solar rural electrification

Location- Jurala Hydro Electric Scheme, Mahaboobnagar District 9. Name of the project proponent- M/s Kishore Electro Infra Pvt. Ltd, Hyd Capacity- 1000 KWp Location- Perecherla Village, Guntur Rural, Guntur District 10. Name of the project proponent- M/s Solar Semiconductor Pvt. Ltd, Hyd Capacity- 750 kWp Location- Plot No.6, Survey No.114/P, Srinagar Village, Maheshwaram Mandal, Rangareddy District 11. Name of the project proponent- M/s Ramakrishna Industries, Hyd Capacity- 1000 KWp Location- Kishen Nagar Village, Shad Nagar Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District Total number of villages in Andhra Pradesh: 28,123 Total number of inhabited villages: 26,613 Total Number of uninhabited villages: 1,510 TELANGANA NTPC Limited chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury on Tuesday met chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to get their support for the two 4,000-Mw projects it intends to set up in the respective states. Soon after Choudhury’s meeting with Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao, the chief minister’s office stated the company chairman had agreed to set up a 4,000-Mw power plant adjacent to its existing power station in the power-starved Telangana on a priority basis. “The chairman of NTPC said that the project work will commence immediately and the first unit will be completed within 39 months,” the chief minister’s office said in a statement. In return, the government has promised NTPC it would provide whatever extent of land required to establish the project. The chief minister also gave a commitment that his government would take up the coal linkage issue with the Government of India. During bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the then UPA government had assured the people of Telangana it would ask the NTPC to set up a 4,000-Mw plant to help the region overcome the deficit situation in the power sector. The Telangana Government has zeroed in on the backward district of Mahbubnagar to set up an integrated 1,000 mw solar power generation park. The project will to be taken up by Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation in partnership with Solar Energy Corporation of India. The SECI has given in-principle approval for the park, K. Pradeep Chandra, Principal Chief Secretary, Industries, Government of Telangana, said.

Speaking on the sidelines of CII PaperTech conference, he said that typically one MW requires an investment of about Rs 6 crore. The developers of projects will bring in these investments. The Government role will be limited to facilitation and creation of necessary support infrastructure. Pradeep Chandra said that the Government is also in the process of encouraging companies engaged in renewable energy sector, green technologies and waste management to set up their projects in the State as a cluster. Earlier, during the year Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited had announced its decision to set up a mega solar park in the State and five more such parks in other parts of the country. Rays Power Infra has announced the commissioning of a 10 MW solar plant at Midjil in Mahbubnagar district (of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh), which is now a part of Telangana State. The project has been set up at an investment of

installed capacity. It also has the largest number of accredited and registered RE projects. But in terms of Solar Power, TN has an installed grid-interactive capacity of 15 MW, a mere 1.5% of the nation’s 1044 MW. This state is one of the most highly suited places in the country for solar projects with a reasonably high insolation of 5.6-6 kW-h/sq. m and 300 clear sunny days in a year. Although still more expensive than other REs, Solar Energy is quoted as the best viable solution to ensure long term energy sustainability due to its natural advantages of abundance, permanence, clean power, generation at point of consumption, reduced T&D losses, and zero fuel cost. In TN’s context, Solar has advantages over Wind Power as a more evenly distributed resource with easy scalability (in the case of Solar PV) and availability during day time at peak demand. There are certain other benefits such as storage of heat energy in Solar Thermal Power Generation, which is not only the cheapest form of energy storage but also enables power generation even when the sun is not shining. So for TN, Solar Power will make a much firmer complement to Wind Energy. Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), a state government entity established in 1985, deals with renewable energy related projects. The state has taken initiatives for implementing both grid-connected and off-grid applications of the technology. It is the nodal agency for the promotion of renewable energy and energy conservation in the state, under the overall administrative control of the Energy Department. The objective behind the establishment of TEDA was as follows: ∑ To promote the use of new and renewable sources of energy and to implement projects there of ∑ To promote energy conservation activities ∑ To encourage research and development on renewable sources of energy The TEDA is actively engaged in: ∑ Identification and potential estimation of renewable energy in the state ∑ Creating awareness on the potential and prospects for use of renewable energy ∑ Enhancing contribution of renewable energy in the overall energy mix in the state grid RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIAL OF TAMIL NADU RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIAL Wind Energy 5374/14497 Solar Energy 4.5 – 6 kWh/m2/day Small Hydro 660 Co- generation 450 Biomass 1070 Notes: Wind energy 5374 MW at 50m height and 14497 MW at 80m height. POLICIES Policies encourage/mandate that utilities buy renewable energy based power, promote companies that are interested in setting up renewable energy projects, support equipment companies that manufacture renewable energy equipment, and incentivize private and government entities to

