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Volume 3 Issue 10 August 2013 Hyderabad Your guide to Renewable Energy

ENERGY NEXT
BALANCING
ECONOMY & ECOLOGY
AUGUST 2013

Environmentalists’ criticism over development of hydropower projects

in Uttarakhand following the savage floods has triggered a debate on
whether there’s a need to chart a fresh course
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 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10 August 2013

In this Issue w w w . e n e r g y n e x t . i n

Balancing economy Cover Story

12 Editor-in-Chief Debashish Majumdar

& ecology Publications Director R Ramprasad

Associate Editor Rosy Mishra

Associate Editor Sapna Gopal

Environmentalists’ Assistant Editor Upendra Singh

criticism over
Assistant Editor Sayantani De
development
of hydropower Sr Designer Mahesh M
projects in
Head – Business & Events Anupam Daftuar
Uttarakhand
following the Marketing Manager Abhinav Dutta
savage floods has
Manager – Research Anup Kumar
triggered a debate
on whether there’s
a need to chart a
For the latest Renewable Energy news,
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18 28 42
In Conversation Global Voice
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 In this Issue

36 Energy Efficiency Microgrids

41
Bringing power to people
Facilitator for transition to RE
Smart grid presents a unique possibility for a
cost-effective shift to a more
sustainable energy future A look at how
the use of
microgrids
have helped
accelerate
development
in the rural
areas of states
like Uttar
Pradesh and
Bihar

44 Energy Talk
Anil Raj
CEO of OMC Power, Anil Raj,
talks about installing micropower
plants and how it has helped
alter the lives of many

60 RE Installations in India

Setting a benchmark
IREDA Corner
61
Garnering funds for RE projects was undoubtedly
difficult in the past, but IREDA’s credibility has
Wind changed that forever
continues
its reign
Despite all the
difficulties the
sector has been
facing, wind
remains the
dominant source
of renewable
power in the
country
 From the Editor-in-Chief

Renewables – undoubtedly the smarter choice

The world’s energy appetite is growing rapidly — no two ways about it, but the good news is that the scale and pace of
efforts to shift to sustainable sources of energy is also growing. Today, renewables are the fastest growing power source.
The latest projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA) say global electricity generation from wind, solar, hydro
and other forms of renewable power will exceed that from natural gas by 2016, and should be double that provided by
nuclear plants.
The increased use of energy from renewable sources has, however, led to an increasingly intensive debate in the scientific
community and in the media over its pros and cons. Even though the need for this transition is pressing — given fossil fuel
scarcity and rising price, growing concern over energy security and the irrefutable evidence of the negative environmental
effects of conventional power production, it has not prevented naysayers from jumping the gun on the efficacy of
renewable energy (RE) sources and technologies.
A few years ago, farmers in the state of Maharashtra squarely
put the blame of lower than normal rainfall in the region on the
increased installation of wind turbines which were purportedly
blowing rain clouds away. Similarly, after the recent devastating
floods in the north Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, came
the deluge of criticism over the small and large hydro power plants
dotting its soft-soiled mountains. The critics wasted no time in
blaming these projects for increased disaster impact.
Such claims are usually not based on concrete scientific
knowledge or supported by long-standing evidence. That isn’t
surprising either, as renewable energy technologies (RETs), like
all other technologies through the ages, have to deal with their
fair share of scepticism. Yet it is a fact that these hypotheses
and beliefs cannot be completely debunked. “Although most
renewable energy technologies are environmentally sound in theory, all of them can have negative impacts on the
environment if poorly planned,” says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
A practical way to appreciate the merits of RE sources is to consider some of the drawbacks of using fossil fuels and
nuclear power that dominate today’s world energy scene. Coal is economical and plentiful but on burning produces
pollutants only partly manageable, while CO2 emissions can be significantly restricted only with more efficient
technologies. Chances of reviving the nuclear option also looks remote as scientific opinion remains divided about safety
aspects related to disposal of nuclear waste.
“In all of these respects, renewables are attractive. Typically, though not invariably, their use produces far less environmental
damage than conventional energy. Burning of biomass such as fuelwood does result in some air pollution. At some
locations, wind farm opponents cite danger to wildlife and aesthetic affronts. But these environmental concerns pale in
comparison with those associated with conventional fossil fuels,” says the RFF, a Washington-based
independent research organisation.
Most environmental assessments have suggested that issues relating to the
impact of RETs can be easily minimised through appropriate measures. And some
countries have already taken steps in that direction. For example, the German
government funds research and development to assess and mitigate the impact
of offshore wind turbines on aquatic life and birds in the North and Baltic Seas.
Countries like Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands have also been monitoring
the potential environmental impact of such projects. In India too, a high-level
working group has recommended that all infrastructure development activities
including setting up of RE projects, especially wind and small hydro power, in
the ecologically sensitive area spread over the Western Ghats would require
careful scrutiny and assessment for cumulative impact and developmental
needs, before clearance.
While the environmental benefits of RE resources are significantly greater
than the flip side, it would be prudent to consider both in making an informed
choice between ‘green’, ‘not-so-green’ and ‘non-green’ alternatives.

Debashish Majumdar
Chairman & Managing Director, IREDA
 news
Energiser Wind now cost competitive with coal-based systems
Germany will Wind energy in India has
give a loan of reached cost competitiveness
around 900 with new-build coal-based
million Euros power plants. In fact, it has
to India to help been able to attain parity
improve energy with coal power due to
efficiency and increasing stress on coal
connection reserves, which are becoming
of renewable scarcer by the day.
energy sources According to a recent
to the grid, report- ‘Good Bye Winter,
among others, Hello Spring’- the growing
Ambassador cost-competitiveness of
Michael renewable energy, especially
Steiner said. wind power, with new-build
coal power plants is helping
drive the renewable energy
industry in India.
The share of wind energy in
India’s renewable energy mix
is highest with an installed
capacity of over 1.9 GW. Its
growing share coupled with
the scarcity and rising prices
Lack of subsidy disbursal hits rooftop solar
Even as rooftop solar
systems are being promoted,
concerns have been raised
that the subsidy provided by
the government and assumed
to be the key factor driving
its adoption, is running dry
and therefore hampering
installations.
Several solar companies in
the south, like those in Tamil
Nadu, have expressed their
discontent over the disbursal
of subsidies promised by
the government under the
National Solar Policy. They
state that the subsidies are
04 | Energy Next | August 2013
of coal has resulted in it
being considered on par with
the cost of new-build coal
power plants.
Wind energy has grown with
the help of a favourable feed-
in tariff providing a financial
incentive that promotes
its adoption. The FiT for
wind energy in particular is
approximately 15 per cent
lower than the tariff of coal.
By 2020, India hopes to meet
around 9 per cent of its
electrical demand through
renewable energy.
In order to meets its power
demands, India has begun to
shift its focus on harnessing
power from renewable
sources of energy. The
country has been working to
incorporate more renewable
energy over the past few
not provided on time, and
of late, even the applications
for subsidies are not being
accepted. As a result, the
adoption of rooftop solar
systems is being affected
since companies are holding
back projects until subsidies
come through.
Though the cost of setting
up residential solar rooftop
systems is gradually lowering,
installations are still unviable
without government support.
The Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE) has
a subsidy of 30 per cent on
years to break away from its
dependence on fossil fuels,
and in that endeavour, wind
energy has become one of the
most sought after sources of
clean power.
the project cost for a
1 kW rooftop system.
However, the MNRE orders
say that unless subsidies
are cleared, the companies
cannot go ahead with
the installations. Hence,
it becomes extremely
problematic to execute the
orders which are under the
subsidy scheme.
Manu Karan, head of the
Rooftop Solar business for
SunEdison, said, “Our last
application was accepted in
February and all applications
sent after that are awaiting
clearance – we have about
1.7 MW of projects which are
awaiting clearance.”
Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary,
MNRE, informed that the
ministry had stopped the
sanctions for a short period of
time and there was a routine
delay. He assured that the
ministry was trying to see how
to cater to the demand which
has almost doubled this year.

India’s largest CSP project registered for CDM
The country’s largest solar
project has been approved
for the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) by the
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC). A 100-MW
concentrated solar power
(CSP) project being set up in
Rajasthan has been registered
for the CDM- an emission
trading scheme of UNFCCC.
The project is being developed
by Reliance Power and despite
delays in construction, it is on
its way to completion. Once
done, it will be a milestone
achievement for the Indian
solar industry, especially the
CSP segment. The project was
allotted under Phase 1 of the
Jawaharlal Nehru National
Solar Mission (JNNSM).
In all, seven projects of CSP
with a cumulative capacity of
470 MW were awarded under
Phase 1, out of which 320
MW projects were delayed
Rooftop solar ideal for Delhi, says report
By installing solar panels on
1.6 per cent of the city’s roof
space, Delhi could potentially
generate 2 GW of electricity
from solar energy by 2020, a
recent report by Greenpeace
India revealed.
Titled ‘Rooftop Revolution:
Unleashing Delhi’s Solar
Potential’, the report, in
collaboration with Bridge
to India, charts a green and
viable path for Delhi to move
towards energy security.
The report says that by
achieving the 2-GW potential,
the national capital can
generate 4,500 million
kilowatt hours of solar
power annually, meeting
16 per cent of its electricity
needs. Further, if solar panels
were to be installed
in Delhi’s territory (1,483 km),
a whopping amount of
solar power could be
forcing the MNRE to extend the
deadline by another year.
According to experts, this
could be the last major
CSP project in India as the
technology requires huge
capital investment. Also,
the interest in CSP projects
appears to be reducing
across the world – Desertec’s
uncertain future being the
most high profile casualty of
this fading interest.
generated, which would
account for more than 20 times
national
Energiser
Chandigarh
is planning to
build a solar
park on the
lines of
the Narmada
canal solar
power plant
in Gujarat.
Madhavan Nampoothiri,
founder and director of
RESolve Energy Consultants,
said project developers in
India are losing interest in
CSP projects and no new
projects have been announced
for Phase II. “Despite its
advantages of energy storage
and smooth generation of
power, CSP is slowly losing
its prominence in the solar
sector,” Madhavan added.
the city’s expected
peak power demand of
6 GW for 2013.
Commenting over the
potential of solar power in
Delhi, Dr Tobias Engelmeir,
managing director of Bridge
to India and author of the
report, said, “It may sound
bold when compared to
the reality of existing solar
installation in leading cities
such as Berlin (98 MW), New
York (14 MW) or San Francisco
(23 MW) or the overall
achievement of 1.5 GW
in India as a whole
until mid-2013.”
Anand Prabhu Pathanjali,
energy campaigner,
Greenpeace India, said that
the report was a vision to
realise the city as a green
capital powered by clean
and sustainable sources of
energy like solar.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 05
 news
Energiser Kolkata-based RE college to provide designs to S America
Greenko Group The Kolkata-based Arka
Plc, an Indian Ignou Community College of
clean-energy Renewable Energy has been
selected for providing technical
developer,
guidance to Latin American
plans to invest
countries such as Peru and
$463 million
Mexico to help implement rural
this fiscal year
sanitation schemes with the aid
in onshore
of renewable energy.
wind and
hydro power It will be based on the model
plants as used in Sunderbans and
it targets developed by solar expert S
P Gon Chaudhuri, who also
1,000 MW
established Arka, the first
of capacity
by 2015. college on renewable energy
in India. Chaudhuri, also the
chairman of Arka college, was
recently in Bogota, Colombia,
to attend an international
conference where primary
discussions were held to
devise strategies which will
help develop renewable energy
in Latin American countries.
India likely to expand anti-dumping ambit
India may extend the ambit
of anti-dumping provisions
on solar cells imported from
Europe and Japan, according
to industry insiders. The
first hearing of India’s solar
photovoltaic (PV) anti-dumping
case was held on July 18, 2013
in New Delhi where the three
Indian petitioners
demanded expanding the
scope of investigation.
Indosolar, Websol Energy and
Jupiter Solar have reportedly
filed a fresh petition seeking
to expand the scope of these
06 | Energy Next | August 2013
Consequently, the governments
of Peru and Mexico approached
him for technical guidance to
develop sanitation schemes
in rural areas.
On the collaboration, Gon
Chaudhuri said that the Arka
College would prepare the
designs of the schemes as per
the requirements put forth by
the two governments. Most
S P Gon Chaudhuri
investigations to Japan and
Europe. Earlier, the original
petition was filed last year
by the Indian manufacturers
seeking anti-dumping duties
on import of solar PV cells and
modules from the US, China,
Taiwan and Malaysia.
The petitioners alleged that
companies from China, the
US, Taiwan and Malaysia
sold solar products below
the market price in India and
this was impacting domestic
manufacturers. Assessing the
damage caused to the industry
probably, the designs will be
based on the tried and tested
Sunderbans model.
Gon Chaudhuri revealed that
a rural sanitation scheme has
been introduced in a private
hospital in Sunderbans where
toilets are being operated by
micro-level solar pumps. The
system involves installation
of solar panels and a smart
controller, which will generate
power to meet the requirements
of the facility. It will be
inaugurated in October 2013.
The Arka IGNOU community
college which has been
operational since January 2012,
has been training students
on various renewable energy
technologies. Additionally,
it also conducts research on
developing solar and renewable
energy technologies.
as twice the cost of imports
from January 2011 to June
2012, they are asking the
government for retroactive and
current duties, besides tariffs
on thin-film solar modules.
The Directorate General of
Antidumping and Allied
Duties (DGAD), initiated an
investigation in November
2012 to determine the
existence, degree and effect
of any alleged dumping. It is
said that the investigations
by DGAD have found enough
prima facie evidence to suggest
that dumped imports are
hurting the domestic industry.
On the other hand, the
Solar Independent Power
Producers Association (SIPPA)
has raised concern over the
solar power development in
the country in wake of anti-
dumping. Members of SIPPA
say that the cost of materials
used in their projects may
go northwards in case the
allegations are upheld.

BHEL to develop two solar plants for NTPC
State-run Bharat Heavy
Electricals Limited (BHEL)
has bagged two contracts
from National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) for
executing two solar power
projects. The projects
will be located at Talcher
in Odisha and Unchahar
in Uttar Pradesh.
The orders are valued at `132
crore and have been placed by
NTPC for setting up the two
solar plants with a capacity
of 10 MW each. Both the
power plants will be based
on the solar photovoltaic (PV)
technology. BHEL’s scope
of work will be designing,
manufacturing, supplying,
installing and operations, as
well as maintenance of the
plants for the next one year.
NTPC is expanding its
renewable power portfolio to
broaden its power generation
mix of conventional sources
Gujarat declares new wind policy
To expedite and encourage
development of wind power
generation activities, the
Gujarat government has
approved a new Wind Energy
Policy. The existing Wind
Energy Policy expired in
March 2013.
With the state Cabinet giving
its nod to the 25-year policy,
the activities concerning
wind energy installations
will now get an impetus and
are likely to propel the state
towards attaining its
renewable energy goals.
In a bid to attract more
investment in the wind energy
sector, the new policy has
proposed exemption from
electricity duty to wind power
producers, besides captive
consumption of wind power
by the power producers,
provided they pay wheeling
and transmission charges.
Presently, Gujarat is seen as
with alternate energy. Prior to
these two plants, NTPC has
already commissioned two
solar power plants of 5 MW
each at Dadri and Port Blair.
On the other hand, BHEL is
among one of the leaders in
solar PV domain with MW-
size solar projects in various
states, besides solar PV
cell manufacturing facility.
The solar PV modules for
the two projects are being
a potential renewable energy
destination in the country.
A leader in solar power
installation, it is now in the
second spot, only behind
Tamil Nadu in wind power
installations. Of the total
19,000 MW in the country, the
current wind power capacity in
the state is around 3200 MW.
As per the policy, the
government proposes to
make use of the state’s huge
national
Energiser
An Indo-Swiss
joint project
on Building
Energy Efficiency
Project (BEEP) in
partnership with
BEE, will provide
guidelines for
builders and
contractors,
Swiss
Ambassador
Linus von
manufactured at BHEL’s Castelmur
Electronics Division in said.
Bangalore, using the
mono-crystalline silicon
technology which is well-
proven and has the longest
operational experience
across the world. BHEL has
already commenced supplies
to the projects, as the first
consignment of solar PV
modules has been sent
from its electronics
division in Bangalore.
coastline and the wasteland in
interior regions of Gujarat for
setting up new wind farms. The
wind power procurement price
has been pegged at `4.15 per
unit, which will be applicable
for the next 25 years. The
developers of the wind power
projects will be able to sell the
power to Gujarat Urja Vikas
Nigam Limited (GUVNL) or
to any other company
holding the license for
electricity distribution.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 07
 news
Energiser Google invests over $1 billion in RE
Ivanpah With an investment of
Valley of the over $1 billion, Google has
made its intentions clear, of
Mojave Desert,
being one among the global
California,
crusaders in the renewable
will be home
energy and sustainability.
to the largest Over the past few years, it
solar thermal has invested more than $1
energy plant billion for developing assets
in the world. to generate clean power
Designed by from renewable sources.
BrightSource
Energy, it uses The internet search
giant has shown a strong
over 170,000
inclination for green energy
mirrors to
in recent times and its
focus sunlight commitment has made it
onto boilers one of the most significant
positioned atop
players in the green energy
three towers.
business. Google has
primarily invested in wind
and solar projects and
the wholesale electricity
generated at these sites are
sold through its subsidiary,
Google Energy, authorised by
the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
According to Rick Needham,
Global solar PV market’s annual revenue to cross $134 bn by 2020
The year 2013 is expected to
see stability in the global solar
photovoltaic (PV) market after
years of oversupply of solar
modules resulting in fall of
prices that were often
termed as artificial, a new
report by Navigant Research
has revealed.
Titled ‘Solar PV Market
Forecasts’, the report analyses
the global solar PV market
08 | Energy Next | August 2013
Google’s director of energy and
sustainability, the company
has an ownership stake in over
2 GW of power generation
capacity, making it one of the
global leaders in the clean
energy business.
trend and provides solar PV
installed capacity and revenue
forecasts through 2020. It
predicts annual global revenue
from solar PV surpassing $134
billion by 2020.
According to Dexter Gauntlett,
research analyst with Navigant
Research, the solar PV industry
continues to be primarily
driven by cost reduction in
technology and government
Analysts and energy experts
have lauded the efforts
taken by Google, since it
is the only company other
than energy businesses and
financial institutions which
has taken large ownership
stakes in power projects
generating clean energy.
Michael Di Capua, head
of North America analysis
for Bloomberg New Energy
Finance, says that although
energy is not Google’s core
business, the investments
are paying off.
This transformation in
Google’s stance came in
the wake of harsh
criticism over its massive
consumption of fossil-
fuels and the level of carbon
emissions at its data centres.
Google responded positively
to the political and social
pressure to change its stance
on energy by shifting to
renewable sources.
incentives and targets. With an
installation of 438 GW of solar
PV cumulatively between 2013
and 2020, Dexter sees most of
the targets in installation and
cost reduction getting met or
exceeded. Solar PV, he adds, is
likely to be cost-competitive
with retail electricity prices in
most part of the world by the
end of 2020, that too in the
absence of subsidies.
The report states that several
emerging trends will shape
the trajectory of the global
solar PV market in the years
to come. In recent times, the
solar PV industry has gradually
moved to the Asia Pacific
region from Europe, even as
the market is moving towards
maturity and grid parity.
New markets have emerged
in China, India, Japan, South
Korea, Saudi Arabia, MENA
region and South Africa.

