EQ Magazine July 2019 Edition

Volume- 11 | Issue- 7 | July 2019 | Rs. 5/- | Page- 1

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CONT EN T

VOLUME 11 Issue # 07

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india Shri RK Singh reviews the issues pertaining to Renewable Energy sector, calls upon the lenders to fund RE projects

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20 business & finance

business & finance

Singapore’s GIC, ADIA put $495 million in fresh funding for Greenko’s 2.4 GW power storage projects

41 electric vehicle Sahara India to launch two electric scooters in India

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

Rooftop solar firm Sunshot to raise $100 mn-$125 mn over next 3 yrs: Rahul Dasari, CEO

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electric vehicle

BSES launches EV charging station in Delhi, plan for 150 more

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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.

research

2019 PV MODULE RELIABILITY SCORECARD

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india

india RBI to ease lending limits for green energy sector

RK Singh Exudes Confidence of Meeting Paris Agreement Target at G20 Meet

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interview

interview

Mr. Khurshed Daruvala

Mr. Manoj Kumar Upadhyay

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44

distributed solar

COLORS Cineplex Launches Electro – Uttar Pradesh’s First Solar Power Theatre

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INTERVIEW

Mr. Sunil Badesra

54 renewable enrgy Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, for real this time: IEA

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INTERVIEW

Mr. ashok kumar jain

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INTERVIEW

Mr. Jay Kumar Waghela

EQ NEWS Pg. 08-40 opinion GE lost billions by ‘misjudging’ renewables

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEWS Pg. 44-55

Mr. Suvendu Lenka

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Adani Solar is...

- India's 1st company with vertically integrated businesses that offers services across the spectrum of photovoltaics manufacturing. The Company offers high efficiency Multi, Mono PERC and Bifacial modules with superior efficiency, higher performance and enhanced reliability.

- 1st manufacturer in India with IEC 2016 certification in all SKUs. - Accredited as Tier-1 supplier by BNEF - Only Indian manufacturer to be awarded as Top Performer by DNV-GL PVEL Global reliability testing for two consecutive years.

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Indian Navy formulates environment conservation roadmap

Renewable energy capacity target of 175 Gw will be achieved: Power minister R K Singh Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh has exuded confidence that the renewable energy target of 175 gigawatt (GW) by 2022 would be achieved.

The Indian Navy has formulated an environment conservation roadmap aimed at reducing energy consumption and diversifying its supply, an official statement said.

The Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap (INECR), with specific action plans, covers the entire gamut of operations, maintenance, administration and infrastructure, and community living, the Navy said in the statement.

The roadmap envisions reduction in energy consumption and diversification of energy supply as key result areas, it said. While the existing military, diplomatic, constabulary and benign roles envisioned in the Indian Navy’s Maritime Doctrine define the objectives of its operations, the Green Initiatives Programme of the Indian Navy has added a new dimension i.e. social responsibility, to it, it added. Under the INECR, numerous policies aimed at reduction of energy consumption and environment sustenance have been formulated and disseminated to all ships as well as shore establishments, the Navy said. As a progressive step, the Navy has pledged 1.5 per cent of its ‘Works’ Budget towards renewable energy generation, it added. Solar photovoltaic projects have been one of the focus areas of the Navy since the inception of the INECR. “The efforts undertaken in the last few years have started to fructify now.

Twenty-four MW of solar PV projects consisting of both rooftop and land-based solar panels are under execution at various shore establishments of the Navy under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission,” the statement said.

“Similarly, pilot projects utilising wind or a mix of both solar and wind (hybrid) are also being taken up progressively, which will not only reduce carbon footprint but also help achieve self-sustenance in energy security,” it said.

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Singh, who took the charge of the ministries in the second term of Modi government, said 80GW of renewable energy has been established while another 24GW is under installation. “The overall renewable energy established capacity has reached 80,000 MW level. 24,000 MW is under installation. For 42,000 MW, bids are at different stages. So, the total is 1,46,000 MW and the target is for 1,75,000 MW (175 GW),” he said.

“We will achieve the target,” Singh emphasised.

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peaking about his priorities, he said the top priority will remain to achieve the targets set by the government.

The government has set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power. Various research reports, however, have cautioned that India is unlikely to meet the energy targets for wind and solar power. India is likely to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022 against the 60GW target set by the government, Fitch Solutions Macro Research has said in a report.

The agency said it remains cautious on India meeting its ambitious 2022 targets for wind power capacity growth as land acquisition issues and grid bottlenecks would lead to delays in project implementation in the sector. A Mercom India Research report has also forecast solar installations in India to reach 71 GW by end-2022, almost 30 per cent lower than the 100 GW target set by the government. In January-March 2019 period itself, solar installations in India fell by 49 per cent to 1,737 MW mainly due to reasons like difficulty faced by installers in getting the required approvals, tariff caps, payment issues among others, the report said. Over 800 MW of solar auctions were cancelled in the first quarter of this year, it added.

Source: PTI

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DERC notifies two metering frameworks for Delhi In a big push for renewable energy in the national capital area, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has notified two frameworks for the city – Group Net Metering (GNM) and Virtual Net Metering (VNM) Framework.

Power Minister Holds Meeting with Gencos to Push Clean Energy Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh held a meeting to address implementation issues regarding the mechanism for providing flexibility in generation and scheduling of thermal power stations to reduce emissions.

The mechanism allows power generators to increase share of renewables in their overall energy mix for meeting their committed power supplies to their consumers or utilities. “Power Minister has given appropriate directions to resolve such issues,” a Power Ministry statement said.

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ingh discussed the implementation issues regarding the mechanism for providing flexibility in generation and scheduling of thermal power stations to reduce emissions.The meeting was attended by senior officials from the two ministries, Central Electricity Authority, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, POSOCO (Power System Operation Corporation Ltd) and state-run power giant NTPC Ltd. During the meeting, Singh said that the focus of the government is on the growth of renewable energy in the country. Highlighting India’s commitments at international fora, the minister said that all necessary policy support should be provided for encouraging renewable energy capacity addition leading to energy security and environmental protection. The mechanism of allowing flexibility in generation and scheduling of thermal power stations was issued by the power ministry.Under the mechanism a generating company may establish or procure renewable energy generating capacity anywhere in the country and utilise such renewable capacities for supplying the power against existing commitments. There were certain issues which required resolution for smooth implementation of the above mechanism, it added.

Source: PTI

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NM shall be applicable for all consumers of the national capital territory while VNM shall be applicable for residential consumers, group housing societies, offices of Government and local authorities and renewable energy generators registered under Mukhya Mantri Kisaan Aay Badhotari Yojna. This move is set to benefit the deployment of renewable energy projects in the residential and agricultural sector benefiting lakhs of citizens and farmers. Consumers can, aggregate their demand and investment as residential welfare associations (RWAs) or Cooperative Group Housing Societies (CGHS) and avail GNM, while consumers can also collectively own solar power generating systems. Under the GNM, the surplus electricity exported into the grid through a net meter will be adjusted with other service connections of the same consumer in the same DISCOM area. Whereas, VNM allows the renewable energy generator to export electricity into the grid through Renewable Energy meter or gross meter which can be adjusted in more than one electricity service connection(s) of participating consumers in the same DISCOM area.

Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain said, “This is a big push for renewable energy in Delhi. The Delhi Government has clearly outlined its energy vision for sustainability, decentralization, and anti-corruption. In collaboration with the DERC, honest politics and ethical policy decisions have been taken in the last five years which have ensured that tariffs don’t rise in the state of Delhi, making it the only Indian city and state to do so.”

As per guidelines, the Renewable Energy System capacity under GNM and VNM shall not be less than 5 kilowatts and more than 5000 kilowatt.

Source: ANI

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Discussed with States Road Map to Achieve 175 GW Renewable Energy Capacity: Power Minister Union minister R K Singh held a meeting with ministers and officials of renewable energy-rich states and discussed with them various issues facing the sector and ways to achieve the target of 175 GW capacity.

Shri RK Singh reviews the issues pertaining to Renewable Energy sector, calls upon the lenders to fund RE projects Shri RK Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy held a meeting to review various issues pertaining to the Renewable Energy (RE) sector here. The meeting was attended by various stakeholders including the Secretary, MNRE, senior officials from MNRE, Department of Economic Affairs, Dept. of Expenditure, Dept. of Financial Services, Dept. of Revenue andrepresentatives of Public/Privatebanks and Financial Institutions.

In the meeting, it was decided that MNRE would follow up with RBI for removal of the priority sector lending limit for RE sector.

This will encourage the PSBs to lend more for RE projects and help RE developers access easy finance.

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n the meeting Shri RK Singh also asked the Banks/ Financial Institutes to categorize RE as separate sector different from power sector so that funds would flow to RE projects. He further said that current tariff rates discovered for various RE projects are viable as the maintenance/running cost of RE projects is very less in long run. He also added that with time, the cost of RE technology is coming down whereas the efficiency of RE equipments is improving day by day. So the low tariffs are not an aberration. The Minister also requested banks to come forward to lend to RE sector. On the issue of delays in land acquisition for RE projects, the Minister said that SECI will be tying up with State Governments for the land. As the land will be on lease, therefore there won’t be any upfront payment for the land. It will also tie up transmission while floating bids. Banks/Financial Institutions were asked to tie up with SECI for offeringpredeterminedloans to successful bidders. Discussions were held about the GST issues on RE equipments/ components and Dept. of Revenue was requested to place appropriate proposal before the GST council. The issue of inverted duty structure also came up for discussion during the meeting. The Minister said that every measure need to be taken to promote manufacturing in RE sector in the country, including corrections of duty structure and approval of a scheme to provide capital subsidy. Discussions were held on starting a pilot project to promote solar cooking in the households.

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he government has set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power. Various research reports, however, have cautioned that India is unlikely to meet the energy targets for wind and solar power. The Union new and renewable energy minister met representatives including energy ministers and secretaries of 11 renewable energy rich states.

Singh said that steps to be taken to achieve the target of 175 GW were discussed at the meeting. “To meet the target, what all steps should be taken, it was decided. What all problems are coming in the way and what will be the solutions were discussed at length. In some states there were land issues, in some, transmission issues were there,” he said adding that all the issues will be resolved soon.

At present, he said, India’s installed renewable energy generation capacity is at 80 GW, another 24 GW is under installation and 40 GW is under various levels of bids. All states have been asked to fast track the process for bidding.

He further said, “We are bringing some flexibility also in our target. Now, we are not saying that there should be 100 GW solar (capacity) and wind (capacity) has to be 60 GW. Wherever there is scope we will exploit. We are not rigid about the mix (of 175 GW). The mix can vary. Solar capacity (by 2022 ) may exceed to 110 GW or remain at 80 GW. Similarly wind capacity can also be at 50 GW-70 GW.” Several schemes for the farmers were also discussed. If a farmer installs generation capacity of 2 MW on his land, the government will purchase the power from him, the minister said. By selling 1 MW of power at a rate of roughly 20 paise to 30 paise, a farmer can easily earn Rs 1 lakh annually, Singh said.

Source: PTI

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RBI to ease lending limits for green energy sector In an attempt to boost renewable energy sector, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) would request the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to categorise renewable energy as a separate segment and remove priority sector lending limit.

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he decision came in the backdrop of a meeting held by R.K. Singh, Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy with the industry experts.

The industry has welcomed the move as it will help them achieving the targets. One of the major complaints the industry had was the availability of credit, and it impacted the momentum of the renewable energy.

The Ministry’s recommendation to the RBI will ensure higher credit financing availability and provide the much needed boost to the sector.

This is absolutely in line with CleanMax Solar’s recommendation earlier this year to remove the cap of Rs 15 crore per year under priority sector lending for rooftop projects or at least increase the credit limits significantly and remove it in a phased manner,” said Nikunj Ghodawat, Chief Financial Officer, CleanMax Solar.

Ghodwat opined that the decision would lead to speedy implementation of projects and reduce construction cost. As of April 2019, Karnataka is the first state in the country with an installed capacity of 6,128.85 MW.

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Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies Ltd, said that while the proposed ease of financing would boost adoption of solar energy by users, the introduction of subsidy in the manufacturing sector would help domestic players amplify their capacities, thus reducing the market’s dependence on international players.

“Moreover, while the flexibility of renewable energy segmentation may slow down solar project execution, it will certainly provide developers with the impetus to opt for Indian manufacturers. A reduced dependency on imports will strengthen the rupee denomination, thus contributing to India’s GDP and employment generation scenario.

While we look forward to the formal directives and policies that will add concrete value to the discussions, this seems to be a progressive move by the re-elected Government,” he added.

Source: deccanchronicle

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India inching towards meeting Paris Agreement targets: RK Singh at G20 ministerial meet India is implementing one of the largest renewable energy expansion and energy efficiency programmes and is moving towards achieving the target to fulfill the country’s commitments made in Paris Agreement, said Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh The minister made these remarks at the G20 Ministerial Meeting on ‘Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth’ being held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan on June 15-16. The G20 ministerial meeting is being held where leaders from 20 countries will discuss energy transitions and global environment toward sustainable growth. During the address, Singh highlighted the path-breaking achievements in household electrification and providing energy access to all in India. He expressed confidence that India will achieve 40 per cent renewable in the energy mix by 2030. Singh mentioned various energy efficiency programmes such as through PAT, UJALA, Standard and Labelling and ECBC and reiterated India’s commitment for a greener and healthier planet.

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RK Singh said that India is achieving one of the largest expansion of renewable energy in the world and has become a net exporter of power in the past five years. He also talked about India’s achievements in transmission systems like — One nation one Grid and Green Energy Corridors.

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n the sidelines of the meet, Singh held bilateral meetings with several leaders from other participating countries. The G20 summit will be held on June 28-29 at Osaka in Japan. The grouping members represent two-thirds of the world’s people and 85 per cent of its economy.

Source: ANI

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RK Singh Exudes Confidence of Meeting Paris Agreement Target at G20 Meet Union minister RK Singh said that India is achieving one of the largest expansion of renewable energy in the world, and it has become a net exporter of power in past five years.

Union Minister R K Singh assured international community that India will achieve the target set under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to reduce emissions, saying that the country “is moving towards those goals”. India had committed to reduce its emissions by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels under the Paris agreement (COP21).

“India is implementing one of the largest Renewable Energy expansion programs, Energy Efficiency programmes and moving towards the achievement of our target to fulfill our commitment made in Paris Agreement on Climate Change,” Singh said while making interventions at the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, was held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan on June 15-16.

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he power and new & renewable energy minister highlighted the path breaking achievements in household electrification and providing energy access to all in India. The minister also mentioned about the progressive steps towards the achievement of the target to fulfill commitment made in Paris Agreement on Climate Change. He also expressed confidence that India will achieve 40 per cent renewable in energy mix by 2030. In addition to this, Singh mentioned various energy efficiency programmes such as through PAT, UJALA, Standard & Labelling, ECBC etc and reiterated the country’s commitment for greener and healthier planet.

The minister said that India is achieving one of the largest expansion of renewable energy in the world, and it has become a net exporter of power in past five years. He also talked about India’s achievements in Transmission systems – One Nation One Grid, Green Energy Corridors etc. India’s achievements in power and renewable sectors received appreciation at the ministerial meet. On the sidelines of the meet, Singh had bilateral meeting with IEA ED Fatih Birol and discussed cooperation between India and IEA. Singh also had bilateral meeting with Therese Coffey, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK and discussed various areas of cooperation between the two countries related to energy and environment. The minister also held bilateral meeting with Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan. He also met with Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Anton Inyutsin.

Source: PTI

Singapore’s Sembcorp defers India energy IPO Singaporean industrial conglomerate Sembcorp Industries Ltd said it has withdrawn a draft prospectus for listing its Indian energy arm, as it was injecting new equity into the business, and intended to submit papers later this year.

Sembcorp plans to subscribe to additional shares in Sembcorp Energy India Ltd (SEIL) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities, and inject new equity to support the growth of its India renewable energy business, it said

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EIL intends to refile a revised prospectus at an appropriate time this year, taking into consideration market conditions, it said. It had filed the prospectus in early 2018. Sembcorp Industries shares ended 0.8 per cent lower on ahead of the announcement, while the broader market closed 0.5 per cent down.

Source: reuters

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Govt’s 100-day plan aims to re-energize India’s power sector A power sector council has been proposed to address issues between the centre and state governments.

The power ministry plans to set up a pan-India distributor.

The Union power ministry has proposed a “power sector council” to address issues between the Union and state governments as part of the ministry’s 100-day action plan for the second term of the Narendra Modi government.

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ith power being on the concurrent list of the Constitution, many sectoral issues get stuck due to differences between the Union and the state governments. The council will help the Union and the state governments work on a common agenda and ensure round-the-clock power to all, a government official, who is part of the exercise, said on condition of anonymity.

The need for coordination between the centre and states in the power sector has never been more critical. And this must be done in line with the GST Council, involving the finance ministers of states and the centre,” said Debasish Mishra, partner at Deloitte India.

According to information reviewed by Mint, the proposed council will comprise ministers and bureaucrats at various levels and will be a forum for collective decision-making. Other proposals by the power ministry include separation of the wire and electricity supply business, setting up of a pan-India power distributor and building renewable energy management centres (REMCs) across India. The power ministry has also proposed limiting Power Finance Corp.’s and REC Ltd’s lending to state electricity distribution companies (discoms) except for capital expenditure projects, setting up public charging stations for electric vehicles and seeking the approval of the cabinet committee on economic affairs for pre-construction activities for the strategically important Dibang hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh. India and China have a dispute over the diversion of the Brahmaputra river, which originates in Tibet. Even as India explores a diplomatic option, accelerating hydroelectric projects such as Dibang would give it user rights. The proposed power council will be headed by the Union power minister and have the Union finance minister and power ministers of all states as members. It will be assisted by a standing committee headed by the Union power secretary, with finance secretaries, principal secretaries (energy) and principal secretaries (finance) of all states as its members. The Modi administration’s plan to provide uninterrupted power supply to households in its second term was articulated by power minister Raj Kumar Singh after he assumed office. With electricity being on the concurrent list, it is for states to ensure reliable and affordable electricity to

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consumers. To be sure, the decision-making of the socalled power sector council would preclude legislative and regulatory domains of the centre and states.

“The separation of carriage and content will be akin to the telecom revolution in India,” said the government official cited earlier.

The previous National Democratic Alliance government had promoted the separation of the carriage and content operations of existing discoms. Carriage refers to the distribution aspect and content to power. The separation will allow consumers in India to buy electricity from a company of their choice. The ministry’s 100-day plan also includes setting up a national electricity distribution company, proposed as an equal joint venture (JV) between state-run NTPC Ltd and Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. The proposed firm may enter into JVs with the state discoms and help bridge market and credit risks at a time when state-owned discoms are struggling with their finances on account of losses and borrowings. Queries emailed to a power ministry spokesperson on 6 June remained unanswered. Interestingly, of India’s installed capacity of 349 gigawatts (GW), the peak demand is only 177GW. Peak electricity demand has been low due to precarious finances of some discoms, which prevents them from procuring the required power.

Source: PTI

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UltraTech Cement to invest heavily into green & renewable energy UltraTech Cement Limited, the largest manufacturer of grey cement, white cement and ready-mix concrete in India, said it plans to increase the contribution of green energy to 25 per cent of its total power consumption by 2021.

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ore than 10% of the total power will come from renewable energy sources, it added. This will mean an increase of more than five times in the share of renewable sources in the company’s energy mix. Green energy refers to low-pollution energy sources, including natural gas, while renewable energy refers to non-exhaustive energy sources, such as wind power, solar and biogas. At present, said the Aditya Birla Group company, green energy contributes only around 10% of its total energy consumption. Cement companies are among the largest industrial consumers of energy, as they require huge quantities of energy for their heating, grinding and other requirements. Much of the renewable energy consumed by the company will be produced in-house. It plans to build enough capacity to generate more than 650 million units of renewable power by 2021.

“The increased use of renewable power for UltraTech’s electrical energy requirements will result in annual carbon emission reduction of 5,33,000 tonnes of CO2, and in 25 years, a total carbon footprint reduction of 13 million tonnes of CO2. “With this, UltraTech will be amongst the largest users of renewable energy in the Indian cement sector,” it said.

One of the biggest green, non-renewable sources of energy tapped by the company includes waste heat recovery systems (WHRS). During the year ended March, UltraTech commissioned 28 MW of WHRS taking its total generation from WHRS to 8% of total power consumption.

“There are more investments in progress which are expected to be completed in a phased manner by 2021, taking WHRS to 15% of total power requirement,” it said.

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To bring the cement sector in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, its annual emissions will need· to fall by at least 16% by’ 2030,” said K K Maheshwari, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement.

There are a number of solutions for reducing emissions associated with cement production as identified by the latest Low Carbon Technology Roadmap published by International Energy Agency (IEA) in partnership with Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI). “These solutions need to be deployed at scale to meet the decarbonisation challenge”.

Ultra Tech Cement has set a target to reduce its carbon emissions by 25% (from 2005- 06 level) by 2021. The company said it is working on carbon reduction methods like increased energy efficiency, use of alternative fuels, waste heat recovery, renewable energy and reducing clinker to cement ratio.

“To achieve this objective, UltraTech has set path towards increasing its WHRS capacity and enabling low carbon product-mix through thermal substitution,” it said.

India has, under the Narendra Modi government, been aggressively promoting renewable energy. It played a key role in the formation of International Solar Alliance, comprising more than 121 countries, for the efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It also has a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.

Source: ultra.news

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Why Telangana Has Spooked Solar Power Producers At least 10 private solar power producers have urged the Telangana government to clear dues worth around Rs 1,000 crore pending for nearly eight months.

M R K Singh takes charge as minister with focus on 24X7 Power for All

embers of the Solar Power Developers Association—who have commissioned over 2,500 MW in capacity in the state since 2014-15 by investing around Rs 13,000 crore—discussed the situation with its chief secretary in February this year, an official of the body told BloombergQuint on condition of anonymity. The chief secretary, the official said, assured that the issue will be reviewed and sought a formal representation.

Bureaucrat-turned-politician and second time Lok Sabha member R K Singh took charge of power and new & renewable energy ministries and stressed that focus of Team Modi 2.0 will be on reliable and sustainable ’24X7 Power for All’.

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bout the 100-day agenda, the minister said he will soon be briefed about this along with other ministers. The previous NDA regime had envisaged 24×7 Power for All from April 1, 2019. The government has also worked in that direction and provided electricity connection to over 2.6 crore families under the Rs 16,320-crore Saubhagya scheme. In Team Modi 1.0, Singh was the Minister of State for Power, and New and Renewable Energy.

He was instrumental in the launch of household electrification scheme Saubhagya. According to data from the power ministry, around 2.63 crore families were provided electricity connections under the scheme. About the challenges in the renewable energy sector, Singh said he is aware of the challenge and the government would maintain the pace of growth in the clean energy segment which recorded an unprecedented success in the past five years. Singh also played a major role in scaling up India’s renewable energy capacity. India has set an ambitious target of having 175 GW of renewable energy, including 100 GW of solar energy and 60 GW of wind energy by 2022. India achieved 78 GW of clean energy, including 28 GW of solar and 36 GW of wind energy as on April 2019. Singh joined the Indian Police Service in 1974 and then Indian Administrative Service in 1975. He was district magistrate of East Champaran from 1981 to 1983 as well as the district magistrate of Patna from 1983 to 1985.Singh has been elected as a Lok Sabha MP from Arrah for the second time. He won the seat by a margin of 1,47,285 votes defeating Raju Yadav of CPM in the recent polls.

Source: PTI

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The outstanding amount is Rs 700 crore as on date,” said Shashi Shekhar, vice chairman of Acme Solar Group, which has installed capacity of 637 MW in Telangana. The Andhra Pradesh government, too, hasn’t paid for the last eight months, he said. “The discoms never make the interest payments either.

