EQ Magazine March 2018 Edition

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March 2018

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March 2018

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C ONTEN T

VOLUME 10 Issue # 3

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REASERCH & ANALYSIS

The Force Is With Clean Energy 10 Predictions for 2018

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Energy Storage AES and Mitsubishi Corporation Start Construction on India’s First ..

54 Electric vehicle Solar Energy Shift Needs Energy Storage to Succeed

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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 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,Non-Commercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.If you want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

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53 Electric vehicle

Commercialise use of ISRO’s Li-ion battery for EVs: Govt panel

PV MANUFACTURING SecureNow places a Solar Module Performance Warranty Insurance In India

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RESEARCH & ANALYSIS European Solar Market Grows 28% in 2017

INTERVIEW with Sunil Rathi, Director Sales & Marketing, Waaree Energies

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

WePower Raises $40 Million for Blockchain-Based Green

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INTERVIEW

with Alok Verma, AVP Regulatory, Amplus Energy Solutions

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Trade wars

Trump Admin Issues Solar Panel Import Tariff

INTERVIEW

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with Mr. Vikas Jain Director, Insolation Energy Pvt. Ltd.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Amplus partners with Yes Bank for solar power tie-up

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ENERGY STORAGE Solar Energy Shift Needs Energy Storage to Succeed

PRODUCTS Pg. 72-77 PV MANUFACTURING

ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

Meyer Burger’s pioneering SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT™) to play...

Azure Roof Power to Electrify Government Buildings of Udaipur Smart City

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EQ NEWS Pg. 07-41 EQ

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Huawei is a leading global ICT and network energy solutions provider that innovatively integrates digital information technology, Internet technology, and PV technology, combining with design concepts of Simple, Digital, and Smart O&M to promote an industry-leading FusionSolar Smart PV Solution. It greatly optimizes initial investments, reduces O&M costs, raises energy yield, and increases ROI of the PV plant. By optimizing and innovating the entire process, from power plant design, construction to O&M, Huawei realizes its core value of “Higher Yields, Smart O&M, Safe and Reliable”. After two years of development, Huawei inverter shipment surpasses 2GW in India 2017, and ranked No. 1 globally for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016.

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Govt to set up mechanism to buy solar power from people New Delhi: Government assurance to set up a mechanism to buy surplus solar power from commoners enthused all but the industry expressed concerns over proposed 70 per cent safeguard duty on solar equipment in the Budget.

“Generation of solar electricity is harvesting of sun by the farmers using their lands. Government of India will take necessary measures and encourage state governments to put in place a mechanism that their surplus solar power is purchased by the distribution companies or licencees at reasonably remunerative rates,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech.

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The minister also proposed to remove custom duty on solar tempered glass or solar tempered (antireflective coated) glass for manufacture of solar cells /panels/ modules from existing rate of 5 per cent.

he budget has also provided for higher total investment of Rs 10,099.41 crore by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) next fiscal compared to budget estimates of Rs 8,043.31 crore this fiscal. The revised estimates of the IREDA in the current fiscal is Rs 9,287.16 crore.

However, the total investments by the Solar Energy Corporation of India has been reduced to Rs 217.43 crore in next fiscal compared to budgeted Rs 250.42 crore this fiscal. Its investment projections are revised at Rs 228.54 this fiscal. The expenditure of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for next fiscal has been pegged at Rs 5,146.63 crore for 2018 -19 against revised estimate of Rs 4,080 crore for this fiscal. The actual budget estimate for the current fiscal was Rs 5,472.84 crore.

“The uncertainty over imposition of duties (import duty / safeguard duty / anti-dumping duty) including timelines & quantum thereof continues for the solar energy sector,” said Sabyasachi Majumdar Sr. VP, Group Head- Corporate Ratings, ICRA Ltd.

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“The move (to set up mechanism to buy solar power) is a welcome step in trying to encourage self-reliance and productivity of rural households and at the same time providing impetus to solar rooftop targets and achieve the renewable energy targets.

It will be important to see how this scheme is operationalised by the government, said Dibyanshu, Partner, Khaitan & Co.

Kunwer Sachdev, Managing Director, Su-Kam said, “The announcement of establishing 20 GW of solar power capacity and feeding 7,000 railway stations with solar power will go a long way in the adoption of solar energy. Measures such as lower corporate rate for small enterprises, the increased turnover limit under Presumptive taxation scheme under section 44AD of the Income Tax Act for assesses in MSME category will create an enabling ecosystem for startups in the renewable energy category.”

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

Four Delhi gurudwaras to go green, harness solar energy for power These four gurudwaras — Bangla Sahib, Gurudwara Rakab Ganj, Nanak Piao and Majnu Tk Tila — will be provided with rooftop solar panels having a total capacity of 1 Mega Watt (MW), said Manjit Singh GK, the president of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC).

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Four famous Sikh shrines in Delhi including Rakab Ganj and Bangla Sahib Gurudwaras will go green by employing solar energy to meet their daily power needs from April.

These four gurudwaras — Bangla Sahib, Gurudwara Rakab Ganj, Nanak Piao and Majnu Tk Tila — will be provided with rooftop solar panels having a total capacity of 1 Mega Watt (MW), said Manjit Singh GK, the president of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC). he commissioning of solar plants will be completed

by March-end,” he said, adding a ceremony will be held next week to start work on the project. A company enlisted with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has been selected through competitive bidding, for executing the project, Singh said, adding a power purchase agreement has also been signed and the DSGMC is likely to save around Rs 60 lakh per year as power bill, reports PTI. The solar project is a tribute to the 7th Sikh Guru Har Rai whose love for the nature and teaching for its preservation inspire the community to take care of the environment, he added.

The DSGMC president said the project will generate around 4,000 units power per day, touching approximately 1.3 million units per year. “It will allow the gurudwaras to use peak-hour load during the day. The solar project will work on Photo Voltaic Effects and around 3,125 solar panels will be placed on rooftops of these gurudwaras for tapping cheap and clean power,” he said.

Source: PTI

March 2018

“The commissioning of solar plants will be completed by March-end,” he said, adding a ceremony will be held next week to start work on the project. A company enlisted with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has been selected through competitive bidding, for executing the project, Singh said, adding a power purchase agreement has also been signed and the DSGMC is likely to save around Rs 60 lakh per year as power bill, reports PTI. The solar project is a tribute to the 7th Sikh Guru Har Rai whose love for the nature and teaching for its preservation inspire the community to take care of the environment, he added.

Stating that one mega watt solar power reduces 1,300 tons of carbon dioxide emission per year, he expressed hope that over 25 years, the project will reduce around 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emission. Harjit Singh, who is the head of the renewable energy wing of DSGMC, said the capacity of the project will be increased from 1 MW to 2 MW to meet growing future demands of these shrines. “Efforts will be made to bring other Gurudwaras under the net of clean energy.”

“Other green measures like biogas project, langar waste and water management, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) energy saving projects are also being implemented by the renewable energy wing,” he added.

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

60 Solar Cities to be developed across country More than Rs 100 cr. funds sanctioned so far The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under its scheme “Development of Solar Cities” has approved/sanctioned 60 Cities including 13 Pilot and 5 Model Cities up to 12th Five-year Plan period.

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n a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha , Minister of State (IC) for Power & New and Renewable Energy, Shri R K Singh informed that the master plans of 49 Solar Cities have been prepared.

The Stake-holders Committees have been constituted in 21 Cities and Solar City Cells have been created in 37 Solar Cities.

Solar PV projects with aggregate capacity of 8069.16 kWP and Solar Water Heating System with aggregate capacity of 7894 meter square collector area have been sanctioned under the programme.

While Rs. 101.64 crore has been sanctioned, Rs. 25.92 crore has

been released under scheme “Development of Solar Cities” so far. Further, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has accorded sanction for preparation of Master Plan for development of 52 Green Campus upto12th Five year Plan period. The Ministry provides Central Financial support up to Rs.5 lakh for preparing Master Plan for development of green campus in the educational institutions, office complexes, residential and commercial complexes etc.

An amount of Rs.2.59 crore has been sanctioned and an amount of Rs.1.02 crore has been released up to 31st January, 2018 for this purpose.

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

Knorr Bremse India, CleanMax Solar partner for rooftop solar plant New Delhi : CleanMax Solar, a rooftop solar developer installed a rooftop solar plant for Knorr-Bremse systems for Commercial Vehicles

Largest Single Rooftop Solar Project in Rajasthan Commissioned by Mahindra Susten Mahindra Susten, one of India’s leading solar EPC Company, a unit of the well-known Indian Multinational company Mahindra and Mahindra, has commissioned a 2.2MWp rooftop solar plant for Sutlej Textiles and Industries Ltd.

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hawanimandi, Rajasthan. The plant is spread over 2 lakh square feet of rooftop and is the largest single rooftop solar plant commissioned in Rajasthan, and one of the largest in India. The project has been executed in accordance with the highest quality standards and will generate 32 lakh units of green power for STIL’s spinning unit at Bhawanimandi per year. as the largest producer of Melange yarn in India, and one of the companies promoted by the KK Birla Group, Sutlej Textiles felt a trustworthy, quality-driven, innovation focus organisation like Mahindra Susten was the obvious choice when they decided to take this step into solar. STIL is a leading manufacturer of value-added synthetic, natural and blended spun yarns, weaving and processing of home furnishing textile products. It has always been an endeavour of STIL not only to produce best quality yarn & fabric, but also voluntarily shoulder its social and environmental obligations even including reduction of environment footprint in their core mission.

The use of non-conventional renewable energy will not only reduce the cost of manufacturing and would make its products more competitive in the market, it would also make the best use of the idle and unused rooftops.

Mr. Pramod Deore, Head of Operations and Sustainability, Mahindra Susten, speaking on the occasion, says, “Mahindra Susten uses futuristic technology for its solar projects and has, within a short time, become a leading and most trusted name in the Solar PV industry. Mahindra is committed to conserve and enable a healthy environment and is always at the fore in the service of Mother Earth.”

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ndia Pvt Ltd, a manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. The solar installation will be at Knorr-Bremse’s manufacturing facility in Hinjewadi, Pune, and one of the biggest at any of its facilities globally. This 600 kWp rooftop solar plant is estimated to produce 8.7 lac units of solar electricity and abate 600 tons of carbon dioxide per annum.

This solar installation at the Hinjewadi facility will meet 30 percent of the plant’s electricity requirement. It is based on the ‘pay as you go’ or OPEX model which is investment-free, risk-free and hassle-free; provides electricity at tariff rates 45 percent cheaper than grid power, and is estimated to save Knorr Bremse Rs 3.4 million annually.

“As the industry leader in rooftop solar solutions for corporates, this project with KnorrBremse is a great opportunity to help the company achieve their sustainability goals and save costs at the same time. We look forward to partnering with many more leading global companies to adopt solar energy and help build a greener world,” said Gajanan Nabar, CEO of CleanMax Solar.

“This will be one of the first facilities globally to be powered with a rooftop solar plant in the Knorr Bremse group. We believe that solar energy will help us lreduce carbon emission and we estimate a simultaneous savings of INR 34 lacs per annum with this installation. We look forward to a lasting relationship with CleanMax Solar as our sustainability partner and implement similar solutions for other facilities,” added Paramjit Singh Chadha (Managing Director), Knorr- Bremse Systems.

Source: ANI

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID More Information:

Kochi Metro Update: KMRL & AMP Solar India Private Limited Signs Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) For 2.3MWp Solar KMRL (Kochi Metro Rail Limited) and AMP Solar India Private Limited signed the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 2.3MWp Solar Power, on Monday. This would raise the total solar power generated by the Kochi Metro Rail Project to 6.3 MWp. As per the agreement, AMP Solar India will set up a ground-mounted solar plant on the land available in KMRL’s Muttom depot.

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KMRL has adopted the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model for its solar projects, where the vendor would undertake the complete investment as well as the operation and maintenance, and KMRL would purchase power from the vendor.

The agreement is on the condition that KMRL will purchase solar power at the lowest rate quoted by the successful bidder for the next 25 years.

The PPA was signed by Shri. Thiruman Archunan, Director Projects, KMRL and Shri. Shriprakash Rai, Director– Distributed Generation, AMP Solar, in the presence of Shri. A P M Mohammed Hanish, MD, KMRL. “we are very happy to add 2.3 MWp more by erecting solar panels in the vacant space at our Muttom yard. We are on the lookout for opportunities to generate more solar power and become more energy efficient,” Hanish said.

The solar plant will be commissioned in Nine months.

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

Azure Roof Power to Electrify Government Buildings of Udaipur Smart City AZRE) one of India’s leading independent solar power producers has won the mandate to install first ever 2 MW rooftop solar project for Udaipur Smart City Limited (USCL). As per the mandate, Azure Roof Power will design, supply, install, commission and operate the grid connected rooftop solar PV project for 25 years at various Government buildings in Udaipur. The project is estimated to save 25% of USCL’s existing electricity cost.

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zure Roof Power offers superior rooftop solar power solutions for commercial, industrial, government, and institutional customers in cities across India to lower their energy bill and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. With over 150 MWs of high quality, operating and committed solar assets across 20 states, Azure Roof Power has one of the largest rooftop portfolios in the country. Azure Roof Power has a welldiversified customer base with majority portfolio contracted with Government of India backed entities. Azure Roof Power customers include large commercial real estate companies, a leading global chain of premium hotels, distribution companies in smart cities, warehouses, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Indian Railways, a Delhi water utility company and various Government of India Ministries.

Speaking on the occasion, Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said “Rooftop solar forms an essential part of the smart cities development and serves as remedies to the growing infrastructural problems of India to build a smarter and more sustainable future. Azure Roof Power helps lower the energy costs of our customers and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets.

In addition, Azure Roof Power provides roof owners with an assured stream of cash flows through lease rentals or revenue share. In 2013, we built the first MW scale rooftop project in Gandhinagar under the smart city initiative and recently we have worked on several smart city projects in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack owing to our extensive experience in providing superior solar power operations.”

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Azure Roof Power to Electrify 152 Schools under Ministry of Human Resource Development Across Six States Azure Power (NYSE: AZRE), one of India’s leading independent solar power producers, announced it has won a 11.35 megawatts (MWs) solar rooftop power project.

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his is the largest allocation for this auction, 60% of the total. Azure Power will sign the power purchase agreement with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, an autonomous body under Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Azure Power qualifies for a capital incentive from Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, which is expected to result in a weighted average levelized tariff of INR 4.97 (~US cents 7.7) per kWh. The solar rooftops will be spread across 152 schools and six states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. zure Roof Power offers superior rooftop solar power solutions for commercial, industrial, government, and institutional customers in cities across India to lower their energy bill and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. With over 150 MWs of high quality, operating and committed solar assets across 20 states, Azure Roof Power has one of the largest rooftop portfolios in the country. Azure Roof Power has a well-diversified customer base with majority portfolio contracted with Government of India backed entities. Azure Roof Power customers include large commercial real estate companies, a leading global chain of premium hotels, distribution companies in smart cities, warehouses, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Indian Railways, a Delhi water utility company and various Government of India Ministries.

"Speaking on this occasion, Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power “Azure Power offers tremendous value to its customers within the solar rooftop category across various segments. Azure Roof Power helps lower the energy costs of its customers and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. In addition, it provides roof owners with an assured stream of cash flows through lease rentals or revenue share."

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

L&T Construction Wins Orders Valued ₹2275 Crore

Mumbai, February 2, 2018: The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro has won orders worth ₹ 2275 crore across various business segments.

Power Transmission & Distribution Business:

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he Business has bagged major solar EPC orders worth ₹590 crore.

The NLC India Limited (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited) has awarded an order for setting up of a 100 MW (AC) grid interactive solar photovoltaic power project in Tamil Nadu. This is one of the largest solar orders the business has secured from a Navratna enterprise of the Government of India.

The business has secured another order from SB Energy One Private Ltd., of SoftBank Group, for building a 100MW (AC) solar photovoltaic power plant at Bhadla Phase III Solar Park in Rajasthan. Both these orders reflect the continued trust that L&T enjoys from leading government and private solar developers.

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Background:

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arsen & Toubro is an Indian multinational engaged in technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services with over USD 17 billion in revenue. It operates in over 30 countries worldwide. A strong, stomer–focused approach and the constant quest for top-class quality have enabled L&T to attain and sustain leadership in its major lines of business for over seven decades.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Invests US$144 Million in ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd. Toronto, Canada/New Delhi, India – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (ReNew Power) announced that CPPIB is acquiring a 6.3% stake in ReNew Power from the Asian Development Bank for US$144 million.

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eNew Power is a leading Indian renewable energy developer and operator with clean energy capacity diversified across wind, utility-scale solar and rooftop solar power-producing assets.

“This transaction aligns well with our overall power and renewables strategy, further diversifying the CPP Fund,” said Scott Lawrence, Managing Director, Head of Fundamental Equities, CPPIB. “India’s overall power industry continues to grow and we see solar and wind as attractive clean energy sources to meet the country’s growing demand for electricity.

We look forward to a long-term partnership with ReNew Power’s excellent management team which has a proven track record as a reliable, experienced developer and operator with an impressive portfolio built up over the past six years. CPPIB will continue to seek opportunities to expand our power and renewables portfolio as demand grows worldwide along the transition to renewables.”

Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power said, “We are delighted that CPPIB has chosen to invest in ReNew Power, which is one of India’s leading clean energy companies. We are committed to transform our country’s energy portfo

lio and CPPIB’s investment in the company

will further strengthen our resolve. Asian Development Bank made an equity investment in ReNew Power during our early days in July 2014 and we are thankful to them for their sustained partnership. We will continue to focus on developing and investing in high-quality projects.”

Amplus partners with Yes Bank for solar power tie-up New Delhi [India]: Amplus Energy Solutions has signed an MoU with India’s leading bank Yes Bank for a strategic tie-up to cofinance projects in the solar energy sector in India.

The total projects capacity under the partnership of Amplus Energy Solutions and Yes Bank is expected to be up to 1,000 MW. “Our partnership with Yes Bank is a perfect match for solar projects in India as we can provide installation, operational and maintenance expertise and Yes Bank can fund eligible projects, it provides a 360 degree offering for firms looking to install solar plants,” said MD and CEO, Amplus Energy, Sanjeev Aggarwal.

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es Bank, which has been focussing on funding green energy projects in India, also announced that it will mobilise USD one billion by 2023 for financing solar energy projects in India and USD five billion till 2030. The agreement was signed at International Solar Alliance pavilion at the World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi. World Future Energy summit, which is being held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from January 15 to 18, is focusing on renewable energy. UAE has set a target to meet its 44 percent energy needs by renewable energy by 2050, majority of that by solar energy. In December 2017, Yes Bank and European Investment Bank announced that they have created a fund of USD 400 million to fund solar and wind projects in India. They have already identified eligible solar projects in Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The Gurgaon-based Amplus is also diversifying in new avenues such as battery storage, energy efficiencies, smart cities, and concentrated solar power technologies among others.

Source: edelman

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

YES BANK COMMITS USD 5 BILLION FOR SOLAR PROJECTS IN INDIA AT INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE (ISA)

Commenting on partnership, Rana Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK and Chairman, YES Global Institute, said, “India has taken a leadership position in Climate financing and ISA is a decisive step in augmenting this further. YES BANK is fully committed to support ISA objectives in sync with our leadership stature as India’s predominant ‘Green Bank’. I am confident that such sustained faith and trust of global institutions on YES BANK’s proven Renewable Energy credentials with a demonstrated track record have enabled us to pursue achievement of our twin targets of financing 5 GW of Renewable Energy, and mobilising USD 5 Billion for Climate Finance by 2020”.

Will mobilize USD 1 billion by 2023 and USD 5 billion by 2030 for solar projects Signed five solar co-financing Letters of Intent with Hero Future Energy, Greenko Group, Amplus Solar, Jakson Group and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited for projects to be completed by 2023.

YES BANK, India’s fifth largest private sector bank, made a major announcement for mobilizing USD 1 billion till 2023 and USD 5 billion till 2030 towards financing solar energy projects in India at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) conference organised at World Future Energy Summit 2018 in Abu Dhabi.

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owards this, the Bank also signed five solar energy cofinancing Letters of Intent (LoI) with Hero Future Energy (up to 1.5 GW capacity), Greenko Group (up to 10 GW capacity), Amplus Solar (up to 1 GW capacity), Jakson Group (up to 1 GW capacity) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (up to 10 MW capacity) for their solar projects in India to be completed by 2023.

This significant announcement is part of YES BANK’s commitment to support ISA’s vision of creating a robust eco-system for solar energy globally and the Government of India’s target of achieving 100 GW of solar energy by 2022. This will also act as a precursor to Re-Invest 2018, the flagship Renewable Energy summit of the Government of India, scheduled to be held in April 2018 and will help create an action road map of the Bank’s commitment to the Government’s vision.

This development also comes on the back of the recent USD 400 million co-finance agreement by YES BANK and European Investment Bank (EIB) for construction of new solar power plants and wind farms across the country.

March 2018

On this important occasion, Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General, International Solar Alliance, said, “I compliment YES BANK for providing First financing commitment of USD 5 Billion to ISA solar projects by 2030 at ISAs first international forum after it became a treaty-based international inter-governmental organization in December 2017. I am confident that this will catalyse much larger financing commitments from Global financing institutions. ISA is currently focused on its three programs on facilitating affordable finance for solar, scaling up solar applications for agriculture and promoting solar mini-grids in Member Nations and availability of affordable finance is key to its success. YES BANK has been a market leader in green financing in India and ’s commitment from YES BANK adds a significant strength to our progress in accelerating solar energy deployment globally.”

