EQ International #2 March/April 2011 Edition

Issue # 2 | March-April 11

INTERNATIONAL Parabolic Trough Cost Reduction Catalyst – ReflecTech Mirror Film

Optimized High Power Converters For Renewable Energy Systems

Key Considerations for Successful Bioenergy Projects

Merging Legacy Systems and the Smart Grid

A reliable partner for Heat Exchangers

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EDITORIAL Solar Financing : A Challenge Not Roadblock N

o doubt the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is an impeccable document and can bring sea change.

But trademark mission is facing rough weather, as financial community is not too optimistic about it.

In a bid to boost up the confidence the financial community, recently the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced to provide up to $150 million in credit guarantees to local and foreign commercial banks, in India, that finance private sector solar power plants. The guarantees will support long-term funding for solar energy development. These guarantees would cover 50% of the payment default risk on bank loans made to project developers. ADB’s partial guarantees on loans of up to 15 years will make the longer-tenor loans to solar power projects more attractive to banks and the projects.

While the finance community is having reservations at the moment, the ministry suggests that banking industry needs some time to understand the nitty-gritty. The deadline financial closer is still far away. Ministry is quite optimistic and opines that it would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the JNNSM turns out to be a success story.

JNNSM, Gujarat & other state programs entail approximately $ 4 billion finance from the banks. Most of the Indian banks have aggressively funded power sector in the recent past and they have reached the sectoral caps. But, attracting non recourse debt capital for solar power projects is a challenge. The rate and tenor should have to be supportive to the developers so as to enable them to make investment grade returns on their equity contribution.

The lenders are facing two risks - technology/system integration risk and generation risk. The success of financial closure depends on the clarity the bankers have on these issues. The tariffs for solar projects have also dropped in the range of 20-40% compared to the CERC determined tariff.

The financial closure of these projects shall happen depending on the mitigations the developers have on such risks. Large developers may have to leverage their balance sheets for achieving financial closure.

Once the financial closure is there, in a bid to meet the deadline of completion of the project there would be rush towards purchasing equipment. Moreover, the companies would compete with each other for resources for achieving cost competitiveness. But higher demand is directly proportional to higher price. This would definitely impact the project cost, putting a question mark on project viability.

With the new industry taking shape, the way forward could be that financial community should take a step ahead. Considering the challenges, the financial community should come out with innovative financing products that ensure the mission sees light of the day. On the other side, the developers have to play an important role in sensitising the lenders about key risk areas in a transparent manner. Take out financing, long term hedge products, interest rate benefits on progressing de-risking of the project would be the way forward.

For that matter, in a bid to make the solar power projects bankable, CERC has come up with renewable energy certificate mechanism. The mechanism has kept floor price of Rs 12000/solar REC and forbearance price of Rs 17,000/solar REC. The steps are indeed innovative and would make sure that solar will be a success.

With these updates about the solar sector, we leave you with this edition of EQ International, which delves upon technology, innovative policy, climate change and other issues.

Anand Gupta Editor & CEO

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17 Shradhanand Marg, Chawani Indore – 452 001 INDIA Tel. + 91 731 255 3881 | Fax. +91 731 2553882

CONTENTS Figure 2.

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EDITOR & CEO:

ANAND GUPTA anand.gupta@EQmag.net

PUBLISHING COMPANY DIRECTORS: ANIL GUPTA

ANITA GUPTA

Editorial Department: NITI PARIKH niti.parikh@EQmag.net

Solar Energy

CSP

18

34

ZOHA MAHDI zoha.mahdi@EQmag.net

Editorial Contributions:

Susmita Bhattacharjee, Ronald F.M. Lange, Dr. Sumeet Gupta, Tapas Nandi, Alison Mason, Alan Tims, Pankaj Patel, Velambur Rajan, Sridhar Ramanan, Anand Appusamy, Anand Menon K, Bizios D. Vasileios, Dave Mayne, Pierre Marlard, Jacques Martin, Arindam Ghosh, C K Sandeep, V. R. Mahadevan

Innovative Turnkey Production Lines – Future Technology for the Thin Film Market

Parabolic Trough Cost Reduction Catalyst – ReflecTech Mirror Film

Sales & Marketing:

GOURAV GARG gourav.garg@EQmag.net

Subscriptions:

PIYUSH MISHRA piyush.mishra@EQmag.net

Cover

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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,re produce,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.

Bergen Associates Pvt. Ltd., a flagship company of the Bergen Group, is the single source of all capital equipment and consumables required for the manufacturing, assembly and rework of printed circuit boards.

Schmid, the principle company, offers a wide range of products and services around PCB and LCD production.

No matter whether you are interested in an entire production line or whether you are looking for some detail solutions for Surface Techniques, Resist Techniques, PTH Techniques or Automation - Schmid can help you to get along.

Merging Legacy Systems and the Smart Grid

CONVENTIONAL ENERGY 77

Total Water Management Solutions For The Power Sector

CONTENTS

RENEWABLE ENERGY

BIO ENERGY

CARBON TRADING

38

42

54

Optimized High Power Converters For Renewable Energy Systems

Biomass Resource Utilization in India

Carbon Trading : An overview

SMART METER

HYDRO ENERGY

TRANSMISSION

68

70

72

Fully Interoperable Smart Metering For DSOS With Reduced TCO

The Power of Water

EQ Business & Financial News

58

Going “Carbon Neutral”

SOLAR ENERGY

with the “5th Fuel”

20

Future ID Of PV Solar Panel: Through RFID

SMART GRID

26

Insurance an Alternate Risk Transfer Mechanism for Solar Project

64

Smart Grid: Data Driven Transformation

28

Energy for all people – an innovative approach to provide sustainable energy supply via local..

6-17

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

COMPANY PROFILE

74

L&T Surging Ahead

BIO ENERGY

48

Key Considerations for Successful Bioenergy Projects

CONVENTIONAL ENERGY

80

On Line Condenser Tube Cleaning System

India’s first UHVDC link in the offing

RENTAL POWER

84

Derisking Your Power Decisions

CENTENARY CELEBRATION

86

100 Not-Out !

88

EVENTS

89-94 PRODUCTS

EQ

Business & Financial News

Canadian Solar and GP Joule Announce 97 MW Solar Module Supply Agreement

Capgemini Wins Contract to Manage IT Support Services at EDF Energy in the UK

Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world’s largest solar companies, and GP Joule recently announced a 97 MW supply agreement. Under the agreement, Canadian Solar will supply its high performance solar modules to GP Joule, with all deliveries under the 97 MW supply agreement to occur before December 31, 2011. The companies have worked together since 2009.

Capgemini won contract to manage IT support services at EDF energy in the UK. The contract is for an initial three years with options for a further two years. The value of this partnership is around £100 million (approximately €120 million) over the period to end2015.

GP Joule operates four offices in the North and South of Germany and has joint ventures in North America and France.

In the PV sector, the company mostly focuses on implementing ground mounted large solar power plants.

“With Canadian Solar, we know we’ve got a proven

partner at our side capable of delivering high performance, high value modules, able to support large scale projects,” said Ove Petersen, CEO of GP Joule. “Canadian Solar’s modules set the standard and excel by their versatile use in particular, and they will be mostly deployed in Germany, but also all over Europe.”

Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, said, “Germany has always set the model for the solar industry as one of the most attractive and efficient solar markets. This latest agreement will help Canadian Solar further expand our brand and footprint in Europe, as we leverage the full support of GP Joule, a proven local partner able to handle large scale projects.”

Timken reports considerable growth in first quarter Timken recently came up with first quarter results, which indicated net sales of Rs 16,521 lacs. The total income was estimated to be of around Rs 16,657 including Rs 136 lacs

of other operating income. Total expenditure was estimated to be of around 13,882. Considering the expenditure, the net profit income calculated to be Rs 2298.

6 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Under the new contract Capgemini will provide service desk, procurement and managed desktop services, including support for email, instant messaging and file sharing, to 15,000 EDF Energy IT users, with some services being provided by specialist subcontractors working with Capgemini as prime contractor. A key focus of the new contract is to provide consistent and standardised high-quality services for all users across all business units in UK. EDF Energy says that Capgemini was successful because of its convincing and innovative proposals to reduce the operating costs of desktop support while delivering an updated service with strong user focus and in line with the energy company’s own continuous improvement plan.

Other important factors were Capgemini’s expertise in data

security, its commitment to EDF Energy’s sustainable IT programme and its proposals to reduce power consumption while maintaining and enhancing service levels.

Bob Barker, Head of Client Computing & Telecoms for EDF Energy, said: ‘Capgemini demonstrated a clear understanding of our business needs and offered convincing proposals that will add value to our IT users and to our business.

We are confident that working with them will maximise the return on our investment in desktop IT while minimising risk, and we look forward to an excellent relationship with them. Capgemini clearly have great strengths as a people company and we are sure that their teams will work effectively with ours.’

The award of the contract involves the transfer of a number of IT specialists from EDF Energy and its incumbent IT suppliers to Capgemini and its subcontractors under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) regulations. The majority of the Capgemini team working on the EDF Energy contract, will continue to be based in the UK.

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Business & Financial News

LM Wind Power Announces Financial Results For 2010 LM Wind Power Group showed significant resilience in the light of continuing difficult global market conditions with revenue of EUR 727.5 million, 6.4% lower than previous year. Profit margin of EUR 125.1 million is 9% lower than EUR 137.4 million achieved in 2009.

development of new wind farm capacity. These difficult market conditions were partially offset by growth in both the Chinese and Indian markets, where we continue to add capacity, together with the full year impact of the 2009 restructuring of our European operations.

LM Wind Power’s revenues for the 12 months to 31 December 2010 were 727.5 million, a decline of 6.4% compared to 2009. Profit margin (EBITDA) on ordinary activities, before impairment and special items of EUR 125.1 million was also down 9% from the 137.4 million we achieved in 2009.

The geographic breakdown of turnover was:

While the long -term dynamics of the wind market remain highly favorable, 2010 did not see the expected upturn in the European and North American markets. Continuing sovereign debt issues in key markets such as Spain and the ongoing lack of long-term financing constrained the

• EUR 308.3 million for Europe (down 29% from EUR 434.9 million in 2009), • EUR 182.8 million for North America, (down 19% from 226.0 million 2009).

• Declines in Europe and North America were balanced by increases in China and India. In the latter two countries, sales rose 103% to EUR 236.4 million (from EUR 116.5m 2009), with a stronger position in high growth markets offsetting continued sluggishness in our traditional markets.

Trading conditions in both Europe and North America continued to be difficult. In the US in particular, the lack of long-term government support held back the market. Despite this the company increased its market share in North America from 12% to 27%, while Europe saw a modest decline from 23% to 18% year on year.

To capitalize on the growth in demand in China and India we significantly expanded our capacity with the opening of three new facilities at Qinhuangdao (China), one new facility at Jiangyin (China) and expansion of our existing facilities in Tianjin, (China) and Dobespet, (India). In 2010, 32% (15% in 2009) of the company’s sales came from these critical growth markets and our estimated market share for blades is 11% in China (6% 2009) and 28% in India (38% 2009).

We view our strengthened position in these key growth

markets as a critical competitive advantage. It validates our strategy of maximizing our international manufacturing footprint to benefit our global customers and future-proofs our facilities for longer blades needed for larger turbines.

Conditions in the brakes marketplace were particularly tough in the year with significant volume and price pressure in evidence. While Svendborg Brakes remains profitable and cash generative, the significant growth anticipated when the company was purchased is unlikely to materialize. This is despite the fact that many actions have been taken to improve performance. Management has consequently reconsidered the carrying value of the investment and has decided to write down the value of the company to EUR 142.3 million from EUR 525.6 million, an impairment of goodwill amounting to EUR 383.3 million.

Solutia Expands High-Tech Film Manufacturing Footprint to Asia Solutia Inc., a market-leading performance materials and specialty chemicals company, recently announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire selected assets

manufacturing firm based in

for the production of Solutia’s

Solutia’s film manufacturing

Taiwan, for approximately $7

market-leading Flexvue(TM)

operations into Asia in support of

million.

film components, which are

the region’s fast-growing mobile

The acquisition will be an

used in touch screens, solar

technology and energy markets.

addition to Solutia’s Performance

applications and e-readers.

The increased manufacturing

of Aimcore Technology Co.,

Films segment and will result in

The acquisition will add state-

capacity is slated to be on line

Ltd., a leading conductive film

greater manufacturing capacity

of-the-art equipment and expand

in the second half of 2011.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

7

Business & Financial News

Domsjö Joins Aditya Birla Group Aditya Birla Group recently announced the acquisition of Domsjö Fabriker, a leading Swedish biorefinery and specialty cellulose company, through Thai Rayon Public Company Limited (Thailand) and Indo Bharat Rayon (Indonesia).

“The acquisition of Domsjö Fabriker, a world-class company, marks a significant milestone in our Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) business”, comments Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman. “We look upon the VSF business as a core business that has a strong growth potential both in terms of revenues and earnings. Domsjö’s highly professional management team and their committed staff add value to this acquisition.

I most warmly welcome them to the extended Aditya Birla family.”

Domsjö’s overall strategy is to bolster its inputs and it has, in addition to an increased production of specialty cellulose, developed its production processes to enable production of auxiliary products. As a result of the ongoing investment program the production capacity for specialty cellulose will increase to 255 000 tons per annum by the end of 2012. Complementary products include lignin and bioethanol. The company will complete the engineering study initiated in relation to the gasification project, GazEllen, which will be value adding.

Specialty cellulose produced

by Domsjö find primary end use in the textile segment (viscose staple fibre and viscose filament yarn). Around 25%

of the production is used in non-textile applications, such as carrier in pharmaceutical tablets, thickening agents and in casings.

Although Domsjö will become a strategic sourcing partner for the Aditya Birla Group’s expanding global viscose fibre production, Domsjö will continue to market and sell to third parties.

The production process is carried out in an environmentally sound way with low levels of emissions. The bleaching process is totally chlorine free (TCF) and is conducted through a unique closed loop bleaching process.

Domsjö thus meets the highest environmental standards.

LDK Solar Provides Updated Outlook for First Quarter 2011 LDK Solar Co., Ltd., a leading

production of 2,450 MT to 2,470

manufacturer of multicrystalline

MT, in-house cell production

solar wafers and PV products,

between 44 MW and 46 MW, and

recently provided an updated

gross margin between 30.0%

outlook for the first quarter

and 31.0%. The Company’s prior

2011 and reiterated its guidance

guidance for the first quarter was

for the full year 2011.

revenue of $800 to $850 million,

For the first quarter of 2011,

wafer shipments of 610 MW to

LDK Solar expects to report

660 MW, and module shipments

revenue in the range of $745 to

of 120 to 140 MW, in-house

$755 million, wafer shipments

polysilicon production between

of 625 to 635 megawatts (MW),

2,300 MT and 2,400 MT, in-

module shipments of 109 MW to

house cell production between

114 MW, in-house polysilicon

45 MW and 50 MW, and gross

8 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

margin between 27.0% and 29.0%.

LDK Solar reiterates its 2011 guidance of revenue in the range of $3.5 to $3.7 billion, gross margins between 24% and 29%, wafer shipments to be between 2.7 and 2.9 GW, module shipments to be between 800 and 900 MW, polysilicon production to be between 10,000 and 11,000 MT, and in-house cell production to be between 500 and 600 MW.

JBIC Signs Loan Agreement with ICICI The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; President & CEO: Hiroshi Watanabe) signed on March 31 a loan agreement with ICICI Bank Limited (ICICI) in India. The loan is a bank-tobank loan to finance the export of thermal power generation boiler/steam turbine sets to India.

In this project, two joint venture companies established primarily by Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), one of the largest construction and heavy machinery manufacturing companies in India, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), fabricate supercritical pressure boiler/ turbine sets (manufactured by MHI and exported by Marubeni Corporation) and sell them to Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited (JPVL), an Indian corp oration cons tru c ting and operating a supercritical pressure coal-fired thermal power plant in Nigrie in the state of Madhya Pradesh. JBIC’s export financing, which reached the aggregate amount of 15.3 billion yen, was co-financed with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd(lead arranger). This will finance, by way of ICICI, JPVL’s purchase of boilers and steam turbine/generators.

www.EQMagLive.com

Business & Financial News

GE Unveils Plans to Build US Manufacturing Plant GE recently announced that a full-size, thin film solar panel developed by the company has been independently certified as the most efficient ever publicly reported milestone for the technology. GE intends to manufacture the recordsetting solar panels at a new U.S. factory that will be larger than any existing solar panel factory in the country today.

When complete, the factory will highlight an expected $600 million plus investment made by GE in solar technology and commercialization and will be complemented by the recently announced acquisition of power conversion company Converteam.

In addition, GE ha s completed the acquisition of PrimeStar Solar, Inc., a thin film solar technology company

in which GE has held a majority equity stake since 2008.

Photovoltaic solar is the next step in growing GE’s renewable energy portfolio and is part of the company’s ecomagination commitment to drive clean energy technology through innovation and R&D investment.

Gl o b a l

demand

for

photovoltaics is expected to grow by 75 gigawatts over the next five years, with utilityscale solar power plants making up a significant part of that growth. With the technology and manufacturing investments recently announced, GE is well positioned to capitalize on this trend.

The record-setting panel was produced on the PrimeStar 30-megawatt manufacturing line in Arvada, Colo. It was

measured by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) at a 12.8 percent aperture area efficiency. This panel surpasses all previously published records for CdTe thin film, which is the most affordable solar technology in the industry. Continually increasing solar panel efficiency is a key component of GE’s goal to offer advanced solar products while reducing the total cost of electricity for utilities and consumers. In fact, a 1 percent increase in efficiency is equal to an approximate 10 percent decrease in system cost.

GE plans to build an advanced technology thin film solar panel factory in the United States that, at capacity, will produce enough panels per year to power 80,000 homes annually.

The 400-megawatt facility will be larger than any U.S. solar

PLG Comes Up With 40 Mw Of Solar Power Generation Unit In India PLG Power Limited is the

signed the PPA (Power Purchase

flagship energy and Power

Agreement) for the generation

division of the 3500 cr. PLG

of 40MW Solar Power with the

Group has started its 40 MW

government of Gujarat. PLG has

Solar Power Generation Plant in

got the distinction of becoming

Patan near Ahmadabad. PLG is

will be into four phases of 10

the very first company to come

one of the leading manufacturers

MW each. 1st phase of 10 MW

up with 40 MW of solar power

of crystalline PV modules in

is likely to be connected shortly

generation at a stretch in India.

for the power generation. And

PLG Power has the equity

all 4 phases of 40MW Power

participation of 20 MW with

generation will be completed by

Zamil of Saudi Arabia and 20

the end of next financial year.

India with their manufacturing plant at Sinnar, Nasik.

The Company has already

www.EQMagLive.com

MW with Ashburg of U.K. CEO of the Company Mr. Punit K.Goyal Informed that The Power generation of 40 MW

panel manufacturing plant in operation today and will employ 400 people. Multiple locations are being considered for the new facility, with the final location to be announced shortly.

GE also announced more than 100 megawatts of new c o m m e r ci al a g r e e m e n t s for solar thin film products, including panels, inverters and total solar power plants. GE’s largest solar agreement to date is with NextEra Energy for 60 megawatts of thin film solar panels. Once deployed, the panels will help grow NextEra’s solar power portfolio, solidifying the company’s position as the largest generator of solar energy in the country today. NextEra also currently produces 4.5 gigawatts of renewable energy with GE’s wind turbines.

Applied Materials Receives Award Applied Materials, Inc. has been recognized to receive Intel Corporation’s Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award for their performance in 2010. Along with 15 other companies, Applied Materials is recognized for their significant contributions providing Intel with semiconductor manufacturing equipment and support services, deemed essential to Intel’s success.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

9

Business & Financial News

PV Modules 2010 Top Ten Roth & Rau Welcomes Rankings Released by IMS Voluntary Public Takeover Research Offer From Meyer Burger Suntech was the largest PV module supplier in 2010, growing its shipments by more than 130% over the previous year, to ship more MWs than any of its competitors. First Solar, which held the top spot in 2009, fell to second place, increasing its shipments by less than 50% although the total market more than doubled.

IMS Research’s latest analysis of the global PV supply chain, based on shipment data from hundreds of suppliers, reveals that whilst market conditions meant that all suppliers could grow their shipments, some suppliers were able to benefit more than others: Chinese Tier-1 suppliers Canadian Solar and Hanwha SolarOne (formerly Solarfun) both gained two places in the rankings; in fact, all the suppliers in the top ten gaining rank were Chinese. Conversely, both the suppliers losing rank were Western, headquartered in the US. One Western supplier bucking this trend was REC, which moved quickly up the

rankings to become the eleventh largest supplier of PV modules in 2010.

“2010 was an outstanding year for everyone in the PV industry. Module suppliers were able to benefit from the strong demand, which lasted all year, and make great increases in their shipments; five of the top ten suppliers more than doubled them, some even increased them by more than 150%,” says Sam Wilkinson, PV Market Analyst at IMS Research.

Another clear winner in 2010 was JA Solar, another large Chinese supplier, which increased its production by nearly 180%, becoming the largest producer of PV cells, having been only the fifth largest producer in 2009.

IMS Research predicts a slowdown in growth for the PV module market in 2012, as many major European markets cool following amendments to incentive schemes.

Meyer Burger Technology AG (and through subsidiaries, respectively) has announced a voluntary public takeover offer to acquire all bearer shares in Roth & Rau AG at a price of € 22 per share in cash. Meyer Burger acquired a total of 11.3 % of the share capital of Roth & Rau AG from the founders and key shareholders Dr. Dietmar Roth (CEO), Prof. Dr. Silvia Roth and Dr. Bernd Rau on 10 April 2011.

The offer price corresponds to a premium of around 41 % compared with the volumeweighted average share price of the past three months. The Management and Supervisory Boards of Roth & Rau support the offer by Meyer Burger.

Furthermore, Roth & Rau AG recently signed a business combination agreement with Meyer Burger Technology AG. With more than 1,200 employees and annual sales of CHF 826 million in 2010, the Meyer Burger Group is one of the world`s leading providers of innovative systems and production lines for photovoltaics

in the solar industry, as well as for the semiconductor and optics industries (LED). The Group already covers the most important technology steps in the photovoltaics (solar industry) value chain with its high-quality solar systems focusing on solar wafering and solar modules.

The planned consolidation of both companies will give rise to an all-round system supplier covering all key technology steps within the photovoltaics value chain from solar silicon through to complete solar energy systems, mainly in the production processes of wafering, solar cells and solar modules. Roth & Rau will thus close the gap between wafering and solar modules and will in future form the core of the new “Cells” technology and competence centre at the Meyer Burger Group. As a “company within the Meyer Burger Group”, Roth & Rau will continue to be run as a proprietary technology c o m p e t en c e c en t re an d operating German company at its main location in HohensteinErnstthal.

Honeywell Automation Sales In The Quarter Zooms At Rs 352.95 Crore Honeywell Automation has reported a sales turnover of Rs

352.95 crore and a net profit of Rs 31.81 crore for the quarter

10 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

ended Mar ‘11. For the quarter ended Mar 2010 the sales

turnover was Rs 278.81 crore and net profit was Rs 30.69 crore.

www.EQMagLive.com

Business & Financial News

SEIA President Rhone Resch Highlights W2E IncinSolar Industry’s Tremendous Growth at PV erator Site to be ReconAmerica Conference and Expo sidered in Delhi Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (R) (SEIA(R)) addressed the Opening General Session at the PV America Conference 2011 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia to welcome small business owners, entrepreneurs, global corporate executives and energy leaders from around the country to the only conference focused solely on the fastest growing segment of the solar industry- Photovoltaic solar (PV), the technology that converts sunlight to electricity.

“The solar energy industry

is the fastest growing industry

in AMERICA! We are growing faster than wind energy, faster than telecommunications, and, thank goodness, we are even growing faster than the mortgage foreclosure industry!”

“The Mid-Atlantic region is beating California as the largest market in the U.S. for solar PV installations.”And solar is creating jobs... Right here in the middle of coal country, more than 7,000 Pennsylvanians have found work in the solar industry.

The same number as are working

in the coal mines in this stat.”,

Mr. Re s c h ’s s p e e c h h i g h li g h t e d s o l a r PV ’s tremendous growth in 2010, its potential for 2011 and how the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region is now the largest market for PV in the United States. In total, 878 megawatts (MW) of PV capacity was installed in 2010, more than doubling 2009 installation totals. Smart federal and state policies, completion of significant utility-scale projects, expansion of new state markets and declining manufacturing and installation costs drove the industry’s U.S. expansion

he stated.

high efficiency multi-junction cells for the concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market, recently announced it has set a world-record for 43.5 percent efficiency on a commercial-ready production cell. This achievement was, in part, supported under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) PV Incubator Program, managed through DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The cell’s efficiency was confirmed by

NREL’s Measurement and Characterization Laboratory.

The 5.5 mm x 5.5 mm production cell tops the current record by 1.2 percent and is significantly higher than the average efficiency gain achieved by previous record holders. The Solar Junction cell measured a peak efficiency of 43.5 percent at greater than 400 suns and still maintained an efficiency as high as 43 percent out to 1,000 suns.

proprietary adjustable spectrum

Solar Junction’s cells incorporate the company’s

for the remaining 80 percent of

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lattice matched, A-SLAM™ technology, which enables the company to more optimally partition the solar spectrum for maximum efficiency and greater reliability. Increases in CPV cell efficiencies are a key driver for improving CPV economics, with each cell efficiency gain leveraged and multiplied in value by the components that account total system costs.

T h e 16 MW w a s t e incineration plant, currently under construction has sparked controversy with residents and environmentalists, leading environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, to write a letter expressing his concern.

One of the bones of contention, is that the facility is intended to burn RDF pellets derived from mixed, unsorted waste - including e-wastes and chlorinated plastics, the report maintained.

Solar Junction Breaks World Record with 43.5% Efficient CPV Production Cell Solar Junction, a developer of

The Delhi government is considering relocating a waste to energy facility that is due to be operational in July in a crowded south Delhi suburb home to 600,000 people, as per the report published by Waste Management World.

Trina Extends Distribution Agreement Trina Solar Limited recently announced through its subsidiary, Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co. Ltd., the extension of its national distribution agreement with Australia’s leading renewable energy distributor, RF Industries Pty Ltd.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

11

Business & Financial News

Tata Power - SN Power Consortium wins bid for 236 MW Dugar Hydro Power Project in Himachal Pradesh Tata Power, India’s largest integrated private power company announced that the consortium comprising of Tata Power and SN Power Norway has bagged the “Dugar Hydro Electric Project” in Chenab Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India. Tata Power and SN Power, Norway entered into an exclusive partnership in 2009 to develop hydropower projects to meet the increasing energy demand in India and Nepal through the provision of clean energy.

The capacity for Dugar Hydro Electric Project” is estimated to be approximately 236 MW.

Vehicle (SPV) being formed

The “Dugar Hydro Electric Project” will be developed through a Special Purpose

93 meters with an underground

and owned by the consortium.

A detailed exploration and design study will be undertaken to plan and finalize the project implementation. The Preimplementation Agreement will be signed with the Directorate of Energy, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh shortly.

The run of the river “Dugar Hydro Electric Project” will primarily feed the Northern grid.

It is the last project in cascade in Himachal Pradesh on the river Chandrabhaga (Chenab) and envisages a dam height of cavern type powerhouse at its base.

Speaking on the occasion, Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Power said, “This project further contributes to our clean fuel portfolio and reinforces our sustainability agenda. Our association with SN Power has been fruitful and rewarding and is in line with our growth strategy to build global relationships and partnerships with the organizations which are leading performers in their field.”

Adding further SN Power’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tor Stokke said “We are delighted with this win. Our partnership with Tata Power allows us to combine our extensive hydropower competence while drawing on

CLP India expands its wind portfolio by 152.8MW with two new wind farms CLP India, one of the largest foreign private power players in India, recently announced that it will develop two new wind farms – one in Rajasthan and the other in Andhra Pradesh. The 102.4MW Sipla Wind Farm will be located at Jaisalmer District in the state of Rajasthan, and the 50.4MW Narmada Wind Farm will be located at Nallakonda, Anantapura District in Andhra Pradesh. CLP India has entered into agreements with major wind

turbine manufacturer, Enercon

With these two projects,

India Ltd to develop these

CLP’s wind portfolio has grown

greenfield projects.

to 638.8MW – reinforcing its

The Sipla and Narmada

position as the largest wind

Wind Farms will use 128

energy developer in India. These

and 63 Enercon Gearless

projects have also grown CLP’s

E53 800kW wind turbines

geographical presence in India

respectively. Both projects will be developed and constructed under a comprehensive EPC arrangement and will be commercially operational by March 2012.

12 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

to two new states – Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh – in addition to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

our common approach to social and environmental sustainability and ethical business conduct.”

Himachal Pradesh has abundant hydro resources with a power potential of about 23,000 MW. About 6,672 MW have been harnessed till now by the central and state governments, private players and joint venture companies.

Apar t from this win in Himachal Pradesh, the Consortium of Tata Power- SN Power is working on developing the “880 MW Tamakoshi 3 Project” in Nepal for which they have an exploratory license.

MiaSolé, Intel sign pact MiaSolé, the leading manufacturer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thinfilm photovoltaic solar panels, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Intel’s technical manufacturing services practice.

Under this agreement, Intel will provide customized manufacturing services and systems, strategic consulting, operational knowledge and training to MiaSolé as the company ramps its manufacturing facilities in 2011 and 2012.

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Business & Financial News

Total Continues Its Development In Solar Energy Total announces the signature of an agreement with EDF ENR to acquire all of Tenesol’s operations (outside of France’s overseas departments and territories1), of which it already owns 50%.

Tenesol’s operations in the French overseas departments and territories would continue to be equally owned by the Total Group and EDF ENR.

Tenesol, which was created in 1983, is a top-tier solar energy operator in Europe, leader in the French market for large industrial and commercial photovoltaic rooftop solutions.

Te n e s o l designs, manufactures, markets and operates photovoltaic energy systems.

Tenesol enjoys wid e recognition for its photovoltaic competencies, offering superior

engineering and technical services. The company has a production capacity of 800,000 solar panels a year, or 170 megawatt peak2, at two plants, one in Toulouse, France, and the other in Cape Town, South Africa.

The planned acquisition covers all Tenesol’s operations, with the exception of those in France’s overseas departments and territories, which employ more than 760 people in numerous

countries and generated revenue of approximately €240 million in 2010.

The planned acquisition is subject to applicable legally required processes for notifying and consulting Tenesol employee representatives and the approval of the anti-trust authorities in the countries concerned. The closing of the transaction could take place in the second half of 2011.

Centrotherm Photovoltaics Expands Production Area Centrotherm photovoltaics expands production area at Blaubeuren site by one third to around 31,000 square meters centrotherm photovoltaics AG is on course for expansion, committing investments at its Blaubeuren headquarters in view

of high order volumes. In the coming months the production area at the southern German site, currently 23,000 square meters, will be extended by a third to comprise a total of some 31,000 square meters.

The investment volume is in

XL Energy bags EPC contract for solar plant

phosphorous diffusion (POCl3) and batch-type systems for anti-reflective coating of solar cells, as well as firing furnaces in which front and rear contacts are burnt into the solar wafer at high temperatures.

for securing turnkey contracts

IEEE Launches Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Project in India

in a big way in many states in

IEEE Standards Association

XL Energy Ltd. on Wednesday bagged order valued Rs.12.1 crore for the turnkey supply and installation of solar power plant in Haryana.

Energy is in active negotiations

The company said the project had achieved financial closure, while the various other opportunities under negotiation are at various stages of closure and should conclude in the near future.

April/May.”

Dinesh Kumar, the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director said: “XL

the double-digit million euro range. At Blaubeuren, the world’s leading technology and equipment provider in the photovolt aics sec tor manufactures key equipment for the production of solar cells.

This includes tube furnaces for

India and announcements of these projects are expected in

(IEEE-SA), a globally recognized standards setting body within IEEE, today officially introduced

XL Energy has been

its globally reputed project, the

focusing on non-conventional

“IEEE P2030TM Draft Guide

energy sector since 1994 and

for Smart Grid Interoperability

has recently shifted its focus

of Energy Technology and

to Indian market as a turnkey

I n fo r m a t i o n

solution provider for setting up

Operation with the Electric

complete solar power plant in

Power System (EPS) and End-

addition to export sales of solar

Use Applications and Loads”,

panels of higher capacity.

in India. Interoperability has

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Te c h n o l o g y

been one of the key concerns in building a Smart Grid in India, like in many other regions of the world and the project aims to address this. IEEE-SA’s India Standards Interest Group (SIG) announced in February 2011 will work closely with IEEE P2030 Working Group to introduce interoperability standards in India later this year, enabling faster implementation of Smart Grid.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

13

Business & Financial News

Trina Solar Extends Distribution Agreement with Australia’s RF Industries Trina Solar Limited , a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) products from ingots to modules, today announced through its subsidiary, Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co. Ltd., the extension of its national distribution agreement with Australia’s leading renewable energy distributor, RF Industries Pty Ltd. (“RFI”).

The agreement, initially signed in January 2010, has

been extended until December 31, 2012. Under the terms of the agreement, Trina Solar recognizes RFI as their exclusive distributor in Australia, and is expected to supply RFI with up to 40 MW of PV modules during 2011.

“We are pleased that RFI has extended the distribution agreement with us in Australia, demonstrating their trust and confidence in Trina Solar’s premium solar products,” said

Ontario, Canada Helps Create Up To 200 Clean Energy Jobs Ontario’s economy continues to turn the corner attracting up to 200 new solar manufacturing and related jobs to Toronto as part of a partnership with Samsung that has created 1,800 good jobs for Ontario families.

Samsung C&T Corp. and SMA Solar Technology AG have partnered to build industrial-size solar inverters -- electric devices that convert energy produced in solar panels into power that can be used by the electricity grid -- at Celestica’s facilities in Toronto.

The agreement marks the third manufacturing deal announced under a $7-billion

investment by Samsung in Ontario. Last year, Samsung and its partners teamed up with Siemens Canada, Pattern Energy and CS Wind to set up a new wind turbine blade plant in the Tillsonburg area and a wind tower plant in Windsor.

A world leader in the industry, SMA Solar Technology AG is one of more than 30 solar and wind equipment companies that have announced plans to set up or expand operations in Ontario since the Green Energy Act was launched in 2009. To supply Samsung, SMA Solar Technology AG will launch its first Canadian-based production of industrial solar inverters.

14 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar. “We believe the renewal and expansion of our long-term relationship will help us grow in this key, fast growing solar-friendly market.”

“We are proud to expand our existing successful partnership with Trina Solar and look forward to offering their exciting product range to our customers in 2011,” said Scott Magee, Managing Director of RFI Solar. “As a key distributor and integrator in

the Australian solar PV market, supplier relationships are critical to our success. We believe this positive partnership with Trina Solar will deliver additional value to our customers, allowing us to provide our customers with access to innovative PV applications from one of the world’s premier solar brands.”