Telangana—with installed solar capacity of 3,600 MW as of March—is hardly the outlier. The discoms, or distribution companies, of Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh collectively owe as many as 12 private producers, including thermal power generators, over Rs 20,496.4 crore as of December 2018, according to data on Ministry of Power’s PRAAPTI portal. That’s nearly half of the Rs 47,,462 crore that 58 discoms across India owe producers. Delayed payments run the risk of turning projects unviable. And loans to such projects run the risk of turning into non-performing assets. In fact, power is among the sectors that contributed to India’s bad loan mess, and non-payment by discoms was one of the reasons. Delayed payments run the risk of turning projects unviable. And loans to such projects run the risk of turning into non-performing assets. In fact, power is among the sectors that contributed to India’s bad loan mess, and non-payment by discoms was one of the reasons.

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INDIA

We have spoken to states to release timely payments to developers,” Anand Kumar, secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, told BloombergQuint over the phone. “They (the states) have assured us that they will do so.

Queries emailed to Telangana government officials and the companies didn’t elicit any response. To be sure, the situation is despite the power producers receiving differential, or part, payments as of Jan. 31. BloombergQuint was unable to independently verify the quantum of such payments.

The solar producers had participated in a competitive bidding process to set up the capacity through two projects to supply electricity to Telangana State Power Distribution Company Ltd. at fixed tariff for which they had signed a purchase agreement lasting 25 years. As per the agreement, the discom had to pay developers every month within 30 days of submitting invoices.

Delays would result in payment of simple interest—or the prevailing lending rate of State Bank of India.

Dues to solar power producers have been delayed by the Telangana government for over 11 months, Girish Kadam, vice president, sector head (corporate ratings) at ICRA, told BloombergQuint over the phone, pointing to inadequate tariff hikes by discoms. He said with tariffs highly subsidised for agricultural, below poverty line and residential consumers, discoms are heavily reliant on state subsidies. “Timeliness and adequacy of subsidy payments has been an issue in many states, resulting in payment delays to generators.”

Government data backs Kadam’s claim. Only 17 states hiked power tariffs for 2018-19 compared with 22 in the previous year, as per a presentation made at a conference of power and new and renewable energy ministers of states and union territories.

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Shekhar urged the government form a payment security mechanism to resolve this issue. There has to be some agency like Power Finance Corporation which pays solar power producers and charges states with that interest, he said. “If states don’t pay, PFC can recover dues from Reserve Bank of India.”

The discoms of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu have delayed payments to generators, he said, adding that they never make interest payments, too. Dues to Rudra Solarfarms Ltd., which has installed capacity of 18 MW in Telangana, rose to Rs 14 crore in the nine months through April, an industry executive told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity.

Some states haven’t hiked tariffs in 2018-19 as per the terms of the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana—a scheme that sought to nurse debt-ridden discoms back to health—resulting in shortage of revenue and creation of regulatory assets. In the four years through March 2018, regulatory assets—or costs that haven’t been passed to consumers in the form of increased tariffs due to regulatory issues—have more than doubled to Rs 1,35,000 crore. The increased costs, the presentation said, has led to delayed payments. The Implications Such delays can seriously impact the working of independent renewable power producers, said Kadam. “Renewable assets with single-counter party exposure where promoter group are of weaker credit policy, would be impacted,” he said. “Most of these renewable assets have a debt services reserve account, typically one or two quarters of debt servicing requirements.”

Solar producers with single-location assets and delayed payments are likely to face cash flow issues— which can cripple any business. “More important is to manage the working capital issue either through promoter group or avail additional funding,” Kadam said.

He said such companies usually have a sanctioned working capital to cover 3-5 months of working capital requirement. An independent power producer can sustain around nine months of payment delays beyond which the promoter group must fund through equity or the entity would have to avail additional working capital, Kadam said.

Source: BloombergQuint

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Singapore’s GIC, ADIA put $495 million in fresh funding for Greenko’s 2.4 GW power storage projects Existing sovereign wealth fund investors GICNSE -1.30 % of Singapore and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) are deploying $495 million in fresh equity funding in Greenko. The definitive agreements are getting signed

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he fund raising is predominantly to facilitate 2.4GW of storage projects. These projects, with a total capital outlay of $2 billion, are expected to be completed and operational in the year 2022. These projects will have overall capital outlay of US$ 2 billion.

Greenko has also secured financial closure for the Pinnapuram Storage Project and are in advanced discussions for the Saundatti Project. The company has already secured financial closure for the Pinnapuram Storage Project and are in advanced discussions for the Saundatti Project.

The proposed equity commitment from the existing shareholders shows Greenko’s track record in creating long-term value to all its stakeholders, said Anil Chalamalasetty, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Greenko. The Indian energy markets are transitioning from deficit markets to demand-driven contracts, requiring reliable, flexible and cost competitive energy, he said and added Greenko is “focussing in building integrated renewable energy assets with storage to address these markets by competing with conventional energy assets like thermal in quality, quanity and cost.”

This is part of Greenko’s pivot from a generation-focussed company to a more holistic solutions provider striving to feed peak grid demand through clean energy sources. In India, with increase in renewable energy supply from a variety of new sources, existing grid infrastructure cannot absorb more than 15 per cent of supply. Coal, the dominant source of power in the country, cannot satisfy demand that peaks in summer. Renewable supply also remains unpredictable, being dependent on the vagaries of nature. GIC will continue to remain the principal shareholder of the company after this fresh round of capital infusion. This will be the third round of capital infusion by the two, making the Hyderabad-based company the biggest recipient of foreign capital in the clean energy space in the country. After this, the two principal sponsors of the company would have put a total $2 billion in the 13-year-old company, with GIC, the largest shareholder with a 60 per cent stake, alone infusing $1.4 billion. With $3.2 billion of debt, Greenko’s enterprise valuation is expected to be at $5.2 billion. ET wrote about the impending fund raising in its February 21st edition.

Greenko, is well-positioned to execute the Integrated Renewable Energy projects,” said Ang Eng Seng, Chief Investment Officer of Infrastructure at GIC. “Its innovative use of hydro storage and renewable power will enable utilities to mitigate the intermittency issues of renewable power, facilitate the increased penetration of renewable power and reduce the country’s reliance on conventional thermal power over time.

Greenko, among the country’s top renewable energy companies has operational capacity of over 4.2 GW (DC Capacity of 4.7 GW) diversified across wind, solar and hydro projects. Set up in 2006 by first-generation entrepreneurs Mahesh Kolli and Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, Greenko has a pan India footprint of 13 states and an expected Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $500 million. The founders own a quarter of Greenko, and ADIA, the remaining 15 per cent. GIC is a leading global investment firm with well over US$100 billion in assets under management. Existing investors of Renew Power, Goldman Sachs, ADIA, CPPIB are also infusing another round of $300 million financing through a combination of equity and debt, ET reported last week.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Glennmont Smashes Hard Cap Target For Clean Energy Fund III Raising €850m

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Glennmont Partners has successfully raised €850m at the final close of its Third Fund investing in clean energy infrastructure projects in Europe. t is the largest amount that has ever been raised for a green energy only fund with a European mandate. The over-achievement of the target for Fund III (originally €600m) was achieved because of the high level of interest in sustainable themes among investors, and due to the demonstrated success in investment, operations and divestment in the assets in Funds I and II. Based in London, Glennmont is the world’s largest fund manager focussing exclusively on investment in clean energy infrastructure with assets of over €2bn currently under management. Glennmont has experienced robust growth over the past 6 years and is planning new products for investors seeking sustainable solutions. Over 70% of Clean Energy Fund III will be invested in projects in the Eurozone with the UK also being an important market. The capital has been committed by a combination of new and existing investors from Glennmont’s two previous funds. Fund III generated demand globally from Japan, USA and European markets. Investors also include UK Local Authority Pension Plans such as Surrey Council, Southwark Council and East Riding Council, as well as the European Investment Bank. The Third Fund will see investments in offshore wind projects across the EEA for the first time. Otherwise the Fund adopts a similar investment strategy to its predecessors targeting solar PV, onshore wind, bioenergy and small-scale hydro. The life of the Fund will span ten years and will target to-be-built and recently operational assets with stable, predictable cash yields underpinned by regulated and contracted revenues. The successful closure of the Third Fund reinforces Glennmont’s reputation in clean energy infrastructure, their expertise for providing attractive risk-adjusted returns to investors and the strong growth opportunities that renewables continue to enjoy as an asset class.

Commenting on the final close, Glennmont CEO Joost Bergsma said: We are delighted to announce the successful closure of our Third Clean Energy Fund which has raised over three-quarters of €1bn. Institutional investors globally recognise that the energy transition and climate change is of key relevance to the performance of their portfolio.

Glennmont’s investment strategy has proven to deliver good performance and predictable returns, and this strong demand from investors underlines the quality of the assets it invests in.

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Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice President responsible for renewable energy said: “Climate change is the biggest environmental crisis of our age. As the EU bank we know that mobilising private capital is key to address this challenge. This is the second time we partner with Glennmont in the Clean Energy Fund, which will invest in key technologies necessary to drive the clean energy transition. We are particularly pleased to see the fund surpass its initial target size. This shows the impact public investment like the EIB’s can have.”

Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action (2010 to 2014) said: “The world is waking up to the need to redirect infrastructure funding to sustainable themes. As climate change becomes recognised as a global crisis, it is heartening to see that the trend is for increased flows of capital to Funds such as Glennmont’s. I am happy to have supported Glennmont events in the past and I wish them well for the future.”

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ReNew Power likely to raise funds by selling assets after dropping IPO plan India’s largest green energy company, ReNew Power, is considering raising funds through asset sales, after shelving plans for an initial public offering (IPO).

Backed by Goldman Sachs Group, the company has renewable assets of over 7 gigawatts, of which more than 4 gigawatts are operational.

It makes sense to sell some assets when “the ability to execute and the opportunity to grow” exceeds the ability to finance projects and the company could “sell assets outright” or have co-investors, ReNew Power Chairman Sumant Sinha said, without elaborating on the amount of capacity sale or the funds being targeted.

They can co-invest along with us or buy our assets while we continue to run those assets,” he said in an interview in his office in Gurugram. ReNew Power will look at either creating its own infrastructure investment trust, or InVit, to raise funds or use an existing structure.

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he company isn’t alone in withdrawing plans for an IPO or considering an infrastructure investment trust. Rival solar power developer Acme Solar Holdings last year put on hold a planned public listing and said it will opt instead to raise funds through a private InVit, citing turbulence in the South Asian country’s stock market and uncertainty over renewable energy policies.

“There is no specific plan for the IPO right now,” Sinha said “Elections are now behind us. We’ll have to see how markets evolve, what the government does, there are these key issues to be addressed about how the sector can be in a healthier position.”

Industry groups have said the viability of Indian wind and solar projects is being tested by tariff caps set during the auction process, the preferred method for attaining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious goal of installing 175 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2022. While the auctions have enabled distributors to lock in some of the cheapest green power rates in the world, industry groups said it’s leading to unsustainably low electricity prices.

Transmission foray The company is now looking to enter the transmission business, with plans to bid for government tenders from June, Sinha said. ReNew Power has qualified for 10 bids and most transmission projects being auctioned are related to the green corridor, a government project for transmitting power from renewable-rich states and connecting clean power capacity, he said. ReNew has appointed Ajay Bhardwaj, the former head of rival transmission infrastructure builder Sterlite Power Grid Ventures, as the president of its new business, Sinha said.

Goldman Sachs, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Green Rock, hold 48.62 per cent, 16.22 per cent and 15.92 per cent, respectively, of ReNew Power’s paid-up share capital as of May 2018.

Goldman Sachs, CPPIB and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, are investing $300 million in ReNew Power via a rights issue, the Economic Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter it didn’t identify. The proceeds will be used to finance growth and repay existing debt. ReNew Power officials declined to comment. The company’s unit, Renew Solar Power, has bonds worth Rs 100 crore maturing in November, and Renew Power has ~850 crore of securities maturing in March 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ratings assessor S&P Global Ratings assigned a ‘BB-’ long-term issuer credit rating to ReNew Power in May, saying the action reflects the company’s relatively weaker receivables profile compared with peers and expects leverage to remain high due to debt-funded capital expenditure on capacity additions.

Source: bloomberg

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

IFC sees immense opportunities for green bond projects in India The International Finance Corporation (IFC) sees immense opportunities to finance projects through green bonds in India especially in areas like urban transportation, waste-to-energy and water treatment, its senior official said

Opportunities in India are huge.

Look at infrastructure and amount of urbanisation and the level of agriculture (projects), said Vivek Pathak, Director for East Asia & Pacific Department at the IFC. The projects he identified include development of urban transportation, waste-to-energy, water treatment and green building.

Noting that more and more financial institutions have been issuing green bonds in India, he said: “There is increasing awareness.

The solar and wind sector have done very well in India and I think the opportunities are going to be huge in India.” However, identifying such projects for green bonds is a challenge everywhere and India is no different, he told reporters.

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The Real Economy Green Investment Opportunity (REGIO) Fund is expected to catalyse at least $500 million to $700 million in multilateral and private sector capital to support well-diversified climate-smart investments in developing countries around the world, largely through green bonds issued by non-financial companies. IFC, a World Bank member, will provide a $100 million anchor investment in the fund, with $75 million from HSBC.

athak was talking on the sidelines of the creation of the first global green bond fund by IFC and the HSBC Global Asset Management. The fund targets “real economy” issues in emerging markets like increasing access to climate finance and promoting the further development of green bond markets.

This innovative fund will provide new opportunities for an important class of borrowers in green bond markets,” added IFC CEO Philippe Le Houerou. The fund will have a total life of up to 15 years, including a seven-year investment period. “The capital raised by REGIO will make a vital contribution to the fight against climate change and further promote sustainabilityoriented capital markets,” Le Houerou said.

Source: PTI

Adani Green arms to raise $500 million via dollar denominated bonds Adani Green Energy said the boards of its three subsidiaries have approved the pricing, tenure and other terms for issuing dollar denominated bonds worth USD 500 million ( about Rs 3,490 crore).

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ccording to a BSE filing, the boards of Adani Green Energy (UP), Parampujya Solar Energy Private and Prayatna Developers Private have approved the issuance of “USD-denominated Rule 144A / Reg S 5.5-years senior secured green bonds (Notes) aggregating to USD 500 million.”

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“The issuers (three arms) intend to use all of the proceeds to repay their respective external commercial borrowing loans, and the balance of the net proceeds for capital expenditure, other project related liabilities or for onlending to other subsidiaries of the company, in accordance with guidelines prescribed by RBI,” the filing added.

The bonds will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd (SGX- ST) and India International Exchange (iFSC), it said. The bonds will be allotted on June 10, 2019 and those will mature on December 10, 2024. The issuers have also executed the subscription agreement with the managers appointed with respect to the issue, it added.

Source: PTI

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HSBC GAM to launch green bond fund

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HSBC Global Asset Management is planning to launch green bond fund, HSBC Real Economy Green Investment Opportunity GEM Bond fund (REGIO). he fund’s aim will be to enable investors to achieve real economy impact to deliver against the Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. IFC and HSBC intend to commit up to $100m and up to $75m respectively to the fund. HSBC Global Asset Management has also issued a ‘Green Impact Framework’ which will support the fund. The aim of the framework is to show potential bond issuers the eligibility criteria it will be considering when selecting green bonds for REGIO. It is expected that this framework will also encourage transparency and knowledge sharing amongst investor and issuer communities.

REGIO will target real economy issuers in global emerging markets (GEM) in order to increase access to climate finance and promote the development of sustainable capital markets by broadening the range of issuers. The fund will provide geographically and sectorally diversified investment opportunities. It will look to harness at least $500m to $700m in capital, largely through bonds issued by non-financial or real sector companies5 in EM countries, to promote the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.

Source: investmenteurope.net

JinkoSolar and REC Group Petition for Review of Hanwha Q CELLS Patent JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) (“JinkoSolar”), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, and REC Group (“REC”), the largest European brand for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, are challenging the validity of a patent asserted against the companies in litigation brought by Hanwha Q CELLS.

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inkoSolar and REC jointly filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) of U.S. Patent No. 9,893,215 B2 with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on June 3 arguing that prior art renders the ‘215 B2 patent claim anticipated or obvious in light of five prior art grounds. As the Petition explains, claims 12-14 of the ‘215 patent are invalid as anticipated by, or obvious in view of, the prior art. All of these grounds are distinct from the unpatentability grounds presented in the separate IPR petition filed by LONGi Solar.

The inter partes review process is an important safeguard against poor quality patents that suppress innovation in the market. Hanwha Q CELLS’ assertion of the ‘215 patent against its competitors is technically unfounded and threatens to stifle the industry’s transition to grid parity solar, driving up electricity prices for homeowners, businesses, and utilities,” said Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar. “Additionally, the fact that all three respondents in the ITC action challenge the validity of this single patent on multiple, independent grounds, further demonstrates the weakness of Hanwha’s case.

As an innovator and leader in the solar industry,” said Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group, REC values the importance of protecting intellectual property and views the patent system as an important tool for encouraging innovation; Hanwha Q CELLS, however, seeks to misuse this system to compete in the courts rather than the U.S. market. We believe that the ‘215 patent is invalid and Hanwha Q CELLS’ allegations of infringement are unjustified. As shown by our joint IPR filing, REC will continue to defend itself vigorously against Hanwha Q CELLS’ meritless claims.

Source: jinkosolar

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Yashovardhan Birla declared willful defaulter

by UCO Bank UCO Bank declared Yashovardhan Birla, the Director of Birla Surya Ltd, as a willful defaulter after the company failed to repay loans of Rs 67.65 crore. Yashovardhan Birla is also the Chairman of the Yash Birla Group.

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ashovardhan Birla is also the Chairman of the Yash Birla Group.

In a public notice which also carried a photo of Yashovardhan Birla, UCO Bank said the account was declared a non-performing asset (NPA) on June 3, 2019.

“The Birla Surya Limited was sanctioned with credit limit of Rs 100 crore only with fund-based facilities for the purpose of manufacturing multi crystalline solar photovoltaic cells from our flagship corporate branch, Mafatlal Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai. The present balance outstanding is Rs 67.65 crore plus unapplied interest from the date on NPA,” the notice said.

The bank further said that the borrower didn’t repay the dues despite several notices served by the Kolkata-based lender. Interestingly, UCO Bank was founded in 1943 under the aegis of industrialist G.D. Birla, the brother of Yashovardhan Birla’s great grandfather Rameshwar Das Birla.

Source: IANS

ELP acts for SBI’s NEEV Fund in $6m investment into SunSource India’s largest public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) has invested an undisclosed amount from its Neev Fund in Indian solar player SunSource Energy, for developing solar project assets in states with low levels of capital investment, the company said in a statement

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unSource Energy, a solar project developer and EPC services provider, currently has 200 MWs of solar projects in India and abroad. Economic Laws Practice (ELP) advised State Bank of India (SBI)-owned The NEEV Fund led by a team of associate partner Shyam Pandya and associate manager Bhagyashree Madhekar.

Source: legallyindia

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Encourage Capital to Bring Clean Energy Financing Solutions to Indian Entrepreneurs With USD $40 Million First Close of New Fund Fund will invest in specialized financial institutions in India that can develop and scale commercial rooftop solar finance solutions, serving an estimated USD $9 billion market opportunity

Encourage Capital, LLC, an impact investment asset manager and advisory firm, announced the first closing of a new private equity fund, Encourage Solar Finance, L.P. at USD $40 million. The fund will invest in specialized financial institutions in India that can develop and scale commercial rooftop solar finance solutions for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (“MSMEs”).

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rominent mission-aligned investors have participated in the first closing, including KfW, Capricorn Investment Group, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environment Trust and the Sant Foundation. Recognizing the vast potential of its solar resources and the increasing energy needs of a rapidly growing economy, the Indian government has set a target to deploy 100 GW of solar by 2022 (including 40 GW of rooftop solar). However, as of March 2019, only 3.5 GW of rooftop solar has been installed, with the MSME market largely unaddressed. According to an independent study commissioned by Encourage Capital, the rooftop solar market for MSMEs in India has a 15 GW potential, resulting in a $9 billion lending opportunity for financial institutions. This study included in-depth, in-person surveys of MSME customers across India with support from the Growald Family Fund and the ClimateWorks Foundation.

With increasing energy demand, high electricity prices and decreasing costs of solar, MSMEs can find rooftop solar to be an attractive, low-carbon solution for their electricity needs, but financing is still a key barrier,” said Adam Wolfensohn, Managing Partner and Chairman at Encourage Capital. Our fund aims to address these barriers by partnering with specialized financial institutions and providing them with growth capital and the operational assistance they need to develop and deploy innovative and commercial financing solutions to scale rooftop solar for this market.

MSMEs are important drivers of economic growth, accounting for 45% of India’s industrial output and nearly 30% of GDP. However, MSMEs face a credit gap of $230 billion in India, which limits their growth. By providing much needed financial solutions to address important investments in clean energy, Encourage Capital believes that there is a unique opportunity to achieve compelling economic returns, given the rapid growth and superior asset quality of MSME lenders as compared with larger lenders, and to simultaneously reduce the carbon footprint of India’s industrialization.

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For investors seeking a market-rate return while creating deep and systemic impact, rooftop solar finance for Indian MSMEs represents a large, underserved and attractive market opportunity,” said Ameya Bijoor, Partner at Encourage Capital. This fund is an important example of Encourage Capital’s mission to identify, structure and finance commercial solutions to some of the world’s most critical social and environmental problems.

KfW has a long history of promoting sustainable development in India, particularly in financial inclusion and renewable energy,” said Dr. Adam Drosdzol of KfW. “Encourage Capital’s unique approach combines these two themes to make clean energy solutions accessible for MSMEs in India, thereby furthering sustainable development in the country.

MacArthur’s investment in Encourage Solar Finance represents a core element of our support for India’s climate leadership, and, in particular, the government of India’s bold nationally determined contribution to the Paris Accord in 2015,” said Jorgen Thomsen, Director of Climate Solutions at the MacArthur Foundation. “Encourage Solar Finance is targeting a critical financing gap around rooftop solar in India’s MSME sector because they believe, as do we, that these transactions are both economically viable and present enormous promise. We’re excited to partner with them in this important endeavor.

Encourage Capital brings a successful track record of making commercial private equity investments in India. Through its prior fund, Wolfensohn Capital Partners, L.P., the Encourage Capital team has successfully invested in and exited several high-quality financial institutions in India, including DCB Bank, Ujjivan Financial Services and Repco Home Finance. Encourage Capital seeks to complete its final closing in Q4 of 2019 with a target of $75 million and a hard cap of $100 million. Goodwin Procter LLP served as lead fund counsel for Encourage Solar Finance, LP. Source: jinkosolar

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Rooftop solar firm Sunshot to raise $100 mn-$125 mn over next 3 yrs: Rahul Dasari, CEO Pune-based solar rooftop company, Sunshot Technologies, is planning to raise $100 million to $125 million (~Rs 872 crore) over the next three years, said Rahul Dasari, director and chief executive officer. The firm is looking at investing in Opex projects, and is working with various financiers for the same. “We look forward to raising at least another $100 million to $125 million in equity and debt over the period of next three years,” Dasari told ETEnergyWorld. The firm is also planning to raise $6 million to $7 million for funding its transformational plans.

“At Sunshot, we are currently in the process of transforming ourselves into a ‘Solar Platform’, which will be fully equipped to install solar assets across consumer premises, under both Opex as well as Capex models. This platform would serve as a one-stop shop for any consumer, supporting them end-to-end with both, technology as well as financial services. To achieve the same, we are in the process of raising $6 million to $7 million,” he said.

