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CONT EN T
VOLUME 14 Issue #07
While every efforts has been made to ensure the high quality and accuracy of EQ international and all our authors research articles with the greatest of care and attention ,we make no warranty concerning its content,and the magazine is provided on an>> as is <<basis.EQ international contains advertising and third –party contents.EQ International is not liable for any thirdparty content or error,omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material ,nor is it responsible for the availability of external web sites or their contents
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FEATURED M10 MODULES ACCOUNT FOR 81% OF WINNING BIDS IN CHINA’S CENTRALIZED PROCUREMENT
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INDIA
PUNJAB PLANS TO FOCUS ON SOLAR-POWERED WATER SCHEMES
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The data and information presented in this magazine is provided for informational purpose only.neither EQ INTERNATINAL ,Its affiliates,Information providers nor content providers shall have any liability for investment decisions based up on or the results obtained from the information provided. Nothing contained in this magazine should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sale any securities. The facts and opinions stated in this magazine do not constitute an offer on the part of EQ International for the sale or purchase of any securities, nor any such offer intended or implied Restriction on use The material in this magazine is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify,copy,reproduce,republish,post,transmit,or distribute any part of the magazine in any way.you may only use material for your personall,NonCommercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE INDIA’S FUTURE IS DRIVEN BY ELECTRIC VEHICLES & FUELLED BY LITHIUM
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PV MANUFACTURING
EFFECTS OF CHANGING WAFER SIZES ON SOLAR MODULE MANUFACTURERS MR. ANKIT SINGHANIA, DIRECTOR & COFOUNDER, NAVITAS SOLAR
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TECHNOLOGY
INDIA’S LEADING TRANSPARENT BACKSHEET
43 BUSINESS & FINANCE VOLKSWAGEN PARTNERS WITH POWERCO TO INVEST OVER USD 20 BILLION IN CAR BATTERY BUSINESS
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INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
HYDROGEN
PM MODI URGES STATES TO CLEAR DUES OF POWER SECTOR COMPANIES; LAUNCHES 2 GREEN HYDROGEN PLANTS
MR. PINAKI BHATTACHARYA
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MR. MUKESH MISHRA
EQ NEWS Pg. 10-70 Interviews Pg. 14-17
BUSINESS & FINANCE BAJAJ CHETAK ELECTRIC SCOOTER BECOMES COSTLIER IN INDIA YET AGAIN
FEATURED KSTAR UPS SHIPMENTS RANKED GLOBAL NO.5 IN 2021
Gautam Solar is a 25+ yrs. experienced Solar Module Manufacturer with 250 MW Solar Module manufacturing capacity, expanding to 1 GW. It manufactures ALMM & BIS approved Solar PV Modules that are deployed in Utility & Rooftop Solar Power plants. It has various IP’s (Patents/ Design Registrations) and a well-equipped R&D centre for continuous development of new products.
530W- 550W MONOCRYSTALLINE SPV MODULES
Reputed A
SOLAR MANUFACTURER
FULLY AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING
services@eversola.com
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT IS THE KEY
QUALITY PRODUCTION IS THE POLICY
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“Let’s Reconnect… And Rebound”
GERMAN PAVILION
CANADA PAVILION
BIO-ENERGY PAVILION
HIGHLIGHTS
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
CEO ROUNDTABLE
PROFILED BUYERS
CONFERENCE TRACKS
COUNTRY PAVILIONS & AWARDS
BIO ENERGY PAVILION VISITOR REGISTRATION
CONTACT FOR SPACE BOOKING & PARTNERSHIP IYER NARAYANAN JULIAN THOMAS AMITAVA SARKAR M: +91 99673 53437 M: +91 99404 59444 M: +91 93792 29397 E: iyer.narayanan@informa.com E: julian.thomas@informa.com E: amitava.sarkar@informa.com
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FEATURED
M10 MODULES ACCOUNT FOR 81% OF WINNING BIDS IN CHINA’S CENTRALIZED PROCUREMENT The China PV Industry Association (CPIA) recently hosted a virtual seminar on the industry’s growth in the first half of 2022 and the outlook for the second half of the year. Dr. Max Li, Senior Product Manager at LONGi, spoke on the technical advancement of crystalline silicon PV cells and modules, with an emphasis on efficiency, cost reduction, power generation performance and size optimization. According to Bohua Wang, Honorary Chairman of the CPIA, the market share for large-size silicon wafers has increased rapidly, owing to the growing demand for large-format modules, scenarios where they can be applied and cost reduction due to technological progress, developments which have already convinced a number of companies to dedicate all their production lines to M10 and G12 products. Wang’s view was supported by official statistics related to China’s state-owned module bidding, which indicated that M10 modules had accounted for 81% of total winning bids during the period from January to May, establishing themselves as a market mainstream. M6 modules accounted for only 8.1% of the market, with those offering power below 400W increasingly disappearing.
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n terms of production capacity, the CPIA reported that China’s module production reached 94GW between January and May, with the manufacturing capacity of some leading companies exceeding 50GW, with the potential to reach 80GW. As for module shipments, PV InfoLink has published data related to the market share for different wafer sizes in the second quarter of 2022,
the high uptake of M10 products in comparison to other sizes being clear. M10 accounted for 27% in 2021, with global shipments of around 48.5GW, with G12 products holding a 13% market share, with shipments totalling 23.5GW. The organisation has also made major adjustments to its shipment forecasts for 2022, the market share for M10 products predicted to increase significantly to 56%, with that for G12 forecast to decrease to 26%.
PV InfoLink’s statistics and projection for market share of various silicon wafers: (a) 2021 Q2 (b) 2022 Q2 Third-party analysts had previously believed that manufacturing determines size, based simply on the capacity of cell production lines and the linear extrapolation of continual size increases over recent years, resulting in deviations between prediction and reality. In fact, size is determined by product value. M10 products were well received by clients in 2021 due to their superior overall performance, with a significant quantity of G12 wafer and cell capacity now converted to M10, as has also been the case with M6 capacity. The M10 specification was developed from a PV industry application standpoint, and it has proven successful in terms of product reliability, manufacturing, packaging, installation, system design and electrical safety.
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Meanwhile, the high shipping costs experienced in 2021 have also served to underline the advantages of M10 modules, further squeezing the share of M6 in the DG market. M10 cells offer high efficiency and manufacturing yield in the PERC era. This advantage will be more evident over the long term with the advent of new, even higher efficiency cells, the M10 specification of 182mm having already been selected by a number of key players for their new products. With the global market share for M10 now exceeding 50%, and with standardization on module size, its advantages within the industry chain will become clearer and its market share expanded more rapidly.
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FEATURED
INDIA’S ONGC TEAMS UP WITH GREENKO FOR $6.2BN GREEN HYDROGEN AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS India’s state-backed Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and joint venture partner Greenko could invest up to $6.2 billion on Indian renewable energy and green hydrogen projects under the terms of an agreement signed this week, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. ndian national energy company ONGC signed a memoONGC said “this MoU is in line with the National Hydrogen Mission randum of understanding with Indian renewable energy launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister in making India a global green company Greenko Group, to jointly pursue opportunities hydrogen hub. The activities envisaged under this MoU will contribin renewable energy, green hydrogen, green ammonia and ute towards India’s target of producing of 5 million tonnes of green other derivatives of green hydrogen. Under the partnerhydrogen per annum by 2030.” ship, the companies said they will jointly develop a 1 million
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tonne per year green ammonia production and storage facility in India for export purpose, according to a statement from Greenko.
“The companies aim to form a JV to produce 1 MMTPA of green ammonia through a 1.3 GW green hydrogen plant leveraging Greenko’s exclusive partnership with John Cockerill,” it said, adding that it will be a major renewable energy project needing about 6 GW of solar and wind power combined with Greenko’s pumpedhydro energy storage platform to produce 1.4 GW of round-the-clock renewable power.
Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, CEO and Managing Director at Greenko said: “this pioneering partnership will propel the transformation of India from a carbon-based fossil energy importer to an exporter of renewable energy derived products like green hydrogen, green ammonia and green molecules.“ Source: PTI
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PV MANUFACTURING
EFFECTS OF CHANGING WAFER SIZES ON SOLAR MODULE MANUFACTURERS MR. ANKIT SINGHANIA, DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER, NAVITAS SOLAR Solar Industry has witnessed significant changes in module manufacturing in the past few years with the introduction of new technologies like half cut, triple cut, PERC, bifacial, HJT etc. All the manufacturers have come a long way in the wafer size shift from M2 to G12. Since 2018, M2 (156.75 mm dimension) size wafers were having a significant share in the solar wafer market and it ruled the market for past 10 years.
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hen M3 (158.75 mm) came into market followed by M4 (161.7 mm) in 2019. When M6 (166 mm) entered the market, it was accepted as a standard in later 2019. Mostly, manufacturers talk about lower LCOE and high ROI for the developers because of large sized wafers but in this article, we will be discussing about the effects of changing wafer sizes on solar module manufacturers.
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In shifting the wafer size from M2 to G12, manufacturers are supposed to buy new machineries and for the same they required a huge capital. When wafer sizes are changed, many items associated with it are also changed like cell line manufacturing machineries, back sheet size, EVA sheet size, ribbon, glass etc. The change in associated items causes many issues, which are not discussed often. When raw materials are changed, it is essential that RM inventories are also upgraded and that require huge efforts. www.EQMagPro.com
PV MANUFACTURING Nowadays, many manufacturers adapt M10 (182 mm) size and G12 (210 mm) size wafers and looking at the current scenario, we believe that M10 size wafers will be the choice of the consumers in upcoming time. A few top players in the industry started to produce M6 size modules but it will take a long time to shift to M10 & G12 sizes. In future if only G12 size wafers are available, then all the domestic manufacturers have to shut down their existing plant and buy new machineries only for producing G12 size modules. Many companies may not handle that financial jerk, especially MSMEs. There is a need of standardization in the module manufacturing industry. When the wafer sizes are advanced, either the entire set up needs to be changed or existing setup can be used with the technical upgradations. In the second option, productivity may suffer a bit. Every new technology will require certain amount of changes and those changes are essential to be adapted by manufacturers to be in the market. Back then in 2019, it was firmly believed that M6 would remain as the largest wafer size for some time. However, soon M10 and G12 were launched which has taken over M6. It will certainly require some time for leading module manufacturers to adapt the new size completely because every transition takes its own time. Currently, the domestic manufacturing companies are well equipped to deal the minor modifications but for wafers larger than 182 mm, many modifications are required. Manufacturing modules of 182 mm size and beyond, new equipment are needed and that will cost a lot of money.
We feel that technological evolution is inevitable and it has to happen for the sector’s development. Although, many issues are associated along with it which every manufacturer has to deal. Technology has to be continuously upgraded and that will help to increases module’s efficiency, reduce the balance of system (BOS), and lead to lesser land usage. Our industry is showing good signs of developing RM inventory especially in glass, EVA sheet, ribbon, back sheet & junction boxes. The whole ecosystem of RM in this sector has seen a good growth and even many players are coming future. We ourselves are also having our backward integration as we have our own EVA sheetmanufacturing unit with the capacity of 750 MW per annum and we are expanding it to about 2 GW in couple of months. The new players are coming aggressively in the market of raw materials but the module manufacturers are lacking behind and struggling to meet up the expectations. We have seen a good growth in demand of high power modules, which indicates that large wafer sized modules are being adapted in the market.
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“We ourselves have also installed the completely new line and we are delighted to launch Bonito series-Mono PERC Half Cut modules this year. Bonito Pro will be available in 9 BB in 166 mm cell size (M6) in 144 cells & 156 cells producing 435 to 500 Watts. Bonito Max will be available in 10 BB in 182 mm cell size (M10) in 144 & 156 cells and producing 530 to 600 Watts. We have installed fully automatic line including auto bussing in the new manufacturing facility and two lines are ready to produce M10 modules,” said Mr. Ankit Singhania. Without a local manufacturing ecosystem, manufacturers have no other choice but to continue adapting to new technologies and meet the standards that are set globally.
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INTERVIEW
MR. MUKESH MISHRA Sr. Manger - Znshine Solar
EQ: What kind of changes do you see in the Industry after the BCD Implementation on Solar Panels? MM: The BCD Implementation on solar panels from 1 April 2022, in a move that would make imports costlier and encourage local manufacturing. The Indian market for solar components is dominated by Chinese firms now, the BCD will make it imported from China expensive. However, it has not found favor with the solar power project developers (SPPDs), as they are skeptical of the ability of domestic manufacturers to meet the present and future demand. Unless grandfathered around 15Gw of Solar Projects future is in jeopardy. Also increased tariff due to BCD will make solar power unattractive to DISCOMS.
EQ: What kind of Pricing and Technology RoadMap do you see coming through in the Industry?
MM: Below chart is the price for the solar grade silicon as of 8 June, 2022.
EQ: How does the Dynamics of Price - Demand - Supply Looks Like for this and the next year? MM: Reported by PV InfoLink that in the market atmosphere of silicon materials in short supply, the order price under the long contract between large manufacturers may have a slight discount, but it is still difficult to stop the price median value from continuing to rise, the price of loose orders is higher and firmer, and “silicon material is difficult to find”. And the supply and demand situation of silicon material is not alleviated, especially for the new expansion of production capacity in the crystalline link, the price of silicon material in overseas origins continues to have a premium. It is not uncommon for prices to be higher than 280 yuan per kilo.
Below chart is the price for the Mono 210mm module as of 8 June, 2022. (BNEF)
EQ: What Kind of Products and New Technologies you are going to launch in this or next year? MM: ZNShine will launch its new patented 1. BIPV (ZNShine Brick Steel Tile) and 2. Quick Installation System for Rooftop Mounting. 1. ZNShine BIPV provides efficient solutions for better accommodate the panels onto the steel rooftop which will prolong the longevity for the steel-made rooftop as well as the panels during its production guaranteed period, and to lower down the installation and maintenance cost and speed up the construction. 2. Quick Installation System for Rooftop Mounting provides better solutions for simplifying the complexity in the design and installation. It perfectly fits various rooftop types and reduces the installation cost and labor cost. No screw, no tools and maintenance free. 14
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Below chart is the price for the Mono 182mm module as of 8 June, 2022. (BNEF)
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INTERVIEW Below chart is the price for the Mono 166mm module as of 8 June, 2022. (BNEF)
EQ: What’s the total quantity you supplied to India in Last 1 Year and What’s the Expectation from coming one year? MM: Static shows +800MW ZNShine modules were exported to India in 2021. We’ve been Top 1 Supplier in Indian Market of 2018. We deem India one of the most important markets and we will keep up with the pace to manufacture and export modules to the market to meet our long-term partners’ expectation in our quality products and services.
EQ: What’s your views on the ALMM / BIS etc...?
Below chart is the Residential solar system pricing which you may find the solar cost set to continuingly decreased year by year.
MM: It will help consumers to get better quality and reliable supplier, lenders, and investors will have more confidence on their investments as modules are a major and most import component of solar power projects, and domestic manufacturing capacity in India will have some business.
EQ: What is the Opportunity in India Currently...in Terms of Projects in Tender, Pipeline etc...Opportunities in Manufacturing etc... MM: MNRE’s BCD Implementation and ALMM/BIS will help domestic manufacturers to grow and intake large-scale governmental projects.
EQ: How has the Demand from C&I Entities for Solar Projects been? MM: There are strong demand prospects for renewable energy projects in the C&I segment but regulatory risks pose challenges. Even assuming 20 per cent of the energy requirements are to be met by C&I, the RE capacity addition requirement is estimated to remain at about 75GW by 2030. Below chart is the Design considerations for multi-terawatt scale manufacturing of existing and future photovoltaic tech.
EQ: What Kind of Key changes do you see from the PRE COVID to Covid and to kind of Post Covid or Mild Covid Era ? MM: The Covid-19 brought disruptions in international trade, including imports of solar modules and solar cells, affecting solar capacity additions. To kind of Post Covid or Mild Covid Era, many countries considering their huge solar targets and the electricity is a strategic sector of the economy, they need to develop domestic solar manufacturing capacities and reduce their dependence on imports to avoid disruption and to develop sustainability to meet the Paris Agreement.
EQ: What kind of growth do you see coming in the Residential Sector Demand? MM: Just like its Global peers Indian Residential Solar PV Systems market size is estimated to grow at CAGR of almost 8% - 12%, However growth will be dampen temporarily in the year 2022 due to impact of BCD implementation. The YOY growth rate for 2022 is estimated at 4.54% by the end of 2027.
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INTERVIEW
MR. PINAKI BHATTACHARYA Founder, MD, and CEO AMP Energy
EQ: You started AMP Energy in India. So, what is the current capacity AMP Energy India has and what is the pipeline and the vision for the coming 1-2 years, and what is the long-term vision of your company?
EQ: In terms of the growth of renewable energy and hydrogen and the entire sustainability ecosystem, what kind of opportunity are you looking for in India?
MM: Currently, we have a portfolio that is in different stages which are the construction, operation or in development. So, the total portfolio that we are controlling today is a 2-gigawatt peak. And out of that, we are perhaps the only fifty balanced producers there, because we have 50% in the C&I business and 50% in the utility business. So in the utility business, we have a nearly 1-gigawatt peak now which is also diversified into solar then floating solar as well as hybrid. So in hybrid we have around over 400 megawatts with the liquidity side and now we also want the largest floating solar project to be built in the country at Omkareshwar Dam in MP so, that is the 1-gigawatt peak on the utility side. And then nearly 1-gigawatt peak on the C&I side which is more focused on the ground mount with a small component in distributor generation. So as far as a ground mount open access is concerned we have also a very nicely diversified portfolio in different states so, we have a portfolio across the north, south, east, and west part of India. And we have opened up new markets also in other parts like in Maharashtra we have open access, in Gujarat, we have hybrid open access, in Karnataka we have done repeat plants there. In open access in the northern part of India like in UP, we have done repeat plants there and in the eastern part of India, we are building openaccess plants in Odisha and other parts of the east and distributed generation in the C&I portfolio. We have also tried to do unique landmark projects in the rooftop sector, like we will be completing the largest plant in the west for a Volkswagen and a half-megawatt rooftop and the Kochi metro is also a unique project for us. Looking at the future, the unique thing that we are trying to build in India is the utility balance, where we are serving the discounts directly to the industry. So we are selling green power to the government there. And in the other business, we are selling green power to the industry.
MM: People are moving towards more dispatch-able clean energy and are asking for a hybrid, but now they have started asking for round-the-clock power also. So, the requirement of the power consumers has grown towards dispatch-able clean energy and that’s the need that we are seeing in the market. Secondly, we have seen that they are very driven by most of the people, who are consuming power to get 200% renewables for economic reasons, as well as for environmental reasons. So the push is very strong and it is very distinct. But now all of our customers that are potential customers that we are talking to, are moving forward with the solutions, and are adopting renewables. The third thing, that we see emerging because of the policies that the government has provided is sort of pushing us in a way that is promoting local manufacturing now, because 10 years ago when I was in another institution we had invested in solar manufacturing and wind manufacturing, and we did see the challenges there, but now with certain sort of policies that are there, is promoting solar manufacturing in energy storage and electrolysers from green hydrogen. So, there is a big push on manufacturing in India now. The last but not the least as a country, we should have our own manufacturing units because these are short-term ups and downs but in the long run, we will look back and see that actually because of this thing we suddenly became one of the largest manufacturers in the world for renewable energy. But the fourth part is actually in terms of cost.
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INTERVIEW EQ: The entire international scenario has propelled the moment towards green power so, what kind of changes do you see coming up and how would you tweak your organization find yourself in your organization and its goals, and capture this huge opportunity? MM: There are opportunities at any point in time, when the sector started there are always some opportunities and some issues. So, that is going to be the way it is. We have always tried to strategize, and create a strategy to sort of drive-through this thing, and convert some of those issues into opportunities, and the opportunities that they have converted into solutions essentially. So obviously, there is a big push towards going to RE 100% renewables, and that actually was triggered definitely by the green targets but more importantly by economic savings actually. Because the cost has gone down drastically in the last two to three years, certain people woke up instantly by that fact, so I will get a 20 to 30% decrease in my operating cost with hardly any investment, and also it meets my green target. So, that woke the entire sector up actually. The people who consume the power adopt renewables. Now, that’s on the commercial-industrial side government, and the utilities also woke up to the fact, that now given the power shortage that we saw in the country and the power prices spiking up. They also hopefully should understand that it is not needed to have like two, two and a half rupees kind of power. You will be fine with even three, three, and half rupees of renewable power for utility customers, so it makes commercial sense rather than buying twelve rupees. And that is a reality check that has happened, and what certain entities on the utility side were expecting is not backed by logic essentially. Now I would say people are realizing that, you need to pay because a lot of people see almost a huge amount of PPS, and there was a backlog like NTPC options. Ultimately the auction was held two and a half years back but since last December, some of them getting PSS signed because people started seeing that the cost is rising now.
