[ Feb 2018 ]　　　

(Feb 28, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China-based polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy has announced plans for expanding production by at least 12,000MT in less than 18-months that will be dedicated to supplying high-efficiency monocrystalline wafers producers, due to continued strong demand.

Daqo said that the Phase 3B expansion at its Xinjiang, China facility had completed the ground foundation and initial ground preparation work in the fourth quarter of 2017 and expected to start pilot production in the first half of 2019. The expansion would lead to a total annual nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MT by the end of the second quarter of 2019.

The company had previously highlighted that few polysilicon producers in China could produce high quantities of electronic grade polysilicon needed for both the monocrystalline solar wafer and semiconductor wafer industries and recently completed expansions (Phase 3A, Xingjiang plant) were technically designed to meet this growing demand.

Longgen Zhang, CEO of Daqo New Energy said, "We completed the foundation and initial preparation work for our Phase 3B capacity expansion project during the quarter. Facility design and equipment procurement are progressing well and on schedule. With strong customer demand for our high-quality polysilicon products, we are planning to accelerate the construction pace so that we can begin production sooner. We expect to complete the entire Phase 3B project and begin pilot production in the first half of 2019, and reach full capacity of 30,000 MT by mid-2019. With the newly added capacity and our competitive advantages in polysilicon quality and production costs, we are strengthening our polysilicon manufacturing leadership position and are confident in our ability to meet growing demand and create additional value for our shareholders."

Daqo is making a concerted effort to become the leading high-purity polysilicon producer in China, supporting Chinese government strategy to become self-sufficient in polysilicon production, while meeting the electronic grade requirements for the migration to mono wafers and the growing demand from semiconductor manufacturers in the country.

China has continued to need to import electronic grade polysilicon from Wacker in Germany and several major producers in South Korea such as OCI and Woongjin Energy, after imposing high import tariffs on US manufacturers such Hemlock, SunEdsion Semiconductor and REC Silicon.

"We are also devoting increasing resources to R&D and quality improvement,” added Zhang. “We continue to improve our front-end manufacturing process and post-production handling techniques to reduce impurities. This resulted in record levels of production for both electronic-grade polysilicon and mono-crystalline-grade polysilicon in January 2018. We are pleased with this achievement and believe it demonstrates the strength and effectiveness of our overall strategy and is another step towards becoming the leading supplier of electronic-grade and mono-crystalline-grade polysilicon in China."

The company actually exceeded polysilicon nameplate capacity in 2017. Daqo noted that 2017 was the strongest year for production having produced 20,200MT of polysilicon, 12.2% higher than its nameplate capacity of 18,000MT.

■ Securing transmission key to SECI’s latest 3GW pan-India solar tender

(Feb 28, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has tendered another 3GW of inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar projects to be set up anywhere in India, adding to the 2GW of similar projects tendered in January.

In the latest 3GW tender, the capacity to be auctioned will be split between 12 projects of 250MW each. Each individual bidder will be eligible for a minimum of one project (250MW) and a maximum of three projects (750MW).

With 5GW of ISTS projects now up for grabs across the country, one of the main challenges for project development will lie around grid-connection and transmission bottlenecks, according to Mudit Jain, a consultant at Bridge to India.

Jain told PV Tech that most projects are likely to be set up in the resource-rich states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Developers will have to find suitable project sites that are close to Central Transmission Utility (CTU) substations, which connect to the ISTS, with available capacity to evacuate more power. The other option is to approach Power Grid for extension of transmission infrastructure, which has a gestation period of 12-18 months.

Jain added: “Developers who have done the groundwork for finding a site where the existing CTU substation has spare transmission capacity will find it easier to compete in this bid. As the commissioning timeline is 15 months from the date of PPA signing, the developer will have to move very swiftly to complete the groundwork.”

Who will buy the power?

The responsibility lies with SECI to tie up the power off-take with respective distribution companies (Discoms). The request for proposal (RfP) document issued stated: “Power procured by SECI from the above projects has been provisioned to be sold to the different buying utilities of India. The details of buying utilities shall be intimated at a later date."

Jain said that, with more such tenders, Discoms will have to face a decision on whether to focus on buying solar power from parks or solar farms built within their own state or buying solar power from other states via SECI. State Discoms with solar parks in their own regions are already mandated to procure a certain amount of power from those parks.

For the 3GW tender, bidders shall submit their bid by offering a single tariff for each project. SECI will sign 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the successful bidders and the project must be fully commissioned within 15 months of the effective date of the PPA.

The maximum tariff payable to the project developer is fixed at INR2.93/kWh (US$0.045) for 25 years. However, Jain said that the impending threats of safeguard and anti-dumping duties are posing a big challenge for developers with this ceiling tariff, given that they would cause project tariffs to increase if imposed.

Projects will be set up on a Build Own Operate (BOO) basis. Already commissioned projects cannot be considered under this RfS. However, projects under construction or projects not yet commissioned will be considered, if not already accepted under any other central or state schemes.

11GW floated

It’s worth noting that there is now around 11GW of solar capacity in India that has been announced for tendering, for which bids have yet to be submitted. Moreover, this number does not even include the 860MW tender in Karnataka which has been stayed due to a technical hitch affecting one player’s participation in the bid.

The newest tender also comes off the back of several media reports suggesting that between 2-3.5GW of solar tenders have been held up by the various uncertainties plaguing the industry already, which has seen a drop in interest from players in some instances. These uncertainties include a customs tax dispute and the on-going anti-dumping duty investigation.

A total of 5GW was due to be tendered this February as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's (MNRE) major tendering announcement at the end of last year.

■ Avaada Power signs MoU for 500MW of solar in Andhra Pradesh

(Feb 28, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Indian solar developer Avaada Power has further staked its claim on the Indian PV market by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop 500MW of utility-scale PV projects, with an investment of INR35 billion (US$537 million).

The firm said that the projects in the South Indian state would be able to power the equivalent of 2.4 million households and generate more than 1,200 employment opportunities.

The government of Andhra Pradesh, which is one of the leading Indian states in terms of renewables deployment, has set a target to achieve 18GW renewable energy capacities by the year 2021-22.

Avaada Power only last week also inked an MoU with the government of Uttar Pradesh for another 1.6GW of projects, requiring US$1.55 billion investment.

In a release, Avaada Power has also announced that it is focusing on projects outside India, across Africa and Asia - a trend that has been seen among many of the top Indian solar firms over the last year.

Vineet Mittal, chairman Avaada Group, who was founder of Welspun Energy and formerly chairman of Indian solar pioneer Welspun Renewables, said: “We are making significant investments in innovative clean energy solutions with a focus on solar and wind energy sectors. The company has set a target of achieving 5GW capacity in the next four years. With this, we aspire to play a pivotal role in meeting the increasing energy needs reiterating our commitment towards delivering clean and sustainable energy to all.”

■ Pattern Energy to acquire 206MW pipeline of PV, wind projects in Japan

(Feb 28, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Pattern Energy Group made its move to enter into the renewable-energy sector in Japan, as the company has signed off on a number of transactions to acquire 206MW of PV and wind projects from Pattern Energy Development and Green Power Investments.

Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy, said: "Japan is one of the largest electrical grids in the world and has one of the most robust renewable energy markets. Under the Feed-in Tariff power contracts, these initial projects average ￥25,340 per MWh.

“GPI's development pipeline consists of 2.4GW of projects, including 600MW of wind capacity which have qualified for FiT contracts. Additionally, we believe that as we grow our portfolio, we will be able to enhance our economics over time with the use of local, low cost capital."