Dasari added that this would be used in deploying 200 megawatt (MW) to 250 MW of solar assets. In February this year, Sunshot had installed a 3.35 MW rooftop solar power project at the Bengaluru Airport.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

Adani Green Energy arm bags 600 MW solar wind hybrid projects The company has received Letters of Award (LOAs) from SECI for the 600 MW projects. The fixed power purchase agreement (PPA) tariff is Rs 2.69/kWh for a period of 25 years, it added.

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dani Green Energy June 19 said its arm Adani Renewable Energy Park (Gujarat) has bagged 600 MW wind-solar hybrid projects in an auction conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The company has received Letters of Award (LOAs) from SECI for the 600 MW projects. The fixed power purchase agreement (PPA) tariff is Rs 2.69/kWh for a period of 25 years, it added.

“Adani Renewable Energy Park (Gujarat) Ltd (AREPGL), a Wholly-owned Subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) had won bids for setting up 600 MWac ISTS-connected Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Projects in a Tender issued by SECI,” the company said in a BSE filing.

The projects are expected to be commissioned by Q4 of FY2021. With this, AGEL’s portfolio of renewable generation capacity in India stands at 5.16 GW with 2.02 GW operational projects and balance 3.14 GW in development stage.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

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GIPCL commissions 75 MW solar power project in Gujarat Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd (GIPCL) said it has commissioned a 75 mega watt (MW) solar power project in Gujarat in a phased manner.

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IPCL had emerged as one of the successful bidders for the 75 MW solar power project in the e-reverse auction conducted by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd in September 2017 for 500 MW solar power projects in the state. GIPCL has commissioned the solar power project at Gujarat Solar Park, Village Charanka, Dist. Patan, Gujarat, in a phased manner on June 4, 2019, the company said in a regulatory filing. Shares of Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd were trading 0.13 per cent lower at Rs 75.35 apiece on BSE. Source: PTI

Ordnance Factory Board generates solar power, reduces power cost The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has significantly reduced cost of electricity consumption by generating solar power in its various units across the country, an official said

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he OFB is working towards achieving the goal of meeting 45 per cent of its total energy requirements through the solar power route, the official said.The use of solar power has significantly reduced OFB’s cost of electricity consumption from Rs 463.22 lakh during 2015-16 to Rs 163.78 lakh during 2018-19, he said.

“As part of the ongoing efforts to promote ecologically sustainable growth to generate carbon-free clean energy and to reduce expenditure on electricity, the OFB is participating in the National Solar Mission to increase its solar power use to 45 per cent of total consumption,” he said. The installation of grid-connected solar power projects in various OFB units have resulted in generation of approximately 1,47,12,072.14 units of electrical power till November 2018, he said.

Source: PTI

BHEL bags three orders worth Rs 520 cr to set up solar plants in Maha, Guj State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) said it has won three orders worth Rs 520 crore for setting up solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants with a combined capacity of 135 mega watt (MW) in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

“Cumulatively valued at Rs 520 crore, the orders have been secured from Maharashtra State Power Generation Company, (MAHAGENCO), Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals, (GNFC),” BHEL said in a statement.

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HEL said the order received from MAHAGENCO envisages setting up a 50 MW SPV plant at Kaudgaon, Maharashtra.

The GSECL order envisages setting up a 75 MW SPV plant at Dhuvaran, Gujarat.

The company has also received an order from GNFC for setting up 10 MW SPV plant in Gujarat. Shares of BHEL were trading 0.44 per cent higher at Rs 68.55 apiece on BSE. Source: PTI

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SOLAR PROJECTS

NTPC to set up 100 MW floating solar power project in T’gana State-owned NTPC Limited said it is setting up a 100 mw Floating Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) Solar Project at Ramagundam in Telangana.

“We wish to inform that investment approval has been accorded for 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project, Phase-I in District Peddapelli, Telangana,” a regulatory filing by the PSU said.

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TPC had earlier invited bids through online international competitive bidding process for the development of the solar power project. NTPC was setting up a 25 MW floating solar power plant in its water storage reservoir at Simhadri in Andhra Pradesh also as part of its diversification into the solar segment. Floating Solar PV refers to an array of solar panels on a structure that floats on a water body, typically an artificial basin or a lake. NTPC is currently operating coal-based power plants with combined capacity of 2,600 MWat Ramagundam and is in the process of setting up 2X800 MW plants as part of fulfilment of promise made in the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act. The power producer also has 10 MW solar power project (operational) adjacent to the existing plants.

Source: PTI

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$100K awarded to social enterprise for developing solar pumps in rural India Oorja Development Solutions was named the grand winner of this year’s competition for its work developing and operating pay-as-you-go community solar pumping systems in rural India. They were awarded US$100K to support their activities.

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total of 335 teams competed for a total of US$330K in prizes, and for recognition of their work to address some of the current global challenges using innovations in technology. Co-founded in 2016 by Dr Clementine Chambon of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and social entrepreneur Amit Saraogi, the company is attempting to tackle energy poverty in rural farming communities by installing energy systems to power livelihoods. In the irrigation sector they provide irrigation as a service, as an alternative to expensive and unreliable diesel irrigations pumps which place a large financial burden on farmers who often cannot afford to invest in alternatives. Solar pumps are virtually free to run once they’ve been installed and water is available year-round, which enables farmers to plant a greater diversity of crops and can help boost their yields by up to 50 percent.

Since their inception Oorja have run three successful community solar pump pilot projects in Uttar Pradesh.

They now plan to launch the service in Assam and have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the project. They have currently reached 55% of their funding goal, and the campaign will remain open until the end of June.

Source: imperial.ac.uk

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COLORS Cineplex Launches Electro – Uttar Pradesh’s First Solar Power Theatre While India has made remarkable progress in bringing electricity to every town,there are still millions who are shrouded in darkness.One such city in Uttar Pradesh is Meerut where major power cuts and electricity issues during blazing temperatures cripple the lives of the localities even

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housands of people are deprived of their necessities, comfort and moreover their daily dose of filmy entertainment. Driving out the darkness, bringing light and relief into the city of Meerut will be Viacom 18’s Hindi movie channel,COLORS Cineplex with the launch of Uttar Pradesh’s first solar-enabled theatre Electro COLORS Cineplex at the Nauchandi Mela this year.With a promise to provide unceasing entertainment,the brand with this initiative enhances its focus on societal welfare and synergize their efforts towards creating an unparalleled entertainment zone.

Curated to bring cinema closer to its viewers, Electro COLORS Cineplex is an enclosed theatre capacitated with solar panels and comfortable seating to facilitate non-stop and on-the-go entertainment.The movie showcase listincludes some ofthe biggest blockbuster movies namely Boss, Mary Kom,Bazaar, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns and others.

Apart from the movie screening,the audience will also get an opportunity to make complete use of the solar-powered mobile charging units to charge their mobiles while watching movies. Moreover, mobile charging units with a contextual message will be installed at strategic points across the mela ground for people to avail the benefits.In addition to this,the viewers can enjoy the local flavors and experience various fun and engaging activities including a ride on a giant wheel, participating in Bollywood quiz and mimicry contests whilst in the mela.Winners will be picked hourly and gratified instantly by featuring their names on the big screens put up across the mela.

Sapangeet Rajwant, Senior Vice President – Marketing at Viacom18 added, “Nauchandi Mela is one of the Uttar Pradesh’s biggest social gatherings and accounts for lakhs of foot falls every year.It opens new doors of opportunities for brand building and Colors Cineplex, having been revived its brand identity recently,will get an extra nudge to establish itself as a premium entertainment destination. Solar built Electro theatre is our endeavor to build a strong brand positioning and ensure greater visibility through newer innovations.”

The channel has also planned a robust social media outreach to ensure more footfalls for the screenings. The users can win the golden sofa ticket by clicking a simple selfie with the Electro theatre logo and upload it on social media or WhatsApp and use #ColorsCineplex. Before entering the theatre, people can get enrolled with Cineplex through WhatsApp and stay updated with the daily show information and promo videos. As an extension to the activity, they are also on a lookout for Nauchandi ka hero and heroine where users can also upload fun videos mimicking the iconic Bollywood film dialogues or recreate a popular hook step and post it on either social media or send it to the assigned number on WhatsApp. Along with this, the initiative will also be promoted locally through OOH, Bhopu announcements.

Source: adageindia.in

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Gurgaon’s solar rooftop capacity increased by 60% in a year The installed solar rooftop capacity of Gurgaon has increased by 60% in a year, from 25MW to 40MW (till March 2019). This data was shared by Haryana Department of Renewable Energy (HAREDA) officials at a solar meeting in the city, titled ‘debunking myths: solar rooftop for the resident sector’ According to environment think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), this is a mere 2% of the city’s peak load.

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t the meeting, CSE researchers batted for use of solar rooftop in place of generators in residential societies to reduce air pollution in Gurgaon.

Hailing SRT as an “excellent non-polluting, cost-effective alternative”, they suggested that the deputy commisioner’s office should create a nodal office to monitor performance by all solar rooftop agencies and control consumer grievances against these agencies. Moreover, CSE suggested that the government should focus on promotion of SRT to meet an aggressive target for the city — 250 MW by 2024. “Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) should partner with developers to create RESCO models (a zero-investment model in which consumer pays only for electricity generated) for RWAs to address financing concerns, and streamline net metering implementation which should be directly under the top DHBVN management,” said CSE’s Priyavrat Bhati. Experts also elaborated on the state government’s solar policy, which was announced in 2016 and has set a target to achieve 4,000MW power generation in the next five years, of which 1,600MW would be through SRTs.

As per an order issued in November 2018, the solar power users in Haryana can claim a rebate of Re 1 per unit for every unit of electricity generated. Moreover, they can claim additional rebate of Re 1 per unit if they have a solar rooftop set up with a battery back-up,” said Rameshwar Singh, the project officer of Haryana’s new and renewable energy department. Gurgaon records around 330 sunny days, with high-intensity solar radiations, every year, and has huge potential for solar power generation.

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A press note issued by the CSE on the occasion of World Environment Day claimed that Gurgaon had numerous residential societies and high-rises, which promised 24/7 steady power supply with diesel generator (DG) support.

“Their impact on air quality has been severe.

These DG sets are choking the city with their noxious fumes. The CSE’s assessment of the situation shows levels of PM2.5 and PM10 increase by two and three times, respectively, immediately after a DG set is operated. These levels are several notches higher than the safe limits for residents,” it said.

Shweta Miriam Koshy, a senior research associate with CSE (renewable energy), said, “In the long run, solar rooftop has clear economic advantages and environmental benefits compared to the polluting, expensive DG sets.

Though solar by itself does not offer an alternative for DG sets during power cuts, it does minimise the use of the latter for regular, every-day power supply.”

Source: PTI

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BELECTRIC completes rooftop solar project for Arvind BELECTRIC of Germany is further increasing its footprint in India’s ever-growing solar industry by completing two large-scale PV rooftop projects.

With a combined capacity of 26 megawatt peak (MWp), these solar power plants are amongst Asia’s largest rooftop installations.

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he projects were developed by Cleantech Solar, the regional leader in solar energy solutions for corporate customers in Asia. On behalf of Cleantech Solar, BELECTRIC took control of the construction and commissioning of the large-scale projects. The 16 MWp system for Arvind Ltd. started full commercial operation in December 2018, while the other 10 MWp system, installed at Apollo Tyres’ facility in Chennai, commenced operation a few days back.

Both the large-scale projects were constructed within six months while maintaining the highest Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) standards.

We are particularly proud to have completed these large-scale projects not only on time and quality but also in accordance with our high European health and safety standards,” explains Ingo Alphéus, CEO of BELECTRIC Solar & Battery GmbH. “This underpins our strong position in the Indian EPC market, which is not only one of the largest and fastest growing solar markets but is also one of the most challenging.

We are delighted that these industry leaders have once again chosen Cleantech Solar as their trusted long-term partner. We are pleased to collaborate with BELECTRIC, which has a proven track record in rooftop solar deployment and shares our values of delivering high performing systems with high HSE & Quality standards. We look forward to working with BELECTRIC again for future projects,” said Raju Shukla, Chairman and Founder of Cleantech Solar.

Jitendra Singh, CEO & Managing Director of BELECTRIC Photovoltaic India Pvt. Ltd., added: “Besides these two projects, we are building a ground-mounted solar farm with a total capacity of 250 MWAC. This solar plant in Karnataka is going to be the largest capacity installation we have ever done in India. Construction works are well underway and we anticipate full commercial operation in 2019. With this and further projects we are making great progress towards achieving our target of one gigawatt of project allocations in India by the end of this year.”

Source: indiantextilemagazine.in

Singapore’s Sembcorp defers India energy IPO Singaporean industrial conglomerate Sembcorp Industries Ltd said it has withdrawn a draft prospectus for listing its Indian energy arm, as it was injecting new equity into the business, and intended to submit papers later this year.

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embcorp plans to subscribe to additional shares in Sembcorp Energy India Ltd (SEIL) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities, and inject new equity to support the growth of its India renewable energy business, it said. SEIL intends to refile a revised prospectus at an appropriate time this year, taking into consideration market conditions, it said. It had filed the prospectus in early 2018.

Sembcorp Industries shares ended 0.8 per cent lower ahead of the announcement, while the broader market closed 0.5 per cent down.

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Source: reuters

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EESL & Govt of Maharashtra explore installing solar rooftops in 5,000 energy efficient public buildings Buildings that install solar rooftops likely to be charged levelized electricity tariffs significantly lower than that of the grid for 25-year term.

EESL’s BEEP programme has made public buildings in Maharashtra achieve 39 percent energy savings.

Energy Efficiency Services Limited organized a stakeholders’ workshop along with KfW where senior functionaries of key departments of Government of Maharashtra were addressed about deployment of grid-connected solar rooftop solutions in up to 5,000 buildings across the state within the next 2-3 years.

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ESL is already retrofitting Government buildings in Maharashtra with energy efficient appliances, investing INR 325 crores to enable them to achieve 39 percent savings in annual energy costs. The solar rooftop solutions will significantly reduce the lifetime energy costs of these buildings, as they will avail electricity at lower tariffs that will be determined at levelized rates over the next 25 years.

Shri Chandrakant Dada Patil, Minister of Revenue, Relief & Rehabilitation and Public Works, Government of Maharashtra inaugurated the workshop, which was graced by dignitaries like Shri Arvind Singh, Principal Secretary, Energy Department, Government of Maharashtra (GoM) and Shri Manoj Saunik, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, GoM; Shri Rajeev Sharma, Chairman, EESL; Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Managing Director, Shri. Ajit Sagne Secretary (Buildings) Public Works Department, GoM ; and, Shri Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL.

Addressing the workshop Shri Chandrakant Dada Patil said, “Nearly 32 percent of India’s total electricity consumption is derived from residential and commercial spaces. As India continues to urbanize, we can witness a rise in this figure. The state government has already initiated several commendable measures to effectively manage the energy demand from its buildings. We are glad to be able to explore opportunities that build on these efforts and contribute to the expansion of the significantly green footprint already established in the state.”

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Engaging with leaders of Departments of Public Works, Education, Urban Development, Irrigation, Power and Energy and other public sector entities under the Maharashtra Government, representatives from EESL, KfW and Idam Infra shared best practices and case studies in solar rooftop financing and deployment in government establishments and hospitals, while also identifying advantages and benefits for proposed interventions for select buildings across the state. The workshop was organized as part of Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP) being implemented by EESL in Maharashtra since 2017. EESL has already retrofitted 2,000 buildings with energy efficient appliances in the State. EESL has successfully installed 1.75 Lakh LED Lights, 1.25 Energy Efficient Fans & 3200 Nos. of Super-Efficient ACs. With the help of this Maharashtra State has saved 20.5 Million Units of Electricity worth Rs. 20 Cr per year with most importantly avoiding of 18500 tons of CO2 emission to the atmosphere. EESL will soon have 3000 more buildings retrofitted by the end of the year.

Through this intervention, EESL will have replaced about 7,000 energy efficient ACs, 11 lakh LEDs bulbs, 6 lakh energy efficient ceiling fans and 14,000 streetlights in the state, contributing to energy savings of 100 million units per year.

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technology- SNEC

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Jinergy in SNEC 2019: Module Efficiency Reached 21.9% In the 13th Global Green Energy Leaders Dialogue held during the exhibition, Dr. Liyou Yang, general manager of Jinergy, delivered a keynote speech titled Driving toward and beyond grid parity, and during the panel discussion, he mentioned, “Technology innovation is the key to grid parity and a more matured PV industry. Jinergy follows technology iteration and has made breakthroughs in terms of module efficiency, module degradation, module performance and bifaciality in order to improve power generation and bring down LCOE.”

At the 4th Jinergy Developers Forum (JDF 2019), Gaofei Li, technical director of Jinergy, addressed Jinergy’s achievement in details. Both of Jinergy’s regular high efficiency modules (polycrystalline and PERC monocrystalline) demonstrate very low degradation by optimizing coating and passivation process, as well as strict raw material and process control. With demonstrated extremely low degradation and PID in Datong PV application front runner phase I, Jinergy’s polycrystalline modules bring more benefits for investors. Moreover, with bifaciality of 78%, Jinergy PERC dual-glass bifacial module generates 5%25% more power from backside. Power generation and LCOE are significantly optimized.

To bring breakthrough to LCOE and realize grid parity, Jinergy also prepares HJT super-high efficiency module. Featuring bifacial power generation, excellent low light performance, ultra-low temperature coefficient and degradation, overall power generation of Jinergy HJT module is increased by 44% when compared to regular polycrystalline modules. Currently, Jinergy HJT cell average mass production efficiency reached 23.79%, and efficiency of new experimental cells reached 24.73%. Tested by TUV Rheinland, module efficiency of Jinergy’s HJT modules reached 21.9% and bifaciality reached 93%. Right before the exhibition, Jinergy received its third China Top 20 Solar Panel Enterprises Award and second APVIA Technological Achievement Award.

Source: Jinneng Clean Energy Technology Ltd.

Adani Solar top PVEL performer for second consecutive year

Mundra Solar PV Limited (Adani Solar) received the Top Performer title for the second consecutive year for its high efficiency products by PVEL – the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts.

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VEL published its fifth annual PV Module Reliability Scorecard report, the most comprehensive publicly available comparison of PV module reliability test results. Results of the 2019 PV Module Product Qualification Program has rated Adani Solar for its high efficient products that passed rigorous tests for quality checks. For 2019, global Solar Installations is expected to cross the 120 GW mark.

Growth in increased installations are driven by higher efficiency PV modules with new materials projecting higher returns and lower LCOE (Levelised cost of energy). The new high efficiency PV modules such as PERC and PERT Technologies do not come with significant track records and hence a reliability and durability testing demonstrating the lifetime warranty of the modules and its technology is vital.

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The annual PV Module Reliability Scorecard reports the results of PVEL’s PV Module Product Qualification Program (PQP). Adani Solar has a capacity of 1.2 GW with a mix of Multi, Mono-PERC, Bifacial PV Modules and has its factory located in Mundra SEZ, Gujarat, India. It is noteworthy that Adani Solar is the only Indian BNEF Tier-1 Manufacturer with an in-house cell and Module capacity with a top performer award at PVEL PQP Program.

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Ramesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer of Mundra Solar PV Limited (Adani Solar) commented, “PVEL’s PV Module Reliability Scorecard is an invaluable tool that developers and lender’s engineers use to ensure that projects are built with reliable and durable products that would perform as expected. We at Adani Solar will continue to allocate more resources towards innovating new and high efficiency solar technologies and their application to the market. We will continue to provide the most reliable and high efficiency products through stringent test procedures for material selection and continual in-house Reliability Tests, which have also enabled us to create benchmarks for ourselves.”

He further stated “Developers and investors should always be aware that not all manufacturers have their modules tested for quality and reliability.

Procuring unevaluated modules could have major ramifications for their projects. Adani Solar is a committed manufacturer, with state of the art facility with best industry practices ensuring superior performance and reliability of its products”.

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technology- SNEC

AI BOOST FusionSolar 6.0: Roads to a Digital PV World In the intelligent era, AI (artificial intelligence), as a new general purpose technology (GPT), is creating value for all walks of life. As a global leading network energy solutions provider, Huawei releases AI BOOST FusionSolar 6.0 Smart PV Solution during SNEC this year.

Huawei helps promote the implementation of leading technologies in the solar industry.

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n the technological integration of multi-MPPT design, intelligent multi-peak tracking, smart I-V diagnosis 3.0, and AI boost connection algorithm, Smart PV 6.0 Solution reduces LCOE by more than 8%, creating more value for customers. SUN2000175KTL/185KTL smart string inverter has current of 26A per MPPT, which fully meets the demand for bifacial modules. The design of 9 number of MPPT and every 2 strings of MPPT get the advantage of industry’s finest MPPT granularity smart PV inverter, and yields increased by 3% compared to traditional inverters. Due to the influence of weather and ground environment, the mismatch effect of bifacial module is more severe than monofacial’s.

During this exhibition, Huawei also provides a smart bifacial module design tool that integrates full-scenario, self-adaptive, and self-learning AI intelligent control algorithms. Huawei helped customers to optimise their design and won the bid with optimal LCOE such as Indian project.

Tony Xu, Huawei Smart PV Business President, delivers a keynote speech

AI BOOST Smart DC System In the intelligent era, Huawei abandons the traditional astronomical algorithm while innovatively adopts the AI ​​algorithm to achieve a better integration of bifacial modules, trackers and multi-MPPT inverter. Compared with traditional solution using monofacial modules and fixed trackers, yields has been increased by more than 20%. Based on a large number data of grid normal and abnormal operation conditions, Huawei developed a mathematical model that integrating AI self-learning impedance reshaping algorithm, supports up to 50% PV penetration rate, thus allowing inverters to support power grid better.

AI BOOST Smart I-V 3.0 Huawei Smart I-V Curve diagnosis achieves carry out online I-V curve analysis on entire strings with advanced diagnosis algorithm, which upgrade to bifacial module scenario. The scanning help to find out and identify the strings with low performance or malfunction automatically, which achieve proactive maintenance, higher O&M efficiency and minimize operation cost.

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Online I-V curve scanning on all strings of 100MW plant can be completed within 15 minutes. Tony Xu pointed out that Huawei is making great efforts to build a digital platform for solar industry. Huawei is committed to bring digital to every PV plant and every renewable energy enterprise, and helps partners leading the intelligent era

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Heraeus Photovoltaics delivers new standards for efficiency and value with introduction of its next generation of high-performance metallization pastes Heraeus Photovoltaics, a leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, will introduce its latest series of high-performance, high-efficiency metallization pastes at the 13th annual SNEC PV Power Expo, which took place June 4th to June 6th at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. he other new paste products include: the SOL9661D Continuing to help cell manufacturers achieve series for DWC/MCCE, which delivers fine-line printnew levels of efficiency and performance-toability on Knotless screen printing without defects in price ratios, the SOL966X series covers a wide mass production; the SOL9380 series for N Type solar variety of manufacturing needs. They include: SOL9661B for high efficiency PERC solar cells: designed for ultra fine-line screen printing through less than 26 μm screen opening in high throughput mass production. Its unique chemistry enables the paste to be fired at low peak and at wide firing temperature range, allowing protection of emitter during the firing step. This platform delivers radical innovation by improving contact performance, resulting in Isc (short circuit current) and FF (fill factor) gain at the same time.

SOL9662B series for double printing: based on the glass chemistry upgrade from the last generation, this paste offers extra protection on laser damaged area. This, in combination with the latest improvement in organic vehicle system for UFL (Ultra-Fine-Line) printing, results in significant Voc and Isc gain.

