SolarQuarter South East Asia Dec-Jan Issue 2022

Empowering, Insightful, Engaging

W W W . S O L A R Q U A R T E R . C O M

SOUTH EAST ASIA V O L U M E

TRENDING

TOP 5 LEGAL CLAUSES to Consider in the Era of the Evolving Power Purchase Agreements

Opportunities and Struggles for a Solar Developer Company in Myanmar KNOW MORE INSIDE

Thailand Rooftop Market What is driving the Rooftop Sector Ahead?

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CONTENT IN CONVERSATION

NEWS

06 OPINION

23 ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ANALYSIS FOR MICROGRID DEPLOYMENT IN THAILAND

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Opportunities and Struggles for a Solar Developer Company in Myanmar

TOP 5 LEGAL CLAUSES TO CONSIDER IN THE ERA OF THE EVOLVING POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

12 CHAYASAK ITTHISIRI General Manager, BECIS Thailand

15 RASSA HERABAT Head of Asset Management and RE Project Manager, Prime Road Power FEATURED TALKS

18 TODD LI President, Trina Solar (Asia Pacific Region)

INSIGHTS

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HOW DOES THE SOLAR LANDSCAPE LOOK LIKE FOR CAMBODIA IN 2022?

THAILAND ROOFTOP MARKET WHAT IS DRIVING THE ROOFTOP SECTOR AHEAD?

PRODUCT FEATURE

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TRINA SOLAR

20 JAMES HIGGINS General Manager China and Southeast Asia, SolarEdge Technologies

COMPANY FEATURE

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TRINA SOLAR

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 05

ASIA NEWS TOTALENERGIES SIGNS MOU WITH ADEN GROUP FOR SOLAR ENERGY OPTIMIZATION TotalEnergies, through its distributed renewable energy generation solutions in Asia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aden Group, a leader in sustainable & data-driven management of buildings and business/industrial parks. This MoU is to explore several collaborative prospects in sharing and providing advanced solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of built assets through solar energy and data-driven energy optimization. Under the alliance, the partners will team up to explore the potential of TotalEnergies’ development of solar energy projects, as well as Aden Group’s exploration of new clients for digitalized asset lifecycle management in SouthEast Asia.

Singapore SINGAPORE’S FIRST OFFSHORE SOLAR IMPORT PROJECT TO PROVIDE GREEN ENERGY TO CONSUMERS PacificLight Power Pte Ltd (“PLP”), a Singapore-based power generation and electricity retail company, working with a consortium comprising Medco Power Indonesia, an Indonesian leading independent power producer, and Gallant Venture Ltd, a Salim Group company, has been granted in-principle approval by the Energy Market Authority (“EMA”) for a 100MW pilot solar import project from Indonesia to Singapore. The Project is in line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030 to increase renewable generation. A Joint Development Agreement was signed between the consortium during the Singapore International Energy Week on 25 October 2021 and witnessed by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia and the Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore.

URBAN RENEWABLES COMPLETES 10 MW ROOFTOP SOLAR PORTFOLIO RENEW RAISES $400 MILLION BY ISSUING GREEN BONDS ReNew Energy Global Plc (ReNew), India’s leading renewable energy company, announced that India Clean Energy Holdings, a Mauritian entity, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global Plc (the parent company of ReNew Power Private Limited), has raised US$400 million at 4.5% by issuing senior secured dollar notes. The dollar notes are certified green bonds

by Climate Bond Initiative and will be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). These Green Bonds have a tenor of 5.25 years.

This is the first High Yield issuance out of the ASEAN and South Asian regions in 2022. These notes were subscribed to by investors from the US and Asia at about 40% each and the balance by EMEA-based investors. The bulk of notes was subscribed to by long-only fund managers and pension funds.

So far the Company, through its subsidiaries, has raised in excess of US$3.5 billion across eight such issuances, of which seven are outstanding.

ASEAN FOCUSES ON CLEAN ENERGY FOR VISION 2025 The Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (ASEAN’s BIMP-EAGA sub-region) is working on going green and is committed to developing clean and green energy technologies and sustainability for Vision 2025. Boosting ecotourism, guiding small businesses for manufacturing green products, transitioning to a circular economy, and building green cities are all parts of becoming an eco-friendly region.

Among the renewable energy sources, hydropower is most commonly used with solar, wind, natural gas, geothermal, and biomass.

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Urban Renewables has now created a total portfolio of 10 MW rooftop solar in Singapore within 9 months of signing its very first project in March 2021. The project was signed with NS BlueScope Lysaght, a wall cladding and steel roofing company.

Urban Renewables was established in June 2020, with the aim to develop and invest in sustainable energy solutions for the betterment of urbanization, as well as, to provide opportunities for communities to participate and invest in the energy transition of their own cities.

MASDAR, EDF RENEWABLES, TUAS POWER, AND PT INDONESIA POWER SIGNS MOU Tuas Power, EDF Renewables, PT Indonesia Power, and Masdar sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop clean energy in Indonesia and will export that to Singapore. This partnership will develop 1.2 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity with the required storage system. EDF Renewables is the global renewable energy affiliate of the Group. It is present in 20+ countries, under the brand EDF Renewables, the company develops, builds, and operates renewable power plants.

Incorporated in March 1995, Tuas Power is one of Singapore’s leading power generation companies and a key provider of energy solutions, multi-utilities, and environmental services.

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 06

SINGAPORE KEEN TO PARTNER WITH UAE ON LOWCARBON ECONOMY Singapore shows keen interest to partner with UAE for new projects and solutions and to achieve a low-carbon economy.

Another area of interest is UAE’s net-zero strategy. Grace Fu Hai Yien, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment of the Republic of Singapore said that UAE has strategies and ideas to decarbonize the economy and Singapore is heading there. She was visiting the UAE for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). Last year, UAE became the first country in the MENA region to announce net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Singapore has also committed to half its emissions by 2050.

COMFORTDELGRO AND ENGIE EXPAND INTO SOLAR WITH SECOND JOINT VENTURE ComfortDelGro, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ComfortDelGro Engineering Pte Ltd (CDGE), and ENGIE South East Asia (ENGIE) are expanding their strategic partnership from Green Mobility to Renewable Energy. Leveraging on ENGIE’s leading expertise in renewable energy worldwide, they will jointly develop and manage solar solutions as part of ComfortDelGro’s journey towards carbon neutrality. Both companies have signed a second Joint Venture (JV) agreement with the intention to support the electrification of ComfortDelGro’s fleet of vehicles with renewable power and offer fast charging solutions to their drivers and public electric vehicle (EV) users from Renewable Energy assets on their premises through ComfortDelGro ENGIE Solar Pte Ltd (Solar JV). The Solar JV comes just two months after the first venture, ComfortDelGro ENGIE Pte Ltd, had successfully won the tender to deploy 479 EV chargers across the island of Singapore by the third quarter of 2022.

Thailand

AISIN GROUP AND CONSTANT ENERGY TO EXPAND CURRENT SOLAR ROOFTOP OPERATIONS TO 3.7MW Constant Energy and Shizen Energy Inc. (“Shizen Energy”) executed a long-term Solar Power Purchase Agreement with Aisin Thai Automotive Casting Co., Ltd, (“ATAC”) to expand its existing 1MW solar rooftop to a total of 3.7MW. ATAC is a joint venture between AISIN CORPORATION (Japan) and Toyota Tsusho (Thailand) Co., Ltd. This solar rooftop project is located in Kabinburi’s Industrial Zone, in Prachinburi province. Since the contract signing one year ago, the first 1MW plant has provided clean, cost-competitive renewable energy and enabled ATAC to both reduce their average electricity cost and lower their carbon emissions and carbon footprint. This new expansion will build on this success and multiply its benefits.

CARBON NEUTRALITY COMMITMENTS TO FACILITATE RE GROWTH IN THAILAND Thailand will experience good growth in non-hydro renewable sources (biomass, solar, geothermal, wind) which is what the country aims at achieving. At COP26 Glasgow, the Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha pledged to achieve netzero emissions by 2065. Bio-circular Green (BCG) economy model was introduced by the prime minister for sustainable economic development. BCG model focuses on biomass resources for generating power. With the Alternative Energy Development Plan 2018-37 (AEDP), Thailand will develop renewable resources in the power sector and has set an aim of 18.7 gigawatts of non-hydroelectric renewables by 2037. AEDP is also supported by Power Development Plan 2018-37 (PDP) which targets for 37% power mix by 2037 to come from nonfossil fuel energy sources.

THAI ENERGY DEVELOPER EXPECTS GROWTH IN ROOFTOP SOLAR PROJECTS Thai renewable energy developer and construction firm, Gunkul Engineering PCL, expects a 20% rise in total revenue next year owing to its rooftop solar PV installation and construction service, as well as cannabis businesses. Gunkul Engineering operates renewable power generation businesses — wind and solar farms as well as rooftop solar panels — in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan, with a current combined capacity of 642MW. The main source of revenue growth for Gunkul Engineering for this year is accounted for by the increase in power generation capacity, especially from rooftop solar energy development and construction under private power purchase agreements. Gunkul Chief Executive Officer & Secretary to the Board of Directors, Somboon Aueatchasai mentioned that the revenue growth rate is similar to this year, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 07

BGPS FORMS JOINT VENTURE COMPANY FOR PRODUCTION AND SALE OF ELECTRICITY GENERATED FROM SOLAR ROOFTOP B.Grimm Power Service Limited (BGPS), a 100% owned subsidiary of B.Grimm Power, has established a joint venture company with SCG Cleanergy Company Limited (SCG Cleanergy). The objectives of the cooperation are to produce and sell electricity generated from the solar rooftop power systems to industrial customers in Amata City Chonburi and Amata City Rayong industrial estates in order to strengthen and enhance the capability for competitiveness in such business of B.Grimm Power as well as to promote the use of clean energy in the industrial sector of Thailand in line with sustainable business practices. The new company would be called Cleanergy BGP Company Limited. The holding proportion would be 49% held by BGPS / 51% held by SCG Cleanergy.

SEMBCORP, BAMBOO CAPITAL PLAN 1.5 GW OF RENEWABLES IN VIETNAM Sembcorp Utilities, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries Sembcorp Ind has signed a collaboration agreement with BCG Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vietnam’s Bamboo Capital Group, to develop renewable energy projects in Vietnam. Under the collaboration, the companies will “leverage each other’s strengths and resources” to jointly develop up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar projects in Vietnam, Sembcorp said in a bourse filing. The first phase will involve initial funding of US$30 million to develop a 550-megawatt portfolio of utility-scale nearshore and onshore wind assets in the Ca Mau, Tra Vinh, and Soc Trang provinces. BCG Energy has secured the projects, which are expected to come online by the end of 2022.