Due to this transaction, Pattern Energy’s operating portfolio was boosted to nearly 4GW of gross capacity — with the 206MW project pipeline consisting of two PV projects (Futtsu Solar, Kanagi Solar), one operating wind project and two wind projects currently under construction.

The cash purchase price for the five renewable-energy projects is approximately US$325.5 million.

Located just outside of Tokyo in Chiba prefecture, the 29MW Futtsu Solar project features Kyocera solar panels and started commercial operation in the first quarter of 2016. It operates under a 20-year power purchase agreement with TEPCO Energy Partner, a retail division of parent company Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.

The 10MW Kanagi Solar Project also features Kyocera solar panels and is located in Shimane prefecture. It also started up operations in the first quarter of 2016 and is run under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Chugoku Electric Power Company.

■ Arctech provides 46MW of solar racking systems to Japan project

(Feb 27, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China-based manufacturer of tracking and racking systems Arctech Solar has dellivered 46MW of racking systems to a solar power plant in Gunma, Japan.

The project is expected to start commercial operation in early 2019 and provide electricity to the local resdients. As the project is being set up on a golf course in hilly terrain, Arctech Solar supplied its single pole solution, which is adaptable to North-South and East-West slopes.

Guy Rong, president of Arctech Solar's international business, said: "We are excited with the progress that Arctech Solar is making on the development and construction of projects in Japan. Also, I am proud of the strong partnerships that we are building with reputable Japanese companies to develop, build and operate solar plants. In future, we will certainly remain committed to providing Japan PV market with efficient and economic solar tracking and racking systems."

Arctech Solar has overseas subsidiaries or service centers in America, India, Japan, Spain and Mexico. As of the end of 2017, it had cumulatively installed 13.5GW capacity and completed 800 projects in 15 countries.

Article revised to say that Arctech is China-based.

■ South Korean party to invest in 17MW Iranian solar project

(Feb 26, 2018/pv-tech.org)

South Korean investors are reportedly planning to support a 17MW solar project in Markazi Province in Iran, according to state-run news portal the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

A South Korea delegation has visited the site at Zarandieh County, in northernmost Markazi, and is expected to invest US$44 million in the project, accounting for 70% of the project, with an Iranian company to provide the remaining 30%.

The project will be built over a period of 15 months on a 28-hectare area of land.

Modest-sized utility-scale PV plants are gathering pace in Iran with several 4-10MW project completions and ground-breakings in recent weeks.

■ Thailand’s B. Grimm secures US$235 million ADB loan for renewables in Southeast Asia

(Feb 26, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to provide a loan of US$235 million to Thai energy firm B. Grimm Power to develop renewable energy projects in Southeast Asia.

The financing will be used to support B. Grimm’s ASEAN Distributed Power Project, tapping utility-scale solar, wind, biomass, waste-to-energy, gas-fired power, energy storage and distributed generation across Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Last July, ADB invested THB1,968 million (US$57.7 million) in B. Grimm as part of the company’s IPO offering.

B.Grimm Power’s total distributed power generation capacity is expected to increase by more than 50% to 2.5GW by 2022, with the share of renewables in its energy mix to rise from 10% to 30%.

The Thai firm currently has a total power capacity of 1,779MW, operating 13 gas-fired plants, with four more under development or construction. In recent years, B.Grimm has diversified into renewable energy and is operating 15 solar power plants and two hydro power plants.

“The development of renewable energy in Southeast Asia is critical to meet its energy needs and B.Grimm Power is at the forefront of the region’s fast growing alternative energy sector,” said Michael Barrow, director general of ADB’s Private Sector Operation’s Department. “ADB is proud to once again partner with B.Grimm Power as it continues its expansion strategy in ASEAN member countries.”

■ Indian government to punish veiled use of imports in DCR solar projects

(Feb 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The government of India has issued a memorandum informing that it will come down hard on those flouting the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) rules – in WTO permitted cases – where imported solar modules are used, but declared as locally made.

Via the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the government said that DCR local content rules were set up to encourage domestic PV manufacturing.

However, it noted: “Apprehensions have been raised that the policy may be misused by way of mis-declaration and imported solar cells and modules may be used in DCR projects instead of domestically produced cell and modules.”

As result, the government has tasked the MNRE or any agency acting on behalf of the MNRE, to take the following actions in the case of such violations:

Filing of criminal case under IPC 420 & related sections
Blacklisting of developer for period of 10 years
Forfeiting of relevant Bank Guarantee(s)
Disciplinary case against the officers of concerned CPSU/State Govt.
Any other action, in addition to those above
The US and India are currently embroiled in a spat over India's compliance with a WTO ruling against its DCR policy. The latest move saw Washington block New Delhi's request to establish a WTO compliance panel. It's also worth noting that MNRE has removed the DCR from the next 5GW of solar projects coming out under Batch IV, Phase II of the National Solar Mission, as per this amendment.

■ Indian government to punish veiled use of imports in DCR solar projects

(Feb 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The government of India has issued a memorandum informing that it will come down hard on those flouting the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) rules – in WTO permitted cases – where imported solar modules are used, but declared as locally made.

Via the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the government said that DCR local content rules were set up to encourage domestic PV manufacturing.

However, it noted: “Apprehensions have been raised that the policy may be misused by way of mis-declaration and imported solar cells and modules may be used in DCR projects instead of domestically produced cell and modules.”

As result, the government has tasked the MNRE or any agency acting on behalf of the MNRE, to take the following actions in the case of such violations:

1. Filing of criminal case under IPC 420 & related sections
2. Blacklisting of developer for period of 10 years
3. Forfeiting of relevant Bank Guarantee(s)
4. Disciplinary case against the officers of concerned CPSU/State Govt.
5. Any other action, in addition to those above

The US and India are currently embroiled in a spat over India's compliance with a WTO ruling against its DCR policy. The latest move saw Washington block New Delhi's request to establish a WTO compliance panel. It's also worth noting that MNRE has removed the DCR from the next 5GW of solar projects coming out under Batch IV, Phase II of the National Solar Mission, as per this amendment.

■ Voltalia to install solar and batteries at Myanmar telecom towers

(Feb 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

French renewable energy company Voltalia is to install renewable energy systems at 171 telecom towers in the Bago and Ayeyarwaddy regions of Myanmar for MNTI, the local owner of a network of such towers.

The telecom towers are used by MyTel, a telecom operator jointly controlled by Myanmar National Telecom Holdings and Viettel, which is Vietnam’s national telecom operator.

The 10-year contract with Voltalia will see it supply 2kW of power at each of the 171 sites with potential for future collaboration on more towers. Of those 171 telecom towers 80% are not connected to the national grid.

Voltalia will install batteries and a thermal genset initially to start generating power as soon as possible. Later, solar panels will be added and connected to an energy management system that is also hooked up with the telecom tower.

Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia, said: “Over the past years, Voltalia has developed internal know-how for isolated sites, primarily in Latin America. This expertise is now used for telecom towers, a fast-growing niche within the decentralized generation market. The signing of our first contract with a telecom tower company opens many opportunities. Energy supply in isolated sites is a key expertise of Voltalia, which is particularly relevant in many countries we already cover, especially in Africa.”

■ Coal firm plans Pakistan’s largest industrial solar project

(Feb 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

A Pakistani coal and power firm has contracted Karachi-based solar EPC firm Reon Energy to build a 5MW PV project to help power its mining operations, in what will be a first for Pakistan.

Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) wants the project to be installed at its Thar Coal Block II in Sindh Province and it will become the largest private C&I solar plant for captive consumption in the country to date, it claims.

