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June 2015 | Akshay Urja | 01

Volume 8 • Issue 6 • June 2015

THE INDIAN

SOLAR POWER MARKETWell-Positioned to Shine Brightly in the Future

02 | Akshay Urja | June 2015


| Volume 8 • Issue 6 |JUNE 2015

A bi-monthly newsletter of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India

(Published in English and Hindi)

CHIEF PATRONShri Piyush Goyal

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, and New and Renewable Energy

PATRONShri Upendra Tripathy

Secretary, MNRE, New Delhi

EDITORDr Arun K TripathiMNRE, New Delhi

EDITORIAL BOARDPraveen Saxena, Chairman

D K KhareP DhamijaM R NouniB S Negi

R K Vimal

PRODUCTION TEAMAnupama Jauhry, Sangeeta Paul, Pawan Garg, Abhas Mukherjee,

Anushree Tiwari Sharma, Adwit Kashyap, Santosh K Singh, Shilpa Mohan, R K Joshi,

Aman Sachdeva, TERI, New Delhi

EDITORIAL OFFICEDr Arun K Tripathi

Editor, Akshay UrjaMNRE, Block No. 14, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110 003

Tel. +91 11 2436 3035, 2436 0707Fax +91 11 2436 3035

E-mail: [email protected]: www.mnre.gov.in

PRODUCED BYTERI Press

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PUBLISHER AND PRINTERMinistry of New and Renewable Energy

Disclaimer: The views expressed by authors including those of the editor in this newsletter are

not necessarily the views of the MNRE.

Published, printed, and edited for and on behalf of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, from B-14, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, by Dr Arun Kumar Tripathi. Printed at Aravali Printers & Publishers (P) Ltd. W-30, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi - 110 020, India.

RE NEWS4 National8 International

SPECIAL FEATURE16 Anaerobic Digestion Control

and Automation

RE FEATURES

20 Sustainability of Third Generation Feedstock for Continuous Production of Biomethane Under Outdoor Conditions

26 Biomass Supply Chain Management: A Sustainable Approach to Bioenergy

36 Grid-Connected Solar Power Plant at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station: A Green Initiative by Indian Railways

RE STATE32 Ten Thousand Rooftop Solar

Power Plants in Kerala

RE EVENT41 Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar:

Policies, Business Models, and Financing Options

RE INSTITUTION42 Unique Solar Engineers of

Barefoot College

RE SUCCESS STORY45 Cairn Centre of Excellence: Vocational

Training Centre Established by Cairn India at Jodhpur, Rajasthan

47 RE PRODUCT

48 CHILDREN’S CORNER

50 WEB/BOOK ALERT

51 FORTHCOMING EVENTS

52 RE STATISTICS

www.mnre.gov.inIn this Issue

Dr Avanish K Tiwari and Rohit Sharma discuss how the cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in biogas wastewater would be an efficient and economical way to save water for anaerobic digestion as well as produce biomethane.

Yogender Singh and Prof. Y K Yadav believe that India has a great potential of bioenergy production. In this article, they discuss these inefficiencies and suggest workable solutions.

In this article, R K Chaudhary says that the project has been commissioned and today, the Katra Railway Station generates surplus energy. He also discusses some significant technical details of this major renewable energy project.

362620

The Indian Solar Power Market Well-Positioned to Shine Brightly in the FutureThe solar energy programme of the Indian government has recently approved revision in the target to 100 GW of installed capacity by 2022. Considering the fact that India’s installed capacity is merely 3.3 GW, Shirish S Garud and Adwit Kashyap discuss the potential, market segments, preparedness of the stakeholders, and barriers in implementing this ambitious target.

Cover Story 10

Cover photo: PV modules at Katra Railway Station


The article titled “Solar parks and

Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects”

is well researched and written and

contains clear, incisive analysis of

objectives, Implementation strategies,

and facilities for investors. Article

gives clear insight into possible

implementation strategy for solar

parks involving construction of

pooling sub-station and grid

connectivity, along with other

activities for speedy commissioning of solar projects.

D S Agarwal Retd. Executive Director, RSEB.

Member, State Advisory Committee, RERC, Jaipur, Rajasthan

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In its endeavour of compilation and

contributing knowledge for New

and renewable energy, the magazine

‘Akshay Urja’ is an indispensable

literature. The contents is inspiring and

motivating in the sector. H M Patel

Executive Engineer (Dist), Dadra & Nagar Haveli Power Distribution

Corporation Ltd. (DNHPDCL), Silvassa

eSa ^v{k; ÅtkZ* osQ lHkh vad i<+rk gw¡A blesa uohdj.kh; ÅtkZ osQ ckjs nh xbZ tkudkjh dkiQh jkspd vkSj Kkuo/Zd gksrh gSA ;g Hkfo"; dh

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lkfgj vyh u”khckckn (jsyos taD'ku osQ ikl)

mÙkj izns'k

I am regular reader of Akshay Urja magazine. It is very informative and useful. The photographs given are excellent with easy-to-understand content. I was delighted to read the article ‘Electrification through two-stage Biomass Gasifier’ in October 2014 issue. Nearly all subjects in renewable energy for rural development are covered in the magazine. I am really grateful to you for publishing this excellent magazine on behalf of my students and friends. I herewith send my best wisher to you and the people associated with the Akshay Urja magazine.

Anant B Tamhane (Engineer Consultant)

Renewable Energy, Nagpur

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The last 3 – 4 issues of Akshay Urja have been highly enlightening with voluminous information about institutions and their activities. It gives an encouraging perspective of the

‘energy’ conservation with more and more of renewable sources becoming a viable option. I do remember that there are quite a number of regional soar energy centres, already engaged in utilization of RE sources.

V Desikan Satyam Apartments

Mukund Nagar, Pune

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Mailbox www.mnre.gov.in

Dear Reader, Thank you very much for your suggestions and encouragement. The editorial team of Akshay Urja will make every effort to make this magazine highly informative and useful to all our readers. We welcome your suggestions and valuable comments to make further improvements in the content and presentation.

Editor, Akshay Urja

Send or email your letters to: Editor, Akshay Urja

MNRE, Block No. 14, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110 003

E-mail: [email protected]


Dear Readers,

The Government of India has set an ambitious target towards achieving

100 GW solar power capacity under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar

Mission by 2022. The 60 GW capacity of solar power is targeted from on-

ground projects and 40 GW from grid connected rooftop solar power. This

is a giant step and it will make India the biggest producer of solar power in

the world. This will require an investment of about 600,000 crores till 2022.

This investment has to come from the Government of India, public sector

undertakings, independent power producers, individual project owners, state

governments, international funding institutions, etc.

At present, state governments have also come out with state-specific

solar policies to promote solar capacity addition but in context to this 100

GW this needs to be further revised and augmented with higher targets and

commitments. Apart from finances, the other challenges are absorption of the

solar electricity in the grid, trade of electricity in the present mainstream trade

system, grid balancing and other grid stability related issues, acceptability

of solar power by the distribution licensees, etc. All stakeholders have to

play their roles in a mission mode. Stakeholders’ preparedness would play

an important role in meeting the targets. Recent studies conducted by The

Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) show that while agencies are gearing up

for the enhanced targets, power sector stakeholders and industry need to do

a lot to accelerate the pace. Role of utilities and regulators to come out with

user-friendly policies and schemes for faster sanctioning and implementation

of rooftop systems would be crucial.

This has attracted the attention of international companies and has

also opened the door for foreign investments. Today, India is seen as the

destination of opportunity by the international community and we must utilize

this opportunity. Besides generating clean power, this will also generate ample

employment in the country. Solar electricity being clean and environmentally

benign, its decreasing cost, constant increase in cost of fossil fuel based

electricity are few of the favourable conditions for advent of solar power

in India.

An analysis of preparedness of Indian market, stakeholders, grid, finances,

etc., for large 100 GW solar power has been presented in this issue, besides

interesting reading material on recent developments in other sectors of

renewable energy. I am sure that you will find it informative and interesting

as well. Please do not forget to send us your views and suggestions.

Happy reading

ARUN K TRIPATHI

[email protected]

From the Editor’s Desk www.mnre.gov.in

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RE News

Renewable Energy NewsCautioning against harmful effects of greenhouse gases due to fossil fuel use, Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu has advocated a paradigm shift in the energy scenario through the use of alternative energy such as solar and wind power. “The large-scale use of fossil fuel worldwide is causing greenhouse gas emissions. which is affecting the climate adversely. Shri Suresh Prabhu said at a memorial lecture. Explaining the consequence of greenhouse gas emissions, he said, “The unseasonal rain in the recent time and extreme weather change cannot be imagined. Extreme weather is causing adverse effects on agriculture like damage to crops. The present global regime of energy is not sustainable in terms of the environment. We must find out

new sources of energy which are sustainable and it is a big challenge today”.

Advocating the use of solar and wind

energy, he said that solar and wind

energy could lead to a new paradigm

shift in the energy scenario. “We

have 300 days of good sunshine

in India. We do not have to import

solar energy. We should focus on

solar power. However, there is a

requirement for storage facility of

solar energy,” he said.

Shri Suresh Prabhu also suggested

tapping of oceanic energy while

noting that India has a long coastline.

Suggesting other changes to keep

the environment clean, he said,

“Buildings should be designed as

energy-efficient. Since ground water

is depleting, steps like rain water

harvesting should be taken to prevent further fall in water level”.

Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Advocates Use of Solar, Wind Energy

A Sunny Pitch at Chinnaswamy StadiumM Chinnaswamy Stadium will no longer be charged only by the enthusiasm of cricket fans; a rooftop solar plant will ensure a bright and sunny pitch to the cricketing nucleus of the State. Recently, a 400 kW rooftop solar power plant has been successfully installed at the stadium.

Pegged as a first for any stadium in the country, the bi-directional net metering project under the Bescom grid-connected solar rooftop scheme is connected to the power utility’s 11 kV substation. The plant is designed to generate 5.9 lakh units in a year, which is enough to power 200 AEH (all electric homes) using 3 kW power annually,

and also cutting down about 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission annually. The excess power will be sent to the Bescom grid with Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) being paid

N 9.56 per unit. Bengaluru-based solar solutions enterprise RenXSol Ecotech Pvt. Ltd executed the project for the KSCA, which was approved, commissioned, and installed in less than 50 days. Shri Brijesh Patel, Honorary Secretary, KSCA, said, “This is the first cricket stadium globally, and also the first in India, to use solar power. The KSCA has set an example by using its space to help protect the environment for our children in the years to come”.

Source: www.thehindu.com


International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of The World Bank Group, and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA) will partner to provide much-needed infrastructure financing for renewable energy projects in India, which, in turn, will help boost growth and create jobs.

IREDA, the financing arm of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is now the twenty-seventh development finance institution globally and the second in India, to sign the IFC’s master cooperation agreement. This collaboration will help standardize steps that lenders take when co-financing projects with the IFC. The ultimate aim is to make local currency financing available, in shorter time-frames, and reduce financing costs for lenders and borrowers.

“The partnership will help IREDA increase its portfolio in financing renewable energy projects, to

support the Government of India’s plan to establish up to 175 gigawatts of renewable energy projects over the next seven years,” said Shri K S Popli, Chairman and Managing Director, IREDA.

The IFC’s master cooperation agreement was created in 2009 in response to calls for finance institutions to collaborate more closely to help meet shortfalls in private sector financing during the global financial crisis.

“IFC and IREDA will play a catalytic role in private sector development by providing long-term risk capital where it is needed most,” said Mr Hyun Chan Cho, IFC’s Head for Infrastructure and Natural Resources–Asia Pacific.

Since the master cooperation agreement was created, signatories have co-invested more than $3 billion with IFC to support private sector development across the world.

Source: www.finchannel.com

[ National ]

Once again, Gujarat has led from the front when it comes to promoting rooftop solar power generation projects. The state leads in the country with 9.75 MW rooftop solar power generation. Gujarat accounted for 23.64 per cent of the total 41.24 MW rooftop solar power generated in the country by the end of financial year 2014–15. The other state that comes close to Gujarat is Punjab with 7.52 MW rooftop solar power.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, during his stint as the chief minister of the state, had launched the Solar Rooftop Solar PV project in 2010–11 in the state capital, Gandhinagar. After its success, the Gujarat Government initiated the process to replicate the same model in five big cities of Vadodara, Rajkot, Mehsana, Bhavnagar, and Surat. The target for solar power generation for these cities was 25 MW. Though this target was not achieved by the state government in 2014–15, it still is the top state when it comes to rooftop solar power generation.

Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Gujarat Tops in Rooftop Solar Power Generation

IFC, IREDA Partner to Boost Financing for Renewable Energy Infrastructure in India


4,000-MW Renewable Energy Projects Set Up in Financial Year 2014–15More than 4,000 MW of grid-connected renewable energy power projects were set up in 2014–15, beating the targets by 8.5 per cent. At the end of March 2015, India had 35,777 MW of renewable energy capacity. The highlight of the year was the addition in solar capacity, which stood at a record 1,112 MW, compared with the 948 MW achieved in 2013–14 and slightly higher than the target of 1,100 MW. A comparison of installation figures at the end of December 2014 and March 2015 shows that 979 MW of wind and 681 MW of solar capacities were added in the January–March quarter of 2014–15. These capacities work out to 42 per cent and 61 per cent, respectively, of the total wind and solar capacities installed in 2014–15.

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog would soon come out with an energy policy to meet the country’s growing energy demand. It has already begun consultations with

concerned ministries to draw a blueprint in this regard.

Addressing a workshop on the India Energy Outlook, the NITI Aayog’s Vice-Chairman Shri Arvind Panagariya said that the proposed

energy policy would focus on an integrated approach in harnessing the potential of power generation through solar, wind, gas, and coal to meet the country’s energy demand. “We will have a national energy policy. We are in discussions with our colleagues in different ministries,” Shri Panagariya said. The country needs to rapidly expand its energy market, as one-fourth of its people still do not have access to electricity. “India is set to become the fastest growing economy in the world. We need to take away the subsidies from rich people and use that money to provide clean energy to poor people,” he reasoned.

Source: www.indianexpress.com

Bhatinda Gets 4 MW Solar Power Plant

Punjab Renewable Energy Minister Shri Bikram Singh Majithia inaugurated a 4 MW solar power plant in Nangla, Bhatinda district. The solar plant has been approved by the Punjab Energy Development Authority (PEDA).

On this occasion, Shri Majithia said that farmers would get a higher lease amount as compared to the market rates, along with an annual increment of 6 per cent. He added that PEDA would facilitate the setting up of projects related to renewable sources of energy on farmer-owned land, wherein private investors would take the land on lease from farmers for 25 years.

Constructed with an investment of

N35 crore by an Israel-based company, the Nangla project will produce 14,000–18,000 units of power every day. With the fourth solar plant in Bhatinda district, the total production of solar power in the state has increased to 234 MW. It was just 9 MW in 2009. Shri Majithia said, “We plan to develop capacity to generate 5,400 MW non-conventional power by 2022 with 300 MW generation from biomass, 680 MW from cogeneration power, 4,200 MW from solar, 200 MW from hydel, and 20 MW by converting waste into energy.”