VIETNAM FOCUSES ON MASTERING RE TECHNOLOGIES

Vietnam MAINSTREAM RENEWABLE RAISES ADDITIONAL €90 MILLION FUNDING FOR RE ASSETS Mainstream Renewable Power has raised €90 million in additional funding to accelerate new market entries and the build-out of gigawatt-scale wind and solar assets across Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The capital increase raised €90 million from Mainstream’s current shareholder base, including Aker Horizons, which maintained its 75% stake in the company. Demand from Mainstream’s Irish investor base was strong, resulting in an oversubscribed transaction. The funding round will help accelerate the company’s growth, extend its footprint and support its ambitions of building a global renewable energy major. Mainstream has secured several strategic wins in recent months, including winning preferred bidder status of projects with a combined capacity of 1.27 GW in South Africa, launching the 1 GW Nazca Renovables platform in Chile, and securing an investment decision from the Provincial Government of Soc Trang relating to the 1.4 GW Phu Cuong Soc Trang offshore wind project in Vietnam.

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At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, the draft Power Development Planning (PDP) VIII has shown the trend of working on renewable and clean energies. Vietnam is focusing on cutting down its carbon emissions and has set targets for the same. The country will focus on wind and solar energy. According to Ben Backwell, CEO of Global Wind Energy Council, the country must make it a hub for clean power in the Southeast Asia region as it is very beneficial. Vietnam will see a hefty amount of capital when organizations will switch from fossil fuel to renewable energy. Ta Viet Dung, Director of the State Agency for Technology Innovation, said that both wind and solar energy has advantages but it also requires modern technologies to serve the value chain from generating technology and producing materials.

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY & TRADE OF VIETNAM TO FINALIZE ELECTRICITY MASTER PLAN VIII The Ministry of Industry and Trade is finalizing the Electricity Master Plan VIII, collecting opinions from localities across the country to soon complete and submit to the Government in the first quarter of 2022. At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the afternoon of January 12, information about the completion of the Power Planning VIII, Mr. Bui Quoc Hung – Deputy Director of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said, Draft Power Planning VIII has been completed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval in Report No. 1682 dated March 26, 2021, and Report 6277 dated October 8, 2021.

Draft electricity master plan VIII identifies priorities for efficient exploitation and use of renewable energy sources for electricity production regarding the fact that many localities, especially those with potential for wind and solar power, are currently proposing to add power projects, especially solar power projects, to the Power Plan VIII, Mr. Bui said. Quoc Hung added that, in recent times, Vietnam has developed a very large number of solar and wind power projects. While renewable energy still has some limitations because it is governed by time and weather, it should only be used at an appropriate rate, ensuring the connection between supply and demand and meeting the load demand.

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 08

BANPU PCL ACQUIRES 50 MW PORTFOLIO OF 2 SOLAR PARKS Banpu PCL to purchase firm with a 50 MW portfolio of 2 solar parks worth 26.7 million USD in Vietnam. The solar parks are 15 MW Chu Ngoc, Gia Lai, and 35 MW Nhon Hai PV farm in Ninh Thuan. Banpu Public Company Limited is an international versatile energy provider with 3 core groups of businesses: energy resources, energy generation, and energy technology in 10 countries – Thailand, Indonesia, China, Australia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Singapore, Japan, the United States of America and Vietnam. Both solar parks receive feed-in tariffs of 0.0935 USD/kWh and have 20 years of PPA with Vietnam Electricity.

The Chu Ngoc solar park started the operation in June 2019 and the Nhon Hai PV farm started in July 2020. The assets will be acquired by BRE Singapore Pte Ltd which is a subsidiary of Banpu Next. Certain adjustments will be completed after June 2022. The deal was supposed to be finalized last year but was delayed.

METRONIC SIGNS PPA FOR 4 MWP SOLAR PV IN MALAYSIA Metronic World Berhad, an engineering firm in Malaysia signs a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Technology PP Industries (Northern) Sdn Bh and Sinaran PPA to will build a 4 MWp photovoltaic project. The PPAs were signed for 25 years duration and tariffs would be MYR 0.23 (USD 0.055/EUR 0.048) per kWh. Sinaran PPA which is 70% owned by Metronic World will build a 3121 kWp PV plant in the Sungai Petani in Kedah and will design, develop, finance, construct, commission, operate, own, and maintain the Solar PV project to deliver to Technology PP.

Philippines SOLAR AN ALTERNATIVES TO PHILIPPINES ENERGY MIX, SAYS GATCHALIAN Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is looking at nuclear and solar energy as an alternative or additional energy source for the Philippines. Gatchalian, head of the Senate Energy Committee, stated that he prefers “in principle” smaller nuclear reactors over larger ones for flexibility and safety. In accordance with him, small nuclear power plants will be more adaptable and secure to use, as their deployment will be made easy and will come with technology to handle nuclear waste. He believes that nuclear energy can play a crucial role in the transition towards clean energy, as it is emission-free, but it comes with the danger of storing its waste and if there is a problem, the cost will be prohibitively expensive.

Malaysia CLEANTECH SOLAR SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYS 2 MW ON-SITE SOLAR PV SYSTEM FOR BARRY CALLEBAUT IN MALAYSIA Cleantech Solar has commissioned a 2 MW rooftop solar PV system at one of Barry Callebaut’s biggest cocoa facilities in the Asia Pacific. The project was delivered under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between Barry Callebaut Manufacturing Malaysia, a 100% subsidiary of the Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of highquality chocolate and cocoa products, and Cleantech Solar, a leading provider of renewable energy solutions to corporations in Southeast Asia and India.

ADB APPROVES $600 MILLION LOAN TO PROMOTE CLEAN ENERGY The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $600 million results-based loan to help state-owned power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) improve the reliability and resiliency of electricity services in the western and central regions of Java island and promote the use of clean energy. The Sustainable and Reliable Energy Access Program will rehabilitate, strengthen, and expand PLN’s power grid and promote clean energy use. It will improve PLN’s waste and asset management, procurement, and community education.

CYPARK RESOURCES BERHAD COMMISSIONS 30 MW CAPACITY SOLAR PLANT Cypark Resources Berhad has commissioned the 30 MW solar park for Viva Solar Sdn Bhd in Mukim Sik, Kedah, Malaysia. The project was financed by Cypark Ref Sdn Bhd who also were turnkey professionals. The project has been commissioned before the set deadline and the company received commercial operation date (COD) status on January 1, 2022. Cypark Resources Berhad is a public listed company on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia since 2009. The company has been Malaysia’s pioneering developer and provider in integrated renewable energy, green technology, environmental engineering solutions, and construction engineering.

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 09

ACEN TO INVEST $274 BILLION FOR RE PROJECTS IN PHILIPPINES AC Energy (ACEN) will invest $274 million or 14 billion pesos to fund wind and solar projects in the Philippines. ACEN is the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group. The company has over 3,000 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. The company’s renewable share of capacity is at 80%, among the highest in the region. The company plans to invest 7 billion pesos into Bayog Wind Power Corp. and Santa Cruz Solar Energy Inc. each for financing renewable energy projects of both companies. Santa Cruz Solar is building a 283 MW solar farm in Zambales (255 km from Manila). This will be the largest solar farm in the Philippines and can each have a 700 MW capacity.

SMC TO BEGIN THE OPERATION OF 690 MW BATTERY FACILITY San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is ready to begin the operation of a 690 MW battery storage facility. SMC anticipates completing 31 energy storage systems in 2022 with a total of 1 GW capacity. San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is one of the Philippines’ largest and most diversified conglomerates, with revenues equivalent to about 4% of the country’s GDP in 2020.

SMC today has highly integrated operations with ownership in market-leading businesses and investments in various sectors, such as beverages, food, packaging, energy, fuel and oil, infrastructure, property development, etc.

PHILIPPINES CLEARS 62 SOLAR PROJECTS OF 1.3 GW Recently, the Philippines’ Department of Energy (DoE) published a list of all the operational renewable energy projects, eligible for renewable portfolio standards (RPS). This mandates electricity providers of the Philippines to provide the agreed capacity of energy supply from its renewable energy projects. The list comprises 6 geothermal power plants of 218.5 MW, 7 wind farms projects of 409.9 MW, 36 hydropower of 412.8 MW, 36 biomass projects of 264.8 MW, and 62 solar projects of 1,312.9 MW. The solar power projects range from 0.21 to 100.6 MW capacities. Approximately 8.5 GW of renewable energy projects took part in the process of selection.

GEN X ENERGY PARTNERS WITH ACE ENEXOR FOR GREEN HYDROGEN

SPNEC PLANS TO DEVELOP 10 GW CAPACITY OF SOLAR PROJECTS Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation (SPNEC) plans to develop a 10 GW capacity of solar projects. This plan would increase the solar capacity of the Philippines 10 times which in December 2020 was 1.021 GW. The plan would be enabled by asset-for-share swaps with Solar Philippines (its parent company) which is yet to be approved. SPNEC is developing a 500MWp solar power plant in Barangay Las Piñas, Sinasajan, and Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija. The location has good levels of irradiance and adequate available land, making it conducive to solar power generation. The Company plans to construct an additional 275MWp after commissioning the first phase. The developments are in the provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac. The company will also offer stocks and form joint ventures. Solar Philippines plans to complete establishing joint ventures in 10 GW capacity of solar projects in 2022.

SPNEC has seen good trading results for its stocks on PSE with around Php 7 billion in trading in last month.

MERALCO INVITE BIDS FOR 850 ME RE CAPACITY Meralco invites tender for 850 MW capacity of renewable energy. The power utility will deploy 600 MW capacity which will start operating in February 2026 and 250 MW capacity will start operating in February 2027. Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is the largest private-sector electric distribution utility company in the Philippines covering 36 cities and 75 municipalities. Its franchise area of over 9,685 km2 is just 3% of the total land area of the Philippines but accounts for 55% of the country’s electricity output. Meralco celebrates 118 years of service in 2021, committed to providing reliable and affordable energy. “Through its Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TBPAC), Meralco invites interested parties to challenge the offer of Terra Solar, which proposed a P6.0800 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) headline rate and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE),” the company said.

Gen X Energy partners with ACE Enexor Inc. to develop an 1100 MW combined cycle power plant which is Batangas Clean Energy. The project will use green hydrogen and natural gas as fuel. Both the companies have a 50% stake in Batangas Clean Energy. The plant will help the Philippines to meet the growing demand for energy and reduce the reliance of the country on coal-fired power systems. The project will be located in Batangas Bay Area, the Philippines near the load center of Metro Manila. ACEN’s aspiration is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 10

Indonesia INDONESIA TO INVEST ON RE PROJECTS TO MEET CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2060 As per the estimates of the Indonesian government, to develop new renewable energy power plants an investment of $1,043 billion would be required in order to achieve the target of carbon neutrality by 2060. The new investment would produce 707.7 GW capacity of electricity. Currently, Southeast Asian countries rely on coal for generating power. Only 12% of Indonesia’s energy sources are renewables, and 60% are coal.