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

VISIT US : RENEWX 2018, BOOTH NO. HK15

NTPC establishes its USD 6.0 Billion MTN programme on India’s international exchange NEW DELHI – India’s largest power producer NTPC has listed its USD 6 billion (about Rs 40,000 crore) MTN programme (debt instrument) on India International Exchange at IFSC, GIFT City (India INX). While doing so, NTPC became India’s first quasi-sovereign company to list at India INX. The Listing was done on 24th January 2018 on the Global Securities Market of India INX; India’s first international exchange.

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This is NTPC’s first listing at India International Exchange and we are very happy to be part of India INX at IFSC, GIFT City. Now, for the first time in India, we have the opportunity to reach out to international investors to raise funds using a wide variety of products and currencies, in a similar manner, as available in other international markets. We are excited with this new development and look forward to partnering with India INX in years to come,” said Mr. Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, NTPC Ltd.

Mr. V. Balasubramaniam, MD & CEO, India INX, extended a warm welcome to NTPC’s MTN programme on the GSM Platform.

As an exchange, our endeavour is to offer a transparent, robust, cost effective and efficient capital-raising platform to both global investors as well as Indian issuers. We treasure and value this partnership with NTPC,” Mr. Balasubramaniam added.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Ireda and Rumsl Signs Agreement Vikram Solar appoints Mr Rohit Dhar as Direcfor Large-Scale Solar Parks in tor- Sales, EPC Madhya Pradesh Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) signed an agreement for financing the shared infrastructure of two large Solar Parks in Madhya Pradesh.

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inistry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), World Bank & IREDA have been able to work out a proposal to channelize US$ 100 Million for creating common infrastructure for ultra-mega solar parks in India to achieve the 100 GW solar capacity addition target by 2022, set by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Under the World Bank Line of Credit, IREDA has sanctioned its first loan of Rs. 210.62 Cr. to RUMSL to finance two such solar parks in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The agreement was signed by Shri S K Bhargava, Director (Finance), IREDA and Shri Avaneesh Shukla, Executive Engineer, RUMSL in the presence of Shri Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The broad terms and condition of the agreement include fixed interest rate of 8.5% p.a. for entire loan tenure, moratorium from principal repayments upto 5 years and loan repayment period of upto 20 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri K S Popli, CMD, IREDA appreciated the initiative of MNRE, support of The World Bank and more specifically of DEA to reduce the Sovereign Guarantee fee to 0.5%.

He further stated that this support from DEA will enable to expedite development of such proposals in other states also.

Shri Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General, ISA mentioned that India being in leading position in solar technologies, there is immediate attention for the development of 121 projects of solar technologies in 121 ISA member countries by April 21,2018. He congratulated IREDA and RUMSL for achieving the feat in short time frame and also for the innovative Payment Security Mechanism which will ensure timely payment to the developer.

Shri Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary and Managing Director, RUMSL mentioned that RUMSL, at present, is implementing two solar parks i.e. Rewa with capacity of 750 MW and Mandsaur with 250 MW capacity in the state of Madhya Pradesh. With the solar park model, Payment Security Mechanism and the Line of Credit from The World Bank, the tariff for Rewa project is discovered as low as Rs.3.30 on levelized basis. Out of the total power proposed to be generated at Rewa solar park, 24% has been agreed to be purchased by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and balance 76% by Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd ( MPPMCL).

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Vikram Solar, one of India’s leading module manufacturer and a prominent rooftop solar & EPC solutions provider, announced the appointment of Mr Rohit Dhar as its new Director- Sales, EPC. In the given role, Mr Dhar would be responsible for large scale EPC projects and driving sales for the vertical, including International Project sales.

Commenting on the appointment of Mr Dhar, Mr Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD and CEO of Vikram Solar mentioned, “We welcome Rohit to the team.

His appointment will bring a substantial value addition as he comes with immense experience in business leadership roles. We look forward to this association and are optimistic that it will fuel further growth in our EPC function.”

Mr Dhar has around three decades of rich experience with a proven track record in sales, marketing and business development from concept to commissioning. He has also led Start-ups in Energy Solutions and Disruptive Technologies and helped build various innovative business models. In his previous stint, Mr Dhar was associated with C&S Electric Limited in the capacity of a CEO Solar PV Power Business.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr Rohit Dhar said, “I am thrilled to be part of the Vikram Solar family and as I enter a new phase of my career with the company, I hope I can do justice to the responsibility that has been conferred upon me. I look forward to enhance the already growing EPC vertical and bring in quality projects to take the EPC business to new heights.“ Mr Dhar has completed his Mechanical Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Srinagar and Post Graduate Dimploma in Marketing Management from Annamalai University. He has been associated with some of the most renowned organisations like Birla Power Solutions Ltd., Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Limited, Hero Honda motors to name a few. Some of his professional achievements include his Market Leadership position in the rooftop Solar PV Power segment, 2nd Position Award by MNRE for commissioning Bhiwani Utility Scale Solar Plant in the country, Accredited with the Performance Excellence Award during his stint with Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

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he Think-EverStream Joint Venture will pursue both groundmounted and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) assets with commercial and industrial off-takers, as well as select State and Central government utility-scale tenders, EverStream Capital said in a statement. The JV had recently participated in the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) government rooftop tender and was awarded a project portfolio totalling 23.39MW, which will be located in the States of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Think, EverStream line up $300 mn for solar New Jersey-based Think Energy and EverStream Capital have entered into a joint venture to develop and/or acquire more than 2,000 MW of solar projects all over India over the next three years and hope to invest up to $300 million in equity capital.

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Ravishankar Tumuluri, MD of the Think–Everstream JV Development Company, said: “The Indian solar market is slowly, but steadily transitioning from large-scale ground mounted solar parks towards distributed generation, and from government PPAs towards commercial & industrial PPAs. As battery technology costs fall, distributed solar generation with commercial and industrial customers will drive growth.”

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Jakson Group partners with Al Naboodah Electrics to distribute its diverse portfolio of solar products in UAE Jakson Group, India’s leading energy and engineering solutions company with presence in Powergen & Distribution, Solar, EPC and Defence industries, announced a strategic partnership with Al Naboodah Electrics, part of UAE’s oldest and most respected family conglomerates, Al Naboodah Group Enterprises (ANGE) to distribute its wide range of solar products including solar modules in the Middle-East market.

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he solar business is one of the fastest growing verticals for Jakson and has presence across the value chain – from EPC to IPP, products and manufacturing. Its product portfolio includes solar modules, module mounting structures, solar power packs, solar water ROs, solar generators, solar street lights and solar water pumps amongst others.

With this partnership, Jakson and Al Naboodah Electrics will look to capitalise on UAE government’s Energy Plan, which aims to increase clean energy use by 50% by the year 2050 with solar based power playing a crucial role. One of Al Naboodah Electrics’ first solar panel projects is the optimisation of ANGE’s own assets, which includes the ANGE Corporate Headquarters in Al Awir. Phase one of the rooftop project will see up to 25% of energy demands met through solar energy, with additional phases to follow.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Commenting on this key partnership, Sundeep Gupta, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Jakson Group said: “The UAE is in a prime position to harness the abundant energy of the sun, and partnering with Al Naboodah Group Enterprises leverages the expertise of two leading companies in their respective fields. With Al Naboodah Electrics, our solar panels can be customised to support the energy strategies for a wide audience across the public and private sectors. We also have a wide range of renewable energy products and solutions for various applications.”

“This partnership is a win-win combination for both the organisations. Our expertise in solar and Al-Naboodah’s understanding of the local market offers us a unique competitive edge in the market,” added Praveen Pai, Director, Solar, EPC and Defence Business, Jakson Group.

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Buti Al Naboodah, Deputy CEO, Commercial for ANGE said: “The investment into renewable energy is a testament to Al Naboodah Group Enterprises’ commitment to creating a sustainable future. The launch of this business is a strategic move that fulfils our sustainability ambitions while aligning ourselves more closely with the UAE Vision 2021 and the UAE Energy Plan.”

Krishna Pillai, General Manager of Al Naboodah Electrical said: “Our strategic partnership with Jakson Group, a proven leader in solar products manufacturing, is another step forward in our vision to provide a superior service. Offering a full portfolio of renewable energy solutions, Al Naboodah Electrics aims to help customers meet their energy demands while reducing their overall environmental impact.

With Al Naboodah Group Enterprises’ considerable experience in engineering, procurement and construction, we’re able to deliver low-cost energy while maximising financial returns for our customer’s renewable energy projects.”

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

IDFC Alternatives buys IL&FS’s Madhya Pradesh solar project IDFC Alternatives buys a 40MW solar power project in Madhya Pradesh, which is part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission40MW Malwa projecT

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DFC Alternatives acquired seven operating assets in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from First Solar Power India Pvt. Ltd for an estimated Rs1,920 crore ($300 million). All debt raised for the acquisition was refinanced earlier this year. The seven projects have long-term power purchase agreements with state utilities. Again in October 2016, IDFC Alternatives’ India Infrastructure fund I acquired three solar projects in Punjab and Rajasthan from Punj Lloyd. In September 2016, the PE fund established Vector Green Energy as the operating and holding company for its control investments in the renewable energy.

Currently, Vector Green owns six assets and has agreed to acquire an additional five assets aggregating to 200MW. Vector Green is managed by an in-house professional team. The Vector Green website says it is looking to acquire and develop renewable projects to grow the platform to 1GW and beyond.

The PE fund expects to invest an additional $150-200 million of equity capital into the platform and also has additional commitments from investors.

IDFC Alternatives manages nine India dedicated funds across three asset classes: Private equity, infrastructure and real estate. The transaction is the latest acquisition

by IDFC Alternatives in the solar energy space and indicates growing consolidation in the renewable space where a number of assets have changed hands and several are on the block.

IDFC Alternatives, the private equity arm of IDFC Ltd, has bought a 40 megawatt (MW) solar power project in Madhya Pradesh operated by IL&FS Energy, two people aware of the matter said. Vector Green Energy, a company formed by IDFC Alternatives’ India Infrastructure Fund II to house its renewable energy investments, made the acquisition, the people mentioned above said on condition of anonymity. Aditya Aggarwal, partner, IDFC Alternatives, confirmed the transaction.

Mint reported in February that Greenko Group and Hero Future Energies Pvt. Ltd are separately looking to acquire Subhash Chandra’s Essel Infraprojects’ solar business. Essel Infraprojects has 685 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity, of which 165MW is operational. An additional 520MW of solar projects are under construction at various stages in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. Mint reported in December that ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd was close to acquiring Ostro Energy Pvt. Ltd, the company that

“Consistent with our stated strategy of aggregating operating renewable assets, we are continuing to target high-quality cash generating and operating renewable assets, with the aim of expanding to 500-600 MW of operating capacity by the end of 2018,” Aggarwal said. The deal size could not be ascertained.

The project, named Malwa Solar Power Generation Ltd, was awarded to IL&FS Energy Development Co. Ltd by Solar Energy Corp. of India as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and was commissioned in 2015.

“After having created the core platform, we are now focussing on diversifying our portfolio to include some C&I (commercial and industrial) and rooftop exposure in the coming days,” holds the renewable energy assets of buyout firm Actis Capital, for an enterprise value of Rs10,000 crore.

Among the recent large transactions in the renewable energy space is Tata Power’s acquisition of the entire 1.1GW renewable energy portfolio of Welspun Energy Ltd for $1.4 billion in June 2016. In November 2016, Hyderabad-based Greenko, backed by Singapore’s GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), acquired Sun Edison’s Indian assets in October at an enterprise value of $392 million (Rs2,607 crore).

Source: larsentoubro

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Indian firms pledge $1.25- billion worth of investments for Philippines Top Indian conglomerates pledged about $1.25 billion worth of investments that may generate 105,000 new jobs in the Philippines on the sidelines of President Duterte’s attendance at a regional summit with Indian and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders here.

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hey are the biggest in India,” Lopez said of the firm known for making solar panels. “Their lan is to expand its operation to the Philippines in particular focusing on the renewable energy, building solar panels…

And, of course, there is investment commitment and the jobs to be generated. So they are now looking for sites for the solar and the windbased power generation,” he added. Lopez said some 3,000 jobs could be created in the renewable energy sector. The biggest labor windfall, however, might be in the form of 100,000 new jobs created per year for six years in the IT-business processing management industry under agreements signed with Indian companies, Lopez said.

Solar pack and Think Energy Partners to build 100MW solar in India’s Telangana A consortium of Spain-based solar firm Solarpack and US company Think Energy Partners will build six PV projects totalling 100MW capacity in the Indian state of Telangana

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tate distribution company TSSPDCL will acquire the energy from the plants in the districts of Mahbubnagar, Medak and Nizamabad, under 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs). Construction will begin during the first half of 2016 and the plants are expected to be in operation at the end of January 2017.

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Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said on Thursday the investment commitments came in the form of seven letters of intent (LOIs) and two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with “big and major conglomerates” that were keen on entering the Philippine market or expanding their operations there. Most of the estimated gains will come from the renewable energy sector, particularly Adani Green Energy, which plans to put in $1 billion to build solar and wind power generation projects in the Philippines, the official told a briefing.

The two leaders agreed on expanding bilateral ties on all fronts.

This includes business as well as security and even military cooperation, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in the same briefing.

Pablo Burgos, chief executive of Solarpack, said: “The entry into a market as important as India demonstrates our experience and growing international presence that permits us to be competitive in the most relevant markets.”

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

WePower Raises $40 Million for Blockchain-Based Green Energy Trading: The Largest ICO in the Energy Space Ever

WePower hits its $40 million hard-cap with 22,933 contributors, making it the largest ICO in the energy space of all time, supporting energy transition towards a sustainable future via blockchain technology.

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ILNIUS, Lithuania — WePower, the blockchain-based green energy trading platform, announces that it has successfully raised $40 million from the 22,933 contributors during its ICO, making it one of the most demanded blockchain projects of the year. The successful ICO will further WePower’s goals of driving global green energy adoption and promoting sustainable living. With the whitelisting closed at about 50,000 confirmed participants and registrations nearing 300,000 people, WePower has shown that green energy and sustainability are some of the most supported challenges by communities across the globe that blockchain can solve. During its presale, WePower raised $30 million, $11 million of which came from a public presale round in October of 2017 and $19 million from strategic investors and funds. Some of the committed partners and investors from the presale include: Galaxy Investment Partners, DNA Fund, BlockchainIL, LDJ Capital, Sci-

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“We are absolutely thrilled and thankful for the success that WePower has achieved in both its presale and token sale,” said Nikolaj Martyniuk, CoFounder and CEO. “The interest that we’ve gotten both from our community and potential investors shows the viability of bringing green energy onto the blockchain. Our successful fundraising is just the first step in making the smart grids greener and moving towards a more sustainable future.”

ence, OGroup / Kryptsu, PrimeBlock Capital, AlgoLedge, Connect Capital, and Everblue Capital.

WePower creates opportunities for green energy developers, such as solar or wind plant builders, to raise capital by selling future energy production upfront in the form of energy tokens. Unlike other similar projects, WePower is strongly focused on partnerships with utility companies. The company has already announced strategic agreements with Elering AS, an independent electricity and gas system operator in Estonia, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania, 220 Energia, and Spanish/Italian energy companies such as Conquista solar, Civitas project and Novacorex. These energy providers will work with WePower to develop a new generation energy ecosystem where green energy financing is global, lean and economically beneficial to all parties involved.

Aside from a smart contractbased financing mechanism,

WePower’s technology also creates an opportunity for a transparent green energy accounting.

WePower operates a distributed open ledger, which records when and in what volumes green energy financed on the platform was produced and supplied into the grid. At the moment, such accounting is based on instruments as paper certificates. With WePower technology a whole new level of transparency in green energy account becomes possible that does not exist, to make investing in green energy producers easier and a reality for anyone. WePower was also selected to join Australia’s Startup boot camp Energy Australia Accelerator (STBC). SBC is the second largest accelerator program globally, and the first to invest in a company driving innovation through token economics. As part of the SBC Energy Australia program, WePower will be supported by some of the biggest energy companies in Australia, including Energy Australia and Spotless.

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Vestas to acquire Utopus Insights, a leading energy analytics and digital solutions company The acquisition allows Vestas to seize digital opportunities and expand its service offering. Aarhus, Denmark –Vestas has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Utopus Insights, Inc., an energy analytics provider with 15 years of experience in solutions development, a suite of innovative digital products, over 30 patents, and a highly experienced team with data science expertise in analytics, power engineering, energy software development, and meteorology.

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he acquisition price for Utopus Insights is approx. USD 100m (approx. EUR 80m) on a debt and cash free basis. The consideration will be paid in cash from readily available sources. For 2017, Utopus Insights is, on a stand-alone basis, expected to report consolidated revenues below USD 10m (approx. EUR 8m). Utopus Insights will be included in Vestas’ financial reporting from the time of closing, which is expected to take place within the first quarter of 2018 and is subject to necessary third-party approvals being in place.

As the global energy sector is transforming, Vestas is looking to offer customers digital solutions to deliver greater predictability, increased renewable energy production, more efficient operations, and better integration with energy grids. This transformation means energy systems and power plant owners must improve forecasting accuracy for renewable production, optimise output from each individual generation asset and orchestrate a portfolio of resources across multiple sites and equipment types. They must also do so in a costeffective manner that ensures grid stability as renewable energy sources gradually replace conventional, fossilfuel generated power plants. With this purchase, Vestas seeks to seize the opportunity afforded by this ongoing transformation to deliver faster, smarter, and more holistic solutions.

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“Vestas’ strategic objective is to accelerate the transition towards a fully decarbonised energy sector in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible – both for our customers and for our planet”, said Anders Runevad, Vestas’ Group President and CEO. “Acquiring Utopus Insights significantly improves Vestas’ existing market-leading capabilities for advanced analytics and integrated energy software solutions. We will now be able to provide our customers improved forecasting, output optimisation and coordination between assets, and support the larger energy ecosystem’s increased uptake of renewable energy”.

US-based Utopus Insights has its origins in IBM’s Smarter Energy Research Institute and has a rich pedigree in data science, software, utility operations, meteorology, and renewable and distributed energy. Utopus Insights currently offers five powerful novel software tools for the renewable energy industry and continues to develop new products based on its store of over 30 issued patents related to energy innovation. Vestas and Utopus Insights will also sign joint development agreements that support advanced predictive and prescriptive analytics products. Utopus Insights will continue as a stand-alone entity under Vestas Service, including separate branding.

“Utopus Insight’s mission is to accelerate an era of distributed, reliable, clean and cost-effective energy”, said Utopus Insights CEO, Chandu Visweswariah. “Combining with Vestas represents a quantum leap forward in our ability to accomplish that mission. The significant synergies gained from applying our breakthrough tools to Vestas’ global-leading wind energy resources and existing offerings will demonstrably benefit customers and the grid. We are appreciative of the opportunity to work with a team and a company whose commitment, mission, vision and values align so perfectly with our own”.

“Vestas can now provide customers with additional digital tools that can further leverage available data, increase their operational agility and help them make smarter decisions to lower their costs, increase their revenues and better manage their power plants”, said Christian Venderby, Group Senior Vice President and Head of Service at Vestas. “Joining our unequalled experience and data repository with Utopus Insights’ incomparable data analytics expertise creates a digital solution powerhouse that will enable us to meet and exceed our customers’ needs”.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

JA Solar Supplies Mono PERC Modules for 250MW Solar Project in Israel JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ-NMS: JASO) (“JA Solar”), one of the world’s largest solar product manufacturers, announced the shipment of modules to the Ashalim 250MW solar project, which is the largest utility-scale project using JA’s Mono PERC modules in Israel.

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roject is being developed by the large electric utility company Electricite De France S.A. (“EDF”) and a leading Israeli renewable energy company, Clal Sun Ltd. BELECTRIC, which is one of the world’s largest installers of solar power plants and providers of EPC and O&M services, is building the project. Upon completion, the power station, which will reduce contamination levels and promote local renewable energy development profoundly, will be the largest of its kind in Israel and the 5th largest in the world .

Located in the Negev Desert, the plant is part of a 250 MW pipeline of solar assets that combine solar thermal energy and photovoltaic energy. The 35MW PV plant was connected in December 2017. JA Solar is the sole PV module supplier, providing high-quality modules using its PERC technology.

JA Solar holds the core patent for PERC technology, in which modules demonstrate a lower light-induced degradation rate and perform well under desert conditions of high temperature differences and intense ultraviolet rays. With higher reliability and efficiency, JA Solar’s PERC modules offer a strong guarantee of power generation.

Mr. Cao Bo, Vice President of JA Solar, commented: “We are pleased to partner with global giants such as EDF, Clal Sun and BELECTRIC to develop the solar market in Israel. JA Solar has the largest market share in Israel. We believe this cooperation demonstrates our value proposition and track record of technical innovation with highperformance solar modules. We sincerely look forward to working with these industry giants to collaborate on new business opportunities globally and serving our global partners and customers by providing the highest-quality solar products and services.”

Wien Energie to introduce blockchain-based energy products

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SSEN, Germany: Austrian utility Wien Energie, fresh from experimenting with blockchain applications in commodity trading, plans to market end-customer products soon in a new central Viennese urban development, it said on Wednesday. Chief Innovation Officer Astrid Schober told Reuters during the German E-World of Energy fair that products such as green electricity provision, electric car charging or land registry services were within reach.

