Australia installed its highest ever number of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in 2020, according to Clean Energy Regulator data analysed by energy efficiency experts from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO.

Data from the Clean Energy Regulator analysed by CSIRO shows that in 2020, around Australia, over 362,000 rooftop solar PV installations were issued with small-scale renewable energy scheme certificates (STCs) under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

This is an increase of 28 per cent from 2019, when 283,991 installations were issued STCs, with the majority of installs under the scheme being residential, and a smaller number for commercial and industrial properties.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said the analysis showed a strong appetite for science-led innovation in Australia.

“CSIRO has analysed and projected energy futures for more than two decades, and over that time we have accurately forecast and tracked the reduction in cost of renewables, and the development of battery storage options, including our own UltraBattery,” Dr Marshall said.

“Science has made renewables cost competitive with conventional power, letting market forces take over to drive a global transition to lower emissions.

“Australia’s solar advantage creates an economic opportunity for us on the world stage and an environmental benefit for the globe – even better when it’s powered by Australian science and research.”

CSIRO researchers use the Clean Energy Regulator data as the best indicator of PV installations around Australia, and is just one of the five sources of data collated by CSIRO’s Australian Housing Data Portal.

Senior Experimental Scientist Michael Ambrose is part of a team that uses a vast array of data to track the progress in residential sustainability efforts.

“The solar PV installation data shows how quickly PV systems have been taken up across Australia and the increasing size of the PV arrays,” Mr Ambrose said.

The states with the highest number of solar PV systems installed in 2020 were: New South Wales (with 108,922), Queensland (86,912), Victoria (71,798), Western Australia (47,653) and South Australia (35,599).

Individual postcodes leading the charge in 2020 were:

• 3064 (Victorian suburbs of Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Mickleham and Roxburgh Park) with 2484 systems
• 3029 (Victorian suburbs of Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina) with 2435
• 3977 (Victorian suburbs of Cranbourne, Sandhurst and Skye) with 2036
• 2765 (NSW suburb of Marsden Park, Berkshire Park, Vineyard, Box Hill) with 1841
• 6112 (WA suburb of Armadale, Forrestdale, Bedfordale with 1778

Australia has the highest uptake of solar globally. Clean Energy Regulator data shows that more than 2.68 million rooftop solar power systems have been installed in Australia in total, as of 31 December 2020; that means one in four homes have solar panels on their roof.

“Australia is one of the sunniest places on the planet. We lead the world in PV capacity on a per capita basis at 591 watts per person which is almost eight times the worldwide average,” Mr Ambrose said.

Launched in 2019, the Australian Housing Data Portal centralises a vast amount of energy efficiency data that underpins key decision making, training and awareness.

Updated monthly, the portal contains data across states and climate zones and can be further broken down by design (e.g. dwelling class and floor area), construction (e.g. type of walls and roofing) and fixtures and appliances (e.g. solar PV and heating/cooling systems).

Clean Energy Regulator’s Executive General Manager Mark Williamson said that 3 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar PV capacity was installed nationally in 2020, a 40 per cent increase on the 2.2 GW installed in 2019, and this is trending higher in 2021 with an expected 3.5 to 4 GW of capacity. The growth in capacity has been driven by increasing system size, with the average system now between 8 and 8.5 kilowatts.

“Sustained low technology costs, increased work from home arrangements and a shift in household spending to home improvements during COVID-19 played a key role in the increase of rooftop solar PV systems under the SRES,” Mr Williamson said.

Australia installed its highest ever number of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in 2020 with more than 362,000 systems installed around the country.

Australia installed its highest ever number of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in 2020 with a total of more than 362,000 systems installed around the country. And NSW led the charge with 108,992 systems installed.

Australia installed its highest ever number of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in 2020 with a total of more than 362,000 systems installed around the country. These postcodes led the charge in the Sunshine State.

Australia installed its highest ever number of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in 2020 with a total of more than 362,000 systems installed around the country. And the three highest performing postcodes were in Victoria.

The record-breaking 2020 solar PV installation data shows how quickly PV systems have been taken up across Australia and the increasing size of the PV arrays.

Australia has the highest uptake of solar globally: one in four homes have solar panels on their roofs. And in 2020, we installed a record-breaking number of rooftop solar panels.

Australia is one of the sunniest places on the planet. We lead the world in PV capacity on a per capita basis.

At CSIRO, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology.

We are committed to child safety and to the implementation of Child Safe principles and procedures.

Source: csiro

In late 2020, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission asked the state’s electric and gas utilities to discuss what infrastructure projects they had in queue that could be accelerated to support the COVID-battered economy.

Tucked into a proposal from Xcel Energy, the state’s largest electric company, was a comparison of two proposed solar projects: one, a giant solar array on the site of a closing coal plant; the other, a small collection of rooftop solar projects to serve low-income residents.

In a nondescript table was a bombshell revelation about the relative economic benefits of solar at small scale: for every million the utility proposed spending on rooftop solar, it would create 30 times more jobs than $1 million spent on utility-scale solar.

For every million the utility proposed spending on rooftop solar, it would create 30 times more jobs than $1 million spent on utility-scale solar.
Utilities often and erroneously compare the costs of large and small solar to generate electricity, leaving out the delivery costs not including the the cost of large projects (and that small projects don’t pay).