The use of RE has only reached 0.3% of the total capacity of Indonesia. The clean energy capacity of the country is 3685 GW which includes 24 GW geothermal energy, 57 GW bioenergy, 60 GW marine energy, 95 GW hydropower, 155 GW wind power, and 3,295 GW of solar energy. But clean energy of 10,889 MW only has been utilized which comprises 154 MW wind power, 194 MW of solar energy, 1,923 MW bioenergy, 2,186 MW geothermal energy, and 6,432 MW hydro energy.

COMMERCIAL OPERATION OF RANTAU DEDAP GEOTHERMAL PROJECT COMMENCES IN INDONESIA Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) is pleased to announce that PT. Supreme Energy Rantau Dedap (SERD), which is owned by Marubeni, ENGIE S.A., PT. Supreme Energy, and Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., commenced commercial operation of the Rantau Dedap Geothermal Independent Power Project, located in the Republic of Indonesia. SERD has constructed a 98.4MW power plant in the South Sumatra Province of Indonesia, and all the generated power from the plant will be dispatched to PT. PLN (Persero) under a 30-year power purchase agreement.

MARUBENI WILL PRODUCE, TRANSPORT, AND UTILIZE GREEN HYDROGEN Marubeni Corporation will start production of economical green hydrogen in South Australia (SA), transportation of hydrogen by metal hydride tanks to Indonesia, and utilization of hydrogen through fuel cells (PoC or Proof of Concept). The PoC has been adopted under the Japanese Ministry of the Environment’s “Financing Programme for Joint Crediting Mechanism Model Projects (“JCM”) in FY2021”. Financing program for feasibility studies which promote the production of green hydrogen in a collaboration with third countries where renewable energy is abundant and then transport and utilize the hydrogen in island countries, etc. The purpose is to achieve Japan’s GHG emissions reduction targets through the JCM (bilateral credit system) by promoting the production and utilization of green hydrogen in anticipation of future ripple effects.

NICKEL MINES SIGNS A DEAL TO DEVELOP 200 MWP SOLAR FARM PROJECT Nickel Mines (NIC) signs an agreement to develop a 200 MWp solar farm project in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in the south of Central Sulawesi Province. The ‘Project Initiator’ of the project will be PT Sumber Energi Surya Nusantara (SESNA) who will own, build, commission, finance, and operate the solar farm project. NIC is planning to utilize green energy which will provide power to its nickel processing operations in the country. SESNA will finalize and deliver the project proposal in the coming 3 months and after that NIC can either terminate the agreement or proceed with it at its discretion.

MASDAR AND MITRABARA FORMS SOLAR RADIANCE JV TO PROVIDE RE SOLUTIONS IN INDONESIA INDONESIA AND JAPAN COLLABORATES FOR CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION Indonesia and Japan to collaborate on hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and ammonia. Both the countries will work together on decarbonization technology and for the clean energy transition. The memorandum of cooperation (MOC) was signed by the Energy Minister of Indonesia Arifin Tasrif and the Industry Minister of Japan Koichi Hagiuda in Jakarta. Both the countries will work for the deployment and development of technologies to contribute to realistic transitions of energy including ammonia, hydrogen as a CCS, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), and fuel.

Hydrogen is used in the oil refining process, whereas ammonia is used in industrial materials and fertilizers. Hydrogen and ammonia can replace higher carbon fuels as they have this potential.

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Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) with PT Mitrabara Adiperdana Tbk (Mitrabara), a conglomerate focused on the energy sector, to target the fast-growing commercial & industrial (C&I) segment of the renewable energy market in Indonesia. The JV, PT Masdar Mitra Solar Radiance, which will operate under the Solar Radiance brand, was formally launched at a ceremony on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2022, held this week in the UAE capital. Angela Soedjana, Director of Baramulti Group, a shareholder of Mitrabara, attended the event, along with Hidefumi Kodama, General Manager, Coal and Energy Solution Department, Idemitsu, also a shareholder of Mitrabara, and Khoirudin, Chief Executive Officer of Mitrabara. Masdar was represented by Fawaz Al Muharrami, Acting Executive Director, Clean Energy.

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 11

INCONVERSATION

Chayasak Itthisiri General Manager, BECIS Thailand SolarQuarter ASEAN magazine had an interesting conversation with Chayasak Itthisiri - General Manager, BECIS Thailand, and learned about some of the interesting technologies that the region has adopted. He also spoke about Energy as a Service and storage solutions provided by the company.

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WHAT IS YOUR FORECAST ON HOW THE SOLAR SECTOR IS GOING TO GROW IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

The Solar Sector in the Southeast Asia region was a fastgrowing market in the last 5 years. Despite the uncertainty due to the COVID situation, the Southeast Asia market did not witness any significant impact in the Solar Sector during the outbreak in the last 2 years.

In fact, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is one of the best catalysts to bring more awareness to the Government, Business Sector, and Residential markets to take immediate action in order to reach the Carbon Neutrality target.

The Thai Government also aims to reduce annual Green House Gas emissions by 20-25% by 2030 and reach Net Zero in 2065 as well.

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All Countries in Southeast Asia - particularly Thailand put the best effort to accelerate the renewable energy deployment rate in the country through government policy under the Power Development plan or incentivize the investment campaign through the Board of Investment (BOI). Those support policies, definitely help the Solar industry to expand and help all stakeholders in the community to achieve their Net Zero or sustainability target For the next 5 years, the Solar Landscape will totally shift to be more decentralized, and the prosumer trend will start gradually growing. Solar Technology will be integrated more with Energy Storage and E-mobility. The Energy demand in Southeast Asia in 2040 was forecasted to double from 2017. All sectors will look for more options to achieve full access to an affordable energy source and it will definitely be clean electricity, and Solar PV will certainly be one of the most critical roles to achieve those targets.

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 12

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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT THE REGION (THAILAND, CAMBODIA, MYANMAR) IS ADOPTING TO ENCOURAGE RENEWABLES?

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (ESS) The most interesting applications are the increase in selfconsumption, reducing zero export losses and peak shaving to save demand charges. Challenges are still the high costs and lack of suitable and a variety of products in the C&I market (100kWh – 1 MWh). It also significantly benefits the smart grid or off-grid system where we integrate Solar PV and ESS in the hybrid system.

SMART GRID SYSTEM AND TRADING DIGITAL PLATFORM Smart Grid will enable the bi-directional flow of energy and make more interaction between Energy Producer and Consumer through a digital platform and encourage more trading transactions than the conventional grid ever before. It has more and more influence in Prosumer business model to fulfill the concept of decentralization, decarbonization, and digitalization.

BACK TO BASIC: MAXIMIZE THE PERFORMANCE ON SOLAR PV SYSTEM Global manufacturers will continue developing higher efficiency, and more reliable and robust technology that performs well - especially the technology designed for C&I applications, where there is minimum intervention by the O&M team. For example, many sensors of weather stations and monitoring are designed to fit in cost-effectiveness and the characteristics of a solar C&I rooftop which is smaller scale compared to large ground-mounted utility systems.

The inverter can apply the features to optimize string performance without module optimizers or I-V curve measurements can help to simplify O&M and increase yield. It integrates safety features such as AFCI (Arc Fault protection) which help to increase safety and reduce external equipment such as fuse boxes, and arc fault.

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YOUR COMPANY IS INTO SOLAR STORAGE SYSTEMS AS WELL. PLEASE TELL US THE SIGNIFICANCE AND BENEFITS OF COMBINING STORAGE WITH SOLAR.

Customers in the C&I sector always look for the best solution to meet their requirements to fit their load behavior and Sustainability goal. Energy Storage Systems can help customers consume more energy during the time when Solar PV cannot generate which is in the late evening. It will increase the % percentage of RE portion in the customers' consumption as well.

BECIS has a successful case in the C&I to install and operate hybrid systems of Solar PV and ESS with a Jewellery factory in Thailand under the Solar PPA model. This model is valuable and will help our customers to meet their 100% RE sustainability goal sooner.

Moreover, Solar PV and ESS will fully benefit the social impact and be a more feasible investment when it comes to off-grid projects where it helps to reduce CO2 emissions from diesel generators and be much more affordable. This model is fit for off-grid islands or rural areas in Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

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AS BECIS DEVELOPS, CONSTRUCTS OPERATES, AND OWNS DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SOLUTIONS, PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR ENERGY AS A SERVICE.

With the EaaS model, BECIS develops, constructs, operates and owns distributed energy solutions. This reduces the risk and complexity for our customers whilst achieving their key objectives of sustainability, increased cost efficiency, and resilience of their energy infrastructure, all with no requirement for capital investment and no operation cost required from the Customer.

Besides that BECIS believes we are not only in the Power Generation business, but we have to serve robust service quality with the customer-centric and safety mindset to our customers in order to fulfill our “Energy as a Service” model.

BECIS offers a range of distributed energy solutions including Solar PV, Bioenergy, Cooling systems, Energy Management, and Energy Solutions that enable our customers to achieve decarbonization targets. With all integrated systems in one place, we communicate in one platform and maximize the performance of Energy Management.

THERE ARE SEVERAL FINANCIAL CAMPAIGNS THROUGH GRANTS OR LOW-INTEREST LOANS FOR THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FROM THE MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY TO THE BUSINESS SECTOR."

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 13

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS CAN HELP CUSTOMERS CONSUME MORE ENERGY DURING THE TIME WHEN SOLAR PV CANNOT GENERATE WHICH IS IN THE LATE EVENING."

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WHAT ARE SOME CURRENT INITIATIVES, POLICIES, AND SCHEMES DRIVING THE ROOFTOP SOLAR SECTOR IN THE GIVEN REGION?

The Thai Government has the policy to support the growth of the Solar PV industry specifically in the self-consumption area.

There are several financial campaigns through grants or lowinterest loans for the Energy Efficiency program from the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry to the business sector. The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) plays a critical role to drive the policy that incentivizes the investment from the private sector in renewable energy for self-investment or PPA model. ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) is also working on a Third Party Access (TPA) policy to ease up the energy regulation and expand the industry.

In addition, the Thai Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) has initiated the collaboration to establish the Carbon Trading platform to promote industries’ carbon management to achieve their GHG reduction targets.

For Cambodia, the Government has also shifted its focus more and more on both Utility-scale and on Self-consumption in the Solar market. It will be the new attractive emerging market soon.

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WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME RECENT ROOFTOP PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN

BY YOUR COMPANY IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN REGION?

BECIS has significantly achieved successful commissioning in many C&I projects last year.

We have completed another extension of the 1MWp Solar PV Tracking project with a European packaging factory under a solar corporate PPA as the first solar farm system in Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Thailand. This project will be connected together with the existing BECIS 3.7 MW Solar PV rooftop and Solar PV Carport to become a 4.7 MW one in total, and it helps to reduce CO2 emissions by 3,000 tons CO2 per year. BECIS is proud to be part of 100% RE success in that packaging factory.

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HOW DO YOU SEE BECIS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SOLAR SECTOR IN THE COMING FUTURE?