SOL9661B2 series for “double passivation” solar cells: its unique chemistry enables penetration of stack passivation layers. This paste also successfully overcomes the challenge of contacting ULDE (~ 10-19 dopant concentration) and reduces passivation damages. Such features bring out the most benefits of ULDE, such as higher FF and Voc, therefore boosting PERC cell efficiency.

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cells, which offers significant improvement in cell Voc while maintaining or improving fill factor; the SOL7200 series for Topcon solar cells, whose glass chemistry enables low firing temperatures, which is key to achieving very high Voc on the finished solar cell; and the SOL6700 series for Floating Busbar, which contains a new glass formulation and paste additives to help minimize defects on the emitter during the metallization process and enable higher cell efficiencies of 22+%, improved Voc as well as module reliability.Heraeus also continues to expand its portfolio beyond paste to provide manufacturers with essential module products to help them lower costs and increase efficiency. Hecaro®, its newly developed Electrically Conductive Adhesive, applied patented low-silver technology, which having excellent reliability and passed module level TUV certification.

The new Heraeus product line of advanced Selectively Coated Ribbons delivers increased power, up to 2.4 watt power gain on module level, while easily integrating into existing manufacturing processes (plug & play process integration) without requiring any additional equipment.

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Martin Ackermann, President of Heraeus Photovoltaics, said, “The PV industry must continue to lower the per-watt cost compared to other power alternatives. Our newest pastes deliver the value, innovation and efficiency cell manufacturers need to improve performance and lower the levelized cost of electricity, which will enable solar energy adoption to reach a global tipping point.”

Source: Heraeus Photovoltaics

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technology- SNEC

JinkoSolar Breaks World Record for Cell Efficiency and Module Output JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (the “Company,” or “JinkoSolar”) (NYSE: JKS), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, announced that the maximum conversion efficiency of its cheetah size cells and N-type cells reached 24.38% and 24.58%, respectively, during testing conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in March 2019, China’s authoritative national academy for the natural sciences. Additionally, power generated by JinkoSolar’s 72 version high efficiency monocrystalline module (cell: 158.75*158.75) reached 469.3W during testing conducted by TÜV Rheinland, a respected third-party institution, in May 2019. JinkoSolar has made significant breakthroughs in the field of high efficiency and high power of cells and modules, setting a new industry standard for peak performance.

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inkoSolar’s production chain, including R&D teams from silicon wafers, solar cells and solar modules, all made significant technological breakthroughs which were key to the extremely high solar cell efficiency and module power output. Several advanced technologies have been implemented, including: silicon wafer growth with extremely low oxygen and defect concentration, HOT solar cell technology, low-loss cell connection technology, and in-module light harvesting technology.

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With our commitment to revolutionize the industry using technological innovation, JinkoSolar has been continuously breaking world records for the efficiency of solar cells and modules, commented Dr. Hao Jin, JinkoSolar R&D Vice President. To complement our efforts in continuously upgrading product technology and create more value for our global customers, JinkoSolar has established a joint research platform with many advanced R&D institutions across the globe.

Source: JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.

“Seamless Soldering” – LONGi Announced New Proprietary Module Encapsulation Technology LONGi Solar announced that the company has developed the technology of “Seamless Soldering”, which completely eliminates the gap between cells and increases the efficiency of PV modules.

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he technology is planned for mass production in 2H-2019. According to a TÜV SÜD test on May 30, “Seamless Soldering” technology, when combined with innovative module design, has the potential to push LONGi Solar’s high efficiency PERC module power record to 500Wp. “Seamless Soldering” technology uses a solder ribbon to achieve “tiled” interconnection of the cell, completely eliminating the typical 2mm wide cell gap, thus increasing efficiency while reducing the BOM cost of the module. This technology is perfectly compatible with existing module encapsulation processes and equipment. It has high mass production maturity and stability, and capacity is easily scalable.

In addition, “Seamless Soldering” has good technical compatibility that integrates with M6 monocrystalline silicon wafer, thin silicon wafer, soldering wire and reflective ribbon. PV module technology continuous pursuits in the evolution of high efficiency and high power are the key factors in reducing the LCOE. LONGi has carried out intellectual property research on “Seamless Soldering” technology and has applied for a number of related patents. The launch of this technology marks a new step in the innovations of LONGi’s modules. LONGi will continue to invest in technology to promote a wider range of PV applications of PV in the world.

Source: LONGi Solar

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Trina Solar Uses “Optimiser Technology” To Tackle Harsh Conditions in India Foursun Solar – the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company – who worked together with Trina Solar to develop the solar system for India’s Rolex Rings Pvt. Ltd. (Rolex Rings), an automotive parts manufacturer.

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olex Rings wanted a more reliable, cost effective and environmentally sustainable source of energy. It had never adopted solar previously, because of its factory location in Rajkot city; an area of Gujarat known to be dusty.

Foursun Solar overcame the issue by connecting Trina Solar’s Tallmax TSM-PE14A modules to a power optimiser. This innovative 675kW rooftop solar array has started generating power by using power optimiser technology,

allowing each solar module to perform at its fullest whether or not other modules are impaired by shade or dust. This is unlike traditional string inverter systems, where modules can only perform as well as the lowest performing module. A total of 2,079 modules were installed across 6,500sqm of factory roof space. The panels generate energy savings of about US$110,000 a year, and carbon savings of about 474 tons a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 237 people in India.

Source: cleanfuture.co.in

DuPont Announces New DuPont™ Fortasun™ Solar Silicones

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At the 2019 SNEC solar conference in Shanghai, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions (DuPont) announced they added a new brand to its flagship DuPont™ Tedlar® and Solamet® product lines, DuPont™ Fortasun™ solar silicones

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We are excited to continue to grow our portfolio of solar materials with the introduction of our new silicones line, Fortasun™. It represents quality, reliability and carries the same level of proven performance as our Tedlar® and Solamet® brands that have been in the field for over 30+ years,” said Dan Barish, Global Business Manager, TCS & Solar Silicones. “Fortasun™ increases durability, stability, productivity and overall performance of solar panels and helps lower cost per kilowatt-hour and lower longterm cost of ownership.”Built on decades of experience from Dow Corning, the new silicone-based product line features sealants, adhesives, potting agents, encapsulants and electrically conductive adhesives that all deliver the exceptional performance and proven reliability customers expect from DuPont. These products have been used in photovoltaic (PV) applications for over 30 years, and now they are under a new brand name – Fortasun™.

he durability offered by Fortasun™ includes delamination and corrosion protection. This helps preserve a level of performance that matches the expectations associated with investments in solar technology. Fortasun™ has lasting UV stability, high thermal conductivity formulations, strong adhesive bonds that help reduce failures due to moisture and it’s electrically insulating.

DuPont™ Fortasun™ adhesives and sealants are proven to endure in the face of extreme climates, ensuring that energy needs are met in all parts of the world. It also helps reduce the risk of performance deterioration due to environmental elements.

Fortasun™ gives photovoltaic modules and solar concentrators a longer life,” notes Barish. “We believe that materials matter, and this is another set we’re bringing to the market to make a difference in how your solar panels perform over their lifetime.”

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Products included under the Fortasun™ brand: Sealants and adhesives Silicone sealants and adhesives outperform other technologies in frame sealing and junction box adhesion applications by providing protection from moisture, harsh temperatures, vibrations, as well as mechanical and thermal shock.

Potting agents Silicone potting agents possess unique properties and benefits that make them ideal for solar industry applications. They offer a unique combination of reliable performance and durability for photovoltaic junction box applications and beyond.

Encapsulants Silicone encapsulants protect solar components against corrosion and delamination, prolonging the life of a module while ensuring better power output and improved performance results in terms of increased power generation.

Rail Bonding Silicone adhesives outperform typical PV tapes in rail bonding applications, offering exceptional adhesion to glass and PV substrates. This added structural strength and durability results in greater overall protection and weatherability.

Source: dupont

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international

Anheuser-Busch Embraces Solar to Power Past Its 100% Renewables Target The brewing giant announced a 222-megawatt solar project with Recurrent Energy in Texas, a fast-growing hot spot for corporate solar deals.

Beer giant Anheuser-Busch announced the signing of a 15-year virtual power-purchase agreement with Recurrent Energy for a 222-megawatt (AC) project in West Texas.

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n 2017, Anheuser-Busch committed to purchasing 100 percent renewable electricity by 2025. It’s previously inked renewables deals with AES Distributed Energy on a 2.76-megawatt solar project in New York and with Enel Green Power for 152.5 megawatts of wind in Oklahoma. With the Recurrent announcement, the company — famous for beverages including Bud Light and the Lime-A-Rita — said it would achieve its 2025 target several years early. The Texas project, Recurrent’s largest C&I deal to date, is slated to come online in 2021. The project from Recurrent, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, joins many corporate deals cropping up around Texas. Canadian Solar says it has signed more than 1.3 gigawatts’ worth of renewables project deals in the service territory of ERCOT, the grid manager for 25 million Texas customers.

“We’re seeing significant interest not only from players like Anheuser-Busch but also from conventional energy companies,” a Recurrent spokesperson said in an email. “Solar is extremely cost competitive in today’s market.”

Super-low prices on power-purchase agreements under $30 per megawatt have made Texas a growing hot spot for corporate solar development. Starbucks recently signed a deal with Cypress Creek Renewables in the state, and this month Facebook announced it had made its first direct investment in a renewables project there.

According to the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, last year was a record for commercial and industrial renewables deals in the United States, with companies procuring 6.63 gigawatts (that sum excludes on-site generation). So far in 2019, companies such as Gap and more typical customers like Google have signed contracts amounting to 1.49 gigawatts. While the overall U.S. corporate renewables market is looking increasingly diverse, with small-scale aggregation becoming more common, Recurrent’s deal for the West Texas project looks fairly traditional: a large project with one offtaker accounting for most of the power. Beyond Anheuser-Busch, Energy Transfer — the company behind the controversial Dakota Access pipeline — signed a contract for 28 megawatts (AC) from the Maplewood project, located in West Texas’ Permian Basin. It’s the oil and gas transport company’s first solar contract.

In addition to diversification in the types of corporate renewables deals being struck in the U.S., the market is attracting companies from a growing list of industries, including oil and gas. Shell and ExxonMobil have also signed on to solar projects in West Texas, where cheap solar power is increasingly supporting the activities of the oil and gas industry.

Source: greentechmedia

Jordan’s Renewable Energy Capacity May Top 2.4 GW by 2021 Jordan aims to increase its renewable-energy capacity to 2,400 MW by 2021, more than double the total capacity of 1,130 MW in 2018, according to Hala Zawati, minister of energy and mining resources.

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awiti notes that Jordan plans to raise the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2025, up from 11% now. In the first stage of the country’s renewable energy plan, the Ministry of Energy and Mining Resources already completed 12 projects, including 10 in Ma’an, one in Aqaba, and one in Irbid. All were inaugurated in 2016. Three projects will be built in the second stage, including three in Mafrag and one in Safawi, with total capacity of 200 MW. Construction for a 150 MW PV power station in Ma’an, as part of the third-stage plan, is underway, which is scheduled for inauguration in 2020.

Source: cableabc

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Commencement of V2 G Experiment That Leverages Electric Vehicles As Resources For Virtual Power Plants Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc, TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc, TEPCO Power Grid, Inc, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Hitachi Systems Power Services, Ltd and Shizuoka Gas Co, Ltd have applied as a consortium for a grant to cover the costs of its “FY2019 Virtual Power Plant Construction Demonstration Project That Utilizes Demand-side Energy Resources (V2G Aggregator Project),” for which a public offering was made by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry through its Sustainable open Innovation Initiative and the application was approved on May 30. Experiments will be conducted at five locations within Japan from June 3, through February 17, 2020.

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n recent years, it is becoming difficult to maintain stable energy supply because of output fluctuations and surplus power generated by renewable energy sources, such as solar power.

In order to maintain power grid stability, it is required to make flexible adjustments by power plants, however, it is expensive to maintain power plants just for the adjustments. This is why the construction of virtual power plants, which are new mechanisms for balancing the continual introduction of RESs with power grid stability at low cost, is gaining momentum. The demonstration aims to balance the continuous introduction of renewable energies with power grid stability by using electric vehicles as VPP resources. V2G (Vehicle to Grid) enables electricity supply/demand to be adjusted through a two-way power exchange between the accumulators in EV/PHEV and power grids. With commercialization of V2G planned for FY2021 we are currently examining viable business models.

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This is the second time that the aforementioned six companies have participated in this project, which was founded in FY2018 by METI through SII. The first time the companies worked together in FY2018, we constructed an experiment environment that enables a two way power exchange between EV/PHEV and a power grid, and demonstrated that this technology will be effective in contributing to power grid stability. This time, approximately 40 additional EV/ PHEV (for a total of 59 EV/PHEV) will be used to create the largest experimental environment in Japan. Furthermore, in light of the mobility needs of EV/PHEV, an attempt will be made to simultaneously control EV/PHEV parked at multiple experiment sites via an online system. The consortium of six companies aims to promote the introduction of renewable energy and solve energy/environmental issues by effectively leveraging the accumulators in EV/PHEV. Source : STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, STEELGURU

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Sahara India to launch two electric scooters in India

Sahara India has announced the launch of its new automobile brand Sahara Evols that will witness the launch of five products in the first phase.

Apart from two three-wheelers and one cargo vehicle, the upcoming product list under the Sahara Evols brand will include two electric scooters – Classic and JMT1000. Next year, the company will extend its product line-up with two electric bikes.

Speaking about the upcoming range of electric vehicles, ‘Saharasri’ Subrata Roy Sahara said: We are proud to introduce for the first time, a complete ecosystem of electric vehicles in India. Sustainable and environmentfriendly modes of transportation are the need of the time as well as for the benefit of our future generations.

The aggravated state of air pollution, majorly due to the proliferation of fossil fuel driven vehicles that emit toxic fumes in the atmosphere, is silent but for the biggest of threats to life on earth today. In fact, it is a grim reality that air pollution is affecting us personally and in quite an adverse way.

Subrata Roy further added: Studies reveal that one out of every 8 deaths in India is owing to air pollution. Besides, the imports of crude oil heavily burden our country’s economy. The money otherwise could have been utilized by our government for public welfare like in health and education, for instance. Globally, however, remedies to return to a cleaner and a healthier world are been explored. The Sahara Evols range of electric vehicles is going to be our contribution in this direction – towards alternate, sustainable and eco-friendly modes of transportation.

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he company aims to establish its ecosystem in the Tier II and Tier III cities in the country by the end of the current fiscal. The upcoming electric two-wheelers will be feature-packed and come equipped with lithium-ion batteries, keyless push-start system, a smartphone app for 24X7 support and app operated online locking system.

Moreover, the upcoming products will be designed for zero direct emission and sound pollution. Also, the company plans to add a regenerative braking system to its products.

The motor and drivetrain have been developed specifically for the Indian conditions.

The company claims to have designed the engines for high torque output for better performance. Sahara India claims that its new electric two-wheelers will have five times lower maintenance cost than internal combustion powered scooters. The company claims 20 paise/km running cost as against INR 2/km in petrol vehicles. The safety tech will include a Distress Alarm Button – an industry first – and GPS-enabled map location tracking.

Source: indianautosblog

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BSES launches EV charging station in Delhi, plan for 150 more Delhi electricity distribution company BSES unveiled its first public electric vehicle (EV) charging station as part of its plan to set up over 150 EV charging stations across its licensed area in the capital. BSES said in a statement that the first of these smart EV charging stations was inaugurated at the discom’s grid sub-station at South Extension Part II by Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain.

“BSES has entered into partnerships with several organisations to set up over 150 smart EV charging stations across its licensed area. Of this, around 50 smart EV charging stations will be set-up in financial year 2019-20,” it said.

“Located in the heart of the busy South Extension Part II market, the smart EV charging station – Blue Smart Charge – can charge two EVs simultaneously. This has been set up in partnership between BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL), Gensol Charge Pvt Ltd and Techperspect,” the statement said.

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ccording to the discom, these smart charging stations being set up are equipped with an “analytic platform” which will help EV owners get a seamless online experience. “Through the ElectreeFi Mobile App, an EV consumer can locate the nearest charging station, make advance online booking and even pay on-line through multiple options,” it said. The tentative total cost of charging, including the cost of electricity (as per DERC tariff) and the overheads (parking charges, recovery of equipment cost etc) is expected to be Rs 160-200 for a full charge. This translates into a Rs 1.60 to Rs 1.80 cost per km, which is extremely competitive compared to petrol, diesel and even CNG vehicles,” it added.

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Commenting on the development, ABRPL Chief Executive Amal Sinha said in a statement: “Along with promoting renewable power in a big way, we are now gearing up to aggressively push the case of electric vehicles and their charging.

For this, we are engaging with key stakeholders and domain experts Ato evolve strategies and framework to create an ecosystem for the promotion of e-mobility.”

Source: IANS

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opinion

China’s lead in the global solar race – at a glance In the space of 25 years, China will have gone from having virtually no solar panels to leading the world by a margin of more than 100%.

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stimates from market intelligence business Wood Mackenzie sees China’s photovoltaic panel installations hit a cumulative total of 370 GWdc by 2024 – more than double the US’s capacity at that point. As countries around the world continue to increase their solar capacity, Wood Mackenzie predicts 2020 will be the last year of big growth in the industry.

China’s huge and rapidly developing population makes it the biggest energy growth market globally – although it is likely to be overtaken by India in the not-too distant future. China already has more solar capacity than any other country in the world, and is home to several massive solar farms, including the world’s largest in the Tengger Desert. The country – the biggest clean energy investor in the world – is looking to dramatically increase the proportion of renewable energy in its power mix. Solar is a small proportion of the country’s overall energy mix, though. In 2016, coal was a clear leader in terms of installed capacity, according to IEA data.

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Coal held around 60% of the share, compared to around 5% for solar. China is also the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. The picture is changing though. China’s coal consumption has been steadily falling for some years, and alongside heavy renewables investment domestically and abroad, it has repeatedly pledged to cut back its use of dirty energy. This said, China remains heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports.

And the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis recently demonstrated the Asian power was funding a quarter of coal plants being built outside its own borders. In contrast to countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Spain and South Korea, China is also continuing to invest in nuclear power. China’s growing renewable energy supply will allow it to become more energy independent, and, according to a report by the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation and the International Renewable Energy Agency, will put it in a very influential position as the world’s renewable energy superpower.

This will give China a competitive trading advantage and place it in a leading position when it comes to the manufacture of clean energy technology.

Source: weforum.org

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exclusive interview

Mr. manoj kumar upadhyay founder & managing director, acme group 44Â

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exclusive interview Q.-1: What are the biggest Challenges, Threats to the growth of Solar in India?

MU: With an ambitious goal of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 Indian Government is promoting all renewal energy.

Among all modes of renewal power; solar is leading the renewal sector because of its efficiency, scalability and amenability for better forecasting. However, its scalability is determined by the continued reduction in tariff, so as to economically displace variable cost of thermal power. Tariff is dependent on price of solar panels, GHI, interest rate and taxes & duties. Cost of solar panel is coming down and likely to continue. GHI is natural to a locality and is a given situation. High interest rate with unfavourable lending conditions by public sectors financial institutions, frequently changes of taxes & duties structure, absence of land leasing framework, lack of robust payment security mechanism, are some of important challenges being faced by the solar power sector. Regional or National level of load management following the merit order dispatch, will enable Discoms to absorb more cheap RE to reduce their losses. Transmission capacity constraints of ISTS located in high GHI areas are yet another.

Q.-:2 What have been the most noteworthy developments in the renewable energy space in 2019? What have been the key achievements for ACME during the year ?

MU: Large capacity of tenders is one. But rapidly falling price of solar panel in the international market with marked improvement in efficiency is the most promising development. It has brought down tariff to an attractive level.

Q.-:3 What is the company’s current scale of operations and what are its expansion plans for the next year?

MU: ACME Solar is the largest solar power developer in the country having a portfolio of 5500 MWp with an operational capacity of 2500+ MWp and another 3000 MWp (DC) is at the different stages of development. The company's vision is to be in the top 10 Cleantech companies in the world and an integrated solar player with an operating capacity of l0 GWp by 2022.

Q.-:4 What are the real challenges you face building a project with respect to Land, Logistics, Customs, Grid Connection, Manpower resources etc ?

MU: Challenges are always there during project execution phase, as a developer we have to deal with multiple Government as well as Private agencies to overcome the hurdles like ROW issues, delay on part of Government agencies, sudden of unexpected change in policies and laws, insufficient evacuation infrastructures, etc.

Q.-:5 Whats your view on the Government of India target of 100GW Solar and 75GW Wind Power by 2022….Can we achieve that and what would be the challenges ?

MU: The major risk of any solar power project is land & evacuation. Solar Park provides a plug & play kind of facility to solar power developers. Such enabling facilities would facilitate to achieve vision set by Government of India.

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Q.-:6 What pipeline of projects do you currently own, kindly specify the size of the project, its location, tariff, scheme, timeline of completion, its viability?

MU: From a humble beginning of 15MW solar company in 2011 to being India’s largest solar energy company contributing 5500 MWp (DC Capacity) today at 2019. This tremendous growth can be attributed to its technology and costing, innovation to successfully bidding for projects and timely commissioning.

ACME started its solar power journey from first solar project in Gujarat and then expanded to multiple locations. After Gujarat, second and third state to venture was Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, and then successfully we made our presence in all major states like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Currently we have an operational solar capacity of more than 2500 MWp and the balance 3000 MWp (DC) is likely to be installed in Rajasthan.

ACME growth is also virtue to its hard working and penchant employees who have set industry benchmark for maintain quality in their work, and also incorporating best industry standards for safety, environment and security during project execution.

Q.-:7 Please comment of the financial health of Discoms, UDAY Scheme, OffTaker Risk ?

MU: Most of the discoms are facing financial problems, we agree that UDAY Scheme has supported them in over coming from financial burdens but still the position is not improved given large amount as non-payment adding to fund flow constraints to the developers.

Q.-:8 Kindly enlighten on “Energy Storage as Game Changer”….Technology & Cost Trends, Incentives and Government Support needed.

MU: Lithium-ion Battery is the new storage technology after Lead Acid that is slated to grow very fast in the coming years. Currently, these are being deployed for various applications such as Home lighting Solutions, Microgrid/ MiniGrid and some of EV’s (Electric Vehicles) applications though the mass application is yet to come. Lithium-ion battery price is witnessing rapid fall in price and the technological development is further increasing storage capacity without adding to size and weight. It is expected that the cost of Energy Storage System (ESS) will reach a low level by 2025 that would make stored energy cost very competitive.

It is expected by 2025 Energy Storage System (ESS) would become a very big market. After use in Electric Vehicles, Lithium-ion battery can also be used for storage application and power supply. The cost of such power would further get cheaper as cost of battery would have been recovered in running EV’s.

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exclusive interview

Mr. Khurshed Daruvala chairman, Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd India to be a large market for storage batteries in two years 46Â

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exclusive interview

With a thrust on clean energy in India and overseas markets, Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd (S&W), the biggest global player in solar engineering, procurement and construction contracts, is planning to launch Rs 4,500 crore initial public offering (IPO). Company’s chairman Khurshed Daruvala, in an interview with Ateeq Shaikh, talks about the challenges in India’s solar market as well as the company’s plans with regards to solar storage.

Q.-1: It has been a few months since the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) was filed. When do you plan to come up with the IPO? KD: We are waiting for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) observations. The IPO will be an offer for sale by me and Shapoorji Pallonji and Company; two-thirds is held

by SP Group and one third by me. We plan to list the shares on BSE and NSE. The company will not receive any proceeds directly. All the proceeds will go to the promoters in proportion to the shares sold by them. The promoters shall utilise a portion of the net offer proceeds towards funding the partial repayment of the loans.