Rather, large-scale solar competes with other large-scale power production, and small-scale with other sources that deliver right to the door (or meter) of our homes and businesses. Both types of solar are competitive.

As Minnesota’s value of solar calculation shows, the value of locally-produced power is actually very similar to the retail electricity price. And as shown in a recent grid model from Vibrant Clean Energy, large-scale wind and solar are the most cost-effective new electricity sources compared to other big power generation just about anywhere.

If it’s not the price that matters in choosing large or small, then the economic impacts matter much more. This tidbit suggests that the more money we invest in small-scale solar, the much larger economic multipliers we’ll see across the economy.

It squares with the 30 Million Solar Homes campaign that ILSR co-leads, which has (preliminarily) found that an investment in solar for 1 in 4 American households could great $30 billion per year in energy bill savings, create over 1.7 million jobs, and shift more than 5 percent of total electricity use to the sun.

We discuss other factors for public regulators to consider in the utility’s pandemic filing in our full comments below, but it’s clear that a focus on distributed solar can deliver a much bigger economic boost than letting the utility centralized power production, and at a competitive price as well.

Read ILSR’s full comments to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission below.

RE: Docket 20-492 / In the Matter of an Inquiry into Utility Investments that May Assist in Minnesota’s Economic Recovery from COVID‐19 Pandemic

Dear Mr. Seuffert:

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) respectfully submits the following comments on the Xcel Energy COVID recovery plan and thanks the Commission and Xcel Energy for the conversation. This discussion was inspired. Thank you.

Overall, Institute for Local Self-Reliance offers a few values against which to measure the proposed projects:

• Speed — how quickly can they deploy? In general, small scale renewable energy projects can reach commercial operation faster. So if there are options to weight the proposal toward more distributed solar, it can align the deployment time period with the urgency of the recovery
• Workforce — Xcel already highlights and ILSR supports the use of using women- and minority-owned businesses, as well as high labor standards for solar projects.
• Choice — where possible, customers being served with on-site energy should have a choice of service providers and a choice of ownership
  Path dependency — to what extent do proposed projects preclude future developments? For example, do transmission investments reduce the incentive to invest in non-wires alternatives or distributed energy resources for a similar grid impact?
• Equity — do programs target economic recovery in a way that addresses the disproportionate impact of COVID on low-income folks and people of color?

In the following section, we provide some perspective on Xcel’s proposed projects based on these decision criteria.

Evaluation of Specific Proposals
The electric vehicle rebates (especially on used vehicles) are an excellent way to accelerate low-carbon vehicle deployment quickly, to reduce driving costs for Minnesota customers, and to enable more customer choice between internal combustion and electric vehicles.

ILSR’s only suggestion is that Xcel consider means testing rebates or providing bonus rebates for low-income buyers. The rebates for transit vehicles are even better.

The focus on vehicle types that primarily serve vulnerable populations, including low-income residents and children means that the point source pollution reductions will benefit those who need it most.

The wind project repowering also scores highly for speed, workforce development, and increasing renewable energy supply. ILSR’s only suggestion is that Xcel Energy and the Commission consider opportunities to add energy storage during the repowering process, to support more jobs today and deeper reductions in fossil fuel power in the future.

The non-wires proposal for Minneapolis is also an excellent opportunity to test a better model of meeting grid needs with a municipal partner. ILSR strongly supports this proposal.

A Deep Dive into Solar
The solar energy proposals are interesting and merit further discussion. By itself, the utility-scale solar project in Becker serves many worthwhile goals.

The replacement of electricity production from Sherco not only serves broader low-carbon electricity goals but also addresses equity by providing jobs and tax base in a power plant community losing a crucial anchor institution.

The addition of storage helps to cement progress toward a primarily renewable energy grid. On these merits alone, this project is worthy of acceleration.

However, the low-income rooftop solar proposal raises an interesting question about the utility-scale project: If rooftop solar produces, by Xcel’s estimates, 30 times as many jobs per million dollars of project cost, why aren’t we doing more rooftop solar for economic recovery? The following table shows the jobs and CapEx estimates from Xcel’s filing, with ILSR’s annotation.

Since Xcel customers already invest in rooftop solar with utility-managed incentives such as Solar*Rewards, we also know that customers do not need Xcel to pay the full capital cost.

For example, Xcel could provide a bonus $1.35 per Watt rebate for rooftop solar (and storage) for the same cost and supporting the same number of megawatts as the Sherco solar project. If Xcel Energy spent $608 million supporting rooftop solar, it would create over 7,000 jobs at time with high unemployment, especially among African Americans.

So, should Xcel sandbag the Sherco solar proposal for rooftops? No. The proposed project should be done, and given the opportunity and the sunsetting of federal tax credits, should be done as soon as possible.

ILSR suggests that Xcel should also do a rooftop solar expansion project combined with utility-owned storage at substations. Such a proposal would:

1. Meet more of the criteria that matter for a stimulus proposal, including rapid deployment and employment.
2. Align with state-expressed goals to expand distributed generation and community solar, by expanding distribution grid hosting capacity.
3. Support greater resiliency by providing backup power at crucial grid locations.

ILSR suggests the utility provide bonus rebates to support 100 megawatts of residential solar, with rebates scaled to income to provide the biggest boost to low-income households.

A rooftop rebate program would also reduce some of the concerns ILSR has with the low-income solar proposal. The biggest concern is that Xcel owning distributed solar projects inserts a monopoly company into a competitive market.