Skyfuel signs agreement with Megha Engineering SkyFuel’s Parabolic Trough a fit for India’s Solar Mission SkyFuel has signed a memorandum of underst anding (MOU) with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) regarding the use of its parabolic trough collector in concentrating solar power (CSP) projects.

SkyFuel has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) regarding the use of its parabolic trough collector in concentrating solar power (CSP) projects. MEIL’s bid to build, own and operate a 50MW solar thermal power plant, through its wholly owned subsidiary MEIL Green Power Limited, in Andhra Pradesh, India was selected under Phase One of

the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The JNNSM has put India in the lead of emerging CSP markets, calling for 20 million square meters of solar concentrators by 2022.

SkyTrough’s design allows a high proportion of components to be provided by local fabricators, which allows Indian companies to expand manufacturing into the solar market. SkyFuel is working with partners in India to secure commitments for aluminum and steel fabrication.

Sk yFuel’s parabolic trough is priced 20% lower than competing products, and independent evaluation of a 1 MW plant in California shows that it operates at the same efficiency as traditional, glass mirror based systems.

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Business & Financial News

Matrix Partners Tipped To Invest $15 Million In Indian Renewable Energy Sector Early-stage investor Matrix Partners plans to invest R700m ($15.72m) in India-based renewable energy company Soham Renewable Energy.

Reports suggest that the investment firm is eyeing the acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in the company and that its investment values it at R3.5bn ($78.5m).

This could be the fourth private equity funding round for Soham Renewable Energy in three years.

73,000 Indians Don’t Want Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant Reflecting popular sentiment against nuclear power plants in the country, about 73000 petitions against the proposed Jaitapur project were delivered to the Prime Minister’s office recently.

These petitions were collected by Greenpeace and Awaaz (1). The petitions where delivered after a protest march in the capital organized by the Anti-Nuclear Struggle’s Solidarity Forum.

Referring to the recent statement from the Russian President Medvedev, that there should be restrictions on constructions of nuclear power plants in seismically hazardous areas, Vinuta Gopal - Nuclear and Energy Campaign Manager for Greenpeace India said “Jaitapur is being built in seismic zone 4 (2)”.

“There have been 92 earthquakes in Jaitapur (3) and it’s a shame that authorities

are claiming that the site for the nuclear reactor lies in a seismic zone 3. It’s shocking that they are planning the largest nuclear reactor park in the world, while they are unclear about the earthquake zone it lies in.

The Indian authorities have yet not made a clear statement on its nuclear policies compared to several other governments, including the current statement made by the Russian President”, Gopal added.

MHI Establishes Technology to Produce Biofuel Locally at Low Cost From Rice and Barley Straws Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has successfully established technology to produce ethanol for automobile fuel, satisfying the standards of the Japanese Automotive Standards Organization (JASO), from lignocellulose (sof t cellulose) such as rice straw and barley straw. Verification of the

technology has been conducted as a joint project involving the government, academia, and the agricultural and industrial sectors in Hyogo Prefecture, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), to study effective utilization of lignocellulose. During the technological verification at

a demonstration plant, the estimated fuel cost required for commercial-scale ethanol production was also confirmed to achieve the targeted goal. Going forward MHI will endeavor to develop the results of the project into early commercialization of bio-refinery technology in cooperation with companies and organizations concerned.

KEC International Wins Orders Worth ` 550 Crore KEC International Ltd. (KEC), the world leader in power transmission EPC and a diversified global infrastructure major, has won new orders to the tune of ` 550 crore from India and BrazilThe Company

has secured a turnkey contract for construction of 400 kV transmission lines between Babhaleshwar to Aurangabad and Bhusawal to Aurangabad.

The order is secured from the state utility, Maharashtra

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State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Mahatransco), India. The total order is valued at ` 367 crore and the completion period is 18 months.

SAE Towers, a wholly owned subsidiary of KEC International,

has secured orders of ` 183 crore for supply of towers in Brazil.

The order has been received from the client Norte Do Brasil Transmissora De Energia S.A., Brazil.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

15

Business & Financial News

Freescale Semiconductor Declares Q1 Results Freesc ale Semiconduc tor Holdings I, Ltd. recently announced financial results for the first quarter ended April 1, 2011.

Operating Results Net sales for the first quarter of 2011 were $1.19 billion, compared to $1.18 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $1.02 billion in the

first quarter last year. The loss from operations for the three months ended April 1, 2011 was $3 million, compared to a profit of $17 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a loss of $61 million in the first quarter of 2010. The net loss for the first quarter of 2011 was $148 million, compared to a loss of $102 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and

a loss of $257 million in the same period last year. Adjusted operating earnings for the three months ended April 1, 2011, were $201 million compared to earnings of $177 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $95 million in the first quarter of 2010. Adjusted net earnings for the three months ended April 1, 2011, were $57 million compared to earnings of $29

million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a loss of $51 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was $287 million for the first quarter of 2011, compared to $280 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $194 million in the first quarter of 2010.

AMSC Receives Initial Converteam To Supply 230 Converters For Indian Electrical Control System Orders From China’s Wind Farms Dongfang Turbine Co. Freescale Semiconductor Power conversion specialist Converteam has taken a big step forward in the wind industry in India by securing a contract from RK Wind to supply 230 full power wind turbine converters. RK Wind is a leading supplier of wind energy equipment part of the RS India Group, an innovative power developer and operator in India.

The solution is based on Converteam’s world leading full power converter technology,

delivered globally for more than 3000MW of new power installations in 2010. The converters will be built and supplied from Converteam’s new manufacturing facility in Chennai. The factory, which will open in the second quarter of this year, will cater to the needs of the growing renewable energy market in India, both wind and solar. Converteam’s Kidsgrove factory in the UK will supply the core technology components and power modules, in addition to the initial few converters.

NERATEL Announces 1Q 2011 Results NeraTel achieved revenue in the

SGD 3.0 million compared to

first quarter of SGD 35.9 million,

SGD 2.1 million in in the first

compared to SGD 32.9 million in

quarter 2010. Net profit was

the corresponding quarter last year. EBIT for the quarter was

SGD 2.3 million compared to SGD 2.2 million in the first quarter 2010.

16 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

American Superconductor Corporation , a global power technologies company, recently announced that it has received initial wind turbine electrical control system orders from China’s Dongfang Turbine Co. Ltd. (DTC).

The systems will be utilized in DTC’s 3 megawatt (MW) and 5 MW full conversion wind turbines, which were designed by and jointly developed with AMSC. AMSC will be shipping the electrical control systems to DTC in calendar year 2011. DTC, the third largest wind turbine manufacturer in China and one of the world’s 10 largest wind turbine manufacturers, plans to begin volume shipments of these multi-megawatt wind turbines in 2012.

China is now the world’s largest wind power market both in terms of annual installations

and total installations to date.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China installed a record 16,500 MW of wind power in 2010, increasing its total installed capacity to more than 42,000 MW. “A powerhouse in China’s growing wind power market, DTC has partnered with AMSC to introduce its next-generation wind turbines,” said Greg Yurek, founder and chief executive officer of AMSC. “Having been designed for use both on land and at sea, DTC’s 3 MW wind turbine has broad applicability while its 5 MW turbine is particularly well suited for the global offshore wind market. We are pleased to receive these initial orders and are happy to support DTC as they launch these advanced wind turbine platforms.”

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Business & Financial News

World PV market grew to 18.2GW in 2010, up 139% on year, says Solarbuzz Worldwide solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations reached a record high of 18.2GW in 2010, representing a 139% growth on year, according to research firm Solarbuzz.

The PV industry generated US$82 billion in global revenues in 2010, up 105% from US$40 billion in 2009. Companies throughout the PV chain successfully raised more than US$10 billion in equity and debt over the last 12 months.

In 2010, the top five countries by PV market size were Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Japan, and the United States, representing over 80% of global demand. European countries represented 14.7GW, or 81% of world demand in 2010. The top three countries in Europe were Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic, which collectively totaled 12.9GW. The Japanese and US markets grew by 101% and 96%, respectively.

In all, over 100 countries made some contribution to soaring global PV demand last year.

Worldwide solar cell production reached 20.5GW in 2010, up from 9.86GW a year earlier, with thin film production accounting for 13.5% of total production. Producers in China and Taiwan continued to build share, and now account for 59% of global cell production, up from 49% last year. The top two cell manufacturers in 2010 were Suntech Power and JA Solar, who tied for the first position, followed closely by First Solar.

gate module prices are projected to drop between 37% and 50% from 2010 levels.

In t h e s h o r t t erm , assumptions about the immediate policy environment remain critical to outcomes over the next 24 months.

The top eight polysilicon manufacturers had 145,200 tonnes per annum of capacity in 2010, while the top eight wafer manufacturers accounted for 45% of global wafer supply. The excess of production over market demand caused crystalline silicon factory gate module prices to drop 14% in 2010, significantly less than the 38% reduction in the previous year.

“The industry has now entered a phase of tightening incentive terms across important European markets. Cuts in unit tariffs will be far more rapid than the industry’s pace of cost reduction,” said Craig Stevens, president of Solarbuzz. “While some key markets will decline in size as a result over the next two years, the US, Canada, China, and Japan are some of the major countries that still offer growth potential. In addition, the rush to beat mid-year tariff reductions will ensure strong first half 2011 demand performance in Italy and Germany.”

By 2015, Solarbuzz projects the European market share to fall to between 45-54% as North America and several Asian markets grow rapidly. The US will be the fastest growing major country market over this period.

Over the next five years, factory

Stevens added, “Planned m a n u f a c t u ri n g c a p a c i t y expansions will ensure the industry has adequate cell supplies over 2011 and 2012.

However, the potential for excess supply taken together with already planned subsidy cuts

will make both years challenging for the industry.”

New Solar Installation On The Roof Of The World Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. the world’s largest producer of solar panels, announced it will develop a 10MW solar installation on the roof of the world that will generate decades of clean electricity for thousands of residents of the Tibetan Plateau.

Located in Chek Kang village in the Sangri County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet, the solar power plant will be one of the highest on earth at around 4,000 meters above sea level. With target completion by the middle of the 2011, the facility will generate around 20,000MWh of renewable electricity per year to help facilitate sustainable economic development in Tibet.

Spire Solar Systems Breaks Ground at the Berkshire Spire Corporation, an American global solar company providing turn-key production lines to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules, and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) integration services for solar systems, recently announced

that it has begun the construction of a 2 megawatt(MW),eightacresolar PV system at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

Spire is developing the system in collaboration with PowerPlay Solar, developer of the project,

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for the non-profit, private high-school. The Berkshire School’s mission is to become carbon neutral by 2016. Upon completion, the 2MW project will generate over 2,300 MW/ hours per year of electricity, enough to power 40% of the school.

“We are excited to have begun construction of the solar field at the Berkshire School,” said Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation. “Our Solar Systems group continuously expands as we target large scale projects in the Northeast.”

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

17

SO L A R ENERGY

Innovative Turnkey Production Lines – Future Technology for the Thin Film Market Dr. Sumeet Gupta, Manager Corporate Business Development, Oerlikon Solar

The importance of thin film technologies is growing. To establish photovoltaics as an economically viable energy source, the costs for the production of thin film solar modules need to be reduced while improving the efficiency to such a degree that the grid parity with conventional energy sources becomes a reality.

T

he company Oerlikon Solar is one of the world’s largest developers and producers of field-proven, automated, turnkey production lines for the mass production of environmentally sustainable thin film silicon modules. With 14 customer production sites in seven countries and almost 4 million produced modules and a global production capacity of 450 MW (contracted 750 MW), Oerlikon Solar is the leading company in the thin film solar module sector.

ThinFab™ – a Milestone on the Path to Grid Parity A milestone on the path to leading photovoltaics to grid parity was the introduction of the turnkey production line ThinFab™ which was announced in September 2010. It is based on a high efficiency thin film silicon technology (Micromorph®) that was originally patented in 1993. Oerlikon Solar has further developed and refined this technology and built an integrated manufacturing line that is optimized for low-cost production of this proven thin film technology. ThinFab™’s 120 MW annual capacity is double the output of Oerlikon Solar’s turnkey line design of just two years 18 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

ago with underlying factors being higher line throughput and higher module efficiency (to 10%). This has also resulted in almost 50% decrease in capex costs per watt for the ThinFab™ production line. Low capex coupled with higher module efficiency and reduced consumable costs have enabled a cost leading position for ThinFab™ modules with a total cost of ownership of ~ €0.50/ Wp including depreciation. The production costs are almost another 10% lower in bestcost countries such as China. With its cost leading position, Oerlikon strives to drive the technology to the grid parity window whereby PV power directly competes with the conventional sources.

Why do customers choose a turnkey solution, compared with the alternative of purchasing individual manufacturing tools and integrating those tools on their own?

Success factors according to our customers are:

Reduced technical risk

Particularly for customers who are new to PV manufacturing, or for incumbent PV manufacturers who are new to thin film manufacturing, the turnkey solution from Oerlikon Solar provides

assurance that the planned targets for plant operations and product quality will be met. More specifically, Oerlikon Solar is able to provide its turnkey customers with plant-level performance guarantees, including overall line output and average module power, guarantees that are not available for customers who elect to purchase equipment only.

Improved bankability

Investing in a proven technology like Micromorph® as a platform for a new or expanded thin film manufacturing operation provides a key advantage in the marketplace – a known and “branded” technology that can more readily be benchmarked by downstream project investors.

Easier and accelerated market entry

Related to this is that this standardized technology platform also allows for facilitated product certification for thin film manufacturers who choose a turnkey approach, compared with the time and effort that is required to establish proven field performance and product certification for a “do it yourself” approach.

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Leverage Oerlikon Solar R&D spending

The technology license associated with a turnkey fab offers customers a way to leverage their own R&D spending and to stay current with leadingedge developments in thin film silicon technology. There are several examples of these benefits. Oerlikon Solar’s product engineering group developed and qualified a significantly improved module design in 2010, incorporating a highly reflective white lamination foil within the module. This new design, among other factors, enabled thinner silicon absorber layers resulting in more robust and higher-performing module design and significantly higher throughput through the turnkey lines.

Oerlikon Solar was able to share this improved product design easily with its turnkey customers, enabling them to maintain a competitive position in the market. The chart below shows the dramatic increase in light reflectance across the full light spectrum resulting from the new module design.

chain savings. The bill of materials comprises almost 50% of the cost of a Micromorph® module, and Oerlikon Solar has been able to help its customers to achieve dramatic savings in the cost of ownership through improved module design and by rigorously qualifying new regional suppliers of key materials used in the Micromorph® design. The result of these efforts can be seen in the chart below, showing that the expected cost of materials for a Micromorph® module was reduced by 50% in just two years, from 2008 to 2010.

Notwithstanding the above, the turnkey model is not right for all customers, and Oerlikon Solar readily offers support to customers who are interested in purchasing equipment only. In some cases, customers may already have substantial experience with these technologies and processes, and therefore prefer to opt out of the support services provided as a part of a turnkey fab solution. This could be the case, for example, for existing Oerlikon Solar customers who are investing in new capacity expansion for their thin film production. In other cases, a

not benefit as greatly from Oerlikon Solar’s ongoing R&D and supply chain improvements related to the standard Micromorph® product design.

In conclusion, Oerlikon Solar’s introduction of a turnkey fab offer, with guaranteed plant performance parameters, has spurred new investment into thin film silicon manufacturing and lowered the barrier to entry for manufacturers entering from other industries. Oerlikon Solar’s turnkey strategy is particularly suitable for development of a manufacturing sector in new markets. With an annual capacity of 120MW, Oerlikon Solar’s ThinFab™ turnkey solution is able to achieve a total cost of ownership of €0.50/W for EU production, which by far is the industry benchmark and directly competitive to the cost of production for industry cost leaders operating at a manufacturing scale of 1GW or more in low cost countries. ThinFab™ therefore provides an ideal “beachhead” investment for establishing domestic cell manufacturing in new markets. Furthermore, ThinFab™ and Micromorph® technologies are inherently

ThinFab™ decreases module production costs to a record amount of 50 eurocents per watt peak (Wp)

Standardized BOM yields global scale and savings

A standardized turnkey technology platform enables significant supply

customer may plan to use Oerlikon Solar’s equipment to produce a module design that is not based on the standard Micromorph® technology platform, and in this case would

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scaleable, well suited to the expected pace of growth in markets like India.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

19

SO L A R ENERGY

Future ID Of PV Solar Panel: Through RFID CoE RFID Lab, IAITO Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is an excellent real-time tracing tool that improves the management of supply chain by enhancing its productivity, accountability and inventory management not only in shop floor but also in large scale on/off grid power plants. Highly reliable industrial RFID provides 100% process traceability even through harsh environment Advantage of using RFID over Barof code condition.

Thus, the unique capabilities RFID qualified to be an integral part of the solar module for its long service & support life cycle.

Parameters

T

Line of sight to track PVof Solar Panel he world is more and more concerned Advantage using RFID over

of over Bar code with fossil fuelAdvantage exhaustion andusing BarRFID code Reading multiple tags

environmental problems caused Copeby with dirty & harsh environment conventional power generation, renewable Parameters

Bar Code

RFID

¥

X

X

¥

X

Bar Code

¥

RFID

Extra memory for storing other data for PV Solar Panel

X

Line of sight to track PV Solar Panel Read & write capacity

X

¥

¥ X

Reading multiple tags Possibility of automatic tracking and economically. In such circumstance the Cope Electronics ID with dirty & harsh environment photovoltaic (PV) technology is going to

X

X

¥ ¥

X

X

¥ ¥

play a key role. India receives solarCloning energy / Product Authenticity Read & write capacity equivalent to over 5000 trillion kWh/year,

X

resources are becoming a focal point of the environmental movement, both politically

Extra memory for storing other data for PV Solar Panel

X

¥

¥

X

¥

¥

which is far more than the total energy

Possibility of automatic tracking

X

¥

consumption of the country.

Electronics ID

X

¥

Cloning / Product Authenticity

X

¥

The “National Solar Mission (Nov. 2009)” guideline by Govt. of India, the domestic market for PV manufacturing industry has shown an exponential growth projection.

Disadvantage of using RFID over Bar code

The superiority of RFID over Barcode Even Govt. is trying to regulate RFID tagging conceive it as a best in-shape technology to (to store its manufacturing specification give better tracing tool to improve the ability details) for each of its panel enabling its of supply chain by enhancing its productivity, traceability and identification as per ISO accountability and item level visibility of PV Disadvantage of using RFID over Bar code 9000 clause 7.5.3.

Panels for long life.

Historically PV manufacturer use the

Disadvantage of using RFID over Bar code

barcode system. Conceptually, bar coding

What is RFID? RFID enables wireless data capture and transaction processing. RFID is an automatic identification method which relies on storing and retrieving remote data on/from devices called as Transponders or RFID Tags. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is the technology that has revolutionized the way identification and tracking of items is carried

and RFID are quite similar; both are

Parameters

Bar Code

RFID

intended to provide rapid and reliable item

Commercial

Low

High

New Technology Challenge Factor

Low

Availability

High

Technology Provider

High

identification-and-tracking capabilities but they are different in many ways. Bar code Vs RFID technologies are NOT mutually exclusive, nor will one replaces the other.

They are both enabling technologies with different physical attributes.

Table 1.0: RFID vs. Barcode MARCH/APRIL 11 20 EQ INTERNATIONAL

Parameters

Commercial

Bar Code Low

New Technology Challenge Factor

Low

Availability

High

Table 1.0: RFID vs. Barcode Capability Matrix SheetHigh Technology Provider

Capability Matrix Sheet

Table 1.0: RFID vs. Barcode Capability Matrix Sheet

RFID

High Low Low

High

High Low Low

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The superiority of RFID over Barcode conceive it as a best in-shape technology to give better

out. Data is stored on a chip called RFID tag which can be attached to the PV cell and module which can be “read” by wireless devices called RFID readers.

RFID system comprises of three components •

RF ID transponder or RF ID tag

•

RFID Writer/Reader

•

RFID Handheld

H ow R F I D Works?

Te c h n o l o g y

• The antenna emits radio signals to activate the UHF passive tags (without battery) and to read and write data to it.

• The reader emits radio waves, depending upon its power output and

Different RFID Technology Matrix Currently, there are several technologies/ frequencies used in RFID as above given in comparative matrix in table 2.0.

Looking after the derivative parameters (like passive, maintenance free & lowest cost) UHF EPC Gen2 is recommended for use in Solar Power Plants for tracking and operation management.

RFID technolo gy promises to improve a broad range of processes in logistics and WIP in manufacturing of PV industry. RFID allows better monitoring of the PV manufacturing

from its competing partners such as optical barcodes are non-line-of-sight tag reading.

The PV manufacturing industry is very much automated and it undergoes several processes to get a finished product. RFID tags will be in the form of adhesive labels (lifespan of 10,000 times write) which can

Figure 2: PV Solar Module (Cr-Si) Manufacturing Process

Figure 1: Typical RFID system components

the radio frequency used. When an RFID UHF passive tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader’s activation signal.

Tagging

Internal Tagging

External tagging

Certification of the Module

Since RFID tags consist of a silicon IC and will be placed inside the module .So by internal tagging certification is mandatory.

Here RFID tags are placed in back of the panel from outside. So tagging usually doesn’t need any recertification.

Tag Read Range

Will be low

Will be higher enough to read the panel mounted at some height like steel structure, street light.

Tag life

Good, Usually the tagging will be done during the lamination process and data feed inside the tag will be after module get tested using flasher. So if in different process (high temperature) get damaged replacing the tag will be not possible.

Very Good Tagging get at the place of flasher testing using Sun simulator. Even if the tag is found damaged in the process it can be replaced easily.

Physical Abuse

Not Possible

Possible

25 years of Warranty of panels

In due course of the PV panel warranty, if the tag get damaged it can’t replaced. As whole module need to get replaced.

In due course of the PV panel warranty, if the tag get damaged it can easily be replaced with a new one with different unique ID.

Maintenance

Not Required

Not Required

Higher than external tag, since the tag has to withstand high temperature.

Lower than internal tag, only UL level of adhesive are used for long life.

processes with expedient Cost raw material flow and more effective planning Figure 1: Typical RFID system components and control. It helps in monitoring where • The reader decodes the data encoded and when a part is located throughout its in the tag’s integrated circuit (silicon flow shop in its production process. The key chip)RFID and the data is passed Different Technology Matrix to the host features that separate RFID technology computer for processing.

Technology

HF Technology

UHF Technology

Active Technology

/Ability

(13.56 MHz)

(860-960 MHz)

(2.45 GHz/433MHz)

Application

Access Control, Laundry Tagging, Library Management

SCM, Inventory Management, Health Care, Aviation, Retail, Transportation

Health Care, RTLS

Multiple Tag Read

Slow(2-5 tags/Sec)

Faster(20 to 100 tags/Sec)

Faster(10-20 tags/Sec)

Tag Power

Power Less

Power Less

Battery Power

Standards

ISO 15693,14443 A/B

EPC C1G1/C1G2/180006A,B,C

No such standards

Tag Form Factor

Small

Small

Big

Maintenance

Not Required

Not Required

Required

Read Range

Very Low(10 Cm)

Good Range(2-4M)

High Range(20 M)

Units Cost Labels

Low( $)

Very Low(few cents)

Very High(few $)

be read/write with the RFID reader/writer station. RFID tags can be embedded in solar panels during PV manufacturing processes in two ways.

Case 1 (embedding the tags inside PV): RFID tag is embedded in solar panel during the lamination process. PV characteristics (like Electrical, mechanical, Environmental, Certification etc) are written inside the tag after flasher system.

Case2 (embedding the tags outside PV): RFID tag is attached to the solar panel externally after the flasher process externally.

Advantage and Disadvantage of Internal & External tagging RFID PV Tracker Tags: RFID PV tracker tag is specifically designed for PV solar module

Table 2.0: Different RFID technology comparative matrix table

Table 2.0: Different RFID technology comparative matrix table

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Currently, there are several technologies/frequencies used in RFID as above given in comparative matrix in table 2.0. Looking after the derivative parameters (like passive, maintenance free & lowest cost) UHF EPC Gen2 is recommended for use in Solar Power Plants for tracking and operation management.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

21

process to the RFID PV tags.

Stage 2: The retrieved data will be burned to the RFID PV Tracker tags with specially designed algorithm which carries all the Module information including IV curve graph as stated by MNRE guidelines (Sample tag data has also been attached for your reference)

Figure 2: PV RFID Tracker Tags

tracking which contains a unique identity for each panel. All its performance data (electrical parameter, IV curve data, and its certification, cell and module manufacturer along with its date) is stored in the secure tag memory. It is capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions like temperature,

Stage 3: The RFID PV tags (which will be in sticker form) will be ripped off as shown in figure below Stage 4: Then the tags will be stuck on the backside of the PV Module as shown in figure below Stage 5: Particular Modules as per order requirement can be tracked through RFID HandHeld Readers in warehouse, which will also be connected with central database.

humidity, UV ray & rain etc. It is available in different form factor which will be suitable for various PV modules of diverse sizes. It can be tagged externally (junction box, back plate) after quality control.

RFID UHF Hand-Held Reader : PDA based terminal is a rugged dual technology comes with embedded RFID middleware and windows CE 5.0 for easy integration.

The RFID_HH_PDA has a software, which can read all the data in remote site of the on/off line of PV Power Plans.

Software RFID Tracker Software is been designed and developed with open source framework and architecture. The software have a strong data compression, optimization & filtration algorithm which extracts all the relevant data from a data set of each module once it is being flashed inside the sun simulator.

An operator can write all the data inside the RFID tags secure memory and can stick the label on the back of PV panel.

RFID System architecture & process flow in the solar PV manufacturing plant

Stage 6: The module will be dispatched to client location for installation.

Be nefi t for PV Pane l manufacturing using RFID • Item-level visibility across manufacturing and distribution operations can help to track • Location & quantity of the parts at each stage and the arising bottlenecks can be detected &resolved immediately.

• Reducing payouts for recalled or returned product.

• Reducing lost product and sales from shipping errors.

• Fast identification of the low efficient panel to be replaced/ relocated.

• Better preventive measurement & maintenance.

• Pilferage of the solar panels can be controlled.

Stage 1: The RFID Writer Station will be installed near Sun Simulator and it will retrieve data directly from the Sun Simulator and process it for further writing

• Keeping the PV panel authenticity from grey market and increase the country manufacturing facility.

The above details very much indicate how RFID technology can facilitate the entire PV solar panel manufacturer and to come out with completely enabling its traceability and identification.

22 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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INTERNATIONAL

I NT ERV I EW

SunEdison Moving Northwards In India Encouraged by the rise of solar industry in India, SunEdison is leaving no stone unturned in clinching solar projects. With three projects in kitty, SunEdison projects exponential growth in this burgeoning market. This was stated by Mr Pashupathy Shankar Gopalan, Managing Director, South Asia, SunEdison in an interview with EQ International. He also raised concern about stringent policy on the domestic content issue. Excerpts…

SunEdison is in India since 2010, in this short span of time, what are the milestones it has achieved? What are the projects does SunEdison have grabbed?

capacities are more favorable. Hence, India

We believe that developers should be

would be the best place to start off-grid

given the flexibility to execute the project in

development. (Off-grid capacities can be

the most economic manner. While we are in

as low as 5-10 KW as compared to at least

favour of developing a domestic eco-system

20 KW in grid connected systems). Where

for the solar industry, we also believe that in

We have been able to create a significant pipeline of projects since we started our Indian operations in 2010. Currently, we are executing the following projects:

there are caps on applications, we work as

the short run there should not be stringent

technology partners for various organizations.

norms on domestic content.

•

SunEdison has signed power purchase agreement with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) for development of a 5MW solar PV project

Which technology would you adopt for the projects?

economies of scale, reduction in the cost of

We are technology agnostic and go

generation is imperative. Added to this is the

with the technology that’s most suited for

fact that government of India has created

• In addition, we have signed up with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) for development of a 25 MW Solar PV project in the state of Gujarat.

a project location to provide the maximum

a regulatory environment that encourages

yield consistently.

industry. The competition that this will lead

•

globe, which country provides supportive

We are also executing a 1 MW solar PV project in Rajasthan, under the IREDA guidelines

For the companies, SunEdison manages the technical aspects of the installations.

As Sun Edison has vast experience of operating in six major countries of the policy platform to work on? Could you please grade the countries on the basis of their

How we can reduce per kw hours generation cost?

As technology matures and we achieve

too, will also contribute to driving down the cost.

What is your take on payment security mechanism?

We believe that the payment security

What are the prospects do you foresee in Indian market?

conduciveness?

The Solar potential of India is huge and with the government policies becoming more liberal and open, we see great potential in the grid and off-grid markets.

which markets we enter is testament to the

significant penalties.

fact that the policies in these countries are

What would be your response to grid interconnection?

All of India is gearing up for adoption of greener forms of energy. From a solar energy company point of view - In India, given the power problems and low electricity connections, off-grid projects with smaller

to grade these countries.

24 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

mechanism could be further strengthened

The fact that we are selective about

most conducive to our industry. It would, therefore, be immensely challenging for us

and dishonouring the PPA should attract

We are of the opinion that grid interconnection is best provided by the

For developing Solar PV plant in India, NVVN suggest to rely on domestic content.

How does the domestic content issue impact the overall financial structure of the plant?

distribution companies. States like Gujarat and Rajasthan have been proactive and have taken excellent steps in this regards and other states should emulate the model.

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SO L A R ENERGY

Insurance an Alternate Risk Transfer Mechanism for Solar Project Tapas Nandi, Director, Alliance Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd

With the government announcing Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the industry has seen dynamic investment in setting up solar power projects and solar cell and module manufacturing plants. Today solar energy is no more restricted to solar water heaters, cookers etc., it has emerged as an alternate source of power generation in line with conventional energy like thermal or combined cycle power plants.

A

ccording to JNNSM, the GoI has planned to install the first 1000MW of grid connected solar power in 50:50 ratios between solar PV and solar thermal. During 2011-12 of Phase I, 650MW of solar power project will be targeted for commissioning. JNNSM aims at achieving 20GW of solar power by 2022.

The increase in activity on solar power projects and projected investment in next 10 years, the developers and EPC contractors are looking for a comprehensive risk transfer mechanism to protect the overall exposure of their investment both in physical and financial aspect by way of appropriate Insurance Program. A well planned insurance program will ensure the developers/EPC contractors to ride over any uncertainty in terms of natural catastrophe or sudden physical damages during construction phase, transit phase or operational phase.

Challenges

is no separate tariff provision for solar PV/ CSP project nor there do any separate rating structure for operational cover.

However, Current tariff provision allows offering comprehensive insurance cover during project as well operational phase by way of interpreting existing tariff provision suitably.

Insurance Program

26 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL

Insurance solutions available for operation and maintenance phase • Standard fire & special peril policy: There are thirteen named perils and add on covers to protect the expected exposure.

Presently, General Insurance Industry in India provides different insurance solution for the project at various level i.e right from transit, project execution and for operational and maintenance phase.

•

Machinery & Electronics Equipments Insurance: Critical equipment may be selected to cover the risk of sudden breakdown of such high value equipment.

Insurance solutions available at project stages are

•

Consequential Loss of Profit: It protects the balance sheet of the developers for loss of revenue due to stoppage of power generation arising out of peril acted covered under standard fire & special peril insurance.

•

Transit Insurance: To cover all transit related exposure(including loading and unloading activity)

•

Project Insurance: To cover all project activity at site till it synchronised with the grid.

Indian Insurance sector is in early stage of understanding the technology part of solar • Advance Loss of Profit: To protect power project. The developers are using PV modules like thin film, crystalline etc.

As Policy Periods & critical dates

Build up of the well as concentrated solar power technology.

Policy Periods & critical dates Sum insured These technologies have different exposure Build up of the Sum insured at various stages of execution of project as well during operation and maintenance Erection Test Maintenance Period phase.

It is imperative that insurance companies in consultation with IRDA should come out with an exclusive product to cover the exposure at the project execution stage and during operational phase. At present there

the interest of the financial institution for delay in project caused due to peril operated covered under project insurance.

Indemnity period ALOP period of insurance

Cumulative Gross Profit

• Miscellaneous Insurance: Theft & Burglary, Fidelity, Money etc.

• Liability Insurance: Public Liability, Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) etc.

Prevailing Gap in Insurance Protection • Performance Bond: to cover the contractual obligation between EPC contractor and the developer/owner as agreed upon • Performance Warranty: For the module manufacturer for 25 years of of performance of the module at certain percentage for first10yrs and for the balance15 yrs.

Insurance solutions available for operation and maintenance phase 11

x Standard fire & special peril policy: There are thirteen named perils and add on covers to protect the expected exposure. x Machinery & Electronics Equipments Insurance: Critical equipment may be selected

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â&#x20AC;˘

Carbon Credit Insurance: For any losses in carbon credit arising out of stoppage of power plant acting out of peril covered under the policy.

â&#x20AC;˘

Lack of Sun/Radiation: Covering the losses due to sudden fall of expected sun radiation thereby directly affecting the power generation of the plant.

Though all these critical coverage are internationally available, in India it is in a very earlier stage of development. Insurance companies are sceptical in extending such cover due to non availability of statistical data base, based on which all such critical cover can be worked out. However as we move forward and good number of generation units starts performing as per their designed parameters , insurance companies in India will expectedly come out with insurance solution for all these areas with competitive pricing model in near future.

However, in India few selective agencies are providing a reasonable solution to all these areas working closely with international reinsurance companies and the RI(Reinsurance) brokers.

Pricing On the pricing front especially at the project stage, the overall premium depends on the policy period, location and other add on cover required to protect the expected exposure. With the existing tariff regime is still in force, the final applicable rate would depend on the underwriting appetite of the particular insurance companies in allowing percentage of discount on the existing tariff rate. Hence, final applicable rate may vary from one insurance company to other.

However, percentage of discount allowed would largely depends on the track record of the organisation, expected growth in premium in near future, risk management practice and other such relevant factors.

The above principal equally applies during operational phase of the power plant.

A comprehensive insurance solution starts with an understanding of risk, appropriate pricing and coverage that would protect the overall exposure of the project. The service commitment of the insurance companies plays an important role in selecting the placement of insurance to particular insurance companies. The insurance companies play a major role not only providing a seamless cover but honouring legitimate claim within a stipulated turn around period.

Some of the Indian insurance brokers extend all necessary support in formulating the comprehensive cover together with the service commitment that catches the expectation of the developers/EPC contractors. They bring in innovative solution for critical covers that are generally not available in Indian insurance market. Insurance companies and the brokers together brings in host of add on values across the board to make the proposition more effective.

Presently, Indian Insurance market is matured enough to bring in risk transfer solution to protect the interest of the developers/ EPC contractors to the best of their satisfaction.