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Integrated Energy Policy Soon to Meet Growing Demand: NITI Aayog

RE News


[ National ]

MNRE–DISCOMs Discuss Grid-Connected Solar Rooftop ProjectsA meeting between the State Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) was held on the issue of grid-connected solar rooftop photovoltaic systems. Shri Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, MNRE informed the participants that the MNRE is in discussion with the Ministry of Power (MoP) for earmarking at least 10% of the funds from the Integrated Power Development Scheme and Deen Dayal Uppadhayay Gram Jyoti Yojana scheme towards grid-connected rooftop solar and DISCOMs should include it in their detailed project report submission to the MoP. Shri Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary, MNRE emphasized on the inevitable growth of rooftop solar power in the country and urged DISCOMs to provide grid connectivity.

Source: www.mnre.gov.in

Sterling and Wilson Pvt. Ltd, a part of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has emerged as one of India’s largest solar Engineering, Procurement Construction (EPC) contractors by commissioning over 140 MW of solar capacity in 2014–15.

The company has set up solar power generation plants for various private sector entities across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,

Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. “All the plants commissioned by us perform at a higher than estimated efficiency level, thus increasing the value generated for the client on a yearly basis. As new environmental norms come into existence, it will be our endeavour to drive value and engineering innovations in the solar business,” said Mr Bikesh Ogra, President, Sterling and Wilson, Electrical & Solar Business.

The cumulative power output from the 140 MWs of solar power projects commissioned would be able to light up 200,000 Indian homes. From an environmental perspective, Sterling and Wilson has helped in reducing the country’s carbon footprint by 70 tonnes per year, which is the approximate amount of coal required to generate 140 MW of electricity.

So far, the company has over 350 MW of solar projects spread across 13 states. Hong Kong-based market research firm, IHS Research has named Sterling and Wilson ahead of many well-entrenched Indian solar EPC players.

Source: www.thehindu.com

Tata Power Solar has commissioned 1.25 MW rooftop projects at Sastra University’s Thanjavur and Kumbakonam campuses in Tamil Nadu. The Sastra University has inked a pact with Tata Power Trading Company under which the latter would sell electricity generated from the facilities to the university for the next 15 years.

Commissioned as a part of the university’s green energy effort, the plants are likely to offset 30 per cent of its total power consumption. These plants will

generate nearly 20 lakh units of power annually and reduce more than 1,600 tonne of carbon dioxide emission.

Set up on 11 buildings across the two campuses, these plants come with in-built grid interactive string inverters to achieve efficiency up to 98 per cent and reduce losses.

To further minimize transmission and distribution losses, power generated by each rooftop plant would be used by the same building.

Source: www.business-standard.com

Sterling and Wilson Commissions 140 MW Solar Capacity in 2014–15

Tata Power Solar Starts Operation of 1.25 MW Rooftop Solar Plant at TN Varsity


RE News

China and Brazil Lead Global Growth in Wind Energy

According to the Global Wind Energy Council’s report Global Wind Report: Annual Market Update 2014, China and Brazil led the global growth in wind energy in 2014. The report mentions about China’s installed 23 GW of new wind power last year, bringing its total to more than 114 GW. Meanwhile, Brazil was the world’s fourth largest market in 2014, entering the top 10 for the first time.

“China in 2014 crossed the 100,000 MW mark, adding another milestone to its already exceptional history of renewable energy development since 2005. Latin America’s wind energy market tripled and posted an installation growth

of 80 per cent last year from 2013 figures,” the report added.

The report said, “Mexico acquired 633.7 MW of new capacity to reach a total of 2,551 MW by the end of 2014, while Chile added 506 MW to reach a total of 836 MW in total installed capacity. Meanwhile, Uruguay added almost 405 MW of new capacity, Peru added almost 146 MW, and Argentina added 53 MW last year. America and the Caribbean had added 3,749 MW of new capacity last year to bring its total installed capacity to 8.5 GW.”

“Wind power is reaching critical mass in a number of Latin American markets, and the region has begun developing a substantial wind power

According to the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF), solar power is set to become profitable in Japan. This development will free the country from the need for government subsidies and make it the last of the G7 economies where technology has become economically viable.

Japan is now one of the world’s four largest markets for solar panels and a large number of power plants are coming on-stream, including two giant arrays over water in Kato City and a $1 billion solar farm being built on a salt field in Okayama, both west of Osaka. “Solar has come of age in Japan and from now on will

be replacing imported uranium and fossil fuels,” said Tomas Kåberger, executive board chairman of the JREF.

Japan is retiring nearly 2.4 GW of expensive and polluting oil-fired energy plants by March next year and switching to alternative fuels. Japan’s 43 nuclear reactors have been closed in the wake of the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima power plant after an earthquake and a tsunami—since then, renewable energy capacity has tripled to 25 GW, with solar accounting for more than 80 per cent of that.

Source: www.bangkokpost.com

South Africa’s 10 MW Neusberg Small Hydro Plant Commissioned

South Africa’s 10 MW Neusberg hydropower project has been officially launched, according to the owner, Kakamas Hydro Electric Power Ltd. The plant is located on the Orange River in the Northern Cape of South Africa, and represents the first run-of-the-river project developed under the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Programme (REIPPP).

Source: www.hydroworld.com

industry to complement its rich hydro and biomass (and potentially solar) resources,” the report added.

Source: www.en.yibada.com

Japan Turns to Solar Power


A top US Government official visiting the country has praised New Zealand as a “great model” for other countries working to boost their renewable energy generation. Ms Mary Warlick, the US Department of State’s principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Energy Resources, has spent some recent time learning about New Zealand’s energy profile from the Kiwi researchers and government officials.

With the US investing billions of dollars to up its own capacity for renewable energy generation, Ms Warlick said that New Zealand could offer many lessons from the way it invested in research and industry development in the space.

Today, around 40 per cent of New Zealand’s primary energy is supplied from renewable sources, which also generates 80 per cent of its electricity,

largely from hydropower (more than 50 per cent) and geothermal (around 14 per cent).

Other sources are wind (5 per cent of the total electricity supply), bioenergy (providing 8 per cent of primary energy supply), solar,

and marine. By 2025, the New Zealand Government wants 90 per cent of the country’s electricity generation coming from renewable energy sources, provided it does not affect the security of supply.

Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

[ International ]

New Zealand an ‘Impressive’ Green Energy Model

Total Corporate Funding in Solar Sector Increases to $6.4 Billion in Q1 Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity for the solar sector in the first quarter of 2015.

Total global corporate funding in the solar sector, including venture capital/private equity (VC), debt financing, and public market financing raised by public companies, almost doubled with $6.4 billion, compared to $3.4 billion in Q4 2014.

Source: www.mercomcapital.com

Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited (REIL), Jaipur signed an agreement with M/s Milkotronic Ltd. Nova Zagora, Bulgaria at Hannover Messe 2015, Hannover, Germany for the transfer of technology for

manufacturing of Milk Analyzers in India. The agreement was signed by the Managing Director, REIL, Shri A K Jain and Managing Director Milkotronic Ltd, Shri Dinyo Dinev in gracious presence of Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India, Shri Rajan S Katoch and the Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India, Shri Vishvajit Sahay. These Analyzers are used to measure various parameters in milk.

On this occasion, Managing Director, Shri Jain reiterated the commitment of the company of “Shaping Rural India through Electronics, Energy and IT Solutions” alongwith responding to the needs of esteemed customers, added yet another product in the manufacturing range that is reliable, dependable, and affordable.

Source: www.reiljp.com

REIL Signs an Agreement for Manufacturing of Milk Analyzers in India


Cover Story

THE INDIAN SOLAR POWERMARKETWell-Positioned to Shine Brightly in the Future

The solar energy programme of the Indian government has recently approved revision in the target to 100 GW of installed capacity by 2022. Considering the fact that India’s installed capacity is merely 3.3 GW, Shirish S Garud and Adwit Kashyap discuss the potential, market segments, preparedness of the stakeholders, and barriers in implementing this ambitious target.


The Indian Solar Power Market: Well-Positioned to Shine Brightly in the Future

The solar energy programme of the Government of India is poised to take a giant leap in the coming years with

a recently approved revision in the target to 100 GW of installed capacity by 2022, announced recently by the government. Considering the fact that the global installed capacity of solar power is around 177 GW (as on January 2015) and India’s installed capacity is merely 3.3 GW, it’s time to take a hard look at the potential, market segments, preparedness of the stakeholders, and barriers in implementing this ambitious target. A recent market analysis1 reported a projection of 2 GW capacity addition of solar power in the country in the financial year 2015–16. Whereas the government is planning to tender about 10–15 GW of solar projects in 2015–16 and continue it every year afterwards.

Potential The National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), has recently estimated India’s solar energy potential of the order of 748.98 GW2 considering only portions of wasteland and other land areas available for installations. Similarly, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has recently estimated potential of 124 GW for rooftop solar based on the current data of buildings.3

The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai recently launched solar radiation potential maps for India which show the solar energy resource potential for India based on the ground measurement data gathered under the ‘Solar Radiation Resource Assessment Programme’ launched by the MNRE. This one-of-its-kind unique programme covering the length and

breadth of the country now has 115 solar radiation resource and other relevant data measuring stations.4 Thus, it can be concluded that the Ministry is well on the path of estimating resource potential with minimum uncertainty. This will help in reducing the risks associated with the resource estimation. Figure 1 presents the solar radiation atlas of India.

Stakeholders’ Preparedness

The major stakeholders are as follows:

� The Central and State governments

� Power sector comprising utilities, regulators, generators, transmission and distribution network companies, load despatch centres, power exchanges, and so on

� Industry—including solar and ‘balance of system’ manufacturing industry and user industry, which can use the solar energy produced


Cover Story

Figure 1: Solar radiation atlas of India (Source: NREL)

� Financing community covering investors, financial institutions, lenders, project developers, multilateral and bilateral institutions, and so on

� Service providers such as EPC contractors, consultants, and research and training institutes.

Stakeholders’ preparedness would play an important role in meeting the targets. Studies conducted by TERI show that while agencies are gearing up for the enhanced targets, power sector stakeholders and industry need to do a lot to accelerate the pace. Role of utilities and regulators to come out with user-friendly policies and schemes for faster sanctioning and implementation of rooftop systems would be crucial.

Market SegmentsWhile revising the targets, the government has also revised the market segment-wise targets. The 100 GW plan is subdivided into the following major market segments:

� 40 GW of solar rooftop systems

� 20 GW through solar parks and Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP) scheme

� 20 GW through unemployed youth, Gram Panchayat (local administrative bodies), and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

� 20 GW through bundling and Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme.

The above distribution is captured in Table 1 along with our observations on the current status.

It can be seen that the government has made right efforts to distribute the targets across the segments and two major initiatives: (i) solar rooftop and (ii) solar parks, will be critically important for the success of the plan. This is because while solar rooftop system can bring in distribution of capacity across the country thus spreading the investments on one hand, solar parks and UMPP projects

Table 1: Proposed distribution of target

Sl. No.

Type of Scheme Target (GW)

Status

1 Solar park 20 Proposals being developed. Need 2 years to develop after land acquisition. Transmission network to be developed

2 Rooftop solar 40 States and DISCOMs to develop schemes, policies may move slowly in the beginning

3 Central PSUs 05 Can move faster if CPSUs show commitment

4 State PSUs 10 Can move faster

5 Entrepreneurs 20 Depends on states and DISCOMs

6 Private corporate/industrial houses

05 Private investors



can bring in scale for large and sustainable investments across the value chain bring down the costs of solar systems. However, the success of this will depend on the faster implementation and capacity building across the value chain. Preparedness of State governments by providing policy support, regulators, and utilities to provide attractive investment options for rooftop solar and financial institutions to support the projects will be crucial. Recent announcement of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to include solar energy sector in priority lending sector is a welcome move in this direction. The proposed scheme of Dollar Currency Loans for large solar power projects would also play a game changer role in attracting pension funds and long-term international investors.

It is well known that the Central and State PSUs, Railways, and Defence establishments have vast land areas under them and if this resource is properly tapped for solar projects then the issue of land scarcity would be minimized. The initiatives of the government to create policy environment for this would go a long way in promoting large scale solar power plants.

Detailed analysis of the market segments is discussed below.

Rooftop Solar PowerThere are four major consumer segments for rooftop solar power, viz., residential, commercial, industrial, and government/municipal.

Solar rooftop panels

Cost Comparison of Rooftop Solar Power with DG set

The commercial and industrial consumer segments are exhibiting strong signs of adopting rooftop solar power at a large scale. This is largely attributable to the significant margin of cost savings offered by rooftop solar power to these consumers, who frequently rely on expensive diesel generation. In a number of states, the grid power tariffs for these customers are also higher than the cost of rooftop solar power, further incentivizing market growth. The need of the hour for accelerating the rooftop solar market growth is identification of specific commercial/industrial sub-sectors or businesses for which the benefits significantly outweigh the costs, and engage them with a strong outreach and marketing campaign. This, however, may create revenue loss situation for utilities which are cross-subsidizing the residential and agriculture tariffs with higher tariffs for industries and commercial establishments.

Apart from this, the government has taken several steps to promote rooftop solar power in its own infrastructure. The Ministry of Railways has taken up a target of 1 GW of rooftop solar power in the next five years. The Government of India is also in discussion with various PSUs and Departments, such as the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), for installing rooftop solar power in their infrastructure. The MNRE has recently tasked TERI to estimate the total potential of rooftop solar power

that can be installed at locations and premises of all Ministries of the Central government across the country. In addition, the MNRE, through its wholly-owned implementing agency—the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), is currently planning a GW-scale tendering programme for rooftop solar projects in the country.

The residential segment holds the largest potential for rooftop solar power. This is mainly due to the large residential building stock in the country. However, due to various market reasons, the take-up of rooftop solar power by residential consumers is yet to take off in a big way. Some of the reasons for this are low relative viability of rooftop solar power for residential customers due to subsidized grid power tariffs, insufficient outreach and awareness of the product’s benefits due to absence of targeted marketing campaigns, high cost of debt from banks, low engagement by some distribution utilities, etc. Inclusion of solar rooftop systems as part of the housing loan scheme is another strategic step by the government to attract investments in this segment.

Another point of concern across the industry is that the low level of standardization of system components, installation, commissioning and operation processes, and emphasis on quality and safety by the developers.

There is certainly a lot going on in the rooftop solar power market.

`7/kWh

`18/kWh

Rooftop solar DG set


Cover Story

However, the current level of activity needs to be significantly ramped up in order to approach the market’s realizable potential, which is estimated at a huge 124,000 MW.5

Solar Parks And UMPP Projects

Currently, utility-scale solar power projects being stalled under solar park and UMPP scheme dominate the Indian solar market, with more than 3.7 GW of installed capacity, out of a total 3.7 GW installed capacity in the country (as of March 31, 20156). This is contrary to the situation in the majority of other countries with significant solar power capacities. Utility-scale projects in India are generally implemented through the tendering process usually coordinated by Central and State governments or their agencies. For instance, MNRE obtained Cabinet approval for the scheme for solar parks in late 2014, with a total planned programme size of 20 GW. This scheme will be implemented through the development of ‘walk-in’ facilities for solar power developers, where developers will be provided with a number of major amenities required in a solar power plant, such as identified and developed land, power evacuation infrastructure, etc. The developers will only need to ‘walk-in’ and start assembling their power generation equipment after the initial bidding processes. This scheme has received significant interest from states, with land identification and development already being undertaken to support projects of more than 10 GW cumulative capacities (Table 2). However, there are reports of this development process suffering from delays. It might be a while before the programme sees acceleration of on-ground implementation.

