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INR 300Volume 04. # 3. March 2015

INDIAN STATES SPECIAL

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INDEXNEWS AT GLANCE

State....................................................................................................................................................................Page 5

National..............................................................................................................................................................Page 4

EXPERT SPEAK

Interview with Mr. Basant Jain, CEO, Mahindra Susten..................................................................Page 6

Interview with Mr. Rajesh Singh, General Manager - Operations, RenewSys India Pvt Ltd.........................................................................................................................................................................................Page 8

Interview with Sri M. Kamalakar Babu,Vice Chairman & Managing Director, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd., (NREDCAP).....Page 10

Interview with Shri G.V.Balaram, Managing Director, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd..........................................................................................................................................Page 10

Interview with Mr. BK Dosi, IAS , Managing Director, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation.....................................................................................................................................................Page 11

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

15 MW Solar Power Park: A Success Story.........................................................................................Page 7

The Second Solar War Frontier: Utilities..............................................................................................Page 9

Recognising Most Successful Women in Renewable Energy Industry...................................Page 14

Rooftop Revolution Can Help Overcome India’s Power Outages ..........................................Page 18

Priority Sector Lending: The Game Changer?.................................................................................Page 19

Maharashtra: The Emerging Indian Renewable Energy Investment Destination. .............Page 21

Solar industry sees a 140% jump in investments in 2014..........................................................Page 22

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

has asked all states to come out with a solar

policy, a move that will help centre meet its

clean energy target. All the states have been

requested to come out with solar policy.

The MNRE has sent a draft model solar ener-

gy policy to all the states of which 14 states

have issued solar policies.

The Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable

Energy Piyush Goyal said that the Ministry has

sanctioned 348 MW grid connected rooftop

projects to various states in the country.

”An estimated potential of 897 GW has been

identified from various renewable energy

sources in the country which includes 749

GW from solar, 103 GW from wind, 25 GW

from bio-energy and 20 GW from small hydro

power,” he said.

He further added that to make India a hub for

renewable energy manufacturing, the ministry

has been promoting private investment in the

sector through an attractive mix of fiscal and

financial incentives.

He added that the MNRE has proposed grid

power of 175 GW from various renewable

energy sources by 2022 and this includes 100

GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from

bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power.

Goyal has also informed that World Bank had

shown interest to finance solar park in Andhra

Pradesh.

Goyal confirmed that the World Bank has

“shown interest” in financing a solar PV proj-

ect in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and it was

also revealed this week global service net-

work giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

has been brought on board by the Indian

government to draw up a roadmap for the

scale-up of the country’s solar footprint.

PwC will assess India’s PV potential and cri-

tique MNRE’s current energy policies in an

effort to fully determine a realistic power

demand projection for the country. The ana-

lysts will also evaluate grid parity projections

and the assess the capability of India’s grid,

power evacuation systems and wider net-

works in handling rapid expansion to 100 GW

of solar feed-in, which is the government’s

stated aim for 2022.

With a little more than 3 GW of cumulative

solar PV capacity currently installed, India will

have to add more than 12 GW of new solar PV

capacity annually in order to reach its current

solar target.

Indian central govt pushing UT’s to go

green

To popularize the use of solar energy, the

Union government is going to make it manda-

tory for all UTs and states to use 10.5% of their

total power consumption form

s o l a r .

This will be discussed in the parliament in the

current or the forthcoming session.

Santosh Kumar, Director, Science and

Technology department, UT said that the

government has plans to set a target of one

lakh megawatts by 2022.

Power consumption was recorded at around

1420 million units last year, which will increase

in the future according to the sources in

Chandigarh administration.

Chandigarh would need around 150 mega-

watts from solar energy and the city is far

from achieving it, going by currently available

data of power consumption.

Chandigarh administration increased its plan

target from 10 MW to 30 MW in the solar mas-

ter plan for 2022. The UT has also chalked-

out a plan to install five megawatts of solar

energy at major government buildings of the

city in the 2015-2016 financial year to meet

the newly-set target.

Measures To Ease Financing

Goyal also revealed that India and the US

have agreed on a number of initiatives which

were discussed during US President Obama’s

visit to India in January. These include the

setting up of an “Innovative Finance Forum”,

establishment of “PACESetter Fund” to sup-

port innovative clean energy access project,

and expansion of the current “Partnership to

Advance Clean Energy” (both Research and

Development).

By the end of February, grid connected solar

power in India had risen to 3.38 GW while the

total grid connected renewable energy instal-

lations (excluding large hydro) had reached

34.35 GW.

Sometime back, India had released a list of

commitments from Indian banks and financial

institutions (FIs) to invest $57 billion in green

energy projects.

The Indian Government’s aggressive policies

and ambitious capacity addition targets have

helped it jump to the best rank in market

attractiveness in the renewable energy sector

in at least about two years.

The latest edition of Ernst & Young Renewable

Energy Market Attractiveness Index focuses

on India as the government has not only

substantially increased the capacity addition

targets but also backed them with clear policy

initiatives.

India has been ranked the 5th most attractive

market overall. A quick glance through the

archive of the Quarterly Market Attractiveness

Index report shows that this is India’s best

standing since at least May 2013.

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NEWS

NATIONALCentre and states need to work together if India has to achieve its solar energy target

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has asked all states to come out with a solar

policy, a move that will help centre meet its clean energy target. All the states have been

requested to come out with solar policy. The MNRE has sent a draft model solar energy

policy to all the states of which 14 states have issued solar policies. The Minister for Power,

Coal and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said in a written statement in the Lok Sabha

said that the Ministry has sanctioned 348 MW grid connected rooftop projects to various

states in the country.

He further added that to make India a hub for renewable energy manufacturing, the minis-

try has been promoting private investment in the sector through an attractive mix of fiscal

and financial incentives. He added that the MNRE has proposed grid power of 175 GW

from various renewable energy sources by 2022 and this includes 100 GW from solar, 60

GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power. Goyal has also

informed that World Bank had shown interest to finance solar park in Andhra Pradesh.

Government Wants To Build Low Cost Housing Using Renewable And Indian Origin Products

Union Minister for science and technology, Harsh Vardhan, has urged scientists and tech-

nologists working on developing low cost buildings and structural material that they have

got to bear most of the burden of implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of

a roof above every head by 2022.

The construction technologies, high science products and specialized services developed

by SERC would form an essential component for the PM’s project and therefore he urges

the community of scientists to ensure affordability as well as safety. Addressing the staff

of the CSIR- Structural Engineering Research Centre (CSIR-SERC), a Laboratory of the

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Harsh Vardhan said that more than ever

before we need low cost technologies for rapidly filling up the demand-supply deficit.

Dr.Harsh Vardhan lauded the 2007 achievement of re-engineering the navigational pan of

the Pamban Railway Bridge over the Palk Strait which connects Rameshwaram to main-

land India. And while commenting about the project he said that this is a project which

ought to be emulated all over the world, it’s over a century old but rock solid.

India’s Renewable Grid Capacity Increased More Than Three Times Between April 2014- Feb 2015

The statistics given by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) shows India’s

cumulative-grid connected solar capacity has reached 3,382.78 MW at the end of

February. The data provided by MNRE shows that India has installed 750.77 MW of new

photovoltaic (PV) facilities since the start of this fiscal year in April 2014, while its goal for

the year is to add 1100 MW of new plants.

On the wind energy front, India has deployed 1512.8 MW of capacity in April 2014-February

2015, bringing the total cumulative to 22,644.63 MW. Meanwhile, the cumulative installed

small hydropower capacity at the end of February stood at 4025.35 MW with the addition

of 221.6 MW of facilities in the 11 months.

India aims to add 175 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022, of which 100 GW of solar

and 60 GW of wind. Presently, renewable account for about 6.5% of the Asian country’s

total power mix. This share is aimed to reach 12% in the next three years.

Indian Govt Hires PWC As Solar Energy Consultant

The India government has announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers has been hired to

formulate a plan to scale up solar energy capacity in India. PwC will be able to assess the

country’s power scenario and demand and will also evaluate the possibility of attaining

grid parity and assess the robustness of the current power evacuation system to meet the

government’s ambitious plan of 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. To meet the country’s

solar energy target, the views of relevant stakeholders will be taken into account. Various

promotional policies both at the central and state levels can be associated with the growth

in the solar power sector. The National Solar Mission has been driving solar installations

within the country since its launch in 2009. The current installed solar power capacity

stands at about a tenth of the total renewable capacity and just 1% of the total power

capacity of the country. If India achieves the targeted installed solar power capacity then

it would be contributing about 25% of the total installed capacity and for that it will have

to add up 12GW capacity every year which seems to be very challenging.

End user solar consumer product market in india is worth USD 1 billion

The Joint Secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Tarun Kapoor said

that the largely untapped market for the off-grid solar products and equipments in India

is to the tune of Rs 4000 crore to Rs 5000 crore. According to him more than five crore

households in India need the off-grid products. He says that we need to eliminate the ker-

osene lit lamps and once the consumers start getting more choice in terms of product not

only will the market for solar products will pick up but also make the products affordable.

Kapoor said that the substandard products in the company attract consumers due to

low prices but are very poor in efficiency and that the government is on its part taking

measures to arrest the spread of such products. The new government envisions to har-

ness solar power to enable every home to run at least one light bulb by the year 2019. The

‘100 thousand solar lantern project’ is a step toward resolving one of the existing social

concerns.

India’s Share of Solar Energy

With an installed capacity of about 3000 MW solar power, the share of solar energy is

about 2% in the power sector of the country. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

(MNRE) has proposed to scale up Grid Connected Solar Power targets from 20,000 MW

to 1,00,000 MW by 2022. The target includes 40,000 MW roof-top solar photovoltaics,

57,000 MW large solar projects and 3,000 MW already installed.

The Minister further stated that India already has installed capacity of over 34 GW from

various renewable energy sources which is 13% of the total installed capacity of power

generation in the country. As per Global Status Report, REN 21, India’s global position in

renewable energy capacity installation is 5th in the world. The investment in renewable

energy are mainly by private sector. The Government has approved an outlay of Rs. 33,003

crore for Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for promotion of new and renewable

energy during 12th Plan period. This includes Rs. 19,113 crore as Budgetary Support and Rs.

13,890 crore from Internal and Extra Budgetary Support (IEBR). MNRE has organized First

Global Renewable Energy Investors Promotion Meet (RE-INVEST 2015) during February

15-17, 2015 in New Delhi. As part of RE-INVEST 2015 initiative, 387 companies/firms (both

private and public sectors) have submitted Green Energy Commitment Certificates (GEC),

aggregating to about 270 GW power generation capacity during the next five years.

Green Energy Corridor Project

A Green Energy Corridor project for evacuation of renewable energy from generation

points to the load centres by creating intra-state and inter-state transmission infrastruc-

ture is under implementation in renewable resource rich states for the likely renewable

power capacity addition during 12thFive Year Plan period, i.e., by March 2017. TThe intra-

state transmission component of the project is being implemented by the respective states

and the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is implementing inter-state transmission

component.

Potential of Renewable Energy in Desert Areas

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had assigned a study to the Power

Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) to identify likely renewable power potential in

desert regions in the states of Rajasthan (Thar), Gujarat (Rann of Kutch), Himachal

Pradesh (Lahul&Spiti) and Jammu & Kashmir ( Ladakh). The Minister further stated that in

December 2013, the PGCIL had submitted a study report titled “Desert Power India- 2050”

assessing renewable power potential, transmission infrastructure requirement, balancing

reserve etc in the identified desert regions. The report has assessed the total available

potential of 315.7 GW of solar and wind power in these regions. The report has further

estimated that the investment requirement for harnessing the available potential upto

2050 would be Rs 43,74,550 crore.

