Smart energy July-Aug 2017 Edition

SmartEnergy July/ August 2017

Volume IV, Issue IV

Pages 60

`200

ISSN 2348-5027

Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence

SmartEnergy Complete Renewable Energy Intelligence

Editor Santosh Khadtare santosh@supersmartenergy.com

Associate Editor Anisha Ganguli EDITORIAL ADVISER Pragya Sharma Editorial Coordinator Varsha

Graphic Designer D. Vaidya Advertising & Marketing Head- Marketing & Business Development Sapna K sapna.smartenergy@gmail.com

Chief Executive Officer Rahul Raj Chandra Support Team Sunil Pawar Bharti Shetty

Editor's Note Dear Readers, With the implementation of GST India ceases to be a fragmented market with plethora of taxes, levies and cesses. GST has simplified taxes, unified the country for seamless movement of goods and service and will lead to increase in compliance. The solar and renewable industry, which enjoyed several indirect tax exemptions, was worried about GST and its possible impact on the sector. When it was announced that GST will be applied to solar modules and all the equipments for solar power generation plants at concessional rate of 5%, the industry heaved a sigh of relief. But, there is confusion as how to avail of the concessional 5% GST rate when many of the same components are taxed at higher rates for use in other industries.

For example, transformers used for solar projects are intended to be taxed at 5% but they are taxed at 18% for other applications.

It is understood that MNRE is working to evolve a mechanism in consultation with Ministry of Finance to try and resolve this issue.

We in this edition of Smart Energy Magazine have tried to simplify and decode the GST structure and its impact on the industry. It is our belief that, though, in the short term there will be confusion and implementation issues and even cost of project is likely to increase, in the long term GST is going to be beneficial for the sector.

It has always been our endeavour to go beyond industry updates and bring to light some unexplored and interesting facets of solar energy. We bring to you such a story from the remotest location of Peerla banda Tanda in Andhra Pradesh where adoption of solar pumps has changed the lives of the people living in this location.

This change has been brought in their lives by Claro Energy. This edition also carries a special feature that analyses the market and industry trends for solar PV. Along with the regular features like News, Interviews and product updates this edition is packed with powerful stuff to keep you engaged.

Enjoy reading and yes don’t forget to give your feedback to me at info@supersmartenergy.com

Disclaimer All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy and information in this magazine, opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the vies of the owner/ publisher and the editorial team. Genesis Info-Media shall not be liable for any consequences in the event such claims are found- not to be true Printed, published and edited by Santosh Khadtare on behalf of Genesis Info-Media, published at 509, Pushp Plaza, above Snehanjali Showroom, Manvelpada Road, Virar Dist Thane and printed at M B Graphics, B 28, 3rd Floor Shri Ram Industrial Estate,Wadala West, Mumbai.

4 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

Santosh K Editor Santosh@supersmartenergy.com Like SmartEnergy on Facebook @

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Content

SmartEnergy 44

28 INTERVIEW Donald Leo Managing Director, Asia South, JinkoSolar

32 INTERVIEW SANJAY R N Cover Story Impact of GST on RE Sector in India: Short Term pain, But Long Term Gain

30 In Focus LED is the Future- The Future Starts Now SolarModule LED-flasher

Managing Director, Dhanush Energy Limited

POLICY UPDATES 54. Draft UP Solar Power Policy 2017 56. Draft Goa Solar Power Policy 2017

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

38 Market & trends Solar PV – Markets & Industry Trends

50 SUNNY SKY The Sun: Quenching Thirst, Creating Smiles

53 VIEW POINT Implications of Declining Solar Tariffs

20. MECO 22. Gujarat Borosil 22. Grundfos 24. SolarEdge 24. Canadian Solar 26. Trojan Batteries 27. Simpa Networks REGULARS 08. News & Views 19. To the Point 57. Events Watch 58. Advertisers Index

Authored By: Hartek Singh, Chairman & MD, Hartek Group

6 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

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News & Views

Solar power tariffs reach Rs. 2.44/ unit

Solar power tariffs in India have dropped to a new record low of Rs 2.44 per unit as per the bidding that has been recently concluded for Bhadla Phase-III Solar Park in Rajasthan.

“Latest solar power auction at Bhadla Solar Park 3 sets new record with electricity tariff of Rs 2.44/unit,” announced power minister Piyush Goyal Through microblogging site.

Goyal tweeted that Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is

developing the 500 MW solar park at Bhadla with Saurya Urja Co. of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp. Ltd. “The tariffs for the first 200 MW were at Rs 2.44 per unit while the rest 300 MW were at Rs 2.45 per unit,” added SECI Managing Director Ashivini Kumar.

Apparently, renewable energy firm ACME has bagged 200 MW and SBG Cleantech has bagged the rest 300 MW at Bhadla phaseIII 

REC launches first Green Bond in London The London Stock Exchange welcomes Rural Electrification Corporation's (REC) first green bond, which was admitted to trading on London's International Securities Market (ISM). The ten year dated green bond raised $450 million, with an annual yield of 3.965 per cent. The bond was 3.9 times oversubscribed on the final order book and secured strong international investor interest, with Asian investors making up 68 per cent of the order book and investors from the EMEA region making up 32 per cent.

The state-owned company will use the proceeds of the Climate Bonds Initiative certified green bond to finance environmentally friendly projects across India. Some of the projects will include solar, wind and biomass assets, as well as sustainable water and waste management projects.

The Chairman of REC, Dr. P.V. Ramesh joined Nikhil Rathi, CEO of London Stock Exchange plc to open trading in London to celebrate the listing.

Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange plc & Director of International Development, London Stock Exchange Group, said: "We are honoured to welcome Dr. P.V. Ramesh, Chairman of REC, to London Stock Exchange and warmly congratulate REC on its

8 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

first green bond listing. The success of REC's $450 million issuance is a significant achievement for REC, underlining the strength of international investor interest in building exposure to India's green growth story.

India and aid in achieving our Government's target of 175GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022. Through this issuance on London Stock Exchange, we will be also able to reach out to a new investor base."

"REC's listing reinforces London's status as a market open to the world and a strong partner to India as it realises its ambitious green financing and infrastructure projects across the country. It is also an important milestone for our Group as REC is listing the first green bond on our International Securities Market."

The REC bond is ISM's first green bond listing since the market launch in May this year. The launch of the new debt market was supported by India's Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy, Shri Piyush Goyal, who sees London as a long term partner for Indian firms looking to raise finance in the global capital markets. This reinforces London's position as the world's most international listing venue.

ISM was launched to improve the effectiveness and competitiveness of the UK primary debt markets, offering greater choice for a variety of fixed income issuers 

Dr. P.V. Ramesh, Chairman & Managing Director of Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), said: "The REC team is delighted to be welcomed to London Stock Exchange in celebration of its green bond listing. The funds raised will help promote renewable energy projects all across

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News & Views RenewSys launches production of India’s first 5 BB Solar Cells, Completes ramp up of its cell line RenewSys, India’s first & only integrated manufacturer of Solar PV Modules & its components i.e. Encapsulants, Backsheets and PV Solar Cells, became the first Indian company to launch the production of five Bus Bar (BB) Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Cells.

The 5BB cells, part of RenewSys’ RESERV® range of solar PV cells, will be manufactured using world class European PV cell equipment.

production of its 5BB Solar PV Panels/ Modules from July 2017 onwards.

5BB cells are expected to noticeably improve the panel/ module efficiency when compared to solar panels/ solar modules that use 4BB or 3BB cells. The additional Bus Bar in conventional silicon solar cells (with respect to 3BB/ 4BB) facilitates a uniform distribution of stress, making 5BB cells more durable.

Increasing the number of Bus Bars (BBs) in a photovoltaic cell lowers the series resistance and thus increases the current.

Eventually, the PV cell power increases, which improves the overall module performance.

Apart from the advanced technologies such as PERC, PERT and IBC, increasing the number of Bus Bars, is an attractive technology development to produce solar panels with higher efficiency.

Mr. Avinash Hiranandani mentioned, “While we are excited to announce these developments, we hope that the government will support companies like RenewSys that have made significant investments based on the Government of India’s pro local manufacturing policy.”

RenewSys had recently completed the ramp up of its 100 MW cell line. The factory reached leading-edge industry-level cell efficiencies at full capacity at the

RenewSys will start commercial

end of April 2017. Of the new Indian market entrants which started setting up cell production in 2016, RenewSys is the first to reach full production.

The cell production line has been commissioned with the help of Solsol GmbH, a leading German consultancy and engineering company specialized in PV device and production technology.

Dr. Stephan Wansleben, CEO of Solsol, adds: “One cannot stress enough the importance of high performing, reliable products.

RenewSys has quickly established itself as one of India’s dependable technology leaders among PV Solar Cell and PV Solar Panel manufacturers.”

Commending the team at Solsol for their support Mr. Hiranandani says, “Solsol is a great technology partner with a vast project experience. They helped us reach competitive productivity in the shortest possible time.” ■

“We work towards ensuring that our products are high performing, commercially viable and future ready. RenewSys recognizes that quality raw materials, commitment to R&D and competitively priced products are crucial to the solar industry, affecting the performance and success of PV solar power systems. The launch of 5BB cells and modules will significantly improve the performance of solar PV systems” - Avinash Hiranandani, Managing Director, RenewSys India Pvt. Ltd.

Waaree Energies Ltd. commissioned 23 MW Solar Power project in Rajasthan Waaree Energies Ltd. India's largest solar module manufacturing company has commissioned 23 MW solar power project at khetusar –Baap in Rajasthan state.

The commissioned project owned by Maharashtra Seamless Ltd. (MSL), a Group company of D.P. JINDAL has manufacturing plant of seamless Steel Pipes & Tubes.

10 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

Waaree has a contract to supply power for 25 years to MSL Plant.

The site of commissioned project scattered in 100 acres land at Khetusar in Rajasthan which is beyond the limit of unconditional execution.

Commenting on the Occasion, Hitesh Doshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Waaree Energies Limited said, “With the commis-

sioning of this project, once again we demonstrated our strong project development, engineering & executing capabilities. Our commitment towards bringing the latest and the best technology in solar industry for sustainable development in the renewable energy sector of the country"■

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News & Views Vikram Solar modules among the top performers of 2017 The quality of the photovoltaic modules manufactured by Vikram Solar has convinced the authors of the PV Module Reliability Scorecard Report 2017.

Vikram modules were ranked among the best products in three of the five categories tested in the report. The report is published by the leading global certification body DNV GL. The DNV GL Module Reliability Scorecard Report has been published for the third time. This year’s edition saw products from 22 module manufacturers undergo comprehensive testing in five categories. The report aims to deliver well-founded information on the long-term reliability of solar modules.

Vikram modules scored above average in highly accelerated stress tests of dynamic mechanical load and damp heat at high ambient temperatures, as well as under humidity freeze tests which represent frosty conditions in regions of Europe, North America and Asia. Such aggressive tests can have a detrimental effect on the lifespan of solar modules. Damp heat prevails in many of the sub tropical countries where Vikram markets its solar modules. Similarly, dynamic cyclic loads are often caused by wind or snow, and can lead to cell cracks and other damage in extreme cases, especially in high windy regions of the world.

“Long-term functionality of solar installations is becoming

more and more important in order to create differentiation with our competitors. Optimal manufacturing operations without defects and malfunctions helps to guarantee that every module that comes out of our factories have the same class leading reliability features as demonstrated by the modules tested in DNV GL labs. With our modules, customers can be confident their solar power plants will run for a long time without any problems. It is clear that our investments in state-of-the-art production technology and our quality strategy are really paying off,” says Ivan Saha, BU Head Solar Manufacturing of Vikram Solar ■

Fronius India inaugurates new office space in Bengaluru Fronius, a global renowned brand and a leading supplier of solar inverters, welding equipment and battery charging systems in India announced the launch of its new branch office in Bengaluru. The office will serve as the technology centre and sales support office for the city and also help in facilitating one single point of contact for all the three divisions in the region.

The office was inaugurated on Tuesday, June 28th 2017 by honourable chief guest Mr. M.D.Shetty, Managing Director, TTP Technologies Pvt. Ltd. With the ribbon cutting ceremony followed by the lamp lighting ceremony.

The technology centre will be offering live demos on welding automation for the customers/ visitors to get an actual feel of our advanced technology and quality products. The branch office will also be responsible for arrang-

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ing periodic training and skill development program to the customers and the end users of the Fronius products (all three divisions) through detailed theoretical and hands-on trainings sessions.

V.V.Kamath, MD, Fronius India (C) with Rahul Raje, Area Sales Manager, Fronius India (On his left)

At the office opening, Mr. V.V.Kamath, MD, Fronius India commented “Our Philosophy of “Customer First” drives us to have a customer centric approach.

After Ahmedabad & Chennai we aim to work in close co-ordination with our esteemed clients in Karnataka. We also believe that post GST regime, this step will help us improve our supply chain management and deliver our best to achieve maximum customer satisfaction”.

“We are very happy to launch our office in Bengaluru. Bengaluru

– the booming industrial hub, offers an emerging potential for our business. We have our substantial customer data base coming from the city. We have already installed 2k machines across the city. Thus, our presence in Bengaluru will definitely give a boost to the services for our existing clients and also better serve the potential customers, hence adding on to the brand recognition”.

– said, Mr. Rahul Raje, Area Sales Manager, Fronius India ■

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News & Views Tata Power Solar commissions 3 MW Solar Power Plant at Noamundi With due consideration towards Tata Steel’s initiatives towards reducing carbon footprint, a 3 MW Solar PV Power Plant has been commissioned at Noamundi. This is the 1st Solar Power Plant in any iron ore mine in the country. The project, executed

by Tata Power Solar will help in reducing CO2 emission by about 3000 tonnes per annum.

