· volume 8 | issue 08 | june 2018 june 2018 | energy next | 5 34 making new and old residential,...

IN THIS ISSUE

4 | Energy Next | June 2018

COVER STORY

16

The objective of the policy is to provide a framework for promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid system

MNRE issues National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy

19

The hybrid policy would definitely pave way for efficient utilisation of existing land and transmission infrastructure thereby reducing the cost of energy

Solar-Wind hybrid policy and its future

Cover Story

Cover Story

Cover Story

Cover Story

21

The government can help the process of development of hybrid solutions through supportive policies and regulations

Hybrid Technology to drive the Sector ahead

23

Solar and wind power being variable in nature pose certain challenges on grid security and stability and therefore suitable policy interventions are required

RE- The answer to India’s energy needs

25

The wind solar hybrid policy and scheme recommends that the hybrid plant will be recognized if the rated capacity of wind source is at least 25 percent of the rated capacity of the other source

Combination of wind and solar to have

28

Storage will help balance supply and demand close to real time, avoiding frequency drifts and supporting the mid-term response to grid imbalances

Hero Future Energies brings live India’s first hybrid project

30

Renewable hybrid solutions combine energy generation resources and storage

Opening of a new era in renewable energy reliability

ColumnInterview

VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 08 | JUnE 2018

w w w . e n e r g y n e x t . i n

June 2018 | Energy Next | 5

34

Making new and old residential, institutional, commercial, and government buildings solar compatible is the best way to raise awareness and improve infrastructure

Off-grid solar projects extremely important for India

36

Rooftop solar has shown remarkable progress lately, with several Discom level government policies, like the SRISTI scheme, proving to be a huge boon

Rooftop solar energy market displays an accelerating growth

42

A support from government for hybrid systems and policy for the same is a welcome step

Industry has matured for both solar and wind technologies

In-Conversation In-Conversation

45

Digital technologies are set to make energy systems more connected, intelligent, reliable and sustainable

Smart grid technology opens up more opportunities

Renewable Energy

60SOLAR TARIFF

Lowest tariff in bids indicates solar power has reached grid parity

Environment Day

World Environment Day raises awareness on issues

58

Financial systems remain a key driver for green transformation of economies

The amendment in bidding norms offers clarity on pass-through of import duty and other such duty which is a positive for solar developers

Entrepreneurs have scope to implement different models of family size biogas plants and help India achieve its potential

Biofuel

Entrepreneurship opportunities in biogas sector

51

In-Conversation


FROM the EDITOR

Anupam DaftuarPublications Director

There have been significant capacity additions in the renewable energy sector recently, and the hybrid policy issued

by the Ministry of New and Renewable Ministry will only give a further push to this momentum. This government aims to offer a framework for promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid system for efficient utilization of transmission infrastructure and land. Moreover, the policy is also aimed at reducing the variability in renewable power generation and achieving better grid stability.

In the last four years India’s renewable energy landscape has achieved several milestones. The power installed capacity has already reached over 70 GW, while over 40 GW renewable power capacity is under construction/tendered. Globally, India retains fourth position in wind, fifth in renewable power and sixth in solar power installed capacity. Solar energy capacity increased over 8 times from 2.63 GW in 2014 to 22 GW, and wind energy capacity increased 1.6 times from 21 GW in 2014 to 34 GW.

Recently, inauguration of Delhi-Meerut expressway was one of the significant achievements. The Expressway has eight solar power plants with a capacity of 4000 KW for lighting of the underpasses and running solar pumps for watering plants. It is the first highway to be lit by solar power besides encouraging rain water harvesting on every 500 metres on both sides.

India hosted the World Environment Day celebrations this year and pledged to eliminate by 2022 all single use of plastics in India. The government aims to create a 500-metre area around 100 historic monuments, including the iconic Taj Mahal litter-free and free from plastic pollution through the Taj Declaration.

On the international front, India aims to partner with the UN to use solar energy at the world body’s premises as part of the efforts to protect and preserve environment.

The sector also beholds job opportunity for those looking for employment. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimate, more than

300,000 workers will be employed in the solar and wind energy sectors in India to meet the country’s target of generating 175 gigawatts of electricity from renewable sources by 2022.

The report noted that India has made environmental sustainability a chief objective of its development strategy in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) and devised a comprehensive framework for skills development for green transition at the national level, targeting key sectors and institutions like the Skills Council for Green Jobs was set up for the purpose in 2015.

The Cabinet has approved continuation of off-grid and Decentralised Solar PV Applications Programme which covers components such as Solar Street Lights, Stand-alone Solar Power Plants and Solar Study Lamps. These developments bode well for the sector marching ahead to reach its renewable goals.

Hybrid policy instils confidence


LETTERS tO the eDitOR LETTERS tO the eDitOR

Enabling Investment Environment

Publications Director

Associate Editor

Associate Editor

Design

Marketing Manager

Subscription & Dispatch

Anupam Daftuar

Sonali Chowdhury

Anurima Mondal

Flying Tusker Media

Aditya Daftuar

Anil Patwal

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Need a policy boost

Waste to energy (WtE) has been a very slow growing segment despite there being tremendous potential for these projects in India. I believe it is also important to mention that a comprehensive and creative policy mix for effective waste management will not be possible without political will and strong public demand for cleaner, healthier living environments.ll Radhika Saxena, Delhi

Sector on a high noteIndia’s renewable energy

project tendering activity is at an all-time high. I was happy to know that January alone saw tenders for over 5.5 GW being launched by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and other state-level agencies. Hope the industry continues with the momentum. ll Nikhil Saha, Ghaziabad

Indian Railways initiative Indian Railways is changing the way it works to reduce its carbon footprint. The utility operates one of the world’s largest rail networks and is the single biggest consumer of electricity in the country, accounting for almost 2 per cent of India’s total power consumption. It is also the single largest consumer of diesel. It would be inspiring to

Thanks a lot for supporting us in sharing experiences on solar water pumps in Energy Next April 2018 issue. You have featured all aspects of the solar pump well in the article i.e. relevance of pumps in agriculture of India, govt programs for its promotion, cost of the equipment, benefits and its overall impact. With photos and quotes, the article will surely impress the readers.ll Vikas Jha, Director (Governance & Policy Advocacy), Sehgal Foundation

advisory board

Prof Rangan BanerjeeIIT-Mumbai

Arun GuptaManaging DirectorHim Urja Pvt Ltd

K P SukumaranFormer Advisor

MNRE

Dr Praveen SaxenaFormer Advisor

MNRE

S Chandra SekharManaging Director

Bhoruka Power Corpn Ltd

Yogesh MehraManaging Director

Wind World (India) Ltd

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read more about the changing face of Indian Railways in context to renewable energy. llBratin Biswas, Kolkata

Stress on wind sectorThe last year has witnessed a number of transformational changes. One of the biggest developments has been the wind industry moving away from the FiT structure to competitive bidding. The tariffs that have emerged from this development spell good news for the discoms, which will be able to procure this new wind power at Rs 2.64 per kWh. Being energy professional in the wind sector I recommend more stories to be covered so that it keeps us informed about the developments in the sector.ll Sunny Sharma, Delhi

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (A Govt. of India Enterprise)A Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy www.ireda.in

Corporate Office: 3rd Floor, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi 110 066, Tel: +91 11 26717400 - 26717412Registered Office: India Habitat Centre, East Court, Core-4A, 1st Floor, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003, Tel: +91 11 24682206 - 24682219

From Mega watts to Giga wattsEnvisioning a Greener Tomorrow with Renewable Energy

Energy for Ever

Gol’s target of 5x increasein renewable energy capacity

to 175,000 MW by 2022

4th largest windinstallations in the

world

Loan Sanctions (Rs. Crores) (2012 - 2017)

Funded more than 2,382 renewable energy projects

8000

6000

10000

12000

0

2000

4000

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

Loan Sanctions

3,747 3,8184,540

7,806

10,199

One of the largestsolar programs in the world

with planned capacity of100 GW by 2022

All IREDA funded projectsare helping in avoiding

CO2 emissions

CO2

ENCOURAGING GREEN-POWER TODAY ENERGISING INDIA’S TOMORROW


Implementation timeline of 40 MW of distributed grid-connected solar

photovoltaic (PV) power projects in Andaman & Nicobar, and Lakshadweep islands has been extended by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The initial timeline for the program implementation has been extended to 2016-17 to 2018-19 from 2015-16 to 2017-18. The ministry has issue an amendment, according to which, distributed grid-connected solar PV projects of 40 MW capacity will be installed in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands in the three-year period, i.e. 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, with an estimated central financial assistance (CFA) of ₹1.922 billion. The amendment will therefore, provide ample time for completion of projects to the agencies.

Agro residue can be used to produce power: Singh Implementation timeline extended for distributed solar projects on islands

A two–day conference on ‘Agro Residue and Municipal Solid

Waste to Power: Challenges and Way Ahead for India’ was organised by NTPC. Sharing his thoughts on the conference, Power Minister R K Singh said, “NTPC has been at the forefront of Agro Residue and Municipal Solid Waste Management, to give the capital and NCR cleaner air. NTPC pro-actively ran a pilot project to use bio-mass for power generation, which proved that bio-mass conversion into power is a viable solution to better air quality. The intent is to generate power while keeping India’s environment healthy while we contribute to the Swachh

Bharat programme”.He added, “Our long-term social

objective is that of a healthier planet and there are costs attached to attain this objective. Our intent is to design policies so that our long-term social goals are met for clean India. Agro residue and municipal solid waste can both be used for power generation, we just need to address the challenges to optimally leverage this process.”

This two-day conference will help to achieve triple objective of Clean Air, Swachh Bharat and Employment Generation. Converting Agro Residue and Municipal Solid Waste into Power will give a boost to economic activities.

Cabinet approves continuation of decentralised solar PV applications programme

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has given its approval for implementation of Phase-Ill of Off-grid and Decentralised Solar PV (Photo Voltaic) Application Programme to achieve additional 118 MWp(Mega Watt peak) off-grid solar PV capacity by 2020.

Phase-Ill of Off-grid and Decentralised Solar PV Application Programme covers following components:

i) Solar Street Lights: 3,00,000 numbers of solar street lights will be installed throughout the country with special

emphasis on areas where there is no facility for street lighting systems through grid power, North Eastern States and Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts.

ii) Stand-alone Solar Power Plants: Solar power plants of individual size up to 25 kWp(kilo Watt peak) will be promoted in areas where grid power has not reached or is not reliable. This component is mainly aimed at providing electricity to schools, hostels, panchayats, police stations and other public service institutions. The aggregated capacity of solar power plants would be 100 MWp.

NATIONAL

MNRE creates RPO compliance cell to meet its ambitious target

The Ministry has created a renewable purchase obligation (RPO) compliance

cell to coordinate with the Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions on matters relating to RPO compliance. This will help the states to stand by the RPO targets as the cell would take up non-compliance related issues with the appropriate authorities.

“This step of MNRE to appoint an RPO compliance cell is a welcome move. The cell may monitor fulfilment of RPO along with the timeline of commissioning of renewable

energy projects and associated transmission which is mandated by the government to be awarded on tariff-based competitive bidding basis as per guidelines issued on the subject,” said Electric Power Transmission Association (EPTA) Director General Subhash Sethi.

“The formation of the RPO compliance cell will be highly effective to coordinate with States and ensure stringent implementation of RPO targets especially the solar RPO,” an official from the Solar Power Developers’ Association added.


According to report recently released International Labour Organisation

(ILO), around 300,000 workers will be employed in the renewable energy sector to meet the country’s ambitious target of 175 GW by 2022. The action to combat climate change is thus creating new job opportunities for people in India. The report prepared with the estimates by The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defence Council cited that the country has made environmental sustainability a central objective of its development strategy in its twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012-17) and set up a comprehensive framework for skills development for green transition.“To meet the target, the number of workers required by ground-mounted solar, rooftop solar and wind power projects, will need to increase... The potential for employment creation is conditional on the domestic capacity of solar module manufacturing and the establishment of vocational training programmes and certification schemes,” the report stated

Renewable energy industry to add 300,000 jobs

EoI deadline extended for offshore wind projects

The deadline for the submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) for 1

GW offshore wind projects at Gujarat has been extended by the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE). The deadline has been revised from May 25 to June 8.

Earlier, global companies with experience of installing offshore wind projects of more than 500 MW were eligible for such projects but now the eligibility criteria have been relaxed. Entities having experience of installing projects of more than 250 MW will now be able to take up such projects.

The final selection of developer of the

first offshore wind project was to be done through competitive bidding but now the shortlisted parties will be consulted for preparation of bidding documents. NIWE has clarified that the project site may not be restricted to the coordinates which were proposed by it earlier.

Earlier, only private developers were developing projects to sell power, but now states are actively tendering wind projects to meet renewable purchase obligations (RPO) and produce clean energy. Wind farms are now being developed with state governments and other implementing agencies with the advent of reverse auctions.

According to a report recently published by Mercom

Communications, is an arm of global clean energy consulting firm Mercom Capital Group, India is the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 after China and the US. The country has created a new record with 9.6 GW of solar installations in the last year.

“In 2017, India emerged as the third largest solar market ...having

India third largest solar market in the world: Mercomgrown at a CAGR of approximately 170 per cent since 2010,” the report said.“The robust growth boosted the country’s total solar installed capacity to 19.6 GW as of December 2017”, it added.

“In 2017, larger players started consolidating their positions at the top as India quickly emerged as one of the most important solar markets in the world for suppliers and vendors,”Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu said. .

NEWS

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has given its consent to install solar

park in the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR). The tender for the first 1,000MW of 5,000 MW will be floated soon.

“We got approval from the Union ministry of new and renewable energy for the solar park on Thursday. With this, the tender for the first phase of the solar park is set to be out in June itself. The next phase will be undertaken in the subsequent months,” said Jai Prakash Shivhare, managing director of Dholera Industrial City Development Corporation Ltd (DICC).

Ministry approves 5,000MW Dholera solar parkThe Dholera solar park would reportedly

be India’s largest solar park. Built on 11,000 hectares of land along the Gulf of Khambhat, the solar park is expected to attract investment of Rs 25,000 crore and generate employment for 20,000 people.


STATE

Rural households in Rajasthan get strategic solar solutions

Delhi aims to launch 1,000 electric buses

Housing societies in Delhi switch to solar power

Uttar Pradesh gets its first smart highway

The Phase 1 of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Eastern Periphery

Expressway was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Constructed at a cost of Rs 841 crore, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway has vertical gardens with solar power system on the Yamuna Bridge for the first time

Meanwhile, the 135-km EPE, built at a cost of Rs 11,000 crore became India’s first highway to be lit by solar power. There are 8 solar power plants on this expressway having a capacity of 4000-kilo watt (4 MW). The expressway, built in a record 500 days, would showcase 36 national monuments and 40 fountains. The foundation stone of the greenfield project was laid by Prime Minister on November 5, 2015.

Greenlight Planet has entered into a strategic partnership with Satin

Creditcare Network Limited (SCNL) to provide affordable and quality solar solutions to low-income households in Rajasthan.The strategic alliance took place in presence of the senior leadership from both the companies including Dev Verma- Chief Operating Officer (COO), SCNL, Anil Kwatra- Deputy COO, SCNL and Ben Mathew- Global Sales Leader, Greenlight Planet.

The products will be available at all 75 branches of SCNL in Rajasthan. The first product that SCNL’s clientele can purchase

infrastructure would be required for parking the e-buses would come up. “We have decided to use bus depots at East Vinod Nagarand Bawana to park these buses. The major reason behind choosing the locations was the availability of sufficient power supply,” a government official said.

In a bid to transform the capital region into a ‘solar city’, housing societies in

Delhi are gradually switching to solar energy. The Shiv Bhole Cooperative Group Housing Society in Dwarka installed a 100KW grid and became the first CGHS to go live as part of BSES Rajdhani Power Limited’s (BRPL) solar city initiative.

Installed by Green Ripples Pvt Ltd following RESCO business model, the solar plant would save roughly Rs 4,500 annually for each of the 60 households in the society. The bidding was administered by the Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited for 84MWp capacity.

Soon after Dwarka installed solar rooftop, a cooperative housing society in east Delhi also made the switch to solar power. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal recently inaugurated a 140 kWp solar PV plant at Milan Vihar cooperative society in IP Extension which houses around 1,600 residents and has 400 flats (approx). The 140-kWp plant will produce electricity at Rs 2.50 per unit.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the party will hold a meeting with all the Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) across the national capital in the next two months to emphasise on starting similar initiatives in other apartments and societies.

via loan is the ‘Sun King Boom’, a solar-powered lantern with a built-in radio, MP3 player, and USB port for mobile charging.

This product is in line with the growing aspirations and demand for lighting, mobile-charging and entertainment amongst the rural consumers. Speaking on the initiative towards enhancing the quality of life in rural Rajasthan, Dev Verma, COO, Satin Creditcare Network Limited said, “We are extremely delighted to tie-up with Greenlight Planet. Together we aim to empower our consumers in adopting safe and sustainable solar solutions in their daily lives.”

The transport department of Delhi has prepared a proposal to procure 1,000

electric buses after deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced the program to launch e-buses in Delhi budget 2018-19. The proposal is expected to be presented before the council of ministers in the next cabinet meeting.Delhi’s transport minister Kailash Gahlot confirmed that the proposal is being reviewed by different departments.The state government plans to float tenders by July. The first lot of the buses is expected to start rolling out by March, next year.

Meanwhile, the transport department is discussing on the bus depots where proper


Tangedco will soon float tenders for adding a total of 3000MW of solar and wind

power capacity. The upper limit on tariff is fixed at 3 per unit and 2.65 per unit for solar and wind respectively.

“We have received nod to float tenders for solar and wind power projects in 2018,” confirmed a Tangedco official.

Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has also given its

grid connected rooftop systems and Chhattisgarh is one of them. Other states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has included renewable energy projects under priority sector lending for which bank loans up to a limit of Rs 15 crore to borrowers will be available for renewable energy projects including grid connected solar rooftop and ground mounted systems. For individual households, the loan limit is Rs 10 lakh per borrower.

The Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) is

planning to install 600 MW grid-connected solar PV rooftop projects in different categories across the State. The solar power produced by the rooftop projects will be utilized for captive application while the surplus power will be fed to the grid.

The state government has set a target of creating 2000 ‘Suryamitras’ in the next five years. Notably, it commissioned grid connected solar projects with cumulative capacity of 128.91 MW as on October 31, 2017.

Around fifteen states have come out with Solar Policy supporting

It is the first of its kind project; the Western Railway has set up a biogas

plant at Mumbai Central station. The plant will convert organic waste into gas which would be used for cooking. Built at a cost of Rs 50 lakh, the plant has the capacity to handle 500 kg of waste and can produce gas equivalent to a regular-size cylinder.

“It is a matter of pride that we have set up a solid waste disposal and management system (biogas) at Mumbai Central outside the Coach Care Centre as part of out environmental initiative. To run the plant, we are collecting waste from trains at the Mumbai Central station and coaching depot along with the base kitchen at Mumbai Central,” said an official.