RE targets helping European biopower market
Despite economic
uncertainty, the biomass and
biogas power market in Europe
is likely to sustain, thanks to
the renewable energy target
set by the continent, according
to a new analysis by Frost &
Sullivan (F&S).
Europe has set a target of
producing 20 per cent of its
total power from renewable
sources by 2020. The new
analysis- Opportunities in the
Biomass and Biogas Power
Market in Europe- finds that
the market earned revenues
of €3.33 billion in 2012 and
estimates this to reach €3.77
billion in 2017. It, however,
says despite widening of
biomass and biogas installed
capacity, year-on-year revenue
growth is likely to decrease.
According to Ashay Abbhi,
F&S Energy and Environmental
Research Analyst, biopower
plants are increasingly
preferred as a source for
Wave power on concrete footing
In a bid to reduce the cost of
wave energy generators and
make them more efficient, a
team of researchers from the
Concrete Technology Unit at
the University of Dundee are
planning to work with Pelamis
Wave Power Ltd, one of the
world’s leading wave energy
companies.
To study the prospects, Prof
Rod Jones and Dr Moray
Newlands from the Concrete
Technology Unit have won
a £250,000 grant from the
Technology Strategy
Board’s Knowledge
Transfer Partnership
scheme to work with
Pelamis on the three-
year project.
The project will
consider the use of
concrete as a primary
material for the
energy developer’s
machines, the tubes
large-scale power generation
owing to their low capital
requirements. The popularity
of these plants over other
forms of renewable power
generation is further
enhanced by their efficiency,
longer operational times,
and reliability.
of which are currently made
from steel. Steel accounts for
almost half of the 1350-tonne
weight needed for optimal
submergence of the generator
and the rest is mostly made up
of sand ballast.
Professor Jones feels that
the incorporation of concrete
into wave energy devices
seems to be a commercially
and technically attractive
proposition. However, he
adds that the development
and testing of the concrete
international
Energiser
While advances in biomass
Rice University
and biogas power generation
will be vital to Europe nanotechnology
achieving its ambitious researchers
2020 target, deteriorating unveiled a
economic conditions in the solar-powered
continent have limited market sterilization
expansion. Countries have system, named
cut down or even stopped “solar steam”
subsidies for power
that uses nano-
generation from biomass materials to
and biogas, jeopardising the
convert around
prospects of plant owners.
The lack of steady raw 80 per cent of
material supply in the region solar energy
poses another challenge. The into germ
withdrawal of government killing heat.
incentive schemes further
dampens revenues.
Going forward, the Western
European biopower market,
which is dominated by
countries such as Germany
and the United Kingdom,
will slowly give way to
opportunities in the developing
Central and Eastern Europe
markets. Poland is expected to
be a hotspot in this region.
needs to be done. Jon Benzie,
Structural Engineer at Pelamis
Wave Power, states that the
use of concrete to manufacture
the tubes of Pelamis machines,
in conjunction with steel
fabrications, could significantly
reduce the cost of energy for
future wave farms.
Apart from being
environmentally friendly,
these concretes will be highly
durable against chemical
attack from seawater and other
forms of deterioration. The
work will also examine
the cost implications of
building in concrete as
well as the production
and manufacturing
processes required. The
concrete has additional
advantages such as
better catering for non-
circular tube shapes
which the researchers
are considering.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 09
 news
Energiser US photovoltaic capacity reaches 10 GW
Owing to several
Offshore wind incentives and
farms in the increased interest in
North Sea solar power, the United
could meet States has become the
European fourth country in the
Union world to reach 10 GW
electricity of solar photovoltaic
demand four (PV) installed capacity.
times over,
As per the North
a report by
America PV Market
the European
Quarterly report
Wind Energy published by NPD
Association Solarbuzz, the US
states. is now only behind
Germany, China and Italy
in solar PV installations.
The country has seen a
strong development in solar
installations since 2011 as a
result of several incentives
from the local and federal
governments apart from a
sharp decline in the
EIB adopts new guidelines for RE, energy efficiency projects
In a bid to reinforce support
for investment in renewable
energy, energy efficiency and
energy grids across Europe,
the European Investment
Bank (EIB) has adopted
new guidelines which were
approved at the Bank’s Board
meeting on July 23.
The Board gave its nod to the
new proposals with additional
clarifications on proposed
exemptions to the Emissions
Performance Standard. Over
the last ten months, the
bank has embarked upon
a comprehensive review to
ensure that it’s lending criteria
for energy reflects
EU energy and
climate policy,
besides current
investment trends.
Following the
review, the European
Investment Bank will
focus on financing
renewable energy,
energy efficiency,
energy networks
10 | Energy Next | August 2013
price of solar panels.
The solar market in the US
is approaching maturity and
experts estimate an installed
capacity of 17 GW by the end
of 2014. Despite a tremendous
growth in solar power
installations, not all regions
of the country have witnessed
and related research and
innovation. It is believed
that these areas will need
significant investment in the
ensuing years and need to be
complemented with technical
assistance for developing
projects in these sectors.
The new energy lending criteria
of EIB includes streamlined
guidelines for lending for
energy efficiency projects
to enhance co-financing of
national energy efficiency
programmes and creating a
supportive environment for
near-zero energy buildings.
According to Mihai Tanasescu,
this growth pattern. While
on the one hand California
houses about 40 per cent
of the country’s solar PV
capacity, on the other, the
Great Plains and the Great
Lakes are yet to have a go.
The report says that
with a growth rate of
approximately 50 per cent
since 2007, solar is one
of the most prosperous
source of energy in the
country, and even if
there is a sudden drop in
demand, the market is not
likely to witness a sudden
drop. This could be attributed
to the fact that solar PV
technology is still evolving
and researchers across the
world are continuously striving
towards making the technology
more efficient.
European Investment
Bank vice-president and
responsible for energy lending,
the adoption of the new
lending criteria represents
an important step in the
EIB’s commitment to energy
investment which supports
EU policy and reflects the
urgent investment challenges
currently facing the
energy sector.
Günther Oettinger, European
Commissioner for Energy,
said that in order to achieve
energy and climate targets and
maintaining a technological
lead, significant long-term
investment across
Europe was a necessity.
EIB, he added, was
a distinct player in
financing public
and private sector
investment in energy
infrastructure and
supporting projects
which contribute to
achieving EU energy
policy goals.

World Bank shifts focus towards RE
Keen on promoting
renewable energy and energy
efficiency, the World Bank has
decided to limit its support
for coal-fired plants. Being a
significant figure in financing
coal-based power projects over
the last two decades, it now
plans to support clean energy
technologies.
Recently, the World Bank
released “The Energy Sector
Directions Paper” which sets
a principles-based course for
the group’s work in the energy
sector focusing on expansion
of energy access
and sustainable energy.
Apart from aiming to
accelerate energy efficiency
and renewable energy, it also
intends to increase its support
for hydro projects. According
to a statement released by
China crosses 3GW utility-scale solar capacity
China has achieved another
landmark in promoting
renewable energy becoming
the first country to reach the
3GW utility-scale solar energy.
The Asian giant has surpassed
Germany, the solar power
leader till now, to become
the world leader in
installation of utility scale
solar power projects.
The country’s capacity rose
from 1.96 GW at the end of
2012 to 3.16 GW in July 2013.
This achievement represents
China’s aggressive interests
in solar energy and a strong
support structure for the
industry. Besides the utility-
scale power plants, homes
and businesses in the country
are making use of large
scale rooftop solar-power
production systems and
solar thermal water heaters
to reduce conventional
electricity usage.
As per data from project
tracker Wiki-Solar, the global
solar power industry witnessed
the Bank, it will ‘only in
rare circumstances’ provide
financial support for new coal
power generation projects.
The World Bank will emphasise
on improving the operational,
financial and institutional
environment for the sector to
help stimulate private sector
investment, besides consulting
a capacity addition of 3.75 GW
in the utility-scale segment in
the first half of 2013 and the
share of China accounted for
26 per cent with an installation
of 1 GW capacity. Globally,
the utility-scale solar power
capacity is close to 15 GW.
Strong growth in China’s
capacity is mostly due to
the support the government
has provided to domestic
developers and manufacturers
which mainly comes in the
form of funding, used to
develop technologies needed to
international
Energiser
with affected communities and
China and the
civil society organisation and
industry of the countries. EU are close
to agreeing on
The international financing a minimum
institution said that delivering price at which
reliable energy services for Chinese solar
economic development as well
panels must
as access to electricity and
be sold in
modern household energy
the EU as
services to the billions is
well as an
essential to reduce poverty.
annual quota
Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank for imports,
Group president, reiterated averting
the need for investing in punitive
affordable green power by duties on
saying that it will help in
Chinese solar
ending poverty and building
imports.
shared prosperity. The Bank,
he added, will scale up its
efforts to improve renewable
energy and energy efficiency
measures depending on the
needs and opportunities which
exist in respective countries.
harness solar power.
Manufacturers in China have
produced photovoltaic panels
at a rapid pace, inundating
the global market with cheap
products that have played
a role in reducing the costs
of solar energy. Such rapid
manufacturing caused some
tension in Europe – Germany
was considered the leading
country in the solar sector
before China’s feat – and these
have further caused trade
disputes between China and
several European countries.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 11
 Cover Story Small Hydro Power

Balancing
& ecology
Soon after the savage floods in Uttarakhand in June,
many environmentalists were quick to blame hydro power
projects in the state as the cause of the disaster. However,
several of them have been severely damaged in the same
floods and many are yet to begin operations. The small
hydro power sector, already reeling under several issues,
too, has been affected. Is it a love’s labour lost for the
sector? Sayantani De examines the views and arguments
that may shape the sector in days to come

12 | Energy Next | August 2013

 According to a section of environmentalists, the large hydro power
projects built on the upper reaches in Uttarakhand exert an abnormal
pressure on the local environment which eventually triggered such a
massive flood that killed more than 5000 people and as many were swept
away. They say that construction of dams affect the ecological balance
and disrupt the flow of water in the river. “This aggressive and unregulated
construction work has been playing ecological havoc for years. It is not
surprising that disaster finally struck. When you blast the mountainside and
destroy the forest in a steep valley prone to landslides caused by heavy
monsoon rains, what do you expect?” Debabrat Patra, ActionAid’s Regional
Manager for Uttarakhand, said in a statement released after the floods.
“SHP is being promoted by the government as ‘green energy’, but without
proper environmental regulations, they are causing major ecological
impacts in many places. We have documented this for Uttarakhand and
Karnataka. We have found that in many places deforestation is being
done to construct project facilities such as roads, power houses and
transmission lines. There is increased soil erosion, disruption of local fauna
and flora, disturbance of hill slopes. These plants leave long stretches of

economy
a river dry, and they affect fish and other aquatic populations adversely,”
Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General of Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) who is also the head of its industry and environment
programme, told Energy Next.
“Worst, we have documented that whatever little environmental
regulations are there, these plants completely disregard them. For
instance, in Uttarakhand much disposal is done in the most careless
manner. When floods come, these muck (which also contain rocks

W
hen tragedy struck the
temple town of Kedarnath
Photo: IREDA

in June this year, virtually

everything falling on the path of the
deluge, save the site of pilgrimage,
was either washed away or faced
substantial damage. As the
soul-searching began, unregulated
infrastructure development,
exponential increase in the number
of tourists, and lax administration
emerged as a few possible
contributors to the disaster that
is considered man-made, largely.
However, what also emerged was
a dilemma – that of identifying the
hydro power projects – while the
industry filed massive losses due to
the floods, conservationists marked
them as the rogue factor, facilitating
the tragedy.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 13
 Cover Story Small Hydro Power

and boulders) caused major firewood collection to cater (to) Kedarnath which, besides carrying
devastation; in many places, SHPs the needs of hoteliers/restaurants/ a lot of water and sediment, also
have exacerbated the impact of the dhabas, etc., during tourist seasons caused a breach in the Gandhi
floods,” Bhushan adds. are acting as catalysts for such Sarovar (Chorabori Tal) at an elevation
calamities.” The dam mentioned in of 3500 metre. The nearest hydro
A report by the GB Pant Institute
the report is part of a 10.8MW Phata power project is at an elevation of
of Himalayan Environment and
Byung hydro project being built by 1610 metre and thereafter at an
Development states that the
Lanco Infratech Ltd. elevation of 540 metre. The small
“construction of series of dams in
hydro power are run-of-the-river
large numbers (big and small) in While the same may be true for schemes with small catchment and
all the major river valley systems in the large hydro power projects in have nothing to do with the glacial,
ecologically fragile zone over last the area, the small hydro power atmospheric and landslide
10 years, followed by blasting and projects face the ill-effects of such activities,” he added.
other heavy tools machinery used for perceptions. “Blaming hydro power
tunnelling, etc., is equally responsible projects for the recent floods in According to reports emerging from
for burying villages/small townships/ Uttarakhand is a misconception and the flood-ravaged state, several
hotels, situated on the bank of rivers”. is a result of inadequate awareness hydro power projects have been
The report was sent to the Ministry and understanding of natural and affected by the disaster where the
of Environment and Forest (MoEF) man-made phenomena; some are loss is running into crores of rupees.
last month. It states that “dam being based on belief and not on scientific Among those hydro power projects
constructed over Mandakini (river) at reasoning,” Dr Arun Kumar, Chief that are washed away are Kaliganga-
Phata (Bunga Gad) and tunnelling” as Scientific Officer of Alternate Hydro II (6MW) and Madameshwar (15
the main reasons for submerging the Energy Centre, IIT-Roorkee, told this MW) in Rudraprayag district as well
Gaurikund and Sonprayag towns and magazine. as the 8-MW Sobla-I in Pithoragarh
added that “deforestation in upper district. Projects such as Pilangad
Kedar valley due to the construction “It appears that the floods were (2.25 MW) in Uttarkashi district,
and expansion of hydro power primarily a result of cloud burst and Badrinath-II (1.25 MW), Urgam (3 MW)
project, construction of roads and landslides in the glacial area above in Chamoli district, Kanchotti (2 MW),
Chirkilla (1.5 MW), Relagaad (3 MW) in
Pithoragarh district and Kaliganga-I
Uttaranchal - Tourism Stats (4 MW) in Rudraprayag district have
Infrastructure been badly damaged, mainly due to
silt accumulation and other
S.No. Items Year/ Period Number flooding-related problems.
1. Important Tourist Places 2006-2007 214 News reports quoting reliable sources
2. Developed Tourist Places 2006-2007 124 stated that Sobla-I hydro power
project has incurred the loss of
3. Tourist Rest Houses 2006-2007 174 nearly `13.5 crore, while Kaliganga-I
4. No. of Beds in T.R.H. 2006-2007 6764 and Kaliganga-II borne damages
amounting to `18 crore and Rs 16
5. Rain Baseras 2006-2007 32 crore respectively. Kanchotti project
6. No. of Beds in Raien Basera 2006-2007 1610 suffered the loss of `12 crore while
the worst-affected Kaliganga-I
7. No. of Hotels and completely washed away.
Paying Guest Houses 2006-2007 2312
As a means to prevent such
8. No. of Dharamshala 2006-2007 802 calamities in future, Bhushan says
Source : http://ua.nic.in that a few rules should be adhered to.
“We propose that any hydro project
Tourist Statistics with capacity greater than 1 MW
should go through the environmental
S. No. Items Year/ Period Number clearance process and if required an
1. In Tourist Places environmental impact assessment
(including Pilgrims) 2007 2,26,00,000 (EIA) study before its implementation.
A carrying capacity study over a
(i) Indian Tourist 2007 2,21,00,000 river basin should be executed for
(ii) Foreign Tourist 2007 1,06,000 all rivers before taking up new hydro
power projects. Besides, mandatory
2. In Important National Parks 2007 1,99,043 ecological flow norms for all hydro
(i) Indian Tourist 2007 18,3481 power projects, including SHP are
(ii) Foreign Tourist 2007 15,562 needed and the benefits of these
Source : http://ua.nic.in

14 | Energy Next | August 2013

 Why hydro power is not to be blamed
The tragedy in Uttarakhand originated from the
extraordinary rainfall of over 300mm that occurred on
the 16th and 17th of June in the catchment area and was
not contributed by hydro power projects. They have, in
fact, reduced the impact.
Historically, the Uttarakhand region has been witness
to several natural calamities. In 1970, Alaknanda river
swept away the entire stretch of 14 km road with more
than 40 buses lined up on the road in Belakuchi. The
entire town of the then district headquarter Chamoli and
Srinagar were washed away, and a new headquarter at
Gopeshwar was set up. The far-reaching effect of the
flood silted the Upper Ganga Canal up to Roorkee. A
similar incident took place in the Bhagirathi river in 1978.
There are other instances of landslides, cloudbursts,
floods and earthquakes, resulting in loss of life and
property.
The nature of the tragedy in Belakuchi in ‘70 and the recent
one in Kedarnath is similar and yet environmentalists are
blaming hydro power projects for what happened in
Kedarnath, which is very unfortunate. No hydro power
project was operating in Belakuchi during ‘70 and tourist
arrival was less than 10 lakh as against almost 250 lakh
arrival now. If hydro power projects were the cause
of the tragedy in Kedarnath, then the tragedy of 1970
would not have happened.
In the zeal of making hydro power a villain,
environmentalists talking to the media have been vying
with each other to put the entire blame on it, quoting the
figure of hydro power projects in Uttarakhand – under
operation and in developmental stage between 450 and
500. The fact is that as of today there are only 27 projects
with a capacity of more than 3 MW, and 22 others with
a capacity of less than 3 MW have been commissioned.
Out of the 27 projects, nine are not located in the hills.
Till date, a total of 83 projects have been allotted and
are under construction, including 27 small hydro power
projects.
The construction of tunnels has been made out to be a
monster that causes extensive damage to hills and makes
them hollow. The blasting done to create tunnels is not
through a bomb, but a small explosive that is capable
of tearing stones to about 1-metre depth only. After
blasting, the rocks around tunnels are sewn through
rock bolts having a grid of 1 to 2 metre so that even the
loose rocks are firmly stitched. Any cavity in the hills
around the final section of a tunnel is properly filled with
concrete to avoid any chance of subsidence in the area.
In fact, loose mass around the tunnel can be detrimental
to its stability.
The total tunnelling required for hydro power projects in
Uttarakhand is of the order of about 350 km, as against
the existing road network which is about 26800 km and
requires blasting as well. Besides, the slopes are also cut
for construction of homes, offices, community buildings
and other infrastructure facilities like sewerage, water
supply, etc. The contribution of hydro power projects to
excavation in the hills is less than 1 per cent.
One of the arguments that hydro power projects
impound water also stands on a loose ground. None
of the projects except Tehri is capable of impounding
water for more than a few hours; otherwise the water
flows into the river as usual. Contrary to the argument
that hydro power projects have the capacity to impound
water, such impoundment would have reduced the
downstream effect of the flood occurring in the higher
reaches. The Tehri hydro power project absorbed the
intensity of the flood, reducing the discharge by about
10000 cumecs. Had this discharge been into the river,
the devastation in Rishikesh, Haridwar and further
downstream would have been greater – the water level
in Rishikesh would have gone higher by 3 metre.
The economy of Uttarakhand is based on tourism and
hydro power as no other industry can be promoted
in the remote hilly areas. Even after giving incentive
packages to the industry post Uttarakhand’s formation,
no industry has been set up in the interior regions
and development has been limited to the area around
Haridwar and Rudrapur.
The tourism industry accounts for 35 per cent of the
state’s GDP and provides employment to about 2.31
lakh people. It is expected that the GSDP from tourism
shall be of the order of `10000 crore with employability
of 7.94 lakh people by 2022. To achieve this target,
Villagers collect the
pine needles
infrastructure facilities have to be created, which in turn
would definitely affect the environment.
The hydro power projects give employment to the people
in the interior areas. On average, during construction
of a project, about 10 people and after commissioning
about 3 people per MW are employed. Other than
this, auxiliary trade and services are also developed
and contribute to developing the local economy that
ultimately benefits the people. Thus 10000 MW of hydro
power development shall give employment to about 1.3
lakh people and about `10000 crore would be put into
the local economy.
The people of Uttarakhand must not be denied this
opportunity in the name of environmental protection. The
environmentalists sitting in air-conditioned chambers,
availing themselves of the benefits of development
cannot argue for provisions that will deprive the locals
of similar benefits. Doling out subsidies to the people
cannot be a substitute for helping them earn a decent
livelihood and achieve economic growth. This growth
cannot be achieved unless proper infrastructure for
tourism is put in place and hydro power is allowed to
operate.
Therefore, development and environment should
continue together with proper checks and balances in
place.
— Contributed by Arun Gupta, MD, Him Urja Pvt. Ltd.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 15
 Cover Story Small Hydro Power
Small hydro projects are very safe and
we should now target to construct
maybe 10 times more such projects than
constructing one large hydro project
projects should be shared amongst
the local communities. The
‘first right to power’ should
be with them,” he says.
“Development must take into
account environmental concerns
so that it is sustainable. Uttarakhand
and other states must utilise
their hydro power potential in an
ecologically sustainable manner. This
means that standards, guidelines and
safeguards should be put in place
that will bring the much-needed
balance between environment and
development. In the name of green
energy, we cannot allow reckless
development,” he adds.
The BK Chaturvedi Commission
report to the MoEF suggests that
the need to restrict the proliferation
of hydro power projects in these
slopes is imminent. In Uttarakhand,
at least 70 hydro projects – existing,
under-construction and proposed
dams – are located on the Bhagirathi
and the Alaknanda river basins,
which saw the most destructive
floods. The inter-ministerial group
(IMG) report that identified and
examined the environmental
impact of these projects, says,
“It is noticed that the implementation
of all the above projects will lead
to 81 per cent of river Bhagirathi
and 65 per cent of river Alaknanda
getting affected. Also, there are a
large number of projects which have
very small distances between them,
leaving little space for (the) river to
regenerate and revive.” However,
these plants have the capacity of
supplying a substantial amount
of energy to the country that is
struggling to provide electricity
to all its citizens.
“IMG committee report has
recommended restriction on
development of some hydro
projects primarily for limiting the
percentage of rivers alteration to 60
per cent and some for protecting
biodiversity. Quantum of release
16 | Energy Next | August 2013
of environmental flow is another
issue which is important for this IMG
committee report as it was especially
for Ganga basin. However, the
environmental flow is much lower
for other rivers as they do not have
the same requirement as for Ganga.
Hydro power projects are not to be
disturbed except those which are on
the prohibited rivers and financial
calculations shall be required to be
redone. Prohibiting some rivers for
biodiversity, etc. is a well-accepted
practice in several countries,”
Kumar says.
“The people and government have
to appreciate the outstanding
character of hydro power in terms
of conversion efficiency, life cycle
cost, energy pay back ratio, cost, and
greenhouse gas emissions. Well-
established norms for sustainable
development of hydro power should
be followed by all developers to make
this sector ecological sustainable –
sustainability is the need of hour,” he
emphasises.
And the government, it seems, is
looking into the matter with a sense
of urgency, notwithstanding
the arguments of the
conservationists. “Our SHP
developers are quite used to
natural calamities, and they are
not afraid of these. What is more
important is that the government
needs to continue to support the
sector because people do not have
a clear perception on whether these
projects have harmful impact on the
surroundings or not. The government
Projected Income and Employment
Year GSDP (Rs Crore) Employment
2012 3075.9 234523
2017 5660.8 431610
2022 10419.2 794411
should know that these projects are
necessary for rural and remote areas,
especially from the perspective of
development – providing access
to modern energy services and
sustainable sources of income,”
Dr Praveen Saxena, Adviser, Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE), tells Energy Next.
“As far as small hydro is concerned,
no report is saying that it should be
stopped. These are basically talking
of some restrictions on large hydro
projects because in small hydro,
there is no construction of dam and
therefore no issue of submergence
or migration of people. Small hydro
projects are very safe and we should
now target to construct maybe
10 times more such projects than
constructing one large hydro project.
We should now have a battery of
small hydro projects on every river
so that we can minimise the impact
that large hydro projects have on the
environment,” Saxena adds.
However, all the promises and
hope-filled assurances fall flat
when it comes to framing and
implementation of guidelines,
according to industry sources.
The biggest challenge for the sector
is the risk of construction given that
most SHP projects are located in
remote regions with infrastructural
constraints. Such hurdles prolong the
gestation period and push up the per-
MW capital costs even as the power
evacuation and transmission facilities
at the sites remain inadequate.
The preferential tariff being offered
to developers in some states are not
attractive enough for them and timely
adjustment of power tariffs to
ensure that they fully cover
the capital costs likely to be incurred
by developers would remain
critical for the viability of SHP