Chief Innovation Officer Astrid Schober told Reuters during the German E-World of Energy fair that products such as green electricity provision, electric car charging or land registry services were within reach.

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“We are testing blockchain-based services in Vienna’s Viertel Zwei and once we have collected enough experience there, we will develop business models and bring them to market,” she said. “It may be overoptimistic but services may become available this year as we are trying to be active and build the know-how in our company fast,” she added.

Viertel Zwei is an office and residential area that has marketed itself over the past decade as a green city district for urban living based on sustainability. Blockchain is a distributed computerised record of transactions or other data carried out without the need for an intermediary

and immune to alterations later. It appeals to the energy industry, which must handle increasingly complex transactions between big and small producers and consumers, and corporate entities, as more decentralised renewable energy volumes arrive. Wien Energie can access the 2 million retail and 235,000 commercial customers it supplies already. Last year, it became one of the first movers among European utilities by testing developer BTL’s Interbit blockchain platform to achieve satisfactory speed in gas trade confirmations.Canadian start-up BTL said it involved incumbents BP and Eni, although the two did not comment. Energy companies hope to streamline back-office processes, reduce risk, better protect against cyber threats and ultimately save costs.Analysts say it would be naturally sensitive for big names to openly run blockchain parallel to existing processes because of regulation. Wien Energie is also part of Enerchain, which groups 35 European utilities participating in tests to create a trading platform for electricity and gas, and eventually to perform B2B trading. Europe has fewer than a handful of such blockchain-based energy trading ventures, with others including the Energy Web Foundation and WePower of Lithuania. Schober said, however, that her company was aware of the disruptive potential of blockchain.

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INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview With Mr.ALOK VERMA

AVP , Regulatory, Amplus Energy Solutions

EQ: There have been some challenges faced by SECI regarding PSA’s…Kindly tell us what has been happening and how has it affected your projects and what measures have you taken to deal with this.

AV : Above is effecting developers who have been allocated ground mounted large scale projects. Since we are not working in that domain, we are not affected.

EQ: What according to you is the current opportunities, biggest challenges, in Indian Solar Market.

AV : Opportunities: India’s 40 GW rooftop target presents a $31 billion investment opportunity. Fundamental shift from centralized to distributed power sources has created a larger market. Rooftop PV has emerged as fastest renewables sub-segment in India with a fouryear compound annual growth rate of 117% with installed capacity of 1.3 GW in 2017. C&I was the early adopter of rooftop, later Government institutions are equally participating under central/ state mandates. Tariff for C&I will continue to rise, while cost of solar will come down further due to efficiency gains in technology and manufacturing.

Already, capital costs in India are among the lowest in world. Market has become more mature; average size of rooftop has moved to 800 KW

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from 250 KW in 2015 by better design and higher willingness of consumers share of demand through rooftop.

Challenges: Rooftop is a fastest growing subsector still it is far away from the targets. Major challenges are: Major share of market model is a savings driven model not the investment driven. C&I consumers are driven by savings in self-consumption, not net metering or export.

A paradigm shift from consumption to export is much required and missing. This will certainly boost the upscaling. Market is self-funded. Easy debt access for rooftop developers/ customers is not available.Tools for market credibility enhancement are missing. MSEMs consumes 70% of electricity in India. There is large interest for RESCO in MSEMs but RESCO has its challenges due to absence of credit assessment; which makes financing difficult. Other major challenges/threat is the imposition of Anti-Dumping Duty/Safeguard Duty.

Though utility scale projects are covered in Change of Law, but investment in private PPAs (Open Access and Rooftop) are not covered. Indian domestic manufacturing is not ready to meet the demand, any sudden imposition of duty will create market imbalance and derail the growth of the sector.

Absence of timebound implementation of net metering, automated application approval, non-receptiveness of DISCOMs, asymmetry in regulations are other challenges which industry is facing.

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INTERVIEW

EQ: Impact of GST on Solar ?

AV : GST is not just a tax reform but is a business reform. It tends to be affected to economic misrepresentations and bring out a common market. GST has caused a marginal impact in per unit cost 4 to 5%.

Still, viability of the solar remains.

EQ: Aggressive Bidding despite of many challenges.

AV : Developers are making speculative favourable assumptions on future equipment prices, land sale values, debt refinancing etc. to defend project returns.

Also Solar power tariffs have gone down because of plunging prices of Solar Modules. Common perception is that auctions and increased competition are forcing developers to bid aggressively but changes in equipment costs and speculative favourable assumptions are responsible for most of the decline.

EQ: PPA Re-Negotiation, Cancellation etc. by some state governments: If this query is raised in context to the recent attempts by state-owned discoms in the state of AP, Karnataka & UP to renegotiate or cancel signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the wind and solar power developers.

AV : Amplus, till time, has not preferred to bid for the Utility based Projects, therefore no chance of facing problems like PPA cancellation etc.

EQ: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing, What’s your plan to Capture this opportunity.

AV : India is geographically well placed to harness solar power with more than 300 sunny days in a year. But there is still a huge deficit in demand and supply with substantial peak power deficit and the gap is only widening over the years.

This results in a huge section of the society being deprived of electricity. With

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technological evolution, cost per unit of solar power has fallen rapidly but this electricity is still not able to fill the peak deficit gap. Going forward, it is imperative that the solar power gets storage as its real ally. Amplus is striving to address the unique challenges in distributed solar power and apart from distributed rooftop solar, Amplus has forayed into Battery based Energy Storage Solutions that will address the requirements of our country by providing power when we need rather than when it is generated. The opportunity for the overall business of Amplus Energy (including all its product offerings in distributed solar) is huge given the solar mission of Government of India to achieve 100 GW cumulative Solar Capacity in the energy mix of the country by 2022.

We remain committed to Indian distributed energy market .We have seen our portfolio scale from 6 MW to 250 MW in last 24 months . We continue to strive for maintaining a good momentum and contribute significantly to the distributed energy segment in India including open access plants, energy efficiency, data analytics, and of course rooftop solar.

EQ: Expectations from Indian Government Budget 2018-19.

AV : Capex in RPTV is always higher than in utility projects due to smaller scale/size and customized design. Therefore, impact of taxes is higher on rooftop than utility projects. Adding to the woes of rising tariffs and lower returns, the general apathy of banks towards financing rooftop projects due to higher relative debt term (10 years vs 5 years in agriculture), despite being included as beneficiaries in the “Priority Sector Lending”, has further hindered and inhibited growth in the rooftop sector. While ideas like exempting components used in rooftop projects from by re-appropriating customs duty and GST might provide some short-term relief, enabling other growth factors in the eco-system is equally important. Reinstating tax holidays and carving out a minimum PSL mandate for rooftop projects will enable players to go all in for the long haul.

EQ: How much solar capacity does your company has in operation, in pipeline, construction and what are the near future plans.

AV : Amplus Energy Solutions is a leader in providing distributed solar and energy solutions to industrial and commercial customers in India. Amplus owns and manages a portfolio of operational and underconstruction plants of approx.

300Mwp+ serving more than 100 customers at over 200 locations. We expect to grow in the distributed energy segment in India with new products including energy efficiency, data analytics, concentrated solar thermal and of course expanding in our core areas of open access and rooftop solar. We are a technology and process driven organization. We attribute our growth to efficiencies achieved through best practices in design, procurement, and construction, analytics, technology backed O&M and not necessarily a factor of low labor costs. We have got a very fine set of engineers and managers that will be able to develop business and create value in any market.

We remain committed to Indian distributed energy market.We have seen our portfolio scale from 6 MW to 250 MW in last 24 months . We continue to strive for maintaining a good momentum and contribute significantly to the distributed energy segment in India including open access plants, energy efficiency, data analytics, and of course rooftop solar.

EQ

March 2018

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview With Mr.SUNIL RATHI

Director Sales, & Marketing, Waaree Energies

EQ: Proposed Safeguard Duty on Module/Cells Import…What are your views on this.

SR : The proposed Safeguard Duty is a welcome initiative, as it is bound to increase employment and help achieve the required energy security in the country. The duty will also provide the necessary boost to solar cell and module manufacturers, and also help protect the industry from the long standing challenge faced due to predatory pricing strategies.

More than 85% of the modules in the country are imported, and non-utilisation of local manufacturing capacity has always been a challenge. Safeguard duty is bound to ensure that both domestic and imported products function on an even playing field. However, one of the foremost outcomes that we see is the promotion of ‘Make in India’ initiative, as more manufacturers enter the industry, thus creating new employment opportunities.

EQ: What is your suggestion regarding Safeguard duty to Government / Foreign Module Makers / Indian Manufacturers / Developers / Policy Makers / Regulators etc..

SR : Clarity on the impact of safeguard duty on manufacturers (of solar cells and modules) in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) would help bring the industry closer and further the sentiment of the proposal.

EQ: Impact of GST on Solar?

SR : Solar Panels attract one of the lowest rates in the GST bracket at 5%, which leads to only a marginal direct impact in the price of the product.

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March 2018

While there were some challenges, as is with any new change, it has helped in elimination of hidden taxes and streamline the process leading to faster execution. The inverted GST regime, wherein raw materials attract higher tax rate than the finished goods, makes prompt and clear processes for GST refund of utmost importance.

However, for the industry, with GST there was a decrease in tax benefits for the renewable sector, leading to an increase in the overall cost of renewable based energy. There has also been an overall increase in the project costs, with many projects being delayed. In addition, due to the inverted GST regime for solar modules, i.e. higher GST rates on raw material than on finished goods, has led to blocking of funds of the manufacturing industry till a speedy GST refund mechanism is clear and in place. Further, the lack of clarity on GST rates on projects has led to slow down of execution for both utility scale and rooftop solar projects, impacting the progress of solar. There has been support and assurance from the government on solutions to these issues, and we are confident that with time the benefits will outweigh all cons.

EQ: Aggressive Bidding despite of many challenges enlisted above, what is your view/opinion SR : Till a certain level, aggressive bidding can be considered helpful, as it gives the desired constructive push to the industry to perform. However, going beyond to become non sustainable mode of bidding, the limit that we believe may have been crossed, is not beneficial in the long term. It takes away from policy impetus having the desired effect, and results in sub-par products in the market.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission.

SR : Waaree Energies Ltd. is one of India’s most diversified and fastest growing solar energy solutions company, and is the flagship company of the Waaree Group that was established in 1989. Waaree Group is the country’s premier multi-diverse technology group having its forte in multifarious verticals such as solar energy, industrial valves, petroleum equipment and process control instrumentation. Waaree Energies also has one of India’s largest solar PV module manufacturing capacity at 550 MW. In addition, we are one of leading players in India in EPC services, project development, rooftop solutions, solar water pumps, and as an Independent Power Producer.We are present in over 185+ locations nationally and 68 countries globally.

Our vision is to harness renewable solar energy to provide high quality and cost effective sustainable energy solutions across all markets, improving quality of living and paving way or a sustainable tomorrow. By virtue of our commitment to our stakeholders, we strive for continuous improvement in the quality of our products and services.

EQ: What are your plans for Manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India.

SR : We are already coming up with a manufacturing facility of 1.2 GW in Vapi. To have a last mile customer reach for our products and continuous service over the life cycle of the assets, we are opening our franchisees in the form of Waaree Solar experience centres. We started this concept in Apr-18 and since then, we have around 200 operational centres currently. We plant to take them to 1000 centres by end of FY18-19. Apart from that we are exploring into new areas like energy storage, Micro wind, etc. We are aggressively looking to be a part of emerging EV ecosystem with our manufacturing capabilities and pan India service network.

EQ: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans, revenues, shipments, ASP’s, financial figures.

SR : Since its inception in 1989, Waaree Group has grown leaps and bounds over the years. Between 1997 and 2007, we have expanded our customer service base

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to 65 countries. It is our aim to take solar to each and every corner of India. Waaree Energies was founded in 2007 wherein a 30MW module manufacturing was set-up. In the year 2011- 2013, we started EPC services and ventured into other businesses like solar pumps and off-grid applications. Our module manufacturing capacity rose from 30 MW to 110 MW. We had expanded our IPP business to 150 MW in the years 2013-14. We also engaged in a joint equity for 100 MW project with a Mini Ratna company. However, our module manufacturing capacity saw a consistent growth where in the year 201314 it shot up to 250 MW from 110 MW and in between 2014 and 2017 it rose from 250 MW to 550 MW and finally grown to 1200 MW. With a consistent CAGR of 25% y-o-y till date, we look forward to grow with and for the industry.

EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future.

SR : Though our aim is to spread our products and services all across the solar industry, right now our key markets include India, with our module market reaching all the corners of the country, our EPC business having strong clusters in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh & Odisha and our Solar Experience Centres in 24 states and 3 union territories as of now, with strong clusters in West and South.

InternationallyEurope and MENA have been our key markets.

EQ: What’s your commitment towards the solar sector in India.

SR : We, at Waaree Energies aim to strive for continuous improvement in the quality, reach and dependability of our products and services, to contribute to make India a nation where solar power will be received more, hence lowering the dependence on conventional sources of electricity. As a glowing example of this commitment, we are one of the few companies with presence in the AgriFeeder Solar Plants, Solar Water Pumps, and specialty solar products and services. The three central pillars of our commitment are; Innovation – through consistent introduction of new technologies and innovative products & solutions; Quality – with all relevant certifications for domestic and international markets and proven name of Waaree with over a decade of track-record; and Unrelenting Customer Centric Approach – ably evidenced by Strong Customer Base of Respected Industrial Houses/Companies in India and abroad.

EQ

March 2018

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview With Mr.VIKAS JAIN

Director, Insolation Energy Pvt. Ltd.

EQ: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technology etc.

VJ : We are upgrading our technology both in production, testing and quality by addition of some latest equipment very soon. We use ‘A’ grade quality raw material & offer highly efficient modules at most competitive prices.

EQ: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing, what s your plan to Capture this opportunity?

VJ : We are in process of enhancing our production capacity and very soon our production capacity will be doubled. We are in touch with some leading developers/EPC Players so as top form a joint venture with them to capture emerging market opportunities.

EQ: Module Prices Going up, and reports of some module companies who have re-negotiated the prices…kindly enlighten what really is happening and what measures have you been taking?

VJ : Module prices in India are stable from quite some time. Renegotiation has only been taken place with some Chinese companies who have taken orders at very lower prices considering cell prices of cell at below 20 cent per watt which was actually 22 cent per watt from last 6 months and such projects were delayed due to which the Indian developers were the sufferer at the last.

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EQ: How much modules have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2018-2019

VJ : We have supplied more than 25 MW of panels in sizes varying from 40W to 350W in this current financial year. We expect to cross 60 MW in FY 2018- 19.

EQ: The recent aggressive bidding by various developers keeping Solar Tariffs in the price range of Rs.2.44-3.3 per kWh in various Solar Tenders…Whats your view on the viability, Costs & timeline pressures, Resource Challenges (Materials, Man Power, Execution, Grid Connection, Land Possession) etc…

VJ : The tariff calculation is more dependent on the funds cost. In recent future we don’t expect any downward trend in module prices. Infact if safeguard duty/ Antidumping duty are applied, prices will go up in a directly proportionate manner. Execution of these low bid projects is very challenging and also the commercially viability is doubtful. The solar tariff in the range of 2.443.3 per KWh has squeezed the margins across the entire value chain risking the timely commissioning of the projects.

EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your modules in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback.

VJ : In the last 8 months we have supplied our modules in the various climate areas ranging from the high temperature areas of Rajasthan and MP ,heavy rainfall areas of Assam , Cold hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh ,plain areas of UP and remote locations of Indo Tibet border. We have always been receiving positive & encouraging feedback from our customers.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

EQ: Present some noteworthy projects, case studies of solar plants built using your solar modules.

VJ : We have installed two projects of 2 MW, 1MW each at Ujjain (MP) & Assam. The performance of modules is excellent at both the locations and we are monitoring SCADA data of both the sites regularly.INA modules generation is coming at par with the Tier 1 Company modules installed nearby.

EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission.

VJ : Insolation Energy is a dream project initiated by me and Mr Manish Gupta. We both are Engineers and are working together since last 20 Years. We are having working experience in various sectors like Steel Construction, fitness, and bulk order suppliers. We see Insolation Energy at one on the best Solar PV module Manufacturers in India on which Customers can really rely upon. We aim to increase our capacity to 200 MW at the end of 2018.

Vision Statement : Our Vision is to provide high quality and cost-effective solutions across areas of operations in emerging as well as developed markets while leveraging on the goodwill and experience of the group and management expertise We are committed to manufacture Solar PV Modules with high quality, long lasting, reliable and prudent practices under "Make in India" Campaign.

Mision Statement : We at Insolation Energy aim to achieve the goal of clean, environmental friendly, cost effective and easily available energy to each and every citizen of the country. Our aim is to provide clean and green electricity at affordable price to one and all. We provide flexible & customized high-tech PV solutions and reliable support to fit your specific needs.

EQ: Technology road map in terms of 1500V Double Glass, Bifacial Cells, PERC/PERT Technologies, upcoming game changes technologies

VJ : Very soon we are planning to shift on 1500 V design and certification for 1500 V are also in progress .With our equipment we can make Double glass modules very easily. Developers are looking for double glass modules without frames as a future as it will be more cost effective and without backsheet it is more compatible to UV.

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EQ: Explain various guarantees, warrantees, insurance, certifications, test results, performance report of your modules.

VJ : We provide 25 years linear Power Warranty, 90% for 10 years & 80% for 25 years.

Transit insurance is given to our distributors till the product reaches the destined place.

Our Modules are certified : ISO 9001 : 2015 & ISO 14001 : 2015 IEC 61215:2015 -2nd Edition IEC 61730-Ed.1 and IEC 61730-Ed.2 IEC : 61701 PID Testing IEC TS 62804-1 MNRE Approved.

Below is the Performance Report : Positive Power Tolerance up to 3Wp to reduce current mismatch loss in single string for ensuring better ROI 100% EL tested Pre & post Lamination ,Higher reliability PID Resistant Compact Design, Efficient shipping ,easy handling Excellent Energy Generation in weak lights Sustain Heavy wind & snow loads (2400Pa & 5400Pa).

EQ: Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc…

VJ : Insolation energy is having fully automatic& state of the art manufacturing unit spread in more than 65000 Sq. ft area with sophisticated machinery which delivers A-grade quality solar PV module that follows all the standard of IEC, MNRE, CE etc. We promote our products with the brand name “INA”.

Some of our most popular Modules this year include : 1. Sapphire Series 72 Poly Crystalline 2. Sapphire Series 60 Poly Crystalline 3. Sapphire Series 36 Poly Crystalline 4. Ruby Series 72 Mono Crystalline Our USP : • Fully automatic line with least manual intervention and continuous automatic process • Pre & Post Inline EL Tester • Automatic Framing Machine for seamless framing • AAA class inline Sun Simulator

EQ: Whats your commitment towards the solar sector in India

VJ : At Insolation Energy, we are fully committed to Make in India Campaign. We are planning to increase our current capacity from 60MW to 200MW by end of this financial year.

EQ

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Energy Storage

Solar Energy Shift Needs Energy Storage to Succeed Solar industry has received global acceptance and made green energy shift possible. Solar growth in Indiahas been incredible, reaching nearly in 18 GW of installed capacity in 2018. At the end of FY16-17, Indian solar industry gained an impressive bump in share of total installed energy capacity to 3.8% (in FY 15-16 it was 2.3%). And coalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s share in the total energy mix also slumped by 2.5%.

In such a scenario when the global energy consumption is inching towards 736 quadrillion BTU in 2040, more focus on solar energy is needed to quickly transform it into a mainstream energy source. However, as this green energy source is not available to us 24x7, the urge for utilizing storage solution has a merit. And the world is taking steps towards supporting energy storage solutions to make solarisation initiatives successful.

Energy Storage is Gaining Global Attention

Mr. IVAN SAHA-

President & CTO, Vikram solar

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nited States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan are well on their way in becoming key international markets. This has helped in continued price declines in energy storage systems and research estimates a 30% increase in global energy storage within FY17-18. Key countries bringing in policies to mandate energy storage procurement, and standardizing these systems with solar integration has helped the prices of these systems to drop by 23% annually (in recent years).

Developed countries focusing on rooftop residential and commercial solar solutions is another reason behind quickly increasing importance of energy storage solutions. With research estimations of continued price drop, it is fair to assume that energy storage industry will soon grow and flourish globally (and not just in developed countries).

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Energy Storage

Why Go for Energy Storage in India

How India is Faring in Energy Storage Sector

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overnment of India has initiated National Storage Mission, which is preparing the guideline and policies to increase the usage of energy storage systems. Policies for Electrical Vehicle (EV) manufacturing (like- Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of e-vehicles or FAME) is also gaining attention as the Li-ion technology prices continues to fall.

Government of India is ready to sign off on a few initial projects, which will build the frame work this sector needs for faster country-wide adoption. In the same breath, we can highlight that latest 20 MW SPV + 28 MWh storage project that India just tendered. Within FY 18-19, more projects are expected to be seen.

Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh are leading the country with solar installations, and therefore, the obvious interest to use energy storage solutions to stabilize the grid is higher in these states of India. Island states are also showing interest in using energy storage to reduce and eventually replace their diesel usage requirements to maintain power.

The Government is also planning to install 10,000 micro/mini grids complete with energy storage solutions in rural areas to illuminate the rural India.