SECMC is working on Pakistan’s first open-pit coal mine in the Thar Block II Islamkot. A powerplant is being constructed by the Engro Powergen Thar Limited (EPTL) at the mouth of the mine and this is expected to start generating electricity at the end of the current year.

In a release, SECMC said it was eyeing up both energy cost savings and a reduction in carbon emissions from the solar plant. The firm has the option to extend the contract during or after project completion, wherein Reon will provide O&M services for a 15-year period and then hand over the operations to SECMC.

Syed Abul Fazl Rizvi, COO of SECMC, said: “The 5MW solar energy system will contribute benefits equivalent to planting of about 220,000 trees and will be the largest private solar PPA in the country. This is also the first-ever initiative by a mining company in Pakistan to install solar power plant for it mining operations.”

Reon Energy CEO Mujtaba Haider Khan said: “Pakistan enjoys a geo-strategic advantage for producing abundant amounts of solar energy. Advancement in solar technology has not only improved solar’s efficiency but has also led to a massive reduction in costs. This is a landmark project that’ll significantly reduce the operating cost and carbon footprint.”

He also noted that the project would create dozens of jobs.

Reon is part of the investment holding company Dawood Hercules Corporation.

The Pakistani regulator, NEPRA, recently issued its tariff determinations for 300MW of solar with tariffs significantly below grid parity.

■ Malaysia and the Philippines demand consultations with US over solar tariffs - WTO

(Feb 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Malaysia and the Philippines have joined the growing list of countries heading to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to request consultations with the US over its 30% solar import tariffs, according to WTO filings both dated 21 February.

Both countries want to exchange views on the US safeguard measures and hold the consultations as soon as possible with representatives of the US' investigating authorities.

Earlier this month, Singapore and the EU also requested consultations with the US. Taiwan, South Korea and China had also earlier taken similar steps through the WTO on the US PV tariffs. However, both South Korea and China have also explicitly mentioned a demand for compensation in their WTO filings.

The last Section 201 case regarding steel tariffs imposed by the US, was overturned by the WTO in 2003.

This month, several Canadian solar manufacturers, Silfab, Heliene, Canadian Solar and Canadian Solar Solutions, also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that they will suffer “immediate, severe, and irreversible injuries” as a result of the new safeguard measures.

■ Avaada Power signs MoU for 1.6GW of solar in Uttar Pradesh

(Feb 21, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Indian renewable energy project developer Avaada Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to invest US$1.55 billion for the development of 1.6GW of solar projects in the state.

The projects will be developed across Mirzapur, Badun, Gorakhpur and Bundelkhand districts, creating nearly 3,700 jobs in the process, said Avaada in a release. The MoU was signed as part of ‘UP Investors Summit 2018’, in the presence of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh has its own target for 2GW of solar each year. The state currently has an installed capacity of 569.35MW of PV and Avaada claims the state has the potential to reach 22.8GW. Last month, it also issued a tender for 1GW of solar projects.

Vineet Mittal, chairman, Avaada Group, who was founder of Welspun Energy and formerly chairman of Indian solar pioneer Welspun Renewables before it was acquired by Tata Power, said: “We are geared up to support Uttar Pradesh’s mission of utilizing the potential of the sun to power its development needs sustainably. We are working aggressively to help catapult the state on the clean energy trajectory. The state falls under high solar irradiation zone, which offers tremendous opportunities for expanding its clean energy portfolio."

Avaada Power itself plans to set up gigawatts of solar projects across India, having already built nearly 1GW of capacity across 10 states. It has been active in some of last year's auctions that drew record low prices.

■ TAIWAN ROUND-UP: January cell and wafer producer’s sales disappoint

(Feb 19, 2018/pv-tech.org)

As PV Tech previously reported, Taiwan’s solar industry supply chain failed to recover lost revenue in 2017, despite strong global demand growth and expectation that installations topped 100GW.

Solar cell producers in particular suffered from continued ASP (Average Selling Price) pressure through most of the year, due to increased competition from China-based merchant sell and module suppliers as well as the growing shift to monocrystalline wafers, which left many Taiwanese companies coming to terms with weaker demand.

In 2018, Taiwanese suppliers are confronted from further competition from China and potentially global PV demand growth being almost flat with 2017.

A potential bright spot is Taiwan’s growing domestic market, due to policies enacted over 18 months ago that could support shipment growth within Taiwan in 2018.

However, January 2018 sales from cell, module and wafer producers highlighted (excluding SAS) declines over 12% month-on-month, although sales for many were up slightly from the same month in 2017.

Motech Industries

Leading Taiwanese PV cell and module manufacturer Motech Industries has reported January 2018 sales down over 8% from the previous quarter but sales are over 10% higher than in the prior year period.

Motech reported January 2018 sales of NT$ 1,917 million (US$65.8 million), down 8.65% from the previous month and up 10.94% from the prior year period.

The company had unaudited 2017 sales of around NT$ 23.189 billion (US$796.5 million, down 19.94% year-on-year.

Gintech Energy

Merchant solar cell and module producer Gintech Energy reported January 2018 sales down over 25% from the previous month and down over 12% from the prior year period.

Gintech’s January 2018 sales were NT$ 965.501 million (US$33.21 million), compared to NT$1,300 million in the previous month, a 25.76% decrease.

The company had previously reported unaudited full-year 2017 sales of NT$ 14,306,211 million (US$ 493 million approx), down 2.55% from the prior year.

Neo Solar Power

Taiwan-based merchant solar cell and module producer Neo Solar Power (NSP) reported sales were down over 21% in January 2018, compared to the previous month but were over 8% higher than the prior year period.

NSP said sales reached NT$ 832 million (US$28.57 million) in January 2018, a 21.34% month-on-month decline but a growth of 8.67%, year-on-year.

Preliminary unaudited sales in 2017 were around NT$ 10.289 billion in 2017, down 37.78% year-on-year.

Solartech Energy

Merchant solar cell producer Solartech Energy Corp reported January 2018 sales down 12% on a month-on-month basis, continuing the trend of monthly volatility seen in 2017.

Solartech’s sales in January 2018 were NT$ 435 million (US$14.95 million), a 12.17% decline from the previous month. However, sales were up year-on-year by 12%.

Full-year 2017 sales were around NT$6,282 million, down almost 35% year-on-year.

TSEC Corporation

PV cell and module manufacturer TSEC Corporation sales decline slowed in January 2018, after rapidly dropping in the fourth quarter of 2017.

TSEC reported January sales of NT$ 434.6 million (US$14.93 million), down 3.67%, month-on-month and down 29.85%, year-on-year.

Full year 2017 sales were around NT$6,636 million, compared to NT$ 7,747 million in 2016.

Sino-American Silicon

Integrated PV and wafer manufacturer Sino-American Silicon (SAS) sales hit a new record in January

SAS reported January 2018 sales of NT$ 5,865 million (US$201 million), up from US$176 million in the previous month.

SAS is continuing to benefit from strong demand for semiconductor silicon wafers after its acquisition of SunEdison Semiconductor.

According to trade organisation SEMI, silicon global revenues totalled US$8.71 billion in 2017, up 21% from the prior year.

Green Energy Technology

Taiwan-based multicrystalline wafer producer Green Energy Technology (GET) sales were down 13% month-on-month and up 15%, year-on-year.

January 2018 sales were NT$ 963 million (US$33.1 million), which resulted in lower utilisation rates of 85%, down from over 95% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

GET had previously reported unaudited 2017 annual sales of NT$ 11,947 million, down 22% from 2016.