IREDA funded 13.2 MW SHP project in the state of Uttarakhand
plants in days to come. “The lack
of consistency in SHP tariff norms
across states hinders investments in
the sector with several states having
tariffs which do not ensure adequate
returns on investments. Besides,
Renewable Purchase Obligations
(RPO) regulations also vary across
states,” rating agency ICRA noted in a
report published in May 2012.
“…the extent to which the SERCs
make efforts to align their respective
RPO norms with the NAPCC
recommendation and strictly
monitor and impose penalty for
shortfalls in RPO would have a critical
bearing on the implementation of
the Renewable Energy Certificate
framework. While the Renewable
Energy Certificates are being traded
on the power exchanges for market-
based price discovery (with the
ceiling and floor levels as set by
CERC), the overall risk profile for SHP
projects adopting the REC framework
remains high, given the absence
of a strong enforcement and
penalty mechanism for ensuring
RPOs by several SERCs as of
now,” it explains.
After commissioning, the biggest
risk that SHP developers face is
hydrological risks – the risk of
availability of adequate water flow
for generating power that can be
affected due to faulty estimates,
mostly owing to lack of availability
of data, environmental changes, and
diversion of water upstream. The
hydrological risks are critical as they
Photo: IREDA
are directly linked to the generation
of power that impacts revenues.
“The tariff for the small hydro power
projects is fixed on the basis of total
generation capacity which doesn’t
count in the loss in case of low
production. This is true for all states
but is not applicable on large hydro
projects. It will be difficult for the
sector to attract new investors,” Arun
Gupta, Managing Director, Him Urja
Pvt Ltd, told this magazine.
For the affected projects, seeking
recourse from the insurance
provider too is hardly any option.
The insurance companies cover the
physical loss but hardly cover the loss
of profit owing to such calamities,
according to an industry insider. And
for the losses filed, it takes months
and years before the claims
are settled.
However, experts say that higher
generation bridges the gap. “Tariff of
SHP projects announced by different
state regulators is basically a feed-in
tariff worked out based on certain
plant load factor (PLF), capital cost
and O&M expenditure as it shall
be difficult to compute the tariff
individually for each project due
to large variations in the cost. Any
lower generation than generation
assumed with certain PLF is a risk
which investor is to bear as many a
time there are higher generation also
which may offset such risks,”
Kumar says.
“The unprecedented floods of
Uttarakhand are of higher return
period and exact details shall be
known only after the respective
figures are available. SHP investor
should address their losses by
committing themselves for proper
investigations and adequate
engineering,” he adds.
SHP projects also remain exposed
to risks – the actual pre-tax
project Internal Rate of Return
(IRR) that such projects would
earn remains contingent on the
key variables such as CUF, capital
cost, funding pattern and cost of
funding, conforming to the CERC‘s
assumptions. Any negative
deviations, for instance, the actual
CUF being lower than the one
assumed in the CERC guidelines or
the capital cost being higher
than the normative cost, are likely
to have an adverse effect on returns,
ICRA notes, given the single-part
nature of tariffs.
The ability of the project developer
to contain the capital costs
within normative levels is another
tightrope walk for the developers,
operating mostly in north and
north-eastern states due to the
mountainous terrain, comparatively
higher cost of transportation and
long interconnecting transmission
lines from project site to the
interconnecting sub-station. CERC
has fixed the normative cost of
`6-6.7 crore/MW for Himachal
Pradesh, Uttaranchal and north-
eastern states, while setting the
normative cost of `4.8-5.2 crore/
MW for other states. Unlike other RE
technologies, a hydel power project
does not incur variable costs (typically
corresponding to usage of
fuels – bagasse, biomass, etc.).
The fixed costs such as depreciation,
RoE, O&M and interest are derivatives
of the capital cost.
As a sector, small hydro power
holds enormous potential
but is forced to take baby steps,
especially in comparison to other
large hydro projects. It goes without
saying that development should
be ecologically sustainable, but
economics cannot be side-lined, and
the need to chart a fresh course was
never so pressing.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 17
 In Conversation Dr Praveen Saxena
‘SHP projects lead to
India’s Small Hydro Power (SHP) sector
has been going through a tough phase
and the recent floods in Uttarakhand have
added to its woes. Dr Praveen Saxena,
Adviser, MNRE, talks to Upendra Singh
about the potential of the sector, and
how it can continue to be a significant
contributor to the renewables’ share in
India’s energy mix
18 | Energy Next | August 2013
Small Hydro Power (SHP) was one of
the first renewable energy sources to be
off the starting blocks in the country;
however, when compared with other
sources such as wind and solar, it seems
to have lost the way. What are your
views on this?
Let me put it like this. SHP was not only
among the first few to be off the blocks,
but it is also the oldest technology
to be employed in the country. The
development of the first small hydro
project dates back to 1897, when the
first project was set up at Sidrapong near
Darjeeling by the Britishers. However,
inclusive growth‘
as we moved with the times, there
was a growing focus towards large
hydro projects. Inclination towards
large hydro projects was for obvious
reasons like economies of scale and
larger generation of power.
By 1990 or so, the small hydro
projects accounted for less than
1,000 MW in the country. It took a big
leap in 1995, when the government
invited private sector participation.
From that point, we quickly moved
from government regime, where all
the projects were set up by the public
sector, to the private sector. For the
next 15 years, the SHP sector did
extremely well, typically in Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Himachal
Pradesh. For the last two years or so,
I would agree that there has been a
shift in the focus of investors from
SHP. There are different reasons
for people moving away from the
small hydro sector, but it cannot be
said that they are shunning SHP and
opting for wind or solar.
The biggest difficulty in small
hydro is that these projects take
minimum three to four years
to be constructed and all the
while work goes on at sites that
are remotely located. In the case
of wind or solar, the machines are
made in the factory and the project
developers just have to go and set
them up at their respective sites. On
the other hand, in hydro projects,
more than half of the work is to be
done at the site on the river. So, you
have to mobilize infrastructure since
now more difficult sites are being
explored, as easier sites have already
been developed. Now the developers
need to move deeper into the hills
for setting up small hydro projects,
and with no infrastructure available,
it becomes all the more difficult. All
these difficulties have led to a slight
decline in the interest of the investors
towards SHP projects in recent times.
In the wake of the mass destruction
caused by the recent floods in
Uttarakhand, environmentalists
and various NGOs have strongly
criticised the construction of hydro
projects in the region. Do you think
this would hamper the growth of the
SHP sector in a big way?
I am extremely sad to learn that
people are protesting against the
small hydro projects. I would say that
small hydro or other hydro projects
August 2013 | Energy Next | 19
 In Conversation Dr Praveen Saxena
have nothing to do with the floods.
These are two independent things.
Natural disasters mostly take place
in the hills, and hydro projects are
also primarily situated in the hills. So,
people generally think that there are
correlations, but I strongly feel that
there is absolutely no correlation
between floods and small hydro or
hydro projects. In fact, these projects
help us in overcoming the impact of
disasters. Large hydro projects have
dams with large capacities to absorb
floods or heavy and sudden rain.
Unless and until there is damage to
the dam itself, it is not impacting the
situation in any way. So long as the
dam is intact, it will always absorb the
sudden gush of water, as it happened
in Uttarakhand. In fact, when a hydro
project is developed, an infrastructure
is developed around the region.
Maybe, in the remote and difficult
areas where there are no hydro
projects, there are no roads, too.
So, in case of a disaster or any
other emergency situation, it would
be extremely difficult to reach
out to such areas. Conversely, if
there are hydro projects in the
hills, the infrastructure built for the
purpose makes transportation and
communication easier in times of
crisis. On the contrary, these projects
are being blamed for disasters,
which is not right. Installation of
SHP projects not only helps develop
the infrastructure of an area, but
also helps generate employment,
leading to overall growth of the local
communities. The perception that
hydro projects can cause natural
disasters is completely wrong.
I would rather say that these
projects help in the development
of the remote hilly areas.
One of the biggest barriers to the
development of the SHP sector
in the country is the long delay
in getting clearance from various
government organisations.
What is the government doing to
address this issue?
I agree that the clearance process
one has to go through in order to
set up a small hydro power project
is lengthy. In fact, this is one of
20 | Energy Next | August 2013
The perception that hydro projects
can cause natural disasters is
completely wrong. I would rather say
that these projects help in the
development of the remote hilly areas
the oldest, most prominent and
frequently talked about issues about
hydro projects, particularly small
hydro. Small hydro is a state subject,
they allot sites and the project
developers have to take care of the
local development. Now in most of
the states, obtaining clearances is a
fairly streamlined procedure. What
is becoming a bigger challenge for
project developers is resistance from
local communities. Local people
are finding that these projects can
give them quick returns. They are
interested in getting some cash
advantages for their areas despite
the fact that most of the states
have already announced specific
packages. For example, Himachal
Pradesh has said that 1.5 per cent of
the total project cost has to be spent
on the local area development, but
the people would like to get more
benefits and see it as an opportunity
to earn. Besides, they want the
jobs arising out of SHP projects’
development to be given to locals.
One has to understand that SHPs
are smaller projects and they cannot
cater to all the demands put forth by
the local people. They do try to take
care of some local requirements, but
sometimes this becomes a little too
heavy on the developers than what
we normally expect.
The issue of clearance was a
major stumbling block for
developers some years ago, but
today, it seems to have been
addressed to a large extent. Although
the process is still a little lengthy, now
the procedure is known, the steps
are known and developers are not
complaining any more. I would say
that the more difficult part now is
to satisfy the local people. It’s being
tough for the developers. As it is, they
are working in areas that are remotely
located – on hilly terrains, on top
of that when local people create
barriers, it really becomes
a challenge to survive.
The financial institutions in India are
quite apprehensive about financing
renewable energy projects. What,
according to you, are the basic
reasons and what needs to be done
to instil confidence in them?
The financial institutions may be
apprehensive about other renewable
energy projects, but the same cannot
be said about small hydro. In fact,
the plant load factor (PLF) of SHP
plants are very good – probably the
highest among the renewables. If
there is a proper power purchase
agreement (PPA) signed between
the power developers and the
government, there are no barriers
as far as financing of SHP projects is
concerned.
Every project developer asks
for a single window clearance in
setting up an SHP project. Do you
think this is a reasonable demand
and can it be met?
In fact this demand is being almost
met. We have not been very
successful in having a single window
clearance mechanism, but there are
now two or three channels through
which the project developers are able
to get clearances. In other words, I
would like to say that it is not possible
to have single window, however,
a certain number of clearances
are clubbed together and the state
nodal agencies (SNAs) do help the
developers in getting the clearances
more easily and in a streamlined
fashion. I feel that the situation is
completely under control now.
There are many developers who take
the project and never set it up and
try to sell it to other developers or
parties at higher rates. Are the state
governments or the MNRE taking
any measure to curb this problem?
I agree that there are certain people
who are involved in this practice. It
has been seen that sites have been
allotted to bidders, who later on
sell it to other parties. They see it
as an opportunity to make money.
The government has its mechanism
to stop this practice. The project
developers are allotted projects for a
specific period. They come up with
some excuse or the other to continue
with that and take approvals. This,
I would say, is part of the game.
However, as long as a project is set
up, we have no major difficulties.
Our problem is when projects are
not set up on the sites that are
allotted. Maybe, there is always a 10
to 15 per cent chance of such things
happening. The central government
has taken steps, but it is primarily
the task of the state governments
to make sure that these steps are
implemented. They have set time
frames for the developers that they
need to follow. Yet I will not deny the
fact that there are some cases where
these kind of irregularities crop up.
As project development is not
picking up, the equipment
manufacturing sector is also not
getting benefited. Do you think
the domestic manufacturers are
equipped to sell their products in
off-shore markets?
The domestic small hydro
equipment manufacturers are
already doing well in the overseas
markets. Almost all the players
in the small hydro manufacturing
segment have been exporting
their equipment, either in full or in
parts. Traditionally, the established
manufacturers in the country had
some or the other form of tie-ups
with European manufacturers and
that continues. Maybe there are
no collaborations anymore, but
most of the equipment
manufacturers in Europe do
procure equipment from Indian
manufacturers. For example, there are
certain manufacturers
who specialise in making runners,
which they export to various
overseas markets.
All our leading equipment
manufacturers have equal
opportunities for exporting their
machines, and they are doing that.
So, we are quite comfortable as
far as the manufacturing situation
in the country is concerned.
Same is the case with our project
developers who are in a position
to import machines from abroad
besides getting them from domestic
manufacturers. Hence, it is
working both ways.
As of now, the small hydro power
potential in India is estimated to
be around 20,000 MW. Is MNRE
initiating any plan to re-assess the
SHP potential in the country?
The assessment of small hydro
potential is a continuous exercise,
it keeps going on. We have already
assessed a potential of 20,000 MW
for which the sites are known, and
we have only harnessed around
3,700 MW. Still we have a lot of
scope for setting up SHP projects.
At the moment, we have enough
August 2013 | Energy Next | 21
 In Conversation Dr Praveen Saxena
Now in most of the states, obtaining
clearances is a fairly streamlined
procedure. What is becoming a bigger
challenge for project developers is
resistance from local communities
number of sites where projects can
be set up and there is no immediate
requirement to re-assess the
potential. In most of the potential
areas, the private developers
themselves want to explore new
possibilities and we keep on adding
that to the list of our identified sites.
The projects are getting difficult to
set up in the wake of rising costs
of equipment, construction and
remoteness of sites. Small hydro
projects are not easy projects like
wind or solar projects. A MW-scale
solar power project can be set up
in six months, but there is no way
that an SHP project could be set
up in less than three to four years.
Despite being difficult projects, the
major advantage with SHP projects is
that they can have PLF of 60-70 per
cent, much more than other sources
of renewables. As long as water is
flowing, power can be generated,
which means intermittence is not a
22 | Energy Next | August 2013
problem in small hydro.
Besides hilly terrains, a wide
network of irrigation canals in
the country also offers electricity
generation opportunity. Do you
think that customised technology
for low-head sites available on
canals can be a great opportunity
to generate power?
We have a vast network of canals in
the country, and many states have
already harnessed the hydro potential
by setting up projects. There is a need
for developing technology to tap the
potential at low heads. We are trying
to develop turbines which can work
at very small heads so that every
drop of water in our irrigation canals
can also generate power. The power
generation outfit may not be of
MW-scale, but whatever power it can
generate will help in addressing the
energy situation in our country.
There is also a need to work on
velocity turbines. Since water is
flowing in canals and rivers, we
want to tap the velocity of water to
generate power. We are working
closely with manufacturers and
R&D institutes, and hope that
in a year or two we will have
a solution to generate
small power through velocity
turbines and small heads.
Do you think that an ambitious
policy like Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission (JNNSM)
would be of help in bringing
the SHP sector on track?
It would be great to have a Mission
for the SHP sector on the lines of
JNNSM. Since this is more dependent
on states, as SHP is essentially a state
subject, the central government
alone cannot have a Mission. We will
have to bring the states on board,
as the water and the land on which
the projects are set up belong to the
states. I would personally like to see a
Mission on SHP, and that we are able
to tap even the smallest possible
rivulet or river in the country to
generate power. So, definitely a
Mission on small hydro could
be a good idea to propel the
sector to the next level.
 Policy RE in States
Looking for
a breather
While steps have been taken to further the
renewable energy industry in India, much
still remains to be done, as far as policy
implementation and funding of clean projects
go. What really then is the breather that the
industry is looking for? Sapna Gopal tries
to find some of the possible answers
A
ccording to IDFC’s Annual
Report (2012-13), while
the 11th Plan period saw
renewable energy-based plants
add 16.74 GW, renewable energy
capacity addition in the year
2013 was just 1.35 GW. In fact, a
recent report by consultancy firm
Deloitte too mentions that there
has been a short-term setback
in renewable energy investments
in India. The company’s Senior
Director (India), Debasish Mishra,
was quoted as saying that this was
due to lack of implementation of
Renewable Purchase Obligation
(RPO) by the distribution utilities
and designated consumers.
“There is a slowdown particularly
in the wind sector due to removal
of Accelerated Depreciation
(AD) and confusion regarding
Generation Based Incentive
(GBI),” Mishra had added.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 23
 Policy RE in States
Rather than
promoting an
overarching
energy strategy,
to date, India
has developed a
cluster of energy
business models
and policies that
have not been
productive.
These policies
are definitely
affecting
renewable energy
expansion plans
Veterans in the sector feel one of the
main reasons that ails India is the lack
of an overarching energy strategy —
instead it has a number of disparate
policies. Explains Darshan Goswami,
who has over 35 years of experience
in the energy field, “Rather than
promoting an overarching energy
strategy, to date, India has developed
a cluster of energy business
models and policies that have not
been productive. These policies
are definitely affecting renewable
energy expansion plans. The present
business model needs to be changed
from a centralised to a decentralised
structure that allows all stakeholders
including capital investment coming
from state-owned investors, pension
funds, and foreign countries.”
Concurs Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom
Capital Group, a global clean energy
communications and consulting
firm, who feels that the seriousness
of the energy situation in India is not
reflected in policy making. “India
currently has the largest population
in the world without power. Simply
put, the economy will not grow
at a healthy rate if the fuel for the
economy that is energy cannot keep
up. There needs to be grassroots
24 | Energy Next | August 2013
efforts by the industry to bring
awareness to this problem and get
the attention of policy makers.”
He believes that renewable energy
technologies are still relatively new
in India and project funding is a top
priority for the growth of renewables.
“If projects don’t get funded all else
will not matter. Financing is vital, but
without prudent long-term policies,
the financial sector will simply not
take the risk.”
In fact, some are of the view that
a policy is totally lacking in the RE
sector. DV Giri, Secretary General of
the IWTMA, laments, “As of now, the
industry is suffering without a policy.”
Citing an instance of the wind sector,
he mentions AD and states that it
should not be neglected. “It must be
used for captive generation. Even
though there has been a shift to
GBI, AD is important since it is self
generating.”
Agreeing that there are several
issues at the state and central level,
S Chandrashekar, former chairman
CII, Karnataka State Council and
MD, Bhoruka Power Corporation
Ltd, emphasises on the need for an
average purchase power instead of
a good FIT. “Also, we need to levy a
standby charge”.
Elaborating on clearance, he adds,
“Earlier, around 15 years back, it
used to be 8 months, now it is two
to three years. However, there has
been a huge increase in cost and the
challenge is to bring down the cost,
which is hurting the sector
badly now. “
KN Rao, Director, Energy and
Environment, ACC Limited, feels
renewable energy should have an
incentive/preferential tariff and for
this, “there should be a consistent
policy at the state and the
central level.”
Elucidating on regulation, Hemant
Sahai, Managing Partner, HAS
Advocates, explains how there are
specific regulatory issues in the
development of renewable energy
projects. “Land laws are complex.
Also, getting approvals and
consent is a challenge.”
Some like Prof TL Sankar, a
retired IAS official, mentions how
schemes have not been able to
reach people. “Solar’s role must
be played in the proper way, so
we can reach out in terms of rural
contribution,” he suggests.
However, some of the sector
experts believe that the government
has taken initiatives to promote
renewable energy. At a recent
green energy event, Ramesh Kymal,
Chairman of Indian Wind Turbine
Manufacturers Association (IWTMA),
spoke of how market and trading
and Renewable Purchase
Obligations (RPO’s) have given a
boost to the sector.
He also mentioned how the Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) recently released the Draft
National Offshore Wind Energy
 How the states fare
Bihar
Pravinbhai Patel, a member
(technical) of the Gujarat
Electricity Regulator Commission,
mentions that in a state like Bihar,
the huge RE potential remains to
be developed. “Rough issues in
policy need to be strengthened
and smoothened,” he suggests.
Andhra Pradesh
According to M Kamlakar Babu, VC and MD, NREDCAP, Kerala
solar and wind energy are being encouraged in Andhra
Dr M Jayaraju said that as of now,
Pradesh. “There is a district mechanism in each district so
the peak time requirement in Kerala
that the official concerned can handle issues.”
is 3,460 MW. “By 2017, we aim
Apart from the Rural Energy Programme and the Chulha to generate 300 MW. In the wind
programme, there are initiatives to further wind power, sector, of the 11,000 MW capacity,
small hydro, geothermal and biogas among others. only 32.3 MW has been tapped. As of
While 2,237 MW has been sanctioned for wind energy, now, the focus is on solar systems.”
the capacity for small hydro is 1,000 MW. A group of
Chhattisgarh
ministers have been constituted to see how small hydro
can be tapped and bidding has been taking place. Sanjeev Jain, chief engineer,
Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy
With regards to solar, presently, the installed capacity is
Dev Agency (CREDA), advises how
80 MW. Also, private entrepreneurs are being encouraged
rooftop/grid connected power
with concessions.
is the solution. In Chhattisgarh,
As far as wind energy goes, of the 14,000 MW capacity rooftop solar, 20 MW has
(according to CWET), 3,000 MW has been sent to the helped electrify more than 400
government for approval. “We hope solar and wind will unelectrified villages.
help in tiding over the power crisis.”
West Bengal
“For RE power evacuation, we have asked the MNRE for
Sushobhan Bhattacharya, Director-
`2,400 crore from the NCEF.”
in-Charge, West Bengal Renewable
In solar, the land registration value had to be waived off. Energy Dev Agency, said the RE policy
VAT exemption is 1 MW (`40 lakh) and the electricity was declared in 2012 and this year the
duty has been exempted. The wheeling and transmission regulation came from SERC. In solar,
cost is also exempted. As of now, 50 MW is underway the first MW project will come up in
and the facility has been extended up to 2017. The total Asansol.
subsidy is over `1 crore approximately. Recently, the AP
Apart from the Green Energy Dev Corporation, a wind
government gave two concessions; the net metering
project of 50 MW in East Midnapur and 16 mini grid
facility (1 to 3 KW) is directly connected to the grid and
power plants in the Sunderbans have been initiated, he
the extending facility has been raised to 20 per cent.
added.