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Solar energy sources are not available 24x7. However, it is possible to harvest enough energy from solar only through the day time to use it later at the night. However, for that, we need energy storage system (ESS).

To use solar energy and flow it through the grid to spread energy all over India, the country needs to stabilize the energy fluctuations, which can happen due to changes in solar energy generation ratio differences in certain circumstances (cloudy sky, change in clearness, night time etc). And as India lacks a robust power grid, Bulk Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are needed to serve as safeguard against grid failure.

60 million households in India have no access to electricity/grid. Micro/mini grids including battery systems can help bring electricity to these houses.

Hurdles in the Path to Growth and Possible Way Forward uge upfront cost of this technology, makes it quite H expensive to afford. Lead acid based batteries are cheaper than Li-ion based energy storage systems.

Therefore, Indian market is flooded with lead based batteries. However, these types of batteries are incapable of sustaining a lifespan for more than 5 years within Indian climate, while Li-ion based batteries can last up to 15 years. Price for Li-ion cells has to shrink consistently for at least 2 years in order for it to become affordable. umber of Li-ion cell manufacturers have to increase N in India. Government should encourage technology giants and entrepreneurs to open up energy storage

manufacturing plants in India. India already has a strong lead acid battery manufacturing base. With a few infrastructural improvements, existing industrial set up can be used for Li-ion technology development. The country also needs to focus on low-cost financing and bring in regulatory frameworks in favour of the energy storage system.

lobal demand for green energy is rising, developed G and developing countries alike are investing huge in solar energy. So, it is evident that the demand for energy storage will grow unequivocally. Therefore, this is the best time for India to support its nascent solar industry with storage solutions, for faster solarisation and global industry domination.

EQ

March 2018

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PV MANUFACTURING

Chinese conglomerate to set up solar plant in Andhra CETC Renewable Energy Technology Company, an ancillary of China Electronics Technology Group, will set up a mega solar manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of $50 million, it was announced on Thursday.

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t has signed an MoU in this regard with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB).

CETC will make the investment in a Solar PVC Manufacturing park coming up on about 18 acres in Sri City in Chittoor district. This investment is expected to create about 1500 jobs. Once the project is completed, the state government is likely to earn $8 million in taxes every year. APEDB stated in a statement on that the MoU was signed by J. Krishna Kishore, Chief Executive Officer, APEDB and Xin Xiao, Director CETC Renewable Energy Technology Company in New Delhi, on the sidelines of the curtain raiser ceremony of CII Partnership Summit to be held in Vishakhapatnam next month. Union Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu was also present.

CETC, headquartered in Beijing, is a Fortune Global 500 company, and CETC, which includes 18 national key laboratories, 10 national research and innovation centers and a workforce of 1,50,000 employees, is the largest electronic conglomerate in China.

“CETC finds synergies in investing in Andhra Pradesh as the state is embarking on a next phase of industrialization, Andhra Pradesh is poised to catalyze investments in electronics manufacturing owing to robust infrastructure for connectivity,Aenabling policies, integration with global value chains and a skilled and ready workforce,” said J. Krishna Kishore, Chief Executive Officer, APEDB "Andhra Pradesh commands 20 percent of India’s electronics and hardware and is poised to reach a market share of 50 per cent by 2020. Focus on innovation and networked excellence, scalable partnerships and a robust investment climate makes Andhra Pradesh a preferred destination for electronics & hardware manufacturing."

Source: -IANS

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SecureNow places a Solar Module Performance Warranty Insurance In India SecureNow Insurance Broker (SecureNow) in collaboration with a leading general insurance company has issued a Qrst Insurance in India. The said product is an added measure of protection for the panel warranties which a panel manufacturer (OEM) with the help of an insurer Offers to its customers.

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Government of India launched the National Solar Mission which has set a target of deploying 100,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022, and is aimed at reducing the cost of solar power generation in the country. Owing to this ambitious commitment, over the past few years, the solar power industry has observed a remarkable growth. On the route to pursue this goal, there are a lot of associated risks that present itself in each phase of a solar project life-cycle – right from construction to operation to decommissioning. One kind of risk which was not covered till date was inept performance of modules due to equipment defect and other factors.

The SMPW Insurance addresses a key issue in the large and fast growing solar energy sector. SMPW Insurance guarantees the supplier’s warranty on Solar Panel Performance.

The insurance is required because the warranties extend to tens of years and there is a real risk that suppliers will go bankrupt or will be unable to pay if their solar panels fail prematurely. A financially protected company gives conǭdence to its customers especially in the solar space where the ever changing technology has internationally resulted in so many bankruptcies of the original equipment manufacturers.

Quoting Abhishek Bondia, Managing Director and Principal Officer of SecureNow – “This is a new insurance in the Indian context and we can expect to see more of such policies in the market in the years ahead. With the placement of this policy, we have taken one step closer to opening the gates for innovation toward many such unique, customer centric products.”

Source: securenow.in

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SuryaC n 2018

Baddi, Himachal Pradesh

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delhi Gurugram lucknow

jaipur neemrana

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jodhpur bhopal ahmedabad

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With Special Focus On Rooftop Solar

Organised By

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

Also Includes Topics like Solar Parks, Offgrid Solar & Solar Applications etc... www.EQMagPro.com

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March 2018

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PV MANUFACTURING

Meyer Burger’s pioneering SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT™) to play a key role in REC Group’s cutting-edge high efficiency solar module technology REC Group has awarded Meyer Burger a contract for the delivery and installation of its next generation SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT™) as the manufacturing basis for its newest high efficiency solar modules.

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Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group commented: “As throughout our 21-year history, we are committed to continuously advancing the efficiency of solar panel technology. The REC brand is well respected for its technology leadership, demonstrated by our latest product launches with world-record breaking power and recognized by three awards in 2017. With the implementation of Meyer Burger’s innovative SmartWire Connection technology to connect our ground-breaking combination of new cell technologies, we can further significantly increase the power level of our next generation high efficiency PV modules. This is another step towards lowering the levelized cost of solar PV energy.”

eyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) announced the successful conclusion of an important contract with REC Group, the largest European brand for solar panels, for its innovative SWCT™ platform. Working together in close collaboration, Meyer Burger will deliver and install the SWCT™ manufacturing equipment beginning in second quarter of 2018 at REC’s production facility located in Singapore. SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT™) – the natural evolution in cell connection technology.

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eyer Burger’s ground-breaking SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT™) drives the energy output of solar modules to the next level beyond the limitations of standard busbar technologies. Silver paste consumption is the second highest material cost factor in solar module manufacturing.

SWCT™ employs an innovative foil-wire electrode with up to 24 perfectly aligned wires to connect solar cells. This reduces silver consumption per heterojunction solar module by up to 75% and per PERC/ PERT solar module by up to 65% which in turn reduces production costs for solar module manufacturers. The resulting dense wire contact matrix enables SWCT™ modules to

March 2018

easily cope with the increased power extraction necessary for high efficiency solar cells thereby delivering an increased performance yield in SWCT™ solar modules.

The low thermal approach for SWCT™ encapsulation also prevents the thermal stress which impacts soldered multiwire solar cell strings. The resulting structure of a SWCT™ module significantly strengthens its stability and enhances its lifetime. This powerful combination of higher energy yield, longer module lifetime and lower manufacturing costs make SWCT™ the most cost effective method of connecting both mono- and multicrystalline solar cells on the market.

Hans Brandle, CEO of Meyer Burger Technology Ltd adds: “Our pioneering SmartWire Connection Technology delivers a quantum leap in solar module manufacturing technology and clearly demonstrates Meyer Burger’s leadership in driving the technology roadmap in key areas of the PV industry. We are proud of our close partnerhship with REC which is one of the most renowned international brands for solar modules. Their choice of our cutting-edge SWCT™ technology represents an important industry and technological milestone for us.”

Source: meyerburger

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PV MANUFACTURING

Heraeus Photovoltaics helps another customer in span of four months to set PERC world record Significant R&D investments in Asia and Cell Optimization Service helps customers set new marks for efficiency.

For the fifth time in four months, Heraeus Photovoltaics, the worldwide leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, helped a customer achieve a validated world record in PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact) solar cell energy efficiency. The most recent customer achievement occurred in China, where a solar cell company reached 20.41% photovoltaic conversion efficiency, establishing a new monocrystalline PERC module conversion efficiency world record. In 2017, Heraeus pastes enabled two separate customers in four different instances to also achieve world records in PERC efficiency for their cells, as verified by accredited third-party testing organizations:

In Oct 2017, Fraunhofer ISE CalLab of Germany certified a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 22.71% on a monocrystalline PERC cell made using Heraeus front side metallization paste Also, in Oct 2017, Chinese Academy of Solar Sciences’ Photovoltaic and Wind Power System Quality Test Center certified 22.04% and 22.78% conversion efficiency record on P-type polycrystalline PERC and P-type monocrystalline PERC solar cells made using Heraeus metallization paste In Nov 2017, the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Photovoltaic and Wind Power System Quality Test Center verified a world record cell efficiency milestone of 23.45% in a monocrystalline PERC cell made with Heraeus front side metallization paste.

For Heraeus, the results are connected to the company’s new innovation investment strategy, which began in late 2016. The two major pillars of this plan included: An aggressive talent acquisition campaign, which resulted in the hiring of over 120 scientists and solar energy technical experts in 2017. The additional workforce enabled Heraeus to establish R&D clusters close to customers located in China and other key markets in Asia. This enabled closer technical collaboration with customers, enabling them to accelerate their R&D and production speed-tomarket.

A new Cell Optimization Service enabling Heraeus to expand and enhance its industry-leading high performance screen printed front and rear silver pastes to give customers additional value beyond the printing and firing processes. This program, launched in April 2017, works with world-class research institutions to provide customers with a complete solar cell analysis, simulation and process optimization. Customers use these services to identify and implement that optimal processes for the customer’s specific production and machine conditions.

Dr. Weiming Zhang, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Heraeus Photovoltaics, noted that these customer world records are examples of the company’s strategic philosophy that breakthrough innovation does not occur in isolation. While Heraeus has the capability to modify its paste formulations for special cell design characteristics, the close cooperation between the Heraeus and customer technical teams is a difference-maker.

He said, “For our customers who want to be market leaders, we do not believe in an off-the-shelf approach. That’s why our investments in scientists, technical experts and services is paying dividends for them. The paste is just the first step.” Accelerating innovation and production for customers, Dr. Zhang noted, “We’re helping them identify and eliminate technical bottlenecks in their processes. Most importantly, we help them quickly transfer lab efficiency records in the lab to high-volume manufacturing environments.”

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EQ

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Solarpack commissioned 104 MWdc Solar PV project in Telangana Solarpack, a multinational companywith Head Quarters in Spain and regional presence in USA, Latin America, South Africa, Malaysia and Indiathat develops, constructs and operates photovoltaic solar plants globally has commissioned Six photovoltaic solar plants with a total capacity of 104MWdc in the Indian state of Telangana.

LONGi Solar to Set up 1GW Mono Cell and 1GW Mono Module Manufacturing Facility in India Chinese solar products manufacturer LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd, along with its wholly-owned subsidiary LONGi Solar, the world’s leading manufacturer of mono cells and modules, has announced plans to expand its solar cell and module factory in India’s Andhra Pradesh region to meet the country’s rapidly-rising demand for solar energy and to increase LONGi’s overseas sales.

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olarpack was awarded Six (6) PPA’s through competitive bidding for supply of power to Telangana state distribution company, TSSPDCL will acquire all the generated electricity through a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for a period of 25 years. These are the first contract that were awarded to Solarpack in India in January 2016, which was the only Spanish company among the winners of this bid. These plants are expected to generate around 160 GWh annually. Solar PV projects arelocatedin the districts of Mahbubnagar, Medak and Nizamabad in the Indian State of Telangana.

In our discussion Mr. Pradeep Chauhan, Country Manager-Indian Subcontinent of Solarpack said, “We aim to build about 200MW Solar PV projects every year in India, since India is a very important market for us. Wehave developed projects in Spain, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, USA, Malaysia and India. In addition to India, we have focus on neighboring countries eg. Bangladesh, Srilanka in the subcontinent etc. We believe in building world class assets with highest quality standards, our team have developed in-house design, engineering, construction, asset management and Operation & Maintenance capabilities. We have been able to successfully operate our global capacities well above 99.5% availability, which is testimony of our capability.

Further We have recently won 95MWac capacity projects for 5 locations in Karnataka State bid, that demonstrate our commitment for Indian renewable energy sector.

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esponding to growing market demand, LONGi will invest $ 309 million , including about $ 240 million in construction investment and roughly $ 68 million in working capital, to double the capacity of its cell and module factory in Andhra Pradesh from 500MW to 1GW respectively.

Construction on the expanded module factory is scheduled to be completed and production will commence by the end of August 2019, while the cell factory is set to start production in January 2020.

“The expansion of our Andhra Pradesh factory is part of LONGi’s global growth strategy. While global demand for solar modules continues to grow, LONGi is making moderate capacity investments in select markets to hedge against the risks of trade protectionism, while remaining focused on the Chinese domestic market,” said Mr. Wenxue Li, the president of LONGi Solar. “According to preliminary estimates, the new expansion will support $ 380 million in annual sales and roughly $ 19 million in net profit every year.”

“India is already China’s biggest export market for solar products by sales value. During 2017, China’s exports accounted for 24.1 percent of India’s solar products, with sales growth seen in both cells and modules,” he said.

The project is being operated by Lerri Solar Technology (India) Private Ltd, which is 40 percent owned

by LONGi and 60 percent owned by LONGi Solar. Expanding production capacity in India will enable LONGi to take advantage of India’s rich local resources, low costs and generous policies toward the solar industry.

It’s also an opportunity for LONGi to accelerate its overseas expansion and boost its share of the global market for mono-crystalline products.

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budget 2018

Power Minister calls the Budget 2018 as path breaking, as it facilitates ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the country Government is committed to provide ‘24×7 Clean and Affordable Power for All’ to each Household in Indiaby April, 2019: Shri R.K. Singh KUSUM Scheme, inter alia, to provide additional income to farmers, by giving them option to sell additional power to the grid, throughsolar power projects set up on their barren lands

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ddressing the media on proposals in Budget 2018 regarding his Ministries, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh lauded the citizen oriented focus of the document. The Minister congratulated the Union Finance Minister for taking revolutionary steps in facilitating ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the country.

Shri Singh specifically cited steps like ensuring one and half times the cost of cultivation for the farmers through MSP fixing and bringing over 10 crore poor families under Health cover net by the Government, and termed the Budget 2018 as path breaking in many ways.

Delving further into the objectives of the scheme, the Minister stated the positive outcomes that are expected when it is implemented in full force across the country. These are: Promote decentralized solar power production Reduce transmission losses. To support the financial health of DISCOMs by reducing the burden of subsidy to the agriculture sector. To support States to meet the RPOs targets To promote energy efficiency and water conservation.Provide water security to farmers through provision of assured water sources through solarwater pumps – both off-grid and grid connected. To provide reliable power to utilise the irrigation potential created by state irrigation departments.

To fill the void in solar power production in the intermediate range between roof tops andlarge parks.

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“Giving the future course for the Power sector post budget, Shri Singh clearly stated that the focus of the Government is ‘24×7 Clean and Affordable Power for All’. This will be made an obligation and will be enacted into an Act soon. “We will provide electricity connection to each and every household in the country by April, 2019. This budget has given a thrust in this direction”, "Elaborating on the farmer focus of the Budget 2018, Shri Singh highlighted that the it has a given a fillip to the farmer oriented scheme involving decentralized solar power productionupto 28250 MW over a period of five years,known as KUSUM Scheme. The KisanUrja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme would provide additional income to farmers, by giving them option to sell additional power to the grid, through solar power projects set up on their barren lands, the Minister informed."

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budget 2018

Farmer to pay only 10% cost of solar pumps under Budget scheme: Minister The Indian farmer will effectively bear only 10 per cent of cost for solarising his agricultural pump under a scheme unveiled in the Budget 2018-19, Power Minister R. K. Singh said In a post-budget media briefing here, Singh, also the New and Renewable Energy Minister, referred to the Rs 1.44 lakh crore scheme for solarising pumps of all farmers proposed by Finance Minster Arun Jaitley on Thursday while presenting his last full budget before the 2019 general elections.

“The Kusum (Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) scheme was announced in the Union Budget. he scheme provides for 17.5 lakh off grid solar pumps to begin with,” “Ultimately we propose to solarise every agricultural pump and apart from this, we will be connecting all the grid connected pumps with solar power.

“The farmer will have to bear just 10 per cent of the cost of the panel. The farmer will get assistance in the form of a 30 per cent capital subsidy from the Centre, another 30 per cent will come from the state and the balance 30 per cent will be financed,” he added.

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overnment will spend Rs 48,000 crore over 10 years as central financial assistance (CFA) on the Kusum scheme which aims to encourage the use of barren land for setting up solar power plants. A similar amount will have to be given by the states and the financing institutions towards Kusum, which is to be put up to the cabinet for approval, Singh said. He said that the solar panels to be provided will have twice the capacity of a grid one, and so if the capacity of a grid connected pump is 5 horse power, the solar panel will generate twice that. “This way the balance power can be sold to the grid,” he added.

March 2018

In his budget speech, Jaitley said the Centre would take necessary measures “and encourage state governments to put in place a mechanism that their surplus solar power is purchased by the distribution companies or licencees at reasonably remunerative rates.” The sector welcomed the budget

initiatives to boost the development of clean energy.

Fortum India MD Sanjay Aggarwal said: “The budget has some important announcements with respect to the solar power industry. The first is to buy surplus solar power generated by farmers in solar parks. “In addition, the government has streamlined the capital allocation towards creating solar parks and associated infrastructure for the sector.”

Shell India Chairman Nitin Prasad said: “We would continue to encourage a continuation of the positive reform measures introduced last year in the energy space especially in the space of the open infrastructure access for all players and in the power value chain for cleaner sources of energy.”

According to Indian Energy Storage Alliance Executive (IESA) Director Rahul Walawalkar, increased custom duty on electronic items in the budget “is a matter of concern”. “IESA’s priority is right now on increasing domestic demand where the upfront cost is definitely a concern as number of products the domestic anufacturing is not available,” he said in a statement here. “Detailed studies are in progress to see the implications pertaining to storage sector although the budget didn’t mention additional customs duties. Increase in customs duty will create hurdle in market adaption,” he added.

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budget 2018

Rs 48K cr KUSUM scheme to encourage farmers for solar farming Power Minister R K Singh announced a Rs 48,000-crore KUSUM scheme to incentivise farmers to run solar farm water pumps and also use their baron land for generating solar power.

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“We have another scheme which was announced in the Budget is KUSUM. The proposal has been appraised by different committees like committee of secretaries. Now it has been approved by the EFC (Expenditure Finance Committee) and the Cabinet. It will be launched next fiscal,” Singh said.

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he minister said that the previous scheme of KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthaan Maha Abhiyaan) was also very popular and states are on board for this also for direct benefit transfer of subsidy to farmers account. As much as 30 per cent of the cost of solar pumps was provided by the government in the earlier scheme. The new scheme would be more broad-based like incentives for discoms to buy power from farmers and financial assistance of 60 per cent to buy solar pumps which would be equally shared by the Centre and state.

The Rs 48,000-crore incentives to be provided under the KUSUM scheme will aid total solar power generation capacity of 28,250 MW entailing an investment of Rs 1.4 lakh crore over the next 10 years, Singh, who is also the Minister of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), told reporters. These schemes have four components. First is to utilise the Baron land by farmers. The government is expecting 10,000 MW under this.

or this, ground mounted 10,000 MW, no subsidy would be provided to buy equipment. But discoms would be given 50 paise per unit as generation based incentives to buy power from farmers for five years. Subsidy component will be Rs 4,875 crore. Second component includes installation of 17.5 lakh off grid solar farm pumps. The government will provide Rs 22,000 crore to farmers to but off grid solar pumps. Third component is grid connected farm pumps would be solarised. That is around 7,250 MW capacity. The subsidy to solarise grid connected water pumps would be Rs 15,750 crore. Similarly the government departments grid connected water pumps would be solarised. That would be another 2,500 MW. It would take four year to solarise these pumps. The subsidy component for this would be Rs 5000 crore.

The minister said, “The total central financial assistance under scheme would be for a period of 10 years would be Rs 48,000 crore.

It would dedieselise the sector and also help the discom.”

India has 30 million farm pumps including 10 million diesel based.This announcement of contours of the scheme came after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday announced incentives for farmer go for solar energy.

Jaitely had said, “Many farmers are installing solar water pumps to irrigate their fields. Generation of solar electricity is harvesting of Sun by the farmers using their lands.

The Government of India will take necessary measures and encourage State Governments to put in place a mechanism that their surplus solar power is purchased by the distribution companies or licencees at reasonably remunerative rates.

State and Centre collectively provide for 60 per cent of cost of solar pumps as subsidy while bank will provided a loan of 30 per cent and remaining 10 per cent would be paid by farmers.

Singh said that under the scheme, farmer would be able to use solar power and sell excess generation which makes it very attractive proposition.

Source: PTI

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RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Global Solar Market to Reach Over 106GW in 2018 Due to Strong Momentum from China and Rebounding Demand in Europe China’s solar market continued its explosive growth in 2017, pushing the size of global solar market to over 100GW for the first time. EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce estimates that the worldwide demand will increase further in 2018 to 106GW, but the distribution of demand by region will change.