Another Central government initiative is the 3 GW state bundling scheme, in which solar power will be bundled with conventional power from National Thermal Power

Corporation Limited (NTPC) for sale to states.

Recent DevelopmentsOn May 13, 2015, the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) mechanism received a boost with the Supreme Court judgement that the RPO on captive consumers is justified, citing Article 51A (g) of the Constitution of India that cast a fundamental duty on the citizen to protect and improve the environment, and the mandate of Article 21 that guarantees the right to live with healthy life. This development may help in better enforcement practices of the RPO mechanism in the future.

In the rooftop solar sector, the ‘net metering’ mechanism is gaining momentum, with a total of 15 states and six union territories now having implemented this provision. This is a very positive development for the promotion of rooftop solar power, since without a regulation released by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) it is illegal to obtain a grid connection for a rooftop solar power project.

The MNRE, in a push to the canal-top and canal-bank solar power projects, which first materialized in Gujarat, had released a pilot-cum-demonstration scheme worth 100 MW in December 2014. It is proposed to develop 50 MW of canal-top and 50 MW of canal-bank in eight states as shown in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Proposal to develop 50 MW of canal-top and 50 MW of canal-bank in eight states of India

Sl. No.

State Canal-top

target (MW)

Canal-bank

target (MW)

1 Andhra Pradesh 1 5

2 Gujarat 10 15

3 Karnataka 10 -

4 Kerala 3 -

5 Punjab 20 -

6 Uttar Pradesh 6 -

7 Uttarakhand - 20

8 West Bengal - 10

Sub-Total 50 50

Total 100

The Government of India is developing a mechanism targeted at reducing the cost of supply of solar power through dollar-denominated tariff bidding. Under the arrangement, distribution utilities would quote prices in dollars for long-term solar power contracts, but would still charge consumers in rupee. This is expected to reduce solar power costs to parity levels with power from coal power plants, at approximately N5/kWh. This idea, if implemented, should serve to give a substantial push to the solar power sector in the country.

The state of Karnataka recently introduced a very well-received, 300 MW scheme for the development of grid-connected solar power on unutilized or non-productive farmland, wherein farmers can set up 1–3 MW capacity solar power plants on their land and sell power to the grid. Besides augmenting the state’s solar power capacity through an

Table 2: State-wise proposed solar park schemes

Sl. No.

StateSolar Park Capacity (MW)

1 Andhra Pradesh 2,500

2 Gujarat 700

3 Karnataka 2,000

4 Madhya Pradesh 1,500

5 Meghalaya 20

6 Punjab 1,000

7 Rajasthan 2,680

8 Tamil Nadu 500

9 Telangana 1,000

10 Uttar Pradesh 600

11 Arunachal Pradesh 100

12 Kerala 200

13 Uttarakhand 39

14 Nagaland 60

Total 12,899



innovative route, this measure is also expected to decrease the agricultural electricity load on the state’s power system, which had grown to consume a substantial portion of the state’s total electricity consumption, and was also growing at a steady rate.

Transmission Grid Availability

Apart from the market activity, one of the important pre-requisites for large-scale solar power is the timely and efficient grid integration for power evacuation. Lack or unavailability of this facility has the potential to act as a significant dampener to the growth of India’s solar power sectors. The existing grid arrangement is challenged by the intermittent nature of these resources, resulting in varying voltage and supply. It not only impacts the grid but limits the actual performance of the systems in terms of output. This remains a common concern among all renewables. Such a situation could have adverse impact on not only long-term goals but also on return on investments of a developer.

The Green Energy Corridor Project is one of the ambitious projects from the Government of India, in partnership with Germany, to facilitate the smooth flow of renewable energy into the national grid. To strengthen this project, there is an on-going effort with international experts towards developing forecasting

abilities, balancing solutions, and planning for Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMCs) in the country.

Market Development Mechanisms

Renewable Purchase Obligations

(RPO) for utilities, large scale captive

power producers, and other obligated

agencies have acted as an effective

mechanism for creating markets for

solar power.

This is associated with Renewable

Energy Certificates (RECs), tax

benefits, and other incentives.

Recently, the Supreme Court of India

has ruled in favour of applicability

of RPO mechanism for captive

power producers and open access

consumers. This is expected to

develop the markets faster.

ConclusionThe sun is certainly shining on the

Indian solar power sector. This

is reflected in the high spirits of

the industry, notwithstanding the

various unresolved policy, regulatory,

technical, and economic issues

existing in the market. There are still

significant barriers to be overcome

before the market truly takes off to

approach the envisioned 40 GW

target by 2022. However, the recent

developments in policy, regulatory,

and financial sectors to improve the

attractiveness of the investments in

solar sector are likely to play lead role

in accelerating the markets. Perhaps the Ministry can focus on streamlining the procurement processes, uniformity in state level policies and enactment of suitable regulatory measures to create market stability. The major concerns of the industry including cost of finance, payment security, access to grid, and purchase of the produced power also need to be addressed.

The environment is positive and it can be said that the programme can achieve the desired level of solar power generation in the coming years.

References

1. Mercom Capital Group, llc

2. Available at http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/Statewise-Solar-Potential-NISE.pdf, last accessed on June 22, 2015.

3. Available at http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/Rooftop-SPV-White-Paper-low.pdf, last accessed on June 22, 2015.

4. Available at http://niwe.res.in/indian_solar_atlas.php, last accessed on June 22, 2015.

5. “Reaching the sun with rooftop solar”, TERI, 2015.

6. MNRE website.

Mr Shirish S Garud, Associate Director-EETD, TERI, New Delhi. E-mail: [email protected]; Mr Adwit Kashyap, Research Associate, RETA, TERI, New Delhi. E-mail: [email protected]

A view of a solar farm in India

Special Feature

In this article, Mauritz Lindeque discusses how anaerobic digestion plants can be managed well with the help of automation technologies available as of today.

Anaerobic digestion has been used in South Africa for the stabilization of municipal wastewater sludge since the 1930s. In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, many Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (MWWTP) developed anaerobic digesters. The main aim of these digesters was to treat and stabilize the

municipal wastewater sludge with no, to little, regard for the renewable fuel source in the form of biogas. The biogas was either flared, or used to fuel incinerators that were used for the treatment of screen waste from the head of works of the MWWTP (Pictures 1-2). To date, there are over 350 MWWTP that have anaerobic digestion as a treatment process capability. Many of them possess the hardware and facilities but do not have operational digesters that are operated to design specifications. With the cheaper electricity costs that South Africa experienced up to recent times with the gradual increase in electricity costs in the past five years, it meant that there was no real incentive to maintain digesters. Electrical equipment could be employed to dewater sludge and use it in alternative processes. This then resulted in loss of knowledge in operating the digesters at optimal performance levels.

A possible solution could be the automation of the processes. The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) completed research projects in the optimization of the anaerobic digestion process through the employment of technology. This led to the development of a pilot plant that was operated mainly on municipal wastewater sludge. The principles employed were to optimize the environment where the biological process takes place. Sufficient know-how and knowledge is available to understand the basic parameters that require maintenance and monitoring.

A private company was formed by the principal researcher involved in the development of the CSIR’s anaerobic digester to develop and supply technology

ANAEROBIC Digestion Control

and Automation

Picture 1: A typical example of a 2000 m3 anaerobic digester at

a MWWTP


Anaerobic Digestion Control and Automation

for the automated operation of anaerobic digesters. The company formed is called Carbon Neutral Approach and the product range that they developed is the Warthog Control Systems. The control system or Supervision Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system consists (Picture 3) of a microprocessor-based technology that incorporates many technological advancements for the automated operation of anaerobic digesters. Following sections discuss the composition of this system.

Main SCADA

� GPRS connectivity for remote communication with the unit that will allow the operator to change parameters and monitor the plant from a computer or smartphone.

� Wi-Fi: The SCADA acts as a Wi-Fi router that allows the plant operator to gain access to the processor and monitor and change parameters as well as interact with the plant by activating and operating hardware via a Wi-Fi connected device.

� Ethernet connectivity that allows for connection to a Local Area Network (LAN) that allows the operator to access the device from anywhere in the world and this also allows for the development of a network of SCADA systems by connecting and linking them to a LAN.

� HF Radio allows for wireless communication between units over a distance of up to 4,000 m. This allows for a more cost-effective network to be established on a site that covers a large area. The radio offers Listen Before Talk and Adaptive Frequency Agility (LBT+AFA). This capability allows for operation with no interference that was previously experienced with such radio technology.

� Data logging allows the plant operator to record inputs from sensors and probes. This will allow for tuning of the process in the future as well as the establishment of service intervals due to the logging of activity from hardware.

� 10 Amp Digital outputs allow for the activation of hardware such as pumps and valves. The large capacity of the internal relays reduces the demand for external hardware in the form of relays when the capacity is below 10 mp.

� 4–20 mA (HART) inputs: Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) protocol allows for analogue over digital operation. This allows for intelligent sensing equipment with multiplexing capabilities.

� Touchscreen interface allows the operator to interact with the SCADA through a user-friendly touchscreen dashboard (Picture 4). This will allow for the activation of hardware in MANUAL mode to assist with maintenance.

WITH THE CHEAPER

ELECTRICITY COSTS

THAT SOUTH AFRICA

EXPERIENCED UP TO

RECENT TIMES WITH THE

GRADUAL INCREASE IN

ELECTRICITY COSTS IN

THE PAST FIVE YEARS, IT

MEANT THAT THERE WAS

NO REAL INCENTIVE TO

MAINTAIN DIGESTERS.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

COULD BE EMPLOYED TO

DEWATER SLUDGE AND

USE IT IN ALTERNATIVE

PROCESSES. THIS

THEN RESULTED IN

LOSS OF KNOWLEDGE

IN OPERATING THE

DIGESTERS AT OPTIMAL

PERFORMANCE LEVELS.

Picture 3: The Warthog SCADA system range of units

Picture 2: MWWTP


Special Feature

� Rugged aluminium enclosure protects the technology from environment.

� Modular design ensures that the system is more affordable to manufacture and maintain. If failure of any part does occur, it requires replacement of that component only and not the entire unit.

Remote Terminal Units (RTU)

� HF Radio allows the wireless communication between units over a distance of up to 4,000 m. This allows for a more cost-effective network to be established on a site that covers a large area. The radio offers LBT + AFA. This capability allows for operation with no interference that was previously experienced with such radio technology.

� 10 Amp digital outputs allow the activation of hardware such as pumps and valves. The large capacity of the internal relays reduces the demand for external hardware in the form of relays when the capacity is below 10 Amp.

� 4–20 mA (HART) inputs. HART protocol allows for analogue over digital operation. This allows for intelligent sensing equipment with multiplexing capabilities (Picture 5).

The other services offered by the Carbon Neutral Approach are — design, project management, project scoping and feasibility studies, consulting services on plant operation, and remote monitoring.

ProjectA current project where the Warthog SCADA system is being deployed is a vegetable farm. The vegetables that are not fit for the market are being processed in a juicing factory. The leftover biomass is being introduced into anaerobic digesters to produce biogas which is used as a fuel source in boilers for the generation of thermal energy in the form of steam. The excess heat is used to maintain the digesters at a mesophilic temperature of 35°C. The automated management of the digesters is achieved by installing a RTU at each of the digesters. This has the benefit that if there is a failure with the main SCADA, the digesters can still operate autonomously due to the processing power installed in the RTU. The plant occupies a large footprint that makes for complicated and expensive infrastructure in the form of wiring and electrical reticulation. With the HF radio communication between the RTUs and the main SCADA, it negates the need for cabling and results in a more cost-effective installation.

Parameters that are monitored and controlled

� Temperature is maintained at 35°C.

� Loading rate (spread out over 24 hours)

� Mixing: Energy efficiency is considered to allow for mixing during loading or when temperature adjustment is required. Alternatively, hourly mixing for a set period of time occurs.

� pH: Due to the high cost of online VFA measurement instrumentation, pH is used as an alternative to monitor the performance of the digestion process. The pH control is achieved when the process bacteria is in a buffered state, by controlling the loading. When the pH drops below a set level of 6.5 to 6.8, then the loading process is suspended till such time as the pH increases up to a desirable C:N ratio.

Results from such operation have produced biogas with a methane (CH4) fraction

above 70 per cent when digesting municipal wastewater sludge. The scattered loading of the digester results in more even production of biogas with a more consistent quality over the 24 hour period. Traditional methods of operation in South Africa dictate that the digesters are loaded once a day. This then results in a spike of biogas shortly after loading and a reduced production leading to the next loading period (Figure 1). Scattered loading results in lower spikes due to an increase in the frequency

Picture 4: The main SCADA system with touchscreen interface (Warthog)

Picture 5: Remote Terminal Unit (Piglet)

A CURRENT PROJECT

WHERE THE WARTHOG

SCADA SYSTEM IS

BEING DEPLOYED IS

A VEGETABLE FARM.

THE VEGETABLES THAT

ARE NOT FIT FOR THE

MARKET ARE BEING

PROCESSED IN A

JUICING FACTORY.


of production. When large investments are made in waste-to-energy projects then it is imperative that the processes are optimized. The returns on investment from electrical energy generators are dependent on the kWh produced. With a spike of biogas after loading and a drop in production, it results in a mixture of quality in the gas. The more constant the quality of the gas and the higher the frequency in production, it results in more sustainable operation.

Energy Harvesting from CH

4 Rich Biogas

Utilizing biogas as a fuel in an internal combustion engine will split the value of the gas into different types of energy. The mechanical energy will be the energy used for turning the generator shaft and thereby generating electrical energy. The remaining energy from the gas will be converted into thermal energy (Figure 2). If only electrical energy is harvested, then it makes for an inefficient operation. If the thermal energy is also harvested then it improves the overall efficiency of the operation. Areas where the thermal energy can be found include — The exhaust, Water jacket, Oil, and Intercooler. From these parts of the engine, it will be possible to harvest some of the thermal energy. However, there is a percentage that is lost and difficult or impossible to harvest for alternative uses (Figure 3).

Some of this electrical energy will be required for the operation of the pumps and mixer that allows for the operation of the digester. The rest of the energy will then be available for use elsewhere. Municipal wastewater treatment plants, in general, require vast amounts of energy for the treatment of wastewater. One Large Metro in the Gauteng Province of South Africa can spend up to R 1.5 million ($ 125,000) a month on electricity. The rate that they are charged at in general amounts to R 0.77 cents/kWh ($0.06). This can amount to 1,948,051 kWh per month. This rate is not fixed for the year as there are different rates for summer and winter peak season and off peak season. This value is then purely used as an exercise in general usage for a case study. When the potential electrical energy is calculated that can be generated from an AD at a MWWTP, it becomes clear that we should hold on to our coal-fired power stations for a little while longer. The 130 kW installed capacity possible from one municipal wastewater treatment plant digester does not cover the 2.7 MW that is required by this one plant. Although there are digesters, it will still not be sufficient to supply the plant with electricity and have spare electricity to evacuate into the national grid. Therefore, it is imperative that the parasitic load of the plant is kept to a minimum. The Warthog SCADA system supplied by Carbon Neutral Approach takes all these aspects into consideration when developing the software for a specific plant. This results in a more energy-efficient operation that addresses return on investment periods sustainably.

