RNI NO.: APENG/2010/38296 POSTAL REGISTRATION NO.

: HD/1153/2011-13 GLOBAL VOICE PERSPECTIVE INDUSTRY SPEAK RE Trends: Way to self-reliance

Maria van der Hoeven Pondering the future Dr James Rekoske Energy Efficiency: An iconic landmark
p20 p27 p42
Technology: Solar Concentrator

VOLUME 3
` 100 $ 5 € 3
www.energynext.in

ISSUE 9
Volume 3 Issue 9 July 2013 Hyderabad Your guide to Renewable Energy

July 2013

IS/ISO 9001 - 2008 CERTIFIED

 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 9 July 2013

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

Powering Progress
Cover Story
12 Editor-in-Chief Debashish Majumdar

Publications Director R Ramprasad

Efforts to Associate Editor Rosy Mishra
lift deprived
communities out Associate Editor Sapna Gopal
of energy poverty Assistant Editor Upendra Singh
through renewable
energy are not Assistant Editor Sayantani De
only strengthening Sr Designer Mahesh Malekar
social equality, but
also promoting Head – Business & Events Anupam Daftuar
a cleaner Marketing Manager Abhinav Dutta
and healthier
environment Manager – Research Anup Kumar

For the latest Renewable Energy news,

log on to www.energynext.in

Industry Speak Energy Next is printed by R Ramprasad and

20 23 42
Global Voice RE Trends
published by R Ramprasad on behalf of
Maria van der Automobile Dr James Focal PointMedia Services Pvt Ltd
Hoeven Industry Rekoske #407, Fifth Floor,
Pavani Plaza, Khairatabad,
More and more Hyderabad - 500 004 AP India. Focal
companies across the Point Media Services Pvt. Ltd is a joint venture
of Gateway Media Pvt. Ltd, and Invision
globe are increasingly
Communication & Research Pvt. Ltd, and
establishing renewable
printed at M/s. Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd.
energy installations at
1-1-60/5, RTC Cross Roads, Musheerabad
their facilities to meet the
Hyderabad - 500 020. and Published at
daily needs
Focal Point Media Pvt Ltd., #407, Fifth Floor
Pavani Plaza Khairatabad,
Hyderabad - 500 004
AP. India. Tel: +91 40 233 000 61, 233 006 26
Fax: +91 40 233 006 65

Editor-in-Chief: Debashish Majumdar

IEA Executive Director Feedback: Readers are welcome to send
Maria van der Hoeven Dr James Rekoske, their comments and suggestions
speaks about her VP&GM, RE & Chemicals, to editor@energynext.in
priorities that includes UOP, a Honeywell Subscribe: Phone: +91 11 2642 4071/72
deepening the Company, discusses e-mail : subscribe@energynext.in
Agency’s partnership India’s biofuel sector Write to: Focal Point Media Services Pvt. Ltd.
and his company’s focus #409, Mansarovar Building, 90 Nehru Place,
with emerging energy
on generating fuel from New Delhi-110 019, INDIA
players like India
waste oils and greases Phone: +91 11-26424071/73
Fax : + 91 11-46507580

advisory board Please note: Views expressed in the magazine are

those of the authors and may not be shared by the
editor or members of the editorial board. Unsolicited
material will not be returned.

Copyright: No material published here should

Prof Rangan Banerjee Arun Gupta K P Sukumaran S Chandra Sekhar Yogesh Mehra
IIT-Mumbai Managing Director Former Advisor Managing Director Managing Director be reproduced in any form without prior written
Him Urja Pvt Ltd MNRE Bhoruka Power Corpn Ltd Wind World (India) Ltd permission from Focal Point Media.

Contact Write to

ADVERTISE Abhinav Dutta

Marketing Manager
Focal Point Media Services Pvt Ltd
409, Manasarover Building
WITH US +91 8860636030
abhinav@energynext.in
90, Nehru Place
New Delhi - 110 019
 In this Issue

27 Perspective

‘Wind sector needs

In Conversation
32
clear policies’
Inox Wind Pvt. Ltd. Director Devansh Jain talks about
Pondering the need for adequate policy measures to enable
the future India’s wind sector to reach its 12th Plan target

As efforts are on
to thrash out a
new agreement
to replace the
Kyoto Protocol,
it is clear that the
road ahead is full
of challenges

37 Insight
Industrial Process Heating
Can India’s oil-guzzling industrial heating
sector become energy-efficient? Looks
like CST and biomass are the two energy
sources that can help

51 Clean & Green Energy

Diligence pays dividends

Not beyond a shadow of doubt
While many are optimistic about a future
dominated by clean energy, some feel the
need to exercise caution in the use of such
resources to avoid drastic eventualities
IREDA Corner
62
IREDA’s rigorous evaluation process has played a
crucial role in its remarkable success in promoting
the growth of India’s clean energy and energy
conservation industry
 From the Editor-in-Chief

Sustainable solutions: key to empowerment

Today, energy access is at the top of every government’s agenda in developing and underdeveloped nations. As a result,
several programmes and national electrification agencies have been created in these countries to take care of the needs,
and monitor the status of rural access to electricity. Continuous efforts by governments to turn things around have certainly
resulted in an improved situation. According to a recently released World Bank Group report, no less than 1.7 billion people
gained access to modern energy services between 1990 and 2010. That, indeed, looks like a mighty number – if the
difficulties on way to expanding energy access are taken into account. Yet the fact that about 1.2 billion still live without
electricity downplays the achievement and makes it quite plain that there is still a long way to go. Even more despairing is
the fact that about 80 per cent of those without access to modern energy live in rural areas.
Years ago, rural electrification was achieved in North America and Europe by extending the power grid and access to it and
this method is still the prevailing source of electric power worldwide. However, countries such as India, China, Brazil and
South Africa are also investing in renewable energy
sources – small hydropower, wind, solar, and modern
biomass technologies – to run off-grid, decentralised,
and stand-alone electric power systems
in rural areas.
In India, the initiatives in the form of effective policy,
economic stimulus and successful implementation of
projects have paid off richly. According to the Central
Electricity Authority (CEA) statistics, more than 94 per
cent villages have been provided power by the end of
the Financial Year 2012-13.
The fact that India has nearly accomplished its mission
of lighting every household may be superbly uplifting,
but the question is: how long will the light be there?
With most rural electrification projects having a subsidy
component, is the access to energy truly sustainable?
Subsidies are undoubtedly a useful tool to help
promote new technologies and help establish an
emerging industry, but if continued for a long period,
they cease to be an accelerator of growth and start
encouraging a culture of dependence. And, if not managed judiciously, they can consume large amounts of public funds
with little real success. Hence, there is a need to shift to a more sustainable framework that would not only capitalise on the
demand and facilitate investment, but also make the best use of the money and the resources, and result in
long-term solutions.
Not just that, in order to ensure the efficiency and the longevity of any village-based power
system, it is important to keep tabs on its performance. A novel approach could be
the use of the all-pervasive GSM telephone network, ensuring cost-effective and
robust method of monitoring their real-time performance from remote locations.
This will enable policymakers to assess the impact of their policies and help them
to tweak the same in a timely and effective manner as may be required.
While the role of technology, finance, policy and regulation remains crucial as
ever, it’s equally important to retain what has been attained and to grow it to the
next level. Sound business models that would attract increased participation of
the private sector can go a long way in helping the rural community become
self-sufficient and independent from government financial assistance – the best
route to a stable clean energy industry.
Short-term solutions may be tempting but often do not lead to enduring
growth. It’s time we take the burden of subsidies off the nation’s economy and
ensure sustainable development on sound commercial principles for a more
powerful India.

Debashish Majumdar
Chairman & Managing Director, IREDA
 news
Energiser JNNSM Ph-II to have 75% local content requirement
Hospitals
which installed
eco-friendly
MRI installations
saved energy
worth `3.6
crore annually.
The green MRI
systems used
34% less
energy and The government’s recent
there was decision, of raising the local
reduction of content requirement to
electricity 75 per cent of the proposed
usage by 750 MW solar projects for
60,000 kWh. Phase II of the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Solar Mission
(JNNSM), has come as a huge
relief to the solar equipment
manufacturers in India.
Dr Farooq Abdullah, the Union
Minister for New & Renewable
Energy (MNRE) said that this
has been done to encourage the
domestic industry. Bidding for
the projects in Phase II would
start soon, he added.
CUF of most PV plants between 11-31%
The Capacity Utilisation
Factors (CUF) of solar
photovoltaic (PV) plants in
India for May 2013 range
from 11-31 per cent, data
released by the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) stated.
The performance of these
plants which were
commissioned under
the Phase 1, Batch 1
and Phase 1, Batch 2
of the National Solar
Mission besides the
Rooftop Photovoltaic
and Small Solar
Power Generation
Programme (RPSSGP),
were released by the
Ministry recently. It
takes into account the
energy yield as
well as the CUF of the
power plants.
Most plants under the
04 | Energy Next | July 2013
The domestic solar
manufacturers have been
demanding for strict DCR
norms for Phase II and anti-
dumping duty against cheap
solar imports from China,
Taiwan, the US and Malaysia.
In fact, the US complained
against India in the World
Trade Organisation (WTO)
over mandating of domestic
content requirement (DCR)
in Phase I of the JNNSM.
However, this announcement
is a welcome sign for domestic
manufactures.
Amid stiff competition from
RPSSGP programme showed
low performance with all of
them reporting CUFs below 18
per cent. The top performance
for an RPSSGP plant was
reported at 26.21 per cent,
developed by Navbharat
Buildcon Pvt. Ltd.
However, the performance of
solar module manufacturers
from other countries, the
Indian manufacturers can
breathe easy for now.
Dr Farooq Abdullah cautioned
stating that the protection
given to local manufacturers
may be reviewed if they do
not improve the quality of
their products.
“Local content was a basic
need so that local industry
could survive. But if local
industry cannot produce a
good product and they
do not meet the requirements
that we need in India, this
local content is going to
go,” Dr Abdullah said,
emphasizing the need for
good products. He also
advised Indian manufacturers
to produce such products
which compel not only
Indian power producers,
but also the foreign players
to buy from them.
solar plants commissioned
under Batch 2 of Phase I were
better compared to the ones
commissioned under Batch
1. The CUFs of Batch 2 power
plants varied between 19 to
28 per cent and nine of the
12 plants which provided
data, reported CUFs of
24 per cent or more.
All but one of these
plants is located in
Rajasthan.
Also, plants under
Phase 1, Batch 1
showed CUFs from
18-31 per cent,
with the majority
reporting CUFs of
24 per cent or higher –
the best performing
plant has a CUF of
31.24 per cent and
was developed by
Saidham Overseas
Pvt. Ltd.

India’s first CSP plant under JNNSM commissioned
The country’s first
concentrated solar power (CSP)
plant under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Solar
Mission (JNNSM) has been
commissioned by Godawari
Green Energy Limited (GGEL),
a BSE listed company of
Chhattisgarh-based Hira group
of Industries.
The plant, with a generation
capacity of 50 MW near Nokh
village in Jaisalmer district
of Rajasthan, began injecting
power to the grid on June 5,
2013. The project, allotted to
GGEL under JNNSM, Phase–I,
was officially launched by J P
Tiwari, CEO, GGEL, on June 6.
GGEL has deployed 5,760
parabolic trough mirrors
which concentrate on the
sun’s rays, generating
steam to drive turbines.
The electricity produced
at the plant could be used
to light around 2.5 million
homes in India.
Bike-a-thon helps raise awareness on rooftop solar
In a move which aims to
create an awareness about
solar power among the
people in Delhi, Greenpeace,
in association with radio
channel 92.7 BIG FM
organised a first of its
kind bike-a-thon on
the occasion of World
Environment Day (June 5).
The bike-a-thon
was flagged off at
Dilli Haat where
hundreds of people
came together and
pedalled away to
claim their right to
sustainable energy.
The event aimed
to highlight that
the Delhi residents
could generate their
own uninterrupted
and clean electricity
by installing solar
panels on their
rooftops.
The JNNSM programme
aims to install 20,000 MW
of solar power capacity in the
country by 2022, which includes
solar PV and CSP technologies.
While solar PV has been the
primary reason for installing
over 1.7GW of solar energy in
the country, CSP has faltered.
Now, with the country’s first
CSP plant under JNNSM being
commissioned, it is believed
At the event, 25 bicycles
were connected to electrical
circuits that generated
electricity when people cycled.
As soon as people pedalled
the bicycles, a message would
flash which read- ‘Switch
on the Sun.’ The event
was a part of Greenpeace’s
national
Energiser
Ahmedabad
Municipal
Corporation
aims to
produce 20
MW power
using waste
sewerage. It
has signed
an MoU with
Abellon Energy
to generate
power from
solid waste.
that other projects may also
see the light of the day.
Siddharth Agrawal, MD
of GGEL, congratulated
the project’s team on
this achievement of
commissioning the country’s
first solar thermal power
plant in a time bound
manner under inclement
environmental conditions.
renewable energy campaign
urging the Delhi government to
initiate strong fiscal and policy
measures to promote clean
energy in the capital.
Akshey Kalra, Mobilisation
Campaigner, Greenpeace
India, said, “Delhi has
immense potential in terms
of solar energy and
the power of the
sun can negate the
rising power tariffs,
prolonged
power cuts and the
ever increasing gap in
demand
and supply of
electricity.”
The need of the
hour, he added,
was to introduce a
pioneering policy on
solar roof top which
will encourage people
to use this infinite
source of energy.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 05
 news
Energiser WWF-India for increased investments in RE
Calling for the need to reduce
Haryana’s dependence on fossil fuels,
first biomass WWF-India launched a campaign
project under the slogan- Seize Your
has begun Power- on the occasion of World
generation Environment Day. The campaign
of electricity. urges government and private
A 9.9 MW agencies to enhance investment
biomass power in the renewable energy sector.
project was
The aim is to highlight the
commissioned
need for better policies,
at Khurawata heightened investments and
village, greater public awareness
Mahendergarh towards renewable sources of
district. energy. WWF-India states that
if the business-as-usual
approach continues and the
world relies on fossil fuels to
meet the energy demands,
then it will have to face a
future of worsening air
pollution and an increasingly
inhospitable climate.
The campaign hopes to
create an awareness about
renewable energy and decrease
TN losing to other states on wind investments
Tamil Nadu may lose its top
position as a wind energy
producer with investments
now shifting towards Gujarat
and Rajasthan. Unlike
2011-12 when `7,000 crore
was invested in setting up
wind farms, this year, only
`600 crore has been invested,
industry experts revealed.
The unavailability
of adequate power
evacuation facilities
in the state is seen as
a major barrier for
investments in this
sector. Going by the
trend, the investments
are from encouraging in
the current fiscal.
Indian Wind Turbine
Manufacturers
Association (IWTMA)
estimates that in
2011-12, around 1,000
MW wind farms were
installed translating
06 | Energy Next | July 2013
dependence on fossil fuel
based power production,
by urging governments,
investors and organisations
into `6,500 to `7,000 crore
investment in Tamil Nadu,
mostly for captive use.
However, last year, this came
down to 170 MW while in the
current year, it is expected to
decrease further.
Presently, Tamil Nadu is
the leading state in India
accounting for around
to make the right investment
decisions. It says that investing
in renewable energy solutions
will not only help solve the
climate crisis, but also
address the issue of energy
security. The campaign calls
on governments, organisations,
and financial institutions
for stronger and immediate
commitments for the renewable
energy sector.
Ravi Singh, Secretary General
& CEO, WWF-India was quoted
as telling reporters, “Renewable
energy is a sustainable solution
to our future energy demands.
The technology is now
available, becoming increasingly
cost competitive and supports
development while lowering
carbon emissions.”
Countries like India are likely
to benefit by investing in
renewable energy technologies,
he added.
40 per cent of the total wind
power installations in the
country. However, the state is
likely to concede its position
to other states like Gujarat and
Rajasthan where investors have
shown keen interest in putting
up their wind farms.
According to Ramesh Kymal,
chairman of IWTMA, the
current fiscal has seen an
installation of almost 100
MW which could roughly
be an investment of about
`600 crore, compared to
`1,500 crore during the
same period last year.
This clearly shows that
investments are going
to other states, mainly
Gujarat and Rajasthan.
“It’s not that there is
no installation happening.
Unfortunately,
Tamil Nadu is losing
out on investment,”
Kymal added.

MNRE plans large MW-size solar plants
To give a further boost to
the solar power sector in
India and bring down the
cost of power, the Union
ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE)
is planning to roll out
large MW-size solar
power projects.
According to Tarun Kapoor,
joint secretary, MNRE, the
ministry intends to develop
big projects in the country
in the order of 500 MW and
above. “We want to bring in
volume in the Indian solar
sector. Several states have
already rolled out mega-sized
solar power projects, but
it needs to be done at the
central level too,” he added.
Till now, the ministry has
tendered projects up to
50 MW in capacity through
the Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission
India slips on E&Y’s attractiveness index
Serious barriers at the entry
level for foreign investors
as well as the rising cost of
financing have led to India
slipping on the renewable
energy country attractive
index, an Ernst & Young (E&Y)
survey revealed recently.
India slipped from the fourth
position to eighth this time,
in the first quarter of 2013,
the E&Y report ‘Renewable
Energy Country Attractiveness
Index’ shows. Entry level
barriers for external investors
and the high cost of finance
are some of the challenges
which caused the fall.
Sanjay Chakrabarti, E&Y India
partner and national leader
for clean-tech, informed that
a high barrier to entry for
external investors causes
India to score lower than
most of its top ten rivals. The
bankability is also jeopardised
by the high cost of financing
and significant infrastructure
(JNNSM). However, there are
certain states which have
allocated projects larger than
that to meet their power
demands. Recently, a 125-
MW solar power PV plant was
commissioned in Maharashtra
by state-owned generation
company MAHAGENCO.
Welspun Energy is also
involved in the development of
a 130-MW solar power plant
under Madhya Pradesh’s solar
barriers. “While the country’s
rating may have slipped, there
are significant positives. India
is only behind Belgium in the
priority the renewable sector
receives,” he added.
However, the index sees India
gaining the ‘hot spot’ as the
market is driving new levels of
power sector investment, with
increased focus on the role of
renewable energy even as it aims
to almost double the amount
it generates from renewable
sources of power.
national
Energiser
The Centre of
Excellence for
Geothermal
Energy at the
Gujarat-based
Pandit Deendayal
Petroleum
University,
has finished
pre-feasibility
studies in
geothermal
energy,
power programme.
becoming the
Kapoor stated that the MNRE only university
was continuously striving to in India to
bring down the cost of power foray into this
from solar energy and this sector.
initiative of developing bigger
projects is likely to bring down
the cost. Phase I of JNNSM saw
the cost dropping as low as
`6 per MW and the ministry
intends to bring the cost
further down to `5.50
in the second phase.
E&Y said that the withdrawal
of accelerated depreciation
(AD) caused the overnight
disappearance of the
wind retail market. However,
the situation helped in
emergence of independent
power producers (IPPs),
primarily backed by large
PEs. It says that owing to a
fall in new capacity additions,
the wind energy market has
evolved strongly, since IPPs
are committed to setting up
quality assets.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 07
 news
Energiser China invests $40 billion in RE projects
Over the last few
Texas A&M
years, China has
University emerged as the
is planning global leader in
to build the renewable energy
world’s largest investments. In 2012
solar research alone, it witnessed an
centre. The investment of around
‘Center for US$ 65.1 billion.
Solar’ will
According to a recent
be home to a
analysis- China’s
50MW solar
Overseas Investments
field and aims
in the Wind and Solar
to evaluate,
Industries: Trends
develop and
and Drivers- by the
test RE
World Resources
technologies.
Institute (WRI), the Asian giant
has invested around $40 billion
for setting up wind and solar
projects in 33 countries over
the last decade. Apart from
a look at China’s renewable
energy investments worldwide,
the report also analyses the
policy and market forces
which drive them.
Most of the investments were
made in implementing
Fall in global RE investments
Two reports released by the
United Nations recently reveal
that worldwide investments in
renewable energy are shifting
towards developing countries
even as 2012 saw investments
falling by 12 per cent globally.
Global investment in clean
energy fell from $279
billion in 2011 to $244
billion in 2012. This
reduction in investment
is attributed to a drop in
the cost of solar and wind
power technologies.
According to the report
released by the United
Nations Environment
Program (UNEP), since
2006, for the first time,
global investments in
clean energy failed to
top levels of the previous
year. However, despite
a decline in the clean
energy investments, 2012
08 | Energy Next | July 2013
the power generation projects,
but a good share was also
invested in the manufacturing
and sales sector, the report
adds. China’s investments in
the wind and solar industries
could be attributed to the
fact that both wind turbine
and solar photovoltaic (PV)
manufacturing industries
have grown substantially
in recent times.
with an investment of US$244
billion, was the second highest
year ever for renewable energy
investments.
Achim Steiner, executive
director of UNEP, states that
owing to a dramatic rush in
current projects, the uptake
Interestingly, a
majority of that share
has been invested in
developed countries
like the US, Australia,
Italy and Germany. It is
estimated that around
25 per cent of the
investments is in the
US, China’s closest rival
in the clean energy
sector. Apart from
developed nations,
China has invested
in other developing
countries like South
Africa, Pakistan
and Ethiopia.
The revelation of this report
is in contrast with the current
anti-dumping investigations
being carried out in several
countries against the Chinese
manufactures. Amid these
hardships, trends indicate
that China’s renewable energy
investments will continue to
surge in the years to come.
of renewable energy
technologies have continued
globally. “There have been
sharp falls in manufacturing
costs of wind turbines and
solar panels, contributing to
a shake-out in the industry in
2012,” he added.
As far as renewable
investments are
concerned, developing
countries have been in
the forefront. Countries
from Morocco to Chile
and South Africa to
China have shown a huge
interest in developing
renewable energy projects.
Experts say that China’s
investment in renewable
energy amounted to
around $67 billion and
this helped in taking up
cumulative investments
from developed countries
to $112 billion.