undertake R&D related to renewable energy through largely financial, fiscal incentives or special directives in India. Policy initiatives encourage domestic private as well as foreign direct investments with a provision of fiscal and financial incentives such as tax holidays, accelerated depreciation, and duty rebates. While policy measures at the center are administered through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), state governments make available infrastructural facilities for wheeling of power and buying power from renewable units. Some of the fiscal incentives provided by the central government for solar and wind power is listed in Table below. TECHNOLOGY POLICY FRAMEWORK KEY INCENTIVES WIND POWER • Fiscal and financial • Concessional import duty incentives on specified wind turbine parts • Wheeling, banking, third party sale, buy-back facility • 80% accelerated by states depreciation • Capital subsidies and • Customs and excise duty sales tax incentives in relief certain states • Loans through Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) • Tax holiday for power generation project SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS • No specific conditions • Ministry of New and for JV formation 100% EOU Renewable Energy (MNRE) to set up a manufacturing financial incentives for solar plant PV grid connected power projects • Technology transfer for manufacture of silicon solar • IREDA financial package cells and PV systems for solar photovoltaic (power generation systems) • MNRE financial incentives for solar photo voltaic systems Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, New Delhi  SOLAR POWERED GREEN HOUSE SCHEME Govt of Tamil Nadu has launched Solar powered Green House Scheme. Under this scheme 3 lakh houses will be constructed with solar powered lighting systems over a period of 5 years from 2011-12 to 2015-16 for the benefit of poor in rural areas.

For the year 2011-12, 60,000 Houses have been taken up and solar powers lighting systems are provided at an estimated cost of Rs.180 Cr. Out of 180 Cr the eligible subsidy from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, GOI will be approximately Rs.42.6 Cr For the year 2012-13 , 60,000 Houses have been takenup and are being provided with 49650 CFL based , 10,350 LED based solar power lighting system at an estimated cost of Rs 180 Cr. With approximately Rs 39.42 Cr subsidy from MNRE . The solar lighting system consists of 5 nos CFLs/ LEDsone each in Living room, Bed room, Kitchen, Toilet & Verandah. These CFLs/ LEDs can be operated for 5 hrs a day. The solar home lighting system is with grid backup and has following innovative features: 1. Smart power conditioning unit to charge the battery from grid only in rainy or cloudy days when solar power is insufficient. 2. MNRE design of solar system is with 3 day autonomy. ie., even if it is raining for 3 days the system will work as the required energy for 3 days is generated by the panel & stored in the battery. Provision of grid back up avoids requirement of autonomy for more than a day. Hence additional capacity of battery and SPV panel required for more autonomy is reduced, resulting in huge capital saving. 3. Direct EB supply to lights in case of failure of Battery/Inverter 4. Comprehensive maintenance of the systems by the supplier for 5 years 5. Call Centre is established for addressing the grievance of beneficiaries. Energisation Of Street Lights Through Solar Power Govt of Tamil Nadu has decided to energise 1 lakh street lights in village panchayats through solar power over a period of 5 years upto 2016. For the year 2011-12, 20,000 street lights have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 50.5 Cr out of which Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, GOI provides the subsidy of Rs. 8.1Cr. For the year 2012-13, 20,000 street lights have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 50.5 Cr out of which Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, GOI provides the subsidy of Rs. 8.1Cr The street lights are energised through solar power in three categories. 1. Per year 18000 existing street lights with 40W incandescent bulbs or tube lights are replaced with 20W LED lights and powered in clusters from centralised Solar Photo Voltaic(SPV) power plants through the existing distribution line of TANGEDCO, with grid backup. 2. per year 1000 new LED based street lights are powered in clusters from centralised SPV power plants. 3. Per year 1000new LED based stand alone street lights are powered by SPV.

