VOLUME 10 Issue # 9 42

INTERNATIONAL

OWNER : FirstSource Energy India Private Limited PLACE OF PUBLICATION : FEATURED 95-C, Sampat Farms, 7th Cross What Financiers Need to Unlock $1 Trillion in Road, Bicholi Mardana Distt-Indore Renewable Energy Investment 452016, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA Tel. + 91 96441 22268 www.EQMagPro.com

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6 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com 36

INTERVIEW WITH MR. SVEN KRAMER Vice President Sales team- technik group, Germany TECHNOLOGY Growatt smart new inverter solutions 40 impress visitors at Intersolar 2018 26

14 16 SOLAR PROJECTS SOLAR PROJECTS PV MANUFACTURING Vadodara airport to switch to Azure Power Wins 160 MW Solar State of the Art Factory Open- solar power soon... Power Project with the Highest ing by Sungrow for India Base 23 19

TECHNOLOGY SOLAR PROJECTS BlackRock plans its largest ISRO Develops Technology To HFM Solar commissions 330 kWp ever alternative investment Mass Produce Solar Cells In... Roof-Top Solar Plant in Guwahati...

INDIA Centre asks states to use 07 allocated funds for electri- fication of all...

EQ NEWS 10 11 Pg. 07-29 RESEARCH & ANALYSIS INDIA INDIA PRODUCTS $250 Million World Bank Loan to Gujarat HC notice to govt on allot- Support Electricity Distribution ment of village land for windmill Pg. 76-77 Sector Reforms in Rajasthan, projects

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 7 EQ-August-2G-200x190mm 20180719.pdf 1 2018/7/19 15:14:07

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8 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com

INDIA

Centre asks states to use allo- cated funds for electrification of all households by December Union Power Minister R K Singh asked all states to use allocated funds under various schemes, including IPDS and DDUGJY, to achieve the electrification target for all households by year-end.

Regarding coal, Singh said the more efficient plants as tariff is dry fuel will continue to be an low there. This will not require any issue for 2-3 years until the new change in the power purchase mines open up because country’s agreements. This will help bring power demand and electricity down the cost of power.” reach is increasing which indicates On the unscheduled load shed- good GDP or economic growth. ding or power cuts, he said:”If The minister also cited increase there is load shedding we would in per capita consumption with impose penalty (from April 1, rising prosperity as one of reasons 2019). All of us have agreed on for rising power demand and coal this earlier. Besides, if we don’t shortage. He said the centre has plug in losses, reduce cross asked all states to import coal for subsidy and transfer subsidy by “We are giving funds. meeting their demands and also direct benefit transfer, we cannot But those allocated take steps to augment supply to improve the financial health of funds are not being used. power plants by improving trans- discoms.” We are not able to use port infrastructure like rail sidings. “Crores of people are deprived money. If we don’t use The minister also talked about of electricity in the country. No that (funds), we would liberalising power supplies by country can be developed if there generation firms. He said:”Power is load shedding and people live not be able to reach generation companies should without electricity. It is a chal- any home (or electrify be allowed to supply power from lenge,” he added. them),” Singh said. Under Saubhagya scheme, the government wants to energise over 40 million unelectrified households in the country. The Rs 16,320 crore scheme was launched in September last by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At pres- e was addressing a confer- ent, over 7 million families have been provided electricity under the scheme. ence of power and renewable energy ministers of states & On this occasion, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur UTs here. He underlined how sought 35 years long-term finance and speedy forest clearance for hydro Rs 42,000 crore was sanctioned power plants so that this renewable source of energy can be harnessed. under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Talking to reporters, Delhi Power Minster H but just Rs 9,000 crore has Satyendra Jain said Delhi’s Dadri, Badarpur been spent by states and UTs. Moreover, under Integrated and Jhajjar power plants are still reeling Power Development Scheme under coal shortage. He cautioned that unless (IPDS), a total of Rs 75,000 coal supplies are improved, blackouts will crore was sanctioned. About continue in Delhi. Asked about power minis- the household electrification try’s initiative on ramping up coal supplies, scheme Saubhagya, he said: Jain said:”Whenever I raise this issue, coal “We have larger target ahead of is supplied to power plants but again the situ- us. How can we remove poverty without providing energy access ation comes to square one. They have to en- to all. We will provide electricity sure at least 15 days of coal stocks at power to all households by December plants which is a norm. “The Centre is follow- 31, 2018 and not by March 31, ing our foot steps as far as imposing penalty 2019 as envisaged earlier in the for unscheduled power cuts is concerned. We scheme.” started this. We will soon implement this.” INDIA

EESL signs MoUs with DISCOMs to install 10 Lakh Smart Meters in Haryana Memorandums of Understanding signed with DHBVN (Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam) and UHBVN (Uttar Haryana Bijli Vit- ran Nigam) to deploy smart meters in Gurugram, Faridabad, Hisar, Karnal, Panipat and Panchkula. Smart meters will enable consumer convenience and ensure im- proved service delivery. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power, Government of India, signed two MoUs (Memorandums of Understand- ing) with UHBVN (Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam) and DHBVN (Dakshin BACKSHEET Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam) to install 10 Lakh Smart Meters in Haryana. he MoUs entail supply and installation of Smart Meters in Gurugram, Faridabad, Hisar, Karnal, Panipat and Panchkula within 3 years in a phased manner. EVA FILM Haryana Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar has recently accorded ap- proval for installation of 10 lakh smart power meters in five districts of the T state.The MoU with EESL was signed by Shri S.K. Bansal, Director/Operations from DHBVN and SOLAR CELLS Shri Naresh Sardana, Director/T1 from UHBVN. EESL was represented by Shri Raj Kumar Luthra, General Manager, Smart Meters National Programme. As per the MoU, the implementation of Smart Metering (AMI) solution will enable significant billing efficiencies for both the DISCOMs. EESL will fund, build, operate and JUNCTION BOX manage the Smart Metering (AMI) Solution implementa- tion in the project area for a defined project period and will monetize its investment on per month annuity basis. As part of the project, EESL will initially install meters for 10 lakh customers in select cities under the DISCOMs’ jurisdiction in Haryana, scaling the project to more towns in subse- SILICON SEALANTS quent years. EESL will engage a System Integrator (SI) to implement the Smart Metering (AMI) Solution.

Shri Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL said, “We are honored to be a partner in Hary- SOLAR GLASS ana’s journey towards adoption of measures that will pave the way for initiating smart measures by DISCOMs in the state.

Smart meters will enable consumers to monitor their con- sumption pattern and the corresponding cost, leading them to adapt their energy use and reduce power wastage, providing long-term carbon and financial savings. With better complaint management, the state’s grid will also achieve faster restora- tion from outages while delivering improvements in system stability, reliability and transparency and scalable solutions that deliver the benefits of energy efficiency to all.” The objective of EESL’s Smart Meter National Programme (SMNP) is to replace 25 crores conventional meters with smart meters. The Smart Meters programme is also an unprecedented step towards delivering digital literacy and services under the Digital India pro- gramme of the Government of India. This programme will play an important role in empowering citizens by bringing in transpar- ency and accountability in electricity consumption and billing.

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www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 13 INDIA

$250 Million World Bank Loan to Support Electricity Distribution Sector Reforms in Rajasthan, India The World Bank Board approved a $250 million development policy loan (DPL) to support the government of Rajasthan in improving the perfor- mance of its electricity distribution sector under the state’s 24×7 Power for All program.

he Second Programmatic Electricity Distribution Reform Development Policy Loan for Rajasthan is the second in the series of two operations planned for a comprehensive turnaround of Rajasthan’s electricity distribution sector. The first loan closed in March 2017. The DISCOMs in Rajasthan provide electricity to about 9.5 T million customers. However, a combination of high generation costs, inefficiencies in the distribution sector and an accumula- tion of long-delayed tariff adjustments has resulted in several years of continuing Measures such as financial restructuring, regular energy losses for the DISCOMs leading to a total audits, unified billing system, increased usage of IT systems outstanding debt of Rs 780 billion as on and effective employee and customer engagement are July 2015. helping DISCOMs improve their operational and financial In its second phase the operation will performance. The different initiatives have started showing deepen the institutional and operational results and the combined financial loss of the DISCOMs has reforms that were launched in late 2015 reduced from Rs 156 billion in FY[1] 2014 to Rs 48.2 billion centered around the Government of in FY 17 and is expected to further go down to around Rs India’s (GoIs) Ujwal DISCOM Assurance 28 billion (estimated) in FY 18. The aggregate technical and Yojna (UDAY), which Rajasthan joined in commercial (AT&C) losses of the DISCOMs have declined 2016 and the Rajasthan State Electricity from 29.5 percent in FY 15 to 23.8 percent in FY 17 and Distribution Management Responsibility are expected to further go down to 20 percent (estimated) (RSEDMR) Act, which aims to reform the in FY 18. To address concerns of affordability and access governance of DISCOMs and bring greater to electricity for the poor, the program also supports GoI’s public accountability in their functioning. Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), under which The program will improve the credit worthi- more than 15 million LED lamps have been distributed in the ness of DISCOMs to support the govern- state. ment’s goal of providing electricity access to all households, improve service delivery, “The electricity distribution sector in Rajas- and enable private investment of renew- than has taken number of initiatives over the able energy. last few years that have helped in improving the operational and financial health of the DISCOMs. It is important that the DISCOMs The key areas that the program will support include: continue to focus on improving operational strengthening governance in the distribution sector in the efficiency, consumer engagement and trans- state by establishing annual performance MoUs between parency in the sector among other initiatives the DISCOMs and the state government; putting in place a to continue the positive trend in performance performance management system; providing incentives to and steer the electricity distribution sector employees for improving performance; financial restructuring on a path to sustainable recovery,” said and recovery in the sector by transferring considerable amounts Rohit Mittal, Senior Energy Specialist and of the DISCOMs debt to the state; bringing in more discipline Frederico Gil Sander, Lead Economist of the in the revenue requirements of DISCOMs; taking initiatives in World Bank and Task Team Leaders for the reducing the costs of energy procurement; and improving the operation. operational performance of the DISCOMs through initiatives like publishing feeder level energy audits, increased usage of IT etc. The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 3-year grace period, and a maturity of 21 years.

Source: worldbank.org

14 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com INDIA

In his petition, Kasam Sidhiq said that environmental impact assessment was not done before giving away these land to private wind-energy firms. The allot- ment of gauchar land to private firms will adversely impact the Maldhari community which traditionally rears cattle, the peti- tioner said.

Gujarat HC notice to govt on allot- “The manner in which windmills are being erected leads to serious damage to ment of village land for windmill agriculture activities in the vicinity,” the petition further claimed. Local panchayats illegally passed resolutions favouring allot- projects ment of land to private firms, it claimed. The Gujarat High Court issued notice to the state and central governments on a PIL challenging allotment of ‘gauchar’ land (village pastures) in Kutch district to private Also, “reduction of gauchar land leads to a companies for setting up windmills. scenario where cattle owners are com- pelled to let the cattle on roads and in the A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M open which creates public nuisance”, the Pancholi issued the notice, seeking replies by August 29. PIL said.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 15 SOLAR PROJECTS

Haryana Government to Amity University installs install solar energy on-site solar power plants systems in schools at its campuses The Haryana government is planning to install solar energy systems Amity University has adopted onsite solar power in its Jaipur, Manesar in educational institutes of the state in a bid to bring more students and Gwalior campuses in association with CleanMax Solar. to classrooms by reducing power outages. leanMax solar has installed on-site solar plants in its Jaipur, Manesar and Gwalior campuses with a cumulative capacity of 1.8 MWp, CleanMax Solar said in a statement. Based on the ‘pay as you go’ or commonly known as ‘OPEX’ model, the CleanMax Solar has provided solar C power to Amity University at a tariff, cheaper than the grid electricity tariff, he initiative comes at a time when thereby ensuring cumulative savings of only 48 per cent students of state-run over Rs one crore per annum. schools passed in the Haryana board examinations of class 10 this year. Compared to this, 90 per cent of gov- The total solar installations across ernment school students passed the the three Amity Universities cam- CBSE class 10 board in Delhi. puses is 1.8 MW capacity, thereby abating 2,265 tonnes of CO2 and T which means it has the potential The installation of solar energy systems in take almost 480 passenger vehicles schools is part of the state government’s am- off road per year,” Gajanan Nabar, bitious ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ program CEO, CleanMax Solar, said. which aims at providing electricity to rural areas of the state,” Rameshwar Singh, nodal officer of renewable energy, Gurgaon range said. Elaborating on the plan, the official said solar energy will help in running fans, water coolers as well as practical labs in schools, 1.5 lakh farmers to get with just one-time investment from the state government. grant for solar pumps: Haryana Minister The state officials are hopeful that the initiative would moti- vate more children to come to schools. “We are also encourag- He urged the villagers to contribute in the conservation of water for ing private renewable energy companies to adopt schools of future generations. VSD. Haryana under their CSR responsibility and install solar sys- tems. Recently, a private company adopted 100 schools across Haryana Minister of State the country. It started the campaign from Haryana’s most for Renewable Energy Ban- backward district of Mewat, providing 16 hours of electricity in wari Lal said that the state schools there,” Singh said. “Hundreds of Mewat villagers and government would bring a students are happy with the availability of electricity made by scheme, under which, about solar energy,” he said. 1.50 lakh farmers would be As part of the initiative, a full solar structure consisting of given a grant for solar pump- solar panels, power conditioning unit (PCU) and batteries will ing set. be installed in schools free of cost. A total of 2 lakh students will be sensitised about the benefits of solar energy through Those farmers who have applied for tube-well con- this project. Apart from schools, the BJP-led state government nection would be included in the scheme, he said. Lal is also planning to generate 80 KW electricity via solar energy said that a boosting pump was installed in Khetawas systems to be installed in various government buildings in the village at a cost of about Rs 14.98 lakh and water works millennium city. The Haryana government is also offering 30 have been renovated at a cost of about Rs 42.70 lakh in per cent subsidy on every set of solar equipment. To promote Nilaheri, Jhajjar villages and this would permanently nationwide adoption of solar energy, the central government had launched the National Solar Mission in 2010 which aims solve the drinking water problem. to achieve 100 GW of solar energy by 2022. Source: PTI Source: PTI

16 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 17 SOLAR PROJECTS

Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited commissions 100 MW Solar Capacity in Anthapuramu Solar Park, Andhra Pradesh Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, announced that its 100% subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd. (TPREL) commis- sioned 100 MW (50 MW x 2) solar capacity in Anthapuramu Solar Park, Andhra Pradesh.

ith this, the overall operating renewable capacity of TPREL now stands at 2,215 MW in India. The sale of power from this solar plant has been tied up Vadodara airport to switch under a 25 year Power Purchase Agreement with Solar Energy to solar power soon W Corporation of India (SECI). This is part of the implementation of The power would be sourced from a plant located in the airport com- the MNRE scheme for develop- plex, having a capacity to generate 675 kw of power, which would help ing grid connected solar power the airport save Rs 60 lakh every year on its electricity cost capacity of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase II, Batch-III of the Govern- The Vadodara airport will soon ment of India through Viability switch over to solar energy for its Gap Funding (VGF) Mode. everyday operations to cut down its electricity cost, said a senior airport official. “The airport is all Renewable energy is the future for ‘New set to start using clean and green India’ and will play a big role in providing energy for its day-to-day opera- the country “24X7 Power for All by 2019. tions, as its ground-mounted grid- For a tropical country like India, solar connected solar plant is ready for energy has the highest potential. Tata commissioning,” Vadodara airport Power is focused to constantly prolifer- Director Charan Singh said. The ate the group’s renewable energy port- solar plant will meet 50 per cent folio and we plan to add around 1000 requirement of the airport, he MW renewable energy capacity to our added. portfolio every year, scaling it to 45-50% in the next five years, largely through organic growth.” Mr Praveer Sinha, CEO The power would be sourced from a plant located in & Managing Director, Tata Power. the airport complex, having a capacity to generate 675 kilowatt (kw) of power, which will help the airport save around Rs 60 lakh every year on its electricity cost, he “The commissioning of 100 MW said. capacity in Anthapuramu has fortified “The Airports Authority of India has installed this solar our position as a leading renewable plant for which the contract worth Rs 3.5 crore was energy company in the country with a awarded to a private company. It will generate 675 kw strong presence in solar power genera- of electricity, and also cut the annual electricity cost by tion. We will continue to seek poten- around Rs 5 lakh per month,” said Singh. tial of sustainable growth in India and He said while the Mumbai and Delhi airports are selected International geographies.” congested and the flights have to hover around Mr. Ashish Khanna, President-Renew- these airports to get permissions for landing, “The ables, Tata Power said. capacity of the city airport remains underutilised.” Singh also sa id a private airline is set to launch The company has organically added 159 MW wind & flights to Jaipur, Indore, Bengaluru and New Delhi solar capacity in FY17 along with the acquisition of Welspun from here soon. Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd. last year.