ConclusionsThe energy potential from biogas generated at municipal wastewater treatment plants can greatly contribute to the energy efficiency and autonomy of the plant. However, it will not replace the generation of electricity from small coal-fired power stations. There could potentially be capacity freed up from the electricity that will no longer be required. This will only be sustainable if the basics of the process are understood and the projects are sized correctly. The cost of the hardware in waste-to-energy projects requires return on those investments. Efficient and correct operation with conservative scoping will allow for sustainable operation and improved security of the investment.

Mr Mauritz Lindeque, Researcher, product developer, and anaerobic digestion specialist. Email: [email protected]

Figure 1: Gas production comparing a batch type loading with scattered loading

2 Hours

4 Hours

6 Hours

8 Hours

10 Hours

12 Hours

14 Hours

16 Hours

18 Hours

20 Hours

22 Hours

24 Hours

Scattered load

Batch load

Figure 2: Breakdown CH4 rich

biogas converted

Thermalenergy

Mechanicalenergy

Losses

Figure 3: Different areas on the engine where thermal energy can be harvested

10%10%

15%

25%

40%

Exhaust gas Water jacket

Oil Intercooler Lost

Usable thermal energy totalling 50%of energy produced with 10% best

Anaerobic Digestion Control and Automation



Decreasing the production cost of microalgae cultivation is the central challenge of microalgae bioenergy development. The cost of nutrients and biomass harvesting are two major factors that limit the algal biofuels from being economically feasible. These factors are reduced by integrating the

photo-bioreactor and the anaerobic digestion. In the present work, a closed loop was developed for the sustainability of the feedstock and water with the production of biomethane under outdoor conditions. The integration of photo-bioreactor and anaerobic digestion (Figure 1) was done to improve the economics and energy balance of biofuel production. Therefore, a novel concept has been introduced in this article that reduces the total production cost of biomethane by minimizing the usage of fresh water and external nutrient source for algal growth. Algae were tested for their biomethane production potential in Anaerobic Digester (AD) wastewater. Chlorella pyrenoidosa was cultivated using anaerobic digester wastewater and biogas (as CO

2 source) as a nutrient. Growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa was studied at outdoor

conditions in the months of June, October, and February to check the sustainability. The growth kinetics of the algae as well as the bioremediation effect on the waste water and biomethane production were studied. Chlorella pyrenoidosa was found to be the best for biomass production with >75 per cent and >80 per cent of nitrogen nitrate and total ammonical nitrogen removal and >60 per cent of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) reduction. The produced algal biomass treated with water was then co-digested with cattle dung for biogas production. Interestingly, 87 gm/L of algal biomass was collected which through anaerobic co-digestion produced 928.8 mL

RE Feature

SUSTAINABILITY OF THIRD GENERATION FEEDSTOCK for Continuous Production of Biomethane under Outdoor Conditions

Dr Avanish K Tiwari and Rohit Sharma discuss how the cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in biogas wastewater would be an efficient and economical way to save water for anaerobic digestion as well as produce biomethane.


CH4 with C:N = 18.1:1, respectively. However, further scale-up and testing is needed

to make this process a reality. The integration of microalgae growth with anaerobic digestion can maintain the sustainability of feedstock as well as biomethane and significantly improve the economics and energy balance of biofuel production.

Figure 1: Integrated anaerobic digester and photo-bioreactor for continuous production of biomethane

The decline of fossil fuel resources, increasing oil prices, and more complicated environmental concerns have led to an increased attention towards biofuels worldwide, due to its concerns over climate change and also energy security. Biomethane from various feedstocks such as dairy digesters and landfills can be a reliable source of renewable fuel that can power the cleanest and most efficient electricity generation as well as transportation in India. Cost of biomass waste, availability of water, and transportation cost of these feedstocks are very high. These factors and sustainable supply of feedstocks, i.e., securing and reliability of long-term supply, limit the scale of biomethane production. The economic situation is far better when it comes to the production of biogas by fermentation processes. Production of energy from algal biomass due to its harvesting and nutritional cost is also however, not yet a commercial reality. Carbon dioxide (CO

2), a greenhouse

gas, is part of the medium for culturing of the microalgae and a major component of biogas from anaerobic digestion. Algal systems are capable of utilizing CO

2 from

biogas. A promising key for overcoming the high cost of production is to integrate algae cultivation with an existing biogas plant, where algae can be cultivated using the discharge of CO

2 and biogas digestate as nutrient input, and then the attained biomass

can be converted directly into biomethane by the existing infrastructure.

ExperimentationAnaerobic Digester (AD) waste-water was collected from the cow dung-based biogas plant located at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, India. The collected AD wastewater was filtered through a muslin cloth (pore size – 0.5–1.5 mm) in order to remove the large particles and debris and stored in cold storage (<4.0) until its use in the experiments. The filtered AD wastewater was analysed for the determination of Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Nitrate-Nitrogen (NO

3 -N), Total

Ammonical Nitrogen (TAN), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). Characteristics

Sustainability of Third Generation Feedstock for Continuous Production of Biomethane under Outdoor Conditions

THE DECLINE OF FOSSIL

FUEL RESOURCES,

INCREASING OIL

PRICES, AND MORE

COMPLICATED

ENVIRONMENTAL

CONCERNS HAVE LED

TO AN INCREASED

ATTENTION TOWARDS

BIOFUELS WORLDWIDE,

DUE TO ITS CONCERNS

OVER CLIMATE CHANGE

AND ALSO ENERGY

SECURITY. BIOMETHANE

FROM VARIOUS

FEEDSTOCKS SUCH

AS DAIRY DIGESTERS

AND LANDFILLS CAN

BE A RELIABLE SOURCE

OF RENEWABLE FUEL

THAT CAN POWER THE

CLEANEST AND MOST

EFFICIENT ELECTRICITY

GENERATION AS WELL

AS TRANSPORTATION

IN INDIA.

Chlorella pyrenoidosa powder


RE Feature

of AD wastewater are summarized in Table 1. Chlorella pyrenoidosa was obtained from National Collection of Industrial Microorganisms (NCIM) for this research. It was maintained in sterile nutrient medium (BG11) at room temperature.

Biomass production potential of AD waste water and Biochemical methane potential of microalgae

Biomass potential of selected algae under outdoor conditions was performed (during the months of June, October, and February) under natural light and temperature conditions. At every third day of incubation, a homogenized aliquot (15 mL) was withdrawn from each flask for the determination of algal growth and nutrient removal.

Based on the optimized C:N ratio, batch scale anaerobic digestion was performed in a 500 mL glass sealed bottle. The data for both cumulative gas generation and total solids reduction were obtained during the digestion. Gas production was measured daily by inserting a needle that was attached to a frictionless syringe through the septum. The compositions of the gas were analysed via Gas Chromatogram. Gas Chromatography of Nucon with model No. 5765 was used for biogas composition that uses Thermal Conductivity Detector (TCD) and helium as the carrier gas.

Results and DiscussionTo be able to use biogas as carbon source and anaerobic digester outlet slurry as source for nutritional requirements and water in efficient cultivation of microalgae physical factors such as temperature, pH, nutrient concentration, and C:N ratio of process water on the algal growth and cellular composition need to be understood.

Characteristics of AD wastewaterThe collected AD wastewater was light brown in colour. The physiochemical properties of AD wastewater have been analysed and listed in Table 1. As shown, the AD wastewater was rich in COD, nitrate nitrogen, and total ammonical nitrogen.

Table 1: Physiochemical properties of AD wastewater, permissible discharge standards, and residual concentrations of nutrients/pollutants after algae cultivation

Par

amet

ers

Concentration before algae culturing

Concentration after microalgae culturing

Exp

eri

me

nt

1 (J

un

e)

Exp

eri

me

nt

2

(Oct

ob

er)

Exp

eri

me

nt

3

(Fe

bru

ary)

Exp

eri

me

nt

1 (J

un

e)

Exp

eri

me

nt

2

(Oct

ob

er)

Exp

eri

me

nt

3

(Fe

bru

ary)

Volume 750 mL 750 mL 10 Lit 750 mL 750 mL 10 L

pH 6.9 6.5 6.8 7.9 8.1 8.3

Nitrate Nitrogen

84 mg/L 87 mg/L 93.1 mg/L 20.16 mg/L

6.19 mg/L 14 mg/L

TAN (Total Ammonical nitrogen)

145.07 mg/L

139 mg/L 155.18 mg/L

18.44 mg/L

12.05 mg/L

10.08 mg/L

COD 5,596 mg/L

5,487 mg/L

5,513 mg/l 2,331 mg/L

2,179 mg/L

2,047 mg/L

BIOMASS POTENTIAL

OF SELECTED ALGAE

UNDER OUTDOOR

CONDITIONS WAS

PERFORMED (DURING

THE MONTHS OF

JUNE, OCTOBER, AND

FEBRUARY) UNDER

NATURAL LIGHT

AND TEMPERATURE

CONDITIONS.

Algal biofuel

Greenhouse gases


Growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in AD wastewaterBatch experiments were conducted in the months of June, October, and February to study the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in AD wastewater. Algal growths in terms of optical density OD680 by using AD wastewaters in the months of June, October, and February are plotted in Figure 2. The Monod growth model equation was used in this study. Chlorella pyrenoidosa grew well in the biogas wastewater and followed Monod growth kinetics satisfactorily. A number of growth models are found in the literature, such as the models of Gompertz, Richards, Stannard, Schnute, and the logistic model. These models describe only the number of organisms and do not include the consumption of substrate just like a model based on the Monod equation.

With the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa, the concentrations of nitrate nitrogen decrease. The NO

3 N

in the biogas wastewater was eliminated by 92.8 per cent, respectively, within 15 days. The nitrate concentration in the biogas wastewater was tested every third day of the culturing. This clearly indicated a 92.8 per cent reduction in the nitrate concentration, proving its consumption by the microalgae.

CHN analysisThe CHN analysis was performed for the cultivated species at the end of the runs. The characteristics of Chlorella pyrenoidosa biomass and fresh cattle dung have been summarized in Table 2. For this species, the carbon content was 57 per cent (g/g), the hydrogen was 6.8 per cent (g/g), and the nitrogen was 7.1 per cent (g/g). The sample weight was 32 g. CHN of the species was analysed using CHN Thermo FLASH 2000 Series CHN Analyzer. C:N ratio was 8.02, which is very low for the anaerobic digestion. To maintain the C:N 20, co-digestion of algal biomass with cow dung was done.

Table 2: Characteristics of algal biomass and fresh cow dung

Parameters Algal biomass Cow dung

C (%) 57 36.1

H (%) 6.8 5

N (%) 7.1 1.7

C/N ratio 8.02 21.2

Bioremediation by Microalgae: Nitrate Consumption and COD Analysis

A wide variety of nitrogen sources, such as ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and urea, can be used for growing microalgae. In the experimental data, NaNO

3 were used

to investigate the effect of the source of N and concentration of NaNO3 on the

growth of biomass. The removal efficiency of N of Chlorella pyrenoidosa at different room temperatures reached relatively high values: 92.8 per cent, 75.4 per cent, and 93.7 per cent, respectively. During the algae cultivation period, major part of organic pollutants was consumed. Reduction of COD and Total Ammonical Nitrogen (TAN) also led to the conclusion that Chlorella pyrenoidosa is suitable for the bioremediation process. Bioremediation effect has been shown in Table 3.

3.3 100908070605040302010

3.2

3.1

3

2.9

2.8

2.7 0

OD680 in FebruaryOD680 in OctoberNutrient conc. in October

OD680 in JuneBiomass in October

Biom

ass

conc

entr a

tion

g/L

Nutr i

ent c

onc.

mg/

L

Optic

al d

ensi

ty o

f cul

ture

at 6

80 n

m

0 3 6 9 12 15 18Time (days)

Figure 2: Growth and nutrient removal profiles of Chlorella pyrenoidosa under outdoor conditions

WITH THE GROWTH

OF CHLORELLA

PYRENOIDOSA, THE

CONCENTRATIONS OF

NITRATE NITROGEN

DECREASE. THE NO3 N

IN THE BIOGAS

WASTEWATER WAS

ELIMINATED BY 92.8 PER

CENT, RESPECTIVELY,

WITHIN 15 DAYS.



RE Feature

Table 3: % Reduction of pollutants

Exp

eri

me

nts

Before culture After culture%

reduction

CO

D

Nit

rate

N

itro

ge

n

TA

N

CO

D

Nit

rate

N

itro

ge

n

TA

N

CO

D

Nit

rate

N

itro

ge

n

TA

N

(mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L)

Month of Jun.

5,596 84 145.07 2,331 20.16 18.44 58.34 76 87.28

Month of Oct.

5,487 87 139 2,179 6.19 12.05 60.28 92.8 91.33

Month of Feb.

5,513 93.1 155.18 2,047 7.4 10.08 62.86 92.05 93.50

Anaerobic digestion of cultured microalgae and treated waterTable 4 summarizes the experimental conditions and the corresponding methane conversion yield in this study. Anaerobic digestion was done using 500 mL sealed bottle. The suitability of fresh microalgal biomass as substrate for the production of biogas was assessed in anaerobic fermentation batch tests over a period of 20 days. This increased biogas production in the first 15 days of the experiment was most likely due to low levels of complex sugars and lignin present in the microalgae composition that facilitates biodegradability.

Table 4: Comparison of mesospheric digestion of microalgae and sewage sludge

Substrate HRT (d) Biogas yield (mL/ 500 g SS) Methane (%)

Cow dung 20 490 62

Algae (98 %) 20 360 56

Cow dung + Algae (50 %) 20 470 62

It was clear that the set which contained algae alone could effectively digest instead of the cow dung alone, as shown in Figure 3. It was clear from Table 4 that the algae

alone can effectively be digested in comparison to the cow dung as shown in Figure 4.

In order to keep the nitrogen balance in anaerobic digestion, the released nitrogen could be recycled either for the growth of microalgae as nutrient, in co-digestion material (for cow dung and microalgae) or as fertilizer. Since one of the goals for the anaerobic digestion concept is to eliminate the need for chemical nitrogen fertilizer, the first strategy is chosen as shown in Table 4. By co-digesting cow dung-microalgae and treated water mixture, the nitrogen balance can be maintained. Mass balance for nitrate nitrogen and water for closed biomethane production is shown in Figure 4.

The mass balances were used to estimate the potential for biomethane production and nutrient recovery from the anaerobic digestion of the algal biomass, in order to recycle the nutrients hydrolyzed back to the cultivation stage.

Cow dung + Algae (50%) Algae (98%) Cow dung

500450400350300250200150100

500

Cum

ulat

ive g

as p

rodu

ctio

n (m

L)

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21Time (d)

Figure 3: Biogas production from the co-digestion of algae and cow dung

IN ORDER TO KEEP THE

NITROGEN BALANCE IN

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION,

THE RELEASED

NITROGEN COULD

BE RECYCLED EITHER

FOR THE GROWTH

OF MICROALGAE AS

NUTRIENT, IN CO-

DIGESTION MATERIAL

(FOR COW DUNG AND

MICROALGAE) OR AS

FERTILIZER.