LED lights are used as its life is around 50,000 hrs, which is 5-8 times that of CFL and consumes only half of the energy consumed by CFL. This is first of its kind in the country, as the existing street lights so far powered from grid supply are now being powered with solar energy with provision for grid backup. ie., Battery charges from EB supply only during Cloudy/Rainy days. The solar street lighting system has following innovative features: 1. Remote monitoring unit is provided to monitor the performance of the street lighting systems from anywhere. A daily fault report will be generated & given to the installer for rectification within 48 Hrs. Tampering of Panel, battery & inverter housing is also monitored. 2. Automatic ON/OFF control of the lights from 6am to 6 pm 3. Automatic dimming of lights to one third during off peak hours. The LED lights glow with full brightness during the peak hours (Evening 6.00pm-10.00pm & Morning 5.00am - 6.00am) and one third of full brightness during remaining period. This reduces the capacity of SPV panel, Battery and other accessories resulting in huge reduction in investment, while going for large scale implementation. 4. Smart power conditioning unit to charge the battery from grid only in only during rainy or cloudy days when solar power is insufficient. 5. MNRE design of solar system is with 3 day autonomy. ie., even if it is raining for 3 days the system will work as the required energy for 3 days is generated by the panel & stored in the battery. Provision of grid back up avoids requirement of autonomy for more than a day. Hence additional capacity of battery and SPV panel required for more autonomy is reduced, resulting in huge capital saving. 6. Direct EB supply to lights in case of failure of Battery/Inverter 7. Comprehensive maintenance of the systems by the supplier for 5 years.  CHIEF MINISTER’S SOLAR ROOFTOP CAPITAL INCENTIVE SCHEME Under this scheme, the Tamil Nadu Government provides a capital subsidy of Rs. 20,000 per kilowatt for grid- connected domestic solar PV systems in addition to the 30% subsidy scheme* of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of the Government of India. For individual homes / flats, the solar system capacity shall be 1 kW. For the residential flats solar system capacity of 5 kW, 10 kW and multiples thereof can be applied for common usage as group application. The Chief Minister’s Solar Rooftop Capital Incentive Scheme applies to grid-connected solar PV systems. This capital subsidy scheme is for the Grid-tie system only. * limited to 30% of MNRE bench mark cost or 30% of the project cost , whichever is less  MISSION 2015:

TN plans to achieve generation of 3000 MW Solar Power by 2015 through Utility Scale projects, Rooftops, and under REC Mechanism, as summarized in the table below. Together, the three areas total to an addition of 1000 MW each year starting 2013. Utility Scale (MW) Solar Roof Tops (MW) REC (MW) Total (MW) Year (a) (b) (c) (a)+(b)+(c) 2013 750 100 150 1000 2014 550 125 325 1000 2015 200 125 675 1000 Total 1500 350 1150 3000 The government proposes various methods for funding and promoting this development. Utility scale with 1500 MW capacity is 50% of the total 2012-2015 phase target, of which 1000 MW is to be funded by SPO and the remaining 500 MW through Generation Based Incentive (GBI). Solar Rooftops, 350 MW or 11.7%, are promoted through GBI for all domestic consumers (Rs.2 per unit for first 2 years, Rs.1 per unit the next 2 years, and Rs.0.5 per unit for subsequent 2 years) with solar or solar-wind hybrid rooftops installed before 31 March 2014. However, it will be only rooftops with grid connection that can be metered for power credits. A capacity addition of 50 MW is estimated from this scheme. Rooftops are promoted in the government too: installing Solar Home Lighting in 300,000 houses under CMSPGHS, energizing 100,000 street lights, mandating new government/local body buildings with solar rooftops and retrofitting existing buildings and street lights in a phased manner. Solar Water Heating Systems are also mandated for designated residences and buildings as well as industries using water boilers/steam boilers operating with fossil fuels. REC Capacity and Solar Purchase Obligation (SPO): Unlike its neighbor Andhra Pradesh, which released its Solar Policy last month with incentives extending to REC based projects, Tamil Nadu seems to have chosen to go along with CERC rules. REC based projects, contributing to 38.3% of total target, have not been given any promotions/incentives. TN will mandate a 6% SPO (starting with 3% till Dec 2013 & 6% from Jan 2014) for HT consumers including SEZs, Industries with guaranteed 24/7 power supply, IT parks, Telecom Towers, Colleges, Residential Schools and buildings with built up area > 20,000 sq.m. The SPO excludes LT commercial sections like domestic consumers, cottage and tiny industries, power looms, huts, agriculture and LT industrial consumers. The obligated consumers have to fulfill their SPO by either generation of equivalent or more than SPO captive solar power or buying from other third party developers or buying RECs or purchasing power from TANGEDCO at Solar Tariff. This mechanism is expected to generate 1000 MW by 2015. Support for manufacturing facilities: The policy also makes place for promotion of integrated solar generation and manufacturing parks for the entire ecosystem of solar manufacturing – including wafer, cell and module making. Such an indigenous manufacturing (around 1000 MW/annum) will result in a substantial direct and indirect job creation in the supporting sectors. Plans to invite global leaders to invest in manufacturing facilities, if successful, will help bring in the R&D and technical knowledge necessary to make products of international standard, with longer life and better performance. With a strong commitment of the state government and rapidly declining Solar Power costs added to its geographical advantage, Tamil Nadu can have remarkable opportunities in the solar energy domain. A combination of high wind potential of the geography and conducive state policies put TN at top in India’s Wind Energy and we can hope to anticipate similar success on the solar energy front. The target of 3000 MW is nearly three times the current grid-interactive solar PV capacity in the nation (~ 1040 MW). It is highly laudable that the state shows its commitment to the solar mission by setting itself a target far beyond the JNNSM targets (~ 10,000 MW addition for the entire country during 2013-2017). If TN successfully implements this policy, the

Solar REC trading will also receive a huge boost with substantial increase in credit supply, which has been outstripped by demand so far. KARNATAKA The electricity business, for the most part, has been the monopoly of each State, including Karnataka. The Karnataka State Electricity Board and its allied organisations to a great extent are responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electric power within the state. Electricity is the largest component of energy cost in rural Karnataka. Since 2006, Karnataka’s power capacity [inclusive of government, private, southern grid] is more than 7,767 MW. Despite this, peak hour load shedding [9.8 per cent in 2005–2006] and the annual increase in power requirements are continuous. By 2016, conservative estimates forecast an increase of 7 per cent annually in power requirements. Karnataka does not have any known reserves of fossil fuels, which makes it uneconomical to depend only on coal power stations. Under Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy, Karnataka will have a target for achieving 126MW of solar power up to 2013-2014. The policy came in to effect from 1.06.2011 and shall remain in force up to 31.3.2016 or until any changes are made by the state government or by the KERC (Karnataka Electricity regulatory commission) whichever is earlier. It is proposed to install 200MW upto 2015-16 (in addition to the allotment under JNNSM), for the purpose of procurement by the Electricity Supply Companies. The annual capacity approved will be 40MW per year. The minimum capacity of single solar power generating unit shall be 5MW each and maximum unit shall be 10MW both in respect of solar PV and solar thermal. Mode of approval of projects will be decided by a committee. Captive power plants and those put up for sale of power to third party do not form part of the target of 200MW envisaged in the policy. In such cases the wheeling charges have to be paid at the rates determined by the KERC. Under the Renewable Energy Certificate mechanism, the solar energy generators can sell the electricity to the ESCOMS at the pooled cost of power purchase, as determined by the KERC and sell the renewable energy certificate to other obligated entities. Under this scheme, a capacity of 100MW can be installed in the state. The state reserves the right to directly allot any project to the central or Karnataka state owned undertaking for setting up solar projects in the state, for providing solar power bundled with thermal power from outside the state at the rates to be determined by the government subject to the approval of KERC. A maximum of 50MW solar power will be approved under this clause. If a project is approved under clause-3, the developer has to sign a PPA with ESCOM. The quantum of power that is to be procured by ESCOMS from solar resources will be 0.25% of the total consumption. In case of short fall in the procurement of solar energy by ESCOMS, it can be made good by purchase of solar specific renewable energy certificates. The solar power generator has to share CDM benefits with the ESCOM with whom PPA is signed, in the manner prescribed by the KERC. KREDL will be the nodal agency for facilitating and implementing this policy. Metering and evacuations shall be in compliance with the CEA Regulations 2006 as applicable from time to time and in compliance with the norms fixed by