About the Author:

Tapas Nandi is working as Director with Alliance Insurance Brokers Pvt. Limited. Engineer and MBA by profession, the author had worked in Engineering Industry as a Design Engineer and subsequently in Plant Maintenace. He had Joined as a direct recruit Engineer in United India Insurance Company and worked close to 17yrs. Thereafter he joined RoyalSundaram Allliance Insurance Company and worked as Head of Business for Gujarat Region and subsequently Business Head for Western Region.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

27Â

SO L A R ENERGY

Energy For All People – An Innovative Approach To Provide Sustainable Energy Supply Via Local Entrepreneurship At Grass Root Level Susmita Bhattacharjee, Ronald F.M. Lange, 9-OM AG

Triggered by the 2010 news headlines that the president of the World Bank declared that ”2009 saw the end of what was known as the third world” 1), that an incredible 25% of all people have no reliable access to electricity2), and the observation that an increasing amount of people migrate aiming to find a better economic life in the so-called first-world countries3a,b), probably contributing to the increase in popularity of right-wing-populist politicians in Europe3c-f), spurred the authors to report their contemplations on the global energy consumption and generation. Energy is seen as the most important issue since the availability of energy is the key of solving other issues as e.g. water, food, diseases, education, environment and poverty. In this contribution the authors propose a potential solution for a sustainable energy supply for all people initiated by local entrepreneurship at grass root level.

T

he current 2010 global energy

energy sources.6) The fossil reserves, mainly

consumption is about 400 EJ

and

coal, are still huge and could cover this energy

is non-proportionally consumed by

scenario making use of existing technology,

the different countries. The USA consumes

giving a renewable energy mix including

the largest part of this energy, followed by

the sun the time to develop. However,

Europe, Japan, China and the rest of the

current political and industrial activities

world. As described in more detail in text

do not point to serious activities to come

box I “global energy consumption”, basically

to a globally balanced energy consumption

2 billion people in this world consume today’s

and accompanying globally balanced living

totally generated energy. In the next 40

standard, placing the World Bank’s statement,

years, it will be a huge challenge to build

declaring the end of the third world, in a

energy generating facilities fast enough

less convincing light. In addition, the felt

to increase this number to “only” 3 billion

lack of trust amongst people in the current

people and probably impossible to do this for

political and industrial organisations will

the expected 9 billion people in 2050. Based

most probably not prevent people in less

on these data it becomes clear that the today’s

developed areas from migrating to so-called

faced energy challenge is no sinecure. Please

first world countries and will most probably

note that the challenge is not the availability

not stop the increasing popularity of right-

of energy sources but the conversion of these

wing-populist politicians, both increasing the

4)

5)

28 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

probability of additional social unrests.

After reading these sign posts, the question pops up “what to do now?” How to eliminate or significantly reduce the felt difference between so-called 1st, 2nd and 3rd world countries and prevent a potential deeper division between classes with the extreme scenario described by H.G. Wells’s division in Eloi’s and Morlock’s in mind?7) The availability and global access of reasonably priced energy for all people will definitely help to obtain a balanced distribution of prosperity and hence help to avoid a significant part of today’s conflicts.

Realizing that influencing and changing the global political and industrial energy agendas will probably take decades,8) the authors will focus more on the regional or local political and industrial agenda and describe here a

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potential approach to come to a sustainable energy supply for all people making use of local entrepreneurship at grass root level.

Sustainable energy for all people To discuss the ill-defined topic “energy for all people” it is needed to focus and define the term “all people”. Although politically not correct and definitely not aiming to discriminate but needed to be able to come to a focused discussion, in this contribution the people will be divided in 3 groups i.e. group I, people having access to limited amounts of fossil fuels as e.g. wood for cooking and heating or kerosene for lighting, and with no access to electricity including the use of generators and no access to fuels to run machines and cars; group II people having access to non-reliable electricity, both via a

the Middle-East.9) To define the geographic position and the number of the people in group II is more difficult. As an assumption group II is defined here as people not covered by group I and III, which results in about 2.5 to 3.5 billion people located mainly in Asia-Pacific, China, India, Latin-America, the post-Soviet states, North-Africa and the Middle-East. Focusing more, the people in group II show a broad distribution in degree of prosperity and income and live both in semi-rural areas as well as in the slums of the big cities and even in economically developed countries. These characteristics make it difficult to pinpoint and define group II but it seems clear that group II is both the largest regarding the amount of people and due to its diffuseness, will most probably obtain the least attention. Hence, this contribution

in the ownership and accountability for their own development as well as in the responsibility of identifying sustainable and profitable business activities. To start a business and running it successfully, access to education, information and communication is of utmost importance. Being aware of the latest developments in the field, knowing the market prices of the raw materials and produced goods in other areas and being able to find customers and vice versa, needs a reliable access to (mobile) phones, radio/ TV and probably most important access to the internet. The form of energy needed for these activities is electricity. Electricity can also be used to run machines and a reliable access to electricity is needed in the reliable production of both agricultural as well as industrial goods. Electric powered

Table 1 Definition and characteristics of Group I, II and III

Group I

Group II

Group III

access to fossil fuels

limited

non-reliable

unlimited

access to electricity

no

non-reliable

unlimited

geography

Africa, South-Asia,

Asia-Pacific, China, India,

economically developed countries,

Latin-America, Middle-East

Latin-America, post-Soviet states,

the wealthy parts of China,

North-Africa, Middle-East

India, Asia-Pacific,

and the slums of big cities

Latin-America and the Middle-East

number of people

2.5-3.5 billion

1-2 billion

1.5 billion

grid or generator, and non-reliable access to fuels to run machines and cars. In general, these people have access to a phone, a TV, a refrigerator and computer; and finally group III people have a reliable access to (unlimited amounts of) energy in the form of electricity and fuels. Defining these groups more regarding numbers and geographical distribution, it can be assumed that the people in group III are located mainly in the economically developed countries and the wealthy parts of China, India, Asia-Pacific, Latin-America and the Middle-East. Roughly, the number of people here could be defined as 1-2 billion people. Based on the numbers provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA) the people defined here as group I are, and will be in the future, mainly located in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-Asia.9) The expectation is that the situation will improve significantly in the coming 20 years in China, Latin-America and the Middle-East.9) Today’s geographical position of the group I people is estimated to be about 1.2 billion people almost evenly distributed between Africa and South-Asia, about 200 million in China, 35 million in Latin-America and 20 million in

will concentrate on the people in group II, the people with access to limited and nonreliable energy.

What are the possibilities for people in group II to come to a sustainable and reliable energy supply? And what form of energy is needed? Or in other words, how to help efficiently and what is the final goal to be achieved with the help? Looking to most aid campaigns, the focus is mainly on the people in group I having no access to electricity and no access to (significant amounts) of fuel, with probably the most prominent example providing solar lamps.10) A point of attention in giving aid is the almost non-separated link in the mindset of the receiving people that giving aid is for free, which mostly does not result in a sustainable improvement of the situation. Fortunately this issue is recognized and today a sustainable improvement is often obtained aiming to develop local entrepreneurship, mostly stimulated by the availability of micro-credits.11) One of the keys of successful support to people in group II will certainly be the introduction of local entrepreneurship at grass root level. This local entrepreneurship place local people

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water pumping can improve irrigation and availability of fresh drinking water, avoiding women to walk for hours with heavy water containers. Electricity can run machines, eliminating dangerous and heavy manual work and improve productivity. In many areas, there are multiple power cuts during a day and businesses that rely on electricity become less efficient and lose profits as a result of power losses. A reliable access to electricity is a direct measure of improvement of living standards.

Being dependent of a non-reliable power or electricity grid or even lacking access to the grid, electricity is mainly generated using diesel generators, which is an electrical generator driven by a diesel engine. The advantages of a generator like its portability, flexibility, easy use and decentralized generated electricity are recognized but the disadvantages are obvious too. Not only the steadily increasing diesel price but mainly the transport of diesel, the maintenance of the generator and the noise and pollution make the use of a generator less favorable.

What alternatives to a diesel generator are available? In a realistic scenario a diesel EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

29

generator will probably always be used. radiation of 1500Wh/(year.Wp) the internet The installation of decentralized PV The goal would be to reduce its use and to kiosk needs a PV installation of 500Wp, the systems give people in group II access to a use the diesel generator only as a back-up tailoring business 1000Wp and the metal reliable and competitive energy source in machine. Next to this diesel generator the repair shop 10kWp. The costs, based on the the form of electricity, which allow them a only decentralized electricity generators are August 2010 PV module price in Germany fair chance to be (globally) competitive with windmills, micro-hydropower, small biogas 12) of €3/Wp, would be €1500 for the internet their business activities. This will solidify and photo-voltaic (PV) installations since kiosk, €3000 for the tailoring business and the existence of existing businesses and will conventional hydropower plants, solar thermal €30.000 for the metal repair shop. How open the door to setup new businesses. The plants and large biogas and biofuel production are these costs related to the electricity question is how to implement this system? facilities are large centralized factories. generation using a diesel generator? To come A prerequisite for implementation is the Hence, depending on the geographical to a comparison it is assumed that the sun availability of a financer willing to accept location the choice of electricity generation is shining 6h a day, that the diesel price is a depreciation of about 30 years. Although will be based on wind, micro-hydro, small €1 per liter and the costs for purchasing and at first glance hard to find, a closer look biogas, or PV, or using a combination of these maintaining the diesel generator are not to the financial strategy of governments techniques. However, with the majority of included in the calculation. The generation indicates that these longer term financial people in group II living in sunny areas with of 10kW using a diesel generator would need models already exist today. Examples are no suitable water streams for micro-hydro, as about 3.4 liter diesel per hour, resulting in financing of centralized power plants or well as the fact that wind, micro-hydro and roughly €20 per day.13a) Hence, the 10kW PV financing infrastructure projects. Focusing on biogas need maintenance, PV installations system would outperform the 10kW diesel the decentralized PV systems, an additional are most probably the best choice. Next to generator in 1500 days or less than 4.5 years. advantage of having a potent (local) financer the lack of moving parts making Table 2 Examples of businesses and the related power needed maintenance obsolete, additional advantages of PV are its modular Business Equipment Peak power setup, that no water is needed for

(W) the electricity generation as well Internet kiosk 10 laptop, printer/scanner, necessary accessories 750 as the fact that the sun radiation during the day and for the coming Tailoring shop 10 sewing machines, necessary accessories 1500 days can be predicted very well.

Repairing workshop sawing, drilling or shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) 15000 The electricity needed in the evening and night can be stored in batteries or generated using (existing) would be to produce the PV modules on site.

The situation is even more advantageous for diesel or biogas driven generators.

In this way additional, sustainable and high the PV system in the case of the smaller 500 quality employment is generated as well and 1000Wp systems. as a deeper understanding of the product Sustainable energy supply – A potential disadvantage of the PV and, let’s call it, an emotional binding to the local entrepreneurship system compared to the diesel generator product. The latter is extremely important to Based on the data described above, is, next to the larger foot print, the high break the thinking pattern “aid is for free” as the ideal setup to provide reliable off-grid initial acquisition costs. A 10kW diesel well as to prevent vandalism. Due to lack of electricity is photo-voltaic (PV) combined generator is available for about €4000.13b) awareness, people often do not see the value with batteries or an existing diesel generator. Higher capital cost of installing solar PV of the PV modules, destroy the modules by stealing the copper connecting cables and “components of a solar PV off-grid system“ systems are usually inappropriately compared sell the copper on the black market to gain describes this potential setup in more to the capital costs of conventional energy an immediate cash flow. Initiating this local technical detail. The question to ask now is technologies. The low operation and entrepreneurship at grass root level and how much electricity is needed on an average maintenance cost, the non existence fuel creating long-term jobs to produce and install by a typical group II person to run a business expenses and the increased reliability and PV modules would definitely be seen as an and what the costs for this electricity are. lifespan of the total system offset the high advantage by the local financer in the light initial capital cost for PV and the diesel As an example 3 kinds of businesses are of an economic development of the area. fuel savings alone would be sufficient to taken i.e. an internet kiosk, a tailoring and a Going into detail, most preferably cover a loan repayment. Investors willing to repairing business. An internet kiosk having calculate with extended depreciation periods the PV modules will consist of a glass10 laptops (PC), a printer/scanner and the are needed to overcome the higher capital glass or glass-backsheet setup and contain necessary side equipment needs a peak power cost issue. With these investors in place it multi- or mono-crystalline silicon (c-Si) of about 750W. A tailoring business having seems possible to generate electricity by cells and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) 10 sewing machines needs about 1500W, decentralized PV systems for competitive (EVA) as encapsulant. The glass can be whereas a metal repair shop being able to costs compared to electricity generation locally produced and the cells, the EVA and perform shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) by diesel generators. This opens the way to backsheet will be imported. One expert does need a peak power of about 15.000W. exciting new possibilities to help increasing in PV module production will be on site for at least 12 months to install a basic Assuming a conservative solar energy the life quality of group II people.

30 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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manual production line and to supervise the production and installation of the PV modules by local persons. The manual production line would provide about 40 long-term and high quality jobs including the actual installation of the PV modules. The salaries as well as the costs of robust production equipment to produce about 3 MW in a 1 shift operation per year are marginal and the main costs to be financed is the raw material flow of about 4 million Euro per year, mainly caused by the cells. Assuming a conservative electricity generation for the 3 MW installed PV modules of 4500 MWh with an aimed sales price of €0.10 per kWh, a financing of roughly 10 years is needed. Hence, the total financial loan in 10 years would be roughly 40 million Euro and could be paid back in about 25-30 years, depending on the interest rate. The result of this investment over 30 years is a power production plant of about 90-100 MW together with direct high-quality jobs for about 40 employees. The profitability of this power plant allows the financing of multiple similar power plants, which will result in an autocatalytic effect and sustainable development of the region.

The model described here for producing PV modules in more remote areas relies, next to the availability of an investor, on the availability of people being able to produce the PV modules. The long-term presence (12-18 months) of a PV expert is a prerequisite to hire and educate local people.

In addition, it is of utmost importance that this PV expert is an experienced manager being able to keep the responsibility of the PV module production plant with the local people to ensure a sustainable business.

The manual soldering of solar cells would preferably be accomplished by women due to their higher reliability and quality of work. At the same time this approach would provide a source of ownership and empowerment.

The installation of the PV modules could be performed both by men and women so that this model could also contribute to a potential balanced and emancipated society.

Contemplating on this model of local entrepreneurship, this model is not restricted to more remote areas but could also be applied in cities. More and more people moved from the country site to the city with the expectation that in the year 2007 more than 50% of all people lived in cities.14) The sometimes extremely fast growing cities cope with significant difficulties to provide the increasing population with the necessary

facilities, resulting a.o. in expanding slums and power downtimes. Producing PV modules in the slums of the cities could have several advantages. Next to providing local jobs, the PV modules could be used as decent (watertight) roofs improving the living standards in the slums as well as producing electricity that could be directly fed into the existing or nearby power grid and sold to the city, reducing the power downtimes.

The advantages of this PV module production approach stimulating local entrepreneurship are obvious. The longterm financing by (local) government is also judged as realizable, but what could be the difficulties to realize this approach? The main factor seen that could block the realization of this model is not technical and not related to the education level of the local people but most probably a social factor. Giving people reliable access to electricity and stimulating local entrepreneurship will result in a change of the social structures. The people in power today could see this as a threat and are most probably able to stop or significantly delay this. However, the early 2011 events in the middle-east demonstrate the power of the people but a strong and constant political power should most likely be in place acting as a protective umbrella to drive this social change.

A reliable and sustainable energy supply for all people is a pre-requisite for a successful society since the availability of energy is the key of solving other issues as e.g. water, food, diseases, education, environment and poverty. The main challenge is not to find new energy sources since the existing (fossil) energy reserves are huge, but the challenge is to convert these reserves fast into useful energy, which is electricity.

This fast conversion is not possible using the existing centralized fossil and nuclear based energy generation technology making the decentralised and scalable energy generation using photo-voltaic (PV), which is the direct conversion of light into electricity, an ideal choice. Producing the PV modules locally and making PV a significant part of the energy mix, a sustainable economic development will be obtained via local entrepreneurship.

The reliable and predictable electricity generation will result in the starting and development of competitive enterprises, increased employment rates and the increased educational level will result in a more balanced and stable social structure.

To lift this grass-route driven sustainable

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energy supply approach from the ground, investors willing to accept a longer as usual depreciation period are needed.

References 1.

Bob Zoellick, The Economist, The end of the third world defining as: the end of a distinct separate section of humanity that is poor, aid dependent and does not matter very much

2.

a) Service, Science, 309, 548 (2005) Is It Time to Shoot for the Sun; b) Shell, Energy needs, choices and possibilities – Scenarios to 2050 (2007); c) International Energy Agent (IEA), Key world energy statistics (2010); d) The Economist, 2 sep 2010 Power to the People

3.

a) The framing of immigration by George Lakoff and Sam Ferguson, published online in 2006; b) African Press international 7 Jan 2010 Economic refugees flood the rich nations: slave trade booms as poverty bites; c) The Sunday Times, June 9, 2009 Europe’s right-wing parties appeal on jobs, banks and immigration; d) Charlemagne, The Economist June 11th, 2009 Is immigration killing the European left? e) H. Coffe, Ethical Perspectives: J. of the Eur. Ethics Network, 12, 205 (2005) The adaptation of the extreme right’s discourse: the case of the Vlaams Blok; f) D.Jesuit, V.Mahler, 2004 Annual Meeting of the American political Science Association, September 2-5, 2004 Chicago – Electoral support for extreme right-wing parties: a subnational analysis of Western European elections in the 1990s

4. the 400 EJ (exa-J = 1018J) is an average of different published numbers by a.o. Shell, Energy needs, choices and possibilities – Scenarios to 2050 (2007); International Energy Agent (IEA), Key world energy statistics (2010); Greenpeace International European Renewable Energy Council, Energy Revolution – a sustainable world energy outlook (2007).

5.

The Economist, June 10th, 2010 Biggest primaryenergy consumers

6.

D.G. Nocera, Daedalus, 135 (4), 81–95 (2006) On the future of Global Energy

7.

H.G. Wells, Time Machine

8.

Richard A. Kerr, Science, 329, 781 (2010) Do we have the energy for the next transition?

9.

IEA World Energy Outlook 2009, Presentation to the press, London, 10 November 2009

10. a) see e.g. http://www.one-child-one-solarlight. org/project.html; b) R. Wiese, V. Schacht, “Results of technical and financial monitoring of a micro-financed program for solar home system in Bangladesh” presented at the “25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 6-10 September, Valencia, Spain 11. M.Yunus, Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, 2003 12. Photon, Das Solarstrom Magazine, Oktober 2010, page 123 13. a) www.generatorjoe.net; b) www.generatorsales.com 14. D. Satterthwaite, The Guardian, 17 January 2007; see also United Nations Population Fund publication www.unfpa.org/pds/urbanization. htm

Acknowledgement The authors want to thank Mr. C.Gisep and Dr. R.Théron for fruitful discussions EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

31

Global Energy Consumption The current 2010 global energy consumption is about 400 EJ.a) To be able to discuss the global energy situation in numbers, the living standard of The Netherlands is taken as a reference. The energy consumption in The Netherlands in 2009 was 3.262 EJ.b) With a population of 16.5 million people, the average energy consumption per person is 198 GJ. Comparing these 2009 energy consumption numbers with the numbers of 1979 shows that the energy consumption per person in The Netherlands stayed at a relative constant level. In 1979 14 million people consumed 2.924 EJ,b) which leads to 209 GJ per person. Neglecting potential positive effects of energy saving measures as well as a potential shift in energy consumption between the industry, transport and household sectors, one could assume that the energy consumption per person in The Netherlands is kept at a relative constant level of about 200 GJ per year in the last 30 years. Extrapolating this number in the future, it is assumed here that the energy consumption will not significantly change and that the Dutch consume also 200 GJ per person in 2050. Hence, for simplicity, one could assume that a person on this world could live the Dutch living standard if that person has access to 200 GJ per year. With today’s global energy consumption of 400 EJ, 2 billion people on this world could live

a Dutch living standard, which is more or less indeed the situation today. However, giving 6 billion people the possibility to live the Dutch living standard, or even 9 billion people in 2050, we have to increase our energy production by a factor of 3 and 4.5, respectively. Although these numbers 3 and 4.5 look small, it will be almost impossible to reach this increase in the coming 40 years.

An increase of energy production from 400 to 1800 EJ will require the installation of 1400 EJ production capacity in the next 40 years, which corresponds to an incredible 96.000.000 GJ, or the installation of about 3 nuclear plants, per day. It seems obvious that, based on currently used techniques, we will never be able to increase the energy production to these levels. A scenario keeping today’s balance of 2 out of 6 billion people living the Dutch living standard in 2050, would still need the installation of 200 EJ in 40 years or 13.700.000 GJ per day, which corresponds to the installation of about 1 nuclear plant every 2.5 days, and seems also not realistic. Going further, following the route of reducing the energy consumption and to come to the aimed 2000W (63 GJ) society as proposed by the the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in 1998,c) would also not be sufficient to secure a balanced energy supply for all people in 2050, leading to the conclusion

1800 EJ (57.1 TW)

1200 EJ (38.1 TW)

6 billion

32 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

2009 3.262 EJ (= 0.1 TW) Total energy consumption The Netherlands 2050 2 0 0 G J (= 6 3 0 0 W ) Benchmark energy consumption per person globally, taking the Dutch living standard as reference Figure 1 schematic representation of the energy challenge. To increase the living standard of an additional 1, 4 and 6 billion people to the current living standard in The Netherlands, an additional energy generating capacity of 0.4, 0.9 and 3 GW/ day, respectively is needed. As a reference, a nuclear plant has a capacity of about 1GW. Ia. see reference 4 main article

Ib. CBS energiebalans NL binnenlands verbruik, 2 juni 2010

Ic. K.J. Morrow, J.A. Smith-Morrow, Sustainability, 1, 32 (2008) Switzerland and the 2000W society; see also www.2000watt.ch

6 billion

Scenario b: total increase 800 EJ (=25.4 TW) or 5.5.107 GJ/day (=0.9 GW/day)

3 billion

S Scenario i c: total increase 200 EJ (=6.3 TW) or 1.4.107 GJ/day (=0.4 GW/day)

2 billion

2010

2010 400 EJ (= 12.7 TW) Total global energy consumption

9 billion billi

a

c

Summarized key numbers:

Scenario a: ( 44 4 TW) totall iincrease 1400 EJ (=44.4 or 9.6.107 GJ/day (=3 GW/day)

b 400 EJ (12.7 TW)

that the today’s faced energy challenge is no sinecure.

2050

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Components Of A Solar Photo-Voltaic (Pv) Off-Grid System A solar PV stand-alone system consists of four major components i.e. the solar PV module, a charge controller, a battery and an inverter. a)

PV module Charge controller DC load

Inverter

AC load

Battery

Figure a) typical set-up of an off-grid photovoltaic (PV) system

solar panel accounts for >50% of the total cost of a PV off-grid system using a battery.

Once installed, a solar panel needs no maintenance, no fuel or water and provides electricity for a long period based on the actual solar irradiance of the day. As an example of life span, the vast majority of crystalline silicon module manufacturers offer a warranty of electrical production for 10 years at 90% of rated power output and 25 years at 80%.c)

The charge controller The charge controller or battery regulator is a device which limits the rate at which electric current is added or drawn from electric batteries. The function of the charge controller is to prevent the battery being overcharged and eliminates any reverse current flow from the batteries back to the solar modules at night. It can also prevent the undesired completely draining of the battery (deep discharging) or perform controlled discharges depending on the battery technology. The charge controller generally elongates the life of the batteries used in a PV solar array.

Bat ter y storage b) example of solar PV module setup in rural Mongoliab)

The solar photo -voltaic module A solar photo-voltaic module converts light energy form the sun (photons) to electricity. The module or panel consists of interconnecting solar cells. The cells can be either wafer based crystalline silicon or thin-film based amorphous and/or microcrystalline silicon, cadmium-telluride (CdTe) or coper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS).

The vulnerable cells are in general protected for the environment by placing them behind a glass plate and embedding them in an encapsulant. The modules come in various sizes ranging from 10W to 250W. Multiple modules can be connected to generate the needed voltage and current to electrically power a full modern household. The modules produce DC power and domestic appliances running on DC power can be directly attached to the solar panel for day time use. AC current is obtained using a so-called inverter. The

for

elec t ricit y

The generated electricity has to be stored to secure an electricity supply when no sunlight is available or to secure a 24 hour electricity supply. The storage is mostly performed using rechargeable batteries with the so-called deep cycle lead-acid battery as the most widely used today. The cost-performance ratio of these batteries is well-known and even though lead has environmental concerns, lead acid battery recycling is one of the most successful recycling programs in the world with more than 90% of the battery lead being recycled.

These lead-acid batteries are produced in 2V or 6V cells, which are joined together on site to provide the correct voltage. This enables the assembly of a massive battery bank, which otherwise would be extremely heavy as a single unit. The lifetime of a battery is expressed as ‘design life’ or ‘cyclic life’. For a lead-acid battery an extended lifetime is obtained when carefully maintained i.e. not being over-charged or over-discharged, making the use of a charge controller a must. The lead acid batteries can be of a flooded (unsealed) type, an absorbed glass mat (AGM) type or of a gel (valve-regulated

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lead-acid or VRLA) type. Due to the fact that the flooded unsealed batteries need topping up with distilled water at certain intervals AGM or VRLA type batteries are recommended.

Next to the lead-acid battery other battery technologies which have potential for solar energy storage are Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal hydride) and Li-ion (Lithium-ion) batteries.

These batteries have higher energy density and longer lifespan compared to the lead acid battery but are still far more expensive.

Research and technological advancement in the energy storage area has picked up significantly along with the development of renewable energy technologies and electric vehicle programs. As the PV industry is more focused on grid connected system, it is not clear how the PV industry and the energy storage industry are cooperating to develop the off-grid PV market.

Inverter The primary function of an off-grid inverter is to convert the direct current (DC) produced by solar panels into alternating current (AC), that most of the house appliances use. Off-grid inverters are available in three wave forms – square wave (lowest efficiency), modified square wave (modified sine wave) and pure sine wave. Pure sine wave inverters are more expensive but have the advantage of being fully compatible with the alternating current waveform produced by utility company. As a result, an off-grid inverter with pure sine wave will provide AC current similar to a grid connected system and will not affect the performance of household equipments.

Modified sine wave inverters can be used as a compromise in terms of price & performance.

As the solar market is picking up the cost of inverters for grid-connected system is becoming lower and the off-grid segment can gain from the innovations in the inverter technology.

Footnotes: IIa) Information mainly form Bo Hanus, Wie nutze ich Solarenergie in Haus und Garten (2007) IIb) picture PV module setup taken from Wikipedia IIc) CTI Solar sales brochure” www.ctisolar.com Retrieved September 3, 2010.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

33

CSP

Parabolic Trough Cost Reduction Catalyst – ReflecTech Mirror Film Alison Mason, Director of Marketing, Skyfuel

G

lobally, the concentrating solar power

Figure 1.

(CSP) market is gaining momentum as countries seek solutions to their

growing needs for clean, local energy.

Parabolic trough CSP technology is the most mature, in large part because of the Solar Energy Generating Stations (SEGS) that were installed in California in the 1980s and are still operating today – 25 years later.

All parabolic trough systems operate in the same general way to create steam for power generation or manufacturing facilities.

As shown schematically in Figure 1, each of the long, parallel rows of trough reflectors pivots on an axis to track the daily trajectory of the sun and focus the sun’s energy on a tubular receiver in the focal line of the parabolic trough. A heat transfer fluid circulates through the receivers. The heated

Schematic of a parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) plant, showing two parabolic troughs (representing the solar field) to the right, and the power block to the left, consisting of a steam turbine generator. The heat-transfer fluid typically enters the troughs at 290°C and exits at 390°C. Courtesy: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

slumped-glass technique; a flat plate of glass

flexible alternative. Not only was the

is heated and allowed to sag, or “slump,”

glass susceptible to breakage during high

into the desired curved shape. This heating

winds (see Figure 2), but the falling shards

and forming process is both energy intensive

sometimes caused the expensive glass

and time consuming. The curved glass is

receivers to break as well. “Glass mirrors

Until recently, all utility scale parabolic

then cooled and coated with a thin layer of

are the Achilles’ Heel of solar concentrators.

trough systems have used reflectors made

silver, which is then back-coated with paints

It was evident 20 years ago when the SEGS

from curved, silvered-glass mirrors. A

for corrosion protection.

plants were built, so we set out on a path to

fluid then turns water to superheated steam in a heat exchanger, and this steam expands in a conventional steam turbine to drive a generator and produce electricity.

series of these curved glass mirror facets

The idea for a high reflectance, low

are assembled on a support frame in the

cost polymer mirror film emerged during

form of a parabola, and bolted precisely in

the SEGS era. Experience with heavy,

place, to accurately reflect and focus sunlight

expensive, and breakable glass mirrors led

onto the receiver. The mirrors, which use a

technologists to conceive of a lightweight,

special low-iron glass, are manufactured by a 34 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

engineer a highly reflective film that would be lightweight, and unbreakable – everything glass mirrors are not,” said Randy Gee, SkyFuel’s Chief Technology Officer. Films in use in the lighting industry were tried in solar collectors, but these inevitably failed in the harsh outdoor environment.

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film that would be durable outdoors is that

Figure 2.

of testing. Since it is not possible to wait 25 years (the anticipated lifetime of a solar plant) to discover if a given film construction will work, accelerated weathering techniques were used to simulate long term exposure.

Tests exposing the film to different intensities of ultraviolet light and humidity, outdoor tests using concentrated sunlight, and real time tests at operating solar plants were conducted to assist in the development of the film, and ultimately to demonstrate good results. Most of these tests were conducted in the Advanced Optical Materials Lab at NREL. The most accelerated of the tests – NREL’s award-winning Ultra Accelerated Weathering System (UAWS) - in which the ultraviolet portion of sunlight is concentrated

100 times, has by now exposed the film to over 25 years’ equivalent of ultraviolet

Photo from SEGS II showing broken glass mirrors, which are especially a problem in high winds.

light with no drop in reflectance (Figure

Courtesy: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

3). “There is every indication the film will

While the parabolic trough power market

The ingredient that makes all mirrors

in the USA fell dormant after government

reflect well in the spectrum of interest (that

incentives were removed in 1992, a smaller

of sunlight) is silver. Silver corrodes when

market for process heat kept interest and

exposed to oxygen and ultraviolet light, so

progress alive on the mirror film concept.

must be protected. The paint used to protect

Randy Gee, and scientist Gary Jorgensen,

the silver in the glass mirrors of the SEGS

at the U.S. National Renewable Energy

plants had a high lead content. Glass mirrors

Lab (NREL), teamed up to address the

made today use little or no lead, in compliance

challenge of making a silverized polymer

with environmental safety laws, but these

film hold up to years of exposure to sun and

no‐lead mirrors have not demonstrated the

rain. The research duo ultimately patented a

same longevity in NREL tests.

commercially distinct mirror film and called it ReflecTech.

last for the full lifetime of a CSP plant,” said Randy Gee. Exposure to over 25 years’ equivalent of concentrated (100X) ultraviolet light and elevated temperatures caused no degradation of the reflectance of ReflecTech® Mirror Film, supporting the conclusion that the film will last the 25 year lifetime of a solar power plant.

Fast forward to 2007 when a new boom in parabolic trough solar plant development

One of the challenges in developing a

was in progress due to high natural gas prices and government incentives in Spain and the

Figure 3.

USA. The 64 MW Nevada Solar One plant in the USA and several new EuroTrough plants in Spain all used glass mirror facets. SkyFuel began design of a parabolic trough from the ground up making use of all the advantages of ReflecTech® Mirror Film. SkyTrough® was designed to increase widespread use of solar-generated electricity by addressing the primary market barrier - high upfront capital cost.

The advantages of using the silverized polymer in the parabolic trough extend well beyond that of mirror cost. The fact that the film comes on rolls 1.5 meters wide by 90 meters long means that the curved mirrors can be full aperture monoliths. ReflecTech®

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

35

film is laminated to thin aluminum sheet,

panel with the comparable section from a

the SkyTrough® in their Optical Efficiency

sheared to 22 foot lengths, and simply slid

conventional trough system, which requires

Test Loop, NREL said that “the final result

into a precision parabolic guiding rib that

four glass mirror facets, each of which must

is the highest optical accuracy seen to date

holds the reflector in the correct optical

be bolted to the underlying support structure

in parabolic trough collection technology”.

shape on the space frame. The implications

in four places.

This is because the parabolic rib is very precise and there are no gaps as with faceted

Figure 4.

glass mirrors.

In an assessment of the design of the SkyTrough®, independent engineering firm Sargent & Lundy wrote, “ReflecTech polymer film is a viable alternate to glass mirrors, offers comparable performance and durability, and is not susceptible to breakage as are glass mirrors.” The film has been in use since 2009 in SkyFuel’s SkyTrough® collector loop at SEGS II in Daggett, California.

Comparison of the thickness and weight per square meter of the ReflecTech® Mirror Film (left) to other glass-based mirror technologies used in the Nevada Solar One and EuroTrough systems (right).

Courtesy: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

of this innovation are far reaching. There are no fasteners to install, and no adjustment is needed to achieve focus. Figure 4 compares the SkyTrough® monolithic reflective

Most gratifying of all to the designers of the SkyTrough®, the parabolic trough made with ReflecTech® mirror panels turns out to have greater optical accuracy than the glass mirror designs. After evaluating

SkyTrough®

ReflecTech® Mirror Film was developed to address the needs of parabolic trough makers, but has proven useful in other solar concentrators as well. The patents for the film are owned by NREL, and the exclusive rights to make and market the film are licensed to ReflecTech, Inc. – a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyFuel.

Glass-based trough

Figure 5. Comparison of parabolic trough reflector panels (mirrors). SkyTrough® (left) uses ReflecTech® Mirror Film laminated to aluminum to form a monolithic reflector that spans the entire arc of the trough, resulting in optical accuracy without adjustment. In contrast, troughs using glass mirrors (right) typically require four mirrors across the arc of the trough, and each facet requires four mechanical fasteners. Any fastening errors (including over-tightening) cause optical misalignment and reduced performance. A yellow line outlines each reflector.

Courtesy: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

36 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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REN EWA BL E ENERGY

Optimized High Power Converters For Renewable Energy Systems Alan Tims, Solutions Business Development Manager Asia

The renewable energy market is rebounding strongly from the global financial crisis. Projects that were previously delayed or mothballed have been restarted and many new projects are being realized. This upsurge has strongly reignited the demand for renewable energy system components throughout the supply chain, including wind power and PV converters.

T

he Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) forecasts an annual average growth rate of 20.9% for total installed capacity over the next 4 years.

This will more than double the total installed capacity of wind power to more than 400 GW by 2014. The growth outlook is especially poignant for Asia, where China was the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest wind power market in 2009 and today is now only second behind the USA in their accumulated base of wind generation capacity.

38Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Similarly for photovoltaic, strong growth in the cumulative installed PV capacity of

Converter Topology Trends The Semikron Solution Centers saw this

40% was forecasted in 2010, with Germany

effect first hand in 2010 by experiencing

remaining the largest market, while new

phenomenal growth in order intake of more

markets in Southern Europe, USA and Asia

than 300% for standard renewable energy

are feted to see good growth - particularly

converters, and strong interest for new

in Asia if the Chinese government ratifies its

project developments.

domestic PV growth stimulus plan which is

The Semikron Solution Centers group

predicted to set a target of 30 GW installed

is unique within the power electronics

base by 2020.

sector as it is the only global group of

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Flexible Platform: 450 kW to More Than 2.5 MW

Figure1. The Semistack for renewable energy comprises of three modular half bridge (GB) phase cells

companies which specialize in the design and manufacturing of power electronics assemblies and platforms. Semikron has been integrating semiconductors, drivers and other key components into power electronics assemblies for more than 50 years within its various subsidiaries. Semikron combined these subsidiaries in 2003 to form the Semikron Solution Centers group, which now comprises eight Solution Centers, one from each continent, whose key strategy is to manufacture and support power electronics platforms and solutions direct to the local market.

Clear power topology trends are emerging for the converters, where in the wind power sector new developments are focused on permanent magnet synchronous machines (SG) which use full power converters.

This configuration offers a higher overall efficiency, gives a wider range of useable wind speed, and enables the converters to accommodate the new regulations concerning behavior of generating equipment during grid disturbances.

Power ratings have consolidated, for land-based systems the typical power rating for new developments is between 2 MW and 3 MW, mainly using water-cooled converters, bottoming out at 1.5 MW with a mixture of double-fed induction generator (DFIG) and SG applications, air and water-cooled.

Offshore applications have leveled off at 5 MW to 6 MW, with some pilot applications

A new inverter platform is now available which enables the system integrator to readily source an easy to use versatile inverter to meet these market demands.

The Semistack for renewable energy is a high power three phase inverter platform that uses the SKiiP intelligent power module (IPM) with integrated heat sink, power module, driver and protective sensors/functions, and is optimized for renewable energy applications.

The modular topology, the wide selection of SKiiP IPM power ratings, the choice of air or water-cooling, and the ability to connect the inverters in parallel allows for a wide range of user applications from around 450 kW to more than 2.5 MW full power systems such as those used in SG wind power applications. trend towards medium voltage (MV) for offshore systems many new developments continue to use low voltage (LV) converters connected in parallel.

In solar applications, power technology trends for grid connected systems typically range up to 500 kW per individual inverter with some new developments underway at 1 MW plus.

The general maturing of the wind p owe r a n d s o l a r market coupled with this strong market resurgence has placed mounting pressure on the converter suppliers to offer readily available standardized converters that are pre-qualified, hence low technical risk, and flexible enough to be used in a range of power ratings. Time to market has become the key driver and converters for renewable energy a p p l i c a t i o n s h ave become commodity items.

surpassing this level. Whilst there is a definite

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The base inverter configuration comprises three half bridge phase cells mechanically arranged in a vertical configuration. Each phase cell contains one SKiiP IPM and cooling plate or heatsink, DC bus with long life polypropylene capacitors,

Figure 2 The maximum power density is realized by the watercooled chassis

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

39Â

MW3 with two inverters in parallel. With a power density of more than 10kVA/litre the Semistack for renewable energy has at least a 20% advantage over its closest rivals. The smaller 3/2 chassis uses the three bay and two bay SKiiPs for lower power requirements that are typically used in DFIG systems where the converter is rated to approx. 30% of the system power, and for high power solar systems.

Only two cooling circuit water couplings are necessary for each inverter as the separate cooling plates are internally connected in parallel to avoid thermal stacking. Two quick connect fluid connectors for inlet and outlet are located at the bottom of each inverter to easily facilitate the fluid connection to the external cooling system.

Functional Design

Figure 4 Two chassis are available in the water-cooled versions, chassis 4/3 and chassis 3/2

AC connections, and snubbers. The individual phase cells are connected together by a low inductance DC coupling and housed within a rigid mechanical frame. The inverter stacks can be connected together by means of a DC busbar to realize a complete 4 quadrant converter or for paralleling the stacks to obtain higher power ratings.

Air and water-cooled versions are available; both versions are configured using the same overall mechanical topology.

The user can choose between a simple air-cooled solution typically used in solar applications and lower power DFIG wind power applications, or a higher power watercooled solution typically used in larger SG wind applications.

The versatility of the Semistack for renewable energy is demonstrated in the realization of the following applications. A typical 1.5 MW DFIG system1 can easily be organized by combining two air-cooled Semistack inverters into a four quadrant configuration. The complete converter fits into a 600mm wide cabinet and measures only 1200mm in height enabling the complete assembly to fit into a standard 2000mm cabinet with room for other equipment.

40Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Owing to the functional design of the Semistack for renewable energy, the assemblies can be easily connected together at the DC link by means of a low inductance bus coupling connected between stacks. This makes it easy to configure four quadrant applications and to parallel the inverters

Similarly two watercooled inverters with four bay SKiiPs can be combined in the same manner to configure a full power four quadrant SG application up to 1.5 MW2.

Higher power ratings are achieved using the water-cooled versions which are available in two chassis sizes. The larger chassis 4/3 accommodates either the four bay or three bay SKiiP IPMs. It is possible to combine four bay and three bay stacks together in a four quadrant configuration. This allows for optimization of SKiiP modules where the requirements for the generator side converter are often more severe than the grid side. The 4/3 chassis accommodates full power applications up to 1.5MW2 or 2.5

Figure 5 The Semistack for renewable energy can easily be coupled together to form four quadrant and higher power configurations such as the 2.5MW 4Q SG configuration 3 depicted in Fig 5

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Figure 6 The heart of the Semistack for renewable energy, SKiiP intelligent power module, the most powerful IPM on the market.

for higher power. Moreover a brake chopper can be added by using another Semistack assembly. This flexibility enables the systems integrator to easily build a range of different power ratings using the same components. A simple AC busbar is available as standard to easily facilitate cable connections at the front of the inverter assembly, or an optional AC busbar kit can be used to orientate the AC connections to the bottom of each inverter assembly.

At the heart of the Semistack are the SKiiP3 intelligent power modules. The SKiiP is the highest power IPM on the market and is the most widely used high power module in the wind power market today. More than 57GW of global wind power generation is driven by Semikron devices today. Hence the Semistack for renewable energy is a natural choice for wind power applications.

Fully Qualified By definition a Semikron Solution Center platform is a standard product or family of standard products that are clearly defined and qualified. The Semistack for renewable energy, like other Solution Centers platforms undergoes a rigorous qualification process.

During this process the Semistack is subjected to a range of arduous type tests in accordance

with a combination of international and inhouse standards, including electrical, thermal, thermal cycling, environmental and shock & vibration.

Additionally each SKiiP IPM is fully tested during its own production process.

Every fully assembled Semistack undergoes a full suite of tests during production including isolation, operational load tests and short circuit tests. Additionally an optional burnin is available for customers who require an elevated level of severity. This ensures maximum robustness and reliability during the long service lifetimes necessary for high value grid connected power generation equipment.

Benefits For the Renewable Market The converter system supplier can now benefit from the ability to outsource a standard product with the Semistack for renewable energy. The system supplier now has the freedom to choose from a range of qualified models, eliminating the need for costly investment in design and manufacturing resource, and minimizing technical risk. The flexibility within the

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product family and functional design of the Semistack for renewable energy has added another dimension to the supply chain thus enabling the systems suppliers to meet the short time to market commodity demands that are currently prevalent in the market today Future proofing is assured with the Semistack for renewable energy as it is compatible with the next generation SKiiP IPM. The Semistack is ready to take advantage of the new 4th generation SKiiP technology with its increased power density and new digital driver when it becomes available.

1_ gen. side1100Vdc / 690Vac/ 620A/ sw/ fr 2kHz / fmin.3Hz / Cos phi 0,7/ 50C°; grid side 690Vac / 480A/ sw/fr 2kHz / 50Hz / Cos phi -1/ 50°C 2 – gen.side 1100Vdc / 690Vac /1300A / sw/fr 2kHz / fmin 3HZ/ Cos phi 0,95/ 40°C/12l/min; grid side 1100Vdc / 690Vac /1250A / sw/fr 2kHz / 50HZ/ Cos phi -1/ 40°C/12l/min 3 - gen.side 1100Vdc / 690Vac /2300A / sw/ fr 2kHz / fmin 3HZ/ Cos phi 0,95/ 50°C; grid side 1100Vdc / 690Vac /2520A / sw/fr 2kHz / 50HZ/ Cos phi -1/ 50°C EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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BI O ENERGY

Biomass Resource Utilization in India Pankaj Patel, President , Abellon CleanEnergy Limited

We are blessed with wide biodiversity, agro-climatic conditions, and enriched grass-root scheme for cultivating various agricultural produces and related products. Today, India is one of the leading agricultural economies with self-sufficiency in food grains, fodder and milk products. Over and above this, India also produces plenty of varieties of fruits, vegetables and other non-edible agri-products such as cotton, castor, tobacco, jute and so on. As a result we generate huge quantities of organic agricultural residue.

O

urs is a densely populated country with increasing number of people migrating towards cities for better opportunities. Increasing population, increasing per-capita consumption and the overall socio-economic growth leads to generation of large quantity of organic waste across cities in our country.

We have a long coastal line that nurtures various organic life forms such as algae and seaweed. As a result, large amount of organic biomass gets deposited on our coastal areas and in the deep-sea waters.

Along with a large amount of fertile land, we find several pockets of saline land, marginal land, and reserved category forestland in India. Several states in India have plenty of hilly terrain. Such varied geographies provide an ecosystem to a variety of vegetation. However, due to marginal yield these lands are not utilized.

In the above paragraphs, we discussed various sources of biomass that exist around us. We end up with lot of leftover farm residue, forest residue, algal biomass as well as urban organic waste. Together, these sources form the entirety of the biomass raw material available to us. Clearly, the availability of biomass is not confined to any particular species, region or type.

42Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

All these leftover biomass types have different chemical, physical and microbiological properties. An understanding of these properties of various biomass types is very important. Additionally, handling various types of biomass from the source up to various processes pose a lot of challenges and is a mammoth operational effort. Unless and until we strengthen the two prime domains - 1) biomass characterization and 2) efficient handling and storing of biomass - the development of various applications of biomass in the form of electrical energy, thermal energy, bio-chemicals, etc. will continue to remain under a threat.

Traditionally, rural areas in our society consume certain biomass sources in various domestic applications - primarily for preparation of food. We have also observed that the woody leftover or wooden logs from the trees are used as the primary sources of fuel for food preparation in rural areas. Most of the other sources of leftover biomass residue discussed above are not considered at all for preparation of food by the rural areas. As a result, all other biomass sources remain under-utilized. We are in a compulsive situation where the use of such leftover biomass residue will actually benefit the society. In fact, due to absence of good disposal practices, farmers in various states

including Punjab, Gujarat, etc. often burn their fields during the post harvest season to get rid of the unwanted agri-biomass residue.

This poses a great danger - not only from the global warming point of view, but also from the local environment point of view.

Such methods of biomass disposal may cause many respiratory diseases in the surrounding society. On the other hand, if the leftover biomass is not burnt, due to its nature, it will get decomposed in a very short span of time. And in this bio-degradation process, the biomass generates methane which is much more dangerous to the environment than carbon dioxide. Due to lack of awareness, we have never focused nor calculated the carbon footprint that is left behind from such actions.

Today we talk about a fossil fuel substitute for energy generation. Very soon, we may start talking about a substitute for petrochemical products. Therefore, giving importance to bio-energy will not only bring energy security but also provide a new direction and opportunity to various disciplines that we elaborate in the following diagram.

In order to utilize leftover biomass, we have several technological options, process options and end products as schematically displayed in the following diagram.

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Biomass Conversion Processes

Generally, all organic leftover (biomass) consists of three long-chain molecules named as follow: •

Cellulose

•

Hemi-Cellulose and

•

lignin

With proper application of biotechnology, combustion engineering, chemical engineering and integration of other disciplines, we can extract many value-chains from these leftover biomass. This approach brings better economics with higher degree of sustainability in the society.

Biomass is considered carbon neutral.

While this is not a huge subject for the

country yet, there is an immense need to increase the awareness.

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Globally, bio-energy is an emerging field.

Many developed parts of the world including US and Europe have realized this for a long time now and are pursuing it aggressively on a large scale. Lot of policy framework has been institutionalized and many projects are in pipeline in various stages - either in the form of research and development, pilot development, commercial development, etc. India should tailor its policy framework with respect to its local needs. We feel that instead of focusing on one or two technology or encouraging one or two regions or some EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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selected biomass, a policy must be drafted for the entire country so that we can initiate/ encourage more and more micro to largescale entrepreneurs in the country.

We strongly believe that if we achieve efficient collection and transport of biomass up to the processing unit then our chances of success in the field of Bio-Energy increase tremendously. As a nation, we must focus more on building the infrastructure towards this possibility. This includes various onsource field-processing equipments, efficient bundling or baling equipment, decentralized storage yard, and efficient conversion of biomass into standard densified finished products such as pellets.

Apart from efficient handling, human exploitation should be avoided. Presently, there is lack of health or hygiene awareness in people handling such leftover biomass.

This might lead to deteriorating health at the community level and might spread chronic diseases. So while we aim to harness this renewable energy source, we need to simultaneously address the negative impact on social health. This is an ignored area as of now. Apart from building an infrastructure for efficient collection of leftover, we also need to encourage the entrepreneur to establish good engineering practices.

1.

Respiratory diseases

2.

Indoor pollution

3.

Microorganisms in living spaces

4.

Decay of loose fuel leading to release of harmful gases such as methane,

5.

Incomplete combustion leading to carbon monoxide emission

6.

More ash inside the cooking space

7.

Improper insulation on chulhas leading to heat injuries

8.

Startup process for these chulhas expose eyes and respiratory system to smoke particles and harmful gases

9.

Utensils may get blackened and require additional soap & water for cleaning purposes.

• Individual Household

Rural households use irregular shaped biomass in traditional chulhas. Their energy efficiency of such chulhas is around 7-8%.

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Women spend a lot of time in collecting loose biomass. They cut tree branches on ad hoc basis. This time can be used to do meaningful work.

2.

Traditional chulhas take a lot of time compared to the structured cooking systems.

3.

It is always difficult to forecast fuel consumption with loose biomass. The resulting uncontrolled fuel consumption leads to waste.

Looking at several parameters, we recommend promotion of biogas-based chulhas for families. By doing that, we are grabbing the opportunity of converting wet organic stuff such as cow dung, cattle dung, and kitchen waste into useful clean energy for household purposes. This will improve the overall cleanliness, speed, better aesthetics, overall hygiene and better control over the flame. Biogas chulhas are easier to start and stop. They also facilitate frequent uses of chulhas for quick-to-make food items.

Specifications for densified Biomass for non-industrial use

Sr. No.

Property

Unit of Measurement

Range for Non-

1

Diameter

mm

6–8

2

Length

mm

3 - 40

3

Moisture

As received, %

d 10

4

Net Calorific Value

As received, MJ/Kg

>16.0

5

Ash

% dry

< 1.0

6

Bulk Density

Kg/m3

t 650

7

Nitrogen

% dry

0.3

8

Sulphur

% dry

0.05

9

Chlorine

% dry

0.5

10

Arsenic

mg/kg dry

d 1

11

Cadmium

mg/kg dry

d 0.5

12

Chromium

mg/kg dry

d 10

13

Copper

mg/kg dry

d 10

14

Lead

mg/kg dry

d 10

15

Mercury

mg/kg dry

d 0.1

16

Nickel

mg/kg dry

d 10

17

Zinc

mg/kg dry

d 100

18

Ash melting behaviour

degree C

>1200

Industrial Use

Applications of Biomass

1.

• Health & Safety Issues

Different sources of biomass may have different content of volatile matter, fixed carbon, inorganic impurities such as alkali matter, etc. We need to create different standards of densified material for different sectors of usages. Primarily, these usages can be divided into non-industrial and industrial use of densified biomass. Based on the usage and impact of the emission on health of the user and society, there is a need to specify the allowed ranges and limits for all parameters related to chemical/physical composition of densified material. We recommend such specifications to be enforced.

n No-Industrial Use Non-industrial use of biomass in our country is primarily limited to the use of biomass to food preparation in individual households or in the communities.

Chulhas

Over and above this, there are a lot of health issues, and opportunity costs that are listed below.

10. Presence of chloride and other chemicals accelerate the corrosion of the stove and also negatively affect the life of the surrounding structures.

•

Opportunity Costs Of Using Traditional

• Community Application

We recommend promotion of densified biomass based cooking systems for all outdoor applications including community chulhas.

Most of the community applications

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are outdoors and for longer duration. We recommend that densified biomass based energy efficient chulhas be promoted for outdoor use. The cooking stove could not only be used for preparing food, but also for heating water as well as distilling water.

At present people use woody biomass in the form of long sticks or logs. This is an incorrect practice. With standard fuel specifications, one can achieve improved speed and better economics.

Our proposed fuel specification for pellets is as follows. n Industrial Use

• Biomass Used for Electricity Generation

Use of biomass in electricity generation is a common practice globally. The major challenge lies in the selection of appropriate technology with respect to the kind of feedstock, scale of electricity generation and availability of water. There are different opinions prevailing in relation to Rankine cycle based power generation and gasification-cum-gas-engine based power generation.

The use of biomass in Rankine cycle is a very well proven and adopted indigenous technology regardless of scale. There are very few challenges un-addressed. We get ample skilled manpower in the country that is familiar with respect to this kind of technology with respect to design, project management, operation, maintenance and it’s related engineering approach. So it is a wiser decision for us to this technology platform for better utilization of biomass.

Rankine cycle technology frees us from exploitation by technology providers, as there are many suppliers of the same. With correct pre-processing and pre-treatment of biomass, higher efficiency can be achieved and maintained for a long duration. Over and above this, it provides consistency in pre-defined performance and with respect to efficiency and capacity. With use of proper environment control equipment, we can achieve better performance with respect to COx, SOx, NOx and SPM emissions. Globally, more than 90% biopower plants are based on this technology. And still many more are in the pipeline.

There are indirect apprehensions about promoting large-scale biopower plants using this technology. This is primarily due to anxiety with respect to availability of biomass

within reasonable distance.

There are many biomass rich areas where finding the same is not an issue at all. The challenge is arranging for collection and other logistics. Therefore it is to be left to the project developer to ensure continuous feedstock for its investment. There could be a mixed strategy of collection, captive energy crop farming/plantation, etc. and therefore there should not be any reservation against this kind of technology and scale of operation. In case of China, most of the biopower plants are in the range of 25MW and above. The same is true for Brazil. There is a recent development even in a country like UK, where large utility companies are setting up even 100MW biopower plants in coastal region. And there are several such projects in pipeline.

Several scientific methods are available in order to overcome the negative impact of the inorganic residue. These methods can be used to overcome such bottlenecks as ash fusion temperature, fouling, slagging, etc.

There are several varieties of combustion bed available to the project developer. The project developer can select appropriate combustion bed with better understanding of its feedstock.

Many Rankine cycle based biopower plant projects in India have received CDM approval under UNFCCC. In fact, India is one of the largest CDM claimer in this sector among the Annex-2 countries. In other renewable areas such as solar and wind, all scales of installations have been encouraged and are permitted. We have windmills ranging from as little as 2KW to 1.6MW. We have encouraging policies at state and national level for all scales of wind power generation.

The same is true in case of the solar policy that is under implementation. Along similar lines, government must promote bio-energy irrespective of the scale and leave it to the developer to face its risks and viability instead of taking cap-based actions.

Electricity generation from gasification route is a newer concept and needs more technology advancement with respect to variation in fuel characteristics, un-burnt leftover along with ash, cleaning of gas generated, energy density in gas, and its performance variations in gas engine.

However, this technology has its own potential with respect to specific feedstock and applications.

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• Biomass For Thermal Applications

Many industrial undertakings need thermal energy for various processes. At present, this energy need is met with the help of various fossil fuels. Use of biomass in the existing setup has its own technical challenges over and above the compatibility of biomass with fuel specific combustion technology. In case of solid fossil fuel, usage of biomass is relatively easy compared to the usage of biomass with oil and gas. There could be a stand-alone dedicated biomass based steam generation system also. In order to encourage use of renewable energy by the industry, it is very important to develop a suitable biofuel in such a way that without changing existing technology, one can either replace entire fossil fuel with biomass and/or can blend biomass to achieve 10-20% renewable energy usage. There is a huge potential in this application for biomass. The key is in preparation of standard densified biomass.

At present, irregular shaped biomass is used which, according to us, is not efficient way of using the same. Irregular biomass has several limitations with respect to maintaining a constant air-fuel ratio, achieving correct temperature zone in various sections of the boiler and can also reduce the capacity of the existing boiler that are designed based on fossil fuel. Thus there is an immense need to convert all possible biomass into densified form such as pellets. This gives us advantages with respect to size, moisture, bulk density and ash content as well as the flowability of the material. We as a company strongly recommend pelletized form of biomass as an ideal fuel format that can be fired along with fossil fuel and can also replace 100% usage of fossil fuel - especially in case of traveling grate fire boiler, fluidized bed combustion boiler, pulsating type of boiler, etc. By pelletizing the biomass, we are getting rid of unwanted stuff such as sand particles, metal particles and minimize inorganic impurities. With proper mixture of biomass, we can also reduce the effects of chlorine on the boiler surface. The key challenges in pelletizing the biomass are understanding of chemical and physical properties and hence formulating correct product mix with respect to combustion application. Pelletizing allows us an opportunity to mix various types of biomass together and arrive at the correct formulation for better combustion efficiency, capacity & durability. It is also suited for long distance shipments. Thus pelletizing EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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technology helps in preparing correct quality fuel for combustion application. Pelletized form of biomass has many advantages over use of irregular biomass.

â&#x20AC;˘ Advantages Of Pellets Over Loose/

Irregular Biomass

Incentives for the Biomass Mission in India Following facilitations are required to encourage Biomass Mission in India:

Generation based incentives

Provide generation based incentive instead of capital subsidy on plant and technology. Just as with solar and wind policies, we recommend that generation based incentives be given instead of upfront capital subsidies to both biopower producers as well as densified biomass producers. This will ensure that the project gets implemented and will also ensure higher success rate for the project

1. Consistent calorific value 2. Reduction in CO2, SOx emissions, and other local pollutants 3. Easy to Adapt 4. Requires less storage space at the user end 5. Less dust formation in fuel handling systems 6. Reduce the risk of fire during storage and handling

7. Can be stored for longer duration without loss of biomass

No Regional/Localized Preferences

There should not be any regional/ locational incentive in the form of launching pilot plant. We strongly believe that instead of focusing on few pilot plants with financial incentives, we should have a standardized incentive program for densified biomass similar to the incentive declared in case of biopower generation. This will help in developing a bio-energy model throughout the country. Entrepreneurs may take their position wherever they are comfortable and able to manage the resources. Since the objective is to encourage more grassroot availability of biomass, giving only limited preference to certain projects, will not help in achieving the national goal for bioenergy

8. Better hygiene condition in the storage area 9. Stable bed temperature 10. Works better in peak load demand 11. No technological modification required in existing power plant facilities 12. Easily supplied in truck loads or jumbo bags as required 13. Can be used in Fluidized Bed Combustion, Circulating Bed Combustion, Pulverized and Traveling Grate boilers 14. Improved Productivity & Effectiveness 15. Regular shape - increases the overall efficiency and life of the equipment 16. No sand or metal content

Exemption from Excise duty

19. Reduces the load of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)

Although we believe that there is excise exemption on all such programs, there is need for more clarity. A detailed note should be able to help and avoid any misinterpretation by concerned departments.

Nil rate for Import duties

We strongly recommend that there should be a waiver on import duties on all imported equipment in the application of bioenergy -similar to the relaxations given in the recent budget for solar energy.

Exemption from Service Tax

We recommend that the service tax on transportation, raw materials, finished goods and consultancy towards bioenergy projects should be waived. In recent budget, Government of India removed service tax on road transportation of food grains, pulses and cereals. So far, the service tax was exempted only in

17. Minimal ash & residue generated - can be used as fertilizer 18. Higher oxygen and lower moisture content - increases the burning efficiency

â&#x20AC;˘ Biomass For Cogeneration, Combined Heat And Power (CHP) And Gasification

Use of densified biomass for gasification, cogeneration and combined heat and power application ensures expected performance of the plant capacity whereas use of loose biomass leads to variation in expected performance of gasification, cogeneration, CHP. Thus in order to monitor the quantity consumption and also maximize harnessing renewable energy from biomass, we strongly recommend promotion of densifying technology in the country.

46Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

case of rail transportation. Thus April 2010 onwards, there is no service tax in transportation of food grains, pulses and cereals. Biomass is also a similar commodity and therefore the same should apply to transportation of biomass regardless of loose or densified nature.

Exemption from VAT

Different states have different criteria for deciding VAT on finished product.

There should be directives or mandates to the states to waive the VAT on finished products produced from biomass.

Thrust Areas

Financing bioenergy related projects is not considered equivalent to an infrastructural project or a power project. Hence, availability of long-term finance is always an issue for bioenergy related projects.

Research & Development

A thrust is to be provided to research and development area - especially in absence of enriched knowledge domain in various aspects of bioenergy.

Necessary grants, soft-loans, and other assistance should be given to qualified research and development program developers. There is a need of special allocation of funds towards this sector.

We believe this number could be several thousand crores. Unless and until we have a correct scientific knowledge and awareness through various research and development, India will lag behind in the global competition in this area. In case of other forms of renewable energy, which are highly capital intensive, we import almost 80% of the components from outside India. This is a huge value drain for the country. Even in this situation, country has courage to promote such renewable projects even at the higher costs. Therefore we strongly feel that if focused attention is given to this sector, then in the coming years, India may not be required to import technology, knowledge, IPR driven processes, etc.

At the same time, India can supply this know-how to various parts of the world and can fetch more value to the nation.

India is very well poised to exploring this global opportunity in a similar way as IT and biotechnology.

Education & Training

In order to involve correct manufacturing practice, quality standards, better productivity, energy efficient usage, and also standardized un-urbanized activities in the day-to-day operation,

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there is a need for structured education and training program in the country. This can be taught with existing infrastructure such as ITI or a polytechnic institute so that multi-disciplinary approach can be evolved and we can attract young people to this industry. Instead of developing independent institutes, we should mushroom some educational courses and integrate with existing educational institutions.

Creation of storage infrastructure

This will be the backbone for the facilitation program for bioenergy in the country since individual and community are unable to infuse money in absence of established, regular collection practice.

By creating decentralized collection yard, we can optimize the cost of collection and can offer more rewards to the biomass generator. So far in our SOC perception on the cost of biomass is always negligible. Therefore there is no individual or group to collect the same.

Many countries have created their tailor programs to attract farmers/people to collect biomass and deliver to the storage yards. For e.g. US has implemented a farmer assistance program wherein the government pays US$20 per dry tonne of biomass delivered to the storage yard.

We strongly believe that in absence of storage yard and adequate incentives to the collector, reaching a higher scale in bioenergy would not only be difficult but also require large amount of effort.

Land use pattern • India has a lot of marginal and wasteland.

Through correct mechanism, such land can be deployed for growing short rotation energy crop/plantations. This will definitely improve availability of biomass even in interior parts of India.

This can also provide round the year employment on productive basis to rural people.

land owners. The land owners should be encouraged to use their land for various short rotation energy crops, perennial grasses,etc. and supply abundant quantity of feedstock to bioenergy projects.

• In many parts of the world, in order

Capital Subsidy

to protect the interests of the farmers and to maintain the price, government incentivizes the farmers to use part of their farms for energy crop cultivation and compensates them. This gives additional boost to the local economy.

Capital subsidy be given at the end of 3 successful years of operation.

Grant On Development/Import Of Equipment

Government should provide grant on development/import of innovative, application-specific and pioneering equipment and on various logistics involved in preparation of densified biomass. There is no precedence for this.

Hence, it is difficult to obtain government grant over and above the equity will help with the initial hurdles.

Development Of Inter-State Emission Trading Mechanism

Inter-state emission certificate trading mechanism should be developed.

Marginal Land Allocation

We recommend allocation of marginal land to project developer from various state revenue departments.

Electricity Availability

Ensuring availability of 24 hour electricity on metering basis to ensure optimum productivity and minimize risk of energy crop failure.

Use Of Existing Education Infrastructure

Project developer should be permitted to initiate short term education courses on bio-energy using existing education infrastructure including agriuniversities.

• Even in our own country, there are certain crops such as tobacco that are being discouraged due to various directives on the health grounds. The land used for such crops can be rejuvenated and/or used for growing various bioenergy feedstocks.

This will facilitate a relatively easy shift in the paradigm of the society.

Growing Dedicated Energy Crops/Plantation

This can be win-win solution for all.

It is always better to have additional resource in terms of dedicated energy crop farming/plantation. This will improve the bankability of the project at the same time the project developer has less anxiety regarding the issue of availability of raw mater for long time.

Mandatory Use Of Densified Biomass By The Industry

In order to create a localized market, industries that use fossil fuels such as coal and lignite should be encouraged to use 10-15% densified biomass. It will improve the viability of the projects and also create attention by the industry.

Densified Biomass As Part Of RPPO Norms

There is a program for achieving RPPO for electricity generation. We believe that in coming years in the interest of the nation, these RPPO norms should be introduced even for thermal applications.

Usage of densified standard biomass must be considered, while counting RPPO generation by the industry. Since there is hardly any modification required in the existing combustion technology, it would be easier to consume densified biomass without investing high capital renewable energy projects outside that campus.

Separate Renewable Energy Bank Guarantee

Provision for separate renewable energy bank guarantee to enable financial closure for project developers. This is very much needed - especially when there is no precedence in the country.

Center For Bio-Energy Excellence

To create a center for bio-energy excellence network in all the states with public-private partnership model.

Trial Facilities

Interest Subsidy Linked To Generation

There is a need to acknowledge the performance shown by project operators so that they keep on expanding and also attract more entrepreneurs in scaling up bio-energy operation. We recommend

To setup trial facilities in the countries for more product development with respect to product developments and its applications.

• Many parts of India are not utilizing land round the year due to various reasons.

Primarily reasons are - lack of availability of water, quality of soil, availability of electricity and availability of labour. This is a pathetic situation at the grassroot level. We observed that many farmers who own the land do not focus on farming and outsource farming to other people.

This is becoming a popular practice especially in an era where people get more income by serving in urban areas and in non-agricultural activities.

Thus, there is a unique opportunity for bioenergy to attract the interest of the

that interest subsidy should be given to such projects. MNRE can make necessary framework for this. We recommend 3-4% interest subsidy for the tenure of first 5-7 years of operation.

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BI O ENERGY

Key Considerations for Successful Bioenergy Projects Velambur Rajan, Areva Renewable Energies India (P) Ltd. Sridhar Ramanan, Areva Renewable Energies India (P) Ltd. Anand Appusamy, Areva Renewable Energies India (P) Ltd.

Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood. Biomass combustion is CO2 neutral .

I

ndia is one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the world and as a direct consequence there is a large generation of agro residue estimated at about 120-150 million MT per annum covering agricultural and forestry residues corresponding to a potential of 16,000 MW against which the present installed biomass power plant capacity is below 1000 MW. A large percentage of this biomass is used not only as fodder for livestock but also for meeting rural energy needs not having electricity and such usage is predominantly inefficient .Only around 20% of the biomass is potentially utilized by the industrial and commercial sector.

This presents an opportunity for exploitation and also for efficient usage and generate electricity from Biomass “Bioenergy”.

In this article key aspects and consideration for planning of Bioenergy projects in India have been brought out .

Plant Location Financial institutions funding Bioenergy projects invariably look for long term supply of biomass throughout the project life cycle.

48 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

However, adequate availability of biomass is a key concern. As the entire operational life of the project is dependant on this one parameter, the plant should be located, where plentiful biomass is available. For that matter cost of transporting biomass should be considerably low. Biomass is a low density fuel 100 to 200 Kg / M3 and occupies large volume.

Further, availability of variety of biomass fuels in vicinity alongwith availability of water and electrical evacuation are also key considerations. Accordingly in India to look at Bioenergy solutions as distributed generation is a prudent thought.

Plant Size Typical recommended power plant sizes are between 8 MW to 15 MW. Typical 10 MW plant consumes around 275 to 300 MT / day of biomass. Higher the plant size does bring in economy of project cost but to source requisite quantity of biomass is a challenge.

At present biomass plant sizes up to 15 MW are exempted from the Environmental Clearance which perhaps establishes the threshold limit. On the other hand in the sugar industry and bagasse fired plants, the plants’ size have increased to 35 to 40 MW depending upon the cane crushing capacity of the sugar plant.

Fuel Security Continuous fuel supply is vital for the success of biomass project. Fuel cropping patterns and seasonal availability of agro waste around 50 -100Km radius needs to be considered during biomass assessment study.

Biomass also has alternative/ competing uses in our rural economy .Accordingly, net available biomass required for the project with a good factor of safety is to be established. Other waste generating industries in proximity like saw mill wood waste, match box industry wastes, packing industry wastes etc. will be an added advantage. Possibility of long term supply of biomass agreements with these waste generating units could be explored for fuel security. Some wellmanaged plants in India have demonstrated this arrangement as feasible.

Evacuation Power produced in the power plant needs to be evacuated to the grid and sold via Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the electricity board or via third party sales in those states permitting such sales.

33KV option (upto 8MW) is an ideal choice based on cost considerations. However, in remote locations, the 33 KV lines are rural

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feeders, which suffer frequent outages and impact the plant economics due to down time . Availability of alternative grid voltage options viz 66KV / 110KV / 132 KV even at increased costs need to be explored for the 10 - 15MW sizes.

Water Availability A typical 10 MW biomass power plant, if provided with water cooled condenser (WCC) requires approx 45-50 m3/hr of make up water for cooling tower and for De-Mineralised (DM )make up water for Boiler losses. If plant location, has water problem either present or foreseen in future then it is better to either select an Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) or atleast provide provision for ACC in plant layout for future. It is judicious not to depend on only availability of bore well water source considering depleting ground water to ensure continuous availability.

WCC allows a much better vacuum or condensing pressure to be maintained (Typically 0.1 kg/cm2(a) with cooling water temperature of 33 Deg C). For a 67 ata / 485 Deg C thermal cycle, a condensing pressure of 0.1 kg/cm2 (a) and final feed water temperature of 180 Deg C gives a Sp. Steam consumption of 4.2 or 4.3 kg/kW.hr or better. By comparison, the ACC has to be designed for 0.16 kg/cm2 (a) to 0.18 kg/cm2 (a), which results in increase in the specific steam consumption by atleast 5 to 7%.