REpower bags 26-MW orders in Burgundy
REpower Systems, the
subsidiary of Suzlon Group,
successfully bagged two
contracts from ABO Wind
for the supply of 13 wind
turbines with a total output
capacity of 26 MW. The
turbines of MM92 type
will be installed at the
two wind farms coming
up in Burgundy. REpower
will also provide the full
maintenance of the wind
farms for 15 years.
The MM92 wind turbines
with a hub height of 80
meters have a rated power
of 2.05 MW. Out of the 13
turbines, six will be set up
at Clamecy wind farm, located
in la Nièvre département. The
remaining seven turbines will
be installed at wind farms
of Migé and Escamps, in
Yonne departement. The first
machines will be delivered
for the fall of 2013 and the
Solar PV materials market to grow by 52%
The global solar photovoltaic
(PV) market has witnessed a
surge in recent times and is
estimated to grow to 52 per
cent by 2018, according to a
report by Lux Research.
Titled- From Cost Reductions
to Performance Enhancements:
Mapping the $27 Billion
Photovoltaic Materials Market,
it takes into consideration
the detailed cost and
demand models to
evaluate the market
opportunities of
the global solar
PV industry.
The report predicts
that the PV material
market will grow
to $27.2 billion by
2018 against $17.8
billion in 2012.
Analysts stress that
since PV supply and
demand will come
back into balance in
2015, margins will
commissioning is planned for
the winter of 2013/14.
Commenting on the order,
Olivier Perot, REpower S.A.S.
Managing Director said,
“We are delighted that ABO
Wind is continuing mutual
steadily improve and create new
opportunities for the solar PV
equipment manufacturers.
They have also predicted that
the biggest segment to benefit
in the solar PV manufacturing
value chain are the metals
(at $12.8 billion), driven by a
geographically diverse demand
for innovation and product
differentiation.
international
Energiser
business. These wind farms
strengthen our position
The US
in Burgundy region which Energy Dept’s
is very dynamic in wind National
energy.” REpower’s large Renewable
product range perfectly Energy Lab
suits different wind announced
conditions over French a record
territories, he added. of 31.1%
“Both wind farms in
conversion
Burgundy are consequently efficiency for
realizing the idea of a two-junction
citizen participation”, solar cell.
Patrick Bessière, manager The previous
of ABO Wind SARL in record of
Toulouse, said. 30.8%
Two turbines of the
efficiency was
project Migé-Escamps held by Alta
will be owned by ABO Devices.
Invest, held by 20 per cent
of its shares by ABO Wind
and the remaining 80 per cent
by over 2,000 citizens. The
company already operates
seven wind farms in France,
Germany and Ireland.
According to the report,
materials needed for
crystalline silicon modules
present the largest
opportunity, reaching $23.8
billion in 2018, with poly-
silicon alone likely to make
a $6 billion market. Other
materials which stand to
benefit from the surge
in the solar PV market
are metallization pastes,
antireflection (AR)
coatings for module
glass and metallic
absorber materials
in CIGS.
Fatima Toor, Lux
Research Analyst
and lead author of
the report, said that
differentiated materials
which enable high cell or
module efficiencies or a
longer lifetime, will be
able to earn a premium
and cash in on the
growing demand.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 09
 news
Energiser Japan to be a top solar power market
Going by the pace
Researchers in with which Japan is
Australia have installing solar
developed a power systems, the
material which country is poised to
can store large become the world’s
amounts of largest solar energy
power with market this year,
little energy loss. a report by a US
Based on the research firm reveals.
mineral rutile, According to the
the ‘dielectric’ recently released
material is report by IHS Inc,
superior Japan’s domestic
to current solar power market is
capacitors estimated to reach $19.8
in energy billion in 2013, and in the
absorption. process, it will surpass
Germany- the largest solar
power market in the world
from 2009 to 2012.
Following the Fukushima
nuclear power disaster, Japan
has shifted its attention to
renewable energy generation in
a big way with conducive policy
framework and attractive feed-
NEA to tap solar energy
In a move which aims to
harness natural resources, the
Nepal Electricity Authority
(NEA) is planning to foray
into solar power generation.
It intends to diversify from
hydroelectricity to solar energy
in the next fiscal by launching
a pilot project.
The project, to be known as
Renewal Energy and
Energy Efficiency
Project (REEEP),
will be launched with
the help of soft loan
provided by the World
Bank. With a cumulative
capacity of 20 MW,
the project will be
implemented in
five areas.
According to Rameshwor
Yadav, MD of NEA, it has
been decided to launch a
pilot project, as a lot of
work is being done in the
10 | Energy Next | July 2013
in-tariffs. The report says that
an addition of around 5.3 GW
of solar power capacity is likely
on the cards this year, which
will be equivalent to the supply
output of five nuclear reactors.
In July 2012, Japan introduced
the feed-in tariff scheme
for renewable energy which
propelled the deployment of
renewable energy, especially
solar, to help offset the loss
of power generation capacity
solar energy domain globally
and Nepal has enough solar
power radiation. NEA intends
to make maximum use of
natural resources which exist
in the country, he added.
Madhu Marasini, chief of the
Foreign Aid Coordination
Division, said that the World
Bank has shown interest in
supporting Nepal in harnessing
renewable energy potential
of the country as a
result of the Fukushima
disaster.
As per IHS data, totally
1.5 GW of new solar
power systems were
installed in Japan this
year, an increase of 0.4
GW corresponding to the
same period last year.
While there has been an
increase in solar power
installations in Japan
and China, Europe has
seen a decline of roughly 34
per cent partly due to falling
prices for solar electricity sales
conducted by power firms.
Against Japan’s 5.3 GW, the
new power systems to be
installed in China will be
anywhere around 6.8 GW.
However, when taking into
consideration the price of
the equipment, Japan will
definitely be the largest market
in terms of value.
and accordingly, the soft loan
for this solar project has been
provided by them.
A feasibility study conducted
by NEA a year ago, estimated
the total cost of the proposed
solar project to be around
$54.66 million including capital
worth $50.85 million and O&M
cost worth US $3.82 million.
The government has put forth
its demand of $50 million and
the process of signing
a loan agreement with
the World Bank is likely
to take place in the
next fiscal. The project
will be constructed
on NEA’s own land
and the chosen
sites will provide
easy accessibility
to the national grid
as all these sites
are connected by
transmission lines.

Obama bats for RE
US President,
Barrack Obama,
plans to give an
impetus to the
renewable energy
sector in the country
in order to cut
down the existing
pollution levels. For
this, he is proposing
comprehensive
steps to bring down
the heat-trapping
pollution from coal-
fired power plants
by relying more on
renewable energy production.
This initiative comes in the
wake of scathing remarks
from several environmental
groups and lawmakers from
Northeast states harmed by
last year’s Superstorm Sandy.
In recent times, the pressure
groups have raised their
concerns against the pollution
Clean Energy must be looked at seriously: Global Alliance
Lashing out at legislators
in Europe for not fully
committing to the
transformation to renewable
energy, the Global Alliance
for 100 per cent Renewable
Energy has asserted that clean
energy needs to be looked at
seriously, as it has become
the key to Europe’s future
economic and industrial
development.
At the European inauguration
of the new Alliance in Munich,
it was stressed that there has
to be a strong political will
to set adequate targets for
renewable energy, as there is
still a huge gap between the
overwhelming socio-economic
and environmental benefits of
the sector.
Members of the Alliance,
which included the World
Future Council, Fraunhofer
Institute for Solar Energy
Systems ISE and World Wind
Energy Association, called
caused by power plants, calling
for a switch over to clean
energy sources. Several major
environmental groups have
also threatened to sue the
administration to force cuts.
Recently, former Vice President
Al Gore, a fellow Democrat and
renowned climate activist, went
on to suggest that Obama must
go beyond ‘great words’ and
for regional, national and
European wide 100 per cent
renewable energy targets
within the next four decades.
Anna Leidreiter of the World
Future Council, said that
the benefits of powering a
society entirely with clean
energy sources reach far
beyond the environmental and
climate change advantages.
“The decentralised nature of
the change literally means
power to the people. There
is major added value to our
democracies.”
international
Energiser
come out with ‘great
actions.’ RE will defeat
natural gas as
Obama sees this as
the second
the right opportunity biggest source
to push for renewable of electricity,
energy and to keep his after coal, by
promise made at the 2016, a five-
start of his second term
year outlook
of putting the brakes on
published
global warming. “This
by the
is the global threat of
International
our time,” he said in a
Energy Agency
speech in Berlin.
revealed.
Heather Zichal, Obama’s
senior energy and
climate adviser, explained
that plans are afloat to use
the President’s executive
powers to expand renewable
energy and boost the energy
efficiency of appliances and
buildings. This would not
attract any obstruction, since
there is no need to get an
approval from the Congress,
Zichal added.
Prof. Eicke R. Weber, Director
of the Fraunhofer ISE
pointed towards a positive
trend shown by several
governments across the
world, especially in Europe,
setting targets of meeting
100 per cent of their energy
needs through renewables.
Stefan Gsänger, Secretary
General of World Wind
Energy Association (WWEA),
urged for a robust, global call
for 100 per cent renewable
energy backed by the
governments.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 11
 Cover Story Rural Electrification

Powering
Progress
In several parts of rural India, people still live without electricity. Those
who have access to electricity are often troubled by irregular supply.
However, providing grid-connected power supply to remote areas is
difficult and expensive. In such a situation, efforts to lift the deprived
communities out of energy poverty by using renewable energy
technologies are not only strengthening social equality, but also
promoting a cleaner and healthier environment – which will eventually
lead to a low-carbon and high-growth economy. Energy Next
presents a detailed account

I
ndia’s economy has grown at an
impressive pace in the past few
years, but its energy situation is
far from being satisfactory. While the
country’s energy generation has been
continuously on the rise, around
400 million people still do not have
access to modern energy services
– a majority of them living in rural
areas. Several studies have indicated
poverty as a major threat to social
sustainability, and energy plays a vital
role in the whole value chain.
The progress of a nation is measured
by the quality of life of its citizens.
Several studies done across the world
have proved that the lack of access
to reliable energy is a major threat to
social sustainability. Lack of energy
has not only an adverse effect on
the economic productivity of the
Photo: Selco
citizens, but it also affects their quality
of life. The gloomy energy situation
in rural India primarily leads to lower
productivity from the use of land,
water and human effort, resulting in
low quality of life and environmental
degradation. India being a developing
country has to balance its approach –
economic growth with environmental
consideration.
Rural electrification & renewables
Providing electricity to rural and
remote areas is now a priority across
the world and there are several
ongoing projects and programmes
run by governments, multilateral
organisations, NGOs and social
entrepreneurs in that direction.
But connecting small villages and
hamlets by extending the grid is

not only costly, but also full of

difficulties. In such a situation,
renewable energy assumes
significance as an alternative.
Worldwide, several rural electrification
programmes have been running or
are in the process of being developed
with the intention of providing power

12 | Energy Next | July 2013

to the deprived communities through
the use of various renewable energy
technologies (RETs) such as solar PV,
wind turbines, biogas plants, biomass
gasifiers and small hydro power
facilities. Amid dwindling reserves of
fossil fuels and associated logistical
and cost factors, the RETs have
emerged a preferable and efficient
alternative in the developing world for
electrifying rural communities. Lack
of access to modern energy services
has hindered human development
in the deprived areas of the country
where people are mostly dependent
on kerosene for lighting and wood or
animal dung for cooking.
However, over the years, the situation
has improved to a great extent while
India has been trying to fulfil its global
commitment of cut in greenhouse
gas emission amid warnings of
looming energy crisis and dangers of
climate change. “In India renewable
energy has already taken its stride
in rural India. Most of the rural
electrification efforts are through
renewable energy whether it is a
standalone product or small power
plants,” says Jyoti Dar, director of
Kuvam Microgrid, involved in lighting
rural Bihar with decentralised solar
energy. She points out that since the
electrification through the central
grid is not reliable in several parts of
India, the decentralised renewable
energy is the right choice.
The advantage of non-existent fuel
expenses and the low operation and
maintenance costs usually offset
the initial capital costs of the RETs.
“For a country like India, it is a great
opportunity to utilize the benefits
of renewable energy for enhancing
the rate of rural electrification. For
400 million people to access reliable
energy services in the very near
future, decentralized renewable
sources are the only option,” opines
Dr. H Harish Hande, the winner of
prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award
for 2011 and Managing Director, of
SELCO Solar Light Pvt. Ltd.
Initiatives
There have been continuous
efforts by the central and the state
governments to widen energy access.
The central government’s ambitious
programme – Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) – was
launched in 2005 with the goal of
providing electricity to all households
within five years. With the target far
from being realised, the government
announced several policy initiatives
for expanding renewable
energy-based power generation in
rural areas through decentralised
power systems.
Currently, the share of renewable
energy in India’s energy mix is around
12 per cent, and the country’s vast
rural landscape provides a potentially
huge market for the growth
renewables from the perspective
of government initiatives as well as
efforts by various private entities. The
power demand in most of the villages
across the country lies between
20kw-100kw, and the RETs, if applied
diligently, fit the bill.
Several research studies have
concluded that RETs can be
economically viable in offering
both sustainable and cost-effective
power to rural communities across
the country. “The delta loss in
opportunity costs (of not bringing
the 400 million people into the
mainstream economy of the country)
can be averted via decentralized solar,
pico-hydro, bio-gas, etc. in a much
cleaner manner, thus bringing more
stability in terms of social structures,”
says Dr Hande.
Fruits of change
Clean energy technologies have
started showing notable results and
are poised for a bigger role in rural
Photo: Bergen Solar
electrification. Today, in India, we
not only have conducive policies,
regulation and supportive schemes
facilitating the deployment of
renewable energy for expanding
electricity access, but many NGOs,
social entrepreneurs and the private
sector have also shown strong
determination to work in that
direction. Their enterprise, initiative
and dedication have not only brought
about a remarkably positive change
in the country’s socio-economic
landscape, but have also contributed
to significant growth in employment
and business opportunities.
Commenting on what more
needs to be done to attract more
investments towards this noble
cause, Jyoti Dar says, “A better
business environment needs to
be created with manufacturing
at local level. This should be
backed with strong supply
chains and just in time (JIT)
delivery of goods.”
One of the basic requirements
for converting the use of RETs
in rural electrification into a
successful business opportunity is
the availability of appropriate
support frameworks and financial
instruments in order to bring
sustainable results. “The key is to
increase investments in the area of
energy access for the poor is to make
patient capital flow to enterprises or
entrepreneurs from the rural areas.
Today the capital flow itself is very
top heavy and in some ways still very
elitist,” says Dr Hande.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 13
 Cover Story Rural Electrification
Making a difference
A company with a vision to become a one-stop
clean energy services provider for rural India,
Naturetech Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. has benefited
hundreds of families in rural Uttar Pradesh and is now
a model for large-scale replication across the state
R
ecognising the need to provide
clean energy to the deprived
rural communities in the state
of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Naturetech
Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. was formed
in New Delhi in October 2009, to
work in that space. “Our existence
is for serving rural households with
reliable and smart electricity through
a sustainable and scalable model,”
says Shyam Patra, Founder and
Director of the company.
Having a dream and passion to do
his bit in empowering rural India
with access to sustainable, reliable
and smart electricity, Patra resigned
from Usha Martin in March 2011 as
Assistant Vice President to pursue this
dream. With an experience of around
15 years in techno-commercial,
project financing and business
development in the Power Sector,
Patra formed a for-profit social
enterprise for providing clean energy
in rural areas of UP. He says that his
company’s vision is to become a
one-stop clean energy (electricity,
cooking gas and transportation)
services provider for rural India.
As of now, the company has built
15 solar DC innovative micro-grids,
Our existence is
for serving rural
households with reliable
and smart electricity
through a sustainable
and scalable model
14 | Energy Next | July 2013
spread over nine villages in two
districts of UP and one village in
Bihar, operating since June 2011,
benefiting about 400 families and
making a difference to at least 2500
rural lives. The company has also
built seven micro-grids for UP Non-
Conventional Energy Development
Agency (UPNEDA), which has
become a model for large-scale
replication across the state. Recently,
the company commissioned its first
ultra low-cost and most innovative
Smart AC Solar Micro-grid in a village
in Sitapur district. This project which
is built, owned and operated by
Naturetech Infra is the first of
its kind in India.
Besides providing cheap electricity
through solar micro-grids, the
company is also promoting a
wide range of solar home lighting
systems, solar mobile chargers,
solar radios, etc. to households in
the areas of its operation, where
micro-grid solution doesn’t fit in.
It has successfully launched a pilot
model of very innovative Flexi Biogas
plant in meeting the cooking gas and
fertiliser needs of rural households.
With 30 per cent rural households
in UP having cattle, the flexi biogas
plant has tremendous scope for
improving the lives of rural women
and reducing respiratory diseases
caused by internal pollution and
emission of toxic gases like CO
during combustion of traditional
fuels like cow-dung cake, wood,
plant residues, etc. The company
has also successfully demonstrated
hassle-free operation of battery-
operated cycles over a period of
last two years. Patra says that if the
MNRE subsidy could be extended
for battery-operated vehicles, and
banks and state governments could
extend similar financial assistance and
loan for this product, it could be the
biggest revolution in rural and urban
transportation.
The company aims to electrify over
100,000 rural households through
its cheap Smart Solar Micro-grids by
2017, besides promoting its range of
complementary, innovative and low-
cost clean energy products in areas
of its micro-grid operation. Talking
about government support, Patra
says, “The government so far
has only extended a subsidy
programme through MNRE and
MOP/REC have also tried a DDG
scheme for village electrification.
There is no documentation of
performance of the subsidy
programme for off-grid electricity
and we are all aware that DDG
scheme did not work out.” He further
adds that the delay in getting subsidy
from MNRE is not helping the cause.
Moreover, there is no support
from the state government of UP,
as the state doesn’t yet have a
policy for off-grid solar.
He suggests that the government
needs to provide an effective,
transparent and expeditious financial
support programme, reduce taxes on
imports of off-grid items, free inter-
state movement of goods and extend
a complimentary non-financial
support by way of supportive policies
so that developers and service
providers like Naturetech find the job
remunerative and less challenging.
By Upendra Singh
 Cover Story Rural Electrification
Pine power lights villages
It is probably hard to conjure up
a picture of pine needles being
used as feedstock for generation
of electricity and cooking
charcoal. But that’s exactly what
is happening in Chachret, a tiny
village in Pithoragarh. The power
generated is used for the rural
cottage industry or pumped
in the grid and the charcoal is
briquetted for cooking in rural
kitchens. Avani, a pioneering effort
of an entrepreneurial couple, has
definitely altered lives for the better
T
he large tracts of pine trees
which dot the landscape of
mountainous regions make for
a picturesque view no doubt, but they
also come with a hazard which has
been a bane for ages. Pine needle
litter leads to the excessive spread
of forest fires leading to large-scale
destruction and devastation of natural
resources. However, all that changed
when Rajnish Jain along with his wife
Rashmi Bharti, founded Avani, an
organisation which works towards
developing and disseminating
appropriate technologies and
livelihood opportunities.
Having pioneered the use of pine
needles for generation of electricity
and cooking charcoal, the next
obvious step was to scale up this
endeavour and bring the benefits
of this technology to communities
across the region. “Hence, we
incorporated Avani Bio Energy,”
explains Rajnish.
“With forest fires destroying natural
resources, when one is living so
close to it, you can’t ignore it and
want to find a solution,” he admits, on
being queried about what prompted
the innovation. But like all new
ventures which face reluctance, this
too came with its set of challenges.
“The task was challenging as people
laughed at the idea of generating
electricity from pine needles.”
While the project is still in its early
stages, Rajnish believes that it has the
potential to create jobs at the village
level, generate electricity for modern
amenities and drive the economy.
Also, it has helped make cooking
charcoal an alternative to fuel
wood for cooking and restored
biodiversity for a better access to
eco system services.
Yet another achievement in the
recent past has been the 9-KW
power plant in Chachret. Rajnish
Villagers collect pine needles
explains that it is generating power
for offices, and workshops. “This
plant also supplies power for the
processing of products of silk and
wool enterprise that Avani has
spawned, and has worked with
almost 1,100 families till date.”
An agreement has also been signed
with Uttarakhand Power Corporation
Limited (UPCL), to pump electricity in
the grid for use on tail-end villages.
The generation of power in the
villages and pumping of this in local
grid will bring more reliable power to
the people in those villages,
which are always the first ones to
suffer power shortages. However,
as far as the 120KW power plant is
concerned, the installation work
is in the final stages and it will be
functional by July 2013.
According to the Uttarakhand forest
department estimates, 17 forest
divisions of 12 districts have about
3.43 lakh hectare pine forest from
July 2013 | Energy Next | 15