India set target of capacity addition of 29,800 MW during 12th Five Year Plan

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set a target of capacity addition of

29,800 MW from various renewable energy sources during 12th Five Year Plan period. This

was stated by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Minister of state for Power, Coal & New and Renewable

Energy (Independent Charge) in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

The target comprises of 15,000 MW from wind, 10,000 MW from solar, 2,100 MW from

small hydro and 2,700 MW from bio-power. During the period 2012-13 to 2014-15 (upto

31.01.2015), an aggregate capacity of 9124 MW of renewable energy projects have been

installed in the country.


NEWS

Punjab to offer farmers a shot at 500MW solar projects

To meet the growing challenges of land scarcity, alarming ground water table situation

and depleting soil health in the state, Punjab government is going to launch a solar power

generation scheme for the farmers. The scheme will offer the land-owning farmers ‘solar

power projects’ ranging 1 MW to 2.5 MW.

The initial target is fixed at generation of 500 MW power under this scheme. The scheme

has been specially designed to meet the growing challenges of land security, high cost of

land, alarming ground water table situation and depleting soil health. It will have multiple

purposes of generating clean and green energy, meeting the challenge of land scarcity

as well as developing the entrepreneurial skill amongst them thereby enhancing their

income.

It has become important for agricultural production in state to explore more avenues to

enhance the income of farm sector. It’s time now that the farmers develop entrepreneurial

skills which will give them further confidence for setting up of agro-industries/food pro-

cessing industries.

Rooftop solar power units to get boost in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has finally come out with a

draft notification for allowing grid connectivity to rooftop solar power generation sets. The

notification published on March 9 has cited recommendations of the working committee

which was formed on MERC’s directives. The committee had submitted its report seven

months ago. Now, MERC has called for objections, if any, by March 31 to the draft noti-

fication which has opened avenues for common man’s participation in promoting green

energy in a big way. If these provisions get final approval, one can install solar PV units to

generate power at home, offices and even factories and get net metering so as to connect

with the grid.

Rays Power Infra bags 37 MW Solar EPC orders worth Rs 240 cores in Telangana and Karnataka

Rays power Infra Pvt. Ltd., one of the biggest Solar Engineering, Procurement &

Construction (EPC) companies in India, today, announced bagging of 37 megawatt (MW)

solar EPC projects worth Rs. 240 crores in the states of Telangana and Karnataka. The

company has won solar capacity projects at an average Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

price of Rs 6.7 per unit.

Out Of the total 37 MW won by Rays Power Infra, 5 MW will be set up in Karnataka for a

Gujarat-based organisation at a competitive price of Rs 7.1 per unit. The remaining 32 MW

will be implemented in Telangana. Of which, 10 MW was won by the Rays Power Infra as

an IPP(Independent Power Producer) and the rest 22 MW will be implemented on behalf

of three different organisations that includes a food processing company, a jewellery brand

and a reputed production house at an average PPA price of Rs 6.6 per unit.

Commenting on this, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Director, Rays Power Infra Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are

proud to have bagged projects in Telangana and Karnataka which strengthens our foot-

hold in Southern market. Rays power Infra has emerged as one of the successful bidders

and with our expertise in the Solar power sector, we aim to deliver with quality standards.

We look forward to tap newer opportunities in the power business and thereby, further

enhance our business portfolio. IPPs are playing a vital role in achieving goals of the

MNRE(Ministry of New and Renewable Energy), with special regard to the JNNSM target

of 100 GW within ten years.”

Tamil Nadu to Buy 3,000 MW Solar Energy; 200 Firms Express Interest

The State government is trying to procure 3000 MW of solar power by the end of 2015

and more than 200 firms have shown interest in signing Power Purchase Agreements

(PPAs) for 2000 MW so far, says the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Tamil Nadu

Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited, M Saikumar.

Speaking on Tuesday at the commissioning of a rooftop solar power plant at Ramakrishna

Mission, Mylapore, Saikumar said the present cost of solar power, which was more than Rs.

7 a unit, would come down to Rs. 5.45 by next year.

Another senior TANGEDCO official said the PPAs for around 200 MW of solar power had

already been signed in the last 10 days. These power plants were likely at Ramanathapuram,

Virudhunagar and Tuticorin districts, the official added.

The power company also conducted load flow studies - a numerical analysis to determine

the voltages, currents and power flows in a system under a given load condition - for

around 2000 MW and had given letters of intent to these developers, the official said.

The PPAs, he added, could be signed after the deposit was paid.

1,000 Gujarat farmers to get solar pumps for irrigation from state gov-ernment

The Gujarat government has decided to provide solar-powered water pumps to 1,000

farmers to reduce usage of conventional power and to ease its financial burden due to

subsidy on electricity provided for irrigation.

The project will be implemented under the aegis of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd

(GUVNL) and four distribution companies (DISCOMS) - Daxin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd,

Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd and Uttar Gujarat Vij

Company Ltd, according to a state government notification issued last month.

The purchase of solar-powered water pumps will be initiated in the coming days through

tenders, GUVNL’s chief engineer (technical) YD Brahmbhatt told PTI. These submersible

pumps will be of 3 to 5 horse power (HP) and cost Rs 6 lakh per unit to the government,

totalling Rs 60 crore for 1,000 pumps, he said.

As per a recent notification issued by state energy and petro-chemicals department, the

solar pumps are necessary as 20% of total electricity produced in the state is being used

for agriculture purpose, which ultimately increases the financial burden on government in

the form of subsidy.

The government is also worried about the long list of pending applications seeking power

connections for irrigation. The state government has to incur huge expenditure to set up

basic infrastructure for providing new power connections for agriculture purpose, stated

the notification announcing the commencement of the project.

“These solar-based water pumps will be given to those who have already applied for regu-

lar agriculture electricity connection as on March 31, 2014. At present, we are going to dis-

tribute 1,000 such pumps across the state with the help of DISCOMS,” said Brahmbhatt.

“However, farmers will have to pay a nominal price, which is Rs 1,000 per HP for tribal

farmers and Rs 5,000 per HP for other farmers. Thus, it will come to just Rs 15,000 for

a farmer opting for a 3 HP pump. The pump supplier will have to bear the maintenance

of these pumps for 5 years. The life span of these pumps is estimated to be 20 years,”

Brahmbhatt said.

Discoms want more time to adopt green power commitments

According to reports, the Centre might be pushing for more renewable energy, but Delhi’s

power distribution companies do not appear to be in any hurry.

While Tata Power Delhi has said in its public notice for determining the 2015-16 tariff that

renewable purchase obligations (RPO) should be deferred for the next four-five years, the

Reliance discoms—BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani—wants it to be waived off for at

least two years. All three discoms said this was critical to control rising power purchase

costs and keep tariffs in check.

The scheme, which became a part of the tariff from the financial year 2012-13, makes it

obligatory for the discoms to source a fixed percentage of the total power from renewable

sources. The targets, which started with 3.4% in 2012-13, increased to 7.6% in 2015-16.

However, the Delhi discoms have never met the targets, resulting in an accumulated RPO.

Last year, too, they had made a similar request.

The BSES discoms said immediate implementation of RPOs, it said, will increase the tariff

as power purchase cost is the main component of retail tariff. Tata Power Delhi said it

would start getting solar power by 2018-19.

Vijaywada Municipal Corporation plans INR 250 cr solar cityAs directed by the state government, the Vijaywada Muncipal Corporation has drawn up

a Rs. 250 crore plan to turn the city into a Solar City. As a first step in the implementation

of the plan, the VMC would install roof top solar panels at its main office and council hall

and its buildings at the Ajitsingh Nagar Sewage Treatment Plant. The central and state

governments have started releasing funds and have already released 1.5 crore to the VMC

to install 500 KW solar panels on some of its select buildings.

Of the 12 million units of power consumed daily by various consumers in the city, the

VMC’s share is 0.87% whereas the households consume 58.3%, commercial buildings

39.4% and industries 1.5%. The VMC authorities are keen on harnessing the solar energy

and reducing the power bills and hence have taken up the ‘Solar City’ project with the aim

of reducing by 10 percent the consumption of electricity.

STATE


being executed currently and we have

been trusted by the leading developers in

the Indian solar industry like First Solar,

Renew Power, and Today Homes etc for

their projects, which is testimony to our

strong execution capabilities and quality.

In which states Mahindra Susten

is planning to invest in solar seg-

ment in India in next three years?

We have no preference towards any

specific state and opportunities are fil-

tered through our in-house 30 param-

eter investment criteria. We are con-

tinuously analyzing the available

options across states on the basis of

applicable parameters, setting up real-

istic targets and outlook for devel-

opment in the respective states.

To summarize, we evaluate all poten-

tial opportunities as per our inter-

nal assessment requirements and

decide on the basis of the same.

Can you please tell us something

about your ongoing projects?

We currently have over 250 MW at

various stages of execution across

several states in India, namely Tamil

Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and

Madhya Pradesh. Apart from this, we

also have a healthy order book of utility

scale projects and ~ 4 MW of distrib-

uted solar projects for the next year.

We are confident of sticking to our

track record and completing all the

projects on time, while maintain-

ing the highest quality standards.

What can help ease financ-

ing for the solar energy projects?

We need to make good use of the pri-

ority sector lending and infrastructure

Your company has recently re-branded

itself from Mahindra EPC to Mahindra

Susten, please tell us more about it.

With over 350 MW of projects, half a

million sq. ft. of Industrial construc-

tion, and a growing product line, we at

Mahindra Susten are proud of having

positively impacted millions of lives. The

new name represents our ambition to

innovate and deliver sustainable offer-

ings for a cleaner and smarter future.

The name ‘Susten’ is derived from two

words, ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Enabler’ and

reflects the aspiration of the company

that seeks to positively impact more

lives and emerge as a thought leader

in the sustainable engineering space.

Tell us more about the services you

are offering in India. What is the com-

pany’s current order book position?

Mahindra Susten (Formerly known as

Mahindra EPC) is India’s largest Solar

EPC Company and a portfolio company of

Mahindra Partners, the $ 900 mn private

equity division of the Mahindra Group.

The company offers diversified services

within the renewable energy and clean

tech space. A leading player in the Indian

solar energy sector, with 100 MW com-

missioned to date and over 250 MW

under execution, services span across

turnkey solar EPC services - both utility

scale solar projects and distributed solar

which includes rooftop solar, solar DG

hybrid solutions, solar products, solar car

charging stations, & telecom tower solar-

ization, solar PV O&M and analytics.

The company also offers engineering

services, energy management services

and industrial construction solutions.

The solar development arm of the

company currently has 40MW of solar

PV assets operational in the state of

Rajasthan, another 50 MW under

development and is looking at rap-

idly scaling up the asset portfolio.

The company has over 250 MW of orders

We currently have over 250

MW at various stages of execution across several states in India, namely Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.”

“At Mahindra Susten, we have committed ourselves to develop 1 GW of clean energy projects over the next 5 years”Below are the excerpts of our recent interview with Mr. Basant Jain, CEO, Mahindra Susten.

FEATURE INTERVIEW

debt funds for solar energy penetration.

At present, this is not available forutility

scale solar projects in India; priority sector

lending and IDFs are widely implemented

tools that could lead to large scale

funding and lower the cost of capital.

Priority is available for off-grid solar and

solar water heaters as of today, including

large scale, utility scale grid-connected

solar projects to the qualified priority sec-

tor list which would allow banks to lend

with lower interest rates. An increase of

a few percentage points could also mean

a substantial corpus for the RE sector.

IDFs can act as a medium to send

debt financing into infrastruc-

ture projects with better terms.

Internationally, we see a lot of success-

ful steps which can be adapted to pro-

pel India’s solar industry and initiatives

ahead. For e.g. in China, the renewable

energy laws, renewable power quotas,

and priority dispatch sees clear enforce-

ment. This is also backed by High FiTs ~

RMB 1 ($ 0.164) / kWh. In the US, loan

guarantees are available for early proj-

ects, enabling lower interest rates for

investment into RE. There are also the

clean energy banks which are allowed to

raise capital through various means like

issuing bonds and selling equity, exclu-

sively to support green energy projects.

