EQ International #3 May/June 2011 Solar Special Issue

ISSN 2231-0940

03

9 772231 094004

Issue # 3 | May-June 11

INTERNATIONAL Is There A Typical Year-To-Year Variability For Global Horizontal Irradiation In France?

Reliable supply of renewable energy through hybridization of CSP

Reliable Power Electronics For Windmill Generators

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Australia +61 3-85 61 56 00 Belgium +32 23 00 07 93 Brasil +55 11-41 86 95 00 Cesko +420 37 80 51 400 China +852 34 26 33 66 Danmark +45 58 10 35 56 Deutschland +49 911-65 59-0 España +34 9 36 33 58 90 France +33 1-30 86 80 00 India +91 222 76 28 600 Italia +39 06-9 11 42 41 Japan +81 68 95 13 96 Korea +82 32-3 46 28 30 Mexico +52 55-53 00 11 51 Nederland +31 55-5 29 52 95 INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 4 +43EQ1-58 Österreich 63 65 80 Polska +48 22-6 15 79 11 84 Russia +7 38 33 55 58 69 Schweiz +41 44-9 14 13 33 Slovensko +421 3 37 97 03 05 Suid-Afrika +27 12-3 45 60 60 Suomi +358 9-7 74 38 80 Sverige +46 8-59 4768 50 Türkiye +90 21 6-688 32 88 United Kingdom +44 19 92-58 46 77 USA +1 603-8 83 81 02 sales.skd@semikron.com www.semikron.com

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EDITORIAL W

ith the world unanimous to generate power from green energy sources, the worldwide cleantech business is expected to scale to $ 350 bn by 2020. Not differing with the world, India too is going green. If data

is to be considered, it can generate 714 GW from renewables by 2032. Around 50% of its energy needs would be catered by renewable energy by 2032. 50 % RE Power scenario will help us to reduce more than 2 bn tons of CO2( 2bn CER) every year till the life of the projects which has around $ 20 bn USD revenue potential through sale of CER.

In a bid to support the renewable energy government proposed tax incentives to help boost investment

in solar, wind and geothermal power generation. India has set a target of installing 20,000 megawatts of solar power capacity by 2020. To help meet that goal, the government will provide a concessional import tax rate of 5 percent on machinery and equipment needed to set up solar power plants. The government will exempt solar equipment, parts for rotor blades used in wind turbines, and electric vehicles from a tax on the production of goods. Heat pumps used to tap geothermal energy will be exempt from import duties. The budget proposals fulfill the government’s intent to encourage investment in clean energy and impose some kind of a carbon tax.

India, the world’s fourth-largest polluter, plans to levy a tax on coal and use the money to start

a national fund to back renewable energy projects. A clean energy tax of 50 rupees ($1 ) a metric ton will be imposed on domestic and imported coal. Indian power producers used 375 million tons of domestic and imported coal as per the government economic survey.

Even though the government is undertaking umpteen efforts to support the renewable energy sector

in India, there are some challenges that investors are facing. Investment in renewable energy projects are not only capital intensive but also depend upon the information. Prior to the investment, there is an entailment of upfront information regarding the energy resource. The resource assessment needs to be site specific and have long term data. For that matter equipment for the projects require huge capital cost. While resource availability is a bottleneck, bankability of PPAs is a question mark. State utilities, which sign PPAs, are in red. Though payment security mechanism do exists in some form but is not applicable in most cases.

Availing finance for RE Projects is also a roadblock. Banks have doled out all allocated funds for power

sector for capacity addition of coal fired power plant. Additionally banks are apprehensive towards providing non-recourse financing for the RE projects. The renewable energy projects could be viable if the tenure of the repayment could be increased but banks are not providing the same. RBI regulations on ECB funding make it difficult to access foreign currency debt. Owing to regulations financial institutions like LIC, pension funds, etc. provide limited funds for RE project. Banks are also reluctant to fund RE projects as they are not quite conversant with the technology.

Financial viability of any project could be achieved by improving quality of data for RE resource

assessment. Reliability of site-specific wind/solar resource assessment would infuse confidence in the investor.

Regulations/policies need to be modified to enable long-term investors/lenders like Pension Funds, Infrastructure Funds, etc. to invest in RE projects. Strict RPO enforcement mechanism would create market for RECs, solar specific RECs need to have visibility and certainty on long-term pricing and volume. Stronger PPA and payment security mechanism needs to be created to reduce perception of credit risk and increase bankability of RE PPAs. RBI Regulations around ECB funding can be relooked at for RE projects to enable more participation from overseas lenders

With these updates, we leave you with this edition of EQ International that discusses solar technology,

finance, regulations et al.

Anand Gupta Editor & CEO

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ANITA GUPTA

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César Hidalgo, Dr. Mohan Bhan,Alexander Lenfers,Dr. Madhusudan V Atre, Dejan Schreiber,BERND Rau, Ashutosh Pandey, Aloke Barnwal, Ishita Singh, Rajat Mishra,Anmol Singh Jaggi, Palle Wendelboe,Gaurav Karnik, Martin Schlecht,Ameet Shah,Manish Sharma, Manish Jindgar, Biswaprakash

SOLAR ENERGY 22

SOLAR ENERGY

Figure 1: Location of the ground stations from Météo France that have been used

Rising 28 Is There corresponding ratios of the standard deviation to A theTypical mean in percentage.

Opportunities Year-To-Year In Photovoltaic Variability For Technology And Global Horizontal Manufacturing Irradiation In France?

Sales & Marketing:

GOURAV GARG gourav.garg@EQmag.net

Figure 3. Photograph of Moser Baer a-Si based Thin Film Module Manufacturing Line.

Subscriptions: PIYUSH MISHRA piyush.mishra@EQmag.net

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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.

Trinity Touch owns its manufacturing of its high quality products in India. The facilities in India adhere to worldwide production standard, health & safety, environmental, process and quality norms. The attention to detail, starting from the foundation is prominent to providing a high quality product to the customer or end user.

The team has invested thousands of man-hours gaining experience from sources all over the world to bring together a blend of competencies.

58

Millions Of Dollars To Be Saved By Correct Selection Of Steam Generator

OIL & GAS 80

Gas Processing in North America Market Analysis, Key Companies and Competitive Landscape

CONTENTS SOLAR ENERGY

SOLAR ENERGY

SOLAR ENERGY

32

38

48

First Coating Systems For High Efficiency Solar Cells

Financing Of Solar Power Projects In India

More Efficiency, More Yield – On The Benefits Of Trackers

WIND ENERGY

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

HAN

68

72

78

Reliable Power Electronics For Windmill Generators

le with 1800 kVA base unit

EQ Business & Financial News

SOLAR ENERGY

36

Best Practices While Setting Up A Grid Connected Solar PV Power Plant

6-21

40

‘Solar Energy Powering India’

44

Saint-Gobain: Expert In Energy Production & Conservation

50

Proven Formula for Solar Development

The Need For R&D In Energy Efficiency

52

KPMG’s report on Solar Energy Sector in India

54

Vikram Solar Plans Major Thrust towards Solarization of Telecom Towers

Interview

46

“CdTe is Commercially Accepted”

56

“CSP market burgeoning in many countries”

76

Smart Grid : Possibilities are incomputable”

A Novel Architecture for Home Area Network Devices

CSP

62

Reliable supply of renewable energy through hybridization of CSP

RENEWABLE ENERGY

66

Fostering the Growth of Renewable Energy - Shaping the Indian Landscape

84-86 PRODUCTS

EQ

Business & Financial News

pvXchange Expands its International Market Position After a successful previous

companies in Europe for

power of around 180 MW, the

time. pvXchange puts its success

year and with a new experienced

environmental technology, has

Berlin-based company was able

down to a clearly designed

investor on board, the market

invested several million Euros

to broker more than twice as

component exchange platform,

leader for the brokerage of

in pvXchange since May 2011.

many photovoltaic modules on its

product selection independent

photovoltaic products, pvXchange,

pvXchange will be using the

online trading platform in 2010

of manufacturers and a

is now entering the second half

new resources to further expand

as they did in the previous year.

transparent price policy bundled

year of 2011 in a much stronger

its position on international

The transactions of inverters

in an international network of

position. WHEB Partners, one

markets.

have increased eight-fold, to

manufacturers, dealers and installers.

of the leading venture capital

Thanks to a total installed

85 MW, in the same period of

Girish S. Paranjpe to head Bloom Energy International Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley-based provider of breakthrough solid oxide fuel cell technology that produces clean, reliable, affordable onsite power, announced that Mr. Girish S.

As part of his role, Mr.

the world, Mr. Paranjpe will

the technology in California,

Paranjpe will be responsible

lead Bloom Energy’s initiative in

it is now time to expand our

for developing the global market

partnering with energy industry

markets.

for Bloom Energy’s presence

innovators, and leading solution

start the journey of taking the

beyond the US. Mr. Paranjpe

and infrastructure providers.

promise of Bloom’s technology

Girish will help us

will also focus on creating new

Announcing his appointment,

to the global marketplace. I am

solutions around the Bloom

KR Sridhar said, “We are

confident that Girish will build a

Energy Server, and the flagship

extremely happy to have

strong worldwide organization

report to KR Sridhar, Principal

Bloom Electrons offering. In

Girish on board. Bloom Energy

that will make a significant

Co-Founder and Chief Executive

an effort to ensure that clean

today is at an inflection point,

impact on distributed generation

Officer of Bloom Energy.

energy reaches millions around

having developed and proven

solutions.”

Paranjpe will head Bloom Energy International as Managing Director. Mr. Paranjpe will

SunBorne Committed To Environment India has offered to host World Environment Day reiterating an expression of country’s strong commitment to

resources, especially, solar

Mission - SunBorne Energy

energy is essential at this time,

is providing engineering and

launched independent programs

not only for the environmental

construction services to several

to support solar deployment. Of

benefits, but also because there

of the winners of the projects in

all, Gujarat has been the most

work with the global community

is a clear vision to reduce the

the first-phase of National Solar

aggressive with 700MW’s

for sustainable development.

capital expense of solar plants.

Mission. It is deploying proven

of PPA’s. SunBorne Energy

technologies and indigenizing

is building its own and other

the entire value chain to drive

PV plants in the state. For

affordable solar power. Its

photovoltaic (PV), SunBorne

scope of functions includes

is signing agreements with

localizing capabilities in design,

technology suppliers around the

manufacturing, engineering,

world and deploying 50 Mw solar PV project in Gujarat

Individual actions are crucial to sustaining the cause, but with world’s energy needs estimated to grow to 60% by 2030, India needs to use all the energy resources including renewable resources to fill the

SunBorne Energy,(specialist in Utility Scale Solutions (50MW+) in the solar power sector), is supporting country’s efforts in clean energy drive in the following way:

gap. Investment in renewable

6 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

•

National Solar

construction, distribution and

•

The states have

operations

www.EQMagLive.com

Business & Financial News

Oerlikon Technology Achieves Success

IT Power Organizes Technical Workshop

Oerlikon Solar announced recently the first order of a turnkey 120-MW-Micromorph® production line (ThinFabTM) for manufacturing thin film silicon modules. The order came from a new customer in Asia that is already active in the renewable energy sector and has decided to enter the thin film silicon technology in a large capacity.

“Our customer chose Oerlikon ThinFabTM technology due to low module costs, competitive energy efficiency especially under real operational conditions, and because we offer a cleantech, cadmium-free solution.

This first 120-MW-ThinFabTM

order underlines the potential of our solar business,” said Helmut Frankenberger, CEO Oerlikon Solar.

The world is in the middle of an energy revolution.

This revolution is driven by concerns about greenhouse gas

To cater to the industry’s need

Oerlikon Solar modules are suitable for all types of roof and open space applications.

Their attractive design and transparency makes them also applicable for integration into buildings. This new order is the first one for a complete 120 MW production line. The delivery of this ThinFabTM with an annual production capacity of around 850,000 solar modules will begin in early 2012. The production line will be installed in Asia.

emissions, but even more by the

energy sector conducted a

Weltec Builds 1 Mw Biogas Plant In Hungary I n A p r i l , W E LT E C BIOPOWER started building a biogas plant in Szeged, Southern Hungary. The client and operator is Zöldforrás Energia, a subsidiary of the Hungarian power supplier DÉMÁSZ. The 1 MW plant, which comprises two CHPs with an output of 600 kW/h

each, will generate power and heat from pig manure and maize silage starting from end of 2011 on. The substrate will be supplied by farmers in the vicinity of the site. In turn, the farmers will use the digestate left over from the biogas production process as fertiliser for their fields.

unequal equation of growing demand for oil, reduced rates of discovery and consequently inevitably increasing prices.

Concentrated Solar Thermal Power technologies are at a key moment in their history. Whilst

of the hour, IT Power Group, a leading international energy consultancy in the sustainable three-day technical workshop on Concentrated Solar Power Plants (CSP) that witnessed an unprecedented gathering of thought leaders from the public and private sector.

they have been in commercial

Supported by the Ministry

operation for over 20 years, there

of New and Renewable Energy

has been little growth until 2006

the workshop took place from 18

when we entered a new phase.

- 20 May 2011, at the Claridges

Realising the potential of solar

Hotel. The inaugural training

energy, the Indian Government

workshop was well received by

has launched the ambitious

all participants and provided

Jawaharlal Nehru National

incisive networking and excessive

Solar Mission (JNNSM) which

knowledge exchange over two

is likely to catapult India into

days. Among the many highlights

becoming the largest market for

was the launch of the highly

solar energy in the world.

anticipated CSP report that was

With India poised to become

commissioned by the Australian

the lead market in sustainable

Government’s Department of

energy solutions, there is a

Climate Change and Energy

massive skills shortage that is hampering progress in this sector.

Efficiency and authored by the IT Power Group.

Trina Solar Announces 130 MW Sales Agreement with German EPC Mohring Energie GmbH Trina Solar Limited, a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) products from ingots to modules, recently announced through its subsidiary,Trina Solar (Germany) GmbH, that it has signed a

sales agreement with Mohring Energie GmbH (“Mohring”), a well-established Germanbased project developer and engineering, procurement and construction services company.

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Under terms of the agreement, Trina Solar is expected to deliver to Mohring 130 MW of the Company’s solar modules in the second and third quarter of 2011 at agreed prices in US dollars. The modules

are expected to be utilized for several projects, including one of Europe’s largest photovoltaic plant installations in 2011.

Initial shipments have already commenced.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

7

Business & Financial News

BHEL Wins Rs.54,500 Million Mega Contract For 3x660 MW Supercritical Power Project From The Bajaj Group Outbidding Alstom under stiff International Competitive Bidding ICB), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has bagged the main plant package contract for three coal-fired thermal units of 660 MW each with supercritical parameters.

This is the first power project being set up by the Bajaj group based on supercritical technology and by placing this order on BHEL, the customer has reposed confidence in the company’s technological excellence as also its capability in executing power projects of this magnitude.

Valued at Rs.54,500 Million, the order has been placed on BHEL by Lalitpur Power Generation Company Limited (LPGCL), a Bajaj group company, for setting up the 1,980 MW Lalitpur Supercritical Thermal Power Station (TPS) in Uttar Pradesh.

With this contract, BHEL has maintained its track record of bagging most of the orders for power generating equipment in Uttar Pradesh. The company has commissioned about 9,900 MW of power generating sets of various ratings in the state, so far.

BHEL is already executing major contracts for supply of main plant equipment with supercritical parameters for the 2x660 MW Barh Thermal Power Project Stage-II of NTPC; 3x660 MW Bara Thermal Power Project of Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited, a part of the Jaypee Group; 2x800 MW Yeramarus and 1x800 MW Edlapur Thermal Power Projects of Raichur Power Corporation Limited and the 1x700 MW Bellary Thermal Power Project (Unit 3) of KPCL.

In addition, BHEL is also executing a contract for supply of supercritical Steam Generators to APGenco’s 2x800 MW Krishnapatnam Thermal Power Project, which is in an advanced stage of completion.

BHEL has upgraded its technology base from subcritical sets to supercritical sets of 660/700/800 MW and above, which will enable the country to be self-reliant in the field of supercritical thermal power plants.

Lanco Solar To Build 75 MW Solar PV Project In Maharashtra Lanco Solar, a fully owned subsidiary of Lanco Infratech Limited - the fastest growing business conglomerates in India with interests in power, construction & EPC, infrastructure and renewable, today announced “it, in consortium with Juwi Renewable India Ltd, has received LOA”Letter of Award from Maharashtra State Power Generation Co Ltd

(Mahagenco) for building of a 75MW Crystalline technology based photovoltaic solar power project in Dhule district in the state of Maharashtra.

The project value is Rs. 884.18 Crores. The project would be fully commissioned by mid February 2012.

“It is a strategic win for

us. Not only it puts us firmly as the top solar power developer in the country but also helps us considerably in securing our supply chain competitively” said Mr. V. Saibaba, CEO, Lanco Solar “This pioneering initiative

by Mahagenco and Government of Maharashtra reinforces India’s position as a fast growing solar

market globally along with the commendable initiatives of MNRE under the National Solar Mission. It would also considerably help in attracting new industries and talent into this space to reduce installation costs and help the country in its solar agenda” further added Mr. V. Saibaba.

Schmid Sells A 60 MW Module Line To Magnum PV Schmid is now entering the

as early as mid-October, following

Brampton, Ontario, Canada, was

leading Canadian mechanical

North American module market.

successful projects in the wafer /

founded as a sister company of

engineering company and turnkey

The first UL-certified modules

cell manufacturing sector.

Magnum Integrated Technologies

are to be produced on the system 8 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Magnum PV, based in

Inc.TM in 2010. Magnum is a

supplier to the metal-working and power industries.

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Business & Financial News

Martifer Solar Signs An Agreement With Louroux For The Construction Of A 25 Mw Project In Gujarat Martifer Solar, a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, is pleased

due to be delivered until the 31st

130 MW installed worldwide,

most promising solar markets

of December 2011, in multiple

confirms that they are the best

and strengthens the excellent

to announce its technical tie

phases.

partner for our solar project. We

relationship established with

are looking forward to increasing

Louroux during this year,

our relationship with Martifer

confirming the expectations

Solar in future projects.”

for future cooperation between

up with Louroux Bio Energies Ltd., a group company of Inspira Infrastructure Ltd, for setting

According to Mr. Ravi Agrawal, Louroux’s Managing

up a 25 MW Solar PV power

Director: “Our tie up with

generation project in Gujarat

Martifer Solar is a major step

(India).

for the successful realization of

The project is being set-up near Rajkot in Gujarat, and is

this plant. Their international experience, with more than

“We are really satisfied with this agreement and our success in India. This project is

both companies”, stated Mr. Henrique Rodrigues, Martifer Solar’s CEO.

just the beginning of Martifer Solar’s operations in one of the

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SOLAR MODULES HO HO- -HYDERABAD HYDERABAD| BO | BO- -BANGALORE BANGALORE #95/W, Annupuram, ECIL Post, Hyderabad-500062, Andhra Pradesh,India.

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9

Business & Financial News

Delta India Electronics Unveils New Green Office Building in Gurgaon Delta India Electronics Pvt. Ltd., the world’s leading provider of power management and thermal management solutions, recently announced the official launch of its new green corporate office in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. As part of Delta’s expansion plans in India, the new eco-friendly corporate office supports Delta’s commitment to the environment. This facility also doubles as a manufacturing unit for Delta display solutions.

Attending the grand opening ceremony were Bruce Cheng, Founder and Chairman, Delta Electronics, Inc.,Yancey Hai,Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Delta Electronics, Inc., James Ng, Chairman, Delta Electronics (Thailand) PLC., and

Henry Shieh, President, Delta Electronics (Thailand) PLC., Pisan Manawapat, Ambassador, Thailand High Commission, Wenchyi, Ong, Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC), Paul Shek, Deputy Representative, TECC, and David Hsu, Director, Economic Division, TECC, and more.

Delt a has invested in India since 2003. The company currently has three manufacturing units located in Rudrapur, Gurgaon, Pondicherry and two R&D centers in Gurgaon and Bangalore. Over the past few years, Delta has become a renowned name in telecom power solutions, uninterruptible power systems (UPSs), display

solutions, industrial automation, and components, with many toptier clients for its various product lines in Indian market.

The new Gurgaon building is designed using energy efficient architecture, eco-friendly building materials, and building management systems that provide a vibrant clean, healthy and safe workplace for employees. Delta India Electronics has applied for a platinum rating for this new corporate office in accordance with the guidelines of the Indian Green Building Council’s LEED standards.

Dalip Sharma, Managing Director of Delt a India Electronics, said, “Energy efficiency and environmental

conservation have long been an important part of our mission.

In our endeavor to adopt practices that go beyond mere compliance with ecological guidelines, we have, over the past decade, committed ourselves to conducting business with a passionate respect for the environment. Delta India Electronics is aggressively moving forward, keeping pace with the growing Indian market.

We strive to be a company focused on improving our processes, innovation, product quality, professional services and solutions thereby creating value for our customers, employees and stakeholders.”

Galileo And 3tier Offer Lower Cost Of Development Capital 3TIER, a global leader in renewable energy risk analysis, and Galileo, a global leader in weather risk management, announced recently their collaboration in offering the first financial products designed to assist the wind power industry in hedging the financial risk of wind variability. Galileo’s WindLock™ product will provide on-site settlements based on 3TIER’s wind resource data, enabling

wind project developers and financiers to mitigate the risk of project underperformance. The joint effort creates an entirely new global market for financial wind risk management products designed to ease financing pressure on wind projects, where the cost of financing often includes large premiums built in to cover production uncertainty.

10 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Galileo uses 3TIER’s wind resource time series to price and structure WindLock™ products based on expected variability with settlements based on wind speeds provided by 3TIER. Using 3TIER’s weather modeling expertise in generating historical time series helps avoid errors in on-site measurements and isolates wind speed from other factors that can impact power production.

WindLock™

products

are indexed to wind-driven megawatt-hours allowing for the utilization of a power curve to provide accurate mapping of wind speed to generation. Galileo offers WindLock™ globally and products can be tailored to match project financing structures with protection commencing across a wide range of estimated production.

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Business & Financial News

ADB Vice-President Says Wider Solar Power Use Critical for Asia’s Future Growth Asia must expand solar energy generation if the region is to stay on its strong economic growth path and reduce carbon emissions, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice-President (Operations 1) Xiaoyu Zhao said recently.Mr. Zhao was speaking here at the opening of the 3rd meeting of the Asia Solar Energy Forum, which is gathering over 300 government officials, private companies, and solar energy experts.The forum, set up to promote knowledge exchange, is part of the Asia Solar Energy Initiative, established in May 2010 with support from ADB. The initiative aims to boost solar power use in the region by identifying and developing suitable projects. To do so, it will work closely with the private sector to design suitable business models that help spread the cost and risks of using new technologies.

“Asia could account for half of global output, trade, and investment by 2050,” said Mr. Zhao. “To sustain its impressive

growth momentum, Asia must manage its energy security and innovate away from the traditional, high-resource, high-carbon development path toward sustainable, low carbon growth.”Many countries in Asia have a natural solar energy advantage given they are both sunny and have large areas of land unsuitable for other uses.

However, large-scale solar power generation has been hampered by a lack of suitable project financing mechanisms, institutional and policy constraints, and knowledge gaps. Around 900 million people in developing Asia have no access to electricity, and many others in remote areas pay very high prices for power that is typically generated by fossil fuels.

At present, less than 0.25% of Asia’s overall electricity production comes from solar power. Pointing to the “significant potential” for solar energy, Mr. Zhao said the aim is to increase that contribution to 3% to 5% in the near future. The ultimate goal of the Asia Solar

Energy Initiative is to provide solar energy at a cost equal to, or lower than, electricity from the grid.”The initiative is consolidating our efforts to take advantage of the wider adoption of solar technologies resulting from rapid technological advances, larger scales of production, and lower production costs,” said Mr. Zhao.Promoting clean, renewable energy is one of ADB’s highest priorities. In 2010 it invested $1.8 billion in clean energy, exceeding its $1 billion target for a third year in a row.

From 2013, the target will rise to $2 billion a year.

In Thailand, ADB is helping to finance the construction of two private sector solar projects. The Natural Energy Development Company’s initial 73-megawatt plant in Lopburi – one of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic power plants – and the 38-megawatt project from Bangchak Petroleum Company PCL in Ayutthaya will both be generating electricity later this year.

The 3rd Guangzhou International Solar Photovoltaic Exhibition 2011 PV Guangzhou, as an internationally leading solar pv exhibition in South China, is always dedicated to globalizing the trade of solar photovoltaic.

It has been successfully run for 2 years since 2009, and is serving the international photovoltaic industry more and more professionally. It features active buyers from over 38 countries who are mainly investors, analysts, CEOs, R&D engineers, government bodies and distributors, and quality exhibitors consisting of manufacturers both from home andabroad such as Jenn Feng, Interpower, Hooray, Singyes, Chutian Laser, Ivaco, XinNeng, Qixin Solar, Phocos, Prostar etc. All of this makes PV Guangzhou a must attendevent for photovoltaic enterprises from all over the world.

Vestas Receives Order For 83 V90-1.8 Mw Turbines With reference to Vestas Wind Systems A/S’ company announcement No. 25/2011 of 30 May 2011, Vestas has received a 149 MW order for 83 V90-1.8 MW turbines for a wind-energy project in Canada.

The contract includes delivery and commissioning along with a 10-year service and maintenance agreement.

Delivery is scheduled for fall 2012 and commissioning expected in late 2012.

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The project’s name and specific location will be disclosed at a later date.

It is Vest as’ second announced order in Canada in 2011. In April, Vestas secured

an order for 104 MW consisting of 58 V90-1.8 MW turbines.

Overall, Vestas has secured five orders in North America this year equating to 774 MW.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

11

Business & Financial News

Siemens Receives European Onshore Wind Orders Providing About 360 Megawatts In the first four months of 2011, Siemens Energy has received a total of eleven European orders for delivery and installation of 151 onshore wind turbines, with combined capacity of about 360 megawatts (MW).

The installed capacity of these eleven orders will be sufficient to supply up to 230,000 European households with clean electricity.

For two of these projects Siemens will deliver a total of 19 of its new gearless wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3 MW and a rotor diameter of 101 meters.

These innovative wind turbines will be used for the Dagpazari project in Turkey (39 MW) and the Millour Hill project (18 MW) in the U.K.

Worldwide, electricity from wind power will play an important role in providing a climate-friendly energy supply in the future. Today, Europe is the largest wind power market in the world, with installed capacity of more than 87,000 MW. The Global Wind Energy Council expects that by 2015 there will

be as much as 459,000 MW of wind energy installed globally.

“Siemens is the clear No. 1 in the offshore wind business worldwide, but we are also steadily gaining momentum in the onshore business,” said Michael Suess, CEO of Siemens Energy Sector.

GL Enhances Online Data Management Service Working with wind means rapidly changing conditions and equipment pushed to its limits. Real time alerts based on continuous data monitoring and testing, means wind park operators are ready to change with them. The updated version of GL Garrad Hassan’s Online Data Management (ODM) service builds on the ODM service released by the consultancy in 2010. The addition

of a new client support tool and enhanced alerting system provides operators, investors and developers project developers with a highly responsive and detailed monitoring service.