The 120-MW power station being set up in Chachret village
where about 2 million tonnes of
pine needles are produced. Studies
reveal that Uttarakhand has over 3.5
million people living around large
tracts of pine forest which face
severe shortage of fuelwood and
electricity. In this regard, Rajnish is
convinced that the idea to use pine
needles to generate power will curb
the existing problem. “As pine needles
are abundantly available, they can
be easily collected for meeting the
energy needs of people,” he reasons.
The pine needles litter from each
hectare of land (up to 12 tonnes per
year) generates 8 MWh of electricity,
cooking fuel for one family and
employment for one person in
one year. In one year, each 120
KW power plant helps generate
electricity for 5,000 rural poor,
provides opportunities for economic
development consequently reducing
migration. Additionally, 120 tonnes
of charcoal imparts enough cooking
fuel for 100 families. It has also
been found that these very needles
are capable of generating 20,0000
tonnes of cooking charcoal to meet
the cooking needs of 200,000
families in Uttarakhand (1,000,000).
Also, it can generate `12,000 per
family per year for 200,000 families
in Uttarakhand alone.
Apart from the Uttarakhand area,
there is a possibility of implementing
this innovation in other Himalayan
states which have large tracts of
16 | Energy Next | July 2013
pine forests. “But, that will be in the
expansion phase.” While there are
possibilities, there are no definite
plans as yet, he admits.
Like all clean energy projects where
funding plays a decisive role, in this
venture too, financing from Mahindra
has helped Avani train a team of rural
power station engineers from nearby
villages to run the power station.
“We plan to train more people for
expansion. Funding from Acumen has
helped us set up the village based 120
KW power station,” reveals Rajnish.
In fact, Avani is working with
Acumen Fund to invest in building
up to 2.4 MW capacity power plants
to generate electricity for meeting
The equipment for gasification of pine needles
demand of over 100,000 people in
the next five years, make cooking
fuel for over 10,000 people and
create 2,000 jobs providing livelihood
for 10,000 people. It is likely that this
will enable enhanced eco services
to 10,000 people.
“Our plan is to generate electricity
for meeting demand of over 100,000
people in the next five years, make
cooking fuel for over 10,000 people
and create 2000 jobs providing
livelihood for 10,000 people. This
should also bring enhanced eco
services to10000 people.”
As of now though, Avani is looking
at “building sustainable energy
generation”. “Pine needles are a
highly renewable resource. You get
almost 5 to 12 tonnes of material
from each hectare of land every year.
We want to set up village-level power
stations, which apart from creating
jobs, will also meet their energy
needs, and be financially sustainable,”
elucidates Rajnish.
In the ensuing years, he is positive
that where grid is a reality, clean
and local power sources can
be developed as grid interactive
production centres, where they
supplement the power production
through clean energy sources.
“Where the grid does not exist,
local solutions can provide
power,” he concludes.
By Sapna Gopal
 Cover Story Rural Electrification
Developing modern India
After decades of sustained efforts to
provide electricity to its villages, India
has been largely successful in it. Has it
translated into the ‘golden thread’ that
connects to development? A probing
look at the latest Census data to find
where things stand
A
lmost a century ago, Mahatma
Gandhi upheld the importance
of villages in nation-building,
saying, “The soul of India lives
in its villages”. After 65 years of
independence, they still are, but as
the heart of darkness, literally.
The urban-rural divide is palpable in
every possible manner – facilities,
amenities or opportunities, for over
15 per cent of the villages in India
still do not have something as basic
as electricity. An aspiring economic
superpower, whose markets are
flooded with the latest gadgets and
globally- operating entities looking
for talents, a whopping 32898 villages
across 29 states of India are still living
without electricity, according to data
by Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
This, despite the government’s
revised definition of electrified
villages and a target to achieve 100
per cent rural electrification by 2009,
points at the plight of thousands of
our fellow Indians. Energy is widely
regarded as one of the most potent
tool of development. As UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon puts it, “Energy
is the golden thread that connects
economic growth, social equity, and
environmental sustainability.” It is the
beginning of an all-round wellbeing
of humans across the world, a
phenomena popularly termed
‘development’.
However in India, it is no more than
a matter of subsistence, some feel.
“Issue is not of development but
subsistence. People not having basic
services have survival issues. First we
have to bring basic energy services
to the poorest. Once the survival
challenges are addressed then only
road to development will open,”
Ashden Award winner Hemant Lamba
of Auroville tells Energy Next. “Our
planners have a belief that extension
of the cable is the only route to
electrification. Too much reliance on
one way of electrification has resulted
in overburdening a system which is
unable to deliver,” he adds.
And Lamba is merely echoing the
ground realities. A couple of years
ago, the Bihar government had
termed the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin
Vidyutikaran Yojna (RGGVY) as faulty
and that it required immediate
rectification. “The low-capacity
power transformers (16 and 25 kVA)
installed in villages will not serve any
purpose. With these transformers,
we cannot use electricity even
for irrigation. Thousands of such
transformers have been burnt,” Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar was quoted
as saying by a leading national daily.
The CM emphasised the urgent need
to install high-capacity transformers
(63 and 100 kVA) in villages under the
rural electrification project, as in the
absence of three-phase connection,
enabling them to use power
for irrigation, obtain water from
pumping stations and run small-scale
industries, the electrification project
hardly serves the purpose – hardly
12 per cent of the below poverty
line (BPL) families in the state were
covered under the RGGVY by then.
Access to modern energy services,
many say, has a relation with the
holistic development of the region
and its people. However, with the
data of Census 2011, India can dare
to differ. Expectedly, some of the
states lying in the eastern and north-
eastern parts of the country have
a string of the lowest percentage
of electrified villages – Jharkhand
has the lowest – 31.1 per cent of
villages electrified, while states such
as Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and
Meghalaya fared a bit better with
56.8 per cent, 57.2 per cent and 59.3
per cent respectively. What startles is
the fact that electrifying rural areas
may not have necessarily translated
into northward movement of other
parameters of development there.
An analysis of trends in bigger states
in terms of area and population,
throws up details that questions
whether electrification facilitates
development. States like Andhra
Pradesh, where 100 per cent villages
are electrified in keeping with the
government’s definition of the same,
the literacy rate is 60 per cent (lowest
among the states with 90 per cent or
more villages electrified) and infant
mortality rate (IMR) is 51 per cent.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 17
 Cover Story Rural Electrification

a dampener for the government’s highlighting how rural electrification

efforts to introduce and popularise is delinked with such developmental
There is inertia in e-governance programmes there. parameters in India – a mere 29.3
the system and The highest computer penetration per cent of villages use treated tap
was registered in Kerala at 15.8 per water in the state while 4.2 per cent
myopia in policies cent while a handful of other states use tubewell or boreholes. Other
which is keeping (Karnataka, Maharashtra, states with 90 per cent and more
electrified villages who register a low
us away from Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand) have
percentage of villages using tap water
more than 10 per cent villages with
our goals access to computers. are Chhattisgarh (20.7 per cent),
Madhya Pradesh (23.4 per cent) and
In terms of access to safe, clean Uttarakhand (27.3 per cent).
Again, Madhya Pradesh with a high drinking water that requires
percentage of electrified villages at electricity, arguably through tap India has launched its flagship
96.4 per cent has a staggering IMR water as well as tubewell and Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
of 67 per cent (highest among the borehole, Himachal Pradesh has Mission (JNNSM) in 2010 with an aim
states with 90 per cent or more the highest number of villages using to increase solar power generation in
villages electrified) despite around treated tap water at 89.5 per cent the country and a number of the rural
64 per cent literacy rate. The good while 4.4 per cent villages in Bihar lighting efforts involve solar lanterns
news is, with the lowest percentage have access to the same. Kerala and other solar-powered lighting
of electrified villages, Jharkhand is also an interesting case in point arrangements that also further India’s
fares well at 61.1 literacy rate and
44 per cent IMR. Interestingly, while
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have
similar electrified villages’ percentage
at 88.3, the literacy rates differ
at 77 per cent and 65.5 per cent
respectively while IMR stands at 34
per cent and 64 per cent respectively.
Better access to modern modes of
communication such as computers,
television and telephones also
depends on one’s access to modern
energy services. States with high
percentage of electrified villages
though necessarily don’t have
sufficient penetration of television
– at times less than 50 per cent,
according to the data. States like (Source: Census 2011 data; Analysis & illustration: Energy Next team)
Andhra Pradesh have 58.8 per cent
villages with access to TV while
some other states with more than
90 per cent of villages electrified
have poor TV access at 31.1 per cent
(Chhattisgarh) and 32.1 per cent
(Madhya Pradesh). And only 30.7
per cent villages have telephones
in Chhattisgarh (the lowest among
states with 90 per cent and more
villages electrified) while the number
is 46 per cent in Madhya Pradesh,
while states like Rajasthan and Bihar
with rural electrification rate 69. 2 per
cent and 61.3 per cent has telephone
access in 70.6 per cent and 66.9 per
cent villages. The data on access to
computer in rural areas is certainly
(Source: Census 2011 data; Analysis & illustration: Energy Next team)

18 | Energy Next | July 2013


cause to check carbon emissions.
However, the Census 2011 data
shows it’s still a long way to go before
solar-powered lighting devices
can actually make a notable
impact in these areas.
Lamba feels that solar is one of the
most powerful tools that has a lot
of scope to be improvised for better
adoption. “Like in the era
of landlines we could not connect
all the villages with phone
connection. We had similar massive
drives to connect every village. We
failed. Thanks to mobile technology
now each individual has a phone.
Solar PV offers similar flexibility as
mobile phones. Instead of giving
electricity we should provide
purchasing power to buy energy.
For example, empowering the poor
(Source: Census 2011 data; Analysis & illustration: Energy Next team)
(Source: Census 2011 data; Analysis & illustration: Energy Next team)
with energy coupons will give them
purchasing power to buy energy of
their choice,” he says. “There is inertia
in the system and myopia in policies
which is keeping us away from our
goals,” Lamba adds.
A study by Integrated Research for
Action and Development (IRADe)
finds that the women in the average
household of Himachal Pradesh
use 222 kg per month of biofuels
compared to a meagre 7.8 litres
(6.5 kg) of cleaner fuels. They spend
40 hours each month on average in
collecting fuelwood – an estimated
15 round trips, each of 2.7 hours, and
a monthly distance walked of some
30 km. However, it should not be
overlooked that LPG and kerosene
use is quite high compared to many
places. Referring to the electrification
A study by
Integrated
Research for Action
and Development
(IRADe) finds that
the women in the
average household
of Himachal
Pradesh use
222 kg per
month of biofuels
compared to
a meagre 7.8 litres
(6.5 kg) of
cleaner fuels
process in Europe and USA during
1920-1950, it was observed that
women were left aside during the
whole process of electrification in
Europe. However, in America, the
process of electrification extensively
involved women, and focused on
increasing comfort and convenience
through household appliances, the
study “Mainstreaming Gender in
Energy Policy” states.
Regarding the status in India, the
study says, “The traditional approach
to energy in development policy
and planning has assumed gender
neutrality. It has assumed that a good
energy policy, programme or project
will benefit both male and female
equally in meeting practical needs.
It has assumed that any differences
in the needs and capacities of men
and women do not affect the extent
to which they benefit from and
contribute to energy development
and use. What we find in reality is that
energy planning is gender-blind, that
it fails to recognize that needs of men
and women are different.”
At a time when the government
is aiming inclusive growth and
increasing use of renewable energy,
it should pay heed to the changing
times and needs of the society
to maximise the benefits of a
programme that can eventually bridge
the gaping urban-rural divide.
By Sayantani De
July 2013 | Energy Next | 19
 Global Voice Maria van der Hoeven

‘Governments need to
enhance policy support’
Since she took over as

Photo : OECD/IEA, 2013

Executive Director of the
IEA Maria van der Hoeven
has focused on
strengthening the
Agency’s role, enabling
it to take the lead in the
transition to a secure
and sustainable energy
future. One of her
priorities is furthering the
IEA’s effort of more than
10 years to deepen its
operational partnership
with the major emerging
energy players of the 21st
century, including India
and China. Yet another is
the expansion of modern
energy services to 1.3
billion people across the
In what way has policy impacted clean energy? One of the
globe who lack them key findings of IEA states that policy uncertainty is having a
negative impact, more so on wind investments in India and
currently. She speaks the United States. How can the situation be altered?
to Sapna Gopal on the The progress has been slow in clean-energy transformation,
renewable sector, trends save for installation of renewable power technologies. We
are yet to tap the significant potential for energy efficiency,
in clean energy and the and governments still have not implemented critical carbon
capture and storage deployment.
impact that they are
Also, governments need to enhance policy support in order
likely to have in the to accelerate the deployment of available technologies. The
lack of government policy is one of the two key impediments
years to come to that deployment, the other being the need for consumer

20 | Energy Next | July 2013

prices that reflect the true cost
of energy. The key to success is a
consistent policy framework that
fosters a stable investment climate,
producing confidence in the market
in the short and longer term.
It has been found that the
dependence on coal is strong in
emerging economies. In the near
future, are renewables likely to help
reverse the trend?
Last year, the global coal
demand for power generation
rose by an estimated 6 per cent
on 2010 levels, led in large part by
emerging economies. Such
growth in coal use is inconsistent
with a low-carbon future. However,
emerging economies are also
adopting renewable energy.
Over the next five years,
global generation of renewable
electricity is forecast to rise by
40 per cent, with non-OECD markets
expected to drive almost two-thirds
of this expansion. For instance,
the first phase of India’s ambitious
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
Mission has been encouraging, with
the successful commissioning of
many large and small-scale projects.
Despite the biofuel sector adding
about 30 per cent capacity last year,
many large scale projects were
shelved. Why do you think
this happened? What could be
the solution?
The advanced biofuels sector,
like other biofuels, continues to
expand. Despite these positive
developments, some companies
have stepped back from projects for
advanced biofuels, also commonly
referred to as second-generation
biofuels, in some cases because
of greater-than-expected
technological challenges.
Additionally, difficulties in ensuring
required financing have delayed or
led to the abandonment of some
other commercial-scale projects.
A stronger, long-term framework
with dedicated targets for advanced
biofuels production would help to
ensure investor confidence and
enable stronger growth of the sector.
Steering through change
As Executive Director of the IEA, Van der Hoeven has steered the agency
during a period of exceptional change in the global energy economy.
The original role of the IEA has been challenged by rapidly shifting
supply/demand balances for oil as well as other major fuels, affecting
its members’ interests and also those within the wider global energy
economy. At the same time, the global economic crisis has put a strain
on resources. Van der Hoeven, therefore, led a strategic reorganisation
of the IEA in 2012, part of an ongoing effort to reposition the agency
and equip it to confront contemporary energy challenges.
(Source: IEA)
It is believed that industrial energy or significant growth in demand. India
consumption can be further already has the fifth-largest installed
reduced. In such a scenario, what power generation capacity in the
role are Best Available Technologies world and is poised to see significant
likely to play? growth in electricity demand,
requiring significant investment.
The Implementation of Best
Available Technologies (BATs) Smart grids can provide the tools
to monitor and manage demand
can significantly reduce energy
consumption in the industrial in a way that can optimise that
investment. Additionally, smart grids
sector; by around 20 per cent
globally, based on current can help identify and stop electricity
theft, a significant issue in India.
production values; and by about
10 per cent in India, compared Lastly, Indian electricity resources
with the national industrial are unevenly distributed. In
sector’s current energy use. areas where there is no existing
But BAT implementation depends infrastructure today, smart grids can
on several factors, such as rates of enable the transition from solar home
systems, to micro or mini-grids to
return on investment, capital stock
turnover, raw material availability, national scale grids.
etc. Therefore, a medium- to long- One of the main concerns which
term implementation strategy should sprung up recently is the poor
support the shift to BATs. quality and availability of data.
How relevant is the deployment What can be done to improve the
situation? Will energy auditing help?
of smart grids in developing and
emerging economies like India? The IEA has spent decades refining
Smart grids can play a role in all its measurements of energy
electricity systems, especially ones sources and consumption. But
that require significant development, the non-marketable aspect of
such as due to ageing infrastructure many renewables’ production and
Committed to promoting energy security
A fierce supporter of market principles, it is her personal conviction that
policy and business should work together to render energy production
comprehensively more efficient and cleaner by improving energy
efficiency, developing and using renewables, and producing and using
energy otherwise generated in the cleanest possible and most cost-
effective ways. At the same time, she is committed to the original and
overarching mission of the IEA, promoting energy security.
(Source: IEA)
July 2013 | Energy Next | 21
 Global Voice Maria van der Hoeven
consumption makes it far from easy
to get a fair coverage of supply and
demand for them. Countries, IEA
members and non-members alike,
recognise the need for accurate
statistics, and the IEA is committed
to improving the quality and the
coverage of its statistics on all energy
sources, including renewables.
Energy auditing is a somewhat
different issue. It is usually done in the
context of an individual plant or firm,
for example to verify data. Thus it is
not so much a measure for national
statistics or data.
Apart from a national grid, you have
also stressed on the need for a mini-
grid. Why is the latter so significant?
It can sometimes be very expensive
to provide electricity to remote
communities with low power
demand. Using renewable energy or
other sources to provide electricity
for individual users or communities
can be a cost-effective solution. That
solution can evolve into a mini-grid
providing a range of services at a
competitive and affordable cost.
This solution can often also include
provision of communications, via
mobile phones and television, as
22 | Energy Next | July 2013
well as lighting and other services for
individual users.
Will we continue to need fossil fuels
in the future? Do you see this as a
possibility or are renewables
likely to take over?
More than 80 per cent of energy
in the world is produced from
fossil fuels, and no IEA scenario
includes a complete stop to the
use of fossil fuels in the foreseeable
future. Energy efficiency and carbon
capture and storage can reduce
greenhouse gas emissions even as
the energy system continues to rely
to some degree on fossil fuels.
Mature renewable energy
technologies – including hydro,
biomass, onshore wind and solar
photovoltaic – are making progress
in OECD and non-OECD countries
alike, and we urge and expect
more innovation and investment
that will further increase their
share of energy mix.
With regards to energy efficiency
and EV, the techniques have been
found to be lacking. What measures
need to be adopted to enhance their
prospects?
More than 100,000 electric vehicles
(EVs) were sold worldwide last year,
but EVs still represent only 0.02 per
cent of total global passenger car
stock. The significant technological,
financial, market, and policy
challenges require a broad and
co-ordinated effort by public and
private stakeholders.
The first phase of
India’s ambitious
Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar
Mission has been
encouraging, with
the successful
commissioning
of many large
and small-scale
projects
Government funding for research
can help achieve long-term cost-
parity for EVs, while near-term
vehicle financing can buoy sales.
What role will funding play in the
clean energy sector worldwide?
Financing for low-carbon
energy technologies remains
a challenge. The IEA estimates
that achieving a low-carbon
energy sector will require
estimated total investments of
$140 trillion through 2050. The good
news is that that investment will
more than pay for itself in reduced
fuel use, plus of course it will help
limit global temperature increase
while improving energy security
and reducing pollution.
But the financing for clean
energy projects in 2010 and 2011
was less than half of what will be
needed in investment by 2020.
Governments need to promote
private-sector investment in both
innovation and already-established
technologies as part of a broad policy
to move towards a low-carbon
energy future.
 RE Trends Automobile Industry

Way to
self-reliance

Photo: Renault-Nissan Alliance

Harnessing renewable energy is one of the means to address the

growing concerns about energy supply and shortage. For an industry
which depends on energy for the smallest of its needs, renewables
seem like a magic wand; more and more companies across the
globe are increasingly establishing renewable energy installations at
their production facilities to meet the daily needs or a part thereof.
Sayantani De explores the benefits they get in doing so