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ccording to EnergyTrend’s latest report, China’s annual gridconnected PV capacity reached 52.83GW in 2017, the highest one all over the world. The U.S. came second place with 12GW. The number for Japan was only 6.09GW, as the result, India, which recorded 9.26GW, has surpassed Japan and ranked the third. With strong momentum from China, the market share of Asia Pacific in global solar market is estimated to hit a new high of 72% in 2017. EnergyTrend analyst Rhea Tsao points out the year 2016 witnessed the highest growth of global solar market, an increase of 42.5% over the previous year. In 2017, the growth rate was 26%, pushing the market size over 100GW for the first time. “The growth over the past two years is led by explosive demand in China,” says Tsao.

Ground-mounted projects that are filed before December 31st 2017 and completed before June 30th 2018 will be applicable to the 2017 FiT. Projects that are filed after January 1st 2018 and completed grid-connection in 2018 will be applicable to the 2018 FiT. Therefore, EnergyTrend forecasts that there will be two installation rushes by June 30th and December 30th 2018 in order to enjoy higher subsidies. NEA also announced quota of 5GW for the Top Runner Program, which needs to be gridconnected before December 30th 2018.

All of these quotas above will reach

China Will See Two Installation Rushes in 2018 Due to Adjustment of FiT, and Europe will enter a recovery phase The Chinese market continues to grow excessively, mainly driven by supportive policy and production capacity expansion. In particular, distributed generation (DG) systems, which are currently not subject to the quota of FiT, had an estimated grid connection of 19GW in 2017, more than 4 times of 4.23GW in 2016. According to recent announcement by the Chinese government, large-scale ground-mounted power plants will face stricter regulations, while DG systems and PV Poverty Alleviation projects will have more room for growth. In addition, National Energy Administration (NEA) of China released the new feed-in tariff (FiT) for 2018 at the end of December 2017, and the adjustment will cut subsidies for solar PV systems.

33.1GW. The total annual grid connection, including ground-mounted projects, DG systems, PV Poverty Alleviation projects etc. is forecasted to reach 46.7GW in 2018, a slight decrease.

Tsao points out that the growth in Chinese market will slow down from 2018 to 2020. However, the European market will enter a recovery phase and become one of the major drivers to keep global solar market size above 100GW. Since 3Q18, largescale ground-mounted power plants in France, the Netherlands and Spain will be completed and connected to the

grid. In addition, Minimal Import Price (MIP) measurement of EU will end on September 30, 2018, making Europe a highly competitive market since then.

As for 2018, EnergyTrend estimates the global solar demand to reach 105.88GW. China will remain the largest market, and the European market will increase. Meanwhile, demands will come from different markets in every quarter of 2018, resulting in at least 15GW installations per quarter. Moreover, 4Q18 will see substantial demand increase due to the second installation rush in China.

Solar, wind power tariffs may dip below Rs 2 per unit in 2-3 years Solar power tariff fell to an all-time low of Rs 2.44 per unit during the auction of 500 MW capacity at Bhadla (III) in Rajasthan.

As the government continues to focus on increasing renewable energy capacity, solar and wind power tariffs are likely to dip below Rs 2 per unit in the next 2-3 years, a senior official of transmission firm Sterlite Power said.

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olar power has already reached Rs 2.4 per unit, while wind is selling at Rs 2.50 per unit.

This will continue to go down…below Rs 2 in the next 2-3 years, Solar power tariff fell to an all-time low of Rs 2.44 per unit during the auction of 500 MW capacity at Bhadla (III) in Rajasthan. The government had offered viability gap funding (VGF) for the project. “During 2017, solar power tariff hovered around Rs 2.40 per unit only in auctions for capacities, where viability gap funding component was there, Sterlite Power CEO of global infrastructure business, Ved tiwari told PTI .

Wind power tariff, on the other hand, dropped sharply to Rs 2.43 per unit during an auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) last year. Tiwari further said with abundant solar and wind potential, southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, have the opportunity to become exporters of power.

“Earlier, power used to be transported to states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. But this situation has now changed. States like Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh are blessed with best of solar radiation and wind energy.

These states will become exporters of power,” However, he emphasised on the need for enhancing transmission network saying that the economic power can be unleashed for these states if India invests in power transmission. “Just like India builds highways and roads that unleashes economic potential, much more economic potential may be created by power transmission lines. The country should build more and more power corridors, which would enable states to freely exchange very cheap electricity,” Tiwari added.

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RESEARCH & ANALYSIS Much of the water withdrawn by plants is returned to the lakes and ponds from which it came, but a lot is also consumed, and not returned to its original source. We found that almost 90 percent of India’s thermal power generation depends on freshwater for cooling, and the industry is only growing thirstier.

Thanks to increased energy demand and the growing popularity of freshwater-recirculating plants, which consume the most water of any thermal plant, freshwater consumption from Indian thermal utilities grew by 43 percent from 2011-2016, from 1.5 to 2.1 billion cubic meters a year. To put this in perspective, India’s total domestic water consumption in 2010 was about 7.5 billion cubic meters, according to the Aqueduct Global Water Risk Atlas. That means power plants drank about 20 percent as much water as India’s 1.3 billion citizens use for washing dishes, bathing, drinking and more.

40% of India’s Thermal Power Plants Are in Water-Scarce Areas, Threatening Shutdowns Water shortages are hurting India’s ability to produce power. New WRI research finds that 40 percent of the country’s thermal power plants are located in areas facing high water stress, a problem since these plants use water for cooling.

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carce water is already hampering electricity generation in these regions—14 of India’s 20 largest thermal utilities experienced at least one shutdown due to water shortages between 2013-2016, costing the companies $1.4 billion. it’s an issue that’s only poised to worsen unless the country takes action—70 percent of India’s thermal power plants will face high water stress by 2030 thanks to climate change and increased demands from other sectors. Billions of Tons of Freshwater, Consumed Thermal power—power that relies on fuels like coal, natural gas and nuclear energy—provides India with 83 percent of its total electricity. While these power plants fail to disclose how much water they’re using in their operations, WRI developed a new methodology using satellite images and other data to calculate their water use.

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40 Percent of Thirsty Plants Are in Water-Stressed Areas

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ore than a third of India’s freshwaterdependent plants are located in areas of high or extremely high water stress. These plants have, on average, a 21 percent lower utilization rate than their counterparts located in low or medium water-stress regions—lack of water simply prevents them from running at full capacity. Even when controlling the comparison analysis by unit age, fuel type and plant capacity, the observation was always the same: Plants in low- and mediumstress areas are more able to realize their power output potential than those in high water-stress areas.

Scarce Water Dries Up Revenue

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here are practical and financial implications of power plants’ thirst. Between 2013 and 2016, India’s thermal plants failed to meet their daily electricity generation targets 61 percent of the time due to forced power plant outages.

The reasons ranged from equipment failure to fuel shortages. Water shortages were the fifth-largest reason for all forced outages—the largest environmental reason. In 2016 alone, water shortages cost India about 14 terawatt-hours of potential thermal power generation, canceling out more than 20 percent of the growth in the country’s total electricity generation from 2015.

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RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

European Solar Market Grows 28% in 2017 Turkey leading solar market

Brussels, 9 February 2018 - European countries installed at least 8.61 GW of solar power systems in 2017 - that is a 28% increase in comparison to the 6.72 GW added in 2016, according to a first estimate from SolarPower Europe, the association of the solar power sector in Europe. EU member states grew by around 6% to 6.03 GW in 2017 from 5.69 GW in 2016.

James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe said, "Solar in Europe is growing, this is good news for the energy transition. Now we need the right policies in place to make sure the EU canfully benefit from our clean energy technology. If the trade measures on imported solar panels were removed, according to a DG Justice and Consumers study we could see an increase in solar self-consumption in the EU of around 20-30%. Likewise, if the EU adopted a 35% renewable energy target, instead of 's 27%, no less than 120,000 new solar jobs could be created.

We are expecting strong growth in the coming years as several EU member states are choosing solar to meet their national binding 2020 renewables targets. This makes perfect sense as solar is the most popular energy source among EU citizens, due to its low-cost, versatility and reliability," said Michael Schmela, Executive Advisor and Head of Market Intelligence at SolarPower Europe.

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ccording to a first estimate, the largest European solar market in 2017 was Turkey, which gridconnected 1.79 GW last year, followed closely by Germany, which added 1.75 GW*. Turkey saw an end-ofyear rush with around 800 MW of solar systems either under construction or installed, but which were not fully up and running in 2017. The total market share of Turkey and Germany was around 41% in Europe in 2017.

While Turkey grew by 213% year-on-year and Germany by 23%, the UK, once a solar star, lost its position as the leading European solar market. After axing solar incentive programmes, new installations dropped by 54% to around 912 MW in the UK, from 1.97 GW in 2016, less than half of the 4.1 GW that was installed in 2015.

France and t h e Netherlands, backed by strong government support, showed two-digit growth in solar capacity additions - France adding 887 MW and the Netherlands adding 853 MW (see graph 3). Spain is also showing signs of progress, with 135 MW of new solar systems installed in 2017, a 145% increase from 55 MW installed in 2016.

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his solar installation data for Europe is a first estimate from SolarPower Europe for 2017 solar power on-grid installations and are based on official data from government agencies whenever possible. If such information was not available from primary sources, SolarPower Europe has gathered data mostly through its members, comprising national solar associations. As data for Q4/2017 is often not yet completely available or will be updated by national entities responsible for solar statistics in the coming months, the actual installation numbers might be considerably higher than this first estimate.

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Trade wars

Trump Admin Issues Solar Panel Import Tariff The decision includes a quota for imported solar cells.

The USTR will now engage in additional negotiations that could resolve earlier solar trade disputes.

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hite House announced that President Trump has issued a 30 percent year-one tariff on imported solar cells and modules. Tariffs will decline over a fouryear period. The first 2.5 gigawatts of imported cells are excluded from the additional tariff in each of those four years, according to the U.S. Trade Representative fact sheet.

The USTR noted that China’s industrial planning “has included a focus on increasing Chinese capacity and production of solar cells and modules, using state incentives, subsidies, and tariffs to dominate the global supply chain.”

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s a result of these state-directed initiatives, China’s share of global solar cell production skyrocketed from 7 percent in 2005 to 61 percent in 2012. China currently produces 60 percent of the world’s solar cells and 71 percent of solar modules, according to the fact sheet. Over this period, the U.S. solar manufacturing industry “almost disappeared,” the USTR stated, with 25 companies closing since 2012. While the administration’s fact sheet centered on China, it is not the only country affected. Section 201 trade cases are intended to apply globally, and ’s fact sheet makes no mention of tariff exemptions for specific countries or for any companies. However, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer issued a statement that he will partake in additional negotiations, which could potentially lead to tariff exclusions or changes for certain parties, as GTM previously reported.

“The U.S. Trade Representative will engage in discussions among interested parties that could lead to positive resolution of the separate antidumping and countervailing duty measures currently imposed on Chinese solar products and U.S. polysilicon,” the statement reads. “The goal of those discussions must be fair and sustainable trade throughout the whole solar energy value chain, which would benefit U.S. producers, workers, and consumers.”

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U.S.-based crystalline-silicon solar PV (CSPV) manufacturers Suniva and SolarWorld Americas filed the petition last May under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, arguing that increased imports had caused serious injury to the domestic industry. The U.S. International Trade Commission made an injury determination last year, followed by a set of recommended tariffs. Two commissioners agreed on a 30 percent ad valorem tariff on imported CSPV modules, to decline by 5 percentage points per year over four years, as well as a fouryear tariff-rate quota that would allow for up to 1 gigawatt of tariff-free cell imports, increasing by 0.2 gigawatts per year.

The Trump administration offered a more generous cell quota. Coupled with a relatively high module tariff, the decision could incentivize manufacturers to open domestic solar module production facilities. Reports have already been circulating that Jinko Solar may open a module factory in Jacksonville, Florida.

Juergen Stein, president of SolarWorld Americas, thanked Trump and the USTR for recognizing the importance of solar manufacturing to U.S. economic and national security. “We are still reviewing these remedies, and are hopeful they will be enough to address the import surge and to rebuild solar manufacturing in the United States,” he said. “We will work with the U.S. government to implement these remedies, including future negotiations, in the strongest way possible to benefit solar manufacturing and its thousands of American workers to ensure that U.S. solar manufacturing is world-class competitive for the long term.”

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Trade wars

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n the near term, President Trump’s decision will deal a blow to the U.S. solar market. The Solar Energy Industries Association said decision will cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year, including many in manufacturing. It’s also expected to trigger the delay or cancellation of billions of dollars in solar investments.

“While tariffs in this case will not create adequate cell or module manufacturing to meet U.S. demand, or keep foreign-owned Suniva and SolarWorld afloat, they will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost tens of thousands of hard-working, blue-collar Americans their jobs,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s President and CEO.

R Street Trade Policy Counsel Clark Packard said the Trump administration’s decision is regrettable. “The domestic solar industry has been growing at a rapid pace in recent years,” he said. “The petitioners in this case — both bankrupt firms that are majority foreign-owned — employ about 1,000 Americans, while the rest of the domestic industry employs more than 260,000 Americans up the entire value chain.”

“More good-paying jobs will be jeopardized by ’s decision than could possibly be saved by bailing out the bankrupt companies that petitioned for protection,” Packard added. decision also will jeopardize the environment by making clean energy sources less affordable.”

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ccording to MJ Shiao, Head of Americas research for GTM Research, announced tariff levels are likely to increase solar panel costs by 10 to 12 cents per watt — based on current U.S. import prices of 35 to 40 cents per watt. According to a GTM Research analysis conducted last fall, a 10 cent per watt tariff is expected to slow the market by 8.3 percent.

Tony Clifford, chief development officer at Standard Solar, said Trump’s tariff decision may slow, but will not stop the U.S. solar industry.

“The solar industry has come through worse policy decisions and will come through this one, too,” he said. “The solar industry is nothing if not resilient, and I’m confident the innovative, tough and resourceful members of the industry will find workarounds to the latest obstacle placed in solar’s path. The Solar Century is here, and not even unfair tariffs will stand in its way.”

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arlier this year, Tesla, in partnership with Panasonic, confirmed that solar panel and solar tile production is now underway at the company’s solar manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York. This is the most recent solar cell and module production facility to open in the U.S. Nonetheless, Tesla opposed the imposition of new tariffs on imported solar products because its domestic factory is not expected to meet all of Tesla’s solar panel needs — at least not in the short run. A company spokesperson reaffirmed that Tesla is dedicated to making solar panels in America. “Tesla is committed to expanding its domestic manufacturing, including Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York, regardless of the solar tariff decision.” First Solar, which makes thin-film solar panels that are not subject to tariffs on CSPV products, came out in support of the Suniva and SolarWorld case last year. The thin-film solar manufacturer saw its stock price shoot up by nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading, at the time of publication.

Source: greentechmedia

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Trade wars

Govt initiates anti-dumping probe into imports of solar glass

Submitted compliance report to WTO in solar power case: Govt India submitted the compliance report to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on December 14 last year over the trade dispute with the US over solar cells, stating that it has complied with the ruling of the multi- lateral trade body in this dispute, Parliament was informed.

The government has initiated an anti-dumping probe into imports of a particular kind of solar glass following a complaint from Gujarat Borosil Ltd.

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he company had filed an application before the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) for initiation of an investigation into import of ‘Textured Tempered Glass whether Coated or Uncoated’ from Malaysia.

In a notification, the DGAD said that there is “sufficient prima facie evidence” that the goods are being dumped into the Indian market by the exporters from this country. The anti-dumping duty, if imposed, would help guard domestic players in the sector against cheap imports of the product.

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n 2015, India lost a case against the US at the WTO as the dispute settlement body of the organisation ruled that the country’s domestic content requirements under its solar power programme were inconsistent with the international norms. Domestic content stipulation for solar cells and modules under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) programme was challenged in 2013 by the US in the WTO.

“The authority hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry,” the notification said.

In the probe, it would determine the existence and effect of the alleged dumping and recommend the amount of anti- dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry. Import data of the period from October 2016 to December 2017 (15 months) would be taken for the purpose of the investigationThe product in the market parlance is also known by various names such as solar glass, low iron solar glass and high transmission photovoltaic glass. It is used as a component in solar photovoltaic panels and solar thermal applications. DGAD after concluding the probe may recommend imposition of the duty and the finance ministry notifies the levy.

Countries carry out anti-dumping probe to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral regime of WTO. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practises and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers with regard to foreign producers and exporters. India has already imposed antidumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports, including from China.

Source: PTI

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“After the WTO ruling that required India to remove domestic content stipulation for solar cells and modules in the programme, India submitted its compliance report to the WTO,” Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He said India stated in the report that it has complied with the WTO ruling in the solar dispute. In a separate reply, he said the ministry has set up a system of grievance redressal through Twitter. “The total number of grievances/ queries received and responded from April 2016 till January 31 this year is 15,076 and 14,998, respectively,” he added. He said that the grievances or queries mostly pertain to directorate general of foreign trade, Make In India, Startup India, trademarks, copyrights, Geographic Indicators and antidumping.

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Trade wars

South Korea hits back at US tariffs with WTO challenge South Korea has hit back rapidly at US tariffs on washing machines and solar panels, filing challenges and demands for compensation at the World Trade Organization.

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he WTO published the South Korean complaints two days after United States President Donald Trump signed the steep tariffs into law. He billed the move as a way to protect American jobs but the solar industry said it awould lead to thousands of layoffs and raise consumer prices. The 30 per cent tariff on solar panels was among the first unilateral trade restrictions imposed by the Trump administration as part

of a broader protectionist agenda aimed at helping US manufacturers, but which has alarmed Asian trading partners that produce lower cost goods.

South Korea challenged the US tariffs under the WTO’s Safeguard Agreement, leaving open the possibility of a full trade dispute later. The agreement gives the US 30 days to settle the matter, after

On Wednesday US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross brushed off the threat of South Korea going to the WTO. “The fact that they may get a favourable decision (at the WTO) doesn’t mean that it’s a correct decision,” he said. “But in any event there’s been no decision yet so it’s a little bit too early to assume that the safeguards will be knocked out.”

"No country has ever negotiated a settlement under the WTO safeguard rules, and it was not clear if they could provide a quicker result than a full dispute, which could take three years or more, giving US manufacturers a long period of protection from competition by their South Korean rivals. Under WTO rules, a country can impose safeguards – temporary emergency tariffs – to shield its domestic industry from a sudden, unforeseen and damaging surge in imports."

which South Korea has a 60-day window to impose trade sanctions, if the US measures break WTO rules. It was not clear if the US could challenge that assumption.

Seoul is already seeking WTO trade sanctions to retaliate for Washington’s failure to comply with an earlier WTO ruling. On Wednesday US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross brushed off the threat of South Korea going to the WTO.

Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, head of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, said the solar tariffs would fail to boost US solar manufacturing and would destroy US jobs while impeding the fight against climate change. “These tariffs are insufficient to really generate enough stimulus to create the manufacturing capacity that they are trying to stimulate,” he told Reuters. “It’s just going to slow down the production of sustainable energy and solar in the US, in a big way.”

Source: straitstimes

Jinko Solar Signs 1.75 GW Solar Module Supply Agreement in the U.S. and Advances Plans for Construction of Manufacturing Facility in the U.S. Under the Master Agreement, Jinko U.S. will provide around 1.75 GW of high efficiency solar modules over approximately three years

“This deal will further solidify our leadership in the U.S. market,” said Mr. Nigel Cockroft, General Manager of Jinko U.S. “An agreement of this magnitude exemplifies JinkoSolar’s commitment to provide our clients with the most reliable products and dependable, regional customer service.”

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”) (NYSE: JKS), a global leader in the solar PV industry, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc. (“Jinko U.S.”), has signed a major master solar module supply agreement (the “Master Agreement”) with a U.S. counterparty.

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Concurrently, the Company’s Board of Directors has authorized JinkoSolar to finalize planning for the construction of an advanced solar manufacturing facility in the U.S. JinkoSolar continues to closely monitor treatment of imports of solar cells and modules under the U.S. trade laws.

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Trade wars

Safeguard duty: Nothing can jeopardise clean energy, says Singh Allaying fears over adverse impact of proposed safeguard duty on solar equipment, Power and New & Renewable Minister R K Singh said that nothing can renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022.

Nothing will be done which will jeopardise achievement of the target set by the Prime Minister for establishing the 175 GW renewable energy… but as far as this (safeguard duty) is concerned, we are going to have discussions,” R K Singh told reporters. Elaborating further the minister said, “The duty regime which prevails at the time of bid will be duty regime for entire installation. The duty would be for new projects if at all imposed.

Both are questions, whether it would be imposed and what is the quantum (of duty).”

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inister has also assured that the projects already bid out before implementation of the proposed duty would not be affected during the installation phase. Besides, he also expressed hope that the government would bring out policy for boosting domestic solar equipment manufacturing with higher financial assistance than proposed Rs 11,000 crore. arlier this month, the Directorate General of Safeguards had proposed to levy a 70 per cent safeguard duty on import of solar power equipment from countries like China for 200 days to protect domestic industry from “serious injury”.

It had told to the Finance Ministry that the existing “critical circumstances” justify the immediate imposition of a provisional Safeguard Duty to save local units from further serious injury, which would be difficult to repair in case the safeguard measure is delayed. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes that the government's proposal of levying 70 per cent safeguard duty on solar cells and modules from China and Malaysia will increase power tariffs to Rs 3.30/kilowatt, around 35 per cent higher than the lowest bid value of Rs 2.44/ kilowatt hour. This is likely to impact power producers with low cost power purchase agreements and may stall under construction projects for which all the required solar panels were not imported, Ind-Ra said in a statement.

