form of dividends. This metric is commonly used by yieldcos to determine how well their dividend payouts are supported by their cash flow.

Five top solar stocks for 2019 While solar-panel makers will likely struggle under the weight of low prices on their margins, solar installers like Vivint Solar, power-management and energy-storage equipment makers like SolarEdge and Enphase, and renewable-energy producers like Pattern Energy and TerraForm Power actually benefit from cheaper panels, for a variety of reasons we’ll explain below.

TerraForm Power: A yieldco for income and dividend growth Back in late 2016 and early 2017, TerraForm Power wasn’t a company that most investors would have wanted to go anywhere near. And for good reason, with the bankruptcy of former parent SunEdison creating substantial risk. But once Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM)acquired TerraForm Power — and sister company TerraForm Global — from SunEdison in late 2017, things quickly began to improve. Brookfield Asset Management has a well-earned reputation for finding undervalued and underperforming assets like TerraForm Power and turning them around. Since it took over and put new leadership in place, TerraForm Power has taken several big steps forward. In 2018, the company took measures to lower its operating costs, including signing a long-term service agreement with General Electric to help streamline maintenance costs for its North American windturbine fleet. But it’s TerraForm Power’s growth prospects that investors should get excited about. The company closed its acquisition of Spanish renewable-energy producer Saeta in the third quarter, which played a big role in boosting its results. Power generation increased 46% to over 2,000 GWh in the third quarter alone, pushing adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) up 79%, and CAFD up 69% per share. Management said that this one acquisition “almost doubled the cash flows of the company on an annualized basis and facilitated the overall improvement of the company’s capital structure.” The current dividend is well-supported by current cash flow, which is set to continue growing along with demand for more solar and renewable energy all over the world. Investors can likely count on the company living up to its long-term plan to raise the payout between 5% and 9% every year. The high yield and that level of dividend growth alone could deliver market-beating returns over the long term.

Pattern Energy: A higher yield, but also higher risk As of this writing, Pattern Energy Group owns only a small amount of solar-power assets, counting on wind for the majority of its cash generation. But CEO Mike Garland has said the company will continue to take steps to expand beyond wind. In early 2018, Pattern Energy made a substantial investment in renewable assets in Japan that included 39 MW of solar capacity. However, since that acquisition, the company has sold off more assets than it’s acquired. From the end of its first quarter to the end of its third quarter of 2018, Pattern Energy’s total power capacity actually declined 4% to 2,861 MW.

COMPANY

2018 REVENUE

MARKET CAPITALIZATION

Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH)

$316.2 million

$1.0 billion

Pattern Energy Group (NASDAQ:PEGI)

$483.0 million

$2.2 billion

SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG)

$937.2 million

$1.8 billion

TerraForm Power (NASDAQ:TERP)

$766.6 million

$2.9 billion

Vivint Solar (NYSE:VSLR)

$290.3 million

$605 million

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

featured So what gives, and why is a company that’s going backward in the growing renewable-energy market worth investing in? In short, because Garland and his team have proven to be excellent capital allocators. Pattern Energy has been able to command an average of 15 times CAFD for the selling price of the assets it’s sold, while only paying around 10 times CAFD for the assets it’s acquired.

In the short term, this has resulted in more assets sold than acquired, as management bides its time in adding new assets to the portfolio. That can be painful for investors; Pattern Energy’s weak cash flow growth caused plenty of investors to sell, and the stock price fell. Furthermore, weakening cash flow has put the dividend at risk; last year the company paid out almost all of its CAFD in dividends, giving it very little margin for error. But management’s disciplined approach to asset allocation should pay off over the long term: Paying fair value when buying, and commanding a premium when selling, will almost certainly result in greater cash flow over time. The company recently laid out a two-year plan to grow its cash flow so that it exceeds the dividend by at least 20%. The risk is that, because essentially all of the current cash flow goes to the dividend today, the company’s plan must go relatively smoothly to reach the 80% payout ratio management is calling for. The good news is that the plan is relatively straightforward, already has a number of components in play, and doesn’t require Pattern Energy to find an outside source of funding.

Vivint Solar: A low-cost solar installer with big growth prospects The past couple of years haven’t exactly been great for solar-power system installers in the U.S. Residential solar installations fell over 2% in 2017; the total market (not just residential, which did better) fell slightly again in 2018, following the implementation of tariffs on the vast majority of solar panels imported into the U.S. This caused many solar installers to shrink, but Vivint Solar took advantage of the cyclical downturn to aggressively take market share. Furthermore, the company makes money in two ways: one that generates cash flow today, and another that will deliver steady cash for many years to come. When customers decide to go with solar power, they also must choose how to pay for it: buy the system with cash or a loan, or sign a long-term lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) with the installer. If a Vivint customer chooses the former option, the company gets paid up front for the sale. However, for customers who sign a long-term agreement, Vivint fronts the cost to buy and install the panels, agreeing to collect payments for the power produced by the system over a 20-year period.

JUNE- 2020

Many solar installers can’t afford to front the money for every solar-power system they sell on a lease or PPA, so they sell off the value of those agreements, typically at a discounted rate, for their long-term value in order to capture cash today. Vivint, however, has proven quite adept at retaining a large portion of those contracts. At last count, Vivint estimated it had $968 million in net value in retained contracts, which works out to more than $8 per share in cash that those assets will generate over the next 20 years. The beauty of Vivint’s ability to hold on to these assets can be summed up in one word: optionality. The company gains substantial financial flexibility by holding these assets, as a source of steady cash, but also as something it can sell for additional liquidity. Right now the company is steadily growing this cash-cow asset: Net retained value has increased in 10 out of the last 13 quarters, and is up 42% per share since the beginning of 2016. With some of the lowest installation expenses of any national installer, and over $800 million in cash-producing long-term value on its books, Vivint is set up for long-term success.

Enphase and SolarEdge: Key solar suppliers with multiple ways to grow Both Enphase and SolarEdge play important roles in the solar industry, supplying both solar-panel makers and solarpower system installers with important components and power management software. With well-established technology and large market share, these two pure plays in the solar market offer investors incredible growth potential. Enphase is by far the smaller of the two, with annual revenue still shy of $350 million. However, it has multiple catalysts working in its favor that should help it deliver big growth in 2019 and beyond. in mid-2018 the company signed a big deal to acquire solar-panel maker SunPower‘s (NASDAQ:SPWR) microinverter business, and to be the company’s exclusive supplier of microinverters. Enphase expects to see an extra $60 million to $70 million in annualized revenue as a result of this one deal, and forecasts that it will command gross margins of between 33% and 35% as a result. On the low end, that’s worth almost $20 million in incremental gross profit — not a bad deal for $25 million in cash and 7.5 million shares of Enphase stock. Depending on the extra operating expense Enphase takes on to support SunPower as a customer, this looks like an incredibly good deal for Enphase over the long term.

It’s also expected to push Enphase out of the red by the end of 2019, a notable improvement for a company that has yet to produce a GAAP profit since going public in 2012:

It should also help drive operating cash flow higher, supporting planned investments in another key growth segment for Enphase: energy storage. Later this year, the company will significantly expand its residential energy-storage systems from the current 1.2 kWh battery, and will add 3.3 kWh, 10 kWh, and 13.2 kWh systems to its lineup.

www.EQMagPro.com

featured As battery costs fall and utility energy prices rise, energy storage represents a massive market opportunity for Enphase. Investors who buy shares now are getting in very close to the beginning of what could prove a transformative period for the company. Similarly, SolarEdge is a pure-play supplier for critical components to solar-energy installers and panel makers. However, it’s far larger than Enphase, generating almost $1 billion in sales in 2018; it’s also solidly profitable, and has been every year since going public in 2015:

That profitability, along with its big market share in the inverter and poweroptimizer business, allows Solar Edge to make strategic investments, including acquisitions, to take more share and expand into growth markets. And that’s exactly what management is doing. Over the past year, SolarEdge has made substantial investments that should help it grow across three different, yet related, markets: uninterruptible power supply, electricvehicle (EV) charging, and energy-storage products. As more companies and people rely on renewable energy and alternative power sources for transportation, all three of these segments will see substantial growth in demand in coming decades. 2019 is a critical year for SolarEdge to integrate all of these acquisitions into its existing business. It’s not guaranteed to go perfectly, but if management can leverage even two of these three new market opportunities, it will be incredibly well-positioned for years of profitable growth.

www.EQMagPro.com

Invest opportunistically, but with a long-term outlook 2018 wasn’t a very good year for most solar stocks, as the dual impact of U.S. tariffs and China’s slashing of its domestic incentives yanked the rug out from under panel makers. The massive oversupply that resulted from the cut in global demand is a key reason you don’t see any solar-panel makers featured above: 2019 isn’t likely to be a good year for most panel makers, as they work through an oversupplied market and fight each other tooth and nail to win whatever business they can. However, the companies on the other end of the solar industry, like yieldcos and solar installers, should see a benefit from low solar-panel prices, which lower their costs. This should help drive higher demand throughout 2019 than we saw last year, helping to boost Enphase and SolarEdge. The bottom line: These five companies represent solid value at recent prices, while also having substantial long-term prospects to grow their businesses much larger. As investors learned — quite painfully — in 2018, policy changes can cause the global solar industry to turn on a dime. You should be prepared to take a long-term approach, and be willing to hold your investments in the best companies even when things aren’t going well. These five are some of the best investments in solar, both now and for the long term.

JUNE- 2020

featured

Challenges and Opportunities of Solar Power Utility Sector In India Renewable Energy in India has traversed a long way over the last decade and the growth trajectory of Solar in the Utility Sector has been phenomenal. It, certainly, has cemented its place from being a fledgling part to becoming a mainstay in the Renewable Energy sector and a key component in the Overall Power sector in India. For the next quantum jump, just as it has to overcome few challenges similarly there are opportunities which shall enable that.

he first set of challenges can be, typically, classified as contractual in nature. It is a logical premise that the signatories to an agreement shall fulfil their Condition Precedents and Subsequents in a time-bound fashion, thereby maintaining sanctity of the contract and creating a win-win situation for everybody. However, while the Solar Power Producers are expected to diligently adhere to their deliverables, challenges like inordinate payment delays and tariff re-negotiation in between the contractual duration severely hamper the investor confidence and diminish the economic attractiveness. Such contradictory messaging cascades negative ripples in the entire ecosystem of stakeholders too. Another similar challenge has been the imposition of backdown of generating plants although they supposedly function under ‘must-run’ status. While the sector has progressed immensely under the able guidance of Central and State Govts, there still are areas which, when structured up, will result in providing a huge impetus in driving the scale growth as well as further tariff reduction. It is a known fact that free market economics will always put a lower risk premium to projects where there is more information and clarity around the key parameters. Visibility of timebound bidding pipeline and seamless coordination amongst the bidding agencies and the transmission utilities would be the two initial steps to demarcate the broad contours of the overall road-map. The next couple of aspects which require immediate attention of the authorities are streamlining the land acquisition process and refining the payment security mechanism. Enabling solutions to these will allow the Power Producers to operate in a comparatively risk-free environment and that shall trigger a massive scale growth. Another key booster for enhancing access and reducing cost of funds would be to facilitate ‘priority-sector’ status to the clean energy domain specifically and uncouple it from the traditional power sector limits. Financing, being one of the most sensitive and impactful levers, ease will result in better tariff discovery.