Accordingly, providing ACC not only involves an increase in capital expenditure but also hit on the plant efficiency throughout the life time of the plant. If a cooling water source is not available the ACC is the only choice.

A compromise approach could be adopted.

Begin with an WCC (if water availability is assured) to improve plant economics and provide provision for ACC in the plant layout. ACC can be incorporated at later stage when adequate water is not available . Some projects have even implemented with hybrid solution i.e. a combination of WCC and ACC, each sharing a certain portion of condensing load.

Thermal Cycle Parameters Optimizing the thermal cycle and adapting higher cycle parameters is driven by “cycle efficiency” or ‘cycle heat rate’ expressed in kcal/kWhr. A thermal cycle with steam parameters say 67 Ata / 485 Deg C is more efficient by 2% -3% than one with 45 ata / 420 Deg C. Similarly, the selection of the final feed water temperature to boiler, which decides the feed heating cycle and the number of feed water heaters, is a techno economic decision. Final feed water temperature to boiler impacts the cycle heat rate. Typically, for a 67 ata / 485 Deg C cycle , the final feed water temperature of around 180 – 190 Deg C is optimum and achieved via 1 HP heater , 1 Deaerator & 1 LP heater. We also need to allow for feedwater temperature increase in the boiler’s economizer to extract the energy from the flue gases exiting from the boiler at suitable temperature (keeping in mind the sulphur dew point considerations to avoid corrosion in the exit path especially for sulphur bearing fuels ). The final feed water temperature is also governed by the pressure at which steam can be optimally bled from the steam turbine for the high pressure heater.

However ,the selection of steam temperature which in turn determines the boiler superheater tube metal temperature needs review and consideration especially for high chlorine bearing fuels since chloride attack on metal is more pronounced at elevated temperatures.

Fuel flexibility / Fuel & Ash Analysis Successful operation depends on the continuous fuel availability at economical price. The biomass power plant needs to be designed to burn a variety of biomass input fuels, especially which are cheaper and more difficult to combust such as rice straw . Designing boilers incorporating special combustion grates and fuel feeding systems for various fuels does reduce the risks of fuel insecurity. However, it poses a challenge for the designers to optimize and design the system. Fuel flexibility plays a major role in the overall success. The fuel and ash analysis need careful study. Multipass boiler designs with special combustion grates addresses the combustion of multiple fuels, some of which are having higher chlorine and others alkali content. In such designs the heat exchange surfaces are invariably placed in the end ( 3rd pass of boiler ) and thus gives opportunity to burn difficult fuels also .

Boiler Efficiency Efficiency of the boiler is very vital since it determines the consumption of biomass fuel. There are economic limitations on insulation thickness to limit heat loss and like wise provision of heat transfer surface area for additional heat recovery from flue gas. One area that can be improved is the un-burnt carbon loss and Sensible heat loss through ash. This can be reduced by adopting appropriate special technology of combustion. Boiler efficiency of as high as 85%-90% on GCV, are achievable by

For the WCC the location of the cooling tower plays an important role. The orientation shall be based on the ‘wind rose” and the possibilities of dust ingress into the cooling tower basin need consideration. The same is also applicable for the underground water storage reservoir in the plant.

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following appropriate combustion technology.

Areva now offers special grate solutions based on the technology from Denmark which much lower unburnt carbon.

Fuel handling and Storage Biomass is not available continuously and cannot be mined like coal on continuous basis. Long term storage of biomass, which is available during particular season, is required. For example, rice straw and rice husk is available for 2-3 months during the harvest season and this should be collected and stored throughout the year.

Collection, storage, handling and retrieval become very complex, especially for multiple fuels and fuel mixes being contemplated.

Fire protection measures, storage both closed & open space, drainage for open storage are some of the issues that are to be addressed.

Some of the biomass projects in Thailand are worth emulating since the owners invest in huge covered storages to maintain adequate fuel inventory greater than 6 -8 months.

Boiler combustion systems capable of handling coarser and bigger biomass fuels, especially fibrous fuels like bales have a distinct advantage over those that need lot Fig 1 Empty Fruit Bunch

Fig 2 Coconut Husk

of pre-treatment for fuel preparation, which also increases the auxiliary consumption and requires provision for elaborate fuel treatment. Some notable examples being for fuels like straw bales, empty fruit bunches (EFB in Malaysia) and coconut husk and fronds.(Philippines), which can be fed directly into the boiler with minimal pretreatment .

As regards the other effluents the blow down from the boiler and also from the cooling tower is to be neutralized and this water can be effectively used for the garden and development of green belt around the power plant. A zero discharge concept though a good idea would perhaps not be cost effective since not mandatory for such projects.

Ash Handling and Disposal

CDM Considerations

In order to maintain cleanliness of power plant a combination of wet and dry ash handling system is generally adopted.

Biomass ash with low unburnt carbon has added fertilizer value.

Biomass plants like other renewable energy projects qualify for additional revenues via the generation of “Certified Emission Reduction - CER” or “Voluntary Emission Reduction – VER”. A unit of CER or VER, issued as per the Kyoto Protocol and other legislations, is equal to one metric tonne of Carbon Dioxide equivalent. Typically, a 10 MW plant with a PLF of 85% generates approx 45000 CER’s / VER’s annually . Approximately valued at between 5 to 15 Euro / Unit (Price depends on several factors ) , this adds an additional revenue stream .

Low unburnt carbon in ash facilitates a sales revenues for ash. Rice husk ash is rich in silica and has several applications in various industries.The combustion technology employed with special combustion grates can produce better quality ash with lesser un-burnt carbon (Approx 2-3%), which not only improves the combustion efficiency but also produces acceptable quality ash with a sales revenue .

Water Treatment Treated water in a power plant is akin to the blood in the human body. A pure and well treated DM water system ensures longer life of the boiler and turbine and also prevents scaling in the steam and water circuit. It is to be acknowledged that water chemistry and treatment is often a neglected area in the biomass power plant. The industry lacks the discipline in operation and maintenance as compared to the practices followed in larger fossil fired power plants. Without going into many details the system design for the water treatment plant should take into account the expected vagaries and variations over the season for the raw water analysis.

Pollution control

Fig 3 Straw bales

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With reference to the effluents emitted by the plant the critical one is the suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the flue gases, which exits from the chimney. With pollution control norms becoming more and more stringent (presently 100mg/Nm3) , it is wise to plan for augmenting the ESP (Electro Static Precipitator) for future additional fields in the future by leaving an extra space in the plant layout apart from the design reserve provided right when the plant is built .

Biomass plants are permitted to use upto 15% of coal by heating value to tide over various vagaries of nature .

However , once coal provision is made in the system the onus of proving the extent of usage of coal to the authorities involved in the CDM process rests with the plant operator and does pose challenges and issues.

Conclusion The article covers some important aspects that need consideration during the planning and implementation of Bioenergy projects . At the end every aspect has a techno-economic evaluation and consideration and hence a balanced and well thought out approach is necessary and even a compromise may be necessary depending upon the specifics of the particular project under evaluation.

AREVA Renewables operates under four (4) business groups, viz. Offshore Wind, Solar Thermal, Bioenergies and Energy Carrier & Storage (Fuel Cell). In Bioenergies , AREVA is a leader with an global installed base of 2800 MW , contributing to avoidance of more than 3 million tons of CO2 . AREVA Renewable Energies India , Chennai caters the need of India & SE Asia.

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P O L I CY

Climate/Green Bonds: Catalysing the Low Carbon Growth Anand Menon K, LEED Accredited Professional, Assistant Vice President, Consultancy Division, Darashaw & Co Pvt Ltd

T

he total investment required to avoid dangerous climate change is more than USD 1 trillion per annum, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Half of this amount could be redirected from business-as-usual investment in conventional technologies to low-carbon alternatives. The remainder (USD 530 billion) is required in the form of additional investment.

Institutional investors could provide much of the capital, if an appropriate riskreward balance is offered. Institutional investors, such as pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, are in a position to provide some of the required capital. It is estimated that pension funds alone control assets worth more than $12 trillion and that sovereign wealth funds have a further $3.75 trillion under management. However, to stimulate their engagement the expected returns on climatechange mitigation investment need to be commensurate with the perceived level of risk. This is not currently the case.

Bonds are a set of financial products ideally suited to both the financing of long-payback period energy projects and to providing institutional investors with security of returns over the longer term.

Climate Bonds need not differ greatly from existing government and corporate bonds, save for their central purpose. The funds they attract are underpinned by real and verifiable energy projects that in some certifiable manner contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Climate Bonds allow investors to report to their members on how their secure investments are also making a contribution to addressing climate change.

institutional investors will be able to deliver the levels of investment needed to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency measures on a sufficient scale.

Climate Bonds could be issued by a national government, by local authorities or state governments, or by quasi government organizations like renewable energy nodal agencies. They would be asset-backed, collaterised against local energy investments with adequate central/state government guarantee. They could be zero-coupon bonds, where the full amount owing plus interest falls due at the end of the life of the bond, standard bonds, or bonds with a bonus payout indexed to carbon prices, as pioneered by the World Bank for Japanese retail investors.

These pay a low guaranteed return, with a bonus coupon linked to the price of carbon.

Retail Investors

returns over long periods of time, such as those held by pension funds, and investing them in low-carbon projects that have high up-front costs but good payback rates over the long term.

In a time of heightened community awareness of climate change, many people may, if given the option, choose to invest in Climate Bonds to help fight climate change. Retail bonds could be sold over many platforms along with IT exemption more than Rs 20, 000 which can attract more interest than infrastructure bonds from public Retail Climate Bonds would have powerful ancillary benefits: • Engaging the public in efforts to tackle global warming.

Darashaw & Co Pvt Ltd who is the market leaders in the field of bonds issuance

by State Level undertakings envisions two markets for Climate Bonds:

• Helping to build support for steps to address climate change, at a time when disappointment about the outcome of the Copenhagen and Cancun negotiations is likely to be realised.

Institutional Investors

• Drawing attention to the constructive role of participating institutions, both government and financial, at a time when public confidence in those institutions needs bolstering.

Climate Bonds are intended to unlock ‘patient capital’; taking savings which require secure

Global capital markets have shifted dramatically in the past 20 years: a significant portion of funds under management are now in the hands of those seeking secure returns over long periods of time, such as pension funds.

Mostly interest in Climate Bonds is likely to come from institutional investors, especially pension funds, for whom long-dated bonds exert a particular appeal. As well, only

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In theory there is no shortage of renewable energy anywhere in the world. Reports have recently appeared claiming that China has enough wind resources to power its whole economy and Australia has enough geothermal to fuel the country’s economy for 100 years. A series of large scale solar thermal plantations in the Sahara could keep the lights on in the whole of Europe and North Africa. But the job of economically harvesting enough of that energy will take time. In the meantime we need to rapidly reduce energy demand as part of turning our emissions trajectory downward and to buy time while we retire our polluting energy sources.

Energy efficiency is a win-win idea.

Investment in reducing energy demand invariably has a relatively quick payback period. Across all sectors of the economy energy efficiency is not delivering on the scale of its promise. The lack of progress is particularly an issue in the residential or SME sector, where all sorts of energy efficiency solution companies have been active and where many innovative financing solutions have been trialed. Many state governments and ULBs have been mandating energy efficient building standards, and developing modest programs to support retrofitting of existing building stock.

But to avoid run-away climate change we need to dramatically and rapidly improve the efficiency of 80-90% of existing building stock.

So why savings haven’t benefit driven rapid take-up of energy efficiency options?

Some commentators argue that a lack of available finance is a barrier to take-up.

In theory, the capturable financial outcomes in the form of reductions on energy bills should be a clear candidate for debt financing.

This, for example, is what underpins the idea of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs).

However, the survey and interactions that Darashaw had with various stakeholders states,“individual (energy efficiency) projects are considered too small to be commercially ‘interesting’ to mainstream private sector financial institutions.”

Given that capital resources are greatest in the institutional investor sector, a requirement for gaining access to required capital will be effectively aggregating energy efficiency projects into investible scale

52 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

opportunities. The scale of retrofit required would suggest this might be possible.

Also, financing energy efficiency has been complicated by the disaggregated nature of solutions delivery. Energy efficiency may be just six compact fluorescent lamps for one house, Rs 20,000 of ceiling insulation in another, or Rs 50,000 of advanced lighting controls in an office. It’s fiddly to install which means that, while it offers extremely low risk of technology failure, it can be complicated to finance on a small scale. Loan offers that have been focused on households and small businesses consequently have high servicing costs.

This is the reason we propose delivering investibility and scale through large, government organised schemes, instead of relying on the expensive marketing effort of convincing householders one by one. The driver is to aggregate the work and put it into a reduced risk framework that will lend itself to bond financing.

These would be structured so as to be suitable for financing with municipal or national bonds, or with corporate (ESCO) bonds secured by purchase contracts from government. (It can be also designed in such a way that asset-backed municipal bonds will have particular tax advantages for investors).

Returns will come from loan repayments tied to dwellings/SME, either via municipal tax bills or utility bills.

Aggregation would deliver two further important benefits: • Opening up options for local facilities such as decentralized energy generation systems or LED based street lighting etc.

• Using the cost-efficiencies that come with scale to reduce per-unit costs.

The scheme (Opt out Model) linked to bond financing will work as follows An opt-out approach allows large-scale projects that will dramatically cut transaction and building costs and makes projects more attractive to institutional investors, lowering the cost of funds and increasing the pool of prospective investors. Reduced costs mean much more refit can be delivered per dwelling/SME than with current schemes.

An opt-out scheme would mean that Governments/State Nodal Agencies/BEE/ EESL automatically enrol whole areas in

programs – neighbourhoods for residential energy efficiency, industrial zones for industrial energy efficiency.

Individuals and businesses have the right to opt-out: they are told they’re included but asked if they want to drop out. This is in contrast to current models where individuals are required to make a positive decision to do something about energy efficiency – an “Opt-in” model.

Effectively, a municipality enrols local households in a “bulk purchase scheme” as part of “solving problems for its citizens”. It means “lower costs for everyone”, no effort required for householders apart from letting people in to do the work, their neighbours are all in as well, and if they do let the workmen in they get savings on their energy bills - they pay LESS not more.

Not only would this approach deliver results through competitive tendering; it would also deliver through peer competition, at the residential or business level. Research has shown that householders are more willing to participate in energy efficiency refits if their neighbours are doing so as well. Under the opt-out scheme, whole neighbourhoods would be done at the same time.

Climate Bonds would be issued by either the municipality, or by ESCOs or by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) using the security of a purchase contract from a municipality. This will be facilitated through local authorities/BEE. Local authorities/BEE issue a Climate Bond in the market. The bond is a standard 10-15 year fixed payment bond, but it is collateralised against household payments and guaranteed by the local authority/Central government. Households would be automatically enrolled into the energy efficiency scheme, although they would have the right to opt-out. An assessor would visit the household and arrange for energy efficiency work to be carried out by an ESCO. An alternative to the local authority issuing the Climate Bond, would be for them to support ESCO’s in raising capital through corporate bonds which may be slightly difficult in India in present scenario, secured by local authority purchase contracts under the scheme and with the collections system guaranteed by the local authority or national government.

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Repayments would be collected either through utility bills or via Council or municipal taxes; repayments would be tied to the dwelling rather than the residents. As people move out or change their utility provider, repayment charging would shift accordingly — the repayment is shifted to the new occupier.

Repayments are linked to the property over an extended period of time and are calculated to be less than the savings that will be made on household energy bills. Typically, the loan repayment charge can not be more that 75% of energy bill savings. That means that householders keep 25% of any energy savings — without having to do anything except let assessors and then workmen into their house There are certain features of this structure which might seem surprising but are the best alternative. Firstly

involvement of muncipality; it is important to stress that the local authority enables the programme, but the capital raised is from the private sector through climate bonds and delivery is by ESCOs. The opt-out scheme is the only way of achieving scale. The alternatives are new coal power, the lights going off and/or very high energy prices, combined with massive infrastructure spend and the householder will win financially.

With the effective implementation of this opt out approach linked with climate bonds financing we can strengthen and generate returns across the entire social, environmental and economic pillars of sustainable development so that our country with a billion population,not only survives but thrives.

E nergy U nplugged

Ensuring Security of Return Investment in low-carbon infrastructure is unlikely to deliver high returns in the short term, but will provide secure and solid payback over the long term. Security of returns from Climate Bonds can be guaranteed through: • A cash-flow from sales of renewable energy, or revenues recouped from savings made through energy efficiency measures (‘Megawatts’).

• The bonds being backed by assets of enduring value, such as renewable energy infrastructure.

• Government promises to reduce carbon emissions price instruments such as Feed-In Tariffs that guarantee a price for renewable energy, and long term purchase contracts.

• In the case of government-issued gilts, the treasury provides a guarantee of payment. In the worst case, government can honour its debt by diverting tax revenues or borrowing.

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#01

INTERNATIONAL Issue#01 | January-February 11

Cellulosic Ethanol – The Future Of Biofuel R j Rejuvenating ti India’s I di ’ Thermal Th l Power P Plants With Integrated Retrofit Solutions

UL Unveils India's Largest Photovoltaic Test Facility Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has unveiled India’s largest state-of-the-art photovoltaic (PV) lab. This lab is capable of testing to UL, IEC and other international standards thereby helping manufacturers access global markets. It will serve manufacturers and power plant developers by providing a full portfolio of testing services for solar PV, concentrated PV products and balance of systems as per the requirements of National Solar Mission Testing & Certification Services for Manufacturers of: 1. Crystalline Silicon PV Modules and Panels 2. Thin-Film PV Modules & Panels 3. Concentrated PV 4. Building - Integrated PV Modules and Panels 5. Building - Integrated PV Mounting Systems 6. Junction Boxes 7. Inverters & Charge Controller 8. Batteries

Services for Powerplant Developers, EPC & System Integrators: 1. Design Qualification for Stand Alone PV Systems 2. PV System Installer Training Program 3. Condition Monitoring Services for PV Power Plants

For more information, please contact: Hitesh Jain UL India Pvt Ltd

T:: 91.9717488144 / E:: Hitesh.Jain@in.ul.com T:: 91.80.41384500 / E:: Customerservice.in@in.ul.com

* PLATFORM : EQ offers a diverse & integrated platform with its Bi-Monthly Technical Magazine (Distributed in Print & Digital Formats), Special Supplements addressing Specific industry, Weekly E Newsletters, Diverse Digital Publishing with its appearance on Web, iPad, Kindle, iPhone, Blackberry, Android Platforms (COMING SOON) along with strong emphasis on Social Networking @ Facebook, Twitter to enhance your reach, visibility, branding and addressing the issues you feel are most important. * REACH : EQ Maintains a strong focus on the Indian Market from where it is published with 10,000 Copies distributed to Key Decision Makers. Approximately 2000 copies are printed for Select International presence. Its unique and strong digital presence (Distributed to 90,000 Contacts) takes it beyond borders and get popularity in International Market. * PRESENCE : EQ is present in almost all Fair & Conference in India and the Most important International Events.

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CA RBO N T RA D I N G

Carbon Trading : An Overview Bizios D. Vasileios, Advisor , Solar Technologies S.A

C

arbon trading comes in two forms: mandated and voluntary. In a mandated carbon trading scheme, often called cap-and-trade, countries or firms are forced to reduce their GHG emissions to a certain level (EU ETS is the main example of mandated market). In a voluntary carbon market, countries, firms, or individuals offset their emissions without legal necessity (voluntary markets are these of America)

Cap-and-trade The idea of cap-and-trade is based on the fact that greenhouse gas emissions are a global problem, not a local one. Whether greenhouse gas emissions come from Ireland or Delhi, the effect on global climate is the same. Therefore, cap-and-trade’s main goal is to reduce overall emissions with little regard for their origin.

There are three basic ways to reduce our GHG emissions. First, we can reduce our use of carbon-emitting technologies and devices.

For example, buying energy efficient products, install carbon collectors, modify energy producing systems in a low carbon system reduce the need for utilities to burn fossil fuels to create your electricity, and therefore reduces total world carbon emissions. Second, we can improve the technologies we use by 54 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

reducing the emissions they create. Third, we can develop projects that actively reduce atmospheric GHG. These projects are varied, from planting trees to recovering methane from landfills these projects called REDD are based on the sink system, meaning large theoretical tanks, where GHG gases can be absorbed.

Cap-and-trade schemes are an attempt to incorporate all three of these methods in the most economically efficient way. Under a cap-and-trade system, an overall cap is set on total emissions. The goal of the system is to reduce emissions below that level. Each participant in the cap-and-trade scheme either buys or is given so-called “allowances.”

These are amounts (generally expressed in metric tones CO2 equivalent) of greenhouse gases that they are allowed to emit. The total number of allowances adds up to the cap.

The development of emissions trading over the course of its history can be divided into four phases: •

•

Gestation: Theoretical articulation of the instrument (by Coase, Crocker, Dales, Montgomery, etc.) and, independent of the former, tinkering with “flexible regulation” at the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Proof of Principle: First developments

towards trading of emission certificates based on the “offset-mechanism” taken up in Clean Air Act in 1977.

•

Prototype: Launching of a first “capand-trade” system as part of the US Acid Rain Program in Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act, officially announced as a paradigm shift in environmental policy, as prepared by “Project 88”, a network-building effort to bring together environmental and industrial interests in the US.

•

Regime formation: Branching out from the US clean air policy to global climate policy, and from there to the European Union, along with the expectation of an emerging global carbon market and the formation of the “carbon industry”.

How carbon trading works at its most basic level?

Consider two European countries, such as Germany and Sweden. Each can either reduce all the required amount of emissions by itself or it can choose to buy or sell in the market.

For this example let us assume that Germany can abate its CO2 at a much cheaper cost than Sweden, e.g. MACS > MACG where the MAC curve of Sweden is steeper (higher slope) than that of Germany,

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and RReq is the total amount of emissions that need to be reduced by a country.

less in the Emissions Trading scenario i.e.

(X — Δ 123 - Δ def).

On the left side of the graph is the MAC (Marginal Abatement Cost Curve— the cost of eliminating an additional unit of pollution) curve for Germany. RReq is the amount of required reductions for Germany, but at RReq the MACG curve has not intersected the market allowance price of CO2 (market allowance price = P = λ). Thus, given the market price of CO2 allowances, Germany has potential to profit if it abates more emissions than required.

The example above applies not just at the national level: it applies just as well between two companies in different countries, or between two subsidiaries within the same company. However, the ultimate goal of reducing total emissions below a set level was achieved. Ultimately, every country will need to improve its own practices, but some can change more quickly and easily than others. This is the theory behind capand-trade.

On the right side is the MAC curve for Sweden. RReq is the amount of required reductions for Sweden, but the MACS curve already intersects the market price of CO2 allowances before RReq has been reached.

Thus, given the market allowance price of CO2, Sweden has potential to make a cost saving if it abates fewer emissions than required internally, and instead abates them elsewhere.

In this example, Sweden would abate emissions until its MACS intersects with P (at R*), but this would only reduce a fraction of Sweden’s total required abatement. After that it could buy emissions credits from Germany for the price P (per unit). The internal cost of Sweden’s own abatement, combined with the credits it buys in the market from Germany, adds up to the total required reductions (RReq) for Sweden. Thus Sweden can make a saving from buying credits in the market (Δ d-e-f). This represents the “Gains from Trade”, the amount of additional expense that Sweden would otherwise have to spend if it abated all of its required emissions by itself without trading.

Kyoto Protocol Participation The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement that arose from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Negotiations for the treaty ended in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. Currently, the Kyoto Protocol has 172 signatories which include all developed nations except the United States and Australia (Australia and US established voluntary carbon markets).

The overall objective of the treaty is to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions in developed countries 5.2% relative to 1990 levels by 2012, 20% by 2020 and according to the new ambitious decisions made from the European Commission of the UNFCCC, reduce GHG gases by 80-90% of the 1990 levels till 2050. However, individual countries have different goals, ranging from an 8% decrease in emissions in the European Union to a 20% increase in Iceland till 2020. These goals are designed to be implemented through a major multinational cap-and-trade scheme that includes all signatory nations.

How does it work?

There are four mechanisms through which the Kyoto Protocol attempts to meet these goals: •

International Emissions Trading

This system allows countries that cannot meet their own emissions goals to purchase additional credits (called Assigned Amount Units or AAUs) from other countries that have been able to exceed their own goals. Systems have emerged among countries to facilitate this type of trading, the largest of which is the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The EU ETS began on January 1, 2005 and has a two-phased system. The first phase, which ended December 31, 2007, has come under fire for providing too many credits to its members. As a result, prices for credits have been exceedingly low and the targeted emissions reductions have not been reached. Phase two runs from 20082012 with new allocations of credits and more stringent caps on emissions.

Prices continued their descending course but from March 2011 the new goals set

by EU gave a new thrust at carbon unit prices For more information on current carbon prices under EU ETS as well as the latest news on carbon markets, I highly recommend Point Carbon.

•

Domestic Emissions Trading

A number of countries have either implemented or considered introducing their own regional cap-and-trade schemes.

These systems allow states, regions, or

Germany made a profit on its additional emissions abatement, above what was required: it met the regulations by abating all of the emissions that was required of it (RReq). Additionally, Germany sold its surplus to Sweden as credits, and was paid P for every unit it abated, while spending less than P. Its total revenue is the area of the graph (RReq 1 2 R*), its total abatement cost is area (RReq 3 2 R*), and so its net benefit from selling emission credits is the area (Δ 1-2-3) i.e. Gains from Trade.

If the total cost for reducing a particular amount of emissions in the Command Control scenario is called X, then to reduce the same amount of combined pollution in Sweden and Germany, the total abatement cost would be

Source wikipedia

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businesses within a country to trade emissions

(called EU Allocations or EUAs), misplaced

credits with each other in order to achieve

the EUAs amongst European countries and

the country-wide emissions goal. A major

in doing so flooded the market with credits

problem with these schemes is that they often

and drastically reduced the need to reduce

introduce their own units for carbon credits,

emissions. In addition, critics note that Kyoto

with their own elements and requirements. As

extends only through 2012, not nearly long

such, there is often little coherence between

enough to achieve the sustained reductions

international trading schemes and domestic

necessary for mitigating the climate change

trading schemes. There needs to be a single

crisis. Finally, it is widely accepted that

standard and unit for carbon credits. A global

many countries have not managed to set a

market would allow for more gains from

rigid security system in order to avoid hack

trade and would lead to better success for

attacks ( December 2010) to their national

the Kyoto Protocol.

registries.

• Clean Development Mechanism

Joint Implementation Bizios D. Vasileios, Advisor , Solar Technologies S.A The basic principles of Joint Implementation are defined in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol. Project participants from two (or more) Annex 1 Parties may jointly implement an emissions reducing project in the territory of an Annex 1 Party,

I am inclined to believe that despite

and count the resulting emission reduction

(CDM)

Kyoto’s (significant) flaws, it is a major

units towards meeting the Kyoto target of

As I explained in the beginning one

step in the right direction. It is important

the other involved Annex 1 Party/ies.

of this post series, the goal of a cap-andtrade scheme is to reduce global emissions with little regard for their origin. Based on this concept, the Kyoto Protocol allows developed countries to offset their excess emissions by reducing emissions in developing countries, where such projects may be more cost-effective. Rather than, or in addition to, trading credits with other developed nations,

to keep in mind that the Kyoto Protocol introduced by far the largest cap-and-trade

Eligibility Criterion

scheme ever, and we are still in the very beginning stages of its implementation. I am hopeful that it will extend beyond 2020, and as regulators, countries, and industry alike become comfortable under the system, carbon prices will stabilize and significant

Any Annex 1 country that has ratified the Kyoto Protocol and wants to participate (either as host or acquiring party) in JI projects needs to: •

emissions reductions will take place.

Focal Point / DFP), who approves JI

some countries elect to finance emission reduction projects in developing countries through the CDM. Projects in the CDM must

project proposals.

Resources:

•

Adopt National guidelines and procedures

A Beginners Guide to the UN Framework Convention and its Kyoto Protocol/ (Beloit College)

for approving JI projects, which would

• Official UN Secretariat Guide to the Kyoto Protocol (PDF)

projects and verification of emissions

project types (Latest additions are S.Korea

•

Point carbon

JI and the other Kyoto mechanisms are

and India).

•

JI

embedded in the Kyoto Protocol’s system

•

CDM

for the accounting of country emission

•

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_ trading

(AAUs). This international system relies

•

wikipedia.org

go through a complicated and relatively

•

Designate a National JI Focal Point for the purposes of JI (so called Designated

expensive approval process before being accepted as a qualified emissions reduction projects. There are currently 70 countries participating in the CDM with hundreds of

• Joint Implementation (JI) The Joint Implementation mechanism is often grouped with CDM because it is a very similar system. The major difference is

address consideration of stakeholders’ comments, monitoring performance of reductions.

targets based on ‘assigned amount units’ on a set of national information systems, ultimately aimed at ensuring an accurate

that the countries in which projects can be built under the JI are primarily under the regulations of the obligatory trading. This is separate from the CDM because these countries are generally considered developed, but fit within their own category and develop clean projects beyond their obligations.

Overview There is a lot of debate over the effectiveness thus far of the Kyoto Protocol.

Detractors have a number of complaints.

Their strongest complaint is that the EU ETS handed out far too many allowances

56 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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accounting of the country’s assigned amount.

Hence, in order to safeguard the integrity of emission reduction transactions among Annex 1 countries, countries need to meet a set of eligibility requirements to be allowed to engage in transference and acquisition of ERUs generated in JI projects . The six eligibility requirements are basically related to having in place the above referred information systems, and are outlined in relevant guidelines of the Kyoto Protocol.

Steps in the JI project cycle A project developer that wants to implement an emission reductions project should follow the steps of the JI project cycle.

This cycle begins with the preparation of the project design documents according to the JI guidance established by the JI Supervisory Committee. The project developer needs to

project automatically acquires a status of JI project.

During the implementation of the JI project, the Accredited Independent Entity intervenes to periodically verify the generated emission reductions at least until the end of the first commitment period (2012) of the Kyoto Protocol. Unless the JI Supervisory Committee questions the results of the verification, the host country may transfer the verified emission reductions to the investing country according to the results of the verification report.

Who benefits from a JI project?

The sale of emission reduction units provides an additional revenue stream for the project owners and developers. In many cases

Being an early-mover in the development of JI projects, the World Bank’s Carbon Funds have demonstrated numerous greenhouse gas mitigation options across sectors where carbon finance operations have served as a catalyst in investments in public/private projects - for example in renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and forest management.

Who are active in the JI market?

The Netherlands, Denmark and Austria are currently among the most active buyers in JI projects, mainly through different governmental purchase programs or participation in carbon funds. From the sellers’ side, countries like Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania and Poland moved early on in promoting JI projects, while the potential ‘big suppliers’, Russia and Ukraine, have more

The estimated, average ERU price forecast

demonstrate that the project will lead to the emission reductions that are additional to the situation without the project. At the next step, the Accredited Independent Entity (AIE) determines if the emission reductions were correctly estimated and if necessary procedures were established to monitor the project performance during its implementation. The project design document as well as the determination report of the AIE is then made available for public comments.

After the necessary improvements and responses to the public comments, the final version of the project and its determination report are again open for public comment.

At this stage, the JI Supervisory Committee will consider the quality of the project and unless any review is requested by the JI Supervisory Committee, after 45 days, the

this can be equivalent to anywhere from 10% up to 40 % of the project investment costs.

Moreover, the additional revenue stream from the sale of emission reductions can also increase the bankability of projects as carbon revenues can reduce perceived risks of commercial lending. Thus, carbon finance provides project developers with a tool for leveraging new private and public investment into climate-friendly projects.

JI also enables the transfer of efficient technologies and best available practices to the host countries, thereby contributing to long term climate change mitigation as well as to sustainable development including typically reductions of local pollution. For investing countries, JI helps to meet their emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol in a cost effective way.

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recently started to engage in JI initiatives and are rapidly increasing the number of prospective JI projects. Most countries involved in JI have already established their national Designated Focal Points (DFP) in charge of JI project approval.

As of February 2007, there were 155 JI projects submitted to independent entities for determination (i.e. their JI project design documents have been made publicly available). They are expected to generate greenhouse gas emission reductions of about 27 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

JI is currently still a small part of the global carbon market. During 2006, approximately 21 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were transacted under JI, whereas CDM volume was approximately 520 million tons. The number of JI projects under development is, however, rapidly increasing.

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EN ERG Y EF FI CI EN CY

Going “Carbon Neutral” With The “5th Fuel” Narang N. Kishor, Design Architect, narnix technolabs

Energy crisis and rising energy cost are two important factors affecting today’s businesses.

In order to fulfill the rising demand, more power generation plants are being planned and the cost thereof is recovered from consumers in form of higher energy costs. Conventional energy sources like coal & oil are getting exhausted faster than expected and alternative sources of power turn out to be more costly.

I

n a bid to address the aforesaid problems, there is a renewableenergy resource that is perfectly clean, remarkably cheap, surprisingly abundant and immediately available. It has potential to reduce the carbon emissions that threaten our planet, our dependency on oil imports that threaten our economy, and energy costs that threaten our wallets. For that matter, it does not pollute, does not depend on weather, does not inflate prices and does not take a decade to build.

evolving to enable utilities, organizations & consumers to measure, monitor, audit &

This miracle resource is better known as energy efficiency. It is much less expensive, less destructive and less time-intensive to reduce demand through efficiency than to increase supply through new drilling or new power plants.

Governments worldwide are mandating

Energy efficiency has today become the largest energy source. It is bigger than oil, and much bigger than wind, solar, hydroelectric power & bio-fuels combined.

The utilization of this “5th Fuel” is green, possible and profitable.

As they say, a penny saved is penny earned, in power context, it is well know fact that a unit (of electricity i.e. KWh) saved is equivalent to 2.5 to 3 units generated. And, that is why, a new breed of smart meters, smart appliances, smart sensors & smart interfacing & communication devices are 58 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

control their energy consumption patterns and devise their respective energy conservation/ efficiency strategies.

At the heart of the worldwide rollout of smart meters and the construction of a smart grid network infrastructure, lies the goal of energy efficiency from the generation, transmission and distribution to the end consumer of the electricity.

improved energy efficiency, requiring an investment in the new smart grid and smart energy management structure. The goal is to create a smart grid that will change the way power is deployed for sustainable energy around the world.

The key economic & social driver for “smart grid” initiatives globally is nothing but “energy efficiency”. Smart grid technology is integration of Communication, IT and Power Technologies. Smart grids can also send signals to both power plants and end-users constantly telling them how much energy they are consuming. The power plant can then either cut down the amount of power it generates or the end user can cut down its consumption accordingly.

Of the total electricity consumption globally, 19% share is for lighting, amounting to 2650 TWh, out of which 31% is consumed in homes & balance 69% is consumed in commercial & industrial applications.