The 3 MW Solar Power Plant was jointly inaugurated today by Mr T V Narendran, Managing Director, Tata Steel India & SEA along with Mr Ashish Khanna, Executive Director & CEO., Tata Power Solar and Mr Sanjeev Mehra, Managing Director, Tata Power Trading Company, in the presence of Mr Rajeev Singhal, Vice President (Raw Materials), Tata Steel, Mr Pankaj Satija, General Manager (Ore Mines & Quarries), Tata Steel and other senior officials of the company.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr

Narendran expressed pride and happiness on the occasion of inauguration of the 3 MW Solar Power Plant, calling it a major achievement for Tata Steel. Reiterating Tata Steel`s commitment to clean energy, Mr Narendran said: “We have constantly looked at opportunities to exploit renewable energy sources. This is yet another milestone in our quest to become a sustainability driven company, committed to exploring clean energy solutions. Renewable energy is the best way of mitigating the impact of climate change.”

Set up at a cost of Rs 35 crore, the initiative is aimed at addressing climate change issues and other demands on natural resources for the Company`s captive use around its mining locations. Synergy between three Tata companies, namely, Tata Steel, Tata Power Solar and Tata Power Trading Company was instrumental in shaping the project into reality.

With Tata Steel as the sole buyer of all electricity at a contracted tariff, this partnership demonstrates Tata Steel`s commitment to climate action and voice support for supporting a strong outcome at the UN Climate Change Conference Paris 2015 (COP 21).

Highlighting the importance of the project, Mr Khanna said: “We are very glad to execute this project as it represents a huge step towards bringing the sun’s clean, sustainable energy as a part of a hybrid system which has grid power as well as fossil fuel as an option. This project epitomises new technologies for a sustainable and continuous power requirements and such plants demonstrate how energy needs of the manufacturing sector can be met through clean and renewable sources like solar and has the potential to take usage of solar energy to a new heights.” ■

Sterling and Wilson Scales New Heights; Gets Awarded the World’s Largest Solar PV Plant Sterling and Wilson, one of the dominant global forces in the solar-PV space, has bagged Turnkey Engineering Procurement and Construction along with Operation & Maintenance contract for the world’s largest single location solar PV plant in Sweihan, Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The project will deliver a capacity of 1177 MWp, easily surpassing the current largest 850 MWp single location plant in China.

With construction already underway, the prodigious plant, which is spread over a desert area of 7.8 sq. km, is scheduled to be fully integrated with the grid in a record timeline of just 23 months. To top

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it all, the project was awarded at the lowest ever recorded bid in the history of PV solar.

The plant is jointly developed by Marubeni, a Japanese integrated trading and investment giant, along with Jinko, a global leader in the solar industry, and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA). The consortium has successfully bid a tariff of USD 2.42 cents per kilowatt hour, marking the lowest cost ever for solar power. This is a positive demonstration of the promising future of clean energy, reducing the dominance of fossil-fuel-backed power plants.

The plant, once commissioned, would save around 7 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, a number that would be a national landmark. To put it in perspective, 1177 MWp can power around 195,000 homes, thus contributing to the welfare of the current as well as the future generations of the people of the UAE. “We are fully geared and very excited to be a part of this important milestone in the global solar market,” said Bikesh Ogra, President – Renewable Energy, Sterling and Wilson 

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Enphase Energy to Launch Microinverter Technology Masterclasses at Renewable Energy India Expo 2017 Enphase Energy, Inc., a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of solar microinverters, announced that it will launch a series of microinverter technology masterclasses at the Renewable Energy India Expo 2017.

These masterclasses are designed to provide installers and Engineering, Procurement and Construction companies (EPCs) with a knowledge base for innovations behind microinverter technologies, and to understand more effectively how microinverters are best suited for the Indian rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) market.

Attendees will learn about the latest microinverter technology trends and ways to manage microinverters for India’s climate and environmental conditions.

To be held at the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida from September 20-22, 2017, these masterclasses are complimentary for all exhibition delegates.

They will be conducted by Duncan MacGregor, Enphase Energy’s Asia-Pacific product trainer & field applications engineer from Melbourne, Australia.

Nathan Dunn, managing director of Enphase Asia-Pacific said, “Enphase is delighted to be working with UBM India

to launch these microinverter technology masterclasses.

There is a significant potential for the adoption of microinverters in the residential segment as India has placed a huge emphasis on solar energy.

We hope to generate greater awareness through these masterclasses about microinverters and how they can play a part in driving greater quality and reliability for India’s solar industry.”

The full agenda for the microinverter technology masterclasses at the Renewable Energy India Expo 2017 can be found at https://go.enphase. com/in/masterclass-2017 ■

Hindustan Power acquires 15 solar projects in Japan Hindustan Power, India’s largest Multinational Company in Renewable Energy, operating in the international markets is set to increase its footprint in international markets to 2GW by 2022.

The company during its decade long operations has executed over 800 MWp of solar power generation projects including international landmark projects like the 25MW solar power plant in Lauta, Germany, Asia’s first 30 MW solar in Gujarat, India; World’s largest greenhouse rooftop in Sardinia, Italy among many other projects in countries like Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US. Hindustan Power was also recognized as the largest solar developer in the United Kingdom in the years 2012 and 2013.

The company has recently acquired fifteen solar power generation projects in Japan and is poised to enter the emerging market of Bangladesh with 4 X 25 MWs solar projects at Trishal in Bangladesh.

Ratul Puri, Chairman, Hindustan Power said, “We are one of the early Indian player to focus on developing solar projects in the overseas markets. We have invested close to Rs 3000 crores and the target of 2 GW would entail an investment of Rs. 10,000 crores. We believe that our successful foray will encourage more players from India to expand its operations in the international markets thereby allowing India to emerge as a solar power house.”

Lalit Jain, CEO, International Solar, Hindustan Power said, “Hindustan Power has the distinction of developing solar plants in difficult markets and terrains within a short period of time. The 25 MW solar farm developed in Lauta, Germany was on a World War II impacted site that required special treatment and concreting before the commencement of the project.

The greenhouse PV project in Sardinia covers more than 38 ha of land and produces finest quality of roses which are being exported

to Europe and allowing the organization to become the member of prestigious Roya Flora Holland.

This project has increased the potential of land by constructing the greenhouse solar plant as the temperature inside GH can be controlled leading to a higher productivity while the solar panels generate clean & green energy.’

He added, “The proposal to develop 4X25 MW solar project has been submitted to Government of Bangladesh and required land agreement has already been signed. We will take these projects in to construction in the next couple of quarters. While many of the players were formalizing its plans, we recorded the distinction of being the largest renewable energy player in UK way back 2012 & 2013.”

Hindustan Powerprojects Currently has a portfolio of 6,000 MW in projects under various stages, amounting to an asset size of $2 billion 

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July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

News & Views Azure Power to Scale its Azure Roof Power Platform with support from SBI-World Bank Azure Power, a leading independent solar power producer in India, has been granted INR 678.3 (US$ ~10.5) million of lowcost debt financing through the SBI-World Bank: Grid Connected Rooftop Solar PV Program. The loan is for 15 years with an interest rate of 8.35% per annum, one of the lowest interest rates availed by a solar power developer in the Indian solar sector to date. The loan will be utilized to scale Azure Roof Power, Azure Power’s solar rooftop platform.

Azure Roof Power offers superior rooftop solar power solutions for commercial, industrial, government, and institutional customers in cities across India to lower

their energy bill and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. With over 100 MWs of high quality, operating and committed solar assets across 14 states, Azure Roof Power has one of the largest rooftop portfolios in the country. Azure Roof Power customers include large commercial real estate companies, a leading global chain of premium hotels, distribution companies in smart cities, warehouses, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Indian Railways and a Delhi water utility company.

Speaking on this occasion, Inderpreet Wadhwa, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Azure

Power said, “We are pleased to announce our partnership with SBI and World Bank which will enable us lower the energy bills of our customers by providing clean and sustainable solar energy. We are excited to expand our Azure Roof Power platform in India with the support of SBI and World Bank.”

Under the SBI-World Bank: Grid Connected Rooftop Solar PV Program, the World Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) approved a line of credit of $625 million to support the Government of India’s goal to expand rooftop solar to 40,000 MWs ■

NEXTracker achieves 1 GW of Solar Tracker sales in India NEXTracker™, a Flex company, announced that it has sold over 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar trackers to utility-scale power plants in India. This milestone illustrates the significant demand for smart tracking systems as the large-scale solar power industry continues to mature in India. NEXTracker's success in the region is rooted in its proven high-quality design, reliable performance, and an exceptional level of service and relationship-building with local and international partners.

"We are appreciative to be partnering on over 1 GW of solar power plants with many of India's leading renewable energy firms," stated NEXTracker CEO Dan Shugar. "We have designed the most flexible single-axis tracker to fit a wide range of project attributes in India such as property shape and size, terrain profile, voltage, and wind speed. We have significantly invested and grown our Hyderabad team, and have adapted our product for local con-

16 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

ditions, supporting dozens of projects that are under present construction."

NEXTracker's projects commissioned or under construction with Sterling & Wilson, Adani Green Energy, SkyPower, CleanMax Solar, Suzlon, and ReNew Power are milestones that demonstrate the rapidly growing adoption of solar trackers in India.

Notable projects and awards include the largest solar plant in the state of Punjab (100 MW), installed by Adani and seven SkyPower projects totalling 400 MW, both utilizing NEXTracker's NX Horizon™ trackers.

NEXTracker's single-axis solar tracker, NX Horizon, embodies smart engineering with independent rows - each driven by its own self-powered motor drive and controller - eliminating mechanical

links and trenched power cables.

NX Horizon features fully sealed motors and gears, essential for dusty conditions, and critical components such as motors, drives, and controllers are all 1M or more above ground. The intelligent tracking system integrates with powerful SCADA tools to increase performance and reduce operating cost. PowerworX Academy, NEXTracker's installation training program, educates solar installers about the fundamentals of design and installation of NEXTracker's unique solar tracker technology 

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Enerparc India Installs World’s 1st Rays Power Solar Power Plant on roof of STS Infra commisCranes at Gateway Terminals India sions 5.5 MWp solar PV project Enerparc Energy Pvt, Ltd. Indian ing as these control room are at subsidiary of Global Solar EPC height of 65m from the ground in Karnataka and Investment Company Enerlevel and are subjected to conparc AG, Germany recently commissioned 162 kWp Solar PV power plant on roof of Ship to Shore (STS) cranes located at Nava-Sheva port near Mumbai.

The complete project right from concept stage, to designing, engineering and construction was executed by Enerparc for Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd., part of APM Terminals Global network.

APM Terminal, one of the world leader in port, terminal and inland services is not new to benefits of Solar Energy. In the 1st phase Enerparc has already installed 413kWp of rooftop solar PV system at various sites of the customer. To expand further, roof of control room on top of STS cranes was identified. APM have in total 10 heavy duty STS cranes which are used for loading and unloading of containers from ship to shore and other way around. The location was challeng-

stant vibration from the high shore winds and movement of crane in different directions, also the beams supporting the crane keeps casting shadow on installed solar modules.

Enerparc with its technical knowledge and solar expertise overcame these challenges by using the right technology for solar modules, so that the concerns related to micro cracks (due to movement of crane) as well as hot spots (due to partial shading from support beams) were addressed.

“Solar installation on STS cranes is a unique project and 1st of its kind in the world. Though the site was complex and had its own set of challenges, the project was completed in a timely manner, keeping in mind the exemplary quality and highest safety standards” said Mr. Amit Barve, Vice President Business Development at Enerparc Energy ■

Manipal Varsity’s significant shift to green energy Managing Director, MESCOM, Mangaluru, Mr Chikkananjappa inaugurated solar roof top PV plant at the indoor sports complex. With that, Manipal University now has eight buildings with roof top solar plants. This has helped the University to achieve 55% of energy-demand from a green source. Manipal University is ranked the second green campus in the country. MESCOM MD was appreciative of the initiatives being taken by the University to reduce pollution by using more and more of the solar energy 

Rays Power Infra announced the completion of its 5.5 MWp Solar PV equity project in the state of Karnataka.

The project execution work started in October'2016, while the project was commissioned in February 2017.

Spread over an area of 28 acres at Koppal District, the project was executed on a turnkey basis, right from the land acquisition till the commissioning. With this, the total portfolio of commissioned projects of the integrated solar power company crosses over 400 MW. "Karnataka is an important market and strategic geography for us and we are fully committed towards catering to its requirements. The State has an ambitious renewable energy policy and we are focused on supporting their endeavour. On one hand, India is an energy deficit country coupled with high cost of electricity and on the other hand, customers are now increasingly acknowledging the importance of solar energy over other sources available today," said Sanjay Garudapally, Director - Business Development, Rays Power Infra.

Adani Group's solar capacity stands at 838 MW Adani Group stated that by the end of this year it will have over 2 Gw of solar installed capacity, making the company the largest player in India's renewable energy sector in various states 

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News & Views Panasonic HIT Solar Module Achieves World's Highest Output Temperature Coefficient Panasonic has once again achieved the highest efficiency of solar panels with a temperature coefficient of -0.258%/°C. This coefficient is the world's highest level for a mass-produced solar panel. This time, Panasonic has improved the output temperature coefficient by 0.032 points (from -0.29%/°C) by making improvements to the "heterojunction technology," which is a characteristic of the company's "HIT" solar panel. These temperature characteristics will increase the conversion efficiency at 75°C by 46% in comparison to general silicon products.