Source: PTI

18 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com SOLAR PROJECTS

Medhir Jain, Director, HFM Solar said“We are constantly striving to in- clude environment-friendly ways of living and have taken several steps to encour- age Institutions to be more responsible towards our ecosystem. Adopting solar power is a much appreciated inclusion in that. We believe steps taken like these make all the difference. We are happy to note that the solar power supplied to IEC Group of Institutions will be at a cost which ismuch HFM Solar commissions 300 kWp Roof- cheaper than the grid tariff, providing Top Solar Plantin Greater Noida. significant cost sav- Solar Power Developer, HFM Solar Power Private Limited has commissioned a 300 kWp rooftop ings to the Institu- solar project at IEC Group of Institutions, Greater Noida. tion as well. uilt in collaboration with SECI and MNRE, the rooftop solar plant will help the institute save around Rs 21 lakh per annum. The solar We are committed to implementing innova- plant will reduce emissions from grid power and backup diesel gen- tive solar renewable energy projects to help erators, and will abate around 390tons of carbon dioxide per year. Institutions such as IEC reduce the expen- The company will provide solar power to IEC Group of Insti- diture on power.We aim to continue building tutions at tariffs that are cheaper than grid tariff based on the solar power plants promoting a healthy and B RESCO model. safe environment for the future “

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 19 SOLAR PROJECTS

Ecoppia Expands Bhadla Park Cloud-based Robotic Cleaning Footprint with Additional 580 MWp Azure Power Wins 160 Ecoppia, the world leader in robotic, water-free photovoltaic solar MW Solar Power Project panel cleaning solutions, announced an agreement with SB Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., to deploy two with the Highest Tariff in thousand robots across its five sites in Bhadla Phase III & IV Solar Park Project in Rajasthan India. Uttar Pradesh Auction his announcement comes on the heels of Ecoppia's recent completion of Tariff of INR 3.55 (~US 5.2 cents) per kWh is ~45% higher large-scale deployments with ENGIE than the lowest tariff bid for a solar project in India. and Ostro Power (Actis Group) in the With this win, Azure Power’s solar portfolio will be 260 Bhadla park. Bhadla is a water-deficient MWs in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state region that suffers from frequent and in India. massive dust storms, resulting in panel soiling that can reduce energy output. To Azure Power (NYSE: AZRE), a leading independent solar power producer T minimize the loss of production capacity in India, announced it has won a 160 MW solar power project in Uttar due to soiling, while keeping in line with Pradesh at the highest tariff in a recent auction conducted by the Uttar SB Energy's focus on automation and Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA). robotics, the company chose Ecoppia's zure Power will sign a 25-year state-of-art system to ensure efficient power purchase agreement with Uttar and intelligent module cleaning at the Pradesh Power Corporation Lim- plant. SB Energy's project panels will be ited (UPPCL) which has a domestic cleaned daily by Ecoppia robots without debt rating of A+ by CRISIL, a S&P any human interference and will be re- company, at a tariff of INR 3.55 (~US motely managed through a cloud-based 5.2 cents) per kWh, ~45% higher than control system. The water-free Ecoppia the lowest tariff bid for a solar project solution will save approx. over 2 billion in India. The project is expected to be of liters of water during the 25 years of A commissioned in 2019 and developed solar plant operations. outside a solar park. With this win With over 1.5 GW of projects deployed Azure Power’s solar portfolio will be or under deployment, and nearly 3 GW 260 MWs in Uttar Pradesh which is of secured projects with leading energy the most populous state in India and conglomerates worldwide, Ecoppia is has a large peak energy supply deficit, revolutionizing the solar O&M space. according to the Central Electricity Au- thority. Azure Power is one the largest "SB Energy choose Ecoppia after due dili- solar developers in Uttar Pradesh and gence as it was providing the optimum built the first utility scale solar project solution. We are convinced that adopt- in Uttar Pradesh in 2015. ing breakthrough technologies is key to coping with the challenging market conditions and increasing operational efficiency," said Abhijeet Sathe, COO at SB Energy. Speaking on this occasion, Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said, “We are pleased to announce our win "We are thrilled to be working with in Uttar Pradesh, and with this we have a technology-driven and forward- once again demonstrated our strong looking company like SB Energy," project development, engineering, said Eran Meller, CEO of Ecoppia. and execution capabilities. We are "The unparalleled experience delighted to make this contribution to- gained in India, especially in Rajast- wards realization of our Hon’ble Prime han desert over the last three years, Minister’s commitment towards clean will enable us to seamlessly comply and green energy, through solar power with SB Energy's high operations generation.” standards".

20 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com EQ Magazine2.pdf 1 06/08/2018 10:56:30

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www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 21 SOLAR PROJECTS

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Project Starts Producing Power

ewa project has been new chapter in utilization of Renewable en- acknowledged in India ergy in the country, where large institutional and abroad for its robust open access consumers can start procuring project structuring and inexpensive RE. This also diversifies the off numerous innovations. taker categories, not limiting just to the state Many of its features have Discoms. MPPMCL, which supplies power been incorporated in the to the state Discoms, will get 76% of the Standard Bidding Guide- power produced from Rewa Solar Power R lines for solar parks is- plant, while the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation sued by Government of India. The learnings (DMRC) will benefit from the remaining 24%. from the development of this project can be The project is estimated to meet up to 90% utilized for the improvement of project imple- of the day electricity demand from DMRC. mentation practices all over the globe. This is The commissioning of this project will poten- Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shivraj the first project in the country supplying pow- tially result in a saving of Rs 4,600 crore to Singh Chauhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister er to an inter-state open access customer, state DISCOMs and Rs. 1,400 crore to Delhi of Madhya Pradesh said that, Rewa viz., Delhi Metro. This opens up an entirely Metro over its project life. Project is a living example of transpar- ency that Madhya Pradesh Government Shri Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Hon’ble Minister for New & believes in. The bidding for the project Renewable Energy said that “it is a matter of happiness that was conducted online for as long as the the project would give environmentally friendly power to the bidders were interested, 33 hours with- state at an extremely low rate of Rs. 2.97 per unit, which is even less out stop. The project made possible an than our average power procurement cost. It is also a matter of hap- investment of over Rs 4,000 crore in the piness that, after meeting the requirement of Madhya Pradesh, the State. He said that the environmental power would also be supplied to Delhi Metro and Delhi Metro would impact of the project is like plant- run on MP’s power.” ing 2.6 crore trees. He added that the project has started producing merely 17 The project is an important step in the Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar Hold- months from the historical bidding in clean energy targets of the country. The ings and Solengeri Power – who emerged February 2017, which has been possible 750MW project would lead to avoidance of as the winnersfor project’s three units at because of the support of the entire CO2 generation of 15.4 lac tonnes every tariffs of Rs 2.979, Rs 2.970 and Rs 2.974 State Government. year. This environmentally positive impact for the first year. This was the lowest tariff could have been accomplished by plant- discovered at that point in time through a ing as many as 2.6 crore trees. The Rewa bidding process for solar projects in India. 750 MW Project to meet Solar plant is India’s first and till now the RUMS was created only in July 2015 90% of Day Demand of only solar project to get funding from Clean as a Joint Venture of SECI and MP Urja Delhi Metro. Technology Fund (CTF), which is available Vikas Nigam, with Mr Manu Srivastava, First Solar Project in India at a rate of 0.25% for a 40-year period. It is Principal Secretary, New & Renewable having different Categories also the first and the only solar park in India Energy Department, Government of MP to get a concessional loan from the World as its Chairperson from the beginning. The of Off-take Customers. Bank. The development of internal evacu- project was included in the Prime Minister’s Project would lead to of CO2 ation infrastructure of the plant has been un- “A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings”. avoidance of 15.4 lac tonnes dertaken with concessional funds from CTF The Project has been appreciated in Global annually, which would need and World Bank. This has enabled Rewa Infrastructure Facility, created by the World planting of 2.6 crore trees Project to have very low solar park charges, Bank, for its optimum distribution of risks Only project with World Bank which was one of the contributing features and has been held as a model project for at- & CTF loan. behind the low tariff achieved in Rewa tracting investment from multilateral banks, Project. The project features an innovative institutional investors, etc. into Emerging Won World Bank President’s design of contracts to address the varying Economies. Award for transaction struc- demand pattern of the off-takers. Optimum The project got all possible support ture. scheduling has been developed on first from various Ministries of Government of principles, which allows meeting almost India(GoI), especially, MNRE, Ministry of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar 90% of the day time electricity demand of Power, DEA, as also GoI organizations Limited (RUMS), announced Delhi Metro. The Project has a three-tier namely, SECI, PowerGrid, IREDA and that power supply from the payment security Mechanism, implemented NISE (which served as the Independent Rewa Solar Power Project for the first time in India. Government Engineer). The project was extended full has commenced from midnight of Madhya Pradesh extended its State’s support by Government of MP, especially, Guarantee to ensure regular payments from Departments of New & Renewable Energy, of July 6, 2018. The 750MW MP Discoms to the developers. Another Energy, Finance, Revenue, Law, Forest, Solar Project in Rewa district innovation of Rewa Project is the develop- etc., as also MP Transco and MPUVN. The of Madhya Pradesh, spread ment of Payment Security Fund, purely on project is an expression of commitment over an area of 1590 acres, is market principles with IREDA, and without of Madhya Pradesh to fulfill the promises among the largest single-site any budgetary allocation from Government made by India to the world community and solar power plants in the world. of India as was being done in other projects. to the next generation of developing 100 The project is being developed by GigaWatt solar energy by 2022.

22 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com SOLAR PROJECTS

HFM Solar commissions 330 kWp Roof-Top Solar Plant in Guwahati Solar Power Developer, HFM Solar Power Private Limited has commissioned a 330 kWp roof-top solar project at Royal Global Institutions, Guwahati. The roof-top solar was built in collaboration with SECI and MNRE. The company will provide solar power to Royal Global Institutions at tariffs that are cheaper than grid tariff based on the RESCO model. e are happy to note that the solar power supplied to Royal Global Institutions will be at a cost which isdrastically cheaper than the grid tariff, providing substantial cost sav- Dharmendra Jain, Director, HFM ings to the Institution as well. When W distinguished institutions such as Solar said “Rooftop Solar Segment is growing rapidly in India and with Royal Global move towards sustain- more visibility of rooftop Solar on ability, they set an example for the public to adopt sustainable ways of residential, commercial, industrial, living. We are extremely happy to institutional buildings, the awareness help them reduce its dependence about the same is also increasing. on conventional sources of energy Government is also supporting the and adopt rooftop solar projects to sector by introducing practical policies meet their daily power needs.We encouraging rooftop development and have a responsibility to help reduce removing policy hurdles making it CO2 emissions and contribute towards the objective of energy simpler. conservation.”

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 23 TECHNOLOGY

Alta Devices Breaks Solar Bacteria-powered solar Energy Efficiency Record cell can produce electric- Alta Devices has announced that its most recent single junction solar cell has been certified by NREL (National Renewable Energy Labora- ity on cloudy days tory) as being 28.9% efficient. his certification confirms that Alta has set The cell generated a current stronger than any previously recorded a new record and continues to hold the from such a device, and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright world record efficiency for this type of solar light cell. This breakthrough, combined with the unique thinness and flexibility of Alta’s cientists, including one of Indian origin, cells, redefines how solar technology can have discovered a low-cost and sustain- be used to empower autonomy in many able way to build a solar cell using bacte- applications. ria, that can harvest energy from light even T under overcast skies. The cell, developed “Alta Devices goal is to continue to lead by researchers from University of British the industry in solar technology and to en- Columbia (UBC) in Canada, generated a current stronger than any previously able a broad range of autonomous systems. S recorded from such a device, and worked We believe this is the best way to support as efficiently in dim light as in bright light. the innovations of our customers,” said With further development, these solar Jian Ding, Alta Devices CEO. cells – called “biogenic” because they are made of living organisms – could become Autonomous systems are predicted to become a part as efficient as the synthetic cells used in of daily life – often operating without human intervention. conventional solar panels. However, every time an autonomous system or vehicle has to stop to refuel or recharge, it requires intervention and is “These hybrid materials that no longer truly autonomous. Alta focuses on developing the we are developing can be world’s best solar technology specifically for autonomous manufactured economically and power, allowing vehicles to seamlessly recharge while in sustainably, and, with sufficient motion. Alta Devices has held continuous world records for optimisation, could perform solar efficiency for most of the last decade. Alta Devices at comparable efficiencies as Founders, Professor Harry Atwater of Caltech and Profes- conventional solar cells,” said sor Eli Yablonovitch of the University of California Berkeley explained the significance of this record: Vikramaditya Yadav, a professor at UBC.

Prof. Atwater said, “Achieving a new Solar cells are the building blocks of solar panels. They do record for this class of devices is a the work of converting light into electrical current. Previous landmark because a 1-sun, 1-junc- efforts to build biogenic solar cells have focused on extract- tion cell is the archetypal solar cell. ing the natural dye that bacteria use for photosynthesis. It is a costly and complex process that involves toxic solvents The fact that Alta is breaking its own and can cause the dye to degrade. The UBC team left the record is also significant since many dye in the bacteria. They genetically engineered E coli other teams have been actively at- to produce large amounts of lycopene – a dye that gives tempting to break this record.” tomatoes their red-orange colour and is particularly effective at harvesting light for conversion to energy. The researchers coated the bacteria with a mineral that could act as a semi- Elaborating on the fundamental technical un- conductor, and applied the mixture to a glass surface. With derstanding that has driven this achievement, the coated glass acting as an anode at one end of their cell, Professor Yablonovitch said, “Alta has the first they generated a current density of 0.686 milli amperes per solar cell based on Internal Luminescence square centimetre – an improvement on the 0.362 achieved by others in the field. Extraction, which has enabled Alta to remain ahead of others. This scientific principle will be “We recorded the highest current density for a biogenic in all future high efficiency solar cells.” solar cell,” said Yadav. The cost savings are difficult to estimate, but Yadav believes the process reduces the cost of dye production The company has recently launched its Gen4 Any- to about one-tenth of what it would be otherwise. The Light™ commercial technology, demonstrating a significant holy grail would be finding a process that doesn’t kill weight reduction from the previous version, resulting in the bacteria, so they can produce dye indefinitely, said an improved power to weight ratio of 160 percent. This is Yadav. critical for tomorrow’s autonomous UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), electric vehicles, and sensors. It can be used There are other potential applications for these biogenic to generate substantial power over small surfaces without materials in mining, deep-sea exploration and other low-light compromising design criteria. environments. Source: PTI

24 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com THE POWER OF RISING VALUE

1.8+ GW Customer base in India

Booth No.: 5.77 18 th-20 th Spetember , 2018 India Expo Centre , Greater , Noida

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India Sales Contact: Bangalore: "REGUS", 2nd Floor, Hotel Ibis Building, 26/1 Hosur Global Headquarters & Factory: Main Road, Bommanahalli, Bangalore 560068. India. Meilin Tashan Indsutrial Zone, Cell: +91 9611333011 Fax: +91 80 6702 7001 Ninghai, Ningbo 315609. China Email: [email protected] Tel: +86 574 59953231 Hyderabad: S.K.Tejaswi Cell: +91 9849494675 Fax: +86 574 59953599 Email : [email protected] E-mail: info@risenenergy .com Delhi : Umesh Kaushik Cell : +91 93100 78313 www.risenenergy.com Email : [email protected] www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 25 TECHNOLOGY

Adani Solar gets global Li Zhenguo: PV will be the recognition on durability cheapest power source in and reliability most parts of the world Mundra Solar PV Limited, the solar manufacturing arm of Adani group, has emerged as the only Indian company to feature in the fourth an- nual PV Module Reliability Scoreboard report, recently released by DNV GL.

ublished by the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts the report is the most complete publicly available comparison of PV module reliability test results.Mundra Solar PV Limited has been awarded the top award for three rigor- ous tests- Thermal Cycle 600, a Dynamic Load Test (DML), and Potential Induced P Degradation (PID). The report has been published by the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts.

According to Ramesh Nair, Chief Execu- tive Officer of Mundra, Adani implements At the 9th Sino-German state-of-art facility with best industry Economic and Technical practices to ensure superior performance. Cooperation Forum held in “Developers and investors should be aware Berlin, Germany, Li Zhenguo, that not all manufacturers have their President of LONGi Green modules tested for quality and reliability to Energy Technology Co., Ltd. vouch for their product lifetime. (LONGi), a leading Chinese PV industry company, made a Procuring unevaluated modules is always a risk that could have keynote speech for the Energy major ramifications for their projects. Adani is a committed Transformation and Energy manufacturer which has implemented state-of-the-art facility Conservation Theme Forum, with best industry practices ensuring superior performance saying that in the next three and reliability of its products,” said Nair. years solar PV will become the cheapest power source in most parts of the world. Anshul Khandelwal, Head Sales, and Marketing of Mundra Solar PV Limited added that DNV GL is an He said that, as photovoltaics and energy storage invaluable tool for the developers. provide the cheapest energy source, the ideal of “Solar “DNV GL’s PV Module Reliability for Solar” can be realized in the future. By 2050, PV will Scorecard is an invaluable tool that become an industry that generates thousands of giga- developers should use for overall watts (GWs) per year. procurement strategy. LONGi is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar mono- This ensures the projects are built crystalline silicon photovoltaic products. Since its establish- with reliable and durable products ment, it has always focused on single crystal technology that would perform as expected; and engaged in monocrystalline silicon wafers, single crystal ensuring best returns,” said Khan- cells and modules, distributed photovoltaic power plants and delwal. ground photovoltaic power plants. In Photon’s triathlon rank- ing, LONGi has the best financial health index ranked first The solar installations are expected to cross the 100 GW and one of the best financial stability indexes. (gigawatt) mark in 2018. The healthy surge in installations LONGi has a research and development (R&D) team of is driven by higher efficiency PV (Photovoltaics) modules more than 450 people and has obtained 260 national pat- with new materials projecting higher returns and lower ents. Since its listing in 2012, the company has invested a to- levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Adani Solar is the first tal of US$ 385 million in research and development, ranking Indian company to vertically integrate businesses that offer first in the global photovoltaic industry. The largest provider of services across the spectrum of photovoltaics manufactur- monocrystalline wafers and components in the world, LONGi ing and is optimised for scaling up to 3 GW of modules and in 2017 has an operating revenue of US$ 2.556 billion, a cells under a single roof. net profit of US$ 557 million, and the total asset of US$ 5.14 billion.