1.4 billion people still have no access to electricity globally. They use 77 billion liters of kerosene only for lighting annually; causing 190 million tons of CO2 emitted which would be equivalent to emission from 50 million cars.

Imagine, if the effort to conserve the energy consumption result in 20% aggregate saving; it would mean that we shall be able to light up the lives of those 1.4 billion people, and, may not need to add any generation capacity for next few years.

On the cost of smart meters & other such devices, the new technology is initially bound to cost more, as it is not yet mass-produced.

Cost will, of course, be higher, but the savings in electricity bill will more than compensate it. The governments are likely to incentivise the use of smart meters at homes, enabling users to monitor their power consumptions in real time and save on electricity bills by over 15 percent.

Demand Side Management and Energy Efficiency As per recent regulations, the costs

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towards setting up demand side management programmes can be passed on to consumers through tariffs. With the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency under the National Action Plan for Climate Change also laying emphasis on DSM, quite a many utilities are exploring the use of energyefficient devices and strategies for managing demand and flattening the load curve.

Energy Efficiency in Commercial & Industrial Segments Different segments of industry & business are trying to evolve different strategies to reduce the power consumption with their own set of business drivers & technology drivers.

Energy cost is one of major component of OPEX for most of businesses & industries that does not directly contribute to the growth or profit.

In a typical organization, there are several departments and areas each having its own consumption pattern. It is important to understand these patterns and address them properly to gain energy efficiency.

The 1st Step •

Introduce an energy saving program

•

Reduce utility costs & carbon footprint

• Monitor effectiveness of existing campaign Then accurate data to •

Understand consumption patterns

•

Identify and focus on energy wastage

• Monitor the effectiveness of your actions

Online Energy Monitoring Identifying the key energy consumption and wastage areas is the first step towards achieving energy efficiency.

New and comprehensive online energy monitoring solutions are available for accurate real-time monitoring, recording and reporting of energy and utilities usage. There are solutions that can create information base for overall energy conservation program, to improve facilities operation and maintenance practices and above all optimize energy costs.

It is a system that ensures access to a range of real-time and historical data including

voltage, current per phase, frequency, power factor, power and energy. With this data one can gain an accurate understanding of the usage patterns. The system also produces graphical trend reports. Any irregularities in usage patterns could be highlighted in the graphs for further investigation.

Advantages of Online Energy Monitoring •

Monitoring & capturing of dynamic load patterns

•

Immediate data during adds, moves & changes

•

Comparative consumption analysis across various timelines like hour, day, week etc.

•

Maximum control over accountability

• Factual data analysis for informed decisions •

Basis for adoption of appropriate control strategy

Some vital catalysts enabling the society to take full advantage of the“5th fuel”: energy efficiency include the new generation of smart meters, communication & interfacing devices like: •

Smart Plugs

• Din Rail & Penal Mount Smart Meters •

Home Area Networks

•

Home Energy Gateways

•

Data Concentrators

•

Grid Routers

•

Smart Sensors

•

Smart Breakers….

The devices are en abled by communication technologies like ZigBee, PLCC, Modbus, Ethernet GPRS/3G and Comprehensive suites of energy monitoring, audit & management softwares.

Countries across the globe are adapting “continuous energy monitoring” or “submetering”, as a part of the green initiative.

Studies have shown that through online monitoring and control, energy consumption in organizations may be reduced by up to 20%.

Some of the major energy guzzler industry segments have already started very strong initiatives to curtail their consumption by implementing green initiatives. Three sectors, who are leading this drive being:

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“Telecom”, “IT” & “Hospitality” industry.

We need to appreciate& accept the changing role of energy meters & metering in context of smart grid, AMI, energy crisis (because of depleting conventional natural resources) and green initiatives of the society & different segments of industry & business.

And, how different new types of meters, smart metering solutions, and smart energy auditing/monitoring softwares & solutions backed by Innovative Integration of communication technologies and supporting smart devices like smart sensors, smart appliances & smart breakers etc. are helping evolve a seamless and ubiquitous eco system to monitor, audit/manage and hence control energy consumption of all categories of electricity consumers.

Last but not the least, if we want India to remain a key participant in global “energy efficiency” movement and a hot destination for buying the carbon credits, then, Indian “energy industry” has to be prepared to meet the new environmental and social impositions and yet offer quality and a competitive price. Our energy industry has to believe in & ensure the principle of sustainable development, which makes us responsible and accountable to meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Environment and social considerations have influenced business environment of the global industrial sector, bringing to fore some new regulations & compliances to be practiced by the members of all the ecosystems, including but not limited to: • Restriction on Hazardous Substances (“The RoHS Regulations”) •

Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (“The WEEE Regulations”)

•

Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation & Control) Rule (ODS rule), 2000 –Montreal Protocol

To meet such challenges, compliances and obligations, we have to merely add a touch of green to our outlook to each aspect of the energy efficiency from the generation, transmission and distribution to the end consumer of the electricity ecosystem. We need to explore ways to make our designs, systems, and products & processes eco-friendly and carbon-neutral to make our world a little more green.

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SMA RT GRI D

An aerial image of parts of a power plant.

Merging Legacy Systems and the Smart Grid Dave Mayne, Director Business Development, Digi International

The Smart Grid is a term that is now recognised by a broad range of people that have never worked at a utility or related business. There are stock indices in world markets following businesses developing products and services that enhance the grid, continual legislation focused on investment and research in energy generation and distribution, and an increasing recognition that the way people view and manage their energy usage in the future will be dramatically different from today. These factors are driving many analysts to predict more than $200 billion USD will be invested in new grid technologies between 2008 and 2013 (source: Pike Research).

T

hese new investments cover a broad

communication and generation capabilities

range of products and services, but

throughout the distribution system.

virtually all are focused on enabling

It is becoming increasingly clear that the

enhanced monitoring and control across

Smart Grid is not defined by new devices,

the electrical distribution network. This

but rather by the services enabled by adding

includes capturing more granular information

secure and reliable two-way communications

related to power quality, consumption, and

to as many points on the distribution grid as

grid performance by facilitating two-way

possible. Clearly, this will require some new

60Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

equipment, but it will also require innovation that minimises stranded assets for the utility industry.

There are four capabilities that are required to drive the benefit goals of the Smart Grid: â&#x20AC;˘ Create: Devices and sensors to capture information and provide control services

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Networking capabilities will need to exist for devices in the substation, down the feeders, at the metering points, and even into the extended grid inside a home or business.

• Collect: Communication devices and networks that allow data and control services to happen • Manage: A network operating environment for managing all the connected devices •

Utilise: Business applications that turn the data into actionable information and driving benefits

In reviewing these capabilities, several interesting observations can be made. The first is that these do not define a specific network technology, device, or sensor. They are a capability that must be enabled for all devices (new and old) that are part of the energy distribution framework. These capabilities will need to exist for devices in the substation, down the feeders, at the metering points, and even into the extended grid inside a home or business.

A second observation is that the value is not defined by the device, but rather by the business application utilising this communication and control capability.

In other words – these capabilities drive benefits whether this is a new asset or an investment that was made five years ago.

The benefits are almost universally defined by business functions rather than the device itself. Once this is recognised, it is much easier to evaluate technology gaps that need to be filled. These gaps tend not to be specific devices or protocol, but rather a machine-to-machine management platform that can easily connect these devices to the appropriate business applications. Making the right decisions at this level will drive accelerated deployments of Smart Grid technologies that can leverage distribution equipment both new and old.

As stated earlier, it is estimated that over $200B will be invested globally in the Smart Grid by 2013, but the existing grid assets far exceed this number. Is it possible to enhance these solutions to make them more viable in supporting bidirectional communications, control and generation services? Can the utility (and rate payers) achieve an adequate percentage of projected Smart Grid investment benefits without replacing the current asset? There are a growing number of communication companies trying to address these questions in an effort to accelerate deployment of Smart Grid services, and service the widely

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varying business case drivers being presented by utilities large and small.

Smarter AMR with Consumer Engagement The industry is closely watching the early adopters of smart metering technology, with several utilities now announcing deployments exceeding one million units. While this progress is impressive, there are nearly 150 million meters that are already automated with AMR communication technology.

Clearly, these devices do not provide all of the interval data collection, remote disconnect capabilities or other enhanced communication services that are envisioned for the final smart grid deployment. But it is possible today to add communications over public networks (cellular, broadband, etc.) that deliver consumer engagement/energy management services with full HAN support.

These capabilities allow utilities to deliver a broad range of demand-side services to their customers leveraging the existing metering investment.

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and scalable connectivity over a broad range of networks. This “middleware” management platform will be a critical piece of the smart grid, and must not only provide support for the new technologies, but also manage devices and technologies that are already deployed.

Most importantly, many M2M management platforms isolate the utilities’ applications from the specific communication network allowing new technologies to be deployed without disrupting existing systems.

Device Management Is Key To Being Future Proof

Adding secure and reliable two-way communications to as many points on the distribution grid as possible can have significant benefits for the Indian energy sector

the owners of over 40 million ERT meters to communicate over IP networking solutions.

This allows utilities to leverage their existing metering assets to provide customer energy management services, verified demand response measurements, or view coincidental load across a set of meters for load forecasting purposes. While this clearly is not a smart metering platform, it does facilitate a suite of services consistent with many smart grid business cases.

In addition, products are available that convert these AMR devices to industry standard protocols such as the Zigbee® Smart Energy Profile. This minimises stranded asset risk by connecting these ERT modules to a wide range of certified Smart Energy devices, presenting a smooth migration from the world of AMR to the Smart Grid.

The industry will continue to develop and expand the use cases enabled by these new technologies, but providing tools that can provide flexible deployments that can future-proof the distribution grid are essential in driving early technology adoption.

These AMR gateways are made possible by leveraging machine-to-machine management services that connect the utilities applications (consumer energy management portal, demand response platform, etc.) with their customers metering device – a key development in making this technology commercially viable.

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Responding To Network And Other Technology Changes Analog cellular network are no longer required to be supported by the carriers, or are at least on their way out. This change forced the industry to figure out new methods of communicating with thousands of metering and distribution devices – most deployed at commercial utility customers across India.

The industry did not respond with a singular approach to this issue, but rather architected innovative solutions that meet the needs of their respective business. For some utilities, this helped accelerate smart grid deployments – while others worked hard to avoid any meter change-outs by identifying technologies that could IP enable dial-up modems.

These decisions were not made based on the best technology, but rather based on the business drivers. This is true for smart grid deployments as well. There is not (nor will there be) a single software or communication solution that works for all utility business functions. The reality is that many communication solutions – public, private, wired and wireless – all can and will contribute to the overall smart grid ecosystem. Each technology provides a unique set of performance, cost, reliability and security goals that differentiate, but do not diminish their contribution to the overall system. The challenge for the industry is not in identifying the communication solutions required, but in developing efficient, secure,

The combined forces of all networking technology utilised in the Smart Grid are aimed at time-sensitive collection of energy consumption data. Whether utilising powerline carrier, fiber, cellular or proprietary wireless communications, the goal is to determine what energy is being used, and more importantly, when. If I commute to the office during rush hour, I use far more gas than in the middle of the day; hence my costs (environmental and economical) are much higher than if I tried to shift my driving patterns. The same is true for energy consumption. If I use electricity during the “electrical rush hour,” the cost to the utility is significantly higher – yet in most cases they are unable to pass that extra cost on to the consumer.

The smart grid is the first broad reaching initiative enabling utilities to better map costs to price, which in turn will strengthen support and adoption of time-based rate structures. This will greatly increase the need for “energy dashboard” tools communicating rate and consumption data to consumers, and will rapidly expand the number of people actively participating in load shifting programs.

Once again, these challenges do not define a specific networking technology – but rather an information and control ecosystem that will utilise many networks – both wired and wireless – to promote an interactive, reliable and efficient energy delivery grid.

Selecting a software service that allows your applications to operate independent from the communication network will maximise the utility’s ability to leverage existing assets while helping to future-proof the investments.

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Smart Grid: Data Driven Transformation Arindam Ghosh, Associate Director, KPMG India

Smart Grid represents the largest and most pervasive transformation that utilities will likely undertake, as it is a transformation in infrastructure, business, and technology on an unprecedented scale. Smart Grid also provides substantial amounts of new data, and utilities must decide how to best use that data for business value.

L

ike most large scale transformation initiatives, Smart Grid projects traditionally focus on process, technology and people. There’s a fourth element, which will be focused in the coming years being discussed in this paper – “DATA”.

The Smart Grid Transformation The smart grid transformation is a unique challenge, as it is not limited to a specific technology, functional area, or even organizational group. Its impact is broad and affects business operations, resources, infrastructure, systems and data. In short, smart grid has the potential to transform a utility’s entire business.

The power distribution system will be transformed by a multitude of new devices and technologies such as smart meters, grid monitoring sensors, data collection nodes, and voltage regulation devices. These devices will communicate and operate over new communication networks and feed new business 64 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

applications such as meter data management systems. Success in this transformation will depend on interoperability and the ease and effectiveness with which devices and systems share data and interface with each other.

From an operational perspective, smart grid will change the business of power distribution and all the business process reengineering (BPR) exercises should consider this aspect. With the introduction of smart grid the nature of customer relationship of the utilities will also undergo a change, many value added services (VAS) could be extended to the customers, involving them in decisions about power consumption and an increased level of information exchange between the customer and the utility.

Smart grid also highlights the nascent role of information management. New meters, sensors, and grid devices will provide volumes of data that have not been previously available. Newly available data on interval demand, interval consumption, meter condition, and grid status can be a source of potential business value if it is properly developed, managed and leveraged.

This transformation also comes with new resource needs and skill requirements, as new technologies and operations require people with the relevant skill and experience to manage them. Additionally, the way utilities measure performance and operational effectiveness should adapt to account for new ways of doing business.

T h e c o n ve r g e n c e of these forces presents significant opportunities for utilities to improve existing processes and new capabilities. The few sample potential opportunities are discussed here:

Increased Operational Efficiency Reduced operating cost, increased automation and streamlined processes in the

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areas of meter asset management, the entire metering-billing-collection (MBC) processes, preventive maintenance, field service are some of the examples.

Improved Customer Relationships

Instead of once a month reading customers can get the consumption at any customized interval, smart meters, time of day tariff and direct load control devices are examples of how customers will be able to make more informed decisions regarding their power usage and become more proactive.

Advanced Power Management Capabilities

New grid management infrastructure and applications will enable greater distribution automation, self healing capabilities, and more efficient power generation and dispatch, leading to reduced outages, improved restoration times and lower generation costs.

that infrastructure, such as new meters and grid sensor devices provides an abundance of potentially useful information. The challenge for utilities is how to identify and use that information. Developing the opportunities presented by this data can provide new values as well as enable a “multiplier effect” by leveraging existing investments for additional value.

Data as transformation driver and a source of business value can be referred to the following areas:

New Functional Capabilities

The ability to perform new functions as well as perform existing functions better.

TOD tariff and direct household load control, for instance are new capabilities that meter data supports.

Decision Support

The wealth of new data supports enhanced decision making and planning capabilities. For example, the myriad data elements on condition and operating status that new smart meters provide (i.e., tamper alert, low battery warning, CT PT failure, etc) can lead to preventive maintenance planning and improved

Data Driven Transformation Given this pervasive transformation, how should utilities approach a smart grid program in order to maximize the benefits to the business?

The traditional approach to large transformation projects typically focuses on Process – Technology – People as the framework that governs how projects are justified, managed and measured. Ofcourse these elements are vital for smart grid. The Technology component focuses on developing a robust architecture that integrates disparate operational systems and business applications. Interoperability is a key in this component. The Process component focuses on BPR to exploit new functional capabilities, services and procedures and utilities can use smart grid as a means to make processes and customer interactions more efficient and cost effective. The People component can provide opportunities to rationalize resource requirements, develop and/or acquire needed skills, and rearrange organizational structures.

vigilance system, and also better meter procurement strategies.

Increased Automation

Many utilities are upgrading distribution grids by installing numerous new and modern grid controls and monitoring equipments in India. These new equipments can provide an order of magnitude increase in available data on grid operations over what the currently available today. Utilities can use this data via their distribution management and outage management systems, to automate processes that could lead to reduced outage times, improved restoration, and streamlined field service operations.

While these factors are critical, developing the full value of smart grid requires a broader approach that recognizes the role and importance of data as a transformation driver and significant source of business value and benefit. An unique aspect of smart grid is

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These above areas highlight how closely data is intertwined with the other components of the smart grid transformation.

Data should not be examined in isolation.

It should be treated in equal footing with process, technology and people.

The smart grid architecture can create paradigm shift in the role of data and can bring new and additional data in several ways.

Smart grid greatly increases data sources and collection points and brings enormous increase in data volume. Data flows will also change, as data communications that were typically unidirectional and periodic will evolve into bidirectional and near real time.

As a result of these changes, many distribution management operations can be automated and streamlined. Opportunities exist to improve field service operations, asset management, new service connections, grid reliability, outage management, and tariff design. Data can be elevated from merely a process input to a source of new capabilities.

How to Extract Value from Data In a typical business transformation, data requirements are identified as part of a process design or systems implementation.

Utilities should supplement this with a more deliberate approach that involves identifying the available data up front and using that data to drive opportunities rather than limiting it to only what a process system or system needs. While data is closely intertwined with technology and process, it does not provide value automatically. The potential benefits of data must be deliberately identified and developed. A simple three step process is suggested here for the utilities to follow to use data to drive value in a smart grid transformation.

Step 1: Identify Available Data • Assess current and proposed devices, systems, and infrastructure.

•

Develop a comprehensive understanding of data capabilities (i.e., volume, frequency, detail)

•

Identify new data that is available but not being captured. Also identify existing

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

65

data that is being captured but not being used. For example smart meters typically are capable of recording dozens of data elements regarding condition status, event monitoring, and usage, but most utilities capture and use only a fraction

S t e p 3 : D eve l o p Transformation

• Map identified opportunities to the enterprise model.

•

Identify the relevant stakeholders and value that specific new data elements represent to them.

•

Design transformational initiatives.

•

Define new processes or suggest changes to the existing processes that leverage the data.

of those parameters in order to feed legacy processes. Utilities should not look at data through the filter of existing business operations and systems, they should access the entire set of available data and look for new possibilities.

Step 2: Access Potential Value • Conduct a gap analysis to compare

• Identify system requirements and integration.

•

Estimate performance impact.

•

Develop a detailed business case and cost benefit analysis model to define the quantitative as well as qualitative benefits.

•

Develop an implementation road map to demonstrate how the data driven transformation will take place and how it will integrate into overall Smart Grid program.

potential data usage against planned usage. Search for potential opportunities outside the planned solution set and current requirements.

•

Identify transformational opportunities and “hot spots” that align with business objectives and organizational strategy.

Utilities should look beyond legacy processes and not just try to force new data into old practices. They should seek opportunities to develop new capabilities or transform and optimize existing capabilities.

•

Define the value propositions and begin preparing the business case.

66 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

the

Summary Managing a transformation the size, breadth, and complexity of smart grid will be significant challenge to utilities.

Maximizing the value of this transformation, however, demands a new broader approach to identifying and cultivating potential opportunities. The data driven smart grid

approach looks data proactively rather than letting data needs be driven solely by process and system requirements. This approach complements, but does not replace traditional approaches to large scale business transformations and demonstrates the value in placing data on equal footing with process, technology and people.

Author’s introduction Arindam Ghosh is Associate Director with KPMG India having more than 16 years of experience in power sector including experience in energy & utilities consulting with a specialization on metering, process improvement, program management, IT system development and implementation across multiple states advising the Governments on Power Sector Reforms in India.

He has hands on working experience in power distribution management & automation, energy auditing, loss reduction and commercial process improvement. He has also advised private power distribution companies in improving their revenues and business process reengineering. He had advised the Government of India on a large scale metering and IT related investment program.

He is also a regular columnist and speakers in metering related publications and events.

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INTERNATIONAL

SM A RT MET ER

Fully Interoperable Smart Metering For DSOS With Reduced TCO Pierre Marlard, Atos WorldGrid Jacques Martin, Atos Origin India

Smart Metering is a combination of Smart Meters, Smart Concentrators, Information Technology (IT), and two-ways communication systems.Smart Metering is a major building block towards the implementation of Smart Grid for which Utilities are preparing. We can say therefore that Smart Metering systems must be “Smart Grid Ready”.

B

ased on its extensive experience in Smart Metering, Atos Origin will hereafter focus on Smart Metering business drivers for Distribution System Operators (DSOs), as the main actors of Smart Metering projects. Indeed DSOs will have to support the substantial costs of installing the Smart Metering infrastructures.

In return they will find the most benefits in the transformation of their activities.

By looking further, Smart Grids will be introduced by installing Smart Meters as Smart Sensors - replacing present “too-late” sensors (customers with their telephone) connected to Smart Concentrators as Smart Grid Nodes.

Optimize Energy Management

• The surveillance of transformers and other distribution equipments, and the monitoring of control and condition (through sensors in the secondary substations and smart concentrators).

Smart Metering infrastructure will allow DSOs to measure and report in real time the network operational performance.

For example, DSOs will monitor precisely and in real time:

• Loss Of Energy Expectation (LOEE) • Expected Demand Not Supplied (EDNS) • Frequency of Loss Of Load (FLOL) • Energy Index of Reliability (EIR), etc.

These information will be displayed on a geographical perspective (linked to a GIS Geographical Information System) and will allow to follow precisely the QoS Quality of Service (load, voltage regulation, harmonic distortion and flicker, disturbances, frequency, number and duration of short and long interruptions, customer minutes lost, annual unavailability etc).

68 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

• The accurate and timely knowledge of the status of meters and lines (thanks to Power Line Communication using actual electric lines and through concentrators).

• The optimisation of the sizing of transformers and other distribution equipments.

Manage Performance and Service in Real Time

• Loss Of Load Expectation (LOLE)

Smart Grid will provide flexibility and controllability towards a more secure system operation).

Charging Electric Vehicle at EDF R&D

By switching to Smart Metering, DSOs will gradually improve network management with Smart Grids , thanks to: • The global management of demand, storage (flywheels, compressed air storage and turbines, batteries, electric vehicles, …) and supply (and no longer generation supply side only).

• The management of DER Distributed Energy Resources (current operating practices only ensure that they are quickly disconnected if needed, but

• The surveillance of weather conditions (globally through direct links to weather forecasting, and locally with temperature, humidity and light sensors through smart concentrators).

• The improvement of power flow management through earlier and sometimes automatic event detection, faster reporting, easier alarm management, and quicker recovery / restoration time.

• The decrease of technical losses (thanks to PLC, Smart Meters can now tell on which phase they are and phase balancing can now be achieved properly).

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Attain Financial Excellence

Smart Grid will be a revolution at Distribution level

• The optimisation of user profiling and forecasting.

• An enhanced delivery resilience and flexibility (early developing overload conditions detection, peak shaving / clipping / smoothing / shifting using demand response programs, smart cold load pick-up management, alert on misuse, load and phase balancing, smart fault detection and outage mapping, predictive maintenance, smart load shedding: remote collective gradual distributed load limiting in shifts at smart concentrator/secondary substation level, self-healing, sub-network island management: micro-Grid enhancing local reliability seen from the Grid as a single aggregated load, or micro-Grid isolation as autonomous communities back-up providing continuity of supply to emergency units, et al).

Enhance Customer Service and Satisfaction The Smart Meter infrastructure (or AMI Automated Metering Infrastructure) will allow in a deregulated environment a quick switch between suppliers, an easier switch between tariff, billing schemes or load limits for end customers. Typically the delays will be reduced from several days to 2 hours.

This will therefore increase competition between suppliers, when requested by regulating bodies, and end customers will directly benefit from the increased competition and better service levels.

Contribute to Environmental Objectives Smart Meters will allow DSOs to follow national regulations and save energy (less CO2 - direct savings from less crew cars and less mileage and indirect savings from end customers energy savings) with the direct impact on the environment.

Smart Metering will let end customers become local generators (by allowing net metering), and therefore distribution technical losses will be saved.

Furthermore, DSOs will improve their public image to that of a modern, positive, green, innovative and high-tech (and also now accurate!) company.

Not only will Smart Metering allow attaining operational excellence but it will also boost the competitiveness of DSOs by: • Reducing capital expenses (CAPEX) through interoperability of smart meters and smart concentrators thanks to shared specifications, including open protocol or standardisation .

• Reducing operating expenses (OPEX) through remote meter reading, remote meter management, remote meter supervision (which reduces the number of crew interventions, associated management and administrative support for manual reading, and configuration of the meters);

ERDF Linky interoperable Smart Meter

The main financial benefits of Smart Metering for DSOs usually include cost savings through the reduction of manpower, crew cars, fuel, and CO2 emissions.

• Reducing maintenance costs (OPEX) through reducing maintenance crew interventions, and improving their efficiency due to :

Financial excellence will also be allowed in particular through:

• Remote meter supervision and software upload (which reduces the number of crew interventions, associated management and administrative support, and configuration of the meters), low failure rate not exceeding for instance 0,5% per year and longer life span of the meters, up to more than 20 years, which reduces maintenance interventions;

• The decrease of non technical losses thanks to real-time automatic fraud detection (tampering, removing, bypassing etc);

• Interchangeability is possible because of shared physical specifications of the equipments. Even if there are 10 different hardware providers, maintenance crew can plug any meter in any home with unique installation procedures and tools, and have it automatically connected to the nearest concentrator. They can also plug any concentrator. Stocks are therefore smaller and easier to manage and to dispatch (the need to check availability of the right equipment in the car or to go to a regional stock will no longer exist).

• Asset Management software integrated to the solution which provides all information on the meter and its location, with additional functions implemented to provide crew planning, life duration statistics for preventive maintenance purpose, or even predictive maintenance based on real-time condition based monitoring, …

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• The ability to invoice precisely distribution network usage from consumption;

• The reduction of peak electricity demand and the better management of load hours, therefore alleviating the need for expanded distribution capacity or infrastructure installation (CAPEX investments).

Distribution System Operators can really make great savings from Smart Metering and have a rather quick pay-back for their initial investment. However national regulations vary from country to country and the initial investments are as high as the transformations Smart Metering projects will bring.

Distributors should therefore ponder the various technical options (AMR or AMM, two-way communication system options …) and assess precisely the ROI that their respective Smart Metering project carries.

Full ROI for a DSO will be brought on the short term by AMM and on the long term

by Smart Grid.

Atos Origin is delivering AMM system called LINKY to ERDF in France, targeting 35 million Smart Meters, full interoperable and Smart Grid Ready.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

69

H Y D RO ENERGY

The Power of Water Elgi Sauer Compressors Limited

Energy, technical definitions apart, has been explained as being ‘the vital force powering business, manufacturing and the transportation of services and goods to serve...economies’.

The term energy is used interchangeably with power, though the scientist or technologist would frown on this license. Be that as it may, energy is of tremendous topical interest on account of its critical role in the economic output of nations and in their security, as well as on account of the way the living environment is interlinked with it.

E

nergy is used most commonly as electricity, in which form it is highly versatile, and as heat, particularly derived from energy stored in chemicals, which drives engines that can be used for transport.

Much of the world’s energy is derived from fossil fuels. More than a third is from crude oil meanwhile coal contributes more than 28 percent. Natural gas follows with a 23 percent contribution. Nuclear power is the next largest provider of energy, at 7 percent. Hydroelectric power, or power derived from water, is almost as significant, with a 6.56 percent contribution of the world’s energy requirements. These sources of energy are on the whole categorized as renewable and nonrenewable. With the world power consumption peaking currently at 12.5 terawatts*, the environmental effects of energy production have become increasingly a matter of concern.

Evolution The only major source of renewable energy currently used is hydroelectric power. The world’s installed capacity of hydroelectric power was 777 gigawatts* in 2006. This represented a fifth of all the electricity in the world then and 88 percent of the electricity available from renewable sources.

70 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Hydroelectricity had its birth in the USA. Running water was used to produce electricity for the first time in 1880, soon after Thomas Edison made electric lamps available commercially. A dynamo driven by a water turbine provided the supply of energy to light theatres and shops at Grand Rapids

in Michigan. Next year, another turbineand-dynamo combination provided street lighting at the Niagara Falls. Direct current (DC) electricity was produced in both these instances. Alternating current (AC) was produced using running water in 1882 at a place called Appleton in Wisconsin.

The development of the water turbine, essential for generating electricity from water, had begun more than a century ago.

A French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor had initiated this development, writing a book titled Architecture Hydraulique. But

the use of water to perform work has a far longer history. It is known that the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat more than 2000 years back.

Most of the electricity generated using water involves a dam. The stored water is released in a controlled manner and used to drive a turbine, which is connected to a generator. The amount of electrical energy generated depends on the amount of water flowing and on the speed and pressure with which it reaches the turbine. The water may be conducted to the turbine from the dam in a large pipe called a penstock. The difference in height between the water level at the dam and the end of the penstock is known as the head and governs the pressure of the water.

Not all hydroelectric power plants require the construction of a dam. ‘Run of the river’ plants have no reservoirs. Tidal power plants make use of the change in water level due to tides in the sea.

If the demand for electricity is low at any time, the excess power produced may be used to pump the out-flowing water from a reservoir to another reservoir at a higher level. Thus when the demand increases, the water may be released back to the lower reservoir, through a turbine. This idea of storing energy is known as pumped storage.

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China has the largest hydroelectric project in the world, the Three Gorges Dam complex on the Yangtze River. This complex has two generating stations. It is proposed to be completed in 2011 and will produce 22,500 MW* then. The next largest hydroelectricity generating power plant in the world is on the Paraná River in South America. It is the Itaipu power plant which has 20 generator units, with a combined capacity of 14,000 MW*.

Pelton, Francis and Kaplan Water wheels were among the earliest devices used to tap the power of moving water. Their great drawback was that they were able to convert only little of the water’s energy into useful work. Water turbine improvements carried out in the 19th century led to better efficiency.

One high-efficiency turbine that was developed was the Pelton wheel, named after Lester Allan Pelton, who invented it in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel features specially shaped paddles around a rotating rim on which a jet of water strikes. The turbine wheel is known as a runner. The Pelton wheel is most effective when the rim of the runner runs at half the speed of the water jet. This converts most of the kinetic energy of the water to the output of the rotating shaft. Thus the speed of the water leaving the wheel is very small.

Devices such as the Pelton wheel use the principle of Newton’s Second Law and are known as impulse turbines. Another kind of turbine that has been developed is the reaction turbine. In this type of turbine, the pressure of the water drops, in addition to the speed. James Francis, an engineer in Massachusetts, developed a very efficient reaction turbine in 1848. The Francis turbine has an efficiency of more than 90 percent and can be designed to suit a particular flow condition.

The Francis turbine is typically placed at the base of a dam, and the water flows into it with a high speed and pressure. The inlet of the turbine is spiral in shape. Guide vanes, known as the wicket gate, are provided in the turbine. These direct the water inward, and they may be adjusted for efficient operation of the turbine under different flow conditions.

The runner itself is provided with vanes as well, the water flow acting on them and causing the runner to spin. The water moves faster as it moves into the runner. It acts on

cup-shaped features on the runner as it leaves through the exit, with very little kinetic or potential energy.

Francis turbines are the most commonly used kind of water turbine now. They are used to operate in a wide range of heads, from 10 metres to several hundred metres. The power output they span is also wide, from a few kilowatts to a gigawatt.

The Kaplan turbine evolved from the Francis turbine. It was developed in the early part of the 20th century by Viktor Kaplan in Europe.

The Kaplan turbine has adjustable blades on the runner and it draws power from water even when the head is very low. Kaplan turbines are used widely today, particularly in situations where the head is low and the flow is high. Micro turbines have been made for power generation with as little as two feet of head. The efficiency of the Kaplan turbine over a range of conditions arises from the variable geometry of both its wicket gate and its turbine blades. Kaplan turbines are expensive to design and produce, but they have long operating lives.

When a power plant is running and the electrical load is very low, the speed of the turbine may increase to runaway speeds.

A turbine governor that senses the load on the machine is provided to prevent this. It reduces the flow of water through the turbine.

In the case of a Francis or Kaplan turbine, this is achieved by closing the vanes of the wicket gate. Even when the water level in a reservoir drops, the need to regulate the flow through the turbine may require the wicket gate to be closed.

With the head being 600 metres or so in a typical situation, the forces involved in moving the vanes against the flow can be considerable. The entire guide apparatus consists of three parts. The first of these is the top cover, which is essentially a circular ring with around 20 holes, which are fitted with self-lubricating bushes. The next part of the guide apparatus consists of the guide vanes themselves, and these may have an aerofoil cross-section. The third part is a pivot ring on which the vanes are assembled. The vanes are closed and opened by turning the top cover. Servo motors perform this operation, pressurised oil being used to drive a pistonand-cylinder arrangement. On account of the high forces, the oil pressure may be as high 60 and even kilograms per square centimetre.

Teh oil is pressurized using screw pumps and sent and sent to a receiver with a dome-

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shaped top and a cylindrical lower section.

The oil occupies a third of the receiver, the rest of its volume being filled with compressed air. The function of the air is to maintain the pressure of the oil, and the air pressure in turn is maintained at the required level using air compressors.

In a Kaplan turbine, compressed air is used additionally to turn the blades of the runner.

Again, this is done using pressurised oil and high-pressure air compressors.

Another application of compressed air in hydroelectricity generation is the opening and closing of valves. Penstocks are often multiply laid. For instance, in a 120 MW* power plant, there may be three penstocks feeding a 40 MW* turbine each. The flow in one or more penstocks must be stopped for maintenance at times. This is done by closing high-pressure valves that may weigh up to 40 tons. Oil pressurised by compressed air is used to operate these valves as well. A high-pressure system provides pressurised oil throughout the powerhouse at the requisite pressure to run the governor.

The dryness of the compressed air is critical because of the possibility of mixing of water with oil. The air must be cooled between compression stages using an inter-cooler and finally cooled using an after-cooler, to less than 45 degrees Centigrade to eliminate the possibility of condensation. The compressors must have auto drain valves fitted on them to vent the condensate.

Elgi Sauer Compressors Limited, a joint venture between Elgi Equipments Ltd. and J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Germany, supplies high pressure air compressors for hydro power applications. J.P Sauer & Sohn specialises in the manufacture of advanced air compressors for naval, maritime and industrial applications.

Some of the popular models for hydro-power generation are WP66L,WP311L, WP121L, WP126L, WP101L, WP271L, WP3215L and WP4341L. The compressors supplied

by Elgi Sauer deliver 13 to 302 m3/hr at operating pressures from 30 to 400 bar.

These compressors provide air for the turbine governor system and the generator braking system, as well as utility air. Elgi Sauer hydel power air compressors are already in popular demand in overseas markets, particularly in Brazil and Europe.