EQ: How do you see this coal scenario and especially in the current circumstances, will it make the opportunity bigger for all of us? MM: The coal scenario has improved for now, but it’s not going to be very different next summer also. So we are one year to get our act together to add at least 10-gigawatts of renewables this year, and we are just nine months remaining otherwise we will face the same situation but we have these nine months to put our act into place and I believe ALMM are looking at it for a year. If there is any other grandfathering, that will help a lot, since it is essential for the additional duty impact. With these two things all the PSS will get signed, and then we can see this huge capacity addition being done. So at the end of the day, our customers and potential customers don’t end up buying twelve rupees per unit of power essentially.
EQ: In terms of the technology of modules and inverters, one of the biggest pressures in front of you or any IPP would be to reduce the LCOE so, what kind of technology and pricing road map do you see for modules and inverters? MM: On the technologies road map for the modules essentially, we had completely switched to mono and the poly was almost zero. Now because of the cost pressure modelling, we got back to Poly again because they don’t have a choice. So sometimes the intent of the policy is a noble one, but at the end of the day manufacturers in India have raised the prices to match whatever you have to pay by importing from outside, which has increased the prices. So, we don’t have a choice for now. Under the technology road map, it will be more of mono only than bifacial, which makes a lot of sense in certain parts of the country. And also things like TOPCON is going to come up after a few years, that’s the trend that we are seeing for now and most of the equipment that people are putting together in India can accommodate mono facial, and
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bifacial as well as TOPCONs with certain modularity in the manufacturing. So, that’s the technology road map in manufacturing on the cells and module site, and currently, the LCOE is going back as high as it was in 2000. Once the cell and the wafer start getting established, we’ll see an LCOE reduction in the next 2 years but not back to the level it was.
EQ: In the last couple of years, what kind of changes have you seen in the scenario of equity financing projects? MM: Return expectations have not changed a lot but they are appreciative of the fact that India is a very large opportunity, an opportunity that provides diversification because it’s not only utility, it is C&I, utility, and the other fringe opportunities also, and all in the value chain. So it’s an enormous opportunity that has its risks but the returns are commensurate with that essentially. So basically, the return expectations have not changed a lot. Still, the realization that some of the return expectations might be a bit unrealistic is certain and they have also readjusted the return expectations because they have to deploy capital also. So when they have to deploy capital, they have to deploy in competing with different parts of the world. Now what we do well is that, we can deploy a lot of capital at a pace, which is relatively faster than other parts of the world because the gestation period for the projects is faster, that’s why we see a lot of new investors coming in, and there are equity improvement tools also. So, the cost of debt was coming down but now it is again starting a little bit going up.
EQ: How good the PRS scheme is going to work out. And what kind of expectations do you have from them? MM: The PRS scheme is a significant opportunity for all of us. It’s a kind of support to manufacturing by the Government. The only thing is that, it will take time actually for this manufacturing capacity to come up, because there are people who have to tie up financing for a lot of things, which have to be done. So, it will take at least 2 years of time duration, till we see actual sort of output from the scheme, where a generator like us can buy those things. So, in my outlook, it is a good scheme. It promotes manufacturing, but the demandsupply situation needs to be addressed immediately, because this is more of a long-term scheme, that reduces import duty on sales, and which diverge the ALM by a year.
EQ: Some insights about the green hydrogen and various colours of hydrogen, the technology, and the possible impact it can have. MM: A lot of customers do need hydrogen in their process; the government has played a significant role by creating a reduction in the transmission cost, if you are supplying green hydrogen. So, they are reducing the cost of power, which is the key component in the cost of hydrogen essentially by giving that incentive. The second leg is electrolysers; people are deploying that manufacturing in India. So for electrolysers and those manufacturers, this could be a scheme to promote the second element. So, the demand creation is already there because customers are open to emerging green items, but the cost has to come down essentially. Green hydrogen is on the take-off stage, but the storage is already technology matured. There is a manufacturing capacity that is established in India. So, some subsidy can bring it commercially viable and two or three things in terms of the wind and the GST, the cost has increased on the wind components that also should be reduced, and also because of the increased steel cost, the cost has increased on wind too. So, we should always look at the future and be prepared for it, and make policy interventions and good steps, as we are doing in green nitrogen or storage. But the mainstream solar and wind need a firm push this year to make sense, because we are already deployed, but these small tweaks will make it commercially viable and it will also get more investment into India by the equity investors.
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TECHNOLOGY
HYBRID TECHNOLOGY AS THE EMERGING FUTURE OF SOLAR ROOFTOP
The webinar was organised by EQ Magazine on 22nd June 2022, powered by Deye Inverters. The following webinar was about the hybrid technology for the future solar rooftop, which was moderated by Mr. Puspak Chamariya, Associate – L & L Partners (Moderator), where he very specifically discussed every challenge, latest technology, innovations, and the upcoming future of the Hybrid rooftop solar.
Mr. Bharat Singh, Head – Sales & Marketing (India) – Ningbo Deye Inverter Technology Co., Ltd Delivered a brief about the Ningbo Deye group, which was founded in the year 2000 by Mr.Zhang Hejun, in 2007 Ningbo Deye inverter technology Ltd. started the manufacturing of the solar on-grid and micro inverters, and later in the year 2017 manufacturing Hybrid Inverters also started. When it comes to the technology-oriented company, Ningbo Deye is a high-tech enterprise, where T type 3 level topology is being adopted, which actually reduces the voltage stress on the DC buzz and reduces the losses also, hence it increases the efficiency of the inverter and it provides the cutting edge technology. There are many subsidiary companies under Ningbo Deye Technology co. Ltd such as Ningbo Deye electrical appliances and Ningbo Deye ESS Technology Co. Ltd and many more. The company has 5 production lines, under inverter, manufacturing of on-grid inverter happens. When it comes to the lithium battery energy storage system, the company shall start the manufacturing of the battery system 48 volts to start with up to 500-volt battery systems by mid of 2023.
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Mr. Sunil Sharma, DGM Sustainability and Cleantech – BSES Yamuna Power Limited Briefly shared the role of BYP and their activity at solar rooftop space, which is primarily serving in central and east parts of Delhi and comprises about 1.7 million customers. Exceeding the conversation he stated that, for the first few years the growth was rather stable but over the last 4-5 years it has experienced incredible growth. In further conversation Mr. Sharma expelled the key responsibilities which are involved in BYP, as managing the load curve while delivering high-quality services and bringing out efficiency, because cost economics are involved and ultimately customers only have to bear the cost. And again he stated that they have done a detailed analysis and findings and enabled it through various campaigns, awareness programs, and the Government related schemes. Primarily BYP is acting as a nodal agency and implementing various rooftop schemes, even a lot of subsidies have also been introduced. Now the recent development is EV proliferation, so of course the load is going to grow considerably
Mr.AkshayDehedkar – Technical Manager (India) – Ningbo Deye Inverter Technology Co., Ltd Displayed the product details on technical parameters and the future planning of Deye and asserted that, he's been working on the hybrid inverter as well as on-grid inverter since last five years and have a big after-sales team in over India, currently they are planning to launch the on-grid inverter for which they are working from the last 4-5 years. Mr.Akshay showcased the efficiency of the inverter they are working on, which is giving the 1.5 times situation ratio to use the more PV panels to the inverters to get more efficiency. Speaking more about the working of their inverter, he asserted that their inverters are giving a wide range of AC voltages comparatively, and they are using more AC side SPDs and all the different types of production to give this facility to the inverters.
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TECHNOLOGY
Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, Lead, Central Design and Engineering – Hero Future Energies Speaking about the Solar rooftop, Mr. Rajesh asserted that, when the thermal power was there people used to assume that, solar can be used as a stand-alone and can be used for the independent pumping system or kind of the ruler electrification, where the kind of thermal power is not available, so hybrid system was mostly working over there. After that when the utilityscale solar power penetration and wind power plant penetration occurred or even the crisis of coal happened then it became a necessity for the system. Now if one is dependent on renewable power then there is a requirement for a kind of support that can support the grid stability as well since there's a lot of inductive load and a lot of reactive power requirements. So considering all these points in Mr.Tiwari's outlook this hybrid system is a necessity. The hybrid system is solar plus wind or solar wind plus green hydrogen.
Mr. Rajneesh Singh, Vice President – IT & SAP – Rays Power Infra (P) Ltd. Demonstrated a brief about his company, the Rays Power Infra, which got established in 2011, and in the last 10 years Rays power Infra has completed 1 Gigawatt solar project, as of now the company has changed its strategy and planning in terms of domestic as well as international. Continuing the panel discussion Mr.Raneesh mentioned that, the company is planning to do a similar kind of one-gigawatt solar project in the next 3-5 years, so currently they have 500-megawatt work in progress, 280 megawatts in Bangladesh and 220 in Karnataka and to improve the company's internal as well as external processes they have to develop new advanced technology to the fast construction in terms of monitoring and as well as the parameters of improved generation. Further, he mentioned that solar is a kind of demand-supply game, so they have already geared up their adoption towards new technologies like Precast foundations, and IoT implementation, without compromising cost quality and other parameters also.
Mr. Shobhit Kumar, Vice President Product Management – SunEdison Explaining the consumer side Mr. Shobhit pointed out a few points to elucidate the certain challenges that these particular hybrid solutions are facing. Firstly the reliability part of the hybrid side, secondly the specifically in India the residential tariffs are quite subsidized so consumers are still enjoying the low subsidies which are about 6-7 rupees but when it comes to the hybrid part of it, it becomes more expensive for them and that looks more expensive in a solution for a consumer sector, so people start assuming that there are alternative solutions also like, UPS plus battery systems with the lead-acid batteries , which they can have it at their home and can still serve the purpose. www.EQMagPro.com
Mr. NithyanandamYuvaraj Dinesh Babu, Executive Director – EY Expelled the consumer mind-set for the solar rooftop and stated that, every consumer is different with their absolute different demands, so the hybrid comes as a new kid on the block, so the manufacturers need to understand not only the technical aspects but also the performance and the affordability aspects also, so that becomes the prime focus in terms of how the consumer's readiness is there for the hybrids and accordingly the technical, the design or the operational specifications to be contoured around that. In the further conversation, he mentioned the other challenge also, which is the under confident DISCOMs on the hybrid systems, in his outlook the Design aspects of the system should be progressed in such a way that the consumer is happy to see that he has different options to choose rather than the standard option. Another challenge that he mentioned is the emerging behind the meter market which was seen in Maharashtra and followed by Rajasthan and Gujarat and now picked up across the country.
Mr. Hemant Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO – EcoSoch Solar Shared his overall experience in this industry and mentioned the evolving status of the market, and stated that we are seeing a very big paradigm shift from off-grid to on-grid and nobody wants to buy on-grid, and again they were fed up and tired and we give them a lot of solutions briefing the latest technology like micro inverters and other forms but now I'm observing that since last couple of years the customers started coming to us and they want hybrid systems and we want an off-grid system. According to Mr.Hemant, it's a very interesting move which he is experiencing with people's outlook.
Mr. Nilesh Shrikhande, Head – Roof Top and Product Engg – Tata Power Solar Systems Limited Shared his valuable insights and stated that, I've seen the platform for the operating inverters, generally we discuss the utility-based system and hybrid is the one subject which we don't discuss much but in Tata Power Solar we were working on a myth for almost 8 years in the same system, but earlier also there are a lot of systems which are with hybrids systems and all these years we have experienced many missing systems which is a challenging fact, another challenge that Mr.Nilesh has mentioned that, while giving the standard solutions like the 3-kilometer pilot system tour and the retail customer channel, in that case, the system should be fit into that. EQ
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TECHNOLOGY
OPTIMIZATION OF PV TECHNOLOGY FOR CONTROLLED LCOE The webinar was held by EQ Magazine on 14th June 2022. It was moderated by Mr. Goutam Samanta, Head PV Technology (Moderator). The following webinar was about the optimization of PV technology for lowering the LCOE, in which Mr. Gautam Samanta expertly discussed the advanced and latest LCOE technology, innovations, and every challenge with all the great opportunities from the panellist’s outlook. Mr. Amresh Mahajan, VP (Technology/QA/HSE – Sustainability) – O2 Power Pvt Ltd Expressed his views on improvement of LCOE with technical advancement, in his opinion, LCOE has changed over the last one and half years with a rapid speed, exceeding the conversation he announced that his company has recently commissioned a project in Jaisalmer, from where they have used 338 megawatts of Bi-facial modules and which is the single biggest project in India. With his experience, he explained that to enhance the LCOE significantly, the manufacturer should start using a Bi-facial module rather than mono perc. So as long as the higher efficiency is justified with the lower cost of modules, the tariff in India will be justified by then. Some technology-heavy companies in India will start using Topcon technology, followed by tracker systems, and if the finance or economics help in getting a lower price module, then the LCOE will be enhanced concerning technology and as well as trackers.
Mr. Rabindran Sundersingh, CTO – Renewables – ACME Group demonstrated the effect of new technology, which is helping in giving the first-mover advantage, and shared his insights about the minimizing of the LCOE. So according to Mr. Rabindran any company which is taking the first steps ahead of others, after evaluating all the risks which are associated with any design change, is getting a very clear benefit in LCOE, if used correctly. In further discussion, Mr. Rabindran revealed the future outline, where people would probably go for Bi-facial modules and tracker also would come out in a very large and innovative way to control the cost.
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TECHNOLOGY
Mr. Deepak Saxena, Business Unit Head, International Renewable Energy – Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited Shared his perspective about The advanced LCOE technology and stated that, when we talk about LCOE the perspective of thinking should change slightly, and it cannot be CAPEX only, we should think in the terms of 25-30 years. As far as the technology front is concerned, most of the work is done by the scientists and physicists to increase the efficiency of the module and as an application engineer; we are reaping the benefits of what the scientists are doing. But to increase the LCOE on the execution side is something more vital and there is a huge requirement of lots of effort and planning to get the best out of it. Exceeding the conversation Mr. Deepak explained the engineering side, where they have to be more careful about the installation of the plant and whether they are hitting maximum advantage of that or not.
Mr. Sudhir Pathak, Head- Central Design & Engg (CDE) +QA – Hero future energies shared a brief about the components of LCOE, and stated that, Solar Industry is completely a commodity Market and even the modules are also a kind of commodity. In Mr. Sudhir’s point of view, LCOE has broadly 3 components, two on the numerator and one on the denominator, and both are interlinked. As far as the community and CAPEX part is concerned, people have gone into the higher size of a block, and according to Mr. Sudhir now the time has come to focus upon revenue too and for that, there’s an immense requirement of Asset Management.
Mr. Sanjay Narula, Business Head – Indian Solar Business – Hindustan Cleanenergy Limited Expressed his thoughts on Performance Ratio, and spoke about the installation of the plants in the best place, such as the Rajasthan, and Gujarat, but the most important point is how much of the incident life one can convert into Energy, what exactly the conversation Ratio is. Exceeding the discussion Mr. Sanjay revealed that he has been monitoring personally some of the smaller size rooftop plants in the last 3 years and has seen these plants consistently delivering 84-85% PR and suggested replicating them to bigger sizes also. So it is basically transferring that same thing on a bigger scale to exploit the assets adequately.
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ARTICLE
Mr. Lucky Aggarwal, Managing Director – SolarTech Saarthi Shared a brief about the Solar Tech Saarthi, a company which is a 2-year-old start-up company, working on providing the BOS components to APC companies. In the consecutive conversation Mr. Lucky advised more emphasis on the O&M site for increasing the generation because when the time comes to calculate that LCOE, they consider those 25 or 30 years in the Excel sheets and financial tools. But if the O&M side is not taken care of appropriately for those 20 years, then that calculation also does not hold appositely. According to Mr. Lucky, equal importance should be given to the inverters and tier-one components of modules.
Meher Sidhwa, Vice President-Marketing Strategy – Infinite Solutions Expelled some insightful views on Asset Management and also discussed the importance of Asset management. From a Carbon Market prospective, LCOE is improving very appropriately and as the LCOE is improving bids will get even more aggressive again, and in most cases, a lot of developers try to reduce the difference or the gap by opting for Carbon Revenue. In the further conversation, Miss Meher discussed the blooming factor of the carbon market, as the carbon market is currently trading at about four to five dollars in the international market.
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TECHNOLOGY
INDIA’S LEADING TRANSPARENT BACKSHEET
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RenewSys is a global leader and India’s largest PV Encapsulant and Backsheet Manufacturer, with over 18 GW shipped worldwide.
enewSys has further strengthened its position globally with the supply of a Transparent Backsheet. Leveraging decades of expertise in PV manufacturing RenewSys, has formulated and designed this PV Backsheet innovation to successfully withstand extreme climatic conditions. RenewSys’ Transparent Backsheet is the ideal choice for bi-facial PV modules (commonly known as solar panels). It empowers solar module manufacturers who are facing challenges with PV glass. With its high transparency, UV, and weather resistance properties, the RenewSys’ Transparent Backsheet is ideal for all module configurations including M10 and higher cell sizes.
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Avinash Hiranandani, GCEO & Managing Director, RenewSys says, “RenewSys is a firm believer in innovation for excellence. We work towards ensuring that the panel manufacturers and end customers alike get the most out of their solar installations. Our Transparent Backsheet was launched for lightweight bifacial solar panels, and remains an excellent choice for the same. Today, almost all Multi Bus Bar (MBB) PV cells are bi-facial and the Transparent Backsheet has emerged as the perfect choice for PV modules with these bifacial cells.”
RenewSys’ Transparent Backsheet has undergone performance reliability testing by leading institutes and has displayed capability for exemplary in-field performance and reliability, at par and in several cases better than, its non-transparent counterparts of all makes.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY
RE CAPACITY ADDITION’S TOPMOST OBSTACLES IN THE INDIAN MARKET The webinar was organized by EQ Magazine on 17th June 2022. The webinar was all about the top RE challenges in India, which was beautifully moderated by Mr. Mohammad Saif Partner, Power and Utilities – EY (Moderator), and various obstacles as such the high module prices, supply chain complications, and the financial drawbacks have discussed with the absolute solutions from the panellist’s outlook.
Mr. Prashant Choubey,Sr. Executive VP & Head- – Business Development – Avaada Group, mentioned the tremendous growth of the RE and also discussed the future vision regarding the 500 gigawatts of RE by 2030 and the emission reduction by one billion, later he mooted another facet which is very important in terms of PPS tested challenges or a DISCOM specific challenges which a developer goes through and according to Mr. Chaubey, context and PPA are structured in a way that, all risk is on the developer side. Looking at the land acquisition side, financing verge, currency-related risk, commodity prices, curtailment risk, execution risks, and payment risks Mr. Chaubey suggested more quality entire contract structuring, as all the risks are on the developer side off takers side is pretty sheltered in this case.
Ms. Tanya Singhal, Founder and Director – SolarArise India Projects Pvt Ltd., displayed the primary challenges which are basically on the financing side and continued the panel discussion by speaking about India's 500 gigawatt of ambitious target by 2030. Still, again to reach the target, there's a requirement of 500 billion dollars in investment by 2030. From India's Renewable perspective, Ms. Tanya revealed that India's investment in RE which not more than 50 billion dollars cumulative and that's the quantum that Ms. Tanya has an opinion about. In the later part, Ms.Tanya stated that the industry has matured a lot and as a part of that maturity, the set of questions that have been asked by the financers have also changed and also we are no longer a CSR solution, the sector is no longer supported on subsidy. The tariffs that solar and wind can offer today are sub-coal and other non-conventional sources level, so it is a standalone solution, where the bankability and the whole thing is inherent in the price of PPA, so the dynamics in that sense have changed a lot.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY Ms. Samitla Subba, VP- Policy and Communications – Azure Power, speaking about India's ambitious targets and a few of the underdogs who are still trying to reach goals, Miss Samitla asserted that, few states are overachieving it, but the benchmark of achievement is actually the RPO obligations, and that's where we benchmark them and in her outlook, India is benchmarking these capacities with this RPO obligations. So Miss Samitla suggested that not only target should be strengthened but how the targets get enforced should also be taken care of. Miss Samitla very elegantly demonstrated the entire value chain and the RPO compliance concerning various states in the later conversation.
Mr. Arvind Jhalani, Vice President – Regulatory (Solar) – ACME Group, expressed his views on entire Regulatory bodies, and disclosed that, the regulatory being the sectorial empire is expected to ensure the healthiness that whole value chain is getting service, the entire value chain is financially viable because in the current scenario the most significant issue being faced by the whole value chain is the dysfunctioning of the value chain right from the generator and to the consumer. From Mr. Arvind's point of view faster adoption of RE is only possible when there is confidence shown by the investors, to ensure the entire value chain, serviceability, and the financial viability, the regulator should ensure that the tariffs are reflective of our procurement cost so that at least DISCOMs can pay the RE generators right from now onwards.
Mr. Vijaykumar Shimpi,Vice President ( Contracts , Procurement and Logistics ) – Tata Power Solar Systems Limited, explained very lithely, the cost and supply chain challenges to India's ambitious RE plan and stated that, this is a top opportunity for us to be part of this industry and implemented our career span this remaining 400 Gigawatt in times to come, so nothing comes without challenges in this industry. So these supply chain challenges which we have seen in last 3 years are basically a result of Covid waves and these covid obstacles divided these challenges into three parts, hence before that, we had GST change also. The whole RE industry is affected by the Covid waves.
