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Volume 8 • Issue 5 • April 2015

First Ever Mega Event to Attract Global Investors in Renewable Energy Sector of India

April 2015 | Akshay Urja | 1

| Volume 8 • Issue 5 |APRIL 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, Anushree Tiwari Sharma, Abhas Mukherjee, 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

TERI, Darbari Seth Block, IHC ComplexLodhi Road, New Delhi -110 003

Tel. +91 11 2468 2100, 4150 4900Fax: +91 11 2468 2144, 2468 2145

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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 National

8 International

COVER STORY10 RE-Invest 2015: First Ever Mega

Event to Attract Global Investors in Renewable Energy Sector of India

SPECIAL FEATURE16 Quality Assessment Protocol

of Solar Data in SRRA

21 RE EVENT

RE FEATURES 22 Second Generation Biofuel Production:

Biomethane and Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Agricultural Crop Wastes Biomass

26 Key to India’s Ultra Mega Solar PV Programme: Integration of Manufacturing Technology for Silicon Processes

32 Newly Designed Biogas Plants in Central Gujarat Use Less Water

36 OASYS South Asia Project Brightens Up Remote Areas

RE SUCCESS STORY40 Karnataka State Women’s

University Leaps towards Energy Surplus Campus

RE CASE STUDY44 Double Basin Solar Still with

Vacuum Tubes: A New Era of Desalination Technology

47 RE PRODUCT

48 CHILDREN’S CORNER

50 WEB/BOOK ALERT

51 FORTHCOMING EVENTS

52 RE STATISTICS

The MNRE has launched a unique project which involves installation, commissioning, and networking of 115 nationwide automatic solar radiation resource assessment stations. As of now, the project has been implemented and Dr S Gomathinay agam, R Karthik, and Dr G Giridhar assess the quality of data collected so far from these stations.

Mr Debajit Palit discusses ‘Off-grid Access Systems for South Asia’ (OASYS South Asia) project, which aimed to do a systematic analysis to develop an off-grid delivery model framework and implement the framework through demonstration projects across different geographies in order to find appropriate local solutions for sustainable rural electricity supply.

According to Dr K Lenin Babu, assurance of ‘Quality Energy’ is most important input for development. In this regard, he discusses how Karnataka State Women’s University, Vijayapura, became a live example where the University campus became self-sufficient in generating energy for its own usage with the help of optimum utilization of renewable energy resources.

10

4036

www.mnre.gov.inIn this Issue

Prominent Speakers and Guests at RE-INVEST: 1st Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo

16

2 | Akshay Urja | April 2015

I am a regular reader of ‘Akshay Urja’ Magazine and find it very useful for its unmatched information shared on various renewable energy sources and their use across India and the world. I have read all the issues of the magazine and use the information for installation and increasing awareness about renewable energy. The magazine is doing a great work of increasing awareness about renewable energy sources and its use. Please continue providing the magazine to me and across the country.

Kailash Chandra Joshi

Aditya Solar Shop, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand

fiNys fnuksa eSa vius ,d nksLr osQ lkFk fdlh dke ls nsgjknwu fLFkr ^mjsMk* osQ dk;kZy; x;k FkkA ogk¡ ls eq>s vkiosQ }kjk laikfnr if=kdk ^v{k; ÅtkZ* feyhA bls i<+dj cgqr vPNk yxk vkSj ubZ&ubZ tkudkjh izkIr gqbZA if=kdk ls Kkr gqvk fd ea=kky; }kjk iou ÅtkZ] lkSj ÅtkZ] ck;ksxSl] dksYM LVksjst bR;kfn vyx&vyx {ks=kksa esa cgqr vPNk dke fd;k tk jgk gSA

'kSysUæ flag pkS/jh Xkzke uxjklw] #nziz;kx] mÙkjk[k.M

I have read ‘Akshay Urja’ and found that it is very informative and useful with impressive content. It has helped me immensely, gaining latest information on inventions and government policy and plans related to renewable energy sources, as today renewable energy has become a need of the hour. I must say that the newsletter has proven to be very useful and highly informative in the sector of renewable energy.

Raghunath Banerjee

Rasbihari Market, Kolkata

egksn;] lcls igys rks eSa vkidks bruh lqanj vkSj Kkuo/Zd if=kdk dk laiknu djus osQ fy, gkfnZd c/kbZ nsuk pkgrk gw¡A okLro esa uohu vkSj uohdj.kh; ÅtkZ ea=kky; }kjk bl if=kdk dk fudkyk tkuk ,d mÙke dk;Z gSA blls uohdj.kh; ÅtkZ osQ {ks=k esa ns'k esa gks

jgs fodkl vkSj vuqla/kuksa osQ ckjs esa foLr`r tkudkjh izkIr gksrh gSA eq>s ;g if=kdk vkiosQ lhthvks fLFkr dk;kZy; osQ Lokxr d{k ls izkIr gqbZA bls i<+ dj eSa vfHkHkwr gw¡A

ih-oh-,y-,u- jko jktkth lykbZ] psUUkbZ

The ‘Akshay Urja’ newsletter is such an informative and useful newsletter which contains useful information on various renewable energy technologies. Through this newsletter, we get information about government programmes, policies, subsidies, energy-saving lighting systems, energy-saving electronic equipment, etc. This newsletter is extremely useful for providing me innovative information about renewable energy technologies. I would like to give thanks to the editor of ‘Akshay Urja’ newsletter that you are promoting renewable power in the country through this newsletter.

Smt. Kirpi Devi

Niti Bagh, New Delhi

uohu vkSj uohdj.kh; ÅtkZ ea=kky;] Hkkjr ljdkj }kjk izdkf'kr fgUnh if=kdk ^v{k; ÅtkZ* i<+us dk ekSdk feykA eSa mÙkjk[k.M osQ ,d xk¡o dk fuoklh gw¡] gekjs xk¡o esa lkSj ÅtkZ ls pyus okyh oqQN ykbVsa yxh gSaA bl if=kdk ls irk pyk fd ea=kky; }kjk fdlh ;kstuk osQ rgr xk¡o esa lkSj ykbVsa yxh gSaA blosQ fy, ea=kky; dks cgqr&cgqr /U;okn vkSj bldh lwpuk nsus osQ fy, if=kdk osQ laiknd e.My dks Hkh gkfnZd /U;oknA vk'kk gS vkxs Hkh vki gekjs lkFk bl izdkj dh lwpukvksa dks ck¡VsaxsA

fnus'k flag jkor xzke ukSfM;ky] ikSM+h x<+oky] mÙkjk[k.M

I congratulate the team that publishes

‘Akshay Urja’ because it is excellent and

the magazine covers many points. It is a

great way of making people aware of the

benefits of renewable energy sources.

‘Akshay Urja’ carries interesting articles on diverse aspects of renewable energy. In the

issue of February 2015, a special article on RE-Invest is very good.

Bishwajit Kumar Mitra

Bokaro, Jharkhand

ubZ fnYyh esa vk;ksftr ^vkj- bZ- bUosLV* osQ HkO; dk;ZØe esa vkus dk volj izkIr gqvkA bl dk;ZØe esa eq>s vkiosQ ea=kky; }kjk izdkf'kr fgUnh if=kdk ^v{k; ÅtkZ* feyhA dk;ZØe cgqr cf<+;k Fkk vkSj blds vuq:i gh if=kdk esa Hkh ^vkj- bZ- bUosLV* lcaf/r dkiQh jkspd vkSj Kkuo¼Zd lkexzh FkhA if=kdk osQ liQyre laiknu osQ fy, vki vkSj vkidh iwjh Vhe dks cgqr&cgqr c/kbZA

oqaQnu dqekj ftyk Nijk] fcgkj

I got an opportunity to attend the RE-Invest on 16th February 2015 in Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi. There I saw many solar item manufacturing companies have participated in this event. This RE-INVEST was organized at a huge level and it was successful. I would like to thank and congratulate the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for organizing this International mega event. I got a magazine ‘Akshay Urja’ from there, I find it is very informative and useful.

Pratap Singh

Panchwati Colony, Loni Border, NCR

In its endeavour of compilation and contributing knowledge for New and Renewable Energy, the newsletter ‘Akshay Urja’ is an indispensable literature. The contents are inspiring and motivating in the sector.

Executive Engineer (Dist)

DNHPDCL, Silvassa.

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]

April 2015 | Akshay Urja | 3April 2015 | Akshay Urja | 3

Dear Readers,

RE-INVEST 2015, the fi rst ever mega event to attract global investors in renewable

energy sector was organized during 15–17 February 2015 in New Delhi. The event

witnessed the participation of 124 international and 578 Indian companies, 118

exhibitors, and about 2,860 delegates from 42 countries. There was tremendous

response and enthusiasm among the participants. The event has raised a hope

of exponential growth of renewable energy in the country. During the event, 293

companies placed pledged to install 266 GW clean power plants in the country over

the next 5–10 years.

The renewable power has reached to 34.4 GW level in the country and the

Hon’ble Prime Minister, while inaugurating RE-INVEST 2015, said, ‘‘India has now

graduated from megawatts to gigawatts in terms of renewable energy production’’.

A target of 100 GW from solar power has been set in the country, which gives an

investment opportunity of about $100 billion in the near future.

RE-INVEST 2015 indicates that the investment is not a problem in renewable

energy sector but enabling environment and physical facilities such as conducive

policies on power purchase, land availability, evacuation facility, approvals process,

etc., are the major issues which need to be tackled to promote renewable power in

the country. Electricity distribution companies have to play a major role to prioritize

the renewable or clean power in their mainstream. The cost of electricity at the

source of utilization should be compared with the renewable electricity generated

from the solar rooftops at the source of utilization. Today, the cost of solar electricity

generated at the source of utilization has become economical and viable in

comparison to electricity generated from the diesel generator (DG) sets, including

the transmission and distribution losses.

A concept of utilizing solar electricity directly through local DC grid operating

at 48 V ± 3 V is also emerging. This eliminates all AC–DC conversions. This has

been demonstrated within the IIT-Madras campus where the use of solar DC

electricity is directly made to power lights, fans, and other electronic devices. The

solar-powered DC electricity supply system has a rooftop PV panel, supplemented

by a battery which is designed for 48 V ± 3 V outputs that feeds the DC grid. This

can be replicated in those areas where the AC grid is not available.

The present issue carries a report on RE-INVEST besides articles on biogas plants

and second generation biofuel. I am sure that it will be a useful reading material.

With best wishes.

ARUN K TRIPATHI

[email protected]

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

lwjt ,d :i vusd


RE News

Renewable Energy NewsRE-Invest 2015: Companies Commit $200 Billion to Clean Energy

REC’s Green Energy Loans to Cost Less, Have Longer Tenures

The Indian Government's largest clean energy initiative, the first global renewable energy conference, i.e., RE-INVEST 2015, was held from February 15–17, 2015 amid $200 billion commitments by companies. Power and engineering companies, sugar mills, and even healthcare firms have promised to set up big renewable power capacities in the next five years.

RE-INVEST drew interest from the US solar power major SunEdison Energy, which has committed 15,200—10,000 MW solar power and the rest wind power. Following closely in commitments is the Sumant Sinha-promoted ReNew Power, which will set up 7,000 MW of solar power and 4,500 MW of wind power capacity. Azure Power will set up 11,000 MW solar power capacity.

Welspun Renewables has committed to 8,660 MW of solar power and 2,341 MW of wind power. Reliance Power and Adani Power have signed green commitments for 6,000 MW of solar power each. Hero Future Energies, a part of the Hero group, will set up 5,150 MW of renewable energy capacity. US company First Solar, which is present in the Indian photovoltaic cell market, has committed to 5,000 MW of solar power.

Source: www.business-standard.com

In sync with the Indian Government’s attempt to bring down the borrowing costs for green energy projects, state-owned Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd (REC) has revised its lending guidelines.

Loans for solar and wind energy projects will now be priced 75 basis points (bps) below those for projects fuelled by conventional sources of energy. These loans can also be repaid over 15 years compared with the earlier 12 years; in addition, these loans will come with relaxed criteria on collaterals and security. The REC is one of the largest power sector lenders in India. One

basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Source: www.livemint.com

Cabinet Approves NTPC Proposal for 15,000 MW Grid-Linked Solar ProjectsThe Government of India approved setting up of 15,000 MW grid-connected solar power projects by state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) under the National Solar Mission. The projects will be implemented over three phases by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, an arm of NTPC.

In the first phase, the company would commission 3,000 MW. This would be ramped up to 5,000 MW in the second phase and 7,000 MW in the third phase. The execution of the first phase would entail an investment of N 18,000 crore, which would be met by the project developers.

The completion of these 15,000 MW capacity projects under the National Solar Mission would accelerate the process of achieving grid tariff parity for solar power and help reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel, which are presently in use to meet the unmet demand.

Source: www.indianexpress.com


Committing close to N 5 lakh crore funds to fuel India’s green energy plans, as many as 27 foreign and India’s top public and private sector banks have assured to finance 78,000 MW of renewable energy (RE) projects.

State Bank of India

chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya had earlier said that the bank would provide N 75,000 crore to fund 15,000 MW of RE projects over five years. The commitment by the banks comes within a day after nearly 300 companies submitted their commitments to the government

to set up 266,000 MW (or 266 GW) of solar, wind, and other RE

projects in the next 5–7 years. The combined funds

requirement for setting up such capacities is estimated at over $300 billion (or 18 lakh crore). Significantly, the comitment was made in a meeting held by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, and Renewable Energy, with around 40 CEOs of these companies.

Source: www.caclubindia.com

[ National ]

Bankers Commit N 5 Lakh Crore for 78,000 MW Renewable Projects UBM India Showcases

Sector Potential and Inter-country Opportunities in Sri LankaUBM India hosted ‘The India-Sri Lanka Renewable Energy Growth Forum 2015’ in Colombo. The one-day conference aimed to accelerate the growth of renewables in the region through collaboration and technology and product share.