Source: ANI Source: LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (LONGi)

26 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com TECHNOLOGY

ISRO Develops Technology To Mass Produce Solar Cells In India That Can Help Save Crores Until now India was dependent on the United States for the import of solar cell technology for 180 of its satellites produced since 1975. One of the major parts of satellites is the onboard solar power system called space solar cells as it keeps the satellite alive.

owever, Indian Space and Research Organisation might be able to save thousands and crores of money as it has brought mass producing, solar ISRO Chairman K Sivan told The technology cells right to India. Around Times Of India, “Till now, we have 1,500 solar cells are needed for been procuring space cells from producing small, remote sensing sat- US private companies for produc- ellites. While 10,000 to 15,000 solar ing our satellite. Being a critical H cells are required for bigger satellites technology, imported cells costed like GSAT. All of which are imported us dearly.” from the US. ISRO used around 20,000 solar cells for developing the country’s heaviest satellite– GSAT-11.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 27 ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Exide Industries, India’s largest manufacturer of batteries, and Leclanché announce the launch of a new joint venture to build lithium-ion batteries and energy storage solutions to power the growth of India’s electric vehicle market • Exclusive joint venture (JV) agreement signed on 27 June 2018 to address India’s transition to green energy and clean transportation • Well timed JV, ideally positioned to be a leading provider to emerging multi GWh storage markets for electric vehicles and grid connected ap- plications in India

Exide Industries Ltd, India’s largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries and power storage solutions provider (BSE: 500086), and Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN), one of the world’s leading energy storage solution companies, headquar- tered in Switzerland, announced today a joint venture to build lithium-ion batteries and provide energy storage systems for India’s electric vehicle market and grid-based applications.

ith all the major cities in the world suffering from record-break- Gautam Chatterjee, CEO of Exide Industries, ing pollution said: “Leclanché SA is the perfect partner for levels, there us in India. The Company brings superior tech- W is an urgent nology, modules and battery management sys- need for radical new ways to power tems, as well as immediate access to engineer- transport. Countries all over the world ing resources to build market-ready products. are working to find alternative solutions to reduce harmful NOx emissions, which “This ideally compliments our leading position in the lead acid storage bat- are damaging to human health and the tery market in India and will allow us to take the lead in the lithium-ion battery environment. As part of the JV, Leclan- industry, which is expected to grow significantly in the next few years. “Efforts ché will provide access to its knowhow to develop alternate state-of-the-art technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and intellectual property for lithium-ion and energy storage solutions are an important step in tackling the environmen- cells, modules and battery manage- tal challenges.” ment systems and Exide Industries will leverage its extensive sales network and brand. As a result of this unique combi- nation, the JV is ideally positioned to be a leading provider of storage solutions for electric vehicles and energy storage ap- Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said: “It is a plications in India and will also contribute huge honour that Leclanché has been chosen by to developing solutions to increase the Exide Industries, India’s largest battery manu- amount of renewable energy that is used facturer, to partner with them in their quest to and reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels. help India achieve its zero emissions goals and The JV’s production plant will be based reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel. in Gujarat. Exide Industries, which is committed to setting up large-scale man- “Exide’s selection of Leclanché as its partner of choice is a testament ufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, will be to Leclanché’s deep knowhow and IP and a significant endorsement of our the majority shareholder and Leclanché world-leading cell and energy storage technologies, which are the product of will be the strategic minoity shareholder our strong heritage and a decade of investment in lithium-ion R&D and pro- of the JV. A module and battery pack as- duction. “In a region that is expected to be one of the world’s largest and fast- sembly line is expected to be operational est growing markets for electric vehicles, the JV shall provide Leclanché with by Q2 2019 and a lithium-ion cell produc- giga-scale procurement volumes, which will help reduce costs, and increase tion plant is expected to be in operation recurring annuity revenues, generating recurring stable revenue growth for by mid 2020. In the intervening period, the Company. cells will be sourced from Leclanché’s plant in Willstätt, Germany. The JV will “This is an important milestone in our stated growth strategy and further ev- focus on e-transport, stationary energy idence that the opportunity for Leclanché is now. We very much look forward storage systems and speciality storage to working with Exide Industries in delivering the best that Leclanché has to markets. In e-transport, the target seg- offer: superior cell technologies, IP and knowhow that combines high quality ment is fleet vehicles including e-buses, German engineering and Swiss precision with deep experience in the design e-wheelers and e-rickshaws. and implementation of battery storage solutions.”

Source: Leclanche

28 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 29 PV MANUFACTURING

State of the Art Factory Open- ing by Sungrow for India Base Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, has officially opened its state of the art manufacturing plant for a total capacity of 3GW annually in Bengaluru, India on 27th July, 2018.

Meyer Burger awarded further contract for its

SWCT™ platform s per the Sungrow expansion plan Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) announced for the launch of manufacturing plant the successful conclusion of a strategic agreement for its award in the second half of year 2018, the winning SWCT™ technology with an important international solar market commitments to Indian market have been fulfilled. The facility will be module manufacturer in Southeast Asia. used for the production of central and string inverters, fulfilling Indian as well eyer Burger will deliver and install as international demands. From this, the 200 MW SWCT™ manufac- Sungrow has taken one further step to turing platform towards the end of A stabilize its position of the world’s No.1 2018. Commissioning and ramp- solar inverter company. up of the SmartWire solar module Sungrow is one of the leading production line at this customer inverter companies in India. In the past using Heterojunction (HJT) solar two years, over 2 GW has been in- cells supplied by an external stalled by Sungrow India. In response M party is planned for the first half to the growing market demands, of 2019. Sungrow established the factory in SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT™) India, which will greatly improve the company’s global delivery capacity and the natural evolution in cell connection better serve customers. technology Meyer Burger’s ground-breaking SmartWire Connection Technology employs an innovative foil-wire electrode with up to 24 perfectly aligned wires to connect solar cells. This reduces silver consumption per heterojunction solar mod- ule by over 50% which in turn reduces production costs for solar module manufacturers. The resulting dense wire contact matrix enables SWCT™ modules to easily cope with the increased power extraction necessary for today’s high efficiency heterojunction solar cells enabling energy yields of up to 20% to 30% more power per installed module in comparison to standard modules with PERC and PERT cell technologies. The resulting structure of a SWCT™ module significantly strengthens its stability and enhances its lifetime. The powerful combination of higher energy yield, longer module lifetime and lower manufac- turing costs delivers the lowest LCOE in the photovoltaic To some extent, the new factory launched will also reduce industry today. the political crisis and PV market implications, restoring the In May 2018 at the SNEC, one of the world’s largest market confidence. Sungrow is always committed to present PV trade exhibitions, Meyer Burger’s SWCT™ stringer versatile resources to meet our customers’ needs. This infra- platform received a 2018 Technology Highlight award by structure will help fulfil the company mission of “Clean power PV Magazine recognizing its advantages over standard for all” and its vision of becoming a global leader of clean cell connection processes. power conversion technology. Source: sungrowpower

30 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com PV MANUFACTURING

“It is being perceived that, by linking PPA (power pur- chase agreement) with solar equipment manufacturing, government is compelling Solar developers ask government to them (independent power producers, or IPPs) to get into manufacturing — which rethink on manufacturing-linked tenders is cause of concern for most Solar project developers have requested the government to reconsider the proposed large scale, developers,” said SPDA manufacturing-linked solar power tenders, saying it would compel them to foray into equipment whose members include manufacturing, which is a completely different business requiring different skillsets. industry bigwigs such as Re- New Power, Avaada Power, Risks involved in setting up of power projects and venturing into manufacturing of equipment are Acme Solar, Green Infra, not comparable either, as the power sector is highly regulated while manufacturing business is Azure Power, SPRNG Energy, largely market driven, Solar Power Developers Association (SPDA) has said in a letter to power and Hero Future Energies. minister R K Singh. “Members of SPDA have expressed their reluctance olar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had earlier this year floated in venturing in solar manu- a 5 GW manufacturing tender linked with 10 GW power purchase facturing,” it said. ET re- agreement, as part of a government plan to revive the ailing solar manufacturing industry in the country. The technical bid for the viewed a copy of the letter tender was supposed to open later this month, but it has been post- sent earlier this week. poned to third week of August, as the developers’ have expressed S their concerns in the pre-bid meeting.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 31 BUSINESS & FINANCE

JA Solar Vietnam Secures BlackRock plans its larg- Long-term Buyer Credit est ever alternative invest- Loan Facility of US$68.4 ment fundraiser BlackRock Inc is planning to raise $3.5 billion for investments in energy Million with China Minsh- infrastructure in what is poised to be its largest alternative invest- ment fund yet, an executive at the world’s largest asset manager told eng Bank Corporation Lim- Reuters. ited Shijiazhuang Branch for Procurement of Equip- ment at Vietnam Facility A Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:JASO) (“JA Solar” or the “Company”), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-performance solar power products, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, JA Solar Vietnam Company Limited (“JA Solar Vietnam”, or the “Sub- sidiary”) had entered into a long-term buyer credit loan agreement with China Minsheng Bank Corporation Limited Shijiazhuang Branch he company announced that it has (the “Lender”) to fund the procurement of equipment at JA Solar already raised $1.5 billion for the Vietnam’s 1.5 GW of wafer manufacturing facility. Global Energy and Power Infrastruc- ture Fund III. The private fund will fo- nder the terms of the loan agree- cus on operating infrastructure, such ment, the Lender agreed to provide as power plants, pipelines and wind the Subsidiary with a loan facility of farms, in developed markets, poten- up to US$68,396,100 with a seven- tially including the United States. year term. In addition, the Company T had signed a guarantee agreement with the Lender, under which the Company will provide corporate Mark Florian, BlackRock’s global head U guarantee against the loan facility. of its energy and power infrastructure team, said there is growing demand for new infrastructure as countries around the world shift from coal and Acme Solar cuts IPO size nuclear power sources to natural gas and renewable energy. to Rs 10 bn-Rs15 bn He said large utilities and global energy companies are outsourcing The company started pre-marketing the IPO last October and was tar- the management and development of geting a launch early this year. ​​However, investors were not willing infrastructure, creating an opportunity to pay the valuation demanded by the issuer. for investment organizations such as ndian renewable energy company Acme Solar his that want to provide capital. Holdings has downsized its proposed IPO to Rs- “The needs are just getting bigger,” 10bn-Rs15bn (US$147m-$219m) from Rs22bn Florian said in a telephone interview. as it plans to sell some of its assets, people with knowledge of the transaction have said. The company started pre-marketing the IPO last BlackRock, known more for its stock and bond funds, has October and was targeting a launch early this been building up its infrastructure unit, which it started in year. However, investors were not willing to pay 2011. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink has told analysts this Ithe valuation demanded by the issuer. The company plans year that he expects so-called illiquid alternative investments, to resubmit the draft prospectus with the revised numbers which include private equity and typically come with higher soon. The IPO will comprise only primary shares. Acme fees than its other funds, to “be one of the more significant” Solar reported a net loss of Rs680m in the financial year to drivers for BlackRock’s business over the next few years. March 31 2017 versus a loss of Rs54.8m in 2016. It owns The latest fundraising comes just over a year after BlackRock 874 MW of solar power capacity and plans to increase it to closed a deal to buy First Reserve Corp’s Energy Infrastruc- 1,814 MW by the end of the year. The company had initially ture Funds unit, bringing over some of that company’s exist- considered an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) IPO ing funds and employees. but the weak listing of the IRB InvIT Fund and India Grid Overall, BlackRock manages $6.3 trillion in assets, includ- Trust, the two listed InvITs to date, prompted it to go for a ing $41 billion on the “real assets” team that includes the regular IPO.Deutsche Bank is no longer part of the syndi- energy infrastructure business. cate while Citigroup and ICICI Securities remain. Source: in.reuters

Source: reuters 32 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 33 FEATURED LIGHTNING PROTECTION For Pv Power Plant A Safety Requirement:

ith an annual newly installed capacity of some gigawatts, Risk of a lightning strike to structures green field PV power plants such as PV power plants are becoming an integral part ofW modern power supply systems in India. here is a connection between the solar radiation, air humidity Today large-scale power plants with a capacity Tand frequency of lightning discharges. Regions with a high solar of hundreds of MW, are installed which are radiation and air humidity are more susceptible to lightning strikes. directly connected to grid at high-voltage level. The regional lightning frequency (lightning strikes per square Solar plants, which are obviously exposed, are kilometres/year) and the location and size of the PV power plant expected to generate electricity for 25 years form the basis for calculating the probability of lightning strikes to and face, every year, various weather-related the plant. PV systems are exposed to local weather conditions such hazards- lightning being most common and as thunderstorms over decades. Ofcourse in India, like other parts most dangerous amongst all.A lightning strike, of the world, the number of lightning strikes are increasing tremen- anywhere on the plant or on the lines can dously year after year. There were 70000 strikes recorded in March/ affect the generation drastically apart from posing threat of life to the service personnel at April 2018 in India- which is too high a number. the plant.

BY : DEHN INDIA PVT.LTD

34 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

Necessity of a lightning protection system

amage to PV systems is caused both by the destructive 2016 and also IS standards IS 62305-(Parts 1-4) exist which Deffects of a direct lightning strike and inductive or capacitive talk about safety in solar installations against lightning strikes. coupling of voltages caused by the electromagnetic lightning Detailed standards are EN 50539-11 and EN 50539 – 12 for field. Moreover, voltage peaks resulting from switching operations lightning and surge protection in solar installations. It is recom- on the upstream a.c. system can cause damage to PV modules, mended to take lightning protection measures to be taken for PV inverters, charge controllers and their monitoring and communi- systems > 10 kW of objects with alternative renewable power cation systems. supply systems. The risk resulting from a lightning strike must be Economic damage leads to replacement and repair costs, determined according to the IEC 62305-2 (EN 62305-2) standard yield loss and costs for using the reserve power of the power and the results of this risk analysis must be considered at the plant. Lightning impulses also cause premature ageing of bypass design stage. For this purpose, DEHN + SÖHNE offers the diodes, power semiconductors and the input and output circuits DEHNsupport software. A risk analysis performed by means of of data systems, which leads to increased repair costs. In ad- this software ensures a technically and economically optimised dition, network operators place requirements on the availability lightning protection concept which is understood by all par- ties of the energy produced. In India, National Building CodesNBC- involved and offers the necessary protection at reasonable costs.

Figure: Rolling sphere and protection angle method illustration

Measures for protecting PV power plants from lightning interference o ensure effective protection, a lightning Tprotection system with optimally coordinated elements (air-termination system, earth-termi- nation system, lightning equipotential bonding, surge protective devices for power supply and data systems) is required. And, the selection of these coordinated elements is in accordance with minimum design criteriabased on risk analy- sis result carried as per IS 62305-2. IS 62305 clearly states the requirement and guidelines for lightning and surge protection measures to be adopted for PV power plants. Also, NBC 2016 illustrates in detail on lightning protection mea- sures for PV power plant structures and at the same time detailed recommendation is made for surge protection of electrical/electronic system in PV power plants. Since, U/I characteristic curve of PV current sources are very different from that of conventional dc sources, it does not only affect design and size of PV dc switches and PV fuses, but it also requires surge protection Figure: A typical PV power plant layout with lightning and surge protection installed device capable of coping with PV characteristics.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 35 BUSINESS & FINANCE

ADB supports Bangladesh with off-grid solar-driven irrigation pumping Bangladesh is to receive a 20-million-U.S. dollar loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) together with an additional 25.44 million U.S. dollars in grant financing to spur off-grid solar photovoltaic (SPV) pumping for agricultural irrigation. GreenBrilliance USA annou nces PV manufacturing in the United States Manufacturing of high-efficiency Solar Photovoltaic panels expected to create jobs in America. reenBrilliance USA, a leading turnkey solar solution provider in the Mid-Atlantic region, has an- nounced plans for manufacturing high-end photovoltaic solar panels in the United States. GreenBril- liance USA said that, by locally manufacturing high-efficiency crys- Gtalline and Bi-facial PV panels in the country, it will create hundreds of new jobs in a sector that is seen as critical to he grant financing comprises 22.44 the economy. Renewable energy has become the center million U.S. dollars from the Scaling up stage of the American economy with the steady growth of Renewable Energy in Low Income Coun- Solar in the utility and distributed markets within the United tries Program under the Strategic Climate States and its time to bring manufacturing back to America. Fund, and 3 million U.S. dollars is from the Clean Energy Fund for Output-based “This 4th of July, is a great time to announce Aid under the ADB-administered Clean our new Made-in-USA solar panels manu- Energy Financing Partnership Facility. facturing,” said Sumit Bhatnagar, President T & CEO of GreenBrilliance USA. “We will be “High diesel costs for irrigation are not locally manufacturing our high-performance sustainable and affordable for small and high-quality PV modules. We hope to farmers in rural Bangladesh,” ADB Senior combine the internally developed state-of- Energy Specialist Aiming Zhou was the-art technology with the creativity and quoted as saying in a statement. “In an hard work of American workers to continue to area where grid electricity is not avail- deliver world-class products to our custom- able, using solar energy for irrigation is ers. By manufacturing the panels in the USA, a promising alternative to diesel-based we intend to serve hundreds of installers and pumping systems. The project will help project developers nationwide, eagerly look- meet diverse energy demands, improve ing for better options in PV panels for their livelihoods because of less pollution, and projects and customers. Dearth and lack of result in savings from the reduction in availability of “Made in USA” solar panels to- diesel use for irrigation and other agricul- day have left a big void in the market space.” tural activities.”