Are you satisfied with the new gov-

ernment’s initiatives for the renew-

able energy sector? What more

needs to be done on the policy front

to make the sector more attractive?

At the outset, let me congratulate the

government which is ably led by Mr.

Narendra Modi for its vision and spotting

the opportunity for making India energy

secure and independent of fossil fuel

based fluctuations. We agree that the

target is ambitious and there is a lot of

speculation in the industry regarding the

achievement of 100 GW. But, in our opin-

ion, although it is ambitious with a few

strong steps we can achieve the same.

In order to achieve this fast track

growth and meet the targets set by

the government, power evacuation

infrastructure development, creation

of land banks, providing support for

access, right of way and easing land

acquisition is of prime importance.

The MNRE is contemplating development

of solar parks wherein the above required

facilities are expected to be readily avail-

able to solar developers. This will provide

a much required boost to implement

fast track execution of the projects.

How is Mahindra Susten plan-

ning to achieve solar targets

of 1 GW MW till March 2020?

At Mahindra Susten, we have com-

mitted ourselves to develop 1 GW of

clean energy projects over the next 5

years. This is an estimated investment

of about Rs 4500 Crores.We are cur-

rently in the process of finalizing the

road-map with realistic targets and mile-

stones, where we will evaluate all poten-

tial opportunities as per our internal

assessment guide, to achieve the stated

target of 1 GW clean energy by 2020.

We believe our vast experience across

the solar value chain, (like Solar

development, Turnkey EPC, Design,

Engineering, Procurement, Construction

and O&M), business values, focus on

quality, track record of high perform-

ing plants, and trusted relationship with

the financers will ensure our success.

In the last 3 years, we have delivered

over 100 MW capacity and our team

size expanded to 410 employees. In

addition, we have incubated new busi-

nesses, patented new technologies and

increased our offerings in the Clean-

tech space in our endeavour to Rise.

IDFs can act as a medium to send

debt financing into infrastructure projects with better terms.”

We have incubat-ed new business-

es, patented new tech-nologies and increased our offerings in the Clean-tech space in our endeavour to Rise.”


short time span of 70 days and the entire 15

MW was commissioned and completed in 82

days from start to finish.

Salient features of the project:

Power evacuation is through a 33 kV dedicat-

ed feeder connecting Periyarnagar substation

through a 33 /110 kV Transformer.

This project is one of the few truly modular

energy parks with the composition of 5 x 33

kV to feed:

15 MW Solar Power Park: A Success Story

SWELECT Energy Systems Ltd, a lead-

ing Solar Power Systems Integrator and

Manufacturer of Solar PV modules and Power

Converters, has commissioned a 15 MW Solar

Energy Park at Vellakovil, Karur District, Tamil

Nadu in April 2014.

The 15 MW park is a modular energy park

where in SWELECT owns 12MW of the plant

and remaining 3 MW capacity of the installa-

tion is owned by Yajur Energy Solutions Pvt

Ltd and Amex Alloys Pvt Ltd, a leading steel

foundry in Coimbatore. The first phase of the

project (12 MW) was commissioned in a very

The 15 MW park is a modular energy park where in SWELECT owns 12MW of the plant

• 1 x 10 MW

• 1 x 2 MW

• 3 x 1 MW Energy generating systems,

with separate metering for each of the parks

and a final metering for the entire 15 MWp.

This a very unique concept which has been

installed for the first time in India. This kind of

a modular park concept has proven beneficial

to the park owners since the main infrastruc-

ture of roads, cleaning, transmission line etc

and the Operation and Maintenance of the

plant are shared by the owners thus reducing

their overall cost for the individual developers.

The following options were made available to

the Industry:

• Combination REC + PPA with TANGEDCO

• REC + Captive consumption

• REC + Energy Wheeling Agreement option

• REC + private PPA / third party sales of

Power

The Solar panels used are high efficiency

250 Wp panels with 30 year life span, triple

IEC certification and Chubb insurance for the

power generation.

Here 900 kW SMA high efficiency outdoor

inverters have been used. The entire installa-

tion is outdoor type with sandwich type bus

bars interfacing the LT side to the transform-

ers and power evacuation has been done at

the 33 kV level. All the inverter stations are

outdoor type thus reducing the civil cost.

Overall this installation has the best of tech-

nology installed at the most optimized cost.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT


“The new government at the centre is trying to address these issues systematically and fixing ambitious targets to create demand”

EXPERT SPEAK

With your vast experience could you please

narrate the company’s growth story in

Indian solar sector?

We belong to the ENPEE group of companies,

an international conglomerate having over

50 years of business experience in diver-

sified fields of industry. We have been in

the flexible packaging business for decades

with vast expertise in Polymer processing.

Manufacturing of PV EVA Encapsulants and

Backsheets was just the extension of prod-

ucts in the line of our expertise. Based at

Bengaluru, our state-of-the-art clean room

manufacturing facility employs state-of-the-

art European technology.

During the recent downward trend experi-

enced by the solar industry, Indian industry

passed through double trouble. Firstly, for

facing low demand caused by disparity in

local taxationlows and lack of clarity in solar

policies; and secondly, for their price un-

competitiveness on the global platform.

As we too were not spared, it was difficult for

us to fill-up capacities reasonably during the

first two years since our inception in March

2012. But, in-spite-of these unfavourable con-

ditions, we kept on strengthening our base by

adding new customers, developing innovative

products and providing in-house R&D and

technical support to the industry.

The new government at the centre is trying to

address these issues systematically and fixing

ambitious targets to create demand. Once

demand is created, positive growth starts.

The changes are already visible since the last

two quarters and demand has started grow-

ing. Due to our consistently high quality and

innovative product development capabilities,

we have acquired a major market share of

EVA Encapsulant and Backsheets in India and

increased sales in the European market.

We have learnt from all the years of business

experience that every industry grows in a

natural cyclical path, to be successful; one

should have a long-term vision and put in hon-

est efforts. The time to market is very crucial.

We have found the Indian solar industry to be

no different.

What is the company’s current order book

position?

We have adequate capacities in place and

keeping in line with Government policies, we

have plans to grow this business even further

to meet up to the market demand and the

high expectations of our customers.

Can you talk a bit about the companies for

whom you act as the major distributor in

the market?

Currently we are supplying to over 100 mod-

ule makers in India and Europe. I am unable

to mention the names but most of the big

domestic module makers are buying over

90% of their requirements from us.

RenewSys is a global manufacturer, how

Indian market is different from others? Is

Indian market still price sensitive?

Although we have diversified businesses

spread globally, the manufacturing facility for

solar components is based in India as of now.

We have global sales and service offices and

warehousing facilities. We are very active

in European and Japanese markets and are

looking seriously at USA.

Though the quality consciousness and manu-

facturing standards of Indian companies had

already been better than many companies of

eastern countries, we have been observing a

positive shift in the thought process of Indian

companies further where they are becom-

ing more quality conscious, started bench

marking stringent standards and giving more

importance to the quality suppliers. Western

overseas companies by and large have better

infrastructure, automated lines, more system-

atic approach on product development and

productivity.

Excepting DCR marketfor Cells and Modules,

Indian market is still highly price sensitive due

to the presence of many overseas suppliers

specially the Chinese.

Could you please let us know about your

latest innovative product launches?

We have developed many innovative products

during the last six months. To mention a few,

PID resistant EVA Encapsulant in Fast Cure

& Ultra-fast recipes and Low UV Cut EVA

Encapsulant for CSI modules, Ultra-Thin EVA

Encapsulant for MWT modules; Aluminium

Foil and Copper Foil based Backsheets for

Conductive CSI, Thin-Film and MWT mod-

ules; Black backsheets for Roof-top instal-

lations and Extremely high partial discharge

Backsheet for 1500 VDC system voltage

modules.

Lastly, what are your expectations from the

government for 2015?

Solar component manufacturing sector got

customs and excise duty exemptions on few

input raw materials and finished goods in

the previous budget;but,the same is currently

being monitored by DIETY.

These exemptions should be regularised in

tariff books for the simplicity of working. In

addition, these exemptions have been given

foronly specified inputs mentioned in the

notification. The solar technology being new

and highly dynamic, the input materials get

changed very often. The process of inclu-

sion of newer materials in the exemption list

should be made easy.

Indian solar companies are still un-compet-

itive against many overseas manufacturers.

The DCR scheme must be continued on the

existing products/components and should

also be extended to other components like

EVA Encapsulant and Backsheets for survival

companies in business.

Corporate tax should preferably be lower on

solar industry because this industry is cur-

rently at very nascent stage needing fund for

the sustainable growth.

Though the qual-ity consciousness and manufacturing stan-dards of Indian com-panies had already been better than many companies of eastern countries, we have been observing a posi-tive shift in the thought process Indian compa-nies.”

During the recent downward trend expe-rienced by the solar industry, Indian indus-try passed through double trouble. Firstly, for facing low demand and secondly, for their price un-competitive-ness on the global plat-form.”

The DCR scheme must be continued on the existing prod-ucts/components and should also be extended to other components like EVA Encapsulant and Backsheets for survival companies in business.

About RenewSys India Pvt Ltd

Based at Bengaluru, India, RenewSys has

acquired a major market share of EVA

Encapsulant and Backsheets in India and

successfully entered European markets due

to its consistently high quality and innovative

product development capabilities.

Leveraging the decades of polymers exper-

tise and hi-tech R&D capability, the com-

pany has developed various innovative EVA

Encapsulants and Backsheets during the last

three years. In addition to regular encapsu-

lants, the company has developed ultra-fast

cure and PID resistant encapsulants with

varying UV cut-offs needed in the market. Its

PID resistant EVA encapsulant is considered

better than competitors’ as it exhibits less

than 1% power loss when tested as per IEC

standard. Its latest innovation is the ultra-thin

encapsulant for MWT modules, developed

specially for saving silver paste and thus

reducing the BOM cost. The company has

also developed a wide range of backsheets

suiting various PV module technologies like

C-Si, Thin Film, MWT. The backsheet range

includes Fluoro, non-Fluoro, Aluminium and

Copper foil based backsheets in white and

black colours.

In line with demand, the company is doubling

its EVA Encapsulant capacity in April ‘15. The

existing backsheet capacity of the company

is 1800 MW.

RenewSys is actively considering investing

in cell-making and is open to discussion on

possible partnership proposals from inter-

ested companies.

Mr. Rajesh SinghGeneral Manager - Operations

RenewSys India Pvt Ltd.


INDUSTRY INSIGHT

After years of battling with industry pessi-

mists, solar power has finally arrived. And it

has started to have an impact on the overall

energy industry, with its disruptive effects

now being felt by many large energy utilities

globally.

With the average cost of solar power down

by 60 percent since 2010, the industry is

responding to market demand. According

to a study from researchers at Cambridge

University, photovoltaics will soon out com-

pete fossil fuel energy even if oil prices drop

to $10 a barrel.

And utilities now need to adapt to this

changing scenario or will find it increasingly

difficult to survive. With new evolving flexible

solar energye business models, the utilities in

their existing shape and size will become too

bulky to compete in the race.

Also adding to their pain is the fact that

the consumers, especially large corporates,

are now increasingly aware of their carbon

footprints and are actively trying to be more

environmental friendly.

A Radical Shift

For years, the Indian urban consumers and

the industries have been footing the bill

for inefficient grid operations and political

subsidies. The result - DISCOMs today are

burdened with enormous debt and are in no

position to invest in better technology. Add

to this the power shortage in the country

which seems to find no end. With energy

being the backbone and a major raw mate-

rial cost for the industries, this has made the

Indian manufacturing non-competitive in a

global landscape.