SINCE ONE OF THE

GOALS FOR THE

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

CONCEPT IS TO

ELIMINATE THE NEED

FOR CHEMICAL

NITROGEN FERTILIZER.


ConclusionTo sum up, the following conclusions may be drawn:

� Chlorella pyrenoidosa could adapt well in biogas wastewater outlet slurry with small lag phases observed at the beginning.

� The cultivation cost of algal biomass (including harvesting and nutritional cost) was reduced by coupling the algal biomass production with wastewater treatment.

� These benefits combined with the possibility of CO2, waste water, and nutrient

recycling from the anaerobic effluents make anaerobic digestion the best technology for removable energy production from microalgae.

� From the experimental studies, problems related to the removal of toxic contaminants, biogas production, and water availability were solved.

� Continuous production of biomethane was achieved by integrating the cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa with biogas plants.

� The cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in biogas wastewater would be an efficient and economical way to save water for anaerobic digestion as well as produce biomethane.

� This developed the sustainability of culturing low-cost third generation feedstock for the continuous production of biomethane in the entire year.

Dr Avanish K Tiwari, Director, and Mr Rohit Sharma, Scholar, Centre for Renewable Energy & Sustainable Development, VIKALP (Nai Dishayen), New Delhi. Email: [email protected] & [email protected]

Figure 4: Nitrate-nitrogen and water balance for closed biomethane production from microalgae

Anaerobicdigester 2 L

Photobioreactor10 L

Biogas Biomethane 928.8 mL1720 mL CH -1032 mLCO -688 mL

4

2

Slurry

Filteration

Filterate 1600 mL Autoclave

2000 mL 1500 mL wastewater

C:N 18

TAN: 154.33 mg/LNitrate: 81 mg/LCOD: 4986 mg/L COD: 5313 mg/L

Nitrate-N: 93.1 mg/LTAN: 155.18 mg/L

850 gm850 gm

CodigestionAlgal BiomassCow dungWater

{50%}{50%}1.7 L C:N-8.02

COD: 2047 mg/LFilteration8 L water

8 L water

NutrientN-NO : 100 mg/L3

+1.5 L fresh water

871 g

Nitrate-N:7.4 mg/LTAN: 10.08 mg/L

C: 57%H: 6.8%N: 7.1%

Algal Biomass in 10 L

FROM THE EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES, PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE REMOVAL OF TOXIC CONTAMINANTS, BIOGAS PRODUCTION, AND WATER AVAILABILITY WERE SOLVED. CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF BIOMETHANE WAS ACHIEVED BY INTEGRATING THE CULTIVATION OF CHLORELLA PYRENOIDOSA WITH BIOGAS PLANTS.

Biogas wastewater outlet slurry Microalgae cultivation



RE Feature

BIOMASS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENTA SUSTAINABLE APPROACH

TO BIOENERGYYogender Singh and Prof. Y K Yadav believe that India has a great potential of bioenergy production. This in turn can help deal with fluctuating petrol prices. However, the country is not able to completely exploit the full potential of this green fuel because of some faults and inefficiencies in the biomass supply chain. In this article, they discuss these inefficiencies and suggest workable solutions.

Picture 1: Biomass conveying unit


Biomass Supply Chain Management: A Sustainable Approach to Bioenergy

Improving living standards, economic, and industrial expansions, and population growth are posing serious challenges for the Indian energy sector. Although the country is recognized as one of the fastest growing economies of the world, the basic energy needs of thousands of millions of its citizens are yet to be fulfilled.

Likewise, its commercial energy consumption is also growing with the same pace as that of high economic growth and industrial development. Being an agriculturally dominant nation, the strength of India’s bioenergy programmes mostly lies in the agricultural sector.

Biomass is a very versatile renewable energy source with increasing importance. India produces 686 million metric tonne (mmt) gross crop residue biomass on an annual basis, of which 234 mt is estimated as surplus for bioenergy generation. Biomass-based energy generation is one of the major focus areas of renewable energy programmes in India. Bioenergy has the potential to solve the problem of frequent increase in petroleum prices, decrease the use of fossil fuel reserves, and provide a clean and environment-friendly renewable energy source. Energy from biomass is reliable; however, it is not the preferred renewable energy source, the primary reason for this is the inefficient biomass supply chain. Supply chain is the movement of material between the source and the end-user. Efficient supply chain management of biomass (Pictures 1-7) is crucial for the success of generation of bioenergy. One of the most important challenges in increased biomass utilization in energy supply is the cost of the respective supply chain and the technology to convert biomass into useful forms of energy. Supply chain management and optimization is a critical aspect to research and development of biomass enterprises. The incorporation of sustainability aspects and future challenges could be used to framework bioenergy as a sustainable renewable energy option.

Biomass to BioenergyA huge quantity of various types of biomass is generated in developing countries like India. The various potential biomass wastes have been identified by the researchers. These are used for bioenergy production in India. Many of these are being successfully utilized in various bioenergy applications across the country. Apart from the residues from the agricultural farms and fields in urban areas, certain other residues and wastes also constitute a potential source of the energy. The agro-processing industries, urban vegetable market places, road sweepings, and roadside plantations are some areas which generate significant biomass waste.

SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT AND

OPTIMIZATION IS A

CRITICAL ASPECT

TO RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT OF

BIOMASS ENTERPRISES.

THE INCORPORATION

OF SUSTAINABILITY

ASPECTS AND FUTURE

CHALLENGES COULD BE

USED TO FRAMEWORK

BIOENERGY AS

A SUSTAINABLE

RENEWABLE ENERGY

OPTION.

Picture 2: Biomass stored in open

RE Feature

APART FROM

THE RESIDUES FROM

THE AGRICULTURAL

FARMS AND FIELDS

IN URBAN AREAS,

CERTAIN OTHER

RESIDUES AND WASTES

ALSO CONSTITUTE A

POTENTIAL SOURCE

OF THE ENERGY. THE

AGRO-PROCESSING

INDUSTRIES,

URBAN VEGETABLE

MARKET PLACES,

ROAD SWEEPINGS,

AND ROADSIDE

PLANTATIONS ARE

SOME AREAS

WHICH GENERATE

SIGNIFICANT

BIOMASS WASTE.

It is estimated that around three-fourths of the biomass which is used for production of food, feed, industrial, and traditional fuelwood is not fully exploited at some point during processing, harvesting, and transport. A report of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) shows that almost 200 million tonnes of household and agro-processing waste is generated annually in India and disposed in a dispersed manner. In this context, biomass utilization has emerged among others as a viable alternative for energy production, encompassing a wide range of potential conversion processes. The most frequently used of these are thermal conversions, bio-chemical and chemical conversions, and direct combustion. The thermal conversion processes consist of fast and slow pyrolysis and biomass gasification; the bio-chemical conversion is fermentation and anaerobic digestion; chemical conversions are trans-esterification and other processes to convert plant and vegetable oils to biodiesel, and the direct combustion of wood and other biomass is being used for a very long. One of the most important barriers to increased biomass utilization into energy supply is the cost of therespective supply chain and the technology to convert biomass into useful forms of energy.

Biomass Supply ChainSupply chain is the movement of material between the source and the end-user. A typical biomass supply chain (Figure 1) comprises several discrete processes such as harvesting, collection, transportation, pre-treatment, storage, and end use; it includes mainly four business entities: supplier, manufacturer, distribution centre, and customer. The presence of uncertainty within supply chains is an important issue for efficient capacity utilization and development of optimal infrastructures. The biomass supply chain generally has an objective of minimizing costs associated with production, logistics, and operation of different sites (harvesting, storage, conversion sites, etc.) along with providing an efficient chain structure. Thus, there is a need to simulate and optimize a specific biomass supply chain for significant cost reduction that could originate more efficient logistics operations.

Picture 3: Biomass transportation vehicles


Figure 1: Typical layout of biomass supply chain

Biomass Supply Chain ManagementBiomass supply chain management is integration of all entities such that the bioenergy is produced and distributed in the right quantity, at the right time, to the right location providing the desired quality and service level along with minimizing the overall cost of the system. The integration of multiple functions in a global supply chain context is complex. Real-time information helps the participants to cope with changes of uncontrollable external factors affecting demand and supply.

Factors Affecting Biomass Supply Chain ManagementThe biomass supply chain presents several distinctive characteristics that diversify it from a typical supply chain, due to many dependent variables. The important factors which can affect the optimal chain can be described as follows:

Seasonal availabilityThe period of biomass availability is very limited and mainly determined by the crop-harvesting period. Since most of the biomass-to-energy applications are concerned with single biomass use, there is a need of storing very large amounts of biomass for the year-round operation of the power plant. The problems introduced by the BIOMASS SUPPLY

CHAIN MANAGEMENT

IS INTEGRATION OF

ALL ENTITIES SUCH

THAT THE BIOENERGY

IS PRODUCED AND

DISTRIBUTED IN THE

RIGHT QUANTITY, AT

THE RIGHT TIME, TO

THE RIGHT LOCATION

PROVIDING THE

DESIRED QUALITY AND

SERVICE LEVEL ALONG

WITH MINIMIZING

THE OVERALL COST

OF THE SYSTEM. THE

INTEGRATION OF

MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS IN

A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

CONTEXT IS COMPLEX.

BiomassFeedstock

EnergyConversion

Storage

Processing

Conditioning

Transportation


Picture 4: Machanized unit for biomass feeding in power plant

Picture 5: Biomass storage along with conveying unit


RE Feature

seasonality of biomass availability may be avoided, if a biomass that is available around the year is used, which is very rare in practice. The multi-biomass approach may significantly solve these problems and can be attractive for systems where expensive storage solutions are used, in order to reduce the storage space and round-the-year operation of the power plant.

Low-density materialBiomass has to deal with low-density materials. As a result, there is an increased need for transportation and handling equipment, as well as storage space. This problem is enhanced by the low heating value, which is partly due to the increased moisture of most agricultural biomass types. The low density of biomass further increases the cost of collection, handling, transport, and storage stages of the supply chain.

Collection and handling equipmentSeveral biomass types require customized collection and handling equipment, leading to a complicated structure of the supply chain. The form in which the biomass will be procured often determines the investment and operational costs of the respective bioenergy exploitation system, as it affects the requirements and design of the biomass supply chain.

WeatherWeather has a great influence on the proper harvest of biomass because it can reduce the yield of the crop, affect the biomass quality, and burden the harvesting process by creating bad conditions for working on the field. It is impossible to predict the weather in the long term, but it is possible to carefully plan the entire year round process, in order to lessen the impact of the weather conditions.

Communication issues between industry and suppliersIt mostly happens due to lack of real-time knowledge on the status of the processes.

THE MULTI-BIOMASS

APPROACH MAY

SIGNIFICANTLY SOLVE

THESE PROBLEMS AND

CAN BE ATTRACTIVE

FOR SYSTEMS WHERE

EXPENSIVE STORAGE

SOLUTIONS ARE USED,

IN ORDER TO REDUCE

THE STORAGE SPACE

AND ROUND-THE-YEAR

OPERATION OF THE

POWER PLANT.

Picture 6: Biomass spreaded in field


This implies the use of a common database and information technologies that can keep both the suppliers and the users up-to-date. Information sharing and real-time communication keeps the participants up-to-date with the latest changes and can provide the difference between success and failure.

SustainabilitySustainability of operations is a critical issue that has to be taken into account when designing and executing biomass supply chain for energy production. Many researchers studied this aspect to represent biomass distribution system, investigating the resulting environmental load profiles of bioenergy chains, addressing the critical issue of designing and evaluating sustainable supply chains, in which profitability and environmental impacts are balanced.

ConclusionsA major gap that exists is the integration of technical, behavioural, societal, business, economic, and environmental aspects in biomass supply chain management. Supply chain management involves all the activities in organizations from initial plantation of raw materials to final product delivery to consumers. It represents a highly complex system where all the pieces of biomass material are brought together and is affected by the type of biomass used. Sustainable management practices and development of biomass are likely to include— (a) resource availability; (b) harvesting operation technologies, transportation, and pre-processing technologies for feedstock; (c) types of conversion technologies, conversion efficiencies, and costs; (d) integrated management systems; and (e) development and deployment of biomass to energy facilities. All of these coupled together will allow for a cohesive and integrative supply chain management.

Mr Yogender Singh, Post-doctoral Fellow, and Prof. Y K Yadav, Director, Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy, Kapurthala, India. Email: [email protected]

A MAJOR GAP

THAT EXISTS IS

THE INTEGRATION

OF TECHNICAL,

BEHAVIOURAL,

SOCIETAL, BUSINESS,

ECONOMIC, AND

ENVIRONMENTAL

ASPECTS IN BIOMASS

SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT. SUPPLY

CHAIN MANAGEMENT

INVOLVES ALL

THE ACTIVITIES IN

ORGANIZATIONS FROM

INITIAL PLANTATION

OF RAW MATERIALS

TO FINAL PRODUCT

DELIVERY TO

CONSUMERS.


Picture 7: On field storage of biomass in open



The gap between demand and availability in the power sector of Kerala is increasing day by day. Kerala depends mainly on hydro power for its energy needs. As a result of space constraints

and environmental problems, the state could not add to its existing generation capacity in the last few years. This has added to the woes and it is at this juncture that the significance of Renewable Energy (RE) surfaces.

Kerala is blessed with abundant sunlight almost throughout the year. This makes it convenient for tapping energy (both light and heat) from sun, which is available free-of-cost. But again the problem lies in the availability of space for installing the solar power plants. The state is located between latitudes 8°18’ North and 12°48’ North and longitudes 74°52’ East and 72°22’ East. Kerala

is a land of eternal beauty, covering only 1.18 per cent of entire area of the country. Therefore, the Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) decided to venture into the rooftops for installing the solar power plants. To begin with, it was decided to install 10,000 rooftop solar power plants of capacity 1 kW each. Under this programme, ANERT intended to light up 10,000 homes or buildings of the state using solar power plants. With a total aggressive capacity of 10 MW and an estimated cost of over N 175 crore, it is the first project of its kind and size in India.

The matter was taken up with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India for technical and financial support. The MNRE had readily agreed for both and sanctioned a financial support equal

RE State

TEN THOUSAND Rooftop Solar Power Plants in Kerala

Madhu S gives the details of the Government of Kerala renewable energy scheme. In this scheme, the state government pledged to install 10,000 solar power plants in 14 districts across the state. He discusses how the people’s participation was ensured during the implementation phase of the scheme and the post-installation proceedings are being conducted to achieve complete user satisfaction and promote clean-green renewable energy in Kerala.


Ten Thousand Rooftop Solar Power Plants in Kerala

to 30 per cent of the system cost if the systems were to be installed through the channel partners of the MNRE. System specifications, as prescribed by the MNRE, were adopted and ANERT invited Expression of Interest (EoI), with some state-specific conditions, from the channel partners. It was clear that a single firm would not be able to take up installation of all the targeted systems, in the state, especially as the installation sites are spread out in all the 14 districts. Hence, it was essential to shortlist a number of firms who would meet the specification requirements at the acceptable price bid. Thus, 25 firms were shortlisted from among the 55 firms who participated in the EoI process, as the empanelled agencies for undertaking the installations. However, the price quoted by these empanelled agencies varied from N 1.77 Lakh to N2.5 Lakh. So, it was necessary to fix the quantum of central financial assistance available to each unit as 30 per cent of the ‘lowest quoted amount’ of N 1,77,540 (instead of 30 per cent of unit price of the unit), i.e., N53,262 per unit, for ensuring uniformity in financial assistance. The state had decided to give N39,000 to each system as state financial assistance and thus the total financial assistance for a unit system of capacity 1 kW was fixed as N92,262.