JUNE- 2020

We also notice a bunch of opportunities which shall shape the focus of the industry for the times ahead. Graduating from the regular plain-vanilla tenders to Hybrid, Peak-Power and Round-TheClock bids is absolutely the right directional approach. Success of the initial bids has ensured that such tenders shall be the next growth frontier. The holy grail of firm, schedulable and dispatchable power available at attractive tariffs shall, then, be achieved and Solar shall play a key role in it. Furthermore, merchant power sales could be another avenue which can unleash exponential growth in the Solar Power sector in India. Collaborative approach amongst all the stakeholders to smoothen the few pending rough edges and streamlining the opportunity areas shall ensure that the Sun continues to shine brighter on the Solar Power Utility Sector in India!

AUTHOR Sourya Choudhary Head- Utility Business Amp Energy India

www.EQMagPro.com

Supported by

Celebration Partner

Badge Partner

www.EQMagPro.com

Lanyard Partner

Water Bottle Partner

Partner Province

Solar Module Partner

Module Technology Partner

JUNE- 2020

Media Partner

53Â

featured

1,400 GW of offshore wind is possible by 2050, will be key for green recovery On World Ocean Day, the Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition (OREAC) has announced its vision for 1,400 GW of offshore wind globally by 2050 to drive decarbonisation and a green economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. This ambition goes beyond current offshore wind forecasts, but is entirely achievable considering the resource potential, technology innovation, and government appetite to position offshore wind at the centre of the global energy transition.

REAC was formed in response to the 2019 call for ocean-based climate action by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel), and represents ocean energy in the global dialogue on a sustainable ocean economy. The Ocean Panel is a unique initiative of 14 serving world leaders working with diverse stakeholders to accelerate bold, pragmatic solutions for realising a sustainable ocean economy. OREAC is spearheaded by Ørsted and Equinor, and includes other major players in the global offshore wind industry: CWind, Global Marine Group, JERA, MHI Vestas, MingYang Smart Energy, Mainstream Renewable Power, Shell, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, TenneT, and GE Renewable Energy. Additional partner organisations include Global Wind Energy Council, World Resources Institute, UN Global Compact, the Chinese Wind Energy Association and Ocean Energy Systems. A report commissioned by the Ocean Panel shows that ocean-based renewable energy, such as offshore wind, floating solar, tidal and wave power, could meet nearly 10 percent of the global annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed to remain on a Paris-compliant 1.5°C pathway in 2050. It estimates that up to 85 per cent of this decarbonisation potential will come from offshore wind. 1,400 GW of offshore wind would power one-tenth of global electricity demand while saving over 3 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, equal to taking 800 million cars off the road.

Benj Sykes, Head of Market Development, Consenting and External Affairs at Ørsted, said, “In a short period of time, offshore wind has become an incredibly competitive solution for clean power generation across the world, with impressive cost reduction driving the industry’s growth by over 30 per cent in the past decade and now outcompeting alternative fuels such as coal. Over 30 GW of capacity is already installed, yet this is just the tip of the iceberg for the massive growth potential of offshore wind.”

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

featured

Working alongside other technologies such as renewable hydrogen could further bolster offshore wind’s ability to power economies across the world sustainably and at a low cost. The sector’s success to date has been built on collaboration with governments, and OREAC is ready to work with policymakers across the globe to deliver this potential and realise our clean energy future sooner than ever thought possible, Sykes said. Scaling up offshore wind is a cornerstone of decarbonising the world’s energy use and will support the revitalisation of economies, which is more important than ever in the context of economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The industry is ready to play an important role in powering a green recovery with ocean renewable energy at its heart. OREAC estimates that offshore wind could provide around 24 million years of employment (defined as full-time work for one person per calendar year with 260 working days) by 2050, if the 1,400 GW vision is achieved. This job creation potential is calculated using IRENA data, and covers the full value chain of offshore wind, from procurement to construction to decommissioning.

"added: Stephen Bull, Senior Vice President Offshore wind at Equinor, “The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has forced us to take a step back

and rethink the future we want to create for the next generation. Going back to ‘normal’ is not an option if we want to build more resilient economies and sustainable development pathways that will benefit all citizens. Offshore wind can promote better health by reducing air pollution, increase energy security by reducing dependence on expensive imported fuels, save billions of litres of water, reduce the harmful environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change, and be an important driver of economic growth and job creation. While this may seem too good to be true, the reality is that offshore wind is ready to deliver now. It can provide all these benefits and more to drive a sustainable economic recovery and contribute to thriving, sustainable economies of the future”.

www.EQMagPro.com

Later this year, OREAC will launch its roadmap for 2050, which will outline the actions needed to support industry and policymakers in achieving the 1,400 GW vision. This report will serve as an important guiding document for industry, government and other ocean stakeholders to harness the power of ocean-based renewable energy to decarbonise our energy systems, while contributing to prosperous coexistence of ocean energy projects with other ocean uses and maintaining the integrity of the marine environment. The report is being delivered by BVG Associates. The forthcoming report from OREAC will address: offshore wind’s socioeconomic benefits and role in mitigating climate change; policy, infrastructure and market frameworks which enable sector growth; safety considerations; environmental planning; the importance of colocation and coexistence with fisheries and other marine users; and other ocean-based renewable energy technologies.

JUNE- 2020

electric vehicle

Covid a blessing in disguise for electric mobility: Hero Electric CEO

Coronavirus crisis could be an opportunity in disguise for sustainable mobility to flourish in India, thinks Sohinder Gill, director general of SMEV.

In an exclusive interview to TOI, Gill said, “India has already made its share of mistakes in the past by jeopardizing sustainable mobility. The Covid crisis is a big jolt. While the industries were down and the fossil fuel consumption was low, it gave us a good proof that we can rely on sustainability and continue with this culture.” Gill, who is also the CEO of Hero Electric, believes substituting internal combustion engines with electric mobility is the best foot forward. “In a country, where there are electric buses, two-wheelers and threewheelers already plying, it’s just a matter of taking big decisions. The crisis will act as a turning point. India has multiple cities in the list of most-polluted. The scenario should change,” said Gill.

JUNE- 2020

ero Electric’s CEO also believes that the startups associated with electric and sustainable mobility will get through the crisis with signs of normalcy reappearing. For now, these startups only have to focus on downsizing and laying low until the Covid crisis is eliminated, said Gill. Gill added that the electric industry will lead the pack and this crisis will help in bringing out a permanent solution for the ecosystem.

www.EQMagPro.com

electric vehicle

A million-mile battery from China could power your electric car The Chinese behemoth that makes electric-car batteries for Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles – an industry landmark and a potential boon for automakers trying to sway drivers to their EV models.

ontemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is ready to produce a battery that lasts 16 years and 2 million kilometers (1.24 million miles), Chairman Zeng Yuqun said in an interview at company headquarters in Ningde, southeastern China. Warranties on batteries currently used in electric cars cover about 150,000 miles or eight years, according to BloombergNEF. Extending that lifespan is viewed as a key advance because the pack could be reused in a second vehicle. That would lower the expense of owning an electric vehicle, a positive for an industry that’s seeking to recover sales momentum lost to the coronavirus outbreak and the slumping oil prices that made gas guzzlers more competitive. “If someone places an order, we are ready to produce,” said Zeng, 52, without disclosing if contracts for the long-distance product have been signed. It would cost about 10 per cent more than the batteries now inside EVs, said Zeng, whose company is the world’s largest maker of the batteries.

Concerns about batteries losing strength and having to be replaced after a few years is one factor holding back consumer adoption of EVs. Tesla last year flagged it expected to bring into production a battery capable of a million miles of operation, and General Motors Co. last month said it is nearing the milestone. That distance is equivalent to circling the planet 50 times. Anticipating a rapid return to growth for the EV industry, CATL is plowing research-and-development dollars into advances in battery technology. While the coronavirus outbreak will drag down sales throughout this year, EV demand will pick up in early 2021, said Zeng, who founded CATL a decade ago. Car buyers holding back during the pandemic is creating pentup demand that will be unleashed starting next year, led by premium models, he said. CATL’s customers include BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp. Zeng’s comments strengthen views that electric vehicles are set to weather the economic slowdown caused by the outbreak better than gas guzzlers. Battery-powered cars will swell to 8.1 per cent of all sales next year in China, which accounts for the largest share of global EV sales, and to 5 per cent in Europe, BNEF predicts.

www.EQMagPro.com

“The pandemic may have a lasting effect throughout 2020, but won’t be a major factor next year,” Zeng said. “We have great confidence for the long run.” CATL struck a two-year contract in February to supply batteries to Tesla, a major boon for the Chinese company as the US electric-car leader has thus far mainly worked with Japan’s Panasonic Corp. and South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. The deal followed months of negotiations, with Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk traveling to Shanghai to meet with Zeng. The CATL batteries are set to go into Model 3 sedans produced at Tesla’s massive new factory near Shanghai, which started deliveries around the beginning of this year. Batteries are the costliest part of an EV, meaning suppliers of those components have a chance to reap a lion’s share of the industry’s profits. Zeng said he often shares insights with Musk, with the two exchanging text messages about developments in technology and business. CATL is strengthening its relationship with Tesla, with matters such as cobalt-free batteries on their agenda, Zeng said. “We’re getting along well and he’s a fun guy,” Zeng said of Musk. “He’s talking about cost all day long, and I’m making sure we have the solutions.” Zeng said Musk also requested his help in obtaining ventilators for coronavirus patients. The US billionaire delivered more than 1,000 of the breathing machines from China to officials in Los Angeles in March. Shares of CATL have advanced about six-fold in Shenzhen since its initial public offering in 2018, giving the company a market value of about $47 billion. Tesla, by far the most valuable EV maker, has a market capitalization of about $160 billion. A “trigger point” for electric cars will occur once they overtake gasoline-powered vehicles around 2030-2035, Zeng said. That view is more ambitious than that of researchers such as BNEF, which expects the shift to take place a few years later. CATL, which is adding a production facility in Germany, is set to make more than 70 per cent of batteries required by BMW, an early customer, Zeng said. CATL also works with Volkswagen’s Audi unit and is cooperating with Porsche, he said. Zeng didn’t rule out building a plant in the US, though he said the company has no specific plans for now.“Our team has made achievements in competing with our global rivals in overseas markets,” Zeng said.