The conference, bringing together key decision makers and leading professionals, addressed policy, technology, finance, and other important as for aspects deployment of renewables, leading to energy security and economic growth.

Source: www.virtualpressoffice.com

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi awarded the ‘Best Performing State Award’ in renewable energy capacity building to Punjab for its innovative and result-oriented solar mission. The award was received by Punjab New and Renewable Energy Minister Shri Bikram Singh Majithia. During an interaction with investors, Shri Bikram Singh Majithia said that Punjab had achieved much in the renewable energy sector in a short period due to “political will and innovative ideas”. He exhorted the entrepreneurs to invest in Punjab as the state was committed to extending every possible support to them to set up their projects.Pointing to the fact that Punjab had formulated a policy to allot projects within 60 days by using single window project clearance system, he said that as the minister in charge,

he himself monitored day-to-day developments, besides involving the district administration to address local issues on the spot. Urging investors to set up biomass power

projects, Shri Bikram Singh Majithia said that the state had huge potential of 21 million tonnes of agriculture residue availability.

Source: www.maninblue1947.wordpress.com

Punjab Bags Best Performing State Award in Renewable Energy Sector


RE News

Haryana Makes Solar Power Must for All BuildingsThe Haryana Government has decided to usher in the New Year with one of the biggest pushes for solar power in the country. The state (vide order no. 22/52/2005-5Power) has made it mandatory for all buildings on a plot size of 500 square yards or more to install rooftop solar power systems by September 2015.

The order will be applicable to private bungalows, group housing societies, builder apartments, malls, offices, commercial complexes, schools, hospitals—any building, new or old, that meets the plot size criteria.

The government will offer a 30 per cent subsidy on installation costs on "a first-come-first-serve" basis, which means it would depend on availability of funds.

Source: www.eai.in

Centre to Work with States for Renewable Energy Capacity Addition

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will monitor the 266 GW of renewable power capacity addition committed by companies such as Adani Power, Reliance Power, SunEdison, and ReNew Power.

“Companies making the commitments will be held responsible for completing them. But from our side, we will meet with the states on a monthly basis; I will personally

review the projects on a half yearly basis,” said Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, at the Valedictory Session of the First Renewable Energy Global Investors’ Meet & Expo, ‘RE-INVEST 2015’. He added that his Ministry would also assist the companies with issues related to infrastructure and grid connectivity.

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Andhra Pradesh Policy Emphasizes on Rooftop Solar Power ProjectsThe new solar policy released by the Government of Andhra Pradesh focuses on rooftop systems on public buildings, domestic, commercial and industrial establishments on gross or net metering basis, and the consumers would be free to choose either net or gross meter option for sale of energy to the distribution companies. Metering facility will be extended to all eligible developers who intend to set up solar photovoltaic plants on their premises.

The policy also envisages permission to group of persons or societies to set up solar power projects and they would be treated as collective generation for supply to households of each society/group member. The discoms would deduct the energy generated by such groups from the energy consumed by individual service connections and the balance (either excess or lower) would be billed on net metering basis.

Source: www.thehindu.com


[ National ]

Okhla Missionary Hospital to Generate Solar PowerThe energy needs of the occupants of 100 beds—including air conditioners—will be met by the sun at Holy Family Hospital, a missionary nursing home in Okhla, New Delhi. The hospital is likely to be the first private or non-government building in Delhi to have a large solar rooftop system, generating 300 kW.

Interestingly, the hospital is not entitled to any government subsidy on solar power and is yet set to make big savings on its total energy cost. Instead of using China-made panels that have flooded the market, the

hospital staff chose German panels which, they say, have a longer life and require little maintenance.

The Holy Family Hospital has 350 beds, nine operation theatres, and five intensive care units; it has 200 air conditioners apart from over a thousand electrical lights and other appliances. Its total energy needs are close to 900 kW. To avoid the steep initial cost of installing such a huge rooftop solar panel system, the hospital signed a 20-year agreement with a German company.

Source: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Maharashtra to Build 11,500 MW Renewable Energy PlantsThe Maharashtra Government has decided to build renewable energy plants having total capacity of 11,500 MW. It has set a target of completing the project by 2019. The project is being executed under the Prime Minister’s mission to create renewable energy potential of 1 lakh MW.

Energy Minister of Maharashtra Shri Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that solar energy plants having total capacity of 7,500 MW would be built. Maharashtra State Power Generation Co. Ltd (MAHAGENCO) would build 2,500 MW plants under public-private partnership model. The government would float open tenders for the remaining 500 MW. He said that we would create 2,000 MW wind energy potential, 1,500 MW from cogeneration, and 500 MW from solid waste energy.

Source: www.steelguru.com

NDMC to Use LED Bulbs in Street Lights to Save Power

It won’t be long before the fluorescent bulbs used in street lights in New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) jurisdiction are replaced with Light Emitting Diode (LED bulbs), saving as much as 40 million units of electricity annually. Mr Jalaj Shrivastava, chairman of the NDMC, said, “We are likely to replace all the fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs within four months. This will be a huge move towards reducing electricity consumption in the area considering that we are in dire need of saving our planet.”He said that along with around 30,000 street lights, the council was looking at replacing bulbs at all hospitals, schools, and government buildings in the area.

Source: www.htsyndication.com


RE News

China Pledges to Cut Coal Use, Increase Renewables to Help Tackle PollutionChina’s top state planning agency has pledged to accelerate policies to promote cleaner and renewable sources of energy and tackle overcapacity in polluting industrial sectors. The National Development and Reform Commission in its annual report said that it would implement policies aimed at reducing coal consumption and controlling the number of energy-guzzling projects in polluted regions.

The commission also said that it would take action to boost the proportion of cleaner fuels, encourage the development and utilization of natural gas, and aggressively develop renewable wind, solar, and biofuel energy sources. China is trying to strike a balance between improving its environment and keeping its economy running at the pace required to maintain employment and stability.

Source: www.scmp.com

Edmonton’s Metterra Hotel Largest in Canada to Run on 100 Per Cent Green Electricity

Bullfrog Power®, Canada’s leading green energy provider, and Metterra, an Edmonton lifestyle hotel, announced that Metterra Hotel on Whyte is now the largest hotel in Canada to have its entire premises bullfrog-powered with 100 per cent clean, pollution-free electricity.Through the agreement, Bullfrog

Power’s generators put 100 per cent clean, pollution-free electricity onto the grid to match the amount of power Metterra Hotel uses. Bullfrog’s green electricity comes from a blend of wind and low-impact hydro power sourced from new Canadian renewable energy facilities.

Source: www.marketwired.com

Solar, Wind Power to Meet 10 Per Cent of Iran’s Energy NeedsSome 10 per cent of Iran’s electricity needs will be met by solar and wind power plants by the Iranian calendar year 1400 (March 2021–March 2022), according to Homayoun Haeri, the Managing Director of the Iran Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Management Company (TAVANIR).

He added that solar and wind power plants would generate 12,000 MW, equalling 10 per cent of the country’s electricity needs.

He also said that Iran planned to double its renewable energy output by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015), and the country’s renewable power output was scheduled to reach 400 MW by the end of the year.

Source: www.tehrantimes.com


[ International ]

University of Cyprus Launches State-of-the-Art Solar ParkThe ‘Phaethon’ photovoltaic park was recently launched at the University of Cyprus. According to its Rector, Mr Constantinos Christofides, the University of Cyprus aimed to become completely energy self-sufficient through two solar panel parks.

The park, made up by 1,645 solar panels, has the capacity to produce 632,000 kWh of electric energy annually. All the energy produced would go towards reducing the institution’s electricity needs. The University plans to launch the

second solar panel park, to be named ‘Apollon’, which will have a 10 MW capability very soon.

The ‘Phaethon’ was officially opened by Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis. The government has also, in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), launched a roadmap for the development of renewable energy sources on the island, in which various scenarios were considered for the ‘energy mix’ that would work in Cyprus.

Source: www.cyprus-mail.com

Chinese Module Maker Talesun Plans 1 GW Solar Power Capacity in ThailandChinese solar module and cell manufacturer Zhongli Talesun has announced the construction of its new manufacturing facility in Thai-China Industrial Park in Rayong, Thailand.

The new facility will be fully automated with an annual production capacity of 500 MW. It is expected to be operational by October 2015. The company will make use of advanced processing techniques to produce high-efficiency solar cells and modules in the new factory.

Source: www.cleantechnica.com

A range of building upgrades combined with good management practices has led the Wollongong City Council’s Administration Building to become the first building in Australia to achieve a 5 Star Green Star–Performance rating, signifying ‘‘Australian Excellence’’. The rating is also the highest Green Star–Performance rating achieved in Australia till now.

First occupied in June 1987, the 13-storey Administration Building houses 660 Council staff. The Council has, over the past 10 years, introduced a series of measures including upgrades and practices to improve the building’s sustainability performance, while replacing ageing equipment to meet modern building compliance standards.

The Council began a project in 2014 to improve the building’s operational performance from a

sustainability perspective, using the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star–Performance rating tool.

All these efforts have resulted in energy efficiency gains of 55 per cent and water efficiency gains of 85 per cent, based on the Green Star–Performance rating tool’s calculations. According to Council estimates, the energy efficiency gains alone in the building are saving $200,000 in electricity costs each year when compared to 2007–08 consumption.

The Council is now developing a Sustainable Building Strategy, which will guide how it improves the operational sustainability of existing buildings, in addition to how new buildings will be designed, constructed, and operated.

Source: www.architectureanddesign.com.au

Wollongong Council Building Achieves Australia’s First Green Star—Performance Rating


Cover Story

RE-INVEST 2015

Dr Arun K Tripathi, while shedding light on the major happenings of the India’s first ever mega event to attract global investors in renewable energy sector, i.e., RE-INVEST 2015, discusses the significance of this event.

First Ever Mega Event to Attract Global Investors in Renewable Energy Sector of India


RE-Invest 2015: First Ever Mega Event to Attract Global Investors in Renewable Energy Sector of India

RE-INVEST 2015 P

rime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated RE-INVEST 2015 (15–17 February, 2015), India’s first Renewable Energy

Global Investor Meet & Expo summit in New Delhi. He stated that India’s thrust towards renewable energy production was to further universal access for country’s poor. At the inaugural session, the Prime Minister invoked anecdotes and even mythology to explain the importance of the renewable energy sector in India’s overall energy basket. He stated that India would take the lead in forming a consortium of around 50 countries which are blessed with abundant solar radiation that could take forward the research and development of solar energy and improve accessibility for remote areas. He also mentioned that renewable energy should provide electricity access even in the remotest villages of the country.

Shri Piyush Goyal, the Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, and New & Renewable Energy, spoke at the occasion and observed that the global power sector was going through an unprecedented transition, with the rise of decentralized solutions through

distributed storage and generation of new technology “to help the world go green and clean”. He stated that the growing competitiveness of centralized renewable energy was greatly transforming the electricity industry. He also highlighted the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign and believed that India could become a manufacturing hub for renewables and for research and innovation.

Shri Piyush Goyal highlighted that the aim of RE-INVEST 2015 was to usher in a cleaner and brighter India by furthering discussion and spurring investments with more than

2,000 delegates across 40 countries having expressed their interest in participating in the mega event and expo. During the session, ‘Financing Renewable Energy: Success Strategies’, Shri Goyal said that non-compliance of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) shall soon draw penalties, adding that the new RE Policy, which shall be enacted soon, shall also have provision for Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO).

Patricia Loui, Member, Board of Directors, US EXIM Bank, shared her experience in working with the Indian renewable energy sector and said that, “The drivers of success in

INDIA HAS NOW GRADUATED FROM MEGAWATTS TO

GIGAWATTS IN TERMS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION.

HOWEVER, EVEN TODAY, THERE ARE LAKHS OF FAMILIES IN

THE COUNTRY THAT ARE DEPRIVED OF ENERGY CONNECTIVITY.

THE FRUITS OF DEVELOPMENT WILL NOT REACH THE COMMON

MAN UNTIL ENERGY CONNECTIVITY REACHES THE LAST

HOUSEHOLD OF THE COUNTRY. IN THIS AGE OF GLOBALIZATION,

WE HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO MAKE A QUANTUM LEAP IN ENERGY

PRODUCTION AND CONNECTIVITY.

Shri Narendra Modi | Prime Minister of India


Cover Story

India have been your clear national goals on the renewable energy front which is crucial since this clarity sends out the message to investors that India is ready to do business”.

Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, in the session, ‘Make in India I: Renewable Energy Focus’, said

that India’s current renewable energy portfolio stood at 33.79 GW out of a total of 254 GW of installed power capacity. He added that the huge potential resource of 895 GW from commercially exploitable resources had resulted in renewable energy being identified as one of 25 sectors for the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Later, the Report on India’s Renewable Electricity Roadmap 2030 — Toward Accelerated Renewable Electricity Deployment was brought out by NITI Aayog with support of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, and Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). The report discussed the current scenario of renewable energy in India and the means to address energy security concerns. Andhra Pradesh’s plans for renewable energy were also announced on the same day. The state is planning for 200 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, of which 100 GW would be solar, and 60 GW would be wind energy. This would entail an investment of $200 million.

During the session, ‘Investment Opportunities in Bioenergy in India’, the advantages of using bioenergy were discussed extensively, with the special focus on ethanol and biomass. Mr K Krishan, Chairman, CVC (India) Infrastructure Ltd, said that cellulosic ethanol could be a cost-effective replacement to petrol; it could also be blended with diesel. The speakers also emphasized on generating power from waste.

The penultimate day of the three-day event kicked off with

the inaugural session moderated by Dr Satish Agnihotri, Former Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. He expressed his enthusiasm by stating that, “we have embarked on our journey from MegaWatt to GigaWatt”. Mr Michael Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, then took the centre stage and called India one of the fast paced industrial capitals of culture and technology, and termed the country as “dynamic”. He also spoke about the efforts to improve the federal system of the United States to give jobs to Indian students, once they complete their studies in the country. Mr Bloomberg also claimed that they were very bullish about the future of the Indian market and stressed

WHAT WE INHERITED IS

A MERE 6 PER CENT SHARE OF

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE

INDIA ENERGY BASKET.AND

WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND

(IT) TO OVER 15 PER CENT

IN THE NEXT 10 OR 12 YEARS.