Policy 2013, which aims to develop
offshore wind farms in the coastlines
of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu
and Gujarat. “Re-introduction of
Generation Based Incentive (GBI) has
helped in attracting IPPs,” he added.
Akin to the National Solar Mission,
a National Wind Energy Mission is
likely to be announced to fuel the
growth of wind energy sector in
India. Reacting to this development,
earlier this year, Alok Srivastava,
Joint secretary in the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE), was quoted as saying,
“We think it (formulating the
policy) is a do-able thing. The
Planning Commission has
agreed in principle with the
need for such a mission
and we will work on it.”
KN Rao is also positive that
though there are challenges,
they can be solved by discussions
with policy makers.
What can be done?
With the current situation, where
exactly does the solution lie?
What can be done to further the
cause of the sector?
Goswami, who currently works for

August 2013 | Energy Next | 25

 Policy RE in States
Financing is
vital, but without
prudent
long-term policies,
the financial
sector will simply
not take the risk
United States Department of Energy
(DOE) as a Project Manager in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in one of his
recent articles, explains the need for
a new business model which should
include the development of all forms
of “distributed” (i.e. non-grid) energy
such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass,
biogas, and geothermal. Distributed
energy, he adds, not only reduces the
huge amount of energy lost in grid
distribution, it also helps lighten the
load on the grid. “Distributed energy
is a critical part of the real energy
revolution in achieving a
cost-effective smart grid solution.
All forms of distributed power,
micro-generation and micro-grids
should be incorporated into the
electrical supply system to make the
system more reliable. India is in a
unique position to introduce clean
energy solutions on an enormous
scale to provide affordable energy for
everyone - especially the poor.”
Some of his other suggestions for
furthering the sector in India include
26 | Energy Next | August 2013
enactment of a National Renewable
Energy Standard/Policy of 20 per
cent by 2020, developing favourable
government policies to ease the
project permitting process
and to provide start-up capital to
promote the exponential
growth of renewable energy.
A national smart infrastructure
bank for renewable energy should
be created and funded as well, he
advises. “Accelerating local demand
for renewable energy by providing
preferential Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT) and
other incentives such as accelerated
depreciation; tax holidays;
renewable energy funds; initiatives
for international partnerships/
collaboration incentives for new
technologies; human resources
development; zero import duty on
capital equipment and raw materials;
excise duty exemption; and low
interest rate loans will help too”.
Then, there are those like Kymal who
believe that some of the issues need
to be addressed on a priority basis.
He suggests the following solutions:
1. Improvement in grid infrastructure
and power evacuation: This is one of
the key issues facing RE developers.
The Tamil Nadu experience has
shown that there is a really
urgent need to address this issue
in all the states.
2. Green Energy Corridor: The
government has to expedite its plan
to roll out `43,000 crore ‘Green
Source: Strategic Plan for New and RE for 2011-17 (MNRE)
Energy Corridor’ project to facilitate
the flow of renewable energy into the
national grid.
A National Grid, he states,
will pave the way for better
evacuation and network.
3. Restrictions in intra-state open
access and banking facility for wind
energy sector: Operationalisation of
the intra-state open access across
many states continues to be limited
and also remains restricted on the
grounds of technical constraints as
cited by distribution utilities. Banking
facility must be introduced in all the
states and banking charges have to
be fixed at a reasonable
figure, he suggests.
4. Renewable Energy Certificates
(RECs): REC mechanism has to be
made more robust. RECs should be
made bankable. Also, more clarity
needs to be given on what happens
to REC s if they remain unsold
beyond the crediting period.
5. Inconsistency in tariff norms
across states for wind power:
Operationalisation of wind-zone
based tariffs, as put forward by the
CERC, are yet to be implemented.
SERCs in only a few states
(Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana)
have so far issued regulations in line
with CERC norms.
He states that consistency in tariff
norms across the states is needed for
sustained investments in the sector.
“SERCs must follow the guidelines
suggested by CERC.”
Some others like P Krishna Kumar,
Managing Director, Orient Green
Power Company Ltd., feel that
going in for long-term agreements
could help a great deal. “There are
regulatory challenges, but 1,000 MW
of power can be achieved in India.”
Role of RECs, RPO
Pravinbhai Patel, a member
(technical) of the Gujarat Electricity
Regulatory Commission, states
that RPO and REC are co-related.
“However, most state commissions
are not enforcing RPO regulations.
It was for this reason that the REC
policy was evolved. For instance, in
Gujarat, solar production is 850 MW
As of now, the RPO is 1 per cent.
Even if it is increased to 1.25 per cent,
the existing capacity will be enough
to meet RPO needs.”
Mentioning interstate sale of RE
power, he stresses on the need for a
Green Corridor of the Central Utility.
Once the issues of REC, RPO and
a Green Corridor are sorted out,
renewable energy will get a
boost, he adds.
Revealing that RE tariff rates are
higher than conventional power,
he advocates a serious thinking on
RECs. “They should be made more
attractive. Also, utility should be given
an opportunity to trade in REC since
utilities will not have any objection in
buying renewable power.”
Source: Strategic Plan for New and RE for 2011-17 (MNRE)
Sanjeev Jain, Chief Engineer,
Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy
Development Agency (CREDA),
reveals that around 30,000 MW can
be added by enforcement of RPO.
DV Giri adds that since REC is market
driven, “let’s learn from that.”
However, Kymal states that the
ndustry is appreciative of the
regulatory body’s decision to
extend the validity of REC from
365 days to 730 days.
Funding
According to Strategic Plan for New
and RE for 2011-17 (MNRE), with
mainstreaming of RE technologies,
the banking channels are playing
an important role in the delivery
mechanisms. The area being vast
and complex, the Ministry will work
closely with this channel to ensure
that the requisite funds are available
for the projects.
However, the industry does not seem
to be very content with the
state of affairs presently. States
Upendra Bhat, Managing Director,
cKinetics, “Bankers are the most
conservative people, no matter
what the industry. “With just half the
technology, we did okay. MNRE is
seen as a R&D Ministry, instead of
RE promoting the ministry. A strong
policy push is needed. As of now,
there is no clear visibility on a MW
beyond 2,000 to 3,000 MW.”
On financing, he states it is 85 to
87 per cent in this market and there
is a need for intervention. “The
National Clean Energy Fund can
play a part in capitalising it.”
Sahai states that with regard to
financing RE projects, solar is
relatively new. “Banks need to realise
that there are some risks that they
need to take.”
But, bankers like TVS Chandra
Sekhar, General Manager and CFO,
Andhra Bank, state that banks are
not averse to financing clean energy
projects, even as he admits that “on
a large scale, there has been some
delay in funds.”
Mentioning how priority lending
status is to be accorded to the RE
sector, Kymal believes that the
availability of low-cost financing
would be the “key parameter for the
rapid growth of the sector.”
“Recently, the RBI decided to
include loans given by banks to
individuals for purchasing off-grid
solar products under priority
sector lending. We appreciate
this decision,” he added.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 27
 Global Voice Gregory Barker
‘RE not just a
CSR agenda’
UK Minister of State for Climate
Change and Energy, Gregory Barker,
was in India recently. On his visit
to Hyderabad, he spoke to
Sapna Gopal on why renewable
energy is making progressive
inroads and how the UK is looking at
furthering ties in this sector with India
28 | Energy Next | August 2013
What are the ways in which you perceive the
United Kingdom and India collaborating?
I see India in the 21st century as a natural
fit for both our economies. We both (India
and UK) have strengths and expertise which
complement each other extremely well. But
I am here to make the case for a new type of
economic development that is more resilient,
more robust and more sustainable, one that
will help meet the environmental challenges of
the 21st century, particularly growing in a way
that enables us collectively as one world, to
avoid the worst impact of dangerous manmade

climate change, while at the
same time, lifting millions of
people out of poverty and driving
prosperity. I think we can
do that by being more careful with
the way that we use resources.
Let’s weigh the way forward in
which we use energy and create
new sources of clean energy that
reduce our mutual dependence on
expensive, volatile, imported fossil
fuels. I think there are still
many people who assume that there’s
a trade-off between the concerns
in environment, action against
climate change and economic
growth. I’m here to send a very clear
message that the smart economies
and globally the most competitive
economies realise that efficiency right
the way through an economy is the
way forward and that is the solution
to fighting climate change as well.
What is the level of engagement
that the UK has with India? Are you
helping in bringing the technology
and know-how?
The relationship between India
and the UK is a two-way street.
The number of Indian world-class
companies that are now market
leaders in the UK, grows every
year, but we want to see far
more British investment in India.
I came with Prime Minister David
Cameron to India in 2010 and
returned with him again in
February (2013) this year. PM
Cameron has been absolutely
clear that India is his number one
strategic priority in the world and
in order to deepen and strengthen
the relationship, we need to expand
the amount of trade and investment
between our two countries. We
Prime Minister
Cameron has
been absolutely
clear that India
is his number
one strategic
priority in the
world and in
order to deepen
and strengthen
the relationship,
we need to
expand the
amount of trade
and investment
between our
two countries
set ourselves a challenging goal, of
doubling trade and investment with
India, from his visit in 2010, by 2015.
And, we are on track to achieve
that target, of doubling UK trade
investment in India. But I think we
can do much more than that and
we need to go further.
How according to you is the
clean energy sector poised in
India and the world?
This is a very exciting time for
clean energy because the last
two years have seen dramatic price
falls in many of the technologies,
solar in particular has seen an
extraordinary drop in the cost of
manufacturing and deployment,
making solar for the first time
in many places, cost competitive
with fossil fuel electricity,
particularly for isolated rural
communities that rely on diesel
generators. Solar is an attractive clean
alternative, but wind for example, the
UK is an increasing global power in
the wind energy market.
Recently, the UK inaugurated
the world’s largest offshore
wind farm, the London Array, but
August 2013 | Energy Next | 29
 Global Voice Gregory Barker
At the Climate Change conference
that is just the beginning of our
expansion of wind power in the
seas around the British Isles. Wind
power, both onshore and offshore,
is something that still has huge
potential in India, but it is also
an area where India has
manufacturing expertise. We are
looking to attract investment from
companies like Suzlon who through
their German division RePower, are
a major player in the European wind
turbine market, so we think that we
can do more to partner with the UK
and Indian companies to develop the
clean tech sector.
In British universities, you have world-
class research and development
at the cutting edge of a number of
technologies and we want to share
that technology and develop that
technology with our partners in India.
You have spoken of local energy
markets and the need to adopt a
local mindset for a community.
What do you mean by this?
For many economies, electricity
30 | Energy Next | August 2013
is traditionally supplied from big
power stations with a coal plant
or gas plants that are sometimes
hundreds of miles from the
consumers that rely on the
electricity and there is an expense
to transporting it long distances.
I want to empower more
communities to generate a greater
percentage of their own energy
requirements through clean, local
generation that could be solar, wind,
modern biomass, and energy from
waste or energy from sustainable
timber. Then there’s hydro, not large
dams, but community scale hydro, it
could be geothermal technologies.
There are a surprising number
of clean technologies which are
increasingly commercial and which
have seen exciting developments in
recent years and which continue to
push the boundaries of cost
and efficiency.
Several Indian companies have
tapped London Alternate
Exchange market and raised funds
from British investors in setting up
wind, solar plants in India. What is
the encouragement being given to
Indian companies who are willing to
tap capital from the UK?
Well, London is the greatest financial
market in the world for low
carbon investment, more money
and investment was raised out of
London for low carbon
development than any other
financial centre last year. We
have unparalleled expertise in the
developmental, innovative financial
products which are designed
to suit the needs of clean tech
entrepreneurs and large clean
energy corporations. So, London
has that skill set that really can’t be
bettered anywhere else in the world
which makes it a natural choice for
Indian entrepreneurs and companies.
But we want to see more Indian
companies coming to London in
order to build on this partnership. As
I said, it is a two way street because
we are also looking for new Indian
companies to follow in our footsteps,
of the great successes like Tata for
example and tap the growing UK
market. So, we need to play to our
mutual strengths.
What is the kind of investment that
the cleantech market segment has
witnessed?
The Confederation of British Industry,
in its latest report, estimates that the
global low carbon economy will be
worth 5 trillion dollars (per annum)
by 2015. So this isn’t just a niche
market nor is low carbon economy
just about renewable energy. This is a
huge, fast growing market that offers
both domestic growth and export
potential for India and the UK. If you
look in an increasingly globalising,
competitive world economy, it is
those economies that can forge new
partnerships, see barriers to trade
coming down not as a threat and
ones which embrace free markets
that are really going to thrive in these
new conditions.
Indian power producers who got
into the solar and wind sector are
struggling, given that their cost
is not working out in the current
circumstances. So, is it a challenge
to convince Indian companies at this
point in time?
The global banking crisis has had
impacts all across the world, not
just in the UK and in every single
sector. So I don’t think we should
necessarily think that there is
something fundamentally wrong
about renewable energy just
because there have been issues
arising from the banking crisis.
But, that is the nature of growth,
it won’t just be an uninterrupted
straight line, there will be setbacks,
hiccups, there will be challenges,
but the overall trend remains strong
even though there may be some
better years and some less good
years. The reason for that is because
we live in a world with increasingly
constrained resources, with a
massively expanding population and
a massively expanding middle class
and if we are to meet the aspirations
of the growing population and the
growing middle class, then we are
going to need more energy and
more ways of producing goods and
services more energy efficiently.
So, embracing this resource
efficiency agenda, of producing more
with less, is the way forward. I think
what we have seen in the last couple
of years is a much greater financial
vigour brought to the renewable
energy and cleantech sector. It is no
longer a CSR agenda, done, because
it is a good, nice thing to support.
I think people are bringing much
more hard headed in their business
investment and weaker companies
have fallen by the wayside. But what
we are seeing is the emergence of a
really strong, robust business
case and the sector becoming
more mainstream.
India is an energy-hungry country
with its own set of problems and
challenges. So, for a sector which
needs a lot of investment, how is
the UK looking at this?
Well, we are looking to invest,
I mean, Shell is looking to invest
in a new L&G terminal, at a cost of
$800 million in Kakinada, Andhra
Pradesh. As of now, we are awaiting
environmental clearances and we
are looking to the AP government
for support to this new entrant into
the state energy market, which will
increase the choice for consumers
and give greater security of supply
for gas to a state (AP) which clearly
needs investment. And, I’m here to
show my support.
In the energy sector, it builds on the
recent investment by BP, Reliance
Energy and also the investment by
Shell in Gujarat.
The minister at the Herstmonceux Castle
I don’t think
we should
necessarily
think that there
is something
fundamentally
wrong about
renewable
energy just
because there
have been issues
arising from the
banking crisis
Moreover, the UK is the world’s
largest investor in the Indian energy
sector. Cumulatively, in the last
decade and in the last year, it is not
China, America or Germany, but
Britain which is the largest investor
and the one showing commitment
and belief in the Indian energy sector.
If you look at foreign energy providers
in India, most of them are British. For
instance, Arup, which helped design
the airport in Hyderabad, which is the
greenest airport in India.
What are the other opportunities
which you are looking at in the
Indian energy sector?
We are focusing more on gas,
which is obviously a cleaner fossil
fuel and increasingly on renewables,
but obviously fossil fuels are
not going away. It’s just about
using them more carefully, but
we certainly want to make sure
that we help India maximise the
fossil fuel reserves that it has,
particularly the oil and gas and
new technologies helping extract
that gas in a more efficient and
cost-effective way.
We are also focusing on energy
and efficiency and more efficient
use of modern building premises.
Resource efficiency is a very
important development in global
business. Actually, low carbon
August 2013 | Energy Next | 31
 Global Voice Gregory Barker
The minister at the Big Energy Week
development, sustainable
development, green development,
isn’t more expensive, but if you
approach it with financial vigour,
because of the fall in costs of certain
technologies and the advance
in the way that we understand
how to build now and the way
that British companies like Atkin
or Arup are able to bring new
techniques, new products as
well as skill sets to development,
we are actually doing it in a way
that costs less and wastes less
than traditional development.
For example, I recently visited a
new accommodation in Bradford
University in England. They just
won a European prize for the most
environmentally friendly building of
its type in Europe. But it actually cost
25 per cent less to build than the
conventional model and is cheaper
to run, because it recycles more,
it uses less energy and as a result,
it keeps on saving. It’s that model
of careful efficiency, cutting our
waste, wasting less, recycling more,
reducing our inputs, which is going
to mean a competitive edge for those
economies that embrace it.
With regard to energy, is the focus
on rural or urban areas?
On both, because the great thing
about renewables is they offer the
opportunity to power large scale
32 | Energy Next | August 2013
towns and cities. In the UK, we
now have single wind turbines
that generate over 5 MW, but also
for off-grid families and I think in
India, there are 300 million people
in India that still do not have direct
access to electricity. For those
people with modest electricity
requirements, it could be life
changing for them. Solar energy
can often be the answer and
with the fall in the cost of small
scale solar, the rise in effective
battery storage technologies means
With Rt Hon Ed Davey MP and Baroness Verma at the Green Deal launch on January 28, 2013
that they are becoming a practical
solution for millions of families.
There are other technologies as well,
recycling waste to generate energy
and biofuel.
How has been the response from
the Centre and state governments in
India? What are they looking for?
I think what they are looking for
is partnerships, rather than people
just coming for one-off deals.
They are looking for a long term
commitment to the Indian economy
and for partners who are prepared
to invest in skills, training as well
as just customers.
What is the role of policy in
furthering the RE sector?
What we want is the same
rules in India as you see anywhere,
which is transparency, longevity
and certainty. If you can create
that reliable business environment
that allows companies to
flourish and I see that increasingly
here in the Indian market. It is
becoming increasingly attractive
to not just British companies,
but also investors. The opening up
of the Indian economy to global
investment is a very welcoming and
encouraging sign and will reinforce
your drive for growth.
Photos: gregorybarker.com
Regulation Scheduling and Forecasting