July 2013 | Energy Next | 23

 RE Trends Automobile Industry
T
he slowdown of 2008 seems to
be continuing, with a lingering
effect on the economies across
the world, and energy prices remain
one of its simmering aspects. Facing
the heat, many big corporates in the
industrialised nations have adopted
alternative sources of energy – it not
only allows independence from the
volatile fuel prices, but also helps
reduce emissions from the facilities.
Automobile companies across
the world are therefore setting
up renewable energy projects to
meet their need for electricity. The
largest such installation so far is that
of Renault-Nissan Alliance, who
has installed an enormous 52,600
MW-plus capacity across its various
facilities. The resources they harness
to meet their needs include solar,
wind and biogas.
“The Nissan Aguascalientes Plant
in Mexico is the biggest user of
renewable energy among all Renault-
Nissan Alliance plants in the world.
Today, 50 per cent of the electric
power required for its production is
generated by wind power and biogas,
generated from waste treatment,” an
Alliance spokesperson told Energy
Next in an e-mail. Last January,
Aguascalientes became the first
automotive plant in Mexico and in
Wind turbines at the Nissan Aguascaliente plant in Mexico
24 | Energy Next | July 2013
the world to use electric energy
generated from biogas.
Back home in France, Renault has
installed 400,000 square metres
of photovoltaic panels at six of its
production plants; it is the largest
solar panel installation in the auto
industry. The plants have solar panels
over the area where new cars are
garaged – they help reduce the
company’s carbon dioxide emissions
as well as lower its electricity bill
while protecting new vehicles.
The photovoltaic installations
cover a combined area of
400,000 square metres – its
equivalent to 60 soccer pitches.
The PV installations at Renault’s
Douai, Maubeuge, Flins, Batilly,
Sandouville and Cléon plants
together are capable of producing
52,600 MW of electricity every year,
enough to power a town of 15,000
people. They are also crucial to
reducing the amount of CO2 emitted
every year at these production sites
by around 200 tonnes; this equals
to wiping out the tailpipe emissions
produced by around 1,500 vehicles,
each travelling 15,000 kms a year.
The system has been developed by
Renault in partnership with
Gestamp Solar whereas the
installation at Cléon plant was
developed by Coruscant.
“The plan is to roll out the system
internationally and the Group is
to set up nearly 100,000 square
metres of panels at Renault’s Spanish
plants in Valladolid and Palencia, in
conjunction with Cenit Solar. There’s
also a massive 300,000 square
metre installation due to be in place
by the end of the year at the Busan
site in South Korea,” the company
spokesperson tells the magazine.
In addition, the company is also
undertaking feasibility studies for
similar installations in Slovenia,
Morocco, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and
Romania – the sustainable ratings
agencies have consistently ranked
Renault among the most ”virtuous”
companies in terms of environmental
management, especially on carbon
strategies, it claims.
The gains, Renault thinks, outnumbers
the risks and expenses. “It significantly
lowers Renault’s corporate emissions,
and by harnessing natural renewable
energy from the sun, the company’s
electricity bill and reliance on the
national grid is also cut. And there’s
another more unusual benefit. At
the six plants in France, the panels
are placed in delivery and shipping
centres as well as over the employee
car parking areas. The panels are
Photo: Renault-Nissan Alliance
tough and are designed to resist
impact from the worst the weather
can throw at us, in particular,
hailstones. By placing the panels over
new vehicles awaiting delivery to the
sales networks, the chance of storm
damage will be greatly reduced,” the
spokesperson adds.
The Alliance is proactively studying
the use of renewable resources for
the Chennai plant in India, the first
dedicated Renault-Nissan Alliance
plant in the world.
According to Dr Dagobert Achatz,
Environmental Officer and Head of
Operational Environmental Protection
at Audi AG Ingolstadt, the conscious
use of raw materials and energy
is a major factor in the company’s
commitment to the environment.
“Energy supply is a key issue here.
The Ingolstadt location, for example,
runs entirely on green electricity.
The renewably generated electricity
is supplied by German and Austrian
hydroelectric power plants - precisely
when it is required. In this way,
around 290,000 metric tonnes of
CO2 can be prevented every year,”
Dr Achatz tells the magazine.
That is not the sole Audi facility
running wholly on renewable
energy, the Brussels plant also runs
completely on renewable electricity
generated from hydropower. The
so-called “green train,” powered by
renewable sources of energy is used
by Audi for carbon-neutral vehicle
shipments from the two German
plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm
to the loading port of Emden; it is
also an example of how renewables
have been playing pivotal and diverse
roles in the day-to-day operations of
auto manufacturers.
In addition, numerous photovoltaic
systems are available. “We have
installed modules at many of our
production locations, which together
add up to an area of 75,000 square
metres (approximately 807,293
square feet) and produce more than
6,000 MW of electricity per year.
Last year, at the Ingolstadt location
alone, with more than 23,000 square
metres (approximately 247,570 square We are convinced
feet) of photovoltaic modules, we the electric
produced more than 1,800 MW of
electricity. More than 40 per cent of vehicle will be a
this is utilised directly on site – by key technology
production facilities for instance –
in the automotive
with no transmission losses,”
Dr Achatz explains. industry. We will
District heating is also very important not be able to
to Audi. Since 2004, the Ingolstadt realise sustainable
plant has been supplied with waste
growth while
heat generated by the municipal
waste incineration plant via a district protecting our
heating connection. The company planet by driving
has also been using waste heat from
the nearby Gunvor refinery for over a
conventional cars
year and, as a result, can put to use at
least 120,000 MW of energy annually
automobile production. By generating
from waste heat.
renewable energy to cover the entire
Globally, other companies such as electricity needs of the plant, HAB
General Motors, Volkswagen and expects to reduce CO2 emissions by
Ford are also investing in renewable more than 2,200 tonnes annually.
energy projects. Though most of
“Ever since Honda began local
the efforts undertaken are small and
production in Brazil in 1976, it has
experimental with respect to the size
been cooperating with the local
of these corporations, their projects
community and striving to minimise
are a boost to similar efforts in the
the environmental footprint of our
auto industry. GM has retrofitted one
production activities. Wind power
of its plants in Michigan so landfill
generation has proven to be very
gas could power 40 per cent of its
effective in reducing CO2 emissions.
operations, saving an estimated $1m a
Through the utilisation of renewable
year against energy costs. Ford Motor
energy, Honda will continue to be
operates experiments in its global
proactive in pursuing environmental
operations, which include an energy
conservation activities in Brazil,”
storage project at its MAP facility
Carlos Eigi, President of Honda
and wind turbines at the
Energy do Brasil Ltda., said
factories in Europe.
in a statement.
Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda.
The trend is catching up fast in India
(HAB), the Honda automobile
as well. Over the past few months,
production and sales subsidiary
many states in India have been on a
in Brazil has recently announced
spree to release renewable energy
that it will soon become the first
policies or any particular source of
automaker in Brazil to undertake
that and the move has yielded good
wind power generation to cover
results in more than one way. This
the entire electricity needs for local
is particularly true for Tamil Nadu,
automobile production. The goal is
home to most of the manufacturing
to begin the operation in September
units of a host of multinational
2014, and the Honda wind farm in
auto companies. And with its state
Xangri-lá city in Rio Grande do Sul,
solar policy released late last year,
the southernmost state in Brazil. The
it has provided a much-awaited
farm will be equipped with nine wind
opportunity for the companies.
power turbine units and is expected
to generate approximately 85,000 “Currently, we have installed a solar
MW of electricity per year, equivalent power unit on our part logistics
to HAB’s annual electricity needs for warehouse. We are considering other
July 2013 | Energy Next | 25
 RE Trends Automobile Industry
resources. While it is certainly high
While it is certainly on investment in the short term,
high on investment the concept is catching fast. More
in the short term, focus on such energy by choice and
regulation combined will certainly
the concept is ensure that economies of scale will
catching fast. More prevail in not too long a future,”
Laudan emphasises.
focus on such
The company stresses that despite
energy by choice no ”significant benefit” at this point in
and regulation time, it will continue with its pursuit
combined will as it is ”a responsible entity”. “While
on one hand the current investment
certainly ensure on solar energy does not result in any
that economies significant benefits, as a company
of scale will prevail with a global outlook and as a
responsible entity, this investment is
in not too long just the beginning in our endeavour
a future to contribute on a larger scale in
the future. We believe we have a
responsibility, however big or small,
areas for the future and will inform to create a positive influence on
of this as and when they mature. In energy resources,” Laudan adds.
India and more specifically in the He notes that the company also
state of Tamil Nadu, the government keeps tabs on the constant growth
encourages the use of solar energy. in technology and various new
This is very much part of the policy measures being discovered in areas
of the present government. We of renewable and alternate energy
are positive that this is a good resources, “Daimler constantly
direction and motivation for many reviews its chances of adopting such
establishments to resort to such measures. Solar Power is one such.”
energy resource,” Florian Laudan,
Adding to the low-carbon approach
Head, Communications, Daimler
of the companies, eco-friendly
India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.,
electric vehicles are also catching up
told Energy Next.
slowly in India. Companies hope that
“The solar power plant at DICV is with passing time, EVs will become
only a small step in the direction more popular. The Renault-Nissan
of utilising alternative energy Alliance claims to have sold more
Photo: Renault
A solar panel system installed by Renault
26 | Energy Next | July 2013
than 75,000 electric vehicles, more
than all other major automakers
combined. Such vehicles consume
no oil, instead they can use the
growing percentage of locally
produced, clean energy wherever
they are recharged – and they have
zero tailpipe emissions.
“The Alliance works closely with
policymakers in dozens of countries
to advance the development of
zero-emission transportation
and cleaner energy grids. We are
convinced the electric vehicle will be
a key technology in the automotive
industry. We will not be able
to realise sustainable growth
while protecting our planet by
driving conventional cars.
By 2020, we expect electric
vehicles to account for 10 per cent
of the global auto market,” the
Alliance spokesperson said.
“Electric vehicle is a concept
that several responsible vehicle
manufacturers around the world
have resorted to. While the
development of electric vehicles
cannot be termed completely
mature, constant efforts have
created vast improvements.
However, the success of such
a concept lies not just in the
development of such vehicles
but the availability of appropriate
infrastructure to support its
use on a mass scale,” Laudan
of Daimler says.
Photo: Renault
PV panels placed over the employee car
parking area of a Renault factory in France
 Perspective Climate, Energy & Consensus

Pondering the
future
Negotiations for a climate regime that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol’s
commitment period are in full swing. Jayant Moreshver Mauskar, former
Special Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, as one
of the two co-chairs, steered the recently held meeting of the Ad Hoc
Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action in Bonn,
Germany. The Group is negotiating an agreement on the new climate
regime by 2015, which will be applicable for all parties from 2020. In all
probability, there may be significant implications for India. In addition, the
carbon market will have to undergo a transformation to capture the new
realities. Dr PC Maithani analyses the current situation and trends
July 2013 | Energy Next | 27
39
 Perspective Climate, Energy & Consensus

T
he global climate change
regime has already completed
20 years. At the last Doha
Climate meeting in December
2012, an amendment to the Kyoto
Protocol was adopted, creating
a second commitment period of
reducing emissions. According the
amendment, Annex I Parties agreed
to an average 18 per cent reduction
in emissions from 1990 levels by
2020. However, with the USA, Japan,
Canada, Russia and Canada out,
the Kyoto Protocol extension is
practically infructuous. The United
States, the biggest carbon emitter at
the time of signing of the Protocol
(this position is currently occupied
by China), never ratified the Protocol
because it did not set binding
emissions cuts for rapidly growing
economies such as China and India.
At the Durban climate meeting
2011, a pledge for working towards
a single, fair and comprehensive
legally binding agreement under the
Convention applicable to all by 2015
and effective from 2020 was made.
To this end a new Ad Hoc Working
Group on the Durban Platform
for Enhanced Action (ADP) was
established to develop another legal
instrument or an agreed outcome
with legal force under the Convention
applicable to all Parties.
Thus, there are two tasks – first, to set
an aim for the period 2013-2020, and
second, to get a treaty negotiated
that will come into effect from 2020.
Following the Agreement at Cancun
in 2010, many countries have made
pledges for emission reduction
until 2020. These pledges are in
the form of absolute emission
reductions relative to a reference
year; emission reductions related to
the ‘business as usual’ scenario; and
emission reductions expressed as
another indicator of carbon intensity
reduction, targets expressed in non-
green house gas terms, strategies,
programmes and policies, and
projects or portfolio of projects.
While the developed countries made
pledges in the form of absolute
emission reduction relative to a with the 2005 level.
base year, the developing countries
The UNEP’s Emission Gap Report
pledged Nationally Appropriate
2012 suggests that country pledges,
Mitigation Action (NAMA) with a
if fully implemented, will help reduce
different set of benchmarks. The
emissions to below the business
European Union (EU) reiterated its
as usual level in 2020, but not to a
conditional offer to move to a 30 per
level consistent with the agreed 2oC
cent reduction by 2020 compared
target, and therefore will lead to a
to the 1990 levels, provided other
considerable ‘emissions gap’, which
developed countries commit
is estimated to range between 8 to
themselves to comparable emission
13 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide
reductions and that developing
equivalent in 2020.
countries contribute adequately
according to their responsibilities and Nations seek equity and flexibility
respective capabilities. Brazil pledged The need for a framework for
below 36.1-38.9 per cent of its mitigation action is urgent, but
projected emissions in 2020; China with a number of interests present,
pledged to lower its CO2 emissions negotiations are still leading nowhere.
per unit of GDP by 40-45 per cent Here’s where major countries stand
by 2020 compared with the 2005 on the issue:
level and also expressed the intention
to increase the share of non-fossil European Union: The below-2°C
fuels in primary energy consumption objective demands ambitious,
equitable, quantifiable, transparent
to around 15 per cent by 2020 and
and robust mitigation commitments
to increase forest coverage by 40
and shall fit with the low emissions
million ha, etc. India offered to
development strategies of each
reduce emissions intensity of its GDP
country. The mitigation commitments
by 20-25 per cent by 2020 compared

28 | Energy Next | July 2013

proposals should be accompanied
with information, including on
type of commitment; scope of
commitment (economy wide,
sectors, gases covered); timescale;
and anticipated quantitative impact
of the commitment. Assumptions
used in formulating the commitment,
including baselines, methodologies,
etc. should be explained too.
Japan: The future framework will
be ‘applicable to all Parties’ in
order to effectively tackle climate
change. An international framework
which imposes emission reduction
obligation only on sections of the
Parties, like the Kyoto Protocol,
doesn’t lead to effective measures
against climate change. The
principles of the Convention are
dynamic concepts which should
appropriately reflect various
evolutions since 1992 and the reality
of the international community. The
binary structure doesn’t suit the world
in the 21st century, and therefore, will
not allow tackling climate change
effectively in order to realise the
ultimate objective of the Convention.
The future framework should have
an effective international review
system for each country’s efforts and
facilitative elements (read monitoring,
reporting and verification protocol).
US: The future agreement shall be
with reference to the agreed goal of
keeping global temperature below
2°C and shall reflect real-world
ambition and should not result in
increased ambition on paper. It
should be for the countries to define
their own mitigation contributions,
taking into account national
circumstances, capacity and other
factors that they consider relevant.
The post-2020 period should have
a common system of reporting and
review that builds on existing tools
like the green house gases inventory
and biennial reports, incorporating
necessary degrees of flexibility while
ensuring adequate information to
understand and measure progress
toward the range of mitigation
contributions. The likely future
agreement will possibly consist of
a hub and spokes, with the ‘hub’
agreement containing core elements
and associated ‘spoke’ decisions
containing much of the detail.
China: The future climate regime
represents a new phase in enhancing
the implementation of the
Convention – not to renegotiate,
rewrite or reinterpret the Convention
and its principles and provisions.
The post-2020 enhanced actions
are to comprehensively implement
the provisions of the Convention,
covering mitigation, adaptation,
finance, technology development
and transfer and capacity building.
All those elements shall be addressed
on an equal footing and in a holistic,
balanced and coordinated manner.
Developed countries shall commit
to reducing their emissions of
greenhouse gases in aggregate by at
least 25-40 per cent below their 1990
levels by 2020. Developing countries
have already presented ambitious
and nationally appropriate mitigation
actions and their contribution to
global mitigation efforts is far greater
than that by developed countries.
The effective and timely fulfillment
by developed countries of their
commitments on finance, technology
and capacity building support is
crucial for developing countries to
enhance their actions. There should
be a clear roadmap for developed
countries to ratchet up their financial
support during the period 2013-2020,
in order to meet the goal of providing
US$ 100 billion per year by 2020
and technology related Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs) shall be
appropriately addressed.
South Africa: The future agreement
should be simple and flexible, based
on an incentivising and enabling
approach that catalyses further
action. It should have developmental
safeguards (i.e. no restrictions on
the efforts by developing countries
to eradicate poverty) as well as
environmental safeguards (i.e. an
effective global response). It should
contain binding absolute emission
July 2013 | Energy Next | 29
 Perspective Climate, Energy & Consensus

reduction targets for developed and cooperation on climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
countries and relative emission including enhanced energy security,
Despite the agreement as stated
reduction targets for developing a cleaner environment, and more
above, at the Bonn meeting, China
countries, e.g. improvements in abundant natural resources. They
and the US showed little indication
emissions intensity, combined with also reaffirmed that working together
of stepping up efforts on climate
incentives for developing countries both in the multilateral negotiation
change. China’s position was a
to pursue low-carbon development and to advance concrete action on
reflection of developing countries’
pathways. Developed countries climate change can serve as a pillar of
position at large that seeks
must implement zero- carbon the bilateral relationship, build mutual
developed nations to collectively
development plans and outline the trust and respect, and pave the way
cut greenhouse gas emissions by
full pathways to get there. Equal for a stronger overall collaboration.
25-40 per cent below the 1990 levels
priority should be given to adaptation. Both sides noted a common interest
by 2020. The US suggestion is for
in developing and deploying new
India: Developing countries are a 2015 agreement that is based on
environmental and clean energy
already contributing and will national promises of action; however,
technologies that promote economic
continue to contribute to a global developing countries are insisting on
prosperity and job creation while
mitigation effort in accordance with
the principles and provisions of the
Convention and could enhance their
mitigation actions, depending upon
provisions of finance, technology
and capacity building support by
developed countries’ parties. Any
supplementary and complementary
actions outside the Convention
cannot substitute actions under the
Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.
Such actions should neither detract
from the obligations of developed
countries nor result in deviation from
relevant domestic goal as adopted
by the developing countries under
the Convention. There must be a
facilitative IPRs regime that balances
rewards for the innovators with the
common good of humankind and
thereby enables developing countries
to take early and effective mitigation
and adaptation actions at the national
level. Mechanisms such as the Green
Climate Fund and the Technology
Mechanism must be strengthened
to enable and incentivise enhanced
actions in developing countries.
No breakthrough in Bonn
Almost a month before the Bonn
meeting on April 13, 2013, the
US and China, jointly responsible
for the world’s around 42 per
cent greenhouse gas emission,
underlining the inadequacy of the
global response that requires a more
focused and urgent initiative, inked
a ‘Joint US-China Statement on
Climate Change’. It states that “Both
sides also noted the significant and
mutual benefits of intensified action

30 | Energy Next | July 2013

firm and binding commitments by
the developed countries. The EU as a
group has stood for continuation of
the Kyoto Protocol and Convention
framework. Japan, Canada and Russia
have already dropped out of the
Kyoto accord.
If at all something could be inferred
from the discussions held at Bonn,
the contours for abandoning the
Kyoto Protocol are apparently clear.
Even though the current level of
pledges is far too low to limit the
rising temperatures substantially
(as mentioned above in the context
of the UNEP Gap report), the US
plan to let each country set its own
contribution for fighting climate
change is seemingly finding support.
And no matter what is being said
and discussed at various forums, the
binary world approach is almost over
and developing countries, including
us, have already been brought under
the commitment ambit. The point
is, the US’s main opposition to the
Kyoto, and now attempts to agree to
a successor to the Kyoto have so far
hinged on a failure to agree on the
developing countries’ contribution to
climate mitigation. The discussions
are leading towards more flexible
ways to fight climate change.
Burden sharing is the main area of
discussion between developed
and developing countries.
The Bonn talks failed to deliver any
major breakthroughs. The draft
negotiating text for the post-2020
climate regime shall be ready by the
20th session of the Conference of
the Parties (COP-20) to the UNFCCC
which is expected to take place
in December 2014. Before that, in
Warsaw, in COP 19, a legally-binding
agreement for pre-2020 emission
reduction ambitions will have to be
worked out. The outline of a global
climate deal that would be acceptable
to all parties does not appear likely
yet. Although equity and common
but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities are not
explicitly referenced in the ADP’s
mandate, equity or fairness within
the negotiations is a main area of
concern. The US proposal is for a
peer-review format of assessing
emission reductions; the EU appears
keen to use a variety of indicators
such as GDP, Human Development
Index and per capita emissions, etc.
China accepts that as the world‘s
leading emitter of greenhouse
gases, it has to be a part of the
solution, but resists caps on rising
emissions, arguing it must focus on
economic growth.
From the developing countries’
perspective, lack of concrete funding
pledges and uncertainty over the
future of the Green Climate Fund is
a matter of concern. It appears to be
heading towards the middle path, as
advocated in the Buddhist philosophy
– a solution that is a blend of a
top-down approach of the Kyoto
Protocol kind that ensures mitigation
commitments’ aggregates to avoid
surpassing the 2ºC temperature
increase limit, and the bottom-up
approach that enables countries
to express and commit mitigation
in accordance with national
circumstances. Notwithstanding,
Christiana Figueres, Head of the
UN Climate Change Secretariat
rightly observed on May 3, 2013
that ‘agreement of 2015 cannot
be cast in stone, cannot be frozen
in time’. Yes, it will certainly be an
evolving process.
On June 10, 2013, the IEA released a
report ‘Redrawing the Energy Climate
Map’. It reaffirms energy’s crucial role
in tackling climate change, as it is by
far the largest source of greenhouse
gas emissions, accounting for more
than two-thirds of the total emissions
in 2010. It further states that the
economic crisis has had a negative
impact on the pace of clean energy
deployment and on carbon markets,
as currently, eight per cent of the
global CO2 emissions are subject
to a carbon price while 15 per cent
receive an incentive of
US $110 per tonne in the form of
fossil fuel subsidies. Thus price
dynamics between gas and coal are
supporting emission reduction in
some regions, but are slowing them
From the
developing
countries’
perspective, lack of
concrete funding
pledges and
uncertainty over the
future of the Green
Climate Fund is a
matter of concern
in others while nuclear
power is facing difficulties and
large-scale carbon capture and
storage remains distant. Non-hydro
renewables, supported by targeted
government policies, are enjoying
double-digit growth.
On June 25, 2013, US President
Barrack Obama issued President’s
Climate Action Plan. The Plan
reaffirms the president’s
commitment to a 17 per cent in
greenhouse gas emissions from 2005
levels by 2020. The Plan sets a goal
of doubling non-hydro renewable
power generation from today’s
level of about 4 per cent by 2020
and a specific goal of permitting
an additional 10 GW of renewable
plants on federal lands by 2020. It
also calls for financial and regulatory
support for renewable and clean
energy projects. In addition, the Plan
announces an end to US funding for
new overseas coal plants (with some
exceptions), and plans to finance
renewables in many developing
countries, including Africa.
In other words, the challenge posed
by climate change is deeply linked
to the development of renewable
energy technology and the creation
of a favourable policy
regime for its faster
deployment.
The author is Director,
Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy.
(The views expressed by the
author are personal)
July 2013 | Energy Next | 31
 In Conversation Devansh Jain