Pictures 1–2: Inauguration of 10,000 Rooftop Solar Power Plants Programme. Dr Jayaraju M, Former Director, ANERT; Shri M Sivasankar IAS, Secretary, Power Department, Government of Kerala; Shri Aryadan Mohammed, Minister for Power, Government of Kerala; Dr Farooq Abdullah, the then Union Minister, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Shri Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister, Kerala; Shri V S Sivakumar, Minister for Health, Government of Kerala; and Shri Ratan P Watal, IAS, Secretary, MNRE.

THE MNRE HAD GIVEN THIS PROGRAMME

DUE IMPORTANCE AND THIS WAS

EVIDENT FROM THE FACT THAT DR

FAROOQ ABDULLAH, THE THEN HON’BLE

UNION MINISTER, HIMSELF LAUNCHED

THE PROGRAMME AT A GLORIOUS

FUNCTION HELD AT THE CAPITAL CITY OF

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.

Picture 3: Awareness programme

The MNRE had given this programme due importance and this was evident from the fact that Dr Farooq Abdullah, the then Hon’ble Union Minister, himself launched the programme at a glorious function held at the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. Other dignitaries included the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Oommen Chandy, Hon’ble Minister for Power, Shri Aryadan Mohammed, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Shri V S Sivakumar, Shri Ratan P Watal (IAS), the then Secretary, MNRE, Government of India, and Shri M Sivasankar (IAS), Secretary, Power, Government of Kerala (Pictures 1–2).

Enormous publicity (Picture 3) was given to the programme through all the media and by organizing exhibitions, seminars, and other awareness programmes throughout the state, especially at prominent venues, to ascertain maximum participation of the general public. Registration forms were made available at the ANERT website. Once registered, the beneficiary could select any


of the firms from the list of names approved by ANERT. It was decided to adopt ‘front-end’ subsidy scheme for the programme so that the beneficiary had to pay only the amount equal to the cost of the system (specified by the concerned firm and approved by ANERT) minus the subsidy amount of N92,262. After installation, the concerned district office of ANERT would conduct an inspection and if the system was found in tune with the specifications, would recommend for release of financial assistance from the headquarters.

To avoid delays in the process due to manpower shortage, ANERT had constituted a technical team of experts. Altogether 56 experienced engineers were selected from the state and imparted training to conduct the ‘Technical Compliance Verification’. Once the firm submitted the ‘Installation Report’, the technical team members conducted the inspection and submitted the report to the concerned district office. Ten per cent of these systems were also inspected by the district engineer. The headquarters conducted the inspection of 1 per cent systems in all the districts.

From its beginning, the registration process for the scheme had crossed 13,000 beneficiaries and by the end of January 2015, nearly 6,400 beneficiaries entered into an agreement with the empanelled companies for installing the system and thereafter, these systems were commissioned. Table 1 shows the district-wise distribution of beneficiaries in the state. The installation and commissioning process is still ongoing and it is expected that the target of 10,000 rooftop power plants would be achieved by the end of this year.

Table 1: District-wise distribution of beneficiaries in the state

Sl. No. District No. of Beneficiaries

1 Thiruvananthapuram 833

2 Kollam 573

3 Pathanamthitta 319

4 Alappuzha 361

5 Kottayam 573

6 Idukki 106

7 Ernakulam 901

8 Thrissur 790

9 Palakkad 373

10 Malappuram 540

11 Kozhikode 509

12 Wayanad 83

13 Kannur 261

14 Kasaragode 178

Total 6,400

Source: ANERT

THIS INITIATIVE IS THE BEGINNING OF

THE ‘SOLAR POWER REVOLUTION’ IN THE

STATE. IN THE FORTHCOMING YEARS, IT

IS EXPECTED THAT APART FROM THE OFF-

GRID SYSTEMS INSTALLED UNDER THIS

PROGRAMME, ON-GRID SYSTEMS WOULD

ALSO BE INSTALLED ON A LARGE SCALE. THE

KSERC HAS TAKEN STEPS TO INTRODUCE A

NET METERING SYSTEM.

For the smooth and efficient implementation of the programme, a ‘Call Centre’ was set up at the headquarters. Beneficiaries were able to register their complaints and clarify their doubts at anytime during office hours. Meetings of all the registered firms were convened bi-monthly to review the progress of the work and sort out the issues they might have faced in the field.

As a follow-up of this initiative to promote solar electricity generation, the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) had introduced a new system of incentive for off-grid power generation from solar power. According to this newly proposed programme, the beneficiaries using electricity generated from solar power plants will get an incentive of N 1 for each unit of consumed solar electricity, as a deduction in their grid power consumption bill.

This initiative is the beginning of the ‘Solar Power Revolution’ in the state. In the forthcoming years, it is

Picture 4: Field level training on installation, repair, and maintenance of SPV power plants

RE State


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Email: [email protected]

Web: www.teriin.org

The need to have a sustainable energy supply necessitates the exploration of available energy sources, and among these, renewable resources are at the forefront. It is now an established fact that RE (renewable energy) can be an integral part of sustainable development because of its inexhaustible nature and environment-friendly features. RE can play an important role in resolving the energy crisis in urban areas to a great extent. Today RE is an established sector with a variety of systems and devices available for meeting the energy demand of urban inhabitants, but there is a need to create mass awareness about their adoption. Akshay Urja is an attempt to fulfil this need through the dissemination of 20,000 copies (bilingual) in India and abroad. The magazine publishes news, articles, research papers, case studies, success stories, and write-ups on RE. Readers are invited to send material with original photographs and statistical data. The photographs should be provided in high resolution files on a CD or through email. Akshay Urja will pay an honorarium of N 2,500 to the authors for each published article of 1,500 words and above. The publication material in two copies, along with a soft copy on CD/DVD/email may be sent to:

expected that apart from the off-grid systems installed under this programme, on-grid systems would also be installed on a large scale. The KSERC has taken steps to introduce a net metering system.

With the SPV systems in full swing, ANERT expects a shortage of manpower for proper maintenance and upkeep of the installed systems. Repairs may also be a problem once the warranty periods are over. With this in mind, ANERT is planning to set up workforces in all districts to cater to the needs of the beneficiaries. Accordingly, 80 aspirants (all having a minimum qualification of ITI Certificate in Electrical or Electronics) had already been given on-field training on installation, repair, and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems and devices (Picture 4). Before the end of this financial year, at least 100 more people will be imparted similar training. This will also help in equipping the youth for self-employment.

The 10,000 Rooftop Solar Power Plants programme is one of the major programmes being taken up by ANERT with the whole-hearted support of the MNRE. The motto of the programme is to transform each and every home in Kerala to become self-sustained with respect to the needs of electric power, i.e., ‘Our House A Power House’.

It may be noted that 6.4 MW generating stations were installed in no time, without causing any pollution or environmental issues. Since the power is consumed at the generating site itself, no transmission loss occurs. Use of normal inverters, which overload the grid, is completely eliminated. The beneficiary is able to save 3–4 units of grid power on a normal sunny day. On completion of the project, the state will be saving about 1 crore units of grid power every year.

Mr Madhu S, Programme Officer, ANERT Headquarters, Thiruvananthapuram. Email: [email protected] & [email protected]

IT MAY BE NOTED THAT 6.4 MW

GENERATING STATIONS WERE INSTALLED

IN NO TIME, WITHOUT CAUSING ANY

POLLUTION OR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.

SINCE THE POWER IS CONSUMED AT THE

GENERATING SITE ITSELF, NO TRANSMISSION

LOSS OCCURS. USE OF NORMAL INVERTERS,

WHICH OVERLOAD THE GRID, IS

COMPLETELY ELIMINATED. THE BENEFICIARY

IS ABLE TO SAVE 3–4 UNITS OF GRID POWER

ON A NORMAL SUNNY DAY. ON COMPLETION

OF THE PROJECT, THE STATE WILL BE SAVING

ABOUT 1 CRORE UNITS OF GRID POWER

EVERY YEAR.

Ten Thousand Rooftop Solar Power Plants in Kerala


RE Feature

GRID-CONNECTED SOLAR POWER PLANTAT SHRI MATA VAISHNO DEVI KATRA RAILWAY STATIONA Green Initiative by Indian Railways

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, while inaugurating Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station last year, had set a vision to make that holy place a symbol of clean and green energy. The Railway Board Chairman took up this vision and started a project to install solar photo-voltaic panels at the Katra Railway Station. In this article, R K Chaudhary says that the project has been commissioned and the Katra Railway Station generates surplus energy. He also discusses some significant technical details of this major renewable energy project.


Grid-Connected Solar Power Plant at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station: A Green Initiative by Indian Railways

During the inauguration of Udhampur–Katra section, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had mentioned that Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station can be converted into a solar railway station to make it

environment-friendly; in this way, it will become a part of the ‘National

Solar Power Mission’. Thereafter, the Chairman of Railway Board had committed

to commission a solar power plant at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station

to make it a part of environment-friendly movement. Accordingly, a decision was

taken for the installation of 1 MW Solar Power Plant at Katra. The feasibility report of

this project was prepared by M/s Gansun Global Solutions India Pvt. Ltd, Tata Power

Solar Limited, and Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd after a thorough study.

The Railway Board Chairman directed the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Railway

Link (USBRL) Project team to complete this task by March 2015 and communicated

the same to the Prime Minister’s Office through the Ministry of Railways. In a

governmental setup, 1 MWp solar power plant work was taken up on war-footing

through an open tender process and work was awarded to M/s Rajasthan Electronics

& Instrumentation Ltd (REIL), Jaipur at a value of N8.52 crore. Subsequently, the

Solar Power Plant (Pictures 1–5) was commissioned on March 27, 2015.

Indian Railways has executed a solar power plant of such a major scale, i.e., 1

MWp, at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)

for the first time. Also, it is the largest solar power plant installed in J&K.

Indian Railways’ Solar MissionThe Indian Railways has planned to fund about 10 MW solar-based lighting systems

at about 500 railway stations across the country, 4,000 Level Crossing (LC) gates,

400 street lights, the Rail Coach Factory Raebareli, 50 office buildings, and solar

water heaters (6.7 lakhs LPD), etc. Tenders for the procurement of about 6 MW of

solar plants at 200 railway stations and 26 rooftop locations are under evaluation.

Solar mission of railways for harnessing 1, 000 MW solar energyTo achieve the target of harnessing solar energy of 10 per cent of Indian Railways'

(IR) electricity consumption by 2020, solar projects of 1,000 MW are planned

in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model without any investment by the IR.

Accordingly, the IR has planned to harness 1,000 MW solar plants in railway/

private land and rooftop spaces of railway buildings through the Railway Energy

Management Company (REMC), a joint venture of the Ministry of Railways and the

Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), and Solar Energy Corporation

of India (SECI), a public sector unit of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

(MNRE) in the following four phases over the next five years:

� Phase I: 200 MW ground mounted in private land with Central Financial Assistance

(CFA) of N 1 crore per MW from the MNRE.

� Phase II: 150 MW at rooftop of railway buildings with a subsidy support of 30 per

cent of capital cost from the MNRE.

� Phase III: 500 MW ground mounted in railway/private land with Viability Gap

Funding (VGF) support up to N2.5 crore per MW under National Clean Energy

Fund (NCEF) under the Ministry of Finance to be processed by the MNRE.

� Phase IV: 150 MW ground mounted in railway/private land with VGF support up to

2.5 crore per MW or CFA of N 1 crore of MW as approved by the MNRE.

Request has been made to the MNRE to extend VGF/subsidy support for harnessing

solar energy by the IR for 1,000 MW. The IR initially plans to harness solar energy in those states where the cost of power is higher.

THE INDIAN RAILWAYS

HAS PLANNED TO

FUND ABOUT 10 MW

SOLAR-BASED LIGHTING

SYSTEMS AT ABOUT

500 RAILWAY STATIONS

ACROSS THE COUNTRY,

4,000 LEVEL CROSSING

(LC) GATES, 400 STREET

LIGHTS, THE RAIL COACH

FACTORY RAEBARELI,

50 OFFICE BUILDINGS,

AND SOLAR WATER

HEATERS (6.7 LAKHS

LPD), ETC. TENDERS FOR

THE PROCUREMENT

OF ABOUT 6 MW OF

SOLAR PLANTS AT 200

RAILWAY STATIONS AND

26 ROOFTOP LOCATIONS

ARE UNDER EVALUATION

AS OF NOW..

Picture 1: PV modules on platform 1 of Katra Railway Station


RE Feature

Details of 1 MWp Solar Power Plant at Katra Railway StationTable 1 shows technical details of the solar plant recently commissioned at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station.

Table 1: Technical details of solar power plant at Katra Railway Station

Sl. No. Technical detail Specification or value

1. System power rating 1 MWp

2. Type of solar PV module Mono/Poly Crystalline silicon

3. Module capacity 250 Wp

4. Length of module 1,658 mm

5. Width of module 997 mm

6. Weight of module 22 kg

7. Type of module mounting structure Aluminium mounting structure for platform shelter and galvanised MS structure for roof top of buildings

8. Weight of aluminium structure 15 kg/kW

9. Type of inverters String inverters of 50 kWp capacity each

10. Package type sub-station 2 ×630 kVA, 415 V/11 kV

11. Support structure, design, and foundation wind withstanding

Wind pressure up to 30 m height (kg/m2)-195, wind speed 200 km per hour

12. Total connected load of Katra Railway station

3.13 MW

13. Average annual solar global radiation (as per SEC-NREL)

5.09 kWh/m2/day

14. Annual electric energy generation expected

1,445,000 units

15. Expected annual saving N 1 crore (approx.)

Picture 2: String inverter at platform no. 1, Katra Railway Station

MODULES ARE

MOUNTED ON A NON-

CORROSIVE SUPPORT

STRUCTURE SUITABLE

FOR SITE CONDITIONS

WITH SUITABLE

INCLINATION AS PER

SITE REQUIREMENT

TO MAXIMIZE ANNUAL

ENERGY OUTPUT.

HOWEVER, ONCE

INSTALLED THERE IS NO

PROVISION OF TILTING

THE STRUCTURE.


Execution Details Type and quality of SPV module

Table 2 shows the specifications of the Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) modules. The total SPV array capacity is of 1 MWp. Mono/Poly crystalline silicon type solar PV modules, manufactured by REIL, have been used in this project. Modules, which are supplied by REIL, have the following warranties:

� Manufacturing process is in compliance with the standards approved by the MNRE and has the IEC 61215 certification.

� The amount of power of supplied module does not vary more than 3–5 per cent from the specified power rating of the modules.

� Bypass diodes are mounted on each module terminal.

� Channels for frame are of anodized aluminium and electrolytically compatible with the structural material used for mounting the module.