“If charging is a service then we dont need to change the law but if it is deemed licence then we have amend the law. We will bring regulations for e-mobility particularly dealing with charing.” The minister also indicated that the government would look at smaller or hatchback electric cars which would slightly less expensive. At present, the state-run EESL is procuring 10,000 electric sedans for use by government officials in different ministries and departments. He said, “Currently we have (procured) sedan type electric vehicles (cars). I think that we also need to start thinking of smaller cars.”

Source: PTI

Ionic Materials Raises $65 Million to Speed Development of Its Revolutionary Polymer Electrolyte for Solid-State Batteries

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Ionic Materials announced it has secured $65 million in a Series C financing round from a leading group of financial and strategic investors. he strategic investors include companies from the battery manufacturing, consumer electronic and electric vehicle ecosystem who will be working with the company to speed the development of its solid polymer electrolyte battery material. These funds will fuel Ionic Materials’ accelerated growth, support its hiring plans and help the company meet the significant market demand for its novel polymer electrolyte. urrent batteries are manufactured with an expensive and flammable liquid electrolyte and use costly active materials.

By replacing the liquid system with Ionic Materials’ solid plastic polymer material, solid-state batteries that are safe, cheaper and operational at room temperature become possible for the first time.

The special properties of Ionic Materials’ polymer electrolyte allow the use of high-energy materials and support lithium-ion cells with little to no cobalt in their cathodes. Further advancements made possible by Ionic Materials’ polymer will support very inexpensive and low-cost rechargeable alkaline batteries as well.

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“We are thrilled to have the ongoing support of venture capitalists, strategic investors and prominent individuals to solve a major energy problem: enabling safe, highperformance and cost-effective batteries for use across consumer electronics, electric transportation and grid storage,” said Mike Zimmerman, founder and CEO of Ionic Materials. “This funding round will allow us to add to our talented technical staff while continuing to engage and partner with companies interested in developing tomorrow’s solid-state battery technology.”

“The Ionic Materials polymer is truly groundbreaking. It’s no surprise that so many of the leading companies in the battery industry and their key customers are working to incorporate the Ionic Materials polymer in their next-generation products,” said Bill Joy, who has been a personal investor in all the rounds of financing and was a founding member of the Ionic Materials Board of Directors. “The many innovations in electrochemistry that the polymer unlocks will change the future of renewable energy. Products from our partners using Ionic Materials’ technology will lead the charge to safely power everyday products with eco-friendly, high-capacity batteries.”

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electric vehicle

Commercialise use of ISRO’s Liion battery for EVs: Govt panel

At present, lithium-ion battery is not manufactured in India on commercial basis and the country has to depend on imports from Japan or China. To curb vehicular pollution and bring down the Rs 7 lakh crore annual crude oil New Delhi: A panel headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha has recomimport bill, the government is emphasising the need for mended commercial use of ISRO’s lithium-ion battery technology under vehicles run on alternative fuel, including electric vethe ‘Make In India’ initiative for electric vehicles, official sources said. hicles. Government’s think-tank Niti Aayog has also come out with a vision document on electric vehicles. ommittee of Secretaries also recommended that the power ministry should initiate “requisite power The meeting of the Committee held on discuss the tariff and access policies” for enabling development “strategy to scale up transformative mobility for uptake of of charging infrastructure, in consultation with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and others zero emission vehicles and ancillary technologies” was atconcerned. Official sources told PTI that the panel tended by secretaries from nine departments, Niti Aayog has firmed up the strategy for increasing use of zero CEO, representatives from the Department of Space and emission vehicles to lower India’s dependence on oil Cabinet Secretariat, sources said. The panel also made imports and improve the ambient air quality. The panel, they said, a case for an empowered mission under Niti Aayog for has advised that “ISRO may consider transferring” its lithium-ion overall policy formulation and for driving the programme battery technology used in electric vehicles to interested parties to boost uptake of zero emission vehicles, the sources said. on a “non- discriminatory basis for commercialisation with Make in owever, individual initiatives may continue to be India condition”, after obtaining approval of the Space Commission driven by ministries/departments concerned.In its and other authorities. wide ranging recommendations, the panel has also said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas may examine the possibility of leveraging the existing retail " In last year, Niti network of oil marketing companies for scaling up public Aayog member V K charging infrastructure. The Ministry of Road Transport Saraswat had said and Highways may consider issuing an advisory to states that India has to set for ensuring that registration of zero emission vehicles up large lithium-ion (ZEVs) is facilitated, recommended the panel. batteries manufacThe Committee suggested that steps may be taken in turing plants to beregard to the monitoring structure proposed by Niti Aayog come a global player for “providing leadership and inter-ministerial coordinain electric vehicles tion”. Further, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (EVs) technology may pursue the development and promotion of energy market. " storage technologies with focus on grid scale operations, recommended the panel.

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Source: PTI

Eicher Trucks & Buses unveils smart electric buses

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New Delhi [India]: Eicher Trucks & Buses, part of VE Commercial Vehicles, on Monday introduced zero emission smart electric buses. s part of this development, VE Commercial Vehicles will integrate KPIT Technologies’ indigenously developed electrification technology, ‘REVOLO’, on its industry leading bus platform – ‘Skyline Pro’. Manufactured at VECV’s own state-of-theart manufacturing facility in Indore, Madhya Pradesh Eicher Skyline Pro buses are the most advanced in safety, comfort and efficiency. The new electric, Skyline Pro E bus adds to the successful Skyline Pro range and marks a significant move in the company’s direction to build smart and sustainable transportation solutions for India.

REVOLO is an innovative versatile technology that can be applied to a large range of buses and other vehicle designs. It has been designed by KPIT, a global technology company working in automotive and mobility solutions. Its architecture allows it to operate on a lower voltage, and does significant regeneration to have the maximum possible range with the smallest possible battery. .

“The country is at the cusp of a new revolution in transportation, and it is our endeavor to provide India with the best mobility solutions.

Together with KPIT Technologies Ltd., we bring our core competencies of a strong bus platform and indigenous technology to build the right products for the market,” said Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles. “The shift to electric vehicle technology is opening up a number of opportunities for the economy. It is a viable solution to India’s depleting air quality and increasing dependencies on traditional fuel resources.

Along with the supporting policy framework, it will bring in positive implications across environment, social and economic parameters,” he added.

Source: ANI

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electric vehicle

Solar Energy Shift Needs Energy Storage to Succeed • India has the potential to electrify as much as 40% of new vehicles hitting the country’s roads by 2030 (NITI AYOG).

• Many industry experts suggest that the lifetime costs of owning and driving an EV will be comparable to ICE by 2022.

• Sales of the electric cars to soar in the 2020s.

If you rush to buy an electric car, Maharashtra will give a tax sop Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday cleared the much awaited electric vehicles policy to encourage manufacturing and use of green vehicles.

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nder the policy, the industries department has offered a slew of benefits for manufacturing, creation of infrastructure and consumers. Officials said that this policy was required to push the BJP led move to switch to electric vehicles by 2030. Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has been pushing for electric vehicles and the first charging station was set up by an oil marketing company in Nagpur.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations The EV chargers can be AC or DC type.

• The AC chargers (home) generally comes with 1.5/3 KW capacity • The DC charging can be categorised as 1. The Level 1 charges from 10 kW to 15KW with output voltage up to 72 Volt.

2. The Level 2 charges from 30 kW to 150KW with max out put voltage up to 1000 Volt.

TheLevel 2 can be further segmented into fast charger for capacity above 50KW range.

“We are looking to give incentives at the manufacturing level as well as at the consumer level to create a buying atmosphere for these vehicles,” said a senior official from the industries department. The biggest issues that companies who are already into production of green vehicles is that of charging stations and the policy aims to address that.

Under the policy electricity rates for charging stations that will set up under the policy will be on par with the residential tariffs. Vehicle companies will be able to set up charging stations even at petrol pumps after all the safety norms are followed. “We have also proposed subsidy to companies who set up charging stations in the state,” said an official. The state government has proposed 25% investment (maximum of Rs 10 lakh per charging station) the first 250 stations they set up. “We have studied many similar policies that are currently in force in other cities as well as other countries and the best practises were adopted,” said the official. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have similar policies in their states.

Meanwhile, in a rare policy extension, the government has also announced waived of road tax and registration charges for e-vehicles in the state and also a 15% subsidy for the first one lakh vehicles that are registered in the state. For twowheelers the cap for the rebate is Rs 5000, Rs 12,000 is the cap for three-wheelers and for four-wheelers it is upto Rs 1 lakh. The rebate will be reverted in the account of the person in whoes name the vehicle is registered in three months from the date of purchase.

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electric vehicle

The architecture for the whole EV infrastructure as shown below

EV – Electric Vehicle EVSE – Electric vehicle supply equipment CMS – Central monitoring system

EV Charging Stations vs. Vehicle Matrix

Regulatory framework for EV CERC has approved 3 business models viable within the framework of the Electricity Act 2003.

1. Battery Swapping model where Company own the battery, charge them and swap with discharged one.

Battery Swapping Flow Chart

2. PPP franchisee model where companies can partner with electricity distribution companies.

3. Electricity distribution companies in state can establish charging infrastructure with tariff under special category.

State/Government Initiative & Announcements • In Karnataka, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) plans to install 10 charging station in Bangalore • Bescom has proposed a ‘Time of Day tariff’ system under which motorists can be charged at Rs. 4.5 per unit during day time and Rs. 4 at night.

• Maharashtra government recently announced tax sops for purchases, manufacturing of EV’s and setting up of charging infrastructure.

• The Southern and Eastern Power Distribution Companies of Andhra Pradesh (A.P) has proposed a power tariff of ₹6.95 per unit for electric vehicles.

• Based on recent announcement all government offices will using EV’s by 2020.

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Energy Storage

“Tata Power-DDL has introduced several firsts in the distribution sector and implemented various smart grid technologies. We are privileged to implement India’s first utility-scale storage solution in collaboration with AES and Mitsubishi Corporation. The first of its kind system will help to create a business case for the deployment of storage in India, to address challenges in the areas of peak load management, system flexibility, frequency regulation and reliability on the network. This project will provide a platform to demonstrate energy storage as a critical distribution asset and help to balance distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar,” said Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Power-DDL.

AES and Mitsubishi Corporation Start Construction on India’s First Grid-Scale Energy Storage System for Tata Power-DDL AES India, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES), and Mitsubishi Corporation started construction on India’s first utility-scale energy storage system, a 10 megawatt (MW) solution that will serve the electric grid operated by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL).

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ES and Mitsubishi Corporation will own the Advancion storage solution, which is being supplied by Fluence. The solution is being deployed in Rohini, Delhi at a substation operated by Tata Power-DDL. Once completed later this year, the 10 MW solution will enable better peak load management, add system flexibility, and enhance reliability for more than 7 million customers in the Delhi region.

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ndia’s renewable energy sector is experiencing remarkable growth and India recently expanded its renewable energy target to 175 gigawatts of solar and wind generation by 2022. Deploying energy storage will help network operators mitigate solar and wind resources’ variability and reduce congestion on the region’s transmission system, delivering more affordable, clean energy and enabling new sources of revenue from frequency regulation and other grid services.

“We are happy to have the opportunity to work alongside Tata Power-DDL and AES in launching this emerging and critical technology in India. Together with our partners, we look forward to demonstrating different applications in which battery-based energy storage can add value for both the power grid and the people of India,” said Tsunehiro Makabe, General Manager of Mitsubishi Corporation’s Environmental Energy Business Department.

Fluence, an energy storage technology and services company owned by Siemens and AES, will supply its Advancion technology platform for the project. Tata Power-DDL and its customers will benefit from Fluence’s proven and industrial-strength storage technology, which was designed for long-term dependability. Fluence brings more than a decade of grid-scale battery-based energy storage experience to the project, with nearly 500 MW deployed or awarded across 15 countries.

“AES has always been an innovative company, providing safe, reliable and affordable energy to the markets we serve.

The deployment of cutting-edge energy storage technology in India shows the commitment we have to the country. Adding Fluence’s Advancion energy storage solution will allow us to continue to contribute to the modernization and enhancement of the electricity system in India,” said Mark Green, President of AES’ Eurasia Strategic Business Unit.

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The Fluence team has delivered the first grid-scale battery-based energy storage systems in ten countries over the last decade, and we are proud to continue that trend in India in partnership with AES, Mitsubishi Corporation and Tata Power-DDL,” said Stephen Coughlin, CEO of Fluence.

“With our Advancion platform, Tata PowerDDL will be adding a valuable new resource for flexibility, reliability and efficiency in its system.

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he deployment of its first grid-scale energy storage represents the latest step forward in modernizing India’s power system and improving grid efficiency.

AES, Mitsubishi Corporation, Tata Power-DDL and Fluence look forward to demonstrating the benefits of batterybased energy storage to India and its government with this groundbreaking project.

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ASIA PACIFIC

Thailand’s biggest solar firm plans $1.76 bln in Vietnam wind projects Thailand’s largest solar energy company, Superblock Pcl, plans to invest 56 billion baht ($1.76 billion) to install 700 megawatts (MW) of wind farms in Vietnam, the company’s Chairman Jormsup Lochaya told.

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he first phase of the investment will cost 20.7 billion baht and consist of three near-shore farms with 142 MW of capacity in Bac Lieu province, 98 MW in Soc Trang province and 100 MW in Ca Mau province, all in southern Vietnam, said Jormsup.

Construction has already begun and Jormsup expects the sites to be operating by 2020.The second phase of 360 MW of capacity will also be built in those three provinces and construction will begin when the first phase concludes, he said. Vietnam’s young population, growing economy and industries will increase power consumption in the country by 10 percent annually, making it an important market, Jormsup said. Vietnam wants to meet that demand with less air pollution, he said, citing Thailand’s own problems with pollution.

“This week Bangkok had an air pollution problem,” Jormsup said, referring to a spike in pollutants in the city.

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he first phase of the investment will cost 20.7 billion baht and consist of three near-shore farms with 142 MW of capacity in Bac Lieu province, 98 MW in Soc Trang province and 100 MW in Ca Mau province, all in southern Vietnam, said Jormsup.

Construction has already begun and Jormsup expects the sites to be operating by 2020.The second phase of 360 MW of capacity will also be built in those three provinces and construction will begin when the first phase concludes, he said. Vietnam’s young population, growing economy and industries will increase power consumption in the country by 10 percent annually, making it an important market, Jormsup said.

Vietnam wants to meet that demand with less air pollution, he said, citing Thailand’s own problems with pollution.

“We want to be a regional player,” he said, adding the company was considering acquisitions in renewable companies in Southeast Asia and was also looking at projects in China, Japan and Australia.

Thailand is Southeast Asia’s biggest solar power holder, having broken into the top 15 globally in 2016, with a capacity of more than 3,000 MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Superblock holds solar power capacity of 760 MW and is waiting for government approval for s 695 MW wind project.

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featured

JinkoSolar Leads Technology Dialogue in India, Hosts PV Tech Seminar

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inkoSolar Trading Private Limited – a JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd subsidiary (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”), a global leader in the photovoltaic industry (PV), today announced that it successfully held a PV Tech seminar at The Leela Ambience, Gurugram on Wednesday, 24th January 2018.

The seminar aimed to raise discussions on upcoming module technologies and solar manufacturing excellence for enhanced efficiency and generation.

The event opened on a high note with a warm welcome address

by JinkoSolar South Asia Managing Director, Donald Leo. This was followed by a keynote speech

by Dr. Y.B. Reddy, Deputy General Manager of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). As part of his speech, Dr. Reddy stressed the importance of using quality and reputable modules to ensure long-term success of solar projects in India market. Following Dr. Y.B. Reddy’s speech, attendees listened to a knowledge sharing talk on Anti-dumping and Safeguard duties by ELP, a prominent law firm in India.

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he piece de resistance of the event was a PV technology presentation

by JinkoSolar Technical Department’s Eddy Hu. In his presentation, Mr. Hu discussed the latest technology developments in solar and highlighted the advantages of JinkoSolar’s half-cell technology. He noted that half-cell modules, with a highly competitive price-performance ratio, are highly applicable in both utility-scale and distributed generation projects. Beyond great performance, Half-cell

technology has the added benefit of high shade tolerance, making it extremely powerful in distributed generation projects that often are built in areas with other structures. Mr. Hu’s presentation was followed a technical panel discussion on the topic ‘Components in an Energy System’, moderated by Mr. Danish Verma, Executive Vice President of Yes Securities. Representatives from Bridge to India (BTI), Adani, Huawei, and JinkoSolar shared their diverse knowledge on the various components in a conventional PV system.

Source: Jinkosolar

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inverter

The Most Efficient and Adaptable Inverter and Solution Design for Bifacial Modules The highly efficient PV module technology that is widely used in the industry is a bifacial module. These efficient PV modules need to be used with devices such as inverters to maximize value. Recently, many inverters that match bifacial modules have appeared in the industry. Which inverter is the best match forbifacial modules?Based on a large amount of empirical data, this article describes the inverters needed bybifacial modules.

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inverter

Bifacial Module Bifacial solar cell

Standard solar cell

The rear does not transmit light.

an Th sm e r its ear lig ht . tr

e r an ear sm d it oes lig n ht ot .

Bifacial module

Th

Standard module

The rear transmits light.

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Thesolar cell technologies used by bifacial solar moduleswhich are currently on the market include the PERC technology based on the p-type silicon wafer, the PERT technology based on the n-type silicon wafer, and the HIT technology of heterogeneous structures.

FIGURE 1.1 - Figure 1-1 StandardPV module and bifacial module As shown in Figure 1-1, in addition to receiving solar radiation from the front, the rear of the bifacial module can also receive scattered light from the air, reflection light of the ground, and direct solar light coming from the rear during the morning and evening. Therefore, the power generated by the bifacial moduleis greater compared with the standardPV module designed for the same PV plant.

FIGURE 1.2 - Energy yield gain from the rear of the bifacial module

Increased percentage (%)

Energy Yield Gain from the Rear of the Bifacial Module and Corresponding Daily Peak Power

Total energy yield increase Grassland

Cement

Yellow sand

Peak power/current increase Aluminum foil

White paint

White reflective film

We have tested standard and bifacial modules with the same structure for a long time. As shown in the figure, the energy yield gain from the rear of the bifacial module varies depending on the scenario, and the energy yield increases by 5%–39%. In addition, the bifacial module can further increase the energy yield by 2%–6% based on its excellent performance of good response to low light and low power loss under the working temperature.

Generally, the energy yield gain of a bifacial module compared to a standardPV module is about 7%–45% in the scenarios listed in Figure 1-2.

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inverter

2 What Inverters Does a PV Plant with Bifacial ModulesNeed?

2.2 Finer MPPT Granularity Figure 2-1 Rear gain of a bifacial module varies greatly depending on the position

Higher Input Current and Higher Efficiency Inverter The following table lists some parameters of the bifacial module with the power of 300 W on the front side from a well-known vendor. As the bifacial module gain increases, the open-circuit voltage and peak power voltage remain unchanged, while the peak power and peak power current of the PV module increase. In this case, designers need to select a more appropriate inverter with a larger DC input current based on the actual gain.

PV Module Open-circuit VoltPeak Power (W) age (V) StandardPV module Bifacial module gain (5%) Bifacial module gain (10%) Bifacial module gain (20%) Bifacial module gain (25%)

Peak Power Voltage (V)

Peak Power Current (A)

300

39.6

32.9

9.11

315

39.6

32.9

9.58

330

39.6

32.9

10.04

360

39.7

32.8

10.98

375

39.7

32.8

11.44

The current of each MPPT circuit of Huawei SUN2000-75KTL-C1 inverter dedicated for bifacial modules is 25 A (see the following table). The inverter fully meets the requirements for the increase of the output current of the bifacial module and its efficiency in China 98.58% ranks first in the industry.

Table 2-2 SUN2000-75KTL-C1 parameters

Output power: 75 kW Output voltage: 500 V Number of MPPT circuits: 6 Number of input strings: 12 Maximum MPPT current: 25 A

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s shown in Figure 2-1, the rear radiation of the bifacial module is uneven. As a result, the overall output power of the PV module is different, and the current discrete rate of the PV module reaches more than 5%. In this case, the MPPT granularity of inverters should be finer. In addition, the mismatch loss caused by inconsistency should be avoided when the string is designed and when it connects to inverters.

Every two strings connected to Huawei SUN2000-75KTL-C1 inverter dedicated for bifacial modules form one MPPT circuit, which means that the inverter has the finest MPPT granularity in the industry. This minimizes the mismatch caused by bifacial modules. Based on PVSYST simulation, it is found that the mismatch loss caused by inverters which form one MPPT circuit by every two strings is 1.1% lower than that caused by common inverters in the bifacial module system.

Efficiency: up to 99%; efficiency in China: 98.58%

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inverter

2.3 Highly Adaptive and the Most Accurate and Efficient MPPT Algorithm in the Industry Figure 2-2 I-V curves of different PV modules

2.4 Secure and Reliable Protection Design 1. The fuse failure rate increases as the current increases.

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he current of the PV module is affected by radiation and temperature, so it cannot be controlled. When the fuse has a low-current overload, the fusing time becomes long. When the fuse is almost blown, it is in a high-temperature heat balance state, or the insulation between the cable and the fuse box is damaged. As a result, fire accidents may occur. The output current of a bifacial module is even larger, which is more likely to cause low-current overload. The fuse can then be blown or even result in a firedue to such high temperatures.