BECIS, benefiting from highly aligned shareholders, Berkeley Energy, FMO, Siemens, and Norfund-KLP, is firmly committed to sustainability by delivering Energy as a Service for our customers.

At BECIS, we continue to increase our competitive advantage and strengthen our value proposition to customers with the deep expertise and experience of our engineering team. BECIS will always deliver high-quality and technically sound distributed energy solutions. BECIS is dedicated to continuing growing on-the-ground footprint that will allow us to grow along with market expansion in the region and make us an ideal sustainability partner.

SOLAR TECHNOLOGY WILL BE INTEGRATED MORE WITH ENERGY S T O R A G E A N D E - M O B I L I T Y . T H E E N E R G Y D E M A N D I N S O U TH E A S T A S IA IN 2040 WAS FORECASTED TO DOUBLE FROM 2017."

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 14

INCONVERSATION

Rassa Herabat Head of Asset Management and RE Project Manager, Prime Road Power SolarQuarter ASEAN magazine had an interesting conversation with Rassa Herabat - Head of Asset Management and RE Project Manager, Prime Road Power and gained an understanding of the company’s services, major utilityscale projects, and their offerings in Cambodia. He also told us about how smarter technology is making its way into the solar sector.

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WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN SOLAR POWER? COULD YOU BRIEF US ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS OFFERINGS & SERVICES?

My first interest in renewable energy, as well as its applications & ecosystems, was previously back when I had an opportunity to join the annual energy summit in Thailand in 2016 where I was impressed by Tony Seba, an author of “Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation”.

After that, I decided to further study renewable energy and truly believe that it will be one of the key disruptive drivers towards the future energy sector and carbon-neutral SDG goals.

Currently, I work at PrimeRoadPower, a regional RE developer and energy-driven ESG solution partner visioning “Innovating green technology for all to transform the world for a sustainable future”.

Apart from being an active RE developer with a footprint in Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, and Taiwan, we offer carbonneutral ecosystems including solar rooftop EPC turn-key services, Battery Storage, Trading, customized Energy Management systems (EMS) as well as other solutions to support our partner towards clean energy and carbon neutral.

WITH OUR FOOTPRINT AND RESOURCES IN CAMBODIA, WE AIM TO EXPAND OUR BUSINESS THERE AS PART OF THE COMPANY GROWTH STRATEGY IN THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN PORTFOLIO." | SOUTH EAST ASIA

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 15

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PLEASE BRIEF OUR READERS ABOUT THE MAJOR UTILITY-SCALE PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE UNDERTAKEN IN THAILAND.

We are one of the first movers in the solar farm business in Thailand obtaining the first batch of PPA with an Adder scheme of aggregated 91.7MW installed capacity solar farms (11 solar farms) operating in the North and NE region which is currently in partnership with VENA Energy Thailand.

Structured under Prime Road Group., Ltd., we have developed 40.6 MW installed capacity agricultural cooperative solar farms (8 solar farms) and continuously acquired new solar projects to grow our operation portfolio in Thailand.

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TELL US ABOUT HOW BETTER AND SMARTER TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN SOLAR INDUSTRY?

Every aspect to derive a lower LCOE on renewable energy with ESS on every sizing & scale will be a critical factor to drive this sector forward. We have no doubt on solar LCOE that could beat conventional projects but question the firmness of its resource.

The renewable with ESS will instead offer a firm supply but however, contribute to much higher LCOE that might not attract investors or developers if no subsidies are offered or strong policy is driven from governments.

For utility-scale projects, lowering LCOE would be included price and higher performance of key equipment i.e. PV module, inverter, and battery, technical design optimization with safety requirements i.e. rapid shutdown, aggressive & creative warranty offered from key equipment suppliers, or even innovative green financing options.

Apart from the LCOE factor, there is huge potential for residential and small-to-medium scale solar projects from clean disruptive energy and transportation decentralization i.e. P2P trading, EV, and battery penetration but it definitely requires government policy-driven in each country.

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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR DRIVERS DRIVING THE GROWTH OF THE SOLAR SECTOR IN THE REGION?

Even though there are a significant amount of land plots being under-utilized in South East Asia, I do expect a development trend of the solar industry in South East Asia will be more focused on double cropping scheme i.e. agriculture PV, rooftop, and floating given of land utilization awareness and transmission cost & loss factor.

I believe COP26, carbon-neutral policy, and global warming awareness will continue to be key drivers for renewable energy development in the region & globally. The policies will be cascaded into action plans by multi-layer drivers i.e. country commitment of carbon-neutral through government policies for example carbon tax, sector-level commitment via international company’s global ESG policy best practice, additional benefits in green energy development spaces to developers and investors towards ESG thematic (carbon credit, green carbon financing).

In some SE Asia and other emerging markets, the demand for energy consumption is expected to recover exceeded the preCOVID-19 level. A series of government policies, i.e. PDP, plays a crucial role to accelerate the transformation of traditional fossil to renewable energy, meaning solar and other RE will grow together with maturity of the energy decentralization framework and EV development & penetration in each country.

IN ADDITION, A BIGGER PORTFOLIO AND A HIGHER NUMBER OF PROJECTS & OPERATIONAL COUNTRIES, A SMARTER WAY OF WORKING I.E. INNOVATIVE MONITORING TOOLS, SMART O&M INITIATIVES WILL ALSO NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT." | SOUTH EAST ASIA

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 16

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PLEASE TELL US ABOUT OUR ESTEEMED COMPANY PRIME ROAD POWER SOLAR OFFERINGS IN CAMBODIA.

In Cambodia, we have established 2019 our entity named Prime Road Alternative (Cambodia) Co., Ltd to invest in 60 MW solar power in Cambodia National Solar Park in Kampong Chhange Province.

The project is structured by ADB as a public-private partnership to develop a solar park in Cambodia involving the Southeast Asia Department (SERD), the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, the Office of Public-Private Partnership, and the Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD). Prime Road Alternative (Cambodia) Company Limited was awarded the project through a competitive reverse auction tender process that resulted in the lowest utility-scale solar tariff in Southeast Asia at the time.

The project will contribute to Prime Road Power, Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), and ADB’s climate change mitigation efforts by reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector by 110,700 tons per year. Classified effective gender mainstreaming and sustainability, the project will also promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Cambodia as well as build up local job activities and bring expertise to local communities.

With our footprint and resources in Cambodia, we aim to expand our business there as part of the company growth strategy in the South East Asian portfolio.

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PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE BEST PRACTICES BEING FOLLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY FOR THE SAME FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT.

The asset management goal is to best enhance Return on Investment (ROI) and Return on Asset (ROA) for the company and stakeholders.

In order to achieve that, the Asset Management team works to drive a continuous improvement of operational metrics and financial position, top to the bottom line as well as being deeply understanding a state of the art of stakeholder management of the operating portfolio.

AM’s responsibilities cover the deployment of innovation and technologies to improve operating performance, management of operational contracts, compliance and stakeholder relationship, OPEX optimization, and unlock value for the company & SPV’s tangible & intangible assets.

With a regional portfolio to be managed, local partner selection in a structural way with a clear commitment specified and materialized in legal form is a critical success factor. In addition, a bigger portfolio and a higher number of projects & operational countries, a smarter way of working i.e. innovative monitoring tools, smart O&M initiatives will also need to be taken into account.

In order to be successful in an asset management role, the person should have a variety of skill sets with a mixture of both hard (technical, accounting & finance and legal) and soft skills (stakeholder management & negotiation & critical and systematic thinking) and innovative mindset.

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 17

FEATUREDTALKS

Todd Li President, Trina Solar (Asia Pacific Region)

This year we expect growth of more than 20% in solar PV installation. Countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam are very promising markets in terms of growth potential.

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PLEASE TELL US HOW THE BUSINESS HAS GROWN FOR TRINA SOLAR IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION IN 2021 UNDER YOUR EXPERT GUIDANCE.

Last year, we saw Trina Solar’s 210mm wafer-sized cells modules continue to win market share because of standardization of the 210mm wafer, cell, and module size.

Increasing module power and reducing power generation costs have become inevitable trends. Standardization of the 210 modules is directly benefiting the solar industry, EPCs, and project developers. According to estimates by independent renewable energy consultancy PV InfoLink, over 50% of global production capacity is now compatible with the 210mm size.

The global supply chain is fully behind this technology thanks to the work of the 600W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance. From semiconductors to cells, modules, inverters,

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trackers, and glass, different parts of the supply chain have combined to affect vast changes in the PV industry. The 210mm technology has been able to lead the way in making large-size modules the industry standard.

The 210 Vertex module series now accounts for the bulk of Trina Solar’s module business. For instance, compared to the 166mm wafer-sized cells solar module, Trina Solars’s 210 Vertex solar module accounted for around 80% of the total shipment in the 3rd quarter last year. Among them, the majority was the newly launched ultra-high power Vertex 600 W+ series of modules.

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 18

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COULD YOU BRIEF US ABOUT THE CURRENT STRENGTHS OF TRINA SOLAR IN THE REGION IN TERMS OF ITS SIZE, FINANCIAL STRENGTH, HIGHEST SHIPMENT, HIGHEST PRODUCTION CAPACITY, ETC?

At the end of 2021, cumulative shipments of Trina Solar’s 210 Vertex modules had exceeded 16GW worldwide.

BloombergNEF, a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and disruptive technologies, reported Trina Solar has a 50GW annual module capacity per year. According to the recent news on TV Tech, a news portal on the international solar PV supply chain, Trina Solar was the 2nd largest module supplier by shipment volume in 2021.

Trina Solar’s PV solutions have been widely put into use worldwide including the Asia Pacific region. Just to name a few, we launched the “Zero-Carbon Wharf” Demonstration Project for the Expo 2025 Osaka, the world’s largest inland floating power plant project in Singapore, and distributed Trina Solar technology across rooftops in India, Sri Lanka, and many other Asian countries, which have received praise from various heads of states…

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BEING A LEADING PRODUCER OF PV MODULES, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE SPECIALTIES OF YOUR PV MODULES AND HOW THEY ARE BEST SUITED TO THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN MARKET?

With the launch of its 670W+ ultra-high-power modules in March 2021, Trina Solar led the industry into the 600W+ era and unleashed the full value of 210mm technology, bringing with it a sharp boost in PV efficiency and a decrease in LCOE. Trina Solar itself has also scored successive wins in specific areas such as load performance, container shipment, storage, transportation, and installation. Take the wind load resistance of 210mm modules, for example. Results from a study by a leading global wind-tunnel company showed that the 210mm module, with its lean structural design, not only compares favorably with any other product, it actually outperforms them.

The Southeast Asia region is one where the climate is generally hot and humid. Our bifacial dual glass Vertex modules are very durable with 30 years power warranty and perform even in the most challenging hot and humid environments. For example, Trina Solar’s Vertex bifacial modules were installed on the 60MWp floating solar farm at Tengeh Reservoir in Singapore last year. It is one of the world’s largest inland floating solar PV systems.