KERC/CERC from time to time. The state will continue to implement JNNSM and all other schemes of the MNRE. To encourage more capacity addition of Solar Power, very recently the state of Karnataka has revised its existing Solar Policy and released the new policy to be known as “The Karnataka Solar Policy 2014- 2021” which proposes to install 2000 MW of solar power by 2021 in order to achieve the target of minimum 3% of solar energy out of total projected consumption. The new solar policy will be applicable for all utility scale solar projects, Grid connected rooftop solar projects and off grid projects within the state. 201 201 201 201 201 201 202 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 0 – Year 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 % of solar on total consumptio n of energy 1.5 1.75 2.0 2.25 2.5 2.75 3.0 The above targets under revised Karnataka Solar Policy would be achieved under various segments : Segments Grid Connected Projects Rooftop solar PV Proposed Targets : 1600 MW by 2021 Proposed Target : 400 MW by 2018 Sale of Power to ESCOMs, 3 party sale, Captive Grid Connected & Off Grid Solar rd consumption Projects The proposed capacities to be allotted under various segments & categories are :



Also with the announcement of the revised solar policy in Karnataka, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. (KREDL) has issued the RFP for allocation of 500 MW of Solar Projects through the competitive bidding for which the last bid due date is August 20, 2014. Some Recent Updates on Solar Arena in India :  JNNSM Phase 2 Batch 2 Projects : The upcoming Phase 2 Batch 2 Solar Projects under the JNNSM are anticipated to be announced in August / September 2014.  There are chances that the JNNSM Phase 2 Batch 2 allocation of approx. 1500 MW may revert to the mechanism of “bundling of power” which was there in the Phase 1 of the JNNSM & the entire bidding of JNNSM Phase II Batch 2 to be handled by NVVN (NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam), the power trading arm of power generation National Thermal Power Corporation Limited ( NTPC) which handled the Phase I solar projects.  Anti-Dumping Duties : Also there are clouds of uncertainty looming over the applicability of Anti- Dumping Duty on imported Solar Cells and panels as the power ministry has requested commerce ministry and finance ministry to reconsider imposing the anti-dumping duties.  Solar Manufacturing Capacities : The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has recently released data on Solar Cells and PV Module manufacturers in India & Tentative domestic manufacturing capacity of Solar Cells and Modules in India. KERALA Overview As per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the anticipated power requirement for the year 2012- 13 was 19,865 Million Units (MUs) or Million kWh, whereas the availability was anticipated at 16,876 MUs, which translates to an annual deficit of about 15%. The anticipated month wise breakup as estimated by CEA is given below

The total installed capacity in Andhra Pradesh is given below. The breakup of renewable energy capacity is given below.