Chief spokesperson of the Western Railway Ravinder Bhakar said, “If the plant is operated at its maximum capacity, it can produce gas of equivalent quantity of an LPG cylinder every day. But due to the low quantity of waste being generated at present, the plant can generate just over 1/4 of an LPG cylinder.” Besides producing environment-friendly gas for cooking purposes, the plant will also help in garbage-handling system.

Chhattisgarh aims for 600 MW Solar PV

Solar energy to power AP universities

Tamil Nadu to add 3,000MW solar and wind power

Mumbai Central station installs biogas plant

Universities in Andhra Pradesh may soon be powered by solar energy. The state

government has revealed its plans to install a solar power system at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

The initiative, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Renewable Energy (MNRE), will save around `2 crore paid to discoms every year. The university currently has 50 KWP solar panels on its main buildings, with every roof fitted with panels generating 2 MW power.

Talking about the project, Prof Siddaiah, Dean Engineering, said, “As of now we have limited solar power facilities. We want to

be a completely solar-powered institution. Our total power requirement is 2MW per year, so we want to install solar panels on all rooftops. The project is still under consideration and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is yet to take a call.”

consent for an equal 1500MW capacity in wind power in multiple phases and tenders, with the minimum capacity per project of at least 25MW. “The wind power tariff has been falling below the base tariff of thermal units. Tangedco and other discoms will be happy to evacuate wind power at a tariff less than 3 per unit instead of burning coal in their own units,” said secretary general of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association D V Giri.

NEWS


INTERNATIONAL

Google is providing solar power service that would enable

homeowners in UK to save money by switching to solar power.The company has joined hands with energy supplier Eon to introduce an online tool called Sunroof, which estimates savings using data from Google’s Earth and Maps apps.

Project Sunroof forecasts solar potential of a house by examining the property’s features with its machine learning. The tech giant is also partnering with German software firm Tetraeder. The tool is another example of Google’s public commitment to green energy.

As per the data given by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA),

Germany’s renewable power production surpassed the entire country’s electricity demand on May 1.

Renewable power output reached 53,987 megawatt hours (MWh) at 1pm, while consumption was 53,768 MWh. The renewable power production exceeded consumption for about two and a half hours. “Now transmission lines take precedence so that the power can flow,” tweeted Germany’s economy and energy minister Peter Altmaier.

The country had previously covered 100 percent of its power demand with renewables on January 1, when wind power was able to meet 85 percent of demand. The data presented by the BNetzA is however,still preliminary.

With an aim to expand its access to clean energy and promote

renewable energy in rural areas, Bangladesh has signed a $55 million financing agreement with the World Bank. The deal was signed between Kazi Shofiqul Azam, secretary of Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division, and Fan Qimiao, Asian Development Bank country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.

The additional financing to the Second Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development (RERED II) Project will install 1,000 solar irrigation pumps,

French Guiana region to install world’s largest power station

World Bank increases support for RE in Bangladesh 30 solar mini-grids and about 4 million improved cooking stoves in rural areas.

“Following a successful demand-driven public-private partnership programme, Bangladesh installed 4.2 million solar home systems. This additional financing will help scale up use of clean and renewable energy such as solar irrigation pumps and solar mini-grids, which will help reduce poverty, improve the environment, create jobs, and open up new opportunities for rural people,” confirmed Qimiao. The bank has been helping Bangladesh promote solar energy in remote areas since 2003.

Google launches solar power service in UK

Germany meets 100% of its power demand from renewables

HDF Energy is all set to make a mark in the renewable energy sector with the

creation of its CEOG project (French Western Guiana Power Plant). The project harnessed via HDF Energy’s Renewstable® solution is expected to deliver 100 percent clean, affordable and reliable power 24/7 – with no fluctuations and at reduced costs – to an area of more than 10,000

households beset with energy delivery issues. This major innovation is expected to

revolutionise the energy sector and mark the start of a new era in energy delivery. The project is backed by a EUR 90 million investment from the company, private investment partners and leading banks.

HDF Energy is the world’s first producer of a stable electricity supply based on intermittent energies. The Renewstable® solution combines a 55 MW solar farm with the world’s largest renewable energy storage solution to provide a ground-breaking 140 MWh, based on hydrogen. This is supported via secondary storage in the form of batteries.

The CEOG will address the crucial need to generate clean, reliable energy and will yield economic benefits for French Guiana. Connected to the EDF, the project is scheduled to start in summer 2019.


NEWS

Strong policy and falling costs drive record year for e-vehicles

Australian solar plant to have world’s largest power storage capacity

China to provide e-buses to Philippines

Nigeria switches to renewables

The number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars on the world’s roads

exceeded 3 million in 2017, a 54 percent increase compared with 2016, according to the latest edition of the International Energy Agency’s Global Electric Vehicles Outlook.

China remained by far the largest electric car market in the world with 580,000 electric cars sold in 2017, a 72 percent increase from the previous year. The United States had the second-highest, with about 280,000 cars sold last year.

Nordic countries remain leaders in market share. Electric cars accounted for 39 percent of new car sales in Norway,

A roughly $1 billion solar plant in Australia is all set to have one of

the biggest power storage facilities in the world. Various Japanese and Western firm are contributing funds in this project. The plant located in South Australia will get a 100MW lithium-ion battery storage system

JERA, a Tokyo-based company will be providing storage facility. Along with Fluence and Lyon Group, JERA will build three solar power plants which generate total capacity of 550MW. Battery storage

making it the world leader in electric vehicle (EV) market share. In Iceland, new EV sales were 12 percent of the total while the share reached 6 percent in Sweden. Germany and Japan also saw strong growth, with sales more than doubling in both countries from their 2016 levels.

The growth of EVs has largely been driven by government policy. It has also been helped by progress made in recent years to improve the performance and reduce the costs of lithium-ion batteries. The IEA’s latest Tracking Clean Energy Progress report shows that EVs are one of the 4 technologies out of 38 that are on track to meet long-term sustainability goals.

offers JERA a profitable business venture as solar power in Australia fetches higher prices at night than during the day.

Nigeria is gradually switching to renewable power. It aims to

produce 30 per cent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030. The country has invested more than $20 billion in solar power projects to boost the capacity.

“Ready access to electricity will reduce youth unemployment and increase productivity,” said Ifeoma Malo, Nigeria country director at the global campaign group Power For All.

“It will contribute greatly to reducing the carbon footprint of a growing energy demand by the urban population.”

A $350 million World Bank loan will be used to build 10,000 solar-powered mini-grids by 2023 in rural areas, bringing power to hospitals, schools and households, confirms Damilola Ogunbiyi, managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency.

Over the past year, the country has invested more than $20 billion in solar power projects, seeking to boost the capacity of the national grid and reduce reliance on it by building mini-grids in rural areas without mains electricity.

China’s electric vehicle manufacturer BYD will provide ten electric buses

to the Philippines. The buses are expected to be on Manila’s roads in July. While two of the 10 electric buses have already been delivered while, eight more are expected to be delivered next month.

One of the Philippines’ largest bus manufacturers, Columbian Motors Corporation (CMC), had signed the agreement in October 2017 to purchase the 10 e-buses from BYD.

Arsenio Yap, CMC president, said the

10 electric buses will be the first in the Philippines. “With the all-electric buses, we will make the transportation in Metro Manila more environment-friendly, more convenient, healthier and safer,” added Yap.


MNRE

MNRE issues solar wind hybrid policy

In order to improve the capacity of power generation from renewable sources, the government has unveiled

a national wind-solar policy aiming to set up new projects and hybridisation of the existing plants. The total renewable power installed capacity in the country has touched 70 GW in the FY 2017-18. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy came up with this national policy to provide a framework for promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid system. The Policy aims to encourage new technologies, methods and mechanisms that will combine operation

the sizing – which would depend on the resource characteristics. According to the policy document the implementation of such a system will depend on different configurations and use of technologies.

It has also laid down the usage of the power generated from the wind-solar hybrid project. The hybrid power may be used for captive purpose; sale to third party through open access; sale to the distribution company (ies) either at tariff determined by the respective SERC or at tariff discovered through transparent bidding process; and sale to the distribution company (ies) at APPC under

of wind and solar PV plants.The government has spelled out a

detailed policy mentioning the wind-solar hybrid systems required to operate at the same point of grid connection. It explains the different approaches towards integrating wind and solar depending upon the size of each of the source integrated and the technology type. The policy clearly entails that a wind-solar plant will be recognised as hybrid plant if the rated power capacity of one resource is at least 25 percent of the rated power capacity of other resource. The second important aspect would be related to


ACHIEVEMENTS

MILESTONES ACHIEVED

A path breaking journey in renewable energy through last 4 years• Last 4 years have been path-breaking in India’s renewable energy landscape. • Renewable power installed capacity has already reached over 70 GW. Over 40 GW renewable power capacity is under construction/tendered. • Globally, India stands 4th in wind power 5th in renewable power and 6th in solar power installed capacity.• olar energy capacity increased by over 8 times from 2.63 GW in 2014 to 22 GW.• Wind energy capacity increased by 1.6 times from 21 GW in 2014 to 34 GW.• Trajectories for bidding 115 GW renewable power projects upto March 2020 have been announced.• We are well on track to achieving 175 GW target of installed RE capacity. • Trends suggest that the target will not only be achieved but exceeded.

REC mechanism and avail RECs.It specifically mentions that the power

procured from the hybrid project may be used for fulfilment of solar RPO and non-solar RPO in the proportion of rated capacity of solar and wind power in the hybrid plant respectively. Besides this it has also said that procurement of hybrid power through transparent bidding process may require different parameters. Parameters that may be considered for bidding could be capacity delivered at grid interface point, effective CUF and unit price of electricity.

Infact it had mentioned that battery storage may be added to the hybrid project to reduce the variability of the output power from wind solar hybrid plant; enabling higher energy output for a given capacity (bid/ sanctioned capacity) at delivery point, by installing additional capacity of wind and solar power in a wind solar hybrid plant; and ensuring availability of firm power for a particular period.

Apart from all the above provisions the government will support the technology development projects in the field of wind-solar hybrid systems. The government will also offer support for development of standards for hybrid systems.

In this issue we delve into various aspects of this policy related to wind and solar in specific, and how the initiative will drive the sector going forward.


• KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) Scheme:a. 27.5 lakh solar pumps (17.50 lakh standalone + 10 Lakh Grid-connected) b. 10 GW of Solar Power Plants of intermediate capacity of 0.5–2 MWc. 50,000 Grid-connected tube-wells/lift irrigation and drinking water projects • SRISTI (Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India) – new scheme for solar rooftop being formulated.• Round the Clock renewables policy has been finalized.

Transparency is an overarching guidelines principle of our government. Transparent bidding and facilitation for procurement of solar and wind power through tariff based competitive bidding process have led to significant reduction in cost of solar and wind power. In the year 2017 competitive bidding guidelines for procurement of solar and wind power have been notified. The lowest tariff of Rs. 2.44 per unit for solar and Rs. 2.43 per unit for wind discovered. The first solar plant bid at Rs. 2.44 will be inaugurated in August 2018.• We have waived the Inter State Transmission System charges and losses for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by March 2022. This will encourage setting up of the projects in states that have greater resource potential and availability of suitable land. It also helps in creating a pan-India renewable power market, as generation in excess of the state’s own requirement could be transmitted to the resource poor states without additional financial burden;• In our efforts to send right signal about government of India’s commitment towards renewables we have notified RE Purchase Obligation (RPO) trajectory upto the year 2019. We are in a process to notify RPO trajectory upto the year 2022;• For mainstreaming renewables, we have introduced Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO). This provision will encourage coal based thermal power generators to diversify in renewable energy portfolio;• For optimizing land use and harnessing solar and wind energy potential optimally, we have notified Solar-Wind hybrid policy. This policy will help in better harnessing of RE resources and to an extant also address renewable energy variability, The Ministry has also brought out one tender for setting up 2000 MW solar-wind hybrid in existing projects;• Target for Solar Parks has been enhanced from 20 GW to 40 GW. 41 Solar Parks in 21 States with aggregate capacity of over 26 GW have already been sanctioned. Largest Solar Park of 2 GW capacity in Pavagada, Karnataka is under implementation. New Solar Park policy has been announced to encourage participation by private parties and CPSUs in setting up Solar Parks. • Off-shore from Tamil Nadu and Gujarat coast provides among the best locations from wind power generation. In order to harness this potential we have formulated offshore wind power policy and expression of interest for initial 1GW off-shore wind power have already been issued;• Creating an ecosystem for domestic manufacturing of solar cells is our priority. We have issued expression of interest for setting up solar PV manufacturing capacities linked with assured off take of 20GW. This stimulus is expected to kick start domestic manufacturing in solar energy space;• The Green Energy Corridor projects seek creation of grid infrastructure for renewable power evacuation and to reshape grid for future requirements. The intra state transmission scheme (InSTS) being implemented by eight renewable rich States with an investment of Rs. 10,141 crores will set up about 9400 ckm transmission lines and Substations of total capacity of approx. 19000 MVA to be completed March 2020. • Over US$ 42 billion investment was made in RE in India during last 4 years. New opportunities have emerged- altogether new business space has been created. Indian companies have begun to explore foreign stock exchanges as a source of funds. India is progressively becoming a most favored destination for investment in renewables.Foreign investors can enter into joint venture with an Indian partner for financial and/or technical collaboration and for setting up of renewable energy-based power generation projects. 100% foreign investment as equity qualifies for automatic approval. Government of India is also encouraging foreign Investors to set up renewable energy-based power generation projects on build-own-operate basis. • RE projects set up in last 4 years have created around 10 million man day’s employment per annum. The Suryamitra program was launched for creation of a qualified technical workforce in 2015 and over 18,631 Suryamitras have been trained under the programme up to 31 March 2018. • For quality assurance we have notified standards for deployment of solar photovoltaic systems/devices; and• On 6 December 2017, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has become first international intergovernmental organization headquartered in India. ISA is a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India’s vision to provide clean energy to all.

MNRE | ACHIEVEMENTS

NEw SCHEMES AT ADVANCED STAgES Of bEINg LAuNCHED

fOr rEALISINg 175 gw TArgET A NuMbEr Of pOLICy MEASurES HAVE bEEN TAkEN


Solar wind hybrid policy and its futureThe new policy aims to provide a framework of large scale hybrids, while also encouraging new technologies and new methods for hybridisation, including energy storage, writes KR Nair, President, Indian Wind Power Association.

sanction for Inter-State bidding of 2500 MW wind-solar hybrid projects through the Solar Energy Corporation of India. It has also issued the guidelines as required under Section 63 of the Central Electricity Act, for this purpose. However, recently it has been found that there is some disconnect and undue delay in implementing the Central Directives/Policies at the State level. It is pertinent to note here that MNRE had issued in August, 2016 the “Repowering Policy” (for replacing old wind turbines) and till date not a single State has come out with any guidelines for implementing the Repowering Policy, in spite of several reminders and representations from the Industry Associations.

The studies have shown that combining wind and solar energies help to minimise the variability of power output from such technologies and thereby reduce the threats posed to grid security. There are several areas in India where both solar and wind have high to moderate potential

The wind-solar hybrid policy announced by the MNRE, after a long deliberations and discussions

with all stakeholders for almost two years, has now come in time, which, if implemented properly, would be a boon to the Renewable Energy industry in India. This hybrid policy would definitely pave the way for the efficient utilisation of existing land and transmission infrastructure, thereby reducing the cost of energy. The new policy also aims to provide a framework of large scale hybrids, while also encouraging new technologies and new methods for hybridisation, including energy storage. While the hybrid policy was under consideration, some of the investors had already started a few Solar–Wind hybrid projects. Hence, the technologies for wind solar hybrid are in place and it can take off in a big way with the help and cooperation of the Central and State Regulators as well as Electricity Boards and nodal agencies in the concerned States.

Even before the Central and State Regulators have issued guidelines for implementing the Hybrid Policy at the State level, MNRE has come out with

POLICY | SolAR wInD hybRID

for setting up wind-solar hybrid projects. Wind generation is predominantly high during the night while solar generation is there during day hours only. Many studies have been conducted and the graph below shows the mean wind and solar power distribution in a windy area in Maharashtra in July, 2017.

The ‘Total’ line in the above graph is closer to a stable line power generation than wind or solar individually/stand-alone. Thus while combining the two complementary renewable energy sources at a grid level, it will lead to a more balanced grid management and transmitting more power in the already available transmission infra-structure including substations and transmission lines.

Hybrid systems involve solar PV systems and Wind Turbine generators being configured at the same point of connection. In order to be classified as hybrid project, the rated capacity of one source of energy must be atleast 25 per


cent of the rated capacity of the other resource. In a recent study conducted in Maharashtra at a selected wind farm with feasibility of solar power installation in the same pooling station, it was found that installing solar power capacity at 40 per cent of the wind capacity will give optimum utilisation of evacuation infrastructure. This configuration will also ensure that there is negligible curtailment of evacuation capacity for hybrid wind and solar plant. The table below clearly illustrates the findings:

In the above scenario, a wind farm having capacity of 400 MW was considered to be connected to a pooling station having 400 MW capacity. Then four different scenario of configurations i.e., 100, 120,160 and 200 MW solar capacity were considered and it was found that 160 MW solar with 400 MW wind provides best utilization of the 400 MW evacuation infrastructures. The monthly average Plant Load Factor for 400 MW Wind and 160 MW Solar combined plant is shown in the following graph:

Even though the Hybrid policy has been issued by the MNRE, there are many challenges in successfully implementing the Wind Solar Hybrid projects. As mentioned, there should be proper guidelines from the State nodal agencies and cooperation and adherence to the commitment from the State electricity boards in line with the policy announced by the MNRE. Though the existing wind projects could be easily hybridised as it has enough land, for new projects acquiring land is a cumbersome procedure in some of the States. Presently, for new wind projects the land is taken on foot-print basis, but for wind solar hybrid projects, there should be continuous land and extra land needs to be purchased for Solar plant. With the help of MNRE, Central and State Regulators as well as State nodal agencies, wind-solar hybrid projects can take off which would result effective and optimum utilisation of land, infrastructure and transmission facilities, thereby reducing further the cost of renewable energy in India

(Views expressed by the author are personal)

Though the existing wind projects could be easily hybridised as it has enough land, for new projects acquiring land is a cumbersome procedure in some of the States



Hybrid technology to drive the RE sector ahead

Hybrid solutions help manage the cost of delivery of RE power by ensuring optimal use of power evacuation systems at different voltage levels , writes Arun Srivastava, Director General, Independent Solar Power Producers Alliance

Technology and the RE sector are possibly synonymous and fully complement each other.

The emergence of RE as a viable energy alternative has not only been due the technological developments so far, it in

aggressively and on multiple frontiers, including the development of storage and recharging technologies etc.