Mr. Kartikeya Sharma,Co-founder & Director – Strategy – SunSure, speaking about the decentralized side, Mr. Kartikeya conveyed that, the overall demand for decentralized solar is growing like never before, as in the last 15 months there's an addition of almost two gigawatts of rooftop solar, which is a great rate of progress. The biggest challenge in rooftop solar ends up being space constraints and over the last 3 years, the net metering policies have come and gone across some of the states that were driving the highest amount of adoption. In the later conversation Mr. Kartikeya mentioned that, silver lining when it comes to rooftop solar installations is the percentage share of residential installations that people are seeing over the last couple of years now. He further asserted that the silver lining when it comes to rooftop solar installations is the percentage share of residential installations people are seeing over the last couple of years now.
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INDIA 123 GW OF SOLAR CAPACITY EITHER COMMISSIONED OR IN PIPELINE: GOVT Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha stated that a solar energy capacity of 123.11 GW has either been commissioned or is in the pipeline
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ndia has commissioned 57.71 GW of solar capacity while another 48.71 GW was in the pipeline at June end against the target of achieving 100 GW capacity by December 2022, Parliament was informed. Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha stated that a solar energy capacity of 123.11 GW has either been commissioned or is in the pipeline.
The government has set a target of achieving 100 GW solar power capacity by December 2022 in the country, Khuba said. Solar projects commissioned (including off-grid) are 57.71 GW while 48.71 GW solar capacity is under implementation. Solar projects with a total capacity of 16.69 GW are under tendering as of June 30, 2022. Challenges faced in the implementation of solar projects include deceleration of pace of implementation to a considerable extent due to COVID pandemic; acquisition of clear land and mismatch in timelines between solar projects and power evacuation infrastructure, the minister said. In another reply to the House, the minister said, “A total of 114.07 GW of renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) have been installed in the country as of June 30, 2022. Renewable energy projects of 60.66 GW capacity (excluding large hydro) are under various stages of implementation and 23.14 GW capacity are under various stages of bidding. The installed wind energy capacity is 40.78GW as of June 30.
In another reply, the minister stated that so far, a total of 160.92 GW of renewable energy capacity (including large hydro) has been installed in the country as of June 30, 2022. This capacity includes 57.71 GW solar power, 40.79 GW wind power, 10.68 GW bio-power, 4.89 GW small hydro power and 46.85 GW Large Hydro Power. Further, projects of 74.76 GW capacity are under various stages of implementation and 23.14 GW capacity are under various stages of bidding. In another reply, the minister told the House that the discoms have purchased 3,75,81,714 renewable energy certificates (RECs) (till June 30, 2022), which is 53.92 per cent of 6,96,93,635 RECs sold so far since inception of this concept of renewable purchase obligation in 2010. The REC mechanism was launched in 2010 to facilitate obligated entities to meet their Renewable Purchase Obligations and also to incentivise Renewable Energy generators. One REC is equivalent to 1000 MWhr. These RECs are given to a RE generator who does not sell electricity from renewable energy sources to an obligated entity for generation of 1MWhr of electricity. The Open Access/ Captive Power Producers purchased 3,18,18,478 RECs till June this year, which is 45.65 per cent of the total 6,96,93,635 REC sold so far. Source: PTI
STEPS BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO INCENTIVIZE DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING OF RE SYSTEMS In order to incentivize domestic manufacturing of Renewable Energy systems, the Government has taken a number of steps, including: Solar Energy: Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) Scheme of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules Preference to ‘Make in India’ in Public Procurement in Renewable Energy Sector. Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) under schemes such as CPSU Phase-II, PM-KUSUM, Solar Rooftop Phase-II, etc. Imposition of Basic Customs Duty on import of solar PV cells & modules.
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Wind Energy: Government have put in place a system of Revised List of Models and Manufacturers, and only equipment manufactured by manufacturers in the list is allowed to be used for Wind Energy Projects. It also mandates that Hub and Nacelle assembly / manufacturing facility shall be in India. More than 70 percent of the wind equipment is manufactured in India. This information was given by Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
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INDIA PUNJAB PLANS TO FOCUS ON SOLAR-POWERED WATER SCHEMES
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Punjab is going to expedite the process of setting up solar-powered water supply schemes in the state. hief minister Bhagwant Mann, while chairing a review meeting of the water supply and sanitation department, said the initiative would go a long way in saving electricity on one hand and ensuring regular water supply in the villages on the other. He was informed that the department was mulling installation of solar-powered schemes in 1,508 villages to achieve sustainability and self-sufficiency by generating 8,708kW capacity at a cost of Rs 60.50 crore.
The CM also gave nod for digital adaptation in 1,731 villages, where schemes will be linked with Internet of Things (IoT) and remote monitoring and operation of water supply will be done. He approved launching of the pilot project worth Rs 106 crore in 93 villages and 100% coverage in 23 blocks. Mann also asked the department to roll on digital initiative, mGram Seva – an application which was launched as pilot project in 100 villages to ensure transparency and accountability in revenue collection and financial management. Mann was told that 99.63% of rural households have tap water connections under ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ and 20 out of 23 district have achieved 100% coverage whereas on sanitation side also state is open defecation free. As the state is facing water quality issues such as heavy metals, arsenic, fluoride, iron and uranium, and large surface water projects are coming up in Patiala, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib at cost of Rs 2,081 crore covering over 1,800 villages. Mann said special mitigation works for arsenic- and fluoride-affected areas should also be accorded top priority for ensuring potable supply of water to people. Source: PTI
POWER MINISTRY TO CELEBRATE ‘BIJLI MAHOTSAV’ IN ASSOCIATION WITH POWER CPSES, DISCOMS The event will showcase the achievements in Power and Renewable Energy Sectors to the public, both from National and State perspectives, and also the vision of India in these sectors for 2047, when India completes 100 years of Independence.
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inistry of Power and Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India is celebrating “Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047” initiative of Govt. of India under “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” (AKAM) from 25th to 30th July 2022 across the Nation in association with all Power CPSEs and State DISCOMs. The event will showcase the achievements in Power and Renewable Energy Sectors to the public, both from National and State perspectives, and also the vision of India in these sectors for 2047, when India completes 100 years of Independence.
In South Delhi District, this event is being organised by District Administration on 28th and 29th July 2022. The Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) Limited is coordinating the events in South Delhi as a coordinating CPSE. Sh. Ramesh Bidhuri, Hon’ble Member of Parliament shall be the Chief Guest for the event to be held on 28th July at Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School, Mehrauli, New Delhi. On 29th July, the event shall be held at Govt. Girls Senior Secondary School, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi, where Dr. Monica Priyadarshini, DM South Delhi shall be the Chief Guest.
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INDIA GREENKO, IIT-HYDERABAD TO SET UP SCHOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECH Greenko School of Sustainable Science and Technology (GSSST) will induct first batch students for MTech and PhD in sustainable science and technology followed by BTech programme by June 2023.
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enewable energy company Greenko has joined hands with IIT-Hyderabad to set up an institution where students will be educated towards sustainable goals like climate change mitigation, circular economy, energy transition among others. In a statement, the company said the Greenko School of Sustainable Science and Technology (GSSST) will open towards the end of this year and, by June 2023, will induct first batch students for MTech and PhD in sustainable science and technology, followed by BTech programme. The institute will be India’s first dedicated school for sustainable science and technology, Greenko claimed. According to Greenko, the MoU was signed in presence of Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan. “We have to innovate and establish our own models for achieving self-sufficiency as well as for furthering global welfare. In the 21st century, technology is available to ease our job. India is going to play a leading role in the fourth industrial revolution and IIT Hyderabad will play a major role in building the brand India globally. We have to fulfil Prime Minister’s vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Mr Pradhan was quoted as saying in the company statement.
Source: PTI
PROPOSAL TO INSTALL SOLAR PANELS ON CANALS ACROSS HARYANA POWER MINISTER
Haryana Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala said the power department is preparing a proposal to install solar panels on canals across the state to produce clean energy.
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he minister said that the state government is paying special attention to promote the use of solar energy. “The Power Department is preparing a proposal to set up power plants through solar panels to be installed on canals across the state,” he said while presiding over an official meeting in Fatehabad. He said that paddy stubble-based plants will also be set up at four places in the state for power generation. Out of these, a plant will also be set up in Fatehabad. “These plants will not only generate electricity but also produce compressed bio gas,” according to a statement. The meeting of District Development and Monitoring Committee (D-Plan) which was held under the chairmanship of the power minister approved development works worth Rs 14.86 crore. Chautala directed the officers that development work should be completed within the stipulated time frame so that the accorded grant does not lapse.
Source: PTI
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INDIA
IIT GUWAHATI RESEARCHERS DESIGN ELECTRICITY-FREE RADIATIVE COOLER This ‘Radiative Cooler’ coating material is an ‘electricity-free’ cooling system as it can be applied on the rooftops and functions both during day and night time to provide an alternative to the conventional air-conditioners, the IIT-Guwahati said.
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esearchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati have designed an affordable and efficient ‘passive’ radiative cooling system that does not require electricity to operate. This ‘Radiative Cooler’ coating material is an ‘electricityfree’ cooling system as it can be applied on the rooftops and functions both during day and night time to provide an alternative to the conventional air-conditioners, the IIT-Guwahati said. Passive radiative cooling systems operate by emitting the heat absorbed from the surrounding in the form of infrared radiations that can pass through the atmosphere before getting dumped into the cold outer space. “Most passive radiative coolers operate only at night. For daytime operation, these coolers need to reflect entire solar radiation as well. Till now, these cooling systems are not able to provide sufficient cooling at daytime. IIT Guwahati Researchers set out to resolve these issues and bring out an afforfable and more efficient radiative cooling system that can operate round the clock,” the institute said.
under the supervision of Professor Debabrata Sikdar, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, along with his research team has designed and modelled such a passive radiative cooler. Their innovation has been recently covered in the Current Science Report, which was initially published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics by IOP Publishing, United Kingdom. Highlighting the unique aspects of this innovation, Professor Sikdar, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, said, “Designing a passive radiative cooler for daytime operation is more challenging due to the simultaneous requirement of high reflectance in entire solar spectral regime (0.3–2.5 µm wavelengths) and high emissivity in the atmospheric transmittance window (8–13 µm wavelengths).These radiative coolers requiring no external energy sources
for their operation could be one of the best alternatives to replace the conventional air conditioning systems used to cool buildings and automobiles in countries experiencing hot weather, such as India. Unlike traditional cooling technologies that dump the waste heat into the surroundings, radiative cooling is a unique process that cools an object on the earth by sending excessive heat directly into the extremely cold Universe.” he further said. The theoretical design of the radiative cooling system are tested and verified against rigorous computer-based simulations. This patterning-free design of radiative cooler is large-area compatible and hence, also less prone to imperfections during fabrication process. “Therefore, it is expected that the cooling power to be obtained after construction of the cooler is going to closely match the calculations. With this innovation, cooler manufacturers can now explore radiative cooling to make electricity-free cooling systems,” the release said. The research team is also working on developing large-scale prototypes are developed and tested for oprational stability and durability under different climatic conditions, it added. Explaining the technology to overcome limitations of conventional radiative coolers, Ashish Kumar Chowdhary said, “For a radiative cooler to work during daytime, the material should reflect the solar and atmospheric radiations falling on it. Since the materials used in conventional coolers absorb more solar radiations and emit less during the day, those do not work during daytime. While daytime cooling can be achieved using polymer-based passive radiative coolers, oxidation degrades the polymers resulting in a limited lifespan.” To address this, the innovators considered using thin films of silicon dioxide and aluminium nitride. These materials have low optical density corresponding to the wavelength range of solar and atmospheric radiations. But at atmospheric transmittance wavelengths, they have high optical density. When optical density is high, radiations travel slower through a medium and get absorbed more. To remain at thermal equilibrium, the material emits all the absorbed radiations like a black body. Instead of a single layer, the team cascaded silicon dioxide and aluminium nitride thin film layers on a silver layer, used as a ground metal, placed over a silicon substrate. The cooler they designed achieved about 97 per cent reflectance for solar and atmospheric radiations and 80 per cent emissivity for radiations in atmospheric transmittance wavelengths. The net cooling power is estimated to be 115 Wm−2which could reduce ambient temperature up to 15 degrees below the outside temperature. The Key Advantages of this system in comparison to existing technologies include The design is lithography-free and large-area compatible, which is vital for developing affordable and efficient large-scale radiative coolers. This design will ensure effective cooling during entire daytime without any need to adjust the angle or position of the cooler towards sun When compared to a recent cooler design achieving a comparable reduction in ambient temperature, this cooler is found to provide around 1.6 times more cooling power. The research team is also responsible for developing smart window materials that can automatically control a building’s climate. Recently in the 24th convocation of IIT Guwahati held on June 17, 2022, Ashish Kumar Chowdhary graduated with the best thesis award medal for his significant contribution in the field of nanophotonics and metamaterials for designing smart windows, radiative coolers, and solar absorbers. He is also a recipient of the AWSAR award 2021 from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Source: PTI
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NGSL RECEIVED ORDERS FOR EPC OF
TWO SOLAR PROJECTS FROM NTPC REL These projects are the outcome of NGSL’s diversification strategy and are aligned to government goal to reduce GHG and move toward net-zero target for India “
• NGSL received two Notification of Awards from NTPC REL for EPC of Balance of System for 105 MW and 220 MW AC capacity projects in Shajapur Solar Park, Madhya Pradesh, India. • These projects support the government’s strategy to reduce GHG and move towards India’s net-zero target. • Once completed, the projects will support the Indian Railways system and the national grid with the supply of solar power NTPC – GE Power Services Pvt Ltd. (NGSL), India’s leading company in EPC, R&M, and O&M services has received two Notification of Awards from NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC- REL) for EPC of Balance of System at two sites with 105 MW and 220 MW capacity respectively along with O&M for three years. The projects are located at Shajapur Solar Park being developed by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) in Madhya Pradesh. The solar power generated from these plants will be supplied to the Indian Railways system and the national grid. The project also supports the Government of India’s overall strategy to reduce greenhouse gases and pave way for achieving India’s net-zero target by 2070. Speaking on the project, Mr. Sanjeev Duggal, MD, NGSL India said that “NGSL has won these orders against stiff competition and will execute the same by leveraging EPC and project management capabilities which NGSL has developed with the successful execution of large projects. These projects are the outcome of NGSL’s diversification strategy and are aligned to government goal to reduce GHG and move toward net-zero target for India “
Source: psuconnect
HINDUSTAN POWER EXCHANGE BEGINS OPERATION The power exchange is promoted by PTC India, Bombay Stock Exchange and ICICI Bank
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industan Power Exchange (HPX) commenced operations after receiving all necessary approvals from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) The exchange — promoted by PTC India, Bombay Stock Exchange and ICICI Bank — will initially offer trading in Contingency contracts, Green Contingency contracts, and Renewable Energy Certificates. “It will steadily increase its product portfolio and provide a wide range of contracts to address the demand of different segments of the electricity market. Backed by the latest technology and a series of innovative features, the exchange promises to offer speed, transparency, and better price discovery in the execution of trades,” HPX said in a statement. The Indian power sector is at the cusp of a massive energy transition where the share of renewable energy is steadily rising in India’s power generation mix, it added. Further, more variable power output from wind and solar plants is set to push short-term trading of energy, thereby giving more options to both buyers and sellers. HPX will play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between demand and supply and providing trading at an optimised cost. Speaking
on the launch, HPX COO Akhilesh Awasthy said, “The need for a third power exchange has been felt for quite some time now by the buyers and sellers for optimised price discovery and better efficiency in power purchase.” Almost 90 per cent of India’s electricity is traded via bilateral contracts lasting for 20 years or more between power generation companies and State utilities. These contracts do not provide flexibility to sector participants to take advantage of market conditions at different times, he added. “Power exchanges provide the market participants a platform with multiple avenues for trading and hence manage their power portfolios efficiently. The introduction of HPX will give a definite push to the development and progress of spot trading in electricity,” Awasthy noted.
Source: PTI 30
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INDIA
NEW SOLAR POLICY TO LIGHT UP MORE VILLAGES: HEMANT SOREN
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren unveiled the Jharkhand State Solar Policy of 2022 at a hotel here. The chief minister said with climate change now knocking on our doors, Jharkhand has made an effort to replace thermal power by clean energy and ensure reduction of emission of greenhouse gasses. “Many of the villages atop the hilly tracts are inaccessible and could not be fully lit up. The Solar Policy 2022 will lay the foundation for lighting up all inaccessible villages by encouraging villages to set up solar power plants. Thermal power costs anything between Rs 4 and Rs 5 per unit, while solar power comes cheap at Rs 2 to Rs 2.50 per unit. One MW of solar power can be generated from a plant on a 5 acre plot. Hence, an entire district can be fully lit up with the help of solar plants on 400 to 500 acres,” he added. Under this policy, the Soren government aims to produce 4,000 MW of solar power in the next five years by providing incentives and supporting entrepreneurs who are willing to invest in utility scale solar projects, distributed solar projects and off-grid solar projects, officials said. The policy document envisages a cumulative solar power generation of 3,000 MW through solar parks, non-solar parks, floating solar power plans and canal top units. That apart, Jharkhand aims to produce 720 MW power through rooftop solar units, captive solar units, and solar power agriculture, the policy states. Under the new policy, households with annual income less than Rs 3 lakh will be provided subsidies to the tune of 60%-80% if they commission rooftop solar units on their residential places between 3KW and 10KW. Solar agriculture projects will draw subsidies to the tune of 30% of the total cost while solar pumps will be provided with subsidies up to 67%.
Source: PTI
SLUDGE TREATMENT PLANT ALL SET TO RUN ON SOLAR ENERGY
The country’s second sludge hygienization plant in Indore’s Kabitkhedi area is all set to run on solar energy. Indore Smart City Development Limited (ISCDL) is setting up a dedicated solar power plant at the treatment plant to reduce power consumption by up to 50 per cent. “A 180KW mega solar power plant has been planned to reduce electricity cost in the newly established sludge hygienization plant,” ISCDL chief executive officer Rishav Gupta told TOI. Gupta said that the monthly electricity cost of the sludge treatment facility, which is borne by ISCDL is between Rs2 lakh and Rs2.5 lakh. “The solar power plant, installation of which has already begun on the rooftop of the sludge treatment plant in Kabitkhedi area at an estimated cost of Rs77 lakh, will generate around 22,500 units of electricity in a month, and around Rs1.34 lakh in monthly electricity bill could be saved,” claimed Gupta, while adding that they aim to complete installation of this solar power plant and make it operational within a month or so. He said that "the agency entrusted with the contract for installation of the solar power plant will maintain the facility for the next five years. We will save around Rs12-14 lakh through this mega solar power plant in a year and recover the amount invested for its installation in the next six years,” he pointed out. ISCDL will not only benefit from the electricity generated from this mega solar power plant, but it also aims at using the same power plant to generate carbon credits. “We will be registering this solar power plant project under the VCS (verified carbon standard, USA) programme, and hope to generate around 1800 carbon credits annually,” added Gupta. Indore is the second city in the country after Ahmedabad to establish a sludge hygienization plant for treating dry sewage sludge using high energy gamma radiation from Co-60 gamma sources, officials pointed out. The plant was established by ISCDL with the help of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in around two years and made functional early this year.
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Source: PTI
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INDIA
PM GATISHAKTI NATIONAL MASTER PLAN –
“AN IMPETUS TO POWER INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT” One-click Comprehensive view to steer and simplify the planning & implementation process in Power transmission projects
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GatiShakti NMP portal plays critical role in planning, tendering, implementation and approval stages 9 High Impact Power projects spanning over 6 RE rich States mapped in the portal The Prime Minister launched PM GatiShakti-National Master Plan (NMP) for infrastructure development in October, 2021 with the objective to bring different Ministries/ Utilities & infrastructure planning under a single unified vision, across all sectors such as Highways, Railways, Aviation, Gas, Power transmission, Renewable Energy etc. Such an unprecedented initiative outlines the vision for infrastructure development across the country including “Power” in general and “Transmission” in particular, which strengthens the energy life-line of the country. It would be a game changer providing multi-modal connectivity of infrastructures to various economic zones by leveraging technology extensively including spatial planning tools with indigenous ISRO imagery developed by BISAG-N, Gujarat, fulfilling the objective of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.As country takes strides towards strengthening its infrastructure, power plays a pivotal role in development of infrastructure and the economy. The PM GatiShakti NMP portal provides “One-click Comprehensive view” to steer and simplify the planning & implementation process by reduction of time and cost of implementation in Power transmission projects. It would also aid in improving logistics efficiency through single digital platform & multi-modal portal. In development of Power Transmission projects, PM GatiShakti NMP portal shall play critical role in Planning, Tendering, Implementation and Approval stages. At planning stage, user shall identify the tentative line length of the planned transmission line and location of the substation(s). Under tendering/bidding stage, the survey agency will utilize the portal for identifying the best techno-economical route. During Implementation stage, based on actual conditions, finalization of the transmission line route and location of substation shall be done. Lastly, approval stage is envisaged for single window clearance. PM’s call for “One Sun, One World, One Grid” has set the tone for strong and reliable transmission system which will support India’s Renewable Energy (RE) ambitions along with supplementing growth of renewables globally. Power transmission has been an enabler in the RE story and various key Power projects are enabling RE evacuation across country. Of these projects, Ministry of Power has undertaken 9 High Impact Power projects (10 no. of transmission lines) spanning over 6 RE rich States Viz. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu. The requisite details of projects have been mapped in the portal, by creating a separate layer of ISTS transmission lines incorporating basic data (like Line route, tower location, location of substation, name of owner etc.). In line with goal of PM GatiShakti, entire “existing” Inter State Transmission System ( ISTS) lines have been mapped on the portal spanning across length and breadth of the country. Also, 90% “under construction” ISTS lines have also been integrated in the portal and remaining 10% ISTS lines are to be integrated after finalization of route survey by respective Transmission Service Providers. PM GatiShakti NMP portal will ultimately aid in solving problems of development of infrastructures in the country by building secure, sustainable, scalable and collaborative approach towards infrastructure planning for seamless connectivity to economic zones. Now, with PM GatiShakti NMP portal and onset of more holistic & comprehensive approach towards planning for Ministries, Utilities and Infrastructure, we as a nation are well poised to take giant stride towards evolving into 5 trillion dollars economy while enabling reliable “Power to All”.