INDIA’S TOTAL RENEWABLE

ENERGY CAPACITY IS AROUND

34,000 MW AT PRESENT, AND

WE ARE TARGETING A FIVE-

FOLD CAPACITY INCREASE.

Shri Piyush Goyal | Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and

Renewable Energy

293 companies pledge 266 GW clean power � Ambitious renewable energy

plans of the government have captured the imagination of investors.

� Close to 300 global and domestic companies have committed to generate 266,000 MW (or 266 GW) of solar, wind, mini-hydel, and biomass based power in India over the next 5–10 years.

� At a likely average cost of N 7-8 crore per MW, the 266 GW commitment would translate into an investment of close to N 18–21 lakh crore or $ 310–350 billion.

� Energy Global Investors Meet (RE-Invest) in New Delhi on February 15, 2015.

� In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ plan, the government has also got assurances for setting up close to 50,000 MW of manufacturing and EPC facilities for solar and wind power.


on the importance of low-carbon transportation.

Mr Uwe Beckmeyer, Parliamentary State Secretary (Deputy Minister), Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, Federal Republic of Germany, expressed his desire to see Germany and India continuing the long tradition of partnership. He further appreciated the Indian Prime Minister’s decision to attract foreign investors to India, segueing the relation between economic consumption and economic growth.

Baroness Sandip Verma, Minister of Energy and Climate Change, United Kingdom, elaborated on the UK’s commitment to renewable energy and laid out the long-term plans of meeting 15 per cent of the energy demand using renewable energy by 2020, and 30 per cent of electricity generation through renewable energy by 2030. She highlighted the numerous benefits of renewable energy, emphasizing on the large number of jobs it would create, and its role in protecting the country from the economic impact of climate change.

Mr Adnan Amin, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency, spoke about the current energy scenario and termed the global energy transformation as an “on-going process”. He further added that it was necessary to have an ambitious target, and we needed the private sector to take it forward. Mr Amin was also vocal about the issues with policy and regulatory framework, and urged the government to address these issues and decrease the risk in

investment for renewables. Mr Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES Bank, stressed on the importance of financing the renewable sector, and brought up the Green Energy Financing Fund by SBI for 15,000 MW of renewable power. Mr Kapoor added that foreign banks are mobilizing additional commitments and stated that he has already proposed the “Powering India Green Fund” to Shri Piyush Goyal and his team. He capped it off by asserting the importance of the investors saying, “There is a need among the investors to provide hedging control over investments”, and announced the first ever green infrastructure bond by YES bank.

Mr Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group of Companies, elaborated on the nation’s march towards clean energy, and brought out the fact that India has the fifth largest installed capacity of renewable energy in the world, and said that nearly 10 million people were working in the renewable energy sector in the country. He further delved on the matter, stating that India has exported 6,000 wind turbines to 30 countries, and said that the investment capital was high in the country. During the session, ‘Showcase of Policy Incentives by States’, Mr S R Mohanty, Principal Secretary– Renewable Energy and Education Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, emphasized on the vast growth of total number of projects in Madhya Pradesh in the past couple of years, and the state’s commitment to exploit the renewable

energy potential by “ease of doing business”. He also spoke about the need for transparency during policy development, and described how the formulation was kept open, and the draft was shared with the stakeholders. Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab, initiated his dialogue by stressing on the fact that all states should work together. He recalled the Prime Minister’s vision, i.e., every house should have light. He further added that the largest solar rooftop in India is in Punjab, and said he was hopeful of constructing the world’s largest solar rooftop of 35 MW by next year. Mr A K Jha, Director (Technical), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), shared his organization’s commitment of 10,000 MW of green energy, and detailed NTPC’s role in encouraging renewable energy in the country.

Ms Claudia Arce, Director (South Asia), KfW Development Bank,

RENEWABLE ENERGY

IS ONE OF THE 25 SECTORS

IDENTIFIED UNDER 'MAKE IN

INDIA' CAMPAIGN. TO CREATE

JOBS IN INDIA, WE HAVE TO

DRIVE THE MANUFACTURING

SECTOR. I WANT TO SEE INDIA

BECOMING A RENEWABLE

ENERGY HUB.

Shri Piyush Goyal | Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and

Renewable Energy



Cover Story

emphasized on the need to find and focus on public–private partnerships. Ms Arce provided an insight into KfW’s plans, calling solar parks, green energy corridors, and rooftop as the pillars of KfW’s support for solar energy in India. Mr Vineet Mittal, Vice Chairman, Welspun Renewables spoke about how banks should invest in projects with credibility and reliability, and dwelled on the importance of partnering with local societies for the development of its people. He further added, “Success needs structure and framework with a strong focus on society development”. Mr S K Soonee, CEO, Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO), discussed about the load curve and diversity, and stated, “It is not the load that is important, but the ramping that is important.” He also commented about interstate solar scheduling and called for facilitating legislative and regulatory framework.

Mr Sivasankar, Secretary, Department of Power, Kerala initiated the final session by focusing on renewable energy policy and

discussed at length about Kerala’s renewable energy projects. He added that the private sector emerges as a significant partner, and gave insights about various projects the state has undertaken in the past few years. Mr Pushpendra Singh, Minister of State (Energy), Government of Rajasthan, detailed how Rajasthan is the most preferred state for solar energy due to abundant radiation and cheaper rates. He discussed about the new solar policy and stated that the 2014 energy policy was business friendly, and was seen as a new ray of hope in the country. Mr Yasar Shah, Minister for State, Energy Department, Uttar Pradesh, capped off the second day by discussing about the opportunities in solar energy, and said, “We have to go back to DC Systems”. Mr Shah brought up various schemes, including the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Awas Samagra Gram Vikas Yojana, and said that more than one lakh solar street lighting systems were in place in the state.

The final day of the three day investor meet and expo commenced with the first session on Innovative Financing Models, chaired by Mr R N Choubey, Special Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India. Mr Choubey remarked about the tariff being front loaded and pondered over the possibility of back loading the tariff. Mr Gaetan Tiberghien, Principal Investment Officer, International Financial Corporation, re-emphasized on the importance of domestic markets, saying, “Debt financing for renewable energy could

prove challenging without domestic bond markets.” He further added, “There has been no investment from capital market in renewable energy”. Thereafter, Mr. Stephan Yao, Chief Communications Officer, United PV shared UPV’s financing structure for solar projects in China and highlighted the possibility of crowd funds to support small-scale rooftop projects. Ms Laura Tlaiye, Sustainability Advisor, Capital Markets, Department, World Bank Treasury concluded the session

AROUND 293 FIRMS

HAVE SHOWN INTEREST TO

SET UP RENEWABLE POWER

PLANTS IN THE COUNTRY

AND SOME HAVE ASSURED TO

MANUFACTURE EQUIPMENT

AS WELL.

Shri Upendra Tripathy | Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

RE-INVEST 2015: At a GlanceTHE CONFERENCE � Technical Sessions: 29

� Speakers: 202, from 29 countries

� Delegates: 2,860, from 42 countries

� Companies Represented: 578 Indian, 124 International

MEDIA � Media Representatives:

164, from 88 Publications or Agencies

THE EXHIBITION � Total Exhibitors: 118

� Country Pavilions: Germany, UK, Italy, UAE

� Total Visitors: 2,040 (over and above Conference delegates)


by providing an in-depth analysis of green bonds. She suggested that energy/utility companies and corporate banks have increased equity in 2014.

In the session ‘Showcase of Policy Incentives by States’, Mr D K Shivakumar, Minister for Energy, Government of Karnataka, echoed the sentiments of the masses, stating, “Renewable energy has taken a big lead this year, and green energy has to be promoted”. He then added that Karnataka has been promoting the utility scale on-grid projects, rooftops with net metering policy, decentralized on-grid projects through “farmers’ category”, and other off-grid projects. Mr Bhanu Pratap Singh, CEO, HIMURJA, concluded the second session by stating that hydro energy has the highest potential for Himachal Pradesh, and shared the initiatives taken for promoting small hydro in the state. He also added that under the chairman of HPERC, the state level committee tried to tackle the problems faced by the IPPs.

The penultimate session of the last day concentrated on the off-grid energy solutions. Mr Gerhard

Stryi-Hipp, Head of Energy Policy,

Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy,

presented the scenario for solar water

heating systems in the world, and

compared the various top markets for

solar water collectors. He elaborated

further on the challenges faced in

the water heaters’ sector and called

for greater collaboration between

Europe and India. Mr Gagan Pal, Vice

President, Tata Power Solar, urged

the periphery investors such as NGOs

and institutions to contribute, saying

that the shift (from conventional

to renewable) cannot be brought

only by the government. Mr Pal also

encouraged the countrymen to

harvest and consume at the same

place to wipe off losses.

Valedictory SessionRE-Invest 2015 concluded on February 17, 2015 with the Valedictory Session, featuring addresses by

luminaries such as Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance; Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways; Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (I/C) Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, and former Vice President of USA, Mr Al Gore (via recorded video). Mr Gore said that renewable energy is the answer to the sustainable development and future. “Can we change? The answer is an unequivocal yes!” He concluded by saying, “This time can be the turning point in the world.”

Shri Goyal added, “We will make this a people’s movement. Renewable energy is now a part of maintenance plans of India’s energy”. He then thanked delegates who participated in the event from over 40 countries, and said that the commitment by the investors reached a staggering 266,000 MW! The Minister also laid out the ambitious plan to make India the “renewable energy capital of the world”, and concluded by urging everyone to take “time bound action and success, as we rewrite the history of the world”. Shri Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister of Finance, Government of India, graced the podium during the final session, and expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “There is a huge change of mood and attitude in India. It is rare to be the recipient of international and domestic investments”.

Dr Arun K Tripathi, Sr Director, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Email: [email protected]



Special Feature

Quality Assessment Protocol of Solar Data in SRRAThe MNRE has launched a unique project which involves installation, commissioning, and networking of 115 nationwide automatic solar radiation resource assessment stations. As of now, the project has been implemented and Dr S Gomathinayagam, R Karthik, and Dr G Giridhar assess the quality of data collected so far from these stations.


Quality Assessment Protocol of Solar Data in SRRA

To meet the specific challenges of availability of accurate radiation data in the implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), had launched a unique project. The project involved, installation, commissioning, and networking of

115 nationwide automatic Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA) Stations in two phases. This project is being implemented by National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai, (an autonomous R & D institution under the MNRE), because of its experience in Wind Resource Assessment and development of Wind Atlas across the nation. To implement this project NIWE, Chennai with an exclusive SRRA unit, completed all 115 SRRA stations in two phases. The data on 37 parameters of both solar and weather from all the SRRA stations is being received at regular intervals of one minute into the central server established NIWE through GPRS. Fifty-one SRRA stations under Phase I, 60 SRRA stations and four Advanced Measurement Stations (AMS) under Phase II were commissioned during 2011–14.

SRRA Field StationsSRRA is a very large-scale project involving measurement and collection of data every minute from very sensitive and expensive sensors. A typical SRRA station (Figure 1) consists of two towers of 1.5 m and 6 m tall each. The 1.5 m tall tower houses a solar tracker equipped with pyranometer, pyranometer with shading disc, and pyrheliometer to measure global, diffuse, and direct radiation, respectively. The 6 m tall tower houses instruments measuring ambient temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, rain gauge, and houses the data acquisition system. All the sensors are traceable to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Radiometric Reference (WRR) with high accuracy to ensure the good quality of recorded data.

Figure 1: SRRA field station

Quality analysis

SRRA IS A

VERY LARGE-SCALE

PROJECT INVOLVING

MEASUREMENT AND

COLLECTION OF

DATA EVERY MINUTE

FROM VERY SENSITIVE

AND EXPENSIVE

SENSORS. A TYPICAL

SRRA STATION

(FIGURE 1) CONSISTS

OF TWO TOWERS OF

1.5 M AND 6 M

TALL EACH.


Special Feature

Institutional CollaborationThe SRRA project has synergy with the SolMap project, which is funded by the International Climate Initiative (ICI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Government of Germany. SolMap is development facilitated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in cooperation with the MNRE. GIZ is providing technical assistance and capacity building to SRRA officials at NIWE to attain and sustain high quality standards on quality measurements, checks, generation of reports, and Solar Atlas of India. State-of-the-art quality checks on the data have been implemented and are continuously monitored and improved on a regular basis at NIWE. GIZ is supporting NIWE in scientific analysis of data, generation of value added products. NIWE is also collaborating with other National and International Institutions such as ISRO’s Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA related to quality checks, solar atlas and satellite data, and other issues.

Quality AnalysisThe data from field stations is received at the central server, (level-1) at NIWE Chennai, using GPRS mode of communication. This raw data is then replicated into the level-II data base to carry out the quality check/control (QC). Various tests are implemented to check the plausibility of data, and differentiate potentially correctly measured values from potentially erroneous data. For the values of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), and Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI), applied quality control is based on Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) rules by the WMO, elaborated by the Management and Exploitation of Solar Resource Knowledge (MESOR). A data error flagging system is implemented to identify, differentiate, and quantify different types of errors. Such flags give feedback to users for identification of possible types of errors, which provide useful clues for rectification. Quality check tests and all other functionalities have been implemented in MatLab programming environment for this project.

In addition to solar radiation parameters, since the stations also measure auxiliary meteorological parameters like ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, rain accumulation, and atmospheric pressure, different quality control tests have been applied to solar radiation and auxiliary meteorological parameters. The following major eight quality check tests are performed on solar radiation data (Table 1).

Table 1: Quality check tests

Sl. No.

Quality Check Tests Sl. No.