Xcel has the advantage of customer bill data, infrastructure capacity, and an existing relationship with customers that independent solar installers lack. The secondary concern is that being low-income shouldn’t deprive a customer of having a choice of solar installer. Xcel could finance solar on low-income properties without being the installer.

However, low-income solar access is also an example of market failure in Minnesota, where on-site and community solar programs have both struggled to equitably reach low-income customers. With that in mind, it would be unfortunate to turn away any reasonable programs that could provide access to low-income customers, at least on a pilot basis.

Therefore, ILSR suggests that the Commission approve Xcel’s low-income solar program with modifications:

• Allowing customers to pick their installer from pre-approved independent contractors.
• If Xcel also provides a rebate-based program to expand customer-owned rooftop solar, providing an ownership option for participants and taking advantage of the much higher jobs per megawatt opportunity from distributed solar.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment and for taking up this important conversation; we appreciate that there has not been any legislative preemption of this regulatory process.

Source: ilsr

Solar Rooftop – A Promising Story

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Solar rooftop is a revolutionary product that helps customers save upto 80%+ electricity costs

Tata Power has partnered with Tata Basera to promote its solar rooftop services and home automation products amongst individual home builders and Tata Steel’s channel partners. Under this initiative, individual home builders purchasing rebars from Tata Steel would benefit from additional and exclusive offers from Tata Power upon purchase of solar rooftop solutions for their new homes. These exclusive benefits to Tata Steel customers would be available across 240 districts and 2,800+ Tata Steel dealers.

Solar rooftop is a revolutionary product that helps customers save upto 80%+ electricity costs and also make a positive impact on the environment by mitigating carbon emissions. By partnering with Tata Steel for the Tata Basera program, Tata Power takes one more step forward in becoming a complete solution provider for its rooftop customers, in addition to other services such as comprehensive O&M offerings, rooftop financing and insurance, etc.

Rajesh Naik, chief, new business services, Tata Power, said, “As a sustainable organisation, we seek new avenues to promote our energy saving products and services among larger consumer base. We are confident that our partnership with Tata Basera will be fruitful for our consumers to benefit by substantially saving on their monthly bill.”

Sanjay S Sahni, chief of marketing and sales, BPR, Tata Steel said, “Every family has certain basic needs while building a home that can give it a head start. Through Tata Basera we offer Tata Tiscon consumers various home solutions with the best offers available in the market from the most trusted brands in the Tata Group company.”

Source: constructionweekonline.in

New Delhi [India]: The world’s largest thin-film power solution company Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (00566.hk) on Monday announced signing of a prolific USD 130 million HanTile presale contract with Japanese construction and solar power conglomerate, Forest Group.

The company’s fresh move reaffirms its earnestness to enter international market. This synergistic association with Forest Group is a testimony of Hanergy’s par excellence technology and its product quality reaching the highest standard of international market.

The contract that is signed between Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (0566.HK) and FGS, a subsidiary company focused on solar power business under Forest Group, intends to bring to use and put together the expertise and the rich sectorial experiences of both companies to optimize Japan’s photovoltaic market.

“We have great confidence in Hanergy’s products and we’re sure that we’ll together win accolades in the sector. Further, in the backdrop, we hope that within the next 5 to 10 years, Japan’s household market reaches the goal of zero emission, realizing a great potential for solar power market,” said president of Forest Group, Mori Haruyuki.

The current contract will prove to be a milestone for Hanergy’s HanTile product, leading its way in other international markets. Despite, Japan particularly has strict certification system with dozens of testing and approval procedures, Hanergy’s acquisition of the presale contract further reiterates its high standard product quality and advanced technologies.

“At Hanergy, we make enormous efforts to stay ahead of our peers, be it through robust investment in R&D, the constant breakthroughs in technology, and numerous patent applications. It’s an upshot of these unremitting efforts, that we could swiftly secure the contract with the leading Forest Group in Japan. We see a great potential in Japanese market, which is also a strategic market for Hanergy,” said vice president Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, Lv Yuan.

Source: ANI

MP Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyail today inaugurated the 12 Solar Roof Top 5 Kw Power Plants in different hamlets of Kanoor Village, funded and provided by former Chairman J&K Legislative Council and MLC Kargil Haji Anayat Ali from his Constituency funds and implemented by Kargil Renewable Energy Development Agency (KREDA). He said, it is a part of PM Narendra Modi’s Dream to Make Ladakh Carbon Neutral. The work has begun from Kanoor Village of Kargil which has been the first Renewable Village in Ladakh. Besides this in this 200 household village KREDA has installed 22 Polycarbonate GreenHouses, 18 solar water heaters and are planning to provide benefit to the villagers from other schemes to fulfil the demand of Renewable Village.

Congratulating and thanking Haji Anayat Ali for such a visionary Step and the role of KREDA in promoting Renewable Energy in Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyail said it is a revolutionary step for the whole country. MP Ladakh on this occasion said that Government is under process to establish a PSU for Ladakh on the pattern of LREDA and KREDA and all the projects will be routed through the PSU so that more Employment avenues can be generated as well as exploring other avenues in the field of renewable energy.

Referring to MODI Scheme, JTN said that for a sustainable Development of Ladakh, focus on agriculture and allied sector was the prime motive of the government and the progress will be for both the districts as the government has sanctioned 250 Crore each for both the districts under the scheme.