‘Wind sector needs stable

and clear policies’
India’s 12th Five Year Plan has a target
of installing 25 GW of wind power in
the country, but will it be possible in the
absence of adequate policies? Director,
Inox Wind Pvt. Ltd., Devansh Jain, talks
about this in greater detail in an interview
to Upendra Singh

The Inox Group has been in business for a long
time now, and it was only a few years ago that it
ventured into the renewable energy business.
What were the primary reasons for the Group’s
diversion into the wind energy business?
Yes, you are right. Inox Wind Pvt. Ltd. is a part of the Inox
Group, a US$ 2 billion conglomerate. We operate in five
different verticals – chemicals, industrial gases, cryogenic
engineering, entrainment and wind energy. Across each
of these businesses, barring the wind energy business
which is just two years old, we are either number one
or two in the country. We have three listed entities –
Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd. (GFL), INOX Leisure and
Fame India Ltd. The wind vertical comprises of two
companies – Inox Wind and Inox Renewables. Inox

32 | Energy Next | July 2013

 Today, wind is playing a crucial role we realised that the way business
was being done was not very right.
in several states in taking care of their McKinsey also pointed out the same.
power shortage, and a lot of that has The turbines were not Class
3 turbines and were not very suited
been possible due to AD for Indian conditions. At the same
time, ownership was fragmented.
There was no scientific way of
acquiring turbines or calculating
the actual PLF. We thought that to
that it all started around 2006. That become one of the larger players in
Photo: Inox Wind

time, in GFL, we were among the this business, we needed to do our

Wind is a wind turbine manufacturing
company, whereas Inox Renewables
is the wind IPP company. As of now,
Inox Renewables has about 250 MW
of assets and is among the largest
wind IPP companies in India.
Now, talking about our foray into
wind energy business, I would say
world’s first projects to generate
carbon credits and the largest in
the country. We were working with
the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), Climate Change Task
Force and a lot of other global bodies
in the field of climate change. The
writing on the wall was very clear
- ‘that Renewables is the Future.’
In 2006, the wind energy industry
was not that attractive as it is
today. That time, we could see that
developed nations like the USA and
several others in Europe had already
mandated renewable purchase
obligation (RPO) targets. A lot of
movement was happening in the field
of renewables in Brazil, China, Russia
and a little bit in the Middle-East too.
India, although on per capita basis
was not very polluting, but as a
country we were one of the most
polluting countries globally. It was
very clear that there would be
increasing pressure on India to foray
into solar, wind and other forms
of renewable energy options. We
thought that the renewables sector
was a good sector to diversify our
business into. So, we mandated
McKinsey & Company to carry out
a diversification study for us and
look at the renewables sector
as well. We jointly developed an
implementation plan for the sector.
This was how we got into the wind
energy business. First, we started
investing in renewable energy as
an IPP company and then took up
manufacturing as well.
Was it a planned effort to enter into
the IPP business and then gradually
shift to turbine manufacturing
or it just happened?
After working as an IPP company,
business the right way which meant
that we had to control the turbines.
That is when we started scouting
for technology, and we tied up with
AMSC, which is one of the world’s
largest independent technology
providers. In 2009, we set up the
company to manufacture turbines
and it took us a year to build plants.
Then we set up our prototypes
and in 2011, we were certified to
commercially deploy turbines in
India. In that very year, we also set
up our first 50-MW wind farm near
Rajkot in Gujarat. In 2012, we started
selling wind turbines in the market to
third parties, and ended up becoming
the fourth largest wind turbine
manufacturer in the country.
The Indian wind energy sector
struggled in the absence of
generation based incentive (GBI)
and accelerated depreciation (AD).
However, now that the government
has announced the restoration
of GBI for the sector, how do
you see the industry faring in the
current fiscal?
The policy notification is yet not
released. The reintroduction of
GBI for the wind sector has been
announced in the Budget, but there
is still no policy on how it will be
implemented and how an IPP is
going to get the fund. The industry
is eagerly awaiting that, and once
that is done, a lot of IPPs will place
orders. We are happy that GBI may
be restored, but we are waiting for
the exact mechanism. I am sure it is
going to help the industry to get
back on track. If GBI comes in at the
right time, I think the market will be
close to 3 GW.
Some states where tariffs for
wind energy have been

July 2013 | Energy Next | 33

 In Conversation Devansh Jain

It’s good that India has been proactive future, the market will gradually shift
more towards equipment supply.
by bringing out an off-shore policy, but
until and unless the issues in on-shore There was one serious allegation
that AD was impacting the Indian
wind are sorted out, off-shore is not wind energy sector in a negative
going to happen way with non-serious players
entering the business merely to
avail themselves of tax breaks. What
announced have gone in for advantage of green power. would you like to say about this?
review petitions, whereas
Initially, people were looking at the I completely disagree with the
some are contemplating
prospects of being turbine suppliers accusation that AD was impacting
competitive bidding. So, till these
as well as being EPC contractors. the Indian wind industry in a negative
issues are not cleared, investors
However, with AD going away and way. Yes, people were investing in
are not likely to put in their money.
IPPs coming, a lot of these IPPs are wind turbines as they were getting tax
We need to be clearer on the
now building their teams and their breaks, but that doesn’t mean that the
policy front, as these policies
project capabilities. We are still a little turbines were not generating power.
are one-year policies. If we are
away while these IPP companies, All those turbines were generating
going to take out the policies in
which have come up over the last power that was fed into the grid,
September or October, it will not help
one year or so, are in a position to helping the country overcome power
the cause, as a wind farm cannot
build project capabilities, land banks shortage. It was a win-win situation
be set up in three to four months’
and the capability to develop large- – the country was getting power,
time. No one is going to invest in
sized projects. In that scenario, whereas the individual investors
infrastructure without clarity. We
I would say that it becomes necessary were getting tax breaks. So, all these
need stable and clearer policies at the
that GBI is implemented sooner than allegations that people were setting
beginning of the year and not in the
later. From our perspective, we are up turbines and not generating
middle of the year because we are
not focusing on AD clients, so it has power are false.
talking of crores of investments.
not impacted our business. Our focus
When AD was in effect, it was seen has been on big corporates, IPPs and However, you always have some
that most of the wind turbine utility companies. I feel that in the exceptions. There could have been
manufacturers doubled as EPC and
O&M contractors as well, something
that helped them expand their
businesses as well as increased
capacity addition in the country.
With AD gone, what are the
prospects for these manufacturer-
cum-EPCs in the sector?
Obviously, till 2011-12, AD was
driving the wind energy business in
the country. In 2011-12, around 70
per cent of the business came from
AD, whereas about 30 per cent was
captive and a little bit of IPP business.
The wind industry in the country has
witnessed a huge change since April
2012. AD is gone, it is only GBI and a
little bit of captive power generation.
We have seen the market collapsing
from 3,000 MW to around 1,700 MW.
A lot of players who were looking
at AD to add to the clientele are
struggling today, and some are
going through tough financial crisis.
I would say that the going away of
AD is bad for the industry because
the industry is shrinking with a lot
of job losses. Besides, a power-
starved country like India is losing the

34 | Energy Next | July 2013

some people setting up turbines just
for tax breaks and not generating
power, but that count would be
very low. If one per cent of people
are non-serious in the industry, that
doesn’t mean that the remaining
99 per cent are also doing wrong.
For the past decade, the wind
industry in the country has grown
only because of tax breaks. Today,
wind is playing a crucial role in
several states in taking care of their
power shortage, and a lot of that has
been possible due to AD.
Apart from incentives, what more is
needed to brighten up the prospects
of the wind energy sector in India?
There are some macro problems
in the country right now. Discom
utilities are not well-rated. Payments
in Tamil Nadu are delayed by a year
or more; there are other poorly
rated Discoms who take six to eight
months in clearing payments.
So, I would say that these are
power sector problems and not
wind sector problems in particular.
The government is trying to address
the issue, but we would urge for
faster action.
Secondly, we would want that in the
financial services sector, when loans
are being appraised for renewable
energy projects, there should be
a separate quota mandated for
renewables. Today, what is being
done is renewable energy is clubbed
into power quota. The cost of one
big thermal power project of 1,000-
MW capacity is around `5,000-6,000
crore. So, if one company takes a loan
from a bank, the entire quota is over.
That is not fair because renewable
energy investors are not getting the
funding at the right time, at the right
cost. Renewable energy projects are
smaller in size and they need to have
their own quotas. For example, a wind
power project of 150-MW capacity is
considered to be a big project which
would require just around `220
crore of debt. So, we are
urging the government to create
a separate quota for renewable
energy so that renewables’ project
developers can avail themselves of
loans from this quota.
There are other issues which could
Photo: Inox Wind
be called state-specific problems.
We want more clarity on land
acquisition in some states. We
expect more investments on the
power infrastructure front, especially
the creation of transmission
infrastructure, as there are many
states which have good policies but
are facing curtailment issues because
the grid infrastructure is not there.
In the high wind season, when the
projects are going to run at 70 per
cent, the IPPs are not going to make
money in the absence of a proper
grid infrastructure. There are other
minor issues that the industry deals
with. Fundamentally, we would
expect that GBI gets implemented
soon, and if possible, AD comes back.
India is among the global leaders in
wind energy installation. However,
off-shore wind is still an unexplored
area. With MNRE’s new draft off-
shore policy, do you think off-shore
installations starting in the country
any time soon?
Unfortunately, I do not see any
movement on that front in the
immediate future. The basic reason
is the cost of an off-shore project,
which is three to four times that
of an on-shore wind project. On-
shore is not growing the way it
should because the tariffs today are
unremunerative. So, for example, if
I need a tariff of `5 to set up an on-
shore wind project, to go off-shore,
I would need a tariff of `15. But when
states don’t offer `5, who is going
to offer `15? Various studies have
predicted India’s huge on-shore wind
potential – as much as 900 GW. We
have done only around 19 GW as of
now, and I would say that for the next
decade or so, on-shore has enough
potential to take care of the wind
energy business.
In Europe, they went off-shore
because of unavailability of land. You
just don’t go off-shore for the
sake of going off-shore. If it makes
business sense, it is fine. But it
doesn’t make much of a sense in
India with the current tariff structure.
We need a remunerative tariff,
which should be around `5-5.5
for on-shore wind projects. Unless
that happens, there is no question
July 2013 | Energy Next | 35
 In Conversation Devansh Jain
of going off-shore. Besides, there
are other problems in the off-shore
segment such as requirement
of special jigs and vessels, and
specially trained people. All these
would require at least two to
three years. Underground cables
have their own challenges.
It’s good that India has been
proactive by bringing out an
off-shore policy, but until and
unless the issues in on-shore
wind are sorted out, off-shore
is not going to happen.
Tariff for renewable energy is diverse
in India. How do you think it hinders
the growth of the industry?
The Central Electricity Regulatory
Commission (CERC) has formulated a
generic tariff for wind energy.
We believe that if all the states follow
that, there will be uniform growth
across the board. However, some
states may do better because PLFs
are higher there as compared to
other places. Again some states have
grid issues, some have land issues
and others have major issues with
Discoms. So, it is a complex web
of certain things.
When an investor makes a
decision to invest, he doesn’t
look at per megawatt cost, but
looks for PLF, grid capacity, Discom
capabilities and land issues. So,
36 | Energy Next | July 2013
I am sure if the states follow the CERC
tariff structure, we will be able to attain
the 12th Plan target of 5 GW capacity
addition year-on-year
I believe that if we have a generic
tariff, there will be uniform
growth. Last year, there was a lot
of investment in wind energy in
Maharashtra and Rajasthan because
these states had tariffs remunerative
enough for the investors. If
you are going to give an investor
12 per cent return, he is not
going to invest because the
cost of capital itself is 12-13 per
cent today. I am sure if the states
follow the CERC tariff structure,
we will be able to attain the 12th Plan
target of 5 GW capacity
addition year-on-year.
How do you see the prospects for
the Indian wind industry and your
company’s plans five years
down the line?
Fundamentally, there will be a lot of
consolidation in the wind sector. The
12th Plan has a target of installing
25 GW of wind power in the country,
but for that to happen, the policies
need to be implemented in the right
spirit. We don’t know whether GBI is
limited to year-on-year capacity or it
will be unlimited for the whole Plan
period. If it is there for the entire Plan,
then I believe that the industry will
attain its goal.
From Inox Wind perspective,
our aim is to be the preferred wind
solutions provider to IPPs, utilities
and large corporates. Like other
Inox Group companies, our aim
is to be the leader in our area of
operations. We have the right
product for the Indian conditions
and we are focused in our approach
towards building infrastructure
and providing O&M services to our
customers. We are happy the way
things are going right now.
This year, we want to reach a
capacity of around 500 MW.
In the first year, we started
business in Tamil Nadu and
Gujarat. Last year, we entered
Rajasthan and this year we are
working in Gujarat, Rajasthan
and Maharashtra among other
states. Our medium-term plan is
to offer solutions across Indian
states and be the most preferred
wind solutions provider.
Photo: Inox Wind
Insight Industrial Process Heating

Cleaner heating
via CST, biomass
Industries in India, more so the heating sector, consume
up to 20 per cent of imported oil. In the future, this is likely
to have a bearing on the profitability of manufacturing.
Hence, it becomes critical to seek alternatives for industrial
process heating. In such a scenario, CST and biomass are
the two energy sources which can help provide a viable
solution, writes Siddharth Malik

I
ndian manufacturing faces a dire
situation with its contribution to the
country’s GDP falling consistently,
while the cost of production has been
rising disproportionately over the
years due to a rise in raw materials
and energy costs. While demand is
influenced by macro economic factors
and raw material prices largely by
geo-politics of individual industry type,
Indian industries need to look towards
addressing a critical input – energy
costs, specifically those associated with
process applications such as heating,
etc., largely met either by expensive
and polluting liquid fuels or relatively
cheap, but excessively polluting coal
and variations thereof.
Indian industries constitute
consumption of up to 20 per cent of
imported oil equivalent for industrial
applications such as process heating.
With Indian imports at 100 million
tonnes of oil equivalent annually, the
industrial heating sector has significant
contribution to under recoveries and
rising current account deficits. While

July 2013 | Energy Next | 37

 Insight Industrial Process Heating
the government has taken appropriate
measures by gradually increasing diesel
and gas prices, this is expected to
have a long-term detrimental impact
on profitability of manufacturing, with
thermal energy also being a major cost
component of manufacturing. Hence, it
becomes critical to seek alternatives for
industrial process heating to reduce up
to 20 million tonnes of oil in industries.
Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST)
and biomass are two distinct energy
sources which can together provide
a long-term viable solution. There is
a tremendous potential of replacing
existing liquid fuel-based heating
system in industries by a hybridised
heating system comprising of CST
and biomass, since both energies
are sustainable, renewable and offer
reduced emissions compared to liquid
fuels, while completing the
24/7 requirement of the industry.
Characterising fuels in Indian
industry
The Indian industry’s oil demand
is met largely by the liquid fuel
category of fossil fuels. These
primarily include High Speed Diesel
or HSD and Furnace Oil or FO,
popularly known as Fuel Oil in US.
Recently, there has also been a trend
of using natural gas for heating. India
uses 100 mill tonnes of oil annually,
40 per cent of which is consumed
in the industry. Up to 70 per cent of
industrial energy use is in thermal
form out of which, more than
65 per cent thermal energy use
in the range below 300°C. Hence,
15 to 20 per cent of total energy use,
say 15 million tonnes of oil is used in
industry below 300°C annually.
The oil is classified under six categories
depending upon the various factors
like boiling point, composition of the
oil and use of the oil. These classes
of fuel oil are termed as No. 1 fuel oil,
No. 2 fuel oil and so on till No. 6 fuel
oil. The first two categories of fuel oil
are known as distillate fuel oils and
categories No. 4, 5, 6 are labeled as
residual fuel oils. Commercially, No.1
fuel oil is called kerosene. Used in
domestic purposes such as cooking, it
is the most expensive type of fuel oil.
38 | Energy Next | July 2013
The second (No. 2) fuel oil is diesel. A
bit more viscous than kerosene, it is
slightly less expensive than kerosene.
Furnace oil is defined as a dark-
coloured fuel, either distilled or
residual fraction of crude oil
which is extracted while petroleum
distillation is used for the purpose
of generation heat and power. This
fuel is sticky, thick and glutinous in
nature. Furnace oil is known by the
name of fuel oil internationally and
also as bunker fuel. The fuel oil
consists of lengthy chains of
hydrogen and carbon mainly alkanes,
cycloalkanes and aromatics. Basically,
furnace oil is termed for relatively
heavier commercial extracts from
crude oil. Largely an industrial fuel,
it acts as a key ingredient in the
generation of electricity and heat
in a number of production units. It
has been used since a long time for
such purposes and has gained much
importance and inevitable value.
Fuel oil comes under the category of
heavier oils which include furnace oil,
low sulfur heavy stock, residual fuel
oil, lube oil, bitumen, petroleum coke,
paraffin wax and other waxes which
can be extracted from crude oil.
Crude oil is the major source of
furnace oil. The furnace oil production
in the world including distillate and
residue oils is estimated to be around
2,500 million metric tonnes for 2004-
2005. Major crude oil producing
countries are also the major fuel oil
producing countries in the world. The
consumption pattern of the world in
context of fuel oil decreased gradually
from 1995 till 2002 and has been
relatively steady since then.
In India, fuel oil is known and
traded as furnace oil. The country
is blessed with ample natural
resources and due to this reason,
is known to be one of the fastest
developing countries in the world.
Furnace oil helps in the growth of the
country’s industries as it powers the
transportation network and forms the
base of various Indian industries. The
figures of production of furnace oil
in India in 2003-04 hovered around
8.74 million metric tonnes. The public
sector dominates the furnace oil
production in the country and
satisfies most of the domestic
demand t in the country.
Macro-economic constraints
It becomes important to understand
the context of India’s current account
deficit situation and under recoveries of
the Oil Marketing Companies or OMCs.
There is a huge and rising element
of under-recovery of the OMCs on
account of sale of sensitive petroleum
products namely, HSD, domestic LPG
and PDS kerosene. Under- recovery is
essentially the difference between a
desired price (based on international
prices and other cost elements) and
the actual (depot) price charged to