The enhanced ODM alerting system continually monitors automated data processing and tests for inconsistencies, errors, missing and corrupt data, so any issues with the equipment can

be immediately identified and resolved. During the course of a renewable energy project’s measurement program GL Garrad Hassan’s energy experts build an instantly accessible database of quality-checked measurement data. Continual monitoring and recording, means that clients have comprehensive and valuable data that can be used in formal, bankable energy assessments.

The enhancements give ODM users improved centralized visibility of all issues and communication associated with their various measurements, as well as a full history of support cases. Having a comprehensive overview of the status of all of monitoring systems enables ODM users to schedule maintenance and repair programs to obtain maximum value and benefit from the site data.

BHEL Bags Rs 62 Cr Solar Power Project State-run BHEL recently said it has secured an order worth around Rs 62 crore for setting up solar power project for Karnataka Power Corporation Limited at Belakavadi village in Karnataka.

“BHEL has won a turnkey contract for setting up a gridconnected solar photo voltaic (SPV) power plant of 5-MW capacity at Belakavadi village,

near Mandya, in Karnataka,” a company release said.

Valued at nearly Rs 62 crore, the order was placed on BHEL by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).

With this order, the company is presently executing SPVbased power projects of various capacities totalling 16 MW. The SPV modules are manufactured at BHEL’’s

12 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

manufacturing facility located at Bangalore. Solar cells and modules manufactured by the company are also exported to countries like Germany, Australia and Italy.

Meanwhile, BHEL recently bagged a Rs 5,450 crore order from Bajaj Hindustan Delhi for the supply, erection and commissioning of a 3x660-MW capacity thermal power plant at

Lalitpur, in Uttar Pradesh.

The boilers for the six 660-MW thermal power plant units would be designed and manufactured at BHEL’’s Tiruchi unit, supply of boiler auxiliaries would be done by the Ranipet unit, electronics and instrumentation by the Bangalore unit and erection and commissioning by BHEL North Sector.

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Business & Financial News

Tata Power’s Jojobera Thermal Power Station Focuses on Green Initiatives for Resource Conservation Reiterating its commitment towards green initiatives, Tata Power’s Jobobera thermal power plant in Jamshedpur, has implemented some of the most innovative on and off site initiatives. These initiatives focus on resource conservation, innovative waste management and comm unity welfare.

Speaking on the initiatives Mr. P. L. Manjrekar, General Manager, Tata Power- Jojobera Thermal Power Station, said, “The innovative methods used for resource conservation has not helped reduce wastage, but has also led to significant reduction in water, fuel and energy consumption. We are proud that each and every employee is enthusiastically involved in contributing towards the green initiatives of Tata Power. The Tata Power Jojobera plant aims to become a shining example

of Tata Power’s commitment to involve every individual in the organization to make a positive impact through its green initiatives.”

Tata Power Green initiatives at Jojobera include: • R o o f t o p water harvesting: The water from the rooftop of the pump house floor is sent to a purification tank where it is passed through sand and gravel filter and then allowed to percolate into a bore well drilled at the centre of the collection and purification tank.

This water recharges the ground water table. The net recharge is approximately 300 Cu.M/ annum.

• Installation of solar water heating System: 200 LPD solar water heating system has been installed on the plant canteen rooftop which is used

for cooking purpose. This has significantly reduced consumption and dependence of LPG at the plant canteen.

• Installation of solar street lights: At different locations in plant premises and usage of low power consuming LED lights has reduced energy consumption .Further energy meters for lighting and air conditioners at coal handling plant have been installed.

• Tata Power Energy Club: Under its nationwide energy conservation program ‘Tata Power Energy Club’, it has held sensitization sessions for various employees and their families on energy conservation practices to be followed in their residence and neighborhood. At Jamshedpur, we have visited to 12 schools and has sensitized over 7000 students so far who

in turn have made over 12000 citizens aware about ways to save energy.

• Individual Carbon foot print mapping: Over 50% of its employees in Jamshepur plant have calculated and declared their individual carbon footprint and have been trained on carbon emission reduction.

• Avoiding wastage of water: The overflow of water reservoir has been addressed by making a level switch in-house that switches the pump on and off depending on the water level, thus avoiding overflow and water wastage. Measures have been taken to utilize treated effluent for plant gardening and cleaning job. Side stream filtration plant has been installed for reduction of Cooling Tower blow down and thereby reducing specific water consumption.

CLP Encourages ‘Low-Carbon Leaders’ with its Young Power Programme 2011 CLP recently launched

generation to build a greener

younger generation. This year

valuable contribution to their

its Young Power Programme

and more energy efficient

will be the third consecutive year

2011 (YPP) in a power-packed

world. Launched in 1999 in

local communities. The students

for this programme took place

and educational ceremony at

Hong Kong and later expanded

in India.

the Gujarat Science City, once

to India and the Chinese

again demonstrating its ability to

Mainland, YPP is one of CLP’s

successfully engage with students

signature youth leadership

Director, CLP India, said, “The

to embrace sustainability. The

programmes

promote

‘Low-carbon Leaders’ realize

already begun creating a wave

programme is CLP’s on-going

environmental awareness and

their full potential through the

and making a positive impact in

commitment to groom the next

social responsibility among the

YPP programme and provide

their communities and beyond.”

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to

Mr Rajiv Mishra, Managing

lead by example in developing sustainable solutions to combat climate change, and, have

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

13

Business & Financial News

South East Asia’s First 1000 Mw Supercritical CoalFired Power Plant At Malaysia’s Manjung For €1 Billion In a project worth about €1 billion in total, Alstom has signed a power plant contract worth the equivalent over €650 million with TNB Janamanjung Sdn Bhd to provide key power generation equipment to South East Asia’s first 1000 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant Manjung, Malaysia. The unit will be the single largest one in South East Asia and will produce enough electricity to power nearly 2 million households in Malaysia.

The contract is booked in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2011/2012.

Supercritical power plants

(TNB), has awarded the turnkey

operate at a higher temperature

engineering, procurement and

than regular coal-fired power

construction (EPC) contract

plants. The high temperature

to Alstom and its consortium

increases the pressure at

partner, China Machinery

which they operate, which in

Import and Export Corporation.

turns improves their efficiency,

Under the terms of the contract,

increasing the amount of power

Alstom will engineer, procure,

output and decreasing emissions

construct and commission

per unit of fuel burned.TNB

a 1000 MW steam turbine,

Janamanjung Sdn Bhd. a

a generator, a supercritical

subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-

boiler and auxiliaries. Alstom

controlled power generation,

will also supply and install

transmission and distribution

its latest ALSPA® Series 6

company Tenaga Nasional Bhd

Distributed Control System, and

environmental control systems to cut emissions.

The plant is expected to come online in 2015 providing an extra 1000 MW of power to the Malaysian grid.The contract follows TNB’s 1999 contract with Alstom to build the currently operating 2100 MW Manjung coal-fired power plant. The three 700 MW units, which came into operation in 2004, use Alstom’s clean coal combustion technology and Alstom’s market leading environmental control systems.

World Class Bharat-Oman Bina Refinery Inaugurated The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recently dedicated Bina Refinery to the nation at a ceremony held at Bina, Madhya Pradesh. The refinery has a capacity of 6 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to produce Euro III & IV petroleum products. The Refinery has an inbuilt flexibility to meet Euro – V equivalent standards for petrol and diesel with minimal investment. Adjacent to the Refinery complex is the Bina Dispatch Terminal (BDT), with product storage tanks and dispatch facilities for both rail and road movement of petroleum products. The Refinery and the Bina Despatch Terminal (BDT) are spread over 2500 acres of land.

Bina Refinery is equipped with world class technology and has the flexibility to process all types of crude oil. The project established at an investment of over 2 billion US $ (Rs. 12,000 cr) has bottom upgradation facility to ensure yield maximization. The Refinery has an assured off take, since it will meet the demand of high quality fuel in markets with deficit supply. Bina Refinery has the flexibility to process all types of crude. The Refinery is managed by highly skilled and experienced personnel.

The Bina Refinery project comprises of a Single Point Mooring (SPM) system located at Vadinar, Gujarat which facilitates unloading of crude oil from Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs).

The crude received at Vadinar on the west coast is transported to

14 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Bina along a 935 km long pipeline passing through the States of Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh. The crude oil goes through hi-tech refining processes at Bina and the resultant products include Petrol, Diesel, Aviation Turbine Fuel, Kerosene, Naphtha & LPG. Sulphur and Per Coke are also produced in the process. These products are stored in the Refinery/BDT and distributed to areas in and around Madhya Pradesh. The surplus products are then transported through the 257 km Bina – Kota pipeline ensuring faster movement in a more environmental friendly manner. This pipeline will then join the Mumbai – Manmad – Bijwasan line at Kota thereby enhancing availability of products in the northern markets.

The refinery has an ultra

modern Crude and Vacuum Distillation unit wherein crude oil is separated into various products.

These products are treated in the Secondary Processing Units to obtain value added products.

The refinery has a 99 MW (33 MW X 3) Captive Power Plant (CPP) which will meet the entire steam and power requirements of the Refinery. To conserve fresh water, the Refinery has set up an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) for treating a range of water effluents coming from the processing units and other facilities. Safety is accorded the highest priority at the Refinery and the most stringent measures are in place to safeguard life and property. BORL have also adopted safe and eco-friendly technology, sound design and engineering practices.

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Business & Financial News

Tackling Smart Grid Challenges under India Context leading

Manager of Global Energy and

technology giants in smart

The

world’s

Utilities said that his company

grid, IBM, Capgemini and SAP

sees tremendous potential for

announce to support this year’s

growth in the Indian market as

largest and most important India

it expands to provide electricity

smart grid event World Smart

to more consumers.

Grid Conference Series-India Week 2011.

Manu

Rishi

Puri，Sr

Managing Consultant of IBM

IBM, one of the world’s

– Global Business Services will

leading IT companies and

present on “Weather Forecasting

smart grid solutions leaders is

for Renewables”. As tone of the

planning to offer its services

association sponsor of the event,

to Indian utilities over the

IBM shows sufficient confidence

next few years. IBM’s General

in this upcoming important event.

“We are looking forward to sharing IBM’s global smart grid implementation experiences with India industrial leaders”. Said IBM’s senior representatives.

a wide spectrum of industries like

Capgemini, who won the first smart meter order in India; will attend the World Smart Grid Conference Series-India Week 2011 as Bronze Sponsor.

of Energy, Utilities & Chemicals,

energy, manufacturing, retail and distribution, telecom, media and entertainment, financial services, etc. Somnath Chatterjee, Head Capgemini India, provides keen insights into evolving concepts like Smart Meters and Smart Grid. He explains that India is indeed making a “smart” move

Capgemini is amongst the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services that caters to

in its endeavour of ensuring efficient energy consumption and curbing energy losses.

ABB To Expand Footprint In India With A New Miniature Circuit Breakers Plant ABB, the global power and automation technology group, announced recently that it will invest approximately US $ 24 million (Rs 115 crores) in a new facility in India to manufacture a new range of Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB), Residual Current Circuit Breakers (RCCB) and Surge Protection Devices (SPD).The new manufacturing facility will be set up in Nelamangala campus

at Bangalore and employ around 300 people.

“This is our biggest investment worldwide in 2011, with the motive to support the market growth in India with the availability of high quality products and state-of-the-art training centers and facilities,” said Tarak Mehta, head of ABB’s Low Voltage Products division. Tommy Andreasson,

manager of the Low Voltage Products division in India added, “With focus now on India, this investment is targeted to meet the customer requirements of the local market.”

ABB’s Low Voltage Products division in India has delivered 25 million poles to the domestic market through wholesalers and a network of channel partners.

This investment will increase the

production capacity to serve both domestic and export markets.

The plant will manufacture a new range of protection devices used in residential and commercial buildings, industrial and renewable energy applications, data centers and telecommunications industries to protect installations against overcurrent, short circuits and leakage current.

Contract Manufacturer Samco Solar Announces New Ontario facility Samco Solar, a leading Canadian mounting systems and module accessories contract manufacturer for the Solar PV Industry , announced recently that it has opened a new 35,000 sqft

manufacturing and warehousing facility in Scarborough, Ontario to support the expanding Ontario and North American solar markets as part of its ongoing growth strategy.

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Premier Hon. Dalton McGuinty, who initiated the creation of the Green Energy Act in Ontario, was accompanied

Duguid to inaugurate the facility, which brings Samco Solar’s Ontario footprint to 155,000 sqft.

by Ontario Energy Minister Brad EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

15

Business & Financial News

Trina Reports Net Revenues $ 550.9 Million In Q1 Net revenues in the first quarter of 2011 were $550.9 million, a decrease of 14.2% sequentially and an increase of 63.5% year-over-year. Total shipments were 320.4 MW, compared to the Company’s previous guidance of slightly higher than the approximately 351 MW shipped in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 192.6 MW in the first quarter of 2010. The sequential decrease in total shipments was primarily due to demand uncertainties linked to Italy solar investment policy revisions announced in March 2011.

Gross profit in the first

quarter of 2011 was $151.3 million, compared to $201.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $104.2 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Gross margin relating to the Company’s in-house wafer production to module production was 32.2% in the first quarter of 2011, compared to the Company’s previous guidance of approximately 30%, and 36.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The sequential decline was primarily due to lower average selling price.

Operating expenses in the first quarter of 2011 were $66.8 million, an increase of

17.8% sequentially and 136.5% year-over-year. The Company’s operating expenses represented 12.1% of its first quarter net revenues, an increase from 8.8% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 8.4% in the first quarter of 2010. The sequential and annual percentage increases were primarily due to continued expansion of the Company’s global management structure to meet its strategic growth objectives, and increased investment in Research and Development initiatives, offset by expense control measures implemented in 2010. Operating expenses in the first quarter of 2011 also

included $1.6 million in sharebased compensation expenses, compared to $1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2010.

As a result of the foregoing, operating income in the first quarter of 2011 was $84.5 million, compared to $145.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $76.0 million in the first quarter of 2010. Operating margin was 15.3% in the first quarter of 2011, compared to 22.6% in both the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2010.

Suntech’s Net Revenue Jumps To $877.0 Million In First Quarter “The first quarter of 2011 was a solid quarter that demonstrated the resilience

policy risk, and position Suntech

of Suntech’s business model

particular, we were pleased

under challenging market

to see greater demand in the

conditions,” said Dr. Zhengrong

Chinese solar market during

Shi, Chairman and CEO. “Despite

the first quarter.”Our recently

a slight sequential decline in

acquired silicon ingot and wafer

our shipments related to policy

facility is now fully integrated

uncertainty in Italy, a long winter

and operating smoothly. We

in Germany and first quarter

expanded annualized wafer

seasonality, we improved our

production capacity to 1GW and

gross margin from the fourth

are on track to reach 1.2GW in

quarter and continued to

the second half of 2011. The

diversify our sales across global

increasing output of internally

markets. These outcomes reflect

produced wafers will drive

our ongoing efforts to enhance

progressive reduction in wafer

our competitiveness, mitigate

costs through 2011. We also

to increase our share in highgrowth emerging markets. In

16 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

continued to expand our cell and module capacity and achieved 2.2GW of capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2011.”

In the second quarter of 2011, Suntech expects low single digit growth of PV shipments and relatively flat gross margin compared with the first quarter of 2011.For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011, Suntech reiterates shipment guidance of 2.2GW of solar products. Due to pricing pressure, Suntech has revised its full year revenue guidance to a range of $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion, subject to changes in foreign

exchange rates. Consolidated gross margin for the full year 2011 is now expected to be in the high teens.Suntech expects to achieve 2.4GW of installed cell and module production capacity by the end of the second quarter 2011, of which 600MW of PV cell capacity will be owned and operated by a joint venture.

Suntech expects to achieve 1.2GW of installed wafer capacity by the end of 2011. Full year 2011 capital expenditure expectations are maintained in the range of $250 million to $270 million.Guidance is based on an assumed exchange rate of $1.41 USD to the Euro.

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Business & Financial News

BGR Energy’s Net Profit Applied Materials Delivers Surges to INR 324 Crore Strong Second Quarter On a Billion Dollar Turnover Results BGR Energy Systems

Chairman and Managing Director

Limited registered an income of

Mr. B. G. Raghupathy said, “Our

INR4747.49 crore (INR3,069.25

performance is a testimonial to

crore) from its operations during

our capabilities in executing large

the year and a net profit of INR

power projects. The future is very

324.21 crore (INR201.02 crore).

promising since BGR Group

This represents an increase

will soon have BTG equipment

of INR123.19 crore (61%)

manufacturing capabilities in

and INR1,678 crore (55%) in

partnership with Hitachi that will

terms of the company’s profits

result in greater synergies in our

and turnover respectively when

EPC contracting. BGR Energy’s

compared to its performance

Power Projects Division has

last year. The recommended

enabled the company to possibly

dividend is INR10 per share of

become the first private sector

INR10 with the Earnings Per

player in India to commission

Share jumping to INR44.90

three 500 MW units in one

from INR27.88 at the end of

financial year. Our other divisions

FY 2009-10.

too have done well this year by

Commenting c o m p a n y ’s

on

the

p e r fo r m a n c e,

securing important and diverse orders and completing projects on time.”

GKN Driveline Continues Expansion In India GKN Driveline is continuing

Fiat, Volkswagen, General

its rapid growth in India with

Motors, Tata and Renault. When

the groundbreaking of a new

fully operation in August 2012,

manufacturing facility for CVJ

the new 8000 square-metre

Systems and Trans Axle Solution

facility will have an annual

in Pune, India.This INR 130

production capacity of more

crores (£ 18 million) factory will

than 600,000 CVJ Systems. It

employ more than 200 people and

is planned for the new facility

is strategically located within 30

to also manufacture differentials

kilometres of a number of GKN

from GKN Driveline’s Trans Axle Solutions product range.

Driveline customers including

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Applied Materials generated orders of $3.19 billion in second quarter of 2011. Net sales of $2.86 billion was reported, while operating income of $677 million. Eventually, net income of $489 million or $0.37 per share. Non-GAAP operating income was $685 million, and non-GAAP net income was $501 million or $0.38 per share.”Applied delivered one of the best quarters in the company’s history, including record net sales in our solar business,” said Mike Splinter, chairman and chief executive officer. “While near-term economic conditions have tempered our growth expectations, our outlook for the year remains strong driven by our customers’ plans to invest in the advanced technologies needed to meet growing demand for mobile devices and consumer electronics.”

Splinter added, “Earlier this month, we announced the planned acquisition of Varian Semiconductor to strengthen our leadership in the semiconductor industry and deliver value to our customers, shareholders and employees worldwide.””We exceeded our guidance for net sales in the second quarter and delivered earnings per share at the high end of the range,” said George Davis, chief financial officer. “During the quarter, we also raised our dividend by 14

percent to 8 cents per share and generated operating cash flow of more than $700 million.”

The non-GAAP results exclude the impact of the following, where applicable: restructuring and asset impairment charges and any associated adjustment related to restructuring actions, certain discrete tax items, certain acquisition-related costs, investment impairments, and gain or loss on sale of facilities.

A reconciliation of the GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided in the financial statements included in this release. See also “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2011, Applied expects net sales to be down in the range of 3 percent to 10 percent sequentially. The company expects non-GAAP EPS to be in the range of $0.31 to $0.37.

The non-GAAP EPS outlook excludes known charges related to completed acquisitions of approximately $0.01 per share, but does not exclude other nonGAAP adjustments that may arise subsequent to this release.

The non-GAAP EPS outlook includes the potential cost of long-term financing related to the planned Varian acquisition of approximately $0.01 per share.

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17

Business & Financial News

Q-Cells SE Develops World Record-Setting Solar Cell With 19.5% Efficiency Rating Q-Cells SE, one of the world’s leading photovoltaics companies, has marked a new world record in the field of major polycrystalline solar cells.

The independent calibration laboratory of Fraunhofer ISE (Institute for Solar Energy Systems) in Freiburg (Germany) confirmed the record efficiency rating of 19.5% on an area of

243 cm². The high-performance solar cell is based on the new Q.ANTUM cell concept, developed by Q-Cells in recent years. On the occasion of the biggest industry fair in the world, Intersolar 2011 in Munich, Q-Cells has been nominated for the Intersolar Award 2011 for a first kind of these solar cells, achieving an efficiency rating of

18.45%.

“The new world record is proofing Q-Cells’ leading position in the crystalline solar cells market. We have already managed to significantly improve the cell efficiency rating thanks to our new cell concept Q.ANTUM, and we will further optimise this technology to achieve efficiencies

of more than 20%,” said Peter Waver, Senior Vice President Technology with Q-Cells SE, explaining the importance of this development. “We are proud to have been nominated for the Intersolar Award 2011. This shows that our development will be a determining factor for the entire photovoltaics industry.”

Canadian Solar Announces 600 MW PV Cell Plant Joint Venture Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world’s largest solar companies, recently announced that it has signed an agreement with Suzhou New District Economic Development Group Corporation (“SND”) and Suzhou Science and Technology City Development Co., Ltd (“SST”) to build a 600 MW photovoltaic (PV) cell production factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

The new factory, located approximately 8 km from Canadian Solar’s current solar cell production facility, will fully enable the company’s stateof-the-art, proprietary ELPS

and ESE high-efficiency solar cells. Under the terms of the agreement, Canadian Solar will contribute 61% of the registered equity. Construction of the new factory is expected to start immediately after local permits are completed, with full ramp-up targeted for 2012.

The company remains on track to expand its annualized capacity for solar cells to 1.3 GW to 1.4 GW by mid-2011.

This newly announced joint venture with SND and SST will allow the company to reach approximately 2 GW of internal solar cell capacity during the first

quarter of 2012. The company is also on track to reach 2 GW of annualized capacity for module lamination capacity by mid2011. As a result, Canadian Solar expects to substantially achieve cell and module vertical integration by the end of the first quarter of 2012. Together with the joint venture agreement on solar wafer production announced with GCL as well as its existing long-term supply agreements and internal wafer capacity, the Company is on track to achieve a 2 GW ‘virtual vertical integration’ from wafer to cell and module at the beginning of 2012.

The Company would like to reiterate that its internal cell and module capacities, which are 220 MW and 350 MW for the second quarter of 2011, respectively, are currently running at full utilization rates, reflecting the strong endorsement of Canadian Solar products in the marketplace. The percentage of third-party cells vs. internally produced cells in the second quarter of 2011 is expected to be higher than that in the first quarter of 2011 due to the full utilization of the company’s module capacity.

LDK Solar Signs New Module Supply Contract LDK Solar Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers and PV products, recently announced

that the company has signed a

integrator. Under the terms of

of solar modules with monthly

module supply contract with a

the agreement, LDK Solar will

shipping expected to commence

leading Italy-based solar systems

provide 45 megawatts (MW)

in June 2011.

18 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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Business & Financial News

Suntech Introduces New High-Efficiency 250W BlackPearl(TM) Module Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., the world’s largest producer of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, announced that it will introduce the STP250S20/Wd+ BlackPearl(TM), a new generation high-efficiency module. Powered by a new generation of crystalline silicon cells, the BlackPearl(TM) modules achieve up to 15.2% conversion efficiency -- well

above the 13% to 14% efficiency of conventional polycrystalline solar modules.

The BlackPearl(TM) 250W product is a 60 cell module comprised of 6-inch black square cells that delivers one of the highest power per weight ratios in the industry. The module features a +0 to +5% positive power tolerance and exceptionally low oxygen content leading to

strong resistance to light-induced degradation. In addition, the modules are built to withstand all weather conditions including 3.800 N/m² (~270 km/h) wind load and 5.400 N/m² (~55 kg/ m²) snow loads, well above IEC standard requirements.

The product is ideally suited to rooftop installations where weight, power, and aesthetics are key customer considerations.

Gamesa Opens Its Fifth Factory In China Gamesa, a world leading turbine maker and a major wind power developer, inaugurated its fifth factory in China in the city of Da’an in Jilin province, one of the nation’s most important wind resource hubs. The facility, which will assemble 2 MW nacelles for Gamesa’s G9X range, will initially have annual capacity of 500 MW. This new facility reinforces

Gamesa’s position in China, where it already has four factories (blades, generators, nacelle and gearbox assembly) in Tianjin province, the company’s largest manufacturing base outside Spain. It is building two factories in Tianjin and in Inner Mongolia.

At the in auguration ceremon y, José Antonio Miranda, Chairman and CEO

of Gamesa China, said that “Gamesa continues to tap into the opportunities being thrown up by the fast-growing wind power markets such as China”. He went on to add that “Gamesa’s commitment to developing its platforms locally spells job creation, the nurturing of a local supplier network and contribution to the region’s social and economic development, as will be the case in Jilin”.

CCEF Alumnus Bryan Garcia Named President of Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing and innovation development and administrator of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) recently announced that it has appointed Bryan Garcia president of CCEF, effective May 31, 2011, an appointment recommended to CI’s Finance Committee by the CCEF Board. Garcia, who was a member of CCEF’s staff for six and half years from 2000 to 2007, returns to CCEF after serving for four years as program director of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment.

Installation Of 1000 Mw Lignite Based New Thermal Power Project At Neyveli The Cabinet Committee

consisting two units of 500 MW

Rs.559.03 crore and Foreign

New Thermal Power Project (2

on Infrastructure has approved

each at an estimated cost of

Exchange (FE) component of

x 500 MW) units will cater to

the proposal for installing 1000

Rs.5907.11 crore on October,

Rs.969.81 crore equivalent

the demand of the states in the

MW lignite based Thermal

2010 price level with Interest

to US $ 217.009 million. The

Southern Region.

Power Project at Neyveli

During Construction (IDC) of

power generated from Neyveli

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

19

Business & Financial News

IFC Starts Operations of €150 Million Carbon Fund to Promote Climate-Friendly Investments IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has started operations of a new fund of up to €150 million to purchase carbon credits, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, extend carbon markets, and increase access to finance for projects that promote environmentally friendly economic growth.

IFC has committed €15 million to the IFC Post-2012 Carbon Facility as part of its first closing, and is mobilizing the remainder from European power utilities and energy companies.

EnBW Trading, GDF Suez and Mabanaft join anchor investors Mercuria Energy, Shell Trading and IFC for a current fund size of €90 million. Other participants

are expected to join before the fund’s final closing on June 30, 2011.

The Facility is now operational and will forward purchase Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) expected to be produced from 2013 to 2020 from projects directly financed by IFC or by local banks financed

by IFC. This will ensure that

projects can continue to benefit from carbon finance during a period of policy uncertainty as we approach the end of the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. The fund will provide a longer-term high-quality revenue stream from carbon credits and increase financing options for projects that reduce emissions.

Schneider Electric Signs Agreement To Buy 74% Stake In Luminous Power Technologies From a small beginning, over 20 years back, Luminous Power Technologies has grown to become a strong market leader in the area of power backup systems and industrial batteries in India. Luminous has emerged as the preferred brand in India with a wide distribution network of over 900 distributors serving

over 25,000 retail outlets. LPT is ready to expand its portfolio to include Home Electricals and Energy Efficiency products to power its future growth.

Mr Rakesh Malhotra, Founder & Chairman of the Company said “We are glad to have Schneider Electric as

a partner in Luminous Power Technologies. We are looking forward to exciting growth of our current businesses in India and other parts of the world by leveraging this relationship.