Jamyang Namgyail appreciating the achievements of KREDA said that the Agency is not only catering to the needs of the people of Kargil but also to the needs of the people of Leh which is highly appreciable.

Underlining the potential of solar energy as a clean and pollution free source of energy, MP Ladakh said that it will be the prime source of energy for electricity generation in the times to come and the government has taken adequate measures in harnessing the solar energy to make Ladakh carbon neutral.

Source: newsonair

The SunPedal Ride project is impeccably aligned with the mission and vision of Planet21 Sustainable Development goals of ibis.

The SunPedal Ride that aims to create awareness about solar energy, sustainable mobility and healthy living, started in India in 2019 in partnership with ibis and has now reached Europe to drive a positive change globally.

The 700 km journey that took place over 10 days from 17th to 26th July on a solar-powered electric bicycle from Paris to Amsterdam was undertaken by Sushil Reddy, an IIT Bombay alumnus. The mission behind this ride was to spread awareness, promote sustainable mobility via long-distance zero-emission journeys and inspire cities to follow suit.

Sylvain Laroche, Director of Operations, ibis and ibis Styles India said, “We are delighted to associate with The SunPedal Project for leading the change and promoting sustainable hospitality culture throughout ibis hotels not just in India but now in Europe too. We believe sustainability is the need of the hour and with this association, we are taking a small step in creating awareness and encouraging a culture of sustainable living.”

ibis encourages and promotes sustainability through its various initiatives which aim to reinvent the hotel industry on a sustainable basis by mobilizing its employees, guests and partners. The SunPedal Ride project is impeccably aligned with the mission and vision of Planet21 Sustainable Development goals of ibis.

Founded in 2016, The SunPedal project is a movement that creates awareness about clean transportation and renewable solar energy. Sushil Reddy, the founder has earned recognition in the Guinness and Limca Book of World Records for the longest journey on a solar-powered electric bicycle. In the current scenario, solar-powered electric bicycles, a partially solar-powered electric auto-rickshaw and bicycles are the mediums through which the project promotes sustainable mobility.

Sushil Reddy, Founder, The SunPedal project said, “I am humbled to associate with a brand like ibis. They have been an integral part of my journey for more than a year now, from India to Europe. My recent journey could not have been successful without their constant support, encouragement and amazing hospitality experience. I am ecstatic to be a part of their noble Accor Planet21 sustainability initiative. With this association, I believe we can create awareness about clean transportation and renewable energy to promote a sustainable future.”

Source: bwhotelier.businessworld.in

The coronavirus pandemic has not deterred Australians from installing rooftop solar panels in ever-greater numbers, driving what is expected to be another record year for growth in green power generation.

The increased number of people working from home, more spending on home improvement and low interest rates are encouraging households to install solar panels, the Clean Energy Regulator said in a report on Thursday, revising up its forecast for new installations by 7%. Australia already has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar in the world, driven by falling costs, an abundance of sunshine and a surge in electricity prices over the past decade.

The country is on track to match 2019’s record for 6.3 gigawatts of new renewables capacity this year, the Clean Energy Regulator said in a report on Thursday, with the contribution of new small-scale solar power at 2.9 gigawatts. Around 29% of suitable households now have panels installed on their roofs, according to the report.

“Australia now has over 2.4 million rooftop solar PV systems on residential dwellings with a combined capacity of 9.7 gigawatts,” the regulator said. “While each individual system is small, together they form one of the biggest generators in the electricity grid.”

Australians’ embrace of solar has created headaches for energy market planners, reducing demand for traditional generation and caused bigger fluctuations in electricity use across the day.

Here are the other key findings from the CER’s quarterly report:

• Rooftop solar installation rose by 41% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, despite a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19a
• Large-scale renewable projects have added 2 gigawatts of capacity so far this year, with the total expected to reach 3.4 gigawatts in 2020
• There were 43 projects registered under the government’s Emissions Reduction Fund program in the first half of the year, already surpassing 2019’s total
• Total emissions reduction from the Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Fund is expected to be approximately 54 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent in 2020, compared with 48 million tons in 2019

Source: BloombergQuint

At a time when the world is fighting Climate Change and exploring alternative ways to generate energy, Tezpur University is prioritizing the use of renewable energy for generating electricity for its buildings and classrooms as a part of its sustainable campus initiatives.

The University considers five thematic areas i.e. energy, water, waste, natural ecosystems and sustainable building for its mission towards sustainable campus, varsity authority said a statement.

In order to develop Sustainable buildings (also known as green buildings), the University has installed 1000 kWp rooftop grid connected solar power plant under Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) scheme for government buildings under RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) mode and has effectively replaced 24% of the monthly electricity consumption of the University during October 2018-July 2020 period.

“The University purchases electricity from Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) at the rate of Rs. 6.60/kWh, whereas the solar power plant generated electricity cost is Rs. 2.42/kWh”, it means solar rooftop scheme is much cheaper than buying electricity from commercial rates”, said Sadhan Mahapatra, associate professor, Department of Energy, who is associated with installation of rooftop grid at the University as the coordinator.

Currently, the power plant is installed at 15 building roof spaces at the University. The total electricity fed into the University grid during October 2018 to July 2020 is 1968345 kWh.