JUNE- 2020

solar Intelligence

How AI is transforming the PV industry? Introducing Huawei latest FusionSolar 6.0+ solution

With the rapid development ICT technologies such as AI, cloud, big data, and 5G, Huawei has engaged with experts in the field and has released 10 emerging technical trends for smart PV for 2025.There are 3 key directions that are worth paying attention to.

1. Full intelligence: in the future, data will become the most fundamental

resource for the digital world and all the data in the PV plant from modules, trackers, inverters and etc. shall be detected. We expect 90% of the PV plants will be fully digitalized by 2025. And the mass data will be processed with AI to help improve the system operation efficiency which is previously performed with only human experience. We expect AI to be deployed in system design optimization for detection, solar storage collaboration, and ultimately making the whole system smarter. By 2025, 70% of PV plants will adopt AI. We believe unmanned operation and maintenance will be the mainstream. Drones will be deployed for the inspection and assistant robots can help repair and replace devices with remote control. We expect by 2025, 80% of the PV plants will be unmanned at least with light manual operation. 2. Grid supporting: currently the installation capacity of renewable energy accounts for 10% of the total power plants where energy generation accounts for only 2% at this moment. In the future, renewable energy become the main energy source as significantly more PV plants will be connected to the power grid. Therefore, we expect PV plants shall transform from following the grid to actively supporting the grid. When the grid integration failure occurs, the PV plant should not be tripped, and the output power should be stable with low harmonics in order to maintain the voltage and the frequency of the grid. The PV plant storage is expected to be a new trend for grid supporting. In 2025, we expect 30% of the new PV plant will have energy storage. However, the smart collaboration between the solar and the storage to improve the system efficiency will be another new project for the PV solution suppliers. Also, 80% of residential systems will connect to virtual power plants (VPP) networks by 2025.

58Â

JUNE- 2020

3. System and the components upgrade: with the

development of the material and heat dissipation and algorithm, we expect components in PV solution will be upgraded in 3 ways. Modular design of components for flexible deployment. Second is power density, in the future, inverter power density will increase by 50%. Lastly, the reliability, availability, security, safety, resilience & privacy will become essential requirements.

Based on these understandings, Huawei created FusionSolar 6.0+ Utility Smart PV solution consists of smart inverters, controller for the data transmission and control, the smart transformer station for overseas IPS solution, and Smart PV management system for realtime monitoring and management. Our latest improvements on the solution are testaments of how we deploy AI technology in FusionSolar: 1) Smart Tracker Control Algorithm, 2) Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis 4.0 and 3) Smart Grid-connection Algorithm. At Huawei, we use AI-Boost FusionSolar Smart PV solution aiming to reduce LCOE and supports grid with the following 3 key features.

www.EQMagPro.com

solar Intelligence 1) Smart Tracker Control Algorithm: The tracker can significantly increase the energy generation. More and more PV plants deploy trackers to reduce LCOE. Currently, the trackers rely on astronomic algorithm to ensure the modules to be perpendicular to the direct sunlight. However, the uneven landscape in the PV plant is not being considered. The shading between different rows of PV panels could reduce the yields. In cloudy days, the diffused light accounts for higher ratio than that in normal days. And the tracking angle without optimization can’t harvest as much as power when the light is scattered. Huawei integrates AI and the collaborative energy generation with tracking algorithm to optimize the tracking angle through the recurrent neural network based on the mass data from the plant performance. And during the backtracking, Huawei adopts each row to avoid inter-row shading and capture more solar energy. What we introduced here is only achieved by the algorithm upgrade without any cost of additional devices. We have tested this technology in PV plants in different latitudes. And the results show, compared with standard mode, the smart control algorithm can improve the energy generation by at least 0.5%. This technology utilised standard interface and communication protocol and it’s quite easy to collaborate with different vendors of trackers.

2) Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis We also use AI to reduce OPEX as we improve I-V curve diagnosis. This idea came about between us and our strategic customer. We developed an online inspection and diagnosis of all PV strings. Compared with conventional solution that uses on-site sampling test and time-consuming manual analysis. The smart I-V curve diagnosis can largely shorten the site inspection time from weeks to half a day. AI learns based on experts’ knowledge and can accurately identify 14 types of string failure which is certified by TÜV. These diagnosis can further provide trouble shooting solution to close loop the O&M process. This function has already been deployed in 5GW PV plant worldwide at the moment and the number is still growing. Huawei continues to upgrade the algorithm to suit more and more scenario. This year, the 4th generation can support diagnosis of the mono, bifacial and shingle PV modules. It is also compatible with the mix installation of different PV modules in 1 string. The function is provided through licensing and any of our current customers with Huawei Smart PV solution, either for their existing or the new PV plans, are welcome to test it out.

Malaysian 49MW Solar Power Plant is utilising Huawei Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis to reduce OPEX. In summary, as digitalization transforms key industries, we could see the trend of All Things Sensing, All Things As the LCOE of PV continuously decreases, solar is expected to Connected and All Things Intelligent happening in the PV become the major energy source according to the International industry too. To achieve this vision, smart inverters are key Energy Agency’s outlook. In the near future, over 30% of the an- components to reshape the industry. Inverters are no longer nual newly installed power plant will be the PV plant. However, just converting DC (direct current) electricity to AC (alternatwith the increase in renewable energy construction, the short ing current), but to control and diagnose the health of the PV circuit ratio (SCR) of the power grid is gradually reduced. We systems, ultimately making the system smart and intelligent. could see the SCR in some countries will be going down quite At Huawei, our vision is to bring digital to every person, home significantly. Or in another way, more and more regions will face and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. a new challenge of weak grid. It is expected that between 2025 This would apply to the solar energy industry. We advocate and 2030, the SCR will be lower than 2 in a lot of the countries. Huawei has been researching on the grid connection technologies building an AI-enabled smart PV ecosystem by working with for many years and the improved its control accuracy. Currently, clients, policymakers, upstream and downstream partners to create a fully connected and digital PV system. Huawei has achieved stable grid-connection in all PV scenarios. We are confident that our algorithm could help our clients to build a robust system with more resilience. The smart inverters could support SCR as low as 1.5 to avoid frequent synchronization failure incidents. Moreover, Huawei solution is capable to AUTHOR provide better POD (power oscillation damping) control, which Mayank Mishra has already been considered and partially adopted with some of India’s Regional Sales Director, our clients in Latin America.

3) Smart Grid-connection Algorithm

Smart PV, Huawei

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

research & Analysis

REPORT ON OPTIMAL GENERATION CAPACITY MIX FOR 2029-30 Introduction

Objective of the Study

Electricity is one of the key enablers for achieving socio-economic development of the country. The economic growth leads to growth in demand of power. Generation capacity augmentation is the most vital component amongst various modes adopted for meeting the ever-increasing demand of power to achieve the targeted growth rate. After the enactment of Electricity Act, 2003 generation has been delicensed which has given impetus to the generation capacity addition and led to huge coal based generation capacity addition during 11th and 12th plan. India has marched ahead in the Power Sector taking huge strides in every sector of electricity viz. Generation, Transmission and Distribution. The per capita electricity consumption has increased from 592 kWh during 2003-04 to 1181 kWh during 2018-19. Consequently, the gap between electricity demand and supply has reduced drastically in the recent years. Presently, country is having enough generation capacity to meet its electricity demand. The supply gap of peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement during the year 2018-19 was only 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. However, huge capacity addition in the recent years has raised concerns related to under-utilization of the coal based capacities leading to stressed assets in the sector. The PLF of coal-based plants has reduced to 61.07% during 2018-19 from 78.6% during 2007-08. Therefore, there is an increasing need to plan capacity addition optimally in view of the limited availability of fuel resources for generation, new sources of generation and environmental concerns. The world is focusing on environmental issues, especially climate change and therefore the idea of growing sustainably has taken centre stage globally. In view of this, all countries across the globe have been actively engaged in climate negotiations on different platforms viz. UNFCCC. Consequently, the world has started moving towards carbon free energy. India being an active participant globally has started taking initiative towards sustainable development and cleaner environment. Towards realizing the objective of carbon free energy, India has set for itself a target of installed capacity of 175 GW from Renewable Energy Sources(RE) by March 2022. To further address the environmental issues arising from the obnoxious emissions, more efficient supercritical coal based units are being commissioned and old and inefficient coal based capacity is being retired. Environmental issues along with the reduction in cost of renewable energy sources (solar PV and wind) have given a push to the solar and wind based power generation technologies. The capital cost of renewable (solar PV and wind) technologies for power generation is becoming competitive day by day with the coal based generation. These technologies are carbon free and will help to achieve the sustainable development programme of the country. However, the intermittency associated with the RE technologies is a limitation, which needs to be addressed in the power system. One of the options which can help in large scale integration of RE generation sources can be adoption of grid scale energy storage technologies which can complement RE generation sources. Storage Hydro plants/ Pumped storage plants can be highly useful for facilitating integration of high variable RE power into the power system. While other new storage technologies are in nascent stages of development, grid scale battery energy storage systems are becoming attractive globally due to rapidly reducing cost with the technological advancement. The world is anticipating that the grid scale energy storage technologies may help to absorb more RE economically into the power system in the near future. The requirement of the energy storage systems can be fulfilled with any commercially viable energy storage technology suitable for grid scale applications.