(Source: SLDC, January 2013) Solar Projects in Kerala There are no utility scale grid connected solar projects in Kerala (as of 31 March 2013). The state however has taken positive steps in promoting solar in the state. The details are • 10,000 Solar Rooftop Power Plants Programme The Programme was launched on 11-Feb-2013 at Thiruvananthapuram by Hon'ble Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah. How to Install? i) Register with ANERT and obtain Registration number. ii) Select an Agency from the list of empanelled agencies. Installation is sanctioned for all beneficiaries registered and having registration number. Beneficiary having registration number up to 10000 has to complete the pre-installation and submit the report to ANERT district office at the latest by 25th October 2013 . (with the help of the selected agency),. The agency has to complete the installation within 45 days from the date of work order. Further delay in placing work order will not be allowed. Websites of State Policy makers and Regulators Policy Maker - Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) ANERT is the Nodal Agency for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources(MNRE), Govt. of India, to carry out the Central Programmes in Kerala. Regulator - Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission(KSERC) Utilities Kerala State Electricity Board(KSEB) - KSEB takes care of all power generation, transmission and distribution in the state. KSEB received a rating of B+ in the rating of utilities in 2013 by the Ministry of Power

SOURCES Sources:  http://www.solarenergy.gen.in/solar-energy-companies-india/  http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/a-solar-push-for-rural- india/article3254772.ece  http://nepcindia.co.in/  http://electronicsb2b.com/top-electronic-companies/top-15-solar-module-manufacturers/  http://www.tatapowersolar.com  http://www.kotakurja.com  http://www.xlenergy.co  http://www.moserbaersolar.com  http://www.webelsolar.com/news/press_release.html  http://www.emmveesolar.com/company/company-profile  S L Agarwal, Managing director in WEBEL SOLAR (2009)- Interview in Electrical Monitor and Energetica India  http://www.titan-energy.com/aboutus.html  http://www.photonsolar.in  http://www.suranaventures.com/index.php?pressrelease  http://www.celindia.co.in/Future_Endeavors.asp  http://www.solarsemiconductor.com/asia/index.html  http://www.waaree.com/MediaCoverageDetails.aspx?MediaCOvID=36  http://www.mahindra.com/What-We-Do/Energy/Companies/Mahindra-EPC  http://www.chemtrolssolar.com/financing.html  http://www.cloversolar.com  http://www.indosolar.co.in/news.html  http://www.lancogroup.com/DynTestform.aspx?pageid=83

 http://www.relsolar.com/index.html  http://www.solarsis.in/services_offgridsystems.shtml  http://mitramax.com  http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/A_Series/Number_of_Vill age.htm  http://www.nedcap.gov.in/Organization_Chat.aspx  http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/telangana-to-develop-a-1000-mw-solar- park/article6133339.ece  http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/rays-power-sets-up-10-mw-solar-plant-in- telangana/article6117068.ece  http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/new-energy/new-energy-technologies-inc-and- national-renewable-energy-laboratory-create-improved-process-for-technology-capable-of- generating-electricity-on-see-through-glass  http://www.anert.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=2%3Arenewabl eenergy&id=145&Itemid=47  http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140617/nation-current-affairs/article/solar-panel- industries-ap-telangana-lie-dumps  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/renewable-energy-recap- tunisia  http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2788&ArticleID=10851&l=en  http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2011/04/06/solar-systems-for-400000-rural- households-china  http://www.ceibs.edu/bmt/images/20110221/30210.pdf  http://efficientcarbon.com/blog/tamil-nadu-solar-energy-policy  http://www.teda.in/site/index/id/8V8D7T2N1K  http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/amendmends-benchmarkcost-aa-jnnsm-2013- 14.pdf  http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/amendment_jnnsm_28052013.pdf  http://www.livemint.com/Industry/V5kEUQIngtFNlNNbKSEJRL/Setback-to-Tamil-Nadus- solar-policy-as-electricity-tribunal.html  http://www.teda.in/pdf/tamilnadu_solar_energy_policy_2012.pdf