Actual curve Ideal curve

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s shown in Figure 2-2, since the mismatch of the bifacial module is high, its I-V curve is more complex than that of the standardPV module, and its power-voltage curve will generate multiple peakvalues. This poses higher requirements on the detection precision and MPPT of inverters. Huawei string inverters have multiple MPPT units, which can greatly avoid energy yield loss caused by string mismatch. The detection precision of a string reaches 0.5%.

In addition, Huawei inverter uses the most efficient MPP intelligent tracking algorithm in the industry. The inverter adopts the adaptive MPPT technology. When the irradiance is stable, the maximum power point of the PV module can almost be reached. When the irradiance rapidly changes in cloudy weather, the inverter can quickly respond and track the maximum power point in real time, so it can adapt to the bifacial module properly.

In addition, as the bifacial module has multiple peakvalues, the inverter can intelligently identify whether the maximum power point has been reached. The high-speed multi-peak scanning algorithm is enabled to ensure that the inverter is always operating at the maximum power point of the PV module, thereby effectively improving the energy yield of the bifacial module.

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2. The fuse of a single specification cannot adapt to the current mainstream PV modules. Currently, the maximum reverse withstand current capabilities of bifacial modules from mainstream vendors are 15 A and 20 A, as listed in the following tables. In this case, the DC combiner box or the string inverter with built-in fuses cannot adapt to the PV modules of another specification regardless of the fuse specifications. That is, the built-in 20 A fuse cannot protect the 15 A PV module and the built-in 15 A fuse is blown frequently due to the large operating current.

Table 2-3 Maximum rated current of fuses from two mainstream bifacial modulevendors Operating Parameters Operating temperature

–40°C to +85°C

Power tolerance

0 to +5 W

Open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current tolerance

±3%

Maximum system voltage

1500 V DC (IEC)

Maximum rated current of the fuse

15 A

Nominal operating temperature

45±2°C

Security protection level

Class II

Bifacial factor

≥ 75%

Limit Parameters Operating temperature

–40°C to +85°C

Maximum system voltage

1500 V DC (IEC) 1000 V DC (UL)

Maximum rated current of the fuse

20 A

Note: Do not connect two strings or more PV modules in parallel to the same fuse in the combiner box.

Every two strings of Huawei SUN2000-75KTL-C1 inverters dedicated for bifacial modules form one MPPT circuit and adopt a fuseless security protection solution. The design ensures that no overcurrent will occur, protects PV modules, and improves system reliability.In addition, security risks, frequent fuse replacement, and energy yield loss caused by fuse faults are avoided.

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inverter

2.5 Unique, Accurate, and the Most Refined Design Tool for Bifacial module Plants in the Industry

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s described above, the comprehensive power of the bifacial module is affected by many factors such as the project site radiation resource and ground reflectivity. As a result, the actual output power of the bifacial module differs greatly in different projects.

Therefore, designers must not use the same serial/parallel connection of PV modules and inverter configuration for all projects and must perform refined design based on specific projects. Even in the same place, refined design is required for different scenarios. Therefore, the bifacial module system solution is more variable than standardPV modules. If all factors need to be considered, the number of design schemes of the bifacial module system will be more than 10,000. In this case, the optimal system design cannot be obtained accurately and quickly based on experience and standard design. Therefore, a more professional bifacial module design tool is required.

Generally, a physical model needs to be set up for

evaluating the energy yield of bifacial modules. Research personnel from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories, and Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany have conducted a lot of research. They focus on the ray-tracing and view-factor models which can accurately describe the gain of the bifacial module from the rear.

The two models are based on 3D modeling. Although more details can be displayed, algorithms are complex and computing is time-consuming, which does not meet the actual requirements of engineering applications.

Huawei has simplified and optimized the two models, and launched an industry-leading intelligent design tool for bifacial module systems based on the 2D physical model (as shown in Figure 2-4). The tool can find the balance point between the calculation speed and design details, and accurately and quickly calculate the optimal configuration of the bifacial module system.

Figure 2-4 2D model of a bifacial module whose rear receives radiation

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he intelligent design tool for bifacial module systems integrates full-scenario, adaptive, and self-learning intelligent control algorithms to accurately output the optimal design solution. This increases the energy yield by more than 3% compared with solutions provided by other standard design methods. Currently, this tool is the only accurate design tool for bifacial module plants in the industry and has been verified by a large amount of data.

In addition, the complexity of the I-V curve of the bifacial module makes the intelligent diagnosis of string faults easy to misjudge, which causes inconvenience

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to operation and maintenance (O&M). Huawei's latest Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis function 2.0 uses a new intelligent string diagnosis algorithm. Based on big data analysis and AI algorithms, it can automatically learn and evolve. Based on the built-in database, it can quickly master the input and output feature curves of various PV modules and automatically filter out the noise that causes misjudgment. It supports bifacial modules and is the best choice for O&M of bifacial module plants. To sum this up, we compared the Smart PV Solution with the current mainstream inverter solutions, as described in the following table.

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To sum this up, we compared the Smart PV Solution with the current mainstream inverter solutions, as described in the following table.

Comparison of solutions for bifacial module scenarios Comparison Item of bifacial modules Matching Different Solutions Increase of the inverter input DC

Inverter MPPT granularity

Inverter fuse fault

Inverter MPPT algorithm

Traditional Centralized Solution

Traditional String Solution

Smart PV Solution

Good The number of combiner boxes is reduced.

Poor The MPPT input current is not increased.

Excellent The MPPT input current is increased.

Poor Hundreds of strings form one MPPT circuit.

Good Multiple (more than two) strings form one MPPT circuit.

Excellent Two strings form one MPPT circuit.

Poor

Poor

Poor

Poor

Excellent Two strings form one MPPT circuit and there is no fuse.

Excellent Most efficient algorithm in the industry.

The algorithm is intelligently optimized based on the complex and multi-peak I-V curve of bifacial modules.

None

None

Excellent Currently, the industry's unique intelligent self-learning and adaptive design tool for bifacial modules is used in various complex scenarios.

Bifacial module analysis tool

None

None

Excellent Based on big data analysis and AI algorithms,the smart I-V curve 2.0 is the optimal choice for O&M of bifacial module plants.

Summary

Not recommended

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Huawei inverters have the following features:

• • • • •

Higher input current and highest efficiency Finer MPPT Granularity Highly adaptive, the most accurate and efficient MPPT Secure and reliable protection design Unique, accurate and the most refined design tool for bifacial module plants in the industry These five smart tools make Huawei inverters the best match forbifacial modules. In fact, the solutions composed of Huawei inverters and bifacial odules have been widely applied to bifacial module plants in various scenarios. The following table lists some cases.

Table 3-1 Cases of Huawei string inverters used in bifacial module plants

Location Capacity

Bifacial module solution design

Available

3 Application Cases of Bifacial Modules and Optimal Inverters

Scenario

Gridconnection Time

PV Module Type

PV Module Power

June 2016

HIT

360

Gonghe

1 MW / 1.3 MW

Gobi

Golmud

20 MW / 20 MW / 10 MW / 10 MW

Yellow sand

August 2017

Grassland

June 2017

Datong

30 MW / 30–40 MW

Xintai

100 MW

Lianghuai

8–10 MW

Solaragricultural Water surface

P-type / N-type / P-type / P-type

Mount Type

Inverter

Fixed mount SUN2000/ Horizontal 50KTL-C1 single axis

Energy Yield Gain

10.5%

350 / 350 / 350 / 345

Horizontal single axis

SUN200050KTL-C1

13%

N-type / N-type

310 / 310

Fixed mount

SUN200050KTL-C1

5%

December 2017

N-type

310

Horizontal single axis

SUN200050KTL-C1

22%

November 2017

N-type

290

Fixed mount

SUN200050KTL-C1

15%

Case 1: GongheBifacial module plant

COD : June 2016 Capacity : 1 MW of fixed mounts and 1.3 MW of horizontal single axis trackers Inverter : Huawei SUN2000-50KTL-C1 PV module: 360 W HIT bifacial module Application scenario : grassland and sand Energy yield gain (compared with standardPV modules) : 10.5%

Best choice for bifacial modules

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inverter Case 2: Golmudbifacial module plant

4 SUMMARY

COD : gradually connected to the grid since August 2017 Capacity : 60 MW of horizontal single axis trackers Inverter : Huawei SUN2000-50KTL-C1 PV module : 345 W and 350 W PV modules Application scenario : desert Energy yield gain (compared with standardPV modules): 13%

Case 3: Xintai solar-agricultural project

COD : November 2017 Capacity : 100 MW of single axis trackers Inverter : Huawei SUN2000-50KTL-C1 PV module : 310 W PV module Application scenario : solar-agricultural scenario Energy yield gain (compared with standardPV modules): 22%

Case 4: Lianghuai floating PV plant

The bifacial module has started a new round of technology replacement. The application of new technologies requires thedevelopment of other new technologies, such as the higher inverter input current, finer MPPT granularity, more accurate MPPT algorithms, and smarter design tools for bifacial module plants.

Based on the preceding analysis, we are proud to be the provider of themost adaptive PV inverter and solution design in the industry.

COD : December 2017 Capacity : 10 MW Inverter : Huawei SUN2000-50KTL-C1 PV module : 285 W PV module Application scenario : white floats on the water surface Energy yield gain (compared with standardPV modules): 15%

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EQ

March 2018

71Â

Quarter results

Azure Power Announces Results for Fiscal Third Quarter 2018 EBENE, Mauritius — Azure Power Global Limited (NYSE: AZRE), a leading independent solar power producer in India, today announced its consolidated results under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Third Quarter 2018 Period Ended December 31, 2017 Operating Highlights: Operating Megawatts were 805 MW, as of December 31, 2017, an increase of 57% over December 31, 2016.

Operating & Committed Megawatts were 1,580 MW, as of December 31, 2017, an increase of 48% over December 31, 2016.

Revenue for the quarter was INR 1,739.9 million (US$27.3 million), an increase of 83% over the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was INR 1,226.9 million (US$19.2 million), an increase of 76% over the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Nominal Contracted Payments

T

he Company’s PPAs create long-term recurring customer payments. Nominal contracted payments equal the sum of the estimated payments that the customer is likely to make, subject to discounts or rebates, over the remaining term of the PPAs. When calculating nominal contracted payments, the Company includes those PPAs for projects that are operating or committed.

The following table sets forth, with respect to our PPAs, the aggregate nominal contracted payments and total estimated energy output as of the reporting dates. These nominal contracted payments have not been discounted to arrive at the present value.

As of December 31

Key Operating Metrics

E

lectricity generation during the nine months ended December 31, 2017 increased by 438 million kWh, or 105%, to 855 million kWh, compared to the same period in 2016. The increase in electricity generation was principally a result of additional capacity operating during the period.

Total revenue during the nine months ended December 31, 2017 was INR 5,441.6 million (US$ 85.3 million), up 90% from INR 2,865.4 million during the same period in 2016. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by the commissioning of new projects.

Project cost per megawatt operating consists of costs incurred for one megawatt of new solar power plant capacity during the reporting period. The project cost per megawatt operating for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 increased by INR 8.7 million (US$ 0.14 million) to INR 52.9 million (US$ 0.83 million), as compared to the same period in 2016. The project cost per megawatt was higher due to the use of higher-cost domestic modules as required by the Power Purchase Agreement “PPA” and purchased land compared to lower-cost open source modules and leased land in the corresponding previous period.

As of December 31, 2017, our operating and committed megawatts increased by 509 MW to 1,580 MW compared to December 31, 2016 as a result of winning new projects. In addition, we won a 250 MW contract with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) in October 2017 for which we are seeking clarity with regards to signing off on the PPA given the recent MNRE advisory that no tenders will progress under the DCR category for private developers.

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2016 INR

2017 INR

Nominal contracted payments (in thousands)

256,312,193

321,241,800

Total estimated energy output (kilowatt hours in millions)

44,745

70,956

US$ 5,032,771

Nominal contracted payments increased from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017 as a result of the Company entering into additional PPAs. Over time, the Company has seen falling benchmark tariffs as reported by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, in line with the reduction in solar module prices.

Nominal Contracted Payments

P

ortfolio run-rate equals annualized payments from customers extrapolated based on the operating and committed capacity as of the reporting dates. In estimating the portfolio run-rate, the Company multiplies the PPA contract price per kilowatt hour by the estimated annual energy output for all operating and committed solar projects as of the reporting date. The estimated annual energy output of the Company’s solar projects is calculated using power generation simulation software and validated by independent engineering firms. The main assumption used in the calculation is the project location, which enables the software to derive the estimated annual energy output from certain meteorological data, including the temperature and solar insolation based on the project location.

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Quarter results The following table sets forth, with respect to the Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PPAs, the aggregate portfolio run-rate and estimated annual energy output as of the reporting dates. The portfolio run-rate has not been discounted to arrive at the present value.

As of December 31 2016 Portfolio run-rate (in thousands)

2017

INR

INR

US$

11,049,222

14,007,890

219,456

1,932

2,587

Estimated annual energy output (kilowatt hours in millions

Portfolio run-rate increased by INR 2,958.7 million (US$ 46.4 million) to INR 14,007.9 million (US$ 219.5 million) as of December 31, 2017, as compared to December 31, 2016, due to an increase in operational and committed capacity.

Third Quarter Period ended December 31, 2017 Consolidated Financial Results: Operating Revenue Operating revenue in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 was INR 1,739.9 million (US$ 27.3 million), an increase of 83% from INR 948.8 million over the same period in 2016. The increase in revenue was driven by the commissioning of new projects.

Cost of Operations Cost of operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 increased by 90% to INR 158.4 million (US$ 2.5 million) from INR 83.2 million in the same period in 2016. The increase was primarily due to plant maintenance cost for newly commissioned projects which was partially offset by the implementation of improved O&M methods which improved plant productivity. This includes INR 8.7 million (US$ 0.1 million) of non-cash expense, which pertains to the amortisation of lease expense.

General and Administrative Expenses General and administrative expenses for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 increased by INR 185.3 million (US$ 2.9 million), to INR 354.5 million (US$ 5.6 million) compared to the same period in 2016. However, due to a delay by the government in bundling of thermal power with solar power production at one of our recently commissioned project, we recorded a onetime charge of INR 83.6 million (US$ 1.3 million). Our project contract period was extended by the duration of the delay by the government.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

Gain / Loss on Foreign Currency Exchange The Indian rupee depreciated against the U.S. dollar by INR 1.3 to US$ 1.00 (2.0%) during the period from September 30, 2016 to December 31, 2016, while the Indian rupee appreciated against the U.S. dollar by INR 1.5 to US$ 1.00 (2.2%) during the period from September 30, 2017 to December 31, 2017. This appreciation during the period from September 30, 2017 to December 31, 2017 resulted in a foreign exchange gain of INR 90.8 million (US$ 1.4 million), compared to a loss of INR 135.6 million during the same period in 2016.

Income Tax Expense / Benefit The income tax benefit increased during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 by INR 485.6 million (US$ 7.6 million) to INR 150.9 million (US$ 2.4 million), compared to the same period in 2016. The increase in the income tax benefit was primarily on account of the commissioning of new projects. During the current quarter, we recorded non-cash income tax benefit amounting to INR 150.9 million (US$ 2.4 million) and there was no cash outflow relating to income taxes during the period.

Net Loss The net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 was INR 136.1 million (US$ 2.1 million), as compared to a net loss of INR 514.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, a decrease in loss of INR 378.1 million (US$ 5.9 million) as compared to the same period in 2016. This was primarily due to an increase in revenue during the quarter ended December 31, 2017, compared to December 31, 2016.

Cash Flow and Working Capital Cash generated from operating activities for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 of INR 405.5 million (US$ 6.4 million), INR 181.8 million (US$ 2.8 million) higher than the prior comparable period, primarily due to an increase in revenue during the current period.

Cash used in investing activities, for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 was INR 15,406.9 million (US$ 241.3 million), compared to INR 14,601.8 million for the prior comparable period. The cash used in investing activities was higher due to purchases of property plant and equipment for new projects as compared to the prior comparable period.

Cash generated from financing activities was INR 16,757.0 (US$ 262.5 million) for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, compared to INR 17,182.9 million for the prior comparable period. During the nine months ended December 31, 2017, the Company raised INR 42,712.0 million (US$ 669.2 million) of non-convertible debentures and project debt, including green bonds.

Depreciation and amortization expenses during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 increased by INR 224.7 million (US$ 3.5 million), or 90%, to INR 474.9 million (US$ 7.4 million) compared to the same period in 2016. The principal reason for the increase was capitalization of new projects during the period from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017.

Liquidity Position

Interest Expense, Net

Adjusted EBITDA

Net interest expense during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 increased by INR 639.6 million (US$ 10.0 million), or 130%, to INR 1,130.0 million (US$ 17.7 million) compared to the same period in 2016. Interest expense increased on account of borrowings for new projects and was partially offset by the increased interest income on investments during the quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Adjusted EBITDA was INR 1,226.9 million (US$ 19.2 million) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2017, compared to INR 696.4 million in the third quarter ended December 31, 2016. The increase was primarily due to the increase in revenue during the period.

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As of December 31, 2017, the Company had INR 11,740.7 million (US$ 183.9 million) of cash, cash equivalents and current investments. The Company had undrawn project debt commitments of INR 3,631.6 million (US$ 56.9 million) as of December 31, 2017.

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Quarter results

Guidance for Fiscal Year 2018 and 2019

T

he following statements are based on current expectations. These statements are forwardlooking and actual results may differ materially.

The Uttar Pradesh 40 MW and Andhra Pradesh 50 MW projects are expected to be materially complete by fiscal year end 2018. However, the government provided transmission interconnections are likely to roll over into the next fiscal year. As a result, we now expect 905 – 1,000 MWs will be operational by March 31, 2018. The delays in commissioning of the two mentioned projects is expected to have a limited impact on revenues for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 and, as a result, we reiterate our revenue guidance for fiscal year 2018 of US$ 118 – 125 million. With a robust pipeline and strong execution capabilities, we expect to continue to deliver high growth in the next fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. For the fiscal year March 31, 2019, the Company is guiding to have 1,300 – 1,400 MWs operational, or a 30-55% year on year increase. In addition, the company is guiding to revenues of between US$ 143 – 151 million for fiscal year ending March 31, 2019.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

T

he Company will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss earnings results on Friday, February 9, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. US Eastern Time.

The conference call can be accessed live by dialling 1-888-317-6003 (in the U.S.) and 1-412-317-6061 (outside the U.S.) and entering the passcode 4632044.

Investors may access a live webcast of this conference call by visiting http://investors.azurepower.com/eventsand-presentations. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call. The replay will remain available until Friday, February 16, 2018 and can be accessed by dialling 1-877-344-7529 (in the U.S.) and 1-412-317-0088 (outside the U.S.) and entering the replay passcode 10116458. An archived podcast will be available at http://investors.azurepower.com/events-and-presentations following the call.

The Force Is With Clean Energy 10 Predictions for 2018 Rising prices of Chinese solar modules may arrest the sharp decline in Indian solar power tariffs and also put at risk projects that won licences betting on a continued decline in module prices.

Exchange Rate

T

his press release contains translations of certain Indian rupee amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, the translation of Indian rupees into U.S. dollars has been made at INR 63.83 to US$ 1.00, which is the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfer in non-U.S. currencies as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on December 31, 2017.

The Company makes no representation that the Indian rupee or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this press release could have been converted into U.S. dollars or Indian rupees, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

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reaserch & analysis

I

t’s January, so that means it’s time for BNEF

to look forward in time – and try to predict what 2018 will hold for the clean transition in energy and transport. Luckily, there is a new Star Wars film out, and I have tracked down the far-sighted Master Yoda on LinkedIn. To summarize, the Force will be with clean energy and transport this year, but there is also a Dark Side.

Ok, not all of this forecast comes from Master Yoda. My colleagues from Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s analyst teams have also had a hand in it, and their detailed predictions are set out below, covering everything from solar and wind, to battery storage and electric vehicles, to intelligent mobility and North American gas and international LNG, to U.S. policy and the dynamic markets of China and India. But first, here are a few broad-brush pointers on what could drive the transition forward in 2018, and what could disturb it. The continuing plunge in costs for solar and wind

energy, and for lithium-ion batteries, means that market opportunities will keep opening up for clean power, storage and electric vehicles. In 2017, we saw new records set for the tariffs in renewable energy auctions around the world, at levels – for instance $18.60 per MWh for onshore wind in Mexico – that would have been unthinkable only two or three years ago.

In batteries, we estimate that lithium-ion pack prices fell by no less than 24% last year, opening up the prospect, with further cost improvements, of EVs undercutting conventional, internal combustion engine cars on both lifetime and upfront cost by the mid-to-late 2020s. Detailed analysis by our teams suggests that these cost reduction trends are set to remain in place in the years ahead, thanks to economies of scale and technological improvements – although no trend is a straight line, given the importance of the supply-demand balance and commodity prices.

ANGUS MCCRONE Chief Editor, Bloomberg New Energy Finance

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reaserch & analysis

T

he upswing in the world economy in recent months could also be helpful for the transition in energy and transport, since it has bolstered oil and coal (and, to a lesser extent, gas) prices, so tipping the competitive comparison a little further toward wind, solar and EVs. Investor confidence in our sectors has certainly been quietly improving, with the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index, or NEX, which tracks the performance of around 100 clean energy and transport stocks around the world, climbing 28% between the end of 2016 and January 11 this year.