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INDIA
BHEL COMMISSIONS INDIA’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR PLANT IN TELANGANA Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned India’s largest floating Solar PV plant rated at 100 MW at NTPC Ramagundam in Telangana. The plant is installed across the natural raw water reservoir, saving valuable land resources and also conserving water by reducing evaporation.
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his comes close on the heels of a similar achievement by another state-run power company NTPC. The Company announced (01 July) that its 100 megawatts (MW) floating solar photovoltaic plant in Telangana is fully operational. With innovatively engineered layouts and arrangements for the solar PV modules, electricals and floaters, the plant will maintain the aquatic ecosystem while producing clean power. All major components of the solar plant – viz. solar PV modules, floaters, biodegradable natural ester oil-filled inverter-duty transformers, switchgear, SCADA and cables are indigenous, contributing to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ mission. With this, BHEL has achieved the unique distinction of commissioning three floating solar projects – 25 MW at NTPC Simhadri, 22 MW at NTPC Kayamkulam and 100 MW at NTPC Ramagundam – in the last ten months. Each of them is unique regarding its engineering and execution features. BHEL is the leading EPC player in the floating solar segment in the country. 152 MW of capacity has been commissioned so far, delivering plants on all kinds of water bodies – natural reservoirs, man-made reservoirs and saline back-water kayals. BHEL’s in-house capability for end-to-end engineering and execution of floating solar projects is supported by its dedicated and committed engineering and project teams, which have made this feat possible, a company press release said.
Source: PTI
NITI AAYOG CEO AMITABH KANT TO BE NEW SHERPA OF G-20 Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will be the new Sherpa of G-20, replacing Union Minister Piyush Goyal, as the full-time sherpa required for India’s presidency
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ormer NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will be the new Sherpa of G-20, replacing Union Minister Piyush Goyal, as the full-time sherpa required for India’s presidency, sources said. India assumes the G-20 presidency later this year. “With the G-20 presidency coming to India this year, the Sherpa would need to devote a lot of time to numerous meetings that will be held in different parts of the country.Union Minister Goyal holds the charge of multiple portfolios in the Modi cabinet which consumes a lot of his time,” a source said. In addition, the Minister is also tasked with other pressing duties like the Leader of Rajya Sabha, the source added. Kant was NITI Aayog CEO for almost six years and completed his extended term last month. Prior to that, the Kerala-cadre IAS officer was Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP).
Source: PTI
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INDIAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM NEEDS A GREEN TAXONOMY
FOR RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE RISKS: IEEFA
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The RBI, with a taxonomy as an important tool, can expedite climate risk discovery in the banking system and steer credit towards sustainable activities. s long-time risk managers, risk carriers and investors, insurers would benefit from a green classification system to ascertain assets with little contribution to climate risks. As the biggest owners of financial assets in India, banks and insurance companies will be at the forefront of effective taxonomy implementation in the country. Sustainable finance markets globally are grappling with two major issues – capital not reaching assets that need it the most and ‘greenwashing’. Both issues stem from weak policy frameworks and unclear implementation mechanisms. Recent probes in Europe against DWS, Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, and in the United States against Goldman Sachs regarding alleged greenwashing of their investment products are a case in point. Such cases highlight blind spots in the market. Their root cause is an unclear definition of green economic activities. This, in turn, prompts investment intermediaries to define sustainable assets arbitrarily. Rapidly evolving sustainable finance markets are witnessing policy tools like green classification schemes called green taxonomies that provide a standard definition of green assets. These tools aim to increase financing of green projects, prevent greenwashing, and help develop a better understanding of the extent of climate risks faced by various financial sector intermediaries. The European Union (EU) and several countries, such as China, Malaysia, Mongolia, and South Africa, have recently established their green taxonomies. India’s taxonomy is still in the draft stage. As the biggest owners of financial assets in India, banks and insurance companies will be at the forefront of effective taxonomy implementation in the country.
BANKING SECTOR PERSPECTIVE With cumulative assets of US$2.5 trillion as of 2021, banks are India’s financing backbone. However, most of these assets do not align with India’s sustainability goals owing to the banks’ unpreparedness to manage the climate and broader environment, social and governance (ESG) risks. A green taxonomy would bring much-needed clarity. It would nudge banks to set sustainability targets and align their business strategies with them. Evaluating exposure to sustainable versus non-sustainable activities is difficult for banks without a taxonomy. Hence, banks are unable to assess the climate risk in their lending portfolio. A taxonomy would help banks evaluate the use of loan proceeds and alignment of their lending portfolio with green activities. This will help disclose the alignment of their portfolio to the taxonomy, mitigate the risk of greenwashing, enhance their reputation, and provide credible data points to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for ascertaining climate risks in the overall banking system. Furthermore, the taxonomy-led disclosures should help expose the climate risks of non-green assets. Meanwhile, green activities will benefit from better pricing due to lower risks and, potentially, reduced capital adequacy requirements. The RBI, with a taxonomy as an important tool, can expedite climate risk discovery in the banking system and steer credit towards sustainable activities. Once climate and sustainability risks are correctly priced, green or sustainable activities could attract bank loans at more favourable terms. A
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taxonomy provides a common language for banks and their clients, thereby improving engagement. To meet their sustainability targets, banks can nudge clients to adjust their businesses. Banks will also play an important role in advising clients about available sustainable finance solutions and building the required capacity to access them.
INSURANCE SECTOR PERSPECTIVE India is one of the most climate-vulnerable nations globally. It also has a growing and diverse insurance market with assets under management (AUM) of Rs49 trillion (US$636 billion) in the fiscal year (FY) 2020-21. Domestic insurers have been weak in covering climate-related losses, and their climate disclosures are among the worst globally. As long-time risk managers, risk carriers and investors, insurers would benefit from a green classification system to ascertain assets with little contribution to climate risks. In doing so, they can promote stable investments in their portfolio and insurance underwriting practices. On the liability side, without a green taxonomy, an unclear understanding of climate affected/aligned economic activities may deter the modelling and pricing of climate risks in underwriting. Insurers underwriting risks in fossil fuel-aligned sectors like thermal power generation may face a scarcity of reinsurance cover from foreign firms. This is because insurers in jurisdictions like the EU are increasingly cutting cover for carbon-heavy sectors. Repricing insurance products for these sectors in alignment with emission thresholds established for taxonomy-aligned activities would become important. In 2019, a 3x increase in the cost of insuring power projects irked domestic thermal power generation companies, something which could happen more frequently. On the asset side, there are two main climate change-related problems. First, impairment of asset values due to physical and transition risks will cause equity price shocks. Second, the deteriorating creditworthiness of borrowers will tank bond prices. India’s largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), has 16% of its equity investments in energy companies that are highly susceptible to transition risks. A green taxonomy will help insurers better understand the potential impact of individual investments on their portfolios. As India marches towards energy transition, its financial institutions require a science-backed green taxonomy for resilience to any unintended consequences of climate risks. However, the central bank and the insurance sector regulator must work together to successfully launch and implement a green taxonomy.
Source: ieefa
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INDIA
INDIA’S JUNE FUEL CONSUMPTION RISES BY
17.9% YOY AT 18.67 MN TONNES: GOVT
Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 18.67 million tonnes, data from the Indian oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.
I
India’s fuel consumption in June rose by 17.9% from a year earlier, government data showed, as demand in the world’s No.3 oil consumer headed back towards pre-pandemic levels. Global oil prices have surged in response to concerns about tight supplies and disruption linked to oil producer Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Indian consumers have to an extent been sheltered as Indian refiners have bought cheaper Russian fuel the West has shunned. Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 18.67 million tonnes, data from the Indian oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed. “Indian diesel and gasoline demand was relatively low in May-September 2021. As a result, around 18% increase is from a lower base,” said Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul Haq, but added pent-up demand could drive a recovery to prepandemic levels in the next few months. “The purchasing power of India’s middle class is rising in spite of recent spike in food and energy prices,” he said, although he did not rule out some
demand destruction. Diesel consumption rose 23.9% year-onyear to 7.68 million tonnes and was up about 21.9% from two years ago. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 23.2% higher from a year earlier at 2.97 million tonnes. India’s gasoil demand rose rapidly during the first two weeks of June, and long queues appeared at some fuel stations as concerns grew over supply. “We expect genuine strength coming from middle distillate demand,” said Viktor Katona, co-head of crude analysis at Kpler. This would come from general demand, with “India quite the exception in more or less keeping fuel prices intact, largely thanks to its widespread buying of heavily discounted Russian crude,” downstream expansions and higher exports, Katona added. Indian private refiners such as Reliance and Nayara have been among the biggest buyers this year of discounted Russian supplies. However, the country last week to try to increase local supply imposed a windfall tax on producers and refiners that have boosted product exports to gain from higher overseas margins. Source: PTI
RELIANCE GETS ONLY ONE YEAR TO COMPLETE GREEN ENERGY PROJECT The state government has turned down a plea by the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance seeking five more years to complete its green energy project in Devanahalli, granting just twelve months instead.
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eliance is setting up a unit for “research, development and manufacture of green energy power electronics” on a 25-acre plot in the IT Park at Devanahalli. The project is worth Rs 446 crore. Languishing since its first approval in April 2012, the project originally was to set up an internet data centre at a cost of Rs 300 crore by Infotel Broadband Services Ltd, which later became Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. In August 2012, land was allot…The government had asked Reliance to complete civil construction works and commence production within 24 months from the date of taking possession of the property, which is January 19, 2013.However, a dispute involving four acres of the allotted land “stalled” the project. The dispute was between the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) and the original land owners “in connection with the alleged wrongful compensation, c…Based on the company’s request, the KIADB extended the time for completion of works until November 11, 2018. It took Reliance six years – between August 2016 and January 2022 – to get various approvals for the internet data centre project, including fire and Airports Authority of India clearances. In June, the company told the government that it would set up a green energy project instead of an internet data centre, hiking its investment by Rs 146 crore. The government allowed the land allotted to be used by the parent company Reliance Industr…“Extending time happens only after the first five-year period,” Commissioner for Industrial Development Gunjan Krishna told DH. “And, if no implementation happens for five years, we need to be sure that the land is utilised given the demand there is for land.” She added that time extension decisions depend
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on progress. “And, we’d like to see progress.” The government has granted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) three months to submit drawings of the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) coming up on 64 acres of land in Devanahalli. The BCCI has roped in L&T for the project. “The architectural design work for the project is now complete and they are ready to make relevant submission of plans and drawings to the concerned authorities for their approval,” the BCCI said, blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for the delay. Source: PTI
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PARAMESWARAN IYER TAKES CHARGE AS NITI AAYOG CEO
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The RBI, with a taxonomy as an important tool, can expedite climate risk discovery in the banking system and steer credit towards sustainable activities. ccording to an official statement, Iyer is a 1981-batch IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre who has worked in both the public and private sectors. During 2016-20, he served as secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. “With over 25 years of expertise in the water and sanitation sector, Iyer spearheaded the implementation of India’s flagship $20 billion Swachh Bharat Mission, which effectively delivered access to safe sanitation to 550 million people,” the statement stated. In the statement, Iyer said he was honoured and humbled to have been given the incredible opportunity to serve the country again, this time as NITI Aayog CEO. Iyer also said that he was deeply grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for another chance to work under his leadership towards a transformed India. Iyer had taken voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in 2009. He had also worked as a senior rural water sanitation specialist at the United Nations. The Department of Personnel and Training announced his appointment. Previous CEO Amitabh Kant’s tenure ended on June 30, 2022. Source: PTI
PLAN TO BUILD ELECTRIC HIGHWAY BETWEEN DELHI-MUMBAI: GADKARI
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ddressing an event of Hydraulic Trailer Owners Association here, Gadkari said the government is planning an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai. An electric highway is usually a road on which electricity is supplied to the vehicles traveling on it. This electricity is carried to the vehicle through wires installed on the road. He did not elaborate on the plan, saying, “You can drive a trolleytruck like a trolleybus.” A trolleybus is an electric bus that runs on a power supply from overhead wires. Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said that his ministry has decided to connect all the districts with fourlane roads. He said that the government is also constructing tunnels worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore. He said that there is a need to digitize all the services to reduce the corruption in the Regional Transport Offices of the states.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government is planning to build an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai.
Source: PTI 36
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CHINESE GATEWAY UNIT IN UTTAR PRADESH
POWER METERS RAISES CONCERN
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machinery would be used as an interface in 19 districts . The plan is incompatible with Union ministry of powers guidelines . he UP energy department has been given a proposal for establishing a China-made energy metering unit in Madhyanchal Distribution Company for assimilation of power consumption. The plan is crucially incompatible with Union ministry of powers guidelines, which acknowledge the limitations of the power supply system and network as a result of cyberattacks by malware embedded in the imported equipment. Capital Power System Ltd, a Noida-based firm, has submitted a proposal for a gateway unit between smart meters in residential apartments and the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL).The Chinamade machinery would be used as an interface in apartments built in 19 districts, including Lucknow, Ayodhya, Budaun, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnao, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, and Amethi. It is a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi device. The gateway receives data from the smart meter and then passes it on to the head end unit or modules (HES) that are included with the UPPCL.HES’s data to the meter also passes through the gateway, enabling bi-directional communication. Though Madhyanchal discom MD Bhawani Singh refused to respond to repeated calls, a senior UPPCL official said that any such major installation must be done under the proper authority of the ministry of power. The issue must be solved at the level of the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UP Electricity Regulatory Commission, or UPERC), according to Raj Pratap Singh, chairman of the UPERC. Shailendra Dubey, chairman of the
All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), said that the organisation has been opposed to the use of Chinese equipment from the start. Source: PTI
INDIA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY AT 114 GW TILL JUNE-END
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India has set a target of having 175 GW of renewable energy capacity, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind energy, by 2022. ndia’s renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) stood at 114.07 GW till June-end this year, while 60.66 GW of projects are under various stages of development, Parliament was informed. India has set a target of having 175 GW of renewable energy capacity, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind energy, by 2022. “Against the target of achieving 175 GW of Renewable Energy (excluding Large Hydro) installed capacity by 2022, a total of 114. 07 GW renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) has been installed in the country as on June 30, 2022,” Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Further, he said capacity of 60.66 GW is under various stages of implementation, while 23.14 GW capacity is under various stages of bidding. In another reply, Minister of New and Renewable Energy R K Singh said " the share of renewable energy (including large hydro) in the total installed electricity generation capacity in the country was 39.85 per cent as on June 30, 2022". “Under Component-B of PM-KUSUM Scheme, Government has allocated over 3.59 lakh standalone solar pumps to various States. Out of this, over 1.23 lakh standalone solar pumps have been installed as on June 30, 2022,” the minister said in reply to another question. Under the scheme, standalone solar pumps up to 10 HP capacity
have been installed. However, central financial assistance is restricted to 7.5 HP pump capacity, Singh said. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working towards achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. Source: PTI
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JSW STEEL TO INVEST RS 10,000 CR TO INCREASE THE USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY: SAJJAN JINDAL The company’s ongoing expansion projects are oriented towards producing steel with higher use of renewable power, best-in-class digitalisation to achieve operational efficiency and best available technologies to reduce associated CO2 emissions.
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o reduce its carbon footprint, JSW Steel has earmarked a sum of Rs 10,000 crore to increase use of renewable energy to replace thermal power and other green initiatives, its Chairman Sajjan Jindal said. Various steel makers use coal to generate thermal power for captive use. According to a Ministry of Steel document, globally, the iron and steel industry accounts for around 8 per cent of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In India, it contributes 12 per cent to the total CO2 emissions. Thus, the Indian steel industry needs to reduce its emissions substantially in view of the commitments made in the COP26 climate change conference. “We have earmarked Rs 10,000 crore for investments to reduce our carbon emissions through various initiatives, such as increasing the use of renewable energy to replace thermal power, reduce our fuel rate through improved raw material quality via beneficiation, and deployment of Best Available Technologies (BAT),” Jindal said. JSW Steel has already contracted for 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy, of which 225 MW has become operational in April 2022, and the balance will come on stream in phases, Jindal said in his address to shareholders in the company’s Annual Report for FY 2021-22 He further said the expansion of the company’s Vijayanagar plant from 12 MTPA to 19.5 MTPA is underway, and capex cost is well below global benchmarks. The company’s ongoing expansion projects are oriented towards producing steel with higher use of renewable power, best-in-class digitalisation to achieve operational efficiency and best available technologies to reduce associated CO2 emissions.
“We are consciously going beyond basic steel and are consistently maintaining the share of VASP (value added and special products) in our product mix to over 50 per cent,” he said. The energy transition has provided a significant opportunity for steel players, with huge investments being made in renewable power generation, and transmission and distribution infrastructure, all of which are steel-intensive.“At JSW Steel, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is core to everything we do. We have committed to reduce our CO2 emissions intensity… by 42 per cent by 2030, compared to the base year of 2005, aligned with India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC),” Jindal said. Source: PTI
KINETIC GREEN ENERGY PARTNERS WITH CHOLAMANDALAM INVESTMENT FOR EV FINANCING The collaboration is aimed at making Kinetic Green’s battery-operated vehicles more affordable for the discerning and price-conscious buyers with attractive financing solutions as well as catering to newer markets with Chola’s pan-India presence, the EV company said
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lectric vehicle manufacturer Kinetic Green Energy announced its partnership with Chennai-based Murugappa Group’s financial services arm Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd (Chola) to provide financing solutions to its EV customers. The Pune-based company said it has signed an initial pact with Chola for the customers looking to avail finances to acquire electric vehicles. The collaboration is aimed at making Kinetic Green’s battery-operated vehicles more affordable for the discerning and price-conscious buyers with attractive financing solutions as well as catering to newer markets with Chola’s pan-India presence, the EV company said. “This partnership will enable Kinetic Green and its dealers to offer easy and affordable financing solutions to our EV customers, which perfectly fit their needs and repayment abilities. With attractive finance options offered under the collaboration, Kinetic Green’s customers can be assured of competitive financing solutions for their finance needs. This will further propel the company’s electric two and three-wheelers’ demand,” said Sulajja
Firodia Motwani, founder-CEO, Kinetic Green Power Solutions Ltd. Chola, on its part, said that its collaboration with Kinetic will help the firm take it further to fulfilling its ESG goals. “This relationship will help us in taking a step closer to fulfilling our ESG goals. Under this alliance, the biggest beneficiaries will eventually be the customers. With our strong network of 1,145 plus branches across India, we aim to offer the customers customised finance packages that would come with speedy, convenient and transparent processes,” said Ravindra Kundu, Executive Director, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited. Source: PTI
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BUSINESS & FINANCE
HINDUSTAN MOTORS-EUROPEAN CO JV LIKELY TO LAUNCH ELECTRIC TWO-WHEELERS BY NEXT YEAR Financial due diligence of both the companies will start in July, which will take two months, after which the technical aspects of the joint venture will be looked into and this will take another month, Director of Hindustan Motors, Uttam Bose.