If we look back, various RE technologies, particularly those commonly used for largescale power generation such as solar or wind, have been around for decades. However, their relatively recent acceptance appears to be a direct fallout of the combination of factors, including falling costs and the promise RE holds for the future, besides of course the ever increasing cost of fossil fuels, environmental considerations etc. In case of solar power generation, the ease of installation & maintenance coupled with their phenomenal scalability make it a more than acceptable alternative.

fact, hinges even more on the expected advancements going forward. The immense possibilities with the RE power, including the unbelievable positive impact it has on environment, the low or almost no-cost availability expected in the future and other sustainability factors make a complete switchover to RE based economy and life style in the near future almost inescapable. Only the time needed to complete the transition may possibly be debated the direction of the shift cannot be altered. It is this phenomenal possibility that drives technological advancement and innovation process. The expectations of improved technologies with higher conversion efficiencies, better applications etc. are pushing the research agenda quite



production, transportation and usage of fossil fuels constantly push up the cost of fossil fuel based power generation. Similarly the hydro-electric power also is fast becoming commercially unviable on account of very high initial capital investment needs and long gestation. These conventional power generation projects may soon face existential crisis due to commercial challenges. At the same time, a stand-alone RE capacity also faces hurdles in growth for want of back-up support for periods such capacities are not available. The challenge is expected to continue at least till such time large scale commercially viable electricity storage options get developed. If the conventional (Thermal and Hydel) as well non-conventional (RE) options are to be used in hybrid configuration, both will get helped besides benefiting the consumers through moderated costs of delivered electricity and faster adoption of environmentally sustainable power generation technologies.

For a hybrid solution integrating RE with thermal generation, the thermal generating units would need to be operated in a variable mode - reducing the generation to the Technical Minimum Levels (around 40-50 percent Load Factor) during the periods of RE availability while maximizing the generation levels when the RE options are not available, or during the peak demand periods, depending on system requirement. Such an operation philosophy will also help meet the System Peak Demand with relatively cheaper thermal power compared to gas based generation or diesel engines.

The government as well as the Electricity Regulators could immensely

help the process of development of hybrid solutions through supportive policies and regulations. Such a move could have the following advantages:• It will help thermal generation segment gaining relevance for another few decades by offering a blended cost of generation through combination of cheaper renewable power• It will also support the indigenous coal industry by ensuring extended demand for coal for power making optimal use of indigenous coal• Optimum utilization of available land attached to the thermal power plants and creation of RE capacity without the need to change the land use pattern - vast tracts of land acquired for thermal power projects, especially government owned, for ash disposal and prefabrication/storage lie idle or are put to sub-optimal use. • Effecting cost reduction in case of RE power commissioned in the existing conventional plant areas thus saving on the cost for land, time for acquisition etc.• RE projects developed on the available land with the conventional plants, in most of the cases may not require additional power evacuation capacity as the redundancies built in their power evacuation system would be adequate to evacuate the RE power as well, at no additional costs. • Faster integration of RE capacities through their supportive role in grid stabilization• Helping the technology development process by way of offering assured market for improved products


Similarly, the possibility of sizing up of the wind turbines for enhanced productivity and making them more adaptable under varying operating conditions besides the associated cost optimization is playing important role in their getting widely accepted. The advancements in forecasting techniques for accurately predicting the power generation through RE resources also have helped matters further. In the Indian power market the RE power costs compare quite favourably against other sources of electricity, a trend also witnessed globally. Such trends are likely to continue and hold tremendous promise.

However, yet another factor that is helpful in rapid emergence of RE as a fairly reliable and commercially viable energy source is the possibility of integration with other energy alternatives. Given the time and season dependent variability in availability of RE power, a fine balance is possible to be struck through hybrid solutions by combining such technologies for enhanced combined productivity and system reliability. For instance, integration of Solar with Wind offers an excellent option to ensure RE power being available for longer durations during the day and more productive days in a year. Such a combination is perfectly well suited for the coastal regions or the windy zones. Higher wind speeds after the sunset helps help flattening the RE supply curves by supplementing the generation of solar power during the sunny hours of the day. Hybrid solutions also help manage the cost of delivery of RE power by ensuring optimal use of power evacuation systems at different voltage levels.

The recent trends of falling tariffs for RE power have expanded the possibilities of integration of different sources of electricity generation even beyond the Renewable Energy spectrum. For instance, it is possible to integrate the RE power with thermal power generation with immense benefits to the power system, besides helping each other. It is common knowledge that the rates for RE power has declined appreciably in India as well as globally and has possibly emerged as the cheapest source of power generation, more so if new generation capacities are to be created. The ever increasing costs of



The answer to India’s energy needsOne of the key constraints in the development of solar and wind projects is access to land and evacuation infrastructure, writes Girish Shivakumar, Policy Director, IESA

India has an ambitious plan of 175 GW renewables by 2022, including 40 GW of rooftop solar, 60 GW of

grid-scale solar and 60 GW of wind. By the end of 2017-18, the total renewable power installed capacity in the country was almost 70 GW. India is quickly increasing its share of renewable energy sources but still depends on coal, oil and natural gas and the related carbon emissions for 80 percent of its electricity. RE industry in India has shown the ability to scale up rapidly while delivering significantly lower cost. So the main challenge in meeting the National Renewable Energy targets is the ability of the Indian electric grid to integrate these variable resources.

MNRE released the National Solar-Wind hybrid policy recently (May 2018) two years after the draft was released in 2016. This policy aims to provide a framework for the promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid system for efficient utilization of transmission infrastructure and land. It also aims at reducing the variability in renewable power generation and achieving better grid stability through the integration of energy storage with such hybrid projects. Solar

the cost for a renewable energy plant. Using hybrid projects, the wind and solar modules will feed power into the same transmission lines, allowing firms to have almost twice the capacity on each site and to make better returns on their investments. Hybrid RE projects can also ensure the greater contribution of RE to meet the peak load. Recently, Hero Future Energies (HFE) commissioned India’s first solar-wind hybrid project in Karnataka to better utilize the available power evacuation. The project at Kavithal, Raichur district included an existing 50 MW wind farm, now has a neighboring 28.8 MW solar PV site to form a hybrid system. The project’s evacuation capacity remains at 50 MW since the primary aim is to address grid-integration concerns around variable power coming from renewable energy. In addition to HFE, the Solar Energy Corporation of India had invited expressions of interest or EoIs from engineering, procurement, and construction contractors to develop a 160 MW large-scale solar-wind hybrid project with an energy storage system in Ramagiri district of Andhra Pradesh. NTPC, too,

and wind power being variable in nature pose certain challenges on grid security and stability and therefore suitable policy interventions are required not only for new wind-solar hybrid plants but also for encouraging hybridization of existing plants.

As per the projections by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in its National Electricity Plan (NEP), solar and wind capacity combined could account for over 25 percent of the installed capacity in the grid by 2022 if the 160 GW target is achieved. Experts believe that India has an ideal market for hybrid projects, considering that many states are rich in both wind and solar energy resources. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh have large capacities of both wind and solar power projects.

One of the key constraints in the development of solar and wind projects is access to land and evacuation infrastructure. By co-locating wind and solar projects, the capacity utilization of power evacuation increases. These two modules make up around 25 percent of

POLICY | RE


and also different groups that have worked with donor agencies such as USAID and GIZ. MNRE has issued twice Expression of Interest to develop demonstration projects in energy storage and Solar Energy Corporation has issued at least 3 bids for 8-10 projects for RE + storage projects. Over past 3-4 years, the industry has enthusiastically supported all these efforts and submitted detailed proposals to the government. Unfortunately, none of the RFPs have resulted in the actual commissioning of the project. This had created a huge concern for the industry both in India and globally.

Fortunately, current Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh has taken a very proactive view on the opportunity of energy storage in India. Under the leadership of MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar, expert committee is working on the drafting of the National Energy Storage Mission, which is expected to be launched in June. The mission will cover aspects related to renewable integration at the transmission level, distributed renewable integration at the distribution level, the role of storage for

energy access and microgrids as well as the EV charging infrastructure as well as battery requirements. Once this mission document is in place it will act as a guiding document.

Solar + Storage is anticipated to become a viable solution for off grid as well as for managing peak loads within next 12-18 months. This can fuel exponential growth for storage. IESA has launched MICRO (Microgrid Initiative for Campus and Rural Opportunities) in 2016 with a goal of reducing the levelized cost of energy for such systems by up to 50 percent by 2020. Depending on the policy developments and implementation by various government agencies, we anticipate that RE + storage hybrid projects will drive growth for next decade. In future, as there is an enforcement in grid discipline with penalties for deviations, energy storage will prove to be a valuable asset in grid integration by smoothing the intermittencies and provide ancillary services for improving the reliability of Indian grid.


had invited tenders to set up a 3.5 MW solar+ wind hybrid power project at NTPC Kudgi in Karnataka.

The key challenge for reaching these ambitious targets would be the ability of the grid to integrate variability associated with these renewables, as well as the huge investment required for upgrading the T&D infrastructure. Energy storage can help in better integration of these renewable by providing multiple values to the system such as optimizing T&D investments, addressing forecasting errors in wind and solar generation for more accurate scheduling, addressing local reliability issues by providing reactive power support and also enabling end users for managing peak load and more efficient utilization of distributed renewables etc. With the rapid reduction in the cost of both solar and storage, customers can see solar plus storage as an alternative for the peak power from grid at the same time, utilities can avoid investments in Peaker capacity or eliminate load shedding by utilizing these resources.

Applications for energy storage related to renewable energy include RE smoothing and RE firming. RE smoothing addresses the short duration variability in output of the wind or solar energy (typically within 15 – 30 mins). RE Firming is shifting of renewable energy output to times where grid requires it most (typically 2-4 hours). Examples of RE firming include shifting part of solar PV output during 11 AM - 2 PM to 6 PM - 9 PM to meet evening peak or shifting peak and wind output from early morning hours to 7 AM to 10 AM to meet morning ramp up on the grid. Apart from this energy storage can also be used to provide reactive power support to improve renewable integration particularly on weaker distribution feeders.

Despite the tremendous potential for integration of RE and energy storage, we have lost significant time in just discussing these issues. Since 2014, MOP and MNRE have created a number of committees such as at least 2 committees to consider “Large scale renewable integration challenges” and “Standing Committee for Energy Storage and Hybrid Systems”. There is a separate committee for Greening the Islands project

POLICY | RE

It aims at reducing the variability in renewable power generation and achieving better grid stability through the integration of energy storage with such hybrid projects


POLICY WATCH | SolAr-WINd HybrId

‘Combination of wind and solar to have positive effect on grid security’

The wind solar hybrid policy and scheme recommends that the hybrid plant will be recognized if the rated capacity of wind source is at least 25 percent of the rated capacity of the other source, writes D.V. Giri, Secretary General, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association

The guidelines and scheme for 2500 MW of wind solar hybrid policy has been announced. This is a welcome

through transparent bidding process. The scheme also envisages the procured energy from hybrid plants for solar and non solar RPO requirement /compliance.

It is encouraging that the policy allows the use of battery storage in the hybrid plant to reduce variability of output power and provide higher energy for a given capacity at delivery point by installing additional capacity of wind and solar power and to ensure availability of firm power for a particular period of fiscal and financial incentives available to wind and solar projects, will be available for the hybrid projects.

move and will provide framework for promotion of large grid connected wind solar hybrid system for optimum and efficient utilization of transmission infrastructure and land. The eligible projects are both green field (new) and brown field (existing).

The policy and scheme recommends that the hybrid plant will be recognized if the rated capacity of wind source is at least 25 percent of the rated capacity of the other source. The sales option of the hybrid project may be captive or sale to third party through open access and sale to distribution companies by determined tariff by respective SERC or a price discovery


wind has demonstrated far higher PLF compared to solar. In other words, wind sites must be seen as precious natural resource.

Co-location: The policy is not very clear whether hybrid projects which are not co-located will qualify under this policy. It is recommended that these projects also should be brought under the policy.

Tariff Determination: As envisaged in the policy, sales options are many which includes captive, sale to third party through open access and sale to distribution companies at a tariff determined by SERC or through transparent bidding process. This goes well for green field projects but will pose issues for brown field projects where there is already a determined tariff for wind or solar. It may be necessary to retain the existing tariff and fix for the add-on resource at a tariff determined either by last bid or at existing tariff. As stated in the policy, solar and wind power injected from the hybrid project in the grid will be worked out by apportioning reading of main metre.

Evacuation Network: Setting up

adequate evacuation network will be critical for offtake of wind solar hybrid projects. As per the prevailing regulatory framework by CEA and CERC, the responsibility of setting up evacuation infrastructure up to pooling substation is with the developer. However, setting up of upstream transmission infrastructure is the responsibility of the grid utilities which would pay a significant role in evacuation of RE Hybrid projects. Hence it is suggested that state level planning code has to give priority to grid planning for RE hybrid.

Low Cost Finance: The draft hybrid policy had mentioned availability of Low Cost financing for hybrid projects may be available through IREDA and other financial including multilateral banks. However, it is observed that such provisions have been removed while finalizing the policy. In order to encourage such projects, it is suggested that incentives such as low cost financing should be retained.


ll AdvAntAgesThe combination of wind and solar will address variable nature of both the sources and have a positive effect on grid security and stability. Studies have revealed that the energy generation from solar and wind complements each other. Hybrid projects encourage optimum utilization of infrastructure and land.

Key issues: Stipulation of 25 percent : As per policy, wind solar plant will be recognized as hybrid plant if the rated power capacity of wind source is at least 25 percent of the rated capacity of the other source. It is highlighted that unlike solar energy, wind energy potential is concentrated in eight states i.e. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It may be necessary to stipulate that areas where the wind resource is predominant, solar capacity should be restricted to 10percent to save scarce wind resource and land, while in non-windy states minimum limit of 10 percent of wind power is used.

Land Utilization: As described above, wind states and wind sites are very specific. By a policy, it should encourage and stipulate of wind rich areas must use 75 percent for wind and solar to be restricted to 25 percent. If this is not stipulated the best windy sites may get occupied by solar which will defeat the entire purpose. It is a known fact that

As per the regulatory framework by CEA and CERC, the responsibility of setting up evacuation infra up to pooling substation is with developer

POLICY WATCH | SolAr-WINd HybrId


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SOLAR-WIND HYBRID

Hero Future Energies brings live India’s first hybrid project The company would continue to look for additional hybrid projects, wherever and whenever possible, says Naveen Khandelwal, Chief Investment & Strategy Officer, Hero Future Energies in an interaction with Anurima Mondal

of transmission infra. The key advantages of this hybrid plant are accuracy in forecasting and scheduling and sharing of resources for O&M, leading to 50 percent increased revenue.

The way forward for this wind – solar hybrid project in Karnataka, is integration of battery storage system in order to utilize the remaining 255 MU’s which is not being evacuated due to hybrid design limit and for smoothening of power evacuation.

What are your views on the draft policy recently released by the ministry for setting up wind-solar-hybrid projects? It’s good starting point but still the policy is very generic and statement of intent. Lot more and specific needs to be done to get projects on the ground. Clarity on project approvals and tariff determination process is a key.

What was your overall experience in commissioning the project? Are you planning to commission similar projects in

future? Which other states are you planning to tap?Project execution was quite similar to any other solar project, as we added solar capacity to existing wind project. Only difference being no work on substation and external transmission line was required. We appreciate the support for connectivity approval. To the extent this project was dependent on this; we got that support from the KPTCL. Energy from the project is being sold to third party consumers, in the absence of specific tariff for hybrids.

Definitely, we would continue to look for additional hybrid projects, wherever and whenever possible. However, the same would be a project specific analysis and decision and be largely dependent on nature of resource. State would matter only if the particular state comes out with a policy or tariff support for such hybrid project. We are hopeful that some good developments would happen in this direction sooner than later.

elaborate on your future plans and the technology initiatives that are

QHero Future energies recently brought live India’s first solar wind hybrid in

Karnataka. tell us more about the project. Hero Future Energies added an exclusive project in the state of Karnataka to its portfolio, which India’s first wind - solar hybrid project. The project which includes 50 MW of wind and 28.8 MW of solar, has been developed on a pilot scale and the idea is to create a model where grid failures can be totally avoided. Thus the evacuation has been kept at 50 MW. This pioneering hybrid of Hero Future Energies has managed power evacuation and wheeling in the grid as per required norms of consumers in case of group captive. The off-takers are industrial and commercial consumers based in the state of Karnataka. The industry average PLF for wind power plants stands at 28 percent and for solar it is 18.7 percent this hybrid plant benefits from the cumulative PLF, which is 41.8 percent.

Developers across the country are working aggressively towards CUF enhancement of their existing renewable systems which positively impacts the business. Wind - solar hybrid is not only an answer to this, but additionally it brings down the cost of BOP, maximises utilisation of existing infrastructure and efficient utilization


INTERVIEW

Of 100 gW solar target, 40gW is to come from solar rooftop projects. do you think ‘rent a rooftop’ policy can help India achieve the target?It seems to be another good initiative. It should support some demand but I am not overly optimistic about it’s impact beyond couple of GWs.

Which is the latest Pv technology adopted in India and best suited for the Indian market?PV technology has been experiencing incremental improvements, on both module and invertor side. Every year we witness slight increase in efficiency, module size, voltage level etc. In last 12 months we have seen further improvement through introduction of Mono-PERC modules, Bi-facial modules, Cut-Cell modules and combinations thereof. Only point is they are still being installed in Indian on pilot basis while mass scale deployment is still of 325-340 Wp poly-modules. Similarly, on invertor side voltage level has gone upto 800 V from 280 V. Also, due to improvement in costing, string inverters are being preferred

again now over central inverters, owing to their efficiency gains and higher availability aspect.

How do you see India emerging as a global hub of manufacturing in renewable energy, especially when it comes to the quality of products?As far as wind is concerned, I think we are already there. We might be behind by a year or so in terms of introduction of newer products, but we are getting and deploying them quickly. Good thing is the entire eco-system of wind manufacturing is already quite mature in the country and roll-out of new product is a matter of produce development and not setting up entire thing.

In case of solar, despite multiple efforts, we have not been able to reach to the desired level of quality and scale which effects entire economics and does not start virtuous cycle of large scale solar manufacturing.

Nevertheless, with still continuing efforts of government we are optimistic that we would be able to contain import levels of module. I don’t see India occupying Global Hub position in visible future.

driving the company ahead?We intend to reach 3.5 GW of installed capacity across wind and solar by 2021. As we are deploying technology, we use the latest commercially deployable technology available to our projects. I see India taking few more years before we start dictating technology choices to the world.

What are the milestones achieved by you in the last one year?Hero Future Energies installed over 600 MW capacity last year across wind and solar. This has taken us to total installed capacity of around 1.15 GW. Further, we have under construction projects of around 400 MW. Apart from this, we are executing some marquee projects in rooftop segment. Moreover, we are also developing projects in select international geographies. Finally, we have invested in capability building across functions in a big way so as to be ready to embark on next phase of growth.