Q.-2: How do you see the recent developments in the renewable space in India, particularly solar?

KD: Despite all the challenges faced by the domestic sector, the industry has been growing consistently and has been the third largest solar market for a few years after China and the US. The tariffs quoted by independent power producers (IPP) have stabilised in recent years, which is a positive sign.

From an EPC perspective, a few years back there were many competitors for every job. However, the industry has now consolidated and the market share of the top four players has gone up significantly.

Q.-5: Any plans to start participating in the government’s solar bids?

KD: No. We will remain a pure play EPC and will not be competing with our clients.

Q.-6: As on December 31, 2018, provisioning for bad loans increased to Rs 4 crore. Who are these vendors/players for whom provisioning has been made?

KD: These are provisions for jobs in India out of a total turnover of Rs 2,100 crore as of December.

Q.-7: You also made provision for foreseeable loss of Rs 11.1 crore in Q3. What is that for?

KD: This is for one international job. The actual loss has been provided in March and hence the provision is no longer required.

Q.-8: If you are also provisioning for Indian players, aren’t these the first few signs of stress solar segment?

KD: The industry has consolidated to a few large IPPs which are very high on credibility. Hence, the risks are in fact much lower today.

Q.-3: What exactly are the problems plaguing the solar energy industry in India?

Q.-9: What’s the share of domestic and international in revenues? What’s the debt level?

KD: The major issues being faced by the industry include challenges around land acquisition, the capacity of substations, payment delays from distribution companies (discoms), etc. Despite these, the solar industry continues to grow well and is consistently in the top three markets globally. Recently, there has been some uncertainty due to a combination of the imposition of safeguard duty and tariff caps. I am sure that the industry and the government are working through this as there are a number of successful bids completed in recent months.

KD: In 2017-18 fiscal and in the nine months ended December 31, 2018, the revenue from abroad accounted for 59.11% and 65.13%, respectively. The total (secured and unsecured) fund based debt as on March 31, 2019, on a consolidated basis is Rs 2,230 crore.

Q.-4: What measures are needed to address these problems?

KD: The land and sub-station issues are global issues for the solar industry which are to be expected as a part of the industry. Despite these issues, the industry has been growing very well. If these issues are reduced then the industry would grow at a faster pace. The delay in payments from discoms is a genuine issue but I understand that the IPPs would build this into their models. Even after building this in their model, the solar tariffs are very competitive versus coal, and hence, this should not stifle the industry. The important thing to appreciate is that the government has ensured that for (solar) plants which have been built many years back at high tariffs (due to the much higher EPC cost then), the PPAs have not been renegotiated. Hence, there is a lot of confidence from investors for the sanctity of contracts in India, especially now that the tariffs are very competitive.

Q.-10: In India, are you looking at solar storage as a market?

KD: Yes, going forward the value of solar projects will go up because they will also come up with storage. We have started that globally. India isn’t a large market for the next year or two, but after that, yes. We are expecting the cost of batteries to come down in the next two to three years.

Even if it is viable right now, we would recommend our clients not to do it now. We would say wait for two years and then invest. That’s where an uptick has not come yet but will come in a few years.

Q.-11: Which are the focus markets globally for S&W? KD: While strategically focusing on markets that have conducive solar power policies and high solar resources, S&W invests in geographies with long-term solar opportunities and adopts a disciplined expansion strategy that is customised for each market. For example, to tap opportunities in the United States, the company went for a co-development business model. In other markets, such as Australia and Kazakhstan, it has acquired local entities.

US and Australia would become large markets for Source: dnaindia

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exclusive interview

Mr. Ashok kumar Jain Vice president (operations), rays power infra

Q.-1: What are the expectations from Tech Suppliers like Modules, Inverters, BOS, Trackers etc….Whats the tech solution you thinking of deploying AJ: As it is well known that one of the biggest limitation of solar PV plant is huge land requirement, and land is such a resource, always limited, irrespective of being fertile or unfertile. High efficiency module always offer higher land use ratio thereby low requirement of land. Another aspect, which is expected from module is low degradation factor. Generally tall claims made by module supplier of consistency in output over the period of time are not materialized and that leads to many complicacies between module supplier, developer, EPC contractor, bankers, financers. So consistent performance is the most important expectation as of now.

As regards as inverters are concerned, rough and tough performance in Indian climatic condition with plug and play mode of operation is become preference of developers / EPC players.

Q.-2: Are the developers betting on Modules Prices or Interest Rates?

AJ: I think, on both. Apart from module pricing, more important is customs as for a developer / EPC, landed cost is the final cost of modules which includes, basic price, logistics, and customs so while first two components of cost are predictable, last one is always a fear factor for user. Interest rates are now become so competitive as wider choices are available indigenously as well as from foreign banks.

Q.-3: What is the likely price & tech trend of modules, inverters, BOS.

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AJ: Modules 28-30 cents per watt peak.

Inverter 14-15 lakhs per MW. BOS 162.5 lakhs per MW. Land lease or freehold and GST separate.

Q.-4: What are the real challenges you face building a project with respect to Land, Logistics, Customs, Grid Connection, Manpower resources etc.

AJ: Land availability and its procurement, lease hold or free hold is remain the biggest challenge. Grid connection and capacity of T/L is another factor restricting energy to be injected in to the grid.

Q.-5: Upcoming & Trending Opportunities with Bifacial , PERC, Wind-Solar Hybrid, Floating Solar etc…

AJ: Bifacial are most suited with roof top where the base surface is transparent or semi-transparent. For ground mounted plant with bifacial modules are not preferred. But only time will tell, how it goes along. Wind solar also not suited for high capacity power plants. It is good only for cosmetic purposes. Floating module solar plant are under very much infant stages of development, real challenges are yet to be seen and documented before making any conclusion.

Q.-6: The recent aggressive bidding by various developers keeping Solar Tariffs in the price range of Rs.2.443.3 per kWh in various Solar Tenders…Whats your view on the viability, Costs & timeline pressures, Resource Challenges (Materials, ManPower, Execution, Grid Connection, Land Possession) etc…

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exclusive interview AJ: In my view, it is devastating for the developers themselves. It started almost two years back at Bhadla solar park bidding.

The company was already on the verge of bankruptcy and was nothing to loose, it bade lowest of all. Hence forth the company has closed the operations. Other developers must learn lesson from the incidence. As a result, there a stress everywhere in the sector, right from the design of the plant to the small labor contractors, even HR and other service department are stressed to bring down the cost of production of solar energy. And the trend may be seen that butter is already melted in the solar EPC. More and more companies are either struggling for their survival, or shutting down their shutters.

Q.-7: How much projects have you executed in the past, what is the current pipeline, orders under negotiations and mid-term and future plans, targets ?

AJ: Rays power has completed execution of more than 600MW, another 300MW is under execution at home and outside, 500MW is under pipeline of development both at home and abroad. We are expecting to cross 1GW figure by Dec 2019.

Q.-8: Enlighten on the performance of past projects built by your company and your study on the performance of solar plants in various geographies, various technologies, O&M, challenges, degradation?

AJ: I think, you must add various state Govt and Grid, as they also play vital role, where the plant is to be set up. We have built solar plants in Uttrakhand (highly fertile land, tilt angle), Karnatka and Punjab ( lease hold and free hold land, with fixed, tilt and single axis tracking structure),Govt clients ( SAIL and CREST Punjab ), UP ( private client, on the banks of Yamuna behad), Rajasthan, Telanagana, Maharastra ( Own IPP’s as well as EPC). We have developed own IPP, solar parks and worked as EPC and OM, Whereas north Indian states gives low radiation but grid stability and power selling rates are better. Land is expensive but workable.

Here tilting is a must as to extract as much as possible power from sun during all the seasons. GSS and transmission lines available.

In south, in general, state Govts do not bother for developers, offers low tariff but high irradiation. transmission lines and GSS are overloaded. Inparticular,Telanagana, Karnatka andTamilnadu have become power rich states. Regulations are becoming stricter for renewables. Land cost is moderate and leasing from private parties also possible. Main challenges in the south is the load curtailment / GSS / Transmission line capacity unavailable. Sometime, payment by state Govt is also become temporary challenge putting working capital of developer under stress. Of course, farmer have been now more educated and getting land is always a challenge everywhere.

On the supplier’s front, some of the modules suppliers and inverter suppliers have vanished from the market, Inverter Satcon,AEG and module CNPV, DUPONT APPOLO, etc. Servicing, spare parts of inverters and premature degradation of such modules have become major challenge. We have developed our module testing facilities for checking degradation in the modulesand taking up the matter with insurer of the modules supplier through Embassy of the country. We have also set up a mechanism to obtain servicing of equipment for such defaulting inverter manufacturer.

Q.-9: Kindly enlighten on “Energy Storage as Game Changer”….Technology& Cost Trends, Incentives and Government Support needed.

AJ: Recently, I have came across a concept called DC coupling and storage inverter. The technology allows you to store the energy in daytime or when it is generated and produce it when it is required and demand is higher. This is gaining momentum and if it comes at commercial stage, it will change to ratio of DC to AC in solar plants. You can adjust the load as per demand during day time and supply electricity in night from a solar plant and reap the harvest of attractive pricing.

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Q.-10: Kindly highlight your strengths and USP which gives your company a distinct advantage as compared to your competitors ?

AJ: Speed: Rays power has unmatched speed of project construction. 60 days for 63MW projects in the new benchmark set for ourselves in Karnataka. We have well balanced supply lines for major equipment and raw material suppliers, vendors, and labor suppliers, we have synchronized them with our speed, requirement, quality standards. If you are able to synchronize your feeders you will never remain unfed, I feel. Our feeder are one USP and root mantra of delivery Rate. Another strength, we keep on developing land parcels in the name of subsidiaries in various states who support renewable energy and sell those companies to developers. On the downstream, and with open access scheme, we liaison and keep customers ready to buy energy from our customers / developers. Once both ends meet, customers are more than happy to ink agreements with us.

Q.-11: What is the latest technology solution you would recommend to a developer of solar power plant…explain the tech road map in short term, mid term and long term?

AJ: Good question, As I said, it depends so many variables which effect type of technology or geography, payment mechanism of state govt, Land, BAY and GRID availability, most importantly, who fits in our above USPs. Q.-12: Inverter Technology : Please comment of Central vs String, Container vs Civil Structure for Inverter, System Design and Architecture, Make of Inverters ?

AJ: String inverters are more efficient but less costly. Lesser reliability and life but less maintenance requirement. Central : long life, reliable, suitable for heavy load, costly spares. Container: Plug and play type, easy to install, robust. Civil structure: complicated design, time consuming, highly sensitive to dust.

Q.-13: Mounting &Tracking : What kind of mounting would you adapt….fixed or tilt of seasonal tilt etc….In Tracking…what are your view on the technology available , its cost-benefit analysis, O&M ?

AJ: Far you go from equator, more inclined rays you receive from the sun particularly in winter, hence tilting in important. Tracking: Initial cost, energy consumed during operation and heavy maintenance cost and spares, eat up most of the extra revenue generated by tracking structure and this is major cause of concern for not gaining popularity.

Q.-14: Whats your view on the Government of India target of 100GW Solar and 75GW Wind Power by 2022….

Can we achieve that and what would be the challenges?

AJ: Scope and possibilities in Ground mounted is shrinking as we cannot stretch land mass. Govt’s focus is shifting to roof top for obvious reasons. Roof top is a sleeping giant and need to be awakened. If this is done, target can be achieved. More important, the mission cannot be completed unless active and subjective participation of state govt, statediscom, and local bodies.

Q.-15: India has 750 GW of Solar Potential….By when should we able to achieve that ?

AJ: I do not think it need to be achieved, where are the consumers???? Let us focus on achieving on 100GW by 2022.

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exclusive interview

Mr. Sunil Badesra Head Business division, sungrow india Policy uncertainties, safe guard duty, tender cancellations were the challenges in the past and dampened the investor’s confidence which were also reflected in some of the recent tenders with lessor participation by SB: We have supplied more than 3.8 GW of Solar Inverters the bidders. Rooftop market is still far away from its true potential and (3.3 GW (Central) + 500 MW (String)) in India till now. We are there is huge scope for higher growth in this segment with maximum expecting to keep the momentum and maintain our healthy market adoption by C&I. Some states like Gujarat, Maharashtra have brought share in India. out specific tenders for connecting with Agri-feeders. GOI has already brought out schemes like SHRISHTI for rooftop solar and KUSUM for Q.-2: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technolagri- feeder solar projects. We expect all these will get a push and create ogy etc. more demand along with the large capacity tenders in coming times.

SB: Sungrow being the leader in Power Conversion technology, Q.-5: Expectations from Indian Government Budget next year? it is at fore front in the Solar Inverter market with continuous innovation, R&D, and superior customer experience. We are SB: More tax sops for Indian Solar Inverter Manufacturers to boost the bringing upgraded and newer inverter models with higher rated Make in India initiative and make the products competitive for global capacity, more efficiency and enhanced protection. Our flagship market. central inverter product (3.125 MW, 1500V DC) has been widely accepted in 2018 and giving significant advantage to our customQ.-6: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of ers with higher yield, BoS savings, better ROI. We have launched your Inverters in India in various geographic locations, cusour SG250HX (250 kW string Inverter), the highest rated string tomer feedback, inverter in the solar market for utility scale projects till date, at Inter Solar Munich.

SB: Sungrow Inverters have been widely present across 22+ states and UTs in India. Our initialsupply of Inverters wasfor the projects Q.-3: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing, at Bhadla and Pokhran in Rajasthan. These are successfully running Whats your plan to Capture this opportunity ? till date and are testimonies of the quality of our products which are SB: We have maintained our leadership position in Indian market performing in such harsh climatic condition for more than 5 years. We have one of the biggest team in the Indian Solar Inverter market with for consecutively last two years with almost 17%+ market share. more than 40% of our employees in the service team. With our wide We look forward to further consolidate our position in coming spread service network, we are able to reach out to our customers and years. Sungrow has already established its manufacturing unit to resolve the issue(s), if any, in minimum possible time. cater the growing demand in India with reduced lead time.

Q.-1: How much Inverters have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2019-2020?

Q.-4: What according to you is the current opportunities, biggest challenges, in Indian Solar Market ?

Q.-7: Present some noteworthy projects, case studies of solar plants built using your solar Inverters.

SB: Indian Solar market has seen tremendous growth in last five years with annual capacity addition between 7GW – 9GW in last couple of years. We are expecting the same trend to continue this year and it might cross 10GW/year in the coming years.

SB: After we entered Indian market, we brought our innovative containerized outdoor central inverter of capacity (2.5 MW) and thereby switching the market trend to bigger block size with plug n play system.

Last year again, we were the first to introduce the largest outdoor central inverter (3.125 MW) with 1500V DC for Indian market.

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exclusive interview Earlier the block size in a utility solar plant used to be of 5-6 MW. With this inverter, our customers were able to design the block size of 12.5 MW which is the largest block size in the solar industry till date. This helped our customer to achieve significant cost advantage and thereby increasing their ROI. Q.-8: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission.

SB: Sungrow’s Mission: Clean Power for All Vision: To be the global leader in Power Conversion Technology Q.-9: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans, revenues, shipments, ASP’s, financial figures.

SB: Sungrow has recently established one more new factory in China which will help us to increase our production capacity to 50GW/annum from present capacity of 36GW/annum. Our revenue has grown exponentially with a CAGR of 37% in last five years maintaining the same trend with our shipment figures.

The total Inverter equipment shipment by Sungrow now stands at 82GW+.

Q.-10: What are your plans for India, your view on the GOI target of 100GW Solar Power by 2022 ?

SB: Our plan for India is long term, and we are here to stay. The same has been corroborated with our leadership position in Indian market, setting up of manufacturing facility with a capacity of 3GW per year, and future investment in establishing local R&D team to reduce the time in our Integrated Product Development approach.

Q.-11: What are your plans for Manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India ?

SB: Last year, we inaugurated our first factory outside China near Bengaluru, India. The annual production capacity of the plant is 3GW (1GW string inverter and 2 GW central inverter). We are exploring the options to engage more and more with local suppliers.

A more holistic development in the sector is expected considering our suppliers, suppliers’ supplier with Make in India initiative and govt support.

Q.-12: Briefly describe the various technologies and its suitable applications such as Central Inverter, String, Micro Inverter, 1500V, Outdoor, Container solutions etc.

SB: In India, we have seen various tenders such as large scale utility projects (Solar Park, Non Solar Park, ISTS connected), Floating, Canal top, Rooftop, Agri feeder (newly introduced by few states), Taluka wise (in the range of 2MW – 20 MW), Residential.

As the nature of projects vary, rooftop design and terrain patterns differ across India, we evaluate each case of our customer in details before offering the suitable solution to them. Our outdoor containerized solution (3.125 MW capacity, earlier one 2.5 MW capacity) has seen wide acceptance in large scale utility projects.

In India, central inverters have significant share compared to string inverters in utility projects.

Q.-13: How much is your R&D budget as % of your sales / profits ?

SB: Being a technology driven company, we believe in continuous innovation and hence we invest significant amount of our revenue on R&D. More than 1/3rd of our employees are into R&D which speaks about our focus in Research and Development.

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Q.-13: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future ?

SB: Sungrow has a worldwide presence with a foot print at more than 60 countries. We have significant presence in China, India, US, Vietnam, Europe with a very healthy market share. We are expanding rapidly in Middle East, SE Asia, Australia, Latin America.

Q.-14: Technology road map in terms of 1500V, micro inverters, upcoming game changes technologies SB: The solar industry is shifting towards 1500V with more and more acceptance by the developers. As per the recent market report of IHS Markit, over 100 GW of (1500V DC) solar inverters to be shipped globally in next two years.

Q.-15: Kindly comment of Energy Storage as a game changer, its technology, cost trends…etc.

SB: As the penetration of RE increases, battery energy storage will be the need of the hour to complement the RE power and for better grid stability.BESS has several advantages to other technologies with proven track record and better commercial viability.

The price of Li-ion battery has seen rapid reduction and reached almost $170 - $180/kWh (as per BNEF report). The Li-ion battery price will continue to decline with more large scale battery storages coming online and rapid adoption of EVs. As per a recent news, govt is planning to invite bids to establish 40GW battery plants in coming years. Though, it sounds highly ambitious, we are optimistic about the battery energy storage market in India.

Q.-16: Explain various guarantees, warrantees, insurance, certifications, test results, performance report of your inverters SB: All our inverters come with standard warranty of 5 years. We also provide extended warranty for 25 years on our inverters as per customer’s requirement. We being the global leader in Solar Inverter market, all our inverters have required IEC certificates and are also compliant with grid codes across countries.

Q.-17: Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc.

SB: Sungrow is the only company among Inverter suppliers which has the core business around Power conversion technology. With this focused approach, it continuously brings innovative products with time to give the latest and optimized solution for its customers. We were the pioneer in bringing the containerized outdoor Inverter to India. We set this as a market trend while helping our customers to get the most optimized solution with better yield, higher ROI. We are among the few leading manufacturers to offer both Central and String Inverter with 1500 V DC for utility scale solar projects. Globally, our product portfolio range can cater to all the market segments based on customer’s requirement.

Q.-18: What will be the cost, technology trends in solar inverters ?

SB: As already mentioned, both the central and string inverters is shifting towards 1500V DC for utility scale projects. With advancement in power electronics components, large capacity inverter inverters with small form factor and high efficiency will become the norm. The inverters in future will be smarter, with more easy interface modules such as W-fi/Bluetooth/Mobile App for the consumers and offering more analytic power. The inverters being the heart of a solar project, the total value offered/cost will be a better indicator for comparison rather than only cost.

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exclusive interview

Mr. Suvendu Lenka Head -Sales & Business Development, Power Division THERMAX LIMITED

Q.-1: Government of India target of 40GW Rooftop Solar by 2022…..Can the industry achieve this target ?

SL: If we can go by the statistics it seems possible considering the exponential growth rate the solar rooftop segment is growing and the existing potential. In 2017 a total solar rooftop capacity of 1455 MW was added against the projected capacity of 1200 MW, similarly 1538 MW of solar rooftop capacity added in 2018.

Considering the scale of industrialization, manufacturing capacities and the high commercial and industrial tariff solar rooftop system is an attractive proposition and seems quite evident that we can reach the target. However the poor scale quality and delay of decision of major stakeholders Govt and end users to implement the project is a matter of concern.

Q.-2: Please present case study of few noteworthy projects executed by your company in the distributed solar space.

SL: Thermax is one of the leading companies in Solar Rooftop segment and has also forayed into ground based projects considering the strong experience in executing large scale convectional captive Power Projects for Industries. Thermax executed one of the largest Solar Power Project of 5.76 MWp for one of the major PSU’s GAIL (Gas Authority of India Ltd) at Auriya,UP. It was one of the most critical project considering the scale of implementation having 2 no of 1.2 KM long sheds on which 5.76 MWp entire installation has been mounted. Considering the stringent requirement of GAIL being a PSU and highly hazardous Oil & Gas environment, with zero LTI (Loss time Injury). The project has been one of the outstanding installations in India and globally which reinforces the Engineering and installation quality of Thermax Solar.Apart from these we have a reputed clientele list of Kirloskar, GSK, and Colgate Palmolive.

Q.-3: Please describe in detail about your company, its promoters, directors, investors, vision, objectives and its plans in the solar industry.

SL: Thermax ventured into the Solar Segment in 2010 primarily as a captive team for engineering inhouse solar projects. However considering the market potential Thermax ventured into commercial scale Rooftop project. Till now we have executed more than 100 installations of cumulative 40+ MW of Solar PV projects with some of the top customer in corporate world with 30% repeat clientele.Thermax vision is to become a “Globally Respected High Performance Organisation Offering Sustainable Solutions in Energy & Environment” and entire management including our MD (Mr.MS Unnikrishan) is driving the sustainability initiative.

Q.-4: What are your USP’s and differentiating factors as compared to your competitors ?

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SL: 1. In the last 10 years we have executed 120+ projects with more than 30% as repeat order. Considering the highly competitive solar market Thermax has always given priority to quality of installation and long serviceability. Solar initiative for Thermax is driven at the top level in line with the company objective to be a leading company offering sustainable solution.

2. Thermax has 2800+ MW of captive Non-solar project and have a huge pool of manpower and expertise which can be utilized for any project requirement in Solar.

3. We are a 45+ strong engineering and project management team with HQ at Pune,Maharahtra.

Q.-5: What are the opportunities in this space and the challenges in upscaling and mainstreaming distributed solar SL: 1. Opportunities are huge , cumulatively YOY on average 1.6 GW of installation are added ,also 2019 projected installation are 2.4 GW which is more than 50% growth.

2. Considering the high solar resource for most parts of India and rapid industrialization and demand for power there is a huge potential to install rooftop solar project across India.

Challenges : The major challenge is grid integration and continuously changing policies. Since solar is a distributed source of energy so grid integration with SMART grid concept is absolutely important to seamlessly integrate solar with convectional grid.

Discom should expedite regulatory approval for Net Metering, CEIG and other NOC’s.

Discom should see solar as complementing existing generation not a loss of revenue for them. The excess power can be sold to power deficit states and industries having large power requirement.

Online time bound regulatory and statutory approval will help the sector to grow.

No standard specification for solar system which leads to unrealistic price war.

Q.-6: Kindly enlighten on “Energy Storage as Game Changer”….Technology& Cost Trends, Incentives and Government Support needed.

SL:1. Energy storage system are certainly a game changer however the high cost of storage system (batteries) ,Short life cycle and replacement cost are matter of concern.