To find out the optimal generation capacity mix to meet the projected peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement in the year 2029-30 considering possible/feasible technology options, intermittency associated with Renewable energy sources and constraints if any, etc. Optimum generation mix study is an optimization problem for generation expansion planning, in which the objective function is to minimize: a. The costs associated with operation of the existing and committed (planned and under construction) generating stations. b. The capital cost and operating cost of new generating stations required for meeting peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement while satisfying different constraints in the system such as: 1. Fuel availability constraints. 2. Technical operational constraints viz. minimum technical load of thermal units, ramp rates, startup and shut down time etc. 3. Financial implications arising out of startup cost, fuel transportation cost etc. 4. Intermittency associated with renewable energy generation.

60Â

JUNE- 2020

Technologies/Fuel options available for power generation considered in the study are: 1. Conventional Sources â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Coal and Lignite, Large Hydro including Pumped Storage, Nuclear, Natural gas. 2. Renewable Energy Sources- Solar, Wind, Biomass, Small Hydro, etc. 3. New Technologies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Grid scale battery energy storage systems.

Why 2029-30?

To achieve the target of RE installed capacity of 175 GW by 2022, India has taken several policy initiatives for encouraging investment in RE Generation sources. National Electricity Plan has also laid its emphasis on RE integration and detailed studies have been carried out in NEP for the year 2021-2022 to analyze the power scenario with 175 GW of RE capacity in the Grid. Further, NEP has also given a perspective scenario for 2026-27 assuming 100 GW of capacity addition from RE during the period 2022-27 in view of the consistency in policy push for RE. India is working towards low carbon emission path while meeting its developmental goals. In this regard, India is aiming to have 40 % of the total installed capacity by the year 2030 based on non-fossil fuel sources as submitted in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). This phase of transition warrants a detailed study of the power scenario in the year 2030. Grid scale battery energy storage technologies have started gaining popularity globally as their cost of installation has been reducing drastically over the years. It is anticipated that battery energy storage technologies would become financially viable and complement RE as a prominent generation source in coming years. However, India has a large fleet of existing pithead coal power plants, which provide quite cheap electricity. In view of incoherence between peak demand and RE peak generation, hydro and flexible coal plants can provide the essential support for grid stability. To address the above issues and to optimally utilize the available resources the least cost generation capacity expansion needs to be planned in optimum manner to meet the forecasted peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement of the country in future. Therefore, there arises a need for detailed

www.EQMagPro.com

research & Analysis generation expansion planning studies for power scenario in 2030 where India can take the carbon-free growth path along with optimizing generation from different sources in most cost-effective manner. In this context, planning for optimal generation capacity mix gains tremendous importance to ensure future generation capacity mix is cost effective as well as environmental friendly. A horizon of 10-12 years is sufficient to gear up the systems and policies in the right direction so as to achieve the optimally planned generation mix. The study year 2029-30 has been considered keeping this in perspective.

Generation Expansion Planning Tool The optimal generation mix study for the year 2029-30 has been carried out using the state of the art computer Generation Expansion planning model namely ORDENA. The model performs generation expansion planning, production costing and has the capability of modelling renewable energy sources using Mixed Integer Programming. The model minimises the cost of energy generation including the capital investments required for meeting peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement by carrying out numerous iterations for selecting the most optimal generation capacity mix considering all financial parameters and satisfying technical/operational constraints. It optimizes the cost of transportation of fuel and emissions from power plants. The software has the capability to carry out hourly/sub hourly economic generation dispatch considering all the technical constraints associated with various generation technologies.

The schematic diagram of the software is given as Exhibit 1.

Present Installed Capacity Total Installed Capacity of the country as on 30.09.2019 was 363.4 GW, which comprise of 45.4 GW from Hydro, 228.6 GW from Thermal, 82.6 GW from R.E.S and 6.8 GW from Nuclear. The detailed sector and fuel wise breakup of the total installed capacity as on 30.09.2019 and energy contribution from different sources during 2018-19 is given below:

www.EQMagPro.com

JUNE- 2020

61Â

research & Analysis Generation Capacity mix of the country Generation capacity mix of the country has undergone significant changes since the time of independence with increased electricity demand in the country. Share of hydro capacity which was about 26% by the end of 10th plan period (i.e.2006-07) has come down to about 13% presently. Penetration of solar and wind capacities along with bigger sizes of coal based units, transition to super critical coal based technology etc. has taken place over these years. The probable reason of higher percentage of coal based capacity in the generation capacity mix has been the abundant availability of domestic coal, shorter gestation period and lower capital cost of coal based plants compared to hydro and nuclear plants. With the enactment of Electricity Act, 2003, coal based capacity addition has further got a boost with increased participation of private sector in the generation segment. Share of private sector in the installed capacity of the country was about 10% before the Electricity Act, 2003, which has grown to about 45% by the year 2018. Gas based generation, which also started picking up with new finds of domestic gas, has however slowed down with the reducing production of KG D6 gas. A significant capacity is presently stranded due to lack of domestic gas and high cost of imported LNG. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s installed capacity mix has seen growth in nuclear-based capacity from 4th five-year plan onwards and has grown up to 2% of the installed capacity by 2018 and further there are plans to increase this share. India being richly endowed with renewable energy sources has achieved significant capacity addition in the renewable energy sector in the recent times. With environmental concerns gaining tremendous importance, India has now committed to increase the share of renewables in an unprecedented manner and committed to increase the installed capacity of renewables to 175 GW by the year 2021-22.

62Â

JUNE- 2020

Exhibit 3 and Exhibit 4 depicts the capacity and generation mix historically. It can be seen that share of hydro in installed capacity has reduced in recent years though the share of renewable energy has increased. However, in view of increasing share of variable renewable sources (Wind and Solar) in the system, hydro power plants with storage are the best option to address the intermittency of renewables as they have capabilities of fast ramping-up and ramping -down.

www.EQMagPro.com

research & Analysis Present Load Profile of the country The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s load profile indicates that peak load is generally observed during morning hours and evening hours. However, the evening peaks are higher than the morning peaks. The All India peak load is observed generally in the month of September/October (load curve of the year 2014-15, 2015- 16 and 2016-17). The load curve of the country varies significantly during different seasons and the same is shown in Exhibit 5.

Optimal Generation Capacity Mix studies for the year 2029-30

Studies have been carried out to find out the optimal generation capacity mix to meet the peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement for the year 2029-30 with the objective to minimize the total system cost subject to various technical/financial constraints.

www.EQMagPro.com

Inputs for the Study i. CEA has carried out midterm review of the National Electricity Plan Vol I (Generation) to project the apacity addition by 2021-22. The generation capacity mix for the year 2021-22 as projected in the midterm review of National Electricity Plan (NEP) Vol I (Generation) has been considered as the base capacity for the study.

JUNE- 2020

63Â

research & Analysis ii. The projected installed capacity by the end of 2021-22 as per midterm NEP review is 4,76,431 MW (44,989 MW Hydro, 5246 MW PSP; 2,15,773 MW Coal; 25,343 MW Gas; 10,080 MW Nuclear, 5,000 MW small Hydro, 10000 MW Biomass, 100,000 MW solar and 60,000 MW wind) and has been considered as the base capacity (Table 2). Additionally, hydro imports totaling to 2136 MW have been considered till 2021-22. The base year of the study has been considered as 2021-22. iii. The study period from the year 2022-23 to 202930 has been considered to arrive at the optimal generation capacity mix for the year 2029-30. iv. The 19th Electric Power Survey (EPS) (published by CEA) projections for peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement have been considered for the studies. Electricity demand assessed by the 19th EPS Report gives the year-wise demand upto 2026-27 and then long term demand projections of the year 2031-32 with estimated CAGR for peak demand and energy requirement. The demand for 2029-30 has been assessed with a CAGR of peak demand of 4.4% and that of energy requirement of 4.33% from 2027- 2032. v. The estimated peak electricity demand (GW) and electrical energy requirement (BU) in the years 2021-22, 2026-27 and 2029-30 are given in vi. The 19th EPS estimates the All India Peak and Electricity demand on the National electricity grid in future years. This demand is exclusive of the demand being met by solar roof top installation. Some of the electricity demand is likely to be met locally through rooftop solar installations, leading to less requirement from the National Grid. To capture the hourly and seasonal variation of the grid connected solar roof top along with grid connected large solar PV plants, the energy contributed by the solar roof top has been added to the energy requirement projected by the 19th EPS for the study purpose. It has been estimated that the energy contribution from the solar roof top during the year 2029-30 is likely to be 75 BU. Therefore, the energy requirement for the year 2029-30 considered for the study has been taken as 2400 BU( 2325 + 75). However, the peak load during the year 2029- 30 for the study has been considered as 340 GW (as per 19th EPS) as there is no peak contribution from solar roof top (All India peak load occurs in the evening). vii. The most important aspect of any generation planning study is the annual hourly demand projections. Hence, the endeavor has been to meticulously project hourly demand for the year 2029-30. In this regard, the hourly demand profiles on all India basis of the years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 201617 have been studied to arrive at the most probable demand profile and the same has been extrapolated considering the peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement for the study in the year 2029-30. The likely hourly demand curve for a typical day in October 2029 is shown as Exhibit

64Â

JUNE- 2020

viii. Study has been carried out considering the following technologies as shown in Table below:

ix. Under construction capacity of 6,494 MW of hydro, 1705 MW of pumped storage has been considered during the study period (20222030) as planned. x. Hydro imports of the order of 3,720 MW from neighboring countries have been considered during the study period (2022- 2030). xi. Hydro stations totaling to 12,210 MW that have been concurred by CEA have been considered as candidate plants during the period 202230. xii. PSP stations of about 6020 MW which have been concurred or are under survey and investigation(S&I) have been considered as candidate stations during the study period (2022-30). xiii. Capacity totaling to 8,900 MW of nuclear (as per DoAE) has been considered as planned capacity for the study period. (2022-30) xiv. Nuclear capacity of about 12,000 MW that has got in principle approval has been considered as candidate plants for the study period (2022-30).