Chasing
the wind
India’s beleaguered wind
power sector is now faced
with a fresh challenge
following the CERC’s
recent directive.
Rosy Mishra tries to
gauge the industry’s
response

I
t’s been over a year since India’s wind power sector stopped getting the benefits
Accelerated Depreciation (AD) and Generation-Based Incentive (GBI). Today, while
it is still reeling under the effects of the removal of these two key incentives, the
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)’s decision to make ‘scheduling
and forecasting’ mandatory seems to have come as a big jolt.
The directive that took effect last month, asked wind farms with a capacity of 10
megawatts or more to accurately predict their generation in 15-minute blocks for
the following day, adding that missing estimates by more than 30 per cent would
incur penalties. Wind farms will use seasonal records and weather forecasting tools

August 2013 | Energy Next | 33

 Regulation Scheduling and Forecasting
Generation can
very well be
predicted with
proper technology,
software and
equipment in
place. That’s what
wind farms
have to do
for their estimates while the fines will
be paid to state utilities through a
new Renewable Regulatory Fund.
The order has set off a wave of anger
and frustration in the industry where
most people believe they should have
been given more time to prepare.
Sumant Sinha, Founder Chairman
& CEO of ReNew Power Ventures
Pvt. Ltd., a leading Indian renewable
energy Independent Power Producer
(IPP), calls the decision “premature”.
“Technical feasibility and the
measurement mechanism designs are
yet at a stage of hypothesis testing.
Hence any implementation must
be based on credible data acquired
transparently and through a process
devised post consultations with
industry stakeholders,” he elaborates.
Sharing his sentiments, Kailash
Tarachandani, CEO of Inox Wind,
one of India’s leading wind power
solutions providers, states, “A lot of
industry people have already initiated
trials and still results are not out and
the technology has not reached them
completely where we can know what
the impact can be,” adding: “It’s the
time period that we are concerned
about. We should have been given
more time to settle down and
implement these kinds of measures.”
The view that most of the wind
farms in the country are still not
equipped to implement ‘scheduling
and forecasting’ is shared by many in
the sector. And even those who have
initiated trials say their projects have
not reached the requisite level of
accuracy yet.
“Old wind generators do not have
34 | Energy Next | August 2013
the necessary infrastructure in terms
of control and wind forecasting
techniques to take care of these
scheduling needs, however, larger
wind farms and group wind farms
would not be affected as they
are well-equipped to meet such
regulations, but it would affect
smaller wind generators that are
connected to the grid,” notes
Dr Rajib K Mishra, Executive
Director, PTC India Ltd.
The CERC’s ruling was expected
sooner or later, as it had twice put
off ‘scheduling and forecasting’ at
the behest of the industry, which
still wanted some time -a year-to
put in place the system in order
to comply with the Commission’s
decision. It appears that the regulator
was determined not to take a softer
line this time. Media reports quoted
CERC Secretary Rajiv Bansal as saying
that “objections from the industry
had already delayed the order by
two years and developers have had
sufficient time to prepare.”
The directive, applying to farms
installed since May 2010, will affect
developers, including ReNew Power,
Tata Power Co., CLP Holdings Ltd and
Morgan Stanley-backed Continuum
Wind Energy Pte, which have
added some of the largest
projects in that time.
Needless to say, wind developers are
struggling in the continued absence
of AD and GBI. While the sector has
witnessed a significant drop in fresh
turbine installations, the industry says
the ‘scheduling and forecasting’ rule
is not only hurting the companies
that are already generating power,
but might also impact financing, and
on top of that the penalties for non-
compliance could eat away 12-15 per
cent of their profits.
“Indian wind industry is currently
trying to come out of the shock
of withdrawal of Appreciated
Depreciation (AD) and Generation-
Based Incentive (GBI) which has
impacted capacity addition in wind
sector as one of the lowest in FY
2012-13. The feed-in tariff for wind
energy in the new CERC notification
is low and wind REC sale trend in the
exchanges have either no buyer
or are sold at the floor price of
` 1.50/-. Under these unfavourable
conditions, making scheduling and
forecasting mandatory will further
put them under financial stress.
Although technologically it is possible
to forecast within +/- 30% for
new-era plants, but plants already
commissioned and not equipped with
forecasting tools may find it difficult
to cope with,” Dr Mishra of
PTC India Ltd explains.
Sinha warns, “There is a high
probability that it would create a
significant financial burden, enough
to make projects unviable and turn
profit making ventures sick.”
However, some others in the industry
feel that the impact on profits would
not be that hard, because the CERC
has also allowed the power producers
to change their schedule as many as
eight times during the day.
While the industry’s concerns
are understandable, in view of
their lack of preparation in terms
of technology and tools – which
perhaps makes the new enforcement
seem even more onerous than
would otherwise be, the question is:
how else could the power generation
be better managed, if not by
‘scheduling and forecasting’?
And, considering the well-known
fact that India’s shaky electricity
grid needs stability, isn’t this a
development that would
help the cause?
“Forecasting is certainly beneficial
from grid stability point of view,”
asserts Dilip Nigam, Director, Wind
Power Policy, Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE).
“The concentration of wind
generators is in five states – Tamil
Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh and Rajasthan. The wind
farms are typically embedded in
the state grid and the fluctuation of
generation can lead to instability in
the state grid to a large extent. To the
agony of system operator in states
like Tamil Nadu, suddenly 7500 MW
(which is approx. 40 per cent of
installed capacity for Tamil Nadu) of
wind generation starts injecting on
a good windy day leading to high
frequency, whereas this may go out
of grid without notice on low days.
Therefore, it is imperative that CERC
take a decision on scheduling of wind
energy,” explains Dr Mishra, whose
company is a leading provider of
power trading solutions in India.
“In the short term, the regulation
would face implementation challenge
for wind generators but subsequently
this would enable the grid connected
farms to establish as credible supplier
of power,” Dr Mishra notes.
Tarachandani of Inox Wind believes
that overall, the CERC’s scheduling
and forecasting’ rule is a “positive
step where finally energy has to be
absorbed and the energy
produced can be optimised and
the grid stabilised”.
But how feasible is wind forecasting?
And, are the country’s State
Load Despatch Centres (SLDCs)
equipped to evaluate forecasts and
schedules provided by wind energy
producers and ensure their full
operationalisation?
“Generation can very well be
predicted with proper technology,
software and equipment in place.
That’s what wind farms have to
do,” declares Nigam. However, he
adds that “at present, the State Load
Despatch Centres (SLDCs) are not
equipped to deal with this”.
“We are in favour of transparent and
reliable data-backed Scheduling
and Forecasting which is done at a
consolidated SLDC level and not at
the level of the substation. On a small
sample base, the data is unreliable.
On a much larger base, the
predictability is better,” says ReNew
Power’s Sinha, pointing out that
Germany does something similar.
Many believe that wind being an
intermittent source of energy,
generation from wind farms is difficult
to predict. The absence of reliable
meteorological information, historical
wind pattern data and advanced wind
prediction technology together with
varying wind flow patterns in India
adds to the difficulties, they say.
In countries such as Germany
and Denmark, power producers
have been able to follow strict
forecasting guidelines with the help
of updated meteorological data
and various technical measures like
wind flow modelling, use of onsite
meteorological masts, etc. However,
in India, some are of the view that
these technical measures are
best suited to regions with
consistent wind patterns.
“In Europe, people are already
adopting such mechanisms and
they have proper wind data. That’s
another challenge in our country, we
don’t have enough wind data or very
upgraded systems where you have
30 or 40 years of data collected,”
says Tarachandani.
Stressing the need to learn about
international standards, Sinha says
“We need to adopt best practices
and therefore study international
models that might have data for a
much longer period and so their
experiences would be relevant.”
Moreover, this could actually help
create a more mature wind
industry in India.
According to some, ‘scheduling
and forecasting’ will benefit the
wind sector in the long run, making
it a responsible constituent of
We need to
adopt best
practices and
therefore study
international
models that
might have
data for a much
longer period
and so their
experiences
would be
relevant
the grid, although there may be
some problems in the short term.
This would lead to transmission
companies and the grid operators
accepting larger quantities of wind
power and would also open up new
markets by facilitating inter-state sale
of wind power.
“Contrary to the belief that policy
changes in India are undermining
wind deployment, the reality
may be quite different. It could
be argued that cuts in tax breaks
and UI requirements are driving
the sector’s longer term maturity
and sustainability by encouraging
more rigorous energy assessments,
operational monitoring and
forecasting,” Felicity Jones, policy
analyst at renewables consultancy GL
Garrad Hassan, wrote in Windpower
Monthly last November.
Nonetheless, some industry bodies
are up in arms over the CERC’s
ruling and not willing to take things
lying down. According to media
reports, the Wind Independent Power
Producers Association (WIPPA)
has filed for an injunction at the
Delhi High Court. And, another
industry body, the Chennai-based
Independent Wind Power Association
(IWPA), is also said to be considering
taking a similar step.
So, can we now see which way the
wind’s blowing? Perhaps, not — until
proper systems are put in place.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 35
 Energy Efficiency Smart Grid

Facilitator for
transition to RE

Smart grid presents

I
ndia’s National Smart Grid Mission
of “Quality Power on Demand
a unique possibility for All by 2027” is intimately
linked to renewable energy. Given
for a cost-effective that an estimated one third of the
Indian population has no access to
shift to a more electric power and that transporting
sustainable power from the country’s traditional
generation sources to remote users
energy future by is so difficult, smart grid applications
that increase utilisation of renewable
transforming the energy resources figure heavily in
India’s electricity future.
way electricity Global standards development in the
is generated, area of renewables is a key part of the
unfolding story. IEEE, for example,
distributed, has more than 100 active or in-
progress standards that are relevant
and used, to the smart grid development. Many
fall into the specific technology
writes Srikanth spaces that are particularly critical
Chandrasekaran to India’s smart grid goals: advanced
metering infrastructure (AMI),
cyber security, electric vehicles
(EVs), energy management systems
(EMS), microgrids, power quality,
storage, supervisory control and
data acquisition (SCADA) and
synchrophasors, among them.
Not only are standards-based
solutions critical to India achieving
its smart grid goals as affordably as
possible, participation in the global
standards development effort also is
important to India. This is also made
possible by supporting the cost-
efficient integration of interoperable,
multi-vendor products with other
applications and technologies across
the grid. Through participation,
there exists the opportunity to glean
lessons learned from smart grid
deployments in other areas of the
world; plus, participation by Indian
smart grid developers will help ensure
that this country’s particular smart
grid requirements are taken into
account as market-driven, global

36 | Energy Next | August 2013

standards are defined. Renewable
energy is one of the prime areas
where these dynamics will be in play
for India’s smart grid stakeholders.
Global movement, local priorities
The smart grid is a global movement,
and certainly there are commonalities
in implementations among markets.
In broad strokes, the world’s
regional facilities for electricity
generation, distribution, delivery and
consumption are being augmented
by end-to-end networks for two-
way communications and control.
However, how the smart grid’s
potential benefits are prioritised and,
in turn, deployments roll out, differ
from market to market.
India’s smart grid effort is organised
by a mission to achieve 24-hours-
a-day, seven-days-a-week quality
out in India’s urban areas; leveraged in markets globally to
supply of power on demand for
support integration of renewables
all its citizens by 2027.
• By 2027, implementation is to be and other distributed power sources
From that mission have precipitated expanded nationwide, towards with the grid and deployment
14 pilot projects-formulated by the India’s ambitious aim for “Quality of related applications such as
India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF) Power on Demand for All” in that microgrids and storage. Germany,
and India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)- same year. Japan and Korea are among the
designed to tackle the nation’s most markets that are relying on
pressing needs in grid modernisation. Why standards matter
IEEE 1547 at least in part to
So, for example, India is striving The challenge with counting support increased reliance on
to boost its reliance on renewable so heavily on renewables is the renewable energy sources. In the
energy sources such as solar and unpredictability driven by their United States, federal legislation
wind and distributed generators such inherent intermittency. When is the identifies the standard as the
as microgrids, largely to address sun going to shine and not shine? model for interconnection services.
its exploding power demand that When is the wind going to blow Furthermore, development of IEEE
figures to only accelerate in the and not blow? There are standards 1547 has continued as distributed-
coming decades, given that India is in place to help power producers, generation technologies and
committed to delivering power to so utilities and users account for such deployments have matured and
many more users. uncertainty, utilise more and more revealed new needs; testing,
renewable resources and yet still applications, monitoring, microgrids
The pilot projects are progressing
protect grid reliability and stability, and secondary networks are among
along an aggressive schedule:
and there are many more on the way. the areas that have been more
• By the end of 2013, utilities are to specifically addressed as IEEE 1547
detail and establish their strategic IEEE 1547 “Standard for has been expanded into a whole
roadmaps and implementation Interconnecting Distributed family of standards.
plans for pilot projects; Resources with Electric Power
Systems,” for example, provides Similarly, in 2011, as smart grid
• In 2014, business process performance, operation, planning and implementation
re-engineering, change testing, safety considerations intensified globally, came IEEE 2030
management and capacity and maintenance parameters “Guide for Smart Grid Interoperability
building programmes are to be for interconnecting distributed of Energy Technology and
undertaken as needed; generation technologies of 10 Information Technology Operation
MegaVolt Ampere (MVA) or less at with the Electric Power System
• In 2015, technology trials are
the point of common coupling with (EPS), End-Use Applications, and
to take place;
the grid. The standard, originally Loads.” The standard—crafted
• By 2020, projects are to be rolled published in 2003, has been jointly by communications,

August 2013 | Energy Next | 37

 Energy Efficiency
Information Technology (IT) and
power engineers—was no less than
a breakthrough in that it delivered
the world’s first system-of-systems,
foundational standard designed
from the ground up to support
interconnection and interoperability
in the smart grid. IEEE 2030 provides
interface-by-interface guidance
for grid planners to build two-way
power and information flow across
the infrastructure. And, like IEEE 1547,
IEEE 2030 also has been expanded
into a whole family of standards,
with extension standards addressing
rapidly developing areas of
innovation, such as electric-sourced
transportation, storage and
control and automation.
Standards development continues
within both the IEEE 1547 and
IEEE 2030 families, which are
both overseen by the IEEE SCC21
Standards Coordinating Committee
on Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics,
Dispersed Generation, and Energy
Storage. IEEE SCC21 coordinates
efforts in such technology areas to
help ensure that all standards are
consistent and properly reflect the
views of all applicable disciplines.
In addition, there exist a number
of IEEE standards related to
power quality, such as IEEE 1159
“Recommended Practice for
Monitoring Electric Power Quality”
(http://standards.ieee.org/findstds/
End-to-End Smart Grid Communications Model
Communications Network Security Layer
Communications Network Management Layer
Utility Local
Area Network
(LAN)
Regional/
Backbone/
Core
Metropolitan
Area Networks
Networks
(MAN)
Substation
Network
Wide Area Networks(WAN)
Bulk
Transmission
Generation
38 | Energy Next | August 2013
Smart Grid
Indian smart grid developers will help
ensure that this country’s particular smart
grid requirements are taken into account
as market-driven, global standards are
defined. Renewable energy is one of the
prime areas where these dynamics will be
in play for India’s smart grid stakeholders
standard/1159-2009.html), which both linear and nonlinear loads
addresses the monitoring of electrical (http://standards.ieee.org/develop/
characteristics of single-phase and project/519.html).
polyphase AC power systems and
sets forth consistent descriptions of Conclusion
conducted electromagnetic There are technological hurdles
phenomena occurring on power still to be overcome for the full
systems, and IEEE 1409 “Guide for potential of renewable energy
Application of Power Electronics resources to be realised in smart
for Power Quality Improvement grid deployments in India and other
on Distribution Systems Rated 1 kV markets globally. For example,
Through 38 kV” (http://standards.ieee. renewables’ equipment such as
org/findstds/standard/1409-2012. solar panels and inverters are being
html), which provides guidelines adapted quite quickly to stand
and performance expectations up to harsh conditions where the
for the application of power technologies will be exposed to
electronic-based equipment on substantial dust, heat and humidity.
distribution systems to improve This is an area of technology
power quality. Among the related development and of particular
standards under development is concern in India.
IEEE P519™ “Draft Recommended
Practices and Requirements for Largely, however, the technologies
Harmonic Control in Electric exist to enable the very aggressive
Power Systems,” which is intended renewables’ programmes that India
to establish goals for the design is undertaking and to support similar
of electrical systems that include initiatives in other nations. It is the
integration of such technologies
with the greater electricity grid in
unprecedented scale that is the
frontier of innovation, and it is here
that much of the world’s standards
development for the smart grid has
been, and continues to be focused.
Public Internet India’s stake in the ongoing
success of these standards
Customer
Backhaul Last Mile Premises efforts will swell with the country’s
reliance on renewables toward the
Distribution goal of “Quality Power on Demand
Substation Network HAN : Home Area
“Hot Spots” Network
for All by 2027.”
BAN : Busines/
NAN/AMI : Neighborhood The author is the Standards
Building
Area Network/Advanced Senior Manager for India,
Metering Infrastructure Area Network
Backhaul EAN/AMI : Extended IAN : Industrial IEEE Standards Association
Area Network/Advanced Area Network (IEEE-SA).
Metering Infrastructure
FAN: Field Area Network
Smart Customer (The views expressed by
Distribution
Meter the author are personal)
 Gender & RE Role of Women

Closing the energy access gap is a

huge challenge of the modern era and
women’s empowerment may hold the
key to unlocking a solution, suggests
Caroline McGregor

Powering
societal equity
I
n India, a quarter of the
population still lacks access to
electricity. Some 78 million
households (31 per cent) still use
kerosene for lighting and more
than twice that many (67 per cent)
use biomass for cooking. The lack
of clean and affordable sources of
energy, most often in rural areas,
affects women and children the
most. They are the ones who may
spend hours foraging for firewood
or other biomass to burn, and they
are primarily the ones tending the
fire. Worldwide, about 4 million
deaths each year are attributed
to the inhalation of smoke from
cooking fires. Kerosene is expensive
and dangerous, a frequent cause of
house fires and poisonings when
children mistake the clear
liquid for water.
Clean energy holds enormous
promise for closing the energy access
gap as well as addressing the health
and safety issues related to these
dirtier sources of energy, particularly as
technologies improve and innovative
business models and financing
structures emerge. Reducing the
capital cost of cleaner technologies
such as solar lanterns, clean cook
stoves and solar based off-grid
household lighting systems removes
the main barrier to entry for families
who may pay several rupees a day for
kerosene, but can’t save enough for
the upfront purchase cost of a product
or system.
Energy plays an essential role in human
and economic development, in India as
in the rest of the world. In recognising
this, the United Nations is working
to build energy into the post-2015
development agenda, an update to the
Millennium Development Goals.
To ensure that women and men
benefit equally from the expansion
of clean energy-that the rising tide
lifts all boats-programmes and
policies have to be well-designed
and inclusive.
Dr Syeda Hameed of the Planning
Commission gave remarks noting
that steps had been taken to include
gender sensitivity in clean energy
programmes in India. “The traditional
approach to policy and planning
assumed gender neutrality and the
trickle-down effect would benefit
both women and men,” she said.
Also, she highlighted India’s 12th
Five Year Plan which includes several
important innovations to increase the
participation of women in decision
making and address their needs.
Dr Hameed was speaking as part
of a high-level discussion on the
role of women in clean energy and