2. Recently Thermax has been selected as one of the partner by ISRO along with leading battery manufacturers to share the Li-Ion cell technology which would certainly be helpful to support the off-grid ecosystem and bring down the cost of manufacturing.

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exclusive interview Q.-7: Policies & Regulations : What are the benefits , subsidies given by SECI, Central, State and Local Government, What are the key policy & regulatory features announced by the government.

- Cities during the 11th Plan period. At least one city in each State to a maximum of five cities in a State may be supported by the Ministry.

2. This is an ambitious plan and needs to be implemented through nodal agencies but has already delayed considering multiple delays.

SL: More of the subsidies are for Govt institution and individual rooftop solar system. Some states generally provide 30% subsidy for rooftop solar system for capacities lower than 100 KW for Govtbuilding ,school and NGO. For commercial and industry the only financial incentive is 40% accelerated depreciation

Q.-13: Please present some business models, finance models, returns expectations, insurance, lending rates

Q.-8: Net Metering vs Gross Metering : Kindly explain what are the various metering techniques, their pros and cons.

SL: In the Net Metering concept the energy generated from Solar Rooftop System shall be adjusted against the consumption of energy from the DISCOM by an eligible developer/consumer every month. In case of excess generation (after energy adjustment) injected into DISCOM network in a billing month will be carried forward to the next month till every quarter end and settlement will take place on an Average Cost of Supply (ACOS) basis for net metering as determined by CERC from time to time. In case of gross metering, the generator shall pay for the energy utilized in a billing month as per applicable retail supply tariff decided by CERC to the concerned DISCOM. Energy supplied to DISCOM by the developer/consumer will be paid monthly, based on ACOS as determined by CERC from time to time (net amount will be credited). A limit of 20 percent Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) for the installed SPV capacity is defined for all eligible developers in terms of energy, beyond which no payment shall be made by DISCOM. Q.-9: Kindly rank various states in the order of attractiveness of distributed solar market.

SL: Maharashtra ,Karnatka, Gujarat ,Rajasthan,Uttarpradesh,A.p and Tamilnadu are some of the states which are actively promoting distributed Solar Project.

Q.-10: Kindly enlighten our readers with the power tariffs in various states for commercial, industrial and residential customers, tariffs for various levels of consumptions, power availability/shortage, the price trends.

SL: Industrial and commercial tariff differ significantly per the states , for example for a city like Pune , the commercial tariff is as high as INR 12-14/units whereas Industrial tariff in INR7-8 /Unit.

The entire premise is implementation of solar is one of the best alternative way to reduce the energy charges.

Q.-11: Are there any financing benefits like interest or capital subsidies by Government, banks, NBFC’s for financing distributed solar projects ?

SL:1. I feel it’s good to drives a subsidy less business as the solar system pricing has been quite realistic.

2. The accelerated depreciation of 40% under section 32 of IT Act is a good incentive and should continue.

3. Also ADB bank has extended line of credit to Indian finance firms for extending loans at better rates.

Q.-12: Solar Cities : How many solar cities are announced and describe in detail as to what will happen in these solar cities.

SL:1. The Solar City aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end of five years, through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources in the city and energy efficiency measures. A total of 60 cities/ towns are proposed to be supported for development as Solar

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SL: Presently indian market is dominated by capex based model , however in last 3 years the OPEX based model is steadily growing considering the investment by FII’s. The OPEX contributes 27% to the overall market share and is steadily increasing. Also some project are executed on EMI based leading model.

Q.-14: Foreign Investment : What is the scenario of foreign investors (Debt & Equity in this space) SL: I will say Indian is a growing market and a growing market certainly attracts large investment from major FII’s. So its not a challenge for OPEX based projects. However for debt based project the soft loan should be extended with low interest rates.

Q.-15: Kindly present best technology solutions…module, inverters, mounting, BOS…the roadmap etc.

SL: 1. The entire ecosystem is highly driven by the module prices and exchange rates. There is a general shift from Poly crystalline modules to Mono Perc considering better efficiency of 18-19% and reasonable pricing levels.

2. New Generation inverter are with multiple 6 MPPT and have a wide range of MPPT range which ensure higher generation and higher output on AC side.

3. Electrical BOS is certainly about choosing the best components of leading electrical companies.

4. Some of leading manufacturers have started manufacturing in India which is good news for Indian solar as this ensures better serviceability and availability of spares.

Q.-16: Enlighten our readers on the Off grid solar applications such as solar water pumping, home lighting, rural & agriculture applications, gadgets, mini & micro grids, Solar PV diesel hybrid systems & technologies, markets, Solar power in public sector, defense, off shore areasetc…

SL:1. Off grid solar system and mini & micro grid are certainly a game changer for the rural hinterland and isolated places in north east,Leh/Laddak where access and availability of electricity is quite low.

2. This gives total flexibility for generation in isolated grid.

3. Also PV diesel hybrid system is quite important considering the saving in terms of running cost of Diesel.

4. Govt shall encourage the micro grid ecosystem by promoting manufacturer of Li-ion batteries .

5. Recently Thermax has been selected as one of the partner by ISRO to share the Li-Ion cell technologie which would certainly be helpful to support the off-grid ecosystem.

Q.-17: Enlighten our readers with Market shares of various players in the value chain such as Developers, EPC, Modules, Inverters, Mountingetc.

SL:1. Of the total cumulative solar target of 100 GW by 2022 ,40 GW expected to be achieved through decentralized and rooftop solar PV projects.

2. Also till date India has installed 28 GW of Solar capacity as of Mar,2019. Of this the rooftop installation is mere 14% of the cumulative solar installation reaching 3.85 GW with 70% of the growth has been drives by growth in commercial and industrial sector clearly incentivized by the very high tariffs.

3. Considering the low entry barrier, lot of players have entered into solar segment including self EPC companies. Presently 18% of the companies are engaged in Self EPC’s business, while the market leader is with 5% market share. As long as quality of installation is maintained it should be a challenge.

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exclusive interview

Mr. Jay Kumar Waghela Head – Business Development (North& East Zones) Fourth Partner Energy

Q.-1: Government of India target of 40GW Rooftop Solar by 2022; Can the industry achieve this target JW: The Centre has set itself an ambitious target of installing 100GW of Solar by 2022, out of which 40 GW would be installed under rooftop segment. If we look at installed capacity, the overall solar installed capacity is 31.5 GW, out of which rooftop is 4.5GW. Statistically speaking overall installed capacity has reached 31% of the target whereas rooftop segment, only 11% of the target. Hence, I feel as a country we may reach close 70-80 GW overall, but rooftop segment will find it hard to cross 12 - 15 GW in the next 3 years.

Q.-2: Please present case study of few noteworthy projects executed by your company in the distributed solar space JW: Rooftop segment is a different ball game where every roof is a project in itself; and one needs to design the plant considering local site conditions. Fourth Partner is proud of each of the 1700-odd installations for large industrial, commercial and government clients as well as SMEs. Some of our marquee clients include Coca Cola, D-Mart, Ferrero, ICICI Bank, Indian Railways, Nilkamal, PepsiCo, RSWM, Schneider Electric, Sintex, Ultratech, Walmart etc. We have also developed one of India’s largest onsite solar plants of 22MWp capacity for a single client in Rajasthan. The environmental impact of this plant alone is equivalent to planting over 1.4 million trees. The carbon emissions will be reduced by over 30,000 tons per year, while saving 73 million litres of water. Some of our other recent, noteworthy projects include a 2MW solar plant for Ultratech in Odisha, where obtaining statutory approvals posed quite a challenge; Skoda’s 1.2 MW Carport in Maharashtra for its innovative design; 2 MW pan-India installations for Walmart reflected our exemplary execution speed; as well as the 500 kW project for Nagpur Metro that was hailed by the government and public.

Q.-3: Please describe in detail about your company, its promoters, directors, investors, vision, objectives and its plans in the solar industry JW: Fourth Partner Energy is amongst India’s leading Distributed Solar developers, with an operating portfolio of over 160 MW across 23 Indian states. It was founded in 2010 by Saif Dhorajiwala, Vivek Subramanian & Vikas Saluguti to provide energy from rooftop solar as an alternative to high cost, unreliable grid power from distribution companies.

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We now have 10 offices across India and a workforce of over 250 people. Our firm primarily serves industrial, commercial and government clients, helping them reduce their cost of electricity and carbon footprint. In July 2018, The Rise Fund, managed by TPG (Globally renowned Private Equity Fund with over US$ 100 billion under management) made an equity investment of US$ 70 million into 4PEL. In addition to that we have also raised project finance and debt from highly reputed Indian and international financial institutions. With this capital and a strong operating team encompassing deal origination, engineering, execution, O&M and financing, the company is now rapidly expanding its portfolio. Our revenue CAGR for the last 5 years has been 113% and our target is to grow it by another 10x in the next 4 years.Last year we managed to nearly triple our installed capacity and our vision is to reach 1 GW installation by 2022. We have also forayed into setting up large scale ground-mounted plants to supply power to existing corporate clients under Open Access in a few states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. 4PEL also plans to integrate solar with energy storage, develop floating solar plants, and are exploring opportunities in the EV charging infrastructure space going ahead.

Q.-4: What are your USP’s and differentiating factors as compared to your competitors JW: 4PEL offers complete in-house services across the entire spectrum covering financing, engineering, procurement, construction, and operations & maintenance of critical solar infrastructure. This gives us control over the quality of the plant executed, timelines of execution, cost of construction and ensures plant efficiency in the long run-- which together culminates into delivering one of the lowest total costs of ownership to clients. Also, we are recognized in the Industry for ensuring record execution deadlines. At 4PEL, we have leveraged technology to develop an IOT-based solution for monitoring and controlling our assets across the country. The solution enables our monitoring team as well as clients to track real-time performance and generation of solar plants; which in-turn helps in early identification of underperformance/malfunctioning and quicker resolution. On the engineering front, we have also developed a non-penetrative technology to mount panels over tin roofs. 4PEL’s cutting-edge Grid Power Monitoring System and DG optimizers allows the client to monitor the electricity consumption from the grid, avoiding excessive billing or penalties by the EB (in absence of net-meter) by ensuring power is not injected into the grid and guarantees optimal synchronization between solar power and diesel generators. Our USP is our ‘Customer Centric’ approach has led to more than 25% of our orders coming from existing clients as repeat orders.

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exclusive interview Q.-5: What are the opportunities in this space and the challenges in upscaling and mainstreaming distributed solar JW: There is huge opportunity in the rooftop segment in India, the industry has barely scratched the surface. Most of the developers are vying for large roofs belonging to creditworthy customers having credit ratings of BBB+ and above. There are many customer segments like SMEs, housing societies, customers with lower credit ratings but great business models, who are yet to be explored. The rooftop solar market in India has shown significant and steady traction in the past 5 years with a cumulative current capacity of about 3.9 GW. The Commercial & Industrial segment has shown most potential with over 70% of installed capacity; with states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and UP leading the country in installed capacity.

India is undoubtedly amongst the better-performing countries globally in terms of adopting solar power, but the rate of growth is not nearly enough to achieve the 40 GWp rooftop target for 2022. A constantly changing policy environment including unpredictable caps or restrictions on net-metering that vary from state-to-state, extended timelines in securing CEIG approvals and limited access to credit are some key challenges. To try and achieve the maximum possible of this target, it is imperative that instead of working in silos – policy makers, DISCOM/utility companies, financiers, developers, clients, tax authorities and all other stakeholders work in tandem. In fact, it is 4PEL’s belief that the DISCOMs should be incentivized to allow for higher capacities of rooftop solar as there are enough savings for the consumer to share some of the upside of installing rooftop solar with the DISCOM. - Such incentives would minimize the impact of losing a high tariff consumer for the DISCOM and lead to overall alignment of interest, thereby accelerating the pace of growth for rooftop solar.

Q.-6: Kindly enlighten on “Energy Storage as Game Changer” - Technology & Cost Trends, Incentives and Government Support needed.

JW: Today, we all know that solar energy can be supplied only until the sun shines (daytime). With the advent of energy storage, we will be able to store energy and supply it even when sun isn’t shinning (nighttime). On certain occasions we even have to limit the capacity of rooftop solar plant projects to match daytime consumption. With energy storage we may be able to utilize the entire roof and store energy and supply to grid. Today the cost of energy storage (Li-Ion) is in excess of $175MWh. When these costs fall below the $100 MWh range, it will become commercially viable. Storage costs will be driven mainly by the automobile sector; and the Indian government has taken right steps as far as policies are concerned to push EVs sales.

Q.-7: Policies &Regulations: What are the benefits, subsidies given by SECI, Central, State and Local Government; What are the key policy & regulatory features announced by the government.

JW: The imposition of safeguard duties on solar modules last year, was a serious set back and adversely impacted capacity addition.

While the industry growth reduced by 35%, rooftop solar as a subset saw a capacity addition of 47%, less than half of industry estimates.

Moreover, increase in GST to nearly 9% from 5% was a double whammy. Duty and GST resulted in a 15-18% increase in the cost of projects to developers -- affecting clients, developers and the growth of the industry. Key hurdles to this was India not having enough module manufacturing capacity and international financiers being wary of lending to projects utilising local modules. However, despite these policy changes India continues to remain the 3rd largest solar market in the world, just behind China and the US. It is imperative now for the industry to create a conducive environment for regulators, developers, financiers and clients to work within a stable policy framework.

Better HSE standards, contract enforcement laws and gearing up local manufacturing capabilities will also give comfort to financiers and developers looking to enter the market.

Q.-8: Net Metering vs GrossMetering: Kindly explain what are the various metering techniques, their pros and cons

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JW: Recently we have seen states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu replacing net metering with gross metering. In net metering regime the end customer used to get the benefit of entire tariff of the banked units whereas in gross metering the benefit will only be limited to solar tariff determined by SERC. Most of the times solar tariff will be lower than the tariff provided by the solar developer and hence will not make any economic sense. This will lead to installing solar plants limited to replacing daytime consumption.

I personal believe this is a regressive step taken by regulators, considering the fact that rooftop segment has only 11% of target set by government.

Q.-9: Kindly rank various states in the order of attractiveness of distributed solar market JW: Internally our think tank has developed a framework to rank the various states based on Market Potential, Variable Grid Tariff, Irradiation level and Ease of Doing Business (Net Metering, CEIG Approvals). Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan happen to be the top 3 States whereas Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Goa are States where policies could be more conducive.

Q.-10: What are the cost of solar energy in various states for different category of consumers such as Commercial, Industrial & Residential JW: In our experience cost of solar is 20 – 50% cheaper than the variable grid tariff for C&I sector across most states in India.

Even the residential consumers in major metros stand to gain by adopting solar in their housing societies.

Q.-11: Kindly enlighten our readers with the power tariffs in various states for commercial, industrial and residential customers, tariffs for various levels of consumptions, power availability/shortage, the price trends.

JW: Average power tariffs for Industrial consumers is around Rs 7 per unit in most states in India whereas large commercial consumers pay over Rs 8 per unit. Residential tariffs continue to be subsidised and pay less than Rs 5 per unit in most states.

Power availability has definitely improved in many major cities, but in most others, there is huge scope of improvement in power reliability.

Q.-12: Are there any financing benefits like interest or capital subsidies by Government, banks, NBFC’s for financing distributed solar projects?

JW: World Bank and ADB offers loans for rooftop segment at subsidized rates through SBI and PNB respectively; Other Banks and NBFC offer loans at par rates. There are no current subsidies from Government.

Q.-13: Solar Cities: How many solar cities are announced and describe in detail as to what will happen in these solar cities JW: In 2014, the government had approved the implementation of MNRE’s Solar Cities Program. Solar City aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end of five years, through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources in the city and energy efficiency measures. In a Solar City all types of renewable energy-based projects like solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, waste to energy may be installed alongwith possible energy efficiency measures depending on the need and resource availability in the city.

MNRE has sanctioned development of 60 Solar Cities out of which master plan for 49 of these solar cities has already been prepared. The stakeholder committees have been constituted in 21 cities and solar city cells have been created in 37 solar cities. Few cities like Nagpur, Diu and Surat have been making remarkable progress in adopting solar energy.

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technology

Ways to Maximise the Benefits of Bifacial PV Modules B

ifacial PV modules provide many advantages over traditional PV panels.

The International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic (ITRPV) predicts an upward trend for the shares of bifacial solar modules in the global PV market in the next decade, i.e. 10% in 2019 and more than 35% in 2028.

It's widely believed that bifacial PV modules can effectively increase power generation and reduce levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of the solar system, but complex system design has become the biggest obstacle to the widespread application of bifacial solution.

Complex system design due to DC side factors that affect the energy yield of bifacial PV modules Due to the preceding factors, the actual output power of the bifacial PV modules varies greatly with projects or even with times. Therefore, the design personnel are not allowed to rigidly follow the serial and parallel connection as well as the configuration of solar inverters for common PV modules. The design should be project-based. More professional design tools for bifacial PV modules, especially intelligent design tools, are required. Energy yield evaluation is the premise of the design tool for the bifacial PV module system. Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Fraunhofer ISE) have conducted research on the ray-tracing and view-factor models to describe the energy gain from the back of bifacial PV modules accurately. The two models, however, are based on 3D modeling. The algorithm is complex and time-consuming, which cannot meet the requirements of engineering applications. Huawei has simplified and optimized these two models.

Based on scattering light and reflection light, Huawei has established a 2D physical model applicable to large ground PV plants. Integrating all-scenario, adaptive, and self-learning intelligent algorithms that balance the calculation speed and design details, this model generates the optimal design solution precisely and increases the energy yield by 3% compared with conventional design solutions. As the industry-leading design tool for bifacial PV modules that cover both the DC side and AC side, it is verified in many cases in terms of precision.

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For example, in a project in India, Dr. Shawn Gu, Chief Scientist of Huawei Smart PV Business, optimises the overall design of the solution based on the project, including the layout of trackers and PV modules, as well as the cable layout. Dr. Gu selected the best one with the highest energy yield and lowest LCOE from nearly 500 advantageous solutions.

The PV plant is located in Rajasthan, a flat desert area of rare rainfall and sparse vegetation. Based on the experience from the conventional solution design, the customer thought that the energy yield gain of the bifacial PV modules would be only about 5%. It turned out that the energy yield grew around16% compared with conventional solutions and the LCOE dropped by 10% with the help of bifacial PV modules, fixed trackers and Huawei 1500V FusionSolar Smart String Inverters. The outcome has been highly recognised by the customer.

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technology In addition to optimizing the overall solution, Huawei attaches great importance to the solar inverter as a key electrical device in the bifacial PV module system. Because the current produced by the bifacial PV modules is large, it takes a long time for fuses to be blown in case of weak-current overload. This imposes great risks of fires. In this case, fuses are not recommended for the bifacial PV module system. The mismatch of the bifacial PV modules is three times that of conventional PV modules. Therefore, the MPPT granularity of the solar inverter is required to be smaller, and the mismatch loss caused by inconsistency needs to be avoided when designing and connecting the PV strings to the solar inverter.

More than 400 plans considering all types of elements, the red dot in the graph shows the best LCOE solution.

SUN2000-185KTL-INH0 (SUN2000-185KTL) Huawei 1500V Smart String Inverter with multiple MPPTs effectively reduces string mismatch and increases yields more than 2%, based on the real cases. Comparing to the bifacial solution with central inverters, the string inverters can generate up to 4.5% more power. It's unquestionably that string inverters work better with bifacial module system.

Especially the new released SUN2000-185KTL smart string inverter at Intersolar 2019, which has Huawei patented multi-peak algorithm achieves tracking the highest power peak in 200 milliseconds. With 9 MPPTs, it could reduce string mismatch sufficiently. Based on the report released by global consultancy IHS Markit, Huawei was ranked No.1 globally in inverter shipments for four consecutive years, from 2015 to 2018.

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Huawei is committed to taking a leading role in combining AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things) and Cloud computing with FusionSolar Smart PV Solution and pass the benefits of state-of-the-art technologies to our customers. Huawei is not only a supplier of solar inverters, but also a consultant of customers' overall system solutions. Huawei smart PV experts come from the fields of PV modules, smart transformer stations, cables, power distribution, and solar inverters who can optimise solutions and provide professional and value-added design services based on the overall system to help customers maximise benefits.

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Indian Grid Code requirements :An Overview A

grid code is a technical specification which defines the requirements for a station or a plant to be connected to a public electric network. It is intended to ensure safe, secure, economic and proper functioning of the electric power system. The Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) lays down the rules, guidelines and standards to be followed by the various agencies and participants in their different tasks around the electric system. Those tasks can be to plan, to develop, to maintain and to operate the power system or the power plant, in the most efficient, reliable, economic and secure manner, while facilitating healthy competition in the generation and supply of electricity.

The Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA) has issued guidelines in this respect. These connectivity guidelines are applicable to generating stations for wind, solar photo voltaic and hybrid systems including energy storage. The penetration of renewable energy in the Indian grid is expected to be high. Loss of generation during faults will affect the grid security and reliability of the power supply. India plans to integrate more than 175 GW of utility scale renewable energy generation by 2022. It needs to fulfil these requirements to improve the secure operation of Indian power grid and enable continuous supply of power. The Licensee (one who approves the grid connection) shall ensure that provision laid under the grid requirements shall be fulfilled by the requester (one who applies for the grid connection). Failing to comply with any of the requirements leads to the disconnection from the grid.

The grid code requirements are basically classified into: 1) Control behaviour 2) Fault ride through behaviour 3) Power quality.

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Control Behaviour Reactive Power Control: “The Power generating unit shall be capable of supplying dynamically varying reactive power so as to maintain power factor within the limit of 0.95 lag to 0.95 lead”. A typical reactive power capability curve

Frequency Control Usually the system frequency is in the normal tolerance band in the range of ± e.g. 30 mHz (depending on the system stiffness). However, due to electrical load changes in the system (consumers) and corresponding power balance (generators) the frequency is varying dynamically. This can also happen due to disconnections related to faults in the system. According to Indian grid code, power generating stations shall be capable of remaining connected to the network and operate within the frequency range of 47.5 Hz to 52 Hz. In addition, they should be able to deliver rated power in the frequency range of 49.5 to 50.5 Hz, subject to availability of the primary energy source (i.e. wind speed orsolar radiation). This performance shall be also achieved with a voltage variation of up to ± 5 %.

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india Fault ride through behaviour (FRT):

Active Power Set Point Control In an electric power grid, for the safety reason during line contingencies, it is necessary to reduce generation in order to keep the lineswithin allowed design limits. Therefore, the electric utility must be able to issue commands to generation units for reducing the power in order toavoid line disconnections by the protection systems. According to Indian grid code, the generating stations with installed capacity of more than 10 MW connected at voltage levels of 33 kV and above shall be equipped with the facility to control active power injection in accordance with a set point, capable of being revised based on directions of the State Load Dispatch Centre or Regional Load Dispatch Centre.

Fault ride through is the ability of a wind power generating station or a solar generating station with PV inverters to remain connected to the grid when there is a shortdip or swell in voltage due to a sudden disturbance like short circuit.

Additionally, specific characteristics are required regarding the transient behaviour during the fault. The phenomenon of a voltagedip is referred to as Low-Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT, nowadays IEC calls it UVRT: Under-Voltage Ride-Through). Theshort swellin voltage is referred to as Over-Voltage Ride-Through (OVRT). UVRT fulfilment is required by CEA for the wind and solar generating stations when the voltage in the grid is temporarily dipping due to a fault. The required UVRT behaviour is defined in grid codes issued by the grid operators in order to maintain system stability, thereby reducing the risk of black-out. The grid codes were originally developed considering the synchronous generator generally used in conventional power plants, whereas Wind Turbines (WT) and PV inverters (i.e. units) have different characteristics compared to thermal power plants, leading to the requirements described below.