E-Ton Solar Tech

Mono and multicrystalline solar cell producer E-Ton Solar Tech reported a major collapse in sales for January 2018, declining almost 50% from the previous month and almost 50%, year-on-year.

E-Ton had sales of NT$156.2 million in January 2018, compared to NT$ 305 million in December 2017. The company did not provide a commentary on the 48.8% collapse in sales.

Full-year 2017 sales were NT$ 4,178 million, up from NT$ 3,920 million in the prior year.

■ Andaman solar-plus-storage retender no comfort to developers, says winner of scrapped auction

(Feb 15, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The winner of India’s first major solar-plus-storage auction, which has subsequently been scrapped for retendering, has said that despite being an unfortunate development, the firm is still keen to work closely with government on this technology for which the economics are continuously and rapidly improving.

Last year, major Indian solar EPC firm Mahindra Susten won the 20MW solar and 28MWh storage project on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in an auction held by state-run firm NLC India. It was hailed as a major breakthrough for the Indian PV and energy storage industry and came in at a price far lower than the government had predicted. However, the award has now been canned and the capacity is due to be retendered at a far lower capacity. PV Tech contacted NLC multiple times over the last two weeks for comment, but it has failed to respond.

Manish Singhal, head, business development of Mahindra Susten, told PV Tech: “We are keen to work closely with government to develop a robust solar-plus-energy storage facility in the islands and other possible places. Battery prices are continuously falling making its economics better and when coupled with solar power, the combined energy solution can be a true 24x7 green power option to protect the sensitive flora and fauna of Andaman and Nicobar.”

Vishwanathan Iyer, a leading expert in the renewables industry, also told PV Tech: “It is understood that the Ministry of Power is keen at exploring alternative sources of power generation in the Andamans – quite likely an LNG-fueled power facility of around 30MW – whose LCOE is probably expected to be around INR 9-9.5/Unit, which might have been a key factor resulting into re-calibration of the storage tender.”

Rahul Walawalkar, executive director of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), said the way the tender has been cancelled was lacking in transparency and logic. He added that flip-flops from various government agencies on large-scale renewable energy integration projects has resulted in the majority of the 100MWh of grid-scale energy storage project RFPs released during 2017, getting stuck due to mixed signals from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

IESA is now working closely with all the policymakers and, perhaps most importantly, it anticipates that most of these projects can move forward in 2018. Walawalkar has also praised the rising opportunities available for this technology in the private sector in India.

Manish Singhal added: “While we concur with IESA on the opportunities available in private sector, we believe it is still early days for storage in terms of rapidly evolving technology and hence at least utility-scale projects being capital intensive in nature will require some support from government being the early adopters of the technology to help this sector grow and evolve. Events like scrapping of NLC tender after it is opened – that too at a price which is significantly lower than government estimates – do not give comfort to players who are looking to enter Indian storage market and the government should be cautious about taking such decisions.”

Moreover, the viability and suitability of solar and storage on the Andaman islands was clear. Walawalkar said that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands government has to ship fuel for 1,200 kilometres and burn it on inefficient diesel gen-sets. Where such generators are used, there is an opportunity to improve efficiency by increasing loading of the generators for certain hours and shutting them down for other times where solar and storage can meet the load. These benefits mean the solar-storage project should ultimately go forward, but the delay is “very disappointing”, Walawalkar added.

He noted: “It basically seems like a minor roadblock. […] Everyone who has looked at the technical merits of the project has concluded that solar-plus-storage is the best option, so what is disappointing is [the] ability of MNRE to randomly change direction.”

With the retender due in the coming weeks, Iyer also noted: “Now, it will be thought-provoking to observe the action in the fresh bid round. Especially, in the background of developments and falling costs in the global energy storage market and also the rising interest of foreign players in India in the wake of the newly announced intention of [the] government of India to seed an Energy Storage Mission.”

Singhal said that Mahindra achieved its original lowest bid through “a fair assessment” of the tender conditions and some “forward-looking assumptions” on the costs of batteries with improvement in energy density and increasing number of cycles.

Other opportunities

Walawalkar claimed that there is still plenty of positivity in the industry, with many government projects still expected to move forward, rising private sector opportunities, and SECI’s consultation on a 160MW solar-wind-storage hybrid in Andhra Pradesh. Just in Andaman and Nicobar, there are also 4-5 other solar-plus-storage projects being executed for the military engineering services (MES).

However, Walawalkar said: “It is very difficult to put the expectation on most tenders anymore, but we are very confident that on the private side things will now take off this year.”

MNRE has now constituted an Expert Committee on energy storage with a goal of releasing a ‘National Energy Storage Mission’ by April or May 2018, that would seek to emulate the success of the National Solar Mission (NSM).

While, Mahindra Susten is itself planning several other projects in the next few months, it is also considering a technology partnership with foreign solar storage technology companies to sharpen its capabilities and offer the service in other geographies.

Singhal added: “While solar with storage tenders in India will come up in a big way going ahead, there are some very big projects coming up in the Middle East, Australia and the US.”

■ Pakistan solar just a PPA away from beating grid parity

(Feb 15, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The Pakistani regulator has issued its tariff determinations for 300MW of solar with tariffs significantly below grid parity.

Last September the National Electric Power Authority (NEPRA) received tariff requests from project developers that just crept below 6 US cents per unit, already marking a major milestone for Pakistan’s solar ambitions, but NEPRA has come back with significantly lower determinations for these projects ranging from US cents 5.2622/kWh to 5.6073/kWh. The tariffs vary by project size to account for economies of scale and whether the land is privately purchased or allocated by the government.

All the developers awarded tariffs have either already received their generation licences from the regulator or have applications currently being processed. While the regulatory framework allows for review motions, PV Tech understands that at least one and likely multiple developers will not be going back to the regulator with further petitions for tariff adjustments.

The steep decline in tariffs in the still nascent solar sector in Pakistan is primarily driven by falling EPC costs and significant increases in assumed DC plant factor. Compared to the earlier plant factor of 18% under the feed-in tariff (FiT) regime, NEPRA has assumed a plant factor of 22.21% for projects with single-axis tracking and 20.5% for fixed-tilt plants.

The next step for the developers is to execute power purchase agreements (PPAs) on the determined tariffs. PV Tech understands that there are two main off-takers in the country: the state-run Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) for the majority of the country and K-Electric Limited, a private utility that serves Pakistan’s largest city and industrial centre Karachi. On the current tariffs, solar is well on its way to becoming by far the lowest cost option for power generation for both power purchasers.

A source told PV Tech that coal-fired power, LNG and hydroelectric generation are all in the range of 8-9.5 cents per unit at present and these solar projects could become the first grid parity large-scale PV plants in the country. In recent years, CPPA, in particular, has signed various PPAs for large LNG and coal projects, which are just beginning to come online; however; the solar projects mentioned all have significantly lower rates.