Luminous Power Technologies will also benefit in terms of accessing a strong product

and technology platform of Schneider Electric in the area of Home Electricals and Energy Efficiency products. We will now be able to offer a more compelling & complete portfolio to our consumers and business partners.

Nasir Mulani Appointed MD Of Citec Engineering India Nasir Mulani has been

Citec. At Citec, he was Head of

STPI registered units in Navi

engineering as well as product

appointed Managing Director

Engineering for 5 years until his

Mumbai and Chennai. Citec is

development and project

of Citec Engineering India - a

current promotion as MD.

headquartered in Vaasa, Finland

management services.

leading engineering, consultancy

He holds a Bachelor in

and project services provider for

Mechanical Engineering from

the energy and power industry.

the University of Pune, as

Nasir has 17 years of

well as a Master in Business

engineering and management experience and has worked at

Administration from the University of Pune.

Wärtsilä India Pvt before joining 20 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Citec has 100% EOU,

and has a turnover of 55 million euros.

Wartsila, Siemens, Saipem are the few Citec’s key customers.

Citec Engineering offers

Other international customers

complete engineering solutions

include Foster Wheeler, Ruukki,

in mechanical, electrical &

Kraftanlagen Munchen, ABB,

automation, civil and structural,

Kvaerner, Nokia, Ericsson and

process and environment

Rolls-Royce.

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Business & Financial News

Trina Solar Announces Advanced Monocrystalline Module with Comax Technology, and New “Trinamount” Mounting Solution Hardware Trina Solar Limited , a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) products from the production of ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules, recently announced the introduction of new products including new monocrystalline module with Comax technology and its Trinamount mounting hardware solution.

The new monocrystalline module TSM-DC/DA01A was designed to endorse Trina Solar’s philosophy of “More Power, Less Space”. It is composed of 72

newly developed 5-inch “Comax” cells and is expected to provide an effective solution for residential and small commercial systems.

The cell is nearly fully squared which gives approximately 4% more surface area compared to a standard cell. This, combined with enhanced technology, means that it is expected to produce up to 10 watts more than the Company’s standard monocrystalline product.

In addition, under the newly created “Solutions” product series, Trina Solar is developing products that expand upon current

PV module offerings to include other system-related components.

By combining the Company’s high performing modules with the innovative Trinamount mounting solutions, overall system costs are expected to be considerably reduced, increasing the pricing competitiveness of solar energy compared to traditional energy sources. Trinamount hardware will be compatible with a wide variety of roof types.

Trinamount I is designed for tile roofs and is compatible with Trina Solar’s TSM-PC/ PA05 module. Trinamount II is

designed for pitched roofs, and comes with mounting hardware for composition shingle, standing seam, corrugated and trapezoidal metal. Trinamount III is designed for use on flat roofs, especially designed for commercial PV systems. Trina Solar expects to distribute the Trinamount solution in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia by the end of the third quarter of 2011.

All solutions follow the common goal of reducing system costs through an innovative approach to PV mounting methodologies.

T-Solar & Astonfield Renewables Form Strategic Partnership Astonfield Renewable Resources (Astonfield) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Grupo T-Solar Global S.A. (T-Solar), a Spanish-based solar power producer with installed generation capacity of 168 megawatts (MW) in Spain and Italy, in addition to a large pipeline in Southern Europe, Latin America, and the US. The partnership has been initiated with Astonfield’s 5MW solar PV project in Osiyan Rajasthan (the Project), which will be the first in a long term strategic collaboration between Astonfield and T-Solar.

Astonfield will deploy T-Solar’s latest generation 5.7 m2 a-Si:H thin film modules in the Project. The Project will be one of the first utility-scale solar power plants commissioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and is expected to be commissioned by October 2011. Construction on the Project has begun and, once operational, it is expected to generate at least 8,500 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, sufficient to power the equivalent of over 13,000 Indian households.

With T-Solar’s strategic

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investment and project debt financing in place from leading Indian banking institutions such as the State Bank of India and the Export-Import Bank of India, Astonfield has confirmed that site construction is well under way and the project is set for on time commissioning. Schneider Electric, a leading global EPC, has been retained as Project EPC manager.

based generation in India, we

Sourabh Sen, Co-Chairman of Astonfield commented, “Five years ago, when we embarked on our mission to foster public awareness and develop solar-

Having emerged as the most

knew that the road to success would be challenging. Today’s announcement is the culmination of an enormous amount of effort, conducted by a team of dedicated and passionate professionals.”

Sen added, “As the European solar markets cool, leading global solar players continue to look towards rapidly growing solar markets, particularly India. prepared and knowledgeable Indian project developer, Astonfield is being recognized as the Indian partner of choice.”

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

21

SO L A R ENERGY

Rising Opportunities In Photovoltaic Technology And Manufacturing Dr. Mohan Bhan, Vice President, Moser Baer Solar Limited

Global economic forces, increasing governmental policies supported by feed-in-tariff programs, growing academic, public and private research and development (R&D) activities, continuous technology improvement roadmaps/ new innovations and the overall drive to soon reach at the grid parity levels of $0.10 - $0.12/watt are all converging and setting up the new pace and opportunities for the Photovoltaic (PV) industry in the coming years.

PV Market Opportunities Despite of recent credit crisis of 2007 – 2009, weak economic environment, softening of equity investment, lack of new venture capital funding and reduction in governmental feed-in-tariffs and incentives from Spain, Germany and other parts of the world,

countries such as Italy, France, Greece, India, UK and others. The recent announcement of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is a perfect example of such an effort and support from the India policy makers. With grid parity within reach, in the next 2 – 5 years in major geographies, the

Sarasin, NPD Group, EuPD Research) now suggest that as much as 13.5GW of solar modules will be installed in 2010 and hence further expanding to an estimated level of >21GW by 2012. This forecast provides an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of >40% for the PV sector. It is also forecasted that both crystalline Si (c-Si)

overall PV industry outlook appears very positive. The latest market estimates (source: Jefferies Equity Research, IEA-PVPS, Bank

and Thin Film type (a-Si, CdTe and CIGS) modules will continue to have an exponential growth rate. In addition, the two key drivers

Figure 1. Forecast Global Supply Demand.

PV industry market continuous to expand, geographically. This is fuelled by new feedin-tariffs and policies across a wide list of

22 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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Figure 2. Likely Grid Parity Roadmap.

such as development of government policies and project financing must remain intact for the continuous growth of the PV industry and entire value chain in the foreseeable future.

Challenges for PV Technology and Manufacturing The solar industry is currently transitioning from the first growth phase, where demand was majorly driven by three markets such as Germany, Japan and Spain - to second growth phase. As the PV market starts to go through the next growth curve, the industry must mature alongside it and overcome major challenges. For c-Si based solar modules, the worldwide PV production capacity is currently limited to poly-silicon feedstock supply problems. Additionally, the fluctuations in spot poly-silicon prices, driven by supply and demand changing conditions, cause a nightmare for the c-Si cell and module manufacturers. The critical bill of materials such as Si wafer, chemicals, pastes, front and back glass, lamination encapsulate, junction box and mounting frames continue to be high cost component for manufacturing of both c-Si and Thin Film based modules. The actual module efficiency as obtained for both c-Si and Thin Film based technologies, as reported by various manufacturers, continues

to be lower by 40 - 60% in comparison to their theoretically derived values. On top, the capital cost for the purchase of new production equipment and lines, and post warranty service support still remain very high to achieve a sub dollar cost of manufacturing. Thus, the immediate focus for the next 5 years involves addressing all of the aforementioned issues while solving the PV manufacturing economies and making them cheaper.

In addition, the basic principles required to grow the entire worldwide PV industry in the near- and long-terms must follow a common theme and world class standards, such as; a) creation of the market, workforce, and policy conditions necessary to support long-term growth, b) development of global manufacturing standards to ensure sustained reliability of the products, c) adoption of corporate responsibility to promote sustainable development, and d) adherence to market and business standards and practices that will enable a truly global industry.

Meeting Grid Parity Grid parity is the point at which alternative (example: solar, wind, etc.) means of generating electricity is equal in cost, or cheaper than grid power which is generated

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from fossil fuels. The electricity price ($0.07 - $0.25/KWh) and PV system price ($0.75 - $3.0/Wp) for achieving grid parity varies from country to country. Recently due to large increase in global solar manufacturing capacity and easier module availability, the average module selling price has declined to below $1.50/Wp. With additional drop in inverter and other components of Balance of System (BOS) prices, the total PV system prices are expected to decline to $2.75 - $3.0/ Wp. This will allow the industry to achieve grid parity in US Peak market (only in CA), Italy and Japan within next 18 months. In India we need the system price to be at $1.0/ Wp to hit the grid parity at $0.10/KWh. In general, for many of the other countries, the grid parity can be achieved with the drop in PV system price below $2.25/Wp. Most of the countries are expected to hit the grid parity using solar renewable energy by 2015.

Poly Si Prices: A Dominating Factor in Lowering c-Si Module Manufacturing Cost The module prices are further expected to decline in the coming years, and hence faster enabling grid parity. Poly Si, the raw material in c-Si cells still represents a meaningful (~65%) portion of the total EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

23Â

PV manufacturing cost. Any sustained price increase would have a significant impact on the industries production cost. Many Si wafer manufacturers are still able to get Poly Si supplies in the $40 -$50/Kg range under the long term contract. However, the spot price has recently shot up to $70 - $75/Kg, due to its shortage in the market. As additional Poly Si production (OCI, Woongjin, GCL, LDK, ReneSola, Louyang, Yingli, REC, Taiwan Polypropylene and others) and new wafer capacity come on stream and PV demand softens by Q1, 2011, this will ease out the pricing situation. The Poly Si spot prices are expected to decline to low $40/Kg by Q4, 11. This is surely going to help c-Si module manufacturers to buy wafers at significantly reduced prices (below $0.65/Wp) and hence drop the cost of manufacturing.

PV Policy Implementation from various Governments At present, the vast majority of the global PV market is grid connected. Since PV is not currently competitive with retail or wholesale electricity in most parts of the world, many governments provide market support through fiscal and regulatory instruments such as tax incentives, rebates and grants, loan programs, mandatory targets, premium prices for PV-generated electricity, and research and development funds. The regulatory landscape has evolved constantly during the last 30 years, and PV incentives have been implemented in a broad range of combinations and iterations. The incentives need to be substantial enough to affect fundamental market transformation, and drive PV technology costs down their experience curves. Policy stability is critical to creating sustained PV market growth.

Policies must be in place for a long enough period of time to attract investments in manufacturing and the development of a mature industry.

During the past decade, PV feed-in tariff established a track record which surely catapulted the solar market growth in Germany and Spain. However, feed-in tariffs are now slowly fading away and/or getting cut by these major countries. However, at the same time new governments, policies and feed-in-tariffs are emerging to support PV based renewable programs.

24 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Germany: The Titan of the Solar Industry After dominating the world stage as the leader in solar technology and the largest market for clean and renewable solar energy for over a decade, the German Parliament has decided to cut the feed in tariff for the fourth time in 2010. The tariffs for installations on farm land have been completely removed. As the prices of modules dropped, the planned scale-down of the feed in tariff was not enough to avoid investors earning insane returns, so they decided to cut it further. Although this cut seems a bit extreme, and the addition of self usage benefits complicates the tariff unnecessarily, the German Parliament seems to have sided with the utilities. However, after careful and extensive calculation, it is safe to say that the German market is still interesting for investors, particularly investors who own the property on which the power plant is to be built. True, the feed in tariffs have been cut unfairly, and too much for the industry to keep up. But, projects are still calculating profitably, and German market still is an opportunity for investors. It is estimated that about 6.6GW of PV modules will be installed in Germany in 2010 and approximately same size will be installed in 2011. Two thumbs up Germany, for maintaining their position as the world leader and staying ahead of the curve in market developments.

Spain: Share of Boom and Bust Spain has had its share of boom and bust in the PV industry. The initial Spanish solar feed in tariff was far too high, really impressive for investors but completely not sustainable in terms of power purchase. It appears that the Spanish government is giving another crack at it, and it is beginning to approve projects again. Spain has been a learning experience for the PV industry, as well as policy makers. Let us hope that this time, the victory won’t be short lived, and the Spanish market will open back up to investment and profitability for everyone. The apparent cap for current policy is 500MW/ year, 241MW of which are set aside for ground mounted systems.

US: Lacks a Unified Feed-inTariff Policy In early 2009, the US government announced the “New Green Energy for

America” plan. The plan calls for renewable energy to supply 10% of the nation’s electricity by 2012, rising to 25% by 2025. The plan also calls for deploying energy efficiency improvement programs and reduce 50% of green house gas emissions by 2050. The US photovoltaic market is expected to grow to >10GW by 2020. However, The United States of America has no feed in tariff policy. Each day that passes without a unified energy policy is another day that opportunity slips through the fingers of the American market.

The solar radiation resources available in the darkest corners of the US are 50% higher than the best that the world market leader, Germany, has to offer. Thousands of investors are waiting patiently for the market to move in a direction that makes solar a profitable venture. Until the US is able to adopt a coherent renewable energy strategy that isn’t dependent on tax breaks, the market will remain underdeveloped.

India: The New Sun on Horizon with Announcement of JNNSM Mission…

The announcement of three phased “Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission” policy to achieve 20GW grid connected and an additional 2GM off-grid power by 2022 is a step forward taken by MNRE to establish it’s global leadership role in harnessing Sun Energy as Electricity. The solar mission policy will greatly contribute towards India’s energy and ecological securities, reduce dependency on fossil fuel reserves, boost Indian economy and create jobs. MNRE’s solar mission document greatly outlines the methodology and scheme which the ministry has adopted to oversee the completion of the project. The immediate aim of the mission is to focus on setting up an enabling environment for solar technology penetration in the country but at a centralized and decentralized level. The first phase focuses on ramping up capacity of grid connected solar power generation to 1GW by 2013. This is to be followed by the second phase to increase the total installed capacity to an additional level of 5 – 7GW by 2017.

The overall 2 phase scheme is to be supported by the 2% mandatory use of the renewable purchase obligation by utilities backed with a feed-in-tariff manufacturing credits and exemptions from customs and excise duties.

The ambitious target for 2022 of 20GW or more will be dependent on the learning of the first two phases, which if successful, could

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lead to condition of grid competitive solar power. The ultimate goal as stated in the document is to scale the solar grid connected power to 100GW and 200GW by 2030 and 2050, respectively. The mission also provides the guidelines that promote domestic content.

The policy requires that from 2012 onwards both cells and modules to be completely manufactured in India. In addition, the policy asks all module manufacturer’s to follow IEC 61215 (for c-Si), IEC 61646 (for Thin Films) and IEC 62108 (for concentrated PV) module certification and quality standards.

Gujarat and Rajasthan Taking Lead in Establishing PV Power Projects...

The JNNSM has gotten a flying start with both Gujarat and Rajasthan states leading in establishing PV installation projects.

Earlier Generation-Based Incentive (GBI) schemes announced by the States of Gujarat, and Rajasthan received an overwhelming response, with bids for 10,007 MW. Of these bids, a total of 716MW was approved, including solar thermal power projects; with

365 MW in PV projects. Charanaka, a village nestled in a remote corner of Patan district in north Gujarat is destined to become the state’s hub of solar power generation.

Solar panels will be laid on close to 3,000 acres of land in this village, where the state government is going to set up a ‘ Gujarat Solar Park at an investment of Rs 8,000 crore. The apex state utility, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL), is currently in the process of entering into long term power purchase with agreements with 80 solar power project investors to commission almost 965 MW of generation capacity. This capacity will help procure 1,700 million units of environment friendly electricity per annum. Many of these 80 developers will set up their generation facilities ranging from 1-45 MW units at Gujarat Solar Park.

In first phase, developers will commission 500 MW of generation capacity at the park.

Interestingly, Gujarat is the lone state which is in the process of inking power purchase agreements to procure 965 MW of solar power from 80 project developers to attract investments of Rs 15,000 crore in the next couple of years.

Understanding and Developing PV Landscape in India…

India is poised at the threshold of opportunity to grow and expand its role in PV adoption and manufacturing, and potentially to become a global leader. Specific drivers for PV in India include the country’s rapidly rising primary energy and electricity needs, the persistent energy deficit situation, and country’s overdependence on coal for electricity generation. These factors coupled with India’s endowment with abundant irradiation, with most parts of the country enjoying 300 sunny days a year, make PV particularly attractive to the country’s energy strategy.

India’s current annual PV module manufacturing capacity is close to 300 – 350MW. It is also estimated that India’s annual PV module production will rise from the conservative to moderate figures of 2 to 5GW by 2022. As per JNNSM guidelines, if both solar cells and modules are to be produced domestically, then the immediate capacity in India needs to be more than 2 or 3 fold. Also, there is no current silicon (Si)

Figure 3. Photograph of Moser Baer a-Si based Thin Film Module Manufacturing Line.

feedstock supply and/or wafer manufacturing capability in India. This establishes the key driver for establishing PV manufacturing facilities and entire materials supply value chain in India. A robust PV industry in India would create more than 100,000 jobs right across the entire value chain; R&D, manufacturing, installation, and the entire materials supply chain.

In order to march forward, the key challenges facing the growth and development of PV industry in India include; a) closer industry-government cooperation - for the technology to achieve scale, b) development of the common industry standards, c) focused, collaborative and goals driven R&D - to help India attain technology leadership in PV, d) local financing infrastructure, models and arrangements, e) training and development of human Resources - to drive industry growth and PV adoption, f)intraindustry cooperation – in expanding the PV supply chain, in technical information sharing through conferences and workshop, in collaboration with BOS manufacturers, and g) build consumer awareness - about the PV technology, its economics and impact on Indian and World-Wide market.

Driven by the volume production, local supply chain, trained local work force, and support from the government on creating infrastructures, manufacturing tax credits, supply of utilities, relaxation of import / export duties and more, India can become the low cost solar module manufacturing hub in Asia by 2022.

Solving PV Economies using New Technology Innovations to Produce Cheaper Modules…

There are several kinds of Solar Cell technologies that are applied to manufacture PV modules. Among, the dominant technology is crystalline Silicon (mono- and multi-), which accounts for about ~85% of the solar market. However, Thin Film technologies are making rapid inroads in the solar arena.

“Second generation” Thin Film technology based solar modules, are the way forward for a price competitive market. By requiring far lesser and thinner (1/200) material, faster cheaper manufacturing processes, and shorter supply chains, Thin Film solar is a wide open industry, as they can be produced much cheaper than c-Si based modules.

The main commercially available Thin Film technologies include amorphous-Si (Single, Tandem and Triple junction with 26 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

module efficiencies ranging from 7% – 11.5%), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe with module efficiency ~11.5%) and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS with module efficiency ~13.5%). Out of these, amorphousSi is the oldest and most mature and proven manufacturing technology. The module efficiencies of all of these three materials are improving as a result of on-going R&D efforts and innovations of new process technologies.

Much sustained efforts are going on both at academic and industrial levels to come up with new Thin Film based materials, device and process engineering schemes to solve material homogeneity, remove device defects, better trap light for enhanced absorption and produce simpler steps to manufacture the reliable and cheaper Thin Film based PV modules.

It is estimated that the average module efficiencies produced applying the above three technologies will improve by 2- 5% (absolute) through 2015. Thus this will decrease the efficiency gap with respect to c-Si based technology which today on a commercially available line is set around 17%. As a rule, an increase in module efficiency by 1% absolute drops the module manufacturing cost by ~15%. Hence, just based on efficiency improvements, Thin Film manufacturing cost are estimated to come down by >30% in the coming years. This will make Thin Film PV to be the cheapest solar cell to print on a substrate. With the increase in power density per square meter of the Thin Film modules, the Balance of System (BOS) component costs are also estimated to drop by >30%. This will further push down the total PV system cost and hence

will further enable meeting the grid parity cost targets.

It is generally not realized that in a hot and humid country like India, amorphous-Si Thin Film based panels are likely to provide output superior to panels based on crystalline Si. This is because of its more favorable temperature coefficient, a-Si modules provide >10 – 15% higher energy yield when operating under hotter temperature conditions, such as in India. In general, Thin Film based modules also provide much better performance even in diffuse light conditions.

Diffuse light refers to sunlight that does not come in a direct path, and has been reflected from clouds, the ground or other objects.

The other advantage of Thin Film based modules is their configurable form factor.

Based on the use of a variety of substrates (such as glass, plastic and foil), Thin Film PV modules can be made for a variety of market applications which include building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), roof tops, roof tiles, solar farm / utility scale and etc.

The PV opportunities in India market are tremendous and with focused and collaborative efforts from all sectors can make India as one of the key and leading market leader in the world.

The ancient author Ecclesiastes wrote, “What has been done is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the Sun”.

The future appears to demand that there be something new under the Sun – but it is strangely the Sun itself that is going to make it possible.

AUTHOR’S BIO Dr. Mohan Bhan is an industry veteran and brings with him rich experience of more than 21 years spanning across Semiconductor and Solar Industries. He received his Ph.D. degree from Department of Physics at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1989. He has been awarded various fellowships and completed 3 postdoctoral and advanced research works at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama and Iowa State University, Iowa, USA. He has done various pioneering work and inventions in the field of Semiconductor and Solar sciences. He has been awarded 13 US patents and has authored >25 research publications and popular articles. He has given various keynote speeches and technology talks.

He brings strength with the deep domain expertise at the intersection of technology, business and operations. Dr. Bhan is currently working as Vice President of Engineering at Moser Baer Solar Limited and managing Applied Materials 50MW SunFab Turnkey line for the production of Amorphous Silicon Based Thin Film Photovoltaic modules. He is currently dedicated to solve technical problems to enhance the conversion efficiency of the solar modules to faster reach to grid parity. Before joining Moser Baer Solar Limited, he has worked at Applied Materials Inc., USA for >13 years where he held various technical, marketing and business management positions.

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SO L A R ENERGY

Is There A Typical Year-To-Year Variability For Global Horizontal Irradiation In France?

César Hidalgo et Al., GL Garrad Hassan

Assessing the inter-annual variability of the solar radiation is critical when deriving the uncertainty associated with bankable solar energy yield predictions. As the world’s largest renewable energy consultant with significant wind, solar and marine experience across all stages of a project, GL Garrad Hassan is often asked about the year-to-year variability of Global Horizontal Irradiation in France.

G

L GH has used the longest ground irradiation measurements registered by Météo France (up to 39 years of data) in the South of France to get the temporal variability of GHI as a complementary approach to a previous uncertainty assessment based on satellite data [1]. A comparison of Météo France data with other popular irradiation databases

France with the obtained standard deviations ranging from 2.3% to 5.5%.

Description of the irradiation data sources

The following irradiation data sources have been used:

MétéoFrance Meteorological Stations[4]

department of Ardèche and Drôme. They have been recording from 20 to 46 years, and they were still operational in December 2010. The monthly sums of GHI have been used in this study rejecting as invalid years those with any monthly gap. This approach has reduced the number of valid years to a range between 11 and 39 years.

Meteonorm 6.1

Figure 1: Location of the ground stations from Météo France that have been used and their corresponding ratios of the standard deviation to the mean in percentage.

like Meteonorm or PVGIS has been also made.

The main conclusion is that no typical year-to-year variability can be used for 28 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

The 14 selected stations have the longest measurement period of GHI in the regions of Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc Roussillon, and PACA, and the

The Meteonorm database contains data from more than 1,422 measurement stations with irradiation recording [2] and 17 stations located in South of France, with

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First record Year-Month 1964-08 Millau 1965-01 Nice 1968-01 Carpentras 1968-07 Agen 1975-01 Montpellier 1978-01 Bordeaux 1978-01 Pau-Uzein Ile Du Levant 1979-01 1979-04 Marignane Carcassonne 1979-04 1979-10 Embrun 1980-10 Perpignan 1990-01 Lavaur 1990-01 Sauternes

Valid years 20 23 39 33 34 27 30 11 30 25 28 30 19 13

and 15 stations located in South of France, with measurements between 1981 and 1990.

Std Dev [%) 4.01% 3.79% 3.25% 4.12% 3.71% 3.70% 4.58% 5.55% 2.96% 3.29% 2.29% 3.18% 5.52% 4.27%

with a minimum number of years of 11 and a maximum number of 39 (Table 1).

The positive and negative differences between a single year and the long term average obtained are summarised below (Figure 2):

Methodology

The Météo France GHI data have been processed and their quality checked. Any year with missing monthly GHI data has been disregarded for further steps in the analysis. Meteonorm and PVGIS data have been obtained for the exact coordinates of the Météo France stations.

Table 1: Year-to-year variability at Météo France stations

measurements between 1969 or 1981 and 1996 or 2000.

Positive differences: ranging from 4.5% to 11.2%

-

Negative differences: ranging from 4.8% to 10.2%.

A comparison of the GHI figures provided

by Météo France with the figures from Meteonorm or PVGIS has been made (Table 2 and Figure 3). Meteonorm is providing

Results

A total of 14 meteorological ground stations from Météo France have been

-

15,00%

10,00%

5,00%

Max (%) Min (%)

0,00%

Ͳ5,00%

Ͳ10,00%

Ͳ15,00%

Figure 2: Positive and negative differences between a single year and the long term average for GHI at the Météo France stations

PVGIS-3

annual irradiation data in excess of 0.6% (average) and PVGIS in excess of 1% at the Météo France locations. This is important to consider when using those irradiation databases in energy yield estimations for

selected in the South of France. The long term yearly sum of the Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) varies from 1,584 to 1,279 kWh/m². The ratio of the standard deviation

The Photovolt aic Geographic Information System (PVGIS) provides data derived from satellites and ground

1650 1600 GHI (kWh/m²)

1550 1500 1450 1400 1350 1300

MétéoFrance

Meteonorm

PVGIS3

Pau-Uzein

Sauternes

Bordeaux

Lavaur

Agen

Millau

Carcassonne

Perpignan

Montpellier

Nice

Embrun

Carpentras

Marignane

1200

Ile Du Levant

1250

Figure 3: Results of GHI at the ground stations under study based on Météo France, Meteonorm and PVGIS.

stations. For the European subcontinent, the climatologic database comprises 566 meteorological stations (source ESRA) [3],

to the mean (Coefficient of Variation or COV) for the 14 stations varies from 2.3% to 5.6% (Figure 1). These figures have been obtained

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PV plants in the South of France.

In general terms, it is observed that the COV is decreasing with the number of years EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

29

Meteonorm Ile Du Levant 1.80% Marignane1 -0.20% 1.70% Carpentras 0.40% Embrun 1.00% Nice 0.40% Montpellier 1.10% Perpignan Carcassonne 0.90% 1.60% Millau 0.90% Agen -4.20% Lavaur 0.40% Bordeaux -0.50% Sauternes 2.50% Pau-Uzein

approximately 2.6% higher that the historic GHI measured as an average for all the met stations.

This means that the last ten year period has had a higher irradiation average than the longest historic period available at the Météo France ground stations.

PVGIS 2.80% 3.00% 3.30% 4.70% 2.70% 2.20% 2.10% -0.30% 2.70% 1.80% -4.30% -0.20% -0.90% -4.50%

Conclusions The main conclusions of the study are: • The variability of GHI in South of France determined in 14 stations is ranging from 2.3% to 5.5%.