What are the major challenges for developers in the sector? How can those be addressed better? Having seen improvement in payment profile of multiple states, we hope that the same is not short-lived and is a permanent change in behaviour of the states/Discoms. One major issue is good visibility of project/bid pipeline as the same helps companies in planning the business better. Apart from this, land acquisition and evacuation infrastructure continue to be major issues. Uniformity in and timely processing of approvals and permits could also be a big support.

How do you see the role of off-grid solutions like rooftop solar contributing to the government’s ambitious project on 175 gW by 2022Rooftop solar is going to contribute in a meaningful way but whether installed capacity would be near 40 GW is the big question. There are multiple issues giving rise to this question and a few are; inconsistent and difficult to implement net metering polices across most states, Indian roofs being used for many alternate usages & capacity building around design, engineering and quality of installations etc.

The way forward for wind – solar hybrid project in Karnataka, is integration of battery storage system


COLuMN

With an aim to boost renewable power generation, the government on 14th

May 2018 had announced a National wind-solar hybrid policy, which seeks to promote new projects as well as hybridisation of the existing ones. The month of May 2018, has also seen crossing of Renewable Power the mark of 70 GW, with ground mount solar crossing the mark of 20 GW and wind by 34 GW in India. As renewable’s role in power generation expands, technology becomes an important enabler. Renewable energy hybrid solutions have significant potential to provide the efficiency and flexibility needed to accelerate the transition to a renewables-led energy mix.

The wind-solar hybrid policy provides for a comprehensive framework to

promote large grid-connected wind-solar photovoltaic (PV) hybrid system for optional and efficient utilisation of transmission infrastructure and land, thereby reducing the variability in renewable power generation and achieving better grid stability. This apart, the policy also aims to encourage new technologies, methods and way-outs involving combined operation of wind and solar PV plants.

Solar and wind power being variable in nature pose certain challenges on grid security and stability and therefore suitable policy interventions are required not only for new wind-solar hybrid plants, but also for encouraging hybridisation of existing plants. The policy provides for procurement of power from a hybrid project on tariff-based transparent bidding process for which government entities may invite

bids. It also permits use of battery storage in hybrid projects for optimising output and further reduces variability.

The policy also mandates the regulatory authorities to formulate necessary standards and regulations for wind-solar hybrid systems.

Under the policy, the government will extend all fiscal and financial incentives available to wind and solar power projects to hybrid projects. It will also support technology development projects in the field. The policy provides for the integration of both the energy sources, wind and solar, at AC as well as DC levels.

A number of Studies revealed that solar and winds are almost complementary to each other and hybridisation of two technologies would help in minimizing the variability. Superimposition of wind and solar

Renewable hybrid solutions combine energy generation resources and storage. The promise lies in resource complementarity, efficient plant utilization, and ability to closer match production to consumption or remuneration, writes Praveen Saxena

Start of a new era in renewable energy reliability


resource maps shows that there are large areas where both wind and solar have high to moderate potential. The Goal of the Policy is to reach wind-solar hybrid capacity of 10 GW by 2022. Under the category of wind-solar hybrid power plants, Wind and Solar PV systems will be configured to operate at the same point of grid connection. There can be different approaches towards integrating wind and solar depending upon the size of each of the source integrated and the technology type. On the technology front, in case of fixed speed wind turbines connected to grid using an induction generator, the integration can be on the HT side at the AC output bus. However, in case of variable speed wind turbines deploying inverters for connecting with the grid, the integration can even be on the LT side before the inverter i.e. at the intermediate D.C bus.

The other important aspect would be related to the sizing – which would depend on the resource characteristics. In order to achieve the benefits of hybrid plant in terms of optimal and efficient utilization of transmission infrastructure and better grid stability by reducing the variability in renewable power generation, in the locations where the wind power density is quite good, the size of the solar PVs capacity to be added as the solar-hybrid component could be relatively smaller. On the other hand, in case of the sites where the wind power density is relatively lower or moderate, the component of the solar PV capacity could be relatively on a higher side.

As per the policy, existing wind power or solar power projects, willing to install solar PV plant or wind turbine generators (WTGs) respectively to avail benefit of hybrid project, are allowed to do so subject to the fact that the hybrid power injected in to the grid will not be

more than the transmission capacity/grid connectivity allowed/sanctioned for existing wind/solar project. However, the additional solar/wind power generated from the hybrid project may be used for captive purpose or may be sold.

The policy has envisaged that the Central Commission to lay down the guidelines for determination of generic tariff for wind-solar hybrid system. Further, the Commission may frame regulations for forecasting and scheduling for the hybrid systems. Further, low cost financing for hybrid projects may be made available through IREDA and other financial institutions including multilateral banks.

Renewable hybrid solutions combine energy generation resources and storage. The promise lies in resource complementarity, efficient plant utilization, and ability to closer

match production to consumption or remuneration. Wind, complemented by solar, has imminent potential to improve site production, increase capacity factor, and more fully utilize electrical connection infrastructure and balance of plant equipment. With the addition of storage, production deployment to system can be shifted in time to more closely match consumption and/or to meet grid requirements.

While the case for hybrid solutions may seem simple, realization of benefits is much more complex. It is necessary to right-size hybrid power plants relative to project business case, while fulfilling grid requirements. The coming years will tell how much this technology option would have positive impact on capacity addition and over all Government Target of 175 GW. Wind – Solar Hybrid will certainly open new avenues in the RE capacity addition in India. The project designers have to be careful in sizing the plants and chose carefully the technologies.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of the magazine.

The promise lies in resource complementarity, efficient plant utilization, and ability to closer match production to consumption

PRAVEEN SAxENA


ROOFTOP

‘Off-grid solar projects extremely important for India’Making new and old residential, institutional, commercial, and government buildings solar compatible is the best way to support green energy adoption, says Neha Agrawal, Head of Corporate Strategy and Rooftop Business, Vikram Solar in a conversation with Sonali Chowdhury.

United States in February• Ties up with France’s CEA to drive innovative technology research and development in March• Commissions 100 kWp Rooftop Solar Plant for Indian Oil Corporation Ltd in March 2018• Commissions 350 kW rooftop solar project for Gun and Shell Factory, Cossipore, Kolkata in March 2018

How do you see India emerging as a global hub of manufacturing in renewable energy, especially when it comes to the quality of products?India has immense potential of becoming the hub for solar manufacturing (which is the leading choice for renewable energy world wide). Policy reformations and initiatives like Make in India have brought investments and presented an opportunity for industrial development, job creation and economic growth. And India focusing on solar creates the perfect industry for the country to leverage manufacturing growth.

However, continued solar imports (In FY 15-16, the expenditure jumped to $2.3 billion and within FY 16-17, India spent $3.1 billion in solar equipment imports, while in FY 17-18 (Apr-Feb) the expense amounted to $3.5 billion.) have limited investment in solar technology R&D, establishment of testing facilities, and support to domestic manufacturing.

Besides, confusion relating to GST, safeguard, and delays in imposition of anti-dumping on imported modules hinder India’s chances of becoming global manufacturing hub in a demanding industry.

India needs to focus on enhancing its module manufacturing capacity, as it is the finished product. And investing money in domestic solar development, R&D, testing facility development and bringing new manufacturing policy would certainly help.

elaborate on the technology initiatives that is driving the company ahead?Vikram Solar has always been focused on quality, innovation, and performance. It is the first company to gain recognition as Tier 1 Module manufacturing company in India by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Vikram Solar has two state of the art manufacturing facilities in Falta, West Bengal with a scope for further expansion in Phases.

Our manufacturing facility has the finest machinery and equipment imported from United States, Switzerland, Germany and Japan. Our products are designed to the highest standards of quality, reliability and performance. Our in-house research and development efforts help us in being ahead of the curve in the ever evolving solar technology space. We conduct research study programmes with leading laboratories across the globe like DNV GL, Photovoltaic Technology Laboratory Cyprus etc.

We have signed MOUs with tech leaders across the globe to keep developing and improving our technology for best-in-class product manufacturing. We are also investing in development of new products like recently introduced Mono-Crystalline high efficiency modules SOMERA.

Which segment does the majority of your solar rooftop customers belong to-industrial, institutional or residential?Currently, solar installation on Government buildings (across 52 projects) stands as the largest share of our rooftop projects. Telecom towers (across 40 projects) take the second position in the list, and educational institutions (across 26 projects) third position by majority of addressed projects. We have commissioned

Q What are the major achievements of vikram solar in the last one year?

The major milestones achieved by Vikram Solar in last financial year are:• Commissions 10 MWp solar plant in Andhra Pradesh, India in April• Becomes Top performer in DNV GL Module Reliability Scorecard Report 2017 in July• Modules used for solar project at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in September• Commissions 80 MW solar project in Gujarat in September• Conferred with ‘Leading renewable energy manufacturer – Solar Modules’ award at the Renewable Energy India Expo 2017 in September• Launches New Monocrystalline Product Line SOMERA in October• Awarded Gold Certificate of Merit at the Frost & Sullivan and FICCI’s India Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2017 in December• Installs 100 kw Rooftop Solar plant on SBI Patna office in December• Gyanesh Chaudhary was appointed as the Chairman of Renewable Energy & Energy Storage Division of IEEMA in January 2018• Opens Office in Massachusetts, 2nd office in


INTERVIEW

tax incentives, net metering regulations etc. What is still lagging in the system affecting the rooftop installations? Rooftop solar sector is showing incredible growth in the recent years. The sector in India has been adding from 72 MW to 227 MW capacity per year since 2013. In 2016, this sector surpassed the 1 GW mark showing 113 percent growth over 2015. In 2017, India added nearly 863.92 MW of rooftop solar capacity, standing at ~2.2 GW capacity. And all these have been achieved by Government support, subsidies, incentives and policies in play.

However, there are issues like- financial support is only available after commissioning of the plant. Therefore, it befalls upon the consumer to bear the initial investment. Besides, there are some discrepancies and delays in getting the subsidies after commissioning a plant, which only creates problems for the consumer.

It is a fact that Indian Government is actively focusing on generating fund for rooftop growth. But, to reach more than 95 percent of the remaining targeted capacity (40 GW) within next 5 years, the fund generation has to be boosted.Net-metering also doesn’t have required clarity on implementation models. And requirement for multiple permissions, lack of awareness within the utility stuff and the consumers is creating a huge challenge to meet installation targets. Additionally, some states impose cap on net-metering capacity. For

example, if 1 MW id the cap, then any rooftop plant higher than 1 MW capacity have to lose out on net-metering benefits for its additional capacity. In regards of consumer awareness, India needs to disclose information about cost, benefits, and important information to go solar. More investment, flexible financing, stabilizing tariff are the most important areas India needs to look into for rooftop solar growth.

What is the performance of your rooftop solar segment so far?

Since 2010, Vikram Solar has undertaken over 180 rooftop projects at over 250 sites, and continuously ranks amongst the top three Rooftop Installers in India. Our projects spread across India and our wide-ranged EPC experience in building solar plants in difficult terrains, high altitudes, and coastal areas is testimony to our prowess in the domain.

Our involvement ranges from concept, engineering, execution and commissioning, to operations and maintenance of completed solar array systems. Our dedicated teams work in strong cohesion to deliver customized solutions to our customers keeping a delivery focussed approach and excellence as the crux of our initiative. We have a proven track record of 20 MW installed rooftop solar capacity in India. We have installed and commissioned projects in educational institutions, FMCG organisations, government buildings, airports, railway stations, temples, and many more.

rooftop solar projects in nearly 180 locations within India.

do you see the role of off-grid solutions like rooftop solar contributing to the government’s ambitious project on 175 gW by 2022?Off-grid solar projects are extremely important for India to achieve its 40 GW installed capacity within 175 GW target by 2022. Making new and old residential, institutional, commercial, and government buildings solar compatible is the best way to raise awareness, involve common man in the process, and continuously improve infrastructure to support green energy adoption.

The rooftop sector in India has been adding from 72 MW to 227 MW capacity per year since 2013. In 2016, this sector surpassed the 1 GW mark showing 113 percent growth over 2015. In 2017, India added nearly 863.92 MW of rooftop solar capacity, standing at ~2.1 GW capacity.

However, issues like- the financial support is only available after commissioning of the plant, lack of fund generation, lack of enforcement in mandating state wise rooftop targets, lack of information regarding cost, benefits, and important information before going solar, and lack of clarity on policies are limiting Indian off-grid solar growth. With improved support, investment, and clarity in policies Indian rooftop growth is estimated to become a 3 GW per annum market by 2020.

Of 100 gW solar target, 40gW is to come from solar rooftop projects. do you think ‘rent a rooftop’ policy can help India achieve the target? ‘Rent a rooftop policy’ is a great initiative to involve the common man in the process enabling building owner and developer both to benefit. However, its success depends on raising awareness, making buildings solar compatible and enforcing net-metering facilities.

To make developers interested in this endeavour, Government also needs to bring in flexible financing and stabilizing tariffs. With such support, India can make positive changes through policies like ‘Rent a rooftop’.

the government has instituted multiple enablers such as capital subsidy on system costs, huge


INTERVIEW

‘Rooftop solar energy market displays an accelerating growth curve’Rooftop solar has shown remarkable progress lately, with several Discom level government policies, like the SRISTI scheme, proving to be a huge boon, says Sunil Rathi, Director – Sales & Marketing, Waaree Energies in an interview with EN team.

viz the “Solar Module Company of the Year”, “Outstanding Contribution To Brand India”, “Solar PV EPC Company of the Year”, Dun & Bradstreet “Best Developing solar infrastructure in the country” and “India’s Top 500 Companies 2017”. These recognitions keep us motivated to continue the good work.

elaborate on your future plans and the technology initiatives that are driving the company ahead?Waaree Energies as a company is constantly developing and expanding. We are planning to increase our manufacturing capacity to 1.2 GW. We are also bringing technology for light weight and high efficiency of modules.

We are also working on increasing our solar structure capacity and planning to reach 1200 tons per month. Our local presence, teamed with the capabilities, reach, and brand presence of an international organisation, will further be augmented by our unique

franchise model, which not only helps revolutionise solar technology in the country, but also makes clean energy more accessible. Known as Waaree Solar Experience Centres, the franchises are developed as part of a collaboration with several channel partners of Waaree Energies, to help in the growth and expansion of the existing products and service networks. With as many as 250 centres having already been established, we aim at building 1000 more by the end of the current year. In the past four years, we have spent a substantial amount on Research and Development, and investments in cutting-edge technology in order to develop high-quality products.

How can the solar industry change landscape of commercial transport in India? What role will Merlin module play?We have already launched one of the most innovative technologies in solar modules -

QWhat are the milestones achieved by you in the last one year?

We, at Waaree Energies, continue to stand for state of the art technology and operational excellence with an ever present focus on market-facing innovation. With three years on the Bridge to India Report as Rank No.1 – Indian Solar Module Manufacturer, Waaree enjoys a consistent presence on the TIER 1 Module Manufacturers List. Keeping our vision to bring new developments in the field of Solar Modules, and adding to our many firsts in the Indian market, we have pioneered MERLIN, 5BB, Bifacial, AC Module 1500V & Explosion Proof Solar Modules. In the year 2017-18, we also ventured into ‘FloatON’ Floating Solar Technology. In addition, to boost rooftop installations, we recently launched Pronto, the solar DIY kit, which enables installing of 1KW system in less than 30 minutes.

We have also successfully become the only solar company in India with over 250 franchisees, catering to solar needs across the nation. We are further expanding our franchisee network, and are on track of meeting and exceeding our target of 1000 franchisees by 2019.

Our work was recognized with more than 10 awards in 2017-18 in Solar sector,


confidence of off takers in the technology, as the existing projects have been showing substantial savings in their energy expenditure.

The soon to be launched Renewable Energy Act is expected to be a boon for the sector as well, predicting a bright future for solar energy in the EPC market as well as to the entire industry. There are lot of building integration like BIPV, and many countries and architects are working on it to make the solar integral part of construction.

Of 100 gW solar target, 40gW is to come from solar rooftop projects. do you think ‘rent a rooftop’ policy can help India achieve the target?The 100 GW target includes 40 GW through de-centralized rooftop projects, 40 GW through utility-scale solar plants, and 20 GW through ultra-mega solar parks. The target, while definitely ambitious, is not entirely unachievable. Owing to the constant innovation taking place and new technology becoming available, installations and projects which would have earlier taken 10 years are now completed in a span of just 12 months. However, the primary factor making the target achievable is the constant support and focus of the government on the sector. Time and again, we have seen the government ensure that the country is on the path of transitioning to a future reliant on renewable energy. Rent a rooftop shall further boost the installations.

How do you see India emerging

as a global hub of manufacturing in renewable energy, especially when it comes to the quality of products?Over the last few years, the Indian solar energy sector has seen an exponential growth. The turning point for it, however, has been the ambitious target of 100 GW of solar energy generation, to be achieved by 2022, that was announced by the government. Coupled with India’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, the industry saw a renewed interest from all quarters. It is imperative for the policies and subsidies introduced to be in sync and aid the industry become active partners in achieving the goal. The Make in India initiative has furthered the strengths of domestic solar manufacturers and helped showcase their capabilities. However, there is a dire need for imposing policies pertaining to safeguard duty and anti-dumping, in order to continue this endeavour. The introduction of the Modified Special Incentive Package (MSIP) will also be beneficial for the Indian manufacturers and help the industry receive the much required boost to reach the target. At Waaree, we practice stringent quality control and assurance plan, from new resource inwards to the process of finished goods. Waaree Energies is committed to provide state of the art solar solution. We hold a global reputation for quality, efficiency, reliability and customer care. We have a strong and loyal customer base. We are faithful to give the customers the best quality of solar products and meet the market demands.

Merlin solar modules. Merlin modules have their own unique strengths which is its flexibility and rugged nature. It is a technology that mitigates hot spots or micro cracks all the while generating more power while giving an application advantage. Currently we are executing few orders in India, including Indian railways, where we are implementing Merlin on the rail coach rooftops. A lot of e-rickshaws are now coming with Merlin solar panels which have empirically shown dramatic increase in range of the e-rickshaw while also increasing the life of the battery. It is next generation technology and we expect more demand in future. We have started manufacturing a small capacity of 20 MW this year and soon we will have big capacity in India.

How do you see the role of off-grid solutions like rooftop solar contributing to the government’s ambitious project on 175 gW by 2022?The demand potential for rooftop solar energy has grown significantly in the last few years, finding applicability in industrial, commercial, and institutional projects as well. The potential contribution from these is conservatively estimated to be roughly 3 GW this year, an increase from last year’s figures of around 1 GW. As a result, the confidence of the EPC market and the commercial industry has also increased significantly.