August 2013 | Energy Next | 39

 Gender & RE Role of Women
innovation as part of the most recent
Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), held
in April in New Delhi. The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI), a research
institute based in India and where
many women in India working in
clean energy got their start,
hosted the event.
The CEM is a global forum of 23
governments working to promote
and facilitate the transition to a
global clean energy economy. Of
the 23 governments represented at
the meeting in April, South Africa’s
Energy Minister Elizabeth Dipuo
Peters was the only female energy
minister attending. Minister Peters has
been a strong supporter of the CEM’s
women in clean energy initiative
since its launch in 2010.
The Clean Energy Education and
Empowerment initiative, or C3E,
works to advance the leadership of
women in the clean energy sector
where their contributions are often
under represented. Minister Peters
also spoke at the event, stressing the
need for women to not be content
with their own energy empowerment
but to keep working for change
until women everywhere were
empowered.
Nine CEM governments - Australia,
Denmark, Mexico, Norway, South
Africa, Sweden, the United Arab
Emirates, the United Kingdom, and
the United States – collaborated to
launch C3E and made a commitment
to undertake meaningful activities to
advance women in clean energy and
40 | Energy Next | August 2013
close the gender gap in their own
national contexts.
The United States implemented an
ambitious national C3E programme
in 2012 with three main pillars,
focused on empowering women
on a professional level: (1) senior-
executive-level ambassadors who
are role models and champions for
the next generation; (2) an awards
programme to recognise mid-career
leadership in six categories; and
(3) an annual symposium on clean
energy to discuss current issues and
challenges in the clean energy sector
and to allow for informal networking
by women at all levels of their
careers, working across the clean
energy spectrum.
C3E isn’t the only programme that
recognises the need to include
women in expanding the reach
of clean energy. The US State
Department launched a programme
called wPOWER to advance women
entrepreneurs in clean energy. In
India, wPOWER is being implemented
by the NGO Swayam Shikshan
Prayog (SSP), which is setting up a
network of 1,000 women
village-level entrepreneurs (sakhis)
in Bihar and Maharashtra.
Empowering women at a
community level is also a key
piece of the solution. In the social
enterprise domain, Solar Sister is
building networks of women sales
representatives who sell modern
lighting and cooking devices
to their communities.
To ensure that
women and men
benefit equally
from the expansion
of clean energy
– that the rising
tide lifts all boats –
programmes and
policies have to be
well-designed and
inclusive
In addition to helping lift women
out of poverty, access to modern
and clean energy services can have
other benefits. With the time available
that may have previously been
spent providing for a household’s
energy needs, women may pursue
income generating activities or
education. Electrification may
also provide indirect benefits on
women’s empowerment, Emily
Haves, a researcher with Ashden,
an organisation that promotes
local energy solutions, recently
commented: “Media (especially TV
and radio) seems to be particularly
important for empowering women.
Studies indicate a lot of evidence that
after lighting, families are quick to use
their electricity for TV, and that this
changes the way people see women’s
roles. A study on the impact of cable
television in rural India also found
lower son preference, more self-
determination, and less acceptance
of domestic violence.”
Women have much to gain
from clean energy and much to
contribute to clean energy. Having
a voice as policies and programs
are designed or implemented,
with women in leadership roles
in the clean energy sector or as
community-based entrepreneurs, can
help ensure women throughout India
as well as the rest of the world benefit
from access to clean energy.
The author is a Policy Analyst with the US
Department of Energy and the initiative lead for
the Clean Energy Ministerial’s C3E initiative.
(The views expressed by the author are personal)
 Microgrids Ray of hope
Bringing power
to people
Small power plants help bring light in a sea of
darkness. It is a pity there are so few of them,
writes Sanjoy Sanyal as he illustrates the
instances of how microgrids in Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar have helped villages
Zari embroidery has now become easier for women
E
very night, the rural
areas of the states
of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar in India plunge into
complete darkness. Bringing
these peoples out of darkness
must be the priority not just
of the Indian government.
Since it is also important for
Indian businesses; these areas
are untapped markets for
products and for recruitment.
It should also be the priority
of successful Indians who
have prospered in the last
two decades. In fact, it is they
who should be acutely aware
that the social fabric of the
country cannot accommodate
inequality of access to basic
services of this magnitude.
Fortunately, there is a
small glimmer of hope.
A combination of reasons
(falling solar prices and
rising solar efficiencies), grit
and inventiveness of a few
entrepreneurs has led to the
emergence of a model of rural
electrification called microgrids
which can electrify villages
quickly and with small
doses of capital.
There are a few brave spirits
working in the vast states of
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as
this briefing note will describe.
These are people who have
forsaken careers in global
August 2013 | Energy Next | 41
 Microgrids Ray of hope
Lights have made it possible for children to study at night
semi conductor companies and large
Indian infrastructure organisations.
There is even an organic farmer from
California. They have set up social
enterprises which aim at providing
electricity to the villages while at
the same time running their own
organisations as profit oriented
private companies. The companies
I visited in a 2,000 km journey that
started from Patna in Bihar to Delhi
included Husk Power Systems,
Mera Gaon Power, Naturetech
Infrastructure and Gram Oorja.
There are very few traditional Indian
This 18-year-old plant operator is also studying for his graduation
42 | Energy Next | August 2013
businesses which have entered this
area. Minda NextGen is an
exception. It is medium sized
privately owned automotive company
which has diversified into rural
electrification. Taken together –
in the course of the last two years
or so _ these organisations have
covered about 200 villages,
a very tiny fraction of India’s
un- electrified landscape. The models
and technologies they are evolving,
however, are of incredible importance
and provide the possibility of bringing
millions of people out of darkness.
The small capacity non-fancy plants
provide basic lighting services only:
two lights and one mobile charger
per household for a monthly
subscription of about `100 per
month (numbers vary between
operators). The lighting services
are for about five to six hours in the
evening. The `100 (or about USD 2)
per month is the amount that these
households pay for kerosene and
mobile charging. Cell phones are
ubiquitous, but cell phone owners
have to travel to the local towns and
pay as much as `5 per charge.
Companies get to this pricing level by
being frugal innovators. The trick is
to restrict the system capacity down
to a point where capacity utilisation
is reached quickly without having to
draw the lines over long distances
(which increase costs and
leads to losses).
Solar technology seems to be gaining
ground even as the panels survived
the terrible winter earlier this year
when temperatures fell to near zero
degrees Celsius and there were days
on end with dense fog. The size of
these solar plants is tiny: 100 W to
200 systems which provide lighting to
20 to 40 households. Imagine three
to five light bulbs lighting up a small
hamlet. The way companies manage
this is to use energy efficient LEDs.
The LEDs come with their own set of
problems. The glare from these lamps
is high: companies have responded
by using frosted glass. The solar
power produced is DC and there
appears to be a local industry that is
growing around providing
DC powered appliances.
Biomass gasification based small
plants work too, provided operators
are able to maintain an adequate
supply of agricultural waste within
reasonable cost limits. Biomass
based plants produce AC power
which can run televisions and small
machines in village shops unlike solar
plants. These plants tend to be bigger
than the solar microgrids and can
power up larger villages of 500 to
1,000 households with a
35 kW system capacity.

The micro grid enables villagers’ access to electricity
The challenges are incredible. Almost
all operators agreed that the problem
of bad debts is the one most serious
issue. The operators have to collect
small amounts of money weekly
or monthly and this is an incredible
task in an economy where liquidity is
often an issue. Overloading is another
problem. Hooking up an additional
light or a mobile charger robs the
companies of revenue and also
often trips the system and brings the
whole village to darkness. In these
villages, where caste and communal
divisions run deep, companies
have to often set up separate
microgrids for different castes or
communities. Entrepreneurs are
responding to these challenges with
innovative business models: building
tighter management controls and
setting up franchisee or village
level entrepreneur models where
the plant is actually owned and
operated by a local villager. The lack
of awareness of these solutions is
another challenge. Companies like
to believe that their products are
sold by word of mouth, but villagers
in neighbouring villages were
often either not aware or
sceptical.
It is impossible to
significantly impact
livelihood in these villages
just by the provision of
a few lights and mobile
charging. But my trip
did uncover several
heartwarming stories of
change as villages are lit
up by modern electricity
for the first time in human
history. Life becomes a
wee bit easier. Children can
do their homework and
women can space out their
work more easily. Groups
of young women work at
making exquisitely beautiful
‘zari’ embroidery and their
mothers look proudly on.
The dangers to health and
safety from the noxious
fumes and naked flames of
kerosene are avoided.
The most important
impact, as often, comes from
entrepreneurship and professional
management. Members of different
caste groups work side by side,
women who worked in ‘agarbatti’
factories have trained in technical
skills to work as plant operators,
young men, running the biomass
plants by night continue their studies,
while they work, in the hope of a
promotion. We met one of these
employees who had bought a
smartphone and was watching a
movie on mobile video. Standard
practices in much of the 21st century
world. Shockingly new in these
parts of India.
There is much that India and Indians
can do to make this glimmer of
hope brighten into something more
meaningful. The Indian government
could carve out territories where
microgrid players could operate and
spend public money to promote
awareness and encourage research
and development. Advertising
professionals can come together to
develop rural marketing campaigns
that the industry as a whole can
There is a small
glimmer of hope.
A combination of
reasons (falling
solar prices
and rising solar
efficiencies), grit
and inventiveness
of a few
entrepreneurs
has led to the
emergence of a
model of rural
electrification called
microgrids which
can electrify villages
quickly and with
small doses
of capital.
use. Engineering institutes should
encourage tinkering into storage
systems, fuses, controllers and pre
paid meters that can bring costs
down. Successful Indians can get
together and crowd fund the money
required to power up individual
villages and hamlets. India large
corporations can “adopt” larger
villages as a part of the CSR activities.
In fact, the time for a concerted
national action is now. The United
Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy
for All provides the international
momentum and support to remove
this curse on millions of her people.
The brave people running India’s
microgrids need all the support that
the world can give them and more.
The author is the Director
of New Ventures India, a
company that provides
business development
services to environmentally
focused small and medium
enterprises in emerging
markets.
(The views expressed by the
author are personal)
August 2013 | Energy Next | 43
 Energy Talk Anil Raj

‘We offer an
alternative to the grid’

How did the idea of

installing micropower
plants in rural locations
for telecom companies
come about?
We had two strong
motivations to start OMC.
Firstly, to find a sustainable
way to ensure affordable
and reliable energy access to
the hundreds of millions of
people in India who are still
deprived of it. Secondly, the
telecom industry where we
have our background, has
rolled out tens of thousands
of telecom towers in the
It’s not just a small change taking place in some past – was in dire need of
clean and affordable
quaint town. It is, in fact, a movement which has energy to power off-grid
made inroads into villages and rural areas where telecom towers.

the grid has failed to reach. CEO of OMC Power,
Anil Raj, speaks to Sapna Gopal on installing
micropower plants and how it has helped alter
the lives of many
So we created OMC entirely
to address and solve these
two large challenges –
proving that clean power for
telecom and communities
generates a positive triple
bottom line: financial, social
and environmental.

44 | Energy Next | August 2013

OMC sells power to rural
communities through a prepaid
model on subscriptions, where
an entry-level micropower box
costs the consumer around `120
per month. Is this a cost-effective
proposition? Also, are the rates likely
to reduce with more consumers
using this box?
An LED lantern from OMC costs
`100 per month and a typical rural
household spends about `180 on
kerosene for lighting every month.
The same pricing philosophy
applies to all our energy access
products – OMC’s pricing levels
are entirely adjusted to our
customers’ energy spend. As in
all new markets, prices will
decrease in the longer term – in
OMC’s case as energy generation
costs decrease over time.
How has this changed the lives of
people in rural India? In the years to
come, will it mean zero dependence
on the grid?
There is virtually no dependence
on the grid today in the areas we
serve, because grid power –
even if it is present – is not at all
reliable. Power may or may not
come for a few hours every day.
Very few households have
electricity board connections
because of this. We offer an
alternative to the grid – reliable
and affordable electricity.
OMC stimulates socio economic
development in two ways; Local job
creation, delivery crew and sales
agents – approximately 15 people
per plant, also, electricity is a huge
transformative force.
Impact on telecom
• Telecom operators can serve new
areas, because reliable and cost-
efficient power makes the business
case work – serving communities
with voice/data services.
• Also, we have made it simple
and affordable for customers to
recharge their mobile phones.
This translates into an 18 to
20 per cent increase in ARPU as
mobile phones are always
charged and ready. financially viable and failed to
scale because they are:
Impact on businesses
• Grant or subsidy-based and not
• Shops stay open longer which self-sustaining without continuous
increases revenue, businesses with capital support
power can be more productive and
• Incorrectly dimensioned in terms
continue work after sunset.
of generation capacity versus
consumption requirements
Impact on community
• Schools stay open longer and • Have a pricing model which
is not compatible with rural
children read at night. It is now
household budgets
possible to do chores at night, for
example milking a cow or working • The equipment used is just not
both indoors and outdoors. suitable for rural environments
• Fans are used for cooling and to too expensive, it costs too much
remove cooking stove smoke to maintain (in regions where
out from homes engineers are very hard to find),
not possible to transport it to
• People can hire bikes and travel areas where there are no roads
further in a day than ever before.
and little infrastructure
What, according to you, is the OMC Power has worked hard to
commercial viability of green overcome these challenges and
power? ensure that our micropower plants
The short term commercial viability are entirely designed to operate
is crystal clear; today, renewable successfully in rural markets. We
energy is already substantially less examined every component of both
costly than fossil alternatives in traditional and renewable electricity
many rural and off-grid areas. In the
longer term, emission regulation
will penalise fossil fuels to a much
higher extent than today – effectively
making the shift to renewable energy
a financial necessity.
What prompted OMC to provide
renewable energy based on a hybrid
diesel-solar solution? How feasible a
solution is this?
As OMC is a power company,
not a technology company, we are
entirely agnostic to technology –
as long as it’s mature, proven and
reliable. The choice of solar power
with battery banks and generators
for backup is suitable to OMC’s
required generation capacity at each
micropower plant in the areas we
serve. PV solar, battery storage and
generators are all proven energy
components which, because of
commoditisation, can meet the
energy need of our customers.
Many companies can build a hybrid
power plant in an off-grid rural
location. However, the vast majority
of rural electrification projects in
emerging markets have not been
August 2013 | Energy Next | 45
 Energy Talk Anil Raj
Children studying with the help of a solar lantern
The largest financial market barrier,
and at the same time part of the
opportunity, is that micropower is an
entirely new market segment
power plants, transmission
and distribution networks and
consumer electronics – then
modifying thousands of parts
and processes to create our
technologically innovative and
unique micropower plants. We
had to scale down the whole
process of electricity generation
to make it suitable for deployment
in rural villages - to reduce costs,
to reduce maintenance
requirements and to reduce the
sheer size of the operation.
We also had to change the
distribution model. Large
customers receive power
directly via a cable. However, this
model is not scaleable for the
millions of people who live
without electricity. Therefore, we
rent out pre-charged energy utility
products – including LED lanterns,
electric bikes and powerboxes-
using the “sachet” model – pre-paid,
packaged portable power.
The powerboxes - dubbed
“rent-a-power-socket” - power
a variety of electrical appliances
including mobile phones, lights and
fans. It is currently being modified so
it can also power TVs and Fridges.
46 | Energy Next | August 2013
Solar panels at OMC Micropower Plant
Why did the company decide on its
own infrastructure and premises,
independent of any tower firms?
As base station sites have restricted
physical space, confining energy
generation facilities to these
boundaries would mean a limit on
possible energy production. Since
OMC serves two customer segments
– industrial and residential – we have
to ensure that we can reliably serve
our customers.
Do you feel that the current
policies support centralised
on-grid installations instead of
clean energy solutions?
As India has an estimated peak
power deficit of 13 per cent and
growing, the top priority is to ensure
required expansion of energy
generation capacity. Choosing
which type of energy source to use
is just one of many decisions
involved in expanding energy
generation capacity – energy
source reliability and supply, power
plant capex and opex, physical
location and many other factors
also have to be considered.
The regulatory and policy
environment in India is overall very
supportive towards renewable
energy investments and initiatives.
So we’ll gradually see a shift, with
an increasing pace, when the
regulatory framework is further
updated with decreased fossil fuel
subsidies and increased pressure on
emission reduction. TRAI’s Green
Energy initiative is a large step in
the right direction.
What is the role of funding in
initiatives such as the ones OMC
has taken up? How supportive have
financial institutions been in clean
energy ventures?
OMC Power is an infrastructure
company and we will be in a
near-constant state of fund raising
in the foreseeable future. However,
as in all infrastructure projects the
long-term source of funding will
primarily be debt.
The largest financial market barrier,
and at the same time part of the
opportunity, is that micropower is an
entirely new market segment. There
is no regulatory framework to speak
of and there are no benchmarks or
examples to refer to.
This means that while it is in fact
a very bankable business with
large growth potential when
executed correctly, many see rural
electrification as a risky proposition.
India is likely to add 300,000 towers
over the next five years. In such a
scenario, what is the significance of
a clean energy model?