As per Indian grid code, the generating station connected to the grid, shall remain

Frequency Droop Control Droop control is a control strategy commonly applied to generators for primary frequency control (and occasionally voltage control) to allow parallel generator operation (e.g. load sharing). According to Indian grid code, the generating stations with installed capacity of more than 10 MW connected at voltage levels of 33 kV shall have governors or frequency controllers of the units at a droop of 3 to 6% and a dead band not exceeding ±0.03 Hz: Provided that for frequency deviations in excess of 0.3 Hz, the Generating Station shall have the facility to provide an immediate (within 1 second) real power primary frequency response of at least 10% of the maximum Alternating Current active power capacity.

Droop settings are usually mentioned in % droop. The setting indicates the percentage of the controlling value neededto cause a 100% change in the controlled value. For example, a 3% frequency droop setting means that for a 3% change in frequency, the unit's active power output changes by 100%. This means that if the frequency rise by 1%, the unit with a 3% droop setting will decrease its power output by 33%.

Power Ramp Rate Control A ramp event is defined as the power change event at every time interval. If the power change is positive, it is defined as a ramp-up event. If the power change is negative, it is defined as a ramp-down event. The rate of a ramp event is called a ramp rate, which is defined as the power difference from minute to minute, so its unit is a % of the currently available power in per minute. According to Indian grid code, the generating stations with installed capacity of more than 10 MW connected at voltage levels of 33 kV and above shall be equipped with the facility for controlling the rate of change of power output at a rate not more than ± 10% per minute.

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Provided that during the voltage dip, the supply of reactive power has first priority, while the supply of active power has second priority and the active power preferably be maintained during voltage dips, provided, a reduction in active power within the plant’s design specifications is acceptable and active power be restored to at least 90% of the pre-fault level within 1 sec of restoration of voltage.

Depending on the severity of the fault, fault location and the system condition, it can cause a shortvoltage swell, a voltage dip, or a complete loss of voltage (interruptions).

The duration and magnitude of the fault is dictated by protection technologies and their settings; whereas the slope of the voltage recovery likely depends on the strength of the interconnection and reactive power support. The quantity of reactive power to be injected depends on the percentage of grid voltage reduction during the dip, the system’s rated current, and the reactive power given to the grid during the dip appearance. The OVRT capability handles the over voltages during faults. During the OVRT tests an overvoltage is applied to each of the three voltage phases of the wind turbine or the PV inverter. According to the Indian grid code, the generating station connected to the grid, shall remain connected when voltage at the interconnection point, on any or all phases (symmetrical or asymmetrical overvoltage conditions) rises above the specified values given below for specified durations.

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india Over Voltage (pu)

Minimum time to remain Connected

1.30 < V

0 sec (instantaneous trip)

1.30 ≥ V > 1.20

0.2 sec

1.30 ≥ V > 1.20

2 sec

V <1.10

Continuous OVRT/HVRT requirements in India.

OVRT curve according to Indian grid code requirements.

Short Circuit ratio Short Circuit Ratio(SCR) relates to the strength of an area in a power grid.The short-circuit strength is measured by calculating the short-circuit ratio at the point of interconnection (POI). The identified area with a low SCR requires more studies and thorough investigation because this is an indication of low system strength conditions that can aggravate system disturbances and possibly impact protection system. According to the Indian grid code requirements, the generating stations with installed capacity of more than 10 MW connected at voltage levels of 33 kV shall have a short circuit ratio not less than 5 at the interconnection point where the generating stationis proposed to be connected.

Simulations Simulation tools include Matlab, PowerFactory, PSS/E etc. The simulations shall show that the requirements are fulfilled at station level, i.e. point of interconnection (POI). For instance, the fault ride through tests (FRT) can be performed only at unit level. For proving compliance regarding FRT at the station level, simulations shall be helpful. However, generic simulation models for FRT behaviour are not yet possible to be parametrized and used. In order to have sufficient accuracy, they need to be validated against FRT test results of the same generating unit type. The simulation model validation can become certified.

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Power quality The Utility needs to ensure that impact stays below planning levels in the overall electric power system. This is also important for wind or solar stationsconnected to the grid. Typical power quality disturbances are current and voltage harmonics, dc current injection, flicker etc. According to the Indian grid code, harmonic current injections from a generating station shall not exceed the limits specified in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 519. The Generating station shall not inject DC current greater than 0.5 % of the full rated output at the interconnection point. The generating station shall not introduce flicker beyond the limits specified in IEC 61000. Measurement of harmonic content, DC injection and flicker shall be done at least once in a year in presence of the parties concerned and the indicative date for the same shall be mentioned in the connection agreement.

Testing, Evaluation, Validation and Certification The standards used for testing the above grid code requirements includes IEC 61400-21-1, FGW TR-3, IEEE 519 etc.

For certification procedure DNVGL-SE-0124, may be used in combination with the CEA rules. DNV GL grid code compliance certificate ensures proof of evidence that Indian grid code requirements are fulfilled.

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Research

11 Million People Employed in Renewable Energy Worldwide in 2018

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Eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018 according to the latest analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This compares with 10.3 million in 2017[1]. As more and more countries manufacture, trade and install renewable energy technologies, the latest Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review finds that renewables jobs grew to their highest level despite slower growth in key renewable energy markets including China.

T

he diversification of the renewable energy supply chain is changing the sector’s geographic footprint. Until now, renewable energy industries have remained relatively concentrated in a handful of major markets, such as China, the United States and the European Union.

Increasingly, however, East and Southeast Asian countries have emerged alongside China as key exporters of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Countries including Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam were responsible for a greater share of growth in renewables jobs last year, which allowed Asia to maintain a 60 per cent share of renewable energy jobs worldwide.

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Renewable energy jobs highlights: The solar PV industry retains the top spot, with a third of the total renewable energy workforce. In 2018, PV employment expanded in India, Southeast Asia and Brazil, while China, the United States, Japan and the European Union lost jobs.

Rising output pushed biofuel jobs up 6% to 2.1 million. Brazil, Colombia, and Southeast Asia have labour-intensive supply chains where informal work is prominent, whereas operations in the United States and the European Union are far more mechanised.

Employment in wind power supports 1.2 million jobs. Onshore projects predominate, but the offshore segment is gaining traction and could build on expertise and infrastructure in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Hydropower has the largest installed capacity of all renewables but is now expanding slowly. The sector employs 2.1 million people directly, three quarters of whom are in operations and maintenance.

Beyond climate goals, governments are prioritising renewables as a driver of low-carbon economic growth in recognition of the numerous employment opportunities created by the transition to renewables,” said Francesco La Camera, DirectorGeneral of IRENA. “Renewables deliver on all main pillars of sustainable development – environmental, economic and social. As the global energy transformation gains momentum, this employment dimension reinforces the social aspect of sustainable development and provides yet another reason for countries to commit to renewables.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind remain the most dynamic of all renewable energy industries. Accounting for one-third of the total renewable energy workflow, solar PV retains the top spot in 2018, ahead of liquid biofuels, hydropower, and wind power. Geographically, Asia hosts over three million PV jobs, nearly nine-tenths of the global total. Most of the wind industry’s activity still occurs on land and is responsible for the bulk of the sector’s 1.2 million jobs.

China alone accounts for 44 per cent of global wind employment, followed by Germany and the United States. Offshore wind could be an especially attractive option for leveraging domestic capacity and exploiting synergies with the oil and gas industry.

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Source: irena.org

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2019 PV MODULE RELIABILITY SCORECARD RELIABILITY ISSUES IN THE FIELD Module Failure Modes and Aging Mechanisms PV modules are susceptible to a number of failure modes throughout their lifetime, from early failure issues such as glass breakage to longer term wear-out issues like cell corrosion. To this widely used graphic first published by IEA in 2014, PVEL added two additional failure mechanisms currently under industry-wide evaluation: Light and elevated Temperatur Induced Degradation (LeTID) and backsheet failure.

1.5% will cause the site’s real Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) to increase by 13.6%. This could severely impact the project’s economics, turning a profitable investment into a financial burden for the asset owner. The impact of site underperformance on project financials is further demonstrated by a poll2 conducted by PVEL where 70% of survey respondents replied that an underperformance of 3-6% is enough to render their projects financially nonviable.

Field Observations of Performance Loss Having aerial infrared-scanned over 1,600 operating PV systems representing over 11 GW, Heliolytics has observed that the average site shows 1.52% of lost DC energy generation.

Their analysis involves weighting each IR fault by its estimated impact to energy production, then summing them to determine DC loss per site. While it is clear in the graph to the right that half of the sites have less than 0.53% DC energy loss; the long tail ending with greater than 10% of sites suffering from DC energy losses of >10% is an alarming statistic.

Underperformance Case Study

Project Financial Impacts Falling Power Purchase Agreement prices and profit margins make module performance and reliability more crucial to financial returns now than ever before. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has extensively studied the financial ramifications of PV sites experiencing higher than expected module degradation rates. In a recent study NREL determined that increasing the annual module degradation rate from 0.5% to

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The following presents an example in which severe module underperformance turned a profitable project into one that is experiencing significant levels of lost energy generation, site investigation costs, plus labor and legal fees related to module warranty. Upon discovering that the site was not meeting expectations, the owner arranged for 23 modules to be sent for lab testing. The lab measured module power decreases ranging from 8% to 36% after less than two years from site commissioning. Through luminescence and thermal imaging, it was determined that the cell metallization paste suffered thermo-mechanical fatigue. This is shown in the numerous bright spots throughout the EL image.

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Research

EL image of a module taken from the underperforming site Source: DuraMAT/NREL, 2019 Bright spots occur where high series resistance and interconnect failures prevent current from spreading across the cell leading to current concentrations along the cell bus bars. In addition to lost energy generation, this defect may lead to hot spots causing backsheet burns, glass cracking and potential safety issues at the site. A module defect such as this triggers uncertainty for long-term module reliability, and leads to difficulties in determining which modules are susceptible to high power loss in the future. Properly sourcing modules through PVEL’s recommended best practices would have prevented this costly issue for the site owner: thermal cycling testing via PVEL’s Product Qualification Program (PQP) and serial defect testing would have undoubtedly caught this defect before the faulty modules were installed.

Long-term field data that proves today’s PV modules will perform reliably for decades does not exist.

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research PV MODULE TESTING Certifications Only Address Product Safety Most solar project developers and equipment buyers require two key certifications for solar PV modules – IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 or UL 1703. They demonstrate that PV modules are safe. None of these test standards address long-term PV module reliability and performance in the field.

IEC 61730 and UL 1703 only certify that PV modules are not hazardous to operate.

IEC 61215 only screens for defects that would appear in the first few years of operation.

Manufacturers select the specific modules that are used in certification tests. It is possible to send “golden samples” that are constructed more carefully than commercially produced modules.

Manufacturers can change some component combinations of their module BOM without recertifying the module model.

Additionally, updating IEC and UL standards is a multi-year process that cannot keep pace with the rate of innovation in solar PV module technology. Both standards fail to identify major field performance issues associated with technical advances, such as Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LeTID) and Potential-induced Degradation (PID). An LeTID test will be included in the next version of the PVEL PQP, which will be released in summer 2019.

Testing for Reliability and Performance While IEC and UL certifications are important indicators of module safety, long-term reliability and performance are also important to PV buyers. Since its founding in 2010, PVEL has consulted with developers and financial institutions to continually develop test programs that address specific issues observed in the field and with emerging and even proven technologies. By extending IEC 61215 sequences and incorporating additional tests, PVEL’s PQP approximates the impact that decades of exposure in the field has on PV modules

What are the limitations of PV module warranties?

Nameplate and Solvency Some module power degradation is expected, so a degradation factor is usually built into solar assets’ energy yield and financial models as well as manufacturers’ warranty terms. Warranties typically guarantee approximately 97% of the nameplate rating during the first year followed by an annual 0.6 to 0.7% reduction in the subsequent 24 years.

However, warranties only protect buyers when manufacturers are solvent and responsive to claims.

Imprecise Measurement Measuring power degradation that could be a warranty claim is extremely difficult – if not impossible – in the field.

Measurement tools and sensors simply lack sufficient precision. A 3% allowance for uncertainty is usually applied for warranty enforcement, which effectively reduces guaranteed power output by 3%.

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Most successful warranty claims are therefore limited to excessive underperformance or total failure.

Coverage Limitations Even when claims are accepted, most warranties only cover the cost of replacement modules, not costs associated with labor or lost energy production. Advances in the manufacturing process can also jeopardize future module replacement. For example, the product roadmaps of many major manufacturers today call for increasing wafer size and thus module size. This will result in modules that are not compatible with the modules they sell today. Asset owners may be unable to replace defective modules in operating systems, which makes procuring reliable PV modules even more important.

TEST RESULTS PV MODULE PQP METHODOLOGY PVEL launched the PV Module Product Qualification Program (PQP) in 2012 with two goals: 1. To provide PV equipment buyers and power plant investors with independent, consistent reliability and performance data that supports effective supplier management.

2. To independently recognize manufacturers who outpace their competitors in product quality and durability.

Today the PVEL PQP is a common requirement for PV modules installed in systems around the world.

PQP Test Development Throughout the year and on a global scale, PVEL investigates field failures and monitors developments in the PV standards community. We work with research institutes, conduct experiments, and receive feedback from the upstream module manufacturers and downstream module purchasers (i.e. EPCs, developers, investors and insurance companies). These inputs guide annual updates to the PQP and ensure that PVEL’s reports deliver the data that equipment buyers need.

The Key Principles of the PVEL PQP Empirical data The PQP replaces performance assumptions with empirical metrics that help PVEL’s Downstream Partners optimize revenue and energy yield models. Each PVEL PQP provides nine detailed test reports that PVEL’s partners freely access to support their purchasing decisions.

No hand-picked samples All Bills of Materials (BOMs) of products submitted to PQP testing are witnessed in production - from opening of raw materials packages through every step of the production process - to wrapping the completed pallet in tamper-proof tape.

Standardized processes All BOMs are tested in the same way, using consistently calibrated equipment and in consistent laboratory environments. This enables a leveled comparison across all manufacturers.

Updated regularly The rapid pace of technology development requires a test program that stays current in order to properly assess and qualify new products. PVEL updates the PQP annually to provide buyers with consistently relevant data to evaluate PV products.

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As an early champion of rigorous technical due diligence, we know first-hand that mitigating risk through strategic procurement is a much sounder strategy than relying on warranties alone.

PVEL’s Product Qualification Program is designed to help developers invest confidently in new technologies that promise greater returns, particularly when long-term field performance data is unavailable, said ABHIJEET SATHE, Chief Operating Officer, SB Energy, a division of Softbank

RESULTS OVERVIEW Methodology The PQP results presented in the 2019 Scorecard were factory witnessed within 18 months of 2019. Results presented in the bar charts on the subsequent pages show average values for the different test samples and BOMs which together represent a single module model. Each test sequence had a varying number of manufacturers and model types participating. The Top Performers in each test category are listed in alphabetical order.

Top Performers are model types that degraded less than 2% for the entirety of the test sequence.

Reading the Results Each test sequence is detailed over two pages and includes: 1. An overview of the stress testing and real-world context of the specific failure mechanism 2. An example of high levels of degradation, including electroluminescence (EL) images and electrical parameters 3. The 2019 results graphically presented showing the average power loss by model type 4. An alphabetical list of Top Performers 5. A results summary for that specific test PVEL cautions that not all products/model types are represented in every test. For example, some model types are not subjected to all tests, or some results may not have been available at the time of publication. Buyers should contact PVEL to obtain the full reports that comprise these results. The full reports contain BOM-level results whereas the results herein are reported at the model level.

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Research Earning PVEL’s Top Performer designation helped us grow U.S. market share at a pivotal moment in Jinko Solar’s international expansion. Since then, we have leveraged PVEL’s Product Qualification Program to prove the reliability and performance of our most advanced products to prospective buyers in markets around the world., said DANIEL CHANG, Technical Director - North America, Jinko Solar

THERMAL CYCLING: OVERVIEW AND RESULTS Background

PV module components expand and contract in response to changes in temperature. Because these components have different thermal expansion coefficients, they change size at different rates in the same environmental conditions. This creates interfacial stress, a thermodynamic effect that reduces the strength of the bonds between each layer of the PV module. One example is solder bond fatigue, which increases series resistance and decreases module performance at high irradiance.

Why the Test Matters The material components of PV modules will expand and contract many times over 25+ years in the field, even in temperate climates. With module operating temperatures well above ambient, this effect occurs daily and can be extreme in deserts and other arid environments. This test demonstrates if the temperature cycles are likely to cause undue interfacial stress that decreases performance.

Thermal Cycling Procedure Modules are placed in an environmental chamber where the temperature is lowered to -40°C, dwelled, then increased to 85°C and dwelled again. Maximum power current is applied to the modules while the temperature is increased and decreased. This is repeated 800 times for PVEL’s PQP. One cycle takes about three hours to complete. IEC 61215 testing requires only 200 cycles.

Results Summary New for this Scorecard edition is the inclusion of PVEL’s historical data from nearly ten years of testing. The bar charts that follow indicate how the 2019 Scorecard results compare to PVEL’s historical dataset. The presented data indicates a general trend of improved performance in thermal cycling and potential-induced degradation; however, a wider range of performance can be observed for damp heat and the dynamic mechanical load sequence. PQP participants tend to place a higher value on the quality of their products than non-participants. As such, the median results may be better than those of the broader industry, especially for modules one might source on the open market.

See Procurement Best Practices on page 30 for PVEL’s module purchasing recommendations.

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research DAMP HEAT: OVERVIEW AND RESULTS Background PV modules are constructed of different components that are laminated together. These layers must remain firmly adhered for the PV module to meet performance expectations. Moisture and high temperature can degrade the adhesives that bond these layers together, allowing water, dirt, soil and other materials to enter the module and degrade its internal components, thus reducing energy yield. Delamination may also decrease the insulation resistance of a PV module, which makes electrical shock more likely.

DYNAMIC MECHANICAL LOAD SEQUENCE: OVERVIEW AND RESULTS Background The dynamic mechanical load (DML) sequence involves a combination of DML, thermal cycling, and humidity freeze tests. Applying mechanical loads, or forces, to PV modules can stress and break components. Stress and breakage can cause a range of issues, including moisture ingress, microcrack development and propagation, solder joint fatigue and cell corrosion. Such issues often result in reduced energy yield and field failures.

Why the Test Matters Wind and snow subject modules in the field to dynamic mechanical loads, or forces applied in different directions and speeds. Dynamic loading can also occur during transportation, delivery, and installation of modules, especially if they are packaged or handled improperly. This test demonstrates if module components and material combinations are likely to break down in these conditions.

DML Sequence Procedure

Why the Test Matters High temperature and high humidity are common in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. PV modules in moderate climates also experience periods of high temperature and humidity. These exposures can cause premature failures and degradation when poor quality components or improper lamination procedures are used. PVEL’s damp heat test reproduces degradation and failure modes that occur in the field.

The module is installed according to the manufacturers’ recommended mounting configuration, then subjected to 1,000 cycles of alternating loading at 1,000 Pa. Next the module is placed in an environmental chamber and subjected to 50 thermal cycles (-40°C to 85°C) to cause microcrack propagation, then three sets of 10 humidity freeze cycles (85°C temperature and 85% relative humidity for 20 hours followed by a rapid decrease to -40°C) to stimulate potential corrosion. The module is characterized and inspected visually to evaluate the status of the module’s frame, edge seal and cell interconnections.

Damp Heat Procedure Modules are placed in an environmental chamber and held at a constant temperature of 85°C and 85% relative humidity for 2,000 hours (about 84 days). The heat and moisture ingress stress the layers of the PV module. IEC testing has a duration of only 1,000 hours.

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Research POTENTIAL-INDUCED DEGRADATION: OVERVIEW AND RESULTS Background Potential-induced Degradation (PID) can occur within weeks or even days of commissioning. PID emerged in the last ten years with the development of higher system voltages and ungrounded systems. It generally occurs when the internal PV electrical circuit is biased negatively in relation to ground. The combination of voltage and humidity can cause sodium ions from the glass or cell surface to create current paths from the internal PV electrical circuit to the frame and mounting system. This reduces module performance as some of the module’s generated electrons are lost to these newly formed current paths.

Why the Test Matters PID can reduce performance by more than 30%. While some PID mechanisms are reversible in the early stages of degradation, some are not. PID can also be managed through system design, including use of specific grounding configurations and distributed electronics. PVEL recommends evaluating these alternative solutions if not procuring PID-resistant modules.

PID Procedure With the module in an environmental chamber, voltage bias equal to the maximum system voltage rating of the module (-1000 V or -1500 V) is applied under 85°C and 85% relative humidity for two cycles of 96 hours. These temperature, moisture, and voltage bias conditions allow PVEL to evaluate degradation related to increased leakage currents.

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PVEL’s PV Module Reliability Scorecard is the starting point for updating our Approved Vendor Lists. It helps us save time by identifying suppliers to prioritize for in-depth diligence. The next step is digging into the data behind the Top Performer rankings to identify BOMs that meet the performance, reliability and financing requirements of our project pipeline, said CHRIS JACOBS, Asset Engineering Manager- Cubico Sustainable Investments.

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research CASE STUDY: PQP FAILURES Throughout PQP testing, modules undergo various characterizations including visual inspection, safety testing and electrical performance testing. The results of these characterizations are included in the PQP reports for each tested module. PVEL does not assign pass/fail thresholds to power degradation; however, module manufacturers are able to remove their products from testing when visual anomalies, EL images, or power degradation do not meet their expectations. These instances, along with safety test failures, are considered by PVEL to be PQP “failures.” Over 30% of all 2019 Scorecard-eligible BOMs exhibited one or more failures during PQP testing.

For typical crystalline modules, bypass diodes are necessary in order to prevent module hot spots during shading conditions – an issue that can severely damage a module and render it unsafe. Despite the critical role they play, bypass diodes can fail for a variety of reasons such as poor component selection, weather events, or a lack of robust process and quality control during junction box and/or module manufacturing. When a module bypass diode fails in shortcircuit condition, one third of the module will no longer generate energy. When a module bypass diode fails in open-circuit condition, it increases hot spot risk. PVEL’s PQP testing uses extended thermal cycling to thermally stress module components. Diodes prone to failure can yield disastrous results for a module’s performance during this test, such as in the case to the right where two diodes failed after 600 thermal cycles and the module power output decreased by 66%.

CASE STUDY: PQP FAILURES CONTINUED Example 2: Wet Leakage Failures

For the PQP testing period represented in the 2019 Scorecard, power degradation was the largest category of recorded PQP failures, with 23% of eligible BOMs experiencing power loss above the manufacturer’s acceptable threshold.

Of eligible BOMs, 10% had at least one safety failure and 10% had at least one visual inspection defect. The chart on the left shows the breakdown of failures per test that occurred in 2019 Scorecard-eligible PQPs. The Pre-Stress category encompasses failures detected during incoming inspection and after light-soaking.

While module performance risk is certainly of great concern, module safety is paramount. One way the PQP assesses safety is through wet leakage testing during the PQP characterization stages. This test evaluates the electrical insulation of the module under wet operating conditions such as those that occur in the field due to rain, fog, dew, humidity or melting snow. While performing this test, the module is immersed in a conductive water solution and the junction box, cables and connectors are wetted with the same solution.

Then 1,000 or 1,500 volts is applied between the module’s electrical circuit and the liquid for two minutes. During this time the insulation resistance is measured and must equal or exceed 40 MΩ·m2 in order to pass the test according to IEC 61215-2:2016.One of the most prevalent PQP failures observed in the past 18 months is that of wet leakage faults, where the module’s insulation resistance measured less than the IEC-defined pass threshold. Failure of the wet leakage test signifies that the module may present a safety hazard in the field, especially while operating when wet.