Bhatnagar stated that the “Made-in-USA solar panels will According to the statement, the funding will support not only be high performance and quality but be more installation of at least 2,000 SPV pumping systems in competitive than any foreign product in the market. We areas without electricity access with an estimated 19.3 intend to build relationships and work directly with install- megawatts-peak of solar capacity. By replacing diesel ers nationwide by offering them not just a Solar Panel but pumping systems with SPV pumps, the project is ex- a great experience”. He added that “The Company will pected to result in a reduction of 17,261 tons of carbon be announcing details on the new manufacturing facility dioxide emissions annually. shortly”. Source: xinhuanet

36 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com BUSINESS & FINANCE

GoodWe Expands Business Operation Facilities in India

GoodWe, one of the leading PV inverter manufacturers in the world, strengthens its commitment to developing markets with the announce- ment of the expansion of a new service support center in Mumbai, India.

his will allow GoodWe to provide better local support to projects and partners in the area, which is a key strategic market for GoodWe. With 69 GW installed renewable power capacity, India is set to become one of the largest global solar hubs in the coming years. T GoodWe has set up an integrated service system to cover the entire sales process and has already es- tablished service centers in the UK, Green Climate Fund meeting the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Australia and India. GoodWe’s quali- ‘disappointing’, chief quits fied service network team is available at all times to provide local technical A Green Climate Fund (GCF) meant to channel billions of dollars to poor support whenever and wherever re- nations said it had had a “very difficult and disappointing” meeting in a new quired. A professional team of autho- setback after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out U.S. support last year. rized engineers can perform on-site inspections, testing and debugging and providing repair or replacement if Australian climate finance expert Howard Bamsey an- necessary, using the latest techniques nounced he was stepping down as executive director of the to maximize inverter performance GCF at the end of the four-day meeting in Songdo, South while minimizing production or pro- Korea, the GCF said in a statement. cess downtime. he GCF, whose South Korean head- quarters opened in 2013 with back- ing from almost 200 nations, aims to help poor nations cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt their economies “GoodWe is always committed to heatwaves, storms and rising seas. to optimize all kinds of resources But it has been bogged down by dis- to better meet our customers’ putes between rich and poor nations about how and where to invest. needs,” said Huang Min, CEO of T GoodWe. “With our same level of unmatched R&D, manufactur- “This has been a very difficult and ing and service capabilities, the disappointing board meeting for all expansion of our service support of us, but most importantly for those capabilities in India will signifi- people who are most vulnerable to cantly enhance our strength to climate change impacts, and who meet customer demands locally depend on the activities of the Fund,” and elsewhere in the world,” GCF chair Lennart Baage said in a statement.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 37 RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

The PV Market Alliance forecasts a 200 GW PV Mar- ket from 2022 Renewable Energy Certifi- cates to Continue Face Reg- ulatory Challenges: Ind-Ra The renewable energy certificates will continue to face regulatory challenges and obligated entities may prefer to buy clean energy directly, India Ratings and Research said. “The obligated entities may prefer to continue to buy renew- able power directly rather than using renewable energy certificates (DECs), to comply with their renewable power obligations,” an India Ratings and Research statement said. According to the PV Market Alliance (PVMA), global PV markets should double during the next five years, reaching between 180 and 200 GW India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes uncertain- from 2022 in a more diversified market. Although a significant level of ties in trading DECs will stay. Solar REC trading was uncertainty prevails, the current transition period in China will not further affected following Central Electricity Regulatory produce significant effects after 2020 and the PV market will continue Commission’s (CERC) decision to reduce the floor and ceil- its solid growth. ing price of solar and non-solar RECs in March 2017. VMA anticipates that market demand n April 2018, Appellate Tribunal of Electricity will remain bullish, mainly driven by a (APTEL) upheld CERC’s decision. The floor and continued strong growth in India, Eu- ceiling prices of RECs determined by CERC rope, and many emerging markets on all methodology usually reflect the price discovered continents. On the short term, the effect through renewable power reverse bids. of the transition period in China will lead It said that trading volume in solar renewable to a market stagnation in the best case, energy certificates (RECs) had declined over with a possible decrease in 2018. How- 70 per cent y-o-y (year on year) on account of P ever, outside of China, the growth will be I the stay on solar REC trading in May 2017. The important, with a 2018 market above 60 trading has been restarted from April 2018, only GW against 45 GW in 2017. From 2019 after APTEL upheld CERC’s order. The stay order onwards, the market should reach the on trading non-solar RECs was lifted in July 2017 100 GW threshold and continue growing. on the appeal of Indian Wind Power Associa- The market will continue to diversify, with tion. The non-trading of solar RECs during FY18 distributed applications growing in share, resulted in a positive complementary effect on the while new market segments will start to trading of non-solar RECs which grew 120 per contribute significantly: floating PV, agri- cent y-o-y in FY18, it said. cultural PV, but also BIPV and VIPV (PV Solar RECs traded at floor prices during FY18 for vehicles) will complement the existing (for one month) and FY17. Non-solar RECs ground-mounted and BAPV plants. Off- traded at an average clearing price of Rs 1,450 in grid will remain marginal in volume while FY18 compared to Rs 1,500 in FY17. Regulatory large-scale off-grid will grow, especially in uncertainties coupled with higher supply of RECs Africa. New applications could represent and lower floor prices have further increased up to 25% of the global PV market from the revenue risks for those renewable projects, 2022. which depend on RECs for part of the revenue, Combining an intimate knowledge of Ind-Ra added. The increasing renewable energy the market with thorough understanding penetration (excluding large-scale hydro power) of policy developments in both mature into the Indian grid system (12% in FY12 to 19% and emerging PV markets, the PVMA’s in FY18 of the all India installed power capacity) report constitutes one of the most reliable and lower non-compliance of renewable pur- global PV market analyses available chase obligations by state utilities have been the to date. Covering an in-depth regional major reasons for lower/stagnant REC trading at perspective and detailed analysis of more power exchanges, it said.During April-May 2018, than 40 individual PV markets, the report both solar and non-solar RECs traded at the new provides comprehensive insights allowing floor prices. Ind-Ra expects the demand-supply understanding and anticipating future PV mismatch for RECs to remain high and hence global market developments, featuring dif- both the types of RECs would trade near or par ferent scenarios according to international floor prices, it added. trade and energy conditions. Source: PTI Source: pvmarketalliance

38 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Corporate Giants Are Buying so Much Clean Power This Year They Already Broke 2017’s Record BUSINESSES AND PUBLIC AGENCIES ARE BUYING MORE CLEAN ENERGY THAN EVER BEFORE. Companies and agencies, excluding utilities, agreed to buy 7.2 gigawatts Proposed NPDC imperative of clean energy worldwide so far this year, already shattering the reco -rd of 5.4 gigawatts for all of 2017, according to a report Friday from to bring structural chang- Bloomberg NEF. es in power distribution:

Ind-Ra “It’s definitely not a The proposed national power distribution company is imperative one-year blip,” Kyle to bring structural changes in power ecosystem, India Ratings and Harrison, a New Research (Ind-Ra) said. York-based analyst at Bloomberg NEF, said in The central government is reportedly contemplating on an interview. forming a national power distribution company (NPDC) to streamline the ailing power distribution network in the country, which is currently operated by state distribution companies (discoms), the ratings agency said in a state- ment. The proposed NPDC’s scope may complement techni- cal and implementation capabilities of discoms, specially in implementing central government schemes in the power sector, it said.

he NPDC can co-exist with state dis- coms and own networks, and distrib- ute power, forcing state discoms to increase their operational efficiency and doing away with political influences. A central government-backed counter- party will enable many existing power projects, including small scale, to ac- urge comes as communities, nations and com- cess the capital market and avail fixed-interest bonds for a T panies set clean-power targets, part of a growing long tenure, Ind-Ra observed. It will address counterparty- global effort to curb climate change. The growth related risks and help generation companies in gaining shows that the renewables boom has plenty of better credit ratings at a standalone level. At present, the room to grow. In some markets, renewable en- credit ratings of existing power projects are capped at a ergy is the cheapest source of electricity. There certain maximum level by credit rating agencies, consider- are other factors driving the surge. More coun- ing the weak financial position of state discoms and delays tries are introducing renewables programs that in payables to generators. The proposed NPDC would help encourage such deals. And for companies, long- in developing an alternative to these state-owned discoms S term contracts to buy clean power from wind and solar farms for power generators and will uplift the whole sector senti- can also act as hedges against uncertain wholesale prices. ment. As the power ministry has increased the renewable That’s helping to deepen the pool of buyers beyond tech firms. purchase obligation (RPO) target to 21 per cent by 2022 Manufacturing and communications companies have emerged from the current 17 per cent, the presence of an NPDC as prime buyers. Facebook Inc. was the biggest buyer in the would lead to greater central control around the RPO first seven months of this year, followed by AT&T Inc., Norsk compliance. Hydro ASA, Alcoa Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Walmart Inc., ac- According to the latest market reports, the outcome of cording to the report. In the U.S., corporations signed a record Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) until FY2016- 4.2 gigawatts of contracts this year, about 58 percent of the 17 has been mixed. Of the 31 states and UTs that signed global total. They did so despite a wave of federal policies that up for the UDAY scheme, only six states and one union have the potential to crimp demand for clean power, including territory have reported to have met the respective FY2016- tariffs on solar panels, steel and aluminum, and a sweeping 17 targets to reduce aggregate technical and commercial overhaul of the federal tax policy. losses.Also, only 10 UDAY entities managed to narrow the “Corporate demand has proven resilient to any impacts by gap between their revenue and costs until FY2016-17. the Trump Administration,” Harrison said. Source: PTI

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 39 INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH Mr.Sven Kramer

Vice President Sales Solar Technology teamtechnik group, Germany

EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, EQ: Solar Trade Wars : What are the benefits to directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission Indian manufacturers Kramer: oday, teamtechnik group is Germany’s largest owner- Kramer: Nobody will win with a trade war. Protection is managed company in the field of assembly and test equipment. required if unfair competition is in the market. Unfair is for We are independent and therefore highly flexible. For the global example if the selling price of solar modules are below the photovoltaic industry the company has specialized on high- costs of materials. But there is an economy of scale. It will throughput stringer machines. These high-performance produc- be difficult for a small manufacturer to compete with a big tion tools are designed to combine reliable 24/7 production with GW manufacturer which might be even vertically integrated. excellent quality. teamtechnik is therefore a global market leader So certain protection and support is required to establish a in this segment. The company employs 1000 people around the solar manufacturing base in India. world and has production and support sites in Germany, Poland, China and the USA. All Stringer Systems TT2100, TT4200GIGA EQ: Whats is your market share in the solar pv and TT1600 ECA are manufactured at our headquarters in Frei- manufacturing market berg, Germany close to Stuttgart in the Southwest of Germany. Kramer: teamtechnik has more than 750 stringer systems teamtechnik group concentrates its efforts on three sectors: Solar, in the market and more than 25 GWpof solar modules are Automotive and Medtech. Together with our worldwide partners we produced every year on teamtechnik stringer systems. So support our customers all around the globe.A key new business far we have supplied more than 2 GW of stringer production area is also assembly and test lines for e-mobility solutions and capacity to India in the last 15 months. batteries.

40 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com INTERVIEW

EQ: Technology road map in terms of 1500V EQ: What are the various technologies , Double Glass, BiFacial Cells, PERC/PERT available for manufacturing and whats the Technologies, Hetero Junction, 5-6 Busbars advantage & disadvantage in the tech or upcoming game changes technologies etc… equipment you offer ? Kramer: All of the above can be processed with Kramer: We offer our Stringer System TT4200 GIGA and teamtechnik equipment. All of our Stringers can process TT2100. In addition we can provide our Layup System Bi-facial cells (if they can be soldered which depends matching the capacity of the Stringer Systems. The TT4200 on the paste used during the solar cell manufacturing GIGA is designed for customers with a production capacity process). If you use a bi-facial cell, then of course you with more than 250 MW. It is a compact system with a high have a double-glass design. One important item so far not production capacity. The soldering process itself is the same many people paid attention to the ribbon position on the with the the TT2100. At the end of the day our customers have back side of the cell. Since we use our patented hold- to decide which solution they prefer, depending on available down devices in combination with our vacuum transport space, production capacity and required redundancy. system on our Stringers we can achieve a very precise For high efficient Hetero-Junction Solar Cells (HJT) ribbon positioning, not only on the front side but also on we have the TT1600ECA in our product portfolio. With the back side of the cell. With a double-glass module you this technology teamtechnik connect the solar cells with a will see of course also the ribbon on the back side which light trapping ribbon (LCR) and an Electrically Conductive is, with a conventional glass-backsheet module, normally Adhesive (ECA). Here we can provide a solution to customers covered up by the backsheet. The interesting question who are interested in producing the next generation of solar will be, how will solar module manufacturer measure the modules. efficiency of the backside of the module with a bi-facial module. You can achieve approx. 10 % to 20% higher EQ: Technology obsolescence : What power output. But of course it depends on where the solution you offer to your customers against module will be installed and how much sun light will be reflected onto the backside. Our customers are using possible future technology obsolescence more and more PERC and PERT cells. Our Stringers when they buy your equipment are designed to process them without any issues. Also Kramer: Our current systems are highly flexible and 5 and 6 busbars can be processed. We do not think that can easily be upgraded like to 6 busbars and a wide the number of busbars will increase above 6. We have range of new cell and ribbon types. Also stringer performed a research study together with the SERIS systems which have been supplied several years ago, institute of the University in Singapore. Simulations such as the TT1200HS, TT1600 or TT1800 can be showed that the power increase from 6 to 7 busbars is upgraded to 5 busbars. The stringer system of that minimal and it does not account for the higher cost of the generationwas designed for the processing of 2, 3 or materials and for having one additional ribbon within the 4 busbar cells. Our engineers found a way to upgrade module. In regards to the HJT technology we see that them to 5 busbars so that our customers can process more manufacture will invest in the technology. We have these cells as well on our stringer systems. With the developed a stringer tool which can interconnect the higher number of busbars the ribbons are getting cells using electrically conductive adhesive (ECA), our narrower. Our latest stringer generations TT4200GIGA TT1600ECA.The ECA-Stringer is designed for reliable and TT2100 can handle ribbons with a width of only 0,6 series production with high unit volumes. The system mm. connects HJT cells with light-capturing ribbons (LCRs) at a As another item I would like to add that our stringer cycle rate of 2.25 seconds. systems can be upgraded for the processing of light trapping ribbons (LTR). These ribbons have a special EQ:What are the trends in new manufacturing structure embossed to increase the reflection of the technology equipment, materials, processes, sunlight hitting the ribbons in order to increase the innovations etc… power output of the solar module. This also enables our Kramer: teamtechnik and the Frauenhofer Institute for customers to increase the power output by 2.5 to 2.8%. Solar Energy Sysems ISE in a research report stated Overall I have to say that customers using teamtechnik that it is now possible to connect high efficiency solar stringers are ready for the futurebecause they produce cells using electrically conductive adhesives n series with a flexible and upgradeable System. production. The results of the joint research project with the ECA-Stringer from teamtechnik show that the EQ: What the expectations from the adhesive technology is ready for the market and can be Government to boost manufacturing in India used as an alternative to the widespread soft soldering Kramer: It was a wise decision by the Indian government interconnection technology. Due to the much lower to set a target of installed PV capacity of 100 GW by process temperatures of this technology (remains below 2022. You always need an ambitious target. At the same 180°C) compared to soldering, temperature-sensitive time you will provide a certain security to local companies high efficiency solar cells can be connected using that they can sell their local manufactured solar modules adhesives in a gentle and material-saving process. The in India. Supporting the local companies with either a reliability of the adhesive connection was confirmed in higher feed-in tariff for local manufactured solar modules, tests carried out in a climate chamber.Thirst orders of the investment support such as financing support or support Stringer 1600 ECA were already placed and delivered for setting up a new factory, will lead to a bigger solar nowadays. module manufacturing base in India.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 41 INTERVIEW

EQ: Please present some examples of your EQ: What are the various inspection, testing, equipment & technologies in India and verification, assurance technologies to ensure worldwide and their performance high quality manufacturing and various Kramer: One example, Vikram Solar, Indian manufacturer certification requirements of photovoltaic systems, has decided to work with Kramer: teamtechnik is certified according to ISO 9001:2008. teamtechnik to expand its production to manufacture At our factory our processes and our incoming materials will enough solar modules to generate 2 GW, up from 500 be inspected and we ensure that only good components are MW. teamtechnik has been given the job of developing used within our machines and systems. Every stringer system and constructing production lines for producing these is tested first internally and then together with our customers solar modules. For Vikram Solar, teamtechnik's worldwide to ensure that exact the material which shall be produced at a service network was a decisive factor in choosing the later time is working with the correct machine settings. Together company, alongside the technical benefits of teamtechnik's with our customers we perform peel-force tests, EL tests of the stringer and layup solutions. At Vikram, for example, it produced strings as well as measurements of throughput and was important to integrate the relatively novel, but highly dimensions to verify the correct and exact configuration and effective PERC cells and bifacial cells in the production settings. During the manufacturing process at our customers process. It was no problem for us. Another example is each incoming cell is inspected by a camera system and the Renewsys. This company has purchased from us 2 x dimensions, busbar position, grid completeness and many more TT2100 Stringer Systems. Last year we have supplied our items are checked. During the soldering process we measure TT4200GIGA Stringer to Renewsys increasing the module the temperature of each cell and we adjust the power output production capacity from 130 MWp to 260 MWp. See also of our Infrared Light Soldering Module to ensure each cell is question14. processed with the same temperature achieving the same good soldering result. After the installation of our machines we train EQ: What is the future of solar manufacturing our customer’s operators and maintenance personnel. This will technologies enable our customers to run with a high uptime and a high yield. Kramer: We are currently seeing a trend towards 5 busbars. EQ: What is the key competitive advantages By increasing the number of busbars the resistance losses can be reduced. Based on our research and development for your customers who choose to buy your work with the SERIS Institute at the University in Singapore equipment and technology we know that the maximum number of busbars will be 6. You Kramer: In one statement: Extremely high output of 130 can of course increase the number of busbars further, but MWp on just 15 m². The Stringer TT4200 Giga is the most based on the simulation performed by the SERIS Institute compact, yet fastest, stringer system in the world. Customers the power gain achieved after 6 busbars is only minimal. are confirming availabilities of over 98% for all of our systems. teamtechnik stringers have a flexible machine architecture and EQ: India currently has around 2 GW therefore they are always upgradable for future cell or ribbon Cell Manufacturing and 8GW of Module technologies. Most of our stringers use contact-free infrared Manufacturing…..what is the opportunities, soldering technology which makes the hight system output challenges in manufacturing in India possible while minimizing the breakage rate. Kramer: India is expanding their manufacturing base. It is EQ: India is currently ramping up manufacturing the correct decision of the government in India to support capacities…how much capacity addition do you local manufacturing. Only with a local manufacturing base forecast ? the solar energy can be more widespread in India because Kramer: Forecasting is always difficult. But personally I see a big more and more people are supporting it. Our customers potential in India. Solar Energy can be installed within a short period are facing several challenges. One is the availability of raw of time. The costs for solar modules have been reduced over the materials and local manufactured solar cells. In addition last few years a lot and therefore solar energy is competitive with financing the equipment is a challenge. fossil fuels. India is one of the fastest growing economies and a lot of additional energy will be required in the next few years. Solar EQ: Enlighten with some new orders in hand, its will be able to provide clean energy to the big cities in India as timelines well as to rural areas. So I personally hope that more solar energy Kramer: Due to teamtechnik’s proven high technology will be added in order to keep the air clean or cleaner in India. standard RenewSys has once again decided for stringers The existing companies in India will expand their manufacturing from teamtechnik and by placing a considerable order capacities and new players will enter the market. On the solar for teamtechnik stringers TT 2100 they are successfully module manufacturing side I see a potential of 10 GW to 15 GW continuing to increase their production capacities. of production capacity within the next few years in India.