The rooftop solar energy market always displays an accelerating growth curve, as there is an abundance in the supply of rooftops, limited only by people’s apprehensions regarding its performance, sustainability, and practicality. However, it has shown remarkable progress lately, with several Discom level Government policies, like the SRISTI scheme, proving to be a huge boon. Under the scheme, solar energy companies receive incentives for rooftop solar technology installation, besides additional subsidies if they meet or exceed last year’s numbers. The process of obtaining approvals from has become simpler and faster, owing to these schemes. Also, multi-location rooftop funding through banks has become a possibility today, because of the growing popularity and viability of the technology. This has given rise to more Captive Model Open Access Projects for Large Consumers, which has the potential to become a 5 GW annual market. In addition, this has increased the

ROOFTOP


SOLAR

‘We remain committed to the Indian distributed energy market’The rooftop segment needs collective efforts to propel its growth to meet the target capacity of 40GW by 2022, says Sanjeev Aggarwal, MD, Amplus Energy Solutions in an interaction with Sonali Chowdhury

& World Bank rooftop arrangement.• 175MW solar plant constructed at Gadag, Karnataka supplying power to 30+ customers under the open access route.• First of its kind plants with smart Energy Management System.

a) Solar with battery system at Western UP Toll Plaza at Siwaya (near Meerut)- 83 kWp Solar capacity and 96 kWh Lithium-ion Battery System.

b) Solar with battery system at Vanbhawan (Forest Department), Gadchiroli, Nagpur of size 15 kWp Solar capacity and 96 kWh Tubular Flooded Lead Battery• Felicitated for Best Application and Uses of Renewable Energy Award – National energy Circle By CII• Consumer Choice Award 2017 and Solar Quarter Power List 2017being conferred to Mr Sanjeev Aggarwal (MD and CEO) by Solar Quarter. • The international recognition Middle East Solar Leadership Award 2017 for Best Solar IT

and Analytics Company of the year.

elaborate on the technology initiatives that is driving the company ahead?Amplus solar has been a pioneer in providing distributed energy solutions to its customers with its unique business model of zero upfront cost and guaranteed savings.

Additionally, Amplus also has the advantage of being the first movers to establish solar energy solution combined with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for commercial entities in the solar industry. This innovative solution can offer various functionalities like DG Mitigation, Peak Shaving, etc, thereby, increasing the potential savings of the clients. In addition to this, it enhances the flexibility of client’s power supply, especially for critical facilities which commonly face grid outages. Amplus is diversifying in new avenues such as Energy Efficiencies, Smart Cities, and concentrated solar power technologies among others.

QWhat are the milestone of Amplus solar in the last one year?

Every year Amplus is trying to add more MWs and solarize new businesses. In its effort to evolve and cater to the ever-changing dynamics of the market, Amplus keeps experimenting and innovating. Last year, we added a few more firsts to our credibility.• First company to raise financing under ADB


How do you plan to scale up operations in the rooftop solar segment?We remain committed to the Indian distributed energy market and continue to strive for maintaining a good momentum in terms of capacity deployment including open access plants, energy efficiency, data analytics, and rooftop solar. Amplus plans to develop about 1000MW of solar projects majority of it coming from rooftops and provide energy services globally in the next 3-5 years.

the government has instituted multiple enablers such as capital subsidy on system costs, huge tax incentives, net metering regulations etc. What is still lagging in the system affecting the rooftop installations?The rooftop segment as discussed above has not yet reached critical mass in terms of capacity growth as compared to utility scale, which has outpaced expectations. Although, the government has introduced various measures to ensure capacity scale up, it is still far below expectation.

Rooftop systems are slightly costlier than utility scale because of the small size and customized nature. And the recent policy reforms of implementation of GST, increase in module prices and confusion around anti-dumping and safe guard duty have inhibited customer interest due to increased tariffs. Additionally, majority of the rooftop installed capacity is concentrated in a few states and among commercial and industrial customers.

Comparable demand side push to support the supply side would ensure quick deployment of rooftop capacity. Demand side measures such as enforcing RPOs, mandating existing and new residential buildings to install solar rooftops, effective net metering mechanism across all states, debt financing schemes for rooftop owners need to be enforced alongwith continued policy support and consistent rule implementation across geographies would provide the platform for developers such as Amplus to convert this into capacity on the ground.

Of 100 gW solar target, 40gW is to come from solar rooftop projects. do you think ‘rent a rooftop’ policy can help India achieve the target?

The rooftop segment needs collective efforts to propel its growth to meet the target capacity of 40GW by 2022. Hence, measures such as “rent a rooftop” can push the capacity expansion target especially for the residential segment. This way, the developer can rent the unused roof space in return of a lease to the owner and can sell/ feed power to the grid leading to effective penetration at the grassroots level and enabling energy independence.

However, it is essential that the government protects the interests of all the stakeholders involved and define a regulatory framework/backbone that would promote an empowering ecosystem.

Which is the latest Pv technology adopted in India and best suited for the Indian market?The latest and most commonly used technology in India (especially rooftop solar) is an extension of conventional crystalline silicon cells only which is called PERT-mono silicon cells where PERT stands for Passivated Emitter and Rear Totally Diffused.

How do you see India emerging as a global hub of manufacturing in renewable energy, especially when it comes to the quality of products?The government is highly supportive of the renewable energy manufacturing segment and is pushing various reforms such as Make in India, anti-dumping and safeguard duty for the segment to scale up. Such reforms would benefit equipment manufacturers but are a cause of great concern for project developers due to increased project costs and dampening investor interests.

Incase of solar manufacturing, although there a few players who are best in class and have a good presence in terms of scale and capacity, there are many others who have obsolete manufacturing lines. Hence, in order to bring domestic manufacturing at par with its foreign counterparts in terms of pricing and quality and reduce dependency on imports, large players must be incentivized to use domestic manufacturing in their projects, financial incentive must be provided to the manufacturers to help lower down capital costs, provide finance and access to new and improved technology and exempt manufacturers from all taxes and duties.

How do you see the role of off-grid solutions like rooftop solar contributing to the government’s ambitious project on 175 gW by 2022?India’s solar capacity stands at 21GW (upto March 2018), out of which only 1GW comes from solar rooftops. But according to the NSM, 40 percent of 100GW solar by 2022 is supposed to come from rooftops. Now, that is a highly ambitious target and would require collective efforts from all stakeholders. The rooftop market has gained momentum recently and is being well accepted by commercial and industrial customers throughout India. This shift is mainly because of the immense potential savings in their electricity bills and the benefits of switching to a greener and sustainable resource. But we are still far behind from our target of 40GW by 2022 and majority of the capacity is concentrated in a few states and is driven by commercial and industrial users.

For rooftop solar to scale considerably, concerted efforts must be directed to develop a positive and collaborative market led ecosystem, easing the process of adoption especially for residential consumers, promote net metering extensively, extension of tax holidays and other taxes, mandating and enforcing renewable purchase obligations, improving the financial health of discoms and strengthening of the grid infrastructure to accommodate 40GW of solar rooftops by 2022.

This would enable greater uptake of rooftop solar power by individuals, providing them access to cheaper and more environmentally friendly power and making solar a household name.

What is the performance of your rooftop solar segment so far? What is the market share that you are aiming to tap in the solar rooftop segment?We have an in-house analytics and remote monitoring team that analyses data across all our plants on a real time basis. Hence, operational decisions like cleaning frequency can be evaluated and any fault or issue is reported and tendered to immediately. This has reduced our downtime to almost zero and our plants have been performing at an uptime of 99.8 percent.

INTERVIEW


INTERVIEW

‘Rural areas serve as promising market for off-grid solar’There is immense scope for off-grid PV technologies in developing countries like India, says Simarpreet Singh, Founder-Director, Hartek Solar in an interaction with Anurima Mondal

QHartek solar recently launched customised rooftop solar kits. tell us

more about these plug-and-play kits and the technology used.Hartek Solar’s customised rooftop solar kits come with an option of a unique remote sensing technology tailor-made for small-scale

solar plants. The remote sensing technology has largely remained confined to large rooftop solar installations owing to its non-viability for small-scale solar from the commercial viewpoint. Hartek Solar has now made this technology commercially feasible for small-scale plants as well by linking remote sensing with consumers’ Wi-Fi or GPRS SIM card to get alerts on cleaning and maintenance as well as real-time data on energy generation and savings. Consumers can avail this service either through web browser or mobile application. The remote sensing technology aids lower downtimes and has quicker fault detection tools aimed at optimising generation.

How will Hartek solar’s standardised small-scale solar solutions be a decisive step in tapping the rooftop solar market?Hartek Solar’s standardised small-scale

solar solutions promise to be a game changer in driving the demand for rooftop solar in the residential, commercial and industrial categories owing to the various advantages they offer. Designed as 5-10 kWp plug-and-play kits, these small-scale solar installations will cater to both net metering and gross metering consumers. Offered in different configurations depending on the area available, these standardised plug-and-play kits can be installed in a matter of hours rather than days. The kits have been specifically designed for RCC roofs. Their non-invasive structure design with roof protection pads rules out any damage to the roof. The 10-kWp kits, on the other hand, are ideal for 2-kanal houses, nursing homes, hotels and other commercial establishments.

Addressing the major issue of regular monitoring and maintenance associated with small-scale solar plants so as to ensure operational efficiency, Hartek Solar has also


orders in Chandigarh alone. We have already executed a 10-kWp project based on state-of-the-art remote monitoring system at a temple in Chandigarh.

elaborate on your future plans and the technology initiatives that are driving the company ahead?We have set a target of executing 10-MW rooftop solar projects by the end of the current financial year. In the process, we will build on our rooftop portfolio in the commercial, industrial and residential segments. Pursuing the 40-GW target, the government is all set to give a big push to the rooftop segment, and we are up for it. The rooftop segment is set to grow at a faster pace than the market for utility-scale projects in the near future with constantly declining tariffs and net metering expected to emerge as the game changers.

We enjoy a competitive edge in developing and providing complete rooftop solutions, right from installation of solar panels and inverters to supply, design, engineering and commissioning. Planning to come up with

innovative solutions like solar tree and solar fencing, we will also be focusing on energy storage solutions and charging stations infrastructure to build a truly sustainable ecosystem for future generations.

Excelling in in-house design and engineering, we follow uncompromising quality standards. Our expertise in executing smart grid technologies is one of our key strengths. We have bagged a prestigious smart grid order from the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd for the supply, installation and commissioning of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) relays at 55 substations in the upcoming Smart Cities of Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar. By equipping these substations with SCADA relays, the Hartek Group will enable collection and storage of information relating to any indications for troubleshooting and maintenance, thus making the power systems smart and robust. This order is a stepping stone to establishing our leadership in smart grid power solutions. Incidentally, SCADA systems are also ideal for integration of large-scale renewable energy systems.

decided to extend services for cleaning modules on a fortnightly or monthly basis, checking the efficiency of solar plants after every three months and servicing the inverters twice a year.

Simple to install, easy to maintain, weatherproof and eco-friendly, Hartek Solar’s customised solar kits act as a safeguard to constantly rising cost of electricity. The cost-effective kits have been so optimally designed that the labour and maintenance costs are bare minimum. With a break-even period of three years and four months, rooftop solar is a win-win situation for residents, enabling them to reap its benefits for the next 22 years. Rooftop plants have a life span of about 25 years.

Where are you planning to install these kits? What are the responses of your consumers till now?Our plug-and-play rooftop solar kits cater not only to the residential category but also industrial and commercial consumers. We plan to put up at least 100 such installations in residential, commercial and industrial categories in the next six months, targeting Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula as well as industrial clusters in Ludhiana, Baddi, Dera Bassi and Mandi Gobindgarh.

Our small-scale solar solutions will benefit kanal houses, housing societies, nursing homes, small commercial establishments, hotels and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). We are going all out to tap the small-scale solar market by approaching commercial establishments and medical, hotel and restaurant associations. We will also be conducting door-to-door and social media campaigns to draw on the residential category. We will adopt a cluster-based approach to reach out to end consumers in the residential, industrial and commercial categories.

While shortage of space in cities is a major constraint, the adoption of rooftop solar in the residential category can make all the difference. We aim to make our small-scale solar solutions an integral part of the upcoming Smart and Model Solar Cities. Effective net metering policies can be a game changer in shaping Model Solar Cities like Chandigarh.

Our rooftop solar kits have received a tremendous response from residents, as evident by the fact that we have secured 20

SOLAR ROOFTOP

We have set a target of 10-MW rooftop solar projects by the end of the current FY. In the process, we will build on our rooftop portfolio in the commercial, industrial and residential segments


SOLAR

‘Industry has matured for both solar and wind technologies’

Both solar and wind technologies complement each other to a large extent and a support from government for hybrid systems and policy for the same is a welcome step, says Rahul Mishra, CEO, Rays Future Energy in an interview with Anurima Mondal

QWhat are the milestones achieved by you in the last one year?

Rays Future Energy was conceptualized in 2017 with focus on solar rooftop, solar open access and e-mobility. In the last one year we have won tenders from prestigious government organizations like SECI, ONGC and Delhi Jal Board among others for rooftop business. In the private sector, we have executed agreements with reputed educational institutions, manufacturing companies, textiles group etc and have an

order book of 20MW+ with a pipeline of 40MW+.

We have also successfully commissioned 130 MW of solar power projects in the state of Karnataka under open access. It’s an accomplishment as the projects were completed in record time right from land acquisition to commissioning. The list of off-takers included industry leaders like Metro Cash and Carry, Toyota, ASK Brakes, Heidelberg Cement, Essilor among others. All in all, it has been a very successful year for the Company with business development


Further, we are exploring in detail the market for readymade or DIY kits for smaller rooftops with capacities ranging from 1-3 KW. This segment has huge potential especially in residential or rural sector. However, to tap this potential, a standard and easy to install system is needed to get the right economies of scale and keep the costs down. We also intend to develop a strong distribution network for such systems. Further, these small solar systems are best suited for being coupled with energy storage. Other initiatives, which the company explores and plans to enter, are energy storage systems, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and optimization.

What are the major challenges for developers in this sector? How can those be addressed better?Net metering policy needs to be more developer friendly. As of now every state has a different policy and some states do not even allow or promote it. Also, under the existing policy framework, it is very time consuming. This results into lot of potential getting wasted. If the net metering policy can be made more flexible, mandatory and uniform across states, the high pace of solar roof top development can be unleashed.

The financing for renewable energy systems has still not developed as expected. In India, commercial banks and NBFCs constitute a major source for financing infrastructure projects including renewable energy systems. But the interest rates are much higher than those in the developed nations. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy along with Ministry of Finance should come up with innovative financing measures to promote these capital-intensive renewable energy projects. Financing measures such as clean energy fund, generation based incentive linked loan repayments and green bonds are some of the possible instruments that shall be promoted.

The adequate and reliable transmission and distribution infrastructure is very much needed. As of now, the availability of such infrastructure is mostly limited and not sufficient. It would also be helpful if the government can provide a one stop reliable source for central infrastructure database for entire country.

Land is another factor that needs to be appropriately addressed. As of now, the land acquisition is a very time consuming and tedious process. Further, every state has different procedures for land acquisition. Moreover, finding a suitable land which is non-agricultural and unused, with good

under rooftop as well as open access.

What are your views on draft policy recently released by the ministry for setting up wind-solar-hybrid projects?Among all the renewable technologies, wind and solar have been the most successful till now and the industry has matured for both these technologies. Moreover, both these technologies complement each other to a large extent and a support from government for hybrid systems and policy for the same is a welcome step.

Both wind and solar have different but overlapping generation profiles. While solar generates during the day, wind can during the day as well as night but depends on wind. Seasonally, also they are different in terms of generation. A hybrid system would address the concerns of grid stability occurring due to intermittent nature of these technologies. However, even the hybrid system would be able to address it partially only.

The policy also talks about enabling hybrid system at existing projects. However, availability of existing transmission infrastructure, land availability around the existing projects, connectivity issues etc are some of the concerns that the policy should address.

Recently, the tariffs for solar as well as wind reached to their all-time lows. However, in future the prices may not move in tandem for both the technologies. The regulatory commissions would need to ensure that framework for pricing for such hybrid systems considers all the applicable factors for both the technologies.

elaborate on your future plans and the technology initiatives that are driving the company ahead?Our company has extensive focus on the development of rooftop solar projects and open access projects in solar. We are working to develop over 200MW in next one year under both rooftop and open access. We plan to become the most preferred developer and owner of distributed and open access solar power projects.

INTERVIEW

Net metering policy needs to be more developer friendly. As of now every state has a different policy and some states do not even allow or promote it


solar irradiance, is challenging. MNRE envisaged setting up of solar parks of capacities of more than 500 MW, leaving the responsibility of land identification and acquisition on states or developers. One such Ultra Mega Solar Power Project of 4000MW capacity in Rajasthan was stalled due to problems related to land acquisition.

The government also needs to ensure a reliable and trustworthy policy framework and environment. There have been instances where policies have been changed either retrospectively or impacted the projects already awarded or commissioned. This has resulted into losses to developers who conceptualized or developed the projects based on certain policy and invested millions. This also resulted into erosion of investors and lenders confidence especially the foreign investors. This is not good for the development of infrastructure projects in India as they require extensive investments, have longer gestation periods and the support from both lenders and investor is critical for development.

How do you see the role of Off-

grid solutions like rooftop solar contributing to the government’s ambitious project on 175 gW by 2022? Poor quality of grid supply (low voltage, fluctuating frequency and frequent interruptions), high tariffs (much higher than actual cost of supply), unfair impositions (peak hour restrictions and unplanned load shedding) and unresponsive attitude of State Electricity Boards have forced many to isolate themselves from the state grid and be on their own.

The solar roof top system is one way to develop an off grid system. As of now, rooftop solar is the most successful distributed solar system in India. The abundance of large and small rooftops, ease and quickness of installation, the steep fall in costs of the solar systems, evolvement of solar rooftop DIY kits, the development of RESCO model etc are some of the factors that has led to accelerated adoption of rooftop solar systems and is expected to grow at a much faster pace.

Secondly, off grid solar systems is a boon in rural areas, where grid availability

is still feeble or not at all available. The development of mini grids or smart grids has ensured that solar rooftop systems can reach to the remotest locations now as the energy from SUN is available everywhere.

With the advent of energy storage systems and they possibly becoming cheaper sooner than expected, the off grid systems coupled with energy storage systems is going to be the next big thing in the solar systems space.

The off grid systems will play a very important role in achieving the 175 GW target by 2022 as this increases the reach for solar system installations even to areas where no other source of energy is either possible as of now or will need massive infrastructure spending. Off grid system provide a much easier and cost effective way to tackle that and also contributes to the government’s mission of “24X7 POWER FOR ALL”.

Of 100 gW solar target, 40 gW is to come from solar rooftop projects. do you think ‘rent a rooftop’ policy can help India achieve the target?The target of 40 GW is very ambitious considering the present installed solar rooftop capacity and will be challenging to achieve considering the present scenario. However, because of various government initiatives, we are moving in that direction quicker than anticipated.

Rent a rooftop policy is one of the steps to achieve that target. The policy looks attractive and will be a huge boost for the solar rooftop sector. However, merely a policy won’t guarantee the success of this scheme. Proper implementation and strong framework of bankable agreements are a prerequisite to make this scheme a success. Further, the government would also need to align the regulatory requirements with the rent a roof policy and some amendments would be needed.

