sunedison recognised 'best solar power producer in india'

Industry newsSeptember PV revenuesfell to record lowTaiwan’s PV sector reportedrevenues for September 2012.According to EnergyTrend, thegreen energy research division ofTrendForce, the last month sawthe worst development of receivedorders in every aspect.Even the battery plants firsttiercell vendors that tended tohave steady shipments have failedto reach a production capacityutilization rate of more than 40 percent or 50 per cent. Some vendorsonly maintain a low production of30 percent while waiting expectingfor a turning point. Wafers’ andbatteries’ average prices Wafersand cells ASPs in last monthdeclined by 5.2 per cent and 7.8percent, respectively, havingcaused negative effect on therevenues of Taiwanese vendors.Rumour has it that theChina’s primary vendors have hasreceived an orders for 200MW, soit is likely for them to outsourceorders to Taiwanese vendors.However, the China’s vendors aresure to strive for a price lower thanthe average market price, whichmay cause a further blow to theTaiwanese vendors’ revenues ifthey accept bulk orders at a lowprice.The prospect for Octobershows Taiwan’s utility is expected toincrease, and the prices may returnto be steady because of the doubleremedies. With the exception thatthe Sino-America Silicon’s revenueswere growing, which occupied themajor percentage of Taiwanesevendors’ revenues in September,the whole revenues decreased by10% to 40%. The green energyindustry Green Energy Technologyeven hit record low in revenue inrecent years. While the markethit a low point remains stagnant,the Taiwanese vendors hold ontothe belief that opportunities willarise in a worst-case scenario arewhere risks are”, and try hopingto find another turning point inthe market by adopting differentmanagement patterns that suit thegeneral trends.MNRE’s new strategy to urge homeowners inIndia to rent their rooftopsIndia, which enjoys more than 300days of sunshine a year, undoubtedlyoffers a great market for rooftop solarinstallations. Today, solar is the best betfor energy-starved India and commercialconsumer market has a vast potential forsolar rooftop installations in the country.Subsidies and incentives offered both at theCentre and State-level is making rooftopsolar installations an attractive option forhomeowners.In this regard, the Ministry of Newand Renewable Energy (MNRE) in Indiawill soon pronounce a rooftop strategy,where homeowners can rent their roof.MNRE will offer assistance to develop 10MW solar photovoltaic power facilities onthe rooftops of buildings.Under this project, a building ownerwill be able to lease out his roof to a projectdeveloper, who will build the solar powerfacility on the roof top and sell the electricityto the grid. In addition to meeting his ownpower needs, a house owner, who installsa solar panel on his rooftop, can also sellthe extra power generated to distributioncompanies and get paid.The Indian government is workingout on a programme under which it willprovide incentives and subsidies to such roofowners. Under this programme, electricitydistribution companies can buy the powerfrom households, either by paying moneyto the home owner or give a subsidy in theseller’s electricity bill, a system prevalent inmany European countries.Gujarat, which is at the forefrontin solar deployment in the country, is thefirst state to introduce the rent-a-roof typeof project, which granted 2.5 MW each toSunEdison and Azure Power.Various state governments in India,that have joined the race to tap solar energy,have come forward with their respectiverooftop schemes. For example, Karnatakahas recognized 1,000 key buildings for theestablishment of rooftop solar projects ofmore than 100 kW each. In Odisha, theOdisha Renewable Energy DevelopmentAgency (OREDA) is encouraging rooftopsolar installations by offering close to 30percent subsidy for one kilowatt powerplant.According to sources, the cost ofgenerating each unit of power from therooftop plant will be Rs. 17.50, which theowner of the rooftop can sell to any of thepower supplying companies. However, toimplement this plan, the current ElectricityAct has to be modified. The cost of settingup such a plant in an area of 200 squaremetres will be between Rs. 8 lakh and Rs.9 lakh.Today, Gujarat and Rajasthan are twostates at the forefront of solar deployment inIndia with an installed capacity of 3,000 MWand 1,000 MW of solar energy respectively.Rooftop solar power could be a gamechangerfor IndiaA report ‘The Rising Sun’ by KPMGin India indicates that “Rooftop solar powercould be a game-changer for India.”The report reveals that rooftop solarpower will see parity faster with utility tariffsdue to high transmission and distribution(T&D) losses and cross-subsidies presenttoday and parity in many categories canemerge as early as 2014. For this segment,the solar lease model could become a gamechanger.“Rapid fall in solar prices and increasein cost of conventional power driven by fuelshortages has brought ’grid-parity’ closer,which is expected to happen at a broadscale level by 2017 in India,” the report said,adding, “Given the financial position ofthe power utilities, we believe that rooftopmarket for customer segments that alreadysee parity with utility power tariffs hasthe potential to be a game changer in thecoming five years.”For example, a high-end residentialconsumer can install a 1 KW solar PV system- to reduce marginal power consumption- with a monthly EMI payment of aroundRs. 2000 for five years and avoid an averagediscounted monthly payment of around Rs.1200 over the lifetime (25 years) to the grid.Similarly, a ten-year EMI would result in anoutgo of only 1200 per month equal to theaverage discounted power cost savings overthe 25 year lifetime of the asset.6 – Global Solar Technology – November/December 2012 www.globalsolartechnology.com