Consumers now are looking for better

control on their energy costs. Many large

corporate are setting up their own renew-

able energy power projects, reducing their

dependability on the grids. With most of the

paying consumers choosing to opt out of the

grid, the utilities will be left with low paying

or subsidy driven consumers, making their

survival even more difficult.

Global Pain – Adapt or Perish

Globally this sudden rise of solar power

applications has shaken up the energy poli-

tics. All over the world, traditional electrical

utilities are lobbying, with little or no success,

to impose surcharges on homes and busi-

ness that install solar panels.

Utilities argue that the cost of operation and

maintenance of these grids are only increas-

ing while they are losing their well paying

customers. They also argue that these cus-

tomers still rely on that grid on cloudy days

and at night and the cost of maintaining the

grid must be shared by them. But this argu-

ment too may not be valid for long.

Energy storage is the next frontier in the

solar industry, and we’re finally starting to

see how it will play out. For solar companies,

storage should expand the market and even

provide new revenue opportunities. Storage

can help smooth out the supply of electricity

from the sun to a home or the grid, making

the entire system more reliable and predict-

able.

This is when utility companies raise the price

of electricity because more people are using

solar power and they must maintain the grid.

The price hike causes more people to go to

solar power and so on and so on, until the

utility can no longer survive.

Changes have already started across the

globe. Power companies in Germany and

Sweden are seeing billion dollar losses and

are having to shut down unprofitable fos-

sil fuel power plants because of the rise of

renewable energy and laws that favor it.

With the flexibility offered by solar power

projects, the girds have to be more flexible

too. The existing model of subsidy – based

distribution models cannot save the industry

from the disruptive forces of solar energy.

The recent fall in coal and oil prices has

not reduced the threat, it has at best only

delayed what is imminent. However, the

solar industry needs to continue investing in

its pursuit of improved efficiency. The aver-

age conversion efficiency of the solar cells is

only in the range of 20 - 30%. One can only

imagine what will become of this industry at

80% efficiency.

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EXPERT SPEAK

We all know NREDCAP is “The Designated

Agency” for Andhra Pradesh. Our readers

would surely like to know about Andhra

Pradesh’s development story in renewable

energy sector.

NREDCAP is one of the few nodal agencies

in the country implementing all renewable

energy programmes and projects under one

roof. NREDCAP is implementing the rural

based programmes like Biogas, Improved

chulhas, SPV street lighting, SPV lanterns ,

Solar thermal etc and also promoting large

scale RE Power projects. The cumulative RE

Power installed capacity in the state as on

31.01.2015, is 1580 MW.

Development in rural areas is as important

as urban areas. What objectives are set by

NREDCAP to conserve energy and promote

use of solar energy in rural areas?

NREDCAP is implementing the rural pro-

grammes like Biogas, improved chulahs to

benefit the rural population to meet their

cooking requirements besides conserving the

fire wood. The Solar programmes like street

lighting, off-grid rooftop systems, SPV pump-

ing systems, SPV lanterns are also being pro-

moted to benefit the rural population. These

programmes are helpful to meet the cooking,

lighting and pumping needs.

Could you please tell us about some of

the special projects undertaken by Andhra

Pradesh in solar sector?

The state is one of the three sites selected by

the GoI to implement the Power For ALL (PFA)

scheme. Under PFA, emphasis has been given

for large scale promotion of Wind and Solar

Power Projects. A.P. State is developing 2500

MW capacity Solar parks in Ananthapuramu,

Kurnool and Kadapa districts and the solar

power projects are expected to be commis-

sioned in the next 18 months period.

NREDCAP is also implementing 1 MW canal

top SPV power project in West Godavari

district. Also promoting 5 MW Canal Bank

based project in the same district, which

“It is proposed to develop Ananthapuramu district as Renewable Energy Hub”

will be implemented by APGENCO. The

APTRANSCO is also building the Green cor-

ridors at wind and solar power potential areas

to strengthen the transmission infrastructure.

It is targeted to add 4000 MW wind Power

and 5000 MW Solar Power during the next

five years period.

Andhra Pradesh itself is a big state with a

massive population. In which part of the

state NREDCAP is planning to allocate

more renewable investments with new

capacities and installations?

The RE Power projects are proposed to be

promoted in the under developed districts

in the state, which will improve the overall

economic activities in these areas. It is pro-

posed to develop Ananthapuramu district as

“Renewable Energy Hub”, taking into consid-

eration the huge potential available for Wind

and Solar power projects.

Could you please tell us about the solar

policy which is newly undertaken by the

Karnataka government?

The Vision of Government of Karnataka is

• To facilitate the creation of an

enabling environment for the large scale

deployment of renewable energy and cre-

ation of a vibrant renewable energy market in

the country addressing energy developmental

challenges like energy security and promoting

holistic economic and social development.

• To achieve this vision Government

of Karnataka has brought out new solar policy

2014-21 during October 2014.

Main objectives of the policy:

1. Achieving 2000 MW of capacity

addition in the Solar sector over the policy

period and turning Karnataka into the most

vibrant and investor friendly state in the coun-

try

2. Creation of suitable environment

for private sector participation in renewable

energy power generation.

3. Facilitating greater private partner-

ship within the sector.

4. Development of 1600 MWs Solar

parks in joint venture with SECI and KREDL.

5. Encouraging roof top solar projects

in the state and to generate a target of

200MWs.

How KREDL is planning to achieve the tar-

get set by the above policy?

KREDL has already taken action to achieve

the target set out under the policy. 200MW

was allotted to different companies in three

phases out of which 74MW have already been

commissioned.

Applications have been received from Land

Owners to set-up 300MW of Solar Grid con-

nected project and recently allotments were

made.

With all the above initiatives, Karnataka State

would have around 1000MW grid connected

solar capacity in the next 18 months. Apart

from this Roof Top Policy announced by Govt.

of Karnataka is evincing a lot of interest

from residential, Industrial and Commercial

Consumers and this will alsoadd to the Solar

Capacity to the Grid (the minimum target

under this category being 200MW).

Another ambitious and innovative scheme

“SURYA RAITHA” has been announced by

Govt. of Karnataka which allows the farm-

ers to convert the existing I.P.Set to Solar

Powered I.P.Set and sell the excess power to

the Distribution Companies (Net metering).

This will revolutionise the agriculture sector in

the days to come. This scheme is the first of

its kind in the Country.

What Karnataka Government is doing to

encourage Renewable energy projects?

To encourage the Renewable Energy Projects,

the Karnataka Government under industrial

policy 2014-19 has considered as:

1. All energy projects including

Renewable Energy projects are proposed to

be treated as manufacturing industry and

are eligible for incentives and concessions as

applicable to manufacturing industries men-

tioned in the policy.

2. It is proposed to simplify land pur-

chase and conversion procedures for all RE

projects including Solar, Wind, Biomass and

Mini hydel projects.

3. 50% of VAT paid on plant and

machinery procured for RE projects will be

reimbursed.

Karnataka itself is a big state with a huge

population. In which part of the state

“Main objectives of the policy includes achieving 2000 MW of capacity addition in the solar sector over the policy period”

KREDL is planning to allocate more renew-

able investments with new capacities and

installations?

Recently MNRE has raised the solar RPO

to 10.5% across the country, accordingly

the Karnataka’s target stands at 6000MW

by 2020. In addition to solar capacity wind

resources are getting added at 400 MW

annually.

To manage all these additional renewable

energy capacities in the grid, Karnataka is

planning to set up Renewable Energy Control

Centre to better manage the renewable

sources and to operate the grid in a stable

manner.

Apart from this, Karnataka power corpora-

tion is planning to setup 1400MW gas based

power plant at Bidadi and another 300MW

gas based power plant at Yelahanka which

will help in absorbing more and more renew-

able energy sources such as wind and solar.

Karnataka already has about 28% of hydro

power plants (installed capacity) which plays

a big role in absorbing intermittent renewable

energy sources.

In addition to this, Karnataka also plans to put

up pumped storage to absorb excess renew-

able energy sources

Shri G.V.BalaramManaging Director

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited

Sri M. Kamalakar BabuVice Chairman & Managing Director

New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra



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“To give a major push to the solar sector, GoR has come out with the New Rajasthan Solar Policy, 2014 with the vision of setting up solar power projects of capacities 25000 MW”

In order to create awareness among people

towards conservation of energy, protection

of environment degradation through dem-

onstration projects and other methods,

how do you take ahead your responsibili-

ties and duties towards Rajasthan?

RREC has implemented various schemes of

BEE for creating awareness among masses

towards conservation of energy, protection

of environment degradation through dem-

onstration projects like formation of energy

clubs in Institutions, organizing various train-

ing programme to train professionals for pro-

moting Energy Conservation Building Code

under BEE ECBC training programme etc.

RREC organises Rajasthan Energy

Conservation Awards Ceremony every year

(since 2009) on the occasion of Energy

Conservation day i.e. 14th December for rec-

ognition of sincere efforts made by different

categories like Industries, Energy Managers,

Energy Auditors, Institutional, Individuals etc.

towards the Energy Conservation and its

efficient use.

Development in rural areas is as important

as urban areas. What objectives are set by

RREC to conserve energy and promote use

of solar energy in rural areas?

Yes, to develop rural areas as urban areas,

RREC is formulating guidelines for provid-

ing electricity facility to unelectrified vil-

lages through stand-alone Solar Photovoltaic

Systems & Local Solar Grid in compliance of

GoR Budget Announcement 2014-15. In this

schemes system of 37 Wp (Watt peak) and

100 Wp are to be installed in remote un-elec-

trified villages/hamlets with subsidy support

from state government.

Could you please tell us about some of the

special projects undertaken by State of

Rajasthan in the solar sector?

To give a major push to the solar sector, GoR

has come out with the New Rajasthan Solar

Policy, 2014 with the vision of setting up Solar

Power Projects of capacities 25000 MW.

State will promote establishment of Solar

Parks not only in the Govt. Sector but also

in private sector as well as through Joint

Venture Company in which State Govt. will

have upto 50% equity including cost of land.

JV Agreements/MoUs have been signed for

establishment of Solar Parks in the State

through JV Companies for 26000 MW capac-

ity. Further a special provision has been made

in the Solar Policy 2014 regarding “Mega

Solar Power Projects” having capacity 500

MW or more for which fast track approval

system has been provided.

Rajasthan is a big state with a huge popu-

lation. In which part of the state RREC

is planning to allocate more renewable

investments with new capacities and

installations?

The focus of solar investment is likely to be

in the district of Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer

and Barmer, looking to good solar insolation

levels, maximum sunny days and availability of

desert land at cheaper rates. As regards wind

power plants, most of the wind power poten-

tial lies in the districts of Jaisalmer, Jodhpur,

Barmer and Southern region of Rajasthan viz

Pratapgarh & Banswara and future expansion

of the wind energy generation is likely to be in

these districts.

Further study of wind power potential is being

carried out at 12 locations of the State and

after the completion of the study, other areas

having wind power potential will be identified. Mr. BK Dosi, IAS Managing Director

Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation



Enabling Potential Solar Investments

EXPERT SPEAK

The growth of the Indian solar sector has been

steady and has seen a holistic,mixed develop-

ments. Overall, there has been a progress in

the sector and defiantly has a bright future.

The solar market in India has started picking

pace due to supportive government policies

and ability of solar energy to be used for

various applications other than generating

electricity.

Technology for solar energy has been playing

a central role for India to be more efficient

and competitive. India is looking forward to

its advancement in the Solar sector as the

biggest green initiative. Indian Prime Minister

Shri. Narendra Modi has ramped up his Solar

investment target to $100 billion by 2022 and

has gone ahead and released the year-wise

roadmap to achieve this goal. The year-wise

details are given below.

Government involvement has helped acceler-

ate the growth of the industry both commer-

cial as well as corporate.