Table 2: Relative difference between Météo France data and Meteonorm and PVGIS

registered. However, the COV for a given number of years depends also on the specific climatic conditions of the area (Figure 4).

• The maximum expected difference between one single year and the long-term average can be as high as 11.2%.

• Typical databases like Meteonorm or PVGIS are overestimating the GHI at the Météo France station locations ranging from 0.6% to 1%.

• The GHI average of the period 2000-2010 is approximately 2.6% higher that the historic accumulated period for the Météo France stations analysed.

Further work Further phases of the analysis are listed below: • Identification of a spatial uncertainty associated to the climatic distance from the considered PV site to the closest Météo France Station •

Monte Carlo simulations

[1] Suri M. et al. “Uncertainties in photovoltaic yield prediction from fluctuation of solar radiation”. 22nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Milano, 2007.

[2] http://www.meteonorm.com/pages/ en/meteonorm-6-online/stations-mn6.1.php [3] http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/solrad/ index.htm#databases

6.00% 5.55%

5.52%

5.00% 4.58%

Coeficient of Variation (%)

4.27% 4.01%

4.00%

4.12% 3.79%

3.71%

3.70% 3.29%

3.25%

3.18% 2.96%

3.00% 2.29% 2.00%

1.00%

0.00% 10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Number of years Figure 4: Year-to-year variability of Météo France data and the number of valid years used in the calculation.

Finally, it has been also observed that the mean GHI of the last ten years is 30 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

• The variability of GHI observed is reduced when more years of data are available.

[4] http://publitheque.meteo.fr/okapi/accueil/ okapiWebPubli/index.jsp

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

31Â

SO L A R ENERGY

First Coating Systems For High Efficiency Solar Cells

BERND RAU, ROTH & RAU

Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) backside passivation with MAiA platform The MAiA® product is an advanced form of the SiNA® PECVD tools. It offers a variety of process technologies that target improved cell efficiency of crystalline silicon

Determined to bring new technologies to the solar manufacturing arena, Roth and Rau presents new technologies and manufacturing equipments. The two technolgies ensures production of high efficient solar cells.

The first is in the area of cell passivation, using Al2O3PECVD on the MAiA® system (based on industrial proven SiNA® platform) and the second is heterojunction technology in which the amorphous silicon capabilities of the HELiA platform are used.

Backside passivation with aluminium

so called “PERC”-cell concept requires

oxide (Al2O3) is the most important process

double side passi-vation coating plus local

featured by the MAiA® systems. The most

rear contacts.

common application uses double-sided coating of solar cells with a (standard) silicon nitride layer on the front and a stack of aluminum oxide / silicon nitride on the backside.

Aluminium Oxide was demonstrated to be a perfect surface passivation layer for p-type Si cause of the high amount of negative fixed charges. This fixed charges are formed

solar cells. Like the SiNA®, the second

When c-Si wfr thickness goes down,

in the film after thermal annealing and firing

generation MAiA® systems have a modular

more IR-Light should be reflected on rear

and will provide a strong field effect. For

side for a 2nd pass trough to recover . This so

this reason Al2O3 films will become very

called “PERC”-cell concept requires double

important as rear side passivation for future

side passi-

c-Si PERC-cell technologies.

design. The process tool consists of a series of process and buffer modules. This enables running several processes in one machine.

The MAiA can deposit multi-layer coatings

When c-Si wfr thickness goes down,

Roth & Rau’s MAiA® inline deposition

on the front and back side of the wafer in

more IR-Light should be reflected on rear

system constitutes a production-proven

one single tool.

side for a 2nd pass trough to recover ŋ. This

PECVD machine with standard linear MW-

32 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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plasma sources, slightly modified gas showers

In 2007 Roth & Rau has started

well controlled, thin layer of intrinsic and

as well as an additional liquid chemical

intensified research in the field of high

doped a-Si:H onto a textured Si-wafer

vaporizer box with absolute TMAI-flow

efficient heterojunction technology forming

surface. The system is based on a modular

control and automated refill from a remote

the Roth & Rau Switzerland AG in Neuchâtel.

design, similar to the SiNA® and MAiA®

tank for continous production.

In close collaboration with the institute

systems by Roth & Rau.

The complete PERC cell passivation consists of a front antireflection coating plus a rear side Al2O3/SiNx stack as an “all in one” low cost solution for three dielectric coatings in just one pass through on Roth

IMT of the university of Lausanne about 10 highly skilled physicists and engineers developed a complete high efficiency solar cell production process on lab level in a fully equipped facility.

The layers are deposited with a PECVD process, powered by a direct RF-plasma.

Roth & Rau has developed and patented the S-Cube™, a state-of-the-art plasma reactor.

It is based on a box-inbox arrangement

& Rau’s MAiA® inline tool with more than

In 2010 a pilot system was installed and

providing very low contamination and

3,600 wafer per hour. The total cost of

tested at the Roth & Rau Technology Center,

homogenous deposition. The key parameter

ownership for TMAl (Trimthylaluminum)

headquartered in Hohenstein-Ernstthal,

for the efficacy of the passivation with the

come to approximate 1ct/cell.

Germany. Based on positive results obtained

a-Si:H deposition layer is the carrier-lifetime.

in Switzerland and on the pilot system in

Roth & Rau has achieved values of more than

Germany, the first production system, called

5 ms effective lifetime with thin a-Si layers

HELiA, with a capacity of 2,400 wafers

as used in the solar cell devices.

TMAl is available as a low cost “Solar grade” quality and will be offered from different chemical suppliers.

per hour was developed. It left the Roth &

The first tool of the second generation

Rau assembly facility in April 2011 and is

MAiA® for Al2O3 backside passivation

currently being installed at the customer

was delivered to a major German cell

site, where is it expected to ramp-up to full

manufacturer in April 2011. During pilot

production in the coming months.

The Roth & Rau HELiA system has been developed for deposition of TCO- and metal

production at the customer’s site, cells with Al2O3 layers reached 19.0% efficiency

HELiAPVD - TCO deposition at low costs

layers by sputter deposition. The tool design

crystalline wafers. The MAiA Al2O3 layers

HELiAPECVD - The key product for HJT

have been successfully tested on both

The Roth & Rau HELiA represents the

flipping the wafer. Rotary Magnetrons are

p-doped and n-doped wafers as well as UMG

key device for processing of heterojunction-

used for high target usage, high throughput

material.

cells. It is capable of depositing a uniform,

and production at lowest costs.

on mono crystalline and 18.0% on multi

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provides for face-up and face-down deposition – front- and backside can be coated without

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

33

“The solar cell of the future.”

One of the focus points of research at Roth & Rau has been the development of hetero-junction technology. The aim is to develop processes and systems that enable low cost production of high-efficiency solar cells. We spoke about this technology with Dr. Bernd Rau, Managing Director of Roth & Rau Switzerland and cofounder of Roth & Rau.

list of priorities!” Heterojunction cells are

Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) since January

based on a low-temperature manufacturing

2009. IMT is well known for its work on

concept which saves energy and, in return,

both thin-film silicon and crystalline silicon

costs. Heterojunction cells consist of an

solar cells. The goal of the cooperation is

undoped monocrystalline silicon wafer which

to facilitate a technology transfer from the

is coated on both sides, using a thin film of

University of Neuchâtel to Roth & Rau AG

amorphous silicon and a layer of transparent

in Germany. “Researchers have obtained

conductive oxide (TCO). Amorphous silicon

results on surfaces of one square centimeter.

Roth & Rau scaled up the processes to an area between one and two square meters for industrial coaters”, explained Dr. Rau. “It was our job to prepare the mass production systems and technologies to be used in heterojunction cells.”

has outstanding passivation properties, guarantees a high light yield, and has excellent temperature behavior (low temperature coefficient). Combined, these

The solar industry is very dynamic and

factors produce very high efficiency levels.

is unforgiving. “Anybody hoping to survive

“Heterojunction cells are just as insensitive

in this market needs new innovations”,

to temperature as thin-film cells, but they are

states Dr. Rau. “Innovation does not

far more efficient”, explains Dr. Rau. This

mean improvements of existing products,

next generation of solar cells can achieve

but creating entirely new technologies.”

efficiencies in excess of 20 percent while also

As Managing Director of Roth & Rau

ensuring low production costs. Until now only

Switzerland, a wholly-owned subsidiary

one company has produced heterojunction

of Roth & Rau AG, Dr. Rau is dedicated to

cells on an industrial scale. Roth & Rau will

one research project, the hetero-junction

change this. Roth & Rau is currently the

technology. Roth & Rau Switzerland is

only equipment manufacturer to offer this

involved in the development of the processes,

advanced cell technology.

systems, and manufacturing technologies for high-efficiency heterojunction silicon solar cells.

Together with the Swiss Institute of

Operations expanded in 2009 with two pilot systems developed by Roth & Rau in Hohenstein for the Swiss development laboratory. With these tools in place, it was possible to produce solar cells with efficiency levels above 20%. The HELiA, the high volume hereojunction tool, operates at 2,400 wafers an hour with a production yield of 95 percent. “The first system has already been delivered to our first customer”, added Dr. Rau.

Microtechnology (IMT) at the University of

The MAiA® system for Al2O3 and multi-

Neuchâtel, Roth & Rau has been developing

layer applications and the HELiA system for

“Heterojunction technology offers

heterojunction technology since 2008. IMT

PECVD coating of hetero-junction cells are

superb potential and is at the top of our

has been part of the Ecole Polytechnique

part of the Roth & Rau product portfolio.

34 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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INTERNATIONAL

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

35

SO L A R P O WER

Best Practices While Setting Up A Grid Connected Solar PV Power Plant Anmol Singh Jaggi, Director, Gensol Consultants Pvt Ltd

India with 3000 hours of average sunshine in a year has recently taken significant strides in encouraging this bountiful resource. While the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) targets to achieve 20 GW of solar power installations by 2022, a recent KPMG Report pegged the figure more realistically at 67 GW, a large part of it being Grid Connected Solar Power Plants.

T

he recent project allocations of about 1700 MW, majorly to Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Projects

- under National Solar Mission and the two phases of Gujarat State Policy are being looked at with great interest by all stakeholders of the industry – Developers, Lending Institutions, Investors, Government, Equipment Manufacturers and EPC Contractors. The success and quality of these power plants shall be instrumental in shaping the future course of Indian Solar Market is bound to have a material impact on policies being rolled out by Rajasthan, Maharashtra, 36 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Karnataka and other states.

Though, there is little doubt on Solar Energy being the major power generator of future, there are reservations that lending Institutions have. They range from the choice of technology to the process followed to select the EPC Contractor and from the solar resource assessment of the land to the structure of guarantees. These concerns, more commonly aired by lending institutions are and should be the concerns for the project developers as well.

To allay these concerns and safeguard the developers and lenders interest, it is

prudent to follow industry’s best practices to build a good quality solar power plant.

For the purposes of this article, the Solar Photovoltaic Power plants have been considered.

Finalization of Land Price has often been the chief consideration for selection of land to set up solar power project. Though it is important, yet it has far lesser impact on the rate of return than the appropriate solar resource and grid availability. While selecting a land,

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it is important to conduct a study on the generation expected from that particular location. While there are ample software available for the same, but a combination of METEONORM and PV SYST serve well for the Indian conditions giving a fairly accurate

a different weightage according to the impact it has on the expected returns from the project. The scoring arrived at would help in shortlisting the top contenders with whom meetings, negotiations, office and plant visits can then be carried out.

and scientifically determined expected generation.

Location, capacity and availability of the substation are other important parameters.

The evacuation substation should be as close to the project site as possible and should not exceed 10 kms in any case. It helps in reducing the transmission losses, infrastructure costs and time required to set up the dedicated feeder cable for the power plant. Also, a larger substation is preferred as it has higher uptime.

The availability of water, power and local labor are some of the other important parameters.

Preparation of Detailed Project Report Often seen as a theoretical copypaste exercise, the quality and content of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) can make the difference between a project getting a financial closure or not. A good DPR not only serves as an instrument to get faster financial closure but also acts as a guidance document to keep a check on risks associated with the project and ensuring quality and timely completion. A DPR is also important to claim the carbon credits from the project.

Finalization of EPC Contractor This particular aspect is arguably the most important step and should be handled methodologically to ensure that the contractor is chosen by merit and free of bias. The methodology used is of particular interest to lenders as well.

Framing of Contracts

expected Scope of Work, preference for technology, site conditions and questionnaire for the EPC Contractors to reply to. The responses should then be evaluated using parameters such as experience in India and abroad, efficiency of equipment proposed, quoted cost, team strength etc. Each having

only prudent to have an internal team of consultants – Owner’s Engineer – to debate and ascertain if the plant design suggested optimum.

In civil drawings, the Shadow Analysis and arrangement of modules would help in determining the exact area required for the

One may blame it on the nascent stage of the industry, but there is a lack of clarity regarding the number of EPC contracts to be signed and further the conditions of these contracts. In order to optimize the taxation on the project, the developer should sign 3 different contracts with the EPC Contractor – Supplies, Services and Operation & Maintenance. The Supplies contract may further be broken down into offshore and onshore supplies. Signing multiple contracts avoids a composite tax, which would otherwise increase the tax liability from the project.

power plant while the plant layout determines

One of the most important conditions of the contracts are the extent, type and time duration of guarantees that are kept by the EPC Contractor. Though, this may be highly dependent on the exact nature of arrangement reached at between the developer and EPC Contractor, however, typically 3 guarantees are incorporated in the contracts. The first being an Advance Guarantee to safeguard the advance payment made to the EPC Contractor. The second is the Performance Bank Guarantee that ensures the timely and quality completion of the project. And finally, the minimum energy generation guarantee which is either linked to the net units of electricity being exported or to the performance ratio guaranteed by the EPC Contractor.

over 35 acres depending on the technology

Insurance, liquidated damages for late execution, compliance to laws of the land, force majeure, warranties, payment milestones, execution schedule etc. are some of the other important clauses that should be a part of the contract.

maintaining consistent communication with

The developer should ideally float a Request for Proposal (RfP) detailing the

to reduce losses and risks. However, it is

Optimization of Plant & Vetting of Drawings The EPC Contractor arrived at through the above-mentioned exercise and guaranteeing a healthy generation from the plant can be assumed to apply best possible engineering for optimization of the plant

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the system losses. In electrical drawings, the layout of the switchyard is important for regulatory compliance while appropriate sizing of the cables and equipment would minimize the risk associated.

Onsite Monitoring The quality parameters and designs that have been signed off need to be implemented in the exact same manner as agreed upon which requires active onsite monitoring. A 5 MW power plant would be typically spread being used. It is necessary to build the plant according to the quality standards and drawings approved in the first go or else it becomes immensely difficult to pinpoint an error and rectify it at a later stage.

Onsite monitoring is also important from the point of view of maintaining proper documentation and reporting, ensuring compliance to standards, clearing of claims and bills and factory inspection where required.

Commissioning of Power Plant In the final stage of construction of the power plant, it is to be ensured through the transmission authorities to have the evacuation infrastructure ready at the site.

Before the power plant is finally accepted, exhaustive Final Acceptance Tests (FAT) need to be conducted as would have been agreed upon in the contracts.

A solar power plant is often assumed to generate at a capacity utilization factor of 19%. In such conditions, even a 2% variation can either result in very healthy rate of returns or in a project’s failure. This essentially boils down to thorough study of each and every aspect of execution.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

37

SO L A R ENERGY

Financing Of Solar Power Projects In India Rajat Mishra, Senior Vice President (Project Advisory and Structured Finance Group), SBI Capital Markets

The ratification of Kyoto Protocol by Government of India has ushered in an era where focused efforts are being directed towards containing the ecological impacts of the country’s growth.

I

ndia’s development plans have

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

made attempts to achieve a balance

(MNRE) pegging the wind potential of India

between economic development and

at 45,000 MW, it will continue to expand

environmental concerns. Sustainable

in the coming years as well. But now that

development has been at the core of all

wind energy has reached a stage of maturity,

planning initiatives. Reforms in the power

focus from policy makers has shifted towards

sector have given a momentum to the

promoting solar power.

10 / unit.

Solar power generation being a fledgling industry and a relatively new concept in the Indian context, poses significant challenges from the financing perspective. Further, the high capital costs involved make it necessary for the government to provide financial stimuli

expansion of the economy. At the same

Presently solar power plants are much

to make such projects viable. At present there

time a thrust has been provided towards

more capital intensive and have lower

are individual policies at the state level and

improving efficiencies in power generation

efficiencies as compared to wind-based

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

and transmission – distribution through

plants. While the cost of installation per MW

(JNNSM) at national level to promote

conventional sources and increasing

for a wind project is around Rs 5 Crore – Rs

investments in solar power. These policies

capacities of non-conventional / renewable

6 Crore, the same for a solar project ranges

have been developed around the concept of

sources.

between Rs 11.5 Crore – Rs 13 Crore. The

providing high feed-in tariffs to generators. In

high installation cost coupled with the low

addition to the fact that the entire business of

plant load factors, which typically in range

solar power generation is un-viable without a

of 18% – 23%, the cost of generation per

subsidy of some nature, there is the additional

unit for solar power plants is close to Rs.

risk of the technologies being relatively new

Wind power generation has been the front runner for the past 7 to 8 years in the renewable generation space. With more than 11,000 MW already installed and the 38 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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and un-tested on a mass scale in India. There

and commercial banks are slowly catching

and possible mitigations. Projects are

is sufficient evidence on the satisfactory

up. Risks such as lack of sufficient grid

being funded on non-recourse basis and

performance of both Solar PV and Solar

connected MW capacity, possible effects

very recently the first bond issue for a solar

Thermal modes of generation elsewhere in

of Indian climatic conditions, in-sufficient

power project was launched. Although we

the world but it is yet to be proven in the

implementation experience are being

conditions prevailing in India.

mitigated through involvement of leading

may be far from reaching such maturity in

As the generation from solar power depends on the extent of solar radiation, the availability of sufficient data on the actual convertible component of the incident energy

global technology providers and drawing lessons from internationally implemented projects with climatic conditions similar to India.

the solar financing market, we are poised to be a major hub of solar power producers and are attracting investments from international players.

Unlike other modes of power generation

becomes critical. While there is abundant

International Project Consultants /

information available with international

Technical Experts also have a major role

agencies derived through extrapolation

to play in facilitating the financing of solar

incentives, solar power is and will continue

based on satellite images / samples, actual

power projects. Their experience globally,

to be dependent on close involvement of

ground level measurements are either lacking

opinions on technologies and technology

the governments by way of direct subsidies

completely or not available for an adequately

providers, conformance to internationally

or preferential tariffs. The larger goal

long period.

accepted standards of performance and

however is to provide a sufficient thrust

safety by suppliers will be called upon by

initially to make large scale productions of

prospective lenders to draw comfort on any

the components a need of the day and thereby

project. Further, they would be expected to

reducing cost of production and lowering

Considering the above mentioned risks associated with solar power projects, there will be some time required to analyze the nuances and design mitigations for the same.

So far, banks and financial institutions have been cautious in their approach towards funding of solar projects. Companies with

comment on the projected output from the solar plants, the solar radiation levels, the plant load factors achievable and general design parameters.

which are non dependent on policy

project costs. A sufficiently large market for products will also encourage more research and development and increase the probability of more efficient, cost effective technologies

strong balance sheets and a strong EPC

Internationally, financers have gained

emerging. This is just the beginning of a new

contractor backed by a reputed technology

sufficient experience in the sector due to

provider are being preferred.

early association with this industry. Countries

chapter in the Indian power industry and the

Government financial institutions such as the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) have taken the lead in committing funds to solar power projects

such as the USA, Germany, Italy and Spain have installed Giga-watts of capacity by now and hence financial institutions there, are well conversant with the risks involved

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banks as well as other financial institutions all have a role to play in ensuring that an industry which serves a greater purpose of supporting climate change initiatives is able to take off successfully.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

39Â

SO L A R ENERGY

‘Solar Energy Powering India’ Gaurav Karnik, Director, Tax & Regulatory Services, Ernst & Young, India

India is the world’s 6th largest energy consumer, accounting for 3.4% of global energy consumption and contributes to 17% of global population. Indian economy has grown at an average of more than 7% pa in the last decade and this rate is bound to increase over the next decade.

In order to sustain such high levels of growth, it is important to ensure that all the fundamentals of economic development are in place. One such fundamental ingredient for economic progress is power. Currently, India has an installed generation capacity of 159 GW and is projected to have a power generation capacity of 750 GW by 2030, which is five times the current capacity, and is expected to be the third highest globally.

The key driver for the Indian power sector is the persistent shortage in energy requirements put together with high energy demand. Apart from the overall deficit, the per capita consumption level of electricity in the country is at 733 kWh in 2010, which is the lowest among all major economies.

Per capita consumption is set to rise with economic growth and urbanization and is estimated to amount to around 1000 kWh per capita by 2012. Overall, India’s energy requirement is expected to grow 2.3 times, and the annual peak load is likely to increase by 2.5 times, in 2017.

In India, coal based generation continues to be the main source of power accounting 40 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

for more about 55% of the total installed capacity and almost 70 % of the power generation. However, rising energy demands coupled with increase in fuel prices and depletion of coal reserves lead to concerns about the security of energy supply needed to sustain our economic growth. Fortunately, India is blessed with a variety of renewable energy sources, the main one being biomass, biogas, the sun, wind, and small hydro power.

The key drivers for the renewable energy sector are as follow:

►

A large untapped potential

►

Usually modular in nature, i.e. smallscale units and systems can be almost as economical as large-scale ones

Environment-friendly

►

The need to strengthen India’s energy security

► Pressure on high-emission industry sectors from their stakeholders ►

► The demand-supply gap, especially as population increases

►

A viable solution for rural electrification Untapped renewable potential

The renewable sector has been growing at a healthy rate every year. In 2009-10, India added a record 2330MW of grid connected renewable energy, a growth of 20% from the 1932MW in the previous fiscal year. In FY 2010, the total grid connected renewable energy had touched 16817MW, taking the share of renewable to over 10%.

According to a central electrical regulatory commission (CERC) study, 27,500 -38,500 MW of renewable energy capacity will be added by 2015, taking the total renewable capacity to about 3 times the current 17,174 MW. Government at both the States and the Centre are providing incentives for renewable energy development through tax rebates or holidays, duty cuts, interest and capital subsidy and soft loans. The government is actively supporting the sector’s development

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by creating a favorable policy environment, with a focus being on promoting investments in domestic manufacturing capacity.

The Electricity Act 2003 laid down the overall framework for promoting and sustaining the growth of renewable energy sources in India. It contains several provisions to promote the accelerated development of power generation from nonconventional sources, such as directives to the central and state regulator to determine tariffs for renewable energy sources and to set renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) as a percent age of total electricity consumption in the area of a distribution licensee. It also provides that the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) would promote the generation and cogeneration of electricity for renewable sources through suitable measures for connectivity with the grid.

India was the world’s first country to have an exclusive ministry for renewable energy development, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE).

MNRE is the nodal agency of the Government of India for all matters relating to nonconventional renewable energy. It undertakes policy making, planning, promotion and coordination functions relating to all aspects of renewable energy, including fiscal and financial incentives.

Further, The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) was incorporated in 1987 under the administrative control of MNRE to accelerate the development of renewable power generation by providing financial and technical assistance to the prospective developers in setting up of commercially viable renewable energy projects.

Out of the various forms of renewable

energy sources, solar energy is an attractive prospect for India, as the country receives solar radiation of 5 to 7 kWh/m² for 300 to 330 days in a year. This translates to a power generation potential of approximately 20 MW/km² for solar photovoltaic (SPV) applications and 35 MW/km² for solar thermal generation. This implies that India receives solar energy equivalent to nearly 5,000 trillion kWh/ year, which, in turn, is equivalent to 600 GW. This far exceeds the country’s current energy consumption.

According to estim ates by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), 492 x 10^6 MU/year electricity

can be generated if 1% of land is used to harness solar energy for electricity generation at an overall efficiency of 10%.

However, despite the potential and presence of solar manufacturing capacity in India, the progress has been slow. This is largely on account of the extremely high capital cost. Consequently, the cost of generation is manifold when compared to the cost of generating energy from conventional sources.

However, still sighting the factors such as key advantages, growth potential and keeping in

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consideration the government initiatives and incentives for the sector, various players have shown their keen interest for participation in the solar energy sector. Some of the major players in the Indian solar energy sector include Tata BP Solar India Limited, Moser Baer Photovoltaic Limited, Reliance Solar Group, Indo Solar Limited, PLG Power Limited, Central Electronics Limited, etc The major advantages of using solar systems are as followsl Abundant solar radiation is available in

most parts of India. Hence, solar systems can be used anywhere in the country l Solar systems are modular in nature.

Hence, they can be expanded as desired and used for small and large applications l There are no running costs associated

with solar systems, as solar radiation is free l Electricity is generated by solar cells

without noise l Solar systems have no moving parts.

Hence, they suffer no wear and tear l As most of the components of solar

systems are pre-fabricated, these systems can be installed quickly. Hence, solar projects have short gestation periods l Solar systems have long-life, and require

minimal maintenance. Only components such as batteries and inverters require minor maintenance As in the case of any industry which is in the early phase of development, the solar energy market in India has numerous teething concerns, which are typically witnessed at a 42Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

nascent stage such as, lack of awareness of the benefits and the potential of solar energy as well as the lack of standardization of products and systems. However, policy makers have taken steps in the right direction to address these issues, as has been witnessed through the launch of various schemes and initiatives in recent times.

The Government has been cognizant of this concern, and as such, is making efforts to reduce the capital through economies of scale in production and market simulation measures. The MNREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Generation Based Incentive (GBI) scheme works toward guaranteeing a power purchase rate (per unit) for SPV and solar thermal energy.

The Special Incentive Package Scheme (SIPS), on the other hand, seeks to reduce capital costs through economies of scale in production and government subsidies to lower capital investment on solar equipment manufacturing facilities.

The Government in order to encourage solar power plants in India launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The mission is focused on achieving grid parity for solar energy and has envisaged an ambitious target of 20 GW of solar installed generating capacity by 2022.

The JNNSM is divided into three phases with the following main objectives: Several state governments have also been proactively promoting the development of solar energy. The most notable of these is the Solar Energy Policy of Gujarat, under which the state government aimed to set up 500 MW of grid-interactive solar power by 2014.

The Government has also provided for certain tax incentives such as accelerated depreciation allowance of 80% in the first year of commercial operation, tax holiday of 10 consecutive years out first 15 years of a projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commissioning to power generation, transmission as well as distribution companies. Further, fiscal incentives also include concessional customs and excise duty exemption for machinery and components for initial setting up of projects.

Further, the Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010 (new tax legislation envisaged to come into force from 1 April 2012) provides for the investment-linked tax incentive.

In India, solar energy is in the stage of rapid penetration, albeit with associated high capital costs, technological challenges and commercial viability issues. However, the scenario is changing very fast with improved technological and operational know-how, gradually decreasing cost of generation due to economies-of-scale and availability of low cost finance. Investment in solar sector has been further strengthened by encouraging policy and regulatory environment, attractive fiscal incentives offered by central and state governments. Solar energy makes it viable to generate off-grid power at affordable costs to bridge the energy deficit and thus represent a huge so-far untapped business potential for the energy companies and investors and simultaneously hold a big promise for rural electrification. Further, the growing global concern over depleting fossil fuel reserves, energy security and climate change and the critical necessity to neutralize their impact on economy also provides necessary momentum for growth of solar energy sector in India.