The monthly average electricity generation from the plant is 89470 kWh. The maximum generation in one day is 5938 kWh/day and the average daily generation during this period is 2949 kWh/day. The maximum generation was 112149 kWh in the month of August 2019.

The University also reduces 1614 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission due to solar power generation during this period.

“Solar roof top projects are focused to solar systems installations on rooftops of residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. The roof top solar power projects have several advantages like savings in transmission and distribution losses, low gestation time, reduction in electricity bill and battery eliminations reduced the system capital cost etc.”, Mahapatra added.

“Tezpur University is the first Academic Institution to initiate the installation of MW (megawatt) Scale Rooftop Grid connected Solar PV power plant in the entire North Eastern Region of the country. The University entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the developer- Arunachal Pradesh Power Corporation Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi for 25 years period at a flat tariff of Rs. 2.42/kWh during 2018 for installation of the power plant,” Biren Das, Registrar of the University said.

“Currently, out of 15 buildings, where the solar power plant is installed, 11 buildings net electricity consumption are nil or these buildings can be named as Electricity Neutral Buildings”, Das added.

Under the Paris Agreement, India has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 33 to 35 percent below 2005 levels and to achieve 40 percent of its electricity generation from non-fossil sources by 2030.

“The University is glad to be part of Nation’s commitment at Paris Agreement and National Solar Mission (A Ministry of New and Renewable Energy initiative), which has taken policy initiatives under National Action Plan for Climate change of the Government of India to promote solar power. We are committed towards the nation’s commitment to reduce the greenhouse gas emission by using renewable sources of energy”, Mahapatra said.

Two most adopted business model in solar industry are RESCOand Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) model.

RESCO model based projects are financed, owned, and developed by third party or developer. The developer installed the project at the consumer’s rooftop.

The developer operates the plant and sells the energy to the consumer on consumption choice like roof leasing or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Tezpur University has adopted the RESCO model.

Source: nenow.in

Valuing Grid-connected Rooftop Solar

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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala State Electricity Board has started scouting for contractors competent to be empanelled for design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of grid-tied rooftop Solar PV power plants.

The board has invited applications from the interested contractors who would be responsible to set up solar power plants for a period of 25 years as part of the board’s plans to improve the solar energy generation capacity of the state by setting up plans worth 150MW in domestic sector.

Interested contractors are advised to submit tender before April 17. The board proposes to set up roof mounted solar PVs with 50MW capacity for the 2020-21 period, along with other plans for solar power generation. Registration of consumers interested in setting up solar units is already on. First 75,000 consumers registering with the board would be eligible for the scheme, for which they would get government subsidy.

As per the guidelines published by ministry of new and renewable energy, 40% subsidy would be available for plans up to 3KW capacity. For every additional unit, up to 10KW, subsidy would be 20% of the total cost. As per the ministry guidelines, the cost per 1KW plant, including operation and maintenance charges, is Rs 54, 000. The Kerala model scheme offers more flexibility to those interested in setting up solar units on their roof tops. As per this scheme, consumers can join the drive by spending only 12 to 25 % of the project cost. KSEB would be in charge of the maintenance of such plants for a period of 25 years. The board has devised various business models for this scheme.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) project officer Surendra Kumar claimed that a solar panel of 236kW had already been installed in PU and more such installations were in the pipeline

PATNA: With a view to minimizing the use of conventional sources of energy, Patna University (PU) will soon install solar panels on the rooftops of all the buildings on its campus. This was announced by vice-chancellor (VC) Rash Bihari Prasad Singh while initiating a discussion on the ‘Utility of Solar Energy’ organized as part of ‘Jal-Jivan-Hariyali Diwas’ celebrations at the Wheeler Senate House on Tuesday.

The state education department has issued a directive to all the universities and colleges to observe the first Tuesday of every month as ‘Jal-Jivan-Hariyali Diwas’. Hence, various programmes were conducted at the university level and in different colleges on the theme of energy conservation.

The VC pointed out that the university had also started constructing rainwater harvesting structures at different places on the campus. “PU students are being made aware of the steps aimed at conserving energy and groundwater level,” he said.

Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) project officer Surendra Kumar claimed that a solar panel of 236kW had already been installed in PU and more such installations were in the pipeline. Using a PowerPoint presentation, he gave valuable tips on conservation of energy and advantages of the use of solar power.

PU National Service Scheme (NSS) programme coordinator Atul Aditya Pandey pointed out that all the NSS camps organized in different colleges were now based on the theme of ‘Jal-Jivan-Hariyali’. “Young volunteers are being told about ecological balance and environmental conservation,” he added.

PU has decided to organize a poster competition-cum-exhibition for students at the Wheeler Senate House on April 7. A daylong seminar will also be conducted on the first Tuesday of May. The university has already constituted a committee for executing these programmes. Proctor Rajneesh Kumar has been made the professor-in-charge and two teachers — Bhavuk Sharma of geology department and Manoj Prabhakar of economics department — will assist him.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

RRECL – Counter Offer for matching L-1 Prices for “Rooftop Solar Power Generation Scheme

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Chandigarh: Making way for more solar power generation in the city, Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (Crest), under the aegis of the environment department of Chandigarh administration, will install rooftop solar panels in 300 government residences of different categories.

Under the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 15 crore, government schools were left with some room for more solar panels on their roofs in the previous drive will also be covered in this installation exercise.