According to Panasonic, solar modules are ideal for energy generation in hot climate areas, because their output is not affected as the temperature rises. A general silicon solar cell's output temperature coefficient is -0.50%, which denotes a decline of 0.50% in the conversion efficiency as the module temperature rises by 1°C. Panasonic’s HIT® modules, which boast an improved output temperature coefficient, will almost halve the decline in the conversion efficiency reliably generating power in the summer during which solar cells are known to degrade efficiency.

Modules are composed of solar cells, i.e., semiconductors, whose conversion efficiency degrades as the temperature rises, thereby reducing the output. The output temperature coefficient indicates the degree of such decline. For instance, at the module temperature anticipated in the summer months (75°C), the conversion efficiency will decrease by 25% in comparison to the environment at 25°C. Panasonic will continue to work on technology development and mass commercialization with the aim of achieving higher power generation, and improvements in efficiency and reliability ■

“Panasonic has been a forerunner in providing efficient solar solutions for over four decades, and with the new efficiency record, HIT modules offer huge returns for our customers’ investment while supplying reliable power generation.”

- Atsushi Karasawa, Sales Director, Eco Solutions Division - PMMAF

Ingeteam opens new subsidiaries in Solar-Log® NearHonduras, Bulgaria ing 12GW Solar Ingeteam has opened new subsid- through the provision of mainte- Power Monitored iaries in Honduras and Bulgaria, nance services at PV plants, totalincreasing its global presence to ling 82 MW. World-Wide a total of 22 countries. Both subsidiaries are geared to the renewables sector, specifically solar and photovoltaic energy.

In Honduras, local personnel are already working at a number of sites while, in Bulgaria, company personnel are performing maintenance work at the country's largest photovoltaic plant.

The company first entered the market in Honduras with projects for the renewables sector, primarily for the PV sector, to become the leading provider of Operation and Maintenance services in Latin America, where it has maintenance contracts for 2.5 GW. Ingeteam is present in this country

18 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

Honduras is firmly committed to renewable energies, with an incentive policy approved in 2013 through the Law for the Promotion of Electricity Generation from Renewable Resources.

This has boosted the growth of the installed renewable energy during this period. Currently, half the country's installed power is from renewable sources.

In Bulgaria, Ingeteam is present in the wind power market, and is responsible for the maintenance of three wind farms totalling 90 MW while, in the PV market, the company carries out the maintenance of a 60 MW PV plant, the largest in Bulgaria 

Global solar PV monitoring powerhouse, Solar-Log®, is nearing 12GW monitored world-wide as it approach Intersolar, North America's most attended solar event.

This significant number solidifies the brand's position as the global market leader in residential and commercial monitoring, among independent software vendors.

Over 1 million inverters are now connected to Solar-Log® in over 106 countries. Continuous growth confirms the system's high level of recognition by installers and O&M providers 

 www.supersmartenergy.com

To the Point NATIONAL Piramal Finance extends Rs 700 cr credit to ACME Solar Piramal Finance Limited (PFL), Unit of Piramal Enterprises, has extended sanctioned credit of Rs 700 crore to ACME Solar Holdings Ltd for renewable energy projects.

The funding is being done through a Flexi Line of Credit. Under this arrangement, the borrower has the flexibility to draw/repay during the tenure for operational projects.

Indias solar power capacity to reach 22 GW by March: Goyal India’s solar power generation capacity would nearly double to 22 GW by the end of current fiscal and more wind power auctions would be conducted in the coming months, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said.

"Solar Power generating capacity would be around 22 GW by the end of this fiscal (from over 12 GW at present)," Goyal announced after releasing a report on integration of renewables in the electricity grid.

Indian Railways to install rooftop solar panels on 250 trains In an unprecedented move the Indian Railways has decided to install flexible solar panels on 250 local trains. The intention is to reduce fuel costs and benefit the environment while lowering the company’s own emissions to meet government standards.

The railway has not yet decided which trains will receive the solar panels but has floated the money to install the systems, which will be used to power lights and fans on the trains. According to reports, companies selected through the process will need to install flexible solar panels and battery systems

on six trains.

FinMin rejects Rs 20,000Crore Plan to Aid Indian Solar Equipment Manufacturers Despite the rising imports of solar equipment from China, the Finance Ministry has turned down a Rs 20,000-crore plan to support the local solar equipment manufacturers with incentives and subsidies.

The plan was prepared by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to battle the flood of Chinese imports. Imports, accounting for nearly 90 percent of solar cells and modules used in India, have risen 38 percent year-on-year to Rs 21,400 crore in the fiscal year 2016-17.

MahGenco to float tender for 500 MW solar park Maharashtra, with the present solar installed capacity of 406 MW, has undertaken capacity addition of 2,500 MW by 2022 through public private partnership (PPP) and engineering procurement construction (EPC) basis. The state-run Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenco) will invite tender in July for the development of a solar park with 500 MW capacity at Dondaicha in Dhule district. The proposed solar park will be set up in an association with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), also based on PPP.

India suspends interstate transmission charges on solar projects until 2019 India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has taken the decision to suspend interstate transmission charges on solar power projects in an effort to make the energy source more competitive on price with thermal power.

decision to delay the introduction of these charges until the end of 2019 after calculating that the costs for using solar power from another state would be raised

by INR 1 - 2.50/kWh depending upon the distance of transmission required.

Trina Solar's PV Modules Commence Operations in Solar Power Plant in AP Trina Solar's PV modules have commenced operations in a 455MW DC solar power plant in Andhra Pradesh developed by SB Energy, a joint venture between SoftBank Group, Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn Technology Group. This is the largest single order that Trina Solar has ever closed in India.

The PV modules supplied for this project were TALLMAX 72-cell polycrystalline panels. TALLMAX modules are recognised by industry professionals for their proven historical performance in the field and the high quality standard.

It is one of the industries most trusted products for large-scale solar projects.

IBC SOLAR Commission 22.5 MWp Project in India IBC SOLAR, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage, have continued their success in India with their sixth PV power plant located in Rajasthan in the north of India. The 22.5 MWp project Phalodi was commissioned on time and handed over to the investor. IBC SOLAR have doubled the size of their previous project for the second time in a row. With this 22.5 MWp project, IBC SOLAR continue on their road to success in India. The new utility-scale PV plant is located near Phalodi in Rajasthan which is one of the federal states with the largest amount of installed solar capacity in India ■

The government ministry took the

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July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Products & Services

MECO “SOLAR POWER METER Model 936”

M

ECO Solar Power Meter is a portable meter used for measuring Solar Power or Solar Irradiance. It uses High sensitivity Silicon Photodiode to measure solar power. Solar Meter can also detect Solar Tilt Angle with Orientation.

This instrument is designed to measure solar power in the range from 400 to 1100 nanometers. It Measures the solar power and transmission up to 2000 W/m2.

Solar Power Meter has Max / Min / Avg and data hold functions to indentify locations with maximum or mini-

mum power. The good spectral range, orientation and angular detection of meter allow users to conduct the most precise quantitative measurements of Solar Power Radiation.

ii Instantaneous display Ave/Min/ Max values

Features:

ii Backlit LCD and 4 digits triple display

ii

Solar power measurement with Orientation and Tilt angle

ii Easy measurement for rate of daylight penetration iiA u t o change for measuring range ii with disable function

Auto power off

ii 20 points memory ii Socket of tripod mounting ii Magnetic mount

Applications: ii Solar radiation measurements ii Solar power research for location of the solar panels or solar water heater ii Physics and optical laboratories ii Meteorology ii Agriculture ii Windows performance – calculation and verification of the heating or heat reduction caused by direct sunlight 

MECO “SOLAR MODULE ANALYZER (Photovoltaic I-V Curve Tester) Model 9009” The MECO Solar Module Analyzer is a portable analyzer used for testing, maintenance and finding efficiency of various parameters of solar panel and cell. Analyzer can be used to design Solar System to generate specific power. It can identify Solar Power System requirement, best angle of Solar Panel installation and Broken / WornOut cells.

Solar Module Analyzer 9009 can scan solar cells/ panels upto 60V and 12A maximum. The portability of this device means that it is also useful in quality assurance at various stages on the produc-

20 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

tion line and can be taken from one site to another. When used in the installation of solar panels, solar panel analyzer assists in determining the proper inverter size as well as optimum power output position of panels and helps to identify defective cells or panels that have worn out over time.

The solar panel analyzer also provides the user with current and voltage (I-V) test curves, maximum solar power (Pmax) as well as current (Ishort, Imax) and voltage (Vnow, Vopen, Vmax). Solar cell/ panel efficiency (%) is also easily determined using the unit.

Solar Module Analyzer is supplied with user friendly software for Data Storing and Analysis. Users can store data (.CSV/.TAB) that can be read in MS Excel and print Waveform / Graph via printer.

Other features: Max. Solar Panel Power (Pmax) search by Auto-Scan : 60V, 12A, Best Resolution of 1mV1mA, Memory Size 100 Records, Large LCD backlight, Communicate with PC via USB Cable, Manual AC Adaptor & Rechargeable Lithium Battery, I-V Curve with Cursor to Display each Data Point  For Infomation Contact: Mr. Prashant Thakkar Manager-Battery & Solar Product Email Id: prashant.thakkar@ mecoinst.com Mobile No: 09867266639

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Products & Services

Gujarat Borosil Ltd. Score’s Another First

G

ujarat Borosil Ltd. is now one amongst world’s first to introduce a high performance, fully tempered, low iron 2 mm textured Solar Glass suitable for glass PVB foil Glass-toglass glass modules. With this introduction a new generation of frameless photovoltaic modules will take shape.

Highlighting the new initiative by the company, Mr. Pradeep Kheruka, Vice Chairman, commented, "A roof comprising of solar glass panels supported on polymer frame will now become a very competitive option to a regular roof."

Field tests conducted by the company have established that panels made using GBL SolarBurst Glass delivered more than 7.5 % higher field output during a 2-year period as compared to panels made using glass from a top European supplier. The company d e m o n strated that it solar cells is possible to make a high performance glass without using antimony, making GBL’s SolarBurst Glass world's only antimony free solar glass.

GBL's facility at Gujarat is fully accredited with ISO 9001: 2008,

ISO 14001:2004, BS OHSAS 18001:2007. The product is certified to conform all applicable norms.

Processes followed within the company are fully traceable and repeatable.

With a very low sodium content and high hydrolytic resistance, the glass is engineered for long term durability.

In tests conducted by a leading research institute in Berlin, test panels made using GBL's Solar glass have been proved to be the most PID resistant amongst other glasses tested.

Tests conducted by SPF Switzerland establish that at 0.952 efficiency, GBL's Solar glass has achieved the highest efficiency amongst Solar glass tested by them ■

Grundfos launches 'Smart Solarz' for domestic use

G

rundfos Pumps India Private Limited, a leading manufacturer of energy efficient pumps, launched 'Smart Solarz', a solar pump for domestic use. This solarpowered self- p r i m ing pump was conceptualized, designed and manufactured in India.

S m a r t Solarz is a product designed to cater to the specific needs of the Indian consumers.

22 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

'It is lightweight, easy to install and the wet parts of the pump are made of food grade engineered polymers to ensure that it is corrosion free', Grundfos India Managing Director Ranganath N K mentioned at the launch.

The Smart Solarz also has intelligent features like protection against dry run and level controls.

The pump, which has a 150W/24V BLDC motor, was best suited for houses and buildings, which have a ground floor

and maximum of two additional floors, especially in areas where the power supply was poor or not available. It was also ideal for farmhouses, beach houses, rural and semi urban areas and could be used for water pumping from sump to overhead tank and other purposes.

Mr Ranganth said the solar pump was easy to install, lightweight and has low-maintenance features. All this along with the fact that it runs on solar power, makes it an ideal choice for many uses and customers, he added 

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Products & Services

SolarEdge presents its next-generation power optimiser, new large-capacity commercial inverters, and complete residential solution at Intersolar Europe

S

olarEdge presented its new S-Series power optimiser, an Intersolar Award Finalist in the solar PV category. The power optimiser has up to 40% higher power density, is 38% smaller and introduces a new innovative safety feature that extends safety to the connector level. The new safety feature is designed to detect heat abnormalities and initiate shutdown before an arc occurs in order to prevent potential fires. It is expected to become available in 2018.

The company also presented its expanded commercial offering with the launch of larger-capacity, three-phase inverters up to 100kW. The new inverters enable reduced installation time and cost, while also providing smart energy management

control. Meanmaking solar while, the coms y s t e m s pany’s residential smarter, solution manages SolarEdge and monitors continues solar energy gento lead the eration, electricindustry in ity consumption, developing energy storage, innovative and device control technologies enabling homeownthat help to make ers to increase PV more self-consump- SolarEdge New Commercial Inverter economic around the tion and energy world” said independence.

On display where its portfolio of Lior Handelsman, SolarEdge’s inverters for residential installa- VP of Marketing and Product tions including the award-winning, Strategy. single-phase HD-Wave inverter, SolarEdge’s StorEdge inverter is the new three-phase E-Series one of the only solutions currently inverter which is smaller, lighter, available on the market that comquieter, and more efficient bines the management of PV, storthan the previous generaage for both on-grid and backup tion, and a new compact power, and home energy manresidential solution for agement into a single inverter. It 4-8 panels. is already available in select mar“Dedicated to kets ■

Canadian Solar Showcases New High Efficiency Modules during Intersolar Europe 2017 Canadian Solar Inc. one of the world's largest solar power companies, showcased it’s new high efficiency modules, named Ku Modules at the Intersolar Europe from May 31 to June 2 in Munich.

It is the first time that these new module types where showcased in Europe.

output of standard module types.

The Ku Module with its innovative design consists of: KuMax (144 cells), KuPower (120 cells), KuBlack (120 cells) and the corresponding double-glass KuDymond.