Quality Check Tests

1 Missing values test 2 Tracking error test

3 Minimum diffuse radiation test 4 Test for relation between GHI and DHI

5 Coherence test between GHI, DNI, DHI

6 Clear-sky test

7 Maximum physical limit test 8 Minimum physical limit test

Auxiliary MeasurementsFor the measurements of air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, mean horizontal wind speed, wind direction and precipitation, a simple plausibility test is applied, which checks the values for minimum and maximum limits (Table 2). If the measurement values exceed these limits, the values are flagged accordingly. Table 2 shows corresponding limits for quality assessment of auxiliary measurement to the defined flagging convention.

Quality analysis

IN ADDITION

TO SOLAR RADIATION

PARAMETERS, SINCE

THE STATIONS ALSO

MEASURE AUXILIARY

METEOROLOGICAL

PARAMETERS LIKE

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE,

RELATIVE HUMIDITY,

WIND SPEED AND

DIRECTION, RAIN

ACCUMULATION, AND

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE,

DIFFERENT QUALITY

CONTROL TESTS

HAVE BEEN APPLIED

TO SOLAR RADIATION

AND AUXILIARY

METEOROLOGICAL

PARAMETERS.


Table 2: Limits for quality assessment of auxiliary measurement

Sl. No.

Parameter Minimum Maximum

1 Air temperature –30 oC 60 oC

2 RH 5% 100%

3 Barometric pressure

altitude corrected standard atmosphere –100 hPa

altitude corrected standard atmosphere + 100 hPa

4 Wind speed 0 m/s 100 m/s

5 Wind direction 0o 360o

6 Precipitation 0 mm 10 mm

For auxiliary meteorological parameters, tests (1), (7), (8) are carried out (Table 1). During quality check of data, an individual data flag is assigned to all parameters for each of the time stamp being checked. The data error flag contains information about the result of the quality check tests, which type of error is observed (if any), the extent of error (if any ) and status on whether the value is replaced or not, in case of an error.

QC of Irradiance Measurements based on MESORFirst, the data is tested on physical limits, if the data is below or above physical possible values; the next test takes a clear sky model. The measured values should be lower than the model output of a clean and dry atmosphere (e.g., without water vapour and aerosols). As the three components of irradiance (global, diffuse, and direct) are measured by independent instruments, these measurements can be checked for redundancy, using the physical relationship between them.

Physical LimitsTable 3 lists the applied physical limits. It is taken into consideration that the originally by MESOR defined physical minimum for irradiance values is with -4 W/m2 below zero as negative values can be produced by thermal sensors due to radiative cooling at night and can be used for zero offset calibration. Since the incoming irradiance can never be negative, the limit for the post processing of the raw data should be set to 0 W/m2. For the instantaneous quality check, -4 W/m2 should be used as the minimum to avoid false flagging events.

Table 3: Tests based on physical limits (Inspired by Long and Dutton)

SI. No Parameter Min Max

1 GHI 20mW

, 24

mW

− 1.20 21.5(cos ) 100z

WDNIm

θ× +

2 DNI 20mW

, 24

mW

− 0DNIx ε

3 DHI 20mW

, 24

mW

− 1.20 20.95(cos ) 50z

WDNIm

θ× +

Limits of a clean and dry clear sky conditionIn this test, the GHI and the DHI as well as the DNI are compared to the values obtained under a clean and dry clear sky (no water vapour, no aerosol) (Table 4). Most of the time, these conditions lead to the maximum values of the GHI and the DNI. However, there are some conditions (mainly a blue sky with sparse cumulus

Table 4: Tests based on a clean and dry clear sky condition

Parameter Limit

GHI

<GHIClear,

GHIClear (qz > 85o) =

GHIClear (qz > 85o)

DNI

<DNIClear,

DNIClear (qz > 85o) =

DNIClear (qz = 85o)

DHI

<DHIClear,

DHIClear (qz > 85o) =

DHIClear (qz = 85o)

SPV

Quality Assessment Protocol of Solar Data in SRRA


Special Feature

clouds) under which irradiances may get higher than these maximum because of multiple reflections between clouds. This effect of multiple reflections, which causes irradiances higher than the clear sky limits, mainly concerns the GHI. The data which do not pass the test would be considered only as “potentially” erroneous.

The clear-sky model that is used to produce the limits is the Bird model described by Iqbal (1983) as Model C. For the quality control, it is reduced to a clean and dry atmospheric version. Since clear sky models do not always behave well at high solar zenith angles, the clear-sky limits at zenith angles higher than 85o are set to the clear-sky limit at a zenith angle of 85o for the corresponding day.

Coherence between measurementsThe DHI should not be higher than the GHI within the limits of accuracy of the instruments. In addition, the GHI should be close to the sum of the diffuse and the direct components. The practically used limits for different zenith angles and GHI levels are suggested by Long and Dutton and are given in Table 5.

Table 5: Practically used limits for different zenith angles and GHI levels

SI. No. Non-Dimensional Parameter Irradiation Condition Limits

1

cos z

GHIDHI DNI θ+ 275 , 50z

WGHIm

θ < ° >> 0.92< 1.08

2

cos z

GHIDHI DNI θ+ 293 75 , 50z

WGHIm

θ° > > ° >> 0.85< 1.15

3 DHIGHI 275 , 50z

WGHIm

θ < ° >< 1.05

4 DHIGHI 293 75 , 50z

WGHIm

θ° > > ° >< 1.10

Gap Filling of SRRA DataGap filling procedures have been developed, which are divided into basic gap filling and satellite-based gap filling. The main difference between the two procedures is that basic gap filling procedure does not require additional overlapping satellite-derived data, whereas it is a must for satellite-based gap filling procedure. The basic gap filling procedure is implemented and satellite-based gap filling is now being implemented as a part SolMap/SRRA project.

ConclusionSRRA infrastructure has developed investment grade solar radiation resource information to assist project activities under the National Solar Mission of India. Until 11th plan period, the availability of ground-measured solar radiation data in India was very limited. In terms of the type and quantity of solar radiation data that is being measured, processed and stored by this network of 115 high precision stations, this is one of its kinds of real time systems in India as well as in the world. A quality control and flagging system has been implemented to make SRRA functional and operational. This system has proven to be very efficient for detecting errors in functionality of the stations, and the method of implementation can be useful for their easy and fast rectifications.

Dr S Gomathinayagam, Director General, Mr R Karthik, Assistant Director, and Dr G Giridhar, Director, Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA), NIWE, MNRE. Email: [email protected].

SRRA

INFRASTRUCTURE

HAS DEVELOPED

INVESTMENT GRADE

SOLAR RADIATION

RESOURCE

INFORMATION TO

ASSIST PROJECT

ACTIVITIES UNDER

THE NATIONAL

SOLAR MISSION OF

INDIA. UNTIL 11TH

PLAN PERIOD, THE

AVAILABILITY OF

GROUND-MEASURED

SOLAR RADIATION

DATA IN INDIA WAS

VERY LIMITED.

SPV

RE Event

The Implementation of RE-INVEST 2015 Outcomes Review Meeting with State Governments was held

on March 10, 2015 at Chandigarh under the chairmanship of Punjab New and Renewable Energy Minister Shri Bikram Singh Majithia for implementation of RE-INVEST 2015.

Addressing this regional meeting of states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Chandigarh (UT), Shri Majithia said that the recently held RE-INVEST 2015 Summit has given a new dimension to the entire renewable energy mission, as the Prime Minister had set the ball rolling by throwing a gigantic challenge of 270 GW power production from renewable sources.

Shri Upendra Tripathy Secretary, the Ministry of New and Renewable

Energy, appreciated the Punjab government’s initiatives in solar, biomass, and rooftop power sectors and expressed the hope that it would also lead the nation in the rooftop sector. He said there was a paradigm shift in the thinking regarding renewable energy which was a welcome sign and hoped that the nation would achieve its target to enhance the present 6 per cent renewable energy production of total electricity production in the country to 20 per cent by 2020. Also, the MNRE agreed to include Punjab in the

ambitious “Green Corridor Mission”. Besides this, the Union ministry also announced a major rooftop solar power pilot project to demonstrate as well as encourage people to set their own solar power rooftop projects to successfully implement the net metering policy of the state. According to Shri Tripathy, the success of renewable energy projects depends on the credit support; to this end, the Union government was working with various financial institutions towards more liberal availability of finances

Earlier, Shri Anirudh Tiwari, Secretary, Power and New and Renewable Energy, while welcoming the investors said that renewable energy sector was a great opportunity for banks as these had assured resources as well as assured selling of power, that too with state utilities.

Shri Amarpal Singh, CEO, Punjab Energy Development Authority (PEDA), and Shri Balour Singh, Director, PEDA, were also present at the meeting.

Implementation of RE-INVEST 2015 Outcomes Review Meeting with State Governments, Chandigarh

Shri Bikram Singh Majithia, Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Punjab interacting with Italian Delegates and other Project Developers in review meeting of Re-Invest 2015 Outcomes

Shri Bikram Singh Majithia, Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Punjab addressing the Project Developers and Govt. Officials in review meeting of Re-Invest 2015 Outcomes

MAJITHIA BATS FOR

CLOSE COORDINATION

BETWEEN CENTRE, STATES

AND BANKS FOR SUCCESSFUL

IMPLEMENTATION OF

RENEWABLE ENERGY

PROJECTS.

PUNJAB TO SOON WAIVE OFF WHEELING CHARGES FOR POWER FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES.



RE Feature

SECOND GENERATION BIOFUEL PRODUCTIONBiomethane and Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Agricultural Crop Wastes Biomass

The second generation of biofuels production from renewable resources, i.e., ‘plant biomass’, refers particularly to the lignocellulosic biomass/materials, since this makes up the majority of

the cheap and abundant non-food materials available from plants. Thus, lignocellulosic feedstock can offer the potential to provide novel biofuels of the ‘second generation of biofuels’. The production of hydrogen, natural gas, bio-oils, producer gas, biogas, alcohols, and biodiesel from renewable biomass has been the major research programme around the world with a view to supplement petroleum fuels and reduce environmental pollution.

Methane production from a variety of biological wastes through anaerobic digestion technology is growing worldwide; it is considered ideal in many ways because of its economic and environmental benefits. Methane fermentation technology is a most efficient way of

handling biomass and energy generation from biomass in terms of energy output/input ratio, compared to all other technologies of energy production through biological and thermo-chemical routes of energy conversion processes. When the biomass containing high moisture content is left in the environment in the form of a heap, the upper biomass that is directly in contact of open atmosphere is subjected to aerobic degradation. However, the inner biomass that is not in contact with oxygen undergoes anaerobic digestion and releases methane into the open atmosphere. This again leads to global warming in substantial amount.

Further, biogas after methane enrichment is as good as natural gas for powering the internal combustion engines used for various power generation purposes and automobiles. Thus, biogas is a good substitute of the conventional compressed natural gas, which is derived from crude petroleum. In addition, since the biogas


Second Generation Biofuel Production

production from plant biomass being CO2 neutral, its

combustion further lowers the emissions in comparison to gasoline, diesel fuel, and even natural gas.

Biomass Resources from AgricultureThe top four major agricultural crops grown in the world are maize, wheat, rice, and sugarcane, respectively, in terms of total cultivated area and production. Thus, these four crops produce majority of the lignocellulosic biomass in agriculture sector. Table 1 presents the total cultivated area and production yield of major agricultural crops in the world.

Table 1: World’s total maize, wheat, and rice production in 2014–15

Crop Total cultivated area, million ha

Total grain yield, million tonnes*

Major producing countries

Maize 183.200 938.000 (5.12)

USA, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Argentina

Wheat 237.500 724.300 (3.05)

China, India, Russia, USA, Australia, and France

Rice 160.600 674.500 (4.20)

India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan

*Figures in parenthesis shows the world average grain productivity in tonnes/ha. (Source: various reports)

Dr Ram Chandra, Virendra K Vijay, and Abhinav Trivedi talk about second generation of biofuels production from renewable resources, i.e., ‘plant biomass’. According to them, methane production through anaerobic digestion is a more economical and environmentally beneficial way of utilization of lignocellulosic agricultural crop wastes biomass.

Furthermore, the global total sugarcane production stood at 1.75 billion tonnes in 2007. The major sugarcane producing countries are India, Brazil, the Philippines, China, the USA, Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, and Colombia. Brazil and India produce almost 60 per cent of all the sugarcane in the world, with Brazil producing about 35 per cent of the global total. Dry biomass production yield of sugarcane crop widely varies from 0.47 to 20.28 tonnes/ha in plant crop and 4.57–60.10 tonnes/ha in ratoon crop. Thus, on average, the sugarcane crop annually produces an approximate dry biomass yield of 40.00 tonnes/ha. The analysis of data given in Table 1 provides an outlook estimate of the annual biomass production yield from only major agricultural crops, and is presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Estimated world annual production of major agricultural biomass

Crop Average grain-to-aerial biomass ratio

Total estimated dry biomass production, million tonnes

Maize 0.30 2,723.70

Wheat 1.0 681.92

Rice 0.75 904.92

Sugarcane 40 tonnes dry biomass/ha

1048.00 (from 26.2 million hectare crop area)

The direct burning of biomass in open environment theoretically does not produce carbon dioxide as biomass is carbon neutral and does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. However, it is not a recommendable practice for sustainable development. Therefore, this biomass must be utilized properly for the production of fuels/chemicals. This certainly helps in lowering down the overall global warming potential from other greenhouse gases, since environmental protection along with energy generation is of great concern in the 21st century.

Methane and Ethanol Production Potential of Lignocellulosic Agricultural Biomass

The Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) yield of various kinds of agricultural lignocellulosic biomass wastes has been determined by various researchers. Based on their experimental findings, the average approximate methane production potential yield from major lignocellulosic agricultural biomass, i.e., maize, wheat, rice, and sugarcane crops has been worked out by using the values obtained by various researchers and is shown in Table 3. Ethanol production yield of some of the major lignocellulosic agricultural/forestry biomass is presented in Table 4.