• Incentives and subsidies for busi-

nesses developing solar power on a large

scale to give the sector a major boost. The

Indian government announced a target of

100GW by 2022 with the current installed

power being approximately 2.7GW. The set

target can be achieved with continuous

efforts and funding from the government to

encourage manufacturing as well as instal-

lation from both commercial and corporate

customers

• Rooftop schemes are being devel-

oped and introduced across the country to

encourage the consumer’s push for solar

power. One way to achieve the target set

by the government of - 100GW by 2022 can

be achieved through rooftop solar schemes.

The lack of past government incentives have

been one reason for slow growth in rooftop

solar panel projects, but new legislations and

schemes will have a huge effect on the future

growth

• The rise in manufacturing of solar

panels for both domestic and international

use and selling overseas has resulted in a

massive increase of production within India.

Indian solar panel manufacturers have dras-

tically increased exports to approximately

$270 million (approximately Rs 1,620 crore) in

2013-14 financial year, which is a 152% growth

from 2012-13. Thus, manufacturers are profit-

ing well from the increase in demand both

domestic and overseas. These exports were

predominantly been shipped to the European

market. This year has seen 523 MW installed,

although this growth is not as fast as the pre-

vious years.

Due to the overall global recession there has

been a decline in the demand for some solar

installations and that has brought financ-

ing problems to some solar companies.

Nevertheless the initiatives rendered by the

government towards the solar sector has

helped attracted a lot of positive response.

There is a tremendous amount of potential

growth in both utility-scale and residential

solar in India. The growth in solar sector is

going to bring energy storage into focus, and

this will be an important area of growth in the

years to come.

Keeping in mind the tremendous potential

the sector has, we at Rolta Power Pvt. Ltd.

ventured into the solar power sector with an

installed capacity of 60 MW production line

of PV modules. In addition, we are planning to

expand, its Module capacity to 1 GW and Cell

capacity to 1 GW by 2022.

The company aims to manufacture A+ grade

of solar photovoltaic panels and to work on

a variety of ranges of solar power solutions

like, solar EPC projects, rooftop solar projects

(KW), solar water pumps, solar telecom tower

and may more as per the requirement.

The company offers comprehensive services

for implementing enterprise-level applica-

tions, which is not limited to EPC formula

only. It aims to go beyond EPC services, such

as manufacturing, complete EPC (including

basic design), owner operator solutions, oper-

ations & maintenance, backend paper work

to claim subsidies, and getting government

grants etc. on behalf of the clients.

Dr. Aditya Singh, MD & Promoter, Rolta Power,

adds, “I have faith on the verdict given by our

Hon. Prime Minister, Shri, Narendra Modi, on

the solar industry, hence I am bullish about

this industry”

The government believes that, to encour-

age the development of Solar power across

the states, the State Electricity Regulatory

Commission (SERCs) must specify Solar RPO

targets in their States and to notify RPO

regulation to comply with the same to ensure

its compliance. Public funding catalyzes the

market growth in the Solar sector. Reduction

of high interest rate and facilitating long

repayment tenure will motivate industries in

investing in Renewable energy. Industries are

looking forward for options like soft funding,

subsidy/moratorium on interest,support from

World Bank and easy availability of work-

ing capital. Revenue from Renewable Energy

Certificates (REC) should be considered to

make Solar projects viable. Generation based

incentive will encourage developer to pro-

duce higher quantum of renewable energy,

thereby reducing the national dependency on

non- renewable energy sources.

India gets twice as much sunshine as many

European countries that use solar power.

But the clean energy source contributes less

than 1 per cent to India’s energy mix, while its

dependence on erratic coal supplies causes

chronic power cuts that idle industry and hurt

growth. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

bets on renewables to meet rising power

demand and overcome the frequent out-

ages that plague Asia’s third largest econo-

my. Modi now wants companies from China,

Japan, Germany and the United States to

lead investments of $100 billion over seven

years to boost India’s solar energy capacity

by 33 times to 100,000 megawatts (MW). This

will raise solar’s share of India’s total energy

mix to more than 10 per cent. In Germany, a

leader in renewable energy, solar accounted

for about 6 percent of total power generated

in 2014.

Dr. Aditya Singh, MD & Promoter, Rolta Power, adds, “I have faith on the verdict given by our Hon. Prime Minister, Shri, Narendra Modi, on the solar industry, hence I am bullish about this industry”

If India will be one of the leading solar markets, it should also become a knowledge and technology

leader.


Besides the initiated policy support, the

government should highlight the importance

of a self-sustaining market place. The follow-

ing are the stepping stones to make the shift

towards solar feasible in India.

• Cost reduction in solar should be

the prime focus & to be supported by acces-

sible information on the industry

• Build strong financing environment

backed by robust researches in solar applica-

tions and ample entrepreneurship opportuni-

ties

• India needs to see more of distrib-

uted markets in solar

There should be no domestic manufacturing

protection and no duties and tariffs on solar

equipment or parts thereof. The Indian power

consumer and the Indian tax payer will benefit

from the lowest cost. The market will be a

very scalable, parity driven market, in which

solar competes with other sources of power

(grid, diesel) on price and availability. Instead,

the government should focus on reducing

the lending cost – either through direct loan

subsidies or through reducing the risk (see

next point).

Lowering the cost of debt is the strongest

lever for reducing the cost of solar. The more

transparent and easily accessible information

is, on e.g. policies, land acquisition, debt con-

ditions and options, investment (perhaps a

market place?), generation of existing plants,

technology options, etc., the more competi-

tion and professionalism will drive the market.

If India will be one of the leading solar mar-

kets, it should also become a knowledge and

technology leader. It would be much easier for

India to ask leading cell and module manufac-

turers to set up shop in India once the market

has gained a certain size. India’s edge could

be in solar applications. It could become the

most innovative place for developing the solu-

tions the country needs: hybridization of solar

with storage, diesel gen-sets and the grid;

smart grid and metering technologies at the

distributed level; new online and offline solar

business models.

It is time to open up the market entirely to

entrepreneurs and to international investors.

This requires – in a very general way – a sim-

plification of procedures, such as company

regulations, accounting and taxation regula-

tions and financial regulations. Accelerated

depreciation benefits, for instance, hugely

favor existing conglomerate businesses over

professional, financial investors and start-ups

(why not make them tradable?).

Solar is ideally suited as a distributed, con-

sumer technology to power anything from

factories to households, irrigation pumps,

telecom towers, water purifiers, mobile

chargers or lights. This market could grow

in a more stable, sustainable way than the

infrastructure market, because it would not

hit roadblocks such as land availability, grid

access and local grid imbalances. Once the

market is operational, new capacity could

be added at a much faster rate, because it

does not require allocation processes and

policies. The new net-metering policies are

a step in the right direction. However, to

take off, consumer finance solutions (such

as equal monthly installments), certifications

for suppliers to improve product quality and

a revoking of existing malfunctioning subsidy

schemes are required.

The key objective is to develop solutions

for overcoming Technical, Regulatory and

Financial challenges further unleashing cost

competitive Solar energy. Lack of access

to Capital is a key barrier for growth in this

sector as Solar energy in India costs up to

50 percent more than power from sources

like coal. Rising efficiency and falling cost of

Solar panels, cheaper capital and increasing

thermal tariffs will close the gap within three

years.

Developing actionable Solar deployment

plans and strategies to promote deployment

at residential, community, and commercial

scales from expanding shared or community

Solar programs and local financing mecha-

nisms can help in the exponential growth.

State-of-the art products, solutions and tech-

nology advancements that will drive down the

costs of Solar energy and help India thrive in

the global clean energy race.

The domestic PV manufacturing industry will

benefit once the demand increases. Financing

cost, which has been one of the major chal-

lenges for setting up solar projects, is also

expected to be gradually reduced as a result

of the easing of inflation. Overall, 2015 prom-

ises to be a good year for the Indian solar

sector and the start of a golden era for solar

if all the government is able to convert good

intentions to reality.

The following helps us get a gist of the indus-

try:

• Security and supply issues continue

to motivate government to invest in renew-

able capacity throughout the recession years

• This trend of government interest in

renewable energy development appears likely

to continue

• Growth in this sector appears likely

to continue, with some nations emerging as

technological leaders

Currently, growth in the solar power sector

can be associated with various promotional

policies both at the national and state levels.

The National Solar Mission has been driving

solar installations within the country since

its launch in 2009. The current installed solar

power capacity stands at around 3 GW, or

about a tenth of the total renewable energy

capacity, and just over 1% of the total power

capacity of the country. If India achieves the

100 GW installed capacity by 2022, solar

power would contribute about 25% to the

total power installed capacity.

Article Submitted By Rolta Power.

EXPERT SPEAK


INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN RENEWABLE SECTOR

Dr. Jaya Singh, Director (R&D and Strategy),

BKC WeatherSys Pvt. Ltd.

Under her leadership, BKC WeatherSys busi-

ness in solar resource assessment has grown

by several orders of magnitude. WeatherSys

is also recognized as a knowledge leader and

the only entity in India that provides solar

forecasting solutions. This has come with

Dr. Singh’s drive to grow the organization’s

strength in R&D, a key differentiator from

other RE companies in India, and her tireless

commitment to excellence and quality. A

sought after speaker at national and inter-

national conferences, Dr. Singh has taken a

lead in showcasing scientific strength and

business acumen in the RE space in India.

At WeatherSys, Dr. Jaya Singh has estab-

lished an environment conducive to learning

and leverages available resources on-site

as well as off-site. She makes the interac-

tions with clients interesting by citing prac-

tical examples and demonstrating effec-

tiveness of the services being provided by

WeatherSys. As a leader and networker,

she has been addressing national and inter-

national forums and successfully influenced

targeted audience. This interactive approach

leads towards better understanding, criti-

cal and independent thinking and ultimately

quality service. She helps not only BKC

professionals but also clients in setting goals

and supports in achieving them.

Anjuli Chandra Chief Engineer, Renewable Energy,

Central Electricity Authority

Anjuli Chandra is a 1978 batch officer of the

Central Power Engineering Services Group

A, who joined Central Electricity authority

in 1979 after obtaining a degree in electrical

engineering from the Thappar Institute of

Engineering and Technology and an MBA

from Punjabi University. She has served

on deputation to the distribution division

of the Punjab State Electricity Board for

about 5 years and on her return to CEA

and served in various capacities including

Director Distribution, Power system project

monitoring, HRD and project appraisal. In

between, she did a three year deputation

from September 2010 to Nov 2013, with the

Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission

(DERC) as Executive Director Engg with

additional charge of Tariff.

In her current position as chief Engineer

RES and climate change with additional

charge of operation performance monitor-

ing division she is monitoring the generation

from renewable energy sources, their grid

integration and generation performance

of all the conventional power plants. She

is also a BEE-certified energy auditor and

has received the CBIP Award for 2006-07

for meritorious performance in power sec-

tor and won an award from the National

Council of Power Utilities in 2012-13 for

her contribution to the sector. Anjuli has

been a member of various task forces and

committees constituted by the Ministry of

Power and the CEA. Chandra has served as

a member of the BIS working group for for-

mulating standards for meters, capacitors

and transformers. In her various positions in

central Electricity authority she has partici-

pated in the formulation of APDP, APDRP

and RAPDRP schemes of GOI, formulat-

ed the Guidelines for APDRP schemes,

Guidelines for specifications of energy

efficient outdoor type single phase and

three phase transformers and Construction

standards for lines and plants of 66 kV and

below.

Chandra credits her stint at the DERC as

her most memorable assignment, owing

to the instrumental role she played in the

implementation of several critical projects.

At the DERC, she was involved in the intro-

duction of time-of-day tariffs in Delhi and

solar renewable purchase obligations, net

metering regulations, demand side man-

agement regulations and has prepared

tariff orders, including the MYT true-up for

the first control period and projections for

the second control period.