The new Ku Modules portfolio is available in both poly- and monocrystalline configurations and exceeds the regular power

The innovative mono-PERC cell technology and the LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology, enables this mono modules to

24 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

KuMax CS3U-MS: High Efficiency Mono-PERC

reach a power range of up to 370 W. Key Features: ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 42 ± 2 °C ii Higher module efficiency up to 18.65 % ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell

 www.supersmartenergy.com

interconnection KuMax CS3U-P: High Efficiency Poly The innovative LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology, enables poly modules to reach a power range of up to 360 W. Key Features ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 43 ± 2 °C ii Higher module efficiency up to 18.15 % ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell interconnection KuPower CS3K-MS: High Efficiency Mono-PERC The innovative mono-PERC cell technology and the LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology, enables this mono modules to reach a power range of up to 310 W. Key Features ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 42 ± 2 °C ii Higher module Jürgen effieciency Geissinger, up to 18.66 % CEO of Senvion ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell interconnection

KuMax

KuPower CS3K-P: High Efficiency Poly The innovative LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology, enables poly modules to reach a power range of up to 300 W. Key Features ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 43 ± 2 °C ii Higher module efficiency up to 18.05 % ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell interconnection KuBlack CS3K-MS: High Efficiency Mono-PERC The innovative mono-PERC cell technology and the LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology, enables All-Black mono modules to reach a power range of up to 305 W. Key Features ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 43 ± 2 °C ii Higher module efficiency up to 18.36 % ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell interconnection KuDymond CS3U-MS-FG: High

KuPower

Efficiency Mono-PERC This high-power double-glass modules with industry leading mono-PERC cell technology and the innovative LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology. The KuDymond mono-PERC modules can reach up to 370 W. Key Features ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 42 ± 2 °C ii Higher module efficiency up to 18.65 % ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell connection KuDymond CS3U-P-FG: High Efficiency Poly This module comes with its innovative LIC (Low Internal Current) module technology, which enables double-glass poly modules to reach a power range of up to 360 W. Key Features ii Higher power output thanks to low NMOT: 43 ± 2 °C ii Higher module efficiency up to 18.15 % ii Increased reliability thanks to lower hot-spot temperature ii Lower BoS cost with 1500 VDC system voltage ii Low power loss in cell interconnection 

KuDymond

25

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Products & Services

Trojan Battery Launches New Solar AGM Line of True Deep-Cycle Batteries

T

rojan Battery Co., LLC, the world's leading manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries, announced the launch of its new line of maintenancefree, true deepcycle absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries specifically designed for solar and other renewable energy applications.

The new Trojan Solar AGM line is manufactured in the U.S. Offering a threeyear warranty for stationary applications, and tested to an eight-year design life under IEC 61427 standard for solar batteries, this initial release includes a wide range of Trojan Solar AGM models. With its non-spillable design, the new Trojan Solar AGM batteries enable installers to customize the use and position of the batteries in customer applications, and are certified for non-hazardous shipping per U.S. DOT/IATA regulations.

"As we continue to see strong customer interest and demand in applications such as residential storage (both off-grid and grid-tied), solar home systems, microgrids, remote telecom, as well as oil/gas, Trojan's new line of true deep-cycle Solar AGM bat-

teries has been designed from the ground up and optimized for these types of solar applications and the need for frequent cycling in harsh environments," said Ganesh Balasubramanian, director of new market development for Trojan Battery.

"Trojan continues to remain the only global battery manufacturer to engineer, and produce only deep-cycle batteries, and now we have leveraged our 90 years of deep-cycle flooded experience into engineering and manufacturing the best cycling AGM battery line batteries for solar applications worldwide."

The new Trojan Solar AGM battery line extends Trojan's robust offering of maintenance-free, deep-cycle batteries specifically designed for renewable energy applications. This battery family joins Trojan's current Smart Carbon(TM) deep-cycle flooded batteries which feature Trojan's proprietary carbon additive that helps reduce the effects of Partial State of Charge (PSOC) or undercharging which is common in renewable energy applications.

Operating at PSOC on a regular basis can quickly diminish the

overall life of a battery, which results in frequent and costly battery replacements.

"With batteries being one of the most expensive components of a battery-based solar system, it is critical to maximize the life of the battery bank to reduce the total cost of ownership of a system," said Michael Grundke, general manager of EMEA for Trojan Battery.

"Trojan's new Solar AGM line illustrates the company's commitment to offering reliable energy storage solutions for a wide range of renewable energy market segments. Trojan continues its focus on being an innovative leader in the energy storage space."

Trojan's Solar battery line incorporates a wide range of advanced technical features including a robust proprietary paste, advanced plate design and premium separators for overall extended lifecycle, and optimized for total cost ownership. In addition, Trojan's new deep-cycle Solar AGM batteries are temperature tolerant, shock and vibration resistant and have a low internal resistance for higher discharge current and higher charging efficiency. These features make it the ideal battery for the harsh and demanding environments of off-grid as well as grid-connected systems with frequent cycling needs ■

NEXTracker announces TrueCapture™, a Revolutionary Intelligent Control System for Solar Power Plants

N

EXTracker™, a Flex company, launched TrueCapture™, a first-of-its-kind intelligent, selfadjusting tracker control system for solar power plants. TrueCap-

26 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

ture's technology continuously refines the tracking algorithm of each individual solar array in response to existing site and weather conditions. Typically

delivering 2-6 percent energy gains, TrueCapture enables system owners and developers to maximize solar system performance and enhance profits for  www.supersmartenergy.com

solar power facilities.

Solar power plants suffer energy production losses from construction variability, terrain undulation and changing weather. TrueCapture is the first tracker solution to simultaneously solve these factors, leveraging forecast-based tracking behavior algorithms for clouds, fog or haze and row-torow (R2R) hybrid closed-loop self-learning that course corrects the panel direction to minimize production loss due to shading and clouds. Wireless self-powered controllers on the tracker sync with the smart panels and the NEXTracker SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system, connected through Flex's IoT platform, a secure, NERC-CIP compliant, industrial-strength connected intelligence platform. From the Flex IoT platform, communi-

cation is continually dispatched to control each independent row.

"TrueCapture is our biggest innovation since we introduced independent row, self-powered tracking," said Dan Shugar, CEO at NEXTracker. "For the first time, advanced machine learning is being applied to unlock the true potential of power plant performance. We are taking a technology that has been around for over two decades and infusing it with intelligence to meet the needs of a new data-driven Backtracking, first introduced in 1991, offered a significant improvement in PV plant energy yield. It was optimized for flat arrays and low diffuse conditions. TrueCapture advances these yield gains by incorporating individual row tracking for real world conditions that have hilly terrain and partly cloudy or fully

diffuse conditions.

With TrueCapture, proprietary smart panel sensors provide realtime shading information on each tracker row. The data is integrated with design parameters and processed by machine-learning software to build a virtual 3D model of the job site. An intelligent control engine combines the model with the latest meteorological forecast data to calculate and send updated and optimized tracking commands to every independent row. As a result, energy production gets a significant boost. With more production, solar power plants are worth more, adding value for project developers and the long-term owners who will typically operate a facility for up to 30 years 

Simpa Networks launches India’s first PAYG solar television using advanced SmartPanel IoT technology Simpa Networks, a leader in providing affordable solar power to households and businesses in rural India, today announced the launch of Magic TV, the country’s first solar-powered Pay-as-you-Go (PAYG) satellite TV solution.

energy-poor rural households that Simpa aims to serve. Simpa therefore offers point-of-sale financing options to the customer, allowing them to purchase the system over time on either 12, 24 or 36 month financing.

Simpa Magic TV includes 100+ free-to-air satellite TV channels, providing hours of entertainment, news, educational content and more. The system includes a 20” energy-efficient LED television, a powerful battery, advanced solar charge controller and three bright LED lights for multi-room lighting.

The entire system is powered with an 80W panel, properly installed and mounted on the customer’s roof by a Simpa trained rural solar technician.

Simpa is pioneering the use of SmartPanel technology, which enables remote monitoring and control of the solar panel itself.

Customers prepay for energy service, typically 30 days in advance.

The SmartPanel delivers power every day until the prepaid credits expire. Then the customer must recharge or prepay for the next month’s service.

Purchased new, the home lighting and satellite TV system retails for INR 25,000 (USD 390). Ordinarily, such technology and benefits would be unaffordable for the

Our strategy is completely aligned with the Government of India's priorities for 24/7 power for all”, said Piyush Mathur, Simpa Network CEO. “Rooftop solar has a role to play in both off-grid and ongrid areas. In many cases it's the fastest and least expensive way to get power into the homes and businesses in rural areas. Having demonstrated the commercial sustainability of the model, we now plan to take Magic TV and our other offerings to districts across UP, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam” 

“We see a tremendous opportunity in rural areas where demand for energy is growing even faster than supply.

27

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

In Conversation

 Donald Leo

Managing Director, Asia South, JinkoSolar

"JinkoSolar will play a major role in India to fuel the solar growth by introducing the best-in-class new products and offering prompt service" JinkoSolar, the world’s no. 1 PV module company with 6.65 GW global shipment is doing it's bit to save the environment by aiding in reduction of global carbon footprint and combating climate change.

Donald Leo, Managing Director, Asia South, JinkoSolar shares his views in a freewheeling interview with Smart Energy Magazine.

28 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

Q

.JinkoSolar is the global leader in the solar industry. Jinko Solar has worldwide network and engages towards a green energy and green infrastructure. How has been you experience with India?

India has always been a very strategic region in Jinko global strategy. We have achieved a lot in the past years and in January 2017 alone, we have become one of the top 3 module suppliers in India. Fulfilling India’s energy needs is central to the nation achiev“India is well positioned to ing its lofty develfulfil its solar targets with opment ambitions. yearly targets assigned to the states” JinkoSolar has a whole team dedicated to the Indian  www.supersmartenergy.com

market, located in Aerocity, Delhi, JinkoSolar India has a local team in sales, marketing, legal, technical and human resource, providing clients on-time sales and technical support. Considering high temperature and humid environment in India, JinkoSolar offers its Eagle Series to the market. Eagle Series are the first to pass Anti-PID test under 850C/85% relative humidity, ensuring maximum power output and ROI for investors.

by serious policy framework that factors in all potential barriers in the sector.

Q

Q

.India currently has one of the largest renewables expansion programmes in the world, aiming as it does to install 175 GW of capacity by 2022 -- over thrice the current capacity of 50 GW -- in line with its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). Do you think it is achievable?

2017 is going to be a significant year for country’s solar market with a strong pipeline of approximately 14 GW of utility scale projects underway. Out of this, 7.7 GW of capacity is expected to be commissioned this year. Combined with 1.1 GW of expected rooftop solar deployment, India will add a total of 8.8 GW in 2017, securing position in the world’s top three solar markets after China and the USA. India is well positioned to fulfil its solar targets with yearly targets assigned to the states. However, this would have to be supported

“JinkoSolar is confident about the quality of its products, reliability of the brand and durability of its 25-year energy yield”

.Will JinkoSolar be ready to contribute and assist in achieving this scale? If yes, then how?

JinkoSolar will certainly play a major role in India to fuel the solar growth, by working closely with our key customers and partners by introducing the best-in-class new products and offering prompt service to meet market needs.

JinkoSolar is confident about the quality of its products, reliability of the brand and durability of its 25-year energy yield. Power plants are expected to work for at least 25 years no matter where and under what conditions it sits and what challenge it will meet over the next quarter of a century, therefore it must live up to the highest quality standards. This is why JinkoSolar maintains one of the highest industrial standards for design, performance and workmanship of its solar prod-

ucts to secure a reliable energy supply of the PV system for well over 25 years.

Q

.Please elaborate your future plans for India?

What about JinkoSolar’s contribution in ‘Make in India’?

JinkoSolar shipped around 20% of its modules to APAC region in 2016, as the company does not

“JinkoSolar maintains one of the highest industrial standards for design, performance and workmanship of its solar products”

disclose shipment numbers for each country. However in 2017, JinkoSolar plans to ship around 1 GW modules to India.

For “Make in India” initiative, we already have 6 factories globally to meet the strong demand for quality modules in India but are open and optimistic to engage manufacturing discussion with its partners / customers 

29

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

In Focus

SolarModule LED-flasher

T

oday LED based solar simulators are increasingly available in the marked as an alternative to the standard Xenon flashers. LED based solar simulators offer crucial benefits compared to the conventional solution

high efficient solar modules significant measurement difficulties occur.

saving compared to the costs occurring for a Xenon flashers product lifetime.

LED solar simulators are Another advantage of the LED addressing the disadvantages of technology is the smart form the Xenon technology. With an factor. LED flashers are usually LED Flasher a long flash dura- built up as compact table flasher. tion can easily be realized and The integration into the producthe LEDs are tion line is much simpler than designed for before: for the measurement several mil- the modules can remain in their lion flashes. normal orientation (sunny side U n d e r down) without the need to turn n o r m a l the module to a vertical or sunny operational side up orientation normally c o n d i t i o n s required for a tower or tunnel an exchange flasher. of LEDs is not An additional advantage of the necessary LED technology is that the single anymore. In LED or the groups of LEDs can lab tests up be controlled very precisely. This to 10 milInside view of the LED sun simulator control allows a nearly steady lion flashes luminosity over the entire flash with conduration. The stability of the light of the Xenon technology. stant electrical current were carsource is beneficial for the measried out to prove it. At the end of A well-known disadvantage of urement repeatability. In tests an the tests the degradation of the the Xenon technology is the relaup to 5 times better repeatability LEDs was less than 0.5% of the tively short life time of the Xenon was achieved compared to Xenon initial value. This yields to a stable lamps. They are continuously luminosity and aging and must be exchanged spectrum over after only a few months. The the whole prodresulting spare part costs, the uct lifetime. 10 personnel expenditure and higher million flashes operating expenses caused by the correspond to down times lead to considerable a life span of maintenance costs of the systems.