Since the work has started in some areas, its expected completion by March 31 will add 2.5 megawatts to the current solar energy production in the city. Crest recently got the approval for the financing of the project by the engineering department of the Chandigarh administration.

Since there are different categories of as per size, the authority has decided to install solar panels of two, three and five kilowatts at the government residences, while for schools, the panels will be set up as per the availability of space. “As houses have limited space, we will keep the area available in the mind and accordingly select the panel size before installation. Feasibility of setting up the panels will also be taken into account,” a source said.

When asked about the project, environment director and Crest CEO Debendra Dalai said, “The order of approximately Rs15 crore have been placed for the installation of solar panels in around 300 government houses of different categories and on the remaining area of school rooftops. We have set March 31 as the deadline for completion of the project.”

As per information, the department has installed solar panels at all the police stations of Chandigarh and the department will soon make them operational.

The UT administration has set a target of 69 megawatts by March 2022. As per sources, as nearly two years remain to achieve the said goal, Crest has resolved to generate at least 50 megawatts by March 2021.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

As part of this initiative, the roof of the facility is fully made up of solar panels, which has proven to be economical compared to conventional RCC roof.

Hyderabad: As part of its attempts to adopt energy conservation measures at workplaces, stations and other areas, the South Central Railway (SCR) integrated solar roof with pre-fabricated concrete walls at newly constructed booking office building at Kamareddy Railway Station.

As part of this initiative, the roof of the facility is fully made up of solar panels, which has proven to be economical compared to conventional RCC roof. The roof of the building is a pre-fabricated structure with polycrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (SVP) panels fitted on mild steel structure instead of constructing conventional RCC structure, SCR officials said.

The average cost per square metre of a pre-fabricated roof is Rs 13,750 whereas the cost per square metre for RCC structure is around Rs 25,000. A total of 18 SVP panels each with a capacity of 320 Wp (Watt peak) totalling to 5.76 kWp (kilo Watt peak) are incorporated as the roof of the building while 5 kWp inverter is made operational for converting solar power into 3-phase AC supply.

Switch gears with necessary protections such as surge protection device and lightning arresters were arranged along with earthing provisions. Approximate energy generation from this structure is around 6,000 electrical units per annum resulting in saving of Rs 60,000.

This concept of prefabricated structure with SPV panels can be constructed within a reasonable time and cost covering more plinth area as compared to regular RCC structures. The roof assembly is lightweight and has the flexibility of dismantling and shifting to some other place, a press release said.

Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR, appreciated the efforts of officers and staff of Hyderabad division for adopting this innovative concept to conserve the energy while promoting a green environment.

Source: telanganatoday

North MCD has signed an MOU with Indra Prastha Power Generation Co. Ltd to install solar panels in its schools

NEW DELHI: The North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Thursday began with its project of solar panel installation in schools under its jurisdiction with the first one being set up at Municipal Primary School at Aruna Nagar. In the first phase, 1,500 KW capacity of solar panels would be installed in 230 municipal schools at a cost of Rs 4.3 crore.

This is 75 per cent of the total project cost. Around 75 per cent of this amount or roughly, Rs 2.8 crore has been received from the Ministry of Human Resource Development under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The remaining Rs 1.5 crore, would be utilised from the plan head of education, which would be borne by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

North MCD has signed an MOU with Indra Prastha Power Generation Co. Ltd to install solar panels in its schools. Mayor Avtar Singh said that after the installation of these solar panels, 21 lakh units of electricity will be produced and the corporation will save or generate revenue of approximately Rs 1.78 crore per year. “The project is aimed to create renewable energy source in an environment-friendly manner and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the municipal schools,” he added.

Source: newindianexpress

A total of 18 SPV panels each with a capacity of 320Wp, totalling to 5.76 Wp, have been incorporated into the roof of the building.

HYDERABAD: The new booking office at Kamareddi Railway Station has been constructed with a solar roof. A first of its kind initiative, the solar roof was integrated with prefabricated concrete walls, which has also proven to be more economical when compared to conventional RCC roofs.

The roof of the building is a prefabricated structure with Poly Crystalline Silicon Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) Panels fitted on a MS (Mild Steel) structure, instead of the regular RCC structure. The average cost per square metre of a prefabricated roof is Rs 13,750, whereas the cost per square metre for the RCC structure is around Rs 25,000.

A total of 18 SPV panels each with a capacity of 320Wp, totalling to 5.76 Wp, have been incorporated into the roof of the building. The structure can be constructed within a reasonable time and cost, covering more plinth area as compare to regular RCC structures. The roof assembly is lightweight and provides flexibility for dismantling and shifting to some other place on need basis.

Source: newindianexpress

Dadar, Cotton Green and Byculla are among the railway stations that will be solar-powered

The Central Railway on Tuesday said they have planned to convert nine major stations into green power zones over the next three years. It has identified Dadar, Govandi, Cotton Green, Byculla, traffic building at CSMT, LTT, Lonavala, Umbermali and Thansit stations, for the project.

Tenders have been floated to kick-start the project, which the CR took up after other green plans delivered a positive result. Using measures like regenerative braking — a mechanism where the energy generated while braking is pushed back into the grid — the CR has managed to bring down energy consumption to 71.2 million units this year from 77.8 million units in 2017-18 (April-October).

The CR has also commissioned rooftop solar plants, aggregating 3.7 megawatt (MW), so far and, has entered into power purchase agreement for 9.9 MW in June this year.