Insurance will be another critical factor to be aligned with the requirements of the industry for this initiative. Since, the owner of premises and owner of power plant could be different, the insurers would need to consider the same and offer suitable products to safeguard the risk of developers or owners of such power projects.

The development of mini grids or smart grids has ensured that solar rooftop systems can reach to the remotest locations now as the energy from sun is available everywhere

INTERVIEW | SolAr


Smart grid technology opens up more opportunitiesDigital technologies are set to make energy systems more connected, intelligent, reliable and sustainable, says Anil Kadam, GM, Business Development, Solution Architect, Schneider Electric in an interview with Sonali Chowdhury

QHow are elements such as IoT, artificial intelligence, and

digitization changing the face of the renewable energy sector?Digitization with an access to internet has an overwhelming impact on all aspects of our life and businesses. In the past 20 years, the

Internet has connected 3.5 billion people. In the next 10 years, this number will grow by over 70 percent. Additionally, the internet will connect 30 billion devices by 2020.

Digital technologies are set to make energy systems worldwide more connected, intelligent, efficient, reliable and sustainable. The energy sector has been an early adopter of digital technologies. Digitisation of manual processes through smart grid is one of the biggest drivers of growth in the power sector. IoT, artificial intelligence, data analytics and cloud capabilities are particularly important elements for utilities seeking to monitor and control equipment across the network of assets and to manage their grid environments. Through the integration of renewable energy, smart grid technology is making significant contribution to overall grid operations. Smart grid technology will open up more opportunities because it will link renewable

and conventional power generation to reduce CO2 emission and footprint, and enhance utilization through reliable operation. However, in order to capture more value from renewable resources, it is essential to devise cost-effective methods for new transmission or grid upgrades.

At Schneider Electric, we are committed to sustainability in terms of energy efficiency and management. Our idea is to drive sustainability with performance. To achieve this, Schneider Electric has developed innovative technologies such as EcoStruxure Grid which enables cities to be more efficient, liveable, and sustainable by saving 30% of energy, thereby making end-to-end integration a reality.

the company has won the project of naya Raipur development Authority (nRdA) for the development of the first green-field integrated smart

DIgITISATION | rE


India has a total installed capacity of about 13,000 megawatts solar power projects and Schneider Electric has supplied equipment for 2,500 megawatts of projects capturing an impressive share of around 20 percent. The fact that almost all states leading solar power generation in India have installed Schneider Electric equipments reiterates the company’s commitment towards contributing to India’s solar ambition. The Company manufactures this equipment at four different facilities in India. Moreover, we are present across locations with projects in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

You have a global presence in sectors like energy, buildings, It, solar and infrastructure. What are the key learnings that can be replicated here, especially when it comes to India’s smart Cities’ mission?Each country that embarked upon the journey of developing a smart city started

with addressing specific issues and concerns towards attaining the common goal of development. However, in the present context Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the underlining essentials for smart cities across the globe because of the increased connectedness it creates. Around the globe, countries and cities are exploring how technology can make urban environments cleaner, healthier and more pleasant in which to live. We know that technology cannot resolve every city challenge, nor should we expect it to do so. Yet, if applied well, technology can help solve pressing needs or meet aspirations, sustainably delivering improved quality of life, more prosperity and efficiency.

Developing smart cities involves creation of smart systems and application of smart solutions in various utilities like electric grids, gas distribution systems, water distribution systems, public and private transportation systems, commercial buildings, hospitals, homes etc. This increases city’s efficiency, liveability, and sustainability. Our expert solutions for sustainable city development address today’s most pressing pain points. We provide

city of naya Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. elaborate on the developments.We have signed the contract with Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) for the development of the first green field integrated smart city of Naya Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. In this project, we will leverage the advancements in mobility, sensing and analytics to make Naya Raipur a true smart city. We are working in both operation technology and enterprise layer to convert in to digital solutions.

At Naya Raipur, we will be responsible for executing the entire gamut of integrated Command & Control Center and its overall integration covering transportation, surveillance, citizen applications, end-to-end Smart Grid solutions, end-to-end Water Management system and integrated Building Management System. This transformation shall be supported by connected products of more than 100,000 IO points, edge control, applications, advance analytics, and services. This state of art architecture by Schneider Electric is open, scalable and interoperable. As smart city project rolls out, Naya Raipur would not only encapsulate modern infrastructure but also push the envelope of being an eco-friendly city which will offer modern amenities for residents and visitors. share schneider India operations in the renewable energy sector, particularly solar? How is the company contributing to India’s solar ambition of achieving 100 gW by 2022?The growth and acceptability of renewable energy, primarily solar, over the last couple of years has opened up a new chapter in energy use with focus on ‘clean energy’. Schneider Electric India is focusing on increasing its footprint in the rapidly-expanding solar power market. The company aims to increase its share in the Indian solar power market to 25 percent in the coming years. The Company supplies inverters, transformers and other medium-voltage equipment enabling evacuation of power generated from solar power projects.

DIgITISATION | rE

Schneider Electric has developed technologies which enable cities to be efficient, and sustainable by saving 30percent of energy, and making end-to-end integration a reality


solutions catering to facilities management, water and wastewater, data centers, substation automation, transportation and alternate energy sources.

How can the smart grid aid in integrating Renewable energy, and what solutions are being offered in this context? (ecostruxure solution)The role of smart grid technologies has become all the more critical with increased emphasis on solar energy to ensure stability of power supply, tackle fluctuations and allow smooth integration of conventional and solar power generation. Focus on grid planning is extremely imperative with integration of solar energy. The presence of Smart Grid helps to streamline the distributed solar power generation using rooftop solar arrays to feed electricity into the grid during daylight in order to meet the peak demand.

Digitisation is the key to improving the operational efficiency of power discoms in the new world of energy. Based on the open and inter-operable EcoStruxure™ system architecture, EcoStruxure Grid enables distribution utilities to make the most of the new opportunities created by utility digitisation. The EcoStruxure Grid is designed to provide an integrated framework for utilities to tackle the increasing complexity of grid operations and to optimise asset management. IoT aims to enhance utilities’ operations by enabling mobility, sensing, Cloud, analytics and cybersecurity capabilities, and by allowing them to manage collected, aggregated, cleaned and enriched data to create value.

This means companies will be able to achieve improved efficiency and cost outcomes. Data will be accessible in real time, enabling the ability to resolve critical issues and increasing customer satisfaction by proactively managing issues arising across the Grid. This is part of the effort to contribute towards the Government’s mission of achieving uninterrupted power supply by plugging leakages and, thereby, ensuring savings.

there are tremendous opportunities in smart cities,

smart networks, smart grids and smart meters in India. What are the bottlenecks and how can the government address these issues?With a mission to develop over 100 Smart Cities across the country, the Government of India has been putting in a lot of emphasis on smart city projects along with other initiatives such as Make in India, digitisation, skill development and the like. Unlike conventional cities that could evolve over the years, a Smart City is built by creating an ecosystem that is efficient, liveable and sustainable. While smart cities, smart grids, smart networks offers tremendous opportunities in India, there are various bottlenecks in the development of Smart Cities such as ageing infrastructure, power supply , providing clearances in a timely manner, human resource etc that needs to be addressed as well.

Overhauling outdated infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges because of persistent red tape and complex eligibility requirements in offering solutions to address these issues. Even after approval, implementation remains a weak link. Stringent economic considerations can

also impact the realisation of national objectives such as 24x7 Power for All. In meeting its power targets, the Government has been prioritising cheap power – be it via conventional or nonconventional means. As pricing plays a pivotal role in winning contracts, overly-affordable solar products from China are making it difficult for Indian manufacturers to sustain themselves. Delayed approvals are another big impediment. Delays in acquiring sites, obtaining necessary approvals and equipment shortages are some of the biggest bottlenecks in various projects.

Finding the requisite human resources is another major challenge. The Government can address the talent shortage by utilising the help of private players. For example, Schneider Electric is in the process of setting up multiple training centres across 500 districts in India under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The Company is also opening a Centre of Excellence focussing on the power, solar and automation sectors. Schneider Electric will support 100 Basic Electricians labs to deal with the dearth of skilled professionals like electricians in the power sector.

Each country that embarked upon the journey of developing a smart city started with addressing specific issues and concerns towards attaining the common goal of development


START-uPS

RE beckons Indian start-upsWith RE becoming one of the fastest growing sectors in India, start-ups have a wider role to play in the ecosystem, writes Shantanu Singh Chauhan, co-founder, Startup Arena

India has 1.3 billion people and that makes India world 3rd largest consumer of electricity. India as a responsible partner

India is seen as second most attractive country to invest in renewable energy. Startup in this sector has mop up several mega deals worth $100 million. According to Mercom Capital Group, India has raise around $10Billion in 2017 in Solar energy sector. VC and PE, who invest in innovative model rather than infra, has invested $800 million in India. This investment accounts for 50 percent of total of global investment in renewable energy.

ll CHAllenges And OPPORtunItYSolar energy is land intensive – an estimated

in fighting climate change has decided to forgo its uses of vast coal reserve and focus on renewable energy as the primary source of energy. Renewable energy currently accounts for 18.37 percent for total installed capacity of 60.98 GW capacity. By 2027 India intend to have 57 percent of all its energy requirement met through renewable sources only.

With a target of 175GW by 2020, India is running one of the largest and most ambitious renewable capacity expansion programmes in the world.

ll stARtuPs And ReneWAble eneRgY


world’s top five largest energy consumers and is projected to become the third-biggest, after China and the United States, in the next decade-and-a-half.

But the country faces an acute scarcity in the sector. Thousands of villages are still unlit, supply is rationed in towns and blackouts are common even in the biggest cities. The hope is that solar energy output can serve the country’s remote regions where even two hours of power supply can change lives.

ll CHAllenges FOR InvestORs:Although energy sector dynamics and the speed of technological developments are something a modern state or business can hardly control, managing non-commercial risks becomes the key in enhancing the predictability of the investment in the industry and to secure the necessary investments in the sector to meet future demand and economic growth.

Given the cost of money in India and Indian banks’ over exposure to the sector, foreign capital will help greatly. Even if large tracts of land are made available to investors to produce solar power, the lack of grid infrastructure is a hindrance. The government will have to focus on building up the grid to support the level of solar capacity addition that is being planned.

Solar energy is land intensive – an

estimated 4-5 acres are required to produce 1 MW of solar power - and the government’s attempts to pass a land acquisition bill have got caught up in a political deadlock. Even if large tracts of land are made available to investors to produce solar power, the lack of grid infrastructure will be a hindrance. The government will have to focus on building up the grid to support the level of solar capacity addition that is being planned.

ll FutuRe OF ReneWAble eneRgY:This fact is not hidden from anyone that India is the world’s fourth-largest carbon emitter with its population of 1.3 billion people with power sector contributing majorly to the same. But in the recent years, India has made significant strides in the renewable energy space. The Climate Change concern across the globe has further propelled the government and decision makers to develop a detailed blue print for clean and sustainable power for all.

India’s solar energy market represents a robust opportunity for foreign investors, given that China’s market has proved impenetrable. China adds 14-15 GW a year, and this capacity is mostly built by domestic firms and joint ventures. With the aggressive capacity addition that the government has outlined, India is the next destination for global players in the Energy Sector.

4-5 acre are required to produce 1 MW of solar power - and the government’s attempts to pass a land acquisition bill have got caught up in a political deadlock. Even if large tracts of land are made available to investors to produce solar power, the lack of grid infrastructure will be a hindrance.

The other issue with renewal energy like solar & wind is storage. However, with cost of 1KWhenergy storage through Li Battery has fallen to $245, distribution and transfer of energy has become cheap and viable. Energy generation through Solar & Wind has reached new low of 2.43 Rs/KWh as compared to 3.25 for traditional energy generation.

Niti Ayog has decided by 2030 all cars running in India shall be EV. These all cumulates to greatest opportunity for Startups to enter renewable energy sector.

With fantastic growth, and government push, unit economy improving every day, renewable energy sector has become one of the fastest growing sectors in India. Startup can participate in the ecosystem as a manufacturer (ex. Orb Energy, Nuevosol Energy), infra player (OstroEnergy, Renew Energy) or service provider (IndiaGoSolar, Sun Mobility).

All of these categories are integral part of India’ successful renewable energy story. Being part of it, not only get you government support, great investment opportunity, but also help you to do something for saving mother earth.

ll PRACtICes FOR stARt-uPs InvestIng In eneRgY seCtORIndia has the potential to become the world’s leading solar markets as its location near the equator and low solar park construction costs coupled with plunging costs of solar energy in recent times which are all aligning with India’s ambitions. With the right investments in such green technologies, India is well positioned to achieve all this. Due to India’s burgeoning electricity demand and the persistent supply demand gap along with the summer shortages and outages, it is quite significant for the investors to invest in the sector. The pursuit towards cleaner energy sources will have a crucial role in enabling the country’s transition to a fully sustainable energy system.India, today is among the

Niti Ayog has decided by 2030 all cars running in India shall be EV. These all cumulates to greatest opportunity for Startups to enter RE sector

RE


States are upbeat on energy revolution in IndiaIntegrating RE with conventional energy is one of the important areas of concern for most states, reports Sonali Chowdhury

In India, about 18 percent (around 3.5 crore) households don’t have access to electricity so energy revolution can

bring development to people lacking access to power. The energy revolution in the energy sector is being compared to that of the telecom sector. Member of Punjab Electricity commission Anjali Chandra believes the revolution in the energy sector through renewable energy will be possible with the falling prices of batteries and storage kicking in. “There may be a time when there will be no need of a national grid and this revolution makes for an interesting future,” she added.

Regulators feel there is surplus power with states, but integrating RE with conventional energy in most states is one of the important areas of concern. Maintaining the stability with intermittent power is crucial for the grid besides spinning reserves, ancillary services and host of flexible generation to allow this integration.

“Microgrid, standalone system, battery storage system, rooftop solar would mitigate the problems to some extent, but integrating the RE in case of large projects will be the focus area for regulators,” added Chandra.

On RPO targets, Odisha, which has a single buyer model Gridco is trying to meet its targets along with its backlogs.

“It is necessary to create an environment of assurance for investors to enable recover cost. There is a need to remove disparity on cross-subsidization considering the social economic domain of the country,” said AK Das, member, Odisha Electricity Commission.

In the distribution sector, the aggregate technical and commercial losses is regularly monitored and it currently stands at 25 percent at national level in Bihar. The state’s peak load in 2011 was

2016-17 either by purchasing the power or buying RECs and likely to meet the target in 2018,” insisted RK Chaudhry, Member, Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Another suggestion was to create an online consumer grievance redressal system so that complaints can be tracked centrally and grievances can be addressed better.

The forecast of demand and supply has to be scientifically done and people in the remote areas have become aware of power quality such as the frequency, voltage level so those issues need to be addressed, added Chaudhry.

Experts feel that entrepreneurs in the sector have to think of an innovative business model to match the new cost rather than just expecting for costs to come down.

700 MW, while it is projected at 5,500 MW in 2018-19. In fact the number of consumers have also increased 7-8 fold to reach 1.3 crore in the state.

However, there has been an improvement in the state on various aspects because of the flagship programmes implemented by the Central government.

“Most of the northern and eastern states are unable to meet the RPO obligations because of the capacity utilisation factor and land availability shortage. Bihar being a land-locked state and agricultural state, people don’t want to part with land, hence the land cost is high and power produced in the state is costly compared to other states. This unbalanced has to be looked into so that the targets are met. But the state has been able to meet its target up to

Maintaining the stability with intermittent power is crucial for the grid besides spinning reserves, ancillary services and host of flexible generation to allow this integration

STATES | REGulAToR


Ethanol Blending Programme makes sense in India

With petrol prices all-time high, India needs to push its ethanol blending programme to cut prices and air pollution, writes BK Jha

In the country, petrol and diesel prices are skyrocketing and there seems no relief in short term for the consumers

as crude oil prices are expected to remain high while rupee is slated to weaken further against the dollar. In a scenario where more than 95 percent of our transportation fuel is being met with fossil fuels and over 80 percent of the country’s crude requirement is met through imports, it is imperative to explore alternate, renewable energy sources and create a favourable environment for their utilization. Biofuels offers a sustainable energy option and there is an urgent need to leverage its benefits to push the India economy forward.

impact the already widening trade deficit and push up inflation.

It is well understood that successful implementation of the government’s Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) would provide a sustainable energy option to the country and it will also result in considerable foreign exchange savings. India could reduce its import bill by up to nearly 40 billion rupees (USD 61.5 billion) by 2021-22 when adequate ethanol blending (E 10) is factored in.

One of the primary focus areas of India’s biofuels policy is on foreign exchange savings through reduction of crude imports. Currently, on the international market, ethanol is significantly cheaper, not only than crude, but also imported benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) which are used to boost the octane rating of fuel. By substituting the import of BTX with ethanol which is $0.33/litre cheaper, India has the potential to save even more foreign exchange.

Potential of foreign exchange saving with ethanol blending can be gauged with the fact that with only 3.5 percent during 2015-16, India saved around $353 million. In 2016, the government had fixed the target of blending 10 percent ethanol, however, later shifted

ll eneRgY COnsuMPtIOn & IMPORts India is the third-largest consumer of crude oil in the world. Consumption needs are met mainly through imports. India’s concern has also been flagged by International Energy Agency (IEA) as it has projected that the country’s crude oil demand growth rate will be the highest by 2040.

Cumulatively, gross petroleum import bill increased 19 percent to $52.3 billion in the first seven months of 2017-18 as compared to the corresponding period last year on the back of increased international crude oil prices. It increased up to $90 billion by March 2018 – a 29 percent increase over last fiscal. According to estimates of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, in the current fiscal, import bill is expected to go up by 20 percent and cross $105 billion assuming average crude oil price for the Indian basket at $65 per barrel. Since the price for Indian basket has crossed $68 per barrel, it is not difficult to estimate where the country is heading in terms of imports bill. Hence, there will be pressure on economy as Current Account Deficit is expected to be 2.4 percent or even more. The swelling oil bill could further

BIOFuEL | SuSTAInAbIlITy


ethanol supply. It is important for India to put in place mechanisms to meet this shortfall supply, and imports of ethanol can help with this in the short-run.

ll unReAlIstIC tARgets In 2009, India put together a programme for biofuel and the industry found that the target set was unrealistic. The National Biofuel Policy was announced, which mandated a phased implementation of ethanol blending in petrol in various states. The blending level of bioethanol at 5percent with petrol was made mandatory from October 2008, and the Policy set out an indicative target of 20 percent blending of biofuels, both for bio-diesel and bioethanol, by 2017. It was certainly an unrealistic target.

The major source for production of bio-ethanol in India is from molasses, a by-product of sugarcane. The availability is hence dependant on the cane and sugar production that are cyclical in nature. Ethanol has many other alternative uses such as potable alcohol and use in chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Hence its use as a fuel faces stiff competition from such uses.