Table 2: Specifications of the solar PV modules

Technical detail Specifications

Make REIL

Type 250W 60

Peak Power Output 250 W

Maximum Voltage 30 V (DC)

Dimension in mm 1658 × 997 × 42

Type of cell used Mono/Poly Crystalline

Mounting structureThe mounting structure consists of the following specifications:

� The module-mounting structure over platform sheds is made up of aluminium to avoid rusting and keep lighter on-sheet roofs.

� Modules are mounted on a non-corrosive support structure suitable for site conditions with suitable inclination as per site requirement to maximize annual energy output. However, once installed there is no provision of tilting the structure.

� The panel frame structure is capable of withstanding a wind load of 200 km per hour, after grouting and installation.

� On building rooftops, mounting structures are of galvanized mild steel.

Picture 3: PV modules of rooftop of Katra Railway Station

THE PANEL FRAME

STRUCTURE IS CAPABLE

OF WITHSTANDING

A WIND LOAD OF

200 KM PER HOUR,

AFTER GROUTING AND

INSTALLATION. ON

BUILDING ROOFTOPS,

MOUNTING STRUCTURES

ARE OF GALVANIZED

MILD STEEL.

Grid-Connected Solar Power Plant at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station: A Green Initiative by Indian Railways


Execution methodology of REILThe following methodologies or activities were covered for the execution of the project by REIL:

� REIL carried out the in-house coordination activity of various departments such as design production, material management, and quality assurance departments.

� It completed the process of identification and finalization of vendors for Balance-of-System (BOS) items such as mounting structures, inverters, transformers, wires, and cables from approved vendors and also finalized various other vendor services.

� It submitted data sheets of various items to IR for timely approval.

� REIL engineers visited the site of work for planning and ascertaining on-site requirements.

� REIL submitted the report on pre-dispatch inspection schedule and inspected material by railway consultants at manufacturers’ works.

� It supplied material at the site.

� REIL engineers supervised the installation and commissioning of systems in consultation with the IR representatives and handed over the project within the timeline set for the project.

Picture 5: 11 KV Solar Supply Panel

Advantages of Solar Power Plant at Katra Railway StationThe advantages of the installation of solar power plant at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station are as follows:

� Generation of clean and green energy in a power deficit area of the J&K state

� Annual generation of 1,445,000 units of electricity

� Annual reduction of 10,000 tonnes carbon dioxide

� Annual saving of N 1 crore (approx.) on the energy bill

� Environmental awareness for general public which visits this important railway station for paying obeisance to the holy Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

The work of solar power plant at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station was awarded and executed in a record time in a government setup. There is a need to spread this initiative at a larger scale in all Indian Railways to harness the benefits of solar energy and contribute to make our nation an energy surplus state.

Mr R K Chaudhary, Chief Electrical Engineer, Northern Railway, USBRL Project. Email: [email protected]

RE Feature

Picture 4: PV modules on pathway of Katra Railway Station

REIL CARRIED OUT

THE IN-HOUSE

COORDINATION

ACTIVITY OF VARIOUS

DEPARTMENTS SUCH

AS DESIGN

PRODUCTION,

MATERIAL

MANAGEMENT, AND

QUALITY ASSURANCE

DEPARTMENTS.

IT COMPLETED

THE PROCESS OF

IDENTIFICATION

AND FINALIZATION

OF VENDORS FOR

BALANCE-OF-SYSTEM

(BOS) ITEMS SUCH

AS MOUNTING

STRUCTURES,

INVERTERS,

TRANSFORMERS,

WIRES, AND CABLES

FROM APPROVED

VENDORS AND ALSO

FINALIZED VARIOUS

OTHER VENDOR

SERVICES.

RE Event

On April 14, 2015, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and The Energy and

Resources Institute (TERI) organized a one-day conference on grid-connected rooftop solar power with an aim to bring diverse stakeholders together and hold a dialogue on the challenges faced by the sector, as well as possible interventions and success strategies for sectoral growth and development. People belonging to the central and state government agencies and regulatory bodies in addition to project developers, banks, multilateral/bilateral institutions, consultants, and new entrants into

the sector participated in the event. Overall, about 250 participants attended the event.

The Inaugural Session was graced by Shri Tarun Kapoor, IAS, Joint Secretary, MNRE, Dr Leena Srivastava, Acting Director-General, TERI, Mr Shirish Garud, Associate Director, TERI, and Ms Mohua Mukherjee, Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank. Panellists in the subsequent sessions included Mr Ashish Khanna, CEO & Executive Director, Tata Power Solar, Mr Praveer Sinha, CEO & Executive Director, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, Mr Pawan Agrawal, President, Corporate Finance, YES Bank, Dr Ujjwal Bhattacharjee,

GRID-CONNECTEDROOFTOP SOLAR POLICIES, BUSINESS MODELS, AND FINANCING OPTIONS

Senior Fellow & Area Convenor, RETA, TERI, and Mr Pranav Mehta Chairman, National Solar Energy Federation of India, among others.

In his Keynote Address, Shri Tarun Kapoor emphasized on the business potential of grid-connected rooftop solar power in India and highlighted the importance of facilitating ease of finance, standardization of products, and addressing the challenge of grid connectivity and integration.

The delegates agreed that the banks are now ready to support the manufacturing and installation activities of grid-connected rooftop solar plants in residential as well as industrial sectors. The companies working in such solar plants are placing more trust in the discoms where they advise that proper training of employees is required. They also said that discoms would have to show their commitment towards adopting installation of net metering or smart metering devices at the consumers’ end so that energy efficiency increases and energy losses decrease.

Adwit Kashyap, Research Associate, RETA, TERI. Email: [email protected]



The Social Work and Research Centre, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that established

the Barefoot College, is a voluntary organization working in the fields of education, skill development, health, drinking water, women empowerment, and electrification through solar power for the upliftment of rural people. The Barefoot College was founded by Mr Sunjit ‘Bunker’ Roy in 1972, in Ajmer district, Rajasthan, India. It is one of the last places in India where the life style and work style of Mahatma Gandhi is still alive, respected, and applied in all the

activities of the college. It is a college in India where traditional practical knowledge, current skills of villagers, and local wisdom are accorded more value and importance than that of the modern-day qualified experts such as, MBA, etc.

Here, illiteracy is not considered a barrier to learning. How to apply and benefit from sophisticated technology, i.e., solar energy, in order to help the poorest of the poor is taught at the Barefoot College. Illiterate barefoot professionals are today’s architects, designers, water and solar engineers, communicators, teachers, and doctors of this village.

RE Institution

UNIQUE SOLAR ENGINEERS OF BAREFOOT COLLEGEMs Smita Kundu discusses the excellent work done in the field of renewable energy by an NGO, where illiterate rural mothers and grandmothers acquire proper training to become solar engineers and thus solar electrify their own villages across the globe.

THE BAREFOOT COLLEGE

WAS FOUNDED BY MR

SUNJIT ‘BUNKER’ ROY IN

1972, IN AJMER DISTRICT,

RAJASTHAN, INDIA. IT IS

ONE OF THE LAST PLACES

IN INDIA WHERE THE LIFE

STYLE AND WORK STYLE

OF MAHATMA GANDHI IS

STILL ALIVE, RESPECTED,

AND APPLIED IN ALL THE

ACTIVITIES OF THE COLLEGE.

Picture 1: Women

discussing about

various components


All of them have demonstrated that ‘impossible is possible’.

Solar Electrification at Barefoot College

The Barefoot College is the only fully solar electrified college based in a village of India. The college, spread over eight acres, runs entirely on solar energy and is maintained by the barefoot solar engineers.

The college has been electrified by setting up 60 kW of solar panels and five battery banks of 764 deep cycle 800 Ah batteries with 15 invertors between 3–5 kW. These were installed by the barefoot solar engineers from 1989 onwards. These equipment power the entire campus that consists of 700 lights and fans, film editing machines, photo copying machines, 40 computers, a dentist’s chair, lights in the library, and a dining hall for 100 people. The solar components such as invertors, charge controllers, battery box stands were all fabricated in the college itself and installed by the barefoot solar engineers under the supervision of a priest who had barely passed secondary school. Thus, by implementing solar electrification in their own college, they walk the talk.

Qualification to Become a Solar Engineer at Barefoot College

Experiences in the Barefoot College show that men are relatively

difficult to train. Men, it was found, were normally restless, ambitious, compulsively mobile, and wanted a paper certificate. Once they had a certificate, they would leave their remote village within days, looking for a job in the cities.

Thus, the Barefoot College came up with a new policy wherein the illiterate/semi-literate middle-aged mothers and grandmothers from villages were trained. Here, an illiterate trainer can train an illiterate trainee. Inability to read or write is not a deterrent for the very poor; rather, they, through their hard work, qualify as successful solar engineers. The qualification of solar engineers immensely benefitted the poorest of poor rural families who used to live at less than 0.50 cents per day in the past. The first solar engineer passed out in 1997 from the college.

Training of Illiterate Rural Women at Barefoot College

For the solar electrification of villages, the Barefoot College annually trains about 100 grandmothers and mothers from India and 80 grandmothers and mothers from international rural villages located in the least developed countries as per the United Nations norms.

The trainees complete a comprehensive six month solar engineering training programme at the Barefoot College campus in India.

Here, they learn how to light up solar home units, make solar lamps, and charge controllers. In this way, they become ‘solar engineers’.

Firstly, women from different rural areas are allowed to mix and adjust to their environment and within their group for a month. The Barefoot College understands that for women who have rarely left their village, it requires undeniable courage and patience to leave their homes and families and stay in the campus for six months. It is observed that these women adapt to new food, shelter, and clothing due to their eagerness to learn new techniques for economic development.

As far as communication is concerned, the village women are trained to use sight, sound, and sign

Unique Solar Engineers of Barefoot College

THE BAREFOOT COLLEGE IS THE ONLY FULLY SOLAR ELECTRIFIED COLLEGE BASED IN A VILLAGE OF INDIA. THE COLLEGE, SPREAD OVER EIGHT ACRES, RUNS ENTIRELY ON SOLAR ENERGY AND IS MAINTAINED BY THE BAREFOOT SOLAR ENGINEERS.

FOR THE SOLAR ELECTRIFICATION OF VILLAGES, THE BAREFOOT COLLEGE ANNUALLY TRAINS ABOUT 100 GRANDMOTHERS AND MOTHERS FROM INDIA AND 80 GRANDMOTHERS AND MOTHERS FROM INTERNATIONAL RURAL VILLAGES LOCATED IN THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AS PER THE UNITED NATIONS NORMS.

Picture 2: Demonstration of a solar water heating system


RE Institution

language. The need for expression has given birth to a unique ‘language’ of gestures, signs, and broken English cutting across all language barriers in the training centre. Despite the initial concerns over the language and communication problems due to the presence of people from different areas and nationalities, there is a positive environment in the Training College due to the cultural diversity. The trainees adjust to their new environment quickly. Sign language is considered as an integral mode for communication. Usually, the training is normally imparted in Hindi, English, Swahili, and Spanish languages.

Some of the main features of women’s training are as follows:

� ‘Learning by doing’ has long been the philosophy adopted by the college for training. Practical demonstrations, ‘hands-on’ experience, and regular repetition help trainees to get familiar with terms, tools, equipment, and components used in the solar technology (Picture 1-3). With each passing day, their level of hesitancy decreases and confidence and technical dexterity increases.

� ‘Photos in manuals’ are another method of teaching illiterate women from rural belts, as even if they cannot read or write, they can visualize the requirements of solar panels.

� Teaching technicalities: A class is conducted in a large, rectangular workshop, with a long worktable running through the middle, around which the women sit with their individual colour sheets and panels. Neat rows of solar lanterns line shelves, while charts detailing the colour codes hang on the walls. One of the teachers calls the women to the blackboard to read out the colour codes. One of them uses her knowledge of English to help her compatriots learn the words for the colours in their local language. In the beginning, it is

very difficult but once they start developing an understanding of the colour codes, it becomes easy and they can identify the components for the making of solar lamps and other solar products.

Upon completion of the training, the women return to their village to electrify up to 250 households with solar lighting units. They also assume the responsibility of repair and maintenance of the solar systems for a minimum of five years. They play a key role in sustaining and replicating solar technology in rural communities by training other women and managing the finances of their solar workshop.

The programme breaks a critical myth associated with solar technology and learning. It proves that ‘paper qualifications’ are not required to become a practical solar engineer.

Sustainable Development due to the Barefoot College’s Initiative

The ‘Barefoot Approach’ was designed to demonstrate the first technically and financially self-sufficient, solar electrified rural villages in Asia, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Africa.

The target constituency has been the rural poor families, living on less than $1 per day in rural communities where the women spend hours fetching wood or kerosene, or rely on candles and flashlight batteries for lighting at very high costs. After the food, lighting makes the highest share of the expenditure by a family.

By training the illiterate rural grandmothers and mothers to be a fully competent solar engineer, there is no need for an urban paper-

qualified solar engineer. This training eliminates the dependency on urban experts.

By getting the communities to pay every month for the use of the solar units (thus reaching out to the poorest of the poor who cannot afford to buy these systems even in installments), the financial commitment is assured for the purchase of replacement components and payment of the monthly salary of the woman solar engineer. This salary provides the incentive for the woman solar engineer to work and look after the units regularly.

Each household agrees to pay a fee between $5–$10 a month for the solar lighting, roughly what they used to spend on kerosene, candles, and flashlight batteries. Today, the model of community-owned, managed, and financially sustained household solar light systems is replicated in more than 54 countries, empowering more than 600 women Barefoot Solar Engineers and providing clean energy access to 450,000 people in nearly 1,650 communities throughout India, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific, and Asia.

The Barefoot College has not only helped harness solar energy for electrification, but has also helped create employment for the unemployable. In this way, it has boosted income for the poor. It has also helped in saving the environment by reducing carbon emission. In addition, the college has helped save the enormous amount of kerosene being burnt. Most importantly, it has provided self-reliant solutions within village life.

Ms Smita Kundu, DGM, NTPC. Email: [email protected]

Picture 3: Hearing by doing

Cairn Centre of ExcellenceVocational Training Center Established by Cairn India at Jodhpur, Rajasthan

RE Success Story


The International Labour Organization (ILO), in its recent report, states that the levels of unemployment in India are on the rise, in spite of the fact that general levels of education have

been increasing. This dichotomy either points towards a lack of opportunities for educated youth or lack of quality education that produces unemployable graduates.

Industry has often pointed to the mismatch between demand and supply in the job market, particularly in terms of the required skill levels. The lack of vocational training in the country is a major reason for the lack of competitiveness and productivity of the workforce in India. The deprived sections, that is, the socio-economically weak, are the most affected, with relatively lower access to opportunities and are often the first to drop out of the formal education system, thus creating a vicious cycle for the underprivileged households.

� The need of the hour is establishment of a ‘Training Facility’ that has the following features:

� Responsive to the industry requirements, practical training, and an employer-oriented curriculum;

� Provides specialized training and opportunities for skill upgradation through short-term certificate courses;

� Ensures the industry‘s participation to develop the curriculum and ensure placement linkages for trainees, making them ‘ job-ready’; v

� Offers strong curriculum to meet both specialized highly skilled and semi-skilled requirements of the industry.