A recent article in a national daily
reported: “At present, there are over
400,000 mobile towers across India
and barely 4000-odd run on a hybrid
solution of diesel with a solar back-
up facility.” This refers mainly to the
power generation infrastructure
today owned and operated by the
telecom companies themselves,
operating within the confines of the
base station site.
The significance of the RESCO
(Renewable Energy Services
Company) model will strongly
increase over the years to come
because of its clear advantages;
A villager rides a solar-powered bicycle
Cooking and baking over an open stove. The fan connected to OMC’s PowerBox
removes the harmful smoke in the kitchen.
• Power generation is not core
business to telecom companies
• The cost per kWh is much lower
when produced by a dedicated
power company with larger
power generation facilities
You have stated that there is going
to be a big shift in the way power
is consumed in India. How do you
think this will happen? Also, in what
way will it impact the renewable
energy sector?
One of the largest problems in
India is that up to 50 per cent of
the electricity generated at a power
plant is lost in transmission. When
high-voltage electricity is transported
over long distances it loses a large
amount of power. The electricity
grid leaks like a broken dam – a
major problem throughout the
world, not just in India.
In India, transmission losses
routinely exceed 30 per cent.
And, when electricity is converted
from high voltage into 230V or
110V to be distributed across
industrial and residential customers,
it commonly loses 10 to 20 per cent
more of its power.
So the concept of an enormous
electricity grid where so much
power is lost in transport doesn’t
make sense. We need to look at
energy production and distribution
in a whole new way:
1. Energy needs to be produced
Photos: OMC
where it’s consumed. Not in a distant
place – and therefore lost in transport
– but as locally as possible, using
whatever available energy sources.
2. Energy production has to be
renewable and non-polluting
because our future depends on it and
it makes strong long-term financial
sense – really and finally.
Could you tell us about the OMC
electric bike? Will this solar-
powered transportation change
things for rural India?
Driven by demand from OMC’s
customers, we have also started trials
of electric bike rentals in six areas and
will start full commercial services by
mid-2013. During the trial period, the
bikes are being used by a variety of
people – including;
• Farmers who previously had to
walk with their produce to and
from markets
• People visiting relatives living more
than a day’s walk away
• Businesses transporting goods
between villages, and also from
distant shops, to sell locally
India has overtaken China and is now
the world’s largest market for two
wheelers. Our electric bikes have fired
the imagination of our customers –
extending their horizons far beyond
the confines of their villages. Since
we’ve made renewable transportation
affordable, they can now travel to
places 50 to 60 kilometres away.
August 2013 | Energy Next | 47
 Insight CST

What are the

technology options
available for CST?
What should you
keep in mind whilst
adopting a CST
system for various
heating requirements?
Siddharth Malik
addresses these
issues and specifically
discusses an option
which meets the
critical requirement –
the two-axis tracking
paraboloid dish CST
technology

Opting for
paraboloid dishes
T
here is a critical need for
hybridising CST and biomass
energy options to provide
a feasible solution to displace
diesel and reduce India’s import
imbalance of trade situation. Hence,
it becomes important to ensure
that the technology choice for CST
maximises the energy contribution
of solar within the hybrid energy
configuration, while leaving only
non-solar hours to be met by
biomass. Ultimately, all solar thermal
hybrid plants run into the risk of
being classified as biomass plants as
the annual average contribution of
solar falls drastically generally due
to limited knowledge of technology
which drives the incorrect system
choice and configuration. To
summarise, the technical viability of
hybrid plants hinges on the ability
to maximise annual solar energy
contribution to the total energy yield
of the hybrid plant. This article will
help deepen the understanding of
CST systems and enable a user to
make an informed decision
Concentrated Solar Thermal or CST
Almost all CST systems utilise the
reflection or refraction principle
to concentrate on the incoming

48 | Energy Next | August 2013

solar radiation to achieve high
efficiencies and deliver energy to
subsequent working fluid. Since the
concentration necessarily requires
direct normal irradiance or DNI,
it necessitates the tracking of the
concentrator to follow the sun. Based
on these fundamental principles,
various technology configurations
have emerged, however, all utilising
a basic set of fundamental physical
principles. The thermal energy
thus produced by concentration is
transferred to the working fluid of
the system which subsequently is
routed to the end application by a
Thermal Balance Of System (TBoS).
TBoS includes conventional process
equipments including piping system,
circulation system, valves, fittings,
tanks, instrumentation and other
second or third contingency safeties.
The CST principle is only further
extended to arrive at Concentrated
Solar Power or CSP which
additionally incorporates a power
block and other ancillary equipment. 4. Geometrical Configuration: Is
the concentrator a true paraboloid
Based on above combination of
or only an approximation to the
various elements such as reflector,
paraboloid thereby compromising
structure, receiver, working fluid, etc.,
on overall system performance?
various technology configurations
True paraboloid configurations offer
are largely classified either as line
highest collection areas and accurate
concentrators or point concentrators.
concentration compared to any
Both these are well known and
other approximations such as fresnel
understood in the global industry -
approximation to the paraboloid.
Line Concentrating Systems: Linear
5. Concentration Ratio (CR): What is
Fresnel and Parabolic Troughs
the CR of the technology? Principally
Point Concentrating Systems: Power higher CR results in high thermal
Tower and Paraboloid Dishes efficiencies across a wide range
of temperature and Direct Normal
While all above technology Irradiance (DNI) values.
configurations utilise a reflector
and thermal receiver along with 6. Sun Tracking: Does the technology
tracking system, each has its operate sub-optimally by being
own unique configuration single axis tracking/fixed receiver
which allows it to etc. or does it fully utilize the energy
emerge as a winner throughout the year (including winter
for integrating into seasons) by dual axis tracking thereby
process industries. providing highest energy yields ?
Typically, the
7. Critical Component Availability:
following key
Are the components being sourced
metrics are used
from monopolistic market with
to evaluate
handful of suppliers controlling price
overall technical
and engineering or from a perfectly
feasibility
competitive market which allows
of adopting a
drop-in-replacements of off-the-
particular
shelf components during lifetime
CST technology:-
of the system?
1. Capacity
8. Indigenous Availability: Is the
Constraint: Is
system supplier indigenous or is
the technology
there a fundamental reliance of
applicable and
engineering, know how and system
fundamentally
operations with a foreign technology
engineered for industrial
provider? This directly impacts project
scale or utility scale?
costs, project overheads, sourcing
In other words, does the
lead times and plant downtime upon
technology necessarily require
a failure or maintenance operation.
utility-scale configuration to be
Indigenous availability enables rapid
viable?
deployment and quick turnarounds.
2. Modularity: Is the technology
9. Energy Yield: Above all, which
modular and low-risk by having
technology option provides
individual stand-alone concentrators
maximum annual energy yield
or are the reflectors or receivers
by having high efficiency across
continuous thereby necessarily
wide DNI range, full solar tracking,
increasing downtime of most of
moving focus, high concentration
the plant upon failure of critical
ratio, minimum land constraints,
component(s)?
modularity, and indigenous
3. Installation Space: Does the availability?
technology require lot of space
with large land footprint or can it The Fuel From The Sky- Direct
Normal Irradiance (DNI)
be mounted on pillars for efficient
utilisation of land area underneath The nature, quality and availability
the concentrator? of input DNI to a CST plant
August 2013 | Energy Next | 49
 Insight CST
Image courtesy: Suntrace
differs significantly from those of
conventional heating plants. Input to
a fossils or nuclear power plant is a
combustible matter (Coal, Oil, Gas or
even Biomass) or nuclear fuel, which
are available concentrated energy
sources available commercially.
These basic fuels can be transported
to the location of the plant. In
contrast, solar radiation and DNI as
primary energy input into CST plants
has no raw material form, is dilute
and is terrestrially accessible only
during daylight hours. Its availability
is dependent upon latitude, season,
time of the day, morphology of
location and the metrological
conditions. The most distinguishing
and limiting feature of solar radiation
is that it is free, abundant, renewable
and environmentally benign.
A clear understanding of impacts
of DNI on CST plants is required to
1 response of the system to various
0.9
0.8
Collector Efficiency
0.7
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0
0 0.1
Image courtesy: William B. Stine’s “The Power From The Sun”
50 | Energy Next | August 2013
understand how various technology
configurations ‘treat’ a wide range of
incoming DNI. DNI is the element
of incoming radiation that directly is
available to a concentrator without
having undergone scattering
and diffusion etc. The usable
instantaneous value of this
parameter ranges anywhere from
100W/m2 to 1000 W/m2. When
integrated over an entire day, it is
expressed in kWh/m2/day. While
a long-term data set is required
to accurately predict the
performance of a given CST systems,
there are certain larger trends on
treatment of DNI by each CST
technology-type which is a strong
indication of how well the CST
technology is suited for an
industrial application.
A striking feature of CST systems
is that for a given technology, the
Parabolic Dish
Parabolic Trough
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
(Tr-Tamb) / Ib,a ( 0C/Wm-2)
annual energy yield for two different
locations on earth for the same value
of cumulative annual DNI is drastically
different. I.e., a DNI of 2000 kWh/m2/
year at two different locations will
result in drastically different outputs
for a given amount of m2 area. This is
due to two factors-
1. Histogram distribution of a given
cumulative value of DNI –
A function of frequency
distribution of DNI values
2. Non-linear response of CST
technology to instantaneous DNI
value—A function of geometrical
configuration and thermal response
The following example shows the
histogram or frequency distribution
of DNI at two locations – India and
Spain. It is evident that while the
cumulative value for both locations
might be the same, their
composition is drastically different
due to distribution of high and
low DNI values:
Hence, it is evident that a CST
technology in India which has good
response across the entire wide DNI
range including lower DNI values, will
outperform an alternate CST system,
that is designed and engineered
to harness high instantaneous DNI
values for a location such as Spain.
A CST system with high
Concentration Ratio more than 200
will provide higher annual energy
yield compared to a system with very
low CR in range of 70-200.
Further the receiver configuration
has a direct impact on thermal
DNI conditions. A cavity receiver
with single aperture opening has
much flatter response across a wide
temperature range thereby resulting
in higher efficiencies and higher
annual energy yields compared to
any other form of line receivers
used in the industry. This is further
validated by the following efficiency
response curves of parabolic troughs
and paraboloid dishes to varying
DNI conditions and operating
temperature profiles –
It is hence concluded that one of the
most important factor that influences
the performance of CST plant is
frequency distribution of DNI.
Using a technology with lower
Concentration Ratio and poor
response to lower DNI values
and higher temperature leads to
unrealistic energy yields and fuel
savings. This directly impacts financial
suitability of CST industrial heating
plants for a given region. Paraboloid
dishes ensure maximum energy
yields and maximum fuel savings and
emerge as ideal choice for heating in
industrial applications.
Solar tracking and tracking receivers
Another major factor that impacts
total annual energy yield and
fuel savings in an industry is solar
tracking and receiver configuration.
It is well understood that the Earth’s
movement around the sun results in
movement in two axes for accurate
solar pointing of reflector and
thermal receiver. I.e, the reflector,
receiver and sun’s position should be
aligned in a straight line throughout
the year to realise highest fuel savings
in an industry. Any deviation from
this ideal configuration will result in
drastic fall in CST energy yield and
much lower than anticipated fuel
savings in the industry.
This simple principle is explained
by the fact that the output or
thermal Power (Pth) of a CST system
is determined by the following
equation where
n = number of concentrators
Ib = DNI
Common Elements of All CSP Tehnologies
1. Reflectors : Glass based, Metal based, Curved, Flat etc.
2. Tracking : Single Axis, Dual Axis, Ez/AL, Polar/Declination, etc.
3. Thermal Receiver : Evacuated Tubes, Cavity Receiver, Fluids, Steam etc.
4. Thermal Piping : Temperature, Pressure, Mass Flow Rates
5. Structure & Foundation : Central, Nodal, Truss, Torque Tube etc.
6. Heat Transfer Fluid : Organic fluids, Synthetic Fluids, Water, Air, Hydrogen, Helium
7. Power Block : Rankine, Brayton, Otto etc.
8. BoP : Steam Pipes, Thermic Fluids Pipes, Vessels, Tanks etc.
Rho = Mirror reflectivity the year and hence fails to collect
Gamma = Intercept Factor the incoming energy available to
reduce industry’s fuel consumption.
Alpha = Receiver Absorptivity
This diminishes the potential of
Thermal efficiency of receiver realizable fuel savings even when
A = Aperture area exposed to sun the radiation is available. Such is
Two variables demand specific the case with Scheffler dishes and
attention- Gamma and A. parabolic troughs. This effect worsens
during winter seasons when the sun’s
Gamma is the intercept factor elevation is low.
or the efficiency which the
During winter, the effect of
energy reflected from the reflector
both the above variables becomes
is captured by the receiver. This
multifold and results in minimum
efficiency is maximum when the
energy yields and minimum fuel
receiver also tracks the sun along
with the reflector, as opposed to savings for the industry, since neither
does the reflector collect most
being fixed in a location, as is the
case with Scheffler dish radiation available, nor does the
receiver intercepts radiation reflected
configurations. In such fixed
configuration, most energy reflected from reflector. In conclusion, a
paraboloid system with dual axis
from reflector never misses the
receiver aperture and hence does not tracking with tracking receiver
contribute to fuel savings. Such is the is the most ideal configuration
case with Scheffler dishes and power for maximising fuel savings in an
tower configurations. industrial application.
To summarise, among all CST
Likewise, an aperture which is
not dual axis tracking, but relies technology options present,
on single-axis tracking is not fully indigenously-available paraboloid
exposed to the sun at all times during dishes manufactured with
commercially-off-the-shelf
component, with automated
two-axis tracking, tracking receiver,
high concentration ratios and
minimal land requirements for
installation are the most well-suited
for industrial applications.
Such systems ensure maximum
fuel savings in an industrial
application, reduce biomass
requirements and create a true
solar-biomass hybrid configuration,
as a techno-commercial
viable alternative to
diesel based heating
systems.
Siddharth Malik is the
Managing Director of
Megawatt Solutions.
(The views expressed by the
author are personal)
August 2013 | Energy Next | 51
 New Frontiers Waste Heat Recovery

Waiting to be
harnessed
The growing need for energy has forced industries across
the world to look for alternative sources. Though in many
countries, some work is being done on waste heat recovery,
India lags due to lack of awareness, technology and the cost
of it. However, the call for incentivising this unexplored
sector is growing. Sayantani De takes a closer look

A
t a time when the industrial process
segment is contemplating ways to meet
its growing energy demands, many
are probably not aware of a potential source
available at their backyards. The heat wasted
in the industrial processes can well be a
sustainable source of energy, some feel. This
is particularly true for developing countries like
India where industrialisation is rapidly outpacing
its competitors in achieving the crucial numbers
marking the growth of the country.
Recycling the heat that comes out
of the industrial chimneys may turn into one
of the biggest opportunities for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, and yet, not many
are aware of it. In recent times, the growing
demand across the industries is to seek more
incentivisation for the waste heat recovery
process so that more and more industry can
reduce their dependence on the conventional
energy sources that will eventually facilitate
energy efficiency and reduce the emission of
greenhouse gases.

52 | Energy Next | August 2013

“The idea is to harness a resource
which is presently not being utilised.
It will help reduce greenhouse
emission and generate electricity
which can be sold on the grid or
be used for self- consumption,”
says Harry Dhaul, Director General
of Independent Power Producers
Association of India (IPPAI). “We are
also looking at providing tradable
derivatives in the form of certificates
which can incentivise investors
to make the capital investment
necessary to set up systems required
for generation of electricity from
waste heat,” he adds.
According to the industry sources,
waste heat recovery processes have
a high PLF of up to 95 per cent which
also has high despatchibility and
therefore can be connected to the
grid. In a way, waste heat recovery is
considered as a means to help bridge
the gap between the renewable
energy target of 15 per cent by
2020 set by National Action Plan on
Climate Change (NAPCC) and the
total potential of the recognised RE
sources – solar, wind, biomass and
small hydro power.
Dr RR Sonde, Executive Vice
President, Research, Technology
& Innovation, stresses the need to
treat waste heat power (WHP) and
renewable energy on an equal basis.
“Being carbon-neutral should be
treated on a par with renewable,”
he says, adding, “Unlike solar and
wind, waste heat recovery offers
advantage of mostly continuous
power generation and can be
hybridised with other forms of
renewable energy seamlessly. New
emerging technologies in WHP are at
the same developmental trajectory as
that of many other renewable energy Waste heat
resources. WHP technologies are at recovery
development (RD3) phase.”
processes have a
According to a study conducted by
Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
high PLF of up to
95 per cent which
in 2005, the US alone has 100 GW
of untapped electrical capacity also has high
in the form of waste heat that
could produce 742 twh of power
despatchability
every year, something that is far and therefore can
bigger than solar energy, which is be connected to
measured in megawatts. In the US
and Japan – cited as examples of
the grid
best practices by Dr GC Datta Ray,
CEO of Dalkia Environergy Services
Limited (DESL), measures to promote renewable purchase obligation
waste heat recovery are in place. (RPO) entities to meet their
However, all such mechanisms have obligations beside the possibility of
been employed very recently – in interchangeability of market-oriented
the middle or at the end of 2011. certificates to be issued for electricity
Therefore, experience feedback generated from waste heat with
about the application of these Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
policies are still weak or of little
interest. According to the people The regulators find the proposition
interviewed in Italy, Norway and the a little difficult and say waste
heat cannot be “dovetailed” into
USA, the regulations that have been
REC scheme or for meeting RPO
put in place are efficient and foster
obligations under the current
the development of WHRPG projects.
definition of renewable energy.
In India, according to Dr Datta Ray,
barriers such as cost, availability
Photo: shreecementltd.com
of suitable technology and lack
of awareness are restricting many
from becoming potential waste heat
energy power generators.
In the Indian context however, no
concrete means is in operation
currently – the regulators and the
industry find it difficult to agree with
each other. The industry wanted
to explore the possibility of issuing
tradable certificates for electricity
generated from waste heat which
could promote investments in
relevant technologies and enable
August 2013 | Energy Next | 53
 New Frontiers Waste Heat Recovery
Unlike solar and
wind, waste heat
recovery offers
advantage of
mostly continuous
power generation
and can be
hybridised with
other forms of
renewable energy
seamlessly
“Who would be the parent of the
initiative and its progress? It’s
beyond the present scope of MNRE.
Would it be Ministry of Science and
Technology, or perhaps BEE (under
MoP) could create another mission
for waste heat recovery/cogen,”
Dr Pramod Deo, Chairman, CERC,
suggests, adding the PAT scheme
of the BEE can address this issue
although there are a limited
number of obligated entities
under the PAT scheme.
Nevertheless, the CERC Chairman
acknowledges that waste heat
recovery is an untapped source
which needs to be utilised,
regardless of whether it is renewable
or not. “It could also be incentivised
through a tax exemption or capital
54 | Energy Next | August 2013
subsidy. In case of RPOs, Discoms’ Entities to meet their obligation, the
finances are already under pressure IPPAI explains.
and they are unable to meet their
The industry argues the benefits of
obligations,” he notes.
Green Energy Certificates (waste
“Let us issue separate certificate for heat), saying they can be traded
electricity from cogeneration/waste through power exchanges bilaterally,
heat recovery. If it has to be included and sold multiple times, much like
under RPO/RECs, then MNRE has to a share certificate. With a validity of
declare that cogeneration/ WHR is five years, it can be mandated that
also eligible under RPO/RECs,” UN obligated entities should purchase
Panjiar, Chairman, Bihar Electricity such certificates every month, and
Regulatory Commission (BERC), says. non-fulfilment of obligations should
The industry, however, wants the
lead to penalty.
BEE to act as a central agency
and devise a methodology by
which energy saved by an entity
can be given a form of tradable
certificate, which can be called
‘Green Energy Certificate (waste
heat)’. It also advocated that BEE
and its state-level agencies accredit,
register, and validate them as well
as issue certificates. At the state
level, they feel that state entities
(SERCs / state government bodies)
can independently develop a
methodology for accreditation,
validation and issue of tradable
certificates for electricity generated
from waste heat sources. State
entities can make it mandatory for
State Electricity Boards, Discoms,
and Open Access Consumers
within the state to meet their RPOs
through Green Energy Certificates
(waste heat). Central and state-level
recognition can be given to both
these certificates, which can be used
by Renewable Energy Obligated
Innovation RE Storage

Cutting-edge

Photo: Riley Brandt/University of Calgary

Researchers from
the University of
Calgary recently
developed a
ground-breaking
way to make new,
affordable and
efficient catalysts
for converting
electricity into
chemical energy. Groundbreakers: Scientists Simon Trudel (seated) and Curtis Berlinguette

This is likely to
W
hen their idea sprung from a discussion, little did Curtis Berlinguette
and Simon Trudel fathom that their work would end up as a
enable energy breakthrough which offers a relatively cheaper method of storing
companies and and reusing electricity produced by wind turbines and solar panels.
Over a conversation, Berlinguette, associate professor of chemistry and
consumers Canada Research Chair in Energy Conversion, with an expertise on water
splitting using molecules in solution (homogeneous catalysis), and Trudel,
to easily store and experienced in the fabrication of amorphous metal oxide thin films,
reuse solar and realised that their work could be combined.
Trudel, assistant professor of chemistry, reveals their work “opens up a
wind power. whole new field of how to make catalytic materials. We now have
a large new arena for discovery.”
Curtis Berlinguette
“Our work represents a critical step for realizing a large-scale, clean energy
and Simon Trudel economy,” adds Berlinguette, associate professor of chemistry and Canada
Research Chair in Energy Conversion, who’s also director of the University’s
reveal more on Centre for Advanced Solar Materials.
their work to Reusing solar, wind

Sapna Gopal On whether this will enable easy storage and reuse of solar and wind power,

August 2013 | Energy Next | 55

 Innovation RE Storage
Trudel explains that it is what they
are striving for. “There is a need for
storing renewable energies while
they are available. By facilitating the
splitting of water (H2O) into hydrogen
(H2) and (O2) gases that can be used
as a fuel, we believe we can make
a significant contribution to clean
energy storage,” he adds.
The duo, who stated that their recent
work represents a critical step for
realising a large scale, clean energy
economy, reason that by relying on
cheap, Earth-abundant metals (iron,
nickel, cobalt) to do a job that has up
to now been done by more expensive
metals such as ruthenium and iridium,
they can contribute to making this
more widely available. “By developing
more efficient catalysts, we can start
thinking about how to make smaller,
less expensive units that can be made
more widely available.”
Also, it is believed that this innovation
will open up ways to make catalytic
materials. Trudel elaborates, “Think
of it like a meal, if you add one spice,
you can make a good dish. If you can
combine many herbs and spices you
can create a spectacular meal. Our
approach to making catalysts allows
us to do just that: we can now make
a variety of materials with virtually
any metal in any proportion. In the
Science paper, we demonstrate
a proof-of-concept that we can
achieve high performance by using
cheap metals such as iron, cobalt,
and nickel. But that is just the
beginning, we can now start to really
investigate an almost infinite number
56 | Energy Next | August 2013
of compositions, and look for the
most efficient catalyst.”
Electrolyzer devices use catalysts
to drive a chemical reaction
which converts electricity into
chemical energy by splitting water
into hydrogen and oxygen fuels.
These fuels can then be stored
and re-converted to electricity for
use whenever wanted. The only
byproduct from such a ‘green’
energy system is water, which can
be recycled through the system. To
store and provide renewable power
to a typical house would require
an electrolyzer about the size of a
beer fridge, containing a few litres of
water and converting hydrogen to
electricity with virtually no emissions,
the researchers elucidate.
What also sets this innovation
apart is the fact that instead of
rare, expensive and toxic metals
in a crystalline structure, the duo
opted for simpler production
methods for catalysts. They
deviated from conventional thinking
about catalysts, which typically
are made from rare, expensive
and toxic metals in a crystalline
structure. Instead, Berlinguette and
Trudel turned to simpler production
methods for catalysts. This involved
using abundant metal compounds
or oxides (including iron oxide or
‘rust’) to create mixed metal oxide
catalysts having a disordered or
amorphous, structure.
Laboratory tests – which have been
reported in their Science paper –
They have patented
their technology
and created from
their university
research a spin-off
company, Firewater
Fuel Corp., to
commercialise their
electrocatalysts for
use in electrolyzers.
It expects to
have a commercial
product in the
current large-
scale electrolyzer
market in 2014,
and a prototype
electrolyzer – using
their new catalysts
– ready by 2015 for
testing in a home.
show their new catalysts perform as
well or better than expensive catalysts
now on the market, yet theirs cost
1,000 times less.
“Our goal was to achieve similar or
better performance catalysts, in a way
that is modular, versatile, and scalable
while using environmentally friendly
methods. The method we use is not
energy-intensive, which is why we
can attain these highly disordered
amorphous materials, which is key
to the increased performance over
conventional crystalline materials.”
The researchers, who aim to
see a consumer prototype ready
within two years, also hope that this
new technology is implemented in
home-scale devices which could
store energy for a single-family
dwelling. Moreover, they see its
scope in India too, since it receives
large amounts of solar energy.
“This could mean being able to be
less reliant on grid electricity, and
have stored energy supplies at
home,” they conclude.
Wind Energy Pondering the Future