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WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS IN TERMS OF IMPROVISING THE TECHNOLOGY USED IN YOUR MODULES?

From 125mm to 156mm and from 158.75mm to 166mm cells and modules, each time the industry surges forward, it also brought in a raft of new equipment depreciation. When we produced the 210mm module, we were not aiming to replace any particular product but rather to think about which size would be the future direction of the PV industry. The 210mm module was conceived by embracing the future direction of growth and then formulating a “platform” technology based on its inherent properties and various contributing factors. This would help all companies to achieve sustained growth, and therefore make for a better industry.

For instance, Trina Solar exhibited the next generation of iTOPCon and HJT modules based on 210 technology at SNEC 2021. Both the i-TOPCon module and HJT modules possessed a maximum power output of 700W+, with an efficiency of 22.3% and 22.87% respectively. These advanced technologies demonstrate our strategic roadmap and leading position. We are committed to research and development. Trina Solar continues to set industry standards and benchmarks for performance and sustainability.

We have been responsible for a number of global breakthroughs, with 22 world records for silicon cell efficiency and solar module power output since 2011. With robust and rigorous R&D, Trina Solar's rapid rate of innovation has led to over 2000 patent applications, including over 1000 invention patents.

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WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND TARGETS FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN 2022?

Our goal for 2022 is to continue to grow our market share and demonstrate the versatility, reliability, and performance of our market-leading PV solutions.

Asia-Pacific is a major market for Trina Solar. This year we expect growth of more than 20% in solar PV installation. Countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam are very promising markets in terms of growth potential. They are experiencing high industrialization and urbanization which is fuelling their demand for electricity.

We have seen Vertex bifacial modules, coupled with trackers including Trina Solar’s own TrinaTracker, gain wide market acceptance. I anticipate that tracker technology will continue to grow in popularity, over fixed-tilt.

We are committed to the continual promotion of technical innovation and industry-wide standardization of modules to expedite further reduction of LCOE and ultimately deliver better returns to our customers. For instance, the latest study report performed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) shows Vertex 660W modules significantly reduce LCOE. The demand for Vertex 660W modules is continuously rising in the South East Asian market because of the high power output.

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 19

FEATUREDTALKS

James Higgins General Manager China and Southeast Asia, SolarEdge Technologies

The SolarEdge solution meets these standards without the need for additional hardware as safety is a built-in function in all SolarEdge solutions.

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PLEASE BRIEF OUR READERS ABOUT SOLAREDGE’S INNOVATIVE INVERTER TOPOLOGY SOLUTION.

SolarEdge DC optimized solutions are comprised of PV Inverters, Power Optimizers, and a module-level monitoring system. In the SolarEdge solution the traditional function of the inverter has been split into two. The simplified inverter is only responsible for DC-AC conversion and grid management. The Power Optimizer connects to each solar module in a PV system, turning them into smart modules. By constantly tracking the

Maximum Power Point (MPP) of each individual solar module, Power Optimizers can increase system energy production, potentially growing revenues and shortening system ROI. In addition, the SolarEdge solution offers a module level monitoring solution enabling owners, installers, EPCs and O&M personnel to remotely monitor system performance.

THIS YEAR OUR CONTINUED FOCUS WILL BE PROVIDING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH THE TOOLS TO BOOST THEIR BUSINESSES, BE THAT THROUGH DEVELOPING THEIR TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE OF OUR COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS OR ENHANCING INSTALLERS’ ABILITY TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THEIR CUSTOMERS." | SOUTH EAST ASIA

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 20

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HOW CAN THE SOLAR PV SYSTEM'S OUTPUT BE BOOSTED WITH SOLAREDGE'S POWER OPTIMIZER?

Firstly, it is important to understand that traditional PV systems all suffer from energy losses resulting from module level mismatch within a string of modules. Mismatch is not just the result of partial shading or soiling, but also results from uneven module degradation, thermal mismatch, module manufacturing tolerances and small differences in the installation relating to module tilt or orientation.

In a SolarEdge system the Power Optimizers ensure that each module is operating at its maximum power irrespective of the other modules in the same string, so weaker performing modules do not drag down the

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performance of system. The impact of this mismatch mitigation is more energy production from a SolarEdge optimized solution than a traditional system.

Another source of improved output comes from the fact that with the SolarEdge solution larger system size deployment is possible compared to traditional systems for the same available space. This is due to the system architecture that enables modules to be installed in areas not possible with traditional inverters. This system size increase can be as much a 30%.

THE SOLAREDGE SOLUTION MEETS THESE STANDARDS WITHOUT THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL HARDWARE AS SAFETY IS A BUILT-IN FUNCTION IN ALL SOLAREDGE SOLUTIONS.

TELL US ABOUT SOLAREDGE'S NEWLY LAUNCHED THREE PHASE INVERTER WITH SYNERGY TECHNOLOGY AND ITS KEY HIGHLIGHTS. The new Three Phase Inverter with Synergy Technology is the latest generation of products that have been designed to streamline the installation and commissioning processes for our commercial and industrial customers and further underpin the existing benefits that all SolarEdge solutions provide in terms of more energy and enhanced safety.

The new and improved solution is available up to 120kW for 480V grids and 100kW for 400V grids and all models include several key benefits. As mentioned, installation and commissioning times have been improved with an innovative pre-commissioning feature that minimizes on-site time and enables installers to validate system components fully and automatically from their smartphones before connecting to the grid. In addition, the lightweight, modular design individual units can be installed by a two-person team without the need for specialist equipment, reducing time and costs not only during installation but also longer-term O&M costs. The new inverter also allows DC oversizing up to 150% and includes a built-in nighttime PID rectifier, preventing module performance degradation, ensuring maximum system performance.

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 21

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HOW DOES SOLAREDGE ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE SOLAR PV PLANTS?

Traditional string inverter-based systems, typically, have limited safety functionality since they do not necessarily reduce the DC voltage when switched off. To meet safety standards, additional safety-specific hardware needs to be purchased and installed, adding more costs and labor to the installation. The SolarEdge solution meets these standards without the need for additional hardware as safety is a built-in function in all SolarEdge solutions. In fact, our comprehensive safety solution includes SafeDC™, arc fault detection, and rapid shutdown functionality, compliant with the latest NEC 2020 regulations. The SafeDC™ functionality is a built-in panel-level safety feature that minimizes electrocution risk to help protect first-responders, installers and property. It reduces the output voltage of each panel to 1Vdc when the inverter is turned off or the AC connection is shut down. Another important area of focus is fault detection and interruption. SolarEdge inverters have builtin protection designed to mitigate the effects of arc faults that may pose a risk of fire, in compliance with the UL1699B arc detection standard.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN SPECIFICATIONS OF YOUR MONITORING PLATFORM?

SolarEdge’s monitoring platform enables real-time system monitoring at the module level and provides comprehensive analytics and reports of energy yield, system uptime, performance ratio, and financial performance. This module level visibility means that users can quickly identify underperforming systems and pinpoint the root causes. Automatic alerts and remote troubleshooting ensure that operation and maintenance costs can be reduced and service and support teams can operate in a more efficient and effective way

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WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2022 FROM SOLAREDGE?

As a company, continued innovation and a problem-solving mindset are at the heart of everything we do. This year, we plan to enhance our offering with solutions that continue to improve the scalability of DC-optimized PV systems so we can support the continued deployment of renewable energy solutions across the region. We are extremely dedicated to our customers, partners and installers and they are the number one focus. This year our continued focus will be providing our customers with the tools to boost their businesses, be that through developing their technical knowledge of our commercial solutions or enhancing installers’ ability to provide support to their customers.

THIS YEAR, WE PLAN TO ENHANCE OUR OFFERING WITH SOLUTIONS THAT CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE SCALABILITY OF DC-OPTIMIZED PV SYSTEMS SO WE CAN SUPPORT THE CONTINUED DEPLOYMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS ACROSS THE REGION. WE ARE EXTREMELY DEDICATED TO OUR CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS AND INSTALLERS AND THEY ARE THE NUMBER ONE FOCUS."

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 22

OPINION

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ANALYSIS FOR

MICROGRID DEPLOYMENT IN THAILAND THE FIRST PILOT PROJECT IN THAILAND Microgrid Project at Mae Sariang District, Mae Hong Son Province with the Provincial Electricity Authority, Total 132.9 million baht in project management duration 450 days. The project is considered the company's renewable energy business in terms of sustainable energy management.

The important benefit of the Microgrid Project is to increase the reliability and stability of the electrical system. In case of the main power grids system failure, the micro-grid system can release itself independently. It can be utilized as the source of electricity from other sources to replace the loss of electrical energy from the main distribution system or energy storage systems. The system can determine power quality, electrical stability, and electricity reliability as well.

THAILAND’S MICROGRID PLANS TAKE SHAPE We have a microgrid pilot project which has been operating in Thailand, marking the first success of a national microgrid policy introduced in 2018.

This got Commissioned in March and the project served the energy which was needed for some 5,000 houses or around 50,000 people in the mountainous Maehongsorn Province in northern Thailand.We developed the project called Microgrid Maesarieng. It is an 8 MW development comprising 4 MW of solar PV together with a 1.2 MW hydropower plant, 5 MW of diesel generation, and coupled with a 3 MW battery storage system. The microgrid controller and energy management system were supplied by Chinese state-owned Nari Grpor.

The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) is responsible for providing electric power and related services and covers the vast majority of Thailand. Under the auspices of Thailand’s Microgrid Development Plan, PEA was selected to take the lead

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on building the Maesarieng project. PEA wants to develop the pilot project in Maesarieng because this is the area most often affected by outages in Thailand. The main problem is frequent outages where the power line fails or is broken because of flooding, landslides or some other event.

This microgrid project aims to address this reliability issue while the wider Microgrid Development Plan is designed to replace peaking generation in response to power demand growth, reduce distribution losses and overcome constraints in the development of new transmission lines, support growth in renewables, and bolster the development of smart grid technology across the PEA network.

A second microgrid project is also being constructed by us as part of PEA’s network plans. Set to be developed in BeTong in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border, this 10 MW project comprises a 4 MW battery, 3 MW of solar PV and 5 MW of diesel generation capacity.

The economics here are positive as energy consumption is in high demand and BeTong recently announced an expansion of the airport, for example. Further growth is anticipated in the future with opportunities also for export into Malaysia and Singapore as well as use in Thailand Because of the Thai government policy, there are opportunities for many microgrids to be developed in the country.

BANCHA YATHIP ASSISTANT PROJECT DIRECTOR, GUNKUL ENGINEERING PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 23

OPINION

OPPORTUNITIES AND STRUGGLES FOR A SOLAR DEVELOPER COMPANY IN MYANMAR I started Indigo Energy in Myanmar in 2012. There were a number of potential opportunities in Myanmar including largescale wind farm development and biomass gasification. In 2013, we started our investment by developing, designing, building, and operating solar-powered micro-grid pilots but it was early to the Myanmar market for micro-grids. As such, investors were not comfortable with the early-stage risk and Indigo Energy was not able to raise money to scale the operations. In early 2017, after appropriate research on where the market opportunities were in Myanmar, we relaunched Indigo Energy focusing on rooftop solar for commercial and industrial projects.