However, and this is where the Dark Side comes in, there is room for concern about some of the risks in the wider world at the start of 2018, and about how waves created outside could wash into the energy transition. One particular risk is the uneasy co-existence of the most buoyant financial markets for more than a decade with the potential for a political or geopolitical shock – perhaps

$330 BILLION CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT, AGAIN

B

NEF’s clean energy investment figures for 2017, published, show that last year came in pretty strongly – at $333.5 billion, up 3% on a revised total for the previous year and within 7% of the all-time record, set in 2015. I am going to plump for a very similar number in 2018, because the factors pushing for a higher figure this year appear to be fairly well matched against those arguing for a lower one. First, on the bearish side, the remorseless reductions in solar (and to some extent, wind) project capital costs mean that the same billion-dollar sum will buy more gigawatts than a year earlier.

And offshore wind investment could fall short of last year’s $20.8 billion, unless the French projects come out of the slow lane and get financed in 2018.

On the bullish side, public markets investment could well be higher than 2017’s modest $8.7 billion, the lowest for five years – unless, of course, we do get a general stock market upset. One firm, electric vehicle battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology, has filed for a $2 billion initial public offering in Shenzhen. Also, our solar team is predicting further growth in additions in 2018, and so are its colleagues in energy storage (see the specific predictions from both below).

These may be enough to cancel out the capital cost reductions.

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SOLAR TO 100GW - AND BEYOND!

G

lobal solar installations will be at least 107GW in 2018, up from the higher-than-expected 98GW last year, and new countries will become established as significant markets. In the total global forecast for PV this year, China still dominates, with 47-65GW. However, this is the year that Latin America, south-east Asia, the Middle East and Africa will make up a measurable slice of the total. For instance, Mexico is likely to be a 3GW-plus market in 2018, and Egypt, the U.A.E. and Jordan between them at 1.7-2.1GW. China’s boom, which saw an extraordinary 53GW installed in 2017, is still fundamentally irrational – the mechanism to collect the subsidies to be paid out has not been determined, and many of these projects are being built before they have secured ‘quota’ from the government to have access to the subsidy pool. However, it looks as if Chinese state-owned developers and investors will build them anyway, on the assumption that the government will find a way and, if not, compensation for the power itself will prevent a total loss. a collision between President Donald Trump and Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election; or a miscalculation on the Korean peninsula; or a military clash between Iran and Saudi Arabia. There is a more conventional market risk. A healthier world economy has raised the likelihood of tightening monetary policies in not just the U.S. but also Europe and Japan. Long-term interest rates have recently been rising – the U.S. 10-year up from 2% in September to more than 2.5% now – and a bigger move in the same direction could start to affect the cost of capital, and therefore the relative competitiveness, of high-capex, low-opex technologies such as wind and solar. With that preamble, and the unoriginal observation that the progress of the transition in energy and transport is sensitive to the successes or otherwise of its leading companies and to countries’ ability to manage a changing energy mix, here are BNEF’s ‘‘10 Predictions for 2018’ ‘10 Predictions for 2018’: A mandatory Renewable Energy Credit may be introduced in 2018 in China, and might answer part of the ‘where does the subsidy come from’ question. About half the new build in China will be distribution-grid-connected, ie smaller projects with the ability to sell to local power consumers.

These are not subject to quota, but are limited by the ability of large developers to put together volumes of small deals.

SOLAR TO 100GW - AND BEYOND!

G

lobal wind installations – onshore and offshore – were some 56GW in 2017, slightly above 2016’s 54GW but well below the record of 63GW reached the previous year. We expect the slow recovery to continue in 2018, with additions reaching about 59GW, before a new record is established in 2019 at around 67GW, as the U.S. Production Tax Credit nears expiry. China and Latin America are likely to be the two regions seeing growth between 2017 and 2018.

In offshore wind, the main markets will continue to be the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands and China, but with more signs this year that the U.S. and Taiwan are preparing the ground for a string of projects in the 2020s. One of the highlights in 2018 will be the result of the Netherlands zero-subsidy auction for the Hollandse Kust I and II sites, totalling some 700MW. Two bidders (Vattenfall and Statoil) have confirmed their participation, and we expect others to emerge. Competition between a strong selection of developers would be another sign of the much improved cost-effectiveness of offshore wind.

www.EQMagPro.com

reaserch & analysis BATTERY PACK PRICES FALL, DESPITE METAL PRESSURE

FURTHER RISES IN U.S. GAS OUTPUT & GENERATION

ithium-ion battery pack prices will continue to drop in 2018, but at a slower pace than in previous years. Cobalt and lithium carbonate prices rose 129% and 29% respectively in 2017. This will start to increase average cell prices in 2018, leading to many headlines about how the EV revolution and the rise of energy storage are under threat. Despite this, we expect average pack prices to decline by 10-15%, driven by economies of scale, larger average pack sizes and energy density improvements of 5-7% per year.

Falling capex costs, an increasing need for flexible resources and greater confidence in the underlying technology will continue to drive energy storage uptake. Global storage deployments in 2018 will exceed 2GW/4GWh, and South Korea will be the single largest market, for the second consecutive year. The market is still fragile, however, and some expectations about the speed of deployment are not realistic. Batteries are hyped as the answer to all problems with intermittent renewables, including price cannibalization caused by the merit order effect, system-level balancing and network constraints. Policies rather than economics alone will determine the rate of uptake. Energy storage remains poorly understood by many within the energy sector and by policy-makers.

This matters hugely since investing in alternatives such as natural gas power plants with a 25-plus year lifetime will either create a long lock-in period that would limit opportunities for other flexible resources such as storage, or result in stranded assets further down the line.

NEF expects the Nymex natural gas Henry Hub price benchmark to average close to $3 per million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) in 2018, with 10% variations around this average, driven by seasonal demand and short-term market shifting events. The natural gas markets will continue to evolve in 2018, led by both rising domestic production and growing demand, all while our expectation is that prices will remain in a similar range to 2017.

2017 was a monumental year for domestic U.S. output, with a new peak production of 77.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) based on BNEF’s estimates. This achievement was the result of producers putting rigs back to work as recovering prices and technological advances led to improving production economics. We expect this trend to continue in 2018, with the Northeast’s Marcellus/Utica and West Texas Permian leading the way, driven by production break-evens well below $3/MMBtu. In total, BNEF expects that U.S. dry natural gas production will hit a new record as it crosses 80 Bcfd by the end of the year.

Last year was also a remarkable one for U.S. natural gas consumption and exports. The 18% recovery in natural gas prices to a 2017 average of $3.02/MMBtu helped reverse the strong levels of coal-to-gas switching the U.S. markets experienced in 2015 and 2016. In 2018, we expect gas generation once again to pick up by 4% to average of 26.6 Bcfd, even as 17GW of new wind and solar installations are set to destroy some natural gas demand. The increase is primarily a function of new, efficient gas generation coming online in the U.S., pushing coal further out of the power mix.

Exports will yet again play a significant role in stabilizing natural gas balances and prices, with the addition of two new LNG liquefaction projects.

L

ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES AT 1.5 MILLION Global EVs sales will be close to 1.5 million in 2018, with China representing more than half of the global market. This will represent a rise of around 40% from 2017, a slight slowdown in the growth rate as China tapers off direct subsidy support in preparation for the introduction of its EV quota in 2019. Sales there will probably drop in the first quarter and then recover during the rest of the year. Europe will hold its spot as the number-two EV market globally. Urban air quality concerns are mounting in European capitals, and diesel’s fall from grace will benefit the EV market.

Watch Germany in particular as EV sales there doubled in 2017 and could double again in 2018. North America should finish 2018 with EV sales of around 300,000, but Tesla is the wildcard there. If it can deliver on its production targets, U.S. sales could be much higher.

AUTONOMOUS CARS NEAR 10 MILLION-MILE MARK By the end of 2017, based on Waymo’s latest update and our analysis of other companies’ activities, we estimate that autonomous cars globally had achieved just over 5.2 million miles driven in autonomy mode. By the end of 2018, we expect this number to reach 8.3 million miles. The majority of autonomous miles thus far have been from test vehicles, but this may change in 2018. The leading contenders for more autonomous miles are Tesla vehicles. Tesla has not enabled the “Full Self-Driving” package it has already been selling. And the performance of the “Enhanced Autopilot” feature currently enabled in its cars has deteriorated since its partnership with Mobileye ended in September 2016. If Tesla overcomes these challenges in 2018, the company would have a commanding lead in autonomous miles driven by cars owned by private consumers. An additional source of autonomous miles will be the Level-3 semi-autonomous cars that GM, Mercedes, Toyota and VW are starting to sell. Contributions from these vehicles will probably be lower than from Tesla’s fleet, as these automakers have put in more restrictions limiting the circumstances where consumers can use the self-driving features. Privately owned cars could become a major source of autonomous miles in 2018, potentially pushing the cumulative miles driven in fully autonomous mode beyond 10 million miles.

www.EQMagPro.com

B

COAL SLIPS THROUGH TRUMP'S FINGERS

T

he Trump administration will continue to pull every policy lever it can find to revitalize U.S. coal-fired power generation – but will not slow coal’s inexorable and inevitable decline. We are not sticking our noses out too far on this one, actually. Already, 2018 is scheduled to be the second biggest year in U.S. history for coal plant retirements, with 13GW of projects slated to shutter. A particularly cold first week of 2018 could boost the overall coal megawatt-hours a bit, but the total amount of coal capacity online will continue to decline. In addition, on January 8, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a request from Energy Secretary Rick Perry to have U.S. power markets reward coal and nuclear plants for the supposed “resilience” they provide to the grid. FERC, which historically prides itself on independence, rejected Perry’s request with a bipartisan 5-0 vote. he critical supports for U.S. wind and solar remain their tax credits, which survived last year’s taxcut legislation relatively intact. While there are outstanding questions on how U.S. projects will now get financed in the wake of the tax changes, the pipeline looks relatively healthy for 2018. However, if Trump chooses to impose trade tariffs or other penalties on foreignmanufactured PV cells, it could boost local prices for PV modules and render a meaningful portion of the U.S. solar project pipeline economically unviable. Ironically, Trump would likely justify such a move by professing his support for solar as two companies with U.S.-based manufacturing are pushing for the tariffs.

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PR DUCTS TWO NEW 3-PHASE INVERTERS FROM KACO NEW ENERGY: BLUEPLANET 3.0 TL3 AND 4.0 TL3.

The well-known blueplanet inverters from Neckarsulm are now available with an output power starting at 3 kilowatts. So far, the blueplanet 5.0 TL3 opened the entry into the world of three-phase devices: Now, it is the blueplanet 3.0 TL3 and blueplanet 4.0 TL3. Good news for installers operating in markets where photovoltaic systems of this performance class and above have to be connected in three phases, for example in Switzerland or Austria.

Eight 3-phase inverters for small PV systems

S

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ingle-phase or three-phase For a long time, in the early growth phase of solar electrification, grid operators considered photovoltaics to be irrelevant or, at best, a small disturbance.

The growing penetration of the grids by decentralised solar power plants, however, led to the awareness that the energy turnaround will not be stopped.

As a result, the pressure to feed in three-phase for reliable load distribution increased.

In Germany, this has always been compulsory from 4.6 kVA upwards. Countries such as Austria or Switzerland decided for such a limit later on, and drew it at 3.0 kVA. In addition, this performance range has meanwhile established itself as a typical "package size" for solar power systems – with a pack of ten modern high-performance modules.

March 2018

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onsequently, KACO new energy has opened up the product range of inverters with an AC output of up to ten kilowatts to lower outputs. In addition to the six larger units from five kVA upwards, customers can now also plan with the new units with three and four kVA: a handsome selection of inverters for residential PV systems and for small commercial applications.

PV system design made easy

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he new blueplanet 3.0 TL3 and blueplanet 4.0 TL3 inverters come with "full performance" in terms of equipment features: Both have two MPP trackers, each of which can process the full DC power; they start from 200 volts of applied voltage; and they operate stable up to 950 volts. These features allow for optimal PV system design with these inverters and rank them among the most flexible three-phase inverters of their performance class on the market. Thanks to fast cabling of the DC and AC peripherals by means of plug connectors and quick menu selection via the graphic display, installation is easy – even outdoors, because of the compact housing with IP65 protection. And as always, data logger and web server are already integrated.

Michael Humburg, Sales Manager D.A.CH. is convinced: "With these all-rounders we will further expand our good standing in the area of private photovoltaic systems. I am particularly looking forward to new and well-known customers in our southern neighbouring countries, to whom we can now offer the full range of our three-phase inverters."

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PR DUCTS SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLERS One of the many ways in which solar electricity benefits daily lives is by pumping water and providing water for irrigation among others.

The controller has some advanced built-in features including MPPT/ Optimized output frequency control, automatic restart function, dry-run detection, flow rate monitor, remote monitoring function and capacity to work on Solar and Grid supply.

The dry-run detection function helps prevent the motor from remaining rotating without enough water flow or with a blockage in the pump. It also comes with a power failure stop function where the DC bus minimum voltage is reduced to avoid under voltage tripping and to maximise output delivery from morning to evening.

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itsubishi Electric has developed solar power operated Pump Controller which converts the DC power to drive the AC induction motor of a water pump and control its function. It currently offers E12 series of drives. The controller has more efficiency, is compact in size, easy to maintain, has simple operational functions and has built-in applicationspecific dedicated features. it's operation capacity ranges from 3 hp to 10 hp with FR-D 700 & FR-E 700 series. But the company also offers up to 60 hp with its FR- A800 series of drives.

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he Automatic Operation Function enables VFDs to operate automatically without turning on its switch.

Through the Flow Rate Monitor, it is possible to monitor flow rate via an operation panel with suitable parameter setting or Modbus communication. Besides these, the controller also has safety features like Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Short Circuit protection and Reverse Polarity.

Mitsubishi Electric also provides the service of remote monitoring system through its distributors. The user receives a login and password to monitor the Solar Pump controller performance where he can see the power generated by the solar panels, Output Power delivered to Pump, the running hour time of the pump, water flow and total discharged water.

The RMS works on GPRS system.The product benefits customers in a number of ways because of its useful features like easy installation, low maintenance, simplicity and reliability, better MPPT range which gives effective pumping output for larger period, remote monitoring system that shows the energy generation and pump run hours which gives the efficiency of system.

We constantly endeavour to serve our customers better through our high quality and reliable solutions, and, more than 6000 successful installations so far are a testimony to our continuing efforts. In future we will intensify our efforts to provide cutting-edge automation solutions for the Solar industry.

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PR DUCTS NEW ABB STRING INVERTER REDUCES OPEX AND CAPEX COSTS FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS

BB’s PVS-100/120 range of cloud connected, three-phase string inverter solutions for cost efficient decentralized photovoltaic systems is available from.

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s the solar market shifts towards new cost-effective platforms offering extreme high-power string inverters from 1,000 VDC up to 1,500 VDC, ABB PVS-100/120 platform maximizes the ROI and aims to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs for installers and developers. Suitable for both largescale commercial and industrial ground mounted and rooftop applications, the PVS-100/120 offers a six-in-one, sunto-socket solution, proven to deliver scalability, flexibility, proactive plant management and ease of installation.

Marco Trova, ABB Global Product manager – String Utility said: “Our new PVS100/120 string inverter range offers the ability to interact with the solar plant system like no other through highpower consolidation of physical parts and products along with digitalization.”

Overall the new range of PVS-100/120 solar inverters optimizes total cost of ownership, to include

Greater capacity without compromising on versatility through its Six MPPT input configuration, the highest available on the market, which increases PV plant design flexibility while preserving yields in complex installations. The design friendly inverter solutions can be easily adapted for any application in large commercial rooftops and free field ground-mounted installations ensuring that installers and developers are no longer locked into legacy systems.

Proactive control and management of the solar plant through ABB Ability™ with remote monitoring capabilities, parameter setting and firmware (FW) updates to improve reliability and operational cost efficiencies with reduced plant complexity.

The addition of ABB Ability™ further enables the delivery of monitoring upgrades and top-flight asset management to protect the customers’ investment over the total life of the plant through scalability. Full Sunspec compatibility further guarantees effortless integration with third party systems such as dataloggers and/or SCADA systems, amongst others.

Enhanced O&M can be achieved during the operating life of the plant through key features such as internal heavy-duty inverter cooling fans, which can be easily removed during scheduled maintenance cycles.

Component temperature control combined with the ability for horizontal and vertical mounting and fan speed modulation, increases the lifetime of the inverters and reduces self-consumption of the fan unit.

All-in-One Design with integrated string combiner box solutions with DC disconnect and AC wiring compartment, the PVS-100/120 promises to deliver costs savings as there is no need for a separate DC combiner box and less inverters are required to complete the optimal power block.

Marco concludes: “The PVS-100/120 inverter range from ABB is already being installed on projects across the globe as more and more solar plants combine hardware with software solutions to realize the cost saving potential and flexibility for high power inverters.”

50 percent reduction in installation and logistics costs as fewer inverters are required to complete the optimal power block and the PVS-100/120 brings to market a solution with the largest power capacity for 1,000 VDC string inverters.

Quick and improved user experience with fast installation, utilizing the existing module’s mounting structure to install the inverter and therefore saving time and costs on logistics, training and site preparation. Installation is controlled and managed via the Installation Wizard, installer app and wireless access, thereby reducing installation time and improving overall user experience.

Smart product design features include secure access via a cover key, PV quick connectors and configuration via Wi-Fi to eliminate the risk of water ingress and further reduce the installation time for cabling, fuse and SPD checks.

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PR DUCTS GOODWE SHOWCASED FULL RANGE OF INVERTER SOLUTIONS AT WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT GoodWe is participating as a main exhibitor at the 2018 World Future Energy Summit (WFES 2018) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

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The World Future Energy Summit 2018 (WFES) is the world’s foremost global annual event dedicated to advancing renewable energy and clean technologies. More than 30,000 solar energy industry professionals from 175 countries attended the exhibition, with over 639 leading manufacturers, technology providers and suppliers’ participation.

During the show, GoodWe has brought its full range of string inverters, providing comprehensive solutions for all kinds of residential, commercial, ground-mounted and utility scale projects, including energy storage. GoodWe’s unique energy-storage products and new four-MPPT grid-tied inverter GW60K-MT with outstanding power boost function attracted a large number of visitors who expressed their strong willingness to cooperate.

“Many oil-rich countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, are also turning to new energy, and photovoltaic is their first choice,” said Ron Shen, Director of GoodWe International Sales Department. “GoodWe will focus on contributing to the energy development in the Middle East, while achieving stronger reputation and brand influence in global markets.”

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PR DUCTS INGETEAM’S PV INVERTERS CERTIFIED TO WITHSTAND SANDSTORMS Over the last few years, there has been a marked increase in the number of installations made in desert environments.

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his is due to the fact that deserts offer vast tracts of land at relatively cheap prices and with a large number of sun hours, making it possible to reduce the cost of solar energy. At the same time, the market-led reduction in PV system costs has led to the use of outdoor solutions that dispense with external housings to protect the inverters and other equipment at the transformer substations (transformers, medium voltage cells, etc.).

Therefore, there is a need to guarantee the correct operation of this equipment in these extreme operating conditions yet with no performance losses. Ingeteam’s two main PV inverters have both been certified to the IEC 60068-2-68 international standard by an external laboratory. This standard establishes the conditions to be met by electronic equipment in order to effectively operate in environments with high concentrations of dust and sand.

The certificate was obtained for Ingeteam’s central inverter which is part of the INGECON SUN PowerMax B series and also for its very latest 100 kW string inverter, which is part of the INGECON SUN 3Play family. In both cases, the tests conducted demonstrated that the ingress of particles inside the equipment was residual and did not affect the normal inverter operation or performance.

Roberto González, the director of the Solar PV R&D department at Ingeteam, highlighted “the importance of this certification by an independent, external laboratory, which effectively demonstrates the company’s ability to guarantee the correct operation of its equipment even under the most demanding and adverse conditions”.

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n order to conduct the sand and dust tests based on the IEC 60068-2-68 international standard, Ingeteam acquired a climatic chamber for sand and dust tests, certified under the international standard UNEEN 60068-2-68: 1997. This sealed chamber is able to create a controlled atmosphere with the humidity, wind velocity and sand concentration conditions required by the standard. For this purpose, the chamber is equipped with two particle blowers that continuously blow sand against the inverter and create an atmosphere with a specific concentration of sand and dust in suspension.

Furthermore, the sand used is of similar characteristics to that found in a desert, with regard to grain size (between 0.14 and 0.59 millimetres) and composition, with a predominance of quartz, olivine and feldspar, as it is specified in the regulation.

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his sand chamber, capable of testing equipment of the dimensions of a central PV inverter, was used to verify the correct operation of the inverters, as well as the efficiency of its “sand trap” system to prevent the ingress of particles into the B series central inverter, while collecting the grains of sand and facilitating their subsequent removal. Moreover, the new inverters feature a system that completely seals the ventilation circuit, for maximum protection against the ingress of particles, which could cause serious technical problems in converters installed in the desert. Therefore, as well as the tests specified in the certification procedure, Ingeteam also subjected its equipment to even more extreme conditions, such as those characteristic of a desert sandstorm, clearly demonstrating that its outdoor equipment is able to withstand situations with a high concentration of particles in the air (100 g/m3) and high wind speed (160 km/h).

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