www.EQMagPro.com

research & Analysis xv. Retirement of old coal based units totaling to 25,252 MW has been considered for the period 2022-30. xvi. Under-construction coal based capacity of 8630MW has been considered as planned (likely to be commissioned after the year 2022) during the study period (2022-30). xvii. Coal based supercritical and ultra-supercritical units of 660 MW and 800 MW have been considered as candidate plants. xviii. The study has been done with high level of granularity and the model has been provided with unit wise characteristics like installed capacity, commissioning year, fuel type, heat rate, outage rate, maintenance duration, fuel cost, fixed O&M cost, start up/down time and cost, ramp rates, minimum technical load, capital cost, peak contribution, hydro storage related data, Hydro seasonal energy, emission factors etc. in respect of all the existing, under construction, planned and candidate plants. xix. The reducing trend of the capital cost of solar PV as well of Battery Energy Storage technology has been considered in the study. xx. The deterioration in operational efficiency with part loading of units of thermal plants has been considered. xxi.No additional gas-based capacity has been considered apart from existing capacity of 25,343 MW in view of shortage of domestic natural gas. xxii. Due to the unavailability of natural gas and high price of imported RLNG, fuel restriction for gas based plants has been considered and fuel availability has been limited to present supply of the domestic natural gas to power stations. xxiii. Due to seasonal availability of Biomass, fuel restriction for the Biomass has been considered. xxiv. The actual 8760 hourly generation profile of solar and wind has been gathered from various states having RE generation. The average annual CUF of solar power plants has been estimated to be around 22 % and that of wind power plants as 25.21 % in the year 2029-30. xxv. To capture the seasonal variation associated with hydro and RE generation, the 8760 hours of year have been divided into five seasons based on the demand pattern. The five seasons are as follows: Summer : April-June Monsoon : July-September Autumn : October-November Winter: December- January Spring: February-March xxvi. The hydro energy availability varies significantly across the years as it depends on the monsoon rains in a particular year. Therefore, the actual monthly hydro generation of the existing hydro power plants for the years 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 has been studied to account for variation in generation availability due to the eventualities of drought or excess rainfall in any particular year. The monthly energy generation has been summed up to arrive at the seasonal energy. Each season has been further divided into blocks based on the RE generation profile for increasing the granularity and precision of the study. The model optimizes available hydro generation in such a way that maximum benefit of hydro can be exploited during peak hours along with ensuring minimum outflow even during off-peak hours. In this context, both central and state owned hydro power plants have been assumed to contribute towards grid stability and peaking requirement of the country.

www.EQMagPro.com

xxvii. Constraint of maximum wind capacity of 140 GW by the year 2029-30 based on the MNRE projection has been considered. xxviii. Details of the various inputs and assumptions are given in Annexure-I.

Energy Storage Systems The next phase of energy transition driven by the largescale deployment of variable renewable energy sources (VRES) like solar and wind power can be fully realized by key technologies of Energy Storage. The grid integration challenges of the intermittent generation sources ensuring quality of supply on real time basis along with the capability to store excess electricity over different time horizons (minutes, days, weeks) can be achieved by the electricity storage systems. Many grid scale energy storage systems are commercially available worldwide which includes Pumped storage plants, Battery energy storage systems etc. However, many energy storage technologies like Molten rocks, flywheel, Super capacitors, Green Hydrogen are in nascent stages of development and projections in respect of costs, technical characteristicsare not yet firmed up. Therefore, in the studies only commercially available storage technologies like Pumped hydro storage systems and battery energy storage systems are modelled.

Pumped Hydro Storage System While many forms of energy storage systems have been installed globally, Pumped Storage Plants (PSP) are playing an increasingly important role in providing peaking power and maintaining system stability in the power system of many countries. Pumped storage technology is the long term technically proven, cost effective, highly efficient and flexible way of energy storage on a large scale to store intermittent and variable energy generated by solar and wind. PSPs improve overall economy of power system operation and reduce operational problems of thermal stations during low load period. The other advantages of pumped storage technology are availability of spinning reserve at almost no cost to the system and regulating frequency to meet sudden load changes in the network. Also, PSPs provide environmental friendly large storage capacity compared to other storage options. It also has the ability to provide ancillary benefits such as flexible capacity, voltage support and Black start facility etc. Pumped storage technology has advanced significantly since its original introduction and now includes adjustable speed pumped turbines which can quickly shift from motor, to generator, to synchronous condenser modes, for easier and more flexible operation of the Grid. The concept of off-river PSP is getting popular in recent years due to huge benefits arising out of its less capital cost/operations. Therefore, with increased penetration of RES in the grid, PSPs can play a vital role in integration of RE sources in the national grid. The study has considered roposed PSP projects which are either concurred or in advance stages of survey and investigation.

JUNE- 2020

65Â

research & Analysis Battery Energy Storage Systems The cost of Battery Energy Storage system has been estimated after consultation with the various battery manufactures/suppliers. The cost of battery energy storage system considered in the model includes cost of battery, inverter, Battery and Energy Management Systems and other costs (cabling and installation costs). The size of the battery estimated by the model is based on 100% depth of discharge. The actual size of the battery catering to 80% depth of discharge may be more by 25%. For modelling purpose the capital cost of the battery has been increased by 25% to account for the 80% depth of discharge. The cost trajectory for battery energy storage system is assumed to be reducing uniformly from ₹ 7 Cr in 2021-22 to ₹ 4.3 Cr in 2029-30 for a 4 hour battery system which also includes an additional cost of 25% due to depth of discharge. The O&M cost for the battery energy storage system has been considered as 2%.

Results of the Study (Long Term studies) Studies were carried out with the inputs/assumptions elaborated in above section, using computer model ORDENA to find out the least cost option for system expansion for the year 2029-30. The model determines the least cost optimal expansion path to arrive at the optimal generation capacity mix for the year 2029-30, taking into account all the technical/financial parameters associated with various power generation and storage technologies for the study period. The results of the generation capacity mix based on the long term generation planning studies for the study period (2022-30) is shown in Exhibit 7. Graphs given below are indicative and are not to the scale.

From the results, following is observed: i. A candidate coal based capacity of 67,760 MW has been selected by model during the period 2022-30. ii. A hydro capacity of 3,658 MW has been selected out of 12,210 MW of candidate hydro plants during the period 2022-30. iii. Pumped storage plants of 3200 MW has been selected out of 6,020 MW of candidate Pumped storage plants during the period 2022-30. iv. Model has not selected any new candidate nuclear power plants apart from already planned projects during the period 2022-30. v. Model has selected a solar capacity of about 180 GW and Wind capacity of 80 GW during the period 2022-30. vi. It is seen from the results that renewable energy sources (solar + wind) installed capacity is likely to be about 420 GW( 280GW Solar + 140 GW Wind) by the end of year 2029-30 which is more than 50% of total installed capacity of 817 GW. vii. A battery energy storage system of 27GW with four hour storage has been selected by the model during the period 2022-30. The projected gross electricity generation (BU) during the year 2029- 30 is likely to be 2,518 BU comprising of 1,393 BU from Thermal (Coal, Gas and Lignite), 801 BU from RE Sources, 207 BU from Hydro, 4.4 BU from PSS and 113 BU from Nuclear as shown in Exhibit 9.

The likely installed capacity by the end of the year 202930 is given in next Table and Exhibit 8. It can be seen from the above results that in the year 2029-30, nonfossil fuel (solar, wind, biomass, hydro & nuclear) based installed capacity is likely to be about 64% of the total installed capacity and non-fossil fuels contribute around 44.7% of the gross electricity generation during the year 2029-30.

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

research & Analysis

Dutch pension fund APG eyes Tata Power’s RE InvIT APG is interested in acquiring 51% stake in Tata Power’s renewable energy InvIT. Citibank was given the mandate to find an investor for the InvIT, which includes 3GW RE projects. In what may rank among the largest clean-energy deals in India, Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management NV has evinced interest in acquiring a 51% stake in Tata Power’s renewable energy infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), said two people, requesting anonymity.

itibank was given the mandate to find an investor for the InvIT, which will house 3-giagwatt (GW) of renewable energy projects, besides ₹10,000 crore- ₹12,000 crore of debt. InvITs manage incomegenerating infrastructure assets, typically offering regular yield to investors and a liquid way to invest in infrastructure projects. Others expressing interest in the proposed InvIT include private equity firm Actis Llp, Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), Canada Pension Plan investment Board (CPPIB), and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). The development comes amid renewed interests in India’ green energy space. Adani Green Energy Ltd had recently bagged a manufacturing-linked solar contract from Solar Energy Corp. of India to develop 8 GW of projects, in a transaction valued at ₹45,000 crore.

We have very ambitious targets in renewables. For that, we require money and we are looking at bringing in strategic investors, Praveer Sinha, managing director and CEO, Tata Power, had said in an earlier interview. Experts said foreign pension funds are taking an interest in the domestic green economy as the Indian market has matured and it fits their risk profile. They are also uniquely positioned to invest directly into the infrastructure space drawing from their experience of investing in North America and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Also, the pension funds represent the so-called patient capital, which seeks modest yields over time. While a Citibank spokesperson declined to comment, queries emailed to Tata Power remained unanswered. APG Asset Management spokesperson declined to comment.

www.EQMagPro.com

With € 538 billion under management and 4.7 million participants, APG is the biggest pension administrator in the Netherlands and works on behalf of eight pension funds, including ABP (government and education), bpfBOUW (construction), SPW (housing corporations), BPF Schoonmaak (cleaning), PWRI (social/labour inclusion), SPMS (medical specialists), the Pension Fund for Firms of Architects and PPF APG (APG personnel pension fund). CPPIB, OMERS and Actis spokespersons declined to comment. “CDPQ does not comment (on) market rumours,” a CDPQ spokesperson said in an emailed response. India is working on the world’s largest clean energy programme, with an aim to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. It has 34.6 GW of solar power and 38GW of wind power. Even as economic activity came to a standstill during the covid-induced nationwide lockdown, deal activity continues unabated for the green economy. The interest stems from India’s decision to unveil next generation power sector reforms, which include privatization of electricity distribution companies and a new cost-reflective tariff policy.

JUNE- 2020

Opinion

Competition Among Large Size Products:

Why Modules with 158.75 Wafers More Popular

Since their introduction in 2019,the 166mm and 210mm wafers pushed by two monocrystalline giants Longi and Zhonghuan, respectively, have attracted much attention. Investmentsin large-size wafer products continue as solar technologygiants including Tongwei, JA Solar, Longi and Aikosolar have announced production expansion in 2020. Although being heavily promoted by advocates, the166mm and 210mm products are getting lukewarm reception from the market so far. Downstreamsolar project enterprises areprudent in product selection, and module manufacturers are also cautious when it comes to upgrading their production lines. This in turn has limited the large-scale application of 166mm and 210mmproducts so far. It will take time for the new size products to penetratethe market.