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SO L A R P O WER

Saint-Gobain: Expert In Energy Production & Conservation Sustainability Team at Saint Gobain Glass India

The growing demand for energy is a major issue that has become an integral part of our everyday life. Energy prices are also rising concurrently and therefore, energy production from renewable sources is in demand. Countries like India need innovative concepts to ensure energy supply in the long run for an incessantly growing population.

S

olar energy, the energy derived directly from the Sun, is one of the most copious sources of energy

available to us. Unlike Western Europe which is a consumer market (limited local production) or China which is a producer market (bulk of production is exported) India is unique in that it has local demand as well as an excellent potential to be the leading manufacturing hub for Solar.

With almost 300 clear sunny days in a year, India’s theoretical solar power reception on only its land area is about 5 Peta Watthour per year or PWh/year. The quantity of solar energy produced in India is just 0.4% 44 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

of the total. Inspite of abundant availability,

Saint-Gobain’s solar mirrors have several advantages and the track record to make it the most preferred choice of material as reflectors.

Saint- Gobain produces solar mirrors on a special substrate enabling the highest reflection from the mirrors. Even a 1% increase in reflection of mirrors adds up to 750 additional hours over the 25 years useful span of a power plant.

the trend of energy production from Solar Energy has remained low because of the assumptions about the high capital cost of the power plant.

In recent times, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) announced by the government of India has generated a lot of interest amongst different stakeholder groups. JNNSM is a major initiative taken by the Government of India to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenges.

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For India, Solar Energy is an ideal

useful span of a power plant. Hence it is

heat by a large percentage and allow optimum

option – geographically we are well placed;

now easy to see that the savings that accrue

amount of light concurrently reduces the load

there are inherent engineering capabilities

by even a 1% increase in reflection can be a

on air conditioning and also lessens room

in India to create a domestic manufacturing

significant quantum and come to a significant

lighting costs significantly.

ecosystem; we have a major need for energy

percentage of the total investment cost of

security. Solar energy in India is an idea

the mirrors itself!

whose time has come.

The architectural segment in India is seeing an increasing awareness of green

Similarly in photovoltaic modules, Saint-

trends and energy efficiency. The Leadership

Gobain today is enabling the increase in

Saint- Gobain In The Forefront Of Technology – Disproportionate Effect Of Components On Efficiency Of Power Generation

in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

efficiencies through the usage of a specially

green building rating system has been well

designed glass. This glass Increases light

known in this area for some time. TERI’s

transmission, light tracking and light trapping

GRIHA is also growing in popularity. The

and minimizes reflection losses.

Energy Conservation Building Code of

Using the right quality of glass / mirrors

of solar energy generation, it constitutes

to usher in mandatory energy codes in India

can ensure higher efficiency of the power plant

still a small share of the whole system in

soon.

and contribute significantly to the viability of

terms of cost. Consequently, the reduction

solar power sector. The various stakeholders

in the costs of glass used in this method of

need to be educated on the disproportionate

electricity generation would just amount to

effect of component efficiency on the viability

a very small percentage of reduction in the

of the solar projects.

overall costs incurred. This fact disproves

Indeed under the Jawaharlal Nehru national solar Mission (JNNSM) there is a need to set the right standards for the

Though glass plays a vital component

the rather erroneous notion of expensive solar systems being due to the costs of solar glass.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency is also expected

Saint-Gobain Glass India is already active in the area of energy efficiency and has been in the forefront to the drive of energy efficient buildings. Not stopping at being the undisputed leader and category innovator, Saint- Gobain straddles the entire value chain in the glass category creating new partners and bringing together all the

components. This will also prevent cheap

On the other hand using the right

stake holders. It is working on setting the

low efficiency sub-standard imports which

quality of solar glass or mirror will have

standards, testing and educating the various

can compromise the life of the power plant.

a disproportionate effect on the overall

stakeholders in this area.

There is a need to mandate minimum

efficiency of the solar power plant and aid

performance for components and support the implementation of this by creating a testing and component rating facility along with the Industry.

in producing superior results of electricity generation.

The Future Of Solar At Saint-Gobain we believe in PV there

Energy Efficiency and Glass

is a bright future in the thin film technology because of the future potential to increase

Saint-Gobain, the world leader in

Glass is termed as an intelligent

efficiency and bring down costs. Saint-

the habitat and construction markets is

construction material primarily for its

Gobain’s bet is on the cleanest technology

committed to constant and continuous

characteristics of energy saving and

today is the CIGS technology. Today Saint-

enhancement of the efficiency of its glass &

minimized use of natural resources.

Gobain makes CIGS modules in its company

mirror components through technological innovation.

It provides sophisticated solutions in various forms:

Saint – Gobain’s investment in research and development helps to bring out products which are eco friendly and which contribute

technology is borne out by the demands of prospective customers and financiers.

to energy conservation. Saint-Gobain’s energy

Solar energy systems are presently not

efficient glass “the solar control glass” which

commercially viable due to their high initial

•

Special Glass for PV

•

Solar Mirrors for CSP

•

Thin Film Module Manufacturing

proves to be a cost effective proposition

• Integrated Solutions through Solar

to conserve energy by cutting down on

Systems

AVANCIS out of Germany. The future of this

is used in facades and windows is called SUNBAN. This eco-friendly green product

electricity bills.

costs. Therefore, governments across the world provide various fiscal and financial incentives for promotion of such systems. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is also supporting research and development

Saint-Gobain’s solar mirrors have several

Unlike regular window glass, the

in this sector through academic institutions,

advantages and the track record to make

SunBan range of solar control glass comes

research organizations and industry - to

it the most preferred choice of material

with specialised coatings (a few nanometers

improve the efficiency, increase the life and

as reflectors. Saint-Gobain produces solar

thick) which have the twin functionality of

reduce the costs of solar systems. India can

mirrors on a special substrate enabling the

restricting heat penetration and letting in

become the hub of Solar in the future –

highest reflection from the mirrors. Even a

daylight. The heat cutting can be remarkable

having both the potential for consumption

1% increase in reflection of mirrors adds up

- up to 80% of the incoming heat can be cut

as well as the possibility of developing a

to 750 additional hours over the 25 years

off. This attribute of the product to cut the

manufacturing ecosystem.

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I n t e r vi e w

“CdTe is Commercially Accepted” The CdTe technology has been accepted commercially, with several large PV system integrators signing long term contracts with Abound, said Mr Russ Kaniorski, vice president, marketing, Abound Solar. In an e-mail interaction with EQ International, he also threw light on the benefits the technology offers. Excerpts….

Abound Solar uses CdTe technology for manufacturing the modules. What are the key benefits the technology offers?

CdTe technology is regularly recognized

The robust, frameless design minimizes maintenance, and prevents moisture ingress.

What are the basic differences between CdTe, a-Si, CIGS technologies?

issues can be overcome, however, thinner layers also absorb sunlight less efficiently. As a result, a-Si cells are perfect for smallerscale applications, such as calculators, but less than ideal for larger-scale applications, such as solar-powered buildings.

a-Si Cells

by third-parties for achieving the lowest production costs of all photovoltaic technologies. Abound modules perform better than crystalline silicon in low-light and high temperature conditions resulting in more energy produced per watt of capacity.

Abound modules are 60cm x 120cm (~2ft x 4ft) and easily handled by a single installer.

46 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

•

a-Si Cells

•

Amorphous silicon cells are a thinner version of the traditional silicon-wafer cell.

One of the biggest problems with a-Si solar cells is their efficiency. These cells are subject to significant degradation in power output when exposed to the sun. By reducing the thickness of the cells, these degradation

CdTe Cells

Moving on down the efficiency scale we come to CdTe cells. The basic structure and function of these cells is as follows: The front and back of the module are made of laminated glass sheets. This glass is heat-strengthened to withstand transport and

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CdTe Cells

thermally-induced stresses. This ensures the modules durability over its 25+ year life.

The semiconductor is a CdTe compound semiconductor that is applied in a very thin layer and forms the active photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into electricity.The laminate material or EVA is an adhesive used to bond the cover glass to the substrate. This seals the cell from the environment. â&#x20AC;˘

CIGS Cells

Compared to CdTe cells, CIGS has been able to reach higher efficiencies and requires less toxic cadmium to produce.These cells

CIGS exhibits a few characteristics that make it a valuable solar PV material. The first is its absorption coefficient, which is rated among the highest for all semiconductor materials. This means that ninety-nine percent of the light that hits CIGS is absorbed in the first micrometer, which allows these cells to remain thin yet efficient. In addition, CIGS has a high current density and as a result, has the potential to produce high current outputs.

In production, use and decommissioning of CdTe panels, does toxic substance cadmium emitted in the atmosphere?

manufacturing industry. They have a stated production cost of~$0.78/watt and Abound has the technology capability to match and overtake these production costs.

Despite offering lowest manufacturing cost per watt, why the technology has not been accepted commercially?

The CdTe technology has been accepted commercially, with several large PV system integrators signing long term contracts with Abound. Additionally, there is a plethora of smaller developers who have used Abound modules in commercial and utility scale applications. To date, over 20MW of

CIGS Cells

operate similarly to conventional crystalline silicon solar cells. When light hits the cell it is absorbed in the CIGS and thus creates free electrons and holes. These electrons diffuse in the CIGS grains until they reach the electric field within the junction region. At this point they are driven into the Cadmium Sulfide / Zinc Oxide (ZnO), which leads to a buildup of voltage between the ZnO electrode and the Molybdenum (Mo) base.

There are no toxic substances emitted in the atmosphere during the production, use or decommissioning of CdTe panels. There are no emissions in the production line. It is a fully-automated process and self-contained within the production equipment.

Do e s C d Te p a n el o f f e r low e s t manufacturing cost per watt?

First Solar, who also uses CdTe, has the lowest production costs in the solar

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Abound modules have been installed on four continents.

What are your projections for CdTe market worldwide? What percentage of share Abound Solar would capture?

Abound does not project CdTe separately from the overall solar market. The total solar PV industry is estimated to be 20GW next year. Of that estimate, Abound will capture only a fraction of a percent.

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SO L A R ENERGY

More Efficiency, More Yield – On The Benefits Of Trackers Alexander Lenfers, COO at Kemper Solar, Vreden, Germany

In view of decreasing public subsidies for solar energy in many countries, it is becoming increasingly important for photovoltaic modules to operate more efficiently and is leading to a greater emphasis on keeping the overall costs of a system down.

T

his is why tracking systems have come into focus since they offer advantages such as substantially higher yields as compared to fixed installations. Reduction in land prices due to the increased use of brownfield sites for photovoltaics or dual use such as parking lots and side road lanes have boosted the attractiveness of solar power.

Tracking systems are especially suitable for turning available areas over to power generation but they cost more than fixed installations. The price depends on the actual scale and location of the installation and on the type of ground where they will be installed. The actual cost of the project will fluctuate and the additional price component taken by the tracking system within the total budget cost is difficult to gauge. Usually, the additional cost ranges from 7 to 25 per cent and the yield may increase by 20 to 25 per cent on a single-axis tracking system or 30 to 45 per cent on a dual-axis tracking system, depending on the intensity of the sun at the location. This means that two factors play a role in deciding the quality of the investment – first, the selection of a suitable location, and second, the type of tracking system.

Tracking systems ensure maximum efficiency for the operator, despite low initial 48 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

outlay and servicing costs. Intelligent solutions such as backtracking, remote-controlled units and very high material stability are good arguments for an investment that will pay off – especially with government subsidies on the decrease in the highly-competitive European market.

Acceptance in Europe, growth in Asia Although subsidy cuts have made the market conditions more difficult for photovoltaics in Europe, 2010 was a record year and Germany has shown a continuously high level of acceptance for solar power.

Also the recent incident at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants is expected to substantially reinforce interest for solar power. The photovoltaic market in US, China, India and southern and eastern Europe have been showing continuous expansion potential. These countries still have sizeable unused area available. There has been an increase in investments in USA and China is well on its way to becoming one of the world leaders in solar power.

India too has been contributing towards the worldwide boom in solar energy – the country has set its sights on generating 20

gigawatts of solar power by 2022 in an impressive solar mission. Even now, the government has agreed to projects with a nominal output totalling 1,100 MW and off-grid island solutions generating 200 MW. Doyens in the field have indicated that contracts worth €13 billion in total are positioning India as one of the pioneers in solar energy funding.

Dual-axis tracking systems Trackers can play a pivotal role in the long-term success of a solar installation.

The system determines the sun’s position from the location, date and time. This optimises the module’s surface alignment to capture the sun’s rays. The advantage of this principle is that it works regardless of weather conditions, while avoiding sudden unnecessary and unpredictable movement.

The module’s position moves like a watch.

The tracker moves the module in a way that can be planned right down to the minute.

The control system supports networking, connection to wind sensors and remote monitoring. Depending on the location, solar power plants will be able to generate up to 40 per cent more output with the dual-axis tracking systems compared to fixed module

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designs.The systems are stable against torsion, robust and durable and all the steel parts are hot-dip galvanised. The tracker is modular in construction and the individual elements can be bolted on, making assembly very easy.

In addition, the tracking systems save a lot of space and shipping them to worldwide destinations in standard containers is fast and inexpensive. The industrial drives are durable, low-maintenance and particularly stable. Compared to the smaller 60, 70 and 80 models, the 120 model boasts of a significant increase in performance and is suitable for string and central inverter system designs. Equipped with 240 W modules, it yields PV performance levels of 17 kilowatts peak (kWp) per tracker.

making the best of the ground area. Gardens and parks, stormwater basins, waste-water treatment facilities and agricultural areas can still be used for their original purpose in addition to solar power generation.

They can be mounted on pylons, allowing areas such as parking lots and agricultural areas to be used for solar power. In addition, they allow a rational use of unused side strips near private properties.

Eliminating shadows

The company has already demonstrated how solar energy can even be harvested on areas that do not seem to be highly suited to efficient solar power in a solar park in Weiterstadt near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. At 22,000 sq metres, the stormwater basin also hosts a solar park with 60 solar trackers in an installation that is unique in Germany. What makes this installation so extraordinary is that the trackers can do without foundations in the earth and the drives, control electronics and cabling are mounted a few metres above grade. The stormwater basin can also be flooded without causing any operational issues.

Backtracking prevents collectors from shadowing one another in low sun conditions.

This feature eliminates shadow from sunrays for the most part and increases module yield. In the morning, evening and in winter depending on the location, the sun is low and the rays are horizontal. This is where backtracking comes into the picture – it automatically reduces the angle of elevation to prevent trackers from casting shadows on one other – which is essential in ensuring maximum yield from the sun’s energy. The control system automatically determines when, at what time, where and in which period how much deflection is needed, ensuring that the tracker returns to an ideal position as soon as the sun reaches a suitable position. While fixed solar installations reach their maximum yield only at midday, solar trackers allow modules to make the best of the sun’s rays at any time of day and ensure relatively even distribution of solar power throughout the day. This allows operators to predict the amount of power generated and the amount available while giving grid operators a basis to plan on. These benefits are also important in future energy concepts where solar investments are no longer refinanced on feed payments but need to be negotiated with power supply companies in direct agreements if solar power is to make a significant contribution to a reasonably constant power supply.

Dual use – even in adverse conditions Tracking systems contribute towards

Realised together with the municipal government, the aim of the project was to boost the municipality’s finances by supplying electricity. The trackers ensure significantly higher power output compared to fixed module installations and the photovoltaic area totalling 3,600 square metres is planned to generate around 565,000 kilowatt hours per annum. This represents a yield of €180,500 (around Rs 11.3 million) while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by around 396 tonnes and providing power for around a 125 families – a showcase in efficient combined area utilisation. Disused refuse tips, parking lots and waste-water treatment plants are also suitable candidates in addition to stormwater basins for solar power without causing any disruption to the area’s original use. Other options for tracking systems for PV modules are showcased at the company’s own demonstration solar park based at the headquarters, with 20 trackers on an

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area that used to belong to a waste-water treatment plant.

Foundations above or below grade Solid foundations are essential for smooth operations on adverse ground conditions and classical concrete foundations are usually used, especially in smaller projects. The tracker is mounted onto these foundations that are either below grade or depending on ground conditions, above grade. The tracker pylon is lowered directly into the foundation, or is bolted onto threaded posts.

First, an assessment is needed to clarify ground conditions and design the foundation for the tracker in drilled and piled foundations.

A steel member is turned into a drilled foundation and the member is somewhat wider at the top to allow the tracker pylon to be concreted in. In piled foundations, a drilled hole is filled up with concrete and the tracker pylon is lowered into the hole or bolted onto threaded posts. Either option is highly suitable for large-scale solar projects as the foundations are less expensive and time-consuming to lay compared to classical concrete foundations.

Tracking systems mounted onto a central pylon present a wealth of additional benefits – not only in additional yield compared to fixed systems but also in terms of evenness in power generation at almost full capacity from morning to evening and preventive safety protection in modules and inverters.

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SO L A R ENERGY

Proven Formula for Solar Development Ameet Shah,Co-chairman,Astonfield Renewable Resources Limited

India has become one of the most promising solar markets in the world today, thanks largely to the vision of the Government of India in launching the ground-breaking, ten-year, 20,000MW Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). And perhaps no other solar program in the world is more important to successfully execute.

W

hile developed countries are focused on deploying solar power and other mediums of renewable

energy in an effort to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions, India looks to solar to address much more fundamental needs: addressing a widening electricity demand/supply gap, strengthening the nation’s energy security, and electrifying the approximately 400 million citizens living without access to electricity today. Solar power, with its decentralized, modular nature and fast commissioning times, is ideally suited to address these growing crises.

We are now at the birth of the world’s next great solar market.Strong and experienced development leadership coupled with the right technology and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) providersis criticalto ensuring the timely realization of India’s solar potential under the National Solar Mission and the various State solar programs.

50 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Strict Selection Criterion Choosing the right technical partners is paramount to ensuring the swift execution and efficient operations of a plant. Astonfield therefore formed strategic alliances with some of the world’s largest global EPC and technology leaders to build and commission its Indian solar pipeline, one of the fastgrowing in India.

First and foremost, Astonfield evaluates each potential partner’s commitment to the Indian solar market. Given the country’s unique and often challenging opportunities, there is no room for fair-weather participation in India’s emerging solar market. Partners must make solid corporate commitments to succeed long-term in the market.

Aside from corporate commitment, Astonfield evaluates all potential partners’ execution track record and history of ontime delivery. The faster a project is up and running, the faster power can be supplied to the grid and ultimately to the millions of people in desperate need of power. This

filtering processhelps mitigate potential costly delays, which is especially important in a new market like India, where the increased likelihood of unexpected issues requires an experienced partner who can solve problem along the way tocommission the final project on-time and on-spec.

Choosing Solid Equipment for Project Strict selection criteria must be applied to find the right technology partner for each project. Potential providers must first clear quality hurdles, demonstrating a history of delivering durable modules on time and backed by strong warranties. Astonfield requires module guarantees at or above industry standard performance levels of at least 90% for the first 10 years of operation and at least 80% for the remaining 15 years.

Since the harsh Indian climate and physical landscape require battle-worthy modules, Astonfield selects only those modules that are proven and have successfully performed

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in the field in similar projects.

After quality hurdles are cleared, Astonfield’s engineering team evaluates potential module technologies to optimize Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for each project. While module pricing is key, this process goes far beyond price comparisons. This complex exercise analyzes a module’s appropriateness for a unique project, taking into consideration module efficiency, balance of systems costs, site atmospheric conditions, land characteristics, and more. Ultimately, the final module choice is made to ensure project’s bankability and maximize project returns.

Top-Notch EPC Providers for Long-Term Project Viability Rigorous selection process to its EPC partners is also required.

Experience, both in solar PV plant execution and Indian project execution, is critical to this evaluation. Some of Astonfield’s key selection criteria include: 

Global experience executing 100MW+ of grid connected solar PV power plants in varying geographical locations



Existing infrastructure experience (even if non-solar) in India with a knowledge and familiarity of operating in the Indian environment



Recognition of India as a strategic market able to provide longterm sustainable volume off-take in the context of significant policy and market uncertainty globally

 Ability to deliver a differentiated, commercially proven technology solution at cost points that allow Astonfield a reasonable return profile on its projects, regardless of location of the plant in the country To achieve cost-efficient solutions without sacrificing quality, selected EPCs work closely with Astonfield’s world-class local engineering team on project design and equipment sourcing.

Astonfield’s engineers have deep Indian power execution experience which allows them to effectively collaborate with EPCs to deliver European-quality solar plants at required cost points in India.

Flawless Execution Brings Energy Relief and Corporate Reward Astonfield’s business model focuses on marrying global solar best practices with local expertise to lead the build out of the Indian solar sector. Maintaining strong relationships with proven, experienced technology providers and EPCs allows Astonfield to optimize the economies of each project and accelerate the drive to solar grid parity in India. By selecting experienced partners with synergistic goals and vision, Astonfield’s partners benefit from the assurance that Astonfield will be a long-term core customer, which in turn allows them to make investments to expand operations in the Indian market.Coupled with its in house development and engineering expertise, Astonfield has emerged as one of India’s leading solar project developers.

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SO L A R P O WER

KPMG’s report on Solar Energy Sector in India KPMG

In purview of the significant challenges that India is facing in terms of energy security, action against climate change problems and addressing the issue of inclusive growth within the country, KPMG has put forth its analysis on how solar energy can contribute to addressing these challenges.

S

olar power can meet 5-7 percent of our total power requirements by 2021-22 up from a negligible portion today. This is significant as it could potentially replace around 30 percent of India’s imported coal requirement. “Solar power can help our country move closer to the targeted 20-25 percent reduction in carbon emission intensity of GDP by 2020 by contributing as much as one-tenth of this target, besides playing an increasingly important role in securing India’s energy future”, says Arvind Mahajan, Head of Energy and Natural Resources, KPMG. Decentralised applications refer to the small scale solar power solutions installed at the consumer end. Unlike centralised power generation systems where large power plants are typically set up near fuel sources or far away from load centres, decentralised power systems are situated close to where the demand is. Santosh Kamath, Executive Director, KPMG adds “Decentralised systems 52 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

benefit from lower network losses as power does not have to be transported over long distances. These include applications such as solar rooftop systems, solar-powered agriculture pump sets, solar lighting systems and solar-powered telecom towers.”

Some of these applications could have a transformational impact on the way energy is produced and consumed today. Along with large centralised solar generation, decentralised generation can play a very important role in the next decade.

that is what held it back from rapid scalability.

•

Today, in India the cost of conventional power delivered at a consumer’s premises is estimated at between INR 5 and INR 5.50 per unit when compared to the cost of solar power which is estimated at around INR 11-13 per unit

•

While still high, the solar cost curves are declining rapidly due to technological innovation and supply chain economies of scale

•

At the same time, conventional power costs are expected to rise at between 4-5 percent per year over the next decade

•

The convergence between the cost of solar power and the conventional power cost, commonly referred to as grid parity is likely to happen during the period 2017-2019.

Solar rooftop systems • Today, Germany has total solar installations of around 17 GW and more than 75 percent of the market share is contributed by solar rooftop systems.

Solar power already contributes over 2 percent of Germany’s power needs.

Until now, solar power was expensive compared with conventional power and

According to the KPMG report, the rooftop segment would take-off considerably

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post grid parity when solar power could meet the day time power consumption requirements of the households economically.

The cumulative rooftop potential for residential category could be 19,000 MW by 2022. An illustrative analogy can be drawn from the telecommunication sector where technological developments and policy changes helped a rapid scale up in telecom penetration during the last decade.

Solar-powered agriculture pump sets • Currently, the agriculture category which uses power for irrigation pumps contributes around 20 percent of the total power demand of India. The grid power tariff to agriculture segment is heavily subsidised. The power supply is staggered and the network performance inefficient in most cases.

•

Moreover, the subsidy burden is increasing due to the increase in conventional power costs thus negatively impacting the financial health of the State and power utilities. Furthermore, there are a large number of agriculture pumpsets that currently use diesel power where there is no grid connection available.

As cost curves come down, solar power is well suited as an alternative solution to meet the power requirements of the agriculture segment. Besides being a clean and convenient source of power, solar power can reduce the subsidy burden on the Government. To start with diesel, pumpsets could be replaced by solar-powered pumpsets due to favourable cost economics.

According to the KPMG report, a cumulative potential of around 16,000 MW from agriculture category could be realised by 2022. Innovative business models such as integrators of pumpset and solar modules may be required to realise this potential”

According to the KPMG report, around 70 million sq m of collector area could be deployed in India within the next decade.

Policy measures that encourage deployment of solar water heating systems along with effective monitoring can go a long way in developing the solar water heating market in India. If deployed effectively, it can save over 11 MTPA of imported coal.

• The decentralised power generation segment should be given a greater push through announcement of a larger support program for this sector. This segment is likely to reach grid parity earlier.

• In the first phase (upto 2013), the Central Government should also consider providing a more direct funding support

Solar powered telecom towers

to state power utilities to absorb the

Solar powered telecom towers are already cost competitive with alternatives such as diesel. It is estimated that switching from diesel to solar power would save Indian telecom firms INR 6,440 crores in operations cost. Going forward, with falling solar power prices and increasing diesel prices, solar installations would make greater economic sense. According to the KPMG report, over the long term, solar power has the potential to replace about 30 percent of the telecom tower industry’s diesel consumption.

and do not have the necessary resources

Solar lighting solutions An additional area in the decentralised segment where solar power holds large potential is the area of lighting. Solar power can be used for lighting in areas with limited or no access to the grid. A simple cost benefit analysis where Government benefits through reduced usage of the highly subsidised kerosene by providing solar lanterns at subsidised rates would show a break-even period of one to two years for the investments made by the Government. Furthermore, access to a clean source of energy could have positive ramifications like the impact on environment - reduced dependence on firewood, improvement in health of women doing household chores, safety etc. besides savings in fuel consumption. The usage of solar lanterns as an alternate to kerosene lighting needs to be earnestly pursued.

higher cost of solar power, since the Indian power utilities are cash strapped to support this.

•

Steps such as creation of the National Clean Energy Fund are steps in the right direction and states should be given support from this fund. The funding support should be combined with enforcement of the Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation at the state level.

•

In the first phase, the banks should also come forward and support the sector earnestly. Granting of priority sector status by the Government for the solar sector could provide the necessary boost. Provision of suitable backstop by the Central Government for the initial projects can also help allay some of their concerns.

• Formulation and enforcement of mandatory regulations such as deployment of Solar Water Heating (SWH) systems can also accelerate their deployment. In the agriculture pumpset segment, the Government should aggressively pursue the right implementation models.

• The investment requirement and opportunity in the next decade could be around USD 110 billion. Furthermore, a million jobs are likely to be created in the sector during this period. Given the

Solar water heating systems

Key Imperatives

China has the largest installed base of solar water heating systems in the world of over 125 million square meters, where 10 percent of Chinese families have adopted solar water heating systems. In comparison, India only has an estimated 3.5 million sq m of solar water heating collectors. India with a higher radiation intensity than China can also achieve a similar success.