Mrs Chandra believes that transition from

fossil fuel based electricity production to

one that is increasingly based on renewable

sources can be the key to energy security

and sustainability in India. Renewable ener-

gy sector is at a turning point in our country

with plans for huge capacity additions and

that is going to impact the way we look

at power systems in the country. Focus

on grid integration of renewable energy

sources through proper forecasting and

scheduling mechanisms, balancing sources

and voltage support systems would be a

focus area for her.

Another focus area would be on how renew-

able energy and other traditional fuels can

work together such as pairing of pumped

hydro with solar and wind plants, geother-

mal energy with oil and gas, biomass and

waste to electricity plants with solar and

wind etc.

Sindoor MittalDirector,

Welspun Renewables

Sindoor started her leadership journey at

an early age. At 21, she was the young-

est management graduate from ISB,

Hyderabad. Today she is Director at Welspun

Renewables, one of the largest playe in the

Renewable energy sector in India.

Sindoor started the solar business in Welspun

and this business today has become the

largest in India. Sindoor focuses on strategy,

leadership development, fundraising, and

commissioning of the large solar and wind

energy capacities. In her pursuit, Sindoor has

built a high performing team and partner-

ships with global technology companies and

system integrators from the energy sector.

She believes that the combination of a cohe-

sive team with a strong focus on execution

is the key to creating a successful energy

company. Sindoor has taken the mantle to

become the largest renewable energy com-

pany in India and a leader globally.

Sindoor is looked upon as an industry leader

and is a Keynote speaker at multiple forums

In the Renewable energy sector. She recent-

ly was a Speaker at the Global Madhya

Pradesh Investor Summit and shared the

Dias with the Honorable Prime Minister

Narendra Modi. She is an active participant

at the World Economic Forum, Davos.

Sindoor started her career with a $500 mn

private equity fund. Her urge to become an

entrepreneur soon found its way into her

quitting the job and starting her first busi-

ness at the age of 24. In her early years of

business she learnt that attitude is what

defines the winners from the rest and a

relentless desire to make a change in the

world is what sees one through the chal-

lenges that one encounters.

Today she relentlessly pursues this belief

by empowering people and mentoring

them to realize this goal. Apart from her

business responsibilities, Sindoor is keenly

involved in the company’s Corporate Social

Responsibility endeavor, which focuses on

providing education, clean environment, and

health to the communities in which they

work.

Sindoor has been a gold medallist at the

national swimming Championships in India

and was captain of the Indian women’s team

at the Asia Pacific Games.

Shruti BhatiaVice President,

Indian Energy Exchange

She has been in the role since January 2013,

and is responsible for spearheading com-

pany’s work in legislative, policy and regula-

tory domain.

In the last two years, she has been working

closely with internal stakeholders in analys-

ing and evolving company’s viewpoint on

key issues related to power and renewable

energy market and taking those views for-

ward with the external stakeholders i.e. –

the Governments, the Electricity Regulatory

Commissions and other Agencies at both at

Centre and State level.

Besides contribution in the policy domain,

Shruti is also leading external communica-

tions in IEX wherein she is responsible for

designing and implementing brand and com-

munication strategy in print, electronic, digi-

tal and social media. With recent Companies

Act 2013 mandating eligible companies to

spend certain portion of their profit on CSR

activities, Shruti has actively contributed in

evolving CSR Policy of the Company and

will also oversee rollout and implementation

of the same.

A sense of the candidate’s vision/plans for

the future – both personally and for the

organisation for which she works and what

makes her special.

Shruti is a thorough professional with great

passion and commitment for whatever

she undertakes. She has been involved in

the energy sector since 1996 right after

post-graduation in Physics from the

Delhi University, and intends to continue,

strengthen and enrich her association with

the industry.

With almost 19 years of professional experi-

ence in the energy sector, of which more

than 14 years were at the Confederation

of Indian Industry working on the various

energy policy and legislative issues, she aims

to leverage her knowledge and exposure to

contribute to further evolution of the policy

framework and at the same time aspire to

grow and enrich by constantly acquiring new

ideas and accepting new challenges.


INFLUENTIAL WOMENINFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN RENEWABLE SECTOR

Vaishali Nigam SinhaDirector,

ReNew Power

In her current role as Director, she advices the

company on strategic leadership and trans-

formational change and oversees the Human

Resources, Corporate Communications and

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) func-

tions closely at the company. A sense of the

candidate’s vision/plans for the future – both

personally and for the organisation for which

she works and what makes her special.

Vaishali’s vision for ReNew Power includes

integrating CSR into day to day operations,

ensuring no child labor is used in the assem-

bly lines and installation work at sites. She

wants to build a company with a conscience.

She wants to encourage the appointment of

more women in senior and significant roles

across functions. She believes that profes-

sionals like her join boards where they feel

they can contribute to the growth of the

company and also enhance their learning.It

also makes corporate decisions more sensi-

tive and inclusive.

Anita Li, APAC Sales Director,

Jinko Solar Co.

Anita Li has been working in Jinko for more

than 8 years since 2007and she has wit-

nessed the history of development and

growth of the company. She fully devoted

herself to solar industry, and with her great

effort, Jinko has successfully developed its

business around the world. She became one

of the top management for her remarkable

achievements in the company.

Vision and plans for future: As a source of

clean and sustainable energy, solar power

has made PV industry one of the most prom-

ising industries nowadays. It will help us open

a new gate to meet the global demand of

energy. In this sense, it is not only an indus-

try but also a mission for the whole human

race. I hereby commit myself to the cause

of delivering the cleanest, most efficient

and economic solar energy solutions for a

brighter future.

Mrs. Shubhra Mohanka is the Director,

Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd.

For past 10+ yrs she has led the division for

making solar reach rural unelectrified areas

through tieups with various banks, working

with NGOs etc.

She is from St. Stephens College Delhi and

MBA from MDI Gurgaon. She had previous

work experience of working with HCL.

Recognising Most Successful Women In Renewables Industry

As an initiative to rec-ognize the contribu-tion of women to the renewable energy industry, we are fea-turing some of the most deserving, suc-cessful and influential women in the renew-able energy business – the ones who have been the deal-freez-ers, game-changers and headline makers in the industry.

Nidhi GuptaCo-founder & Director,

Rays Power Experts Pvt. Ltd.

Nidhi Gupta wears the mantle of finance

head at Rays Power Experts. She co-found-

ed the company along with her brother

in 2011 even while she was graduating in

computer engineering from IIMET, Jaipur

(International Institute of Management,

Engineering & Technology). Barely 23 years

old when Rays Experts launched, little did

she know that joining her brother in his busi-

ness will change several lives one day. The

hard work and zest to achieve something

noteworthy in life has helped Nidhi to attain

new heights in her career.

This young female entrepreneur manages

the company’s finances and audits along

with doing daily office errands. She also

looks after the on-ground activities like field

projects, construction work etc. to ensure

smooth execution of the projects. Her cour-

age and motivation keeps the entire team of

120 people at Rays Experts upbeat and on

their feet.

Nidhi is regarded as the backbone of the

company and her resilience and commit-

ment have helped her drive towards over-

coming physical as well as functional chal-

lenges while overseeing solar parks in the

scorching heat of Rajasthan.

Under her supervision, Rays Experts has

achieved a 500 Cr turnover this financial

year, within a mere three years of its incep-

tion. She has utilised her negotiation skills to

sort issues at the local level against strong

opposition during the installation of the first

plant in Bikaner, displaying rare understand-

ing and ability to handle crisis at her tender

age.

She also manages another independent

company where she supervises the vendors

and labourers and has channelized more

than 300 hands to Rays for its project execu-

tions. It is her financial brilliance that today

even though Rays is a profitable venture with

such a high turnover, it remains completely

debt free while owning sizeable assets.

Her aim is to see Rays Experts among the

top Indian companies leading the industry in

the next three years. She strives to make it

the largest solar company in India by creat-

ing the world’s most expansive solar plants.

Deepkamal Kaur Lead-Corporate Communication,

Fortum India

Her primary responsibility is to take initia-

tives in the context of developing efficient

programs around internal and external com-

munications. With 13 years of rich expe-

rience in Corporate Branding, Marketing

Communication, Media & Public Relations,

Advertising, she has worked with leading

corporates across like Oracle Corporation in

India, Delta Electronics, Lanco Solar.

Before joining Fortum, Deepkamal was AGM,

Lanco Solar and used to oversee market-

ing communications including branding,

advertising, public relations etc. Deepkamal

began his career with TBWA Anthem Pvt Ltd

(Public Relations), where she learnt about

the role of communications practice for cor-

porate’s business vision. She has evolved

into a matured communications specialist

gradually, with her networking skills across

private, public and government sectors and

her sense of understanding the industry has

transformed her as a seasoned professional

in the Marketing Communications profile.

At Fortum India, she has played a significant

role in elevating the brand image/perception

among the industry network, government

and media. Today, the company is known for

its energy efficiency and endorsed by central

and various state governments, primarily due

to its branding and communication mecha-

nism.

Fortum, with its legacy towards sustainable

energy, intends to drive its solar expertise

from India. Taking cue from its business

strategy, Deepkamal has starting working

the company’s business team directly and

fuelled messaging that has put Fortum India

in a different league. Recently, she played

an instrumental role in positioning Fortum

India as the first company to inaugurate

plant under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar

Mission Phase II, with Government of Madhya

Pradesh and Solar Energy Corporation of

India endorsing the Fortum India’s approach

towards developing solar portfolio in India.

Fortum’s purpose is to create energy that

improves life for present and future genera-

tions. What she meant by that is sustainable

and responsible energy production focusing

on low emissions, high resource efficiency

and security of supply.

She strongly believes that Fortum has the

right experience to contribute to the devel-

opment of your energy sector and through

that to facilitate the growth of the Indian

economy. She had done her post graduate

in Marketing Management from Institute of

Management Technology, Ghaziabad. She is

active member of CII & FICCI.


INFLUENTIAL WOMEN

Shachi DeviChief Product Development Officer,

Tata Power Solar

She has been with the organization for 1.5

years. She began her journey at Tata Power

Solar by building the product development

team. She currently is overseeing Distributed

Power Generation, and solar micro grids.

Her focus in there is to find ways to help

make solar power more affordable to the

customers.

An M.Tech from Indian Institute of

Technology, Kharagpur, she has about 30

years’ experience in the energy field, during

which period she has worked across many

roles involving senior positions in various

organizations in technology development,

product development, R&D, and system

solution. Shachi Devi’s passion for solar and

renewable energy comes from her belief that

solar energy is the only source of power that

is available abundantly. She strongly feels

that the true potential of solar energy has

not been harnessed completely and unlock-

ing the same, she believes, could immensely

benefit our society.

With respect to what keeps her motived, is

the challenge of doing new things. Passion

and dedication are her driving factors to per-

form well. She has always led from the front

and worked in challenging environments and

terrains. The immense and numerous chal-

lenges of solar energy give another reason

for her keen interest in the sector.

Talking about her future plans with regard

to the industry, she wants to have solar

power being used in every household at an

affordable price, in the foreseeable future.

Specific to the plans about the company, she

says that Tata is a company that has always

focused on the society, science and infra-

structure. Solar energy, therefore, blends in

very well with the vision of Tata Group. She

says that, presently it is an exciting time for

the solar industry and innovation in this field.

Preeti Taneja Country Head,

HT-SAAE modules and Cells,India

Having completed her B.Tech in Information

Technology in 2012, she started her career

in the Renewable Energy business with a

strong conviction in Green / Renewable

Energy focussed on solar . She is firm believ-

er of giving back to Society and mother

earth and hence she is working in Renewable

Energy sector.

She started her career with IG Solar Pvt. Ltd.

in January 2013 and established precision

EPC business while working in IG SOLAR.