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industan Motors (HM), the erstwhile maker of the iconic ‘Ambassador’ cars, expects to set up a new joint venture with a European partner to manufacture electric two-wheelers by next year, a senior official said. It might look at making electric four-wheelers at a later date, he said. Financial due diligence of both the companies will start in July, which will take two months, after which the technical aspects of the joint venture will be looked into and this will take another month, Director of Hindustan Motors, Uttam Bose, told PTI. “Only then, the structuring of investments (will be decided) and the new company formed, and this is expected to be completed by February 15, " he said. Bose said after formation of the new entity, two more quarters will be required to initiate the pilot run of the project, adding that the final product is likely to be launched by the end of next fiscal year. After two years of commercialization of the two-wheeler project, a decision will be taken on the manufacture of four-wheeler EVs, the top company official said. Bose also said its Uttarpara plant will have to be retro-fitted, as some of the control systems, along with electronic hardware and software, need replacement. He said HM was the only original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the country, having its own forging, foundry and paint shop, as well as assembly and welding shop, making the Uttarpara facility a completely integrated automobile plant. However, the company closed down the plant in 2014 due to lack of demand for Ambassador’ cars, and subsequently sold the iconic brand to French auto manufacturer Peugeot at a realisation of Rs 80 crore. It has also sold its luxury car brand ‘Contessa’ to SG Mobility. The West Bengal government had allowed HM to sell around 314 acres of land at the Uttarpara plant for alternative use, following which the parcel had been sold to a real estate
developer. “Hindustan Motors is making profits now and is a complete debt-free company," Bose said. With a current employee strength of around 300, Bose said people will be chosen for the new project according to suitability. When commercial production commences, around 400 people will get employed in the project, he said. Source: PTI
UK’S BII TO INVEST IN NEW MAHINDRA EV UNIT
AT $9 BILLION VALUATION, SHARES SOAR
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and British International Investment (BII) will each invest up to $250 million in the automaker’s new electric vehicle unit at a valuation of $9.1 billion, sending the Indian company’s shares soaring.
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BII will have a 4.8% ownership in the business, which will focus on four-wheel passenger electric vehicles (EVs). The unit will be wholly owned by Mahindra, the company said in a statement late. Mahindra’s shares rose as much as 5.4% to a record high of 1,194.9 rupees. The new EV unit will use the funds to build electric sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) by leveraging Mahindra’s broader manufacturing setup as well as its supply chain, dealers and financiers, it said. “We would expect between 20% to 30% of Mahindra SUVs being electric by 2027,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director for Mahindra’s auto and farm sectors. Jejurikar said the company would share details on its product, technology and platform strategy for EVs in August, and will reveal its first electric SUV in September. The total capital infusion for the new unit is expected to be about 80 billion rupees ($1.01 billion) spread out between 2024 and
2027, Mahindra said. Mahindra said it would work jointly with the British development finance institution to bring other investors in the EV company to match the funding requirement in a phased manner. Source: Reuters
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BUSINESS & FINANCE
SOUTHEAST ASIA GREEN RECOVERY CAN
CREATE MORE THAN 30 MILLION JOBS BY 2030 A green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia has the potential to create $172 billion in investment opportunities annually and generate more than 30 million jobs by 2030, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
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Implementing a Green Recovery in Southeast Asia considers how green growth can help countries implement an economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. It identifies five areas that support a postCOVID-19 recovery through greener development, namely productive and regenerative agriculture, healthy and productive oceans, sustainable urban development and transport models, circular economy models, and renewable and efficient energy. “This report highlights key policy priorities for Southeast Asian economies that can help ensure that both socioeconomic and environmental aspirations are served in their pursuit of economic recovery,” said ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam during a webinar jointly organized by ADB and ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. “While several countries in the region have begun to support a green recovery, more needs to be done. We must encourage additional green stimulus, design carbon pricing schemes, reduce dependence on fossil-fuel intensive power, and attract private sector investors to large-scale renewable energy, sustainable transport, and clean urban projects.” Without concerted actions to address the environmental crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the region’s long-term growth prospects could be constrained. A green recovery from COVID-19 is crucial to ensure an economically and environmentally resilient future. Other policy options identified in the report include intensifying research on green technologies, encouraging women entrepreneurs to participate in green business opportunities, and managing biodiversity better through open and integrated data systems. To implement a green recovery, Southeast Asian governments need to identify sustainable sources of financing that will fund climate-friendly infrastructure investments and leverage green growth opportunities. According to the report, financing approaches should include mobilizing domestic resources through environmental and carbon taxes, reducing subsidies for fossil fuels, mobilizing private investors by addressing risks related to green invest
ments, and leveraging public and private finance through green funds such as the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility. Finally, strong collaboration among neighboring economies and new partnerships with various stakeholders should be forged to ensure benefits accrue throughout the region. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region. Source: adb
TORRENT POWER GETS RS 2600-CR WIND ENERGY PROJECT FROM SECI Torrent Power has bagged a 300 MW wind energy project worth Rs 2,600 crore in Karnataka from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), according to a regulatory filing
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he company in a BSE filing said, “SECI has granted a Letter of Award to the company for 300 MW wind project and confirming long-term power purchase arrangement (PPA) for the power generated from the proposed project.” The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2,600 crore, the company said. The estimated date of commissioning the project is 24 months from the date of execution of the PPA, Torrent Power said. The term of the PPA is 25 years from the scheduled commercial operation date at a tariff of 2.94 per kWh (kilowatt hour). Torrent Power is an integrated power utility having interests in power generation, transmission, distribution and manufacturing and supply of power cables. Source: PTI 40
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TATA POWER PLANS ₹75,000 CRORE INVESTMENT
IN RENEWABLES IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
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Currently, Tata Power has a generation capacity of 13.5 GW with 34 per cent contributed by renewable energy sources. ata Power plans to invest over Rs 75,000 crore in renewables in the next five years and aims to have an electricity generation capacity of 30 GW during the same period with more than half coming from clean energy sources. Currently, Tata Power has a generation capacity of 13.5 GW with 34 per cent contributed by renewable energy sources. During the company’s annual general meeting on July 7, its Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said it has “planned a capex of over Rs 75,000 crore in next 5 years in renewables.” He was responding to a query by a shareholder on the company’s future plans. In his speech, Chandrasekaran said that Tata Power is looking to scale its generation capacity to over 30 GW by FY’27 from current 13.5 GW with an increased clean energy portfolio from current levels of 34 percent to 60 percent by 2027 and 80 per cent by 2030. He also told shareholders that the company has planned a Rs 14,000 crore consolidated capex in FY’23 with Rs 10,000 crore in renewables. Tata Power added renewable energy capacity of 707 MW in FY22. The company holds a strong EPC order book of Rs 13,000 crore and is also setting up a 4 GW solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in Tamil Nadu with an investment of Rs 3,000 crore, Chandrasekaran said. According to him, the company is equally focused on growing consumer centric and new-age energy solutions — solar rooftop, EV chargers, solar pumps, smart metering and energy management solutions — enabling power in the hands of the consumers. To scale up these green businesses and solutions, the company has also entered into a strategic partnership and created a renewables platform which has got an investment of Rs 4,000 crore from Blackrock Real assets
and Mubadala Investment company, he added. The company is equally committed to deliver strong performance in the transmission and distribution business, serving 12 million customers, including 9 million customers in Odisha, he stated. Further, he said that in the T&D (Transmission and Distribution) business, the company will further optimise the Odisha discom operations, stabilise the new acquisition in the transmission business and deliver phenomenal customer service, enabled by digitalisation. He also informed that the company is on the path to becoming an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) benchmark in the power sector. In this pursuit, he stated the company has set three key goals of becoming carbon net zero by 2045, 100 per cent water neutral by 2030 and zero waste to landfill before 2030. Source: PTI
SJVN CMD INAUGURATES COFFERDAM OF RS 688-
CR DHAULASIDH HYDRO ELECTRIC PROJECT SJVN Chairman Nand Lal Sharma inaugurated the upstream cofferdam of 66 MW Dhaulasidh Hydro Electric Project at Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, a company statement said.
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he foundation stone of the Rs 687.97-crore project was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 27, 2021. “CMD, SJVN inaugurated upstream cofferdam of 66 MW Dhaulasidh HEP at Hamirpur. He also inaugurated a 16 metre-long and 4.25 metre-wide concrete bridge on Salasi Khad and project office building at Salasi,” it said. The cofferdam has been completed four months ahead of the schedule, in a record time of 4 months 10 days. This marks the completion of river diversion works, paving way for full-scale excavation works of the dam foundation, which is already in progress. The bridge will provide invaluable connectivity between river banks and speed up the dam construction activities, the chairman and managing director (CMD) said.The project is a run-of-river scheme on river Beas. It will generate 304 million units of energy on completion. The project is contributing to the overall development of the area with community
asset creation, infrastructure development and generation of direct and indirect employment, SJVN said. Source: PTI
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BUSINESS & FINANCE REDUCE, REUSE: SOLAR PV RECYCLING MARKET TO BE WORTH $2.7 BILLION BY 2030 The demand for recycled solar photovoltaic (PV) panel components is set to skyrocket in the coming years as the number of installations surges and the threat of a supply bottleneck looms.
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ystad Energy analysis shows recyclable materials from PV panels at the end of their lifespan will be worth more than $2.7 billion in 2030, up from only $170 million this year. This trend will only accelerate in the coming decades and the value of recyclable materials is projected to approach $80 billion by 2050. PV recycling is still in its infancy but is seen as an essential element of the energy transition, with solar PV waste projected to grow to 27 million tonnes per annum by 2040. Our forecasts show that recovered materials from retired panels could make up 6% of solar PV investments by 2040, compared to only 0.08% . Landfills are an easy and cheap option as current resale prices for recycled solar PV materials do not compensate for the transportation, sorting and processing costs. Yet, the rapid growth rate of large-scale utility farms within solar energy can change this. The material supply side is expected to encounter bottlenecks with the growing demand for minerals, and recycling can be a supply relief as panels reach the end-of-life stage. “Rising energy costs, improved recycling technology, and government regulations may pave the way for a market where more defunct solar panels are sent to recycling rather than the nearest landfill. Recycling PV panels can help operators save costs, overcome supply chain woes and increase the likelihood of countries meeting their solar capacity goals,” says Rystad Energy analyst Kristin Stuge. Demand for the materials and minerals used in solar PV is set to climb with the energy transition, with higher prices a likely result. The International Energy Agency’s net-zero emissions scenario targets 40% of the world’s power in 2050 being generated by solar energy – equivalent to 19 terawatts (TW). However, our 1.6 degrees Celsius (°C) scenario predicts that 53% will be solar-generated, a trend seen in the numbers and size of plant installments. By assuming a 15-year lifespan of a PV panel and analyzing installation activity in 2022, we can estimate which regions and countries will benefit most from recycling PV materials in 2037. China is set to account for 40% of global installations this year, and when these panels mature in 15 years, the estimated recycling value will be $3.8 billion, out of a $9.6 billion global total. India – another Asian solar PV powerhouse – will trail in second place with an estimated $800 million in value, followed by Japan with $200 million in estimated value. Trailing the Asian continent, the value of recyclable material in North America in 2037 is projected to be worth $1.5 billion, with Europe set to hold $1.4 billion.
WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED? The panel components with the highest value are aluminum, silver, copper and polysilicon. Silver accounts for about 0.05% of the total weight but makes up 14% of the material value. Polysilicon is obtained through an energy intensive process to achieve the concentration needed for solar panel efficiency, reflected in the relatively high resale price. The greatest volume of material is glass, which has a high recycling rate but relatively low resale value. An influx of minerals is necessary to decarbonize global energy systems and prevent valuable material loss in standardized waste streams. Rystad Energy’s 1.6°C scenario estimates peak solar energy implementation in 2035 of 1.4 TW. By that time, the PV recycling industry can supply 8% of the polysilicon, 11% of the aluminum, 2% of the copper, and 21% of the silver needed by recycling PV panels installed in 2020 to meet the demand for materials. This
recovery potential can ease strains on the mining sector and reduce the solar PV panels’ carbon footprint. The process of refining copper releases about 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per tonne of copper and is, together with the broader mining industry, a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Potential future carbon taxes can change the cost situation with significant value gains for the recycling industry.
HOW ARE MATERIALS RECYCLED? The first step of PV panel recycling is disassembly, where the aluminum frame and junction box are separated from the panel, ground into pieces, and sorted by material. There are PV disassembly machines on the market ,including one by Japan-based NPC, which separates the panel parts even further before grinding the remains, enhancing the recovery rate for materials. With evolving technology, the market is gradually perceived with greater enthusiasm, and new companies are emerging, such as the US-based start-up SolarCycle, which has generated significant seed funding from investors. Technology, policy and economic viability are both barriers and solutions to evolving circularity of minerals in the PV panel industry. Regulatory mechanisms can be an efficient tool to create rapid change, as we have already seen in the European market and through some initial attempts in the US at the state level. Ultimately, bottlenecks and long lead times in raw material mining could turn solar PV recycling into an economically viable industry in the coming decades. Source: rystadenergy
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VOLKSWAGEN PARTNERS WITH POWERCO TO INVEST
OVER USD 20 BILLION IN CAR BATTERY BUSINESS
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The automaker will create a new company called Power Co under CEO Frank Blome and the production at the plant will start in 2025 erman automaker Volkswagen will invest $20.38 billion to build electric vehicle (EV) batteries, creating 20,000 jobs and generating more than $20 billion in annual sales. Volkswagen broke the ground for its first cell factory in Salzgitter, Germany in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz late. The automaker will create a new company called Power Co under CEO Frank Blome and the production at the plant will start in 2025. “Volkswagen is showing how the future of sustainable, climate-compatible mobility could look. Together, we are laying the foundation for shaping this future to a significant extent in Salzgitter,” said German Chancellor Scholz. Up to 2030, PowerCo will invest more than 20 billion euros, together with partners in the development of the business area, to employ up to 20,000 people in Europe alone. “The battery cell business is one of the cornerstones of our new auto strategy which will make Volkswagen a leading provider of the sustainable, software-driven mobility of. Establishing our own cell factory is a megaproject in technical and economic terms,” said Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG. The company will manage international factory operations, the further development of cell technology, the vertical integration of the value chain and the supply of machinery and equipment to the factories. Looking ahead, further products such as major storage systems for the energy grid are planned. The company said that following Salzgitter, the next cell factory is to be established at Valencia. “Sites are currently being identified for three further cell factories in Europe. In addition to Europe, PowerCo is also already exploring the possibility of further gigafactories in North America,” Volkswagen announced. Volkswagen also unveiled the prismatic unified cell announced at the Power Day in 2021. In future, the plant is to reach an annual capacity of 40 GWh — enough for about 500,000 electric vehicles. By 2030, the Volkswagen Group intends to operate six cell factories with a total volume of 240 GWh throughout Europe together with partners. Source: IANS
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BUSINESS & FINANCE BAJAJ CHETAK ELECTRIC SCOOTER BECOMES COSTLIER IN INDIA YET AGAIN Bajaj Auto has raised the price of the Premium variant of its Chetak electric scooter in India. After the latest price revision, the model has become costlier by Rs. 12,749.
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he vehicle has a retro-inspired design, several tech-based features, and is backed by an electric powertrain. It delivers up to 95km of range. Notably, the Urbane variant is no longer on sale. Bajaj Chetak is one of India’s most famous electric scooters, having retailed 14,000 units since its debut here in 2019. The brand is also sitting on order books of over 16,000 units. The vehicle’s good looks and decent performance appeal to buyers. However, the cost hike might deter potential buyers, and they might opt for rivals like Ather 450X and Ola S1 Pro.
DESIGN • The scooter is available in 4 colors • The Bajaj Chetak has an indicator-mounted front apron, a flat footboard, a single-piece tan-colored seat with a pillion grab rail, and an oval-shaped headlight. • The scooter packs an all-LED lighting setup, a Bluetooth-enabled digital instrument cluster with support for navigation, and rides on alloy wheels. • It is available in Hazelnut, Brooklyn Black, Velluto Russo (Red), and Indigo Metallic (Blue) colors.
INFORMATION • It attains a top speed of 70km/h • The Bajaj Chetak packs a 3.8kW electric motor linked to a 3kWh Lithium-ion battery pack. The setup allows the vehicle to sprint from 0-40km/h in 3.9 seconds, hit a top speed of 70km/h, and deliver a range of up to 95km per charge.
rim, and a combined braking system. It also gets two riding modes: Eco and Sport. • Suspension duties on the two-wheeler are taken care of by a single fork on the front end and a mono-shock unit on the rear side.
INFORMATION • Bajaj Chetak: Pricing
SAFETY • It gets two riding modes • In terms of safety equipment, the Bajaj Chetak is equipped with a disc brake on the front wheel, a drum brake on the rear
After the newest cost revision in India, the Bajaj Chetak electric scooter has become costlier by Rs. 12,749 and is now priced at Rs. 1.54 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune not including FAME II subsidy). The Urbane variant is not sold anymore. Source: PTI
CAR PARKING AT CHENNAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
TO HAVE EV CHARGING STATIONS, MULTIPLEXES The multi-level car parking that will soon be operational at the Chennai International Airport will have five charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) apart from multiplex, food courts, retail outlets.
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ccording to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the 2.5 lakh sq.ft. multi-level car parking with a capacity to accommodate over 2, 000 cars will come into operation next month. The car parking will also offer commercial options including retail facilities, food courts and five multiplex for visitors. Visitors driving to the car parking can pre-book for the EV charging slots and make payments on the dedicated app, AAI said. Source: PTI 44
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PMI TO SET UP ITS LARGEST ELECTRIC CV
MANUFACTURING PLANT IN PUNE
PMI Electro Mobility will set up its largest electric commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing plant in Pune, Maharashtra. It will have an annual production capacity of 2,500 units.
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MI Electro Mobility Solutions Private Limited, one of India’s leading manufacturers of electric buses, has announced that it will set up its largest electric commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing plant in Pune, Maharashtra. The 35-acre facility is said to come up in MIDC, Chakan, and it will employ 1,500 personnel. The company says that it will have an annual production capacity of 2,500 units. According to PMI, its new facility, conforming to Green Building norms, will be commissioned by August 2023. It will have a capacity to produce 2,500 electric CVs per annum and will commence its commercial production by October 2023. PMI currently operates a manufacturing facility in Delhi-NCR that has a production capacity of 1,500 electric buses per annum. With this expansion in Pune, the total annual manufacturing capacity of PMI will grow to 4,000 electric CVs. After laying the foundation stone of the upcoming manufacturing facility, Satish Kumar Jain, Managing Director of PMI Electro Mobility Solutions Private Limited, said, “It gives us immense pride to lay the foundation for the next phase of our growth with the Pune factory. This will help us get closer to our dream of becoming a leading electric commercial vehicle player globally while contributing to Make-in-India and Make-for-India.” He further added, “We, as pioneers of providing zero-emission commercial vehicles, firmly believe that the commercial ve
hicles powered by clean energy will play a major role in sustainable mobility, and we want to actively contribute towards the future growth of this segment and achieve the sustainability target set out by Government of India.” Source: PTI
DELHI GOVT LAUNCHES CHATBOT TO ANSWER QUERIES ON E-VEHICLES From how to procure e-vehicles to their price range and incentives, the Delhi government’s Whatsapp chatbot can answer all possible queries of people of the city looking for information on electric vehicles.
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he Delhi transport department’s newly launched chatbot is one of the many steps taken by the AAP dispensation to promote electric vehicles in the national capital. “Delhi government has launched a #WhatsApp chatbot for #ElectricVehicles. Find your nearest charging station, know more about electric mobility, models etc. Send a ‘hello’ at 98103 36008 and let’s collectively @SwitchDelhi,” said a tweet by Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra. The chatbot also sent out random messages and people have emailed the government with queries on e-vehicles. As soon as a user sends a “Hi”, the chatbot asks for preferred language of communication, and then lists five options — Potential savings while switching to EV (EV Calculator), Find the right EV for yourself (EV Search), Charging Stations, EV Pledge, and Frequently asked questions (FAQs). Elaborating on the idea behind it, Kundra told PTI that they were, for instance, sending out messages to young people to inform them about e-cycle schemes available in the national capital. “We want to cater to the electric vehicle community that has e-vehicles. They can find the nearest charging stations. For those who are looking to buy e-vehicles but don’t know which models to choose from or what the range is, the chatbot will answer their queries,” he said. The government has collaborated with Whatsapp for the chatbot, the official added. “It has its own commitment of promoting green mobility, and so they have supported the initiative,” he said. The senior officer said they would keep working to improve the chatbot. The Delhi government introduced its electric vehicle policy in August 2020. Source: PTI
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ELECTRIC VEHICLE
EV Sales in India to Cross 9 Million Units by 2027: IVCA-EY-Induslaw Report
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The report also says that $1.7 billion was invested in the EV industry in 2021 by PE/VC investors and as reached $666 million in 2022 so far.
ccording to a report on “Electrifying Indian Mobility” by The Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA), EY and IndusLaw, electric vehicle (EV) sales in India will cross 9 million units by 2027. The report also highlights that the EV industry is likely to create more than 10 million direct jobs and 50 million indirect jobs by 2030. The government has also been positive about EV adoption. Recently, NITI Aayog and Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) also released a report which forecasts 100 per cent penetration of electric two-wheelers in the Indian market by FY2026-27. “India is at a crossroads and a shift to electric mobility, particularly, in the two-wheelers segment, may happen faster than anticipated. If there is sufficient installed capacity of electric two-wheelers and charging infrastructure, then the sale may even reach about 250 lakh units,” said the public policy think tank’s report.