Starting from 2020, various kinds of challenges - COVID and political shift in Myanmar strike the solar industry. When the political shift happened here in February 2021, we knew that the coup would disrupt the local market drastically. As a result, we realized that we could not rely on local projects only, so we began to focus on exporting Myanmar solar engineering to the rest of the world. We have expanded our business model to offer engineering services not only to regional but also international solar developers and professionals. We have human resources who are capable of doing design work for solar projects and we apply our proficiency in a different business model. By taking advantage of undeviating and unavoidable challenges, we have shifted our focus on engineering services and delivered our outsourcing solar engineering skills and knowledge to international customers by doing a number of projects around the world in rooftop and utility scale engineering. The global clients are satisfied with our high-quality and cost-competitive solar engineering services.

Other difficulties especially power blackouts, internet blocks, security problems, and so on accompanied by the coup.

According to one of the company values - resilient persistence, we do not give up and tenaciously pursue our goals. We embraced many kinds of challenges and found a specific solution for each problem. Frequent power blackouts become the main concern not only for us but also for Myanmar people, especially business and factory owners. To solve this, we design battery backup systems for clients in their solar-powered projects. In addition, we always focus on the right time of the

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day so that these power blackouts and internet blocks do not affect our working efficiency. For security reasons, we always keep our wits about us and pay attention to what's going on around us if we go out or travel.

Last but not least, another main challenge in the Myanmar solar industry has been human resources. Finding people who understand what we’re doing and have the capability to pitch in and contribute to the company has been very difficult. The education system here was basically dismantled in the 1980s and hasn’t really been restored so it’s been a struggle to get passionate, educated staff. We have spent a lot of time creating a process to find good people. Now, we can make our hiring process smoother and more systematic. As a result, we have expanded our team members from a small organization and collected qualified members.

As a young entrepreneurial engineer settling in a developing country for renewable energy projects, the journey had been pretty tough going and I certainly faced tons of challenges and difficulties. I have spoken to many dozens of people as a salesperson happening no result. As an engineer, I have been sitting and thinking for a long time to find a way for a troubleshooting problem. Now, I am together with my enthusiastic team members and all of us become more resilient rather than we thought. Indigo Energy has also completed more than 35 projects and has been able to offer various kinds of services with two business models not only in Myanmar but also around the globe. According to our vision - "To bring highquality Burmese engineering to the world", we will try to reach out to more clients with our high-quality and cost-effective engineering services regardless of any challenges and difficulties.

ALLEN HIMES MANAGING DIRECTOR, INDIGO ENERGY

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 24

OPINION

TOP 5 LEGAL CLAUSES TO CONSIDER IN THE ERA OF THE EVOLVING POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS Energy Industry Team, Bangkok Thailand

SUPASIT BOONSANONG Partner, Tilleke & Gibbins,

CHARUWAN CHAROONCHITSATHIAN

JOSEPH TOMKIEWICZ Partner, Tilleke & Gibbins,

Partner, Tilleke & Gibbins

PHUMRAPHI THAMBUMRUNG Intern, Tilleke & Gibbins

A Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) is vital to the success of many solar installations.

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (“MEA”), the Provincial Electricity Authority (“PEA”), or the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (“EGAT”) (collectively the "Distribution Utilities") are the only three government entities, which are electricity off-takers in Thailand. Power producers are not entitled to sell electricity which is generated by their plants to the respective Distribution Utilities, and the Distribution Utilities are not obliged to offtake electricity which is generated by power producers unless the power producers and the Distribution Utilities enter into power purchase agreements, which are in the form and substance prescribed by the Distribution Utilities.

Unlike PPAs with Distribution Utilities, which have a specific form as prescribed by the Distribution Utilities, a private PPA which is a contract between private entities - can be entered into based on a contractual arrangement. It is important to obtain legal advice when drafting, negotiating, or entering into a private PPA. Whether you are a power producer or a power purchaser, it is essential that the industry develop a common understanding of the primary agreement terms, and especially the following five terms: Applicable Law – This refers to the law(s) that is applicable to the terms and conditions in the PPA. It is important that both parties select the law they specialize in, as the law that will be enforced in the PPA. For example, a Thai owner with headquarters in Bangkok would typically prefer Thailand law, because the company is based in Thailand, the establishment of the company must be in accordance with Thai law, including the registration and scope of business, and the Thai company is likely most aware of the application in Thailand. Difficulties could arise in choosing another law if the company is unfamiliar with the jurisdiction and its courts.

Dispute Resolution and Venue – Discussions are an excellent method to resolve problems. However, some cases cannot be resolved by discussions alone, and therefore, this clause must be addressed. Its primary goal is to establish the best method

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for resolving disputes for both parties. For example, the parties could adopt a process whereby written notification is provided to the other party, informing them that they have a claim under the contract. This will be followed by a 30-day period in which the parties can meet and confer. If this is unsuccessful, they may be contractually required to refer the matter to senior management for another 30-day review, and if the parties still fail, there could be a mandatory obligation to proceed to mediation followed by arbitration, or the case could directly proceed to court.

Pricing – The price structure normally depends on a mutual agreement. On the private PPA, the arrangement is preferable when electricity tariffs fall below the energy rates charged by the Distribution Utilities, otherwise, it would not be attractive for the power purchaser to directly purchase electricity from the power producer under the private PPA. Term/Duration – This is important, because the power producer has to invest in the construction of the power plant, and it must also calculate the minimum period, in order to ensure costeffectiveness. This usually has to be a long-term contract (i.e. 15 years or above), and there may be an option to purchase such power plants, which will be explained below.

Option for the power purchaser to purchase the facility – This option is common in a private PPA for a solar power plant. Most PPAs include this option, because the power purchaser may not be confident in the investment, which requires the construction of a solar power plant from the outset. Therefore, the power producer will propose a solution to offer the power purchaser a “build - own - operate model”, with an option to buy the facility after a certain period. This clause is profitable for both parties because the power producer has already profited from the initial sale of electricity, and the factory sale will also generate a profit because purchasing their own power plant will lower the cost of electricity per unit, which will ultimately be worthwhile for the power purchase in the long term.

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INSIGHTS

HOW DOES THE SOLAR LANDSCAPE LOOK LIKE FOR

CAMBODIA IN 2022?

In September 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China “will not fund for any new coal-based power projects abroad” (China Dialogue) and will provide support for green energy resources. This new initiative might aid Cambodia in transitioning towards a more dependable and cost-effective electricity structure, at a time when the nation wishes for a green economic improvement given Covid-19.

China’s decision became popularly acclaimed globally. It was introduced during a worldwide power crisis, with fuel and coal prices soaring high. But can Cambodia develop an inexpensive energy supply without moving forward towards its unbuilt coal initiatives? Thanks to the ever-descending costs of renewables, the answer is yes.

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES Cambodia has the potential to support the much-needed funding for the development of green during the pandemic, to produce jobs, decrease electricity charges, and enhance the independence and delivery safety of its power. In Cambodia, solar and wind energy are the most inexpensive source of the latest energy supply, with sale costs to EDC between 3.9–6.9 cents/ kilowatt hour (kWh), while the proposed coal-energy cost would have been 7.7 cents/kWh for the 2,400 MW Lamam and Xekong thermal power plants. Research on the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s renewable energy working group, observed

by EnergyLab Cambodia and modified after President Xi’s coal declaration and the worldwide power crisis, indicates that replacing this obliterated coal power plant with solar, wind, and a few unconventional hydropower, in addition to quickresponding battery storage and gas engine projects, would certainly decrease electricity charges for Cambodia and assure reliability.

IS A GREENER FUTURE POSSIBLE IN CAMBODIA? If Cambodia’s power structure includes more solar and wind energy due to them being cheaper, is it viable for the nation to establish a dependable system with power plants that depend upon the climate? Again, yes. This is backup-ed by modeling achieved by the renewable power working group, which was mentioned to Cambodia by the Australian ambassador at 2021's Cambodia Climate Change Summit.

Flexible, dispatchable power – The conventional concept of getting massive fossil-fuelled power stations generating constant baseload energy output has been turned upsidedown. Now, everything must be done to initiate low-cost solar and wind projects, stabilizing its variability with flexible, dispatchable energy and utilizing broadly obtainable weather and energy forecasting technology.

Flexible and dispatchable energy is derived from sources like batteries, hydro storage, quick-responding gas engine stations, and resilient demand management. Contrastingly, coal plants aren't flexible at scaling up or down, or responding to system alterations.

Energy and system balance – Latest gas power plants need to be designed not for high-output baseload power, but for balancing energy and system only, and this balancing is essential as it will drive faster reception from a gas engine plant. In Cambodia’s system, balancing is required for hydro seasonality and decreased solar output due to sun setting.

Diversity is key – Diversity of the structure will be the major factor over the subsequent 10-20 years. Cambodia can replace the obliterated, unfunded coal plants with the integration of solar, wind, hydro, gas engine stations, and storage to preserve the identical degree of renewables proportion it has now i.e., half. The proposed 2,400 MW of coal initiatives in Lao PDR committed for delivering Cambodia can be replaced by internal funding, saving US$16.4 billion in energy import charges until 2040; and an envisioned funding of US$6.8 billion ought to sponsor the making of 10 GW of solar and 1.5 GW of wind power units.

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IN CAMBODIA, SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY ARE THE MOST INEXPENSIVE SOURCE OF THE LATEST ENERGY SUPPLY, WITH SALE COSTS TO EDC BETWEEN 3.9–6.9 CENTS/ KILOWATT HOUR (KWH), WHILE THE PROPOSED COAL-ENERGY COST WOULD HAVE BEEN 7.7 CENTS/KWH FOR THE 2,400 MW LAMAM AND XEKONG THERMAL POWER PLANTS." Higher shares of renewable energy – Higher shares of green power will assist industries worldwide to invest and run businesses in Cambodia, the nation with the emergence to decarbonize their supply chains. The year 2020 witnessed leading global clothing manufacturers in Cambodia like H&M, Puma, Adidas, Nike, and Gap asking for a greater share of renewables in the energy combination. They have introduced worldwide renewable and climate allegiance to their clients and that they will be vigilant regarding plans to further carbonize Cambodia’s structure. The apparel and footwear sector consists of over 800,000 jobs and around US$8 billion in yearly export sales.

Greater investments – Cambodia can have an affordable, more dependable, and greater stable power structure with lesser coal. It is vital that planning and funding begin as quickly as possible. Chinese corporations and traders are investors in nearly all of Cambodia’s 410 MW solar energy initiatives in the country, and they're now inspecting wind energy. They're also international giants in battery storage.