The project details and latest tariff determinations were as follows:

Developer: HNDS Energy (50MW)
Location: Goth Gagrawara, Taluka Saleh Pat, District Sukkur, Sindh
Tariff: 5.2622/kWh
Offtaker: CPPA
EPC: Scatec Solar (also sponsor along with Nizam Energy)

Developer: Helios Power (50MW)
Location: Goth Gagrawara, Taluka Saleh Pat, District Sukkur, Sindh
Tariff: 5.2622/kWh
Offtaker: CPPA
EPC: Scatec Solar (also sponsor along with Nizam Energy)

Developer: Meridian (50MW)
Location: Goth Gagrawara, Taluka Saleh Pat, District Sukkur, Sindh
Tariff: 5.2622/kWh
Offtaker: CPPA
EPC: Scatec Solar (also sponsor along with Nizam Energy)

Developer: Gharo Solar (50MW)
Location: Deh Ghairabad, Mirpur Sakro, District Thatta, Sindh
Tariff: 5.6073/kWh
Offtaker: K-Electric
EPC: Self-EPC

Developer: Zorlu Solar (100MW)
Location: Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park (Extension), Lal Sohanra, District Bahawalpur, Punjab
Tariff: 5.3086/kWh
Offtaker: CPPA
EPC: Self-EPC
These cost-plus/negotiated tariff projects have arisen during an interim period between the country’s FiT programme, which saw a couple of projects built, and its recently announced attempt to migrate to tariff-based competitive auctions. The province of Sindh has already made known its intentions to tender 50MW on such a basis this year in collaboration with the World Bank, which has already approved funding for follow up tenders. PV Tech understands that a bidding stage is expected to take at least six months to materialize.

It is expected that auctions will drive prices even lower than the cost-plus projects, as has been the case in multiple PV markets worldwide. In the meantime, the recently determined tariffs mark an important stage in the evolution of utility-scale solar in Pakistan by demonstrating its competitiveness and economic viability as a power generation resource.

■ Shunfeng to post further losses in 2017

(Feb 14, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Diversified renewable energy firm Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) said it would continue to report a net loss for 2017, due to product ASP declines and PV power plant grid curtailments in China.

SFCE had previously reported of around US$50 million in the first half of 2017, due to a catalogue of issues that had plagued the company since 2016.

However, SFCE said that the 2017 losses would be in the region of RMB 830 million (US$130 million), down from around US$370 million in 2016.

The company highlighted two key reasons for profit warning. Firstly, product (wafers, cells and modules) ASP was said to have declined by 17% in 2017, impacting gross margins. SFCE said that gross margins are expected to have declined to 9% in 2017, down from 12% in 2016.

Secondly, SFCE said that it was still impacted from PV power plant grid curtailments in some of the regions in China that it owns and operates plants. Grid curtailment issues in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia were said to have slightly eased during the year but restrictions, notably in Xinjiang and Gansu regions remained an issue, impacting revenue generation.

SFCE noted that due to the restriction in electricity generation in Xinjiang and Gansu the estimated loss to be around 467,000,000kWh and approximately RMB 370 million (US$58 million) in revenue.

■ Cleantech Solar bags 27MW of industrial rooftop PPAs in Asia

(Feb 14, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Singapore-headquartered clean energy provider Cleantech Solar has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 27MW of industrial rooftop solar projects across three customers in three Asian countries.

The contracts cover full turnkey financing, design, installation, and full-life O&M of the solar PV systems.

Customers will not have to make any upfront investments and will benefit from lower electricity prices.

Raju Shukla, chairman of Cleantech Solar said: "We are delighted that industry leaders in their respective areas have once again chosen Cleantech Solar for their long-term solar requirements. Those three systems will be amongst the world’s largest rooftop solar projects.

“This not only shows that corporations are increasingly seizing the opportunity of competitive on-site renewable energy but are also embracing the solar-as-a-service model where our strong balance sheet enables us to carry the full capital investment.”

One third of renewable energy PPAs in Southeast Asia are expected to be corporate in next 3-5 years, according to one prominent C&I solar developer in the region.

■ Sunseap and InfraCo Asia partner on 168MW solar project in Vietnam

(Feb 14, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Singapore-based renewables firm Sunseap International has signed an agreement with InfraCo Asia Development to jointly develop a 168MW solar project in Vietnam, with negotiations for a PPA ongoing.

Allard Nooy, CEO of InfraCo Asia, told PV Tech that this is the first utility-scale solar project in Vietnam to receive prime minister approval. The JV is currently in negotiations to get a bankable PPA in place and Nooy expects the lenders for this project to be a combination of local banks as well as PFIs.

Vietnam's solar PPA parameters have come under intense scrutiny from international financiers and lawyers, but this new project marks one of the first occassions where developers have showed major progress on a large-scale project, despite the risks involved. Construction has started on several more modestly-sized projects in Vietnam recently.

Nooy said InfraCo Asia has the benefit of already having a PPA in place with the Vietnamese utility EVN for a hydroelectric project, as well as having relationships with local banks through that project. Nooy previously noted that EVN has never defaulted on a PPA with foreign invested IPPs.

The new project in Ninh Thuan province, on the south-central coast of Vietnam, will be one of the first large-scale solar projects in Vietnam and is expected to power the equivalent of up to 200,000 households. It is expected to reach commercial operation by June 2019.

InfraCo Asia, an infrastructure development and investment company of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, will provide funding for the development phase of the project.

Menawhile, Sunseap International, the global arm Sunseap Group, will continue to hold a majority stake in the project, while InfraCo Asia will take a minority stake alongside Sunseap’s existing partner, CMX RE Canada.

The construction phase will create more than 200 jobs for local workers, while operations will create 30 long-term jobs.

Lawrence Wu, co-founder and director of Sunseap, said: “We are delighted to have received the support of InfraCo Asia for our first project in Vietnam. We see huge potential for solar energy development in Vietnam and are excited to bring affordable and reliable clean energy to the country.

In a release, Nooy added: “As the opportunity for renewables in Vietnam continues to grow, we are excited to partner with Sunseap on a project that will serve as a catalyst for further private sector investment. Projects like Ninh Thuan solar create a ‘demonstration effect’ that serves as a beacon for future development.”

InfraCo Asia has also signed for a combined 30MW wind and 50MW solar project at Phuoc Minh Commune, Thuan Nam District, Ninh Thuan Province in Vietnam. InfraCo Asia, through its Southeast Asia developer team, Infunde Development and local partner TSV Joint Stock Company (TSV), will invest US$4.8 million into project development.

According to a joint release, solar power is expected to become the main new renewable energy source in the future, with installed capacity to be increased from around 6-7MW at end of 2017 to 850MW by 2020, accounting for 1.6% of the country’s power generation and 12GW by 2030 or 3.3% of generation.

■ Singapore requests consultation with US over solar tariffs - WTO

(Feb 12, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Singapore has joined the pile of countries going to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to demand a consultation with the US over its 30% solar import tariffs, according to a WTO filing from Friday 9 February.

In its filing, the Singapore delegation stated that it wanted to exchange views on the US safeguard measures and wants to hold the consultations as soon as possible, preferably with representatives of the US' investigating authorities.

The EU also requested a consultation with the US last week. Neither Singapore nor the EU have explicitly accused the US of breaking WTO rules.

Taiwan, South Korea and China had already taken similar steps through the WTO on the US PV tariffs. However, both South Korea and China have also explicitly mentioned a demand for compensation in their WTO filings.

The last Section 201 case regarding steel tariffs imposed by the US, was overturned by the WTO in 2003.

■ Innovative 500MW Gujarat solar tender likely to draw ‘intense competition’

(Feb 9, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has issued an innovative tender for 500MW of grid-connected solar PV projects to be developed across the state, which should draw "intense competition", according to a prominent analyst.

An extra 500MW capacity under a “greenshoe option” may be offered up to bidders who are willing to execute PPAs with GUVNL at the lowest tariff (L1 rate) from the auction, at their originally quoted capacities.

Vinay Rustagi, managing director of consultancy firm Bridge to India, told PV Tech that there are several factors that make this tender likely to draw "very high, very intense competition".

Firstly, the off-taker GUVNL enjoys the highest credit rating amongst India's utilities, while the change-in-law provision suggests that the utility will absorb the risks of any imposition of anti-dumping or safeguard duties, which have been looming threats to project developers. Rustagi said that as a result, the Gujarat tender should progress quickly, unlike many Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tenders that have been held up due to uncertainty over such change-in-law provisions.