10 years with Another disadvantage of Xenon a cycle time of lamps is the relatively short flash approx. 30s. duration. Due to the capacitive The result is an spectral division IEC60904-9 edition 3 effects of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s widely available immense costs

30â&#x20AC;&#x201A;SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

ď&#x192;&#x153; www.supersmartenergy.com

solar simulators.

New demands from customers and new module designs provide new challenges to the manufacturers of LED flashers. With the still valid standard for sun simulators IEC 60904-9 edition 2 it was possible to achieve the classification AAA with only 5 different types of LEDs. The new standard IEC 60904-9 edition 3 has a revised partitioning of the spectral areas. To cover the revised spectrum at least 7 different types of LEDs are necessary.

1000 W/m² from the sunny side and in a second step with 100-300 W/m² from the back. Next to that, it is also possible to combine the measurement and measure the total power with one flash with predefined settings for each of the two light source (the one for the sunny side and the one for the back side).

The second generation triple A+ LED solar simulator from MBJ is prepared for the new standard edition 3. It already includes the increased requirements for the spectral distribution and the option for an enlarged spectrum below 400 nm and above 1000 nm in the new design 

Besides the new standard many customers demand that the new solar simulators additionally emits light in the spectral region below 400 nm (UV) and in the region above 1000 nm (IR).

LEDs with the mentioned wavelength are particularly expensive which leads to considerably higher manufacturing costs for these solar simulators. Nevertheless, with the long live time of LEDs and the resulting low maintenance costs this will easily counter balance the initial system costs.

For the new bifacial modules the LED technology offers new possibilities.

A bifacial module can be measured by simply putting one additional LED unit above the module. Following the requirements for bifacial modules, the module can be measured first with

MBJ Solutions GmbH, Neuer Holtigbaum 15, D-22143 Hamburg/ www.mbj-solutions.com Four-C-Tron No. 3486, 1st Floor, 14th Main HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar Bangalore - 560 008. Karnataka, India Contact : +91-80-2525 2506 / +91 9844104660

31

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Face 2 Face

 SANJAY R N

Managing Director, Dhanush Energy Limited

"We intend on being a world-class solar solutions provider in India and in the global market"

Q

.To begin with introduce our readers to Dhanush Energy Limited and Anushree Greentech India Pvt. Ltd.? The markets these companies cater to and the different products and solutions you offer?

Dhanush & Anushree are on the forefront of the rapidly expanding field of renewable sector. The global companies with resources and professionals that can handle all aspects of client’s organization’s power needs, perform as a strong, consistent, multi-faceted organizations aiming to achieve international standards and marks a presence in the SOLAR ENERGY MANUFACTURING, EPC, URBAN INFRA, CHEMICALS & MEDIA. Our Renewable Energy Program

32 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

provides the capability and experience to adapt to changing power generation needs by providing comprehensive services to the power industry in all aspects of Solar PV, Thermal & Wind.

Excellence and exuberance come together in all our projects to deliver with a difference.

The strong, customer-focused approach and the continuous quest for world-class quality have enabled it to attain and sustain leadership in all its major lines of business.

We believe that the progress must be achieved in harmony with the environment. A commitment to community welfare and environmental protection are an inte-

gral part of the corporate vision.

Change in today’s power industry is motivated by rapidly increasing power demand, growing public resistance to conventional power sources and fuel price instability.

This change has spawned a wave of state-mandated requirements such as renewable energy portfolio standards and carbon emission caps.

Our development team takes a project from conception to commissioning and offers complete inhouse system design, engineering, construction, financing and turnkey project development. Our mission is to make solar mainstream.

We are committed to building a scalable and sustainable business

»

 www.supersmartenergy.com

For Complete Solar Solutions

CONTACT

33

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Face 2 Face model that values the contributions of each of our employees while remaining good stewards of the world in which we live.

We are specialized in cutting-edge research, development & production of solar products and is committed to technological innovation in our products & solutions. Combining cutting-edge technology and the top talent of the Solar industry, We bring high quality products and superior service to customers around the world.

With a presence in both developed and emerging global markets, we are able to meet our customers’ needs with fast, localized, and customized services with the ultramodern technologies and most efficient range of solar powering devices.

Q

.With a wide range of products and solutions on offer, which are the products and solutions that are contributing the most to the overall growth?

We have emerged as a globally renowned manufacturer, exporter and supplier of solar products and solar equipment such as Solar cooking, Solar Water Heating, Solar Inverter, Solar Fencing, Solar Lighting, Solar Traffic Lighting, Solar Photovoltaic Module, Solar Lantern, Solar Power Pack, Solar Street Light, Solar Pool Heating, Solar Pump, Solar power plant, solar air conditioners, dc solar rechargeable fan, solar wind hybrid system, solar garden lights, solar lanterns, torch lights, mobile solar chargers, solar charger controllers and Solar gadgets.

Q

.With the government’s focus on clean and green energy, what are the opportunities, for growth, that you are looking at? What steps you have initiated to make the most of these opportunities?

The government of India is promoting the use of solar energy through various strategies. The solar industry’s structure will rap-

34 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

INSPIRING, INFLUENTIAL & MOTIVATING ANITHA S N, Managing Director Anushree Greentech India Private Limited

idly evolve as solar reaches grid parity with conventional power between 2016 and 2018. Solar will be seen more as a viable energy source, not just as an alternative to other renewable sources but also to a significant proportion of conventional grid power. The testing and refinement of off-grid and rooftop solar models in the seed phase will help lead to the explosive growth of this segment in the growth phase. While some players have already begun preparing, most have yet to place a bet on solar, given the uncertainties within the sector. Success in solar energy will require a longterm commitment and a sound understanding of local dynamics.

Q

.Shed some light on the manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru? How do you ensure product quality and after sales service?

Our production Unit located in Bangalore North, is equipped with the most modern plant and machineries procured from around the world, specially designed to meet the customer’s specifications as per the national and international standards. The manufacturing process is supervised and maintain by most well trained and experienced engineers of the industry to obtain the best quality products as per the set of industry standards. All required

testing equipment’s are available in house to keep the quality standards as per the set industrial norms and specifications.

Q

.With the overall thrust from the government, increasing awareness and falling costs, do you feel that rooftop solar is finally growing at the desired pace? What are the challenges and what needs to be done to overcome them?

However, the solar story has some grey areas. The impact of GST will lead to marginal increase in project costs. It is unclear whether the bids and contracts have taken this into account. Land could account for a major share of costs, unless rooftop solar (which accounts for just 1-GW capacity) gathers momentum. The state utilities should facilitate open access to large consumers, as stipulated under the Electricity Act, so that society benefits from the falling trend in power prices. But finally, India has most to gain from decentralised rooftop solar and medium-scale plants to meet rural demands. This can resolve last-mile electricity access issues and usher in numerous socioeconomic benefits.

Q

.How do you access the market for solar-wind

 www.supersmartenergy.com

»

35

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Face 2 Face hybrid technology in India?

The energy generated from solar and wind is much less than the production by fossil fuels, however, electricity generation by utilizing PV cells and wind turbine increased rapidly in recent years.

The Solar-Wind Hybrid Power system harnesses the renewable energies in Sun and Wind to generate electricity. System control relies mainly on micro controller.

It ensures the optimum utilization of resources and hence improve the efficiency as compared with their individual mode of generation. Also, it increases the reliability and reduces the dependence on one single source. This hybrid solar-wind power generating system is suitable for industries and domestic areas.

Q

.Shed some light on the opportunities for solar thermal applications in process industries? Update us on the solar thermal projects that you have undertaken?

CSP has advantages compared to photovoltaic as it can readily incorporate thermal energy storage and/or hybridization to provide dispatchable power. The use of relatively 'low tech' manufacturing methods for solar collector fields, together with the use of available steam turbine technologies, makes the prospect of CSP capacity quite feasible to get rapidly scaled up.

The temperature requirements of solar industrial process heat applications range from 60 °C to 260 °C. The characteristics of medium to medium-high temperature solar collectors are given and an overview of efficiency and cost of existing technologies is presented.

Based on TRNSYS simulations, an estimation of the system efficiency of solar process heat plants operating in the Mediterranean climate are given for the different collector technologies. The annual energy gains of such systems are from 550 to 1100 kWh/m2a. The resulting energy costs obtained for solar

36 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

heat are from 0.015 to 0.028 C£/ kWh depending on the collector type applied. The viabilities of the systems depend on their initial cost and the fuel price. None of these costs however is stable but change continuously depending on international market trends and oil production rates. The costs will turn out to be more favourable when the solar collectors become cheaper and subsidisation of fuel is removed.

Q

.What sets apart the products and solutions that you offer from those offered by others? How do you keep ahead of your competitors?

A competition can be a healthy thing. It can also be both costly and disastrous if you aren’t up to par with others in your business or industry. How you handle competition can be a direct link to the success or the failure of your company. You can, however, significantly increase your chances of coming out on top by creating a competitive edge.

Remember, winning companies aren’t successful by accident. Most have sized up their target markets and zeroed in on a unique approach to meet their customers’ needs, values and expectations.

They have somehow found a fresh spin, a new way to offer buying incentives that similar companies either can’t or don’t offer. Once you have developed a competitive edge, maintaining it will be a daily challenge. It will require you to consider your crystal ball and attempt to forecast where the trends and changes in your industry will come from, and what your company can do to stay ahead of the game. It will demand that you continuously track your competitors and their future. You will also need to recognize that through the course of time your customers’ needs may change due to a variety of circumstances. Your company must be flexible and willing to change as well.

Local design and engineering will

play a major role in India’s solar market. Inverter and balance-ofsystem designs that incorporate local requirements and eliminate unnecessary elements that are geared more toward global markets can generate significant benefits. Eventually, global players will see the benefits of manufacturing locally and specifically for the Indian market. Competition from local players could further drive down systems costs.

In competition with traditional technologies, the quality of the components and systems of renewable energy are key reasons for its success. Long-term success will only be assured through technological progress, and for this reason, we place innovation and sustainability at the very core of our work.

Q

.How do you see Dhanush Energy and Anushree Genentech India contributing to the growth of solar in India?

Where do you see the companies 2 to 5 years from now?

Anushree Greetech India Pvt ltd and Dhanush Energy limited are always devoted to promotion of the conversion efficiency of products, continuously enhancing the R & D of new technologies, improving the manufacturing techniques, and wholeheartedly provide solar photovoltaic and thermal products with high quality, high reliability and high cost performance for customers by virtue of the stateof-the-art technical advantages and the excellent manufacturing level, actively driving early realization of grid parity of photovoltaic power generation.

We envision our role as the nation’s largest Design, Manufacture and Installation companies for solar power systems, including off-grid and grid-connected plants.

We intend on being a true global leader in manufacturing and have plans for entire value chain security in order to be a world-class solar solutions provider in India and in the global market   www.supersmartenergy.com

37

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Market & Trends

ts e k r a M

T

he year 2016 saw several developments and ongoing trends that all have a bearing on renewable energy, including the continuation of comparatively low global fossil fuel prices; dramatic price declines of several renewable energy technologies; and a continued increase in attention to energy storage. Through this article we will take stock of the status of the solar PV in different geographies and analyse the current and future Industry trends.

Markets: During 2016, at least 75 GW of solar PV capacity was added worldwide – equivalent to the installation of more than 31,000 solar panels every hour. More solar PV capacity was installed in 2016 (up 48% over 2015) than the cumulative world capacity five years earlier. By year’s end, global solar PV capacity totalled at least 303 GW. For the fourth consecutive year, Asia eclipsed all other markets, accounting for about two-thirds of global additions. The top five markets – China, United States, Japan, India and the United Kingdom – accounted for about 85% of additions; others in the top 10 for additions were Germany, the Republic of Korea, Australia, the

38 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

ds n e r T ry t s u d n and I

Philippines and Chile. For cumulative capacity, the top countries were China, Japan (which passed Germany) and the United States, with Italy a distant fifth. While China continued to dominate both the use and manufacturing of solar PV, emerging markets on all continents have begun to contribute significantly to global growth. By end-2016, every continent had installed at least 1 GW, at least 24 countries had 1 GW or more of capacity, and at least 114 countries had more than 10 MW. The leaders for solar PV capacity per inhabitant were Germany, Japan, Italy, Belgium and Australia.

Market expansion was due largely to the increasing competitiveness of solar PV, as well as to rising demand for electricity and improving awareness of solar PV’s potential as countries seek to alleviate pollution and reduce CO2 emissions. In many emerging markets solar PV now is considered

a cost competitive source for increasing electricity production and for providing energy access. Nevertheless, markets in most locations continue to be driven largely by government incentives or regulations.

China: In 2016, China added 34.5 GW (up 126% over 2015), increasing its total solar PV capacity 45% to 77.4 GW, far more than that of any other country. The record increase came despite a downwards adjustment in China’s target for 2020, made in response to a slowdown in the growth of electricity demand. A rush of installations (an estimated 20 GW) came online in advance of a mid-year cut-off date for approved projects to receive the 2015 FIT rate.

Following a brief dip, the market picked up again and continued strongly into 2017, in anticipation of the next cut-off deadline.

The rapid increase in solar PV capacity in China, up 11-fold since the end of 2012, has caused grid congestion problems and interconnection delays. Curtailment started to become a serious challenge in 2015, and problems

During 2016, at least 75 GW of solar PV capacity was added worldwide – equivalent to the installation of more than 31,000 SOLAR PANELS EVERY HOUR.

 www.supersmartenergy.com

increased during 2016 due to inadequate transmission. To address challenges related to curtailment, in 2016 China set minimum guaranteed utilisation hours (purchase requirements) for solar (and wind) power plants in affected areas and continued to build several ultrahigh-voltage transmission lines to connect north-western provinces with coastal areas. Against these challenges, solar PV generated 66.2 TWh of electricity during the year (up 69% over 2015), equivalent to 1% of China’s annual generation.