• To unleash this potential, the next few years are likely to be critical because that will decide how the solar ecosystem takes shape. The Governments at both the Central and State levels should keep the market creation program going and support aggressively the efforts of private developers in setting up the projects under the first phase of the program.

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significant potential that is possible, steps to encourage investments that enable development of the complete supply chain are important.

“Solar power can provide a clean, secure and distributed source of energy for our country as a whole. It needs to be supported earnestly in the interim period so that we can get its full benefits by the end of the decade, added Mr. Kamath.”

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

53

SO L A R ENERGY

Vikram Solar Plans Major Thrust towards Solarization of Telecom Towers Vikram Solar

Vikram Solar Private Limited, one of the premier companies in India for the promotion of renewable energy and its implementation, has decided for a major initiative towards solarization of telecom towers.

I

ndia is presently one of the largest

working relationship. Such a relationship

gallons of diesels every month. The Carbon

telecom markets in the world, second

would result in a better overall telecom

emissions from diesel would be 22.2 pounds/

only to China, with 250,000 mobile

business model, especially since both factors

gallon, which calculates the total carbon

phone towers serving over 670 million

(PV and telecom) are key elements in

emissions from cell phone towers annually to

subscribers. The fact that power and fuel

Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future growth and role as a global

be 11.76 billion pounds or 5.3 million tons.

expenditures account for 35% of the

innovator.

And the cost of diesel every year (average

operating cost of each mobile phone tower,

Taking a conservative approach, the total

price of diesel = $0.7) is about $1.4 billion

and one can easily deduce that solar PV and

number of telecom towers in India (presently

(INR 6400 Crores). Thus by replacing diesel

telecom should develop a more symbiotic

stands at 250,000) consumes 530 million

generators with solar panels in cell phone

54Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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towers more than 5 million tons of carbon

University) in Kolkata, and strong relation

will involve a domestic trading scheme for

emissions could be prevented from entering

with various major technology providers. This

energy efficiency, certified under the National

the atmosphere.

provides the company with a cutting edge on

Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency under

the new technology developments.

the National Action Plan for Climate Change

As a first step the government will make it mandatory for mobile phone towers to

The Telecom Regulatory Authority

be powered by solar energy, a move which

of India (TRAI) is under the process of

will reduce pollution and greatly scale down

preparing a consultation paper on “Green

a key driver of diesel consumption in the

Telecom,” which addresses critical issues

country. The Indian government will also

such as the increasing carbon foot print-

extend 30% subsidy, applicable as per the

contribution of the telecom industry, the

guidelines laid out in Phase I of the National

need for carbon credit policy for the sector

Solar Mission.

at-large, available methods/options to reduce

Vikram Solar has built considerable experience by the way of successful implementation of various multi mega watt level projects in the remotest part of the Globe. The fact that the company has successfully executed various EPC projects

the carbon foot print, standardization of Green Telecom equipment and increased incentive for their adoption. A framework for monitoring carbon emission and corrective action for the telecom sector is also in discussion.

in both foreign land and in India gives it a

Telecom operators and infrastructure

distinctive competitive advantage for erection

providers are already aware of the kind of

and solarization of telecom towers. Vikram

benefits and advantages of switching over

Solar has a strong in-house R&D team that

to solar power. Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhary,

is continuously evolving new technologies to

Managing Director, Vikram Solar says;

increase the module efficiency. It has a tie- up

“The telecom players are now investing

with BESU (Bengal Engineering & Science

heavily in energy efficient systems which

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(NAPCC).” As a result of rapid scale up, as well as technological developments, the price of solar power is likely to attain parity with grid power in the near future and this will enable accelerated and large-scale expansion thereafter. In fact today the payback period for solar power telecom compared with diesel power is just 3 years. Since solar is a technology for decentralized generation telecom application is the perfect match where power is generated and consumed at the same location. It may be termed as “Decentralised Generation” It is this opportunity that Vikram Solar wishes to exploit. It is enthusiastically dedicating itself to the erection and solarization of telecom towers. As a company committed to caring for the environment, Vikram Solar has embarked on a mission to solarize maximum number of telecom towers in India.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

55

I NT ERV I EW

“CSP Market Burgeoning In Many Countries” In an email interview with EQ International, Kelly Beninga, Chief Commercial Officer, SkyFuel said that CSP markets are developing in countries with a specific set of conditions – namely, a strong motivation to increase domestic production of energy; a strong solar resource; and a political will to support clean energy. As leading countries blaze the trail for CSP development around the world, costs will come down and the newly strengthened supply industries – in engineering and development as well as manufacturing – will search out and stimulate new markets in which to operate, he added.

What are the specifications, a developer

•

should consider before zeroing in on any

• Availability of water for power plant

site for CSP? Before finalization of a CSP site many

Proximity to transmission lines

Solar Advisor Model (SAM) to predict output

cooling

What are the key principles for CSP

• Availability of deionized water for reflector cleaning

issues are to be considered, which are •

• Local demand for clean solar power

What are the techniques for solar

renewable energy standard, or direct incentive such as a feed-in-tariff) •

Off-taker (customer) for solar energy produced

• Solar resource (high direct normal irradiation, greater than 6 KWh/ m2day, makes economics much more favorable) •

Sufficient land area (approximately 5 acres per MWe)

•

Site slope (up to 5%)

56 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

plant engineering design?

In the end, design is all about maximizing

enlisted below:

(established by policy such as a

of a theoretical system at the site.

Absence of corrosive air pollutants

irr adia tion da t a monitoring and assessment?

lifetime profitability of the system. The key principles for CSP plant engineering design are optical accuracy, simplicity, and reliability.

High optical accuracy, as demonstrated by the

Several companies make dat a

SkyTrough, is necessary to ensure that the

monitoring stations that include a shadow

greatest percentage of available solar energy

band pyrheliometer to measure direct normal

is captured by the system, maximizing yield.

irradiation (DNI), a thermocouple to measure

Simplicity - meaning fewer, lighter parts

temperature, and an anemometer to measure

and minimal, standard tooling - minimizes

wind speed. The station records the data at

installation cost and time, saving on labor

user-specified intervals.

and project financing. Reliability, meaning

The resulting data can be used in a

long life and low maintenance, maximizes

performance modeling computer program,

return on investment. The SkyTrough has

such as the United States National

been rigorously tested for outdoor use in

Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL)

extreme desert environments, including

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structural strength in high winds and

in establishing relationships with aluminum

cost. Implementation with the SkyTrough

resistance to prolonged ultraviolet exposure.

and steel fabricators. Other challenges

will ensure that significant development of

Tests conducted in NREL’s Ultra Accelerated

anticipated in India include the capacity of

local industry and engineering capabilities

Weathering System (UAWS) demonstrate

the Indian financial system to underwrite

occurs.

that the SkyTrough’s ReflecTech mirror

large, capital intensive projects, and the need

surface maintains high reflectance after 25

for local project developers and engineers to

years equivalent exposure.

rapidly gain experience in such a new and

How can we optimize the plant output?

Plant output is optimized by correct sizing of the solar field such that the power block operates when economics dictate that profit will be maximized. While this will be different for each site, depending on the structure of the power purchase agreement and other contract conditions, in general the solar field should be sized with a peak rating somewhat larger (1.2-1.6 times) than the rating of the power block, so that there is sufficient solar heat available to operate the turbine throughout most of the year.

What is your take on financial closure of a CSP plant?

Financial closure of a CSP plant is a critical milestone for assurance that a given project will be realized. Given the large capital requirement and associated need for comprehensive due diligence, a clear

cutting edge industry.

What could be technological challenges in developing CSP in India?

they must be shipped to project sites; however,

mass, and a 20% reduction in cost compared

for SkyFuel this is an opportunity since

to traditional glass mirror troughs. Over

our parabolic trough collector is designed

time, the cost of CSP will also be reduced

exclusively for the use of lightweight

by refining the development model to remove

ReflecTech mirror film. 80,000 m2 of the

inefficiencies, consolidate risk, and speed

film fit in just one standard shipping container

time of deployment; localizing the production

– enough for 19.2 MWe of solar field – and

of component parts to eliminate the time

the aluminum substrate will be sourced in

and cost of shipping; increasing the scale of

India. The reflectors will be fabricated right

projects to capitalize on volume; and reaching

at the project site.

technology maturity such that perceived risk

Could you please give a comparative

What is the criterion for maintenance

of parabolic trough, Fresnel, tower and

once the plant is up and running?

disc technology?

Note – I assume that by “disc” you mean “stirling dish”.

record of service and has therefore won the

SkyFuel has one installed plant in California’s Mojave Desert, and 220 Megawatts of projects in various stages of development in China, India, and Latin America. The chief challenge in each country is in finding and engaging with the local suppliers that are so important to successful implementation of the SkyTrough. In each country, SkyFuel is looking for aluminum and steel fabricators to supply extrusions and sheet stock. In most cases these industries exist – it is simply a question of finding and

platform for development of a supply chain, and SkyFuel has made significant progress

Maintenance of the solar field consists primarily in regular cleaning of the reflective surfaces, as with all mirror-based technologies. Maintenance of the power block is the same as for coal and natural gas-driven turbines.

confidence of financiers. Parabolic trough,

Could you please throw light on future

Linear Fresnel, and Power Tower all come

developments in CSP, which is happening

with the option to store the thermal energy

around the world?

prior to conversion into electricity – thus becoming attractive to utilities with a need for dispatchable power. Stirling dish, since the thermal capture and electrical conversion processes are integrated in one device, does not have the option for storage; however, it has no need for cooling water. Current analysis by GTM Research shows that the least costly option, with or without storage, is parabolic trough – and this will be even more the case when the analysis is done using SkyTrough for the cost inputs.

CSP markets are developing in countries with a specific set of conditions – namely, a strong motivation to increase domestic production of energy; a strong solar resource; and a political will to support clean energy.

As leading countries blaze the trail for CSP development around the world, costs will come down and the newly strengthened supply industries – in engineering and development as well as manufacturing – will search out and stimulate new markets in which to operate. In parallel with the growth and

Which is the best technology for

increasing sophistication of the market, the

India?

technology will also advance in the direction

engaging them.

India’s CSP market provides a stable

is reduced and the cost of finance drops.

analysis or technological comparison

completion and ultimate success.

developing a CSP project in India?

example, based on the use of ReflecTech reduction in part count, a 30% reduction in

each one. Parabolic trough has the longest

What challenges do you anticipate for

component count, and installation time. For Mirror Film, the SkyTrough achieves a 40%

be defined at the outset to ensure timely

sorts of challenges did you come across?

fundamental design to reduce collector mass,

significant barrier, due to the long distances

Of course, there are advantages to

undertaken by SkyFuel worldwide? What

The primary means of reducing the cost of CSP is innovation in materials and

Supply of glass mirrors in India is a

process, with task ownership specified, must

How many CSP projects have been

How can we reduce cost of CSP?

The Indian CSP market is characterized by short timelines and nascent industry; thus, parabolic trough offers the best likelihood for success given its proven record and low

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of higher temperature operation and greater use of thermal storage. High temperature operation enables more efficient production of electricity and therefore lower cost.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

57

CSP

Millions Of Dollars To Be Saved

By Correct Selection Of Steam Generator Palle Wendelboe, Technical Director, Aalborg CSP

Aalborg CSP, the innovative boiler company from Denmark is a big player on steam generator systems for Concentrated Solar Power plants. Their approach to the steam generator plant has been very different from their competitors.

I

n 2005, a major developer asked the former company BK Aalborg – now Aalborg CSP, for a study for optimizing a direct steam solar tower receiver based on Aalborg CSP more than 25 years of boiler experience. The study was one among several others and was chosen to be the best study, and Aalborg CSP was asked to deliver their first solar powered boiler for a concentrated solar power plant based on conventional boiler technology.

During the construction of the first solar boiler plant, Aalborg CSP developed a steam generator system for parabolic trough solar power plant. Aalborg CSP based their steam generator design on conventional boiler technology. This proved to be a great success and since then a total of 5 plants of each 50MWe have been delivered and are in operation.

Aalborg CSP steam plant configuration The parabolic trough solar power plant operates with a heat transfer fluid (HTF) that is heated by the sun in in-line type concentrators. The HTF is heated to maximum 393°C by the sun and cooled to a temperature just below 300°C in the steam generator. From the steam generator, the HTF is heated again to 393°C to form a closed cycle.

The HTF is cooled in heat exchangers

for generation of high pressure steam and is used in a high pressure steam turbine generator for generation of electric power.

The steam from the outlet of the steam turbine is normally reheated and used in a low pressure steam turbine generator for increasing the efficiency.

The data in the fig. 1 are typical for a power plant with 25MW electric power output. Some variation in data may be seen depending on the steam turbine chosen.

The HP steam generator consists of one superheater, one evaporator unit and one

Since the delivery and commissioning of the 5 solar plants, Aalborg CSP has further developed the steam generator plants in both performance and price reduction. Now all the designed plant heat exchangers are of header type, which has several great advances.

Fig.1 Heat balance for typical 25MWe line

58 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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Fig.2 Alternative configuration for 25MW line

economizer. The reheater is a separate heat exchanger operated in parallel.

The steam flow is around 28.5kg/s per 25MW electric output. The high pressure steam is generated at around 106bar, 380°C for the HP turbine. The reheater heat the outlet steam from the HP steam turbine to 380°C again before it enters the LP steam turbine. The inlet steam to the reheater is typically 15 to 20bar with a water content of around 1%.

The plant can be configured with several parallel steam generator lines. A 100MWe power plant can, for example, have four steam generator lines generating 28.5kg/s each.

Line sizes can vary, and Aalborg CSP offers

lines with capacity of 28, 56 and 75kg/s steam flow as standard. Other capacities can be supplied and designed upon request.

Fig. 2 shows an alternative configuration where all HTF passes through the evaporator.

This plant has two reheaters RHe and RHs, each parallel with the economizer and the superheater. This configuration will result in a lower HTF flow for same steam output or alternatively the reheater surface area can be made smaller. The configuration in fig.1 will often result in a very large reheater depending on the HTF flow available for the reheater.

The steam generator plant supplied from Aalborg CSP has HTF side pressure drop of

approximately 2.5bar. Pressure drops two times higher in other brands available in the market. The lower pressure drop results in a saving of the power for the HTF circulation pumps. For a 100MWe power plant the difference in pump power is approximately 700KW. This saving in electric power has significant impact on overall plant economy in the range of millions of dollars yearly.

Evaporator design The evaporator is the main component of the steam generator plant with respect to weight and cost. Two types of evaporators will be compared: The kettle type and the Aalborg CSP coil type.

Kettle type evaporators are heat exchanges for steam generation with tube bank and steam space enclosed into one common shell. The shell has a diameter which is bigger than the tube bundle diameter and the steam space is in the top of the shell.

The tube bank has two passes with inlet and outlet from one single tube plate. The heating medium flows inside the tubes and evaporation takes place on shell side.

The evaporator from Aalborg CSP has been specially developed for solar energy applications where high steam capacity and high steam pressures are required with many starts/stops and load changes.

The Aalborg CSP evaporator consists of two evaporator heat exchangers and a separate steam drum. Evaporation occurs on shell side. The steam drum is connected to the evaporators with external down comers and risers. The tube bank has typically three passes which result in a flexible tube bank relative to the shell.

(Illustration of kettle type evaporator and Aalborg CSP coil type evaporator)

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

59Â

the internal pressure in the vessel. In order to withstand the pressure, the tube plates must be thick, typically 200mm or more. Solar steam generators are subject to start and stop every day and also frequent and rapid load changes during passage of clouds. This will cause variation in temperature of the heating medium causing thermal stress in the tube plates. High material thickness is undesirable with respect to thermal stress, and fatigue cracking is a risk.

Circulation Kettle type evaporators are pool boiling devices, meaning that circulation of water in the tube bank is internal circulation only.

Evaporation will cause the water/vapor mixture to rise from the tube bank and the saturated water to flow down along the sides of the shell.

In the coil type evaporator from Aalborg CSP the steam drum is connected to the evaporators with external down comers and risers. The circulation in this type of evaporator is natural circulation caused by the difference in density between the saturated liquid in the down comer and the lower density of the vapor/liquid mixture in the evaporator and riser. Circulation is predictable and the tube bank will have an effective cross flow of

boiler water at all times. Down comers and risers are designed for a circulation ratio of at least 15. The circulation ratio is the ratio of total flow, liquid plus vapor, to the vapor flow generated.

Thermal stress The kettle type evaporators are well suited for relative small units used for generation of process steam at relative low pressures. For large units, when the capacity and pressure increase, care should be exercised in the design of this type of equipment.

In solar HTF steam generation plants, the operation pressure is typically 100bar or more. The tube plate in a kettle type evaporator is subject to bending stress from

The Aalborg CSP type evaporator has no thick tube plates. The hot oil flows are distributed to the heat transfer tube bank via a circular manifold, also called a header.

The round shape of the header results in a relative small material thickness and therefore low thermal stress. By splitting the evaporator unit in two heat exchangers and a steam drum, the diameters of the individual pressure vessels are small compared to the kettle type, and the wall thickness required to sustain the pressure is smaller too.

The Aalborg CSP type evaporator has a relative low material thickness. The small wall thickness results in a design that is less sensitive to fast temperature ramps during starts, stops and load changes.

Critical heat flux For the kettle type evaporator, the designer often aim to reduce the overall shell diameter by using a tube bundle of closely spaced small diameter tubes. As a result, the heat flux can become close to, or even exceed, the critical heat flux of the tube bundle. The tubes become blanketed with vapor and the heat transfer will be drastically reduced and unstable. Aalborg CSP uses large and widely spaced tubes.

Operation is well below the critical heat flux so operation is stable and safe.

(See attached picture of the difference between the tubes used in kettle type evaporators and the coil type evaporator)

Steam quality Saturated steam is extracted from the top of the steam space. A small amount of water will be mixed with the steam. This is called carry over. The saturated steam is virtually free from impurities but saturated water contains impurities from concentrated salts and other undesirable elements. The carry over must be limited to levels acceptable for 60Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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operation with a steam turbine. Limits can be found in guidelines like ABMA 402. For example, the maximum carry over is 0.1% at 100bar steam pressure.

The kettle type evaporator has the evaporation and steam space integrated in one common shell. Steam qualities acceptable for operation with a steam turbine can only be achieved with an external steam/water separator.

The Aalborg CSP evaporator has a separate steam drum which is equipped with a double stage water steam separation system as used in a conventional water tube boiler.

First stage is the cyclone separators and second stage is the Chevron separators.

Other components The other heat exchangers in the system are the superheater, the economizer and the reheater.

When using TEMA type shell and tube heat exchangers a high material thickness will be needed for all components, even for the reheater. This is due to bending stresses in the tube plates from internal pressure.

All the heat exchangers from Aalborg CSP are unique coil types without tube plates. The heat exchange surface consists of a tube bank with high pressure inside the tubes and the lower pressure HTF flowing in

counter flow outside in cross flow. The tube bank is contained in a cylindrical pressure vessel containing the HTF. The tube banks are welded to inlet and outlet manifolds (headers) that pass through the shell in thermo sleeves for low thermal stress.

The tube bank has a high degree of

flexibility because of the many bends.

The thermal stress due to differences in temperature between the tubes and the surrounding shell are virtually zero.

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in counter flow without change of direction in one pass. The pressure drop for the HTF is very low for this configuration and the heat transfer coefficient is high.

Aalborg CSP keeps on refining the steam generators and at the moment we are developing systems for molten salt as

heat transfer media and for energy storage - the next generation of concentrated solar power.

The HTF passes through the tube bank

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

61Â

CSP

Reliable Supply Of Renewable Energy Through Hybridization Of CSP Martin Schlecht, Managing Director, Suntrace GmbH

Is CSP poised to loose against PV following the PV cost reductions? Before giving the answer, one should ask further: Can PV satisfy typical energy demand requirements? The conclusion is that PV and CSP are both solar technologies, however they have significantly different energy generation characteristics.

Solar resources are fluctuating as appearance and intensity vary significantly over time.

Photovoltaic instantly converts sunlight into electricity, and fluctuations are passed on to the grid. Together with wind energy, which is even more volatile compared to PV, this volatility of power affects stability of electricity grids with growing share of renewable power.

Currently, the fluctuation is mitigated through the bulk of installed and dispatchable

most used CSP application today. This may

industrial processes.

CSP can be hybridized with fuel firing, so that it allows a step-by-step transition from fossil to renewable energy sources for thermal applications. The range of applications is shown in the following Table 1.

refer to the fact, that CSP incentive structures are mostly electricity price focused such as Feed-In Tariffs or PPA-based tendering of licenses. Incentives for solar generated heat (e.g. steam) or desalinated water are widely lacking. And as CSP still (and for some years to come) requires incentive mechanisms for

Direct solar electricity generation

a commercial feasibility, it would be up to governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulatory bodies to diversify

Direct solar electricity generation is the

the incentive schemes in this aspect.

conventional power plants. To replace all conventional fuel power generation in the future, dispatchable energy must be provided also from renewable technologies.

Apart from hydro and biomass/biogas, whose potential is much more limited than solar resource, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is one of the few mitigating technologies. CSP generates thermal energy as intermediate product before further converted into electricity. With this feature, CSP can not only provide firm electricity but also process heat, and consequently substitute fossil fuel also in

62Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Table 1: Range of options for hybridization with concentrating solar thermal energy

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However, based on some technical criteria, these plants have already a

which aims at almost 6500 full load hours

larger fuel firing share could offer the more

per year.

economic solutions, at least at today’s market

hybridization component, as fossil fuel is used for HTF heating to keep the thermal oil liquid at cold days, where a freezing has to be avoided. As a side benefit, the heat inserted to the HTF through the heaters will eventually add to the power production. In Spain, which serves as a template for many other markets, a share of 12-15% of electricity generation may be from fuel firing.

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) allows shifting and extending of power generation

Other storage concepts based on concrete or phase change materials (PCM)

•

yet been demonstrated in commercial scale. Nevertheless a reduction of storage

HTF heater

These type of heaters are typically

cost is expected through these storage

installed as freeze protection system

technologies.

according to the properties of the HTF, with a limited firing capacity. The HTF

Base load energy supply through TES plus hybridization with fuel firing (24/7)

is heated by fuel firing, keeping the HTF

As TES can extend the production

sunshine. The unit is easily adjustable to

as only source for steam generation. At the same time, this can also fill the TES even without availability of sufficient

hours of CSP up to a 6500 h/a as it shall be demonstrated by Gemasolar project, a full

shifting or extending power production

and reliable 24/7 energy supply on solar

into after sunset hours. The first 7.5 h TES

input only will not be economic as increase in

for a 50 MW parabolic trough plant has

storage size would not have a healthy relation

entered commercial operation in 2008 in

to the gain in additional power generation.

Spain (Andasol 1 Project), developed and Cobra, together with Sener. The TES is

Hybridization concepts

are still in the R&D stages and have not

TES systems in a larger scale allow

constructed by Solar Millennium and ACS

prices for CSP technology.

the fluctuations in DNI and can balance the heat flow to the steam generation.

Sizing of heater capacity should be done carefully evaluating the expected operating profile from performance modeling.

Hybridization of the solar energy

As theoretically maximized option the

generating system through combination with

HTF heater could be sized to supply the

a back-up fuel based steam generation can

full heat input required for a full load plant

Figure 1: Base load supply from a CSP plant (SolarPACES, 2007)

based on a 2-tank concept with molten salt charged from the hot thermal oil used as Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF). Hot temperatures are approx. 390 degrees Celsius. The TES operates at a thermodynamic efficiency of about 95%. Provided sufficient capacity of pumps and heat exchangers, it allows the

bridge the gap and provide reliable energy

operation completely substituting the energy

at 24/7. The fuel-fired back-up can take over

from the solar field.

when solar resource and storage are not capable to deliver the full capacity, which could be expected during winter months, when sun hours are less and weather is less

The molten salt based solar tower technology offered from Sener and implemented in 19 MW commercial scale in Spain currently includes a 16 h storage,

permitting must be considered additionally.

•

beneficial in most global regions.

The blend of TES and fuel firing can be

steam turbine to operate 7.5 h in full load only from storage.

Fuel-to-electricity efficiency of HTF heating and emission related environmental

Back-up Steam generation

A fuel fired steam generation unit could

floating and be depending on the economical

be installed in parallel. Depending on

and technical boundary conditions for the

the required capacity and load profile,

concept. A large TES with small fuel-

also a parallel installed small-scale

fired power share would aim at high solar

gas turbine with heat recovery steam

contribution. But a smaller TES with a

generator, providing steam to the solar

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cycle steam turbine could make sense.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

63

Booster firing As the thermal oil as HTF imposes a limitation on hot temperatures of 390°C for parabolic trough plants, a booster firing could be implemented to elevate steam temperatures to 540°C, which allows a higher efficiency in the water-steam cycle. This requires the continuous use of fuel, however for a plant without storage, it is expected in the range of 20% fuel share.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Figure 2: Annual full load hours of CSP hybrid plants in different configurations

thermal power, also CSP plants can heat

coal fired steam cycle. As the coal-fired

to industrial processes such as steam or

Fuel options for hybrid solutions

turbine process defines the system to a large

hot water at all required pressure and

Fuels for CSP plants will initially be

extent, only small solar shares in the range

dominated by the available fossil fuel such as natural gas or oil. However these can be substituted with renewable fuels such as biogas/biomass and in the future eventually by solar fuels (e.g. Methane, Hydrogen) when these are available at sufficient volumes.

Same as with conventional

temperature levels. Plants can be tailored to the needs of the customer.

Such steam consuming processes require in most cases a firm supply of steam in order to keep the production processes alive.

Uninterrupted supply and customer driven operation of the power plant are mandatory

solar field, which is fed into the conventional

of 2-10 % can be realized.

The hybridization of conventional power plants with steam from solar energy sources is a promising solution to facilitate the transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources over time.

Conclusion

aspects of this. Thus the CSP plant needs

Among other advantages, solar

to be a tailor-made hybrid solution, which

hybridization of such plants reduces fuel

reflects all individual requirements, including

consumption or increase energy yield of

a full fuel-fired back-up generation capacity to supply the customer even during longer periods without sun.

conventional power plants, reduces carbon emissions, mitigates the intermittency nature of most renewable technologies by remaining

The solar field could also be integrated

dispatchable, and help many utilities with

with existing energy generation systems

large fossil plant investment to meet their

at the customer end, simply substituting a

renewable energy targets.

certain share of the fossil fuel consumption by solar energy.

Another favorable CHP process would be desalination of seawater, as drinking water is scarce specifically in arid areas, where sun is the most abundant renewable energy resource.