dealers. This was estimated at `1385.4
billion in 2011-2, which is almost 46
times the fiscal subsidy for that year.
The sale of diesel accounted for close
to 59 per cent of the under-recovery
in 2011-12. Diesel constitutes
38 per cent of all petroleum products
consumption in India and is used as
an input in activities that together
account for almost 40 per cent of
gross domestic product. Under-
recovery on diesel (` 13.64 per litre) is
higher than the taxes realised from its
sale (`7.66 per litre).
India only produces diesel, which
is designated as High Speed Diesel
(HSD). The growth of the Indian
economy has lead to increasing
demand for energy for transportation
and industry since the recent
10-15 years. As India is predominantly
a diesel-based economy, the demand
for diesel has been increasing at a
quick pace. India’s consumption of
High Speed Diesel in 2008-09 is
estimated to be 15.9 billion
gallons in 2008-09, which is up by
30 per cent from 2004-05
consumption of 12.2 billion gallons.
India’s production of High Speed
Diesel has shown a sharp improvement
in the previous two decades, aided
by the setting up of new refineries
and increased capacity utilization.
The production of High Speed Diesel
has increased from 5.3 billion gallons
in 1990-91 to 19.4 billion gallons in
2008-09, marking a 265 per cent
increase. High Speed Diesel exports
from India have grown substantially,
with it jumping from 2.6 billion gallons
in 2005-06 to 4.2 billion gallons in
2008-09, representing an increase
of above 60 per cent, exposing the
exporting Indian refineries to the huge
volatility in global prices. Majority of
refineries in India are state-owned and
follow a steady pricing policy as per
government regulations. The major
refiners include Indian Oil Corporation
Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). The RIL
being a private player exports most of
its production of petroleum products.
With Indian rupee falling to an all-
time low, the benefits accrued from
government’s policy of raising diesel
prices every month, have been
completely wiped out. The under-
recovery was expected to fall to
<`3/litre from > `8/litre. However, due
to the rupee degradation, losses on
diesel have climbed to more than `7/
litre. Assuming crude prices as US$
105/barrel and INR-US rate of
`. 60, the under-recovery is expected
to be exceeding `1.5 lakh crore in
2013-14. Out of this, more than
`80, 000 crore is on account of diesel
alone. This simple fact reinforces the
helplessness of Indian policy makers
and the dire need to adopt alternatives
to diesel, wherever possible, for
hedging risks that loom at domestic as
well as international level. This danger
stares in the face of manufacturers
as reliance of Industrial heating relies
more and more on diesel every year.
Non-sustainable trends in oil markets
impacting diesel
The US is the largest refiner of crude oil
holding 20 per cent of the total world
refining capacity of 87,700 kilo barrels
per calendar day, followed by China
(8.9 per cent), former Soviet Union (8.8
per cent), Japan (5.3 per cent) and India
(4.1 per cent). However, the production
of heating oil or diesel in any country
depends on the type of economy it
follows. For instance, while US has
adopted a gasoline-based economy,
India is largely a diesel-based
economy, leading to more production
and consumption of gasoline in the
US and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) in
India. The long-term availability of
liquid fuel derivatives including diesel
at affordable prices is hence very
strongly correlated with geo-political
factors such as world demand and
supply of crude oil, weather conditions,
seasonal cycles, and fluctuations in the
value of dollar, stocks of fuel oil, price
fluctuations, cost fluctuations, regional
operating costs and competition in
local markets.
Potential of CST-based industrial
heating systems
India is endowed with a vast
solar energy potential. About
5,000 trillion kWh per year of solar
energy is incident over India’s land
area, with nearly all of India receiving
an average 5 to 7kWh/m2/day. The
abundant solar radiation, clean
character of solar energy, high cost
of fossil fuels and negative emission
consequences along with large
requirements for process heat below
300°C are the key drivers of the strong
focus on the development of solar
thermal applications in India. The
use of solar concentrator to meet
the process heat requirement of
community, industrial and commercial
establishments is an emerging and
market opportunity in India.
CST systems basically focus the
incoming Direct Normal Irradiance
July 2013 | Energy Next | 39
 Insight Industrial Process Heating
or DNI at a receiver to achieve higher
temperatures for various applications
in the range of 150-450C. Since these
technologies can focus the direct
radiation coming from the Sun, they
are tracked along with the Sun.
All CST systems operate on principle
of Direct Normal Incidence (DNI)
radiation, which is the fraction of sun’s
radiation that falls directly on earth
without scattering.
High-efficiency, well-engineered
CST systems have a tremendous
potential to save up to 50 per cent
of liquid fuels in Indian industries.
Such systems have a wide operating
range in 100-400degC category and
cover most typical industrial process
requirements including drying,
heating, evaporation, dehydration,
boiler feed water heating, distillation,
sterlisation, etc. which forms the
major application for textile, paper &
pulp, chemical, pharmaceuticals, food
processing, dairy, automobile, agro
processing, breweries, oil processing,
etc. industries. In certain industries, the
heating load constitutes more than 605
per cent of overall energy consumed
for production, such as paper and pulp,
textile processing and dairies.
Need for hybridisation of CST
industrial heating systems
The larger need for hybridising CST
systems for industrial applications can
be largely classified in three categories:
1. The industrial processes are
continuous processes. Given the
inherent intermittent nature of CST
systems to deliver a given quality
and quantity of thermal energy on
continuous basis, a backup heating
system is required to ease out
fluctuations in total energy delivered
to the process, while also providing a
back up during non-solar hours. This is
more valid for India, with an extended
monsoon period, which demands the
necessity of a back-up heating system
integrated with CST systems.
2. Unlike power generation, industrial
processes are highly unique in
that while they are continuous
however, intermittent in loads.
The overall thermal load can vary
40 | Energy Next | July 2013
drastically given the requirements of
production processes and specifics
of manufacturing techniques. It
hence becomes imperative for
the heating system to respond
effectively by ramping up and down
the delivered heat to the process.
This ‘load-matching’ demands a
back-up or hybrid heating system
to provide additional versatility to
the integration of alternate heating
systems to diesel. This specific nature
also creates a strong business case for
thermal energy storage, which will be
subsequently discussed.
3. Lastly, the DNI profile throughout
India varies drastically depending on
location, and other topological
factors. CST systems only
utilize DNI radiation for
concentration and delivering the
required heat at elevated
temperatures. Hence, the overall
viability of CST in every part of the
country is expected to differ to due
variation in energy yields (kWh/m2)
and consequent displacement of
fossil fuel, for the same concentrator
area installed. Given the thrust on
overall proposed displacement of
diesel to be economically viable,
there is a need for alternate heating
sources, particularly for industrial
solutions located in geographical
locations with low DNI.
Due to the reasons identified above,
it becomes critical to integrate and
hybridise CST system with a back-up
heating system for operations during
non-solar hours including during
monsoons. Since industrial processes
require continuous supply of heat,
the variability inherent to CST systems
has to be addressed by hybridising
CST with another sustainable energy
resource, which currently drives
70 per cent of rural economy of
India-biomass.
Potential of biomass-based industrial
energy systems
Biomass continues to be a prime mover
of rural economy in India. Its usage
varies from cooking (unorganised
sector) to fairly sophisticated industrial
heating systems (organised sector). It’s
usage for generation of thermal energy
to avoid a large amount of emissions
from fossil fuel used for thermal energy
generation, is well-understood. India
has also followed examples from
Germany where biomass in form
of biogas dominates a large energy
consumption profile for the country for
both heat and power.
Specifically, renewable biomass is
Green House Gas (GHG) neutral and
thus can save large amount of GHG
emissions from fossil fuel use for
heat generation. Similar to CST
systems, biomass fired thermal
energy generation are implemented
as greenfield projects or as a
replacement of existing fossil fuel
fired equipment, termed as the retrofit
installation. Conventionally available
boilers & heaters are capable of
burning wide variety of biomass or
compatible biomass fuels and are
provided with safety and control
instruments for efficient and safe
operation of the system. Optional
heat recovery systems like air/water
pre-heaters/economisers are provided
in the system for improving efficiency
of the system. Sustained engineering
efforts have further resulted in
advanced air and flue gas system
comprising of forced draught fans,
secondary air draught fans, induced
draught fans, air pollution control
equipments like single cyclone/multi
cyclone type dust collectors/bag
filters/ Electro Static Precipitator (ESP)
or ash rooms, etc., This has
established biomass-based
heating systems a well-understood
and practical reality in Indian
manufacturing.
More than 540 million tonnes of
crop and plantation residues are
produced every year in India and a
large portion is either wasted, or used
inefficiently. The current organised
availability of biomass in India is
estimated at about 500 million metric
tonnes per year. Studies sponsored
by the MNRE have estimated surplus
biomass availability at about 120 to
150 million metric tonnes per annum
covering agricultural and forestry
residues corresponding to a potential
of about 180 billion kcal for thermal
energy generation for heating.
The thermo chemical processes
for conversion of biomass to useful
products involve combustion,
gasification or pyrolysis. The most
commonly used route is combustion
followed by gasification. The
tremendous advantage of gasification
process is the resultant gas of high
calorific value similar to diesel/LPG, etc.
and by-products being organic manure
with large utilization in farming sector.
Further, while biomass for combustion
can be packed into briquettes, biogas
is bottled for transport. Specifically,
the gasification process optimizes
the usage of biomass resource and
allows additional income for farmers,
produces an excellent fertilizer
(digestate) as by product rich in
nitrogen, phosphorous and other
micronutrients, closes the CO2/CH4/
nutrient cycle, and above all allows
the tremendous flexibility of varies
feedstock including crop
residues, organic wastes, sludge,
animal manure etc.
Need for hybridisation of biomass
heating systems
With all above advantages identified,
the biomass sector has suffered from
well-understood supply constraints,
which introduces reluctance of a
manufacturing setup to solely rely
on biomass for continuous industrial
operations. While diesel and other
liquid fuels emerge from a perfectly
competitive ‘wholesale/retail markets
diesel’, the roots of sourcing biomass
emanate from a vast unorganized and
unprofessional sector. Specifically, the
following issues pose a fundamental
constraint for operating industrial
heating systems solely on biomass
based fuels:
• Biomass processing & supply
management
• Collection & transportation to
project sites
• Promoting farmers to supply the
waste biomass
• Biomass fuel handling at industrial
project sites
• Seasonal variation
Hence, the above factors demand
the integration and hybridisation of
biomass based heating systems with
CST systems to hedge the
overall risks of fuel availability at
affordable price points.
Conclusion
To summarise, while both solar
thermal and biomass as sustainable
energy sources hold large individual
potentials for contribution to India’s
thermal energy basket to displace
liquid fuels, the combination of the
two operating as an integrated unit
is wherein lies a vast, practical and
realisable potential of reducing India’s
import bills, current account deficits (a
drain on the economy), put back India’s
economy on a sustainable social,
economical and ecological growth
path and above all, set a
global example for the
world to follow.
The author is the founder and
MD of Megawatt Solutions
Pvt. Ltd.
(The views expressed by the
author are personal)
July 2013 | Energy Next | 41
 Industry Speak Dr James Rekoske

‘The challenge is to have

a consistent policy’

Sourcing biofuel from

feedstock has its limitations
and may strain the food
supply. Therefore, it’s
imperative to find an
alternate source.
Dr James Rekoske, Vice
President & General
Manager, Renewable
Energy and Chemicals,
UOP, a Honeywell
Company, speaks to
Sayantani De about the
global market, generating
fuel from waste oils and
greases, and India’s efforts
to leverage the sector

42 | Energy Next | July 2013

What has been the contribution of
biofuels in reducing greenhouse gas
emission?
We have to always remember in
context that transporting fuels have
been around for a hundred years and
renewable fuels for about a decade.
The importance is of the upward
trajectory – it is moving in a positive
direction. There is significant uptake
of biofuels around the globe. In the
United States, more than 16 billion
gallons of renewable fuel has been
used last year. In Europe, another
four billion gallons of renewable
fuel was utilised. Brazil also has a
long history of substantial usage
of renewable fuel. I think that has
shown that there is opportunity
when there is consistent policy,
and when there is good technology
adoption for biofuels, it can have
a significant impact. As far as the
total amount of carbon dioxide
or emissions reduced from that is
concerned, I couldn’t casually guess
on that but I do think the 16 billion
gallons in the United States, the four
billion gallons in Europe and many
more billions of gallons throughout
the world have made a significant
improvement. What’s important thing
to remember is every single one of
those gallons would have come from
petroleum and would have led to
carbon emissions. So we can debate
on whether biofuels are 20 per cent
better or 80 per cent better, the
importance thing is – they are better.
Last year, the EU reduced its biofuel
target to 5 per cent from 10 per cent.
What is the likely impact of such
directives on the global market of
biofuels?
The challenge for any industry,
regardless of whether it’s biofuel or
telecom or anything, it has to have
a consistent policy in which it will
operate so that decisions can be
made on investments. And I think
that is an important factor. At present,
Europe is reinventing its policies. So,
instead of focussing on biofuels, they
want to focus on advanced biofuels
so there is less potential impact on
the food chain, and less impact of
so-called indirect land use change.
I think that’s a right move and that’s
what Honeywell has been doing
over its history, simply because we
were always focussed on second
generation biofuels or feedstocks
which do not use land that is used
for food – we feel that’s the right
decision and the right choice.
Secondly, advanced technologies
are now available which will allow
you to do that cost-effectively
so that there’s no longer the excuse
that the only fuels available to us are
corn-based ethanol – that’s simply
just not true anymore.
Production of biofuel also poses
a risk to the food supply as cash
crops are a more lucrative option
to farmers than agro produces.
How do you think this risk can be
offset? Do you think India’s policy
is strong enough to handle such
eventualities?
It’s an interesting point – if you sit
down and look at the value of an
acre of land for the production of
food versus the value of an acre of
land for the production of fuel – if
the fuel being made from the land is
cost-competitive with petroleum-
based fuel, they will never choose
to make the fuel, they will always
make the food, because food prices
in general are higher for an acre of
the use of land than the fuel prices.
The challenge for us is to develop
technologies which are enabling the
farmer to be able to grow something
which will not only offer greater value
to him but also provide enough value
in order to be able to be utilised. So
we focus on things like rotational
crops rather than growing crops
interfering with the production of
food we save for another season
when the land may have been fallow,
and grow crops for fuels. In Europe
and northern climates, there is a
particular crop called pennycress
which can be grown in rotation with
corn and soybeans. The farmers grow
corn and soy, but plants pennycress
during the winter times when the
There has been
good awareness
about what
the need is
and I think it’s
a significant
advantage
India has over
the rest of the
world. Securing
people’s right to
food is certainly
very important,
probably one
of the most
important things
land otherwise would be idle. We try
and promote the science of solutions
like these because the opportunities
there are great. You get a crop at a
lower price than you would normally
because you don’t have to pay full
rent for the land as it is continued
to be used for food production. We
would like to explore opportunities
like these more to avoid any conflict
with food production.
At present, the prices you have
for petrol and diesel are
somewhat below the world
market prices because India is in
a position where you opened up
those markets but not fully, so the
government still has great sway
over what the price of fuel is in this
country. That, I think, is appropriate
for India and its development.
Also, look at the sugar industry for
example, the movement of sugar
out of food into ethanol or anything
else is prohibited. That is exactly
the right type of policy – there are
by-products like molasses that can
be used but we don’t want the main
product sugar into the fuel supply.
There has been good awareness
July 2013 | Energy Next | 43
 Industry Speak Dr James Rekoske
Instead of storing
a perishable good,
convert it into a
hydrocarbon at
the point of use.
Our focus is on
technologies that
will cost-effectively
allow agricultural
residues and
wastes to be
converted into
liquids which can
be later utilised
about what the need is and I think
it’s a significant advantage India has
over the rest of the world. Securing
people’s right to food is certainly
very important, probably one of the
most important things. I think what a
government can do from the biofuels
perspective is to have a consistent
policy. One of the major challenges
we have around the world is the
changes that happen to the policy
because the investments that are
made in the biofuel industry are
long-term investments. For example,
if a facility takes two years to build
and the policy changes during
these two years, it becomes very
challenging to be able to get an
assured profit from that facility. That
makes it hard for the businessman to
decide whether they want to make
that investment in the first place.
Do you think that imposing carbon
tax can facilitate the use of biofuels
in the aviation industry?
What are the other possible
usages of biofuels?
There are parts of the world where
carbon taxes have been successful.
But it’s not everywhere because the
carbon tax has to be implemented in
the right way. I think the right way is
– take a look at Canada, particularly
44 | Energy Next | July 2013
British Columbia, and Australia –
they said that the industry is going
to have this amount of tax at a
certain rate which will be fixed for a
certain period of time and then we
will let the prices of carbon float. Of
the funding that we will collect by
selling carbon credits, we will reinvest
in the clean energy community.
Therefore, it’s not a money-making
scheme for the government; it’s more
of a way to transfer wealth from the
people who are emitting carbons and
moving that over to those who can
help mitigate it. It worked very well
for British Columbia and Australia;
the governments are going to
change next year and I hope
both governments stay
consistent with their policy.
One of the reasons I’m a fan of
aviation biofuels is that the market is
relatively small compared to the rest
of transportation fuel. Small markets
generally mean that there is a higher
cost which is generally true for
aviation fuels. Aviation biofuels have
natural synergies with distribution
channels. Solutions for marine fuels
are also expensive. Biofuel can never
be cost-competitive with the marine
fuel, but it’s certainly competitive
with the alternative, which is
desulphurising.
The challenge in making biofuel
cost-competitive with ATF is finding
feedstock. In the fuel industry, in
general, 85-90 per cent of the cost
of the final product is the cost of the
raw material. Finding feedstocks that
are going to be cost-competitive
with petroleum-based fuels is a
challenge and we try to explore such
opportunities.
Given the current scenario, do you
think India can meet the 2017 target
of blending 20 per cent biofuel with
conventional fuels?
I think it is very important for the
biofuel industry to globally have
aspirations of targets. Whether
the targets are achievable or not
is really not for me to say – the
industry is going to decide at what
level it’s economical to venture into
production facilities. However, I’ll
say this –technically, these targets
are certainly feasible. Whether or not
they are economically or practically
feasible, I think, is questionable. But
targets are important – they give the
sector the direction to go – this is
how far we (the industry) want to go.
What are the challenges for the
biofuel sector in India?
There is tremendous
entrepreneurship in many areas here,
but that sort of entrepreneurship
is missing in the field of biofuels.
Maybe because people think it’s a
government-driven sector or is the
realm of big oil companies or maybe
because it’s too asset-intensive.
I don’t know what the real reason is,
but that is my outside observation.
A good example in this regard can
probably come from the US. Ethanol,
the biofuel from corn, if you want to
understand that how that industry
started, in fact the biofuel industry
as a whole, we have studied its
inception and found that the product
was originally started and funded by a
consortium of farmers because they
saw it as a means to bring more value
to the crops they grew. It was the
rural development banks, agricultural
banks and funding societies that
funded the initial stages of ethanol
investment in the US. So, I think there
may be something in this to learn for
India as well and the government can
have a significant role to play – that
of helping in bringing the money to
those who can make this, starting
with something that is technologically
advanced with a partner who is
willing to assist and help.
What can India learn from countries
such as the US and Brazil who have
made a mark in biofuel production
and popularisation?
There are a couple of things we
have to think about. Investments
are going on in both the US and
the EU right now into a technology
called Ecofining that converts
natural oil into diesel fuel. The US
plant produces 10000 barrels a day
and an 8000-barrels-a-day plant is
being revamped in Italy – in both the
scenarios, biofuels produced will be
cost-competitive with petroleum.
They don’t require government
subsidy or grants in order to make
them cost-competitive, because the
raw material they use is not valued
in marketplace, it’s waste grease –
used cooking oil, etc., which can be
converted very effectively into fuel.
The important lesson that I would
have is to look at ways to reuse things
– it is difficult for me to say this to
someone in India as you are so good
at doing this – look at everything that
is thrown away but can be possibly
utilised. In the long term, maybe
biofuel will not be the objective;
maybe the objective will be to get
renewable fuels – fuels from recycled
plastics, for example. All of these
alternative fuels are important for all Technology is
nations to think about – it may not be
biofuel. Technology is very important
very important
and one of the most important and one of the
things to remember is that deploying most important
the latest technology is the most
important thing for any economy,
things to
whether it is emerging or established. remember is
What are the commercially that deploying
viable R&D activities going on in the latest
Honeywell? How well does UOP technology is
technology align with India’s
direction in renewable fuels? the most
important thing
We have fully developed technologies
associated with waste grass and for any economy,
greases’ conversion to diesel for whether it is
jet fuel, now we are deploying it emerging or
commercially. Our focus has been
on taking waste material from established
agriculture and converting that
Photo: UOP, Honeywell
The first transatlantic biofuel flight powered by UOP, Honeywell’s Green Jet Fuel
July 2013 | Energy Next | 45
 Industry Speak Dr James Rekoske
into transportation fuel through
It was the rural technologies we are developing.
A good example is the sugarcane
development industry in India – much of the
banks, agricultural sugarcane bagasse is used for
banks and funding cogeneration of electricity.
However, there is a mismatch
societies that between the time of availability of
funded the initial
raw material and the electricity
stages of ethanol demand. Most of the bagasse is
piled up, waiting to be used and
investment in the
then it decomposes. Our aim is to
US. So, I think there take that and turn it into liquid and
may be something then the liquid can be used
in this to learn for whenever you want. So instead of
storing a perishable good, convert
India as well and it into a hydrocarbon at the point of
the government use. Our focus is on technologies
can have a that will cost-effectively allow
agricultural residues and wastes
significant to be converted into liquids which
role to play can be later utilised. do. I think the next stop is to get that
We have collaborations in India,
46 | Energy Next | July 2013
probably the most prominent of
which is the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) we had with
IOC several years ago. We continue
to work with IOC, evaluating and
developing new technologies.
How do you think India can develop
its indigenous technologies in the
field of biofuel?
If you look at the future, it’s going
to be different. And you need a
strong basis of science, you need the
technical abilities in order to be able
to take that strong basis of science
and convert it into technology and
you need the willingness to go ahead
to invest in those technologies
through its completion. Investments
in science and technology are critical
and something that governments can
entrepreneurship, competitive spirit
into the industry.
Photo: UOP, Honeywell
 Energy Efficiency Godrej Bhavan

An iconic
landmark
Building owners and real estate Photos: Bhaskar Deol, NRDC

developers throughout India’s

rapidly expanding urban areas
stand to benefit financially
from energy-efficiency building
upgrades, according to a
recently released landmark
business case study about
the Godrej Bhavan in South
Mumbai, which cut its electricity
costs by 28 per cent. This
comprehensive analysis of
efficiency upgrades, produced
by the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) and
the Administrative Staff College
of India (ASCI), demonstrates
that India’s transforming
building market can help the
country meet its growing energy
needs through efficiency.
Energy Next details why the
Godrej Bhavan is an instance
worth emulating
A street view of the Godrej Bhavan