The success of distributed solar PV and falling costs have led some US utilities to establish their own solar programmes and others to fight for revisions or elimination of supportive policies. Net metering, which has driven most US customer-sited solar PV capacity, continued to be at the centre of regulatory disputes in several states during 2016.

Japan: Japan’s market was the world’s third largest in 2016 despite contracting 20% after the 2015 boom - and was enough to propel the country past Germany to rank second for cumulative solar PV capacity. An estimated 8.6 GW was installed, bringing the country’s total to 42.8 GW. Japan’s

»

US: The United States was a distant second after China for new installations in 2016. For the first time, solar PV represented the country’s leading source of new generating capacity.

More than 14.8 GW of capacity - almost double the installations in 2015 - was brought online, for a total of 40.9 GW. Although all US sectors expanded, growth occurred primarily in the utility segment. A record 10.6 GW of large-scale capacity came into operation, with a further 17.8 GW in the pipeline at year’s end.

The US commercial and industrial market increased 49%, while the residential sector experienced slower expansion (up 19%), after record growth in recent years, in part because some major markets are approaching saturation among early adopters.

39

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Market & Trends Solar PV Global Capacity and Annual Additions, 2006-2016 350 World Total

300

303 GW

Previous year’s capacity

228

Annual additions

250

177

200 137

150

99 70

100 50 6

+1.4

8

+2.5

16

+6.6

23 +8.0

40

+75

+51

+40

+38

+29

+30

+17

0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Source: IEA PVPS

slowdown was the result of several factors, including declining FIT payments as prices fall, ongoing land shortages and difficulties securing grid connections.

India: The third largest market in Asia was India, which ranked fourth globally for additions and seventh for total capacity. India added about 4.1 GW (up from 2 GW in 2015) for a total approaching 9.1 GW. Tamil Nadu (with nearly 1.6 GW) overtook Rajasthan (1.3 GW), followed by Gujarat (1.1 GW) and Andhra Pradesh (1 GW) for cumulative capacity. Much of Tamil Nadu’s annual market was due to the commissioning of one 648 MW facility.

Demand for large-scale solar projects in India has been driven by rapidly falling prices combined with strong policy support in several states and at the national level since 2014.

India’s rooftop solar market has

40 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

expanded significantly in recent years but accounted for only about 10% of the country's total solar PV capacity at the end of 2016.

Financial, regulatory and logistical challenges have hindered growth, and India remains a long way from its rooftop target of 40 GW by 2022. But the most immediate challenges for India’s solar sector are congestion in the grid and curtailment. To help address these challenges, by year’s end India was constructing eight “green energy corridors”: transmission lines to carry power from solar-rich states to high demand regions.

While demand is expanding rapidly for off-grid solar PV, the capacity of grid-connected systems is rising more quickly and continues to account for the vast majority of solar PV installations worldwide. Decentralised (residential, commercial and industrial rooftop systems) grid-connected applications have

struggled to maintain a roughly stable global market (in terms of capacity added annually) since 2011, particularly with the transition from FITs and net metering to self-consumption. Centralised large scale projects, by contrast, have comprised a rising share of annual installations - particularly in emerging markets - despite grid connection challenges, and now represent the majority of annual installations. The drivers include increased use of tenders and availability of low-cost capital. By one estimate, the average solar (mostly PV) project size in early 2016 ranged from 3 MW in Europe and 11 MW in North America, to 45 MW in Africa and 64 MW in South America.

Solar PV plays a substantial role in electricity generation in several countries. In 2016, solar PV accounted for 9.8% of net generation in Honduras and met 7.3% of electricity demand in Italy, 7.2% in Greece and 6.4% in Germany.

At least 17 countries (including Australia, Chile, Honduras, Israel, Japan and several in Europe) had enough solar PV capacity at end2016 to meet 2% or more of their electricity demand. At the end of 2016 there was enough solar PV capacity in operation to produce close to 375 TWh of electricity per year.

SOLAR PV INDUSTRY Despite tremendous demand growth in 2016, the year brought unprecedented price reductions for modules, inverters and structural balance of systems. Due to even greater increases in production capacity, as well as to lower market expectations (particularly in China) for 2017, module prices plummeted. Average module prices fell by an estimated 29%, to USD 0.41 per watt (W) between the fourth quarter of 2015 and a year later, dropping to historic lows.

Downwards pressure on prices has challenged manufacturers, whose costs have not declined as

»

 www.supersmartenergy.com

41

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Market & Trends

quickly and who are seeing small, if any, margins. By contrast, 2016 was a good year for developers.

Lower capital expenditures and improvements in equipment efficiency and capacity factors are helping to drive down costs; the cost of solar generation fell faster during the year than experts had expected, and continued downwards in early 2017. Subsequently, solar PV is increasingly cost competitive with traditional power sources, with large-scale solar PV outcompeting even new fossil fuel projects in some markets, especially in regions with low-cost financing. However, challenges remain, with solar PV still vulnerable to policy changes or measures to protect fossil fuels in some countries.

Countries around the world increasingly have been using tenders to raise their solar generating capacity, and new record low bids were set again in 2016, with bidding in some markets below USD 0.03 per kWh. Low bids were due at least in part to expectations that technology costs would continue

42 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

to fall, as well as to relatively low weighted average cost of capital and expected low operating costs in some locations. The cost of financing plays a major role in determining project costs, and depends heavily on operational and regulatory risk. Yet low bids have spurred questions about whether the cheapest projects will be profitable, or even built.

There also is concern that low prices threaten product quality.

Manufacturing Scenario: China dominated global shipments in 2016, for the eighth year running. Asia accounted for 90% (and China 65%) of global module production; Europe’s share continued to fall, to about 5% in 2016; and the US share remained at 2%.

The top 10 module manufacturers accounted for about 50% of shipments during the year, and the vast majority of manufacturing is China-based, with overseas plants in South-Eastern Asia. They included JinkoSolar in the top spot, followed by Trina Solar and JA Solar (all China), as well as Cana-

dian Solar (Canada) and Hanwha Q Cells (Republic of Korea); GCL (China), First Solar (United States), Yingli Green, Talesun and Risen (all China) rounded out the top 10.

Global production of crystalline silicon cells and modules rose significantly in 2016. Preliminary estimates of 2016 production capacity exceeded 80 GW for cells (up 29% year-over-year) and 83 GW for modules (up 33% year-over-year).

Thin film production increased by an estimated 11%, accounting for 6% of total global PV production (down from 8% in 2015).

Consolidation continued as downwards pressure on prices and slim margins made 2016 a challenging year for even the most competitive producers, and led manufacturers in and outside of China to lay off workers and some companies to fail. The highestprofile insolvency case was that of US-based project developer SunEdison which, after rapid growth and substantial debt accumulation, filed for bankruptcy protection in April and liquidated assets

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Solar PV Global Capacity Additions, Shares of Top 10 Countries and Rest of World, 2016

China

46%

the number of busbars to reduce internal electrical resistance, as well as reducing barren spaces on modules to enhance light trapping. Perovskites achieved further improvements in efficiency and stabilisation through ongoing R&D, and Oxford PV purchased a former Bosch Solar facility to ramp up production of its perovskite technology.

Japan

11.5% India

5.5% Next 6 Countries

9% US

20% throughout 2016.

Mergers and acquisitions, as well as new partnerships, continued as companies aimed to capture value in project development or to move into new markets.

For example, solar PV inverter specialist Ingeteam purchased Bonfiglioli’s solar PV business to strengthen its position internationally for sales and for operation and maintenance (O&M).

Falling prices and expanding markets for solar PV lured new players like Foxconn to the industry. Four of the world’s top wind turbine companies - GE, Gamesa, Goldwind a n d Min-

UK Germany Korea Australia Philippines Chile

2.7% 2.0% 1.1% 1.1% 1.0% 1.0%

Rest of World

8%

gyang - entered the solar industry.

Fossil fuel producers like Bangchak Petroleum moved further into solar energy in 2016. Banks, pension funds and mutual funds also are investing in large-scale solar PV projects and partnering with solar companies, providing new pools of funding.

Conclusion: Innovations and advances continued during the year in manufacturing, product efficiency and performance, installation and O&M. SolarWorld (Germany) and REC Solar (Norway) were among the big players that upgraded production lines to Passivated Emitter Rear Cell (PERC) technology, a trend that continued into 2017. Module manufacturers continued increasing

Efficiency gains from such advances have reduced the number of modules required for a given capacity, lowering soft costs.

Labour and other soft costs of large-scale projects also are falling thanks to customised design testing, pre-assembly of systems and advances in racking. The industry is also witnessing increased interest in hybrid projects that locally integrate solar PV with other renewables and energy storage technologies, an innovation that can strengthen a plant’s generation profile and enable sharing of resources for construction and maintenance.

As component and installation costs fall and as markets mature, attention is focused increasingly on O&M. However, O&M costs have fallen rapidly in some countries due to clustering of projects and economies of scale, improved performance and reliability of inverters, evolution in plant and tracker designs, and robotic cleaning systems. Inverters also are becoming more sophisticated and making a growing contribution to grid management and manufacturers are working to improve long-term reliability and systemprediction methods. The key area of focus for the industry now is advancing both materials and selfregulating technologies in order to build higher voltage central inverters and thereby reduce balance of systems costs and the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), as well as improving performance and software to reduce O&M costs 

43

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Cover Story

G G S ST T IMPACT ON

RE SECTOR

GST

Short Term Pain, But Long Term Gain

44 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

G S T

GST

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Along with the euphoria on the launch of GST came uncertainty and confusion. Uncertainty about the impact of GST on the sector and confusion on how to avail concessional rate of 5% on components, like transformers, that are taxed at a higher rate for use in other industry. Through this Cover Story writer Sneha Shah delves deep into the finer print of the new tax regime and analyze its impact on the sector. This is the writers attempt to make GST- Good and simple for the solar and renewable energy sector.

G

oods and Services Tax or GST was implemented in India on July 1st, to replace multiple central and state taxes and to bring a better uniformity in the overall indirect tax structure.

Its intention is to smoothen the way business is done in India. The implementation of GST intends to improve the competitiveness of Indian goods and services in the international market and increase exports.

Implemented from the 1st of July, GST is said to be the biggest tax reform in the history of independence India and has taken almost 18 years to be passed after it was first proposed in 1999 by the Vajpayee government. The new law is expected to help the overall economic growth as it will sharply reduce transaction costs while dramatically increasing tax compliance. A non-profit organization Good and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has been formed where returns and payments have to be filed. The complete movement of all tax related information and payments will considerably increase the government’s ability to crack down on tax evasion.

The people of India are trying to adjust to the new scenario with challenges in compliance and implementation, but hope for more clarity with the passage of time.

Rate of GST on for Renewable Energy GST has been imposed uniformly on most goods and services barring a few that are exempted. The

rate of tax also varies in between four tax slabs - 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

It is therefore natural that the booming renewable energy sector in India also comes under the scope of GST. However, to maintain the attractiveness of the sector and to encourage further installations, the government has wisely put the solar and wind sectors in the 5% tax bracket. This is a sensible move as renewable energy needs to be actively promoted by the government in order to meet its climate change commitments under the Paris agreement. Besides helping fight pollution, renewable energy also has a key role in reducing massive fossil fuel imports and improving India’s overall energy security situation.

Taxes on consumption or sale of electricity are exempt from GST. Hence, electricity generated from renewable energy sources would continue to be taxed by the respective State government.

However, taxes on various capital goods and input services (capital cost and operation & mainte-

nance costs) used for generation of renewable energy will fall under the GST regime. GST paid on the input side (eg. on procurements) would form part of the cost which cannot be offset against electricity duty.

Most other renewable projects and equipment including wind mills, waste to energy plants, tidal energy plants and bio-gas plants and even solar power based devices or generating systems have been classified under the 5% rate bracket.

Renewable energy developers had earlier expected total exemption from GST, but given the falling tariffs and improving dynamics of the sector, the government expects the sector to be self-sustainable on its own very soon. Hence it chose the lowest tax bracket for various solar and wind components such as: ii Solar water heater and system ii Renewable energy devices & spare parts for their manufacture

»

Based on the exercise undertaken by the ministry the impact on various type of RE projects is given below Source of renewable energy

% range of increase Levelised Tariff/ cost of setting up & operations

Solar PV - Grid

12% - 16%

Solar - off Grid

16% - 20%

Wind energy projects

11% - 15%

wind solar hybrid projects

11% - 17%

Bio Mass projects

11% - 14%

Bio Mass gasifier projects

11% - 14%

small Hydro projects

01% 01 - 11%

45

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Cover Story GST RATE SCHEDULE FOR GOODS

( As per GST Council Meeting held on 18th May, 2017)

Sr. Chapter No

Nil

84 1. Handloom (Nuclear] reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof)

5%

12%

18%

28%

1. Hand Pumps and parts thereof [8413, 841490] 2. Solar water heater and system [841919] 3. Renewable enerrgy devices & sapare parts for their manufacture

1. Nuclear fuel elements [8401] 2. Power driven pumps primarily designed for handling water, namely, centrifugal pumps, deep tube-well turbine pumps, submersible pumps, axial flow and mixed flow vertical pumps [8413] 3. Bicycle pumps, hand pumps etc [8414 20 10, 8414 20 20 or 8414 90 12] 4. milking machines and dairy machinery [8434] 5. Sewing machines [8452]

All goods not specified elswhere 1. Nuclear reactor; fuel elements (cartridges) non- i rradiated, for nuclear reactors; machinery and apparatus for isotopic seperation [8401] 2. Steam or other vapour generating boilers; super-heated water boilers [8402] 3. central heating boilers other than those of heading [8402(8403)]

1. Spark-ignition reciprocating or rotary internal combustion piston engines [8407] 2. Compressionignition internal combustion piston engines [8408] 3. Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the engines of heading 8407 or 8408 [8409] 4. Pumps for dispensing fuel or lubricants of the type used in filling stations or garages under 8413 11, Fuel, lubricating or cooling medium pumps

a) Bio-gas plant b) Solar power based devices c) Solar power generating system d) Wind mills and wind operated electricity generator

ii Solar power based devices ii Solar power generating system ii Solar lantern/solar lamp ii Wind mills and wind operated electricity generator However, for very small installations in the residential sector of 100 kW in size, solar inverters will attract 28% GST. Similarly, services provided by wind equipment manufacturers (engineering services) to set up projects for developers will fall in the 18% tax bracket (up from 12% earlier).