42 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

How India can use Information Technology for Universal Electricity Access

Enhanced interaction between data-science based IT systems and the electricity delivery systems will revolutionize the delivery of services.

As a general purpose technology (GPT), his progress builds on the mark of a The ongoing electricity access electricity has embodied our definition new dawn initiated with the introduc- schemes of the government of improved quality of life. Access to tion of the Electricity Act 2003, which have successfully deployed electricity service is now regarded as a mandated the supply of electricity to the electricity distribution and basic necessity. In India, the government T all areas, irrespective of whether it transmission infrastructure has taken up access to electricity as an is an urban or a rural area. Also, the across majority of the Census utmost priority. Two of government’s flag- Act provided for the participation of villages. At this juncture, ship programs — Deen Dayal Upadhyaya private players and delicensed gen- cumulatively, the distribution Gram Jyoti Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri eration and distribution of electricity companies have a much larger Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana or Saubhagya in rural areas. This led to sprouting number of villages and house- Scheme — are harnessing both central of social enterprises in the electricity holds drawing their services, than ever. Given the fact that grid and decentralized or off-grid based access space. This development further sparked innovation. At present, there are huge territories to approaches for providing electricity access information technology (IT) based serve, one can think of it as across all villages and to all households, solutions such as smart meters for a challenge. Nevertheless, respectively. In the current paradigm, India renewable energy-based micro and familiarity with modern IT solu- has earned the reputation of being one of mini grids and pay-as-you-go systems tions can enable translation the top performers in terms of the growth are well established solutions. Yet, of underlying challenges into in electricity access, in recent years. there is a lot that can be harnessed. opportunities.

or example, humongous amount of data generated interest of innovators in the electricity space. There are on a regular basis can be leveraged by the distribu- also a growing number of start-ups that have developed tion companies, using big data analytics, to derive blockchain-based technology solutions to foster small ticket insights about payments, and demand patterns. energy trading among individual owners of decentralized Similarly,F for delivery of services such as bill collection in solar systems. remote and rural areas, the introduction of scratch cards Disruption in the electricity access space is inevitable. through mobile phone retailers will potentially enhance The future electricity service delivery systems will not be the collection efficiency and also reduce associated costs. constrained by the debates of early years – centralized or Additionally, predictive analytics-based solutions can be decentralized systems, and coal based power or renewable harnessed by distribution companies to plan for preventive energy based generation. Businesses will compete in terms maintenance of the infrastructure. In the insurance sector, of the cost of service delivery and quality of service. En- the capability of drones is already being harnessed and hanced interaction between data-science based IT systems the same can be replicated by utilities for monitoring of and the electricity delivery systems will revolutionize the supply lines in rural and remote areas. In recent years, the delivery of services. Also, the juxtaposing of modern IT sys- growing popularity of blockchain technology has gained tems will set reporting on actual service delivery, a reality.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 43 TECHNOLOGY

Growatt smart new inverter solutions impress visitors at Intersolar 2018 Messe München exhibition center, Germany: Intersolar Europe 2018, as a global leading PV inverter manufacturer, Growatt New Energy Technology CO.,LTD (Growatt) continues the worldwide display of its powerful inverter ranges MAX 50K-80KTL3 LV, Growatt SPH/SPA/SPF, Growatt 2500-6000 TL-X, AC EV charger, etc.

ccording to IHS Markit analysis, there is expected double- digit growth in the European PV market in 2018. Solar demand in Europe will rise to about 11 GW in 2018. The five largest European PV markets are Turkey, Germany, France,A the Netherlands and the UK. Growatt insists on an innovation driven strategy, focusing on penetration of research and development in European market for more than 7 years. Participating in Intersolar is one of Growatt’s overseas market- ing strategies. Those new inverters including home energy storage in- verter series SPH/SPA/SPF, new residential inverter Growatt 2500- 6000 TL-X series, smart commercial inverters MAX 50-80KTL3-LV/ MV series and EVA AC EV charger have impressed many visitors and customers. The new models incorporate features which go far beyond those associated with traditional inverters, including integra- tion with smart technology.

(New Residential inverter) Growatt 2500-6000 TL-X series are more power- ful on the performance with 1.4 times DC over- load and 1.1 times AC overload,12.5A string current design perfectly matching bi-facial module, with excellent perfor- mance the inverter can increase up to 10% energy [Home Energy Storage Inverter series SPH/SPA/SPF] SPH and SPF generation, it is also with series maximize self-consumption and reduce electricity bill through the very elegant new look, and control of charge and discharge of energy storage batteries and utilization OLED display which makes of price difference in peak-to-valley electricity. SPH series can also inte- it more like a home appli- grate IoT technology to realize intelligent management of home solar power ance generation, storage and electricity consumption, thus build a complete smart home energy management system. While the SPA series can retrofit existing PV systems to storage systems to increase self-consumption, reduce electric- ity bills. During grid power outage, SPA series can even provide emergency power back up.

44 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com TECHNOLOGY

(AC EV charger) “PV + energy storage + EV charger” will form a multi-source-complementary micro-grid system that can realize photo- voltaic self-consumption, spare electricity storage and meanwhile provide green energy to electric vehicles. EVA AC EV charger is easy to use and efficient. The human-machine-interface provides smart Top Brand PV Netherlands charger management. Output power can 2018 awarded by CEO of be automatically adjusted but also man- EuPD ageable remotely with WIFI or 4G, pro- Thanks to our customers who tocol complies with European OCPP v1.6 trust us and choose our inverters standards. In terms of protection, EVA for their solar projects. Growatt AC EV charger has IP65 protection level, is now TOP 2 residential invert- er supplier in Netherland. With comprehensive electrical and temperature the significant achievements, protection, support harsh environment Growatt has received the award application. Installation of the charger is of ‘Top PV brand Netherlands also flexible with both pole-mounting or 2018’ from EuPD. Markus wall-mounting options. A.W. Hoehner, CEO of EuPD Research presented the award to Growatt at Intersolar 2018 on June 20.

“During these years, we have offered much support world- wide. We provide many power- ful solar inverters in the PV market with smart solutions and nice service offerings, we are grateful to our customers who chose our inverters for their projects. We will continue (Smart commercial inverters) to demonstrate our maturity MAX 50-80KTL3-LV/MV series are in intelligent technology and equipped with 6 MPPTs, more flexible offer comprehensive range of string configuration and less string mis- service to meet the world-class match loss. The Anti-PID function auto- standards.” Said David Ding, matically heals PV module at night and CEO of Growatt. increases long term profit of solar power plant. In addition, MAX 50-80KTL3-LV/ The global PV market trend in MV series provide 24*7 reactive power 2018 pushes Growatt to develop compensation and increase transformer and produce more powerful, safer and more efficient new loading capability, thus save investment. inverters for customers. Dedica- Moreover, the inverter is with excellent tion to the research of smart capability to handle harsh grid environment energy solutions and supply of which improves inverter reliability and smart energy products is always ensures high generation. Growatt ’s pursuit !

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 45 FEATURED

What Financiers Need to Unlock $1 Trillion in Renewable

Energy Financial institutions say they could double their planned investments in the U.S. renew- Investment able energy sector.

By : Greentechmedia

46 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

THE LONGER-TERM OUTLOOK IS A LITTLE LESS SUNNY nder the right conditions, financial institu- — UNLESS POLICY AND MARKET STRUCTURES SHIF. tions say they could double their planned investments in the U.S. renewable energy More than half of respondents, 58 percent, identified the lack of U a federal policy driver after the sunset of the wind Production Tax sector, with the potential to mobilize $1 trillion in Credit and solar Investment Tax Credit as a hurdle for continued cumulative private capital by 2030. renewable energy growth.

n a business-as-usual case, investor confidence in the U.S. renewables market is expected to Iremain high over the next three years, according to a new survey by the American Council on Renew- “We’re looking at a world where in the able Energy (ACORE). Looking further out, growth early 2020s, business-as-usual projec- will depend on getting a strong set of policies and tions have the renewable sector’s growth market signals in place. rate dipping dramatically,” said Gregory Wetstone, ACORE President and CEO, in he survey, which took place in April 2018, an interview. “At that point we’re in a collected data and insights from senior-level world where there are no federal respondents across banking institutions, asset T tax incentives of any kind, and vir- managers, private equity firms and other financial tually every other sector has per- firms that together represent around $15 billion in manent…tax incentives baked annual U.S. renewable energy investment. into the code. Dealing with that is an important part of getting to wo-thirds of respondents said they plan to in- higher investment numbers.” crease their investments in U.S. renewables by Tmore than 5 percent in 2018 compared with ACORE launched a new initiative this week that aims to 2017, and half plan to increase their investments boost new private-sector investment in renewables and enabling by more than 10 percent. None said they plan to grid technologies to $1 trillion between 2018 and 2030. To decrease renewable energy investment by any more reach that goal, ACORE released a set of proposed policy re- than 5 percent. forms and market drivers deemed essential to driving growth.

According to John Eber, adviser to the $1T 2030 campaign and former managing director and head of energy investments at JP Morgan, policy and market reforms are the investment com- munity’s top priority. “From an investor’s per- spective, I’d argue that the current commercial renewable energy technologies are al- ready performing very well, and we are happy to continue our investments there,” Eber wrote in an email. “Further innova- tion and related cost reductions will help, but that next level of growth really comes down to policy and market reforms.” “I’ve been in this business for over 15 years, and every time I turn around, more and more investors want to get into re- newables,” he continued. “The capital available is significant, and it will continue to grow each year if we find ways to elimi- nate the barriers to development, improve our transmission system and build on renewable portfolio standards.”

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 47 FEATURED

ACORE’s specific set of policy changes Under the right set of circum- tor, to keep building on the momen- include: stances, a majority of investors that tum that we have, and to stay within took ACORE’s survey, 89 percent, striking distance of U.S. climate said they would double their compa- objectives [under the Paris Agree- • A long-term federal policy nies’ cumulative investments over the commitment to support period 2018-2030.Seventy percent of ment],” said Wetstone. carbon-free electricity respondents projected that cumulative generation. According to private investment in U.S. renewable He acknowledged some of the policy and market reforms will be Wetstone, this commitment energy would reach $500 billion over more attainable than others. Increa could take different forms. the same period, while 26 percent projected it would reach $1 trillion. sed state renewable energy goals, A price on carbon is one for instance, have become a promis- option; a technology-neutral “We think it is really important ing policy driver, particularly in the tax credit is another. to provide the opportunity for the absence of federal leadership. Ninety- U.S. to take full advantage of the five percent of survey takers said • Federal, state and regional tremendous growth and economic expanded state renewable energy policies to promote mod- portfolio standards are important or opportunity in the renewables sec- ernization of the nation’s very important growth policies. electrical grid, including fair access for renewables in electricity markets, and new incentives for energy stor- age and other grid technolo- gies. • Increasingly ambitious state renewable portfolio stan- dards. • Streamlined siting and per- mitting processes for renew- able energy and transmis- sion projects.

Market drivers include: • New business models and improved economics to scale up the energy storage Achieving a federal policy commit- Wetstone said he’s optimistic the market. ment to support carbon-free electricity investment community can build sup- generation is likely to be harder — but port at the federal level over the next • Increased corporate renew- despite that, efforts to advance a price few years. able purchasing through on carbon are already underway. Eber “It’s easy to overlook the reality of diversified procurement op- underscored that an effort to address investment in renewable energy has tions and new market incen- the carbon externality is “essential” to been the No. 1 source of private-sector driving meeting ACORE’s $1T by 2030 infrastructure investment in the U.S. for tives for middle market and investment goal. each of the past seven years,” he said. industrial companies. “At this point it’s premature to proj- “So what we’re really talking about is Increased public awareness ect which specific carbon price or regu- continuing that momentum and con- • latory mechanism will be most viable, tinuing that growth and being able to and support for renewable but what is clear that the societal costs take advantage of all the benefits that energy and electric vehicles. of greenhouse emissions will need to brings with it from an economic per- Continued financial innova- be addressed in one fashion or another spective, an investment perspective, • in the early part of the next decade,” and a jobs perspective.” tion as capital stacks evolve he said. “Market-oriented approaches “A lot of this growth is in red areas to replace tax equity as a appear to offer the most efficient mech- of the country, rural areas where there key source of project financ- anisms — and have potential to boost aren’t a lot of other…opportunities,” ing, and as the industry our economy, increase employment, Wetstone added. “So I think we have a seeks a more standardized and enhance U.S. competitiveness in history of bipartisan support, and we’re approach to finance new the booming global marketplace for determined to maintain and build on project offerings. renewable energy.” that.”

Source: greentechmedia

48 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com 13th (2019) International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Exhibition & Conference

June 4-6, 2019

◎Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association / Shanghai New Energy Industry Association ◎Show Management: Follow Me Int'l Exhibition (Shanghai), Inc. Add：Room 902, Building No. 1, 2020 West Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200235, China Tel：+86-21-33561099 / 33561095 / 33561096 Fax：+86-21-33561089 ◎For exhibition: [email protected] For conference: [email protected]

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 49 Distributed Solar TEPSOL (Think Energy) Takes A Giant Step And Is building Over 100 Rooftop Projects For Government Clients

ndia is positioned to be at the forefront of the global electricity through solar rooftop installations. TEPSOL effort to make the transition to a low-carbon economy. is currently developing and building over 15,000kW However, the road to this transition is no less challeng- of rooftop solar photo-voltaic projects over 100 sites, ing. While the installed capacity of solar power in India spread across the three states of Maharashtra, Andhra has reached ~22 GW, the contribution from rooftop Pradesh and Karnataka. These projects have been projects remains at ~1.2 GW. The Government of India secured under Solar Energy Corporation of India's understands the importance of rooftop solar and (“SECI”) Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO) I continues to support rooftop projects through various scheme for government buildings and shall be com- policies and incentives. missioned by October 2018. RESCO projects entail TEPSOL Projects Private Limited (“TEPSOL”), a zero capex from the users and is basically a pay per joint venture between Think Energy and EverStream use model. These projects intend to reduce the carbon Capital, is committed to contribute to India’s quest footprint of and deliver economic benefits to, the for energy security through generation of on-site Government Departments.

50 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com Distributed Solar

he rooftop portfolio in- cludes a 242 kW rooftop Tsolar project at the temple of Srisailam Devasthanam, which is located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and is home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country. The energy charges that the Srisailam Devasthanam administration would be paying has been competitively deter- mined at Rs 3.939 per unit- flat for 25 years. Apart from deliver- ing economic benefits, a project of this kind would help Srisailam- Devasthanam administration, reduce its carbon footprint by displacing 360 tonnes of GHG (Green House Gases). Install- ing a 242kWp SPV system is equivalent to planting 17,000 mature trees and illuminating over 475 homes.

When contacted by EQ, Mr. Sandip Agarwal, Director, Mr Paul Huelskamp, Director, Mr.Ravishankar Tumuluri, TEPSOL,said “We are cur- TEPSOL, and a representative of Managing Director, TEPSOL, rently building this 15 MW EverStreamCapital stated that said "The initiatives taken rooftop portfolio under the “EverStream Capital is committed to by Government to promote SECI scheme and intend to contribute to promoting clean energy rooftop solar projects is com- complete the projects before in India. Having invested across geog- mendable. We are pleased October, 2018. We shall raphies, we are of the view that India to partner with government continue to grow in terms of is one of most attractive markets institutions and central/state capability and deployment of given the policy support and vision departments to deliver energy rooftop solutions and work on of the Government. We are excited cost savings and reducing their innovative technologies to sup- of our partnership with Think and carbon footprint” port the Industry. intend to build a strong portfolio going forward"

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 51 FEATURED

If we are not Competitive in solar manufacturing, We should not Attempt it: Amitabh Kant

“You may be competitive in hundred other things but if you are not competitive in solar manufacturing right till the back-end, do not attempt that, and rather get into an area where you will be glob- ally competitive,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.

Kant shared a perspective on India’s energy sector and the larger economic scenario at an industry event.