July 2013 | Energy Next | 47

 Energy Efficiency Godrej Bhavan
H
istoric blackouts across India
in July 2012 revealed the
severity of India’s energy
crisis. Looking ahead, scaling up
energy efficiency promises to be
the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest
way to help meet India’s energy
demands. As the country experiences
rapid urbanisation and its building-
occupied area skyrockets, from
8 billion square meters in 2005 to a
projected 41 billion square meters in
2030, the country’s real estate sector
is racing to keep up with the demand
for high-rise residential housing
and commercial properties such as
offices, hotels, and malls.
Incorporating energy-efficiency
measures in new and existing
buildings will help India achieve
a reliable energy future and save
money while addressing the threat
of climate change. Developers,
building owners, and tenants are
essential to achieving the energy-
efficiency benefits of reduced energy
use, cost savings, increased worker
productivity, higher asset value, and
market advantage. This case study
highlights Godrej Bhavan, an iconic
office building in South Mumbai,
focusing on the strong business case
48 | Energy Next | July 2013
Green roof at the Godrej Bhavan
for energy-efficiency upgrades or
retrofits. The Godrej Bhavan retrofit
shows that greener, energy-saving
retrofits are practical and profitable in
India’s rapidly transforming building
market and provides replicable
practices for cost and energy savings.
Built by Godrej & Boyce in 1972,
Godrej Bhavan is a six-story building
that houses the company’s chief
management. After decades of high
electricity bills, Godrej & Boyce
upgraded Godrej Bhavan in 2010
to include comprehensive energy-
efficiency and sustainability features,
such as efficient cooling and lighting
systems. Due to the upgrade, this
building is now an energy-saving one
which is achieving significant financial
and indoor environmental quality
benefits for its owner and occupants.
The upgrades’ high performance
measures, including the
upgraded heating, ventilation, and
air-conditioning (HVAC) system, are
already yielding energy cost savings
compared with fiscal year (FY)
2009-2010, the year before the
upgrade. Godrej Bhavan’s
post-upgrade energy savings are on
track to recover the retrofit costs
of `5,384,000 ($99,704). Based on
the electricity bill savings alone,
the upgrade costs are expected
to be paid back in 4.7 years. The
building’s retrofit team incorporated
high-performing energy-efficiency
measures which will pay for
themselves over time by significantly
saving on electricity costs.
Challenges & solutions
The Godrej Bhavan project team
overcame several challenges during
the energy-efficiency upgrade. The
solutions used to overcome key
obstacles are applicable to other
similar projects.
Aging building with ongoing
operations
The Godrej Bhavan retrofit required
implementing new energy-efficiency
technologies in an aging office
building with ongoing operations.
The building’s architectural design,
façade, glazing, lighting, and HVAC
system were already in use, limiting
the opportunity to redesign these
components. The aging HVAC
system, a direct-expansion (DX)
system, needed to be replaced. Since
two air handling units (AHUs) cooled
the entire building, it was difficult to
upgrade one floor at a time while
keeping other operating floors
cooled. For a successful upgrade,
the project team needed solutions
to these challenges, especially
to ensure continued building
operations, worker productivity, and
building safety, while simultaneously
increasing staff awareness on the
benefits of the retrofit.
Solution: Implement upgrade
during non-working hours
The retrofit focused on specific
equipment and energy management
upgrades instead of redesigning the
building. The relatively inefficient
HVAC DX system was replaced with
an energy-efficient water-cooled
screw chiller. Since the building
structure did not have feasible sites to
locate AHUs on every floor, artificial
floors were created (using beams in
the masonry shaft and horizontal
metal plates) to install new AHUs
on each level and to provide the
desired temperature conditions
for each floor while maximising
energy savings. The HVAC retrofit
occurred during non-working
hours and weekends to avoid
inconveniencing the staff during
working hours. To ensure
continuity of cooling, the old
and new HVAC systems
were operated simultaneously
during the transition.
Missing original drawings
The building was constructed four
decades ago, in 1972. Many of its
architectural, electrical, HVAC, and
plumbing drawings and records had
not been preserved over the years.
Solution: Create building
blueprints
Instead of expending resources
trying to locate the older drawings
and blueprints, the project team
prepared new drawings for Godrej
Bhavan during the retrofit process.
These drawings further assist the
company in its ongoing and future
“Energy efficiency is not an ‘out-of-the-
box’ concept; it is part of the day-to-day
operations of any building. The driver
for implementing energy-efficiency
measures in any building is to have senior
management buy-in and to educate
maintenance staff about building-
efficiency parameters along with the
financial and non-financial benefits of
energy efficiency. Energy efficiency
is a core characteristic of achieving
sustainability in a building’s operations.”
-Godrej Bhavan team
building operations and management, as energy-efficient fluorescent (T-5)
including energy savings. lamps with low mercury content
were difficult to procure for the
Limited availability of
energy-efficient products Godrej Bhavan upgrade.
Comprehensive information Solution: Source energy-saving
and sourcing of energy-efficient materials from special vendors
technologies and green materials such The retrofit team sourced efficient
The double glazed windows
July 2013 | Energy Next | 49
 Energy Efficiency Godrej Bhavan
technologies and materials from
special vendors through investigation
and research. Sourcing these
energy-saving products for the
Godrej Bhavan upgrade increased
the overall market demand for
efficiency technologies, leading to
their availability for a larger portion of
Indian customers.
Energy-saving measures installed
As energy-efficiency measures
were installed during the building
upgrade, Godrej Bhavan is now
reaping energy savings and other
benefits such as better indoor air
quality for the building’s occupants.
The HVAC system is the most
significant energy-saving measure
installed, based on a recent
energy audit. The HVAC
and building management system
was manufactured and installed
by Trane, and the lighting
system was manufactured
and installed by Philips.
Building management and electrical
system updates
The Trane Building Energy
Management System (BMS)
dashboard display with digital energy
meters that continuously monitor
50 | Energy Next | July 2013
Award-winning Retrofit
2011 LEED AWARD: It was the first building in Mumbai and the sixth
in India to receive the LEED Gold certification from the United States
Green Building Council under the Existing Buildings Operations and
Maintenance category (Version 2).
2011 Ingersoll Rand Energy-Efficiency Leader Award: In recognition
of demonstrated initiatives for energy optimisation in air-conditioning
system.
energy use, check and
rectify energy-use discrepancies,
and increase maintenance staff
accountability and productivity,
were installed.
The incoming and outgoing
electrical systems for high-voltage
electricity were upgraded to a
ring main unit system to provide
uninterrupted power supply.
Electrical systems were upgraded
to provide new information for
greater building safety, more reliable
operations for incoming and
outgoing electricity supply, and
circuit tripping and faults, which
were previously unknown.
The electrical power system switch
gear was relocated to a more
The power panel
accessible switcher room to ease
operations and maintenance.
Also, the building’s low-voltage
system was upgraded to facilitate
metering of the building’s electricity
load to account for energy use and
increase flexibility in operations.
Lighting with high efficiency
Fluorescent tube lamps with high-
efficiency T-5 fittings (lamp life of
27,000 burning hours and a low
mercury content of 1.4 mg per tube)
and electronic ballasts with timers to
switch office lights off automatically
after hours were installed.
A provision was made for natural
daylight and outside views
throughout the building.
Double-glazed clear windows
and shading devices were
installed to reduce heat gain
through the windows while still
providing light (installed in 2012
after the building retrofit)
Green roof garden
The building’s original green
roof, which had a soil depth of
nine inches, was developed by
removing the covering of the
“tandoor” roof clay tiles. The Godrej
team measured a reduction in the
roof temperature by 10°C using
thermal imaging. The green roof
reduces the heat entering the
building and cools the top floor
that houses the company’s senior
management. Also, trees were
planted around the building to
maintain a cool microclimate and
reduce the heat island effect.
 Clean & Green Energy Other Side of the Story
Not beyond a
shadow of doubt
The growing demand for energy
and shrinking fossil fuel reserves
makes renewable energy an
attractive option. However,
as the projects proliferate,
its profound environmental
impacts are coming to the fore.
Abhinav Dutta discusses the
best practices and measures
required in order to avoid
drastic eventualities
A
mid dwindling reserves of fossil fuels and the
climate change issues, governments across
the globe have embarked upon programmes
to harness the sun, wind and waves as new sources
of power. However, while environmentalists,
experts and policy advisors see the proliferation of
renewable energy as the right alternative to address
energy poverty, others have pointed out that green
energy is not so green. The advocates of biodiversity
conservation are taking up cudgels against the clean
energy crusaders alleging that renewable energy
comes at the cost of eroding biodiversity.
A High-Level Working Group (HLWG) headed by
Planning Commission member K Kasturirangan
has recommended prohibition on development
activities in the 60,000-square-kilometre ecologically
sensitive area (ESA) in the Western Ghats, including
setting up of renewable energy projects, especially
wind and small hydro power. The committee
July 2013 | Energy Next | 51
 Clean & Green Energy
has recommended that the wind
energy should be included in the
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
notification and brought under the
purview of assessment and clearance.
With regard to hydro power projects,
which abound in the Western Ghats,
the recommendation seeks stricter
norms before giving clearance for
such projects along with continuous
monitoring and data updates and
assessment to gauge its potential
impact, if any, over the years.
The 10-member HLWG comprising
of environmentalists and other
professionals draws upon the basic
framework of an earlier report by
ecologist Madhav Gadgil-led Western
Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)
to use remote sensing technologies
to demarcate the ecologically
sensitive areas in the region. However,
the satellite data used this time was
of finer resolution that helped to
distinguish vegetation types over
52 | Energy Next | July 2013
Other Side of the Story
the landscape of the entire Western
Ghats. The Kasturirangan report has
in a way given momentum to the
movement wherein conservationists
have been pointing fingers at the
growing number of hydro power and
wind projects in the Western Ghats.
Some studies and reports in the past
have tried to draw stakeholders’
attention towards the negative
impacts of the renewable energy
projects on the environment. Their
recommendations, however, were
somewhat overlooked on the ground
that the benefits of renewables
outweigh the lacuna, if any. Experts
say that just turning a deaf ear to
the problems doesn’t mean that the
problem doesn’t exist. The need of
the hour is to try and assess the exact
type and intensity of environmental
impacts and find ways to mitigate
them. An understanding of the
specific technology and the suitable
geographic location, besides other
factors may help renewable energy
project developers in balancing
generation of clean energy with
minimal impact on nature and
natural habitats.
Wind Energy
One of the cleanest and most
sustainable ways to generate
electricity, wind energy produces
no toxic pollution or contributes to
emissions facilitating global warming.
However, it has been observed
that despite being clean, certain
environmental impacts are
associated with wind power
generation that needs to be
recognised and mitigated.
Land: One of the primary issues
associated with the wind energy
sector is the use of land that
comprises the site where the turbines
are erected. Wind turbines placed
in plains typically use more land
than those located in hilly areas.
Technically, the wind turbines do not
occupy all of the land earmarked for
a wind farm, but the infrastructure
required, including roads and
transmission lines occupy a portion of
the total area. Wind energy facilities
can also be located on brownfields
(abandoned or underused industrial
land) or other commercial and
industrial locations, and employee
best practices to significantly reduce
concerns about land use and its
adverse impact on the surroundings.
Wildlife and Habitat: The impact
of wind turbines on wildlife, most
notably on birds and bats, has been
widely document and studied in
western countries. A recent research
found evidence of bird and bat
deaths from collisions with wind
turbines and due to changes in air
pressure caused by the spinning
blades. Wildlife biologists have
found that bats are most active
when wind speeds are low, and the
Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative
has concluded that keeping wind
turbines motionless during low wind
speeds could reduce bat deaths by
more than half without significantly
affecting power production. The
US Fish and Wildlife Services has set
 corridors. Dr Abi Tamim Vanak,
High Points Fellow, National Environmental
Sciences Programme and a faculty at
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology
No thermal power projects should be allowed in ecologically and the Environment (ATREE),
sensitive areas. Bangalore, says that the vast expanse
Hydropower projects may be allowed but subject to following of land is being grabbed in the name
conditions: of renewable energy and while
• Uninterrupted ecological flow at least 30 per cent level of the forests get vocal support from the
rivers flow in lean season till a comprehensive study establishes government in this regard, wastelands
individual baselines; are barely noticed. Vanak shares his
personal opinion and criticises the
• After a cumulative study which assesses the impact of each project idea of using prime grasslands and
on the flow pattern of the rivers and forest and biodiversity loss; scrublands in some areas of Rajasthan
• Ensuring that the minimum distance between projects is and Gujarat for solar projects.
maintained at 3 km and that not more than 50 per cent of the
Hazardous Materials: Though the
river basin is affected at any point of time.
solar PV cells are deployed to harness
clean energy, the same couldn’t be
said about the materials that go into
making these panels. The ingredients
up an advisory group comprising of procedural measures to avoid adverse used during the process of PV cell
representatives from industry, state environmental impacts. manufacturing include hazardous
and tribal governments, and non- materials such as hydrochloric acid,
The potential environmental impacts
profit organisations that has made sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrogen
most commonly associated with
comprehensive recommendations on fluoride, acetone, etc. that are
solar technologies are land use and
appropriate siting of wind farms and primarily used to clean and purify the
habitat loss, as well as water use and
best management practices. semiconductor surface. Workers also
the use of hazardous materials in
Also, the Spatial Information manufacturing solar cells. The scale face risks associated with inhaling
Management group of Golder in of the system – from decentralised silicon dust. Likewise, thin-film PV
Italy led to the development of an power packs, rooftop photovoltaic cells contain a number of toxic
integrated framework of GIS-based (PV) installations to MW-scale solar elements including gallium arsenide,
tools that help assess and manage PV and concentrated solar power copper-indium-gallium-diselenide,
the social, environmental as well (CSP) projects—has a significant role and cadmium-telluride. A safe and
as economic implications of two in affecting the environment. sustainable approach for the PV
electrical power projects in Italy. As manufactures will be to follow the
part of a full environmental and social Land Use: In India, there hasn’t US laws to ensure that workers are
impact assessment study, Golder been much discussion on the not affected by exposure to
used GIS technology to perform an negative impact of renewable these chemicals and that
analysis for each proposed turbine energy; however, the recent manufacturing waste products are
location in order to determine the deliberations indicate the sector may disposed of properly.
positions from which each turbine soon face the issue of maintaining
the sustainability quotient. The Another factor that plays a key role
could be seen. However, the in determining the solar industry’s
challenge was to determine turbine Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy (MNRE) has not noticed the carbon footprint is the disposal of
locations that would not have undue photovoltaic panels. Since solar
visual impact on the sensitive coastal growing conflict between renewable
energy and land. Depending on their modules have an expected lifespan
area where tourists come for views of of 20 to 30 years, most have not yet
idyllic landscape. location, larger utility-scale solar
reached the end of their useful lives
facilities can raise concerns about
Solar Energy and hence disposal of the panels
land degradation and habitat loss.
and issues with their recycling are
Generation of electricity from solar Unlike wind facilities, there is less not critical. The same could be said
energy has gained unprecedented opportunity for solar projects to share about India where the solar power
momentum across the globe, land with agricultural uses. However, industry is in its nascent stages, but
seen as a viable option to address land impacts from utility-scale solar a concerted effort should be taken
energy poverty, especially in the systems can be minimised by siting well in advance to tackle the issue
developing countries. However, them at low-quality locations such as as and when it arrives. The European
no technology is foolproof, and abandoned mining land, or existing Union already has a framework in
solar power technologies need transportation and transmission place for the manufacturers to look

July 2013 | Energy Next | 53

 Clean & Green Energy
into the matter of disposal of their
solar panels. A significant effort in this
regard was the establishment of PV
Cycle, a non-for-profit association
managing a fully operational
collection and recycling scheme for
end-of-life photovoltaic modules
throughout Europe. It emphasises the
implementation of solar PV industry’s
commitment to set up a voluntary
take back and recycling programme
for end-of-life-modules and to
take responsibility for PV modules
throughout their entire value chain.
Energy from Biomass
Despite being clubbed under the
renewable energy, the process of
electricity generation at biomass
power plants is quite similar to
those of conventional power plants
run on fossil fuels. The fuel used in
the biomass-based power plants
is diverse that include agricultural
waste, energy crops, manure, forest
products and waste generated in the
urban areas. Biomass-based power
plants also involve the combustion
of a feedstock to generate electricity,
thereby raising concerns about
air pollution and water use like the
fossil fuel plants; however, the
impact and magnitude definitely
don’t match the magnitude.
The level of emissions associated
with biomass power plants depends
on the feedstock, combustion
technology, and the pollution control
54 | Energy Next | July 2013
Other Side of the Story
methods deployed. The pollutants
that are most talked about by the
environmentalists include nitrogen
oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon
monoxide and particulate matter.
The harmful effects of these
emissions include asthma, bronchitis,
burning of lung tissues besides acid
rain and the formations of particulate
matter. High levels of particulates
(soot and ash) and carbon monoxide
are other by-products of biomass
power plants. In the recent times,
India has witnessed strong protests
and demonstrations against the
setting up of waste-to-energy plants
that use incineration technique to
burn municipal solid waste and are
supposed to emitting harmful gases
impacting human health.
Hydro Power
The hydro power plants, big
or small, are the ones that face
maximum hurdles in getting
environmental and other clearances.
It is accused that the power
projects set up on rivers, rivulets
or canals have an adverse impact
not only on the surrounding flora
and fauna, but to the human
population. The primary factors
that are looked into while setting
up a hydro power project include
the topography, a canyon that
can be dammed, and an area to
make a reservoir and power plant
besides setting up transmission
infrastructure. Hydro power plants
do not create air, water, or thermal
pollution. However in India, the
pace and scale of hydropower
development is well beyond existing
capacities for addressing social
and environmental effects and the
full economic consequences. So,
it becomes imperative to analyse
the sustainability of such plants, its
implications for other sectors as well
as social and natural systems.
The construction of dams for
hydroelectric power generation
can impact the biodiversity of the
source and upper reaches of a river,
the flow regime, the functions of
the tributaries, the aquatic habitats,
wetlands and floodplains vegetation,
and coastal habitats, as well as the
marine ecosystems in the vicinity of
the river’s discharge. One example
of disruption of aquatic ecosystems
can be seen on migratory species of
fish, usually the most affected along
the stretch of river where the dam
is built. Many indirect impacts on
the aquatic ecosystem also include
changes in hydrological flow and
sediment patterns. Altered river flow
patterns or currents can also lead
to unnaturally rapid erosion and
flooding in the adjacent area. The
type and magnitude of impact varies
with construction, operation and
location of a dam.
The growing effects of multiple
hydropower developments
require special consideration.
Environmentalists accuse hydro
power plants for not only directly
impacting the land transformation
but also bringing land degradation,
caused by fuels and materials
associated with running of these
plants. In many cases, the increased
demand of land is covered through
the diversion of land from agriculture
and the forest sector. For example,
the hillside forests in Himachal
Pradesh have been bearing the
brunt of the increased harnessing
of renewable energy. Local people
and environmentalists allege that the
upcoming hydro plants would cause
damage to the natural resources as
they would be built on forest land and
destroy the ecology of the region.
In the last three decades, more than
6,000 hectares of forests have been
destroyed for hydro power projects
or for laying power transmission
lines that has raised eyebrows of the
environmentalists.
The way forward
The renewable sources of
energy, touted as clean and
sustainable, have the potential to
evolve in the supplementary role to
meet the goals to address energy
poverty in India. However, distinct
and strict policy frameworks for
the sector are needed so that it can
avoid being tangled into the web of
protests and prolonged delays.
For the land cover analysis and
identification of wasteland for siting
of renewable energy projects, the
Geographical Information System
(GIS) could be of immense help,
which should be guided through
clearly defined policy. Besides, the
policymakers could also consider
renewable energy resource availability
as well as land and water uses while
deciding on projects. Since more and
more solar and wind power projects
are likely to come up globally, the
land requirement for setting up these
projects will eventually supersede
the requirements of conventional
power projects. This calls for a policy
that will mandate the dual use of
land, wherein the land can be used
for other purposes simultaneously
as the power is produced from
solar and wind resources. The
states should consider creation of
an independent and representative
regulatory authority for ensuring strict
compliance of land use for renewable
energy projects. Often, there have
been concerns of neglecting the
views of the local community,
which again warrants the need for
a regulation which also helps in
strengthening property rights and
greater community consultation.
The economic provisions of creating
checks and balances are the ones
that are handy in dealing with issues
demanding procedural functioning.
Provision of imposing tax on the land
brought for renewable
energy projects on the basis of loss
of biodiversity, and other factors
could well act as a barrier for those
who just want to grab land in the
name of setting up a clean energy
project. This may even impact the
expansion of some forms of clean
energy such as biomass; however,
it would also result in companies
going for more land-friendly forms
of technologies. On the other hand,
the subsidies could be passed on to
the project developers for selecting
wasteland for their renewable
projects. This may also lead to
project developers moving towards
wastelands, instead of the agricultural
and forest lands. While setting up
sustainable projects, it should be
borne in mind that maintaining
healthy ecosystems is maintaining
natural infrastructure, equivalent to
constructing and maintaining the
built infrastructure that provides
technological services for society. It
should be tackled well in advance and
not after these systems have been
degraded or lost.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 55
 Technology ARUN Solar Concentrator

Simple, accurate and

economical
An indigenously-developed and innovatively-designed
solar concentrator system for meeting the heat
requirements in Industrial Process Heating and Comfort
Cooling will go a long way in popularising the CSP
technology. Dr Shireesh Balwant Kedare explains