68Â

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

opinion Orders for modules with 158.75mm cells are booming

Production capacity has been gradually restored as the Chinese authorities work hard to get the coronavirus outbreak under control. Solar companies are speeding up the delivery of modules to fulfill the orders. "In the first half of 2020, the majority of the orders received are forthe 158.75mm series." Marketing director of Risen Eneregy, Zhuang Yinghong revealed. Market surveyindicated that leading module manufacturers includingJinko, JA Solar, Trina Solar, Risen Energy,are the key suppliers ofthe 158.75mm products in the first halfof 2020, which validates the popularity of 158.75mm size. Compared with other larger-size products such as 166mm and 210mm, the 158.75mm product is relatively low-profile, but has significant competitive advantagesin the market. The two differentiating factors that put it in a favorable competitive position are its high cost performance and low production lineretrofitting cost, which power station owners and manufacturing enterprises care about. Ananonymous memberof an electric power design institute commented, "Power station owners actually do not care much about the size of the modules.They are more concerned about the installed capacity and economic benefits." Their module choices are not influenced by the market or investors' pursuit for new technologies. It is the actual benefits of power stations that matters most to them. In terms of cost, when comparingmoduleswith 156.75mm cells and those with 158.75mm cells, “158.75 modules”(modules with 158.75mm cells) are manufactured with a slight increase in wafer cost, but a decrease in both cell and module costs.

Process

The cost of 158.75 compared with 156.75 (%)

Wafer cost (Yuan/Watt) 0.40% Cell cost (Yuan/Watt)

-1.20%

Module cost (Yuan/ Watt)

-1.50%

Overall cost (Yuan/ Watt)

-1%

The high compatibility of the production line of “158.75module”makes it more advantageous by enabling it superimposed with half-cell and multi-busbar technologies.Take the simulation application of regular mono PERC 385Wp module and JA Solar9BB half-cell 410Wp module as an example.As9BB halfcell module greatly raises power output, the number of modules needed to build a 50MW projectis reduced from 129,900 to 121,900, decreasing the occupied areaby 3.25%, reducing the installation cost by 6.40% and lowering BOS cost by 4.95%. Moreover, the main changes of the 158.75mm cell production line are in automation equipmentand fixtures.

www.EQMagPro.com

In the module part,whilethe size of EVA, back sheet and glass need to be increased, other parts remain unchanged. Overall, the retrofitting cost of 158.75mm products including the links of wafers, cells and modules is the lowest compared with that of 166mm and 210mm, which is also a driving factor for enterprises to actively switch production lines to manufacture 158.75 modules. According to the statistics of PVInfoLink, most enterprises have basically completed the retrrofittingto 158.75mm production line, and the production line of 158.75mm cellstakesas much as 89% of the market.

Large-scale supply of 166 and 210 Modules is still some way off For 166mm and 210mm products, matching design at the system side is particularly important. "There are a few systems supporting the application of“166 modules” (modules with 166mm cells), but there is no system designed for 210 modules (modules with 210mm cells) yet." The above mentioned electric power design institute said that the lack of matching devices in the system sidebrings resistance for the large-scale application and promotion of the products. In terms of the production line, when compared with the 158.75mm products, the upgradingprogress and customer preference of the 166mm and 210mm series arestill in the dark. This makes it impossible for those two larger sizes to overtake 158.75mm in a short period of time. To manufacture 166mm cells, much investment and time is needed to achieve automation renovation, purchasetubular PERC cell coating equipment and other auxiliary equipment. In the module part, series welding machines, stitch welding machines, laminating machines, framing machines, as well as the assembly line need to be upgraded. It would result in a loss of 20% if it’s upgraded from production line of 156.75 mm products. In addition, manufacturers who have just completed the conversion to 158.75mm products will not switch to larger sizes if the market demand is not strong.

For modules with 210mm cells, all machines have to be adjusted, so a new production line need to be built. According to cell producers, it usually takes 10-12 months to build a new cell production line if everything goes well. As such, despite the enthusiasm for 166mm and 210mm products in the market, it takes some time to achieve mass production. According to PVInfoLink, G1(158.75mm) wafers will account for 60% and M6 (166mm) for 13% of the market in 2020. In March 2020, cell giant Tongwei Solar lowered the price of mono PERC 166mm cells to 1 yuan/W, the same price with mono PERC 158.75mm cells, which may stimulate the demand for 166mm cells. There is also speculation in the industry that since the main buyer of 166mm cell is Longi, this price change may be related to the low demand for 166mm products. It is very clear that 166mm and 210mm are the future trend. In the first half of this year, the production lines of cell manufacturers Tongwei Solar and Aiko Solar have been upgraded to be compatible with 210mm cells, and Risen Energy and Trina Solar have put the mass production of the “210 modules”in their technology roadmap. JA Solar’s "10GW high-efficiency cell +10GW high-efficiency module" project in Yiwu will be compatible with the 210mm products. All major module manufacturers are preparing for the adoption of large-size products. As the design of “210 module”is quite different from that of regular modules, and customer acceptance is not clear,the 158.75mm products still enjoys popularity in the market for some time with its advantages of low production line retrofitting cost and high cost performance, andthe status is not easy to be shaken.

JUNE- 2020

Solar BOS

Ramping up health infrastructure in times of pandemic With Smart Steel Structures from: Tata BlueScope Steel To combat COVID-19, Tata BlueScope Steel announces the launch of quick, easy to install and modular life-care structures. Supplied under EZYBUILD® smart steel solutions, the company has created Hygienic Isolation Units and contactless testing & Sample collection Kiosks.

All structures designed as per medical guidelines on social distancing.

o address the ever-increasing demand for high quality, ready-to-install health infrastructure, Tata BlueScope Steel, leaders in coated steel, steel building products and solutions have introduced high strength, modular and quick to install steel structures which would help to combat COVID-19. Tata BlueScope Steel has always endeavored in enabling innovative infrastructure solutions for improving lives. With its expertise and experience in such projects; EZYBUILD® the light structural steel building solutions from Tata BlueScope Steel has designed and developed customized life-care solutions in form of Isolation & Quarantine units, Testing & Sample collection booths and Doctor's Cabins. The structures are specially designed for anyone seeking to install such facilities in their premise or locality. Be it the state government, Municipal Corporation, hospitals, corporates, institutions or even large housing societies.

While sharing his view on the given situation, Mr. Riten Choudhury, MD Tata BlueScope Steel said, “With COVID-19 pandemic, optimizing healthcare facilities for the affected is the need of the hour. Only way is to develop alternatives that are secure and quick to erect. At Tata BlueScope Steel, we are committed to fight back the virus with our easy to build and maintain structures that are designed, keeping in mind patient’s comfort and healthcare worker’s security.”

EZYBUILD Life-care Structures With necessary amenities as per medical guidance, these smart steel structures in form of Quarantine Wards and Testing Kiosks are available in kit-like solutions, where-in wall, roof panels and internal partitions, are assembled onsite. They can be easily dismantled, packed and shifted to other sites once the containment zone is free from the pandemic’s threat. These structures are easy to sanitize, are weather-proof, thermally efficient and can be offered with or without base platform. Made from light weight high strength Colorbond and Zincalume steel; these structures offer great corrosion resistance to any chemical based discharge or sprays.

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

opinion

AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT & ENERGY INDEPENDENCE THROUGH GROUP-CAPTIVE, OPEN ACCESS SOLAR - Kapiel Dongle & Nithya Balakrishnan, FOURTH PARTNER ENERGY The Prime Minister’s clarion call to go ‘vocal for local’ and work towards an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ seems to have definitely struck a chord with numerous businesses and consumers, during the ongoing global pandemic. Borders between nations are increasingly impenetrable, owing to political and pandemic related factors – and the timing of Modi’s campaign could not have been better. Asrenewable energy professionals, this got us wondering if there was a way to integrate ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ with India’s SOLAR sector apart from the obvious scaling up of local manufacturing of cells, modules and panels. After all, should the country not aim towards ‘self-reliance’ in terms of electricity generation and not just manufacturing of electrical components.

ndia’s demand for electricity is growing at an exponential pace – we are amongst the fastest growing economies globally and rank 2 in terms of population. We simply cannot continue importing coal and oil in the manner we do, to meet this demand. Renewable Energy is the most obvious way around this challenge – resources like wind and solar are abundant in India, they in turn are capable of generating cheaper and cleaner electricity. There is no way a developing country like ours can do away with coal, but we can take increased efforts to ensure that all new capacity added is mainly from clean, green sources. For a country that is home to 7 out of 10 of the MOST POLLUTED cities in the world, energy transition is an imperative. Glaring benefits of renewables have still not resulted in widespread adoption of Solar and Wind technologies by Indian industries – this could be attributed to lack of awareness. Another important factor that cannot be ignored are convoluted, dynamic State policies that end up favouring the transmission and distribution network, over RE generation. Discoms are wary of high-paying consumers migrating to renewable sources, thereby deepening their financial burden. An automobile manufacturer opting to set up a solar plant inside his facility’s premises or on the rooftop, will result in that user migrating away from utilising the existing grid infrastructure that supplies polluting thermal power at higher prices. Though it is an illogical rationalisation, there is a way around this argument of the Discoms, which will bring us one step closer to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, from an energy perspective – procuring solar and wind power through Open Access, using existing grid infrastructure.

HOW DOES OPEN ACCESS WORK? The Amendment to the Electricity Act 2003 aims at increasing efficiency, reliability and affordability of power by increasing competition amidst gencos, discoms and ensuring the consumer has procurement options. It also pushes for an independent Renewable Energy policy and stringent enforcement of RPOs or Renewable Purchase Obligations by obligated entities. In the context of competition, Open Access is the cornerstone of the Act. Open Access has been conceived as an important tool for introducing competition into the electricity industry, thereby ensuring choice to both buyers and suppliers of electricity. A solar or wind park at a remote location can supply electricity to any consumer or group of consumers, in any corner of the country using the existing transmission and distribution network through the Open Access route. Section 9 of the Electricity Act 2003, defines Group Captive under the Open Access model as a unique structure where a developer sets up a power plant for collective use of many industrial and commercial consumers, who should jointly have 26% equity in the plant and consume at least 51% of the power produced. This Group Captive policy is a boon for India’s industrial community. Imagine many businesses in a single industrial belt like Chakan or Manesar or Cherlapally coming together to procure renewable energy via the group captive Open Access route – they get to save significantly on operational costs and their collective reduction in emissions can literally help the country breathe easier.

www.EQMagPro.com

HOW CAN GROUP CAPTIVE OPEN ACCESS BOOST YOUR BUSINESS’ BOTTOM-LINE? The adoption of the Group Captive model is witnessing an increasing trend, gradually gaining popularity. To industries, the savings per-unit electricity alone is compelling enough to adopt this model –despite restrictive policies and the transmission charges or losses the consumer has to bear. The eligibility for Open Access in India currently is any large consumer with a contract demand of over 1 MW. The primary advantage of this model is that cross-subsidy is not levelled on the power procured. For manufacturing facilities across sectors like cement, paper, pharmaceuticals and data centres – fuel and electricity weigh heavily on operating costs; any reduction in this directly benefits the bottom-line. Moreover, it also helps these firms meets their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) which are set to become more stringent in the amendment to the Electricity Act. Typically, the overall savings on per-unit cost to electricity, even after all the grid charges is between 25-40%.