For the extra "greenshoe" 500MW, willing bidders will have to give their confirmation within a period of 10 days from the auction closing. Priority shall be given to the public sector and government organizations in their order of ranking in the e-reverse auction followed by their ranking in the initial price bids.

Rustagi said: "The provision just shows that Gujarat Discoms and the government, in general, are ahead of the curve in coming out with more innovative provisions, so I think there should be a fairly good appetite for it and I suspect the tariffs will be competitive."

He also noted that the RfP document does not mention a benchmark tariff specification. As such specifications can be restrictive in an environment where costs are going up, Rustagi said this omission should also help the tender.

The minimum project capacity shall be 25MW and a single bidder can go for the entire 500MW capacity in the first instance. GUVNL will sign 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with successful bidders. The deadline for bid submissions is 19 March.

Last September, a 500MW solar auction held by GUNVL saw a surprisingly low winning bid of INR2.65/kWh (US$0.041) from Jewellery firm GRT Jewellers.

The latest major India auction held in Karnataka saw an uptick in prices, but these were for relatively small capacity projects in areas of lower irradiance than some of the preceding auctions.

■ MRC Allied contracts Uni Solar for 4MW of rooftop projects on Filipino malls

(Feb 9, 2018/pv-tech.org)

MRC Allied has selected Uni Solar as its EPC contractor for 4MW of rooftop solar projects for Philippines-based Xentro Mall Developer (XRC).

As part of the deal, Uni Solar will also serve as O&M provider for the project, which will see Uni Solar install solar panels atop numerous XRC malls. The construction period is currently set at a maximum of six months. The O&M contract for the PV project is set at 20 years.

MRC will pay Uni Solar approximately US$3.86 million for the installation of the project.

MRC aims to develop at least 200MW of renewable energy each year.

■ Siemens Gamesa bags EPC contracts for 160MW of solar in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

(Feb 8, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Siemens Gamesa has won EPC contracts for 160MW of Indian solar projects, consisting of 100MW from an unnamed major Indian utility and 60MW from an IPP.

The utility project is located in Tamil Nadu and the IPP project is in Karnataka. The projects are earmarked to be commissioned in March 2018.

Ramesh Kymal, chairman and managing director, Siemens Gamesa India, said: "Today India is one of the most promising markets for renewable energy. The country has witnessed incremental growth in the solar segment in the last three years and we expect the momentum to increase in the coming years. Having firmed up our roots in solar business, we are fully geared to contribute to the government's target of 100 GW of solar power by 2022.”

The firm is also working on a major solar and wind hybrid project in Karnataka.

■ JSW plans 250MW of floating solar across India

(Feb 8, 2018/pv-tech.org)

JSW Energy, part of Indian conglomerate JSW Group which includes major steel manufacturer JSW Steel, is carrying out engineering works on a 4MW pilot floating solar project, with a view to setting up 250MW of similar projects in the future.

Aditya Agarwal, general manager at JSW Energy, told PV Tech that the firm plans to gain experience from the 4MW pilot before ramping up to 250MW across its internal reservoirs across India that cater to its steel facilities and thermal power plants.

JSW Energy has contracted solar O&M and advisory firm Gensol to provide design and advisory support, and is currently in the process of selecting the supplier of modules, inverters, cables and floating structures.

According to its website, JSW Energy operates 3,140MW of thermal and 1,391MW hydroelectric power generation capacity and is aiming for 10GW by 2020. JSW Energy incorporated its wholly-owend subsidiary JSW Solar in January with a focus on renewables, energy stroage and micro-grids, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange filing.

Agarwal said JSW Solar is also focusing on rooftop and ground-mount solar and has given submissions to Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) EoI for 10GW of floating solar across India.

Bharat Reddy, deputy general manager, SECI has also told PV Tech that results from the EoI can be expected in the next couple of weeks.

Anmol Singh Jaggi, co-founder, solar O&M and advisory firm Gensol Group, said that his firm is also offering design and procurement support to the Maharashtra state Discom MAHAGENCO to procure up to 250MW of floating solar, spread across three projects, all on dams. Originally, Gensol had been asked to conduct a feasibility study at the Irai dam near Chandrapur.

■ SECI extends deadlines for 500MW residential rooftop solar tender

(Feb 7, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The deadline for developers to complete their allocations and encash bank guarantees under a 500MW residential and non-profit rooftops solar tender in India has been extended from 31 March to 30 June this year.

One rooftop developer, which had bagged a small amount of capacity under the tender, sent a letter to the procurer, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), requesting a deadline extension up to 31 October this year, given that it had only managed to complete a third of its allocation at the time of writing.

The tender was finalised in October 2016.

The developer claimed various force Majeure instances including the Demonetisation incident last year and the imposition of the GST tax. It also claimed that there was a shortage of staff at SECI required for site inspections and internal processes.

In a response seen by PV Tech, SECI refuted these claims as "false and baseless", however, it also granted the deadline extension – albeit only to 30 June – without imposing any penalties. Central Financial Assistance (CFA) will also be available at a 30% or 70% rate of either the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) benchmark price or the lowest tariffs in the tender, whichever is lowest.

PV Tech understands that only 25-30% of the allocated capacities in the tender overall have been installed so far and that multiple developers had written similar letters to SECI.

Nonetheless, one such developer, Gensol, has completed its allotted projects and has set its sights on doubling its allocated capacity.

Ali Imran Naqvi, head of operations, Gensol, told PV Tech that SECI's rooftop allocations had the potential to catapult the central government's 40GW rooftop target for 2020 to a correct trajectory, but some structural changes unveiled by the government had stymied the pace of installations. Furthermore, while project execution did gain some traction during the second half of 2016, there remains much to be done.

Naqvi added: “It is certainly a good step by SECI to relax the deadline till June 2018, but the situation merits serious consideration and some more time would inspire confidence in the developers.”

■ IDFC acquires 40MW Madhya Pradesh solar project eyeing ‘cash flow and diversification’

(Feb 7, 2018/pv-tech.org)

A private equity fund represented by Indian firm IDFC Alternatives has bought a 40MW solar project in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh from IL&FS, a company official has confirmed.

Aditya Aggarwal, partner, IDFC Alternatives, told PV tech that this is the first power purchase agreement (PPA) that IDFC has bought into with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as the off-taker.

The acquisition of the Malwa Solar Power Generation project was made by Vector Green Energy, a company formed out of IDFC Alternatives’ India Infrastructure Fund II. IL&FS was awarded the project by SECI in May 2015.

A relatively new player, Vector Green has been focusing on buying commissioned projects in the secondary market and has already contracted 375MW of capacity with an aim to reach at least 500MW by the end of 2018, by also focusing on rooftop and C&I users in addition to utilities.

Aggarwal added: “What you see in India is a lot of people chasing scale in terms of getting 2GW or 3GW. Our strategy is not to chase scale but rather cash flow. Being a fund, we are looking at buying operating assets and our focus is to return cash to the shareholders right from year one in form of dividends."

The second part of the firm’s strategy is diversification across different states, off-takers and supply sources, hence the focus on rooftop PV, said Aggarwal

Last July, First Solar agreed to sell 190MW(AC) out of 200MW(AC) of its operational PV plants in India to the IDFC fund. In January this year, Vector Green completed refinancing of two of these PV projects in Telangana.

■ China requests consultation and compensation over US solar tariffs

(Feb 7, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China has requested consultations with the US over its decision to apply a safeguard measure on imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, according to a WTO filing from Tuesday 6 February.