Solar Augmentation of conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants Coal fired plants: This type of hybridization utilizes steam generated by a 64 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Gas fired plants: Integrated solar combined-cycle plants (ISCC) are combinedcycle power plants with regular gas and steam turbines and with attached solar field, which adds thermal input in the cycle at a medium

It is not about PV or CSP. Both PV and CSP will play its own significant role in the blend of renewable energy technologies and applications. Cost reductions as they have been seen in PV after reaching its market maturity will also occur in CSP technology with growing number of installed capacity on a global basis. CSP has not even started to explore its vast potential. India is expected to play a key role in this process with its JNNSM targets and the ambitious PPA targets from the winning CSP projects. And incentive mechanisms rewarding for the integrated storage option and also the supply of solar heat will expedite this process.

steam temperature. When designed new, the

About the Author: Martin Schlecht is founder and managing director at Suntrace

solar input could either use as a peaking

GmbH. He holds a diploma degree in

input with adjusted steam turbine capacity,

mechanical engineering, and has 14 years

or substitute some fossil fuel. Also here, the

of professional experience, of which 10 years

solar share can only be at a low percentage

in conventional thermal power and 4 years

(5-10%), because the gas turbine process

in CSP and PV.

defines the cycle and leaves little room for a solar contribution.

References: IEA Technology Roadmap Concentrating Solar Power, 2010

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INTERNATIONAL

REN EWA BL E ENERGY

Fostering the Growth of Renewable Energy - Shaping the Indian Landscape Dr. Madhusudan V Atre, President & Managing Director, Applied Materials India

As renewable energy technologies move to the forefront, the energy scene in the 21st century is set for a major overhaul. Worldwide, studies predict that solar and wind energy will address more than 60% of our future energy needs.

S

everal countries, including India are

players in the market focus on developing

technology, investment & capex cost, are

taking concrete steps towards a stable

end products and appliances like solar

very high in the early stages of the value

& secure future in energy generation

lanterns, street lights, and water heaters.

chain. It is easier for the entrepreneurs

particularly through renewables such solar,

Such manufacturing installations are most

(especially small/medium scale) to enter

wind, biomass and geothermal energy. Of

often supported through government or NGO

where the technology of manufacturing is not

these, solar energy is of prime focus.It the

financial assistance, and fall under the off-

very complex (e.g. BoS). We have already

most widely available renewable energy

grid sector.

witnessed many entrepreneurs entering the

source world over. It is clean, ensures energy security and integrates high technology manufacturing into electronics and other aspects of BoS (Balance-of-Systems) into the value chain.

Interestingly, growth in the Indian solar industry has begun to pick paceover the last 2 years. This new interest in grid-connected installations is primarily

heating and lights space, and can expect more to venture into the grid connected systems (EPC) sector, as well as in offering related to monitoring, tracking, diagnostics, etc.

due to the JNNSM. The SIPS (Special

Eco-efficient products such as crystalline

Evident with the launch of the Jawaharlal

Incentive Package Scheme also known as

silicon, thin film, and flexible photovoltaic

NehruNational Solar Mission (JNNSM), the

the “Semicon Policy”) has helped promote

(PV) solar solutions, serve to promote energy

Indian Government has identified tapping our

both semiconductor and solar manufacturing.

sustainability and reduce pollution. Each of

nation’s solar energy resources as a priority.

There are various aspects of the solar value-

these products today has the capability to

Growth in the Indian solar market during

chain where an entry can be made; starting

produce enough energy to meet the needs

the last decade has been slow. Only a few

from poly-silicon generation through wafers,

of the country. Product Energy Efficiency

companies manufacture solar PV cells, as

cells, modules, electronics and Balance-of-

& Design for Environment programs that

the field involves many hi –tech processes.

Systems, ending at end-products (utilities,

provide guidelines for creating these products

A few manufacture PV modules, while most

systems, etc). Complexity of manufacturing

in eco-efficient ways are essential to making

66 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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greener products. Dedicated trained resources

VC firms, reported a decrease in deal value

The goals set by the JNNSM while

and ongoing testing are also key. Life Cycle

and in the number of deals in Q4 2010, as

Analysis (LCA) can be utilized to better

compared to Q3 2010. Inability to yield the

aggressive, will act as a catalyst to the Indian

understand where the greatest impacts are

projected returns has led to a decline in solar energy investments over the past few years.

However, by no means does this indicate that interest in the sector is waning. The majority of new investments recorded in Q4 2010, were in solar energy market followed by wind energy market. Solar Photovoltaics (including modules, system components,

in our processes and to guide improvements on an ongoing basis.

High initial capex investment accompanied by return on investment over a relatively long period of time, have been a deterrent for investors in the clean technology and solar sectors. Investments in alternative

and installation) are projected to grow from

solar sector. It has the potential to drive engineering, R&D, manufacturing, export of products & technology, and to establish India as key driver of the global renewable energy industry. Collaboration amongst key enablers from the industry, academia, government, and financial institutions, is pivotal to achieving

energy companies, including new investments

$71.2 billion in 2010 to $113.6 billion by

these goals, paving the way towards energy

through equity/debt and financing by PE/

2020.

sufficiency and security for the nation.

(after his PhD in Theoretical Physics), Dr.

in theoretical physics, parallel computing software; and VLSI testing.

Dr. Madhusudan V. Atre (Madhu) is the President & Managing Director of Applied Materials India. He is responsible for strategy and operations in India; and ensuring alignment, coordination and execution of all product development, business, and operational activities.

With over 25 years of experience in the semiconductor and computer industries

Atre has also donned various leadership, management, and technical roles – as the Vice President and MD of LSI India, founding MD and Vice President of Agere Systems India, founding Director of Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Division, and several management positions at Texas Instruments India, and India’s Defence R&D Organization.

Highlights of Dr. Atre’s career include setting up of the India R&D operations of Multi-National Companies and guiding them through growth and spin-offs/mergers; policy contributions in the renewable energy (solar) space; thought-leadership in semiconductor industry bodies; advisory roles to venture funds/start-ups and colleges. He has also carried out fundamental research

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Dr. Atre has played significant roles in industry bodies as a founding Executive Council member of the Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA), founding Co-Chairman of SEMI PV India, member of American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Energy committee, executive council member of AMCHAM Bangalore Chapter, charter member and mentor at TiE Bangalore, advisor to venture capital firm, member of US-India Business Council, member of the Solar task force at FICCI, etc. Dr. Atre has recently been appointed as a member of the advisory committee at the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

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67

WI N D ENERGY

Reliable Power Electronics For Windmill Generators Dejan Schreiber, Senior Applications Manager, SEMIKRON in Nuremberg

In the megawatt range, high-power electronics applications need powerful semiconductors.

However, even the largest semiconductors available today are still not strong enough for some applications. It is therefore necessary to connect them in parallel. The parallel connection of semiconductor devices in a traditional power electronics circuit is very common.

O

ne possible solution is discussed in this context: power electronics assembly, IGBT base units containing IGBTs

& diodes, heat sinks, DC link capacitors, drivers & protection, auxiliary power supply and a PWM controller (one independent unit), arranged into a three-phase inverter.

Such units can be connected in parallel, for example for a 4-quadrant drive windmill with permanent magnet generator and a full-size 4 Megawatt converter, which is presented here.

IGBTs with different blocking voltages IGBTs are the working horses of power electronics systems. Today, IGBTs are manufactured in various voltage classes – 1200 V or 1700 V for different industrial applications as well as for the medium-voltage classes 3.3 kV, 4.5 kV, 6.5 kV. Which voltage class is best suited to high-power applications? The answer to this question lies in putting the IGBTs in the

largest casing available in order to obtain inverters. Of course, it is much simpler to simulate available power under optimal working conditions.

To do so, the largest standard casing (IHM, 190 mm wide) is taken. The IGBTs are packed into this casing and the optimal operating regimes defined - Vdc DC operational link voltage, Vac AC output voltage, a carrier switching frequency of 3.6 kHz and best possible cooling conditions.

A method is described of obtaining higher levels of power in medium-voltage windmill applications that involves using line interface connection of variable-speed, medium-voltage PM generators with no voltage and power restrictions as well as proven semiconductors and components.

Basic power electronic units are connected in series for higher voltages and in parallel for higher power levels.

Comparison of efficiency in 68 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Fig .1 and Fig. 2 Comparison of efficiency in IGBTs with different blocking voltages. Three phase inverter operation at same cooling conditions and Fsw = 3,6KHz; cosφ = 0.9 and same module.

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Fig. 1 shows the different available power levels, calculated on the basis of the given parameters.

The results show that the maximum available power using 3.3kV, 1200A individual modules would be one half of the equivalent power obtained using 1.7 kV, 2400 A IGBTs. The 6.5 kV, 600 A IGBT modules provide just one quarter of what would be obtained with a 1700 V IGBT. The reason behind these results is the losses that occur in IGBT modules. If we calculate the efficiency of the three converters shown in Fig. 2, we can see that the losses have a ratio of 1:2:4.

For this comparison, we have used the same carrier switching frequency, Fsw = 3.6k Hz. This enables us to design inverters with relatively small filters. A comparison using different carrier switching frequencies would lead to variations in the output sinusoidal filters used. Given all of the above, it can be seen that the greatest efficiency is accomplished by using the 1700 V IGBT, a standard industrial product with a very reasonable price per module.

IGBTs for 1700 V are packed in various module casings. For comparison, we can take the largest single-switch module, the IHM 2400 A 1700 V, and compare two such modules with a dual module of similar size and length, SKiiP1513GB172. If the two SKiiPs are put back to back on one heat sink, a half-bridge is obtained for currents 2 x 1500 A = 3000 A (case temperature = 25° C), or 2250 A for a case temperature of 70° C. Two single-switch modules will provide a half-bridge for 2400 A. If we compare the results of the calculations, we can see that the SKiiP solution provides higher output currents throughout the complete range of

Fig. 4 Example with 1800 kVA base unit

switching frequencies than a standard module in the largest available case would.

If a more powerful SKiiP module is taken, for example the SKiiP 1800A, 1700V, which uses an aluminum nitrate (ceramic) substrate, even more power is available from a three-phase inverter, i.e. 1800 kVA.

Paralleled IGBT modules The following solutions are feasible for the parallel operation of IGBT modules: •

One three-phase inverter for the entire power; the phase leg is constructed with several IGBT modules connected

in parallel and one powerful driver. Each IGBT module must have its own gate resistor and symmetrical DC link and AC output connection. [1] •

Hard paralleling of three-phase IGBT base units.

The whole system is controlled via one controller and its PWM signals. All of the three-phase inverters are connected to a common DC link voltage. Paralleling is achieved using driver paralleling boards for each individual base unit driver. Slight variations in driver propagation times (less than 100ns) are compensated for with small AC output chokes; (<5µH inductance). All of the three-phase inverters run simultaneously, with the small time delays that occur being compensated for with additional AC chokes.

To ensure proper load-current sharing, symmetrical layouts and positive temperature coefficients for IGBT saturation voltages are used. [2] •

A system as described under point 2 with additional PWM signal correction for each base unit. Additional PWM corrections are performed to control precise load-current sharing in paralleled base units.

Fig. 3 Available inverter power vs. switching frequency

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

69

Fig. 5 Three independent 4Q drives in parallel with separate motor windings. The drive can operate with one or two drives in parallel.

•

•

Parallel operation of several units with synchronous PWM and the elimination of circulated current using additional sophisticated PWM control. [3] Galvanic load isolation for each base unit. Each base unit supplies power to the load through insulated windings. Each base unit has its own controller. PWMs are independent, non-synchronous, freerunning signals, and each base unit has its own separate DC link. On the grid side, each base unit has its own sinusoidal LC filter. Circulated currents between different DC links do not exist provided the outputs are galvanically insulated.

This is the easiest parallelization method for standard independent basic units with standard independent controllers.

A simple design based on galvanic insulation on the generator side is shown in Fig. 5.

Three 1500 kVA 4-quadrant drive units are connected to separate generator windings of a permanent magnet windmill generator.

Each 4-quadrant drive is a standard drive with its own generator-side and grid-side controllers. The purpose of the fourth controller is to provide uniform generator torque sharing. Should problems occur in 70 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

one of the 4Q drives during operation, the remaining drives will continue to operate interrupted. The system described is used in a 3.6 Megawatt windmill with a PM generator with three separate windings. The system is designed for up to 12 four-quadrant drives in parallel and for the connection of 12 generators or 12 generator windings. [4]

Series connection of base units Windmill design engineers have a number of aspects to take into their designs: •

High-power wind turbine

•

Low losses

•

Variable speed

•

High degree of efficiency

•

The use of proven semiconductors

•

Clean, sinusoidal line current using a simple line transformer

•

Good line power factor and low THD

•

Active and reactive power control

•

Modular design to allow for use with various powers and voltages, plus quick assembly

•

High degree of reliability

•

Lowest possible costs

Best solution: the medium-voltage generator.

A medium-voltage generator is a must in high-power windmill designs of the future. Medium-voltage silicon, however, is not suitable for such applications. The right solution is therefore to connect base units in series.

For example: A 5MW windmill generator with 6.3 kV rated output voltage has output currents of 3 x 436 Arms. The rectified variable speed generator voltage is in the range of 1 to 10 kV DC. How can such variable voltage be connected to the grid?

Each windmill needs to have its own transformer to allow for connection to the grid; grid voltage would be in the range of 20 to 30 kV, which would be the transformer output voltage.

The transformer can be produced with several - in this case 10 - three-phase windings, each for 3 x 690 V, which are used as input voltages.

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Fig. 6 Cell-based medium-voltage windmill.

Cell-based medium-voltage windmill The new medium-voltage windmill principle is shown in Fig. 6.

One base unit, a 600 kVA three-phase inverter, is attached to each three-phase winding. A fourth IGBT leg can be connected in front of each base unit. This arrangement can be referred to as a medium-voltage cell.

All of the cells can be connected in series, as shown in Fig. 6. If the IGBT switch of the fourth leg is switched-off, the generator DC current will charge the cell DC link voltage.

The three-phase inverter on the cell-grid side discharges, controlling its own DC link voltage. For 3 x 690V AC voltage, the DC link voltage will be 1050 V. Ten base units in series can produce a Counter Electro Motive force (EMF) of up to 10 * 1050 = 10.5 kV. The voltage remains balanced with the rectified generator voltage. If the generator speed is lower, the generator voltage will be lower, too. For this reason, to control the rectified DC current, which in turn means controlling the generator torque, some of the cells have to be bypassed. If 5 cells are bypassed, the remaining counter EMF is 5 * 1050 = 5.25 kV. Bypassing more cells will increase the DC current and the generator torque. Bypassed cells can deliver full reactive power to the grid. If one cell is not functioning, it will also be bypassed. The maximum cell DC link voltage is 1200 V. For this reason, even

as few as nine cells in series can carry the rectified generator voltage of up to 9 * 1200 V = 10.8 kV.

Variable-speed wind turbines with medium -voltage synchronous generator Features: • •

Generator DC voltage range from 0 to Vdcmax DC voltage per cell 1050 V (with1700 V silicon)

•

Vdc max. per cell = 1200 V

•

Number of cells = Vdcmax/Vcell(+1)

•

Cell power: Pgenmax/Number of cells

•

System redundancy (+1)

• Cell turn-on time varies from 0% to 100% •

A switched-off cell can produce the full reactive power

•

High degree of efficiency at both low and high power values

• Line side ripple frequency = Ncell * Fswcell •

Simple line side transformer

High-power applications use numerous IGBT modules. It is far better, however, to use more switches with separate controls, e.g. several units connected in parallel or in series rather than one large single unit.

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The advantages are as follows: - Good line power factor & low current THD with a lower switching frequency and fewer passive components - Modular design that is suitable for various powers and voltages, as well as quick assembly - The use of proven semiconductor elements - Greater efficiency - High degree of reliability - Extremely low costs kW

References [1] D. Srajber “IGBT with Homogeneous Structure used for High Power Converter Design” PCIM 1991 Nuremberg Germany [2] SEMIKRON Application Notes “SKiiP Parallel Operation of „GB“-type SKiiP Systems”

http://wwwneu.skd.semikron. com/internet/webcms/objects/pdf/ Application_notes_SKiiP_engl.pdf

[3] D. Boroyevich: “MODELING AND CONTROL OF PARALLEL THREEPHASE PWM CONVERTERS” [4] The Switch, www.theswitch.fi [5] United States Patent US 6,680,856 B2

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71

EN ERG Y EF FI CI EN CY

The Need For R&D In Energy Efficiency • Ashutosh Pandey, Emergent Ventures • Aloke Barnwal, Emergent Ventures • Ishita Singh, Emergent Ventures.

India today faces a lot of challenges related to the rising energy demands and climate change. These challenges cannot be overcome by just improving the supply of energy. It is equally important to reduce the demand for energy; the smartest way of achieving this is by improving the nation’s energy efficiency.

T

hough various policy measures such as Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT), Energy Conservation

Building Code (ECBC) have been initiated

by Government of India, there still remains

a huge untapped potential for improvements in energy efficiency in our country. In the following article, we discuss how R&D in energy efficiency can be used for harnessing this untapped potential of energy efficiency in India.

between demand and supply of energy. A clear indication of this is that approximately 57% of the population in India does not have household access to electricity . As our economy grows, the demand for energy is only expected to expand further at a rate of 60 percent between 2003 and 2016 . The rising demand will create an enormous pressure on supply side to provide energy access to its entire population through programs like Rural Electrification.

India’s Energy and Climate Change Challenge

Energy Challenge- An Increasing Supply-Demand Gap India today faces a number of challenges

related to energy, climate change and the environment. Volatile oil prices and dwindling fossil fuel reserves have created uncertainty about our energy security. In addition, there is challenge of bridging the huge gap that exists 72 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Climate Change ChallengeReducing Emissions and ensuring Economic Growth

The increasing supply of coal and oil based energy consequently creates problem of rising GHG emissions and global warming.

India has now become the world’s third largest emitter of carbon-di-oxide (CO2) . As India’s economy expands further, it is likely that these emissions will rise further resulting in mounting domestic and international pressure to reduce our emissions. Already,

the nation is under pressure to fulfill its international commitment of reducing the emissions intensity by 20-25% of 2005 levels by 2020.

Need of Energy Efficiency All these problems related to energy and climate change that India is facing today cannot be overcome by just improving the supply of energy. It is equally important to reduce the demand for energy; the smartest way of achieving this is by improving the nation’s energy efficiency. This is in fact, the easiest and the least expensive way to overcome most of the energy and climatechange related challenges that India faces today.

At present, India’s energy intensity, an indicator of an economy’s energy efficiency, is very high. It is 24,616 Btu per USD (2000) against a world average of 12,385 Btu per USD (2000) . This clearly indicates that we

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use less energy inefficiently. Yet, on a more optimistic note, this also shows the immense potential that exists for improvements in energy efficiency. For instance, 30-50% efficiency improvement potential exists for aircraft, ships and trucks in India .

This potential, if fully exploited, can limit the escalating demand for energy even as our economy continues to expand. It is estimated that CO2 emissions from Indian industries can be reduced by up to 41% through developments in energy efficiency alone5. Similarly, more than 60% of direct emission reduction in the building sector can come from improvements in energy efficiency5.

In addition to the aforementioned benefits, enhanced energy efficiency can lead to creation of jobs. In the US, estimates suggest creation of 1.3 to 3.7 million potential jobs by intensifying investments in energy efficiency . Considering the immense potential for developments in energy efficiency that exist in India, it is likely that the number of jobs created in India will also be substantial.

India’s Current Approach to Energy Efficiency In spite of the great capability that energy efficiency holds to solve most of the problems related to energy and climate change, India hasn’t been able to tap its potential completely. To gain impetus, India will have to take significant steps in bringing about improvements in energy efficiency. Policy measures, their effective implementation, technological improvements, innovations, institutional mechanisms, marketbased instruments must all be considered in totality if noteworthy improvements need to be made.

mission envisages saving about 23 Mtoe of fuel every year with an avoided capacity addition of over 19000 MW. Consequently, the annual emission reduction is estimated to be 98.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

As a part of this plan a number of initiatives such as the Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) mechanism, Energy Conservation Building Code and creation of Venture Capital Fund have been developed by the national government.

Need of R&D in Energy Efficiency Such policy measures have created an enabling environment to bring in technological innovations. For example, to achieve targets set under the PAT scheme and gain financial benefits, an industry would be better off if it has technology which helps them surpass their energy saving targets. Identification and implementation of these technologies will require the industry to appropriate additional fund for R&D in energy efficiency.

Additionally, the proposed Venture Capital Fund is most likely to facilitate investment in new and promising technologies that are highly energy efficient.

Global experiences also show that focused R&D is vital to reach the level of technological advancement that aids successful implementation of the policies while bringing in substantial economic, environmental and social gains.

However, at present, out of the 40 million USD that India spends on R&D in energy technology, none is spent on R&D in energy efficiency . This is despite the fact that R&D in energy efficiency can reap

some of the best benefits when compared to R&D in other energy sectors. A detailed assessment of the gains of public energy technology R&D programs funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) shows that the three innovations that produced the largest social benefit per unit of R&D expenditure

by DOE were all related to improved energy efficiency .

In addition to social benefits, R&D in energy efficiency can bring in humungous economic benefits. R&D in energy efficiency creates demand for skilled scientists, technicians and support staff, thereby creating employment opportunities for the population. Additionally, R&D and the resulting technological innovations would bring in economic profits as India explores the domestic and the global market for the energy efficient products. Analysis of the US DOE’s R&D programmes by National research Council showed that the economic benefits reaped from energy efficiency R&D were over four times the initial investment .

Furthermore, R&D in energy efficiency would result in technological innovation that enhances the countries energy efficiency, thereby producing immense environmental benefits, in the form of reduced GHG emissions.

Finally, R&D in energy efficiency will lead to the creation of knowledge and expertise that will ultimately bring in improvements in the existing technology and create new energy efficient technology.

This knowledge and expertise will also be necessary to identify energy efficient technologies across the globe and how these

India’s existing policies for energy efficiency are primarily based on commercialization and scaling up of existing energy efficient technologies through technology standardization, financial incentives and strong institutional structures.

One such policy measure is the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) under the National Action Plan for Climate Change. The mission aims to save about 5 per cent of the annual energy consumption by 2015. Additionally, the

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73

can be adopted based on Indian needs and conditions.

To sum up, R&D and resulting technological innovation will undoubtedly lay the foundation that will eventually equip us to meet the energy challenges existing today and those that may arise in the future.

Finally, the technological transformation that results from R&D will give India a competitive edge against the countries that haven’t significantly invested in R&D and therefore lack in innovative technology for energy efficiency. By strengthening the three pillars of sustainable development— economic, social and environmental, R&D in energy efficiency will ultimately enable India to move towards the path of progress that is able to fulfill the needs of both the present and future generations.

What needs to be done?

It is now apparent that there is an utmost need for the deployment of energy efficient technology. Even then, India lacks in innovative technology in energy efficiency. To bring about this technological innovation, it is vital to carry out productive R&D in energy efficiency. Integrated Energy Policy 2006 also articulates the necessity of initiating focused R&D at the earliest, as sooner the technologies become available, the better it will be for the country’s energy security and independence.

Both the government and private institutes including industries, academic institutes must take steps to promote R&D in energy efficiency in India. First among these measures should be the creation of a focused strategy for R&D in energy efficiency that fits well into national policy priorities and gives due consideration to resource availability. Such a strategy created by the national government in consultation with key stakeholders must be able to define the priority areas for R&D in energy efficiency. This will enable targeted research in a range of well-selected topics that are likely to produce best results. Additionally, Indian government must work towards the development of financial mechanisms (e.g. venture funds) for investment support in R&D.

innovations but also on the commercialization and diffusion of technology into the market.

Thus, all institutions, public and private, must work together to facilitate the diffusion and commercialization of the final technology into the market. This could be done by creating institutional mechanisms such as stakeholder’s network or a common energy innovation portal such as the one created

by U.S. Department of Energy. This portal has helped investors and companies identify and license leading-edge energy efficiency

and renewable energy technologies .The creation of such institutional mechanisms, in addition to facilitating the commercialization of technology, will result in integrated R&D activities and organized information sharing, thereby producing best results in as short time period as possible.

The successful implementation of these measures will ultimately complement the policy measures like NAPCC initiated in India, leading to enhanced energy security, easy access to energy and reduced emissions.

Case Study: GTL GTL is a leading telecom network services company in India.

The company’s consolidated net worth increased by 25.7% as the company increased its R&D expenditure in green and efficient telecom equipment and appliances from 0.5% of its net turnover in 2009 to over 3.5% in 2010.

Source: Business & Economy, Feb 2011.

Case Study: Japan Japan, now the world’s third largest economy, faced huge energy related challenges in 1970s. It initiated measures to reduce its dependence on imported oil after the oil crisis of 1970s. As a result, Japanese energy efficiency improved by more than 30 percent as compared to 1973. Its industrial sector has nearly tripled its output without significant increase in its energy consumption.

Enhanced energy efficiency has given the country an economic boost as well. Japan now uses one-third as much energy as the United States to produce that same economic unit of GDP. Japan is also one of the leading exporters of energy-efficient technology such as the fuel-efficient cars and super-critical boilers.

It wouldn’t have been possible for Japan to reap these benefits without focused investments in R&D. Japan’s expenditure in low carbon energy technology R&D is almost seventy eight times India’s expenditure in low carbon energy technology R&D. Out of its total expenditure Japan spends approximately 8-10% for R&D in energy efficiency in industries and buildings8.

R&D and the consequent technological transformation, coupled with relevant policies in enegy efficiency in Japan have lead to unparalleled gains for the country.

The success of energy efficiency industry depends not only on technological 74 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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nergy E U nplugged INTERNATIONAL

EQ provides unique Insights & Transparency in Power Generation, Clean Energy, Low Carbon Technologies, Carbon Markets. Latest Industry Information, News, Research & Analysis, Technology & Products Information, Business & Financial News, Policy & Regulation is delivered to an interesting diverse readership base in Energy Corporations, Government, Policy Makers & Regulators, Consultancy & Advisory Firms, Associations, Banking & Financial World * 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.

www.EQMagLive.com INDIA Tel. + 91 731 255 3881 | Fax. +91 731 2553882 anand.gupta@EQmag.net

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EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

75Â

SMA RT GRI D

Smart Grid : Possibilities Are Incomputable” The Smart Grid is a concept; it’s not a specific set of technologies. There are different ways to implement solutions that provide intelligence about the Electric Grid, and different network operators and consortia may have reasons for wanting to make choices based on the particular issues they foresee, stated Ben Tucker, Lead Sales Applications Engineer, Digi, India & Pradeep Nair, Director-Sales Digi India. In an interview with EQ International the duo opined that challenges in implementation of Smart Grid are largely based on timing, installed facilities and urgency. In other countries, most utilities have been doing significant pilots for several years and are now deciding on which technologies they want to use to implement their specific initiatives. In India, there’s less continuity between what the utilities have been testing, and what is now being required via RAPDRP, so it may not be as smooth a process for some utilities as for others.

What is the potential Digi foresees in Indian energy market?

it found in Indian energy market and other markets?

Digi has been involved in Indian market for many years through our network of distributors, integrators, and resellers. We’ve increased our presence in the market in the past three years as part of an acquisition of a company based in Bangalore and have been able to use that to significantly increase our focus in this market.

The size of the power grid here is quite large compared to other countries with similar mixes of technologies. The amount of generation capacity and the availability of distribution lines to deliver it are probably more strained here than in any of the other countries we work in.

India is one of the largest, most rapidly growing economies in the world, and the government has established some aggressive targets to make sure that the ability to generate, transmit, distribute, and monitor power usage evolves in the way that is needed to support this growth. Digi’s wireless device connectivity solutions have proven to be useful both in India and around the world to enable the communications that are needed to deploy and manage large-scale infrastructure like this.