Also, solar projects involving civil and works contracts will be taxed at 18%.

Impact of the new GST law Renewable energy is a sector which has so far been benefiting from numerous tax exemptions.

Earlier solar components includ-

46 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

ing solar modules were subject to concessions on value added tax (5% VAT which was ultimately waived off in many states) and exemptions from excise duties in most states. The new tax regime imposes a 5% GST on solar components.

Wind and solar equipment were subject to a VAT of 5% and service tax on erection and construction services was 15%. After the implementation of GST, equipment

“The reform will have a positive impact in cash

would attract a 5% GST, whereas services would be subject to 18%.

As a result, capital costs and tariffs of various renewable energy projects are expected to increase.

However, Mr. Piyush Goyal has reassured that a smooth transition process will be followed which will grant additional savings for the developers.

{

In contrast to solar and wind going up from 0 to 5%, the taxes on coal have come down from

flow due to change in rate of taxes. Credit of Input taxes is now available against supply of solar

goods- this would improve cash flows and EBITDA”

Kunwer Sachdev Managing Director, Su-Kam

 www.supersmartenergy.com

11.69% to 5%. The government’s intention to put coal at par with solar proves that the country is moving towards grid parity.

Who will bear the Additional Cost The companies would need to revisit their procurement strategies to minimize the loss of tax credits. It is expected that any increase in cost would be passed through to the buyer. A buyer can claim input credit of GST, once the same tax has been paid by the supplier. But given the complexities of power purchase agreements, DISCOMs will be reluctant to hike tariffs given that auctions are already happening at recordlow levels and many states are facing a situation of power surplus. As a result of imposition of GST, tariffs will increase but this will vary from state to state. For example, solar equipment was earlier exempt from VAT an entry tax in Rajasthan and Haryana, but would be taxable now.

Solar bids have reached levels as low as INR 2.44 per unit while wind power is at INR 3.46 per unit, but this has resulted in single-digit returns. A higher cost as a result of GST may further erode margins in the short term. However, falling input costs are expected to neutralize the effect of GST on prices over the long term.

Missing Clarity

GST RATES Solar Panel Solar Power Pack Solar water heater Solar street light Solar pump Solar Inverter Solar PCU Solar Structure Solar wires Solar Cells Solar Batteries Solar I&C

5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 18% 18% 18% 18/28% 28%

There are many other small components required in a solar and wind power plant installation which have not separately been identified by the Indian government for the levy of GST. The clarity is still missing for the renewable energy sector.

According to a tweet by the Revenue Secretary, Dr Hasmukh Adhia, all solar equipment and its parts would attract 5% GST only.

Though GST will be applied to solar modules at a concessional rate of 5%, operational clarity for other capital goods used in solar projects is still lacking.

There is confusion in regards to the taxability of goods because many of the same components that go into a renewable energy project like cables, meters and the steel structures are taxed at higher rates (classified under the

{

“As far as GST is concerned, it

would not have any significant impact on the outlook of wind energy market. We thank the Hon Prime Minister of

India for this historic initiative

and in the cooperative manner it has been implemented”

18%-28% tax slab) for use in other industries.

For example, transformers used for solar projects are intended to be taxed at 5% but they are taxed at 18% for other applications. The developers are also not clear about how to claim the concessional 5% GST rate.

MNRE as well as the finance ministry need to come out with a mechanism to clear the air and resolve these vexing issues. In the absence of any specific notification for solar projects, capital goods such as inverters and module mounting structures will come under the 18% tax bracket whereas, cables and batteries will attract 28% tax.

Effect of on Prices Components

GST of

The proposed GST is expected to have an impact on over 10 gigawatts of solar energy projects.

Project costs are expected to go up by 4%-5%, which seems reasonable given the drastic price fall in the Indian solar price (solar tariffs have dropped to as low as INR 2.44 per unit, becoming cheaper than the thermal tariffs).

It is therefore, expected that the tax structure will not have a significant adverse effect on the Indian solar industry. However, if only modules are taxed at 5% and other capital goods are taxed at rates between 18%-28%, the expected increase in total EPC cost would be around 6%.

An increase in operations & maintenance costs (O&M), components costs and civil work costs is expected, as a result of imposition of GST. There might also be some issue around debt financing, refinancing and financial closure due to GST. The biggest negative impact of the price escalation may be on lenders unwilling to fund

»

Tulsi Tanti, Chairman & Managing Director, Suzlon Group

47

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

{

Cover Story extra costs and projects getting cancelled thereof.

Developers also fear that with prices becoming slightly higher, competition from the Chinese counterparts will further intensify.

The prices of solar panels have hardened in the recent months with Chinese demand remaining strong as well as pull in from demand in USA. Developers are stocking up on solar panels as higher solar import duties may be imposed in September due to the Suniva petition. This might in turn affect the profitability of the Indian solar developers who are already bearing the brunt of falling solar tariffs.

But given the rise in prices to be very insignificant in the long run and the improving dynamics of renewable energy in India, all these adverse effects should be transitory. There is almost no risk that India will not meet its 40% renewable energy capacity target by 2030. In fact, given that solar prices are expected to keep falling due to improving technology, the country might considerably exceed that target.

Effect of GST on Operations A little slack can be expected on the operational front as developers might have to look for additional funding for projects under construction, which might lead to delays in project completion.

As mentioned earlier, developers might face a tough time arranging for extra funds and might not be able to complete their projects on time. However, I doubt that given the rising popularity of solar in India and improving price-performance ratio. The sector I feel that could be the most adversely effected is the residential rooftop solar sector in India. The rooftop segment has already been struggling to manifest in India. Various government schemes and policies to incentivize this segment have

48 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

also failed to push growth in this segment.

Now additional price pressures in the form of GST could negatively impact the installation of solar rooftop on homes. India is a highly price sensitive market and given that a majority of Indians belong to the lower income strata, I foresee a lull in this segment.

Conclusion MNRE is still working with the Ministry of Finance to come out with guidelines on improving the clarity regarding imposition of GST in the renewable energy segment.

India has set a mammoth target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy power by 2022 and has also made significant progress in this direction. The government would not want to slow down that pace as a result of GST. Almost 10 GW of India’s pipeline solar capacity will be impacted by increase in indirect tax rates under GST and lack of clarity adds to the complexity.

“The Indian GST is unprecedented in model, scale, and technology adaptation and will impart huge momentum to the economy”

Chandrajit Banerjee Director General, CII

Project delays, risk of litigation between project developers and DISCOMs and a slowdown in the rooftop solar market, are expected in the near future. Both costs and tariffs of wind and solar would increase over the short term. In the long run, GST provisions will not impact the long term prospects of the renewable energy industry. Any increase in tax rates will be offset by declining costs and as a result GST will not have any material negative impact on the growth prospects of the industry.

In the long-term the GST’s impact is likely to be evened out by falling costs. “We don’t need support of lower taxes to encourage renewable energy,” Goyal said on May 19. The Renewable Energy sector in India will also benefit from a faster growth in the Indian economy which will increase the overall demand for the Renewable energy ecosystem. The solar industry in India will face some short term pain but will gain in the long run 

 www.supersmartenergy.com

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Sunny Sky

THE SUN Quenching Thirst, Creating Smiles

7

0% of India’s population lives in its rural areas, almost 50% of which do not have access to safe drinking water, for their day to day requirements. This situation forces this population to either intake contaminated water (the major cause of many deadly diseases) or travel to far off places to collect fresh water. Globally, contaminated water is the second greatest cause of infant mortality, and an estimated 1.8 million children die each year as a result of illnesses linked to the consumption of polluted water. On an average, inhabitants of such areas travel over 2.5-3.0 km to fetch water for drinking as well as household purposes. This not only exposes them to severe heat and exertion, but also takes productive hours away from them. Children miss school, adults let go of daily wage labour etc. This scarcity may be caused by lack of rainfall, inadequate water pipelines, insufficient electricity connections, dark areas (areas where water table is very low).

These are major infrastructural lacking points, which do not have small scale fixes.

50 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

One of the fixes has been that people are using diesel and electricity based water pumps to pump out groundwater to meet their water needs. But even the last few years have seen a steady rise in the price of diesel and electricity, making it almost impossible and unaffordable for the economically backward and less privileged. There are some locations so remote that there is no grid connectivity and hence no phase or power for running pumps and areas where there is connectivity face irregular power supply. In such scenario solar water pumps come to the rescue, they help save time, and further lower down diesel and electricity cost. Not only this, they also require very little maintenance and have a long product life.

Solar Water Pumping Project Purpose: Drinking water Location: Peerla banda Tanda, Gandeed Mandal, Rangareddy District, Telangana Peerla banda Tanda, is a village in Rangareddy district, Telangana,

with a population of a mere 120 people. This is one such village where, in spite of grid connectivity, there is irregular or negligible power supply for days. It is the complete representation of how impoverished and underdeveloped a village can be, especially in the face of infrastructure failure.

Almost every household in the village used to have a water pipeline and bore well. However, it turned out to be of no use to the villagers as they didn’t have the basic requirement of proper access to electricity supply to make the bore well pumps run. Villagers had to walk miles just to collect a few litres of drinking water. The situation was so grave that villagers were forced to use water only for drinking purposes and had to go without bathing and cleaning for many days.

The installation of a solar pump in Peerla Banda tanda was a result of Claro Energy undertaking a Drinking Water project for the Telangana (erstwhile Andhra Pradesh) government’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitary System (RWSS&S) body, which

 www.supersmartenergy.com

Villagers of Peerla banda Tanda had to walk miles just to collect a few litres of drinking water. The situation was so grave that villagers were forced to use water only for drinking purposes.

was promoted by the Ministry of Renewable Energy. This solar water pump not only helped the villagers get access to on-demand clean drinking water every day, but also incorporated storage of water in overhead tanks. This made water available for cleaning and sanitation purposes, as well. Now with access to water the people of the village could do what was unthinkable to them before.

Their basic needs - such as bathing daily, proper sanitation - were finally met.

Claro Energy, with the support of the government and the Sarpanch of Gandeed block, has ensured that no child has to miss school and no adult has to forgo potential daily wage earnings.

Villagers do not have to walk kilometres in the scorching heat, anymore, just to fetch a few litres of water.

Challenges: All this did not arrive on a smooth path, though. The installation team of Claro Energy faced a fair few roadblocks which they had to overcome to make the project a success. Firstly, this village was in a very remote corner of Telangana.

Transportation of solar panels and other installation material to the site was a major hurdle in itself. A variety of transport modes were use including both large and small goods vehicles, non-motorized

vehicles, and, to a certain extent, by foot.

An unprecedented second issue was convincing villagers. Being a fairly remote area, education levels of the locals were not high enough for them to understand how electricity can be generated from the sun. They simply did not believe such a thing was possible and thought it was some kind of scam to their detriment. This caused them to be non-cooperative with the installation team. As local help is of utmost importance to an installation process, it was imperative to convince the villagers about this concept.

Apart from a lot of convincing by both the sarpanch and Claro staff, the nail was finally hit on the head by taking some of the villagers to a nearby project and showing them, much to their astonishment, exactly how the setup worked.

The installation of a solar pump in Peerla Banda tanda was a result of Claro Energy undertaking a Drinking Water project for the Government of Telangana.

Access to clean water is the basic right of every human being, and Claro Energy, as an organization, is committed to fight the water scarcity problem facing the most remotely located populace of this country. Clean drinking water

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July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergyâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;

Sunny Sky This solar water pump helped the villagers get access to on-demand clean drinking water everyday. Their basic needs, such as bathing daily, proper sanitation,were finally met.

uplifts livelihoods. The Peerla Banda Tanda drinking water project is only one such story.

Business Model: For Claro Energy, solar water pump projects have two broad categories - 1. Pumps for irrigation and 2. Pumps for drinking water/ sanitation. Of these, pumps for irrigation comprise a heavy majority, especially since the government is on a drive to convert existing diesel based water pumps into solar powered ones.

Most large scale solar pump projects are on the behest of Government renewable energy bodies (union and state, both).

The projects are undertaken by Claro Energy on the basis of a Cap Ex / Asset Sale model. Claro starts working on the project, once the tender has been issued and the project assigned. Such projects generally have milestone based payments.

Apart from this, Claro Energy is also experimenting with an Operational Expenditure model with our IAAS offering (still in its early days). IAAS or Irrigation As A Service model aims to get more people to start using solar pumps,

52 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

by increasing affordability.

Claro Energy also received a USAID grant for some projects focussed on making water access more affordable.

Product and Technology Claro Energy offers a wide range of solar pumping solutions, including both AC and DC systems, ranging from 1 HP to 10HP kW, for both surface and submersible pump applications. Solutions are customized for customers, and both single and dual axis tracking of solar panels are offered. Along with this comes remote tracking through a mobile architecture of all pumping assets for fault detection, diagnosis and rectification in a timely and cost effective manner.

