Renewables
InterSolar India 2017 opens on December 5 in Mumbai
Intersolar India 2017 will be held during December 5-7, 2017 taking 260 exhibitors to more than 12,000 international solar and energy storage experts.
PI Berlin forms subsidiary in India
- Nov 23, 2017
The Photovoltaik-Institut Berlin (PI Berlin) has created a subsidiary based in India. In one of the most important markets worldwide for photovoltaics, there is particularly high demand for PI Berlin’s services, such as laboratory tests for modules and quality assurance in the planning, construction and operation of photovoltaic plants.
Wind tariffs fall further in second SECI auction
- Oct 5, 2017
Wind tariff in India touched its lowest level of Rs.2.64 per kWh in the second wind auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on behalf of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India yesterday. The tariff discovered is much lower the Rs. 3.46 per kWh discovered in the first auction in February this year.
Acciona of Spain sets up its fourth wind power project in India
- Sep 16, 2017
Spanish company ACCIONA Energía has put its 78-mw capacity Bannur wind park into service in India. It is the fourth owned by the company in the country, taking its operational capacity there to 163.8 mw, a release from the company said.
Located in Bijapur district in Karnataka, the Bannur project has twenty-six AW125/3000 Nordex-Acciona Windpower wind turbines (rotor diameter 125m) mounted on 120m high concrete towers.
ABB India crosses 5 GW milestone in solar inverters
- Sep 1, 2017
ABB India has surpassed the 5-GW milestone for the supply of solar inverters in India, the company said in a release. The inverter was flagged off from ABB India’s Bengaluru plant recently.
ABB’s end-to-end portfolio for solar energy including solar inverters, powers about 50 percent of the various solar projects in the country. Plant management solutions including environmental management, software tools and lifetime support are also part of ABB’s solar portfolio in India.
Developers, procurers and investors to benefit from new solar guidelines
- Aug 28, 2017
The Union ministry of new and renewable energy has issued new guidelines for tariff-based bidding process for procurement of power from grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plants.
These guidelines, notified on August 3, 2017, have been issued under the provisions of Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003 for long term procurement of electricity by the procurers [distribution licensees, or authorized representative(s) or an intermediary procurer] from grid-connected Solar PV power projects. These guidelines will be applicable to projects above 5-mw installed capacity and will be applicable when the power purchase is done through tariff-based competitive bidding.
The key features of the new guidelines are:
REI 2017 opens on September 20 at Greater Noida
- Aug 22, 2017
After completing a successful decade of existence, the Renewable Energy India 2017 Expo (REI), hosted by UBM India, India’s leading exhibitions organiser is set to take place from 20th to 22nd September 2017 at the India Expo Center, Greater Noida. A flagship event, REI is the most reputed global platform where India’s green economy community including overseas participants will congregate to discuss industry trends, challenges and market insights including the Indian regulatory framework. The event aims to further upscale and mainstream the applications of renewable energy resources, showcase product launches, innovations and augment the forethought through the international exhibitions and conference platform, a release from UBM India said.
In its 11th edition, REI will see active participation from countries such as Japan, Germany, France, Poland, USA, Korea, China and Taiwan amongst host of other countries. It is supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), NEDO Japan, Indo German Energy Forum ( IGEF ), Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Mercom Capital to name a few.
Jakson commissions rooftop solar plant for IT ministry
- Aug 4, 2017
A 200-kw rooftop solar plant commissioned on Electronics Niketan Building in New Delhi was recently inaugurated at the hands of Union Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad. Installed and commissioned by Jakson Group, this rooftop solar plant will help generate up to 3,00,000 kwh of electricity every year and reduce emissions by 216000 kilograms per year, a release from Jakson Group said.
Electronics Niketan Building houses the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology, an autonomous scientific society under the administrative control of the Union ministry of electronics and information technology.
As part of the project, Jakson, installed 669 solar modules of 310 watt manufactured at its state-of-the-art solar module manufacturing plant in Greater Noida. In addition to turnkey engineering, procurement and construction services for the project. Jakson will also provide annual operations and maintenance service to the plant for 25 years, the release said.
The project was executed under Solar Energy Corporation of India’s RESCO scheme. Under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.