She thereafter took responsibility of Sales

in India of HT-SAAE in 2014. HT- SAAE

has been engaged in the development in

China of PV Solar Technology and space-

craft power system since early 1960’s with

the sophisticated and wide application of

its product in the field of Aeronautics and

Astronautics. The largest Chinese owned

company.

Later she moved into Managerial role and

spearheaded the sales of the Polysilicon

wafers, cells and modules in India. She has

achieved accolades in a short span of 2 years

of work experience. She is the only Woman

Leader and Sales Manager for a Global MNC

Organization based in Shanghai and has big

foot print in India, prior to be one of the best/

quality manufacturer in China. She enjoys

travelling and meeting new people which she

feels is the biggest challenge as woman in

this field. A very challenging position in the

industry as a young girl. Her association in

the Industry is treated with high respect and

she strives to take her Organization to newer

heights in Indian Market in 2015 and beyond

and establish HT-SAAE’s presence in the

alternative energy business by making it as

cost competitive leader in the coming years.

She wishes to open an NGO soon and is

working on it parallely. She is a firm believer

in women empowerment and wants to see

more women to contribute to India’s growth

and take on responsibilities in a male domi-

nated society.

Maharashtra: The Emerging Indian Renewable Energy Investment Destination

The Maharashtra government is ready to go

green and encourage green energy by setting

a target of an additional 14,400 MW of renew-

able energy by 2019, over 200 per cent more

than the state’s current installed capacity. Out

of the total target, 67 percent will be contrib-

uted by solar and the remaining through wind.

The government has drafted new policy

to enhance solar power and give status to

solar parks, windmills and standalone solar

power projects. The policy has been draft-

ed on the similar lines of Andhra Pradesh’s

newly formed policy. This policy will attract

investors and relax the norms for inter- and

intra-state third-party sale of power. It also

has a clause of first selling the power to

state discoms for meeting the Maharashtra

Electricity Regulatory Commission-mandated

“Renewable Power Obligation”.

The solar projects will be able to participate

either in the competitive bidding process

involving discoms or directly trade power

in the open market either within the state

or outside through “Renewable Energy

Certificates”. The state has also decided to

relive the land acquisition through deemed

non- agricultural permissions.

Plan of action

The state is planning to generate around

2500MW of solar power under the PPP

model. This will be used to fulfil the needs

of the state along with the renewable energy

requirements. The state is also considering

small investors for the solar park status and

will be motivating the private developers to

develop the remaining 5000 MW. More and

more solar power plants and solar parks are

planned to install in the industrial areas, town-

ships and irrigation canals.

The government is also going to lease the

public land for setting up solar projects at pre

decided rents. It has decided to compensate

in the capital cost for installing co- generat-

ing plants. Earlier the Union government had

set a target to produce 1, 75,000 MW power

through renewable sources by 2022. It has

promised grants to states promoting green

power.

In order to lead in the solar charts, Maharashtra

is following the footsteps of Gujarat. With

these plans, policy changes and new initia-

tives taken by the state, there is a ray of hope

that the state will once take back its position

as one of India’s leading renewable energy

market.

An ambitious target of generating 14400 MW

from the non-conventional energy sector has

been set up by the state government. This will

manifold increase from the 2500 MW renew-

able energy target in the previous policy,

which was approved in 2008.

Of the 1400 MW target, 7500 MW is expected

to come in from the solar sector and wind

energy and the baggase-based co-genera-

tion will contribute 5000 MW and 1000 MW

respectively.

Energy Minister Chandrasekhar Bavankule

said that the new policy would be tabled

before the state cabinet soon and that the

state had completed and surpassed the

2500MW target in the previous policy. The

Maharashtra Govt. has been announcing

policies from 1996 onwards to promote gen-

eration of power through clean and non-con-

ventional sources. The Maharashtra Energy

Development Agency promotes the develop-

ment of non-conventional energy resources.

Around 180 MW solar power projects has

been commissioned and there are plans to

take it to about 450MW by the end of the

2015-2016 fiscal year by the Maharashtra

State Power Generation Company Limited

(MahaGenco) which is one of the highest

by state utilities. The MahaGenco also has a

5MW project at Chandrapur and a 125MW

facility at Sakri in Dhule, which is the largest

in the country.

There are plans set up by the Union Ministry

of new and renewable energy (MNRE) to add

capacity to the tune of 29800 MW from the

various renewable energy sources during the

X11 five-year plan period.

Sets new target fo renewable energy which is almost 6 times the previous target


DC CABLES: An important factor in performance of Solar PV Installations

FEATURED

Energy delivered from a Solar PV system is

not only dependent on the efficiency of the

module but also on other system components

like DC Cables, Connectors and Junction

Boxes. While designing the solar farm,

engineers have to factor the losses from

modules to the inverters to calculate the over-

all performance ratio of the farm. Low quality

solar cables and connectors will lead to small

increases in resistance and result in higher

losses of energy (I2Rt). The loss of energy

already harvested, when calculated over a

twenty five year life represents a substantial

loss and would affect the profitability of the

project.

A high quality Solar DC Cable is expected

to perform for the complete lifetime of the

installation which is about twenty five years.

The cost of replacing a defective installed

cable is very high. The replacement costs

increase when factoring in manpower used

for removal, reinstallation and testing of the

system. In addition, there are losses in power

output and revenue generation. The cost of

these cables and connectors is very small

in the total cost. Since the differential cost

of the high quality cables is insignificant, it

makes sense to invest with higher initial cost

and reduce the “total cost of ownership” of a

PV plant.

Solar cables have to withstand a wide range

of environmental conditions – and continue to

do so over a long period. High temperatures,

UV radiation, rain, humidity, dirt and attack by

moss and microbes are all a serious challenge

to solar cables. Cables tested in accordance

with EN, TÜV and UL requirements (120°C;

20,000 hours) can be used at environmental

temperatures of –40°C to +90°C. They should

therefore achieve the target service life of 25

years. Apart from temperature, UV radiation

is the other significant factor. Trials have

shown that untreated material (free of any

colour additive) will lose more than 50% of

its performance capacity within less than six

months. In order to avoid this deterioration,

fine soot particles are added to the plastics

(leading to a black colouring in the sheath).

These particles absorb the UV radiation and

convert it into heat. Optimum UV resistance

can therefore only be achieved by using

black solar cables with enough black carbon

content.

There is a new European Standard EN

50618 being published for Solar DC Cable,

this standard specifies cables for use in

Photovoltaic (PV) Systems, in particular for

installation at Direct Current (DC) side, with

a nominal DC voltage up to 1.5kV between

conductors as well as between conductor and

earth. These cables are suitable for permanent

outdoor use for many years under variable

demanding conditions. Relatively stringent

requirements are set for these products in line

with the expected harsh usage conditions.

To meet the stringent requirements insulation

and sheath in modern solar cables consist

of cross-linked polymers. Two different

processes can be used for cross-linking

– a choice between electron beam cross-

linking and chemical cross-linking. Chemical

cross-linking is a process that cannot be

stopped once it has started. As a result,

chemically cross-linked cables suffer from

the same phenomenon as old car tyres.

They can harden and become porous. By

contrast, electron beam cross-linked cables

are irradiated with beta rays. This improves

the synthetic material. Once the cables have

passed the electron beam, the cross-linking

process is complete. These cables remain soft

and elastic throughout their whole service life.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

– which is why LEONI offers high quality

electron beam cross-linked BETAflam® solar

cables. These quality cables are produced in

Switzerland and fulfil all the requirements:

long service life, excellent weather resistance

and security of investment for the operator of

the facility.

LEONI produces and develops compounds

for insulation and jacket materials in-house.

With capacity improvements over a period

of time, it today has the world’s largest beta

beam cross linking facility contributing to

the highest production of solar DC cables.

LEONI first launched UL/TUV dual approved

cables in 2005 and invented 1,000 VAC UL

and 1,500VDC TUV cables which will be

used for solar installations in the future.

LEONI can supply the complete system from

junction boxes for module manufacturing to

cable systems and connectors for Solar PV

installations from its production facilities all

over the world. To support our customers for

fast installations of PV power plants LEONI

has stocks available in India, Europe and USA.

LEONI BETAflam Solar products meet the

highest requirements for solar PV system

providing the same high expectations that

are demanded from the solar modules - which

are longevity and high weather resistance. We

offer BETAflam Solar DC cables, TRAFOflex

UV cable, SOLARpowerAlu-ATA cables,

BETAsolar Junction Box and BETAsolar PV

connectors.


Rooftop Revolution Can Help Overcome India’s Power Outages

India and its chronic problem of power

shortage is as old as the country itself. Ever

since India won its independence, there

has hardly been a time when it has been

independent in power needs.

With a solar revolution now taking place

globally, India needs to make the most of the

opportunity and gain its second independence

– from power shortage. India receives plenty

of sunlight, but is unable to deploy solar

power to its fullest. But there are a handful of

technologies that can deliver reliable power

to the country and rooftop-solar power is one

of them.

Few states in India still deal with the power

cuts everyday which is a big problem. Solar

power is the perfect solution to this problem

since India has its peak production in the

middle of the day providing electricity to

people when they need to cool down. As solar

power scales up, it can eventually eliminate

that mid-day peak as has already happened

in countries with a lot of solar power, like

Germany. Rooftop solar is a cheaper mode

of generating electricity than the electricity

commercial buildings of the grid. Instead of

spending billions of dollars on diesel and

unreliable grid electricity, that investment can

be used to deploy rooftop solar.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

There is a wide scope for rooftop solar but

the biggest hurdle is that there is lack of

financing. Proper funding of projects is the

current need for the rooftop sector. Banks

show least interest in funding the technology,

even though rooftop is not new for the

country. International banks can create an

impact by providing funds but there are stuck

in the big centralized power plants. To give a

good start to the Indian rooftop solar industry,

a new framework should be developed by the

lenders to invest in small scale solar projects.

In the recent union budget, the money

allocated to the renewable sector was

reduce to Rs 303 crore from over Rs 550

crore in the last budget. With this limited

amount of funding declared in the budget, the

government has anticipated to reduce the

subsidy on the rooftop projects by about half

of the current price. If the subsidy on rooftop

solar power plant is reduced to 15 %, it will in

return help in achieving the solar target.

Around $ 140 billion was invested in the

solar industry and about $ 70 billion was

invested in the smaller scale, distributed solar

projects like rooftop systems. The rooftop

requires investment so many international

organizations are helping to fill the gap. Big

institutions such as the IFC, OPIC, and US

Export Import Bank make investments into

setting up of rooftop solar. This investment

will create awareness in the local lenders and

will help generate interest in the rooftop solar

market.

For a solar rooftop revolution, a little financing

and investment is required. Solar industry is

an emerging market in India and is on the right

track to fulfil the needs of the nation.

Large players are now entering the rooftop

solar space at a rapid rate, with SunRun

preparing for an IPO, and NRG Energy scaling

up its rooftop solar operations. While there

will definitely be increasing market share

competition among the leading rooftop solar

companies, these companies’ should continue

to grow unfettered in the near-term given the

enormous addressable market.

The increasing number of large rooftop solar

companies will likely cause market share

consolidation to accelerate, despite the

proposed inherent advantages of smaller/

regional installers.

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India’s rooftop solar boom is just around the corner


STATE IN FOCUS

Priority Sector Lending: The Game Changer?

Today, the biggest challenge faced by the

Indian solar industry is the high interest rates.

During the starting phase of a project, it is

burdened with high capital costs of solar

energy along with high interest rates which

increases the cost of debt. To resolve these

issues the solar financing policies are not

enough and there is need to ease the finance

for the solar industry. A few financial poli-

cies adopted by central government have

been successful at state level and can help

in improving the finance available for India’s

solar market.

One such policy which has helped improve

the growth of new sectors is the Priority

Sector Lending (PSL) status. The benefits

of priority lending sector is that it can ease

access to capital via mainstream banks, and

to provide agencies like IREDA, SIDBI and

NABARD with clarity on funding in this sector.