Land-based solar plants, totalling 40 MW, have been proposed on Nagpur and Solapur Divisions. It went for wind power through open access and installed 50.4 MW and 6 MW wind mills in Sangli.

Dockyard Road, Chembur, Aman Lodge, Jummapati, Water Pipe and Matheran railway stations are already solar-powered.

Source: mid-day

Nagpur: State discom Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has opposed net metering system for solar rooftop consumers and demanded net billing as it is suffering revenue loss due to these consumers.

In its submission before Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), the discom said it has so far incurred a loss of Rs224 crore due to solar rooftop consumers.

Under net metering, solar energy which a consumer has generated for own use is metered so that excess electricity generated can be banked to the customer’s account for future consumption. Net billing allows solar consumers to generate power for personal use and sell excess electricity to the discom at a wholesale cost, while purchasing power at retail rate.

The submission states that Gujarat has allowed consumers to install solar rooftop capacity only up to 50% of the sanctioned load with monthly banking arrangement. Rajasthan allows solar rooftop only up to 80% of contract demand and banking within one billing cycle with a cap of less than 50 units. Uttar Pradesh also allows banking within one billing period only and solar rooftop is available only for residential and agricultural consumers.

MSEDCL is worried as the solar rooftop system’s installed capacity is increasing. While the installed capacity was 20.44MW in 2016-17, it has increased to 288.80MW in 2018-19. Only 4% of the total capacity has been installed by residential consumers while remaining 96% belong to commercial, industrial and other subsidizing consumers.

The discom has calculated that after net metering was allowed in the state, it has suffered a loss of Rs224 crore till March 31, 2019. “More and more consumers are becoming subsidized consumers instead of being subsidizing consumers. If the trend continues, considering the exponential rise, it will destroy the tariff structure and provision of cross-subsidy mechanism for giving supply to poor consumers and farmers at low tariff,” the submission states.

Solar power expert Ajit Ganguly has, however, countered these claims by pointing out that in an year’s time solar rooftop consumers will generate 330 million units (MUs) per year against MSEDCL’s total energy purchase of 1.2 lakh MUs. Therefore, the contribution of solar rooftop is less than 0.3%.

Ganguly further said that MSEDCL has been constantly failing to achieve its solar renewable purchase energy (RPO) target and in 2017-18, the discom was able to meet only 40% of the target. “To overcome this obligation, MSEDCL is compelled to buy renewable energy certificates (RECs). The average cost of REC is Rs2.40 per unit. Further, National Solar Mission has set a target of generating 40% of solar energy from rooftop and hence MSEDCL was going against the Centre’s policy by discouraging rooftop,” he added.

Another expert Sudhir Budhey asked whether MSEDCL was in profit before 2015 when there was no solar rooftop regulation. “Will the discom start earning profit if solar rooftop is banned? The new rules should be optional and not compulsory,” he said.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

In the near future, the university will increase its solar power capacity in two phases of 2MW each, to reach a total of 5 MW of solar power generation within the campus

Hyderabad: As part of contributing towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and achieving carbon neutral status in the next decade, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has launched several developmental activities within the campus.

The measures to make the campus sustainable revolve around energy conservation and harnessing of renewable energy, water development and management, desilting of lakes, conservation of green forest and environment and solid waste management, according to a press release.

As part of the activities, the university installed 1.140 MW (Mega Watt) of solar power on rooftops of buildings on the campus that generated 21,11,358 KW per year and these measures led to reduction of power bills to the extent of Rs.14 lakh per month and also met 15 per cent of power requirement in the campus.

In the near future, the university will increase its solar power capacity in two phases of 2MW each, to reach a total of 5 MW of solar power generation within the campus. The street lights have also been replaced with LED bulbs that consume less electricity and need less maintenance and last longer.

The university said seven Sewage Treatment Plants based on Fibre-glass Reinforced Plastics using Jhokasou Technology for treating 650 KLD (kilo litres per day) of water, which is recycled for use in horticultural spaces, were installed.

Source: telanganatoday

Dharamshala: Solar panels have been installed on the rooftops of 27 government buildings in the state capital of Shimla, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed the state Assembly on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Anirudh Singh on the second day of the ongoing winter session here, Thakur said the 1310.8 kilowatt (kW) capacity panels were setup in the last two years.

Of them, the highest capacity of 500 kW panels were set up on the rooftop of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), said Thakur, who also holds the additional charge of the state power department.

To promote solar energy, the work to install 1209.04 kW panels on 34 other government buildings in Shimla is on, he said.

Source: PTI

Aligarh: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), which achieved a unique status of being self-sustaining by generating green energy from renewable resources for sustainable future, is now a strong candidate for Green Campus certification by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India (GoI) as the University has successfully shifted conventional electricity grid consumption to solar energy by more than 60 lac units and saved about 50 lac kg of CO2 emissions in a span of two years.

It should be noted that India is among the 200 countries to have pledged for a commitment to the ‘United Nations Frame Work Convention on Climate Change’ for reducing CO2 emissions. The GoI has targeted a reduction of 35 percent in CO2 emissions by the year 2030 with its National Mission on Climate Protection.

In line with the MNRE requirements of reduction in dependence on conventional energy sources by 25 percent in five years; AMU is improving energy efficiency, conserving resources, and enhancing environmental quality with various projects contributing to equivalent per day saving of about 27000 kg of CO2 emissions.