RE Feature

Table 3: Average biochemical methane potential of lignocellulosic agricultural biomass

Biomass Average methane production potential

m3/kg VSa

m3/kg TSa

Maize crop waste 0.338 0.290

Wheat straw 0.290 0.243

Rice straw 0.302 0.232

Sugarcane crop waste

0.278 0.206

Table 4: Ethanol from renewable lignocellulosic feedstocks

Biomass feedstocks Ethanol yield, litre/tonne of dry biomass

Sugarcane bagasses 424

Corn stover 428

Rice straw 416

Wheat straw 386

Forest residue 310

Saw dust 382

An energetic comparison of methane and alcohol production from lignocellulosic agricultural biomass has been estimated using the baseline data of methane and ethanol production and their properties. The methane and ethanol production of maize, wheat, rice, and sugarcane crops waste biomass per tonne of dry matter has been estimated using Tables 3 and 4. Furthermore, the energy value of output product methane and ethanol on unit tonne basis is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Energetic of methane and ethanol production potentials

Biomass Methane production* Ethanol production**

Yield (kg/tonne)

Energy (MJ)

Yield (kg/tonne)

Energy (MJ)

Maize crop waste

208.80 10,440.00 338.12 9,061.616

Wheat straw 174.96 8,748.00 304.94 8,172.392

Rice straw 167.04 8,352.00 328.64 8,807.552

Sugarcane crop waste

148.32 7,416.00 334.96 8,976.928

*Methane properties: relative density = 0.72; higher heating value = 50.0 MJ/kg **Ethanol properties: relative density = 0.79; higher heating value = 26.8 MJ/kg

The analysis of these tables reveals that the methane/ethanol energy ratio for maize, wheat, rice, and sugarcane based lignocellulosic biomass is to be about 1.15, 1.07, 0.95, and 0.83, respectively. This output energy ratio of methane/ethanol may further go up, since the ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass requires more input energies in various unit operations rather than

the methane production through anaerobic digestion. Advanced technologies of bio-refinery of bioethanol production from cellulosic biomass involve two-step pretreatment (dilute acid pre-hydrolysis and enzymatic saccharification), which consumes a substantial amount of energy. A minimal energy input of 0.633 MJ/kg of ethanol is required in a very advanced and optimized bio-refinery process of ethanol production from corn stover.

Methane Production is Better than Bioethanol Production

Two very important parameters in any biomass-to-energy conversion process are: (i) overall contents of biomass utilization in the process and (ii) overall input energy required in the process. Figure 1 shows the schematic of the overall contents of biomass utilization in the anaerobic digestion route as well as alcoholic route of the biological energy conversion process.

It is clearly evident that the major part of the biomass contents (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) in anaerobic digestion process is converted into simple derivatives and finally into methane and carbon dioxide with the help of different types of anaerobic and methanogenic bacteria. However, in case of alcoholic fermentation process, only carbohydrates are converted into simple sugars and finally into ethanol. Thus, the ethanol yield is lower than the methane yield. Lignocellulosic agricultural biomass is primarily composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, it also contains about 1–2 per cent fat and 3–4 per cent crude protein. The fat and protein


content part of biomass remains unutilized in the alcoholic fermentation process. Thus, the methane fermentation route is always better in terms of the overall contents of biomass utilization.

Furthermore, the overall input energy requirement for various unit operations involved in the ethanol production process is very high in comparison to the anaerobic digestion process of methane production. In

general, about 9–10 MJ input energy per litre output of ethanol is consumed in most of the common bio-refinery process of bio-ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. Further, bioethanol production is only a choice to produce liquid fuel that can be directly blended into gasoline and diesel fuels. It is technically possible to produce renewable methanol liquid fuel from methane. Figure 2 shows the complete process of methane-to-

Second Generation Biofuel Production

Figure 1: A schematic representation of overall biomass content utilization in the processes of methane fermentation and alcoholic fermentation routes

Figure 2: The methane-to-methanol process from landfill gas/biogas system

methanol from the landfill gas/biogas system. Landfill gas/biogas to renewable methanol is technically the most challenging issue since contaminant removal to parts per billion is required to manufacture methanol, which is made possible only by the CO

2

Wash™ technology. The CO

2 Wash™ can remove

the contaminants from landfill gas/biogas using liquid carbon dioxide condensed directly from the landfill gas/biogas. A stream of contaminant-free methane and carbon dioxide is produced, along with a condensed stream of contaminants in carbon dioxide. This intermediate stream of clean methane and carbon dioxide can be used as fuel gas or as feedstock to make renewable methanol.

Conclusion The overall analysis, considering various involved parameters in anaerobic digestion and alcoholic fermentation, may accord ‘methane production through anaerobic digestion’ a more economical and environmentally beneficial way of the utilization of lignocellulosic agricultural crop wastes biomass.

Dr Ram Chandra, Mr Virendra K Vijay, and Mr Abhinav Trivedi, Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. Email: [email protected]


Energy in various forms has played an increasingly important role in worldwide economic progress and industrialization. In view of the world’s depleting

fossil fuel reserves, the urgency in development of Renewable Energy (RE)

has received an impetus. Solar and wind are the most economically viable

and commercially harnessed technologies. Among the various RE technologies, the

potential and growth in solar energy is the highest (~ 40 per cent since 1990). Solar

energy has been the single largest contributor, due to huge improvements in its cost-

competitiveness, over the last five years. Prominently, solar energy took almost half

of all renewable energy investment in 2014, according to the Bloomberg New Energy

Finance (BNEF). The International Energy Agency estimates that investment in clean

energy will rise to almost $900 billion by 2035.

The proportion of the sun’s rays which reaches the earth’s surface is enough to

provide for global energy consumption 10,000 times over. India’s National Action

Plan on Climate Change also points out, “India is a tropical country, where sunshine

is available for longer hours per day and in great intensity”. The landmass of India

receives an average of 4–7 kWh per m sq. per day of solar energy in most parts of the country with an average of 300 clear sunny days in a year. Solar energy, therefore, has great potential as the most benign future energy source for mankind. A vast number of multipurpose solar energy applications cover diverse sectors like residential,

RE Feature

KEY TO INDIA’S ULTRA MEGA SOLAR PV PROGRAMMEIntegration of Manufacturing Technology for Silicon Processes

PROMINENTLY,

SOLAR ENERGY TOOK

ALMOST HALF OF ALL

RENEWABLE ENERGY

INVESTMENT IN 2014,

ACCORDING TO THE

BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY

FINANCE (BNEF). THE

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY

AGENCY ESTIMATES THAT

INVESTMENT IN CLEAN

ENERGY WILL RISE TO

ALMOST $900 BILLION

BY 2035.


Key to India’s Ultra Mega Solar PV Programme

According to Dr Om Prakash Nangia, renewed vigour reposed by the Indian Government in its pragmatic policies and initiatives for clean power generation using solar energy has been highly encouraging. Half of the investment planned for renewable energy in India has been directed towards solar energy in 2014. Thus, the opportunities of investment and manufacturing in the solar sector are a bright idea. In this backdrop, he discusses how integration of manufacturing technology for silicon processes holds the key in this sector.

commercial, institutional, space programmes, industrial, telecom, real estate, green buildings, defence equipment, power, energy conservation, etc., which is evident by its large potential.

Role of Green Power in IndiaIndia is a fast developing economy. Considering the kind of boost being accorded at present by the central and state governments to the multi-megawatt projects on ‘Green Power’ generation—especially solar—our country can hope to achieve over 5 per cent of the total power requirement through green power by 2022. This will greatly help in reducing around 30 per cent of our coal requirement for power generation and especially the dependence on its imports. With rapid induction of the green power in diverse generation mix, it will enable India to play an increasingly important role in its energy security and offsetting carbon footprints.

The relatively fast growing photovoltaic (PV) market has a heavy user demand all over the world. Presently, the most matured, dominant, and commercially viable PV technology is crystalline silicon-based with around 85–90 per cent share. The data in Figure 1 depicts the dominance of crystalline silicon over other PV technologies.

The Research and Development (R&D) work undertaken offers new developments in PV, for processing polysilicon, wafers, solar cells, and modules, results in an increase

THE RELATIVELY

FAST GROWING

PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV)

MARKET HAS A HEAVY

USER DEMAND ALL

OVER THE WORLD.

PRESENTLY, THE MOST

MATURED, DOMINANT,

AND COMMERCIALLY

VIABLE PV TECHNOLOGY

IS CRYSTALLINE SILICON-

BASED WITH AROUND

85–90 PER CENT

SHARE.


in conversion efficiency and decreasing costs. This would enhance the share of solar power generation possessing grid parity.

The prospects of solar PV installations in India for power generation, be it grid-tied, off-grid, or distributed mode, are increasing day by day. It therefore becomes important that India, as a sun-soaked nation with a strong inclination to establish itself as a leader in solar power generation, must continue to expand, diversify, and invest in renewable energy generation with prominence in solar portfolio. More so, it would also bring a substantial gain

being eco-benign, towards positive environmental impact in climate change. The main challenge for India, however, lies in establishing the key drivers for upward

growth through indigenization of the robust energy infrastructure, e.g., a strong base for process technologies and stable grid connectivity, enumerated as follows:

� Setting up solar technology manufacturing facilities for the most essential silicon processes, i.e., those involving purification of raw silicon into poly-crystalline semiconductor silicon, growing silicon ingots and crystals, and the process of sawing ingots into thin silicon wafers.

� Facilities for uninterrupted transmission and distribution of green power across cities, on a mega-scale with minimum losses (i.e., installation of dedicated green corridors).

National Solar Mission RoadmapThe National Solar Mission launched in 2010 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, consisting of defined goals (as reflected in Table 1) for solar PV and thermal, is to be completed in three phases by 2022. However, the goals in solar PV are being significantly ramped up five times, with an ambition to make India to have a larger share in clean energy. With a clear and achievable plan, the country’s objective is to become the world’s most attractive renewable energy market. Ernst & Young’s quarterly, RE Investment Attractiveness Index, reveals India’s rise from sixth to fifth place in the renewable energy segment.

Table 1: Goals of the National Solar Mission

Application segment Target for Phase I (2010–13)

Cumulative Target for Phase 2 (2013–17)

Cumulative Target for Phase 3 (2017–22)

Grid solar power including rooftop

1,000 MW 4,000 MW 20,000 MW *

Off-grid solar applications including, rural solar lights

200 MW 1,000 MW 2,000 MW

Solar collectors 7 M sq. m 15 M sq. m 20 M sq. m

* Revised to 100,000 MW (Source: MNRE)

Figure 1: Crystalline-Si, the dominant installed PV technology (Source: Lux Research)

Photovoltaic process inputs from raw silicon to solar cell

RE Feature


The boosted PV target of 100 GW, to be achieved by 2022, will require an investment to the tune of $100 billion along with a strong focus on solar energy development as a priority for fulfilling the government’s vision of “electricity for all” in the next five years. The revised target of 100 GW solar power capacity in India has been meticulously planned with a dedicated aim towards grid parity, making solar energy bankable and the industry self-sufficient.

In order to make the solar industry self-reliant, a clear policy, as well as requisite guidelines, is yet to evolve to establish a production base for the core materials within the country. This essentially includes manufacturing technology processes for refining raw silicon into semiconductor grade poly-crystalline silicon (the basic input for manufacturing ingots, wafers, and these in turn are inputs for solar cells). Currently, with limited manufacturing facilities for cells in India (prominently made with imported wafers) by a few companies, almost the entire requirement of silicon wafers and a major chunk of cells for India’s solar programme is being imported from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Germany, the USA, etc.

The Indian Government has made various important plans and taken the following initiatives to achieve the ambitious solar PV targets driven by 100 GW solar pipeline and accelerated demand for a domestic supply chain.

� The scheme for setting up of 1,000 MW of Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects with Viability Gap Fund (VGF) support of N 1,000 crore by Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSU) under various schemes of centre and states in a three-year period. The scheme will have a mandatory condition with 100 per cent domestic content of all cells and modules used in solar plants. Set up under this scheme will be made in India.

� Setting up 25 solar parks, each with a capacity of 500 MW and above, and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in various parts of the country. These parks will be able to accommodate over 20,000 MW of solar power projects. The solar parks/ ultra mega solar power projects will be set up during the next five years and will require central financial support to the tune of N 4,050 crore.

� Land access for setting up utility-scale and mega-scale solar projects.

� Non-implementation of anti-dumping duties.

� Building grid transmission lines for 1 GW projects, thereby, saving costs for private developers.

� The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) with an annual flow of N 20,000 crore to help raise investments, as equity in infrastructure finance companies, for funding the renewable projects at competitive pricing. Rooftop SPV

Solar street light

IN ORDER TO

MAKE THE SOLAR

INDUSTRY SELF-

RELIANT, A CLEAR

POLICY, AS WELL AS

REQUISITE GUIDELINES,

IS YET TO EVOLVE

TO ESTABLISH A

PRODUCTION BASE

FOR THE CORE

MATERIALS WITHIN

THE COUNTRY. THIS

ESSENTIALLY INCLUDES

MANUFACTURING

TECHNOLOGY

PROCESSES FOR

REFINING RAW

SILICON INTO

SEMICONDUCTOR

GRADE POLY-

CRYSTALLINE

SILICON.



RE Feature

� Doubling of cess on coal to N 200 per tonne as an additional corpus for national clean energy fund for new 21 GW PV projects.

Solar PV Supply ChainSince the growth in solar PV is inevitable, consolidation of supply-demand equilibrium is very critical. Regarding PV technology supply and cost outlook for the next 3–5 years, as per GTM Research, “the global PV industry’s recent past has seen wafer, cell, and module suppliers at the mercy of an inhospitable supply-demand imbalance throughout the global market”. With supply consistently 200 per cent of demand annually, c-Si module prices have fallen consistently by about 70 per cent in two years. Thus, for achieving a highly ambitious goal in solar PV, a strong infrastructure manufacturing base is required in the country. This would help India to curtail imports and lead the world in solar power generation.