RESCO model
Under the RESCO (or OPEX) model, the consumer installs a solar power plant without any upfront investment. The RESCO makes the entire capital investment to install and commission the plant. The RESCO then sells electricity generated from the solar plant to the consumer, at mutually-negotiated rates and under a long-term power purchase agreement. The RESCO recovers its investment and makes profit from the electricity sold to the consumer. The consumer, in turn, profits from displacing at least some proportion of expensive grid power by cheaper solar power.
Indian Railways adopt solar rooftop system for diesel-run train
- Jul 15, 2017
Jakson Group, in a release, said that it has become the first company in India to successfully commission a solar rooftop system with battery storage on diesel-run train. The 1600HP Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) coach of Indian Railways, which was equipped with solar-powered hotel load system installed by Jakson Engineers Ltd, was flagged off by Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, on July 14, 2017, from the Safdarjung Railway Station in Delhi.
The project will help offset carbon emissions by 9 tonnes per coach per year and also save about 21,000 litres of diesel for a solar-powered DEMU with six trailer coaches, thereby bringing cost saving of Rs.12 lakh every year. This is the first instance of a diesel-run passenger train fitted with solar rooftop system with battery backup. The system is capable of developing up to 20 kWh per day throughout the year. Surplus power generated during peak hours will be stored in a 120AH battery system. It will help in generating useful data for research for adapting the system for future rollout on all trains of Indian Railways. The solar system has been fitted with anti-theft mechanism which can withstand trains running with a speed of more than 100 kmph, the release said.
Jakson was awarded this project by the Indian Railways Organization for Alternate Fuels (IROAF), a unit of Indian Railways that works to promote bio-diesels and other environmentally benign alternative fuels for India’s rail network. As part of the pilot, a single coach was retrofitted with 16 solar panels, each producing 300 watts in ideal sunny conditions, generating a cumulative power of 4.8 kilowatts for each coach. The generated power will be used to power lights and fans inside the coaches for use by the passengers. This single solar PV project will help Indian Railways reduce carbon dioxide emissions of 300 tonnes and save 95,000 litres of diesel per rake annually.
Solar potential for Railways
The project, once adopted on a large scale, is expected to open up the gates for adoption of solar energy by Indian Railways, which is one of the largest railways networks in the world. As per estimates, a train using solar power can reduce diesel consumption by up to 90,000 litres per year and also bring down carbon dioxide emissions by over 200 tonnes. The Indian Railways consists of more than 50,000 DEMU passenger coaches. If all these coaches convert to solar energy, it could prove to be a big success for the solar industry.
According to its Vision 2020 document, the Indian Railways plans to meet 10 per cent of its energy needs from solar and outlined plans to set up 1,000 mw of solar capacity in the country. The Railways is aiming to save Rs 41,000 crore in the next 10 years on energy bill by switching to alternate fuels such as solar.
India gets its largest vertical solar farm
- Jun 1, 2017
Tata Power Solar Ltd and Dell International Services India Pvt Ltd. have together built India’s largest vertical solar farm of 120 kW. The first of its kind, a 45m structure built on Dell’s Bengaluru campus provides the dual benefit of producing sustainable green energy and insulation of the building, thus helping reduce power consumption, a release from Tata Power Solar said.
The south-facing vertical solar farm was a very complex project as it needed to be integrated on the façade of the building without compromising on the aesthetics. The project is a foray for Tata Power Solar into vertical solar structures which have the potential to transform urban energy management, utilizing a fraction of the real estate which is at a premium in cities.
The solar farm, envisaged by Dell, produces enough energy to light-up its entire cafeteria and basement parking. While this significantly reduces the energy consumption of Dell, the panels itself act as solar insulation by blocking the south sun and thus reducing the power consumption of the air conditioning, the release noted.
Intricacies: The project, due to its unique design, needed significant innovation and customization of the structures, load bearing characteristics and anchorage. To integrate the 480 modules, manufactured by Tata Power Solar, a specially-designed, complex scaffolding was built. Safety was of utmost importance as the entire project was on a 11-storeyed building wall. For optimized plant performance, the vertical structure was designed with a 30 degree moving tilt to better enable maintenance.