“The implemented projects in AMU include a grid integrated 6.5 MW of solar PV power, which is among the largest installations of grid integrated renewable energy in academic institutes of the country and a unique 3.3 MW Peak (MWp) Ground Mounted Solar PV Farm integrated with the campus distribution system,” said AMU Vice Chancellor, Professor Tariq Mansoor adding that these installations are a part of ‘National Solar Mission’ aimed at integration of 100 000 MW of Solar Photo Voltaic Power Plants with power grid in the Country.

AMU has been awarded the second prize among all categories of installations by the Department of Additional Sources of Energy, Government of Uttar Pradesh for its contribution to ‘Save Energy Campaign’ in the state.

The University is also involved in various programmes related to manpower training in this area of national importance such as Training Programme for Engineers of PVVNL, Moradabad Division, Office of Chief Engineer, Moradabad (November 22-23, 2017); Training Programme for Engineers of PVVNL, Moradabad Division, Office of Chief Engineer, Moradabad (January 15-16, 2018); Training Programme for Engineers of PVVNL, Muzaffarnagar Division, Office of the Superintending Engineer, Muzaffarnagar (January 22-23, 2018) and Training Programme for Engineers of PVVNL, Shamli Division, Office of the Superintending Engineer, Shamli (February 3-4, 2018).

AMU has conducted invited talks at International Training Programs organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of External Affairs for participants of different countries. Through these programs India has been helping participant countries of ‘International Solar Alliance for Implementation of Environment Friendly Solar Energy Sources.’

AMU has provided technical guidance and support to Jamia Millia Islamia, Meerut University, Allahabad University, Teerthankar University, Integral University and Smart City Programmes at Bareilly and Meerut, Engineers of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited and to other industries, colleges and schools.

Source: indiaeducationdiary.in

CHENNAI: Irumbai, a village in Vanur taluk in Villupuram district would soon become the country’s first fully solar-powered village.

The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Corporation (TEDA) plans to complete the work within two to three months. The agency is awaiting the completion of local body polls to move ahead with the project.

The state government has allocated 2.2 crore from the State Innovative Fund for the project. The project aims to study the socio-economic impact of energy conservation, besides creating awareness on sustainable and renewable energy. A 170kWp ground-mounted solar farm would be established in 4,000 sq ft area in the village. It would supply three-phase uninterrupted power to the village, managing director of TEDA, M Asia Mariam told TOI. More villages would be covered under the scheme by TEDA in the future, she said.

Once the solar farm is established, the village would be off the Tangdeco power grid. The excess solar energy generated by the pilot project would be sold to Tangedco, and the revenue generated from it would be utilized for research work. The unit has been designed to generate 150% of the actual power requirement of the village. “The village will not remain in darkness, even if there is continuous rain or low solar power generation for a couple of days. It will be further enhanced to face the challenges that may arise in future,” general manager of agency S Sankara Narayanan said.

The village was shortlisted after a detailed energy audit survey five years ago. “We have replaced the streetlights, fans and other electronic appliances with energy-efficient appliances,” said Narayanan.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

The old age home has also informed the electricity department and has received approval to connect the three-phase meter.

VIJAYAWADA: The Australian Consulate, Chennai, donated Rs 6,35,000 to construct a solar rooftop for Vasavya Mahila Mandali, an old age home, on Tuesday.

The money was donated under direct-aid programme and used to install an on-grid inverter, net metering – ACDB, DCDB, wiring cables, lightning arrester, earth kit and solar GI structure.

The old age home has also informed the electricity department and has received approval to connect the three-phase meter.

Source: newindianexpress

In its latest orders for approving the tariffs discovered in the recent solar and wind power auctions, CERC said that ‘it is upto the contracting parties to mutually agree on trading margin’

National electricity regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has refused to approve the trading margin of 7 paise/unit to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which is the nodal agency for implementing central government’s renewable energy projects across the country.

In its latest orders for approving the tariffs discovered in the recent solar and wind power auctions, CERC said that it is not in its purview to fix trading margin for long-term transactions, and “it is upto the contracting parties to mutually agree on trading margin”.

The decision can be detrimental for SECI which relies majorly on trading margins for being the aggregator of renewable energy. Under this model, SECI supplies power to a number of states from solar and wind plants owned by other developers, earning a trading margin of Rs 0.07/unit from such transactions. The development comes at a time when, sources say, states such as Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar have been requesting power regulators to reduce the trading margin for renewable aggregators to Rs 0.02/unit. CERC, however, approved the tariffs discovered through reverse auctions for 1,200 MW of solar power units and similar capacity of wind plants.

The winning bidders in the solar auctions, held in February, were ReNew Power (Rs 2.55/unit), Azure Power (Rs 2.58/unit), Eden Renewable (Rs 2.60/unit) and SoftBank Energy (Rs 2.61/unit). SECI would sell power from these plants to Odisha, Bihar and Delhi. In the auctions for wind power, also held in February, the lowest bid of Rs 2.82/unit was quoted by Ostro Energy (Now acquired by ReNew Power), Adani Renewable, Srijan Energy and Powerica. Projects of SoftBank Energy and Zenataris Renewable Energy were awarded contracts at Rs 2.83/unit. The wind-based electricity will be procured by Bihar, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh and Odisha.

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Source: financialexpress

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