Policy support crucial

to further growth
In the wake of the problems India’s wind power sector
has been facing of late, advocates of renewable
energy have come up with recommendations that
they believe would revitalise the sector

W
ith an installation of around
29,000 MW of renewable
energy (RE) capacity, India
is on track to capitalize on its huge
renewable energy potential – no
two ways about it. The country’s RE
industry is primarily driven by two
sectors – wind and solar – the latter
gaining prominence post 2010. As
expected, with an installed capacity of
over 19.5 GW that accounts for about
70 per cent of the country’s total
renewable energy mix, wind is easily
the flag bearer. However, going by
the recent developments and trends,
it could be said that the sector is
going through a tough time.
The wind sector is now undergoing
a major transition and is faced with
several immediate and long-term
challenges in the wake of issues like
withdrawal of incentives, inadequacy
of transmission and evacuation
facilities, and regulatory constraints.
The multi-party Parliamentarians’
Meet – ‘Wind Power Industry in India:
Enabling Future Growth” -
in Bangalore, organised by Climate
Parliament came as morale booster
for the sector.
“Due to the growing energy demand,
the decreasing fossil fuel reserves and
the threat of climate change, India
needs to understand the importance
of renewable energy and promote it.
Wind energy, being the most mature

August 2013 | Energy Next | 57

 Wind Energy Pondering the Future
technology in this sector, is a very
important part,” said JD Seelam, State
Minister of Finance, Government of
India. He suggested that the Union
Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy (MNRE) should step up
its effort to provide an enabling
framework for the wind energy
investors. He even promised that the
Ministry of Finance would extend its
support in doing so.
The meet provided a platform to the
parliamentarians, working to promote
renewable energy, to deliberate upon
issues facing the wind energy sector
with several experts, government
representatives, regulatory bodies
and industry representatives. They
discussed in detail the issues and
challenges that have of late troubled
the wind energy sector, and came out
with a set of recommendations for
the government.
Incentive programme
Raising the issue of incentives,
the parliamentarians demanded
immediate implementation of
generation based incentive (GBI)
and reintroduction of accelerated
depreciation (AD). The wind sector
witnessed a fall of around 40 per
cent in capacity addition during
58 | Energy Next | August 2013
2012-13, post withdrawal of GBI
and AD. Besides GBI and AD, the
parliamentarians put forth several
recommendations to the government
to streamline the development of the
sector in order to achieve the target
of installing 25 MW of wind power
during the 12th Five Year Plan period.
Transmission facility
Transmission and evacuation
infrastructure is one area that calls
for proper attention, as this has
not only led to problems for the
wind project owners in evacuating
power from their sites, but it has also
deterred new investors. According
to Indian Wind Power Association
(IWPA), the evacuation of wind
energy in Tamil Nadu, India’s leading
state in wind power installation, has
witnessed a slump when compared
to the corresponding period last
year. Expressing concern over the
prevailing scenario in wind power
evacuation in the state, IWPA says
that a drop of 25 million units (MU)
per day that amounts to around
35 per cent shows that the
government is not paying enough
attention to the problem.
Representatives of the textile industry
have also expressed concern over the
inaction of the state power utility and
not evacuating power from the wind
mills, allowing them to idle during
the peak season. At the Climate
Parliament meet, the participants
urged the government to come
out with adequate planning for the
transmission infrastructure, including
inter-state transmission facilities.
Reassessing potential
The MPs also suggested reassessment
of India’s wind potential, taking into
account various parameters. As per
the official estimates in the Indian
Wind Atlas (2010) by the C-WET, the
wind power generation capacity
in India is 49,130 MW, with respect
to two per cent land availability at
windy locations and a 50-metre hub
height level of the wind turbines.
However, if extrapolated at 80-metre
standard hub height, the projected
wind potential using the same land
availability will be in the order of
1,02,788 MW. There have been
various reports that have showcased
different estimates of wind power
potential in India, warranting
a reassessment.
Long-term vision
The parliamentarians recommend
a long-term policy vision, stable
incentive programmes and
regulations to streamline the growth
of the wind sector which is struggling
to keep up the pace. People from
the industry have also expressed
this need time and again. Devansh
Jain, Director of Inox Wind, in a
recent interview to Energy Next, said
that in the absence of long-term
policy vision and reasonable and
uniform tariff regulation, investors
are apprehensive about putting their
money into the wind sector. So, it
becomes imperative that a long-term
policy framework is developed for
a streamlined growth of the sector.
The Climate Parliament also
deliberated upon other important
issues hampering the wind sector
that included alignment of national
renewable energy deployment
targets as per National Action
Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
recommendations, specific policy on
repowering wind sites, enforcement
of RPO targets, a definite plan to
bring the costs down, finalisation
of a strong off-shore wind energy
policy, and development of domestic
manufacturing base.
According to latest reports, the
MNRE has drafted a note for
reintroducing tax and fiscal
incentives that were removed last
year. The draft is being circulated
among various ministries before a
decision is going to be made. The
Finance Ministry is yet to give a nod,
but once the recommendations are
accepted, the Indian wind sector is
likely to bounce back. Industry insiders
believe that the reintroduction of the
incentives like GBI and AD will
not only attract increased
investments in the sector, it is
also likely to give a much-needed
boost to the equipment manufacturers
who have been struggling to
survive in tough times.
 Clean &At
MNRE a Glance
Green Energy Other Side of the Story

India offers RE assistance to Mongolia

O
n his recent visit to
Ulaanbaatar, the capital city
of Mongolia, the Union
Minister for New and Renewable
Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah,
offered India’s assistance to the
country in developing its
renewable energy sector.
Dr Abdullah represented India
at the swearing-in ceremony of
President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who
has been re-elected to a second
term. Representatives of several
other countries were also present
at the occasion besides members
of Mongolian parliament and other
government officials.
During a meeting with Elbegdorj,
the MNRE Minister said India Dr Farooq Abdullah with the Mongolian President
would be happy to assist
Mongolia in harnessing power Dr Abdullah also handed over a letter vision and commitment of Elbegdorj
from various renewable of felicitation from President Pranab to the Comprehensive Partnership
energy sources. Mukherjee, lauding the personal between the two countries.

Minister asks Delhi CM to promote

solar energy
I
n a bid to cut down reliance on
conventional power by switching
to renewable energy, Dr Farooq
Abdullah has recommended the
increased use of solar energy
in the national capital.
In a meeting with officials that
included the chief secretary and the
power secretary of the state, The Delhi Secretariat
Dr Abdullah urged Chief Minister
Sheila Dikshit to set up a solar energy
park of at least 5-MW capacity near government will soon try to find out transferred to the grid.
the Delhi Secretariat building in order a suitable site for setting up the solar The MNRE Minister assured the
to generate clean power. On an park near the Secretariat building. state government would continue
average, the Delhi Secretariat, which Dr Abdullah said that the solar to get solar energy at `5 per unit
houses offices of the chief minister park in Delhi will be based on the for the next 25 years. He suggested
and all other Delhi ministers, has an model of the solar power project that the Old Delhi Secretariat
energy demand of around 2.5 MW. commissioned at the New Secretariat can also have a solar facility to
In response to the request made by in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh, and the generate around 1 MW of clean
the MNRE Minister, the Delhi CM said energy generated at the solar park energy while the existing gas plants
her government was keen to harness will be used for meeting the power can be supplemented with solar
solar energy, which was clean and demands of the Secretariat building, plants and installation of solar PV
affordable. She assured that the state while the remaining power could be panels on rooftops.

August 2013 | Energy Next | 59

 Status update RE Installations in India

Wind
continues
its reign
Wind remains
the dominant
source of
renewable
power in the
country with
an addition
of 512 MW of
new capacity,
taking its total
installation
capacity to
over 19.5 GW

I
ndia’s excessive reliance on coal
and imported crude oil makes it
essential to have an optimal energy
mix that will allow it to achieve its
goal of sustainable growth. Increasing
the share of renewable energy is
therefore critical for energy security.
Although India has done well on
this front in recent years, in the
first quarter of the current financial
year, India could manage a capacity
addition of 566 MW only, a modest
achievement in view of the annual
target of 4325 MW.
The new capacity of solar, wind and
small hydro power (SHP) installed
in the country in the first quarter
accounts for 13 per cent of the
total annual target. According to
the Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy (MNRE), wind continues to
be the dominant renewable energy
source in the country with an
addition of 512 MW of new capacity,
taking its total installation capacity to
over 19.5 GW. Solar, which has gained
momentum in the country over the
last few years, came second with a
capacity addition of 73 MW, followed
by SHP with 54 MW. The country also
saw installation of 12 MW of off-grid
/ captive power generation capacity
from different renewable sources
during the first quarter.
As of June 30, 2013, India’s
cumulative installed capacity of
grid-connected renewable energy
stood at 28,709 MW. At the same
time, the cumulative off-grid / captive
generation capacity of renewable
energy was 895 MW.

60 | Energy Next | August 2013

 IREDA Corner Financing green growth

$etting a benchmark
There was a time when garnering funds for renewable
energy projects in India was a big challenge, but
IREDA’s credibility and brand value has changed
that forever, and there is now a growing enthusiasm
among the world’s leading financial institutions and
development banks to pump money into clean and
green energy ventures in the country

T
he Indian Renewable Energy
Development Agency Limited
(IREDA) is known for its
pioneering role in promoting the
growth of India’s renewable energy
sector in India. One of the crucial
factors contributing to this success
is the institution’s ability to attract
low-interest cost bearing long-term
funds and deploy them in innovative
ways. The institution is committed to
maintaining its position as a
leading organisation through
efficient systems and processes
for providing total satisfaction and
transparency to its customers.
IREDA’s impressive record has
made it the most sought-after
institution for Bilateral and Multilateral
international agencies that are keen
on supporting the RE industry in
developing economies like India. The
institution’s resource base consists
of, Paid-up Capital, Reserves and
Surplus, Domestic Borrowings and
International Borrowings. IREDA’s
credibility, strong work ethics and
brand reputation owing to the
stringent processes and norms
that are followed during project
development in India
IREDA as a conduit, leading to a more
meaningful sustainable development
of our economy. It is one of the few
organisations that have successfully
promoted business as well as
socio-economic growth and equity
while taking into consideration
environmental concerns.
IREDA’s resource-raising strategies
include a mix of domestic and
international loans. Domestic
Borrowings are through – (a) Bank-
term loans and (b) Issue of Taxable
/ Tax free bonds. International
Borrowings are being raised through
Bilateral and Multilateral international
agencies for RE projects in India.
These institutions include World Bank
(WB), International Development
Association (IDA), Asian Development
Bank (ADB), Nordic Investment Bank
(NIB), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau
(KfW), Danida (Danish International
Development Agency), and AFD
(French Development Agency). The
international borrowings are normally
raised for longer repayment periods
and with low costs (including hedging
cost), which enables IREDA to recycle
funds and take cost advantage.
The loans raised from International
agencies are in foreign currency and
IREDA’s lending is in INR currency.
Thus IREDA is exposed to currency
fluctuation risk and interest rate
fluctuation on these borrowings.
In order to safeguard against the
exchange rate fluctuation, IREDA
is having a comprehensive Foreign
exchange risk management and
derivative policy which enables
IREDA to use exchange derivatives,
like currency and Interest Rate
Swap (CIRS) to hedge the foreign
currency loans. The foreign currency
fluctuation risk is limited to the extent
of CIRS cost and thus results in the
lower borrowing cost. The success
of IREDA’s project financing has
attracted these institutions to extend
the financial assistance on
standalone basis without seeking
government guarantee.
IREDA is one of the few financial
institutions in the world that support
the cause of clean energy. It has not
only played a key role in attracting
private sector participation for
setting up renewable
energy projects, but its
Photo: IREDA

has prompted many of well-judged showcasing

the agencies to offer of success stories has also
repeat lending facilities. led to debt financing by the
Further, some of the best commercial banking sector,
practices being followed inflow of private equity,
internationally with respect and most importantly,
to environmental and inflow of foreign direct
social audit procedures investments, making India a
in the RE sector have got global leader in the field of
transferred to India, with renewable energy.
IREDA’s Finance team
August 2013 | Energy Next | 61
 Event Report
Happenings on
the energy front
CII Green Power 2013
At the 12th Green Power 2013
international conference, organised
by the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) in Hyderabad recently,
industry experts stressed on
renewable energies for ecologically
sustainable development.
S Chandrasekhar, former chairman of
the CII Karnataka State Council, said
that India has immense renewable
energy sources like solar, hydro, and
wind and working towards tapping
these sources is the need of the hour.
Delivering his special address,
Umesh Narayan Panjiar, Chairman
of the Bihar Electricity Regulatory
Commission, emphasised that
with the country is facing energy
shortages, the potential for
harnessing RE sources is vast since
natural resources in India are aplenty.
The government, he elucidated,
is providing capital subsidies,
concessional custom and excise
duties on RE equipment apart from
income tax exemption.
Ramesh Kymal, Chairman,
Renewable Energy Council,
CII – Godrej GBC, said that though
B Ashok Reddy, M Kamalakar Babu, Ramesh Kymal, Umesh Narayan Panjiar, Richard Hyde, Prof T L Sankar, Pravinbhai Patel, S Chandrasekhar and
K S Venkatgiri, release a CII case study booklet on renewable energy at the CII Green Power 2013 in Hyderabad recently
62 | Energy Next | August 2013
Opting for cleaner sources of energy is no longer the
domain of one industry alone, it is a concept which
has permeated into various sectors, cement, paper and
pulp, to name a few. Energy Next gives you a peak into
the events that stressed on the adoption of renewables
India ranks 10th in the G-20, it is world, structural changes in one
imperative to plan for renewable and region could impact working of
affordable energy sources for an industry anywhere in the world.
a sustainable tomorrow. Though this phenomenon is a
challenge it could also provide new
On the occasion, the second
opportunities for industries that are
edition of CII Case study booklet on
willing to progress with the changing
renewable energy was released.
energy scenario”, he added.
7th Paper Tech 2013
In his address, Sanjay Singh, vice-
At a meet jointly organised by the CII president IPMA & Divisional Chief
and the Indian Paper Manufacturers Executive, ITC PSPD, focussed on
Association (IPMA), Yogesh Agarwal, how paper as a commodity will
president, IPMA, and MD & CEO, always be in demand in some form
Ballarpur Industries Limited, spoke or the other. However, he added that
on how the global structural changes industries need improve on
in the pulp and paper manufacturing their energy consumption patterns
industries could have an impact on and use more renewable energy
the operations of the Indian industry to have a lesser impact on the
in this sector. environment which will eventually
help the country as a whole.
“While it is noticeable that due
to globalisation the market, The Best Practices Manual – Pulp
technologies, capital and talent & Paper Industry- Vol. 6 was also
have become linked across the released at the event.
 Upcoming Events

Aug
Solar Energy for Aug Guangzhou IWH Aug Solar Energy+
17-19 World Peace 19-21 Exhibition- 2013 25-29 Technology 2013

T he event will see

presence of prominent
scientists from the country
working in the field of solar
energy problems, materials
Istanbul, and devices to interact with
Turkey the global experts from
Asia, Middle East, North
Africa and Sub Saharan
Africa, where energy
autonomy is of crucial
importance for future
peace and democracy.
T he 8th edition of China’s
exclusive show on water
heating technologies, aims to
O rganised by the
International Society
for Optics and Photonics,
bring together water heating the event is a focused
companies and experts program on latest
Guangzhou, from within the country and San Diego, research in solar PV cell
China abroad. With the success CA, USA technologies besides thin
of the event in 2012, the film solar technology,
forthcoming event aims to solar concentrators,
become one of the largest reliability, solar hydrogen,
shows in water heating next-generation cell
industry with participation technology, and other
from Government, relevant technologies.
manufacturers, associations,
enterprises and media.

http://solar4peace.org/ http://www.whstgz.com/en/ http://spie.org/solar-energy.xml?WT.mc_id=RCal-OPSW

Sept Sept Sept

Solar Indaba RETECH 2013 Asia Pacific CES
02-05 09-11 09-11 and Expo

S outh Africa’s Flagship

Solar Congress enters
into its third edition, which
will see over 250 director
and board level stakeholders
Cape Town, into consultation with
South Africa the government, Eskom,
municipalities and
commercial and industrial
energy consumers on
charting path for pushing
forward the country’s solar
power industry.
T he event aims to unite
business leaders,
investors, technology
T he event is the
preeminent meeting
place for international
innovators, federal, state, leaders and energy
and local government experts at the forefront
Washington officials and university Honolulu, of the clean energy
DC, US educators from across the Hawaii, US movement. The
world to address issues, summit will address key
challenges and opportunities technological, business
of every discipline of the and sustainability areas
Renewable Energy industry. impacting our planet
and provide opportunity
for a high-level global
networking necessary for
advancement of clean
energy culture.

http://www.solarindaba.com/ http://www.retech2013.com/ http://www.ct-si.org/events/APCE2013/

Sept Sept
Global Conference on Renewable Energy
10-12 (GCREEDER 2013) 12-14 India Expo-2013

Amman,
Jordan G CREEDER is an important event
that aims to address the renewable
energy as well as the energy efficiency
issues in the desert region. The 4th
edition will see deliberations on topics
like solar energy applications, green
buildings, energy economics, grid-
connected renewables, energy efficiency
& management and many more.
Greater Noida,
T he expo is an important gateway
to access the potential of Indian
renewable energy market, and
India provides an excellent conduit for
technology transfer into the Indian
renewable energy industry and
opportunities of networking with
top industry experts, policy makers,
investors, researchers, financial
institutions other stakeholders
representing the entire value chain.

http://www.solarconindia.org/ http://www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com/

64 | Energy Next | August 2013

 Why IREDA?
Interest rate as low as 11.5%
Maximum repayment period up to 10 years
Financing up to 75% of the project cost
Moratorium up to 12 months from the date
of commissioning
Come to IREDA with your concept & project
and get it nanced for a sunny future.

*Conditions apply
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited
(A Government of India Enterprise)
Corporate Ofce: 3rd Floor, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi - 110066
Telephone: +91 11 26717400-12 Fax: +91 11 26717416
E-mail: cmd@ireda.in Website: www.ireda.gov.in
RNI NO.: APENG/2010/38296 POSTAL REGISTRATION NO.: HD/1153/2011-13 IN CONVERSATION RE IN STATES GLOBAL VOICE New Frontiers: Waiting to be harnessed
Dr Praveen Saxena Looking for a breather Gregory Barker Energy Efficiency: Facilitator for transition to RE
p18 p23 p28 Gender & RE: Engaging women in clean energy

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Volume 3 Issue 10 August 2013 Hyderabad Your guide to Renewable Energy

ENERGY NEXT
BALANCING
ECONOMY & ECOLOGY
AUGUST 2013

Environmentalists’ criticism over development of hydropower projects

in Uttarakhand following the savage floods has triggered a debate on
whether there’s a need to chart a fresh course