Claro Energy has also recently added movable systems (on a payper-use format) to its stationary fixed ground mounted systems portfolio. Often Claro’s systems deliver more water, or run longer during the day, or are lower in cost compared to its competitors.

Awards and Recognitions:

Claro Energy has been bestowed with numerous awards recognising its work and value addition to the society. Below are the few coveted once. ›› Powering Agriculture; Awarded USD 500,000 Grant Under Powering Agriculture Initiated By USAID in 2015. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding market-based clean energy solutions for agriculture in developing countries.

Claro Energy was one of thirteen organizations (from over 800 applications worldwide) and the only one from India to be selected to receive the USAID grant. The grant is entitled “Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development (PAGEC).

Its goal is to support new & sustainable approaches to accelerate the development of Clean Energy Solution that increase agriculture productivity & quality. ›› Samridhi - Social Enterprise Recognition & Regional Summit (Cleantech Category) at Sankalp Forum 2013. Sankalp Forum is Asia’s largest social enterprise forum designed to growth of highimpact, early-stage enterprises that serve the bottom of the pyramid in India.. This initiative, organized by Intellecap, a social sector advisory firm and supported by the Department for International Development was aimed at supporting an enabling and inclusive ecosystem for socially relevant enterprises in eight low-income states of India - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Claro Energy won the Sankalp Samridhi Award in 2012 in clean energy category . ›› Hottest Young Entrepreneurs

by Business World in 2013. BusinessWorld, India’s leading Business Magazine had rated Claro Energy & its founders among India’s top 10 Hottest Young Entrepreneurs 

Awards recognise your work and confirm that your work is valued.  www.supersmartenergy.com

View Point

Implications of Declining Solar Tariffs

Hartek Singh, Chairman & MD, Hartek Group

W

ith solar power tariffs continuing their free fall, the stage is set for unprecedented capacity additions in pursuit of the 2022 target of 100 GW. The downward slide can be attributed to an appreciable drop in cost of equipment and cost of finance, apart from the conducive conditions created by the government to attract huge private investments. The Power Minister has done well by attracting private players with competitive financing. The declining tariffs are, in fact, part of a deliberate strategy to achieve the 100-GW goal.

The lower the tariffs, the higher will be the demand for solar power.

of return (IRR), financing models (capex/opex) and degree of solar irradiation.

With falling solar tariffs, developers will make every effort to generate more electricity so as to increase the IRR and reduce the level of risk on investment.

Moreover, these low tariffs have typically been witnessed in solar parks, which enjoy the advantage of economies of scale. Tariffs for smaller projects have come down, but not at the same rate. Developers in solar parks are not required to pay for the cost of land and grid transmission and evacuation. There are no variable costs either. The only cost for the developer is the interest he has to pay after commissioning. With interest rates going down, these projects are expected to become increasingly viable.

finance which holds the key.

Any further drop in prices will depend more on cost of finance rather than cost of technology. Solar power in India has achieved coal parity much sooner than expected. Any further drop in tariff will give the government a good reason to focus more on solar energy as compared to other energy sources.

Though the rising demand from the industry will be accompanied by a strain to reduce prices, developers will have more bargaining power to push prices down on account of a steady increase in the average size of the solar capacity offered in tenders. Apart from the drop in module prices, Balance of System costs are also likely to fall due to better equipment design. So, it is imperative for developers and EPC companies to build on their procurement and design capabilities ď Ž

With solar project auctions attracting so many bidders and so much money chasing the industry, the sector is becoming Considering the huge increasingly competitive, capital available for solar leading to decline in tariffs. projects, it is the cost of Many industry insiders fear that this downward trend may TARIFF WINNING BIDS BETWEEN FEB 2015 TO APRIL 2016 ACROSS INDIA affect the viability 8 of solar projects, 6.88 7 but there is reason to cheer. The bid6 5.77 5.08 ders who have 5.051 5.17 5.09 4.78 4.63 4.63 5 quoted low tar4.34 iffs have done so 4 after taking all fac3 tors into account, including bid struc2 ture, associated 1 risks, project pro0 file, financing cost Apr Feb July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Dec Jan of internal rate Rs./ Unit

Views Expressed by

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July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergyâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;

Energy Policy Updates Storage

K

Draft Uttar Pradesh Solar Power Policy 2017

eeping in view the vast potential of solar power in the state and to improve the power availability, the Government of UP, keen in establishing solar energy based power plants in the state, has declared the draft Solar Power Policy, 2017. The highlights of the policy are as follows.

Under the dynamic leadership of CM Yogi Adityanath Uttar Pradesh is aiming to emerge amongst the top state in solar power generation.

Under the draft policy the state has set ambitious target of generating 10,700MW from solar power.

Objectives The Draft UP Solar Policy 2017 specifies the following objectives: ii To encourage participation of Private Sector and provide investment opportunities to set up solar power projects in the state. ii To support in providing environment friendly and affordable Power for All. ii To promote Research &Development, innovations and skill development in the state. ii To achieve its target of 8% Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (Solar RPO) by 2022.

Policy Targets Under the draft policy the Government of UP has set and ambitious target of generating 10700MW from solar power, thus enabling the government to meet 8% of its total projected electricity consumption from solar by the year 2022. In achieving its stated target, the state, plans to generate 4300 MW form rooftop solar.

Implementation Plan: The policy encourages implementation of the Solar Power under following segments: Utility scale grid-Connected Solar Projects:

54 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

Category-1: Solar Park: The State Government plans to utilize waste land for development of Solar Parks for generation of power. In order to encourage private participation the government plans to provide “Plug and Play” options for the developers. The size of the Solar Parks will be minimum 100MW capacity at continuous location, subject to minimum capacity condition of Solar Park laid down by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.

The policy supports development of solar park by Central/ State Government Public Sector Undertaking, Joint Venture Company or Solar Parks developed and managed by Solar Energy Corporation of India.

Incentives: For public sector solar parks the government intends to provide the following incentives: ii Land on lease or Right to use basis for development of Solar Park. ii Connectivity of Solar Park to the nearest transmission Substation. ii Support for strengthening of Grid network. ii The State through UPPCL/Dis-

tribution licensee to offer purchase of 100 % power generated from solar park out of which at least 50% of the power will have to be sold to UPPCL/Distribution Licensee.

The state plans to incentivise solar parks developed by private companies by: ii Support for strengthening of Grid network. ii The State through UPPCL/Distribution licensee to offer purchase of 100 % power generated from solar park out of which atleast 50% of the power will have to be sold to UPPCL/Distribution Licensee.

Category-2: Large scale standalone solar projects with sale of power to Distribution Licensee.

Under this category project with minimum size of 5 MW at single location will be awarded through competitive bidding process as per MNRE, Government of India guidelines. For projects under this category the government intends to provide the following incentives The State Government will bear one-third of the cost of construction of transmission line, for maximum transmission line length of 15 km for the solar projects in the Bundelkhand and  www.supersmartenergy.com

Purvanchal region of the State. Remaining cost for construction of transmission line, bay and substation will be borne by the Project Developer. Incentive will be available only in case of construction of Transmission line by State Transmission Utility (STU)/ Distribution licensee.

Grid-Connected Solar Rooftop Projects: The policy encourages implementation of the grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic power plants on public buildings, domestic, commercial and industrial establishments through Gross/Net Metering arrangements.

In order to achieve its stated target of generating 4300 MW from rooftop solar the government plans to promote deployment of rooftop solar photovoltaic plants for captive/self-consumption on the offices of the government organizations/State government owned or aided institutions under Net metering mechanism.

The government also plans to encourage public institutions, hostels & training institutions, libraries, establishments of Indian railways, in the State, such as ticket reservation centre, Railway stations, research and development organization, rest houses, inspection houses etc, shall endeavor to install grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic power plant and generates & consume some percentage of their annual electricity consumption from such plant.

UPNEDA will pay an active role in collection of demand for installation of Grid connected Solar Rooftop Power Plants from Government departments. UPNEDA will finalize model contract conditions and carry out competitive bidding for discovery of tariff and selection of Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCO’s) for

Piyush Goyal threw a challenge to make Varanasi 100% renewable energy powered before 2025 and beat Munich. implementation of Grid connected Solar Rooftop projects on Government buildings.

Incentives for implementation of Grid-connected solar rooftop projects: ii To promote large scale installation of Grid connected Rooftop systems under Net-Metering arrangement in private residential sectors, State Government will provide subsidy of Rs 10000/ KW to a maximum limit of subsidy Rs 20000 per consumer on first come first basis for the first 100 MW applications submitted online to UPNEDA. Subsidy will be disbursed to beneficiary after successful installation and commissioning of Rooftop solar systems with net metering and submission of all documents to the State Nodal agency (UPNEDA).

In case the project installation is delayed for more than 6 months, the subsidy shall be withdrawn by UPNEDA. This subsidy will be in addition to any Central Financial Assistance available from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India which would be dispersed by State Nodal Agency. ii For solar rooftop project on buildings, no further building permission will be required from the local development authorities/ local bodies on this account. ii rooftop solar power plant up to

10 kW, will be exempted from the inspection by the Electrical Inspector of the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Instead such inspections will be conducted by the local distribution licensee before commissioning.

Ease of Business-Enabling Provisions: The State, in order to encourage solar based generation, has prepared the following measures for improving the ease of doing business. ii Single Window Clearance System ii 100% energy banking in every financial year ii Exemption of electricity duty for ten years for sale to Distribution licensee, captive consumption and third party sale in respect of all solar projects set up within the state.

In addition to the above incentives for different categories of solar projects the policy lays emphasis on developing appropriate skilled manpower by tying up with training and educational institutions. The policy also proposes promotion and development of R&D activities by setting up Solar Research & Development, testing and standardization facility in institutes/universities in UP 

55

July/ Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

Policy Updates

Draft Goa Solar Policy 2017 The challenge before the State Government is not only to meet the ever growing demand for power but also to progressively increase the share of Renewable Sources in the energy - mix so as to achieve overall energy security and also to meet the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) as per the target fixed by appropriate authorities from time to time.

T

he State of Goa entirely depends on thermal energy generated in other States. Goa being eco-sensitive, no Thermal Energy generation is possible in the State. Hence in order to attain self-reliance in Power generation and to promote clean source of Power, the government in Goa has announced the draft solar policy 2017. Here we take a look at the key highlights that can impress the industry.

First of all, what we found missing in the draft policy was the targeted generation from solar power. Also, the policy lays major emphasis on solar rooftop through net metering arrangement. Lets delve deep to get the clear picture.

The policy defines two categories for generating solar power.

First category is of Prosumer those already having connected load with the GED and is also a producer of solar power. The Prosumer is further categorised into small and large. Small Prosumer is a person having an LT connection upto 100kW with GED. They are allowed to go for gross metering or Net metering upto 100kW or the connected load, whichever is

56 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

lower. The Small Prosumer can install solar power plant on the rooftop or ground within the same premises.

Local body Construction licence, NOC and Completion certificate.

Large Prosumer is a person having an HT connection with load of minimum 100 kW & maximum 2000kW with GED. All large prosumer upto maximum load of 2000kW are allowed to go for net metering only.

The policy formulates grant of 50% for solar plants upto 100kW size in the form of interest free loan to be recovered from the payment to be made to the generator for every kWh supplied to the grid. For plants of size upto 100kW for the standalone systems the state government will provide a subsidy of 30% of capital cost or the benchmark cost provided by MNRE.

The second category specified in the draft is of Producers. The Producer is an entity intending to set up a Solar Power plant with a capacity of more than 100kW exclusively for sale of power to the Distribution Licensee under gross metering as per the tariff discovered by Reverse Bidding. Producers are allowed to participate in reverse bidding for four sizes of installation- 100kW to 1MW, 1MW to 5MW, 5MW to 10MW and 10MW & above.

The producer has to identify suitable Rooftop or Private land for at least 25 years for their projects within the state of Goa. To generate solar power the land will be exempted from conversion, town and country planning permissions, Gram Panchayat, Urban

INCENTIVES:

The Billing cycle for large prosumers will be monthly and the settlement period will be six months basis. However for the educational institutions, it will be annual. The billing cycle for small prosumers and for producers will be on monthly basis and their settlement will be within 30 days.

The Goa Energy Development Agency will function as the Nodal Agency and be responsible for disbursing subsidy and for coordinating with MNRE for Technical Specifications 

 www.supersmartenergy.com

2017 EVENTS WATCH AUGUST

21-23 2017 Event: 8th RETC New Delhi, India

SEPTEMBER

26-27 2017

SEPTEMBER

20-22 2017

DECEMBER

05-07 2017

Event: Renewable Energy India Expo

Event: Intersolar India 2017

India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, India

BEC, Goregaon, Mumbai, India

AUGUST

16-18 2017

AUGUST

24-26 2017

Event: Intersolar Middle East

Event: PV Guangzhou 2017

Event: AsiaSolar 2017

Dubai, UAE

Guangzhou, China

Shanghai, China

DEC

03-05 2017 Event: Solar-Tec Cairo International Convention Centre, Egypt

MARCH

06-08 2018 Event: Solar Middle East Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE

57 SmartEnergy July/ Aug 2017

JAN

19- 21 2018

FEB

08-10 2018

Event: Light India International

Event: Renewable energy expo

Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India

MARCH

10-14 2018 Event: Elecrama India Expo Mart Greater Noida

MAY

23-25 2018 Event: Solar India 2018 Expo Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

57

July/  www.supersmartenergy.com Aug 2017 SmartEnergy

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SmartEnergy May/ June 2017

Volume IV, Issue III

Pages 60

`200

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