It was known from the very beginning that the targets would not be achieved as India could not put in place a realistic programme to achieve that. With realistic policy framework and promotional schemes USA, Canada and Brazil by and large achieved the set targets, but India could not.

ll tHe WAY FORWARd Unlike Brazil, where sugar firms produce

ethanol directly from cane juice, Indian millers use molasses, a by-product of sugar-making, to produce the chemical, so a rise in sugar production will also boost ethanol output. There is also a need to look at all other options for a sustainable supply of ethanol to OMCs.

The government’s new biofuel policy aims to increase production of bio-ethanol -- from ligno-cellulosic biomass as against the conventional approach of molasses based ethanol production -- for EBP which aims at 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol by 2030. However, journey so far suggests to adopt rational policy to meet the targets. For example, with heavy investments for 2G plants in 11 states, the OMCs plan to address supply challenges. Even the government, at public platform admitted that the EBP is slower than what the government is expecting and urged to the stakeholders to take it forward a bit faster. In the last two years not much progress has been made.

It is expected that with holistic and rational policies, India would be able to achieve 10percent Ethanol blending by 2022. The present policy focuses on domestic production and avoids imports which can add sustainability of ethanol.

Over all a robust ethanol ecosystem makes great sense for India for energy security and socio-economic benefits. A robust ecosystem would help reduce India’s oil dependence. It would also help in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for reducing oil import by 10 percent in the next four years.

The author is a senior Journalist and Columnist(Views expressed are personal)

the target to 2022.The blend was, however, only 2.07 percent in 2016-17 and 3.5 percent during 2015-16.

ll etHAnOl blendIng CuRRent sCenARIO In India, present level of ethanol blending in petrol is at a level of 2.5 percent. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are implementing EBP under which they can sell petrol with the percentage of ethanol up to 10 percent. According to MoP&NG, the OMCs have contracted 1,250 million litres of ethanol in 2017-18 which will raise ethanol blending percentage in petrol to 4 percent from 2.1 percent earlier. The oil firms procured 44 million litres of bio-diesel in 2017-2018 as compared to 11 million litres in 2015-2016. For the 2017-18 supply year, over 1,395 million litres of ethanol has been assured. This will help India to achieve 4 percent blending. This is highest ever ethanol procured for blending in petrol.

It is promising to note that the government has considered biofuels as the best option to deal with the situation and recently announced National Policy on Biofuels 2018 to provide momentum to its Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) with a broader aim to create a robust biofuel economy. Further, ethanol hopes to strengthen India’s stance on the energy commitments it has made at the global level as a proactive engager on climate change.

ll IMPORtIng RAW etHAnOl Importing cheaper raw ethanol to meet shortfall of availability through domestic means can be considered as one of the options for sustainable supply to keep blending at targeted rate. Parliamentary Panel on Oil Ministry, in its 23rd Report, has also flagged the issue and asked the government to make ‘all efforts’ to push ethanol blending programme in the country.

Importing ethanol from the international market will not only lead to reduction in import bills as imported ethanol is cheap, but will also help India deal with its rising pollution problem. National Policy on Biofuels 2018 focuses on advanced biofuels and has undermined the role of cheap imported ethanol that can be supplied to OMCs in a sustainable manner. The policy seems to have overestimated the importance of 2G ethanol and other advanced biofuels and undermines the most critical issue that is- shortfall in

BIOFuEL | SuSTAInAbIlITy


‘Energy efficiency in green buildings can be achieved by optimal utilization of RE’

Synergy is required among architects, developers and govt agencies to design and deliver green buildings, says Sanjay Seth, CEO, Griha Council in an interview with Sonali Chowdhury

operating expenses. elaborate on advantages of adopting to green buildings?Resource efficiency is sustainable usage of earth’s limited resources with minimal impact on the environment. It is one of the key elements of sustainable development. Persuasive drivers of green building are usage of fewer natural resources, cost reduction, better waste management, and energy savings. Any habitat operates in three major stages – design & construction, operation and maintenance. ‘Griha’ as India’s national rating system, integrates ‘Operation & Maintenance’ as a mandatory criterion in its rating. It encourages high performance measures which

can be incorporated in the buildings and yield enormous savings during a buildings life cycle.

A green building promotes a healthy environment for all the individuals involved. Additionally, once a green building is designed, it operates in an economical way as it ensures efficient use of energy and water as well as emits less Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Furthermore, it generates less waste during construction and enables source segregation of waste; thus, resulting in less burden on the landfills. Green buildings are also known as ‘sustainable or high-performance buildings’ with the key benefits such as protection and preservation of natural resources, reduction of water use, enhanced air and water quality, energy efficiency, use Qgreen buildings are

supposed to be resource efficient and low on

ENERgY EFFICIENCY | GREEn buIlDInGS


developed encompassing all aforementioned sections to make any building green or resource efficient systematically.

share initiatives of the griha Council to support the promotion of green buildings? How do you evaluate buildings for gRIHA ratings?Griha council has been actively involved in propagating sustainability in the country. The “Griha Summit” is the flagship event organised by the GRIHA Council every year in association with all stakeholders in the construction industry to discuss and deliberate on promoting the cause of green habitat in India. This year, the 10th Griha summit will be co-hosted by the University of South Wales (UNSW), Australia and Griha council.

Additionally, Griha emphasizes the development of a cadre of green building professionals through different capacity building programs, webinars, and conferences etc. which help in spreading awareness on green. We have been working extensively with Centre & State government bodies to build their internal capacities by training their employees. This shall help in faster dissemination of the technical know-how of green buildings. PWD, Maharashtra has recently tied up with the GRIHA Council in a unique manner, which when implemented will be model for adoption by other states as well.

Griha council conducts orientation workshops and site visits during its certification

of buildings where the clients are educated about sustainable habitats and are encouraged for better performance. We have our own online product catalogue which has been developed to provide all the necessary information on green building products for designers and clients. As a point-based rating system, projects are guided to achieve sustainable design and at the same time evaluate the resource efficiency of a project. It is a performance-based system where points are earned for meeting the intent of the criteria (true for all the GRIHA variants). Based on the principle of ‘what gets measured gets managed’, GRIHA measures a building’s environmental performance on a scale of 1-5 stars. Site visits are an integral part of the rating process which ensure implementation of strategies.

The Griha Rating variants so far have catered to the new and existing buildings to make them more resource efficient by minimizing the wastage of resources. Recently, Griha has launched the rating for affordable housing which will focus on integrating sustainability in the constructions proposed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and push the boundaries of green building movement in the country. Developing a green rating for affordable housing is a challenge considering that green buildings are commonly perceived to be more expensive. Griha for Affordable Housing strives to demystify this myth of perceived cost and hence the rating is tailor made to incorporate cost-effective sustainability measures.

did government launch any

of sustainable building materials, and low operation and maintenance cost.

Griha stresses on the passive solar techniques for optimizing visual and thermal comfort indoors and encourages the use of refrigeration-based and energy-demanding air conditioning systems only in cases of extreme thermal discomfort. GRIHA, dedicated in pursuit of creating sustainable habitat and check adverse effect on environment, consistently works on improvement and evolution to stay in sync with the changing industry standards.

What are the things considered for constructing a green building or resource-efficient building?Green buildings are becoming main stream with time. A green building needs to focus on the elements such as site planning, management of construction activities, energy efficiency, occupant comfort and well-being, water efficiency, sustainable building materials, solid waste management and socio-economic strategies. Site planning is the preliminary stage which majorly focuses on the location of the site, implementation of passive design strategies, design to mitigate urban heat island effect and site imperviousness. Once the construction is initiated, construction management comes into the picture which encompasses air and water pollution control, preservation and protection of existing trees and management of construction activities.

Energy efficiency is a critical element of green buildings which can be achieved by use of efficient equipment and optimal utilization of renewable energy. The thermal, visual and acoustic comfort of occupants is paramount to any project which must be an integral component of the design. Water efficiency is promoted by the use of low flow fixtures, water efficient landscape, enhancing water quality, treatment of waste water and recharge of rainwater. Furthermore, building materials constitute a large amount of energy which can be reduced by the use of recycled content, BIS approved industrial waste, use of lighter and locally available materials.

Segregation of waste and treatment of organic waste can lead to better solid waste management. Additionally, the socio-economic strategies focus on labour health and safety, provision of crèche facility and design for universal accessibility. GRIHA has been

Currently, solar installation on government buildings (across 52 projects) stands as the largest share of our rooftop projects

ENERgY EFFICIENCY


specific schemes to promote home owners or developers adopt green buildings?Griha is mandatory for new buildings/ campuses being constructed by central government organizations and PSUs since 2009 and following the same, various states have adopted it. Most of the government buildings in Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Noida, Greater Noida, West Bengal, Ahmedabad, PCMC, Punjab, Kerala and PWD Maharashtra are implementing GRIHA in their building projects. Government of Sikkim was first to mandate a minimum of 3-star Griha rating for all the government and semi-government buildings in the state. Additionally, GRIHA has been recognised as India’s own green building rating system in INDC submitted to UNFCCC in 2015. It was also acknowledged in Diffused Leadership in the Paris Agreement: COP23 India story. Griha-rated projects get benefits such as: additional FAR, discounted development premium, fast-track environmental clearance, house tax rebate, and concessional rate of interest for loans, depending on their respective junction; which encourages the house owners, developers to go for rating.

What are the biggest challenges when it comes to the adoption to energy efficient buildings in India?Energy efficiency is often misinterpreted with installation of expensive equipment, high end technologies etc. Although there has been substantial progress in the field of green buildings, there is still a lot to be done. The gap will exist until the user, the last link in the chain, does not demand “green”. Synergy is required amongst the architects, the real estate developers

and the government agencies to design and deliver green buildings. Making a building energy efficient is still perceived to be expensive by the end users as the payback period and the energy savings in the due course of time is not considered upfront. We have been working towards creating a seamless environment step by step. The Griha rating for Affordable Housing is a step towards demystifying the myth that green buildings are costly.

How are green buildings assuming significance in India? Could you share the progress in terms of adoption to green buildings?The demand of certifications has significantly increased in the states and municipalities where incentives are being provided to the developers for green construction. Announcement of additional FAR incentive for Griha Rated projects in Haryana is the most recent example. As per our statistics, Griha footprint in terms of area has been very significant i.e. 55 million sq.m. with approximately 1200 registered projects. The hundred smart cities program is another growth driver for this sector, as at least 80 percent buildings should be energy efficient and green as per the essential features of the SCP. This is going to generate interest in the developer community to make all their upcoming projects green. The manufacturing industry is also poised to tap the increased demand of environmentally friendly products necessary to implement green buildings. Mandatory green building policies of the government are pushing the market for compliance with the minimum performance benchmark while at the same time; the voluntary market driven mechanisms

such as the rating systems are encouraging the adoption of sustainable technologies beyond the mandatory requirement.

We predict a phenomenal increase in the number of green building in the country if the demand of greener construction rises exponentially; which depends on the end user. The policies, guidelines already exist in line with the shift happening globally. Hence, Griha has tried to bridge the gap by its affordable housing rating which will integrate sustainability in the gigantic target of “housing for all” set by the Government of India. The rating is targeted to affect the green building movement on grassroots level by making energy efficient houses with better occupant comfort accessible to the economically weaker section of the society.

How green buildings will get an impetus under the smart Cities mission? How are you promoting the concept in tier 2& 3 towns where technological and material issues exist?Since at least 80 percent of the buildings are proposed to be green in the proposed smart cities, it will certainly add to the momentum. Teri recently signed a MoU with the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) and the Andhra Pradesh State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation (APSEEDCO) for implementation of Green Buildings and Sustainable Habitat at the upcoming new capital township of Amaravati.

In the past, the green building movement has been majorly concentrated in metropolitan and Tier I cities only. However, Griha has been working diligently towards capacity building and awareness in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well. The 3 days training programs conducted by experts as well as the one-day awareness programs are stepping stones towards disseminating the concepts of green buildings widely.

The technological and material development has seen a significant growth in the recent years with focus shifting to sustainability. Griha showcases such developments in the annual exhibition held along the side lines of the Griha Summit and knowledge dissemination is also an integral part of the programs done in 2 and 3 tier cities. Technical webinars are conducted to enhance the outreach even in remote areas or cities which hold huge resource efficiency potential ready to be tapped.

gREEN BuILDINgS

gREEN jOBS

SolAR PowER A fast developing industry

The rise in demand for solar energy would, subsequently, also result in an increase in demand for skilled human resources to operate the associated technology, writes Sarah Berry, advisor, Sehgal foundation

Solar power in India is a fast developing industry. The country’s solar installed capacity reached

This 600-hours-residential-programme is sponsored by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India, and witnesses training on installation, operation & maintenance of solar projects/plants in India. Here are the success stories of some of the students, who carved-out a career path for themselves in this domain of renewable energy.

buIldIng A ‘sHInIng’ CAReeR…bAbu lAl dHAKAR’s stORY…Twenty-four year old Babu Lal Dhakar is married, and supporting his wife and

20 GW in February 2018, expanding its capacity almost 8 times between 2014 and 2018. This fact goes to prove the importance of this form of renewable energy, amongst others, for the country, currently, and in the coming years. The rise in demand for solar energy would, subsequently, also result in an increase in demand for skilled human resources to operate the associated technology.

The National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) organizes the Suryamitra Skill Development Programmes, in collaboration with State Nodal Agencies, at various locations across the country.


placements,” says Kumawat. Working currently with HR Footprint Talent Solutions, for M/s Mundra Solar PV Ltd., is a very different experience for him. He shares that though he was, initially, nervous and unsure of his abilities for the first few months, but soon, thereafter, he began to cope with the demands of the job and started doing well. He began learning new things and putting all the training acquired to good, practical use.

leARnIng bY dOIng…Aneel’s suCCess stORYAneel belongs to a small village called Arivemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh. “My father, a farmer, was the sole breadwinner of the family, and I watched him tirelessly toil each day to make ends meet. After completing my ITI, despite family pressures to help my father in farming, I started appearing for interviews, but lack of confidence, knowledge, and skills was a big hindrance. Being the eldest son in a family of six members, I knew that I had no time in hand to experiment, nor did I have resources to try my luck,” says Aneel. During a visit to a nearby town, he met some local boys who were working with large companies in metropolitan cities and had done well for themselves. They were well spoken and could carry themselves with confidence. He was inspired and decided to enrol in a vocational skills programme, but was taken aback by the fees being demanded across various institutes. He soon heard about a short-term course sponsored under the Suryamitra Skill Development

Programmes, immediately enrolled himself for it, and worked very hard. “This training gave me the opportunity to increase my self-confidence by giving me hands-on experience – something which is vital in the professional world. I am currently working with ABC, Chennai, earning well now, and can support myself and my family,” adds Aneel with a sense of pride.

AlWAYs MORe, AlWAYs betteR…PRAbIn tHAnPAtI’s ‘MOttO’Prabin Thanpati belongs to a poor family, and hails from the village of Balangir. He had seen a lot of strife and struggle, and was determined to turn the situation around. His father, a farmer, toiled each day to support the family, and make ends meet, but he was aging and needed help in cultivation. Thanpati started working with some big corporates as an electrician, but was not satisfied and soon quit in search of a better job. His friend, who was skilled at IIS Rourkela, asked him to visit the institute and explore training opportunities being offered under the Suryamitra Skill Development Programmes. Thanpati enrolled in the Solar PV Technician training programme, which included training for domain, practical- and life skills, and was placed with MSTPL, Gujarat. “Skilling and upskilling both are important for a profession. Ongoing up-gradation of skills will ensure consistent growth in my career. This is important for me to not have better earnings, but also to sustain my ambition to be better in my job with each passing day. ”

child are his due responsibility. He had always been a diligent student, but had to drop-out, post the completion of his diploma in Electrical Engineering due to circumstances beyond his control. He began appearing for interviews with the hope of getting placed and being self-sufficient. Lack of education qualification, hands-on training & employability skills hindered his chances of gainful employment. Says Dhakar: “I was getting frustrated with the passage of each day. I then heard of a training programme for Solar PV technicians being offered under the Suryamitra Skill Development Programmes sponsored by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India. I saw an opportunity here and registered for the same. On clearing the entry gate assessment, I was trained in the respective domain skills, IT, English and life skills.” Dhakar subsequently was employed with Shri Veerabhadreshwara Enterprises, for M/s. Juwi India Renewable Energies Pvt. Ltd., which offered him not only a good remuneration but also a progressive work environment. He adds: “With the Sector Skill council certificate, I am now recognized as a trained professional. I see myself as a manager in a few years, and feel that, thereafter, there will be no looking back.”

I CAn, And I WIll…MAnIsH KuMAWAt sHARes HIs exPeRIenCe…After completing his 12th, Manish Kumawat completed his Diploma Programme in Electrical Engineering. On successful completion of his diploma, he started to appear for interviews but soon realized that there were thousands of diploma holders like him, who were in search of a job. For the jobs that were available, he was either over-qualified or under-skilled. “The Suryamitra Skill Development Programme offered at the IL&FS Institute of Skills (IIS), Bhilwara, boasts of state-of-the-art labs and quality training, completely in-tune with the requirements of an ever-changing industry. The simulations, in accordance to the workplace, help trainees to easily adapt to the work environment, post

SOLAR


ENVIRONMENT DAY

World Environment Day raises awareness on issuesFinancial systems remain a key driver for green transformation of economies

The global celebrations of World Environment Day 2018, being hosted by India, kicked off with a

total of three thematic sessions being held at Vigyan Bhawan. Reflecting the “Beat Plastic Pollution” theme of this year’s World Environment Day, the inaugural

on reducing the single use of plastic and its reuse. He said that the menace of plastic cannot be tackled till a win-win situation is created for all the stakeholders with regard to the use of plastic. Emphasising the importance of Extended Producer Responsibility in reducing the

session focussed on the management of plastic pollution. In his special address on the occasion, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma pointed out that the need of the hour is to create a social awareness, particularly among the youth,

Philips Lighting illuminates North and South Block in green on the Occasion of World Environment Day . Philips Color Kinetics utilizes the latest advancements in LED technology to create themes and customized light recipes that can be used for important national festivals and celebrations. Additionally, the system also has dimming features that will enable the buildings to reduce electrical consumption during non-peak hours. In all, approximately 662 light points have been implemented to create the stunning lighting effects.T he light points are controlled by the advanced light management system, Philips Color Kinetics Light System Manager gen5, which can store multiple preset scenes, creating unique light shows with varied effects like ripple, cross-fade, particle and burst. The lighting was installed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), an attached organization of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.


use of plastic, the Minister gave a call to rope in the organised sector to retrieve, recycle and reuse plastic.

Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, C.K Mishra, highlighted the need to introspect on what can be done individually, as well as collectively to reduce the use of plastic. He added that the need of the hour is to launch a strong campaign to say no to the single use of plastic.