SIMPLIFYING THE GROUP CAPTIVE MODEL In a Group Captive setup – the developer builds a project under the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) company and offers 26% equity to the consumer. An agreement is entered into to buy back the shares on termination of the procurement contract.For Commercial & Industrial (C&I) consumers, this model is favourable as most projects and units have small roofs or restricted ground space within their premises – in such cases on-site solar solutions can only help them meet around 10-15% of their daytime energy demand; Group Captiveprovides and alternative wherein they can meet 70-80% of their electricity needs, without migrating completely away from the grid.

COVID-19, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDUSTRIES TO EMBRACE ENERGY TRANSITION India’s lockdown saw electricity demand drop by nearly 30% in the end of March, according to POSOCO; this has returned to near-normal levels in the days post un-lockdown. For businesses in India emerging from this unpredictable pandemic, the timing has not been more apt to evaluate affordable, alternate sources of power and bring down their operating costs. Expansion and diversification will take a back seat, as cost-optimisation becomes priority. Clean energy solutions that offer nearly 50% reduction in electricity tariffs, while curbing emissions will witness a lot of takers in the C&I segment – it will boil down to a choice between on-site OPEX contracts and Group Captive Open Access, depending on the size of operations, electricity consumption and capital investment. The case has been made but will India’s industry rise to this opportunity towards ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in the electricity sector remains to be seen.

JUNE- 2020

solar inverters

GoodWe introduces much Powerful & Intelligent String Inverters – HT Series100-136kW GoodWe is pleased to introduce new capacity of string inverters HT Series 100kW to 136kW. GoodWe being world’s leading player in Commercial & Industrial solar inverter solutions with extremely successful SMT & MT series inverters deployed across India, incorporated its decade old experience to present HT SeriesString Inverters. HT Series inverters have various capacity inverter range of 100kW, 120kW and 136kW.

T series offers 100kW-136kW models with 1100V DC input. The 100kW model will come with 10MPPTs and a DC input voltage of 1100V and other inverters of 1100Vdc for 120/136kW will come with 12 MPPTs. Low voltage grid operational capability of 400Vac is available on 100/120kW string inverter and high voltage 500/540Vac available on 136kW. The new HT-Series seamlessly incorporates different sets of technical strengths intended to achieve higher savings in the installation, enhancing productivity

JUNE- 2020

and diversify the monitoring options available, taking safety to the maximum possible level in accordance with the most demanding national standards. This inverter also introduces innovations and technological flexibilities that make it highly compelling as a viable utility option. The result of all this extensive list of advantages is a well-conceived, harmonious, technologically advanced and asset owner-centered inverter that is also pleasant to see.

www.EQMagPro.com

solar inverters

The HT-Series strengths can be broadly classified on the following categories: Strong Performance - Minimal LCOE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Higher Yield:

The HT inverter is compatible with Bi-facial Modules and is perfectly suited for the increasing demand of bi-facial modules, ensuring a maximum utilization of available solar energy. It offers 12 MPPT for maximum yield of solar energy along with inter-operability with tracking systems which make it a truly great machine for the new era. HT series offers a high efficiency of 99% minimizing mismatch losses keeping and maximizing intelligent energy generation. 50% DC oversizing capabilities along with 15% AC overloading to fulfill the energy generation demands. Furthermore, the HT Series can help maximize generation across the entire PV system with its capability of low voltage start-up and full output in harsh environments of 50 degrees Celsius.

Lower System Cost:

The HT series also boasts integrated string level monitoring and built in SPD on AC & DC side which makes it a system cost friendly machine. An integrated Anti-PID function removes the need for a separate PID box, saving on additional costs. It features PLC communications and comes with Optical Fiber Ring Network for an uninterrupted strong performance along with Lifetime free inverter monitoring solution provided with the inverter to monitor energy generation and Return of Investment.

Safest Inverter of the time:

The HT series offers No Fuse No LCD design with Full Film capacitor design. The lifespan of Film Capacitor is more than 4 times longer than Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor in environments above 70 0C. It comes with AC connector temperature detection ensuring better safety and high reliability. HT series inverters boast optional AC breakers and Anti-PID protections and incorporate humidity and temperature detection devices. To ensure high reliability, the HT Series features IP66 enclosures to enhance inverter performance keeping it protected from heavy

www.EQMagPro.com

dust ingress and high-pressure water jets from any direction. HT Inverters are built for harsh condition exposure, can be deployed in floating solar systems and can operate perfectly in extremely harsh environments such as deserts or storms.

Innovative and versatile monitoring options for lower maintenance costs:

In addition to features such as compatibility with aluminum cables that allow for lower installations costs, the versatile and comprehensive monitoring options of the HT-Series ultimately help operators to ensure low maintenance costs. The HT-Series is capable of conducting string and plant level health diagnosis, IV curve diagnosis and for further enhancement, the monitoring system has the potential to be significantly enhanced with addition of weather stations. Also, the series is compatible with third-party monitoring devices, enabling users to configure settings via Bluetooth, along with options to check detected faults on USB flash disks.

On the back of a strong deployment of the GoodWe MTSeries inverter across the world, GoodWe was identified last year by IHS as 4th largest supplier of three-phase string inverters on a global scale. GoodWe has 12 modern production lines in 2 plants in Suzhou &Guangde with a total capacity of 12GW implemented with 50% automation to increase the production efficiency and quality. GoodWe has signed strategic cooperation agreements with many leading global distributors and aims to continuously improve its services, enhance the quality and tailor-make the features of the products to constantly exceed market expectations.

JUNE- 2020

73Â

opinion

Solar Industry paving way forward for

Circular The expansion of the global renewable energy (RE) sector has been evident in recent years, improving energy security by decreasing dependency on finite fossil fuels and delivering climate-change mitigation solutions. The greatest push for deployment of renewable energy in India has come in by feeding their rising power demands with solar.With 37.6 GW already installed, India has already achieved its 20GW four years ahead of schedule and plan to target 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. This sudden surge in adoption can be credited to the falling solar panel prices and government subsidized effort to dominate the industry globally.

n view of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vast amount of energy needs, we should keep in mind UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sustainable development Goals (SDG)that India promised to achieve by 2030. This can only be accomplishedby shifting the focus from a linear economy to a closed loop circular economy.Circular economy offers a promising way forward in addressing the current climate crisis.It is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources by closing the loop of current take-make-waste industrial model. This concept optimally uses the limited resources available and increases the value chain of the product by recycling, reusing, refurbishing, and repairing and remanufacturing products.

Circular economy offers the largest business opportunity that can be leveraged to benefit businesses, society, and environment through its innovative business models.First being the use of circular inputs (resources that replenish naturally like renewable energy), Sharing Platforms, Product as a service, production use extension and resource recovery. These models cover the full value chain of circularity and aims to create greatest impact. Circular businesses are deeply involved within the product usage phase as they generate revenues through provisioning services rather than selling physical products, hence redefining the traditional producer-consumer-relationships.It ensures that the ownership of the product by the service provider is maintained while the consumer can avail the services without compromising on the quality of the product. Hence a trust is established between a seller and a buyer with this long-term value chain and collaboration leading to scaling of business.Aligning the customer experience with circular economy, truly engaging with customers, and incorporating sustainable practices into every facet of the business.

74Â

JUNE- 2020

Economy The electricity industry serves as the greatest opportunity to apply circular models, with Solar industry paving the way forward. Solar technology coupled with Intelligent operations for electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption will impact the whole value chain of the way electrical industry works.This fact can be observed in action with the business model of Solar power as a service (SPAAS) model or RESCO employed by various solar developers to offer its customers an end-to-end solution to customers. Where the service provider takes care of designing, installing maintaining and financing of the plant, while Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) signed between two parties offer an alternative to leasing, and ownership, whereby consumers commit to buy a certain number of kWh of energy from a provider.This model facilitates customers to save substantial amount in the electricity bills, increase output and choose a greener way to power their business. Furthermore,AI-powered solutions such as mini grids, can help bridge gaps in the circular economy and solar production through use of energy efficiency products like energy management systems and batteries.The use of IoT and machine learning aids in integrating the PV systems with real time analytics for optimizing the resourcesfor better savings. With increased use of analytics, for example, companies could more accurately forecast demand and supply to minimize waste and maximize asset utility.Going forward with this unprecedented increase in energy consumption and solar adoption we are going to think towards augmenting our limited resources to mitigate climate change. Embracing circular approach to PV waste and material recovery is going to be necessary way forward in making a transition to 100% renewable and sustainable economy.To tap into the full potential of circular models, the models should be considered in combination to enable multiplying effect in opportunities. Compelling us to shift our attention to more sustainable ways to drive businesses,being more mindful of business outputs, maximizing resources and reducing waste.

AUTHOR Darshika Gupta Business Development Team Commercial and Industrial Segment

www.EQMagPro.com

report

UPDATED Clarification : Till July 29, 2020 Existing BCD & SGD on Cells/Modules Will Continue and Post That SGD will Lapse and 20% BCD Will Kick In All of us in the RE sector were expecting changes in the import duty structure on solar cells and modules, especially given the fact that Safeguard duty (SGD) (currently at 15%) was expected to lapse on 29th July 2020 (SGD sunset date). The budgetary changes made, can have a significant impact on solar tariffs going forward. This is a low-down on the budgetary changes announced for import of solar cells and modules.