STAKEHOLDERS IN SYNC The government, startups and the investor community have been coming together to work towards more sustainable solutions. That is why, despite the unfortunate fire accidents in the recent past, EV adoption seems to gathering momentum. According to the IVCA-EY-Induslaw report, $1.7 billion was invested in the EV industry in 2021 by the PE/VC investors and $666 million in 2022 so far. It also says that with the growth in ESG and climatespecific funds, the investment momentum is expected to continue. In fact, IVCA has also observed many new and first time investors joining the bandwagon.
While the Indian startup ecosystem is focused on technological adaptation and environment, social aspects have also topped their themes for innovation. This is likely to give further boost and momentum to the growth in ESG and Climate specific funds. Fast adoption of EVs across all the segments is truly the path to the green frontier, said Rajat Tandon, president, IVCA.
FAME or Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles was introduced by the government of India in April 2019 to encourage the switch to electric mobility. The idea is to cut down on fuel usage and reduce carbon emissions as per the COP 21 agreement. An outlay of INR 10,000 crore for a period of three years was approved under FAME 2.
While government support for the EV ecosystem in India has been steadily rising over the past ten years, private investors are now filling that void by providing relevant entrepreneurs with funding and mentoring. Startups and investors alike will have plenty of chances in the upcoming years to disrupt the mobility market with cutting-edge green technology, said Ankur Mittal, co-founder, Inflection Point Ventures, in an earlier interview.
India is also moving towards adopting battery swapping to promote faster adoption of EVs. During Budget 2022-2023, the government announced plans to introduce a Battery Swapping Policy and interoperability standards. The idea was to build and improve the efficiency of the battery swapping ecosystem and thereby drive EV adoption. In April this year, NITI Aayog released a draft battery swapping policy for the EV industry and according to some latest news reports, the government is likely to notify EV Battery Swapping Policy in the next 15 to 30 days. Battery swapping offers three key advantages relative to charging: it is time, space, and cost-efficient, provided each swappable battery is actively used, the government think tank said in the draft. “Battery swapping is still nascent in India but gaining ground, especially for commercial and fleet operations. There are currently a limited number of battery swapping service providers that have been engaging with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), individual/ commercial users, and other relevant stakeholders, to develop ecosystems of swapping services with compatible components (batteries, vehicles, chargers, etc.) within each ecosystem,” said the draft. Source: entrepreneur
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Delhi Is Becoming The Capital Of Electric Vehicles, Says Arvind Kejriwal
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In 2020, the Delhi government had formulated Electric Vehicle Policy. Last year, 25,809 vehicles were sold and this year, over 29,000 vehicles have been sold.
elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated seven electric vehicle charging stations and said the city is slowly becoming the EV capital of the country. “In 2020, the Delhi government had formulated EV Policy and we didn’t expect we would get such a resounding response. Last year, 25,809 vehicles were sold and in the seven months this year, over 29,000 vehicles have been sold and the numbers will increase by the end of this year”, he said. “Electric vehicles comprised 9.3 per cent of the vehicles sold this year, with two-wheelers selling the most. This means that Delhi is slowly becoming the EV capital,” Mr Kejriwal said at the event. He shared that there is an application through which people can get information on their nearest charging stations and the occupancy. Two types of charging facilities are available at the stations- fast charging in which one will pay ₹ 10 per unit of electricity and slow charging for which one will have to pay ₹ 3 per unit of electricity consumed.
EV fire incidents: CCPA issues notices to 4-5 EV manufacturers Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) took suo moto cognizance of consumers’ complaints regarding a series of battery explosions in Electric Vehicles (EVs) and issued notices to at least five manufacturers, according to a Zee Business report.
We have issued notices to 4-5 companies. We have asked them to provide reasons for a series of fire incidents in EVs and why the regulator should not take action against them, CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare told reporters.
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he consumer protection regulator also said that the authority will commence the hearing on the matter soon. The CCPA chief also mentioned that it has asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which was tasked with investigating EV fire incidents by the Union Road Transport and Highways ministry, to submit its report. The regulator chief also pointed
out that the other concerned ministries are also examining this issue. The loss of life has been reported due to EV fire incidents. The rising cases of EVs catching fire have raised doubts about whether the products sold passed the standard testing manuals, CCPA chief said. She added that the regulator has received several complaints and took suo moto cognizance. Among the manufacturers that have reported the maximum cases of EV fires include Jitendra EV, Pure EV and Okinawa. While Jitendra EV has reported 20 incidents, Pure EV and Okinawa have reported three cases each. Ola EV decided to recall 1,441 e-scooters after it reported an incident of fire. Okinawa EV too has recalled several vehicles. Besides, there was also a fire incident case related to Tata Nexon EV, a passenger vehicle – both the company and the government is investigating the matter. Similarly, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has also issued a standard for batteries to be used in EVs. The standards will be issued for two, three and four-wheeler vehicles soon and will be mandatory for imported batteries and electric vehicle companies. Source: PTI
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ELECTRIC VEHICLE HARYANA ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) POLICY APPROVED, REVEALS
SUBSIDY RATES FOR HYBRIDS AND EVS IN THE STATE The Haryana Government has revealed its subsidy rates for hybrid and electric vehicles to be sold in the state. The state’s newly approved EV policy will see cars like the Tata Nexon Prime, Nexon EV Max and MG ZS EV see price reductions of up to ₹6 lakhs. Subsidy rates will also apply to EVs priced below ₹1 lakh and commercial EVs like e-rickshaws and light EVs.
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he Haryana Government’s EV policy has been approved and so are the subsidy rates for electric vehicles (4W, 2W, 3W) and hybrid vehicles, set for sale in the state. Toyota recently revealed their first strong hybrid model for the compact midsize SUV segment, the Urban Cruiser Hyryder. Its launch date is yet to be revealed. But when it does go on sale in Haryana, the car will attract subsidy rates up to ₹3 lakh. This subsidy rate is applicable to cars priced below ₹40 lakh. The state government will also exempt a 15% subsidy rate for electric vehicles that costs between ₹15 lakh to ₹40 lakh. This includes cars like the Tata Nexon Prime, Tata Nexon EV Max and the MG ZS EV, at the moment. Incentives are also applicable for commercial vehicles like e-rickshaws and light electric vehicles. The former
includes subsidies of ₹25,000 and the latter will get ₹50,000 subsidy rates. As mentioned above, subsidy rates are also applicable to imported models but they’re more like introductory offers. Imported models that retail between ₹40 lakh and ₹70 lakh will include subsidies up to ₹10 lakh at 15%, but it is limited to first-time buyers only. So say, for example, if you’re buying the new Mini Cooper SE Electric hatchback for the second time, with an EQC already standing in your garage, it won’t be applicable to you. Subsidy rates are also applicable to electric vehicles priced below ₹10 lakhs and above. For EVs priced below, it is up to ₹75,000 and for the ones priced above, it’s ₹1 lakh. However, the offers are available for the first six months of the policy announcement only. The state government is also lifting its motor tax and registration for electric two-wheelers and threewheelers as part of the policy. Aiding for a smoother purchasing process without much delay. Source: PTI
MAGENTA MOBILITY TO DEPLOY EVS FOR AMAZON INDIA IN HYDERABAD
Integrated electric mobility and charging solutions firm Magenta Mobility announced its collaboration with Amazon India to deploy electric vehicles fleet and charging facilities in Hyderabad.
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he tie-up, under which it will deploy electric three and four-wheelers for its delivery partners, marks the company’s formal entry into the Telangana capital, Magenta Mobility said in a release. In 2020, Amazon India announced that it would include 10,000 EVs in its delivery fleet by 2025, as part of its overall progress towards The Climate Pledge – a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon by 2040. The induction of these EVs is in addition to Amazon’s global commitment of 1,00,000 EVs by 2030. “This launch in Hyderabad is a continuation of our collaboration with Amazon that started in Bengaluru and will help transform a significant number of Amazon’s last-mile delivery fleet to EVs and encourage the e-commerce industry to decarbonise last-mile logistics…,” Maxson Lewis, Founder and Managing Director of Magenta Mobility, said. Abhinav Singh, Director for Customer Fulfilment, Supply Chain and Global Specialty Fulfilment at Amazon India, said it is determined to build a supply chain that will minimise the environmental impact of its operations and add to its goal of inducting 10,000 EVs to the fleet by 2025. “This collaboration is an important step towards building an enabling ecosystem to drive electric transportation and further driving more sustainable operations in Hyderabad, an important locale for us,” he said. Source: PTI 48
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ELECTRIC VEHICLE
INDIA’S FUTURE IS DRIVEN BY ELECTRIC
VEHICLES & FUELLED BY LITHIUM From public transportation to e-scooters the entire transport industry is turning electric. It’s been a while since the winds of the electric vehicle ecosystem are orbiting the Indian automotive spectrum, and now these wind currents are pointing toward a more promising, prosperous and sustainable future for India.
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he sheer serious and extensive efforts by the government of India aiming to amplify the emobility adoption of the country by announcing various schemes and policies only reflects a sharp reflection vision electrifying country’s automotive arena. India’s electric vehicle market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 90 per cent to touch $150 billion by 2030. The demand incentives provided under FAME II, the launch of state policies, rising fuel prices, tightening emissions laws and increasing awareness of the green environment are a few factors making the sector attractive to larger automobile players and financial investors. Not only the government, but the automotive industry itself has shown overwhelmingly zestful interest in the biggest automotive paradigm shift. Companies across sectors have now announced their respective roadmaps to be a part of the biggest automotive revolution. As we are routing our way out of the pandemic, the changing macroeconomic environment in the post-covid world has spawned several advantages for India relative to other emerging markets, giving birth to new opportunities that the country needs to take advantage of to meet the government’s aim of growing the economy to $5 trillion. The electric vehicle industry is one of the most exciting, significant and necessary areas of innovation. The global electric vehicle market was valued at $163.01 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $823.75 billion by 2030. India has already
shown its keen interest to be a major part of this automotive paradigm shift. Adding to that, India has already put forward the desire to become the biggest hub for electric vehicles in the future. Industry leaders consider electric cars to be a promising option. Electrification will also be a key enabler of reducing vehicular emissions, a potent contributor to around 7% of GDP or 14 lakh crores loss every year. Unlike the erstwhile course of action – when a said technology came first but its support infrastructure took years to follow, the present Government has been more pre-emptive in developing the framework to enable mass digital adoption. “Make in India” is already accelerating the shift from the traditional mobility paradigm to Ethe mobility paradigm; we’re already seeing several startups and established businesses making the EV scene. This year’s budget details how the industry as a whole will transition from a single-user, vehicle-centric model to a shared, electric, and connected approach. India is on the verge of a major transformation. This time, it’s in the transport industry, with electric cars (EVs) quickly becoming the nation’s penchant. The number of two- and three-wheeler electric vehicles on Indian roads has increased dramatically in the previous two years. Almost every automobile manufacturer has EV ambitions. Plus, in less than a decade, the government plans to convert a large propor- tion of automobiles on Indian roads to elect r i c vehicles.
Source: PTI
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ELECTRIC VEHICLE
HOP ELECTRIC MOBILITY’S FLAGSHIP PRODUCT, HOP OXO RECEIVES MORE THAN 5000 BOOKINGS BEFORE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH FROM DEALER PARTNERS
HOP Electric Mobility’s dealer partners hailing from 14 Indian states spread across 140 touchpoints gave encouraging responses to HOP OXO. At the current pace, HOP Electric Mobility expects to sell more than 50,000 units this year. HOP OXO has successfully cleared ARAI tests and completed rigorous 100,000 km of road testing in 20 cities
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OP Electric Mobility, India’s fastest-growing electric vehicle manufacturer, has received an astounding response for its flagship high-speed electric bike, HOP OXO. This pioneering product is likely to be launched in August this year. The booking window was opened briefly for HOP Electric Mobility’s dealer partners to pre-order the first production batch. And, already 5000 units have been pre-booked even before the commercial launch. For now, the company has closed the booking window.
During the #OXOSNEAKPEEK program, we received great response and feedback. We did anticipate demand, but clocking 5000 bookings from our dealer partners even before the commercial launch is overwhelming, to say the least. For now, we have put the next booking window for dealer partners on hold as retail bookings will open soon. We are gearing up our supply chain and production facilities to accelerate the deliveries. At the current pace, we expect to sell more than 50,000 electric two-wheelers over the next 12 months, said Rajneesh Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, HOP Electric Mobility. It is pertinent to note that earlier this year, the premier automotive R&D organisation, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), affiliated with the Ministry of Heavy Industries, certified HOP OXO post conducting all possible tests, including AIS 156 for batteries. The ARAI Certification is a testament to HOP Electric Mobility’s orientation towards its vehicles’ reliability, performance, quality and safety. Under the #OXOSNEAKPEEK program, the company has completed 1,00,000 km of road testing across 14 Indian states. HOP OXO has been designed and developed indigenously in compliance with FAME II norms. Notably, the company has been giving test rides of HOP OXO at several of its dealership touchpoints in India.
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“We and our extended family, including dealer partners managing HOP Experience Centres across 140 touchpoints, are committed to accelerating the adoption of sustainable mobility solutions in India. Our growing portfolio of electric two-wheelers, including high-speed HOP OXO and another electric scooter in the pipeline, is a progressive step in that direction,” added Rajneesh It is predicted that HOP Electric Mobility will gain immediate traction for the HOP OXO in India because of its 140 HOP dealerships. The company has been on a dealership opening spree. During the last six months, it has inaugurated over 60 new dealerships in India. For the unversed, HOP Electric Mobility has recently closed a strategic round of USD 2.6 million as part of its ongoing USD 10 million pre-series fundraise. The company has also become the mandate holder of the Government of India’s (GOI) ambitious Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for auto under the new Non-Automotive Investor (OEM) category.
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ELECTRIC VEHICLE
WELLNESS FOREVER JOINS HANDS WITH BLIVE TO ACCELERATE THEIR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY With BLive’s strategic mobility solution, Wellness Forever will reduce their running cost of deliveries by 80%. BLive, India’s first multi-brand EV solution platform, has partnered with Wellness Forever Healthcare (WF) to create a sustainable green mobility solution for delivery of their products.
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he rising fuel costs and pollution were big challenges that the company was faced with, and the company was looking to switch to EV for their deliveries. They were also focused on ensuring the delivery of items within 60 minutes through their retail outlets. So, BLive helped them with a tailor-made solution by assessing various existing EVs and finding the right custom vehicle to fit WF’s requirement. BLive with their expertise in EV offered a cost-effective rental solution which will not only reduce the running cost of Wellness Forever by close 80 per cent but also make the company one of the early medical chains to go green for their delivery operations. To help make the switch, BLive connected Wellness Forever with their ecosystem partner Epick to help with the deployment. During the deployment 18 E-bikes (cycles) will be handed over to 9 branch managers in Karnataka spread over Bangalore and Belgaum. Going forward, Wellness Forever aims 100 percent replacement if ICE vehicles with EV.
The switch to E-bike with low – cost maintenance & per km running cost combined with efficient last mile delivery will benefit customers order from their trusted pharmacy from the comfort of their homes. Even with conservative estimates of 10 per order per day, this will impact the lives of thousands of consumers while also contributing to the Government of India’s mission of reducing carbon footprint in the country. BLive plans to deploy a total of 250+ EV’s for Wellness Forever nationally, to create a larger impact on the environment and encourage people to shift to green mobility.
Sharing his thoughts on this strategic partnership with Wellness Forever Samarth Kholkar, CEO & Co-founder, BLive said “At BLive we are on a constant lookout to partner with businesses to help accelerate their switch to EV. We are happy and excited to work with Wellness Forever because their need was last mile delivery. BLive’s mission is to encourage all businesses to switch their deliveries to EVs and Wellness Forever plays an important role in achieving this. Our solution will not only help them reduce their carbon footprint but will also add to the overall cost reduction and improve delivery operations efficiency.”
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Haarshal Thakker, Head – Omnichannel & Hyperlocal Operations, Wellness Forever said “Being one of the fastest growing pharmacy and lifestyle retail chains in the country, a big focus for us is driving efficiency, quick deliveries, and great experiences for our customers across our stores and omnichannel ordering platforms. Our partnership with BLive helps us drive these objectives and while being responsible by reducing our carbon footprint, making this a win for everyone including our customers.”
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ENERGY STORAGE
INDIA’S BATTERY STORAGE POTENTIAL TO BE 600 GWH BY 2030: NITI REPORT India will have a battery storage potential of 600 gigawatt hour (GWh) by 2030, and demand for electric vehicles, stationary storage and consumer electronics will mainly drive adoption of battery storage, a Niti Aayog report said.
The report further said a coherent regulatory framework incentivizing all stakeholders to participate in the recycling process will help in the development of a battery recycling ecosystem in the country. “Based on our analysis, the total cumulative potential for battery storage in India will be 600 GWh by 2030 considering a base case scenario and with segments like EVs and consumer electronics projected to be major demand drivers for the adoption of battery storage in India,” it said. According to the report, the current deployment of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in India is dominated by consumer electronics, which comprises smartphones, laptops, notebooks, tablets and is further expected to grow with the digitalization of platforms and the integration of technology in day-to-day life.
“In India, segments like electric vehicles (EVs), stationary storage and consumer electronics are projected to be major demand drivers for the adoption of battery storage,” the report titled ‘Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Reuse and Recycling Market in India’ said. The report pointed out that in 2020, consumer electronics energy storage was the biggest market for LIBs, with a cumulative market of 4.5 GWh, though EV sales accounted for around 10 per cent of the LIB market (0.92 GWh). As per the report, between 2010 and 2020, the global demand for batteries grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent to reach an annual demand of about 730 GWh. By 2030, the demand for batteries is expected to grow four folds to reach an annual rate of 3,100 GWh, it said, adding this shows a growth of 16 per cent CAGR through 20202030. The report noted that the electrification of transportation and battery energy storage in electricity grids are expected to be the key drivers in the growth of battery demand. Source: PTI
PSUS UNDER GOVERNMENT OF INDIA INVEST IN ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES ALONG WITH SOLAR PV PROJECTS The Public sector undertakings of the Government have invested in commercial scale implementation of Battery Energy Storage Systems along with Solar PV Projects. The Government of India is also supporting some of the storage projects through grant support. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a CPSE under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has undertaken the implementation of following three projects: 1.4 MW Solar PV Project with 1.4 MWh Battery Energy Storage System in Kavaratti Island, UT of Lakshadweep (supported through MNRE Grant) 50 MWp SPV Project with 20 MW/50 MWh BESS at Phyang, Leh, UT of Ladakh (supported by GoI grant under the PMDP 2015) 100 MW SPV Project with 40 MW/120 MWh BESS at Rajnandgaon, State of Chhattisgarh. Ministry of Power has notified Bidding Guidelines for Procurement and Utilization of Battery Energy Storage Systems as part of Generation, Transmission and Distribution assets, along with Ancillary Services on March 11, 2022. Energy Storage Projects at grid scale are currently under implementation stage.
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ELECTRIC VEHICLE
WE ARE CLOSE TO ACHIEVING 20 MW/H ENERGY STORAGE CAPACITY ANNUALLY: ANKIT MITTAL, FOUNDER, SHERU Sheru is a brand new era power storage firm with a novel idea of cloud storage of power. Sheru solves the issue of lack of storage by aggregating idle battery capability to create a digital power storage platform.
Power producers and utilities can retailer their power just about, on-demand, and on a pay-per-use foundation. In an unique interplay with ETEnergyworld, the Founder Ankit Mittal shares a perspective on the corporate’s enterprise mannequin. Tell us about your organization and the concept behind it? Big corporations are concerned with switching to renewable power and electrical automobiles to optimize their operation value. It could be very worthwhile for them. We based Sheru to bridge the clear hole that exists between electrical automobiles and the grid. EVs are necessary for the general power transmission, it’s a large unification of the power market. Earlier with fixed provide and risky demand, electrical energy wastage was included into the value and the emissions had been surmounting. With the ESGs, corporations are actually required to modulate energy provide in keeping with demand, which could be very troublesome to do with out power storage. On the provision facet, renewables, primarily photo voltaic and wind, are getting in style. However, that simply signifies that now the provision can be risky. With EVs within the image, the demand is extra risky than ever. This fluctuation is inflicting greater than Rs 47,000 cr of losses for the power market. The energy disaster occurs as a result of the utilities owe the impartial energy producers. This is a elementary drawback. A variety of power storage capability goes to come back to the market within the type of EV batteries which might clear up the storage drawback. To handle the elevated electrical energy demand from the EVs, the grid must be bidirectional. Therefore, we constructed Sheru on that concept. Instead of an answer supplier, we’re a community. Our goal is to allow stakeholders with related applied sciences that they’ll construct into their provide chains immediately itself. We may also help Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) to make their EVs bidirectional.
Please share your organization’s progress outlook for the approaching years. Our goal is to scale our power storage community to 1GW by the tip of 2027. We have at present reached round 4MW/hr of capability and we’re rising at 50 per cent month-over-month. We are piggybacking on the expansion of EVs as loads of EVs are coming into the market rising the storage capability. We are very near reaching our yearly aim of reaching 20MW/h capability.