The PSL will also help to increase employabil-

ity, create basic infrastructure and improve

competitiveness of the economy, thus creat-

ing more jobs.

Priority Sector Lending is an important role

given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to

the banks for providing a specified portion

of the bank lending to few specific sectors

like agriculture or small scale industries. This

is essentially meant for an all round develop-

ment of the economy as opposed to focusing

only on the financial sector.

Currently the priority sector is reserved uni-

formly at 40 per cent of Adjusted Net Bank

Credit (ANBC) or Credit Equivalent of Off-

Balance Sheet Exposure (CEOBE), which-

ever is higher, for all scheduled commercial

banks. Agriculture has a target of 18 per cent

of ANBC retained. More flexibility has been

recommended for banks to lend the remain-

ing 10 per cent of the overall agriculture loan

target to other farmers, agricultural infra-

structure and ancillary activities as defined

by the Group. To give a fillip to agricultural-

infrastructure and agricultural-processing, no

caps on loan limits have been stipulated.

In addition to micro and small enterprises,

medium enterprises are included within the

ambit of priority sector lending. Other sectors

such as sanitation, health care and drinking

water facilities and renewable energy will

come under the priority sector ambit, as will

incremental loans made to exports, with cer-

tain ceilings.

Reserve Bank of India working group has

now proposed new guidelines for lending

to the priority sector with loans to medium

enterprises, sanitation and renewable energy

sectors coming under the umbrella of the

priority sector.

The panel which submitted the report to the

RBI on March 1, has said the target for lend-

ing to the redefined priority sector should be

retained uniformly at 40 per cent of adjusted

net bank credit (ANBC) or credit equivalent of

off-balance sheet exposure (CEOBE), which-

ever is higher, for all scheduled commercial

banks. However, foreign banks, which will all

now come under the norms, have been given

time to comply with the target.

One more key are the government needs

to target is the evacuation facilities avail-

able for the industry. The existing evacuation

infrastructure is not capable of evacuating

proposed capacity additions. There is a need

to integrate of renewable based generation to

the existing system. A solution to this can be

introduction of Green energy corridor which

will evacuate renewable power from renew-

able rich states to the load centers. This will

reduce evacuation losses.

In order to meet the current target, we need

rigid policies and proper investments in the

coming years to build renewable power

capacity up to 200 Gigawatts by the year

2022. With the union budget announced, we

hope that the government will consider mea-

The industry is eagerly awaiting new measures to ease the financing helping unlock its true potential at

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MARKET UPDATES

PLG Clean Energy Projects (PLGCEP) is

developing 1000 MW (1 GW) of Solar & Wind

Power Plants in India under Build, Operate &

Ownership Model as a Renewable Independent

Power Producer (Re-IPP). PLGCEP has made

a Green Energy Commitment to Mr. Arun

Jaitely, Hon’ble Finance Minister, Govt. of India

for developing a pipeline of 1000 MW (1GW)

of solar & wind power plants between 2015

to 2018.

PLGCEP has held talks & discussions with

Mr. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister for Power,

Coal & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India &

submitted proposal & investment plans for

developing 1000 MW (1GW) of solar & wind

power plants.

PLG Clean Energy Projects Private Limited

(PLGCEP) is an integrated Independent Power

Producer (IPP) aiming to make Renewable

energy an affordable source of energy world-

wide. The Company has a project pipeline

and project portfolio of1500 MW (1.5GW) of

renewable energy assets in India & has made

an investment of Rs 340 crore till date already.

PLGCEP developed India’s 1st 20 MW Solar

Power Plant in Patan, Gujarat. The turnaround

time to set up the plant was a record of

108 days, the fastest turnaround time in the

world from inception to commissioning of the

PLG Clean Energy Projects To Develop 5GW Renew-able Power Assets in India In 6 Years

project. The state of the art and world class

20 MW solar power plants is generating 36

million units of renewable energy annually

for the country, powering 35,000 households

annually in the state of Gujarat and saving

34,000 tons of Carbon Emission annually for

the world.

The company is currently developing a proj-

ect portfolio of 800MW of Solar Power Plant

Assets, 650 MW of Wind Power Plant Assets

and 50 MW of Bio Mass Power Plant Assets

(total Renewable Assets Portfolio size of 1.5

GW) and aiming to build a Renewable Project

Asset portfolio of 5000 MW (5 GW in the next

6years) by 2020.

An integrated Renewable Independent

Power Producer, PLG Clean Energy Projects

(PLGCEP) has also received an approval from

Govt. of Tamil Nadu to set up a 200 MW Solar

Power Generation Plant with an investment of

Rs 1400 Crores (USD 230 Million).

PLGCEP develops, builds, owns & acquires

Renewable Energy Assets currently being

built in India.

The project will be set up at Ettayapuram

in Tamil Nadu spread over 1000 acres of

acquired private land. The PPA is expected to

be signed earlier next year & the project will

take 12 months for completion.

Project synopsis:

200 MW Solar Power Power Plant in Tamil

Nadu India

Cost of Project: Rs. 1400 Crores (USD 225

Million)

Gross Annual Revenue: Rs. 224 Crores (USD

36.10 Million)

Project Status: Approval received from

Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Land identified. EPC

Contractor L&T Construction, Sterling &

Wilson (top 2 companies in India) shortlisted.

Project is shovel ready.

200 MW Solar Power Power Plant in Punjab

India

Cost of Project: Rs. 1400 Crores (USD 225

Million)

Gross Annual Revenue: Rs. 247 Crores (USD

39.80 Million)

Project Status: MOU signed with Govt. of

Punjab. Land identified. EPC Contractor L&T

Construction, Sterling & Wilson (top 2 com-

panies in India) shortlisted. Project is shovel

ready.

Both the Constructions have begin in March

2015 & project can be completed by March

2016.

The Company has a project pipeline and project portfolio of1500 MW of renewable energy assets in India

& has made an investment of Rs 340 crore till date

ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd. (ACSL) offers

efficient rooftop solar solutions that are easy

to install, operate and offer cost effective

access to solar energy. The rooftop solar

power installation at Ananda’s Palakoderu,

Bhimavaram Fish Processing Facility, located

430 KMS from Hyderabad and 150kms from

Vijayawada, demonstrates the potential of

solar power, which can be harnessed using

idle roof top space to generate energy and

reduce the organization’s carbon footprint.

Project Overview

Ananda’s Palakoderu, Bhimavaram Facility,

located 430 KMS from Hyderabad and

150kms from Vijayawada, is the fish pro-

cessing unit, recognizes the importance of

having a sustainable energy source that is

economically viable to help meet their energy

needs at this unit. With this clear purpose in

mind, Ananda chose ACSL as the developer

of choice because of their extensive experi-

ence and flawless execution skills by the

team. In 2013, ACSL forayed into harnessing

solar energy through the installation of solar

product solutions. Taking a step ahead in this

Powering Ananda From The Roof Top

direction, Ananda mandated ACSL to install

a 150 kWp solar rooftop plant across 1500

sq. meters of rooftop space that generates

>225,000 kWh of energy per year. The plant is

also equipped with a remote monitoring sys-

tem that ensures smooth functioning of this

plant and to make it is delivering the promised

performance.

Challenges and Solutions

Disruption free execution within strict time-

lines: Ananda had the uncompromising con-

dition of having the project completed and

commissioned within 60 days and without

disruption of business-asusual at Ananda.

Ananda being a fish processing industry could

not have afforded any downtime due to the

critical installation. ACSL being sensitive to

this seamlessly executed the project with

painstakingly detailed planning and providing

buffer for potential delays so that the project

was completed within the stipulated time-

frame and without causing any disruption to

the client’s business activities.

Speedy execution with minimal downtime:

As part of the standard process of commis-

sioning the solar plant, the electrical services

are taken down to connect the solar energy

system to Ananda’s internal grid so that it can

start feeding into the grid. ACSL team’s rigor

in execution made sure this process took just

1.5 hour, post which business was carried out

powered by the solar energy feeding into the

grid.

Impact

Ananda through this solar rooftop installation

now has access to a 150 kWp power plant

that provides access to a reliable, green and

sustainable source of energy. This rooftop

solar plant has added renewable energy to

Ananda’s energy mix and has reduced its car-

bon footprint by 190 tonnes per year.

ACME Cleantech’s 150 kW Project For Ananda Enterprises Private Limited


After three years of downfall, the global solar

investment around the world is picking up. It

was recorded that the overall clean energy

investment jumped by 16% in 2014, the big-

gest y-o-y increase in the near history.

The solar industry has been the biggest ben-

eficiary of the rise in investements in the clean

energy sector. Solar energy has emerged

as one of the best options to meet growing

power demand while cutting emissions. It

has also become one of the favourites of the

investment community yeilding high investor

returns without volatile financial risks.

According to Mercom Capital Group, which

tallied $26.5 billion in solar project investment

from corporate funding sources during 2014.

That’s an 175% increase over 2013, when

Mercom counted just $9.6 billion.

The Chinese investment in renewable sector

increased and reached to 32% to a record

$89.5 billion. This puts China at the top of

the global list of green investments. China

has now overtaken the US which was so far

the largest investor in the renewable energy

Solar Industry Sees A 140% Jump In Investments In 2014

domain.

Another huge investment trend was seen in

the small distributed capacity. This included

projects less than 1 MW, predominantly roof-

top solar. This saw $73.5bn committed in

2014, up 34 % from last year.

In 2014, many big solar projects were financed

around the world. Some of the key highlights

from the investments made last year are listed

below.

• The US investment in renewable was a total

of $51.8bn in 2014 out of which 39% at $8.9bn

was solar’s share. Along with this investment

there was also $12.9bn of investment in small-

scale projects.

• China saw total investment of $89.5bn

and the solar energy investment total was

$30.4bn, which was up 20% from last year.

$7.6bn was spent on small distributed capac-

ity.

• The European countries saw a rise in their

investment. The investment increased by 3%

INDIAN OUTLOOK

Venture capital funding was far and away the biggest contributor to solar’s financing surge

in UK to $15.2bn and 3% in Germany to

$15.3bn, while France jumped 26% to $7bn

thanks partly to the financing of Europe’s

biggest ever PV plant, the 300MW Cestas

project. Big offshore wind deals drove the

figure for the Netherlands up 232% to $6.7bn,

but investment in Italy fell 60% to $2bn, hit by

retroactive cuts in tariff support for PV plants.

• Australia saw a downfall due to delayed

decisions by the government for the solar

project developers; the investment tumbled

35% to $3.7bn.

The highlight of the third quarter was a leap in

Chinese solar investment to a new record of

$12.2bn, up from $7.5bn in Q3 2013 and $8bn

in Q2 2014. China is building a large number of

utility-scale photovoltaic projects linked to its

main transmission grid.

There were other strong investment figures

in Q3 from Japan, at 8.6bn, up 17% from the

same quarter in 2013, with solar again the

dominant renewable energy source. Other

countries showing a bounce in investment in

the latest quarter were Canada, France and

India, while there were significant projects

financed in a number of new markets, includ-

ing Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Overall, solar power contributed the most

to the total results for 2014, setting a record

for its share of the total. Investments rose 25

percent to $149.6 billion.

Venture capital funding was far and away the

biggest contributor to solar’s financing surge.

Developers secured more than $1.3 billion in

85 deals, more than twice the $612 million

raised in 98 deals during 2013, and the highest

amount since 2011.

Downstream solar companies (i.e. solar

installers and direct consumer distributors)

attracted the largest chunk of VC dollars by

pulling in $1.1 billion across 44 deals. Sunnova

Energy netted nearly half this amount with

$505 million, followed by Sunrun with $150

million, Renewable Energy Trust Capital with

$125 million, Sungevity with $72.5 million, and

GlassPoint Solar with $53 million.


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