Common tariff heading has now been split: The common Customs Tariff heading (CTH) for solar cells and solar modules , 8541.40.11 has now been split into two. Solar cells (unassembled) will be classified under 8541.40.11 and solar cells assembled into modules or panels, will be under 8541.40.12. This comes into effect immediately as it comes under the Provisional collection of taxes Act. The earlier tariff rate of 12.5% now gets increased to 20% for both headings. Ostensibly this seems to indicate MoF’s intent to articulate a different tariff regime for cells and modules which has so far been common. Having two separate tariff headings would make this easier.

Divining the reasons for tariff increase : The tariff rate for basic customs duty (BCD) .. (not to be confused with the effective rate) for solar cells and modules for the erstwhile CTH 8541.40.11 was 12.5% . The “tariff rate” normally defines only the cap rate and the tariff rate has to be read with the relevant exemption notification for the heading to get the “effective rate” that is to be paid. The effective rate here, when read with sl no 2 of customs notification 24/2005 Cus dated 1 march 2005 was Nil and it has remained that way since 2005. The tariff rate for these two headings, after today’s split, now stand revised to 20%. (See the third schedule to the Finance Bill 2020 read with clause 115(b) of same document). So since Customs notification 24/2005 persists even today, the effective basic customs duty would still be NIL not-withstanding the increase in tariff rate. The logic of increasing the tariff rate seems to indicate that MoF may not want to continue the BCD exemption in its current form, after the SGD sunset. It needs to be noted that tariff rates can be amended only by the Finance Bill/Act and cannot be amended by executive authority by way of notification. It is legislatively more convenient to raise the tariff rate in the Finance Bill, than wait till July 2020 and rush through with an ordinance. So post july 2020, in all probability , MoF would roll back the current exemption under notification 24/2005 and this could have the potential impact of raising the duty on cells and modules anywhere upto a maximum of 20% (and a minimum of 12.5). A full rollback of the exemption would raise the BCD to 20% and a partial rollback would leave the rates anywhere between 12.5% and 20% . We will have to wait and watch till July to know the BCD.

Implication of the amendment to the SGD notification:

The earlier SGD notification 1/2018 (customs) dated 30–7–2018 has been amended to cover both the split headings for solar cells and modules. As the CTH split becomes effective immediately from 2–2–2020, the apparent incongruity in the SGD notification referring to a single CTH even after the heading split, would have caused interpretation problems. Hence this amendment. It effectively does not change anything — and continues to keep the SGD at 15% till 29th July 2020.

www.EQMagPro.com

Social Welfare surcharge exemption has been removed

In Budget of 2018, a 10% social welfare surcharge was imposed on all items of import. However under sl no 1 of notification 11/2018 — cus dated 2nd Feb 2018 all items under CTH 8541 were exempted. Now this exemption has been removed (under notification 9/2020 — Cus dated 2 feb 2020) with CTH 8541 removed from the list of exempted tariff headings. So from 2nd Feb onwards SWS of 10% will be applicable on all duties of customs (excluding safeguard, countervailing and antidumping duties) . This is an additional levy to be factored. Shorn of all the intricate web of presumptions above what this means is the following: 1) Till 29-july-2020 the existing duty structure of NIL BCD and 15% SGD (and 5% IGST) would continue. 2) Post 29 July 2020 , SGD notification would lapse and the tariff rates under the new split headings for solar cells and modules would kick in , and the tariff rate (Basic customs duty) would be 20% for both solar cells and modules . Effective rates would depend on how the MoF amends the current BCD exemption notification. 3) Post july 2020 , if the existing exemption is FULLY removed (unlikely) , then the effective rate on imports of solar cells and modules which is currently 20.75% (15% SGD+ 5% IGST) would stand revised to 26% (20% BCD + 5% IGST) post 29th July 2020. Partially rollback of exemption is also likely in which case the incidence would be less than 26%. 4) Social welfare surcharge exemption has been removed and this will mean an additional 10% levy on all duties of customs, excluding SGD. The Government is signalling a clear intent that the tariff rate would be 20% on solar cells and modules post july 2020 after SGD lapses. The uncertainty on the duty structure post SGD would still continue until we have clarity on BCD exemption under notification 24/2005 — cus post sunset date.

JUNE- 2020

ADVERTISERS INDEX

SUBSCRIBE Subscribe “EQ International” at www.EQMagPro.com or fill your complete address and Email to :rishabh.eqmag.net@gmail.com or Call +91-7692973898

Growatt...........................................................inside front LHS

Yes! I would like to Subscribe to EQ International Magazine

insolation energy....................................................................11

For 1 Issue:

o Indian citizens Rs. 200

o International $ 25 / € 20

huawei.......................................................................back cover

JA solar..................................................................Front cover Pennar.......................................................................................07

For 1 Year (12 issues):

o Indian citizens Rs. 2400

o International $ 300 / € 240

REI...............................................................................................53 Sofar Solar....................................................inside front rhs TBEA...................................................................inside back rhs

Please Mail the coupon to: Name:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Job Title:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Department: --------------------------------------------------------------------------Company:------------------------------------------------------------------------------Description of the Company: ---------------------------------------------------Adress:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------City/State/Zip Code:----------------------------------------------------------------Country:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Phone:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fax:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------E-Mail. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Web site:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAYMENT 1.- My Cheque/DD in favour of “FirstSource Energy India Private Limited”

for Rs……………………………………………………………………

Drawn on………………………………………is enclosed herewith.

Date/Signature: 2.- I will pay by Credit Card Type:...........................................................................

Name on Card:..............................................................

Number:.......................................................................

Security Code: ..............................................................

Expiration Date:.............................................................

Mail this coup on to: First Source Energy India Pvt. Ltd. Subscription Department. 95 C, Sampat Farms, Bicholi Mardana Distt-Indore 452016 Tel. + 91 96441 22268

JUNE- 2020

www.EQMagPro.com

INDUSTRY JEWELS Mr. Manish Gupta & Mr. Vikas Jain

Education & Background:

Mr. Manish Gupta & Mr. Vikas Jain complete his B.E. in the year 1998. They belongs to a reputed family involved in business from decades and learnt their ethics of assurance and excellence from them. They are the first-generation entrepreneur in Solar Business.

Work Experience:

Mr. Manish Gupta & Mr. Vikas Jain has an experience of 20 years in various sectors like Steel, Real Estate, Health & Fitness, and independent Solar Power Producer. They clearly understands their social responsibility and are involved in Trade unions and social organizations as a trusty. Mr. Manish is the Founder-President of North India Module Manufacturers Association (NIMMA), Treasurer of Rajasthan Solar Association (RSA), Treasurer of All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA).

Current Work Goals and Achievements:

They entered in the solar industry by setting a power plant in Bikaner in 2014-15 and another plant in Madhya Pradesh in 2016-17. After that they established Solar Module Manufacturing unit in the name of Insolation Energy which is Rajasthan’s first fully automatic 100 MW SPV Module manufacturing unit with brand name INA. Currently, Insolation supply modules all over India for Ground-mount projects, Rooftop projects, Street Lights, Solar Pumps, Off-Grid projects & other solar accessories.

www.EQMagPro.com

Industry Outlook:

They are passionate contributing to a world, which does not rest on power from fossil fuels. Their goal is to fast-track the adoption of solar technology across the country to conserve our environment and provide an environmentally friendly, sustainable and conflict-free power supply. With Insolation Energy future plan is to enrich the production capacity to 200 MW for solar modules & 100 MW for solar cells. At Insolation Energy Private Limited, world-class quality is a top priority. INA won seven awards in a row in last three years for best solar module manufacturer in Rajasthan. We strive to provide our customer with products and services which meet and exceed their expectations. We shall use preventive processes and testing to drive the highest quality standards and to ship products that meet our stated quality goals. We aim to manufacture Solar PV Modules with high quality, long lasting, reliable and prudent practices under “Make In India” Campaign. Insolation Energy is dedicatedly working towards technology up gradation to improve the efficiency of our PV modules and collaborate with global leaders to bring out the best technology in the solar industry for a greener, sustainable and better solar future.

JUNE- 2020

EQ INT’L MAGAZINE EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD 2019-2020

SUNIL JAIN CEO & ED

Hero Future Energies Pvt Ltd

GAURAV SOOD Chief Executive Of cer Sprng Energy Pvt Ltd

T.R. KISHOR NAIR Chief Operating Of cer Avaada Energy Pvt Ltd

KAPIL MAHESHWARI Chief Executive Of cer

Hinduja Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd

JAMAL WADI

TANYA SINGHAL

Chief Executive Of cer

Founder and Director

Alfanar Global Development

SolarArise

SAIF DHORAJIWALA MANISH CHOURASIA Co Founder & ED

Fourth Partner Energy

Managing Director

Tata Cleantech Capital

RAVINDER KHANNA

RANJIT GUPTA

Chief Executive Of cer Solar Power Business

Azure Power

CEO

SANDEEP ADANI

KETAN MEHTA

Vice President

Managing Director Rays Power Infra

Adani Green Energy

Aditya Birla Group.

SIDHARATH KAPUR

SHAJI JOHN

PRASHANT SINHA

CEO

Chief - Solar Initiatives

Chief Risk Of cer

ACME Solar

Larsen & Toubro Ltd

NARESH MANSUKHANI PINAKI BHATTACHARYYA CEO

Juniper Green Energy

GIRISH GELLI Director

Mytrah Energy Ltd

Chief Executive Of cer AMP Energy

MAYANK BANSAL President Strategy and Operations ReNew Power

SANJAY AGGARWAL Managing Director Fortum India

L&T Infra Finance

AMIT JAIN

KARAN MITROO

Managing Director

Partner

Engie Solar

Luthra & Luthra

RAJNESH TRIVEDI EX. Vice President Yes Bank

PRANAV R. MEHTA Chairman

Global Solar Council & NSEFI

India’s Oldest & Leading Solar Media Group www.EQMAGPRO.com BIMAL JINDAL Vice President - Procurement SB Energy (SoftBank Group)

R.N.I. NO. MPBIL/2013/50966 | DT. OF PUBLICATION- 20 JUNE 2020 | DT. OF POSTING- 25 JUNE 2020 | POSTAL REGD. NO. MP/IDC/1435/2019-2021

Digital PV Solution for Optimal LCOE Higher Yields

Smart O&M

Safe & Reliable

>2% More Energy

Lower OPEX

25-year's Reliability

SUN2000-200KTL

FusionSolar Smart PV Solution solar.huawei.com