The filing stated: “We believe the measures taken by the United States are not consistent with its obligations under the relevant provisions of the GATT 1994 and Safeguards Agreement. [...] China also is exercising its right to trade compensation consultations.”

China requested that the consultations take place on 9 February or 12 February.

Both Taiwan and South Korea have already taken similar steps through the WTO on the US PV tariffs.

China and Taiwan were singled-out in two previous US anti-dumping duty cases and are also included in the latest Section 201 trade case that saw US President Trump impose a further 30% import duty on the two countries, but also the rest of the world, with a few exemptions of countries with limited supply capabilities.

■ India investigates dumping of solar glass from Malaysia

(Feb 6, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India’s Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of textured, tempered glass from Malaysia.

The sole petitioner was India’s largest solar glass firm Gujarat Borosil, who was also the lone petitioner for a similar successful case against imports of tempered glass from China last year. Borosil is the only Indian supplier that produces its own annealed (raw) glass instead of relying on imports.

The Malaysian glass imports under investigation must have a minimum of 90.5% transmission and a thickness of less than or equal to 4.2mm (including tolerance of 0.2mm), with one dimension exceeding 1500mm. Such glass is often used in the assembly of solar modules.

Borosil vice chairman Pradeep Kheruka told PV Tech that the Malaysian petition came after the Chinese one because the Malaysian solar glass industry was only just starting out when Borosil lodged the complaint against Chinese imports. However, now that the Malaysian glass industry is operational, Borosil believes that its pricing strategy has been even more aggressive than that of China and merits an investigation. Kheruka said there is currently only one solar glass factory in Malaysia run by China's largest solar glass manufacturer Xinyi Glass Holdings (XYG).

Borosil has claimed that domestic industry suffered material injury from dumped imports, while demand for solar glass had increased over the injury period between 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017. DGAD decided there was enough merit to launch the investigation and will consider the period of injury extended up until 31 December 2017.

Last August, the Ministry of Finance went ahead with tariffs on tempered glass from China, with the same specifications as the Malaysia investigation.

At the time, Borosil claimed that India has enough tempered solar glass capacity to cater for its own PV manufacturers, who are hoping to scale up given an ongoing anti-dumping investigation into cell and module imports from China, Taiwan and Malaysia, as well as a recommended 70% Safeguard duty on imports from China and Malaysia.

There are also multiple local manufacturing support programmes being touted by the government, although analysts have said the packages are unclear and muddled at best in their present offering.

Nonetheless Chinese manufacturers are beginning to take a market entry to India as a serious proposition, with CETC looking at a 200MW cell factory in Andhra Pradesh and LONGi Solar looking to double the capacity of its cell and module factory in the same state from 500MW to 1GW respectively.

■ ACC completes 5.2MW rooftop solar and carport for Danone in China

(Feb 6, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Asia Clean Capital (ACC) has completed Danone China Food & Beverage’s second PV project at factory in one of the oldest cities in China, Xi’an. The first project was at Zhongshan.

The 5.2MW distributed solar system is comprised of a rooftop solar project and a solar carport. ACC invested in 100% of the system costs and also led the design, construction and long-term system maintenance services for the installation.

Following this project, ACC will invest and build another two solar projects for Danone separately in Wuhan and Tangshan.

■ LONGi signs major US$1 billion polysilicon supply contract with OCI

(Feb 5, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Leading integrated high-efficiency monocrystalline module manufacturer and ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology has signed a three year deal to purchase polysilicon from Korean-headquartered polysilicon producer OCI Co worth around US$1.02 billion.

LONGi said in a financial filing that the contract would last three years and would entail the purchase of around 64,638MT for its subsidiaries that produce monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers locate in Yinchuan, Baoshan, Lijang and Ningxia, China.

The polysilicon contract between LONGi subsidiaries is with OCI in Korea and its Malaysian operations, acquired in 2017 from Japan’s Tokuyama.

Recently, PV Tech reported that LONGi was tripling ingot/wafer capacity through 2020. The new strategic plan includes taking ingot/wafer capacity to 28GW by the end of 2018 and 36GW by the end of 2019. LONGi also said that the plan was to achieve 45GW by the end of 2020.

PV Tech also recently reported that OCI was expanding its production of high-purity polysilicon to meet greater demand for P-type monocrystalline wafers used with PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology. The company said that its South Korean production of high-purity polysilicon for mono wafers, which stood at around 42% of capacity - would be increased to around 60% of production capacity in 2018.

OCI has around 52,000MT of polysilicon capacity in South Korea and its average product mix in 2017 for mono-quality polysilicon was said to be only around 35%.

Polysilicon production at its facility in Malaysia, recently acquired from Tokuyama is being expanded from a nameplate capacity of 13,800MT to 16,000MT per annum by the end of 2018, through upgrades and debottlenecking and engineering process improvements and could be expanded to 20,000MT to 25,000MT based on market demand.

PV Tech recently highlighted that all the major China-based PV manufacturers had been purchasing polysilicon from domestic producers as well as from Korean firms and Wacker Chemie in Germany, negating the need to negotiate with US trade authorities over lifting anti-dumping duties on US imported polysilicon, which was sparked by the US imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese imported solar cells and modules.

Domestic Chinese polysilicon producers have lagged both polysilicon demand and high-purity requirements for high-efficiency P-type mono wafers. However, a wave of capacity expansions and new advanced upgraded facilities in China is expected to reduce further dependence on all polysilicon imported in the country over the next few years.

■ LONGi signs major US$1 billion polysilicon supply contract with OCI

(Feb 5, 2018/pv-tech.org)

An auction carried out under Karnataka's 860MW solar tender has seen a recalibration of tariffs in India and a surprising outcome for the lowest tariff.

Awards were made for less capacity than originally tendered by Karnataka Renewable Energy Development (KREDL), which had planned for projects to be split between 43 taluks (subdivisions of a district) with 20MW in each in order to distribute solar capacity evenly across the state. Some 100MW in the local content category failed to draw interested bidders.

Mudit Jain, consultant at Bridge to India, told PV Tech that one unique feature of the tender was that the offtake was spread across the jurisdictions of five distribution companies (Discoms). Of these, three are A-rated, one as B+ and the last one as B, by the credit rating agencies CARE and ICRA, whose ratings were published by the Ministry of Power.

Jain noted: “Surprisingly, Kudligi Taluk has attracted the lowest tariff of INR2.94/kWh [US$0.046] despite the off-taker being GESCOM, a B-rated entity. Overall out of the seven taluks with winning bids of less than INR3/kWh, only three have off-takers with credit rating A and the rest have rating of either B or B+.”

As expected Category B, which was reserved for local module manufacturers in Karnataka, saw the highest bids in the range of INR 3.52-3.54/kWh, while the open Category A saw winning tariffs of INR 2.94-3.34/kWh. That lowest bid was roughly 20% higher than the winning tariffs of INR2.47/kWh and INR2.44/kWh at the Bhadla solar park in the two previous auctions in Rajasthan.

In an analysis, Ali Imran Naqvi, head of operations at Gensol Engineering, said that the Karnataka bids were “stamped with caution” and appeared to come from “some soul searching and logical recalibration of numbers within the managing chambers of the some of the renowned solar power developers”.

Of course, neither irradiation nor project size in Karnataka matched that of Bhadla, but Naqvi still pointed towards wider difficulties in the sector as a key driver of higher tariffs. These included a 7.5% import duty on modules, the added threat of a heavy Safeguard Duty on imports, and what he called “whimsical pricing” by Chinese modules suppliers.