Cairn Centre of Excellence (CCOE) Cairn India, one of India’s largest private sector oil and gas companies, has established and recently commenced activities at its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, the Cairn Centre of Excellence (CCOE) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Cairn India has engaged the internationally renowned training service provider, TUV Rheinland, Germany to deliver courses at the CCOE.

The main objective of this institute is to provide top-class training facilities to the youth of the country, especially Rajasthan, in vocational skills so as to provide them a linkage to employment opportunities within and outside the country. This is in line with the vision of the Government of India and Rajasthan to promote skill development among the youth.

The venture is a ‘Not-for-Profit’ initiative from the company’s perspective, where the initial capital investment has been contributed by Cairn India. The institute now

aims to operate independently on a financially sustainable model. Cairn India will continue to support the cause of training for students through appropriate Scholarship programmes, especially for the youth from Cairn’s areas of operations.

CCOE VisionThe Centre represents a unique collaboration between industry and a global training provider. The institution has globally accepted curriculum and certification and strong linkages with the industry, leading to high level of employability. The Centre aims to train a large number of unemployed youth every year.

The Institute will cater to the following segments:

� Up-skilling workers already employed in the energy sector, who will be able to move up the value chain and increase income levels;

� Providing specialized courses for Industrial Training Institute (ITI) graduates to ensure direct employability in specialized technical roles;

� Offering basic courses for 10th/12th pass youth or below, leading to direct employment.

The objective of the Institute is to address the current mismatch that exists between what employers are looking for and what existing training courses have to offer.

Location and Setup CCOE is located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan on the Nagaur Highway (NH-65). The city has already emerged as an educational hub with a number of world class institutions: a new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), National Law School, etc., are also under construction in the vicinity of

the proposed CCOE. CCOE has 10 classrooms, five large workshops for practical training (Pictures 1-2), a hostel that can accommodate more than 150 students, a mess, seminar rooms, and an administrative block.

Courses Offered TUV has designed and delivered vocational courses in the disciplines of:

� Advanced Welding

� Renewable Energy (including modules on wind and solar energy)

� Basic and Advanced Automobile Repair & Maintenance

� Retail

Students will be charged a fee depending on the duration of the course. They will also be offered hostel accommodation on the premises for a nominal fee.

For the delivery of the courses, Cairn has sourced world-class equipment from the best equipment suppliers inside and outside the country as per the advice of TUV. These include the following:

� Welding machines from Kemppi, Finland

� Solar and advanced automobile training kits from Lucas Nuelle, Germany

� Advanced fume extraction system from Kemper, Germany to ensure dust-and particle-free environment, meeting European standards in the welding labs

In addition, TUV will deliver a number of short-term, in-house, and open courses to earn revenue so that the institute is monetarily self-sufficient. These include courses such as ‘Lead Auditor’, ‘Balanced Scorecard’, ‘Six Sigma’, etc., which will cater to the community as well as those already employed and looking to upgrade their skills.

The Centre has already obtained a number of Letters of Intent from well-known companies who are interested in recruiting from CCOE; these include Gamesa, Suzlon, Areva, TVS, Sun Edison, Schneider, etc.

Sidharth Balakrishna, Executive , Laira Media. Email: [email protected]

RE Success Story

Picture 2: Workshop

Picture 1: Workshop for practical training



RE Product

A solar smartphone charger is not just another charging cable. If you’re like most people, you keep a

smartphone charger anywhere you know you’re going to be for a long period of time. There’s likely one for your home and another in the car. In such a situation, a single solar charger can replace them all.

On the most basic level, a solar panel left in a well-lit area converts light energy into electricity that charges an internal Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery. The battery then stores the energy from which you can charge your smartphone or other mobile device.

Main Features of Solar Smartphone Charger

Some of the main features of the solar smartphone charger are as follows:

� The first generation solar smartphone chargers comprises

SOLAR SMARTPHONE

CHARGER

Interested organizations may write to

TERI PRESS | TERI, Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex | Lodhi Road, New Delhi -110 003 Tel. +91 11 2468 2100, 4150 4900 | Fax: +91 11 2468 2144, 2468 2145 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.teriin.org

Akshay Urja (bilingual) is widely circulated to all stakeholders of renewable energy. We invite advertisements (in colour) from interested organizations, manufacturers, institutions, etc. The advertisement tariffs are as follows:

Ad Position Single Issue Three Issues Discount Offer Six Issues Discount Offer

Inside front cover (N ) 50,000 150,000 142,500 300,000 276,000

Inside back cover (N ) 50,000 150,000 142,500 300,000 276,000

Inside full page (N ) 40,000 120,000 114,000 240,000 220,800

with US

panels, they still create an adequate

trickle charge for the LiPo phone

batteries.

Charging PerformanceThe size, type, and overall output of the battery for each device are as important as the panel. A few of the devices have different functionality. Where most are charged directly from the battery, not all of them have the same relationship with the panel. Of those that have a battery.

Source: www.solar-phone-charger-review. toptenreviews.com

the crystalline silicon variety They have varying efficiencies for

generating electricity from sunlight.

It ranges from the highest at 10

per cent to the lowest at 4 per cent.

� A few second-generation devices

are thinner than first-generation

panels, and they are made up of

Epoxy Resin and Copper Indium

Gallium DiSelenide (CIGS),

the latter of which is

actually a film

that can be

applied to

flexible surfaces.

Even under low

light, overcast

conditions, all

of these panels

produced a

minimum of

1V. While these

are not as

efficient as the

crystalline-based


Children's Corner

A t Simplified Technologies for Life, we believe that in a situation when we are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, a single breakthrough technology or invention in renewable energy is not sufficient;

we need to have a series of such inventions. These should be backed by mass level participation of billions of people.

A serious and scary projection of the global climatic problems will never energize people to pursue an eco-friendly sustainable lifestyle. Humans need a positive frame of reference, a hope, and a deep sense of achievement that would lead to happiness to engage in any action that requires ‘change’ from the routine. And for doing that, we need to innovate radically and simplistically.

With that belief, we designed ‘Suryakumbh’—a ‘Solar Cooking Festival’ where thousands of children and adults gather at a common ground, explore the art and science of harnessing solar energy by making their own solar ovens, and cook their lunch using it. The activity of Suryakumbh is designed to arouse a child’s interest from theory, to practical, to hands-on working, to sharing the fruits of the labour (immediate feedback of how he/she did), and most importantly to transform the follower into a leader by inviting them to propagate the experience to many more by conducting their own Suryakumbhs.

Experienced by over 25,000 children till date, Suryakumbh has been recognized as the World’s Largest Solar Cooking Festival by the Guinness Book of World Records, Limca Book of Records, Asia Book, and India Book of Records. The following points establish the simplicity of the process and the experience of participating in the world’s biggest solar festival:

� Children come to the ground wondering how they would be making a box-type solar oven, which is being taught for decades in every school, in a short span of 2 hours, forget about cooking in it.

� But as the volunteers explain and demonstrate, they are surprised, and also confused, to see that a simple foam sheet, aluminium pot, and a carry bag when assembled in a particular fashion within few minutes will work as a powerful solar oven.

� Having assembled, they begin the cooking by inserting the pot in the oven. But being doubtful, they frequently touch the vessel to ensure that it is at least heating the pot if not cooking the food. And as soon as they sense a high enough temperature, they turn optimistic about cooking too.

� When the time arrives and children open their vessels, the joy and smile on their faces is so viral and so wonderful that you know the festival has touched their hearts.

� As in a festival you share the prasad and not consume it alone, in Suryakumbh too every child celebrates the power of Sun God by sharing their solar-cooked prasad with others.

Thus, by igniting the minds of the millions of children, we believe this simple act of Suryakumbh will help unleash the hidden energy that will help us to lead and create a happy, beautiful, sustainable, and all-inclusive future.

Mr Vivek Kabra, Founder & CEO, Simplified Technologies for Life and Alumni of Department of Energy Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay. Email: [email protected]

The Essence of Suryakumbh


What is this?

Please have laddus. Today,

just like you, we have also installed

SPV panel and SWH system.

Congratulations. Henceforth, your electricity bill will also be reduced.

Children's Corner

Illustration: VIJAY NIPANE

The air temperature inside concrete buildings which are directly exposed to sunlight is more as compared to the buildings that are surrounded by, as well as fall under, the shadow of trees. Let’s find it out through an experiment.

Materials Required

� 2 thermometers

� 2 shoe boxes or small cardboard boxes

� Various types of plants in pots

� 1 reflector lamp with 100 W incandescent light bulb in it

Steps of Experiment

� In order to ensure that the same amount of light falls on the two shoe boxes, keep them at an equal distance from the lamp.

� Put one thermometer in each of the boxes.

� Now, put the plants between the lamp and place one of the boxes in such a way that the plants’ shadow covers the maximum area of the box, i.e., the house.

� Next, turn the lamp on.

� Finally, measure the air temperature of each box after sometime.

Result and Conclusion The air temperature inside the box covered under plants' shadow is less than the inside air temperature of the box exposed to light coming from the lamp (Figures 1 and 2). The same stands true for our houses. Plants can act as shades to block sunlight and help us keep our homes cooler. During summers, a tree with leaves provides shade to the house, thus reducing the amount of sunlight striking the building and keeping it cooler. During winters, when a tree sheds its leaves, the sunlight is not blocked; but the rays directly fall on the building, keeping it warm.

KEEP YOURHOME COOL

PLANT MORE TREES

Figure 1: Direct exposure to the sunlight; hence, inside air temperature is more

Figure 2: Sunlight is blocked by the plant; hence, inside air temperature is less

This is solar photovoltaic (SPV)

panel and solar water heating (SWH) system. Our electricity bill has reduced more than half since we started using

these renewable energy devices.


Wind Turbine Towers, Update 2014 — Global Market Size, Average Price, Competitive Landscape and Key Country Analysis to 2020Publisher: Global Data | 130 pages

Wind Turbine Towers, Update 2014 — Global Market Size, Average Price, Competitive Landscape and Key Country Analysis to 2020 is the latest report from industry analysis specialist, Global Data. It offers comprehensive information and analysis of the global wind

turbine tower market. The report provides clear understanding and deep insights into the global wind turbine tower market. It explains the key drivers and challenges impacting the market, and also provides data regarding historic and forecast growth of the wind turbine tower market, average prices, market segmentation, and competitive landscape, globally, as well as in key wind power countries such as Germany, Spain, the UK, the US, Canada, China, and India.

2015 World Energy Issues MonitorEnergy price volatility: The new normal

Publisher: World Energy Council | 103 pages

Energy is among the top strategic issues shaping the global agenda in 2015. 2015 World Energy Issues Monitor helps to define the world energy agenda and its evolution over time. It provides a high-level perception of what constitutes issues of critical uncertainty, in contrast to those that require immediate action or act as a developing signal for the future. As such, it has developed into an essential tool in understanding the complex and uncertain environment within which energy leaders must operate and a tool through which decision makers can challenge their own assumptions on the key drivers within the energy landscape.

Energy Statistics 2015 Central Statistics Office (CSO)

Publisher: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India | 103 pages

Energy Statistics is brought out every year by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and this is the 22nd publication in this series. The latest data on reserves installed capacity, potential for generation, production, consumption, import and export, and wholesale price of different energy commodities are included in this publication. The chapters of this book discuss the topics such as—reserve and potential for generation, installed capacity and capacity utilization, production, foreign trade, availability, consumption, energy commodity balance, price indices, and world production and consumption of crude oil.

Indian Wind Energy Association (InWEA) www.inwea.org

The Indian Wind Energy Association (InWEA) was set up in 2002 as a not-for-profit organization under

the Societies Act. The InWEA, with more than 300 members, is dedicated to the promotion and development

of wind power in India. Since its inception, InWEA has consistently worked towards removing barriers to

wind power development and creation of an enabling regulatory and policy environment for investments

in this sector. The association is also a member of several international and national industry bodies such

as the World Wind Energy Association, the European Wind Energy Association, CII, FICCI, and ASSOCHAM,

among others.

Web/Book Alert


Forthcoming Events

June 11–12, 2015 | Ahmedabad, India

Green India Energy Summit

Website: http://10times.com/india/renewable-energy/tradeshows

June 19–21, 2015 | Chennai, India

Solar South

Website: http://10times.com/solar-south

July 2–3, 2015 | New Delhi, India

3rd Renewable World Convention 2015

Website: www.fortunemediagroup.in

July 29–31, 2015 | New Delhi, India

Govt Achievements & Schemes Expo

Website: http://10times.com/govt-achievements-schemes

August 21–23, 2015 | New Delhi, India

World Renewable Energy Technology Congress & Expo

Website: http://10times.com/wretc

September 18–20, 2015 | Bengaluru, India

Electrical Electronics & Energy Expo & Conference

Website: http://10times.com/electrical-electronics-energy-expo-conference

June 30–July 02, 2015 | Shanghai, China

Shanghai Solar Cum Photovoltaic Solar Thermal & Building Integrated ExhibitionWebsite: http://10times.com/esbuild

July 1–2, 2015 | Birmingham, UK

UK AD & Biogas Exhibition

Website: http://10times.com/uk-ad-biogas-birmingham

July 14–16, 2015 | San Francisco, USA

Intersolar North America

Website: http://10times.com/intersolar-north-america

August 4–6, 2015 | Olinda, Brazil

Green Expo

Website: http://10times.com/green-expo-olinda ebsite: http://10times.com/wretc

August 18–20, 2015 | Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou International Solar Photovoltaic Exhibition

Website: http://10times.com/guangzhou-solarpv-expo

August 24–26, 2015 | Honolulu, USA

Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo

Website: http://10times.com/asiapacific-cleanenergy-summitexpo

Nat

ion

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nal


RE Statistics

Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investments

Sector wise Investments in Renewable Energy

Geographical wise Investments in Renewable Energy

(Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance "Global Trends in Clean Energy Investments", January 9, 2015)

RENEWABLE ENERGY AT A GLANCE: GLOBALRENEWABLE ENERGY AT A GLANCE: GLOBAL


RENEWABLE ENERGY AT A GLANCE: GLOBALRENEWABLE ENERGY AT A GLANCE: GLOBAL

MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

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Benefits

� Reduce electricity bill

� Payback in 5-6 years and get free electricity for next 20 years

� Be a proud producer of your own clean and green power

� Modular rooftop systems from 1 kWp to 500 kWp

MAKE YOUR ROOF YOUR OWN

POWER HOUSELet Your Roof Produce Electricity for Your BuildingInstall Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Systems on your roof in residential, commercial,

industrial and institutional buildings and make your roof your own power house. Meet your electricity requirement and the excess electricity can be fed to the local grid.

40,000 MW Grid Connected Rooftop Systems targeted by 2022.

For further details please visit

www.mnre.gov.in or contact State Nodal Agencies,

Solar Energy Corporation of India, Channel Partners empaneled with

MNRE and nearest Banks

MAKE YOUR ROOF YOUR OWN

POWER HOUSELet Your Roof Produce Electricity for Your Building

Incentives

� 15% Government subsidy for selected categories

� Accelerated depreciation benefits for industrial and commercial buildings

� Avail bank loan at the interest rate of housing loan

� System Aggregators can avail loan from IREDA at concessional interest rate

the indian solar power market - … urja/vol 8... · 36 grid-connected solar power plant at shri...

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