Together with the China–Cambodia free trade agreement approved by the Cambodian National Assembly, and the latest investment regulation prioritizing initiatives for green energy, it seems like the destiny of Cambodia’s energy structure could be turning brighter and greener.

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INSIGHTS

THAILAND ROOFTOP MARKET WHAT IS DRIVING THE ROOFTOP SECTOR AHEAD?

It is no news that solar is an advanced and disruptive renewable energy, driving power potentials across the globe. Yearly installations of solar panels are predicted to increase more than 160 gigawatts in 2022, nearly 50% more than in 2019.

Rooftop solar is a crucial factor of this initiative and might be a valuable addition in accomplishing Thailand's renewable energy targets.

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ROOFTOP SOLAR MARKET INFLUENCING FACTORS IN THAILAND As an increasingly economical distributed power solution, solar models provide various advantages for clients and suppliers alike, coping with the generated carbon intensity, enhancing supply reliability, lowering electricity costs, offering grid independence, etc. However, the business case for rooftop solar nevertheless confronts a few significant technical and industrial hurdles. A detailed comprehension of local marketplace conditions, service competitiveness, and marketplace awareness are essential.

Installation challenges – The conceptual potential of rooftop solar is boundless. It deems for a considerable proportion of the 290 GW of installations smaller than 1 MW forecast to be established in the Asia Pacific within the subsequent 5 years. However, few physical barriers and local set-up challenges ought to hinder such objectives.

Fundamentally, rooftops must incorporate relevant dimensions and layouts for solar installation. The more notable a rooftop is, the more will be the possibility for a positive monetary return.

Excess power generation – Discovering the correct method to enhance rooftop solar capacity will need a distinct and localized strategy. The economic case is influenced by the capacity to sell excess electricity generated back into the grid, offering an important return on investment. But the costs presented for this excess power are usually lesser than grid power tariffs in markets throughout Southeast Asia.

Setting up battery technology can offer a buffer that moves these concerns somewhat, however, it implies a greater total cost of ownership. A range of such installations are targeted

by Thailand in recent years, which includes the usage of battery storage as a component of a 214-MW microgrid at the revolutionary Saha Industrial Park, which takes in rooftop solar amongst different power technologies. Greater feed-in tariffs for excess generated power would surely invigorate greater penetration of solar rooftops. However, precise stabilization should be maintained. Albeit presenting multiple upsides, solar rooftops, having widely dispensed generation introduces a complicated environment for grid operators because of two-way electricity flows. Yet grid owners are required to preserve grid quality regardless of potentially struggling decreased revenue generation as a consequence of distributed generation.

The efficiency of solar deployment – A powerful collaborative atmosphere is another key influencer, making sure that partner corporations possess the technical knowledge and capability to efficiently set up solar rooftop models. Creating this technology economically feasible often contributes to an operator's portfolio. Players having a notable portfolio of installations will undoubtedly gain greater financial success than smaller players trying to bring returns on a limited quantity of installations.

Higher solar potential – Being a regional leader in the solar power sector already, and only second to Vietnam, Thailand has an established capacity consisting of more than 3 GW in 2020. The country's suitable geographic location provides enormous irradiation, whilst a considerable industrial

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ROOFTOP SOLAR IS A CRUCIAL FACTOR OF THIS INITIATIVE AND MIGHT BE A VALUABLE ADDITION IN ACCOMPLISHING THAILAND'S RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS." rooftop real estate provides splendid solar generation capacity.

Operators are already focused on these profitable criteria. Solar energy corporations in Thailand are driving business-tobusiness prototypes with no upfront costs, rather setting up rooftop solar services on a contractual basis, offered with the promise of 30-40% power savings. Some of Thailand's leading operators, including Constant Energy, have expanded their operations already across Vietnam and Malaysia.

A greener commitment – Government support for renewable power is undeniably a key driving force in this transformation. By 2037, Thailand aims for renewables to account for 30% of the energy mix, double the present-day share, and there are already signs of exceeding that target.

Potential adjustments to the feed-in tariff ought to have a large effect on that trajectory.

Innovative approaches – Thailand is coming up with progressive approaches by launching innovative models like peer-to-peer and blockchain-based power trading. This enables solar rooftop prosumers to effortlessly promote excess generated power to other customers, consequently boosting the economic appeal of the technology. Investors and monetary backers may opt for a portfolio approach consisting of multiple rooftop solar initiatives to safeguard from early economic exposure. Considerations on end-toend business leaders could provide a greater profitable pathway, incorporating better capital necessities but with more control.

First movers will most probably act strategically to monopolize marketplace share and manipulate the ecosystem throughout their value chains and partner community, developing economies of scale. What's transparent is that installation stays complicated, but efficiently steering through the landscape will lead to exceptional opportunities for energy industry operators and consumers alike.

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PRODUCT FEATURE

THE WAY TO THE BEST LCOE IX: FUTURE ENERGY FOR NOW, VERTEX 660W MODULES SAVE LCOE FOR UAE AND AUSTRALIA PROJECTS

The 2022 World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is currently being held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. With the sharing of the same goal as WFES to accelerate sustainability and the global transition to clean energy, Trina Solar and UL have announced the latest study report on the CAPEX and LCOE of the modules 210-660W and 182-540W with different wafer sizes. The report is based on a simulated PV system with a DC capacity of 125MW at two different project locations UAE and Australia.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The study is performed by UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a company with more than 120 years of expertise in bringing clarity and empowering trust to support the responsible design, production, marketing and purchase of the goods, solutions, and innovations.

Table 1: Bill of Material from 660Wp and 540Wp Array

Item

182-540W

210-660W

The study results show that, compared to the plant with 182540W module, the one with 210-660W module has a lower CAPEX and LCOE in both project locations: In the plant in UAE, the 210-660W module reduced the CAPEX by 1.70% and the LCOE by 1.19%. Similarly, in the plant in Australia, the 210660W module reduced the CAPEX by 1.50% and the LCOE by 1.32%.

No. of SMA SC4000 OP Central Inverters

28

30

No. of PV Modules

232, 064

189, 840

No. of Strings

8, 288

6, 328

No. of String/Inverter

296

226

Tracker 1Px84 (3 Strings)

2, 688

2, 072

Tracker 1Px56 (2 Strings)

112

56

String per Combiner Box

20

16

EMPOWERING TRUST TO SUPPORT THE

Combiner Boxes per Inverter

15

15

RESPONSIBLE DESIGN, PRODUCTION,

No. of Combiner Boxes

420

420

Qty string Cable (km)

650,8

572, 4

Land Area (Ha)

183

177

THE STUDY IS PERFORMED BY UL (UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES), A COMPANY WITH MORE THAN 120 YEARS OF EXPERTISE IN BRINGING CLARITY AND

MARKETING AND PURCHASE OF THE GOODS, SOLUTIONS, AND INNOVATIONS."

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Location 1: UAE Location 2: Australia Module type: Bifacial dual glass 182-540W, Bifacial Dual glass 210-660W Inverter: Central inverter (SMA Sunny Central 4000 UP) Method of installation: Nextracker Horizon 1P tracker

Layout

DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 30

Table 2: Estimated Annual Irradiation and Meteorological

Table 3: Overview of CAPEX and LCOE results of the PV

Components for the TMY

system in UAE.

Long-Term TMY Values

Item

Radiation Component

Dubai, UAE

Wellington town, Australia

Global Horizontal Irradiation (kwh/ m2/yr)

2196

1904

Direct Normal Irradiation (kwh/ m2/yr)

1976

2342

Diffuse Horizontal Irradiation (kwh/ m2/yr)

884

526

Mean Temperature (C)

28.6

17.1

Mean Wind Speed (m/s)

3.42

3.17

182-540W

210-660W

Unit: USD/W PV Modules

0.2400

0.2400

Inverter

0.0253

0.0253

Trackers

0.0906

0.0844

String Cable 4sqmm

0.0032

0.0019

String Cable 6sqmm

-

0.0013

Combiner Box

0.0054

0.0052

DC Cable 400sqmm

0.0097

0.0101

SOLAR PV SYSTEM IN UAE

AC Side LV & MV equipment

0.0346

0.0346

The UAE 100-MWp solar PV plant is located about 50 km south of the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates with coordinates of 24.72°N, 55.34°E. It is situated at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park, which is one of the world’s largest renewable solar parks with a total capacity of 3000 MW (Figure 1).

Civil Works

0.0900

0.0871

Labor

0.0672

0.0672

Design & Engineering

0.1000

0.1000

Logistics & Shipping

0.0420

0.0399

Inverter Shipping

0.0009

0.0009

Development Cost

0.0727

0.0704

DC BOS Cost*

0.1088

0.1028

Difference in DC BOS

Figure 1 Aerial view of MBR Solar Park in UAE

Total CAPEX Difference in Total CAPEX

Table 3 lists the CAPEX and LCOE results of the PV system for the two different modules. It shows that the DC BOS cost of the plant with 210-660W module is 5.50% lower than the one with 182-540W module, and the overall CAPEX and LCOE are 1.70% and 1.19% lower, respectively, in comparison with the plant with 182-540W module.

LOCE (USD/Mwh) Difference in LCOE

BL 0.7815 BL 17.80 BL

-5.50%

0.7681 -1.70%

10.60 -1.19%

*DC BOS Cost includes Trackers, String Cables, Combiner Box and DC Cables.

SOLAR PV SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA Maryvale, New South Wales, Australia (32.44°S, 148.93°E) is selected for the study. The town is located in Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) that was formally declared in 2021 as one of five designated clean energy areas, which have been detailed in the NSW Government’s electricity road map and Australia’s first coordinated renewable energy zone (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Aerial view of the selected site in Australia

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DEC-JAN ISSUE 2022 | PG 31

Table 4 lists the CAPEX and LCOE results of the PV system with the two modules. It shows that the DC BOS cost of the plant with the 210-660W module is 7.70% lower than the one with the 182-540W module, and the overall CAPEX and LCOE are 1.50% and 1.32% lower, respectively, in comparison with the plant with the 182-540W module.

Table 4: Overview of CAPEX and LCOE results for the PV system in Australia.

Item

182-540W

210-660W

Unit: USD/W PV Modules

0.2500

0.2500

Inverter Station Equipment

0.0496

0.0496

Trackers

0.0710

0.0639

String Cable 4sqmm

0.0030

0.0018

String Cable 6sqmm

-

0.0012

Combiner Box

0.0074

0.0072

DC Cable 400sqmm

0.0093

0.0097

MV Switchgear and Protection

0.0007

0.0007

Civil Works

0.1000

0.0967

Labor

0.2868

0.2868

Design & Engineering

0.1000

0.1000

Modules Logistics & Shipping

0.0192

0.0174

Development Cost

0.0644

0.0623

DC BOS Cost*

0.0907

0.0837

Difference in DC BOS

BL

Total CAPEX

0.9614

Difference in Total CAPEX

BL

LOCE (USD/Mwh)

64.4

Difference in LCOE

BL

-7.70%

Above the results, Trina Solar Vertex modules bring better system values to customers with a lower CAPEX and LCOE. The PV plant using the 210-660W module mainly saved the costs of DC BOS, Logistics & shipping and development compared to the one using the 182-540W module.