T
Photo: Clique Solar

ARUN160 dishes at ITC Maurya
he concentrated solar
power (CSP) technology is a
globally proven technology
and looks set for large- scale
global deployment in the coming
years amid growing demand for
sustainable energy. India can
capitalise on its vast solar resource
potential through this technology
for energy generation. Although
there are a variety of technologies
that can convert sunlight to usable
energy, CSP, with its potential to
use hybrid technologies and easily
add storage can increase renewable
energy penetration on a much
larger scale and at a
much faster rate.
There is a need for great focus on
the promotion and implementation
of this technology to meet the
requirements of various industries,
especially those which are
energy-intensive. One such area
that forms a huge part of energy
consumption in India is Industrial
Process Heat (IPH), where heat is
delivered through steam or heated
oil. The process is observed across
various industries, ranging from
milk pasteurisation in dairy industry

56 | Energy Next | July 2013

to cooking, washing and laundry in

Photo: Clique Solar

the hospitality industry to drying,
cleaning, finishing and heating/
cooling in the textile and chemical
industries. Cooling or air conditioning
is another energy-intensive process
amongst the various applications.
CSP is a potential energy source
for industrial process heat. The CSP
technology uses reflecting surfaces
to focus sunlight onto collectors,
generating intense heat that converts
water into steam to provide heat to
a process. CSP can be deployed in
a wide range of potential industrial
applications and sectors.
But there are challenges that end
users face in adoption of this
technology. The challenges could
be in the form of space availability,
unattractive economics, limited ARUN installed at NTPC, Greater Noida, for comfort cooling application
integration/output accuracy
and low awareness.
metre of collector area compared the varying solar radiation. In fact,
Breakthrough technology to any other solar concentrator in we have taken a step further by
After more than a decade f sustained India. ARUN’s concentration ratio of providing storage facility. So even if
efforts and experimentation, we approximately 500X speaks volumes the sun is not available, ARUN can
finally arrived at a solution that of its accuracy of the system. The deliver thermal energy at the exact
takes care of all the associated simplicity of operation coupled temperature and pressure that the
problems. We chose to call it ARUN, with the highest standards of safety process needs. On the other hand,
a technology that works on the ensures minimum maintenance over
if the process is stopped for a short
same principle as stated above – an extended period of time.
period or the plant is closed, solar
concentration of rays. How ARUN meets industries’ energy is dumped into this storage,
ARUN solar concentrator is a 100 per requirements ensuring that it is not wasted.
cent indigenously developed Fresnel Performance and accuracy Minimum space requirement
Paraboloid Solar concentrator with
With the help of appropriate We have solved this challenge by
a point focus. The innovative dish
controls, ARUN delivers output with mounting the 160-square-metre
design and the automatic two-axis
tracking system ensure the highest a temperature/pressure accuracy of dish on a single column of less
thermal energy output per square more than 99.5 per cent in spite of than 1 metre diameter. The small

Key Performance Figures (per day on a clear sunny day)

Application By 1 ARUN®160 By 1 ARUN®100 By ARUN®30

Dry saturated steam 1200 kg 700 kg 400 kg

Hot water 25,000 litres 15,000 litres 4000 litres
Cooling 25 TR for 8-10 hours 15 TR for 8-10 hours 4 TR for 8-10 hours
Cooking 7,500 meals 4,500 meals 1000 meals
Milk pasteurisation 30,000 litres 18,000 litres 5,000 litres
Effluent evaporation 2.5m3 1.5m3 400 litres
Laundry 600 kg 350 kg 100 kg
Desalination 5.75 m3 of potable water 3.5 m3 of potable water 0.75 m3 of potable water

July 2013 | Energy Next | 57

 Technology ARUN Solar Concentrator
footprint area of ARUN dish
(3 metre x 3 metre per dish including
the foundation area) with higher
efficiency and accuracy has helped
us address the challenge of space.
It can be mounted at locations which
have space limitations. It can also
be erected on rooftops.
Economics and longevity
In most cases when the liquid fuels
are being replaced, the payback
period on the investment is between
two to four years. This is extremely
attractive, considering the system’s
long life of more than 25 years.
The government provides subsidy
and provisions for accelerated
depreciation in the balance sheet.
With minimal maintenance, the
system will last up to at least
25 years. This means after the
payback period has been achieved,
the system gets free fuel for the rest
of its life, helping save hugely on
conventional fuel and cost.
ARUN is the first IBR-certified solar
thermal boiler in India. The system
can be used in ‘add-on’ mode and
can be retrofitted to the existing
boiler or heater system n the industry.
A provision can also be made to
store the thermal energy generated
to meet energy requirements during
non-solar hours. The thermal
medium can be high or low pressure
process steam, hot water, hot air or
58 | Energy Next | July 2013
Photo: Clique Solar
With the help
of appropriate
controls,
ARUN delivers
output with a
temperature/
pressure accuracy
of more than 99.5
per cent in spite
of the varying
solar radiation
ARUN at Turbo Energy Ltd
any other thermic fluid. installed and operated two ARUN
solar concentrator dishes for meeting
Models with varying degrees of
its thermal energy needs like laundry,
output
cooking, bathing, etc. This installation
Currently there are three models helps ITC save an equivalent of
of ARUN: ARUN160, ARUN100 and almost 32,000-35,000 litres of fossil
ARUN30. These models work on the fuel (PNG) per annum, which equates
same concept but vary in output. to a reduction in CO2 emissions by
Thus they are applicable for varying almost 110-130 tonnes per annum.
processes and industries, depending
Solar energy storage in dairy industry
on energy requirement.
At the Mahanand Dairy
Other features of ARUN
in Latur, Maharashtra, one solar
• Highest temperature and dish is operational for hot water
pressure delivery: ARUN can generation for milk pasteurisation.
operate up to 300°C (oil) The system pressure and temperature
and 20 bar (steam) is 18 bar and 180°C respectively. Due
• Government subsidy: MNRE to a mismatch in the working hours
provides support by way of of the plant and the availability of
capital subsidy or soft loans for sunlight, an insulated pressurised
every ARUN installation water storage tank with a capacity
• Operation in non-solar hours: of 5,000 litres has been provided
ARUN can be augmented with a for operation in non-solar hours.
heat energy storage facility for Pressurised water was selected as
operation in non-solar hours the medium of heat transfer and
• IBR approval: ARUN is the first storage as it has high specific heat,
IBR-approved solar boiler in India no fire hazards, no possibility of
accelerated oxidisation overnight
• High wind-bearing capacity: (as in case of tarring of thermic oil),
ARUN is designed to operate compatibility with food products and
in wind speeds up to 10 m/s low operational cost.
and it can survive in wind
(The author is Director,
speeds up to 45 m/s Clique Developments
Case studies Limited and Adjunct
Professor, Department
of Energy Science and
Solar Boiler for laundry, cooking, Engineering (DESE) IIT
bathing in hotels Bombay.)
ITC, The Maurya has successfully (The views expressed
by the author are personal)
 Mergers & Acquisitions
P2 Solar now has two mini-hydro
projects in India
P
2 Solar, a developer of solar
PV power projects, increased
its renewable energy portfolio
in India by acquiring its second
renewable project in the country –
a 500 kW mini-hydro power plant in
Punjab, named Project Tibba.
P2 solar is primarily engaged in
the development of new solar
photovoltaic (PV) power plants in
areas with good sunlight backed by
favourable renewable energy policies.
The company had earlier expressed
its interest in developing renewable
energy projects in Punjab. The state
government is keen to harness the
significant mini-hydro potential of
its canals, besides utilising the free
space above its canals for
expanding solar PV capacity.
Project Tibba has been acquired
Fortum acquires 5-MW PV project
in Rajasthan
I
n a move that aims to develop
its solar photovoltaic (PV)
competence and operations
in India, Finnish energy generation
company Fortum has acquired a
5-MW PV plant in the western
Indian state of Rajasthan.
As a short-term ambition, the
company intends to invest tens of
millions of Euros for creating
a solar PV portfolio in India to gain
first-hand experiences in different
solar technologies and operations
in the country’s power market.
The acquisition of the Rajasthan
solar plant, made through its Indian
by Jagat Energy Private Limited,
P2 Solar’s wholly owned Indian
subsidiary, and is located immediately
downstream from the company’s
previously announced Project
Rajgarh, a 700-kW mini-hydro
facility, near Ludhiana built on the
The company is planning to
Sidhwan irrigation canal.
install solar photovoltaic (PV)
Both the projects – Project Tibba panels atop the canal space to
and Project Rajgarh – are owned generate extra electricity.
outright by P2 Solar, fully permitted
P2 Solar is on the lookout for other
and all set to be developed. The
opportunities in the clean energy
construction of Project Tibba will
sphere, including hybrid mini-hydro,
be coordinated with that for Project
solar PV and solar rooftop projects
Rajgarh, which is scheduled for
in India. Raj-Mohinder Gurm, CEO
groundbreaking this summer.
of P2 Solar, said, “By closing these
P2 Solar considers the two mini- acquisitions and moving forward with
hydro facilities as a series, and when construction, we are well-positioned
commissioned, the two projects are to grow a pipeline of these unique
likely to generate annual revenue to hydro/solar projects and the local
the tune of approximately $800,000. authorities have taken notice.”
9 GW-hours. The plant will
receive a higher, guaranteed
electricity price for 25 years.
Commenting on the company’s
subsidiary-Fortum India Pvt. Ltd.-is a solar aspirations, Matti Kaarnakari,
major step towards realising that goal. Managing Director, Fortum India Pvt.
The solar PV plant, constructed Ltd., said, “Solar power fits well
with Fortum’s other CO2-free
under the country’s ambitious
production and we believe it will
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
play an important role in tomorrow’s
Mission (JNNSM), has been in
low-carbon energy system.”
operation for the last one year. The
He added that solar energy is a
plant, which was built using thin-
strong growth segment that will
film technology, has nominal peak
account for an increasing part of
capacity of 5.4 MW, whereas its
power generation in the future.
annual production is approximately
July 2013 | Energy Next | 59
 RE Investment
Tata Power
ties up funds
for S African
wind project
T ata Power, one of India’s
leading integrated power
utilities, has tied up funds
for the 135 MW Amakhala
Emoyeni wind power project
in South Africa. The project is
being executed by Cennergi,
a joint venture between
Tata Power and Exxaro
Resources.
The project, worth over
`2,262 crore, is being funded
through a debt equity mix of
80:20. The project financing
comprises equity of Rand
789 million and term loans of
Rand 3,156 million. Cennergi
has tied up the entire debt
requirement through a
consortium of lenders
including International
Finance Corp and
Standard Bank.
The financing agreements
were signed in May
2013, while the first loan
disbursement was received
in June. Cennergi was
selected as the preferred
bidder for the Amakhala as
well as 95 MW Tsitsikamma
wind farm projects by the
Department of Energy of
South Africa last year.
60 | Energy Next | July 2013
BanyanTree invests
`50 cr in ABPL
B anyanTree Growth Capital II LLC,
a private equity fund, has
invested `50 crore in Atria Brindavan
Power Limited (ABPL), a Bangalore-
based renewable power
generation company.
ABPL, set up in 2000 by Atria Group,
is involved in the development of
small hydro power (SHP) facilities in
India. With an operating portfolio of
over 46 MW, the ABPL is among the
leading SHP companies in the country
with a sound track record.
As per the agreement, the
investment will allow BanyanTree
Welspun secures funding
for Karnataka project
W elspun Energy Ltd. (WEL), India’s
topmost solar power developer,
has received a funding of `48.75
crore from financial institutions for its
solar power project in Karnataka. The
7-MW project located in Chitradurga
district of the state is being developed
under the Karnataka State Policy by
WEL’s step down subsidiary, Welspun
Solar Kannada Pvt. Ltd.
The cost of the project is estimated
to be `65 crore and is being sourced
in a debt-to-equity ratio of 75:25.
The company said in a statement that
the `48.75 crore funding has been
secured for the debt part from leading
to have a representation on the
board of ABPL. The deal marks
BanyanTree’s second investment
in the current year from its second
Fund. The infusion of new capital
will enable Atria to further
augment its aggressive growth
strategy, which includes addition
of solar and wind energy projects
to its portfolio.
financial institutions.
A power purchase agreement (PPA)
has been signed with the Mangalore
Electric Supply Company (MESCOM)
which warrants the project to begin
commercial operations by March
2014. On ground, work for the
project is already in progress,
which will include installation of
tracker technology for 1 MW
capacity of the project.
Vineet Mittal, Co-Founder &
Managing Director, WEL, said,
“We are committed to ‘electricity
for everyone’ and this need gap
can sustainably be closed by
increasing investment in renewable
energy projects; our pace of growth
mirrors this commitment.” He
further noted that being one of the
leaders in clean energy generation
in India, WEL’s aim is to achieve grid
parity within the next few years and
establish the value of renewable
energy for India’s energy security.
USAID to invest
$100 mn in India
T he United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) has decided to invest $100 million for
development of renewable energy projects in India. The
Development Credit Authority (DCA) of USAID has entered into
a partnership with Northern Lights Capital Group, a US-based
institutional investor, to facilitate investment in India through
Nereus Capital Management LLC.
The partnership aims to give a push to the Indian renewable
energy sector which is in its nascent stages by developing
clean energy facilities to generate 400 MW of clean energy
through solar, wind and hydropower utilities. It is for the first
time that the USAID is partnering with a private investment
fund to facilitate an investment.
Nereus Capital and Northern Lights Capital Group will make
the investment through a DCA loan guarantee, announced by
Secretary of State, John Kerry, at the start of the fourth annual
US-India Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi.
Nereus Capital will be raising the money for its Nereus
Capital’s India Alternative Energy Fund- a newly-formed
fund for investing in renewable energy companies and
deployment of clean energy technologies in India.
According to the agreement, the USAID will provide 40 per
cent limited-period credit guarantee to Nereus Capital’s
India Alternative Energy Fund.
Commenting on the positives of the initiative, Raj Shah, the
USAID administrator, said, “This investment could eventually
create as much as 300-400 additional megawatts of
sustainable energy capacity, which is equivalent to lighting the
homes of tens of thousands of Indian families.”
IDFC eyes
increased
investments
I DFC Limited, India’s biggest financier of
clean-energy projects, is all set to increase
its investment in wind power by joining
hands with Goldman Sachs. As of now,
IDFC has invested around `39 billion in
renewable energy companies, making it the
industry’s biggest funding agency in India.
According to Raja Parthasarathy, partner
at IDFC Alternatives, the company will
invest about 2.5 billion rupees over the
next six months through Green Infra Ltd.,
a renewable-energy developer set up
by IDFC in 2008. This is expected to
boost IDFC’s investment in New Delhi-
based Green Infra to `12 billion and
help the unit fund acquisitions before
a planned initial public offering.
Wind power producers in India are
increasingly buying smaller companies in an
effort to gather larger portfolios to generate
cheaper power that is clean. The additional
funding is likely to enable Green Infra in
expanding at a faster pace by buying already
operating wind and possibly solar assets.
On the other hand, Goldman Sachs
will raise investment in ReNew Wind
Power Pvt. Ltd. to $385 million, with an
additional investment of $135 million.
Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire a
majority stake in ReNew Power for
`10 billion in September 2011. The wind
producer has a target of achieving 1,000
MW of generation capacity by 2015.
July 2013 | Energy Next | 61
 IREDA Corner Success Mantra
Diligence pays dividends
IREDA has been remarkably successful in promoting the growth
of India’s clean energy and energy conservation industry.
Today, one can easily conclude that the institution has played a
significant role in putting the country on a sustainable growth
path. This story sheds some light on the painstaking evaluation
process that has made this possible
I
REDA is a specialised agency
that provides financial support to
promote and develop renewable
energy (RE) and energy efficiency/
conservation projects. Projects based
on renewable energy technologies
(RETs) are capital-intensive
and mostly dependent on new
technologies; therefore, the
risks are high and the viability low.
Hence, banks are not keen on
lending to this sector. It is in this
context that IREDA’s task becomes
truly challenging, and its role
extremely important – in shaping
the growth of the clean energy
industry. And, through its pioneering
work, the institution has played a
seminal role in the commercialisation
of RETs by successfully financing
a large number of projects that
have showcased the industrial viability
of these technologies. But behind this
brilliance of success, works a
rigorous appraisal system, driven by
a group of highly committed and
competent professionals.
The due diligence starts at the
Projects & Technical Services (PTS)
62 | Energy Next | July 2013
division of IREDA, which is the front
of the company. PTS is divided into
different groups based on renewable
energy technologies such as wind,
solar, biomass and hydro; and energy
efficiency. Each group is taken care
of by competent engineers who
conduct thorough appraisal of
the projects, and each process is
described in detail in manuals.
The appraisal process includes
understanding the key project
parameters like technology,
generation estimation, Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) terms and
tariff, and item-wise project costs.
The existing policies and regulations
in the states along with the profiles
of equipment suppliers and off-
takers (utility/ third-party sale) are
also studied to identify any hidden
risk. The assessment notes are then
shared with the finance department
which examines the key financial
ratios like Internal Rate of Return
(IRR), Debt-Service Coverage Ratio
(DSCR) and return on equity. The
finance department also disburses
loans and follows
them up for repayment. It raises
resources from domestic and
international institutions to meet
the specific needs of the sector.
The other department that plays
a very significant role is the legal
department which is indispensable
to the entire process, as it provides
inputs with respect to adequacy of
collaterals for loans and undertakes
legal documentation.
Moreover, increased use of
Information Technology (IT) provides
the much-needed efficiency and
speed to the overall appraisal
process. A special role is played
by the branch and camp offices in
connection with visits to remotely
located project sites.
Besides providing innovative
and effective financing to
renewable energy and energy
efficiency/conservation projects,
there are other diverse activities
that IREDA undertakes to make
RE a success. It proactively
engages with policymakers and
provides them valuable inputs in
order to formulate favourable
policies and regulations.
True to its role as a developmental
institution, IREDA acts as a
repository of knowledge and
works for capability development
of the stakeholder community
through numerous publications,
and manuals on the best practices.
In a nutshell, IREDA is supporting
the sustainable development of the
Indian economy.
 Upcoming Events

July
WREC- July GeoPower July CSP Today
14-18 Australia 2013 16-17 Africa 2013 17-18 LATAM 2013

T he event aims to
provide a platform
to discuss and share
T he event is seen as
a bridging gap by
connecting key stakeholders
T he first Latin American
event on CSP
technology is being
knowledge over various working in the field of held in Chile to create a
aspects such as, cost geothermal energy to address roadmap for development
Perth, effective and cost Dar es Salaam, the issue of energy security Antofagasta, of the CSP sector in the
Australia recoverable technologies, Tanzania by developing milestones Chile country. The event will try
policy guidelines, R&D of project development. to address the key issues
efforts, financial issues This conference could help affecting the growth of
and other challenges that countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, CSP development in Chile,
would help in moving Uganda and Tanzania with and provide answers on
towards a more sustainable huge geothermal potential how to successfully serve
and clean energy work towards achieving that the energy demands of
dependent society. goal in a strategic manner. the mining industry.

http://www.promaco.com.au/events/WREC_2013/index.html www.greenpowerconferences.com/GE1307TZ http://www.csptoday.com/latam/en-index.php

July July July

2nd SolarTech Expo Clean Energy
20-21 ICSGS 2013 22-23 India 2013 24-26 Week 2013

T he primary objective
of ICSGS 2013 is to
provide a platform for
researchers, engineers,
academicians as well as
Chengdu, industrial professionals
China from to showcase research
results and development
activities in smart grid
systems. The event will
provide opportunities for
the delegates to exchange
new ideas and find
global partners for future
collaboration.
T he two-day conference
and exhibition will focus
on various solar power
A ustralia’s largest event
for the renewable
energy and energy
technologies besides efficiency industry that
discussing on various delivers the latest news
New Delhi, issues like government Brisbane, on policy initiatives
India support, project finance Queensland, and technology
and risk mitigation options. developments, as well as
Australia
The event aims to bean the opportunity to make
an excellent platform for valuable new contacts
networking with who’s and close critical
who of the solar industry business deals.
and getting abreast with
the latest technological
innovations in the sector.

www.greenworldconferences.com/produkt_104_
http://www.icsgs.org/ solartech_expo_india_2013-event_home.htm
http://www.cleanenergyweek.com.au//
August

Aug Aug
Solarcon India Solar Energy for
01-03 2013 17-19 World Peace

Bangalore,
India I n its 5th edition, the largest solar PV
event in India aims to deliver the most Istanbul,
T he event will see presence of
prominent scientists from the
country working in the field of solar
high-quality, focused B2B opportunity Turkey energy problems, materials and
for the industry. The event will bring devices to interact with the global
together experts from the government, experts from Asia, Middle East,
industry, research organisations and other North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa,
stakeholder communities to deliberate where energy autonomy is of crucial
upon the existing issues and the roadmap importance for future peace and
for future of Solar PV industry. democracy.

http://www.solarconindia.org/ http://solar4peace.org/

64 | Energy Next | July 2013

RNI NO.: APENG/2010/38296 POSTAL REGISTRATION NO.: HD/1153/2011-13 GLOBAL VOICE PERSPECTIVE INDUSTRY SPEAK RE Trends: Way to self-reliance
Maria van der Hoeven Pondering the future Dr James Rekoske Energy Efficiency: An iconic landmark
p20 p27 p42
Technology: Solar Concentrator

VOLUME 3
` 100 $ 5 € 3
www.energynext.in

ISSUE 9
Volume 3 Issue 9 July 2013 Hyderabad Your guide to Renewable Energy

July 2013

IS/ISO 9001 - 2008 CERTIFIED