Infrastructure Manufacturing technology for silicon processes

There is no setup at present for process industry in the country to purify raw silicon into poly-crystalline silicon (Figure 2). For manufacturing these input materials, the government is required to dedicatedly plan to establish a base for large-scale manufacturing (integrated facilities for the solar power materials) under the “Make in India” programme in the near future. There would also be a need to support large-scale expansion of domestic solar cells and PV modules industry in order to stop import of these materials and introduce exports to meet the new solar target.

As per GTM Research report, the top five companies, i.e., GCL, Wacker, Hemlock, OCI, and REC, comprised 81 per cent of total worldwide poly-silicon production of 215 KMT during 2013.

Figure 2: Refining of raw silicon in to poly-crystalline semiconductor material, ingots, and wafers

Rooftop solar panels

Purified semiconductor grade poly-crystalline silicon chunks and rods

Solar PV supply chain


With India’s scaled-up target for solar PV, the country can hope to become an important global hub of solar power generation. But the stringent international quality control measures have to be adhered essentially for creating and sustaining world class material processing facilities.

Other essential infrastructure required for manufacturing is—(a) uninterrupted and stable power supply; (b) high purity chemicals and gases; and (c) production equipment for wafers, cells, and PV modules.

The manufacturing infrastructure for these materials can be developed indigenously, but it will require time and large capital. The alternate and less time-consuming route could be through international joint ventures and technology tie ups with companies interested in business expansion by setting up shops in India.

Globally, wafer manufacturers are also reducing costs by increasing the multi-crystalline ingot size, reducing slurry consumption, increasing recycling, adopting diamond wires for sawing, and cell producers benefiting from rising conversion efficiencies as crystallization quality continues to improve. New technologies will help contribute to lower cost per watt peak and thus reduce the balance of systems cost of supply-demand multi-crystalline silicon.

India has about 27,541.71 MW (2013) of installed RE capacity, excluding hydropower, but integrating it with the national grid is difficult due to variations in supply and voltage. The country aims to channel RE from wind and solar into the national grid to help narrow its power deficit and reduce dependence on coal. As per plans being initiated, the government is likely to set up “Green Energy Corridors” (to help in transmission and evacuation of RE power) with German assistance, with an objective to add 30,000 MW to the national grid by 2020. The implementation of project phase I in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu is expected to cost N 18,000 crore.

ConclusionsIn India, solar energy appears to be gaining some momentum, as a result of a few key factors, i.e., a large number of benefits accruing from usage of solar power. This progress is a result of significant policy, project, and investment activity in India.

The large-scale generation, being undertaken with utility-scale solar systems and off-grid solutions with shorter gestation periods, will greatly help in achieving the government’s vision for 24 × 7 electricity for all, at affordable rates, in far-flung areas that have no access to electricity. These systems can accord advantage of economies of scale which will help in reducing the cost of power thus delivered.

The beginning of core manufacturing silicon processes and establishing other essential infrastructures such as power, land acquisition, grid integration facilities, soft-financing, etc., with a time bound plan shall be the key for the success of country’s ultra mega solar programme. To achieve the targeted solar goals timely and efficiently, India must invest heavily in infrastructure that improves the system as a whole to make it easier and cheaper to gradually replace the fossil fuel-based power with solar energy, without jeopardizing the reliability and quality of the energy system.

Another important consideration would be to provide single window clearances by the government for establishing joint ventures and new collaborations with commitments on long-term investments. All these measures shall make solar power affordable, bring in early grid parity, and finally help it become cheaper than conventional power.

Dr Om Prakash Nangia, Senior Consultant, Solar Energy, Director at New Era Solar Solutions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. Email: [email protected] & [email protected]

CZ silicon mono-crystal

Thin mono-silicon cells

GLOBALLY, WAFER

MANUFACTURERS ARE

ALSO REDUCING COSTS

BY INCREASING THE

MULTI-CRYSTALLINE

INGOT SIZE, REDUCING

SLURRY CONSUMPTION,

INCREASING RECYCLING,

ADOPTING DIAMOND

WIRES FOR SAWING,

AND CELL PRODUCERS

BENEFITING FROM

RISING CONVERSION

EFFICIENCIES AS

CRYSTALLIZATION

QUALITY CONTINUES

TO IMPROVE.



So far, more than four million family-sized biogas plants have been installed in the countryside under ‘National Programme on Biogas Development and Manure Management’, which is being implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the last about three decades. The biogas

thus produced is used for cooking and other domestic thermal applications and the digested slurry is reused in the fields for crop production. Cattle dung of 25 kg/m3/d rated biogas capacity is charged everyday into these plants. Before feeding, the cattle dung is required to be thoroughly mixed with equal quantity of water. The most common fixed-dome type biogas plant design, i.e., Deenbandhu, has been successfully modified by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for digestion of cattle dung in near-solid state, i.e., fresh cattle dung may be directly fed into the plant of the modified design. The MNRE approved the design for proliferations in the country. Under a project sponsored by the Gujarat Agro-Industries Corporation Ltd, 21 family-sized demonstration biogas plants of the new design were set up at selected farmers’ sites in Anand, Bharuch, Kheda, and Vadodara districts of Gujarat during 2011–12. These included 10 plants each of 2 m3/d rated capacity, seven plants each of 3 m3/d rated capacity, one plant of 4 m3/d rated capacity, and three plants each of 6 m3/d rated capacity. The construction of the plants of the new design is nearly similar to the construction of the biogas plants of the common Deenbandhu design.

Salient Design Features The biogas plant of the new design requires up to 80 per cent less water for operation and 67 per cent less space for the slurry drying. On the other hand, it produces 30 per cent more biogas/kg of the cattle dung fed. The digested slurry gets dried in around a week’s time and thereafter it can be used as manure. The plant costs up to 10 per cent more than the cost of common Deenbandhu biogas plant of the same capacity. The operation of the plant is far easier than the common plant

RE Feature

Newly Designed Biogas Plants in Central Gujarat Use Less Water

Samir Vahora and M Shyam discuss the design, working, and performance of a new biogas plant developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in this study conducted by the SPRERI in the selected districts of Central Gurajat.



THE BIOGAS PLANT

OF THE NEW DESIGN

REQUIRES UP TO 80 PER

CENT LESS WATER FOR

OPERATION AND 67 PER

CENT LESS SPACE FOR

THE SLURRY DRYING. ON

THE OTHER HAND, IT

PRODUCES 30 PER CENT

MORE BIOGAS/KG OF

THE CATTLE DUNG FED.

THE DIGESTED SLURRY

GETS DRIED IN AROUND

A WEEK’S TIME AND

THEREAFTER IT CAN BE

USED AS MANURE. Figure 1: Diagram of family-sized biogas plant for solid-state digestion of cattle dung

Picture 1: Easy feeding of the biogas plant

Picture 2: Well-digested thick slurry discharge from the plant


because the cattle dung and the small quantity of water needed for the operation are straightaway poured into inlet of the plant (Picture 1). The handling of the digested slurry is also far more convenient because the digested slurry discharged is nearly half of the slurry discharged from the biogas plant of the common design (Picture 2). Diagram of the new plant design is shown in Figure 1. All this makes cooking an easy and enjoyable task (Picture 3).

Field Performance Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI) team visited each of the plant sites periodically at 3–5 weeks’ intervals during September 2012 to June 2014 and collected data about family members, cattle herd, approximate quantities of the cattle dung and the water charged, utilization of the biogas, and digested slurry. Data on types and quantity of fuel(s) being used by each of the farmers had been collected before installation of the biogas plants. Samples of the biogas, cattle dung, and the digested slurry were also collected from a few sites and analyzed in the SPRERI laboratory.

Opinions of each of the families about the ease of operation of the plant, quality and quantity of the gas produced, ease of cooking, utilization of gas manure, etc., were also collected. No construction or structural defects were observed or reported in any of the plants. All, except, two plants, were found working satisfactorily throughout the period of monitoring. The two non-working plants, one of 3 m3/d and the other of 6 m3/d capacities, were not operational primarily just because their owners had done away with their cattle. Table 1 presents the data collected with regard to 19 working biogas plants.

Table 1: Field performance of the solid-state family-sized biogas plants

Rated capacity (m3/d)

No. of working plants

No. ofcattleAvg. (range)

No. of family members Avg.(range)

Avg. dung fedkg/d(range)

Water use — L/d

Average(range)

Recommended

2 10 10 (5–35) 8 (5–14) 49 (30–80) 28 (20–50) 15

3 6 21 (9–40) 8 (4–12) 70 (40–110) 58 (30–95) 20

4 1 28 6 95 55 30

6 2 37 (10–65) 10 (8–14) 125 (100–145) 80 (60–100) 45

Picture 3: Woman with clean cooking gadget

SARDAR PATEL

RENEWABLE ENERGY

RESEARCH INSTITUTE

(SPRERI) TEAM VISITED

EACH OF THE PLANT

SITES PERIODICALLY AT

3–5 WEEKS’ INTERVALS

DURING SEPTEMBER

2012 TO JUNE 2014

AND COLLECTED

DATA ABOUT FAMILY

MEMBERS, CATTLE

HERD, APPROXIMATE

QUANTITIES OF THE

CATTLE DUNG AND

THE WATER CHARGED,

UTILIZATION OF THE

BIOGAS, AND DIGESTED

SLURRY.

RE Feature


Important Findings Regarding the new biogas plants, some of the important findings are as follows:

� All farmers were found fully satisfied with the quality and quantity of the gas output and performance of their plants.

� An average total solids content of the feed was found 12.2 per cent (varied 10.0–14.0 per cent) and the outlet slurry 9.6 (varied 7.0–12.6 per cent). Average Total Solids and Volatile Solids reductions were found to be 20.9 per cent and 38.5 per cent, respectively.

� The farmers, in general, used 40–70 per cent less water than the plants of the common designs. Despite regular advice by the experts, some of the farmers kept on adding more water than the recommended quantity, probably because of their feeling that reduced water might invite some problem.

� The gas at all the sites, except one, is being used for thermal applications, i.e., the cooking of the meals and water heating. Duration of biogas use was found varying from 3–5 hours/day depending upon number of family members, size of the plant, and quantity of the dung fed.

� The biogas at one of the sites in Kheda district was also used for operating a 7.5 kW diesel engine in dual fuel mode for water lifting to irrigate the field.

� In Davol village, a well-maintained 3 m3/d capacity biogas plant has been connected to two adjoining houses. The biogas production was sufficient to meet the cooking requirements of both the houses. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder (14.2 kg) now lasted for 3–4 months as against 1.5–2.0 months before installation of the biogas plant.

� The methane contents of the biogas samples collected from a few plants were found to be around 61 per cent.

� Preparation of the cattle dung cakes had been discontinued by almost all the households. However, a few farmers continue to use fuelwood for water heating applications.

� The digested slurry is dried, stocked in a corner, and used as manure once every 4–6 months. Farmers reported that use of the biogas plant manure reduced growth of weeds in their farms as compared to the use of Farm Yard Manure.

� Components such as gas valve, pipe, and biogas stove required replacement or repair during the period of monitoring. This was primarily because the contractor engaged for setting-up of the plants used fittings of substandard quality.

� Farmers are very happy with the technical guidance and need-based maintenance extended by the SPRERI team, which was found critical in keeping their plants working satisfactorily.

Conclusions All the 19 demonstration biogas plants were found working satisfactorily and the farmers were fully satisfied with the quality and quantity of the biogas produced and overall performance of their plants. Almost all the beneficiaries discontinued preparation and uses of the cattle dung cakes and used the digested slurry as manure in their farms. This biogas plant design has been found very well suited to Gujarat conditions and should be popularized.

Mr Samir Vahora and Mr M Shyam, Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI), Gujarat. Email: [email protected]

ALL THE 19

DEMONSTRATION

BIOGAS PLANTS WERE

FOUND WORKING

SATISFACTORILY AND

THE FARMERS ARE

FULLY SATISFIED WITH

THE QUALITY AND

QUANTITY OF THE

BIOGAS PRODUCED

AND OVERALL

PERFORMANCE OF

THEIR PLANTS. ALMOST

ALL THE BENEFICIARIES

DISCONTINUED

PREPARATION AND

USES OF THE CATTLE

DUNG CAKES AND USED

THE DIGESTED SLURRY

AS MANURE IN THEIR

FARMS.



RE Feature

OASYS SOUTH ASIA PROJECTBRIGHTENS UP REMOTE AREAS

Debajit Palit discusses ‘Off-grid Access Systems for South Asia’ (OASYS South Asia) project, which aimed to do a systematic analysis to develop an off-grid delivery model framework and implement the framework through demonstration projects across different geographies in order to find appropriate local solutions for sustainable rural electricity supply.


T he problem of electricity access requires solutions which are techno-economically viable, institutionally feasible, socio-politically acceptable, and environmentally sound. Such solutions need to be identified in order to propel a conscientious and collective effort aiming to improve quality of life of the

energy impoverished population. The ‘Off-grid Access Systems for South Asia’ (OASYS South Asia) project implemented by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and a consortium of research partners led by De Montfort University, UK, aimed to develop a systematic analysis and research foundation in order to find appropriate local solutions for sustainable rural electricity supply. As part of the OASYS project, an important component was to develop an off-grid delivery model framework and implementation of demonstration project(s), covering un-electrified villages, to test the framework.