TW: 1 terawatt = 1 million megawatts MW: 1 megawatt = 1 million watts GW: 1 gigawatt = 1000 megawatts

EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

71

T RANSMISSION

India’s First UHVDC Link In The Offing Niti Parikh, EQ International

India’s first ultrahigh-voltage transmission system (UHVDC) link will come up from northeastern India to city of Agra, which will supply hydropower at a distance of 1,728 Kilometers.

ABB, synonymous to power and automation technology, has been awarded the project by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. ABB will supply project worth 900 million.

T

he project would be executed by ABB in association with BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited), a leading Indian government-owned power company that will deliver the remainder of the project.

The total order is worth more than $1.1 billion.

65 000 MW. The resources are scattered over a large area, whereas load centers are located several hundreds and even thousands of kilometers away. The power has to pass through a very narrow patch of land (22 km width x 18 km of length) in the state of West

To be operated at 800 kilovolts (kV), the North-East Agra UHVDC link will have a record 8,000 MW converter capacity, including a 2,000 MW redundancy, to transmit clean hydroelectric power from the North-East region of India to the city of Agra across a distance of 1,728 kilometers.

side and Bangladesh on the other side.

The link encompasses four terminals located at three converter stations with a 33% continuous overload rating and the power transmission system will thus have the possibility to convert 8,000 MW – which is the largest HVDC transmission ever built.

is an excellent way to use the available right-

Planned to be executed jointly by ABB and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) the project’s first phase is expected to come in operation by 2014 and second phase by 2015. The two partners have a turnkey responsibility for execution, including system engineering, design, supply and installation of three HVDC converter stations.

India’s north eastern belt has copious of hydro power resources, approximately 72 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Bengal, which is adjacent to Nepal on one In a bid to harness the potential, Power Grid Corporation of India plans to create power pooling points in the North-Eastern region, to collect power from several hydro power stations and to transport it on 800 kV DC bipolar lines to major load centers. HVDC of-way very efficiently. The current project is the first one.

The first pooling point (= converter station) of the first Indian 800 kV HVDC link will be located at Biswanath Chariali in the state of Assam in North Eastern region, while the second converter station will be located near Alipurduar in the state of West Bengal in Eastern region. The other end of the DC line will terminate at Agra where there will be two bipolar converters connected in parallel.

As each converter pole has a nominal rating of 1,500 MW with a continuous

overload rating of 2,000 MW, it is possible to compensate for loss of any converter pole and still transmit 6,000 MW. The overall control and coordination of the converter poles in the multi-terminal HVDC link, including balancing of the power order to the converters will be performed by the master control to be located in Agra.

HVDC is a technology used to transmit power at high voltages, over long distances from remote sources to high consumption centers with minimum losses. ABB pioneered this technology in the 1950’s and is a global leader in the field having over 50 per cent of the global HVDC installed base. HVDC solutions have been implemented all over the world - for example Three Gorges and Xiangjiaba-Shanghai in China, Itaipu in Brazil to Sao Paulo and many others. ABB also has an impressive track record of HVDC installations in India with a large installed base including projects like Rihand-Dadri, Vindhyachal Vizag. Chandrapur-Padghe.

Equipments, solutions, engineering/ other services will be supplied out of ABB India operations, ABB Sweden and BHEL. ABB India: ABB India will provide design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning converter trafos,

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interconnecting trafos, switchgear and

deliver design, engineering, manufacture,

equipment for converter stations, substations

supply, erection and commissioning of

in the North East, fiber optic communications

800kV converter trafos, thyristor valves,

system, capacitors, and control and protection

800kV DC equipments, main HVDC control

systems. A significant amount of equipment

systems and project management . The core

supply will be from ABB’s factories in India

HVDC technology in HVDC and system

and a substantial amount of the HVDC

design /engineering as well as supply of key

engineering will be covered by the operations

equipment like the converters will come

center in Chennai.

from ABB in Sweden who will guide the

ABB Sweden: ABB Sweden will play of pivotal role in the whole project. It will

commissioning and system testing.

engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of some converter trafos, shunt reactors and valves, capacitors, and other services at Agra. Additionally, it will provide a part of the HVDC Converter transformers, a part of the Thyristor valves delivery Part of the Control and a part of protection equipment delivery. A part of substations material delivery will also be done by BHEL . It will also execute site work in Agra.

BHEL: BHEL will supply design,

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CO M P A N Y P RO F I L E

L&T Surging Ahead

L

arsen & Toubro, a name synonymous to technology, has a wide product basket, offering equipments to EPC of power plants. Established in 1938 by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck- Larsen and SorenKristian Toubro, the giant has rapidly created a niche for itself as a technology intensive company.

Having extensive experience in the power sector, L&T has achieved several milestones.

Starting as a field services provider engaged mainly in plant-wide civil works and erection of main equipment including boilers and turbine-generators in the 1960s, the company expanded its offerings to control and automation and balance of plant (BoP) packages in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, the company began undertaking engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) contracts for combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) and also commenced manufacturing heat exchangers for the turbine cycle.By this time it had garnered a wide reference of boiler and steam turbine erections and BoP execution including civil works, coal handling plants, cooling towers, chimneys, critical valves, water management systems and turnkey electrical balance of plant (eBoP) solutions comprising of switchgear, switchyard/substation, control and automation.

Since 2007, the company has established a number of new joint ventures and partnerships enabling it to provide high capacity supercritical boilers, turbinegenerators, axial fans, rotary air pre-heaters and electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) enabling it to emerge as a major player in supercritical coal-based EPC space.With the experience of doing advance class gas turbine (GT) based large rating combined 74 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

cycle EPC already, the ability of being able to do complete EPC of large supercritical coal-based power plants hence bestowed on L&T an EPC competence of being able to handle large sized thermal power projects (both gas-based and coal-based). In early 2011, L&T has announced a restructuring plan which will divide the USD 9.8 billion engineering and infrastructure conglomerate into nine companies- Power, Hydrocarbons, Switchgears, Machinery & Product, Heavy Engineering, Infrastructure, Building & factories, Metals & Minerals and Electrical Business. The nine companies would be independent entities.

L&T Power L&T Power was set-up as L&T Groups nodal agency to bring together L&T as various competencies for Thermal Power Generation under one organisation so as to offer complete a concept to commissioning Thermal Power Solutions to its customers.

Milestones and Achievements L&T as EPC Power initiative has had various milestones to its credit, few of which are listed below: •

First single pass Tower Type Trans-Electro Boiler Erection

Neyveli Lignite- 3 x 210 MW (198387)

•

First 110MW (BHEL) Boiler Erection

Panki Power UPSEB(UPRVUN) - 2 x 110 MW (1974)

•

First 500 MW Boiler Erection

Tata Power, Trombay - Unit 5 1x 500 MW (1980-83)

•

First Class HRSG

Vemagiri CCPP -388 .5 MW (2003)

• First 660 MW Supercritical Boiler Erection

For NTPC Sipat (2005 , Boiler of Doosan)

•

First order for 800 MW STG Island

APPDCL - 2 x 800MW (2008)

•

First order for feed equipment for 800 MW : Condenser, HP, LP Heaters, DEA

Tata Power, Mundra - 5 x 800MW (2008)

India’s first integrated manufacturing facility - the Hazira manufacturing facility in Gujarat , has seen L&T Power emerge as the second largest domestic boiler, turbine and generator (BTG) equipment manufacturer.

For a rather young organization, its record has been spectacular. It has an order book in excess of INR 30,000 Crores .Under an engineering, procurement, construction agreement, L&T Power is commissioning the first 700 MW supercritical project in the country. India’s first 800 MW turbine generator island is being supplied and executed by L&T Power.

Competitive advantage • L&T can contribute to ~85% of power generation value chain from inhouse capabilities- thus being the only company in India which provides nearly the complete value chain in the power industry from in-house capabilities , amply justifying its slogan, ‘We do it all’.

•

Hazira is the fifth largest fabrication facility of heavy engineering goods in the world and the only integrated manufacturing facility for power in

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between Larsen & Toubro Limited and Howden Holdings BV, for axial fans and rotary air-preheaters for thermal power plants ranging from 100 MW to 1,200 MW. Howden has been having a leading global presence with more than 100 years of experience in supplying fans and rotary heat exchangers to the power market, spanning a hundred countries.

The manufacturing facility is at Hazira having an annual capacity of 6,000 MW.

India

supercritical boilers and turbinegenerators, MHI is a global leader in steam turbine manufacturing, having a dominant market share for large size turbine-generators.

• Unmatched single point turnkey offering

Partnerships Collaboration synthesizes the best in global industry to generate solutions, fine-tuned to specific local requirements. L&T Power draws on the strengths of its global partnerships: • L&T-MHI Boilers Pvt. Ltd. is a JV formed primarily for supercritical boilers. Promoted by L&T and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan (MHI), one of the world’s leading boiler manufacturers, L&T-MHI boilers possesses state-ofthe-art supercritical technology and has one of the world’s largest references of large capacity supercritical boilers.

The manufacturing facility is located at Hazira and has an annual capacity of 4,000 MW. This shall be upgraded to 6,000 MW soon.

•

L&T-MHI Turbine Generators Pvt. Ltd. is a JV formed primarily for supercritical turbine-generators. Promoted by L&T, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan (MHI) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan (MELCO), L&T-MHI turbine-generators possesses state-ofthe-art supercritical technology, and has one of the world’s largest references of large capacity supercritical turbinegenerators. The manufacturing facility is located at Hazira and has an annual capacity of 4,000 MW. This shall be upgraded to 6,000 MW soon.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of over USD 34 billion. With over five decades of experience in manufacturing

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan (MELCO) operations in 35 countries with more than 100,000 employees and it leads the large capacity generator manufacturing market around the globe.

•

L&T-S&L a JV with Sargent & Lundy LLC, USA is an ISO and CMMI Level 5 certified engineering consultancy organization. It provides engineering services and solutions for the power sector in India and abroad, drawing on L&T’s experience in power projects, and Sargent &Lundy’s worldwide experience of designing and engineering close to 1,000 power plants with a cumulative generating capacity of over 1,22,000 MW.

•

L&T has a technical collaboration with Clyde Bergemann US Inc, for design and manufacture of electrostatic precipitators for pulverized coal-fired boilers above 300 MW. By controlling emission levels of coal-fired plants, ESPs contribute significantly towards environmental preservation. Clyde Bergemann has been a leading supplier of ESPs since 1946, with over 1,500 installations worldwide.

The design incorporates state-ofthe-art design elements to provide unsurpassed emissions performance and equipment operating characteristics.

The manufacturing facility is at Hazira having an annual capacity corresponding to 4,000 MW presently.

• L&T Howden Pvt. Limited is a JV

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Howden was established in 1854 as an engineering firm, and has grown to become a worldwide organisation that has its global headquarters in Renfrew, UK, and employs nearly 3,800 people across 17 countries. The company supplies fans, rotary heat exchangers, compressors and gas cleaning equipment throughout the world to key industries including power generation, petrochemicals, steel making, mining and cement production.

Due to the strengths of these partnerships, L&T has evolved as the 2nd largest player in the power sector, its order books are brimming from both public & private sector, gives a fillip to other power related businesses in L&T and leads to cost optimization and excellent execution.

Full Spectrum Capabilities

• Coal-based Power Plants

L&T undertakes large coal-based utility power plant projects based on super-critical steam parameters of unit sizes up to 1000 MW. BOP packages are undertaken for both sub-critical and super-critical thermal projects on EPC basis. L&T’s in-house engineering and manufacturing capabilities and experience in executing power plant packages, coupled with integrated project management capabilities, offers a unique value proposition that speedily takes projects from concept to commissioning.

• Gas-based Power Plants

L&T Power executes combined cycle and co-generation gas based power projects on a lump sum turnkey basis. It has an excellent track-record in implementing projects in India and overseas. With extensive experience in executing turnkey contracts for independent power projects, utility projects as well as captive projects, L&T Power has established its credentials as a leading EPC contractor in India. It is the first company to execute a project with ‘F-technology’ gas turbine of 250 MW class. Close association with global players, experience in a diverse EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

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range of heavy duty turbines from all leading manufacturers and a flexible approach to technology selection gives unique depth and variety to L&T Power’s capabilities.

• Supercritical Boiler Island

L&T-MHI Boilers Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture company, executes supercritical boiler islands on turnkey basis of capacities ranging up to 1000 MW. L&T-MHI Boilers draws on Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI) extensive experience and state-of-the-art technology for supercritical boilers and combines it with in-house engineering, project management skills and modern manufacturing facilities to provide an optimum solution with singlepoint responsibility.

• Supercritical Turbine Island Package

L&T Power executes turbinegenerator islands on turnkey basis, based on supercritical steam turbine-generators from its joint venture manufacturing units with MHI. Capacity ranges up to 1000 MW. L&T Power combines its in-house engineering, manufacturing and project management skills to provide an optimum solution with singlepoint responsibility.

roads and drains, railway sidings, ash ponds, green belt and landscaping.

Complete civil and structural works for power plant including piling, equipment foundations, powerhouse building, plant and non-plantbuildings, township and facilities

• Other manufacturing

Capabilities As a provider of fully integrated solutions, L&T Power has developed manufacturing facilities to meet the most rigorous demands of industry. The facilities conform to global standards. Besides Supercritical boilers and turbine generators, it has additional capabilities in HP Piping, Boiler âTurbine Auxiliaries, Balance of Plant, Axial fans, Electrical control panels, Valves , Control & Automation solutions and Heat Recovery Steam Generators.

Construction L&T Power offers the benefit of five decades of experience in construction. The construction record spans over 50 power plants, totaling approximately 35,000 MW. Customers stand to gain from L&T’s proven ability to mobilize large workforces, advanced construction techniques and a thorough understanding of requirements at project sites.

Construction & erection capabilities include: •

Survey and soil investigation

•

Site development works - Levelling and grading, compound wall and fencing,

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•

River/seawater intake works, CW system, plant reservoirs and pump-houses

•

Erection of SG, TG, GTG, HRSG and all other main equipment and Balance of Plant (BOP) equipment

• Piping and ducting - fabrication and erection, including all protective coating and refractory insulation •

Electrical & instrumentation works

•

EHV switchyard & transmission lines

•

Port clearances, inland transportation, store management and other related works

L&T Power also offers turnkey services for various packages of power plant viz. natural and induced draft cooling towers, single/ multi-flue brick or steel lined chimneys. In association with other business units, it offers coal handling systems, water and effluent treatment plants, compressed air / fire protection system, HVAC systems, complete power plant electrical & instrumentation works, EHV switchyards and transmission lines.

continuous operation since last 3 years.

It set a trend for efficient Advanced Class Gas Turbine installations across India.

Taking a cue from the quality and performance of the first phase, GMR, under its subsidiary GMR Rajahmundry Energy Limited repeated the order on L&T for two such blocks with an installed capacity of 2 x 384 MW at the same location. The project is envisaged in fast-track execution and is poised to be commissioned in early 2012 before the 11th Five Year Plan ends.

•

445 MW Combined Cycle Power Plants of Konaseema Gas Power Limited situated at Konaseema Village in Andhra Pradesh is another landmark project. L&T was the consortium lead and was responsible for overall project performance. Equipped with two Siemens V94.2 gas turbines and Power Machines (erstwhile LMZ) steam turbines with L&T HRSG built on CMI, Belgium technology, this was yet another large scale combined cycle project in the country.

• Besides these gas-based projects executed by L&T, the coal-based projects under execution for IPPs in India at the moment , include: • Two 700 MW BTG islands for JP Group for their Nigrie project • Three 700 MW BTG islands for JP Group for their Karchana project • Three 700 MW units for Nabha Power Limited ,Rajpura , on EPC basis

Project Management L&T Power draws on the proven strengths in project management of L&T, including its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and many other software platforms and packages. These advanced systems integrate all execution processes, providing customers with unique access to information at all stages from proposal to handover. Its task force approach, efficient supply chain management, planning and integrated management systems, combined with over 5 decades of Larsen & Toubro’s project management expertise makes it a formidable player for project management.

Recent Projects executed by L&T Power for IPPs in India

•

L&T has built state-of-the-art 388.5 MW CCPP for Vemagiri Power Generation Limited (A subsidiary of GMR) with the then largest Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) of Asia. The project is located in gas rich state of Andhra Pradesh. The plant is the first CCPP in India to be commissioned with an Advance Class Gas Turbine and is in

• 2x600 MW BOP order for Visa Power for their Chattisgarh project • 2x600 MW BOP order for DB Power for their Chattisgarh project

EPC Solutions

The integrated strengths of L&T Power enable it to offer total EPC solutions for the power sector. The Company’s expertise and experience encompass every phase of a project - from frontend design through engineering, fabrication, project management, construction and installation, right up to commissioning. It offers single-point responsibility for execution of projects.

Strategic alliances with world leaders enable access to advanced know-how and deliver projects that meet stringent quality requirements and time schedules. Health and safety are integral to manufacturing and engineering procedures at L&T Power.

In addition to L&T Power’s EPC capabilities, it also executes BTG and STGI packages through its JV Companies or Strategic Business Units.

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CO N V EN T I O N A L ENERGY

Total Water Management Solutions For The Power Sector C K Sandeep, Vice President – Corporate Marketing, Ion Exchange (India) Ltd.

Power stations require large volumes of water particularly for condenser cooling and for this reason are usually located close to surface water sources such as lakes, rivers or the sea. The quality of boiler feed is critical so boiler feed water, although required in relatively smaller quantity, demands elaborate treatment for removal of both ionized and non-ionised impurities for use in modern high pressure boilers.

W

ith increasing water scarcity, the

also provide for comprehensive services such

power sector too is faced with

as operation & maintenance, upgrading/

dwindling supplies of fresh water

retrofitting of plants including on BOO/T

and spiraling costs of water on the one hand,

basis and turnkey projects for balance of

and, increasing pollution of water sources and

plant (BOP).

increased pressure from pollution control boards on the other.

Such a total water management solution would ensure optimum quality and quantity

All this compels power stations to

of water throughout the usage cycle in power

look for cost effective, integrated solutions

plants, while minimising environmental

that provide continuous supply of water

impact by conserving water and reducing

of required quality while also conserving,

pollution through recycle and zero discharge.

recovering and re-using water.

Benefits include uninterrupted uptime, lower

A total

water management solution for a power

(ultra filtration/demineralization/reverse

Ultra High Rate Clarifier • Combines technology of solid contact clarifier and plate type clarifier.

• Reaction, flocculation, separation, sludge removal and clarification occur in a single treatment basin.

operating costs and enhanced efficiencies.

• Effective solid handling and sludge removal.

Pretreatment

• Minimum amount of water lost through sludge blow down.

plant would thus encompass raw water treatment, boiler make up water treatment

reducing high turbidity and suspended solids in the water source. These space saving, efficient systems reduce the high suspended solids load to acceptable levels as feed to make-up water treatment systems.

osmosis), condensate treatment, cooling

At the pretreatment stage, Lamella

water treatment and waste water treatment

clarifiers, ultra high rate clarifiers and auto

and recycle. An integrated solution should

valveless gravity filters are the choice for

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• Smallest footprint among comparable clarifiers.

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Among the advanced technologies in

Auto Valveless Gravity Filter • Automatic backwash, hence reliable as the filter operates automatically.

• No moving par ts, hence less maintenance.

with layers of two resins, (Weak and Strong

• Uniform high quality treated water.

bed system provides the high chemical

up and as a result full load conditions are

• Low operating cost; no supervision required.

efficiency of a two-bed weak base anion

reached early giving economic benefits.

• Compact and modular design, hence low expansion and installation cost.

vessel, saving considerable initial as well as

Anion Unit. This is a single vessel system Base) with downflow service. The layered

and strong base anion system in a single

• Excellent treated water quality with respect to silica

• Removal of colloidal material (nonreactive silica, iron, aluminum etc.)

• Lowest cost of production of

• Removal of high molecular weight organics

Similarly, the Layered Bed Cation Unit is offered depending on inlet load conditions

Reverse Osmosis

98% depending upon feed water

composition.

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• Improvement in quality of steam which results in enhanced turbine life

demineralised water

The company also offers treatment units for stator water polishing

Ion Exchange Resins A complete range for power plant applications would include ion exchange resins for softening, demineralization, and

• Product recovery ranges from 50 to 80% based on feed water composition.

• Improvement in boiler water quality for

condenser tube leak conditions

• Easy to retrofit in existing systems

Boiler Feed Water Treatment There are a number of processes using ion exchange columns & membrane processes.

Benefits

• Orderly shutdown possible in case of

• Salt rejection ranges from 90 to

Demineralization

drum type boilers

• Highest chemical efficiency

of condensate polishing is quicker start-

requirements

• Removal of virtually all particulate matter, suspended solids, colloids and organics

• Pretreatment for reverse osmosis plant for reduction in Silt Density Index (SDI)

condensate return for boiler feed. The benefit

• Reduced blow down and make-up

• Single vessel

Effectively employed for removal of non-reactive silica

used in fossil power plants to improve

and “cycle” clean-up

Advantages

Ultra Filtration for Silica Removal

Condensate polishing units are typically

• Improvement in the quality of condensate

recurring cost.

• Space saving.

Condensate Polishing

demineralization plants is the Layered Bed

dealkalisation; nuclear grade resins as well as special grade resins for condensate polishing.

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service support system which helps maximize overall production and performance levels, by ensuring continuous, optimum performance of their water and waste water treatment plants.

Boiler Water Treatment There are boiler water treatment chemicals specially developed for power plant boilers, with multipurpose formulations containing hardness treatment chemicals, instant oxygen scavenger, corrosion control agents, polymeric sludge conditioners and sequestrants, to provide trouble-free operation and clean boilers.

Benefits • Economical and easy to handle.

• Prevention and removal of deposits.

• Protection of system from corrosion.

Cooling Water Treatment The cooling tower, an integral part of the power plant, requires to be run at maximum efficiency with low operating cost. The benefits of advanced cooling water treatment chemicals include: • Prevention of cooling water related problems such as corrosion, scale fouling and microbial growth in cooling water systems.

• Cooling water programmes ensure consistency in heat transfer at the

metal surface. To enhance efficiency, chlorine dioxide generators are also recommended in the cooling water treatment programme.

Outsourcing O&M relieves the customer of the responsibility of operation and m a i n t e n a n c e, a n d supply of required water quality and quantity on a continuous basis.

O&M services provided by water management specialists can add tremendous value through savings in chemical and energy consumption, higher plant output and enhanced life of equipment through efficient operation, thus saving significant capital and operating costs.

Other value adding services are retrofitting of plants, such as: •

Modifying the ion exchange scheme to improve efficiency of the DM plant or adding an RO unit before DM to reduce operating costs.

•

Incorporating Ultra filtration for SiO2 removal to enhance efficiency of the steam cycle by eliminating turbine scaling.

Waste Water Treatment & Water Recycle Systems Solutions need to incorporate newer, cost-effective waste water treatment & recycle technologies which enable power plants to reduce their raw water requirements and to obtain the advantages of lower water costs, better process efficiencies and energy savings. The recycle systems integrate physico-chemical, biological and membrane separation processes for optimum water recovery. A significant quantity of waste generated in a power plant is from the utilities and these can be effectively reused by a combination of ultra filtration and reverse osmosis systems. Waste water generated from domestic operations like colony / canteen etc can be similarly treated and recovered with membrane bio-reactors and other advanced biological processes.

Services Increasingly customers look for solutions which are backed by a complete

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• Speciality boiler water treatment programmes to improve efficiency of boilers and save water.

• Speciality cooling water treatment programmes to increase cycles of concentration and reduce water consumption.

Rehabilitation and modification can also be undertaken on with no capital outlay/ investment by the customer Build-OwnOperate/ Transfer (BOO/T) basis. A total water management solution could also include technical audits and studies of plant operations & design parameters for improving operational aspects, optimizing and reducing operating costs and improving treated water quality.

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CO N V EN T I O N A L ENERGY

On Line Condenser Tube Cleaning System V. R. Mahadevan, Director, GEA-BGR Energy System India Limited

Condensers play a key role in the process of power generation. A lower back pressure of the turbine results in a higher generation of power and this largely depends on the performance of the condensers.

It is essential to maintain the heat transfer rate and heat transfer co-efficient close to the designed parameters for an improved steam condensation. Hence, the cleanliness of the condenser tubes should be kept as high as possible to the designed values in order to increase the condenser efficiency which will result in an optimum power generation.

DEBRIS FILTER â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SHORT LENGTH (DN 2700)

Corrosion & Fouling Corrosion and fouling are the main factors affecting the efficiency of the condensers. Corrosion will lead to puncture of tubes and subsequent shutdown of the Unit.

Fouling on the water side accounts for over 70% of the heat resistance and may result in a poor heat transfer. So tackling the problem of fouling will lead to an improvement in the heat transfer rate and efficiency of the Plant.

TYPES OF FOULING Suspended Solids fouling o

Due to mud, silt, sand, etc.

o

Leads to poor heat transfer,erosion of tubes and damages the protective oxide film.

Bio-Fouling

o Due to deposit and growth of algae, bacteria, mussels, barnacles and other bio-species and shells. o

Macro fouling may lead to corrosion / erosion as water velocity increases due to narrowing of the tube diameter.

80Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

o Micro fouling enhances the trapping of mud, silt, etc., and reduces the heat transfer rate. This problem is more predominant in Titanium tubes.

o

Scaling Due to deposits of carbonate and sulphate salts of Calcium, Magnesium and Silica, etc..

o

Offers more resistance to heat transfer but protects the underlying layer to some extent.

o Common in open ev aporative Recirculating Water Systems like Cooling Towers, Cooling Ponds and Once Through Cooling Systems. o Amorphous layers especially with moisture content offer more resistance than crystalline layers.

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o

Manganese rich deposits Due to oxidation of manganese ions to Manganese dioxide particles.

o Often occurs due to chlorination of water.

Corrosion Fouling

Corrosion leads to the breakdown of tube / plant shutdown. o A thick protective oxide film inhibits corrosion but offers more resistance to heat transfer. o

Any damage to the protective oxide film results in deposit attack and thus causes pitting of tubes.

Counter Measures Against Foulding And Corrosion

Chemical Cleaning Acid cleaning requires shut-downs

generally not satisfying and the surface of the tubes might be damaged

On-line Brush Type (MAN) Tube Cleaning System

This system is extremely susceptible to macrofouling which gets trapped in the slots of baskets; in worst cases knitting them together like a carpet. Furthermore, a backwash system is required which is not only high capital investment but also of high energy losses.

On-Line Ball type Tube Cleaning System (Sponge Ball Cleaning System)

The on-line condenser tube cleaning system facilitates a continuous cleaning of the tubes and thus maintains the condenser efficiency.

Cleaning balls which are slightly oversized than the internal diameter of the

MUTIPLE SCREEN BALL SEPARATORSEPARATOR-DN3500

cooling water. From the ball separator, the balls are extracted by a ball recirculating pump together with a small quantity of water and are injected back into the condenser through a ball vessel and injection pipes, thus making it a closed cycle. A constant measure of the differential pressure across the ball separator screens helps in maintaining the cleanliness of the screen.

The ball vessel serves for changing and storing the balls during the back flushing of the ball separator screens and for manual checking of the size and number of balls. The balls are injected into the circulating water inlet pipe counter flow to the main cooling water flow to achieve an even distribution.

Optionally, an on-line ball monitoring unit is also used to detect the number as well as size of balls in circulation.

Salient Features Of The System

Cleaning Balls

Different types of cleaning balls are available i.e Standard Balls - Sponge Rubber Balls Abrasive Balls - Coated with Carborundum The type of ball, size, quantity and frequency of cleaning largely depend on the nature of fouling, water analysis and tube material.

•

Specially developed elastic balls with sizes from 15 mm to 45 mm.

•

Available in varying degrees of hardness to suit individual applications.

•

Selection is made on the basis of plant condition, type of fouling, tube material and tube dimensions.

•

Ball Seperator Basic function is to recover the balls form cooling water and guide them back into the ball extraction pipes.

• Special design with one or two screens.

of the plant. Between such cleanings the performance of the condenser will deteriorate, besides of its hazardous effect on materials and on ecology.

Manual Mechanical Cleaning during outages of the Unit It can be said that cleaning effect is

tubes are injected into the circulating water system just before the condenser inlet and are forced through the tubes by the available pressure drop across the inlet and outlet of the condenser.

A special screening device, the ball separator installed in the cooling water outlet line separates the cleaning balls from the

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•

Low pressure drop across the screens (Max. 12 mbar at 3 m/sec.)

•

Backwashing of screens with Delta-P interlocking / preset timer or push buttons.

•

The lower part, of the screens, is specially designed to guide the balls freely to extraction funnel and to avoid debris accumulation.

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a range of debris filters which fulfill these requirements.

Cause

When water flows through a condenser tube, a shear stress is produced in the tube surface which is dependent on the cooling water velocity. For each alloy there is a critical shear stress (corresponding to a critical cooling water velocity) above which erosion-corrosion will occur.

•

Each section is built with an individual

•

Energy and fuel savings

actuator.

•

Savings in chemical costs

•

Enhanced life of condenser tubes

• No turbulence next to delta-P measurement area due to smooth side walls.

Differential Pressure (DP) Measuring System

•

Automatically controls the D.P. across

• Avoidance of corrosion / erosion of tubes • Reduction of downtime due to tube failure •

Improvement in the power generation efficiency

•

Typical payback period on investment 12-18 months

the screens of the ball Separator.

•

Accurate, as smooth flow prevails in the measuring points.

• Houses a transmitter and limit value indicator.

• Option : Automatic operation from startup to shutdown.

Ball Recirculating Unit

• Consists of ball transfer piping, ball vessel and recirculating pumpset.

•

Easy installation at site as ball vessel, ball recirculating pump and motor are mounted on a common base frame.

•

The number and diameter of the cleaning ball determines the size of the ball vessel.

•

The pump is sized considering the total pressure drop across the condenser and the ball transport piping.

Benefits Of GEA BGR Tube Cleaning System

•

Optimum heat transfer rate in condenser / heat exchanger •

Optimum turbine back pressure

•

Optimum power generation

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Debris Filters Debris such as shells, sticks, stones, and plastic are a common cause of failure in condensers and heat exchangers. Localized attack (erosion-corrosion) leading to rapid failure is the consequence. For example, in the UK the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) has reported that this is the major cause of tube failure at coastal locations.

The Solution

Improvements in the primary screening would only lead to a partial solution. It would not solve the problem from within the C.W. System itself. Similarly, Chlorination can be used to kill mussels, etc, but will not prevent the shells then entering the condenser.

Recognition of these problems and the severe consequences, of debris trapped in the condenser tubes, have meant that some form of secondary screening, located as close as possible to the inlet water box, is now regarded as essential. GEA BGR offers

The free cross section area at a lodged obstruction is reduced and this leads to a corresponding increase in the C.W. velocity locally (to maintain volume flow). This increase may then be sufficient for the critical shear stress to be exceeded and for erosioncorrosion to take place. Erosion-corrosion particularly, is a rapid form of attack. The usual protective oxide film when lacking, attack of the tube material, will proceed virtually unimpeded and tube penetration in a few thousand hours is common. Where an extremely large number of tubes are blocked by debris, it is possible that the cooling water velocity in the remaining tubes will be sufficiently high to cause film breakdown and subsequent erosion-corrosion.

Source of Lodged Obstruction

The troublesome debris can come from one of the following two possible sources: • Penetration of the Primary Screening System Either there are gaps in the primary screening allowing debris to get through or there is carry-over on the travelling band screens, or the debris is fibrous and simply penetrates the screens or the prescribing system is overloaded and the pressure release flap is opened.

• Originates from within the C.W. System This could typically be pieces of concrete or stones from the cooling water culverts, packing material from within the cooling water or bio-species which have grown to maturity in the cooling water system.

Mussels, barnacles and other bio-organisms can easily penetrate the primary screening in the larval state and grow rapidly under the favourable conditions (warmth, ready supply of nutrients and oxygen) prevailing in the cooling water intake system. Sooner or later, the bio-organisms get detached from

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the pipe surface and enter the tubes causing blockages.

GEA BGR Debris Filter The GEA BGR Debris Filter is equipment for continuously removing debris such as mussels, fish, grass, leaves, wood, plastic from circulating water (C.W) systems.

The standard filter perforation ranges from 1 mm – 10 mm, chosen to meet actual site conditions. Pressure loss across filter in cleaned condition is 50 mbar (max.) at 2m/s Cooling Water velocity. Flushing cycle is activated by differential pressure and time relay modes. The normal flushing cycle is 3 minutes. Flushing water quantity requirement is 5% (max.) of total C.W. flow. Effective flushing of filter basket is guaranteed even C.W. Rates of 1m/sec. The operation is fully automatic with option of manual operation, if desired.

For the range DN 800 – DN 2800, the filter basket is fixed and the debris extractor and water injector are rotated around it during flushing. Screen perforation size is limited to a minimum of 3 mm.

The compact design of the ‘V’ type Debris Filter means that the ratio of the free cross section of the strainer to the C.W. inlet cross section is normally limited to a maximum of 2:1 and in extreme cases can be 1:1. However, this limitation is countered by the extremely good flushing capability of this type of filter. It only leads to more frequent flushing being necessary which is perfectly

acceptable in view of the very low cooling water loss during flushing.

Advantages Of GEA BGR Debris Filter •

Ensures debris free water availability.

•

Enhances life of the system by preventing erosion / corrosion caused by lodgement of debris.

•

Resistance in the cooling water system is minimum.

• On-line installation requires no modification of existing pipe lines.

‘V’ TYPE DEBRIS FILTER The Filter is charecterised by its compactness, the housing diameter being equal to the diameter of the C.W. Inlet it can be supplied in elbow design or as short straight length or to suit site conditions.

With this design of filter, the cooling water enters the housing and cone shaped (V) filter strainer basket axially. The debris extractor is box shaped and is located on the inside of the strainer basket, extending along the whole length of the basket wall.

The separation between the extractor and the basket wall is 30-60 mm.

The water injector is located on the outside of the basket directly opposite the extractor and enables the strainer basket to be backwashed free from debris. During intermittent flushing the quantities of water extracted from and injected into the GEA BGR Debris Filter are practically the same and thus balance each other out.

Depending on the size there are two designs of the ‘V’ type Debris Filters: For size range DN 200 – DN 700, the debris extraction and the screen are both fixed and the water injector alone is rotated around it during flushing by means of geared motor drive unit. For ensuring fine filtration, perforation size upto 0.5 mm can be provided.

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REN T A L P O WER

Derisking Your Power Decisions Benefits Of Rental Power Aggreko, India

E

nergy deficit in India and Asia is posing challenge to the utilities, industries and large building projects. Inadequate supply of power is forcing the power producers to opt for the suitable power generation solutions to satisfy energy demands.

While developing a project, utilities and companies should first identify the system for power generation that best meets the required power capacity. A number of key factors are there that play a role when closing in on the optimal solution to the type of power generation. These key factors are - the amount of power required, the duration, timing and the operating and financial aspects of the process. Recently, another option has become available to power users in India; the option of renting a power package for the short or medium term from Aggreko, the global leader in power rental services.