Addressing the gathering, European Union (EU) Ambassador to India, Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski praised India’s leadership role on environmental issues. Highlighting the concept of “Plogging”, (combination of picking up plastic waste and jogging) the EU Ambassador said that this concept is popular in several European nations and can be used to reduce plastic pollution.

Naina Lal Kidwai, Past President, FICCI & Chairman, Max Financial Services, suggested that all funding mechanisms should have the right environment strictures to give a fillip to green financing in the country.

Addressing the conference on ‘Galvanising Sustainable Finance for India’s Development’, organised by UNEP, FICCI and Climate Bonds Initiative, Kidwai said that in the cities there were just a handful of municipal bonds and therefore there was a need to build financing structures around municipalities. It was also important to see that funding raised by the State was directed to green financing.

Financial systems remain a key driver for green transformation of our economies. By 2030, estimates show that India will need to spend $2.3 trillion towards climate action. This will not be possible, however, without rapidly accelerating green finance flows to priority sectors of her economy. The convergence of economic and environmental opportunities is more than apparent and there is an increasing acknowledgement this will be the source of stable, sustainable and inclusive growth, and finance will play a central role in achieving this objective. It has the potential to mobilise additional

EVENT COVERAgE

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal visiting Haryana Pavillion at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on occasion of World Environment Day.

capital from diverse sources and infuse the liquidity needed to spur economic activity that creates long-term, high-quality assets—material, human and technological.

Helena Molin Valdes, Head of the Secretariat, Climate and Clean Air Coalition, UNEP, stated that the UNEP had developed a strong political will and assumed a leadership role in reducing polluting technologies, identified barriers to green financing for the benefit of the poor and the green finance developers. It had also taken the lead in providing technical assistance for the buyers and financers of non-polluting technologies. The government, she emphasised, needed to provide an enabling environment to encourage financial institutions to devise and establish financing mechanisms in the green space.


ICRA

Lowest tariff in bids indicates solar power has reached grid

The amendment in bidding norms offers clarity on pass through of import duty and other such duty which is a positive for solar developers, writes Girishkumar Kadam, Vice-President and Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA Ltd.

As per ICRA, a total of 18.7 GW of utility scale solar capacity was auctioned between CY2013 and

CY2017 under the National Solar Mission (NSM) and various state solar policies. About 41 percent of the capacity was

Rs. 5.0/kwh in CY2016. The lowest tariff discovered in some of the recently held bids indicates that solar power has reached grid parity and, in fact, even gone beyond it in a few cases.

The solar power tariffs discovered under the state solar policies have remained relatively higher compared to the projects awarded by Central government, due to higher counterparty credit risk associated with state policy PPAs, coupled with the absence of policy measures such as viability gap funding, bundling with cheaper thermal power to improve tariff competitiveness and payment security fund. Further, a majority of the capacity awarded under the state programmes is outside solar parks. The solar park

auctioned under NSM and the remaining 59 percent under various state solar policies. The solar bid tariff levels have fallen significantly over time due to a fall in capital costs and with adoption of reverse auction based competitive bidding by the Central and State governments. This coupled with a softening in the interest rate cycle, availability of long-tenure debt and aggressive bidding led by expectations of a decline in solar module prices has led to a steep decline in the solar bid tariff level in CY2017. The lowest solar bid tariff at Rs. 2.44 per unit was discovered in the bidding for projects awarded in the Bhadla Solar Park, Rajasthan in May 2017. Also, the weighted average solar bid tariff has declined to Rs 3.0/kwh in CY2017 from


imposition of import/safeguard duty on solar PV modules to protect the domestic equipment manufacturers. Despite the impressive capacity addition witnessed in the solar power sector, the condition of domestic solar cell and module manufacturers remains worrisome. This is due to the high competition faced by Indian manufacturers from foreign suppliers, especially Chinese, on the pricing front. The primary reason for the same is the huge gulf between the scale and technological capability of Indian and Chinese manufacturers. Most Indian manufacturers have sub-scale capacities, high cost base and are completely reliant on imported technology and raw materials. Apart from this, Chinese producers benefit from the cheaper electricity prices, low interest loans, Government support in acquiring land, capital subsidies, tax breaks, etc, in their local market. As a result, the market share of domestic manufacturers is estimated to be in the low double digits.

However, there is no clarity yet on the quantum and timelines for imposition of import/safeguard duty on the imported PV modules. In January 2018, the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) had recommended a provisional safeguard duty of 70 percent on imported solar cells and panels and the final decision is still pending. If a safeguard duty were to be considered at 30 percent on an illustrative basis, the impact on solar bid tariff of Rs. 3/unit is estimated to be significant, i.e. at about 54 paisa per unit assuming that the solar PV modules at the prevailing price

level comprise about 60 percent of the project cost. This, in turn, is reflective of the trend that solar tariff bids would see an upward movement as and when clarity emerges on the safeguard duty front. Also, the prospective applicability of such duty remains critical for the projects which have been recently awarded via the bidding route, from the viability perspective of such projects.

In this context, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has amended the bidding norms for solar projects vide its circular dated April 3, wherein the “change in law” provision now applies to changes in taxation, duties and cess instead of change in taxation alone as was applicable in the bidding norms earlier notified dated August 3, 2017. With this amendment, there is now clarity on pass-through of import duty and other such duty under “change in law”, which is a positive for the solar developers. However, the quantification of actual tariff changes by the central and state regulators and the timeliness of the same will remain critical from the cash flow perspective of the affected developers. Moreover, the retrospective applicability of such duty under change in law remains critical for projects, which have been recently awarded in bidding route. While the solar bidding activity has picked up in CY2018 with more than 5,500 MW tendered in January followed by 3,500 MW in February, the uncertainty on the anti-dumping duty and safeguard duty continue to cast a shadow on the bidding for these tendered capacities.

programme has been received very well by developers due to solar park developers taking over key non-core activities such as acquiring land and developing internal transmission infrastructure, which could be very challenging in the Indian context

The aforementioned concerns have been addressed to some extent in the revised bidding guidelines for solar power projects notified in August 2017. The guidelines require the procurers to provide a payment security through revolving letter of credit equivalent to one-month average billing for the project and a payment security fund, which shall be able to support payment for at least three months of receivables for the projects tied up. In addition, the procurer may also choose to provide state government guarantee in a legally enforceable form, both in terms of payment of energy charges and termination compensation. The guidelines also provide for compensation to solar power generators in case of off-take constraints arising from the delay in commissioning of transmission infrastructure, grid unavailability and grid back-down, which is favourable for solar power generators. Further, a weak termination clause without any mention of the termination liability in most of the PPAs does not provide any risk mitigation to the developers in case it decides to terminate the PPA over a procurer event of default such as payment delays and grid curtailment, which have been observed in the past. In this context, the provisions for termination liability, which, along with substitution rights as approved in bidding guideline is a positive development for the investors.

However, the bidding activity for solar power projects has slowed down in CY2017 with capacity auctioned at 4.5 GW against 7.3 GW in CY2016, due to factors such as upward pressure on the PV module prices since May 2017, GST rollout in June 2017 and uncertainty over the quantum and timelines for the imposition of anti-dumping duty/safeguard duty on solar PV modules, given the adverse implications it could have on tariff expectation and due to the lack of clarity on pass-through of such duty under the “change in law” clause.

There has been ongoing discussion for

POLICY


RE

‘India stands out among key job markets in renewable sector’ Certificate courses can provide training to create a job-ready workforce across the value chain, says Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India in an interview with Sonali Chowdhury

Qthe recent report published by the International Renewable energy Agency

(IReA) suggested that the green energy sector has created an estimated 1, 64, 000 jobs in India in 2017. How has ubM India been providing opportunities to skilled technicians, working professionals and new entrepreneurs?India stands out among key job markets in the large renewable energy sector. With the capacity additions in the solar industry, among

other sources of green energy, we see new job opportunities developing in this industry. It is estimated that jobs in the renewables sector will grow to a total of 24 million in 2030 (as suggested by the IREA report), as more countries take steps to battle climate change. With its RenewX and REI expos, UBM India has been proactively supporting the government initiatives and has helped to leverage them with different engagements at these exhibitions. At RenewX 2018 that caters more to the South Indian market, we introduced for the first time, the Green Job Fair in association with Skill Council for Green Jobs. The job fair saw the participation


and conduct business, all of which potentially leads to investments, and MOUs.

This year at REI for instance, we have the privilege of collaborating with very reputed international organizations in the domain on an unprecedented scale. There is no doubt that all these factors will help further accelerate the growth and outreach of the sector and contribute to the country’s sustainable economic development.

Is there a current trend or pattern, we see, to promote growth in the industry?Some of the key trends that we have observed include:Holistic view of Renewables: While Solar Energy might be the strongest link in the Renewable Energy chain in India because of its climate and economy, the domain is increasingly being seen as a holistic component with energy from wind, hydropower and bio mass as well.

Energy storage: Energy stakeholders are increasingly building up knowledge of energy storage and the value of storage for a more flexible and reliable grid system. For example, solar batteries at homes can store excess solar power for later use – at a time when the sun isn’t shining. These batteries can also offer short-term backup power if there is a power outage in the area.

Waste to energy: Waste management is a rising crisis in many Indian cities including most significantly its capital New Delhi. Waste-to-energy plants that would process the city’s waste is seen as a viable solution for the future.

E-mobility: A rethink in the area of finite energy supply has led to a focus on automobile electrification and a lot of research and development is going into it. E-mobility can be viewed as a major step towards avoiding the consequences of climate change in the future.

Digitalisation: Given the vast potential of renewable energy, it has become important to enable stakeholders to integrate and manage the technical and financial performance of their energy portfolios. The IoT (Internet of Things) and Big Data analytics is the way forward and is set to revolutionise the mechanism of this sector.

How getting certifications can be beneficial for candidates looking for opportunities in green sector?According to a recently published report by

Skill Council for Green Jobs and Government of India ‘Skill gap report for Solar, Wind, Small Hydro sector’, it is estimated that over 6,70,000 number skilled manpower will be required in the Solar PV sector alone. Besides, our RE targets can only be met with the availability of skilled manpower.

Currently, specific trainings for renewable energy projects in universities, technical training centres and vocational centres is limited. And much of the training that the manpower receives is essentially an on-the-job approach that could result in wasted man hours as well as a lack of standardisation across the industry. On the other hand, certificate courses pertinent to different job roles developed by experienced national agencies such as the Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ) can provide customised training that will create a completely job-ready workforce across the value chain. As sector is consolidating, how do you think smaller companies will grow?The prospects of the renewable industry as well as governmental initiatives have propelled the rise of several smaller players in the industry including those from Tier 2 and 3 towns. At the same time, the industry is still going through a consolidating phase, with some uncertainty on tariffs and policies. It is clear than that key players here will be defined on the basis of uncertainties they can handle in this sector.

Apart from different incentives including tax compulsions to promote smaller players, one can expect mergers and acquisitions, whereby small players either merge with other players or exit out of the business at a fair valuation of their assets. These mergers will enhance the market with only serious and organised players on board.

Trade exhibitions and expos enable upcoming and smaller firms in a number of ways. With the entire industry congregating under one roof, smaller firms get to network and exchange ideas with renowned thought leaders and more experienced organizers. Special pavilions for start-ups are organised along with the presence of venture capital firms to provide seed investments for captivating ideas. Industry awards handpick, recognise and reward organisations including fledgling ones for innovations and excellence and help publicise the work being done by the sector at large.

of 27 companies with more than 600 openings. About 362 interviews were conducted and more than 200 students were shortlisted for the final recruitment. We have similar plans for the upcoming REI show on an even grander scale.

How are exhibitions leveraging the growing renewable industry in India? India is one of the countries with the largest production of energy from renewable sources. As a matter of fact, it achieved a remarkable milestone in 2017-18 with a renewable generation of over one lakh gigawatt hours (GWh) in a single year for the first time.

The exhibitions industry plays a very significant role in creating a holistic community in the RE space by congregating key stakeholders from abroad and in India. For instance, UBM India’s signature show Renewable Energy India (REI) has over the years worked with the objective of getting international brands to its show to give Indian manufacturers much more levy to network, develop the knowledge landscape, engage in a balanced technology mix,

EMPLOYMENT


jinkoSolar Reveals All-New 410W Cheetah Series At SNEC 2018

Hinduja Power

acquires Kiran Energy

for Rs 900-950 crore

Enphase Energy to develop

its biggest microinverter-

based solar project in

KarnatakaJinkoSolar holding Co., ltd. showcased six of its blockbuster products, leading the charge towards a new wave of industry innovations and illustrating the strength of the company’s brand. At SnEC, JinkoSolar revealed its milestone JinkoSolar 410w Cheetah module that is reinventing the market standard for high performance. In addition, JinkoSolar also showcased its 310 w bifacial and introduced its gold framed module.

Kiran Energy Solar

Power has been

acquired by hinduja

Power Corporation for

an enterprise value of

around Rs 900-950

crore. It is an all-cash deal in which hinduja

Power will buy 100% shares of Kiran Energy.

yes Securities’ Sustainable Investment banking

division – part of yes bank – were the sole

advisers for the deal on behalf of Kiran Energy.

Solar microinverter

supplier Enphase Energy

and solar module manufacturer waaree Energies

ltd. have announced their 4.5 Mw solar project

installation in hosapet, Karnataka. The project

will be the largest Enphase microinverter-based

solar installation in the world. Spread

across 18 acres, it is expected to

generate more than 7,500 Mwh of

solar power annually.

Eastman forefronts the EV led

energy storage solutionsEastman Auto and Power limited (EAPl) has embarked on a one-of-a-kind initiative to sensitize people about the

benefits of e-rickshaw overall and what kind

of batteries are best suited for this vehicle.

The company has chosen west bengal as the

epicentre of the initiative as the state already

has a burgeoning E-Rickshaw population.

Okaya aims to clock Rs 1150 crores revenue in FY 18-19okaya Power Pvt. limited recently announced its ambitious foray in lithium ion batteries segment. It has big plans to grab majority of market share in lithium ion batteries. The company, with its turnover of Rs 720 crores in Fy 17-18, aims to clock Rs 1150 crores revenue in Fy 18-19. okaya with its customised solutions for lithium ion battery requirements enjoys dominant market share in solar power projects, 2-wheelers, E-rickshaw and uPS segment already.

CORPORATE Buzz


Eu Bank pioneers new bond

in support of sustainable

development

The European Investment

bank (EIb) has announced

on the margins of

the IMF / world bank

Group Spring Meetings

plans for a new debt product: a Sustainability

Awareness bond, highlighting the bank’s key

role in sustainable finance both in and

outside of Europe.The aim is to support

the achievement of the united nations

Sustainable Development Goals by

further unlocking investment in social,

green and sustainable projects.

Siemens gamesa, Sembcorp to build 300 MW wind parkSiemens Gamesa won its biggest order to date in India, where a temporary downturn had previously hit the group’s profits.The company said it had agreed with Sembcorp Energy India to build a 300 megawatt wind park. Along with the turbines, Siemens Gamesa will also provide operating and maintenance services for the planned farm, to be located in Gujarat, which is planned to be commissioned in April 2019.

Sungrow

successfully

organised

its 7th Solar

technical

seminar in le Meridien hotel, bangalore. Sungrow,

demonstrated its lIVE Product in unique Mobile

Showroom, for the better understanding of String

and Central inverter technology and its working.

The company aims to make India one of the

largest green energy producers in the world.

Sungrow India organizes

roadshow technical

seminar

SB Energy wins 200

MW projects via SECI

auction

Renewable

energy joint

venture Sb

Energy has won

the entire 200

Mw of solar projects auctioned by state-run

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in

Karnataka. Quoting a tariff of Rs 2.82 per unit

in Friday’s auction, Delhi-based Sb Energy

beat Tata Power Renewable Energy— the only

other bidder— which had sought 1paisa more

per unit.

Halonix Technologies

to embark into smart

lighting halonix Technologies Pvt. ltd. is all set to

launch a wide range of Smart lighting

products. The company also plans to break into

newer markets and achieve over 20-22% yoy

growth rate with an aim to realize Rs 1000 crore

revenue in next five years. The company aims

to garner Rs 440 crore revenue in the current

financial year and is very strong in north and

Eastern markets.

Rays Power Infra completes 3

EPC Solar PV projects

Rays Power Infra

announced the

commissioning of 3 large

EPC solar PV projects

in Karnataka, under the

state’s open access

scheme. The projects in Jhamkhandi (40 Mw),

bijapur (45 Mw), and Kustagi (45 Mw) were built

with the best in class design and equipment, and

took less than a 100 days from land acquisition

to commissioning.


Oct

18-20

SE

PT

EM

bE

R

20

18

4-521-23

India is on the ambitious path to implement the world’s largest Renewable energy expansion program. The expo has become a one stop platform for International stakeholders to showcase their cutting edge products and unleash the immense power of technology and innovation.

India Expo Centre, Greater Noida

Renewable Energy India Expo

Sep

18-20

World Renewable Energy Technology Congress & Expo focuses on electricity generation tools, energy security equipments, power transmission machinery, industrial equipments, research tools and safety instruments.

NDMC Convention Centre,

New Delhi

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

World Renewable Energy Technology Congress & Expo

http://www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com/ http://wretc.in/

Renewable Energy India showcases products from solar, wind, bio-mass/fuel, small hydro, geothermal and energy efficiency sectors. Organised by UBM India, Renewable Energy India Expo intends to accelerate the growth of India’s Renewable Energy sector and contribute to the country’s sustainable economic development.

India Exposition Mart, greater Noida

http://www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com/ https://windeurope.org/summit2018/

it is the biggest and most important meeting of the wind industry worldwide. It combines the world’s leading wind industry expo WindEnergy Hamburg with the global conference of WindEurope to create a high-powered, unique platform for business, networking and information for the onshore and offshore wind industry.

Hamburg

global Wind Summit

13th Global Summit and Expo on Biomass and Bioenergy includes prompt keynote presentations, Oral talks, Poster presentations and Exhibitions. It will present the learning of how renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities.

Zurich, Switzerland

global Summit and Expo on Biomass and Bioenergy

https://biomass.global-summit.com/

SepAugSep

Sep

25-28

EVENTS

Solar Expo India is organized by Essential Events & Trade Fairs at Mhow, Indore, India. It provides the attendees with the opportunity to gain information regarding various aspects relating to the solar sector.

Mhow, Indore

Solar Expo India13-15

https://10times.com/solar-expo-india

Solar energy has a huge potential for power generation in Maharashtra. There are 250-300 days of clear sun with an available average radiation of 4 to 6 kWh/ sq. metre over a day. CII Solar Edge aims to explore enormous potential and demand of solar energy in the western region of India

Jun

Pune

CII Solar Edge Pune20 26-28

HydroVision International is the largest gathering of hydro professionals worldwide. The event highlights perspectives on the role of hydropower and helps participants develop a vision to meet challenges and ensure the future sustainability.

HydroVision International

North Carolina, USA

http://www.hydroevent.com/index.htmlhttp://www.cii.in/events.aspx

Jun Jul


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