Demonstration Project(s) under OASYSThe demonstration projects implemented under the OASYS South Asia project employed mini-grids, micro-grids, and pico-grids providing either AC or DC power to electrify households and shops/micro-enterprises in project areas across different geographies. The models employed are as follows:

Community-managed Model This project has been implemented in five un-electrified forest villages of Dhenkanal district in Odisha, India, serving a total population of 555 inhabitants. Here, a community-managed and grassroots NGO-supported business model has been developed to set up solar AC mini and DC pico-grids. These villages are located within the Kandhara Reserve Forest, thereby, making electricity access difficult. Furthermore, the targeted areas have not been considered under the national rural electrification scheme, namely the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana’, steered by the Ministry of Power, Government of India, due to their location within a forest area. Owing to this remoteness and the fact that private developers were unwilling to invest in such a high business risk area (due to low population and paying capacities), a subsidy-based community-managed model was developed.

TERI along with its grassroots partner, the Institute for Research and Action on Development Alternatives (IRADA), identified different household electricity demand and new livelihood activities which could be initiated post stable electricity supply intervention. Active participation of the village community was ensured by the formation of a Village Energy Committee (VEC), which is responsible for the operation and management of the project. Three of the villages have an AC micro-grid while the hamlets (with 12–15 households) have a DC micro-grids, respectively, based on the population of the villages and the potential for livelihood-generating activities. However, to maintain the homogeneity of such community-based project having both AC and DC configuration, the quality and quantity of services provided to each household has been kept exactly the same. Further, an analysis was also carried out to gauge the comparative costs and benefits of having five distributed power plants versus single power plant with distribution lines running to all villages. While there are operational benefits from having a single power plant, for such small systems (total cumulative capacity of 15 kWp), the cost of distribution lines become prohibitively high. But, with a good system design that ensures infrequent maintenance, even managing multiple power plants may not be difficult. Therefore, a strong case was made in favour of distributed technical design of distributed systems. However, for ease of management of the system, a single institutional entity was formed covering the group of villages. In addition to lighting and facility for mobile phone charging at the household level, the project has also enabled numerous livelihood opportunities such as grinders for spices, packaging, ‘Saal leaf’ plate-making, better irrigation facilities and installation of fans and street lamps in community areas/institutions

OASYS South Asia Project Brightens Up Remote Areas

THE ‘OFF-GRID

ACCESS SYSTEMS

FOR SOUTH ASIA’

(OASYS SOUTH ASIA)

PROJECT IMPLEMENTED

BY THE ENERGY

AND RESOURCES

INSTITUTE (TERI) AND

A CONSORTIUM OF

RESEARCH PARTNERS

LED BY DE MONTFORT

UNIVERSITY, UK,

AIMED TO DEVELOP A

SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS

AND RESEARCH

FOUNDATION IN ORDER

TO FIND APPROPRIATE

LOCAL SOLUTIONS FOR

SUSTAINABLE RURAL

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY.

Electricity for villagers


like clinics and schools, etc. Moreover, smart grid interactive inverters and battery management system, with auto load cut-offs and/or timer-based operation, enable users to efficiently manage the limited energy produced by the AC and DC micro-grids. This project was commissioned in March 2014 and during the last one year, the VEC was trained and hand held by TERI and the local partner IRADA such that they are now independently running the project. Along with the OASYS South Asia, the solar mini-grids, were also partially supported by Rural Electrification Corporation as part of their Sustainable Development Initiative.

Lalita Pradhan, Member, Village Energy Committee, Rajanga mini-grid project, says, "We were living on the roots and fruits from the forest and didn’t know what light was. Now my children are able to study at school during the daytime and at home during the evening. They even take tuitions in the evening. I am really grateful for the light."

Privately-operated (micro-utility) ModelIn this model, a cluster approach for implementing solar DC micro-grids and solar AC pico-grids was used. Mera Gao Power (MGP) and the Mlinda Foundation have been supported with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) as part of this model in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh and Sunderbans regions of West Bengal, respectively, with the objective to enhance the participation of private sector in rural electrification.

In the case of MGP, the VGF supports the installation of micro-grids for connecting 2,900 household initially, with the condition of providing 1,500 additional connections over the next two years by re-investing the part of the revenue generated from the initial connections, thus reducing the overall subsidy from OASYS project to around 30 per cent. MGP is responsible for all operations, maintenance, and management on its own using its human resource. Here, an auto switch for basic lighting (2–4 light points) and mobile phone charging has been provided to the households. MGP has focused on strengthening operations and timely collection by forming Joint Liability Groups (JLG) with all the users of a single micro-grid acting as one JLG. The connection charge is N 50 and collections of N 25 per week are made by users to MGP on a prepaid basis. Any fault with the system is reportedly fixed within 12 hours from the time a fault is reported via the helpline established by MGP. Speaking on the project, Mr Sandeep Pandey, Director at the Mera Gao Power states, “The fund we were allocated under the OASYS project in 2013 was utilized to open a new branch in Laharpur block. At that time we were in need of funds, and the aid was very helpful. We are still using the leftover fund to install new micro-grids. Although Laharpur block has 1,000 villages and hamlets, our base is in 500–600 villages and we are looking at a potential of around 7,000–8,000 customers. With the help of the fund, we not only bought new systems, but also trained our staff.”

In the case of Mlinda Foundation, the households and shops have availed small loans, bundled and facilitated by Mlinda Foundation, from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for establishing the solar AC pico-grids. In partnership with NABARD, Mlinda has made possible for people to avail loans to buy the solar installations instead of relying on pay-as-you-go schemes or subsidy schemes. The OASYS project has supported about 30 per cent of the project cost to make the repayment amount affordable to the users. Each pico-grid consists of solar modules mounted on the roof of one of the houses in which the inverter and battery bank is also installed and is shared by 6–10 households. Each system provides a household with three light points of 2W LED bulbs and a mobile charging point. Here also, a JLG model is used for revenue collection. The JLG is responsible for payments and operation of the systems. The end-user repays through easy and affordable installments over a period of 5 years from the direct savings accrued from non-usage of kerosene or diesel. As part of the ‘Market Segment’, the JLG has been formed consisting of the shop owners and members of market committee who are responsible for operations and collection of the payment. A total of around

RE Feature

We were living on the

roots and fruits from the forest

and didn’t know what

light was. Now my children are able to

study at school during the

daytime and at home during the evening.

They even take tuitions in the evening. I am really grateful for the light.

Mr Lalita Pradhan Member, Village

Energy Committee, Rajanga mini-grid

project

Unintrrupted power supply


700 households and shops have been covered with installation of around 110 pico grids, which are spread across four villages (Brojoballavpur, G plot, L plot, and K plot) in the Pathar pratima block of Sunderbans region.

The Way Forward The two examples showcased in this article demonstrate innovative ideas that can create enabling environments for different stakeholders working within the rural energy access space. The projects focus not only on technology, but also on other critical aspects such as building ownership, skill augmentation, inflow and outflow of revenue, income generating linkages, and robust monitoring for sustained electricity access. Based on the specific characteristics of the socio-economic development of the user community, maturity of the business model and the strengths and weaknesses of local institutions, the article aims to substantiate the point that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is either not applicable, or not required in every situation. Government subsidies should be continued in scenarios where the viability of business models is low, and restructured to enable scaling up of interventions in other scenarios. The roles of different actors will vary, depending on the socio-economic characteristics and geographies. Wherein some cases local governance is important, in others it may be more suitable to promote a private sector led micro utility-like model.

Mr Debajit Palit, Associate Director & Senior Fellow, TERI. Email: [email protected]

OASYS South Asia Project Brightens Up Remote Areas

THE TWO

EXAMPLES

SHOWCASED IN

THIS ARTICLE

DEMONSTRATE

INNOVATIVE

IDEAS THAT CAN

CREATE ENABLING

ENVIRONMENTS

FOR DIFFERENT

STAKEHOLDERS

WORKING WITHIN

THE RURAL ENERGY

ACCESS SPACE.

Rooftop SPv installations


RE Success Story

Karnataka State Women’s University Leaps towards Energy Surplus Campus

According to Dr K Lenin Babu, assurance of ‘Quality Energy’ is the most important input for development. In this regard, he discusses how Karnataka State Women’s University, Vijayapura, became a live example where the University campus became self-sufficient in generating energy for its own usage with the help of optimum utilization of renewable energy resources.


Assurance of ‘Quality Energy’ is the most important input for development. However from the point

of energy security, India, though is fifth largest producer of electricity globally, remains as a power deficit state. To be energy self-sufficient nation, it has a long way to go, as it is poorly endowed with traditional fuel resource such as hydrocarbons. For instance, Karnataka, first state in India to have hydroelectric power station way back in 1900s, is presently struggling to keep pace with ever-

increasing demand for energy but with little success. For the year 2014–15, the gap between demand and supply of energy for the State is 10,003 MW and –14.4 per cent, while in peak the deficit is –2,635 MW and about 24.5 per cent; thus, the State is forced to purchase electricity from energy surplus states such as Himachal Pradesh, etc. To overcome the gap in supply and demand, India is exploring all possibilities to reduce this gap through various multi-lateral trade agreements. At present, about 85 per cent of fossil fuels are


imported with huge spending of foreign exchange. This also makes our economy susceptible to any changes in international price of crude oil. For instance, the Reserve Bank of India analysis has estimated that every $1 increase in crude oil prices adds 15 basis points to India’s wholesale price index as a direct effect, and another 15 basis points as an indirect effect. This underlines the importance of reducing our dependence on imports and increasing the share of renewable energies in our energy basket.

On the other side, Indian universities, particularly state-funded ones, are considered as centres of teaching and it is expected from them to churn out employable graduates/postgraduates (PG). As expected, most of the universities restrict their niche to two-stage life cycle, viz., a) pedagogy and b) examinations. Neither it is expected, nor envisaged from these universities of any innovation or novelty, more so, in terms of energy, though they are endowed with reasonable renewable energy sources. However, Karnataka State Women’s University, Vijayapura presents one of exemplary exceptions to this typical description of universities.

Established in 2003 at Vijayapur City, Karnataka State Women’s University (KSWU) is the only university in Karnataka dedicated exclusively for women’s education, to promote excellence through academic achievement, research, creativity, innovation, interaction and collaboration, personality development, and leadership qualities. It is located in northern Deccan Plateau plains where agriculture is the primary economic force. With mild winters, but harsh summers, most of the energy demand is for lighting, heating, and cooling. Under the jurisdiction of Hubli ESCOM, the University used to face the problem of inadequate and erratic power supply during summers. To overcome the power shortages and make better use

Methane from kitchen waste


of native oil seed plant community (such as neem), the KSWU has drawn a plan to harness the renewable energy source option for its own consumption. Following are the renewable sources adopted, viz., a) methane from kitchen waste; b) biodiesel from oil seeds; c) electricity from photovoltaic (PV) panel; and d) installing solar street lights.

Methane from Kitchen Waste

More than 60 per cent of students stay in hostels in the Campus. Thus, during a day, about 30–40 kg kitchen waste is generated. This waste was used as cattle feed. Recently, it was thought that the kitchen waste should be used for the generation of methane by fermentation, which can be used in hostels’ kitchen. Accordingly, anerobic reactor with a capacity of 4 m3 was established and all the decomposable kitchen waste is now used as feedstock. Methane gas thus generated is used in hostels’ kitchen. In this way, the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has reduced to about 25 kg/month.

Biodiesel from Oil Seeds

With the help of the Karnataka State Biofuel Board (KSBB), the University has established a demonstration plant with a capacity to generate 100 L/month. Simultaneously, the University took up plantation activity in the campus to ensure the supply of oil seeds. Neem is the most preferred species in this agro-climate zone, as it is native and most common plant in this region. Supply chain was established to procure oil seeds from villages around the campus to operate the unit. The University entered into an agreement with the Karnataka State Forest Department, according to which the latter was to purchase 50 per cent of biodiesel produced by the former. The rest of biodiesel is used by the vehicle fleet of the University. From its establishment till

date, the biofuel centre is working without any problems and now, the University is considering to doubling its capacity. Further, increasing the crushing capacity would enable the University to tap the yield of plantations within the campus in addition to cater to the needs of a larger number of university vehicles.

High Concentrated Photovoltaic Solar Plant

The University campus is located in a region of surplus solar irradiation with an approximately 4 kWh/m2/day solar irradiation value during about 340 clear days in a year. In such conditions, solar PV technology could be ideal for harnessing the solar energy. Accordingly, the University considered the PV as means of supplementing its energy requirements for its hostel and also for lighting of common areas. Installed PV system is generating about 12,045 units per annum. Ever

since its operation from the year

2013, hostels never experienced the

power shortage, probably unique

in this region. Similarly, about 150

solar street lamps were installed and

5,840 units/annum were generated.

Technical details are given in Table 1.

The Way ForwardWith encouraging results, the

University is exploring an option

(financial) for one or more mega

watt solar plant in its campus

(grid connected). This measure

would not only help the University

to become energy surplus, but

also would be able to contribute to

grid as well.

Measures implemented by the

KSWU could also be implemented

in any other university in India, may

be with little variation in the scale of

operations. Such measures would

certainly reduce their energy bill and help in achieving energy security.

Prof. Meena R Chandrawarkar, Vice Chancellor, formally launching the biodiesel programme

RE Success Story


Table 1: Details of solar units in Karnataka State Women’ University Campus

Total Installed Capacity 3.45 × 3 no. = 10.35 KW

Specification of Module High Concentrated Photovoltaic (HCPV)

Module Efficiency 28–30%

Series Parallel Combination 3 Series; 4 Parallel

Tilt Angle of Modules Mounted on dual-axis sun tracking system

Input Voltage to Inverter 120 V (DC)

Output Voltage of Inverter 230 V (AC)

Total Number of Tube Lights Connected to Each Unit

25 no. (40 W each)

Total Number of Fans Connected to Each Unit

25 no. (60 W each)

Energy Generation Details

Generation/Day/plant (As per metering details)

10–11 Units

Total Generation of 3-Plants 30–33 Units

Demand 42–46 Units/Day

Cost of Power Purchase N 5.40/Unit

Energy savings Average 30–33 Units/Day

Solar Street Lamps

Total Number of Solar Street Lights Installed

150 no.