Over 30% of BOMs tested had at least one failure Example 1: Diode Failure During Thermal Cycling According to Heliolytics, more than 80% of the >1 MW sites they have scanned using aerial infrared (IR) imagery show sub-module defects with at least one-third of the module affected. Many of these submodule failures are due to one or more bypass diodes in the module junction box failing in open- or short-circuit condition.

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Research CASE STUDY: KNOW YOUR BOM

PROCUREMENT BEST PRACTICES

A top tier module manufacturer submitted modules to PQP testing that were made with two different Bills of Materials (BOMs).

Asset owners expect solar power plants to generate energy safely and reliably for decades. Most PV module BOMs today have been produced for only a few years at most, which makes it challenging to understand long-term safety and reliability. Using long-term field data to verify PV module quality and forecast lifetime energy yield is not possible, especially with the rapidly evolving technology landscape. As the data in this year’s Scorecard demonstrates, even small changes in BOM combinations impact product reliability and performance. While controlled laboratory testing can never fully replicate field conditions, it remains the most objective, comprehensive resource available for PV buyers to evaluate module quality. Independent testing not only supports strategic procurement and data-driven energy yield modeling, it can also be used to screen for defects in utility-scale orders that are produced over several weeks or months. Finally, by field-testing operating assets stakeholders can validate production models and quickly address any issues.

Both BOMs:

Had the same model number, label and datasheet

Were visually indistinguishable

Were manufactured in the same facility

Passed IEC 61215 (<5% degradation after TC200)

One BOM had TC800 results that were PVEL PV Module Reliability Scorecard “Top Performer”-level (< 2% degradation). The other BOM had TC800 results that were within the lower ranking of historical PQP results with 7% degradation.

When a purchaser orders a module without specifying the BOM, the manufacturer is free to use any combination of materials that have been IEC or UL-certified for that model.

One supply order could be comprised of many different BOMs that share the same model number. Some of these BOMs may have been third-party tested, some not. Module buyers and asset owners may experience differing levels of reliability and performance in the field when multiple BOMs are deployed. Without independent testing and BOM verification, buyers cannot be certain that every module will perform as expected. The top performing module models named in the Scorecard represent specific, detailed BOMs that are rigorously tested in PVEL’s labs. Ordering a Top Performing module model alone does not guarantee purchase of a top performing BOM. PVEL’s Downstream Partners can gain access to the specific BOMs that achieved Top Performer designation. PVEL also provides complimentary BOM exhibits to Downstream Partners for their module supply agreements. The exhibits specify the PVEL-tested BOM that must be supplied.

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DNV GL’s energy simulations begin with default assumptions about the average performance of different PV module technologies. We use independent test data to validate our assumptions – and when necessary, update those assumptions to reflect changes in product performance. This test data is critical to ensuring the lowest uncertainties possible in estimating product and project performance.

When assessing bankability and reviewing technology, DNV GL always indicates if modules are PQP tested. Technology that is not tested independently is flagged for additional review, which can raise concerns with investors. When products have not been tested independently by a reputable lab, we lack objective proof that they will perform as expected.

PVEL’s PQP gives DNV GL the data our clients need to build confidence in their PV module selections, said DANA OLSON Solar Segment Leader, DNV GL Energy.

Authors

Tara Doyle Ryan Desharnais Tristan Erion-Lorico

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business & finance

India Ratings and Research (Fitch Group): Pooled Structures and InvITs to Boost Market Access for Developers

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Nuanced structures in pooling of assets such as obligor/co-obligor or Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) would propel refinancing of the infrastructure assets, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). In FY19, Ind-Ra rated issuers opted for pooled structures, including InvIT and raised INR 70.63 billion, up 32% yoy. The agency expects about INR210 billion (INR100 billion in obligor/co-obligor and INR 110 billion in InvITs) of potential transactions under the contemporary pooling model in the next 18 to 24 months.

Given the growing portfolio of many developers, the usage of such structures would sharply increase in the coming years, as asset pooling not only offers geographical diversification but also enables in blending different categories of assets within a segment such as wind and solar or toll and annuities. As asset vintage increases, operational parameters strengthen the predictability of cash flows. At the same time, multiple variants are emerging in the obligor/co-obligor structure and not all of them will be approached similarly. Therefore, cash flow consolidation is a function of debt structural features and differences between the structures make few stronger than the others. Nonetheless, the majority of obligor/co-obligor structures warrant cash flow consolidation. Ind-Ra will evaluate intricacies of the structure, waterfall mechanism and covenant testing to decide the consolidation aspect. Under the obligor/ co-obligor structure the cumulative debt of a pool (i.e. a group of SPVs or assets) would be serviced out of the pool participants. The debt structure defines the constituent entities as obligors and co-obligors to one another. If the cash flows of one or more of the individual entities are insufficient to meet their respective debt servicing requirements, the surplus cash flows of the remaining co-obligor(s) can be used to meet the shortfall. The agency also sees InvIT as an extension of pooling model operating under a regulated vehicle. Ind-Ra currently rates a number of obligor/co-obligor structures and two InvITs in the infrastructure space.

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For some structures, Ind-Ra consolidates the cash flows of all co-obligors and evaluates the consolidated financial performance of the entire pool of assets. While other asset pools are structured in a way that each co-obligor is rated individually and the rating of the generally weaker projects is set as a benchmark to arrive at the rating of the entire pool of SPVs. Structure Decoding Essential for Pooling: A common loan agreement with a joint and several obligation to meet debt service is structurally strong as it binds all pool participants, thereby favouring cash flow pooling. Cross guarantees between the borrowers is another mechanism that ensures joint obligation of all the co-obligors for the cumulative debt. On the other hand, a cross default clause between the participants is considered relatively weaker as the clause invocation is at the discretion of the lenders and the cross default by itself does not ensure pooling, unless reinforced by the loan agreements of the other co-obligors and the cash flow waterfall mechanism. To clarify this further, the presence of a cross default provision does not automatically mean that the cash flows are fungible enough among the participants of the pool.

Perils of Waterfall Mechanism Assessment Critical: To decide the consolidation of cash flows for co-obligors, it is vital to understand the cash flow waterfall mechanism. Should an agreement entail a common escrow or common debt service account, the cash flow pooling is essential. In some structures, funds are available to co-obligors from the surplus account after all respective escrow subaccounts of individual co-obligors are fully funded. This creates uncertainty and is almost equivalent to a restricted payment, except for the testing of financial covenants. In this case, again cross default clause is the connecting thread which is discretionary and could expose the structure to the weakest entity default unless the structure allows free flow of funds frequently.

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business & finance Financial Covenants and Distribution: If financial covenants are tested at the pool level before distribution, the document limits the release of cash until the pool participants’ debt servicing is complete. This enables even the weaker entities to timely meet their debt servicing obligations. On the contrary, individual covenants and separate distributions could allow sponsors to take out cash from the SPVs before meeting any possible shortfall of other co-obligors, and thus weaken the pooling structure. The presence of individual covenants and restrictions would restrain cash movements between participants, leading to the unavailability of cash with co-obligors.

InvITs: While evaluating InvITs, Ind-Ra pools the cash flows of the underlying infrastructure assets. The debt of an InvIT fund is serviced by the interest and principal payments of internal debt from InvIT to underlying SPVs and dividends from the underlying vehicles. Although, an InvIT fund is not obligated to timely service debt of all the SPVs under its fold, it manages fund transfer between SPVs. In certain cases InvITs provide legal undertakings.

The InvIT cash flow waterfall and the covenants mandate debt servicing as a priority over the distribution of surplus to investors.

Ind-Ra, therefore, believes timely debt servicing would be ensured

by InvIT funds. Nevertheless, ratings of the SPVs will be based on their own credit profiles, as there is no obligor/co-obligor structure.

Given there is no contractual pooling structure, the InvIT structure is relatively weaker than the regular obligor/co-obligor structure.

However, the overall InvIT structure’s stipulation of leverage below a particular threshold props up the debt service coverage and favours higher ratings. On the other hand, the rating of the InvIT could be constrained if it has mutual default clauses with its constituent SPVs’ external debt, which are considered relatively weaker.

Risk Profile Diversification: The pooling of different SPVs helps in diversifying the risks faced by a project. A pool of projects located across different regions having power purchase agreements with multiple counterparties helps in mitigating the counterparty concentration and supply risks associated with individual projects to some extent. A pool of SPVs diversified on the basis of location, counterparty and equipment suppliers is stronger than those with similar attributes. Instances from Ind-Ra Portfolio: Ind-Ra has rated the bank facilities borrowed collectively by five Mytrah SPVs, Bindu Vayu Urja Pvt Ltd (‘IND A(SO)’/Stable), Mytrah Vayu (Pennar) Private Limited (‘IND A(SO)’/Stable), Mytrah Vayu (Krishna) Private Limited (‘IND A(SO)’/ Stable), Mytrah Vayu Urja Pvt Ltd and Mytrah Vayu Manjira Pvt Ltd based on the obligor co-obligor approach. All the SPVs are jointly and severally liable for the cumulative debt. The cash flows are consolidated before debt servicing, and financial covenants are tested on the combined cash flows of all the SPVs. These clauses make this one of the stronger obligor/co-obligor structures rated by Ind-Ra. Another transaction involving the diversified pool of Parampujya Solar Energy Private Limited (‘Provisional IND AA(SO)’/Stable), Prayatna Developers Private Limited (‘Provisional IND AA(SO)’/Stable) and Adani Green Energy (UP) Limited (‘Provisional IND AA(SO)’/Stable), referred to as the restricted group 1 (RG1), was rated on a combined cash flow basis. Cross guarantees between the three participants, presence of a cross default clause and consolidated covenant testing bind the RG1 to meet debt servicing obligations. The underlying obligor and co-obligor structure clearly lists the mechanism for money transfer to coobligors in the event of insufficient funds in their respective trust and retention accounts and any cash out flows from the RG1 towards distribution to subordinated debtholders, dividend payments and others are subject to the meeting of the restrictive covenants at the consolidated level.

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Some other structures allowing fungibility of cash among SPVs only from surplus as per the cash flow waterfall and having a cross-default clause between all the SPVs have been rated based on the lowest rated entity of the pool.

Ratings are not a recommendation or suggestion, directly or indirectly, to you or any other person, to buy, sell, make or hold any investment, loan or security or to undertake any investment strategy with respect to any investment, loan or security or any issuer. About India Ratings and Research: India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) is India’s most respected credit rating agency committed to providing India’s credit markets accurate, timely and prospective credit opinions. Built on a foundation of independent thinking, rigorous analytics, and an open and balanced approach towards credit research, Ind-Ra has grown rapidly during the past decade, gaining significant market presence in India’s fixed income market. Ind-Ra currently maintains coverage of corporate issuers, financial institutions (including banks and insurance companies), finance and leasing companies, managed funds, urban local bodies and project finance companies. Headquartered in Mumbai, Ind-Ra has seven branch offices located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata. Ind-Ra is recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Reserve Bank of India and National Housing Bank.

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Global solar PV inverters market to decline at CAGR of 13.2% by 2023, says GlobalData

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The global solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters market is set to decline at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2% and reach US$3.04bn in 2023, primarily due to a sharp drop in inverter prices and slowdown in solar PV installations, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. The company’s latest report, ‘Solar PV Inverters, Update 2019 – Global Market Size, Competitive Landscape, Key Country Analysis, and Forecast to 2023’, reveals that competitive market, economies of scale and removal of subsidies are forcing manufacturers to restructure their prices to retain businesses in a highly fragmented market.

sia-Pacific (APAC) accounted for approximately 71% of the inverters installed globally in 2018, followed by the Americas with 16.5% and EMEA with 12.5%. Despite the contraction in its market share, APAC is expected to dominate the market over the forecast period (2019– 2023), supported by trends in China, India and Japan.

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Nirushan Rajasekaram, Power Analyst for GlobalData comments: “Globally, China is the largest market for solar PV inverters. The aggressive pursuit of solar by the country led to significant capacity additions over the historic period (2014–2018), with 44.3 gigawatt (GW) installed in 2018 alone. However, the market is expected to slow down significantly with the government opting to reduce solar subsidy for utility scale projects and feed-in-tariffs. The market size in China is estimated to decline at a CAGR of 10.1%, over the forecast period. Similarly the reduction in feed-in-tariffs and limited scope for expansion of large projects will see the market in Japan decline to 5.4GW in 2023.”

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By 2023, the solar PV inverter markets in Americas and EMEA will expand to 21.3% and 19.6%, respectively of global installations. The Amercias market is greatly influenced by movements in the US market. It is the second largest market for solar PV inverters in the world and is supported by federal and state initiatives such as Sunshot initiative, federal tax credits, net metering and state issued renewable energy goals. The US market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.8% to reach 12.8GW in 2023. The emergence of supportive policies and regulations to increase solar energy deployment in other countries will propel the solar PV inverter market in Americas. Solar PV is expected to be ramped up in EMEA, particularly in the Middle East driven by government targets and policies encouraging uptake of solar.

Rajasekaram concludes: “The slowdown in prominent markets will have a moderate impact on the global outlook for solar PV inverters. With renewables becoming integral in governments’ development plans, solar PV will be the mainstay in the drive towards deploying renewables. Opportunities in emerging markets will arise due to a decline in technology prices and strong support for solar PV to compensate to a certain extent for the drop in installations among leading markets.

Competition and evolving market conditions are exerting pricing pressures on manufacturers, driving down inverter prices. Improvement in manufacturing efficiencies and scale of economy will translate into steeper decline in inverter costs for utility scale projects, in comparison to other consumer segments.”

The report offers in-depth analysis of solar PV inverters at global, regional (Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa) and key country (the US, Canada, Chile, China, India, Japan, the UK, Germany, France and Italy) level. The report analyses the market for solar PV inverters for the historical (2014–2018) and forecast (2019–2023) periods. The report includes annual market volume and value by end user segments at global, regional and country levels. It outlines the market drivers and restraints and provides an outlook on key policies and regulatory bodies governing solar PV sector in covered countries. Moreover, the report provides recent tenders and contracts related to the market and major upcoming solar PV projects. The report also provides detailed profiles on major manufacturers of solar PV inverters.

Source: globaldata

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research

Noteworthy Regional Trends in India: Renewables 2019 Global Status Report

GLOBAL CONTEXT In 2018, global energy demand increased an estimated 2.3%. India, along with China and the United States, accounted for almost 70% of the total increase India ranks fourth globally for non-hydro renewable capacity Total number of renewable energy jobs remained virtually unchanged, with most jobs in hydropower, followed by solar PV. By region, it is the 5th largest employer across all renewable energy technologies India was one of many countries where the competition resulting from auctions caused bid levels for new solar PV and wind power to reach record lows Several cities and municipalities in India are implementing renewable energy initiatives.

Trains in New Delhi are partly powered by solar PV and Bangalore has implemented a solar water heating mandate

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India is one of only five countries, that apply a fuel economy standard to heavy-duty vehicles.

Over half of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s states have mandatory building energy codes India has allocated USD 1.3 billion to incentives for EVs. Under its national e-mobility programme, the country aims to have more than 30% of new car sales come from EVs by 2030 In 2018, several renewable power contracts in India were annulled The states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh auctioned projects for floating solar PV to generate electricity on dam reservoirs India ranked fourth globally for investment in renewable energy in 2018, representing 5% of the total, amounting to USD 15.4 billion, with significant investment in large onshore wind projects However, it decreased 16% compared with 2017 Investment in small-scale distributed capacity remained significant, at over USD 1 billion

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research DIGGING DEEPER Market & Industry Bioenergy India is a large user of bioenergy for heat (1.6 EJ) and a large producer of bioelectricity In 2018, biopower capacity increased 16% to 10.2 GW and generation rose by 14% to reach 91 TWh Biofuels are being given greater priority, with a medium-term emphasis on advanced biofuels that can use the country’s widespread agricultural residues as feedstock India is the sixth largest producer of ethanol. Production increased 70% in 2018, following changes in regulations surrounding feedstocks – allowing for greater use of molasses – which aims to reduce oil imports In 2018, the Indian Air Force flew a military aircraft with blended biofuel for the first time, using a 10% biojet fuel based on jatropha oil Hydropower India ranks sixth globally for total hydropower capacity and increased its hydropower capacity by 0.5 GW in 2018, for a year-end total of 45.1 GW The single-largest plant to come into service in India was the Kishanganga plant in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, comprising three 110 MW units By year’s end, India had a pipeline of 37 additional hydropower projects (12 GW), although 16 of those (6 GW) were delayed for various reasons, including lack of funds and environmental concerns Due to increasing shares of solar PV and wind, hydropower’s share of the country’s total installed capacity has decreased by half since 2008, to 13% Solar PV Additions were down relative to 2017 with 10.8 GW being added The decline was due to several factors including land and transmission constraints, a 25% safeguard duty on imports from China and Malaysia, flaws in the tender scheme and tax uncertainties Despite this decline, India’s total installed capacity, by end-2018, was almost 33 GW overtaking Italy, and rising to fifth in the global rankings for cumulative solar PV capacity The Indian rooftop market continued to grow rapidly, up about two-thirds during 2018 More than 40 GW of additional large-scale solar projects was tendered in India during 2018. However, the gap expanded between tenders issued and auctions completed, with many auctions being cancelled or annulled Two of the world’s largest coal mining companies announced a joint venture to invest more than USD 1.6 billion in 3 GW of solar power capacity in India

CSP India was the only country in Asia to have CSP capacity under construction by the end of 2018 The 25 MW Gujarat Solar One facility is expected to enter operation in late 2019, and the 14 MW Dadri Integrated Solar Combined-Cycle plant is under construction Solar Thermal Heating and Cooling India ranked third for annual solar thermal installations and saw a 17% increase relative to 2017, bringing new installations to 1.3 GWth in 2018 Market development remained below expectations, due in part to the Indian government prioritising the deployment of solar power capacity during 2018 Vacuum tube collectors represented more than 80% of new installations in India.

India was the third largest market for solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP) with 10 installations Wind Power Following a record year for wind power in 2017, the Indian market contracted in 2018. Even though installations fell by almost 50%, India ranked fourth in global installations, adding 2.2 GW, for a year-end total of 35.1 GW 2 GW was in the construction pipeline, but projects have been delayed by problems in obtaining land and accessing transmission lines Average winning bids for onshore wind energy were close to USD 20 per MWh (down from around USD 30 per MWh in 2017)

Distributed Renewables for Energy Access Between 2011 and 2017, India doubled its electrification rate As of 2017, in India, 168 million people (13% of population) lack access to electricity and 703 million people (53% of population, down from 68%) lacked access to clean cooking facilities Entrepreneurs, with the support of the government, lead efforts to promote distributed renewable energy access (DREA) systems in India. 177,000 solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water have been deployed, compared to around 11,500 in 2014 India is the main market for cash sales of affiliated off-grid solar products; with 2.5 million products sold in 2018

Energy Efficiency Between 2010 and 2017, energy use for space cooling in India doubled, with cooling intensity rising 42% Between 2010 and 2016, India experienced 4.7% average annual growth in industrial energy use, the highest of any country Source: worldmediawire

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renewable energy

Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, for real this time: IEA Current level of attention has opened a window of opportunity for policy and pvt-sector action. Hydrogen, which has been touted as the fuel of the future much of the past five decades, may finally be on the verge of converting its potential to reality. Governments, automakers and even oil and gas giants are part of a growing coalition pushing a larger role for the fuel as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions while still providing reliable electricity to a growing population and powering complex industrial processes, the International Energy Agency said in a report

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he report underscores the challenges — existing production techniques are polluting and costly, while the gas itself is volatile and highly flammable — as the energy industry responds to increasingly urgent calls to de-carbonize amid doomsday climate change scenarios.

Policies must be put in place now to support early investments needed to reduce costs and scale up the industry, the agency recommended.

“Hydrogen has never enjoyed so much international and cross-sectoral interest, even in the face of impressive recent progress in other low-carbon energy technologies NSE -1.26 %, such as batteries and renewables,” the agency said in The Future of Hydrogen report. “The current level of attention has opened a genuine window of opportunity for policy and privatesector action.”

The IEA has suggested ways to push the market forward, including: Supporting research and development to bring down costs and creating financial vehicles to offset the risk of early investors.

Focusing first on increasing use at industrial ports, where existing production is concentrated, and on transport fleets along popular routes.

Launching international hydrogen trade routes.

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It’s not the first time hydrogen has been hailed as an energy savior. Interest surged in the 1970s for the fuel as a potential replacement in a transport sector rocked by oil price shocks, but the crude market moderated before any meaningful advances were made. The IEA says the difference now is that the driving factor — reducing carbon emissions — is less transitory than a commodity price spike. Hydrogen can help decarbonize a range of sectors, from long-haul transport to steel-making, from which it’s otherwise difficult to remove emissions. It can also be stored and shipped and used to produce electricity, allowing countries with little space for wind and solar equipment to still receive carbon-free power. Installing supportive policies and incentives now could help cut costs in the long run, according to the IEA, the same way that decades of subsidies and grants for photovoltaic cells and wind turbines helped make many renewable technologies cost-competitive with fossil fuels across the world.

“While deployment of solar PV and wind turbines was initially backed by direct government support systems and policies, investment in them now stands at $124 billion per year, mostly from private capital,” the agency said. “For the case of hydrogen there are also strong arguments for governments to take a more enabling approach.”

Source: Bloomberg

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opinion

GE lost billions by ‘misjudging’ renewables }

Investors in General Electric, once one of the world’s most valuable companies, lost tens of billions of dollars after the Paris climate deal as it failed to adapt to the pace of the green energy transition, new analysis showed

A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said GE had lost a “simply staggering” USD 193 billion (172 billion euros) in just three years to 2018 — amounting to almost three quarters of its market capitalisation. The Cleveland-based research group said GE and its principal shareholders misjudged the falling price of renewables as the world transitions to cleaner energy and suffered from a collapse of the gas turbine and thermal power construction markets. “GE assumed wrongly that demand for natural gas and coal would continue to track global economic growth,” they said, accusing GE of “an epic failure of corporate governance.”

T

he 2015 Paris accord enjoins nations to work towards limiting global temperature rises to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 Farenheit) and to a harder cap of 1.5C if possible. To do so, governments must commit to curbing greenhouse gas emissions — the leading source of which is burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal for power. As the price of renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar fell in recent years, the IEEFA said GE has been left with billions in stranded fossil fuel-related assets as cheaper alternatives curbed industry demand for coal and gas. The company also failed to account for increasing energy efficiency, driven largely by renewables, which decoupled energy demand from global economic activity, according to the report. In particular GE’s power division, which in 2016 equated to half of the company’s pre-tax profit, continued to invest in gas turbine units even as global demand fell, the report said.

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The world is transitioning away from fossil fuels — particularly expensive imported thermal coal and gas — into low-cost, zero-pollution domestic renewables such as wind and solar,” said Tom Sanzillo, IEEFA’s director of finance.

“This is where the smart money is, but GE failed to pick the trend.” A global divestment movement is underway calling on pension and hedge funds, among others, to end investment in upstream fossil fuel projects. Hundreds of institutions in control of over USD 6 trillion in assets have joined the initiative. When contacted by AFP, a spokeswoman referred to comments made by CEO Larry Culp to an energy conference last month, when he acknowledged there was “a lot of self-help required” to manage the company’s assets. “Some people would suggest that the gas business is dying (and) there are certainly structural challenges afoot,” Culp said. “We just don’t think gas is going to zero in the near to medium term, right? So it really puts the onus on us to continue to innovate, continue to serve.

Source: AFP

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