52 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

Power generation will be driven by renewable India has the lowest cost of solar and wind in the energy by 2050. What is your view on the stra- world but we are hugely reliant on coal. Much of the tegic transformation that is taking place both in debate in the last five years has been on coal short- the world of energy and mobility? age. what is going to be the way in which India will move away from coal? et me give you an Indian perspec- tive because automobile and auto hether it is going to be coal or renewables is going components play a very critical part W to be a function of the market. It is going to be func- in India’s manufacturing. They play tion of economics as we go on bidding for renew- a very critical role in job creation. able power. If the cost of renewables falls sharply, The segment contributes almost the country is going to shift towards renewables, 7.2 per cent of India’s GDP. So, it whether we have a huge amount of coal or not is L is very important to first understand not an issue. The issue is, how sharply the cost of that as we move from combustion renewables falls. The critical issue across mobility vehicles to Electric Vehicles, we and energy is energy storage and grid manage- need to ensure that this shift has ment. A critical issue will be grid management and long-term predictability and consis- our ability to make a quantum technological leap tency in policy. forward and that is really the future of both mobility We are a centre for compact car and energy – to have storage batteries. manufacturing and we create over The issue about coal and renewable and the issue 35 lakh jobs from this sector. We about EV versus combustion vehicles is not really need to ensure that this manufac- something which you and I will determine. It will turing and these jobs do not get be an issue which will determined by innovation impacted in any manner in that and our ability to make prices fall in renewables shift. It is important to understand and also the ability to make the cost of EV fall very that it is going to be a gradual shift rapidly. The day that happens you and I will switch over a period of time. It has to be over to EV. I am totally against a policy where you a gradual shift because the cost of drive EV thorough large scale subsidies, that is not EV as of now is still very high and sustainable. it will only be by 2026 that the cost of EV will be at par with combustion This government has been extremely supportive of vehicles, which will be significantly renewables in terms of policy framework. What are determined by the cost of the bat- the major challenges for growth of solar and wind tery and which, to my mind, will be energy in India? a period of another 5-6 years. In- dia’s advantage is that the number y view is that increasingly India should do large- of persons owning cars is just 20 M scale bidding of solar linked to storage batteries. per 1,000 as compared to say 900 The future lies in storage batteries. It is not about per 1,000 in the US or 860 odd per just creating renewable power. It is also about 1,000 in Europe and therefore India creating the grid to manage fluctuations. Solar has a huge advantage of shifting has huge fluctuations and, therefore, you need to towards EV. There is no lock-in cost create the grid to back that up. You need to link right now and as we move in, we solar to storage batteries. That is the future and will be able to make an incremental that is the technological leap which India needs shift towards EV. to take.

What is being done to boost domestic solar manufacturing capabilities. Most of the domestic players especially the solar players are into assembling. am not a great believer in protectionism. I am a believer in globalisation and a believer in India I being an integral part of the global supply chain. Either you are competitive or not competitive. If you are not competitive, do not try and manufacture something (in an area) where you are not going to be competitive. You may be competitive in hundred other things but if you are not competitive in solar manufacturing with the entire back-end, right till the back-end, do not at- tempt that, and rather get into an area where you will be globally competitive. And if you want to be competitive then make sure that you do it in size and scale. If you miss that then get into an area where you can be a global champion, like we are in compact car manufacturing. You need not necessarily be a global champion in every area of manufacturing.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 53 FEATURED

Are you suggesting that we need to be investing more Renewable energy needs grid access and grid or are you expecting Indian companies to invest in being a regulatory area, what can change in the technology? regulator environment to make it more condu- cive for business and accelerate the adoption of expect the government to be facilitator, a catalyst, renewables? I to create an ecosystem for private sector investors to come in. It is not the government which drives innovation. The government becomes a catalyst for big challenge lies on the distribution side greater amount of innovation and disruption to take A as many of the DISCOMS do a lot of cross- place and therefore structuring of bids should be subsidization. They must realize that electricity based in a manner where it should be able to drive should be run like great business. DISCOMS many of these changes. should be commercially viable, profitable and in the long run India will gain if DISCOMS across Battery costs have dropped by 80 per cent since 2010. the states do good business and are completely What needs to be done to increase the domestic manu- de-politicised. I think there is a dire need for a facturing capability? national DISCOM company. India needs to push for a national DISCOM company as we have a irstly, our policy needs to be based on shared, con- national grid company. In the power grid sector nected and zero emission future. That is where we F we need to bring in private players and allow should eventually focus on. It is not going to happen competition to take place on the grid side. The overnight. That would really require costs to fall on private sector will bring in good technology. My the battery side. So, there are two challenges. One is belief is that in the long-run great things happen on the innovation side and the other is on the avail- when we develop a policy for private sector to ability of cobalt, nickel and lithium across the world. come in and do work. Also, we need the ability to break away from lithium and get into new areas where you can drive EV with batteries made out of different materials. There are a On one hand we have stressed assets, bad vast number of start-ups who are doing work in these loans, fuel shortage and the NPA issue in the areas. In 3-4 years, we will have a completely new power sector and on the other hand we have alternative technology. So, these are areas of huge excitement and new innovation with solar and disruption and India should allow many disruptions to wind tariffs falling. Where do you see power take place. generation in the next five years? Is this headed towards a resolution of some form? Will technol- Should the government incentivize R&D in these areas ogy aid in the resolution process? for the big as well as small players as a policy? e have seen a lot of unique start-ups which are do- ne of the biggest things done in India is the W ing work in many of these areas, especially towards O structural reforms of GST, NCLT, IBC and public transportation. There are a number of start-ups that really shows that crony capitalism in India which are working on public transportation and swap- is dead now. You have seen huge examples ping in three-wheelers. I think our policy should be of complete take-over by NCLT process by geared towards two-wheelers, three-wheelers and other companies and therefore private busi- public transportation. You have an example of Am- nesses will be much more disciplined. If you pere in Bangalore where IIT graduates from Chennai do not pay up the banks you will lose your have brought out an electric smart scooter which has business. Why have assets on the steel side the potential of being the Tesla of the scooter world. succeeded? We have many buyers for steel You have Sun Mobility working on swapping of ve- companies. Why has that happened? It is be- hicles for public transportation. A number of start-ups cause we were able to create an ecosystem of and entrepreneurs are working in these areas and I steel demand in India, despite a huge amount am sure many of them will succeed. of imports from China. We were able to control the flow of steel from China. Steel demand has never been better in India then now. You Taking the point of environmental sustainability as a have created a demand for many buyers to pitch, what can state governments do on public trans- come in and that demand was created by the port options? government through its policy framework. In very state across India should push for public trans- the power sector too we need to do the same E port through EVs and they do not need to do it by out- thing. We need to create demand for power. In right purchases of vehicles but they need to do it on the power sector, we need to take very strong contract basis. The contract should be so structured decisions. We need to clean up the cities to that it should be on a per kilometre basis. In NITI get rid of petcoke, furnace oil, coke and a vast Aayog we are structuring a contract on that basis, number of dirty fuels which are being used in which will be made available to all the states so that India. On the environmental side, India needs all the states can go without ownership basis, but on to be very tough. We cannot afford to have 14 a per kilometre basis. And I think every municipality of our cities as the worst in the world. should go for Electric buses. Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

54 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

Govt should SAFEGUARD exempt solar DUTY units under SEZ from safeguard duty

In 1995, India became a member of the World Trade The purpose of imposing the theme and sentiment of Organization (WTO) incurring obligations to provide safeguard duty is to protect Make in India Policy and is in market access to goods from other countries. The domestic producers from contradiction of achieving the initial phase of trade liberalisation led to a sudden competition offered by import- energy security. increase of imports in countries which lacked competi- ed goods and to provide them tive manufacturing facilities. However, gradually many time to become competitive. The government can The Indian solar industry is handle this situation by countries developed indigenous manufacturing capaci- witnessing a peculiar situa- either specifically exempting ties and global trade achieved partial equilibrium. tion. Today, India has 3.1 GW SEZ units from payment of of installed capacity of Solar safeguard duty, as suggested aving said that, it is an economic reality that cells out of which 2 GW, i.e. by the DG (safeguards) in exports of goods into the markets of some more than 60% is situated in the preliminary findings, “The countries cause “injury” to the domestic SEZs and out of 8.3 GW of remedy to this could be a producers of importing countries. The WTO solar module manufacturing duty exemption to the extent Hframework provides for various remedies such as facilities, 3.8 GW are situated of the Safeguard measure anti-dumping and safeguard measures to tackle such in SEZs. Thus a substantial when the PUC is cleared by situations. production capacity is situ- a SEZ unit into the domestic In 2005, India created Special Economic Zones ated in SEZs which caters market…”. Alternatively, (SEZs) to facilitate manufacturing in India at competi- to and is contributing to the the government can apply tive prices. SEZs were provided benefits such as ambitious plan of the govern- a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) single window clearance and tax holidays. SEZ units ment to attain a target of regime, under which a certain are considered to be outside Indian customs territories 100 GW of solar power by quantity is exempted from and goods manufactured in these units, if sold in India 2022. Imposing safeguard payment of safeguard duty (DTA), attract import duties including anti-dumping duties, which would also ap- on importation and imports and safeguard duty, as applicable on goods imported ply to manufacturers based over and above this quota are into India from other countries. While imposition in SEZ units, would thus be charged to safeguard duty. A of safeguard duty provides protection to domestic counter-productive and will substantial part of this quota producers, it results in a counterproductive outcome lead to increase in cost of would need to be allocated to for units located in SEZs and catering to domestic power without any gain to the SEZ units in India to take demands, as the domestic removals from such units the domestic manufacturing care of the peculiar Indian are charged to safeguard duty. industry. This goes against situation.

This would not only provide protection to the domestic producers in the SEZs but also The writer is ex DG outside it and would also help the government to attain the target of 100 GW of solar Safeguards } power by 2022. } Government of India.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 55 FEATURED

Analysis Of 1 Year’s Generation Of 1.1 Mwp Scorpius Tracker Plant In Karnataka

SYNOPSIS OF PLANT 1. Canadian Solar Panels 2. ABB PV800 1MW AC Central inverter 3. BLOCK Design of 268.8 KWpx2, 282.24 KWpx2 4. Inter ROW pitch at 5.5 metres, 3.5m clear path between rows for cleaning 5. Loading of 10% on DC 6. Grid downtime of 8.8% across the year 7. PVSyst indicated a generation yield of 1.91 MU / MWp 8. Power Evac at 11KVA – Nirantar Jyoti Scheme Ritesh Pothan 9. Generation normalized at 1MWp Senior VP - 10. Fully Operational Nov 2016 Business Development, 11. Plant setup under 14 weeks: Civil 4 weeks, Structures erection plus Module Mounting 8 weeks and Trackers Commissioning 1-2 weeks.

56 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

EXPECTATION FROM PLANT

Table 1: PVSyst Simulation

he parameters for the location were based on Meteonorm 6.1 which has ± 9% variation based on Tsite conditions. Due to the unavailability of Fixed / Seasonal tilt data no comparison can be made. The generation was expected to cross 1.9MU on average over a 10 year time frame.

GENERATION ACHIEVED : 1.942 MW per MWp generated in One Year

he below graph shows the superb CUF of the plant, which clearly proves the advantages of track- Ters over Fixed Tilt systems, especially where DC loading brings in a lot of value addition in reduc- ing AC+DC side BOS Costs. The voltage reduction due to horizontal position allows for accommodat- ing more panels per string thus ensuring early wakeup and generation up to late evening.

ScreenShot 1 : 31% CUF Day

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 57 FEATURED

he ability to deliver consistent power as well as reduce the impact of backdowns with Zero fail- Ture rate on tracking components resulted in just 8.9% reduction in power delivered compared to Fixed Tilt or Seasonal for which impact would be much more severe. Please refer to Screenshot 2

Screenshot 2: Grid downtime has lowered effect in SAT, whereas FT/Seasonal Tilt would generate almost zero

The generation of the plant has seen the following 1. Highest generation from Feb to May 2. Consistent delivery during summer months 3. CUF above 20% >57% 4. Average CUF across the year of ~21%

58 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

Table 2: Monthly CUF

The benefits of trackers increases significantly when closer to the equatorial line and in a good DNI environment. Trackers provide steady and continuous power throughout the day enabling maximum solar radiation capture. This translates into clean, efficient and dependable power to run commercial, industrial and day based activities without encountering the need for storage thus enabling a better, pollution free nation. The limitations of fixed tilt are highlighted below in the graphs which provide a glimpse of the benefits that Scorpius Trackers brings to the table. Below, you can see a sample extract of daily power generation curves for a site using Meteonorm 6.1values

January

April

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 59 FEATURED

June

August

October

hroughout the year, the power generation and performance is far more robust using Scorpius TTracker Technology, which leaves little to chance with the possibility of an upside unlike older outdated technology.

Key features for Scorpius Single Axis Trackers are 5. Higher DC Overloading Capacity compared to Seasonal and Fixed Tilt Structures 1. Earlier in day + Smoother Generation Curve, 6. Zero Solar PV cell cracking issues, unlike Sea- sufficient for commercial, industrial and day loads sonal Tilt movement mechanisms 2. Higher Inverter Efficiency due to lower overloading 7. Optimized Grid Efficiency + Utilization requirement, Reduced Cooling needs for Inverters 8. Minimal Grid back down effect vs Fixed Tilt due to less need for oversizing 9. Reduced O&M due to lesser panel cleaning 3. Maximum generation vs Fixed Tilt needs, Bushing Mechanical Life of 150 years 4. Structures stability at high wind speeds of 115 mph 10. Agricultural ground use possible validated using Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Testing

60 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com FEATURED

SCORPIUS HAS HIGH PERFORMING SCORPIUS ALSO HAS A BEST IN PROVEN ARRAY TRACKER DESIGN ( 2014 ) CLASS 'ROW' TRACKER (2017)

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 61 Technical Article

Techno-Economic Analysis of Stand-alone Solar PV and Battery based Micro-grids in Karnataka

lectrical energy can transform and uplift the socio-economic condition of a region—this is a well-established fact (Jain et al., 2015). By November 2017, India’s Grameen Vidyutikaran (GARV) Edashboard indicated that 82% of the targeted village electrification work had been achieved (Rural Electrification Corporation, 2017). In April 2018, the Government of India released a statement to announce that 100 % electrification had been achieved for India. However, this translates to about 3.1 crore households still waiting for electricity connections, indicating a long road ahead for the country in achieving 100% electrification1. A large section of the population continues to live in areas that receive deficient supply—no more than an average of 6 hours a day.

AUTHOR:

Vaishalee Dash Badri S. Rao Harshid Sridhar Dr. Mridula D. Bharadwaj

62 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com Technical Article

System Configuration The system configuration for the analy- ing power and bus voltage are within Methodology for Techno-Economic sis (Figure 1) considers solar PV as specified limits. The inverter converts Analysis of SPVMG the main source of power for the load DC solar power into Alternating Current demand. The PV power is prioritised to (AC), to supply the load directly. The system configuration for the supply the load first, before charging Similarly, the battery power, during analysis (Figure 1) considers the battery during excess generation. discharge, is routed through the invert- solar PV as the main source of During periods of no solar generation er for AC conversion. A few manufac- power for the load demand. The or high demand, the battery discharges turers embed the MPPT feature in the PV power is prioritised to supply to meet the load. inverter. Although we have considered the load first, before charging the The solar PV system, along with a both DC/DC and DC/AC conversion battery during excess generation. battery, is connected to the Direct Cur- efficiencies for conservative power During periods of no solar gener- rent (DC) side of the inverter. A Maxi- calculations, we have only assumed ation or high demand, the battery mum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) a single cost for the charge controller discharges to meet the load. charge controller charges the battery and inverter set in the financial calcula- and ensures that the battery charg- tions. Site Selection We selected sites for the study based on the criteria mentioned below:

• The villages or sites should be un- electrified • They should have close proximity to Solar Radiation Resource Assess- ment (SRRA) • ground stations, deployed by the National Institute of Wind Energy Figure 1 : Block schematic of the SPVMG system configuration (NIWE) • Real load data from neighbouring Overview of Methodology sites should be available. The framework developed for this study ability ( ). The load demand profile identified the appropriate system size. It remained the same for all the simulated constituted a set of inputs, dispatch model scenarios.푇퐿푃푆푃 Figure 2 presents a block sche- Since a SPVMG is well-suited for and outputs in the form of reliability indi- matic of the interaction between system un-electrified sites, an important pre- cators. In order to calculate the PV size inputs and reliability indices for a typical requisite for the study was to identify ( ) and battery size ( ) for the vari- SPVMG dispatch scenario. un-electrified villages in KA. We ous dispatch scenarios, we used different For each combination of PV and bat- used information available on the combinations푃푉푠 of PV and퐵퐴푇푠 battery capacities, tery, the system LCOE along with reliabil- GARV dashboard for initially screen- in an iterative manner, as inputs to the PV ity parameters were recorded. Finally, we ing potential sites. The dashboard and battery models. The PV and battery sorted the systems based on the lowest provides details of electrification power outputs were subsequently passed LCOE and unmet load (high reliability). based on grid extension or off-grid to the dispatch model. The dispatch model Various dispatch scenarios were tested plans. then calculated reliability indicators such and a “balanced” system, in terms of both According to the data available as unmet load ( ), excess electricity cost and reliability, was chosen as the final on the dashboard in May 2016, 28– ( ) and loss of power supply prob- system configuration. 30 villages in Hassan, Shimoga and 푈퐿 Chamarajanagar districts fell within 퐸푋퐸퐿 the scope of this project. Since the study involved modelling of solar PV characteristics to estimate genera- tion, access to good-quality ground solar data was important. Thus, we had to consider a site’s proximity to SRRA stations set up by NIWE. Sites that were less than 100 km from the periphery of SRRA sta- tions, were first selected. As it turned out, all shortlisted sites satisfying the criteria were in the Chamarajanagar district. Table 1 shows a list of all the shortlisted sites.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 63 Technical Article

Inputs for the Analysis

Two crucial inputs, namely load demand data and solar irradiance and weather data, were needed for conduct- ing the analysis. While the first one was needed to help design the SPVMG and de- termine individual component The load demand data is another from the neighbouring electrified villages sizes, the second one was important input for the model and crucial provided a realistic estimate of the pattern needed to model the solar PV for site selection. We required load data of electricity consumption in that region, power output. to perform system sizing and determine hence we used it in the study. We ob- the capacity of the potential PV plant, tained minute resolution data from select battery and inverter. For un-electrified feeders through a formal request to the Load demand data villages, the demand data are typically Karnataka State Load Despatch Centre generated based on the energy needs (SLDC). The SLDC data included active We found the demand data of the village. A field survey is conducted power consumption data at a minute-level from feeder F6 to be the most by the project developer, at times, to time scale for the period January–Decem- suitable for the study, as ex- estimate the current and future need for ber, 2015, for the two feeders closest to plained in Section 2.2. This electricity. However, in this study, our the chosen villages. Feeder F2 was the data-set had 83,321 zero-value aim was to determine the SPVMG size, representative feeder for Bedaguli. The points, out of the total 5,25,600 considering a demand pattern similar other feeder (F6), between Cowdalli sub- values, representing minute-level to or closely resembling an actual rural station and Male Mahadeswara hills, was resolution data for one year. demand pattern. The reason behind this representative for the remaining villages, These points indicated missing was to understand the system capacity namely Bellaji Beat, Indiganatha A Beat, data, and those correspond- requirements for catering to the real rural Indiganatha B Beat and Palar Beat. A ing to load shedding instants. demand, similar to what the proposed site visual inspection of the data revealed that In order to perform a thorough would see in the future. This is contrary to for the period under consideration (Janu- system sizing study, we needed the approach followed by most microgrid ary– December, 2015), the quality of data a continuous demand profile. We developers today, where the system for feeder F6 was comparatively superior used a data averaging technique is typically designed to provide a pre- to that of feeder F2. Thus, we found the to obtain a continuous demand decided quantum of energy, with limited villages in the Kollegal block of Chama- profile, capturing fluctuations consideration for future growth in load rajanagar district (represented by feeder in power, without disturbing the demand. We approached the Energy De- F6), i.e., Bellaji Beat, Indiganatha A Beat, data trends. In addition, we used partment of the Government of Karnataka Indiganatha B Beat and Palar Beat, to be a scaling approach to determine for consultation regarding demand data. suitable. However, we finally selected all a representative load profile for Based on our discussions, we considered villages except Bellaji Beat for the study the analysis. The scaled-down the demand data from the 11 kV feeders because the solar resource data for these profile had a peak demand of close to the shortlisted sites as input for three sites could be mapped from a single 14 kW, which is similar to the the sizing analysis. The 11 kV feeder data SRRA station (Erode), which is located at peak electricity demand seen in represented the aggregated load demand a distance of approximately 90 km from typical Indian villages, compris- for a cluster of villages. This data-set the sites. ing around 120–130 households. The details of the calculation are Solar radiation data described in Appendix A.1.