Digi has operations in many other countries. What is the basic difference 76 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Government of India has come up with RAPDRP programme. How would you compare the programme with many such programmes in other parts of the world?

The Government has identified RAPDRP as a key need to ensure that the grid infrastructure continues to grow to meet the rapidly increasing needs of the economy. Other than China, it’s the largest such program currently in process. We think that the program has the potential to significantly improve the ability of the major utilities to effectively manage power loads, forecasting and distribution, and also cut

down on the amount of inefficiency and loss in the T&D system. RARPDRP attempts to help set standards for consistent deployment across India. The advantage of doing this is clear, but only if the implementation actually works as well as is intended, and doesn’t run into issues at very large scale.

What are the challenges, power industry is facing in implementation of Smart Grid?

The Smart Grid is a concept; it’s not a specific set of technologies. There are different ways to implement solutions that provide intelligence about the Electric Grid, and different network operators and consortia may have reasons for wanting to make choices based on the particular issues they foresee.

Within that, the challenges are largely based on timing, installed facilities and urgency. In other countries, most utilities have been doing significant pilots for several years and are now deciding on which technologies they want to use to implement their specific

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initiatives. In India, there’s less continuity between what the utilities have been testing, and what is now being required via RAPDRP, so it may not be as smooth a process for some utilities as for others. Nonetheless there is a clear need to move forward, and quickly, towards an effective Smart Grid solution.

flexibly instrument the sensors and devices needed to monitor power generation across a facility. The iDigi Device Cloud is capable of handling thousands of transactions per second and can easily maintain the sustained data flows that are typical for this type of installation.

built into the turbines. “Small wind” controllers are often serial communication, while “large wind” controllers often require IP based communication.

As will all large scale projects of this type, the biggest challenge will probably be learning how to adapt the proposed national standard to achieve nationwide goals while meeting local requirements and continually improving power quality and availability.

What is the product do you have for controlling solar water heating system?

Solar and wind each comprise a number of different types of applications from residential through utility scale. Most of the issues between the two are comparable in terms of monitoring. Because wind involves rapidly moving parts to generate energy, there’s somewhat more data involved in monitoring a wind generation system than a solar generation system.

Digi has launched wireless network connectivity for solar power plants. Could you please explain in details about the technology of the product, its operation and benefits? Could you please through light on the capacity of the software? What capacity of software needed to control 1 MW of solar power plant?

I’ve attached a conceptual diagram to talk about the types of systems that are commonly used around large scale solar power plants. Software capacity isn’t actually the main issue; it’s the ability to

At the residential or building scale, our iDigi Tank offerings can be quite easily implemented to monitor everything from water temperature and pressure to tank level and even pH or other water quality points. At the commercial/industrial scale, solar tracker communication can be added to keep solar collectors aimed properly for maximum efficiency.

What is the technology for remote monitoring of wind energy?

Wind energy divides into two main categories – “small wind” – residential and commercial, and “large wind” – industrial and utility. Wind systems typically have controllers

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What is the basic difference in wind energy monitoring technology and solar energy monitoring technology?

What prospects do you anticipate in worldwide smart grid market?

There is global focus on Smart Grid and Energy applications, we are seeing great traction in all of our regions and feel that we are ideally positioned with our offerings and our network of application partners to provide an easy way for utilities to offer the consumer greater monitoring capabilities so that they optimise their energy usage.

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

77

HAN

A Novel Architecture for Home Area Network Devices • Manish Sharma, Applications Engineer at MSG IDC Solution Center, Freescale Semiconductors Noida.

• Manish Jindgar, Applications Engineer at MSG IDC Solution Center, Freescale Semiconductors Noida.

• Biswaprakash, Validation Engineer at MSG India Design Center, Freescale Semiconductors Noida.

Armed with the latest technological advancements in the field of energy utilization, the Home Area Networks (HAN) are ready to supplant the traditional electrical ecosystems at home. This paper introduces a HAN device architecture which not only integrates seamlessly with a Home Area Network; but also keeps a tab on the energy consumption and operation of electrical equipments while acting as a low cost energy meter.

T

he sky-rocketing cost of energy production has necessitated making the energy consumption process more efficient. This has brought revolution in electrical equipment manufacturing and energy metering infrastructure. A Home Area Network (HAN) is an advanced electrical ecosystem in which a smart utility meter and HAN devices communicates with each other to control the energy consumption profile. A basic HAN device has a two-way communication link with a utility meter and optionally, with other HAN devices, in a HAN ecosystem; sharing energy consumption data of the equipment it is connected to, and also receiving commands to turn-off or hibernate that equipment when unused. The following sections describe in detail, certain enhancements to the basic HAN device architecture; thus extending its capability and feature-set. Device is very low cost and best part of this concept is that it can be hook in the existing electrical infrastructure, no need to replace, renovate, alteration & 78 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Figure 1: HAN device application diagram

rework is required. The power consumption is very low in uA when is not used.

Brief Architecture Overview The HAN device can be considered as an intelligent power socket which, at one end connects to the normal power socket and on the other end

offers pluggable connection interface for the home appliances e.g., Microwave, AC etc. It can be controlled directly by the utility meter over wireless interfaces like RF or wired interfaces like power line communication (HomePlug etc.). Additionally its firmware can be upgraded over the RF/PLC interface by the utility meter. On the LCD, it can display various energy parameters of the

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device. It also supports battery backup option for maintaining time and date. Figure 1 shows the application diagram of the HAN device.

internal flash memory. For supporting various functionality of the HAN device, the microcontroller should be equipped with the following features.

The HAN device consists of the following components.

1. Low power processing core having the capability to perform complex arithmetic operations required for energy calculation.

1. A Microcontroller 2. 230V to 3.3V converter 3. Relay 4. Signal conditioning circuitry 5. IR interface (Supporting both TX and RX) 6. LCD panel 7. RF/Power line communication PHY

Main operational features of the system are as below.

1. Very low current ( 10 uA) consumption while non functional.

2. Run current is very less (10 ma), 40 mA at full load.

3. Fully controlled by the Energy meter 4. High voltage cut-off , to save your appliances 5. Wireless communication over Zigbee @ 2.4 GHz. 6. Month wise storage of the power consumed at that point.

7. System will be fully functional starting from 90-300V AC. 8. Easy to hook on network.

9. Compact in size.

Figure 2 shows the block diagram representation of the above components.

Detailed Description The various important components of the HAN device and their role are described below.

2. Communication interface with RF PHY or suitable interface for Power line communication PHY, if used.

3. On-chip flash memory and SRAM for storing application firmware and faster operation.

4. LCD driver for LCD display.

5. Interfaces like UART which can support Infra Red communication.

• Microcontroller The microcontroller/System-on-a-chip plays a pivotal role in the device operation. In addition to controlling other components, it stores the application firmware in its

• Infra-Red Interface The Infra-red interface can be configured suitably according to range and power consumption. This interface provides remote configuration support for the HAN device. It enables the user to remotely turn on/off the home appliance connected to the HAN device. The protocol and exact details of operation can be flexibly chosen for particular implementations.

• LCD Panel

6. High resolution ADCs with Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA) for voltage and current measurements.

The LCD panel displays the following parameters.

7. IO ports for driving relays.

2. Total Energy consumed last/current month

8. Real time counter for time keeping.

The microcontroller senses the voltage and current through signal conditioning circuit along with ADC and PGA to calculate RMS voltage and current values, instantaneous energy consumed, total energy consumed over a period of time (can be for one month or more). It then sends these data to the utility meter through Rf or Power line communication PHY and also displays them on the LCD. When it receives a command to turn-off the device it drives suitable logic on its IO ports to operate the relay.

The microcontroller gets its power supply from the power line through 230V to 3.3V converter. This converter can be suitably configured according to the operating voltage of the microcontroller. The on-chip flash firmware can be updated over the Rf or PLC interface by the utility meter. The protocol and exact details of firmware updating will depend on specific implementation.

• Signal Conditioning

Figure 2: HAN device block diagram

As this voltage drop is very small, it has to be suitably amplified before it can be fed to the ADC. The amplifier consists of programmable gain stages for amplification of only the AC components; thus preventing the amplifier output from saturation.

The signal conditioning unit consists of analog front end for voltage and current measurement. The line voltage is measured by first downsizing it with resistor ladder, thereafter DC filtering and DC biasing the same. Compared to voltage measurement, current measurement is little involved.

First the line current is downsized using a current transformer and then it is passed through a small value of high precision shunt resistor. The voltage drop across this shunt resistor gives a measure of the line current.

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1. Instantaneous Energy consumed

3. Date and Time of the day 4. RMS voltage 5. RMS current The LCD panel inherits some of the utility meter display; thus acting as a low accuracy smart AC energy meter.

In a nutshell, the above architecture conceptualizes a cost effective and extremely versatile HAN device, which is replete with all the essential HAN device features along with the support for advanced features like firmware upgrade and full control of appliance over RF/PLC interface; while also doubling as a low cost smart AC energy meter, providing round the clock energy consumption details of the home appliance.

Though this paper depicts it as a standalone intelligent power socket, it can also be implemented inside home appliances.

1

References

1.

Smart grid article on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid

2. Article on Smart Energy initiative by HomePlug

http:/ /www.homeplug.org/tech/smart_energy

3.

Article on Smart Plug

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/12/smartplug-powe/

4.

AVR465: Single Phase Power/Energy Meter with Tamper Detection (Application Note)

http://www.atmel.com/dyn/resources/prod_ documents/doc2566.pdf

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

79

O I L & GA S

Gas Processing In North America - Market Analysis, Key Companies And Competitive Landscape Global Data

Gas Processing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An Overview

natural gas depends upon the type, depth, and location of the underground deposit of that area. Natural gas processing is done to

The processing of natural gas begins at

purify the raw natural gas and extract other

the wellhead. The composition of the raw

hydrocarbons like methane and ethylene from

80Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

the raw natural gas.

Raw natural gas is extracted from primarily three types of wells: crude oil wells, gas wells, and condensate wells.

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Different stages in the natural gas processing are given below.

Gas Oil Separators â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Generally, pressure difference at the wellhead causes natural separation of natural gas from oil.

But in some other cases, a multi stage gasoil separation is needed to separate the gas from the crude oil. The gas oil separators are

Dehydration: A process to eliminate

vented. Helium is also extracted from the

water which might cause the formation of

gas stream in a Pressure Swing Adsorption

hydrates. It can be done by several methods,

(PSA) unit.

such as the use of ethylene glycol (glycol injection) systems to remove water and other solids through absorption from the gas stream. Alternatively, adsorption dehydration may also be used.

Methane Separation: The process of demethanizing includes cryogenic processing and absorption methods. Cryogenic processing consists of lowering the temperature of the gas stream to around -120°F (degrees

cylindrical in shape, horizontally mounted

Contaminant Removal: At this stage,

Fahrenheit). The quick drop in temperature

with inlets at one end, and one outlet at

the contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide,

that the expander (Piston-cylinder device that

the top for removal of gas and another at

carbon dioxide, water vapor, helium, and

cools compressed gas via sudden expansion)

the bottom for removal of oil. The water, if

oxygen are removed. This happens when the

is capable of producing condenses the

present in the mixture, also gets extracted

gas is passed through an amine solution. It

hydrocarbons in the gas stream, but maintains

in the process.

also generates a centrifugal force by which

methane in its gaseous form.

Condensate Separator: With the use of mechanical separators, condensates

further remaining water and small solid particulate matter is removed.

are removed. The gas stream enters the

Nitrogen Extraction: The gas stream

processing plant at a very high pressure

is then routed to a Nitrogen Rejection Unit

where water is removed from the gas and

(NRU), where it is further dehydrated using

extracted condensate is routed to on-site

molecular sieve beds. Using thermodynamics,

storage tanks.

the nitrogen is cryogenically separated and

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Fractionation: Fractionation is the process of separating the various NGLs present in the remaining gas stream using the varying boiling points methods.

Gas Processing Market in North America

EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

81Â

Increasing production and demand for

the top five gas processing plants, Amoco

its gas processing market. Currently, Kenai

natural gas leads to complementary growth

Empress dominated the gas processing

LNG is the only LNG liquefaction facility

in demand in associated markets like gas

market in Canada in 2010 with an installed

in North America. Two more planned LNG

processing. The gas processing market is

capacity of 2,276,690.2 MMcf.

facilities – Sabine Pass LNG Liquefaction and Freeport Liquefaction Terminal in the US

affected by many factors including competition

Gas Processing Market in North America, Issues and Trends

and one in Canada named Kitimat LNG – are

•

Increasing Shale Gas Development in

expansion of the gas processing market in

or NGLs (Natural Gas Liquids) from natural

the US Would Require More Natural

North America.

gas. Growth in gas processing market is

Gas Processing Plants

directly proportional to the growth in the

•

Increasing shale gas development in the

demand for natural gas. In North America,

US is likely to add more natural gas processing

increasing production of natural gas due to

plants to North America. Dominion Resources,

contributions from unconventional sources

Inc., an integrated gas and electric holding

will provide a boost to the gas processing

company in the US, has recently entered

market in the medium to long-term.

into an agreement with PPG Industries to

from other fuels, economic patterns and plant locations. The demand for natural gas has a huge impact on the gas processing market. As production of natural gas increases, there is a huge need to separate heavier hydrocarbons

Enterprise Products Partners L.P , BP Canada Energy Company, DCP Midstream, LLC, Williams Partners L.P. and Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. are the top five companies in the North American gas processing market in terms of installed processing capacity. Together, these companies had 25.9% of the total gas processing capacity of North America in 2010. Among the top five companies, Enterprise Products Partners L.P dominates the North American gas processing market with a capacity of 3,014,772.3 Million Cubic Feet (MMcf) in 2010. It is followed by BP Canada Energy Company in second place with a capacity of 2,656,535.6 MMcf. North America Gas Processing Market, Processing Capacity by Top Five Gas Processing Plants, 2010 Amoco Empress, Cochrane Extraction Plant, Petro-Can Empress, Pancdn Empress and Atco Midstream Empress (3) are the top five gas processing plants in Canada. Among 82 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

buy land at PPG’s Natrium location to set up a 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) natural gas processing plant as a part of its already announced Marcellus 404 Project.

DCP Midstream LLC has signed a long-term gas gathering and processing contract with a joint venture comprising Pioneer Natural Resources Inc., Reliance Eagleford Upstream Holding LP and Newpek LLC operating in the Eagle Ford shale gas play. Additionally, DCP Midstream has in place a long-term gathering and processing agreement for 33,000 acres of Eagle Ford development in the Wilson and Karnes counties. Shale gas development will provide an impetus for setting up new natural gas processing plants in North America.

•

expected to become operational by 2015.

These planned LNG production facilities are also expected to provide boosts to the

Petrochemical Industry is Unlikely to Drive Growth in the Gas Processing Market in North America NGLs such as ethane, propane and butane

are primary feedstock for the production of ethylene and propylene. The gas processing market is thus affected by the demand of these feedstocks in the petrochemical industry. For the petrochemicals market in North America, being a matured market, minimal growth in capacity is expected and demand from the petrochemicals market is unlikely to drive growth in the gas processing market.

•

Current Slowdown in the Demand for Natural Gas and Low Natural Gas Prices is Hampering Growth in Natural Gas Processing in North America The recent economic slowdown has

hampered natural gas demand in North

Planned LNG Producing Plants in North America Will Lead to Growth in Gas Processing Market in North America

America. Natural gas prices have also been

Liquefied natural Gas (LNG) liquefaction

companies has been hit. Such circumstances

plants require dry, clean natural gas to

are likely to hinder growth in the gas

produce LNG. Growth in liquefaction capacity

processing market in North America in the

in a country can act as a growth driver for

short to medium term.

consistently low, which, to some extent, have also affected gas production growth in the region as the profitability of gas producing

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PRODUCTS KACO new energy presents new products A PV system with different subgenerators, such as those produced as a result of dormer windows or shadows, is a challenge for any system planner. Here, the transformerless Powador 10.0, 12.0 and 14.0 TL3, and the Powador 30.0, 37.5 and 39.0 TL3 three-phase inverters, which feature fully asymmetric load capability, offer almost limitless freedom in terms of system design. The Powador inverters in the lower capacity group have two MPP trackers which can each process the entire AC output. The Powador 39.0 TL3 product group is equipped with three trackers which can process up to 20 kW. The Powador 30.0 to 39.0 TL3 receives solar energy from up to 12 strings, while the Powador 10.0 to 14.0 TL3 receives solar energy from 4 strings, each with a system voltage of up to 1000 volts. The MPP range in both device groups is extra broad, spanning between 350 and 800 volts. The initial voltage is 250 volts. However, during operation, the inverters can still even feed in electricity at an input voltage of 200 volts in order to also ensure lower solar yields. Thanks to an innovative multi-stage activation of the power semiconductors, they already achieve over 95 percent efficiency at less than peak capacity with a rated voltage of 5 percent. Peak efficiency is 98 percent.

84Â EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

The communication features have been designed for even greater convenience.

The devices are now equipped with a USB interface. All log data can be downloaded via the interface, or the operator can conduct simple updates of the device software.

This makes it easy to adapt the inverter to new regulations such as the Low Voltage Directive. The latest software can now be downloaded free of charge from the service area at KACO new energyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website. All devices have an integrated data logger and web server and enable continuous monitoring via ethernet.

The Powador XP500-HV TL is a new development in central inverter series. As well as the new performance class, the device is equipped with a newly designed IP21 housing. The Powador XP500-HV TL is the largest transformerless inverter in the Powador XP series. The transformer is specially selected for each project in order to achieve the greatest possible degree of planning freedom. The Powador XP500-HV TL, like all the other devices in this series, can be fully digitally controlled; the integrated network parameters can be adapted to meet different requirements anywhere and at all times. The inverter meets the requirements of the Low and Medium Voltage Directive, and is therefore naturally able to deliver reactive power.

We have completely redesigned our system planning software tool, and have therefore given it a new name: the KACOCALC Pro has been renamed the Powador PV pilot. In the redesigned version, the optimised, interactive user guidance via a Windows-compatible interface enables unrestricted combination of different inverter types and provides a more clearly defined solution for relay suggestions. Naturally, highquality design recommendations for different

sub-generators can be created using our new Powador three-phase inverters. Even with the support of the PV pilot, a highly detailed design can only be created by experts. In order to enable inexperienced system operators to gain a good first impression of possible designs, the tool offers a simpler quick mode alongside the expert mode.

We present the Powador LOG for local evaluation of PV systems. This data logger can evaluate up to six inverters via RS485.

All important data is available to system operators at all times: from the current capacity of the system and the individual inverters through to monthly and annual production. The measurement data collected by the Powador LOG is transmitted to a

receiver via WLAN in real time and is shown as a screen image. The entire range of devices, from smartphones and netbooks right through to MP3 players and TVs, are suitable for use as receivers.

At the end of 2010, the accumulated output from photovoltaics in Germany was in excess of 17 GW. During the summer months, the power grids in some regions are already hitting their accommodation limits at this output level. Our storage solution, which is also suitable for PV systems, helps reduce the load on the grid. It ensures that

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PRODUCTS the energy which is generated decentrally can also be retrieved for use at a later time at the site at which it was produced. In single family homes, for example, the proportion of solar energy used by the home itself can be increased to over 70 percent on average each year by integrating our storage system with an intelligent home energy manager.

In this way, home owners will benefit from the attractive compensation for private consumption outlined in the EEG. Systems for providing energy to areas or regions with a low level of grid reliability and which are far away from a grid are not new.

However, in most cases, diesel generators are used. The latest generation of renewable system technologies is now available as an alternative to diesel units: coordinated system solutions from a single source, universally scalable and with high efficiency levels and a high degree of reliability.

With our project â&#x20AC;&#x153;Electrification of grid-remote regionsâ&#x20AC;?, we are developing a turnkey system solution of this type. The heart

of the system consists of an MPPT charge controller, a hybrid battery (lithium-lead) and a central inverter (approx. 100 kW DC output). Flexible integration of AC and DC-

side generators is possible, as is connection to a public power grid. The energy management system is the intelligent system component.

Via a uniform communication standard, it connects generator and consumer to form a functional unit. A newly developed hybrid storage device (lithium-lead) guarantees the optimum use of locally available energies, and at the same time secures the independence of an entire residential area.

Bentek Solar circuit breakers and recombiners

Sunshine cannot be controlled. But we are increasingly able to forecast it accurately!

The new forecast tool from KACO new energy enables grid operators to forecast the anticipated solar power quantity of the next three days to a 97 percent degree of accuracy. The forecasts are conducted every hour, and can be limited to the sub-grids for respective German federal states. The most accurate forecasts possible are needed in order to improve the grid integration of solar

energy. Shortages and excess supplies of solar energy can be regulated in combination with flexibly controllable power plants, and renewable energy can - as is stipulated in the EEG - flow as a priority through the grids.

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Bentek Solar circuit breakers and recombiners, known for its state-of-the-art technology, have absolutely no fuses in these circuit breaker re combiners. These circuit breakers provide maximum performance and safety with UL 489 breakers. Not only is it a more convenient solution to maintain since there are no fuses to ever replace, but it also is a very cost competitive alternative to fuses with an integrated load break disconnect. For the circuit breaker re-combiners Bentek has received CSA 22.2 certification and have been awarded 1741 listing by UL. EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

85Â

PRODUCTS UTME, STME and DTME measuring transducer disconnect terminal blocks The completely new test disconnect terminal blocks in the Clipline complete system allow easy and individual structuring of current transformer measuring sets. The core of the test disconnect terminal block is the screw-free disconnect element that snaps securely into the switching statuses.

The respective switching status is clearly displayed on the imprint.

method and have been structured DIN railsymmetrically for individual setting up of applications. The pluggable accessories, the high functionality and the various combination options reduce the wiring costs in the switchgears.

•

User benefits

• Pre-assembled nonadjacent plug-in bridges, e.g. FBS 1-3-5/8 can be supplied as a star point bridge for chained measuring transducer sets • Feed-through terminal blocks having the same structure • PE terminals having the same structure • Compact design (spacesaving) Applications The classical areas of application are power generation, transmission and distribution. These include:

main

The new test disconnect terminal blocks have a screw-free longitudinal disconnect element that can be swiveled into the desired switching position using a screwdriver and snaps in. The disconnect element indicated with switching symbols ensures clear identification of switching positions.

The compact terminals are available as feed-through terminal blocks or PE terminals as well. All terminals of the new test disconnect terminal block range have the same structure independent of the connection 86 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

Switch bar for the current transformer short circuit can be snapped in on both sides of the disconnect point depending on the installation direction

• A complete and uniform range of accessories for all connection methods which lead to reduction in the storage costs

There are three function shafts each on the left and the right of the disconnect lever. The new pluggable short circuit connectors can also be snapped into these function shafts. In this case, the third function shaft leaves space for the test sockets or the plug-in bridges. Since the new terminal range is a part of the known Clipline complete system, the same accessories that are used for the standard Clipline complete range can be used here as well for bridging, marking, etc.

Product features

of all test disconnect terminal blocks enables all installation directions in the switchgear

•

Easy and individual structure of current transformer measuring sets

•

• Clear identification of all switching statuses within a terminal strip • Individual combination options of switching and testing accessories • Three connection methods for free selection (end customer-related applications) • Time-saving assembly using snap-on accessories (screw-free assembly) •

The DIN rail symmetry of the structure

Power generation - Generator protection in power stations, regenerative energy generation

• Energy distribution - Transformer, conductor, busbar protection, i.e. distribution networks and transformation substations in medium, high and extremely high voltage switching systems •

Electrical machines, motors, drives

•

For invoicing in intermediate meter area of offices (low and medium voltage).

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E-mail : dakshenergy@yahoo.co.in Mobile : +91 98853 29900

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CONFERENCE & EVENTS 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

Solar Investment Forum

Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street

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

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

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

Inter Solar Europe

JatrophaWorld Asia 2011

National Energy Summit

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: 21-22 July, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: Naseba Tel.: 080 3022 4233 Email: sangrams@nationalenergysummit.com Web.: www.nationalenergysummit.com/

Carbon Management for Power Plant 2011

5th Renewable Energy India 2011

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

IFRS For Oil & Gas Industry Date: 13-15 June, 2011 Place: Dubai Organiser: Infocus International Group Tel.: 65 6224 5090 Email: enquiry@infocusinternational.com Web.: www.infocusinternational.com/ifrs/

88 EQ INTERNATIONAL MAY/JUNE 11

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Date: 28-29 June, 2011 Place: USA Organiser: American Business Conferences Tel.: 800 721 3915 Email: info@american-business-conferences.com Web.: www.american-business-conferences.com/

Date: 10-12 Aug, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: Exibitions India Group Tel.: 11 4279 5000 Email: rajneeshk@eigroup.in Web.: www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com

PV Balance of systems Conference & Exibition

The 3rd Guangzhou International Solar PV Exihibition 2011

Date: 28-29 June, 2011 Place: Berlin Organiser: PV Insider Tel.: 44 207 375 7206 Email: heidi@pv-insider.com Web.: www.pv-insider.com/balanceofsystems/

Date: 11-13 Aug, 2011 Place: China Organiser: Guangzhou Grandeur (Hongwei) Exhibi-

tion Services Co., Ltd

Tel.: (86-20)28314758/68/78 Email: pvguangzhou@163.com Web.: http://www.gzxny.com/index_e.asp

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CONFERENCE & EVENTS 26 EU PVSEC 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

International Conclave on Climate Change Date: 12-14 Oct, 2011 Place: Hyderabad Organiser: Tafcon Projects Tel.: 40-66304127 / 28 Email: iccc@tafcon.com Web.: www.tafcon.com/climatechange/

Solar Power International 2011 Date: 17-20 Oct, 2011 Place: USA Organiser: Solar Energy Trade Shows Tel.: 202.595.1143 Email: plangdon@solarenergytradeshows.com Web.: www.solarpowerinternational.com

World Energy Policy Summit

Renewtech India 2011

SolarCon India 2011

Date: 6-7 Sep, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: World Energy Policy Summit Tel.: 011 2613 7812 / 2613 7901 Email: worldenergypolicysummit@gmail.com Web.: www.worldenergypolicysummit.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/

World Smart Grid Conference India week 2011

India Electricity 2011

Powering Africa

index.html

Date: 12-14 Oct, 2011 Place: New Delhi Organiser: FICCI Tel.: 11-23738760 Email: manish.sharma@ficci.com Web.: www.indiaelectricity.in/

Date: 22-24 Nov, 2011 Place: South Africa Organiser: eStrategies Events Tel.: 0044 (0) 1179 737758 Email: andrew.bell@estratevents.com Web.: www.esepoweringafrica.com/

Energytech

India Sustainability Conclave 2011

Energy Expo 2011

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: 01-03 Dec, 2011 Place: Ahmedabad Organiser: CII Tel.: 22 24931790 Email: romaldine.ayire@cii.in Web.: www.energyexpo.biz

EuropeanFutureEnergyForum

Wind Tech 2011

Inter Solar India

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

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

Date: 13-16 Sep, 2011 Place: Mumbai Organiser: SZ &W Group Tel.: 86 21 5830 0710 Email: violay@szwgroup.com Web.: http://www.szwgroup.com/2011/sgindia/

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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