What challenges have you ever confronted in adoption of the Vehicle to Grid (V2G) expertise? The good factor is that each one stakeholders are very on this expertise as it’s a clear winner to attain full utilization of the car. It is a good proposition for OEMs and the ability sector. They can keep away from spending billions of {dollars} to construct power storage infrastructure. Broadly, there’s robust adoption from the stakeholders facet. The main drawback is semiconductor provide. As India doesn’t have any home semiconductor producers, all of that’s imported making the soundness of the provision chain the largest problem.
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Have you obtained sufficient authorities help to scale the V2G expertise? There is loads of dialogue occurring however there’s additionally a resistance to alter from the regulatory authorities. We consider that when the potential of the expertise is demonstrated on a big scale, they are going to like to leverage this to resolve their issues. However, no subsidies or different help have been introduced for this expertise.
What is the income mannequin for Sheru? The largest problem confronted by renewable power producers is that 80 per cent of the ability they produce is offered to the federal government and the remaining 20 per cent to personal companies. These energy producers are determined to resolve the losses incurred because of lack of power storage capability. However, power storage doesn’t make sense from a monetary perspective because the utilization is simply 20 per cent in a day. That is why loads of power storage corporations went bankrupt within the US and Europe. Our answer is these corporations can procure power space for storing in a community of batteries fairly than into an infrastructure, like a dropbox for power. We provide you with a digital interface the place we slice and cube your energy and retailer it in numerous batteries and provides it again to you when wanted. It is an aggregated warehouse. Revenue will likely be cut up 50-50 with the battery proprietor. The extra EVs that are available, the extra our power storage capability will go up. In India, we see three segments which have loads of mixture capability – private four-wheelers, intra metropolis buses and battery swapping.
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HYDROGEN DNV AND PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (PIL) COLLABORATE TO
INTEGRATE HYDROGEN INTO PIL GAS NETWORK ASSETS IN INDIA DNV is providing technical advice and support to Pipeline Infrastructure Limited (PIL) on the integration of blended hydrogen into its gas trunkline assets in India – including transmission pipelines, interconnects and spur lines, compressor, valve, and metering stations & equipment.
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IL’s initiative is one of the first hydrogen blended related projects in the transmission space in India, aligned with the government’s launch of India’s National Hydrogen Mission in August 2021, targeting 5 million tonnes per annum of hydrogen production by 2030. In conjunction with fiscal support and other incentives, the Mission aims to leverage the nation’s significant renewable energy potential to transform India into a green hydrogen hub, help meet national climate goals and enable India to become a major producer and exporter of hydrogen to Japan, South Korea, and Europe. According to DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook 2021, demand for hydrogen in the Indian subcontinent will reach nearly 25 million tonnes per annum by 2050, primarily for ammonia production, transportation, and refining. As a basis for green hydrogen production, the report also shows strong predicted growth in renewable generation in India, particularly solar photovoltaics, wind, and hydro power which will make up 65% of the country’s electricity generation mix by 2050. Akhil Mehrotra – MD&CEO – PIL says “The hydrogen industry in India is still in its infancy and has a huge scope to supplement the growing energy needs while supporting the shift to a cleaner environment. Backed by strong governmental support for clean energy and significant renewable energy potential, India has the unique opportunity to become a major producer and exporter of hydrogen”. “Repurposing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen is 10-30% of the cost of building new pure hydrogen networks. DNV is pleased to play a role in this by supporting PIL to transition its gas network to incorporate blended hydrogen to support local industries. In doing so, DNV will leverage its technical expertise and methodology to help our clients meet their emission reduction goals while retaining the use of their existing infrastructure,” said Brice Le Gallo, Vice President and Regional Director APAC, Energy Systems at DNV. Drawing upon DNV’s expertise in assessing the technical impacts on gas pipelines of using hydrogen at different blending ratios, PIL will be provided with technical advice on the readiness of its infrastructure to incorporate hydrogen. Furthermore, DNV will help PIL assess the suitability of its existing network and related assets to incorporate hydrogen at a range of blending levels (5%, 10%, 15%, 50% and 100%) covering the following:
• Assessment of pipeline integrity • Assessment of pipeline safety • Network operations with blended hydrogen. Blending hydrogen with natural gas in existing infrastructure will facilitate the use of a cleaner gas that can help countries such as India smoothly transition to a decarbonized future. Aside from rapidly and significantly lowering India’s carbon footprint, incorporating blended hydrogen in the transportation, power generation and industrial sectors can also offer new business opportunities.
Varadaraj Salian, Market Area Manager – India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for Energy Systems, DNV adds, “This pioneering project will enable PIL to engage their stakeholders in developing and expediting realistic decarbonization goals for which DNV is providing the right technical knowledge, global expertise and best practices so that their operation is safe and sustainable.”
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HYDROGEN BREAKTHROUGH IN GAS SEPARATION AND STORAGE COULD FAST-TRACK SHIFT TO GREEN HYDROGEN AND SIGNIFICANTLY CUT GLOBAL ENERGY USE In 2016, experts writing in Nature listed seven breakthroughs in how we process chemicals that could change the world for the better. We believe we’ve just ticked one of those off the list.
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e found a highly efficient and entirely novel way to separate, purify, store and transport huge amounts of gas safely, with no waste. Why is this breakthrough so important? We believe it will help overcome the key challenge of hydrogen storage by allowing us to safely store and transport huge quantities of green hydrogen as a solid at a fraction of the energy cost. This will allow us to accelerate uptake of green hydrogen, as well as allow oil refineries to use much, much less energy, and make processing many other gases easier. Right now, breaking crude oil into petrol and other gases in oil refineries relies on the hugely energy intensive process of cryogenic distillation. This accounts for up to 15% of the world’s energy use. By contrast, we estimate our new method would cut this energy use by up to 90%. This method offers the world a solid storage method for gases with a far higher capacity than any previous material. The absorbed gases can be recovered via a simple heating process leaving both the gases and the powder unchanged, allowing for immediate use or re-use.
WHAT DID WE FIND? The breakthrough is so significant – and such a departure from accepted wisdom on gas separation and storage – that our research team repeated our experiment 20 to 30 times before we could truly believe it ourselves. So how does it work? Our new approach uses a new method called “ball milling” to store gas in a special nanomaterial at room temperature. This method relies on mechanochemical reactions, meaning machinery is used to produce unusual reactions. The special ingredient in the process is boron nitride powder, which is great for absorbing substances because it is so small yet has a large amount of surface area for absorption. To make this work, boron nitride powder is placed into a ball mill – a grinder containing small stainless-steel balls in a chamber – along with the gases that need to be separated. As the chamber spins at progressively higher speeds, the collision of the balls with the powder and the wall of the chamber triggers a special mechanochemical reaction, resulting in gas being absorbed into the powder. Better, one type of gas is always absorbed more quickly, separating it out from the others, and allowing it to be easily removed from the mill. You can repeated this process over several stages to separate out the gases you want, one by one. You can store the gases in the powder for transport, and separate them back into gas. And better still, boron nitride powder can be used to carry out the same gas separation and storage process up to 50 times. The process requires no harsh chemicals and creates no by-products. It doesn’t require energy-intensive settings like high pressure or low temperatures, offering a much cheaper and safer way to develop things like hydrogen powered vehicles. This ball-milling gas absorption process uses around 77 kilojoules per second to store and separate 1,000 litres of gases. That’s roughly the energy needed to drive the average electric vehicle 320 kilometres. It’s at least 90% less energy than the cryogenic distillation method used in oil refineries. That’s why we believe this breakthrough may tick off one of the seven chemical separation method improvements which could change the world – specifically, improving separation of
olefin-paraffin, a key part of the petrochemical industry. This is the culmination of 30 years work in nanomaterials and mechanochemistry by researchers at Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials.
HOW WILL THIS HELP US SWITCH TO CLEAN ENERGY? The gas crisis facing Australia’s east coast has drawn attention to our reliance on these fuels. In response, there have been growing calls to hasten the switch to cleaner gas fuels such as green hydrogen. The problem is storage. Storing enormous quantities of hydrogen for practical use is very challenging. At present, we store hydrogen in a high-pressure tank or by cooling the gas down to a liquid form. Both require large amounts of energy, as well as dangerous processes and chemicals. That’s where this method could help accelerate uptake of hydrogen, by enabling safe and efficient solid-state storage technology on a large scale. When stored as a powder, hydrogen is extremely safe. To retrieve the gas, you simply heat the powder in a vacuum. This new process can achieve unprecedented gas storage capability, well above any known porous materials. For instance, our new process can store 18 times more acetylene than the highest uptake achieved by metal-organic frameworks, another approach using porous materials. The remarkably high gas storage capability is due to the novel way gas molecules stick to the powder during the ball milling process, which does not break the gas molecules. For this process to be able to scale, however, we have to perfect the milling process. There’s a sweet spot in milling which creates the weaker chemical reactions we want – without producing stronger reactions which can destroy the gas molecules. We will also have to figure out how to get the best storage rate for each material based on milling intensity and pressure of the gases. With industry support, our novel process can be scaled rapidly to provide practical solutions to ensure we never have to face another gas crisis – and can speed up decarbonisation. Source: theconversation
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HYDROGEN
A GREEN STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: THE HYDROGEN DELEGATION The effects of climate change and global warming are here. The WHO estimates that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year.
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he need for action is clear, and nearly 200 countries around the world agreed at COP26 agreeing on the Glasgow Climate Pact to keep 1.5C alive, which will speed up the pace of climate action. Crucial to meeting goals on global decarbonization, particularly in heavy industries such as transport, steel, and chemicals, is lowcarbon hydrogen. This fuel of the future is storable, transportable over long distances, and can be made from green energy sources. The IEA says that “the time is right to tap into hydrogen’s potential to play a key role in a clean, secure and affordable energy future”, and many countries have included low carbon hydrogen as a core part of their decarbonization plans. In short, low-carbon hydrogen will be vital to achieving net-zero by 2050. In 2020, global hydrogen demand reached 90 Mt, almost entirely satisfied by natural gas reforming, coal gasification, and lignite production. In the same year, the production of hydrogen emitted 900 Mt of climate-changing emissions into the atmosphere (IEA, 2021), because of the predominance of fossil sources. By 2050 the demand for renewable or low-carbon hydrogen could reach about 660 million tons, 22% of the final energy demand at the global level, according to the forecast published by the Hydrogen Council in November 2021. The need for scaling of low carbon hydrogen production is clear. The UK has a key role to pla y in this journey. With cutting-edge expertise in electrolyzer manufacturing and development and a clear-cut Government, the strategy sets out a goal to achieve. The government has doubled its aim for low carbon hydrogen production capacity to 10GW by 2030. The UK is bringing together the brightest minds across academia, industry, and government to achieve this goal, as set out in the Hydrogen Investment Roadmap. And of course, financing is key. The UK’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund supports deployment, a business model to ensure long-term revenue support, and a Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard to enable market access. India also has large hydrogen demand and ambitions, with plans to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. India has been showing its enthusiasm to work with the UK on low-carbon hydrogen. Both nations have an unbeatable partnership, matching R&D excellence with manufacturing prowess. India’s ability to support the UK’s hydrogen dream by manufacturing hydrogen at extremely competitive rates is compelling, and another success story is in the wings. India plans to slash the production costs of green hydrogen to $1 a kilogram from $5-$ 6 currently to encourage industries to use cleaner energy and wants access to ch eaper loans to help fund that transition, a senior government official recently said. Players like NTPC Renewable Energy, Tata Power, LRQA, HPCL, Oil Ind ia, Acme Solar, Tata Steel, PTC India, Shigan Nextgen Technologies, EIL, THINK G as, BVG Clean Energy, Eastern Electrolyser, Hydrogen Association of India, Sopan Energies, INOX CVA, EPP Composites, Humble Hydrogen, and Hero Futures Energies Ltd, are only helping to make this vision further. Together, India and the UK are making strides to deepen our collaboration on low carbon hydrogen. Both PMs at the 2021 Summit committed to developing a Partnership on Green Hydrogen and the subsequent announcement of the
Green Hydrogen Hub i n a joint statement in April 2022. The UK-India Green Hydrogen Hub, a coalition of UK and India research groups and innovators, is a crucial step in this green journey the two nations are on. The idea behind the hub is to help join forces to drive science and innovation, and accelerate and enhance the role of hydrogen in the UK and India’s decarbonizatio journey. The UK government takes a step further in this partnership throgh the launch of the virtual “UK-India Hydrogen Hub” in June 2022, bringing the finest researchers and innovators together to solve the most pressing hydrogen challenges for UK and Indian industry. Sarah Fallon, the Regional Director of SIN India noted ‘The hub is a frontier innovation platform that will enable the UK and Indian academic communities to network, get access to the latest technological developments, and trigger endless possibilities of knowledge sharing and collaboration. Through the platform, we hope to drive disruptive science and innovation that can accelerate the deployme ent of green hydrogen in the UK and India’s decarbonization journey’.
The recent 40-member Hydrogen delegation from India to the UK in the last week of June 2022 had seen that the green minds of the two countries come together to share best practices and take the vision of both the PMs on this topic ahead.
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HYDROGEN INDIA NEEDS $15 BILLION FUNDING TO SET UP 15 GW HYDROGEN CAPACITY BY 2030: V K SARASWAT Green hydrogen is the fuel of the future but its price continues to be prohibitive for sectors like fertilizer and refinery which need to use it, said Saraswat said.
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India will need a funding of $15 billion to set up 15 GW (gigawatt) of green hydrogen capacity by 2030, NITI Aayog Member V K Saraswat said. He was speaking at a conference ‘India@2030: A Roadmap for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in Renewable Energy’ organised by CII here, a statement said. “India will require an estimated $15 billion in public and private funding to set up 15 GW of green hydrogen by 2030, V. K Saraswat, Member, NITI, Aayog said pointing out that green hydrogen is the future,” the CII said. Green hydrogen is the fuel of the future but its price continues to be prohibitive for sectors like fertilizer and refinery which need to use it, said Saraswat said. In his address, the NITI Aayog member also suggested certain measures to reduce the cost of green hydrogen. Saraswat said that “for the price of green energy to come down to USD 1/kg, 80 percent reduction in cost of electrolyser is needed, electricity cost has to slash to 2 cents per kwh (kilowatt hour), electrolyser plant life must increase to 20 years and electrolyser efficiency must increase by 76 percent.” Kapil Maheshwari, President, New Energy, Reliance Industries Limited had recently told
Source: PTI
PM MODI URGES STATES TO CLEAR DUES OF POWER SECTOR COMPANIES; LAUNCHES 2 GREEN HYDROGEN PLANTS Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the state governments to clear power sector companies’ dues which are estimated at around Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
The Prime Minister regretted that the state governments are yet to clear subsidy commitments amounting to Rs 75,000 crore to power companies. About Rs 2.5 lakh crore of companies engaged in electricity generation and distribution are stuck, he said while speaking at the closing function of the ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ event. Recalling the days of power shortages, the Prime Minister said that during the last eight years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has been added. Power is necessary for the development of the nation, he said, adding the country needs “Rashtraneeti’ and not ‘Rajneeti”.
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India, he added, is among the top 4-5 countries of the world in terms of installed solar capacity and also has one of the world’s largest solar plants. Earlier, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of 735 MW Nokh solar project in Rajasthan, Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh and Kawas Green Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat. The plant in Leh would produce green hydrogen for vehicles. Modi also launched Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme and National Solar rooftop portal. Source: PTI
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DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MUST TAKE LEAD IN GLOBAL
TRANSITION TOWARDS NET-ZERO: INDIA Global Net-Zero should be based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and of equity, where developing countries will be peaking later given their respective sustainable development paths.
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he maximum impact of the climate change is being borne by the poorest countries and most vulnerable communities who have contributed the least to the crisis, India has said, asserting that the developed nations with their historical experiences must take lead in the global transition towards net-zero. The UN has outlined that in order to keep global warming to no more than 1.5C, as declared in the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The world body has explained that net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions reabsorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance. “The maximum impact of the climate crisis is being borne by the poorest countries and most vulnerable communities, which have contributed the least to the climate crisis and lack the finance, technology and capacity to significantly alter the status quo, First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Sneha Dubey said. Speaking at the special High-Level dialogue of the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council on The Africa We Want: Reconfirming the Development of Africa as a Priority of the United Nations System’, Dubey said developed countries with their historical experiences, must take lead in the global transition towards net-zero. A global Net-Zero should be based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and of equity, where developing countries will be peaking later given their respective sustainable development paths, India said consequently, in order to vacate the carbon space in 2050 for developing countries to grow, the developed countries should, in fact, do Net-Minus, she said. Dubey said "a cross-regional statement underscoring this was issued in June, with two countries from Africa as the signatories. We hope more African countries can join this statement, she said. We hope more African countries can join this statement, she said. India’s then Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador T S Tirumurti had delivered the cross-regional joint statement on behalf of India and Bolivia, China, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Mali, Nicaragua, Panama and
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Syria on “Global Net Zero in the context of combatting climate change made on the occasion of the World Environment Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow last year that India will meet a target of net zero emissions by 2070. There still exists a large gap to achieve commitment by developed countries to provide 100 billion dollars for climate action. An added problem is the clubbing of development finance with climate finance, Dubey said. This is pushing developing countries into more debt, she said and underscored that India is strongly committed to climate action and sustainable development. At COP-21 in Paris in 2015, India committed to 40 per cent share of power generation from non-fossil fuel sources and has achieved this target a decade ahead of the 2030 timeline. India’s experience is useful to African nations as they embark on their own energy transitions, she said, noting that the International Solar Alliance is a notable platform, which has the majority of African countries as members, and has promoted the rapid deployment of clean energy technologies. In recent years, clean and green energy has been increasingly prominent in India’s development programmes in Africa as also in its third country collaborations, she said. Dubey emphasised that the underlying philosophy of India’s partnership with Africa is to empower Africa for a future that is founded on principles of inclusiveness, sustainability, peace and prosperity, dignity and respect for one and all. African priorities will guide our initiatives, she said. Underlining that the years 2022 and 2023 should be the years for delivery of action, she said India looks at Sharm-El-Sheikh with such expectation, the venue of this year’s annual UN climate conference Conference of the Parties (COP 27) in Egypt in November. Source: PTI
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FEATURED
STEPS BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO PROMOTE
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE COUNTRY The Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy, including wind energy, in the country. These include: • Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route, • Waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025, • Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022, • Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
• Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators. • Conducting skill development programmes to create a pool of skilled manpower for implementation, operation and maintenance of RE projects. In addition to the above, the following steps have been taken specifically for promoting wind energy: •Concessional custom duty exemption on certain components required for manufacturing of wind electric generators.
• Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity for evacuation of renewable power,
• Generation Based Incentive (GBI) is being provided to the wind projects commissioned on or before 31 March 2017.
• Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
• Technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai.
• Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bid ding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
This information was given by Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for MNRE in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
PTC INDIA INKS PACTS WITH 5 TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
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PTC India Ltd has signed agreements with five technology companies namely Ircon, Greenstat, AutoGrid, Hexagon and Chemtrols
PTC India Limited (PTC) announced it has signed agreements with five technology companies. The memoranda of understanding (MoUs) have been executed with Ircon International Limited, Greenstat, AutoGrid, Hexagon and Chemtrols, the company said in a statement. With Ircon, PTC is aiming to collaborate on project management consultancy, transmission & distribution projects, DPR preparation, survey/site assessment, engineering/structuring, and bid process management for various projects. Norwegian company Greenstat and PTC are working towards the development of green hydrogen projects in India as well as identifying opportunities for the development of a ‘centre of excellence for facilitation of green hydrogen. “In the partnership with AutoGrid, PTC will offer solutions for demand side management for distribution utilities, potential opportunities in the implementation of virtual power plants in India and offer technical solutions for supplying and
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procuring the round-the-clock power from renewable energy sources and other solutions in related segments,” the company said. Along with Heaxgon, a Swedish multinational, PTC seeks to deploy technology-based solutions in project life cycle management for conventional and renewable energy assets, geospatial mapping and safety infrastructure in the field of transmission and distribution and other related segments. Under the agreement with Chemtrols, PTC is seeking to partner with a strong frontend implementation team to deploy technology solutions in the segments of utility management, renewable energy management and system automation. Rajib K Mishra, CMD, PTC, said: “As a market maker, we have several clients in the entire value chain encompassing generation to distribution. Also, we are now transitioning to be an energy solutions provider offering services and technology-based solutions to market participants including in emerging areas like green hydrogen.” Source: psuwatch
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SOLIS WINS THE GREEN LEADERSHIP AWARD 2022
Asia’s Most Prestigious Recognition For Corporate Social Responsibility. Ginlong Technologies (Solis) Co., Ltd is the winner of the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2022 under the Green Leadership category. It is a proud moment for Solis as this award is international recognition of the company’s long-term commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. This year, Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards 2022 (AREA) 2022’s theme, “The ZERO Shift”, meant the award winners showcased a net-zero approach to sustainability in all aspects and the entire sustainability cycle. They gave equal importance to zero emission, zero waste, and zero inequality.