The solar radiation data, procured the data points, which formed the bound- Modelling of SPVMG from NIWE, had close to 42,928 miss- ary of the bad data subsets, and linearly ing data points, out of a total 5,25,600 interpolated them using the two point line In order to perform a points, depicting an entire year’s data. We equation. techno-economic modelling interpolated these data points linearly to If “t” is the reference minute of a day (1 of a SPVMG, it was crucial to form a continuous solar resource profile. to 1,440), then “PM (t)” is the correspond- model the power generation This was crucial for performing the siz- ing module power output for that instant. characteristics of the solar PV ing analysis, where solar generation and We used the equation mentioned below and battery to determine the demand had to be compared, to deter- to interpolate between (t1, PM1) and power output of the combined mine the contribution of PV and battery (t2, PM2), as the two boundary points of system. Once the technical in meeting the demand. We identified interest: model was built to simulate the generation characteristics, we also prepared a financial mod- el for the micro-grid. Outputs from individual models, when combined, provided insights on the system viability.

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Solar PV Modelling

The PV modelling exercise helped to Solar radiation consists of three com- T is the empirically determined tem- determine the exact quantum of power ponents, Global Horizontal Irradiance erature difference between the cell and generated for an input PV size, based (GHI), Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) Δ module’s back surface, at Gref = 1,000 on the site solar resource data. As and Direct Horizontal Irradiance (DHI). W/m2 (°C), mentioned in Section 2.2, we mapped The net effective radiation on a tilted Tcell is the reference temperature (°C), Gref the selected villages to a single SRRA solar module is required to calculate the is the reference solar radiation [1,000 station, i.e., Erode in Tamil Nadu. We power generated by the PV system, at a W/m2 at Standard Temperature Condi- procured the solar resource data (1 site. For this, we first estimated the solar tions (STC)] (W/m2). minute resolution) for Erode from NIWE. angles and radiation tilt factors (Duffie & The power generated by a solar PV mod- Table 2 describes the details of the Beckman, 2013). The ground-reflected ) is computed by accounting for SRRA station and the data availability component of radiation is a function the effects of G T , the specified power period (National Institute of Wind En- of the GHI and albedo factor (ρ) of the 푀 T, cell ulerating (푃 of the module [P ] and the ergy, 2017). surroundings (assumed as 0.2 in this module (STC) temperature coefficient of power (K ), analysis). The effective radiation on the T for a given module, as specified in the tiled panel can be expressed as: manufacturer’s datasheet. The equation has been specified in a referred report (Menicucci & Fernandez, 푇 푏 푑 푔 푀 퐺 = 퐷푁𝐼 ∗푅 + 퐷퐻𝐼 ∗푅 + 퐺퐻𝐼 ∗ 𝜌∗푅 1988)for calculating and represented 푃 as: Where, )) GT is the net effective solar radiation, inci 푀 푚표푑푢푙� 푇퐶 푇 푟푒푓 푇 푐푒푙푙 푟푒푓 dent on a tilted panel (W/m2), 푃 The = 푃 power(푆 ) from∗ (퐺 ⁄퐺 one) ∗module (1 + 퐾 ∗( (푇 ) is− 푇 R is the module tilt factor for the beam b then multiplied with the total number푀 component (DNI) of solar radiation, 푃 of modules in the plant (Npanels_plant) to estimate the DC output of the entire PV First, we modelled the PV genera- Rd is the module tilt factor for the diffused tion profile for 1 kWp capacity, using component (DHI) of solar radiation, plant, denoted as . A few additional losses, denoted as ( ), have also been a 320 Wp polycrystalline module from R is the module tilt factor for the GHI of 푝푣 g accounted for, as shown푃 in the following Vikram Solar as reference, to extract the 퐿 solar radiation, 푁 module parameters (for more details, equation: refer Appendix A.2). We then scaled up environment. ) this base profile of 1 kW to calculate ρ is the albedo factor of the surrounding generation for higher PV capacities. The 푃푝푣 = 푁푝푎푛푒푙푠_푝푙푎푛푡 ∗ 푃푀 ∗ (1 − 푁퐿 generation profile from the PV model The performance of solar PV cells is refers to the Direct Current (DC) output sensitive to not only the incident solar ra- Battery Storage Modelling power of the solar PV. diation, but also the ambient temperature. On the other hand, the temperature of a This section provides an overview of the performance modelling conducted for The list below describes the solar cell ( ) is dependent on, both, the ambient temperature and wind speeds, at a lead-acid battery and its dispatch. This assumptions used in PV modelling: 푐푒푙� a site. For 푇this analysis, we considered a exercise helped us assess the battery multi-crystalline silicon module (glass/cell/ charging/discharging power, for an instant, • The plant has a fixed tilt configura- polymer sheet type) and a module mount based on the modelled PV generation and tion, with module tilt equal to the of open rack configuration. We estimated input load demand data. latitude of the the cell temperatures based on the speci- • location and orientation facing due fications obtained from a referred report Overview of lead-acid battery model south. (King, Boyson, & Kratochvil, 2004). It can • The PV modules operate at maxi- be expressed as: The technical model of VRLA Absor- mum power point during sunshine bent Glass Mat (AGM) battery, used in this hours, with no study, is based on the modelling work done by the System Advisor Model (SAM) of the • shading considerations. 푇푐푒푙푙 = 퐺푇 ∗ exp(푎퐶푇 + 푏퐶푇 ∗ 푊푆) + 푇푎푚푏 + (Δ푇) 푇 푟푒푓 National Renewable Energy Laboratory • An isotropic solar radiation model is ∗ 퐺 ⁄퐺 (NREL) (Diorio et al., 2015). We incorporat- considered. Where, ed the concepts of a kinetic battery model • Additional system losses, which a is the empirically determined coef- to calculate the battery apacity, bound have been indicated in Table 3. CT ficient establishing the upper limit for charge, available charge and State of module temperature at low wind speeds Charge (SoC), for time-series calculations and high effective radiation on the panel, (Manwell & McGowan, 1993). The dynamic voltage model for batteries was used for b is the empirically determined coef- CT voltage calculations (Diorio et al., 2015). ficient establishing the rate at which The life-time estimation of a battery has the module temperature drops with an been calculated based on a simple rain increase in the wind speed, Tamb is the flow counting algorithm (Downing & Socie, ambient air temperature (°C), WS is the 1982; Langella, Testa, & Ventre, 2014). wind speed (m/s),

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Figure 3 shows a block schematic overview of the battery model. The model provided outputs at, both, hourly and minute level time scales. The battery electrical model required inputs such as site demand and solar generation data, and user- defined battery capacity and voltage. In addition, it also required battery-chemistry-specific voltage versus Depth of Discharge (DoD) characteris- tics, to model the battery voltage. The battery capacity fade profile was also included in the model to understand the decrease in a battery’s capacity when it is cycled at a certain DoD, and the maximum number of cycles that the battery can provide. The model provided outputs like the number of batteries that should be connected in series and parallel, based on the voltage and current requirement, and the dynamic change in battery current, voltage, power and SoC for the time period considered. In addition, we deter- mined the battery life, in years, based on the cycling that the battery would undergo during dispatch. We plugged this calculated value into the financial model.

Inputs for the battery model

Table 4 is a list of the technical specifications considered for the bat- tery model. This includes important parameters like battery bank capacity and battery bank voltage, based on user input; bat- tery cell properties; charge control parameters; and cell capacities at 1 hour, 10 hour and 20 hour rates. We have also included the conversion efficiencies of the inverter (DC to AC) and charge controller (DC to DC) in this Table, since they are intrinsic in the calculation for obtaining the accurate estimation of battery charging/discharg- ing power.

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Table 5 shows three scenarios, which represent the change in du- Design of the battery bank ration of hours over which a battery is allowed to dispatch/discharge. For example, in Scenario 1, the battery was allowed to discharge any- In this section, we have discussed, in detail, the equa- time in a day when solar generation is unable to meet the demand. tions used to design the battery bank configuration for However, in Scenarios 2 and 3, battery discharge was allowed to the parameters specified in Table 4 (NREL, 2017). commence only at a specified “dispatch time”—restricted to a certain number of hours.

To further illustrate the dispatch strategy, in Scenario 1, where the battery is allowed to discharge for 24 hours, we determined the bat- tery power ( ) for time “t”, using the following logic:

), 푏 푃 푝푣 푙표푎푑 IfElse, (푃 > 푃 푃푏 = −푀푖푛(|푃푙표푎푑 − 푃푝푣 |, | 푃푏,푐,푚푎푥 |) , negative sign indicates charging power power 푏 푙표푎푑 푝푣 푏 푚푎� 푃 = 푀푖푛(|푃 − 푃 |, | 푃 were,푑, calculated|) , positive as sign per indicates the description discharging provided in Section 3.2.2. Here, 푃푏,푐,푚푎푥 and 푃푏,푑,푚푎푥 The logic described above indicates that in the three scenarios, the PV power output first supplies the load, before charging the bat- tery. Appendix A.3 provides additional details of the lead-acid battery model. We extracted the SoC profile from the battery model to esti- mate the life of the battery. We then filtered the SoC data for a year, into distinct peaks and valleys, as shown in Figure 4, which is known as “filtered SoC” (Langella et al., 2014). Then, we used this filtered SoC as input in the rain flow counting algorithm (Downing & Socie, 1982) for battery life estimation. The filtered SoC helped in generat- ing the number of cycles that elapsed during battery operation and the corresponding DoD. The battery life ( ) was estimated using the equation provided below: 퐿푏

Where, is the number of cycles, with an average DoD of , and is the maximum number of cycles that can be run. When the Battery dispatch strategy effective battery푁푖 capacity degrades to 80% of the initial capacity,퐷푂퐷푖 the 퐶퐹푖 We controlled the battery discharging schedules by battery is assumed to have reached its end of life (Diorio et al., 2015). developing a dispatch strategy. Since the size of a bat- tery depends on its dispatch hours, we chose scenarios, with varying dispatch hours, to evaluate its effect on the battery size. Inputs for the dispatch model included:

DispatchPower output time, from � (hou Pr or minute number) • 푙표푎푑 V Load demand, 푃 • 푝푣 , 푃 • 푏 푚푎푥 • Maximum power to charge the battery, 푃 ,푐, Maximum power that can be discharged from the • 푏 푚푎푥 battery, 푃 ,푑,

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Technical Modelling for SPVMG Technical Modelling for SPVMG

In Section 3.2.3, we have explained the dis- We developed a financial model to determine the project cost and patch logic for seamlessly combining the techni- LCOE. To do so, we considered various fixed and operational costs in- cal outputs from the PV and battery models. In curred by micro-grid developers, under regular operating conditions. LCOE order to complete the technical design of the calculations were based on the method of the Central Electricity Regula- SPVMG, the inverter has to be sized. We decid- tory Commission (CERC), to estimate electricity generation cost from ed the inverter capacity based on the peak load renewable energy (RE) sources (“Draft CERC (Terms And Conditions For demand for which the system was designed. As Tariff Determination From Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations, 2017 the inverter’s output is directly connected to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission New Delhi,” 2017). load, as shown in Figure 1, the maximum power The SPVMG component and installation costs shown in Table 6 are through the inverter, under normal operating con- based on discussions with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ditions, will never exceed the peak demand for (MNRE), a few component suppliers and microgrid developers. The battery the site. Considering an additional safety margin and inverter costs are based on prices quoted by MNRE’s empanelled list of 25% above the peak demand, the inverter ca- of equipment manufacturers (MNRE, n.d.). pacity, in kW, can be expressed as (Li, Zhu, Cao, Sui, & Hu, 2009): The annual Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost ( ) consists of the cost of employing Since the peak load demand was 14 kW, we 푂&푀 two personnel퐶 to oversee calculated the inverter size, in kVA, and rounded the plant’s O&M, col- it off to be 20 kVA (1.25*14/0.9). We assumed a lect tariff, maintenance, power factor of 0.9 for the study. insurance and land lease To complete the technical modelling, the reli- costs. Table 7 shows the ability outputs shown in Figure 2 were calculated. monthly cost for each of represents the fraction of load, which cannot these expenses. be supplied by the SPVMG when the battery reaches푈퐿 (lowest allowable SoC) dur- ing discharging. represents the fraction of 푆표퐶푚푖푛 excess PV generation,퐸퐿 which cannot be utilised for charging a battery퐸푋 when it reaches its maxi- The other parameters mum SoC ( ). is the probability of loss considered in the finan- cial model were related of power supply.푚푎푥 It indicates퐿푃푆푃 the fraction of hours with no supply푆표퐶 from 푇either the PV or the battery, to project life, debt and out of the total time instants in a year. These in- equity considerations, dicators are expressed below, in detail, for hourly taxes and depreciation. calculations (8,760 is the total number of hours in a typical year): Table 8 lists these parameters and their values.

The technical modelling for Scenario 1 has been mentioned below, as an example. We var- ied the PV size between 25 and 45 kW and the Two parameters, crucial for understanding the project’s financial details, battery size between 50 and 400 kWh to provide were the Net Present Value (NPV) of the total system cost, denoted with several combinations of PV and battery coupling, , and is the sum total of all the costs involved over the as inputs to the model. We calculated the values project life ( ), converted to present value by discounting the future cash flows of the reliability indicators from the model and by푁푃푉푠푦푠 an appropriate퐿퐶푂퐸. discount 푁푃푉푠푦푠 factor ( ). It comprises cost of capital, total project recorded for all possible combinations of PV and O&M ( 푃퐿 ) and total depreciation ( ). The capital needed for such battery sizes. A few combinations such as = projects typically consist of debt ( 푑 ) and equity ( ) components. The cost 25 kW, = 50 kWh or = 35 kW, = associated푂&푀푣푎푙 with debt is represented as the퐷퐸푃푣푎 total� interest on term loan ( ) 푃푉� 95 kWh are examples of inputs to the model. The and equity fraction is coined as the퐷� total return on 퐸equity� ( ). Thus, 퐵퐴푇� 푃푉푠 퐵퐴푇푠 load demand profile was kept constant across is represented as: 𝐼 푁푇푣푎푙 all scenarios. We maintained a constant inverter 푅푂퐸푣푎푙 size of 20 kVA for all scenarios, considering it 푁푃푉푠푦� was designed for the input load profile. Appendix A.4 includes details of and calculations. 푁푃푉푠푦푠 퐿퐶푂퐸

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Techno-economic Modelling for SPVMG

We combined the capabilities of the technical and financial models with the objective of performing a techno-economic assessment of a SPVMG for a certain input demand profile and location. As shown in Figure 2, we varied the size of PV and battery ( and ) and used them as inputs to the dispatch model for a fixed load demand. For each combination푃푉푠 of PV퐵퐴푇푠 and battery size, we calculated the three reli- ability parameters from the technical model. We cal- culated the system costs and LCOE from the financial model for the same combination. This process was repeated for each of the three scenarios. We eliminat- ed systems showing greater than 50% unmet demand from the study, since their reliability was not deemed satisfactory. We then arranged the remaining system configurations from the lowest to highest value of LCOE and unmet demand for the three scenarios. Section 4.2 mentions the configurations providing the lowest LCOE and the lowest unmet demand (high reli- ability). Finally, we determined the best system size out of all the possible combinations by balancing cost and reliability.

Results and Discussion

In this section, we show the results for the per- formance of a typical SPVMG system, simulating its characteristics through our models. We found that the most suitable system configuration can be obtained by a trade-off between cost (LCOE) and system reliability. We found this by calculating both LCOE and unmet load for various combinations of PV and battery size. Since unmet load represents the fraction of demand not served, it is a direct indicator of system reliability.