In comparison with the conventional modules, the string power of the 210 Vertex module can be significantly boosted by 36% thanks to the low-voltage design, which eventually reduces the number of trackers and lower the materials and civil work costs. It is shown in the result that the levelized cost of the tracker of 210-660W can be saved by 10% (0.71$ct/W) compared with 182-540W. The innovative vertical packaging of the Vertex module leads to logistic cost reduction. Within the same 40-foot container, the loading power of 210-660W modules can be increased by about 10% compared with the 182-540W module.

It is clearly shown that the 210-660W module can greatly reduce the DC BOS cost (including tracker, string Cables, Combiner Box and DC Cables etc.) by more than 7.7% compared with the 182-540W module. Particularly, the innovative design concept of low-voltage and high-string power gives the advantage of using less strings, which requires shorter cable length and reduces the material, wiring and commissioning costs. The total string cable length can be reduced by 12% if using 210-660W modules instead of 182-540W.

WITH THE SHARING OF THE SAME GOAL AS WFES TO ACCELERATE SUSTAINABILITY AND THE GLOBAL TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY, TRINA

0.9473

SOLAR AND UL HAVE ANNOUNCED

-1.50%

THE LATEST STUDY REPORT ON THE

63.50

CAPEX AND LCOE OF THE MODULES

-1.32%

210-660W AND 182-540W WITH DIFFERENT WAFER SIZES."

2021 module production capacity

Industry-leading vertex 210 series

410w+ World's largest 210mm module production scale

510w+

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550w+

600w+

670w+

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COMPANY FEATURE

Founded in 1997, Trina Solar is the world leading PV and smart energy total solutions provider. The company engages in PV products R&D, manufacture and sales; PV projects development, EPC, O&M, smart micro-grid and multi-energy complementary systems development and sales, as well as energy cloud-platform operation. In 2018, Trina Solar launched its Energy IoT brand, established the Trina Energy IoT Industrial Development Alliance together with leading enterprises and research institutes in China and around the world, and founded the New Energy IoT Industrial Innovation Center. With these actions, Trina Solar is committed to working with its partners to build the energy IoT ecosystem and develop an innovation platform to explore New Energy IoT, as it strives to be a leader in global intelligent energy. In June 2020, Trina Solar was listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit WWW.TRINASOLAR.COM.

Business Strategy: As June 30 2021, Trina Solar delivered more than 77 GW of solar modules worldwide, ranked “Top 500 private enterprises in China”. Trina Solar has always adhered to the six strategies of Innovation, Branding, Globalization, Platformization, Intellectualization and Industry-Finance Synergy, leading development in terms of innovation level, economic benefits, product quality and environmental safety. With its outstanding technological innovation capability and leading globalization level, it has accumulated excellent brand reputation and public praise and won numerous domestic and international awards.

Company’s Products & Services As a global leading provider for PV modules and smart energy solutions, Trina Solar delivers PV products, applications and services to promote global sustainable development.

Vision: Leading global energy transformation with standardized and high-value PV smart energy solutions

Mission: Solar energy for all

Business Goals & Objectives: Through constant innovation, Trina Solar continues to push the PV industry forward by creating greater grid parity of PV power and popularizing renewable energy. The company’s mission is to boost global renewable energy development around the world for the benefit of all of humanity.

Business Competitiveness In 2014, Trina Solar realized the milestone of shipping over 1GW in one quarter. The company also broke the solar cell efficiency world record 7 times that year. To date, Trina Solar’s State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology has broken 21 world records on solar cell efficiency and module power.

Trina Solar leads the industry in research and development with over 1300 solar PV patents filed to date. The unmatched level of innovation and technological capabilities of Trina Solar has allowed the company to become a global leader by setting industry benchmarks for both quality and efficiency.

TRINA SOLAR’S FACTORY IN CHANGZHOU, CHINA

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TRINA SOLAR’S FACTORY IN CHANGZHOU, CHINA

Quality Policy Of The Company Photovoltaic projects rely on high quality products that stand the test of time for inputs ranging from engineering design to financing and more. Trina Solar’s products have always maintained high reliability and solid performance based on its commitment to the quality-first policy. In the company’s upstream business model, Trina Solar tightly controls quality over every step of the manufacturing process, from silicon crystallization to module deployment in the field. The company guarantees the quality of its products with an industry-leading 25-year lifetime warranty. In its downstream business model, Trina Solar follows strict compliance with national regulations and industry standards, including Chinese National Standards GB 50797 "Photovoltaic Power Station Design Specifications,” GB 50794 "Photovoltaic Power Plant Construction Specifications,” GBT 50866 “Design Code for Photovoltaic Power Station Connection to Power System and GBT 19939 "photovoltaic system Grid technology requirements,” among others. With an innovative solar design team, rigorous procurement procedures and experienced construction and operation team, Trina Solar has more than 15 years’ worth of hands-on expertise in PV project development.

Service Pledge: Trina Solar ensures the highest quality standards for its PV products across the entire supply chain. This mitigates risks and increases return on investment. Because of the company’s dedication to delivering high-quality PV products, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) named Trina Solar as a top bankable module supplier, five times in a row since 2016. Trina Solar is the only module manufacturer to be rated as fully bankable for five consecutive years by 100% of the experts participating in the BNEF survey.

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As part of Trina Solar’s commitment to quality and reliability in its own products and across the solar industry, Trina Solar has partnered with third-party testing groups, including TUV Rheinland Group, China General Certification Center, China Quality Certification Center and UL. In 2012, Trina Solar became the first solar PV company to obtain UL's Client Test Data Program certification after undergoing a rigorous inspection and audit process. In 2017, Trina Solar received the first CQC's witnessed Manufacturer's Testing certification in the Solar Industry.

Ownership Structure As a solar pioneer, Trina Solar helped change this solar industry, rapidly growing from one of the first PV enterprises in China to become a world leader in solar technology and manufacture.

Trina Solar reached a milestone in 2020 when it was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and General Manager of Trina Solar, founded the company in 1997. At Trina Solar, the team is tackling the world’s energy challenges. The global community at Trina works passionately to bring smarter solar energy solutions to the world, ranging from modules to balance systems to full power plants for its partners.

Trina Solar has regional headquarters in Switzerland, United States, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. It has also set up offices and branches in Germany, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, India etc. It has also set up production and manufacturing bases in Thailand and Vietnam, with operations in more than 100 countries and regions. The company is committed to working with installers, distributors, utilities and project developers worldwide to build a sustainable solar energy industry, constantly leading the industry in technological innovation, product quality, environmental protection and corporate social responsibility, bringing clean and reliable solar clean energy to households and to commercial and large public facilities.

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Recognizing & Honoring The Top Achievers Of Indonesia Solar Industry Leaders & Corporates Share The Secret Behind Their Success At Indonesia Solar Week Awards 2022 Business Excellence Awards:

Awards do not only acknowledge success; they recognise many other qualities: ability, struggle, effort and, above all, excellence. It is an acknowledgement of appreciation for your Team's hard work and dedication to achieve the milestone.

SolarQuarter set the stage to honor and award some of the finest achievers in the Indonesia Solar Industry.Unveiling the proud winners of Indonesia Solar Week Leadership Awards 2022:

Felicitation Honors: Outstanding Contribution to Development of Solar Energy In Indonesia - Ms. Andriah Feby Misna,Director Various New & Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, Republic of Indonesia

Solar Company of the Year: Developer (National) - PT Surya Utama Nuansa (SUN Energy) The company is a leading solar project developer in Indonesia, experienced in providing integrated solutions, from conception to construction including project siting and permitting, financing, market development and solar leasing.They are the first and only Indonesia's solar developer who operate solar projects in 4 countries;namely Indonesia,Taiwan, Thailand & Australia. The company has a notable customer brand from conglomerate groups in Indonesia and has done projects of 60 MWp in Indonesia in the past fiscal year.

Company of the Year: Developer (International) - TotalEnergies Renewables DG The company is a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale such as : oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Active in more than 130 countries, it puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people. The company is a proven fast-track multinational developer which has celebrated its successful 3 years presence in Indonesia.The projects developed by the company are 100% self funded.The company in the past fiscal year has done Solar rooftop project of 25MWp in Indonesia.

Solar Company of the Year: Structure Antaisolar The company is a leading supplier of the whole industry chain in PV Mounting systems. It is a top brand of solar mounting system in South East Asia, with 6GW annual production of Aluminum rackings and 10GW of steel rackings.The company has more than 800 employees and 80 design engineers working consistently, making sure that their products and services offer fastest and best design to their clients in Indonesia.The company also stands out for the most famous and best quality products in the markets.for its Unique High performance Aluminum Alloy and is known to self manufacture all its products.

Solar Project Excellence Awards: Best Solar Project of the Year : (Institutional) PT Surya Utama Nuansa (SUN Energy) The company is a leading solar project developer in Indonesia and the winning project by this company is a OnGrid Ground Mounted solar project of 1MWp for ITERA. This is the biggest solar system in university institutions in Indonesia, acknowledged and inaugurated by the Minister of Education Republic of Indonesia. The electricity generated by this project is also exported to the national grid.

Best Solar Project of the Year : (Industrial) TotalEnergies Renewables DG. The company focuses on Rooftop & Groundmount Solar PV Power for Industrial & Commercial Customers.It has successfully done 25 MWp of projects in Indonesia in the past fiscal year.The winning project is a 5 MWp capacity Rooftop Solar project in Selalu Cinta, Indonesia. It is the biggest project in Central Java which was installed in 2021.

The installation design follows one of the unique designs i.e., the roof shape dome with safety equipment in place.The company has installed Envision Solar Monitoring System, integrated with the weather station for maximum efficiency.

Team Excellence Awards: Best Marketing Team of the Year - PT Surya Utama Nuansa (SUN Energy) The company is number 1 solar developer in Indonesia with a growing regional project portfolio.It is the only local solar developer which runs the marketing campaigns. The marketing team of the company is well equipped with digital marketing skills and they believe in their motto to be the ’long term partner in sustainability for their customers’.The six member team has won many awards and recognitions for their work such as Digital Marketing Champion, Corporate Sustainability Team Initiative and Marketing Award for Energy Literation.

Individual Leadership Awards: Rising Star of the Year - Ms. Ratna Muntiowati, Sales Director, TotalEnergies Renewables DG Ratna is an enterprising leader with more than 20 years of professional experience. She is a multitasker and great at cross-functional jobs. Her focus has always been on gaining customer satisfaction. An expert in operations, cost efficiency and risk management, Ratna is a result oriented team leader and definitely a great inspiration for many.

To know more about our awards visit us at: https://solarquarter.com/studio/