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On this occasion, Lucy Lu, Solis Global Marketing Director said, “We are very proud and honored to receive this award. Solis, as a global leader in string inverters, is actively contributing to longterm sustainable development and is accelerating the application of innovative technologies by promoting sustainable solutions. Solis will continue working with its partners in a quest for a net zero world.”
olis has not only been recognized for championing sustainable and responsible business practices but also for its immense contribution to the welfare of the society. Some of the initiatives undertaken by Solis include helping the less fortunate, fighting COVID-19, and participating in photovoltaic poverty alleviation programs. The company donated $155,000 in early 2020 to combat COVID-19. It also donated large quantities of medical supplies to the frontline medical staff. Solis has donated $465,000 in scholarships to universities and colleges, as well as donated inverters for several non-profit photovoltaic projects.
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Recently, Solis has supplied its string inverters for the 300MW Tidal Flats Power Station in Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province. The average annual utilization period of the PV power station is about 1,120 hours and about 340 million kWh of clean electricity can be delivered to the power grid on an annual average basis. This power supply equals half of the county’s clean electricity needs. Every year, the project will save about 100,000 tons of coal from being used and reduce CO2 emissions by around 270,000 tons. The system is also expected to save around 2,300 tons of sulfur dioxide and 1,000 tons of nitrogen oxide. This project uses the Solis 215-255kW threephase string inverter series, which has a max. efficiency of 99%, > 150% DC/AC ratio, supports compatibility with high power and bifacial modules and offers an anti-PID function to improve system efficiency. LONGi Solar has supplied the PV modules for this project. With the implementation of such projects, Solis is committed to its success and continues to live up to its Corporate Social Responsibility commitments as well. Solis has been at the forefront when it comes to meeting its Corporate Social Responsibility commitments. It uses public media, professional organizations, and its website to raise awareness about environmental issues and concerns. Solis will continue to fulfill its corporate social responsibility commitments even in the future by actively contributing to society and devoting itself to public welfare projects.
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KSTAR UPS SHIPMENTS RANKED GLOBAL NO.5 IN 2021
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Kstar the global leading Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) manufacturer, announced that it has been recognized as the No.5 UPS hardware supplier globally in terms of 2021 overall shipment by research and consulting firm Omdia.
ach year, Omdia ranks the top 10 UPS brands based on market share in its annual “UPS hardware market tracker” report, which showcases a market of continuous change as companies grow. This is KSTAR’s 2nd consecutive year in the Top 5 Rankings. Since entering the global market more than 26 years ago, Kstar has never limited itself from introducing the best UPS solutions for customers. By far, Kstar UPS has covered 150+ countries’ markets around the world and has built an excellent reputation for designing and manufacturing the highest quality and safest UPS products.
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Our fifth position in the global UPS equipment market share demonstrates our competitiveness against our competitors. We are proud of our ongoing effort to earn the trust of our customers and we will never stop innovating to keep it. In today’s global competitive environment, companies not only compete on products stragetics, sales networks but also supply-chain management. Kstar recently opened a new facility in Vietnam with an annual output of 10,000 UPS to better serve the global UPS market where we foresee a strong demand in nearly future. stated Adda Wang, CMO of Kstar.
According to the latest data from Omdia’s report, the global UPS market revenue has reached $10.4 billion in 2021, up from $8.1 billion in 2020 and it’s expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2021 to 2026 to reach $15.1 billion. The key drivers for UPS & data center growth continue to be the digitalization of physical tasks and the increased need to store and process data.
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FEATURED BRITISH CABINET MINISTER TO TRAVEL TO INDIA FOR CLIMATE ACTION He will also meet the local community to hear how climate change is impacting them directly. The visit is an opportunity to again engage with India on climate policy as well as strengthen and support progress and delivery of the Glasgow Climate Pact, following COP26 in Glasgow and in the run up to India’s G20 Presidency.
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ritish Cabinet minister and India-born Alok Sharma, who led the UN climate summit (COP26), will travel to India from July 2122, it was announced. He will also meet the local community to hear how climate change is impacting them directly.The visit is an opportunity to again engage with India on climate policy as well as strengthen and support progress and delivery of the Glasgow Climate Pact, following COP26 in Glasgow and in the run up to India’s G20 Presidency. On his third visit to the country as COP President, Alok Sharma will continue the work of the UK COP Presidency in pressing for updated climate commitments from all countries, as he meets with senior ministers and climate and energy leaders to discuss India’s ambitious climate plans and progress on smart grid upgrades, electric vehicles and affordable energy storage. Sharma will travel to the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquarters at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) campus in Delhi. There he will witness renewable energy generation in action, and discuss how to further advance the Green Grids Initiative — One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), a product of UK-India partnership focused on strengthening global support for green power infrastructure. While in Delhi Sharma will attend a joint launch of UK-India initiatives on electric mobility, hosted by the apex government of India think-tank NITI Aayog. The partnership between the UK government and NITI Aayog has been instrumental in taking forward Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) initiatives launched under the UK’s COP26 Presidency.
He will visit the Centre for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to hear an update on progress since COP26 and discuss future plans. As record heatwaves are recorded in India, Sharma will also meet the local community to hear how climate change is impacting them directly and understand how extreme heat affects their livelihoods in the city. Sharma, the COP26 President said: “India’s green transition is gathering pace, with an increasing slate of renewables and commitments to phase down fossil fuel based energy. I have previously commended India on its emissions reduction targets and truly believe that delivery of its commitments will have a major positive impact. The UK continues to stand side-by-side with India as it progresses to a low carbon, self-sufficient future. At this critical juncture ahead of COP27 and the NDC Synthesis Report deadline, I am eager to explore how the UK can further support India in translating its COP26 commitments into action.” After his visit to India, the COP President will travel to Australia, then on to Fiji, to engage with governments, states, businesses and civil society in support for stronger climate action ahead of COP27 in Egypt, an official statement said. Source: IANS
DEBASISH NANDA ASSUMES CHARGE AS 1ST DIRECTOR (BD) OF COAL INDIA Debasish Nanda, who was serving as Executive Director in Indian Oil, has assumed charge as Director (Business Development) of Coal India Limited (CIL) Debasish Nanda has assumed charge as the first Director (Business Development) of Coal India Limited (CIL), a Maharatna PSU under the Ministry of Coal, . Prior to this, he was serving as Executive Director in Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). With this, Nanda became the first Director (Business Development) of Coal India. According to an order issued on July 7, from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) Nanda has been appointed to the post with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post till the date of his superannuation i.e. May 31, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Nanda is a graduate in mechanical engineering from UCE Burla, Sambalpur University, a post-graduate in production engineering from REC Rourkela and a master’s in International Business from IIFT, New Delhi. He joined Indian Oil in 1988 as a management trainee in the marketing division and spent 11 years in the marketing of Servo lubricants. Thereafter, he moved to the business development group in 1999. He was involved in business development activities comprising expansion of lube business overseas and setting up of Indian Oil’s subsidiaries, among others before moving to the oil company’s gas business in 2009. Nanda headed the natural gas business of Indian Oil which had a turnover of over Rs 20,000 crore. He developed many robust strategies for increasing the penetration of Indian Oil in the natural gas business. Source: psuwatch 62
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INDIA WILL STOP AWARDING RENEWABLE ENERGY
PROJECTS VIA E-REVERSE AUCTIONS: MNRE SECRETARY The e-reverse auction was introduced to promote competition to get the best price but the renewable energy industry has been saying that it led to intense competition and a steep fall in tariffs, making projects unviable
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he government will cease the electronic reverse auction for renewable energy projects, Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, joint secretary in the new and renewable energy ministry said on July 14, accepting the industry’s demand. The renewable energy industry urged the government to do away with the e-reverse auction, saying it led to intense competition and a steep fall in tariffs, which would make some projects unviable. The ereverse auction platform was introduced to promote competition to get the best price, as it allowed the bidders to see all the bids in real time. It offered them the option to revise bids, unlike the closed ones where only one bid is submitted. “I can say with confidence that the reverse auction arrangement has in-principle been decided to be ended; a formal decision will follow soon,” Chaturvedi said at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) ‘India @2030: A Roadmap for Atma Nirbhar Bharat in Renewable Energy’ conference. The government’s procurement system would move towards state-specific bids so that tariffs could be pooled, he said. At the Conference of the Parties, or COP26 as it is better known, in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised India’s renewable energy capacity target to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 from 450 GW. India will need to add an average of 42 GW a year for the next eight years to meet the revised target. “Our targets are huge. What gives us confidence is our past record. We also must realise that these huge targets will need action that are out of the ordinary,” he said. Chaturvedi said that while the public policy has been supportive, it would be more proactive going ahead. “all our RE capacity additions come from the private sector. The investment has automatically flowed; the government has not had to make extra extra efforts to attract investment. This points to the strength of the private sector, the bankability of projects, etc. We have a strong contractual framework,” he said. Chaturvedi also said that there was a need for the political and industrial consensus for reliable and consistent supply from the renewable energy industry, which might be expensive in the short term due to the higher cost of battery storage but would be important in the long term. “(Battery) storage costs need to be brought down because going forward, grid integration is going to be an issue. If grid integration has to be smooth, there has to be firmer power available which discoms can buy,” he said.
WIND ENERGY Addressing the wind energy industry’s demand for a change in bidding framework, the officer said, “On one hand, we see demand for wind energy and on the other, we see projects which are languishing. This point needs to be recognized and the bidding structure and the old dispensation need to be looked at; we have already done it.” The government was hoping to launch an initial tender for offshore wind projects over the next three to four months, as most of the preparatory work was done. In June, the government chalked out a plan to bid out 37 gigawatts (GW) equivalent of offshore wind-energy projects till 2029-30.
HYDROGEN MISSION Chaturvedi said that the green hydrogen policy was at the “highest stage of approval.” “We hope that in the next couple of months it will be launched.” On February 17, the government announced the first part of the National Green Hydrogen policy. To boost the green hydrogen manufacturing sector, the government would allow free power transmission to renewable energy units set up by green-hydrogen producers and a power banking facility for 30 days. The industry is awaiting the second round of announcements, hoping for economic incentives.
SOLAR ROOFTOP India’s solar rooftop capacity, which can play a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for electricity, has not taken off as expected. “I admit that solar rooftop capacity additions have been sluggish. We need to work more on that. We have already done a lot of work; a new portal is about to be not launched in the next couple of weeks, which should make things easier,” Chaturvedi said. He said that the government was also working to ensure that the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyaan, also known as PM KUSUM plan, takes off. The programme supports farmers to set up renewable energy capacity. “The industry and the ministry need to work more on the decentralized applications of RE…we have identified a few more applications; the problem is coordination between the various ministries which need to work together with industries and other stakeholders. We are trying to work on that,” he said. Source: PTI 64
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PV MANUFACTURING
JA SOLAR TO INVEST RMB 2.5 BILLION IN WAFER AND CELL PRODUCTION
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JA Solar to invest RMB 2.5 billion in 5 GW wafers and 6 GW high-efficiency cells projects; Shuangliang Eco-Energy subsidiary to supply 7,800 tons of single crystal square ingots; Mubang Hi-Tech invests in 10 GW TOPCon PV Cell production.
A Solar to invest RMB 2.5 billion in wafer and cell production: In an announcement, solar PV panel manufacturer JA Solar said that it plans to invested about RMB 2.5 billion to construct 5 GW wafers and 6 GW high-efficiency cells projects. Located in Ningjin Dongcheng Photovoltaic Industrial Park, the project will also involve building new production workshop, purchasing production equipment and corresponding auxiliary facilities, and will be completed in about seven months. Recently, JA Solar had shipped between 8 GW and 9 GW solar modules during Q2/2022.
Shuangliang Eco-Energy signs RMB 3 billion HJT supply contract: China headquartered solar PV production equipment maker Shuangliang Eco-Energy announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Shuangliang Silicon Materials (Baotou) will be supplying 7,800 tons of single crystal square ingots to Anhui Huasheng New Materials, who is a producer and seller of highquality monocrystalline silicon wafers. The total sales amount is expected to be around RMB 3 billion ($0.44 billion), including tax and the entire transaction will be completed between 2022 and 2025.
Recently another subsidiary of Shuangliang Eco-Energy had won a polysilicon furnace project of RMB 123 million. Mubang Hi-Tech to invest RMB 5.2 billion: Production and seller of educational toys Mubang Hi-Tech said that it has signed a 10 GW TOPCon Photovoltaic Cell Production investment agreement with the Wuzhou Municipal People’s Government. As per the agreement, the total investment is expected to be RMB 5.2 billion ($0.77 billion), of which about RMB 2.7 billion ($0.40 billion) will be invested in production equipment. Last month, Mubang Hi-Tech and Anyi had signed a 8 GW TOPCon project deal. Source: taiyangnews
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RENEWABLE ENERGY
RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR HAS POTENTIAL TO EMPLOY 10 LAKH INDIVIDUALS BY 2030, SAYS IREDA
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For waste-to-energy projects, IREDA has raised the exposure limit to 70 per cent of the project cost.
he country’s renewable energy sector has potential to employ 10 lakh individuals by 2030, IREDA Chairman & Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said “India’s Renewable Energy (RE) sector could potentially employ around 10 lakh people by 2030, which would be ten times more than the existing workforce of an estimated 1.1 lakh employed by the sector,” he said delivering the keynote address at an event on Renewable Energy Management for Cooperatives. More than 90 per cent of RE projects have come up in rural areas, resulting in development of the rural economy, he said in a statement. The programme is being organised by the Centre for International Cooperation and Training in Agriculture Banking (CICTAB) under the sponsorship of Ministry of Cooperation at VAMINICOM, Pune, Maharashtra. Das stressed on the need to enhance capabilities of cooperative groups to understand the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, for them to play an important role in making India green through RE. He also highlighted the several initiatives taken by the IREDA to boost the waste-to-energy segment. For wasteto-energy projects, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has raised the exposure limit to 70 per cent of the project cost. He also highlighted that farmers are benefiting from the PM-KUSUM scheme as part of major initiative towards making ‘Annadata’ also an ‘Urjadata’. The scheme aims to provide energy and water security to farmers, enhance their income, de-dieselise the farm sector and reduce environmental pollution. It is one of the largest initiatives in the world to provide clean energy to more than 35 lakh farmers by solarising their agriculture pumps. The scheme is likely to generate employment opportunities equivalent to 7.55 lakh job-years for skilled and unskilled workers. In his closing remarks, Das said e-mobility, green hydrogen, and offshore wind are expected to be game changers in the clean energy transition in the country in the next 5-7 years.
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Source: PTI
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RENEWABLE ENERGY
RENEWABLES REMAIN CHEAPEST, BUT
COST REDUCTIONS ON HOLD: CSIRO CSIRO’s annual GenCost report confirms wind and solar are the cheapest source of electricity generation and storage in Australia. The 2021-22 report is available now at CSIRO.au
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enewables remain the cheapest newbuild electricity generation option in Australia, although inflation and supply chain disruptions will likely put cost reductions on hold for the next year, CSIRO’s annual GenCost report has found. Each year, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), work with industry to give an updated cost estimate for large-scale electricity generation in Australia. The report considers a range of future scenarios to understand the mix of technologies that may be adopted and costs for each of these possible pathways. The 2021-22 report confirms past years’ findings that wind and solar are the cheapest source of electricity generation and storage in Australia, even when considering additional integration costs arising due to the variable output of renewables, such as energy storage and transmission. According to CSIRO Chief Executive Dr. Larry Marshall the detailed scientific and engineering analysis reported on in GenCost provide important insights into the electricity market, helping industry and government navigate Australia’s energy transition. “Australia’s energy sector faces a number of unique challenges as we navigate the transition to net zero emissions. GenCost is a rigorous analysis to help inform decision makers with detailed insights to support the decarbonisation of Australia’s energy system. The latest report shows renewables are holding steady as the lowest cost source of new-build electricity. With the world’s largest penetration of rooftop solar, unique critical energy metals, a world class research sector and a highly skilled workforce, Australia can turn our challenges into the immense opportunity of being a global leader in renewable energy,” he said. Projections in the report assume that cost reductions for all technologies will stall for the next 12 months because tight global supply chains will require more time to recover from the pandemic. However, after the current inflationary cycle ends, solar, wind, and batteries are all projected to keep getting cheaper. CSIRO Chief Energy Economist Paul Graham said researchers had observed year-on-year cost reductions for most technologies and this year’s report is no exception. “What will be different in the next year is that we will have a confluence of factors impacting project costs. The war in Ukraine has resulted in fossil energy price inflation which flows through to all parts of the economy through transport and energy costs. We also have tight supply chains that are still recovering,” he said.
The final 2022 report also includes an update on costs of hydrogen electrolysers which are experiencing rapid cost reductions and could support a faster transition to green hydrogen, particularly in the current context of high natural gas prices. The updated analyses also found that: Both onshore and offshore wind costs have fallen faster than expected. Onshore wind cost changes reflect Australian projects. Offshore wind is yet to be developed in Australia however, cost reductions achieved overseas mean that Australian projects are expected to be lower cost than previously expected. Solar and wind continue to be the cheapest sources of electricity for any expected share of renewables in the grid — anywhere from 50% to 90%. A 100% renewable system would not be entirely made up of wind and solar but include other renewables such as hydro power, biomass, and green hydrogen. Solar and wind begin to require additional investments in storage and transmission once variable renewables reach ~50% share of generation. Solar and wind require new transmission connections to access the best resource. Storage, in the form of batteries or pumped hydro, together with existing flexible gas generation ensures that demand can be met reliably from these variable generation sources. Cost reductions for technologies not currently being widely deployed such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), solar thermal, and ocean energy are lagging and would require stronger investment to realise their full potential. The status of nuclear SMR has not changed. Following extensive consultation with the Australian electricity industry, report findings do not see any prospect of domestic projects this decade, given the technology’s commercial immaturity and high cost. Future cost reductions are possible but depend on its successful commercial deployment overseas. AEMO’s Executive General Manager – System Design Ms Merryn York said " analysis shows that timely investment in new, firmed renewables will provide the most economic form of electricity generation moving forward. With growing opportunity to decarbonise Australia’s economy, understanding the investments that can support a low emissions power system, provide resilience to international pressures, and reduce consumer costs is critically important to enabling the energy transition,” she said Source: csiro
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RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
TOWARD MANUFACTURING SEMITRANSPARENT
SOLAR CELLS THE SIZE OF WINDOWS
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A peel-off patterning technique could enable more fragile organic semiconductors to be manufactured into semitransparent solar panels at scale.
n an important step toward bringing transparent solar cells to home windows, researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a way to manufacture their highly efficient and semitransparent solar cells. “In principle, we can now scale semitransparent organic solar cells to two meters by two meters, which brings our windows much closer to reality,” said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and corresponding author of a study published in Joule. Traditional silicon-based solar cells are completely opaque, which works for solar farms and roofs but would defeat the purpose of windows. However, organic solar cells, in which the light absorber is a kind of plastic, can be transparent.
The research we are doing is derisking the technology so that manufacturers can make the investments needed to enter large scale production.
STEPHEN FORREST Organic solar cells have lagged behind their silicon-based cousins for energy-producing purposes due to engineering challenges such as low efficiency and short lifespans, but recent work out of Forrest’s lab has achieved record efficiencies of 10% and estimated lifetimes of up to 30 years. So the team has turned its attention to making transparent solar cells manufacturable. A significant challenge is creating the micron-scale electrical connections between individual cells that comprise the solar module. Conventional methods that use lasers to pattern the cells can easily damage the organic light absorbers. Instead, the team developed a multistep peel-off patterning method that achieved micron-scale resolution. They deposited thin films of plastic and patterned them into extremely thin strips. Then, they set down the organic and metal layers. Next, they peeled off the strips, creating very fine electrical interconnections between the cells.
The group connected eight semitransparent solar cells, each 4 cm x 0.4 cm and separated by 200µm-wide interconnections, to create a single 13 cm2 module. The power conversion efficiency of 7.3% was approximately 10% less than for the individual solar cells in the module. This small efficiency loss does not increase with the size of the module; hence, similar efficiencies are expected for meter-scale panels as well. With a transparency nearing 50% and a greenish tint, the cells are suitable for use in commercial windows. Higher transparencies that are likely preferred for the residential market are easily achieved by this same technology. “It is now time to get industry involved to turn this technology into affordable applications,” said Xinjing Huang, U-M doctoral student in applied physics and first author on the published research. Eventually, the flexible solar cell panel will be sandwiched between two window panes. The goal for these energy-generating window films is to be about 50% transparent with 10%-15% efficiency. Forrest believes this can be achieved within a couple years. “The research we are doing is derisking the technology so that manufacturers can make the investments needed to enter large scale production,” Forrest said. The technique can also be generalized to other organic electronic devices, he says. And in fact, his group is already applying it to OLEDs for white lighting. The University of Michigan has applied for patent protection and is seeking partners to bring the technology to market. Forrest is also the Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, materials science and engineering, physics and applied physics. Co-authors Huang and former doctoral student Dejiu Fan (PhD EE 2020) designed and conducted the experiments. Coauthor and assistant research scientist Yongxi Li assisted in the fabrication of the devices, which was accomplished in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. The research was supported primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional support was provided by Universal Display Corporation. Forrest and U-M have a financial interest in Universal Display Corp.
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