Typical System Performance

Prior to describing the techno-economic analysis, we have presented the results associated with the performance of a SPVMG system, in this section. Fig- ure 5 shows a set of six curves related to the hourly system performance, for a typical five-day period, for the year considered. The results have been shown for a sample system Figure 6 (a) shows the variation in reliability indicators, namely size of PV = 40 KW, Battery = 320 kWh and Inverter and , for a PV of size 35 kW and different bat- =20 kVA, for 24 hours of unrestricted battery dispatch tery capacities. In dispatch Scenario 1, with an increase in battery (Scenario 1). The hourly load and solar radiation data capacity,퐸푋퐸� 푈� 푇퐿푃푆, �and decrease significantly, up to 200 are inputs to the model. PV power and battery current kWh, beyond which the decrease is marginal. A larger battery [in Amperes size, up to퐸푋퐸 around� 푈퐿 200 kWh푇퐿푃푆 in� this case, helps meet the demand (A)] were calculated from these inputs and deter- satisfactorily and limits the excess electricity. Figure 6 (b) shows mined the charging/discharging of the battery. The the variation in battery life and average efficiency as functions of current is negative in charging mode and positive in battery capacity. With an increase in battery capacity, for a fixed discharging mode. The change in battery voltage [in PV size, the life of the battery increases significantly, beyond 200 Volts (V)], which has an inverse trend to current, is kWh. Batteries of higher sizes remain under-utilised and get cy- also captured in Figure 5. The hourly SoC profile indi- cled at low DoDs, which increases its life. The average efficiency cates the fraction of battery capacity available at any of the battery decreases with increase in capacity, as the charging point of time. The SoC increases while charging and (input) power increases, for the same discharging (output) power, decreases during discharging. The power to/from the since demand does not change. battery (P to/fr Batt.) indicates the charging/ discharg- ing power and has the same trend as current.

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Scenarios for Feasibility Analysis

Figure 7 shows the percentage of unmet load for the three individual trend lines) does not aid in improving reliability any dispatch scenarios discussed in Section 3.2.3. We observed further. We also saw that with higher PV size, system reli- that a larger battery size improved its reliability by supplying ability improved in general. Moreover, we also observed that the majority of the load. However, beyond a certain thresh- reliability in Scenario 3 was lower as compared to those in old of battery capacity, the fixed PV power (represented by Scenarios 1 and 2 due to only 6 hours of battery discharge.

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Figure 8 shows the variation in system LCOE in turn, lowered the LCOEs. However, the battery corresponding to changes in the system size in all life increases with battery size (Figure 6, Scenario three scenarios. To evaluate systems from a cost 2), thus fewer battery replacements are required. perspective, we chose LCOE as it takes into con- Hence, the lower battery replacement cost negates sideration the capital, replacement and operational the increase in capital cost in some cases. Thus, the costs involved in setting up a SPVMG. The LCOE lowest values of LCOE for all three scenarios were trend showed that lower PV and battery sizes found for systems with smaller PV sizes and battery reduced the capital expenditure of the system and, size between 70 kWh and 150 kWh.

The results for Scenario 1 (as is evident from it imperative to find pragmatic solutions and sys- Figures 7 and 8) show that systems with lower PV tems that are balanced in terms of cost and reliabil- and battery sizes provide lower LCOEs. However, ity. Table 9 lists the systems with the lowest LCOEs these smaller capacity systems also have poor for each of the scenarios. We also evaluated the reliability (unmet load is typically greater than 30%). systems for reliability; those with the lowest unmet Scenarios 2 and 3 also show poor reliability, making load are also listed.

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From the results shown above, it is evident kW PV and 200 kWh battery. This was caused due that due to the limited number of hours of battery to a limited discharge time of 6 hours only. Thus, dispatch, the battery size requirement in Scenarios a higher battery size would be required to bring 3 and 2 were lesser than that in Scenario 1. The down the unmet demand below 34%. restriction on dispatch hours reduced the battery Final “balanced” system configuration results discharge time, allowing it to mostly charge from Once we evaluated the systems separately from solar. This yielded systems with smaller battery the cost and reliability perspectives, we decided sizes when evaluated for both, the lowest LCOE to select those configurations, which satisfy both (due to reduction of expenditure on battery capital these criteria reasonably. In order to do this, we cost) and lowest unmet load. Scenario 3 provides looked at the other reliability indicator, T_LPSP, a system with the lowest LCOE. However, reduc- which shows the hours of power failure in a system tion in the battery size also brings down the system for a user-defined combination of PV and battery reliability, which is observed as an increase in the size. We removed the percentage of unmet load and . This is mostly systems showing greater than 3.5 hours of

because of the unavailability of enough퐿푃푆푃 batterydis- power failure in Scenarios 1 and 2. For Scenario charge power to meet the load.푇 3, however, all the simulated system combina- Similarly, while narrowing down systems based tions showed more than 5 hours of power failure on reliability, we found that Scenario 1 provides because of the limited battery discharge period. the best result as it had the lowest unmet load, Thus, we eliminated the systems showing greater indicating higher reliability. This is because the than 6 hours of power failure in Scenario 3 and system size combination obtained in this case chose a few system combinations with less prob- included large capacities of PV and battery, with abilities of power failure. After filtering out the 24 hours of battery dispatch allowed, meeting the system sizes based on the constraints mentioned demand satisfactorily. In Scenario 3, however, the above, we sorted the remaining configurations unmet demand was as high as 34% even with 40 from the smallest to largest LCOE.

Table 10 provides details of the combinations that provide the lowest LCOEs.

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As indicated in Table 10, there is a significant The reliability of power supply to load, how- reduction in battery size, from 245 kWh to 150 kWh ever, decreases from Scenario 1 to 3 because of while comparing Scenario 1 and Scenario 3. This a ecrease in system size. In Scenario 3, we notice is primarily due to the restricted battery discharge 6 hours of power failure. Thus, a viable system in Scenario 3. This increases the unmet load while configuration, which fares well in terms of both cost lowering the LCOE due to a smaller battery size. and reliability, is the one shown in Scenario 2, and We also observed that for Scenario 2, the battery is referred to as a “balanced” system. With a LCOE size decreases by only 35 kWh, as compared to that value that lies mid-way between those in the other in Scenario 1. The change is not very significant, two scenarios, this system of 35 kW PV and 210 considering battery discharging is usually limited kWh battery can supply power for around 21 hours to the night, on typical sunny days. In this sense, (probable outage of around 3 hours), based on the Scenario 2 is not very different from Scenario 1. load demand considered.

System Costs

We calculated the costs for the “balanced” sys- tem (Scenario 2 in Table 10) since it was the most promising in terms of both cost and reliability. Table 11–Table 13 show the total cost of the system and its break-up. Figure 9 to Figure 11 indicate the component-wise cost contributions to the system costs.

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With VRLA Gel battery We evaluated the “balanced” system (PV=30 kW, Bat- tery=210 kWh) using the specifications of a different variant of lead-acid battery, namely the VRLA “Long life” Gel battery (Vic- tron Energy, 2016). The capital cost of the battery increased by INR 1,500/kWh, as compared with that of the AGM variant. We conservatively assumed the life of the gel battery to be seven Figure 9: Break-up of capital cost and fixed cost for the “balanced” system years, since the battery offers a design service life of maximum 10 years at 30°C. The LCOE for the same system reduced to INR 25.6/kWh. Table 15 shows the break-up of the system costs. Even though the capital cost is slightly higher, the fixed cost is nearly half of that shown in Table 11 for the same sys- tem using a VRLA AGM battery. Here, the fixed cost decreases due to fewer battery replacements while using a VRLA Gel battery.

Figure 10: Break-up of capital cost for the “balanced” system Techno-economic Comparison for Hourly and Minute-wise Simulations

We performed a techno-economic comparison of hourly and minute-wise simulations for the final shortlisted system configu- ration obtained in Scenario 2. Table 16 shows the results of the techno-economic comparison. We observed that the minute- wise simulations outperform the hourly simulations in capturing the granularity of battery performance. For the hourly modelling, two adjacent points represented two different hours. Thus, the change in battery charge/discharge power observed between two consecutive hours was significantly different as compared with that observed between consecutive minutes in the minute- scale modelling. This caused a considerable change in battery voltage in the hourly simulations. Thus, the battery losses calcu- lated in the hourly simulations were also higher as opposed to Figure 11: Break-up of fixed cost for the “balanced” system those in the minute-level simulations. Unmet load and were

higher in the hourly calculations as the smaller fluctuations퐿푃푆푃 went unnoticed. However, in the minute-wise simulations, the푇 cycling Sensitivity Analysis of battery closely resembles real operation. The battery under- Since the system costs and LCOE are strong functions of goes frequent cycling and the calculated battery life is slightly input costs, we conducted a few sensitivity analyses on the lower than that in the hourly simulations. However, due to the “balanced” system to explore options for reducing the LCOE. lower value of battery losses, the net energy supplied from the SPVMG increased and hence LCOE was less in the case of the Capital cost as grant minute-wise simulations. Several micro-grid projects deployed in India till date have utilised CSR grants or similar funds to cover the capital cost of SPVMGs, thereby lowering the LCOE for a system de- veloper, significantly. However, the fixed costs of the plant, comprising mostly plant O&M, cost of battery replacement and cost of inverter replacement, have to be recovered from electricity sale. For the “balanced” system, when the capital cost is provided as a grant, the LCOE works out to be INR 19.1/kWh. Table 14 shows the break-up of the system costs, when the capital cost is covered through a grant.

74 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com Technical Article

Appendix A

Load Demand Data For obtaining a continuous demand profile, we first aggregated month-wise data from feeder F6 for all the 12 months. From each month’s data, we arranged the daily demand data in a matrix of size 31×1,440, 30×1,440 or 28×1,440 depending on the month considered. In this case, 31, 30 or 28 indicated the number of days in a month and 1,440 represented the total minutes in a day. Then we calculated the mean of non-zero values for each day and replaced all the missing (or zero value) data points in a day. This process was repeated for all the days in a month and was completed for 12 months. The daily mean captured the aver- age consumption in a day. We then arranged daily profiles to get a continuous demand profile,representing the electricity consumption for an entire year, at minute scale. We also generated an hourly demand profile from the same data. Subsequently, we used these two profiles as inputs for the technical modelling of a SPVMG. We could not obtain information regarding the exact number of consumers corresponding to the demand profiles from the local distribu- tion company serving Kollegal area in KA. We only had information that the feeder repre- sented the electricity demand for close to 20 villages. Thus, we had to find a way of using this aggregated demand data. We conducted a demand estimation to calculate the peak day and night time demand of a typical village, as shown in Table 17 and Table A.1.2. We ob- served that the peak day and night time de- mand for a village comprising 120 households with domestic and other essential electricity needs were 9.5 kW and 12.8 kW, respectively, as shown in Table 17. The feeder demand data indicated a peak demand consumption of 1.4 MW. Thus, we scaled down the demand profile to 1% of its original value. This scaled-down profile had a peak de- mand of 14 kW, which is approximately close to the peak electricity demand (usually at night) seen in typical Indian villages comprising around 120 households, as shown in Table 17 . While scaling down, we retained the intra-day variability in the demand profile to help design the system for a close-to-real demand pattern. Thus, the feeder load profile showed average and peak demands of 6.3 kW and 14 kW. We observed peak demand (14 kW) on April 6, 2015, for the time period considered. There- fore, we also looked at the demand pattern for the same day across different seasons to un- derstand the variation in demand consumption across seasons. Figure 12 shows the hourly demand for four typical days of a year, i.e., 6th day of January, April, July and October.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 75 Technical Article

Solar Module Datasheet Parameters

Module manufacturer: ELDORA - Vikram Solar Model name and mount type: Eldora VSP.72.320.03 - Multi-crystalline; Glass/Cell/Polymer sheet

Battery Performance Model

This section presents the details of the battery performance model. We modelled the performance characteristics based on the bat- tery design, explained in Sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.2. The expressions used in determining the battery performance have been listed step-wise in this section.

Step-1: Calculate capacity ratio “ ”, rate constant “ ” and maximum cell capacity “ ” (Manwell & McGowan, 1993).

푐 푘 푞푚푎푥,푐 Step-2: Initialise the available charge, 1,0, and bound charge, 2,0, using the values of : 푞 푞 푐

Step-3: Initialise all variables required for the simulation

Step-4: Find the value of at time “t” as:

푃푏

76 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com Technical Article

, 1,

2, . The equations for computing the above parameters are as follows: Step-5: If 푃푏 > 0, battery will discharge power to the load. Compute 𝐼 푑 , 𝐼 푑 푚푎� , 푞푑푖푠푐ℎ푎푟푔푒 , 푞 푞 푞, 푉푐 , 푉푏 , 푆푂퐶, 퐷푂� and 푃푓푟표푚,푏푎푡푡푒푟푦

< 0, battery is in charging mode. Similarly, compute all parameters as follows:

Step-6: In the same way, if 푃푏

SoC and DOD are calculated similarly to discharging mode.

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 77 Technical Article

:

Step-7: Calculate the reliability parameters: excess electricity, unmet load and 푇퐿푃푆푃

Step-8: Repeat the process and calculate the PV and battery output data for all 8,760 hours of the year.

Financial Model

O&MThis section calculation: covers the additional details regarding the methodology and expressions used in the financial modelling.

in year 1 was escalated ). We denoted the O&M value for each year with 퐶푂&푀; the value for the first year was INR 1.66 lakh. The value of 퐶푂&푀 at a rate of 푂&푀� annually, till the end of the project life (푃퐿 in the nth

Thus, 푂&푀푣푎푙 year can be expressed as:

Where, 푂&푀푣푎푙,푛−1 represents the value of O&M in the previous year. Depreciation calculation:

78 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com Technical Article

퐶퐵퐴푇� 푁푃푉(푑, 퐵퐴푇� ∗ 퐶퐵퐴� ), with replacements occurring once in 퐿� years. e W represented the battery life as 퐿푏 and calculated it from the technical model. If 퐿� is 3. 4 years, for example, then to calculate the replacement cost, we rounded up 퐿� to the nearest integer, i. e., 4 years. Thus, the battery was replaced six times during a project life of 25 years. We assumed the inverter to have a life of 10 years. Thus, it was replaced only twice in 푃� years for all the simulated scenarios, and we calculated the total inverter replacement cost (퐶𝐼 푁푉� ) as:

www.EQMagPro.com EQ September -Part B 2018 79 DUNMORE Announces New DUN- SOLAR™ Photovoltaic Backsheets

New Ul Listed Dun-Solar™ Back sheets For Photovoltaic Applications With Long Term Uv Exposure And Wide Temperature Ranges Are Now Avail able From Dunmore.

UNMORE is proud to announce its expanded portfolio of UL listed back- sheets for photovoltaic applications. The DUN-SOLAR™ products are designed and manufactured for solar applications where robust char- acteristics are needed, such as long term UV exposure and wide tem- D perature ranges. By incorporating high performance materials into the coated and laminated films, DUN-SOLAR backsheets provide superior moisture resistance, thermal, and UV stability. These photovoltaic (PV) Neil Gillespie, Vice Presi- backsheets combine process stability with excellent functionality. With proven durability in the field, the expanded DUN-SOLAR portfolio of over dent of Technology for 35 UL listed products includes polyester and polyvinyl fluoride film (PVF) DUNMORE states that, constructions for 1000 volt and 1500 volt applications. PV backsheets “DUNMORE has been that meet California (UL 1703 Fire Rating) and IEC 61730) are available manufacturing backsheet in clear, white, and black configurations. Also available are other new and unique DUNMORE backsheets, including the DS392R for Bifacial films for over 10 years and Modules and the DS450 and DS475 PPC+ backsheets, which allow for continues to solve unique greater module output and manufacturing efficiencies. DUNMORE is material science challenges also a leader in (Polyvinyl Fluoride / Aluminum / Polyester / Polyethylene (TAPE) solar backsheets for copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) pan- with our customer as they els and flexible module fabrication. seek to increase perfor- DUNMORE’s two US manufacturing facilities and European facility in mance and drive costs out Germany provide a truly global supply chain and technical support capa- bilities. For PV module manufacturers that are looking for a technology of their manufacturing leader and value long lasting partnerships, DUNMORE is a leading sup- operations.” plier. DUN-SOLAR products complement its market leadership position in diverse industries such as aerospace, energy, and graphics.

80 EQ September -Part B 2018 www.EQMagPro.com Tigo Introduces New Tigo Access Point (TAP) as UL-Certified Communication Device for TS4 Platform

Tigo®, pioneer of the smart modular Flex MLPE platform, announced the availability of its new Tigo Access Point (TAP). he TAP is Tigo’s new wireless device for communication between the Cloud Connect Advanced (CCA) uni- T versal data logger and the TS4 units What comprises a Tigo system with TAP? – integrated (TS4-X), retrofitted/add- The Tigo system has three components. First, the TAP which wirelessly on (TS4-R-X), and retrofitted/add-on for 2 modules (TS4-R-X-Duo). Similar communicates with the smart modules and is hardwired to the CCA via to the Tigo’s legacy Gateway product, a RS485 cable. Second, the smart PV modules that are equipped with the TAP is small in size with a wider integrated (TS4-X), retrofitted/add-on (TS4-R-X), or retrofitted/add-on range and increased module capac- ity. TAP is now shipping worldwide. for 2 modules (TS4-R-X-Duo). Third, the CCA which collects data from The TAP improves the data manage- all PV system components – including modules, inverters, revenue-grade ment of residential, commercial, and meter, etc. – and sends system information to the cloud. industrial solar systems by wirelessly communicating with smart modules. Each TAP collects data from up to 300 TS4 units (~100kW systems) or “The new TAP was developed up to 600 modules using TS4-R-X- Duo (~160kW systems). It also greatly in response to the growing improves safety with module-level demand for reliable Rapid Shut- deactivation for Rapid Shutdown. down solutions,” says Zvi Alon, When paired with a CCA, the TAP Chairman & CEO at Tigo. “Our provides unparalleled visibility into solar installations. main goals were to improve visibility, simplify installation, The highlights of TAP include: and ensure safety in a commu- • UL-Certified for Rapid Shutdown nication device that can now • Outdoor rating of IP68 individually collect data from • Module-level deactivation hundreds of smart modules. • High definition, sampling as low as every 2 seconds Tigo’s commercial and indus- • Scalable architecture trial project partners with large • Mounts easily on module frame without PV systems especially benefit tools • Simplified installation due to new & im- from this cost-competitive solu- proved wiring compartment tion in time for NEC 2017 to take • Available for new integrated & retrofitted/ effect.” add-on systems

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