Module Efficiency 18%

Luminary 1 × 11 W CFL

PV Module 74 W

Battery Capacity 12 V/75 AH

Cost N 21,800

Energy Saving Details

Total Installed Capacity 74 W × 150 no. =11.10 kW

Average Power Generation 15–16 Units (Assumed time period: 8 hours)

Cost of Power Purchase N 5.40 /Unit

Energy savings Average 15–16 Units/Day

Energy Savings per Annum 5,840 Units

Cost Savings per Annum N 31,536

Dr K Lenin Babu, Research Consultant, Karnataka State Women’s University. Email: [email protected] Solar-powered street light

WITH ENCOURAGING

RESULTS, THE UNIVERSITY

IS EXPLORING AN OPTION

(FINANCIAL) FOR ONE OR

MORE MEGA WATT SOLAR

PLANT IN ITS CAMPUS

(GRID CONNECTED). THIS

MEASURE WOULD NOT

ONLY HELP THE UNIVERSITY

TO BECOME ENERGY

SURPLUS, BUT ALSO WOULD

BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE

TO GRID AS WELL.



Water is the most important resource for use of mankind. It is essential for agricultural and industrial growth as well as for supporting the growing population who require safe drinking water supply. In fact, 97 per cent of all water on our planet exists in seas and oceans and 2 per cent in

glaciers and ice caps. The rest of it exists in lakes, rivers, and underground reservoirs. Natural resources cannot satisfy the growing demand for low-salinity water with industrial development, together with the increasing worldwide demand for supplies of safe drinking water. This has forced mankind to search for other sources of water. In addition, the rapid reduction of subterranean aquifers and the increasing salinity of these non-renewable sources will continue to exacerbate the international water shortage problems in many areas of the world. Desalination or “Desalinization” refers to the water treatment processes that remove salts from saline water. Desalination has already become an acceptable solution for shortages in conventional water resources. This is now acknowledged by reputable institutions such as the World Bank. Seawater desalination is being applied at 58 per cent of installed capacity worldwide, followed by brackish water desalination accounting for 23 per cent of installed capacity. Solar still is a very simple device to convert available brackish or saline water into potable water by use of solar energy. Due to its lower distillate output, it is not popular in domestic and industrial applications.

Double basin passive solar still with vacuum tubes gained distillate output from lower basin and upper basin; hence, the total distillate output is higher. The experimental set-up and line diagram of double basin solar still with vacuum tubes is depicted in Figure 1 and Picture 1. The overall size of the top basin used is 1,000 mm × 1,000 mm × 500 mm, and the upper basin is 1,006 mm × 1,000 mm × 500 mm. The lower basin is black coated to increase radiation absorption. Two window glasses of 4 cm thickness are provided in the present experimental set-up. The lower glass cover is fixed at 8 mm above the basin bottom and upper cover is fixed at 10 cm above lower cover. An insulation of 5 cm thickness is provided, on all sides, to reduce loss of heat. Here, Polyurethane Foam (PUF) with a thermal conductivity of 0.025 W/m2K was used for the present experiment. The evaporated water in the lower basin and the upper basin was condensed by plane glass, about 4 mm in thickness. The condensed water of the lower and upper basins was collected by hanging jars. A silicon rubber sealant was provided to hold the toughened glass in contact with the still surfaces. A total of 4 holes were made on the lower and upper basins for the location of thermocouples. Here, 14 vacuum tubes were coupled with a hole, about 6 cm in diameter, in the lower side of the top basin. The inside pipe is coated with a selective coating of aluminium, nickel alloy compound (Al-N/Al) for better solar radiation absorption (> 93 per cent) and minimum emittance (< 6 per cent). The vacuum tubes were linked up to the still stand at an angle of 35° with respect to the horizontal axis. Rubber gaskets were provided to secure the vacuum tubes attached to the top basin of the solar still. The bottom part of the vacuum tubes was connected to a sponge cloth to prevent breakage of vacuum tubes.

RE Case Study

Double Basin Solar Still with Vacuum TubesA New Era of Desalination Technology

Hitesh N Panchal describes how double basin passive solar still with vacuum tubes gained distillate output from lower basin and upper basin so that the total distillate output was higher.


The main characteristic here is the application of the double basin passive solar still for the enhancement of distillate output.

Compared with a conventional passive solar still, it has the following merits:

� The generated freshwater can quickly drip because the flow distance of the condensed water on the condensation surface is short and the inclination of condensation surface is large.

� The condensation resistance of the water vapour is reduced due to water inside the upper basin.

� The area of condensation surface is increased, which leads to heat transfer efficiency of water vapour.

� The lower basin is coupled with vacuum tubes, hence, it continuously receives hot water from vacuum tubes, so the distillate output of lower basin is higher.

� The latent heat of condensation of the lower basin is utilized to evaporate water of upper basin, which already receives solar energy, hence distillate output of upper basin will also be enhanced compared to a conventional solar still.

� The total distillate output of the present solar still will be a summation of lower and upper solar still and it will be higher compared to a conventional single basin passive solar still.

The present solar still’s total fabrication cost is around N 10,555 with annual distillate output of 9 L, which can satisfy the need of water for a small family, including two adults and two children. It has an energy payback time of 117 days done on solar still. Table 1 shows the energy payback time of a solar still.

Double Basin Solar Still with Vacuum Tubes: A New Era of Desalination Technology

Figure 1: Line diagram of double basin passive solar still with vacuum tubes

DESALINATION

HAS ALREADY BECOME

AN ACCEPTABLE

SOLUTION FOR

SHORTAGES IN

CONVENTIONAL WATER

RESOURCES. THIS IS

NOW ACKNOWLEDGED

BY REPUTABLE

INSTITUTIONS SUCH

AS THE WORLD

BANK. SEAWATER

DESALINATION IS BEING

APPLIED AT

58 PER CENT OF

INSTALLED CAPACITY

WORLDWIDE,

FOLLOWED BY

BRACKISH WATER

DESALINATION

ACCOUNTING FOR

23 PER CENT OF

INSTALLED CAPACITY.

SOLAR STILL IS A VERY

SIMPLE DEVICE TO

CONVERT AVAILABLE

BRACKISH OR SALINE

WATER INTO POTABLE

WATER BY USE OF

SOLAR ENERGY.

DUE TO ITS LOWER

DISTILLATE OUTPUT,

IT IS NOT POPULAR

IN DOMESTIC

AND INDUSTRIAL

APPLICATIONS.


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

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:

RE Case Study

Table 1: Energy payback time of double basin solar still with vacuum tubes

Fabrication cost N 10,555

Operating cost N 5/day

Maintenance cost N 5/day

Cost of feed water N 1/day

Cost of distilled water N 12/kg

Annual distillate output of present solar still N 8.13 kg/day

Cost of water produced /day N 97.56

Subsidized cost given by government sectors 4%

Net Profit = cost of water produced - operating cost-maintenance cost- cost of feed water

N 480

Payback period = (Investment - Subsidized cost)/(Net Profit)

117 days

Mr Hitesh N Panchal, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gujarat Power Engineering & Research Institute, Mehsana, Gujarat. Email: [email protected]

Picture 1: Actual set-up of passive solar still with vacuum tubes


RE Product

Solar-powered flashlights or solar-powered torches are flashlights powered by solar energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Most of these flashlights use light-emitting diode lamps since they have lower energy consumption compared to incandescent light bulbs.

Solar-powered torches are attached with a solar panel to convert the sunlight to usable Direct Current (DC) electricity and it is stored in a battery. The energy thus stored in the battery is then used to illuminate a group of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights.

Main featuresSolar-powered torches have the following main features:

� Durable

� Bright illumination

� Surplus endurance

� Rigid handle

� High reflective acrylic

� Maintenance free

� No fumes or no smoke

� Maximum light coverage

� Aesthetically designed portable light

� Alternate Current (AC) charging – optional

� Ease button on handle

SOLAR-POWERED FLASHLIGHT

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 (INR) 50,000 150,000 142,500 300,000 276,000

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

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

with US


Children's Corner

Illustration: VIJAY NIPANE

Hi Kids! Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Renewable energy. The knowledge of these will help you to make a difference in your lives as well as contribute to the country’s development.

Where is the world’s largest solar plant located?The world’s largest solar plant is located in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California. Called the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS), it is spread across 3,500 acres of land. Using over 170,000 mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on solar receivers on top of power towers, the ISEGS generates 370 MW of electricity, sufficient to light up 140,000 households during peak hours. Also, there is a significant reduction on CO2 emissions to the tune of 400,000 tonnes a year.

I am very much sure that India’s planning for renewable energy sector is fool-proof. We are going to

invest in manufacturing of SPV in India.

Hmm! We also think so.

Me too.

Investing in India’s renewable energy sector

seems to be a great opportunity. Our capital investment will result in generation of clean and

green energy.

How do we get electricity from wind energy?A wind turbine is a machine that converts the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity. Since wind speed increases with height, wind turbines are built with tall towers. The blades of a wind turbine always face into the wind. They are also slightly curved so that they catch maximum wind energy. As the wind blows over the blades, making them spin, the kinetic energy of the blowing wind gets converted into mechanical energy. The spinning blades are connected to a drive shaft that powers a generator, which converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Don’t be surprised if your school-going child tells you that the earth gets more solar energy in a day

than the world can use in a year! She might even lecture you on the virtues of solar energy, and why we need to co-operate with nature for our survival. That’s why Ms Benita Sen, the author of Super Power Earth book series, says, “The best way to sensitize children to environmental issues is through story telling”.

Guess who hasn’t taken a day’s off for a billion years; it’s the sun. Isn’t it? ‘The Sun’ is the opening chapter that explains with pictures and graphics that the sun is the ultimate source of energy and how it’s better than fossil fuel. Children being tomorrow’s leaders, it is crucial to prepare them early to be sensitive to green issues. The book helps children understand that it’s not just plants that use the sun’s energy to make their food; even we can do so and perhaps more efficiently.

From Roman baths to modern-day spacecraft, we have found various ways to use the sun’s light and heat. Yet, even today, we are able to capture only 1 per cent of this energy. While reading, children find out how we can make the most of the sun and its importance for our planet.

Ms Sen points out that although there was no renewable energy movement in the 18th century, a scientist named Auguste Mouchout was one of the first few people who realized that we will run out of fossil fuels one day and that the sun is an endless source of energy. He was also working on a solar motor. By 1861, he developed a solar-powered steam engine.

Did you know it was none other than the great Nobel Prize winning scientist, Albert Einstein, who discovered the photoelectric effect that leads to the production of electricity from solar cells.

The imaginative and colourful layout of the books and interesting

tit-bits of information will keep young readers engaged and asking for more. More importantly, the facts encourage readers to take small steps to show how much we really care for nature. These knowledge books fill the gap in school curriculum that focuses more on scientific concept rather than its relevance to current aspects of life.

This series of six books, jointly promoted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), aim at providing in-depth information on various renewable sources of energy like wind energy, hydropower, solar energy, atomic energy, hydrogen fuel, and biofuels. Each book provides extensive information on the unique quality of each of these energy forms. The series also informs about the advantages and limitations of these renewable sources of energy.

SUPER POWER EARTHBOOKSERIESKnowledge Books by TERI

Ms

Ben

ita

Sen


Children's Corner


Renewable Energy Law in the EUEditor: Marjan Peeters and Thomas SchomerusNew Horizons in Environmental and Energy Law series352 pages

Renewable Energy Law in the EU examines the role played by regional authorities in the European Union in the transition towards renewable energy. Drawing on both academia and practice, the expert contributors explore some of the key legal questions that have emerged along the energy transition path. Specific attention is paid to support mechanisms, administrative procedures for authorizing renewable energy projects, and opportunities for allowing citizens, particularly citizens living near renewable energy projects, participate financially in renewable energy production.

Reaching the Sun with Rooftop SolarAuthors: Sudhakar Sundaray, Lovedeep Mann, Ujjwal Bhattacharjee, Shirish Garud, and Arun K TripathiTERI | 79 pages

Rooftop solar PV would play a prominent role in meeting energy demands across segments. It has already achieved grid parity for commercial and industrial consumers, and is fast becoming attractive for residential consumers as well. As a result, multiple state governments have taken necessary steps to kick-start implementation of rooftop solar PV projects. This whitepaper, published by TERI with support from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation in consultation with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and all stakeholders, assesses India’s market potential for rooftop PV, surveys consumers to identify real and perceived barriers that prevent consumers

to install such systems, identifies strategies to commoditize rooftop PV and proposes business, operating, financing, and cost recovery models that may be appropriate to tap this huge customer-side market.

Sudhakar Sundaray • Lovedeep MannUjjwal Bhattacharjee • Shirish Garud

Arun K Tripathi

The Energy and Resources Institute

An initiative supported by

Reaching the sun with rooftop solar

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Government of India

Mini-Grids for Rural Electrification of Developing Countries: Analysis and Case Studies from South AsiaEditors: Subhes C Bhattacharyya and Debajit Palit Springer | 430 pages

This volume has 15 chapters divided into two parts: Part I provides the background under-standing of mini-grids while

Part II provides seven case studies from South Asia covering different countries, technologies, and business models.

Following the multidisciplinary focus of the project, the book covers various dimensions relevant for any mini-grid-based electricity supply. It also provides practical guidelines for design and implementation of mini-grid projects alongside more academic research studies.

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) http://www.reeep.org

REEEP invests in clean energy markets in developing countries to reduce CO2 emissions and build prosperity.

Based on a strategic portfolio of high impact projects, REEEP works to generate energy access, improve lives,

and economic opportunities, build sustainable markets, and combat climate change. REEEP understands

market change from a practice, policy, and financial perspective. We monitor, evaluate, and learn from our

portfolio to understand opportunities and barriers to success within markets. These insights then influence

policy, increase public and private investment, and inform our portfolio strategy to build scale within and

replication across markets. REEEP is committed to open access to knowledge to support entrepreneurship,

innovation and policy improvements to empower market shifts across the developing world.

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