Why rental power is a better option?

The critical decision between renting or buying a power system will depend largely upon the urgency of the problem being faced and the length of time that the power solution will be needed. Purchasing power generating equipment may at first seem to be the preferred option, however, consideration should be given to power rentals, as they 84 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

Aggreko Depot in Manesar / Delhi-NCR region

can often provide the most effective use of working capital, especially when ‘fast-track’ power supply solutions are included in the equation.

There is no simple answer to the rentals versus purchase debate, as each situation requires its own tailor-made solution. In some cases, the right power supply system is immediately obvious, for instance if the need for power is clearly temporary, as in an emergency. In such a situation, rental is the obvious choice, as the power can be supplied rapidly, often within a matter of days.

However, renting power equipment for large and small projects is becoming popular in various industries, as it represents quick

delivery and avoids the need for large capital expenditure. When the project is completed, there is no need for the user to arrange for the removal and storage of the power equipment, as this is carried out by the rental company.

Power plant ownership brings with it many responsibilities and hidden costs.

Firstly, there are all of the factors involved in the capital purchase such as up-front costs, loan repayments, interest charges, taxes and other hidden fees. The power plant operator will then need a team of skilled engineering personnel to operate and maintain the power generating system and all the plant’s auxiliary equipment involved, such as controls and fuel handling. Plus, there are the essential

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items such as transmission and distribution equipment and the constant need for fuel supplies to be taken into consideration.

Additionally, the owner takes all the risk if the equipment breaks down. Over time, the power asset will also depreciate in value and will therefore be worth less than the original purchase price. All of these hidden costs and responsibilities are avoided when utilizing a full-service power rental company.

Fast and flexible One of the most frequent reasons for choosing a rental solution is timing. As power rental can be a fast-track supply, it provides the end user with the vital power supplies needed within a short time. This fast delivery is critical to many users, especially if there has been an unplanned power outage and reliable power is of paramount importance.

Long lead times can be a serious problem for companies purchasing permanent equipment; a 20 MW power plant can take 18 months or

Tanesco, Tanzania – 40MW for Grid Support

even two years before it can generate power.

It is at times like these when power rentals are the more practical answer.

When TATA Chemicals, a division of the giant TATA Group and India’s leading producer of inorganic fertilizer and soda ash, faced disruption to production at its facility in Gujarat, India, due to a fire that damaged the company’s power generation facility, they required a reliable 5 MW power package at short notice.

Aggreko quickly mobilized a complete power package comprising of 5 1250 kVA generators plus a transformer, fuel tanks and ancillary equipment. In addition, Aggreko provided engineers on site for the duration

of the contract to operate and maintain the equipment and ensure 24-hour availability of power. The additional power allowed the customer to maintain production during the emergency period and minimized any financial losses.

Another benefit of renting power equipment is the flexibility it offers, as rentals allow the customer the freedom to increase or decrease the amount of power generating capacity according to need. In addition, there is the extensive range of technical support services provided by the rental company which ranges from advice and design through to replacing faulty equipment and even operating and maintaining the equipment. Increased industrial development in Bangladesh, along with delays in implementation of long-term power projects had resulted in a countrywide power shortage that was presenting a major constraint to Bangladesh’s economic growth. The problem was compounded by a natural gas shortage in the country, which meant that the utility grid was not able to cope with the peak summer demand for power. In order to bridge the gap, the Bangladesh government tendered contracts intended to reduce the impact of load shedding on the country. Aggreko provided a 40 MW / 132 kV power package which seamlessly supplemented the national grid, with power being produced at the Goalpara substation in Khulna.

Aggreko at a glance In recent years, the specialist power rental company, Aggreko has seen their rentals business increase significantly in Asia. Headquartered in Scotland, Aggreko is the global leader in the rental of power and temperature control, and provides 24 by 7 availability and service support across the world. Aggreko’s regional operations provide local support for projects, backed

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by the service and response of a truly global operation.

Ever since Aggreko entered the Indian market in 2009 with the purchase of the Cummins India power rental business, Aggreko has been building a strong foothold in the country. Aggreko currently has two operational service centers in Delhi and Pune, serving north and west India respectively.

Chennai will be operational by the end of 2011 and Aggreko has plans to open more service operations in other regions in India to become closer to its customers and cater them more efficiently.

Although Aggreko has traditionally offered diesel-powered generators, the company has expanded its offering in recent years to offer its customers the option of using natural gas generators. One of the company’s first gas projects came about in Tanzania, where two-thirds of generating capacity is hydro based. With a draught being faced in East Africa, Tanzania experienced a significant drop of water inflows to its hydro power dams, thereby severely limiting its electricity production capacity. The situation forced Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), the public utility company to introduce heavy power rationing to conserve reservoir waters. TANESCO awarded a contract to Aggreko for the supply of 40 MW natural gas-fired temporary power plant to support the national grid.

Aggreko designed and supplied a full turn-key gas power solution including equipment, mobilization, installation, operation, servicing and maintenance of the plant. Aggreko supplied the plant in two phases of 20 MW each, with the full 40 MW power plant operating 10 days earlier than stated in the agreement.

With a greater emphasis on keeping capital available and with rental providing benefits such as lowered capital expenditure, flexibility and risk management, the option of renting as opposed to purchasing equipment will likely remain an attractive one even as the world economy eventually strengthens and the world enters another positive growth period. Although the question, ‘Is it better to buy or to rent?’, will continue to be asked by companies and utilities contemplating large equipment purchases, many will likely find themselves deciding that the benefits of rental power make it the most attractive option.

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CEN T EN A RY CEL EBRA T I O N

100 Not-Out !

Alstom

T

his year has not been just a memorable year for India’s cricket lovers. It also marks the 100th year in which international engineering company, Alstom Power, has been operating in the country.

Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar may have failed to hit that elusive 100th Century as India became cricket’s World Champions. But there were celebrations of another century elsewhere in the country – international engineering company Alstom Power recently marked its 100th year of operations in the country.

Alstom first began operating in India in a momentous year – 1911 saw New Delhi named as the nation’s capital; it was also the year in which the first flight in the country took off.

Since this first momentous flight, however, India’s journey towards economic prosperity has arguably progressed more at the pace of a laden heavy goods vehicle rather than that of a jumbo jet. Yet there has been progress nevertheless.

Alstom’s story in India is a narrative of a country coming into its own – transforming from a nation struggling with development issues to one that is today associated with the most innovative technologies.

Alstom has been an integral part of the resurgent India story, building and strengthening the country from within with its expertise and pioneering technology.

Creating the energy The development of a country’s energy and power sector is critical to building a 86 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

strong economy. The Indian economy grew by 9.4% last year and is expected to grow by more than 8% this year. To keep the economy growing at around 9.5%, the country’s power generation capacity will have to grow at a similar pace.

India has a power generation capacity of 135 006 MW today – insufficient for what is the world’s second fastest growing major economy. Power shortages have been identified as a key infrastructure bottleneck in its ambitious plan to provide ‘Power to All’ by 2012.

Alstom has been a powerful ally of the Indian government in its march towards fulfilling its this ambition, and will continue to be so going forward.

Looking further into the future, India envisages sustaining an economic growth of 8-10 per cent over the next 25 years, requiring an installed base of 800 GW by 2031. At the same time, it is taking its commitments to combating climate change seriously.

The Central Electricity Authority & Planning Commission has proposed the adoption of a low carbon growth strategy as part of the development of the power sector during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017).

This will see a concerted effort to increase the amount of renewables such as hydro, wind and solar in the mix.

Alstom has one of the largest and most advanced hydro manufacturing units in Vadodara, where it manufactured the first Francis turbine runner for the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri hydroelectric power project in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh – the single

largest hydropower project in the country.

With a 6100 mm diameter, 3600 mm height and weighing 105 tons, this is the largest to be manufactured in India.

Although the renewables footprint is increasing rapidly, efficient supercritical coal fired power plants will provide the bulk of baseload capacity in the coming years.

In India, fossil fuels are the most abundantly available local resource, with reserves forecast to be sufficient for more than two centuries. Coal generates more than half the electricity in the country today.

Under the 12th Five Year Plan it is expected that supercritical technologies will supply almost 60 per cent of the proposed thermal capacity addition.

Additional capacity of around 102 000 MW has been preliminarily assessed as being necessary for the 13th Plan (2017-2022), with a similar mix of generation as the 12th Plan period. In the 13th Plan, supercritical technology is expected to make-up 90 per cent of the proposed additional thermal capacity.

To transfer the necessary advanced steam turbine technology and capabilities to India, Alstom has already established a strong engineering, project management and tender capture base near Delhi. Furthermore, construction of the largest integrated facility for manufacturing turbine, generators and auxiliaries began in December 2009. This state-of-the-art facility will be operated by a joint venture between Alstom and Bharat Forge Ltd. Initially, the plant will manufacture equipment for 300-800 MW sub-critical

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and supercritical units and will have an annual capacity of 5000 MW. In the future, the JV will also explore the possibility of manufacturing turbines and generators for both gas fired and nuclear plants.

Exploring possibilities for gas fired and nuclear plants will be significant as the country increases generating capacity from both these energy sources.

While gas is currently not a big player in the power generation mix, the recent tieup between UK oil giant BP and Reliance Industries could see the situation change.

With its experience in combined cycle power plants and innovative gas turbine technology, Alstom is already well positioned to build on its success in the country.

It constructed India’s first independent power plant in the mid 1990s – the Jegurupadu I gas fired power plant for GVK in Andhra Pradesh.

More recently, Alstom was also involved in another notable first in the gas fired power generation arena.

In 2007, GSECL awarded Alstom a contract for the construction of a 370 MW combined cycle power plant at Utran, in the Surat District of Gujarat. The plant, which began commercial operation in November 2009, is the first KA26 combined cycle plant in India to be based on Alstom’s advancedclass GT26 gas turbine technology.

Utran is the fourth combined cycle power plant built by Alstom in the state of Gujarat and is an extension of an existing 135 MW combined cycle power plant. With an electrical efficiency of nearly 60 per cent, it is not only the most efficient of Alstom’s gas fired projects built in the country to-date but is one of the most efficient gas fired plants operating anywhere in India.

The combined cycle plant uses Alstom’s GT26 gas turbine, an innovative gas turbine that uses technology that is unique to Alstom.

The GT26 combustion system consists of two combustors, the 1st-stage Environmental Combustor (EV) and the 2nd-stage Sequential Environmental Combustor (SEV). The unique sequential combustion design applies the thermodynamic reheat principle instead of the conventional approach of improving performance by increasing turbine firing temperature.

The result is a highly fuel efficient gas turbine that offers high operational flexibility with low emissions even at very low loads.

To help satisfy baseload demand while meeting CO2 reduction goals, the government also plans to accelerate the country’s nuclear installed base.

The Atomic Energy Commission envisages some 500 GWe nuclear on line by 2060, and has speculated that the amount might be even higher: 600-700 GWe by 2050, providing half of all electricity.

As the country embarks on its nuclear expansion, Alstom is looking to play an important role in supplying the conventional turbine power islands for its nuclear programme.

Alstom has been a major player in the Indian market for several decades. Its first nuclear turbine- generator package in India was supplied to Rajasthan around 40 years ago and today more than 2 GW of India’s installed nuclear capacity uses Alstom technology.

The arrangement between Alstom and Bharat Forge involves the formation of two joint venture companies – one for manufacturing steam turbines and generators and the other for manufacturing auxiliaries.

As India continues to grow its nuclear power industry, the turbine and generator manufacturing JV will be ramping up to handle the load.

Deep roots Over the years, Alstom has witnessed many changes while expanding its business in India, of which the JV with Bharat Forge is one of the most recent.

Today in India, Alstom is a more than 4000-people strong company with its roots deeply entrenched in the country. Known as Alstom Projects India Limited, it is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

As a long-term player in energy business in India, Alstom has full capabilities in engineering, manufacturing, project management and supply of power generation equipment and solutions. With more than 1000 people, the engineering centres in India also support the company’s activities worldwide.

Alstom’s robust local set-up is a key element in driving its business. Local

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manufacturing units in the country include a fully capable boiler manufacturing units in Durgapur and Shahabad, and one of the largest and advanced hydro equipment manufacturing units in Vadodara. One of the largest integrated facilities for turbine, generators and auxiliaries manufacturing is also currently under way in Mundra.

Strong local partnerships with leaders like BHEL, Infosys, BFL and NTPC has multiplied Alstom’s technical competency, and increased our offerings to customers in India.

Marking the occasion Although perhaps overshadowed by the World Cup victory celebrations, Alstom marked its ‘100 not-out’ in its own way.

Following the company’s founding philosophy of serving the community that it operates in, Alstom instituted an Alstom Centennial Award for Technological Excellence in India. The Honourable Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO, Alstom, announced the Award on 11th April 2011.

Alstom announced this unique initiative to encourage breakthroughs, innovations and best practices in the Indian technology community. The theme of the Award and the scope of innovations covered are related to the businesses that Alstom is engaged in.

A “blue ribbon” group of luminary scientists and engineers, Indian and European, would be identified and invited to be the selectors and they would outline the process and the methodology of selection of the awardees. The Award would be conferred either annually or biennially and carry with it a citation and a monetary value. The innovations and inventions would be the joint property of the inventor/ innovator awardee(s).

To the awardee(s), an association with Alstom would allow visibility not just in India, but also around the world. The award is an effort to strongly recognise technological excellence of an individual, company or community in a wider sense. It is in fact a showcase platform of excellence, advancements, sustainability and trailblazing leadership initiatives.

For Alstom, India is right at the forefront of these initiatives, demonstrating excellence in the field of engineering – as well as on cricket field.

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EV EN T S

“Cutting Edge Technology for development of Renewable Energies in India” Renewtech India 2011, organized by MCOWinmark Exhibitions Pvt Ltd, was held from 17-19 February 2011, at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon (E), Mumbai evoked encouraging response. Renewtech India 2011 brought together the wind, solar, biomass power, bio-fuels & co-generation, wind & tidal energy sectors in a high powered business forum. Various technical and business presentations were made by experts in the perspective on the industry trends, encouraging discussion and debate on the challenges faced and immense opportunities available in renewable energy sector.

Renewtech 2011, the third international conference on renewable energy, was inaugurated by Mr. Benno Graw, Counsellor Financial Sector, German Consulate & Dr. N.P. Singh, Advisor, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Mr. Achim Rodewald, Chief Editor and Mr. Torsten Fuhrberg, Managing Director, MCO Gmbh, Germany.

Irrigation, Geissel India Pvt Ltd, Avni Energy, Belectric Solar India Pvt. Ltd, Clarke Energy, Maxwatt Energy Systems, Microtex Energy, CNBM, Yingli Green Energy, Enfinity Solar, Soltigua, Ensto Finland Oy, Regen Power, etc.

The conference covered several technical sessions and panel discussions on policy & regulatory aspects, financing, investment & technology transfer, national solar mission – solar grid connected and Off grid power projects, biomass, bio-fuels & co-generation.

Renewtech India 2011 also saw various high profile companies from India and Germany, Finland, Italy & China exhibiting their latest products & technologies in the renewable sector. Some of the prominent exhibitors include Webel Solar, MEDA, Jain

The exhibition attracted around 4559 visitors from across the world. Visitors from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Malaysia and UAE, UK, Nepal, Slovenia, China, Switzerland, USA, Hong Kong and Singapore marked presence in the event.

The feedback provided by most of the exhibitors was very enriching. Such was the event, that majority of the exhibitors reached the targets, which they had set during the course of this exhibition. And some also exceeded their targets. It was indeed an ideal platform to meet the prospective clients, to initiate the business deals, by means of interaction with the quality visitors during the exhibition.

Coaltrans India Digs Deep Into Roadblocks And Opportunities Tenth Anniversary edition of Coaltrans India conference and exhibition concluded delivering its commitment to ensure sustainable growth of the coal sector in India. While the conference gave insightful deliberations about the coal business scenario of India, challenges faced by the industry, opportunities and way forward, the exhibition opened up new avenues for the companies participating therein.

Deliberating on the coal scenario in India, in one of the sessions in the conference, D K Ojha, CMD Global Coke Limited said that in India 56% of the growth in coal consumption would be from power sector, in consideration to the capacity addition plans of the government. Coal use for power generation in India grows by 1.3 per cent per year on average. If the figure is to be taken into account then by 2035, demand for coal particularly for power generation

88 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

in India would grow by 9.5 quadrillion Btu. Taking into account the growth in demand, Ojha suggested that acquisition of the coal reserves abroad particularly in Australia can provide solace.

Kahalgaon & Farakka are running at 65% to 75% PLF against targeted 85%. For that matter, rail availability to coal India in 20092010 remained at 157 rakes per day against its minimum requirement of 182.5.

Issue of availability of copious coal reserve was also raised during the conference.

India has abundant proven coal reserves, which can cater to demand till 80 to 100 years but the biggest challenge is environment & forest clearance. Jharkhand alone has around 40% of proven coal reserves but since 30% of the state falls under forest range nothing could be done until the clearance is given, maintained one of the delegates.

Apart from the above mentioned issues, top guns of the industry gathered in the conference delved on many roadblocks.

While conference has broadened the horizon of the delegates, the exhibition offered substantial business opportunity to the exhibitors. Global Coke Ltd, Coal & Oil Company, Knowledge Infrastructure Systems Pvt. Ltd, MEC Coal, Inspectorate, Karaikal Port, Tanitocoal, ANZ India and many other companies had supported the event. Around 27 companies had displayed their expertise in the exhibition. With turning up of quality visitors, the exhibitors drew considerable response.

Discussing about the challenges faced by the sector in transportation, Sridhar Chandrashekhar said that rail infrastructure is inadequate. Owing to the poor transportation, NTPC’s two plants at

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PRODUCTS Multisentry UPS To Support Industry Riello PCI India Pvt. Ltd., leaders

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Proper battery care is critical for ensuring the correct operation of UPS in emergency conditions. Multisentry allows for battery management in order to obtain the best performance possible and extend their operating life. Ripple current is one of the most important causes of a reduction in reliability and battery life. Thanks to a high frequency battery charger, Multisentry reduces this value to negligible levels, prolonging battery life and maintaining high performance over a long period of time.

The Multisentry series is ideal for protecting data centre and telecommunications systems, IT networks and critical systems where poor power quality can lead to a loss of operations and service. The Multisentry series is available in 10-12, 15-20 kVA models with three-phase and single-phase input and singlephase output, and 10-12-1520-30-40-60-80- 100-120 kVA models with three-phase input and output with on-line double conversion technology, according to the VFI-SS-111 classification, as defined in IEC EN 62040-3, Multisentry offers all features of an Enterprise / Industrial UPS. Highly flexible design allows full compatibility both with threephase and single-phase power supplies.

Multisentry has zero impact on its power source, being either the mains power supply or a generator. It reduces the Input current distortion to less than 3% and the input power factor becomes

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Multisentry gives maximum reliability and availability connected upto 6 units in Redundant (N+1) or parallel configuration. The UPS continues to operate in parallel even in the event of an interruption in the connection cable. With an Output power factor of 0.9, that provides up to 15% more active power than a standard UPS on the market, Multisentry guarantees a greater margin in UPS sizing for potential

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PRODUCTS Electrically Insulated Rolling Bearings: Protection Against Bearing Damage By Current Discharge NKE, Austria offers electrically insulated rolling bearings. The special bearings SQ77 feature a built-in electrical insulation, which provides reliable protection against current discharge and the resulting electrical corrosion. Typical applications of electrically insulated rolling bearings are electric motors, generators and other electrical machines.

NKE´s electrically insulated bearings are available in three versions: the SQ77 series, with an oxide ceramic insulation layer on the outer ring; the SQ77E series with an insulation layer on the inner ring and the hybrid bearings of the SQ77B series which feature ceramic rolling elements with theoretically infinite insulation resistance.

The SQ77 and SQ77E ceramic insulation is applied through plasma-spraying and has a guaranteed dielectric strength of at least 1000 V AC or DC. The bearings with outer

Electrically insulated rolling bearings of the SQ77 series from NKE in various sizes and designs.

ring insulation are available as cylindrical roller bearings and as deep groove ball bearings in various designs, dimension series and radial clearance classes.

Compared to conventional bearings, electrically insulated bearings are more

Hybrid bearings from NKE with ceramic rolling elements.

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PRODUCTS Epic Ultra For Harsh Environments The new Epic Ultra has a modern appearance and a high-quality, shiny surface. The rectangular connector housing is absolutely scratch, impact and corrosion-resistant, making it ideal for use in harsh conditions, e.g. on offshore wind turbines and biogas power plants. When combined with the Skintop brush screwed cable gland, the connector is absolutely EMC-resistant, as the nickel-coated housing forms an all-over metallic shell that functions like a Faraday cage. This is especially important for the transmission of sensitive BUS signals.

The new housing combines a number of advantages: the Skintop screwed cable gland is built into the shell, which guarantees the

need to be screwed in separately. The lip seal between the hood and the bottom part of the housing is inset to provide better protection against mechanical damage. The seal in the panel mount base that connects to the wall seal is also a built-in part of the housing. This prevents losses while also making installation easier. In short, the new housing protects the sheathed, shielded cables and the connector even better than before.

best possible sealing and strain relief, and also allows fast assembly, as the Skintop does not

Another special featured is that, when connected, the housing provides a safe, 360°, metallic conductive connection, and can also be connected to standard housing units if required.

Refuel With LAPP Charge The Stuttgart-based Lapp Group introduced e-mobility solutions recently. The conglomerate has given the world a new and easy refuelling of hybrid cars by LAPP charge system. The innovative charging system, which was developed together with Bals Elektrotechnik GmbH from North Rhine-Westphalia, did win over customers with its ergonomic design and numerous safety features. The design and colour scheme could be adapted to the customer’s needs, for instance by adding the manufacturer’s logo to the vehicle. LAPP CHARGE meets the VDE standard, which was defined with input from several renowned automotive manufacturers.

Lapp also offers a range of charging variants that are ready for series production. A spiral cable can also be used as a connecting cable. This is halogen-free, flame-retardant, oil-resistant and suitable for use in temperatures from -40°C to +90°C. Those specifications make it perfect for use in harsh conditions. Werner Becker, CEO of Lapp Systems, part of the Lapp Group, said: “This kind of cable must function

reliably in all weather conditions. In addition, it shouldn’t be possible to drag it inadvertently across the ground when recharging or to damage the vehicle with it. That is why we are offering this charging system as a bespoke solution and recommending the use of special, flexible spiral cables.”

The complete connector series comprises plugs and a range of different flush-mounted socket designs. In the future, additional contacts in the connectors will be used to exchange data between the vehicle and the power supply.

In addition to products for the charging infrastructure, Lapp also provides highvoltage cabling for the next generation of vehicles. These high-voltage cables are used in the vehicle interior and can be customized using different connection technologies. Lapp

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also has its own patented connection solution for use in this sector.

Lapp is already producing special system connections for use in the hybrid power pack of the new Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID. These cables and connection systems are used inside the lithium-ion batteries and meet the high demands for applications in this industry. In addition to this, Lapp is a development partner for several renowned companies who are currently working on new battery systems that will store electrical energy more effectively.

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PRODUCTS KEMPER Presents New Trackers

More lightweight, versatile and efficient, KEMPER Solar GmbH has given its KemTRACK dualaxis trackers a complete facelift for improved control and stability in plants with module surface areas from 70

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system, and largely automated manufacturing processes using welding robots ensure excellent quality, increased precision and stability – even at high output – with the customer benefitting directly from the resulting cost reductions. Further development on the KemTRACK series has made the system more versatile in system layout as modules can be fitted either along or across the tracker. The increase in versatility comes with more choice in relay layout as well as the number and design size of the modules. Backtracking is a feature that almost completely eliminates the problem of modules overshadowing each other in low sun conditions; each tracker is equipped with its own control unit that determines the sun’s current position according to astronomical data, and calculates the module’s optimum angle to the sun. Depending on location, this can increase electrical output by more than 40% compared to conventional fixed installations. Since each elevation drive is integrated into the central supporting tube, the tracker can swivel completely to the east or west without any change in azimuth – a principle that presents substantial benefits in regions near the equator.The new Internet-based tracker control system developed together with Siemens uses astronomical data. This Internet-based solution means that one can easily monitor trackers on your PC – or on smartphone, making it much easier to keep track of the solar power plant.

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Co-Chairman & Director, Astonfield Renewables

PRODUCTS GEA Closed Circuit Coolers varied products, GMT is able to provide full service in Drive technology application areas.

These coolers are the Air or Hydrogen – Water coolers used in generators and electrical machines. GEA Maschinenkühltechnik GmbH (GMT) has developed the closed circuit cooler technology to meet the needs and requirements of the power generation and electrical industries. Each cooler is designed to increase capacity of generator cooling systems, to offer optimal heat exchange and minimal material usage. Requirements for generators up to 10000kW heat dissipation can be realized. Due to the design of economic and safe heat exchanges with high efficiency as well as long, trouble free service, GMT holds a leading position

in the design and manufacture of coolers for generators, electric motors and other electrical machines.

GEA Closed Circuit Coolers are applied in all power plant types and form a solid basis for cooling of heavy duty generators and electric machines. For technically challenging application areas, like atomic power plants for example, GEA can provide complete cooling solutions. GEA closed circuit coolers are also used for room cooling on ships and submarines, either conventionally or nuclearpowered. Being a company that has strong engineering ability coupled with robust and

GEA Closed circuit coolers are designed according to customer’s requirements and provide exact compliance with their performance data. Standard configurations for serial productions to special solutions that are custom designed for extreme operating conditions, limited areas and special operating conditions form part of GMT production range.

The uniqueness of GEA coolers lies in the use of special materials, modern coating technologies as well as special tube and fin systems. Different environmental conditions, water qualities, climatic conditions or the project locations drive material choices. The GEA standards include different material combinations like copper, aluminium, CuNi10, CuNi30, stainless steel as well as titanium

GEA Recirculation Coolers GEA Recirculation coolers are used for air cooling of electric machines as well as middle-size generators.

In GEA Maschinenkuehltechnik GmbH (GMT), the Recirculation Cooler systems are custom designed to give complete compliance with customer’s performance data. The systems are designed to suit customer demands and come equipped with 1, 2, 4 or even 6 coolers.

In order to protect the machine against pollution of the ambient air and to avoid costintensive cleaning, the system is designed specially to transmit air in a hermetically sealed circulation, take the heat into the machine and transport it into a closed circuit cooler. After this the heat of the air is transferred to the cooling medium depending on the construction, either ambient air (air/ 94 EQ INTERNATIONAL MARCH/APRIL 11

air closed circuit cooler) or water (air/ water closed circuit cooler).

With the growth of wind power industry, the demand for larger wind generators cooled by water has considerably gone up. For this reason recirculation coolers, which are equipped with one or more closed circuit coolers, are installed and sealed directly on the generator. The warm air of the generator passing through the recirculation housing is cooled by the closed circuit cooler and afterwards led to the generator to carry away waste heat. Due to the compact construction of a wind power generator and the space constraints in the nacelle, GMT developed the Ring Cooler for wind power industry.

High reliability of GEA coolers is achieved

by using different material combinations including stainless steel, aluminium, copper, CuNi10, CuNi30, Titanium etc.

GEA Recirculation Coolers are designed and manufactured according to international standards covering all requirements of guidelines for corrosion prevention, explosion prevention as well as dust and impurity protection in accordance with International standards like IEC, VDE, DIN, ISO as well as EN.

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GUÍADESERVICIOS

DIRECTORY More info in tel. +91 731 2553883

SERVICEGUIDE

ENERGETICA INDIA offers the most practical way to locate your suppliers. The most comprehensive service pages with manufacturing and service companies in the sector of power generation in India.

More info in tel. +34 902 36 46 99 Single module Dimensions: 55 mm width x 65 mm height Price: 650 euros / year

RENEWABLE ENERGIES

energética india

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Double module Dimensions: 55 mm width x 150 mm height 117 mm width x 65 mm height Price: 1,000 euros / year

SENSORS

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CONFERENCE & EVENTS Power Gen India & Central Asia/ 2nd Renewable Energy World India

4th Renewable Energy Finance Forum India

Date: 05-07 May, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: Penwell Corporation Tel.: +44 1992 656 610 Email: exhibitpgica@pennwell.com Web.: www.power-genindia.com

Date: 24-25 May, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: Euromoney Energy Events Tel.: 44 (0)207 779 8917 Email: cwhite@euromoneyplc.com Web.: www.euromoneyenergy.com

Solar Ontario 2011

Solar West 2011

IFRS For Oil & Gas Industry

Date: 05-06 May, 2011 Place: Canada Organiser: Canadian Solar Industries Tel.: (613) 290-1497 Email: info@cansia.ca Web.: www.cansia.ca/

Date: 30-31 May, 2011 Place: Canada Organiser: Canadian Solar Industries Tel.: (613) 290-1497 Email: info@cansia.ca Web.: www.cansia.ca/

Date: 13-15 June, 2011 Place: Dubai Organiser: Infocus International Group Tel.: 65 6224 5090 Email: enquiry@infocusinternational.com Web.: www.infocusinternational.com/ifrs/

14th Energy Summit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Indian Oil and Gas Sector

Power Gen Europe

Wind Power Italia

Date: 07-09 June, 2011 Place: Italy Organiser: Penwell Corporation Tel.: 44 1992 656 610 Email: exhibitpge@pennwell.com Web.: www.powergeneurope.com

Date: 14-15 June, 2011 Place: Rome Organiser: Green Conferences Tel.: 44 (0)203 355 4202 Email: katie.dunn@greenpowerconferences.com Web.: www2.greenpowerconferences.co.uk

Genera 2011

Solar Investment Forum

Date: 11-13 May, 2011 Place: Madrid Organiser: IFEMA Tel.: 34 91 722 57 22 Email: nuria.ochagavia@ifema.es Web.: www.ifema.es

Date: 8-June, 2011 Place: Munich Organiser: Green Power Conferences Tel.: 44 (0)20 7099 0600 Email: caroline.bissell@greenpowerconferences.com Web.: www2.greenpowerconferences.co.uk

Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street

Wind Power Mexico

Inter Solar Europe

JatrophaWorld Asia 2011

Date: 12-13 May, 2011 Place: Mexico City Organiser: Green Conferences Tel.: 44 (0)203 355 4202 Email: katie.dunn@greenpowerconferences.com Web.: www.greenpowerconferences.com/

Date: 08-10 June, 2011 Place: Munich Organiser: Solar Promotion GmbH Tel.: 49 7231 58598-0 Web.: www.intersolar.de

Date: 27-28 June, 2011 Place: Hainan Organiser: Centre for Management Technology Tel.: 65-63469145 Email: anjali@cmtsp.com.sg Web.: www.cmtevents.com

Date: 10-May, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: The Associated Chambers of Commerce

and Industry of India Tel.: 9899061154 Email: energy@assocham.com Web.: www.assocham.org/

windpowermexico

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19th European Biomass Conference Date: 06-09 June, 2011 Place: Berlin Organiser: WIP-Renewable Energies Tel.: 39 055 500 22 80 Email: catherina.bernaschina@etaflorence.it Web.: www.conference-biomass.com

Date: 21-22 June, 2011 Place: New York City Organiser: Euromoney Energy Events Tel.: 44 (0)207 779 8917 Email: cwhite@euromoneyplc.com Web.: www.euromoneyenergy.com

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CONFERENCE & EVENTS Global Wind Power Finance & Investment Date: 06-07 July, 2011 Place: London Organiser: Green Conferences Tel.: 44 (0)203 355 4202 Email: katie.dunn@greenpowerconferences.com Web.: www2.greenpowerconferences.co.uk

Inter Solar North America Date: 12-14 July, 2011 Place: San Francisco Organiser: Solar Promotion International GmbH Tel.: 49 7231 58598-22 Web.: www.intersolar.us

EuropeanFutureEnergyForum

Wind Tech 2011

Date: 10-12 Oct, 2011 Place: Geneva Organiser: European Future Energy Forum Tel.: 44 7989 961 806 Email: cristina@europeanfutureenergyforum.com Web.: www.EuropeanFutureEnergyForum.com

Date: 17-19 Oct, 2011 Place: Istanbul Organiser: Goca Exibitions Tel.: 90 216 518 0397 Email: simge@goca-exhibitions.com Web.: www.windtech-istanbul.com/en/default.asp

International Conclave on Climate Change

Solar Power International 2011

Date: 12-14 Oct, 2011 Place: Hyderabad Organiser: Tafcon Projects Tel.: 40-66304127 / 28 Email: iccc@tafcon.com Web.: www.tafcon.com/climatechange/

Date: 17-20 Oct, 2011 Place: USA Organiser: Solar Energy Trade Shows Tel.: 202.595.1143 Email: plangdon@solarenergytradeshows.com Web.: www.solarpowerinternational.com

5th Renewable Energy India 2011

Renewtech India 2011

SolarCon India 2011

Date: 10-12 Aug, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: Exibitions India Group Tel.: 11 4279 5000 Email: rajneeshk@eigroup.in Web.: www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com

Date: 12-14 Oct, 2011 Place: Mumbai Organiser: MCO Winmark Exhibitions Tel.: 22-2660 5550 Email: sales@renewtechindia.com Web.: www.renewtechindia.com

Date: 09-11 Nov, 2011 Place: Hyderabad Organiser: SEMI India Tel.: 80 4040 7103 Email: solarconindia@semi.org Web.: www.solarconindia.org/

26 EU PVSEC

India Electricity 2011

Energy Expo 2011

Date: 05-08 Sep, 2011 Place: Hamburg Organiser: WIP-Renewable Energies Tel.: 49 89 720 12 735 Email: pv.conference@wip-munich.de Web.: www.photovoltaic-conference.com

Date: 12-14 Oct, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: FICCI Tel.: 11-23738760 Email: manish.sharma@ficci.com Web.: www.indiaelectricity.in/

Date: 01-03 Dec, 2011 Place: Ahmedabad Organiser: CII Tel.: 22 24931790 Email: romaldine.ayire@cii.in Web.: www.energyexpo.biz

Energytech

India Sustainability Conclave 2011

Inter Solar India

Date: 21-22 Sep, 2011 Place: Israel Organiser: Quantum Business Group Tel.: 972-8-6229300 Email: budyansky@gmail.com Web.: energytech.co.il/

Date: 17-18 Oct, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: FICCI Tel.: 11-23738760-70 Email: rishiram.ramanan@ficci.com Web.: www.indiasustainabilityconclave.com/

Date: 14-16 Dec, 2011 Place: Mumbai Organiser: Solar Promotion International GmbH Tel.: 49 7231 58598-212 Email: brijesh.nair@mmi-india.in Web.: www.intersolar.in

For Listing of your Event : Conference and events are listed free-of-charge, so please feel free to get in touch to tell us about your event. We would also be happy to provide you with free copies of magazine for distribution at your events.(while stock last). Please send your conference information to : Mr. Gourav Garg at gourav.garg@EQmag.net

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