However, Naqvi also added: "Notwithstanding this, some sort of optimism still seems to have got the better of [developers] and the project managers will have to tame the bull to pull off these projects in green. A quick back-of-the-envelope shows that in order to hammer out equity returns in the range of 11.5%-12.5%, the EPC cost will have to be close to INR35 million/MW for seasonal tracking configuration with around 30% DC overloading. With land and module prices declining to go south, this could appear to be a tight rope walk and there is a very little margin of error."

Both Acme Solar and Shapoorji Pallonji put in the lowest bids of 2.94 rupees in Kudligi and Jagalur taluks, respectively.

The results for aggregate project awards were as follows:

Shapoorji 185MW
Acme 106MW
ReNew Power 99MW
Asian Fab Tec 85MW
Emmvee 80MW
TEP Rooftop Solar 55MW
Greenko 45MW
Ekialde Solar 35MW
Rays Power Infra 30MW
Max Planck Solar Farms 20MW
Svarog 20MW
Naqvi said: “It is interesting to note that Greenko, which recently acquired a major solar portfolio of the fallen SunEdison, who recently shut shop due to its burgeoning financial morass, has also bagged 45 MW in total.”

Only two players, Emmvee and Svarog, participated in the local content Category B. They saw “premium” winning bids coming very close to the ceiling tariff of 3.57 rupees.

Emmvee secured 80MW for which the lowest bid was 3.52 rupees, while Svarog bagged 20MW with a 3.54 tariff.

The tender saw a four-fold oversubscription back in January. At the time, Vinay Rustagi, managing director Bridge to India, told PV Tech that the high levels of capacity being tendered in the state could result in major grid integration challenges going forward. In a market update today, the consultancy also noted that Karnataka will have procured a total of 5,810MW of solar power by 2019, with more open access, rooftop solar and wind to come, while the state's entire power requirment is just 8.7GW.

Meanwhile, Bridge to India has also been saying for some time that Indian tariffs were "overdue a major correction".

Article updted to include additional comment from Naqvi.

■ Intevac’s solar ion implant tool delivery dates slide again

(Feb 5, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Specialist semiconductor and PV equipment supplier Intevac is still having issues securing delivery dates for an order for 12 ‘ENERGi’ solar ion implant tools to a customer in China, which is planning to ramp N-type mono IBC (Interdigitated Back Contact) solar cells and modules.

In reporting fourth quarter 2017 financial results, Intevac’s management noted in the earnings call that it still had a total of 12 ENERGi solar ion implant tools in its order backlog, despite the purchase contract initially stipulating complete delivery of the order before the end of 2017.

As previously reported by PV Tech, Intevac had shipped the first three ion implant tools to the customer in the third quarter of 2017, with revenue recognition expected sometime in the first half of 2018. The company had cited delays with the customer in completing the construction of the manufacturing plants required for the initial 1GW nameplate capacity.

In an update to financial analysts in the earnings call, Wendell Blonigan, president and chief executive officer of Intevac said: “As a result of our recent negotiations a little over a week ago, we now expect the first three tools we shipped will begin installation at the end of Q1 with three more shipping in the year and the remaining six shipping in the first half of 2019.

Given the expected installation timing and depended upon the acceptance duration it looks like the first six tools should revenue this year with the first two requiring sign off and the rest will revenue and shipment. Once we have finalized our negotiations we could be more specific on the timing,” noted Blonigan.

The CEO has previously noted that the 12 unit, US$23 million order booked in March, 2017 should have shipped before the end of 2018. Management expect around half of the order value would receive revenue recognition sometime in 2019.

Management expects first revenue recognition on shipped tools to be late in the second quarter of 2018 or early in the third quarter, although still dependent on the customer completing construction and initiating tool install.

Financial results

Intevac reported fourth quarter 2017 revenue of US$29.0 million, including US$19.3 million of Thin-film Equipment (TFE) revenues which consisted of two 200 Lean HDD systems, one MATRIX PVD solar system as well as upgrades, spares and service.

Order backlog stood at US$64.0 million, compared to US$72.8 million at the end of the previous quarter, which includes 12 ENERGi solar ion implant systems.

Intevac reported full-year 2017 revenue of US$112.8 million and a net income of US$4.1 million, compared to a net loss of US$7.4 million in the previous year.

■ Pacifico starts construction on 55MW solar project in Japan

(Feb 2, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Pacifico Energy has started construction of a 55MW solar project in Gujo City, Gifu, Japan.

The Minami Mega Solar Power Plant will be constructed on the site of a golf course and operations are expected to start in July 2019.

Once commissioned, the plant will generate approximately 55 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

The utility Chubu Electric Power will purchase all electricity generated by the plant, Toyo Engineering Corporation will be providing EPC services.

Pacifico Energy has already completed construction of two solar power plants in Okayama at Kumenan and Mimasaka, as well as one project in Osaki City, Miyagi.

The firm is currently constructing several other solar plants, including 96MW in Miyazaki, 257MW in Okayama, 42MW in Fukushima, and 62MW in Aichi. It has also successfully completed the launch of its first solar investment fund.

■ JA Solar touts 50% product shipment increase in 2017

(Feb 1, 2018/pv-tech.org)

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JA Solar has raised its 2017 full-year shipment guidance for cells and modules, including shipments to its downstream PV project business that supports close to reaching a 50% year-on-year increase.

The SMSL has remained cautious about its business outlook throughout 2017 but has revised total cell and module shipments to be in the range of 7.5GW to 7.8GW, up from 7.0GW to 7.2GW.

In issuing third quarter 2017 financial results late last year, PV Tech had reported that JA Solar was on track to almost reach a 50% increase just in PV module shipments, compared to 2016.

The SMSL has not split cell and module shipments in its latest guidance nor provided an update to its downstream project completions. As a result, PV Tech’s recently published ‘Top 10 Module Manufacturers in 2017’ remains unchanged with both Canadian Solar and JA Solar vying for the third ranked position.

■ Budget leaves ‘nothing spectacular’ for Indian solar manufacturers

(Feb 1, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India’s 2018/19 budget has proposed changing customs duty on imports of solar glass from 5% to 0%, but the overall renewables sector has been largely ignored.

The beneficial impacts of the proposal relating to solar tempered (anti-reflective coated) glass for the manufacture of cells and modules are up for debate.

While it would certainly have minimal impact on two of the major players Adani and Vikram Solar, who both have facilities set up in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which negate the customs duty, a spokesperson from Gujarat-based manufacturer Goldi Green told PV Tech: “I feel that this is really encouraging news for the solar industry. With the introduction of GST which has seen all the other taxes like excise etc. getting amalgamated in one tax and with the customs duty on tempered glass for solar being reduced to zero from the existing five percent this will really be a great boost. As the government has set an ambitious target of 100GW of solar installations by 2022, it is really moving in the right direction and such moves in the future will always be welcome.”

However, Pradeep Kheruka, vice chairman at India’s largest solar glass firm Borosil Glass Works (GBL), issued the following statement: “There was no Basic Customs Duty on import of solar tempered glass until 30 June 2017 when 5% was imposed. However, by virtue of an exemption given in 1999, the same was never effective, and imports continued to be cleared duty-free. With the withdrawal of this basic customs duty, there is thus no impact for GBL.”

Meanwhile, an anti-dumping duty levied on imports of solar glass from China, which was introduced in August last year, remains in place. Borosil was the main petitioner in this case.

Ivan Saha, CTO and BU head, solar manufacturing at Indian manufacturer Vikram Solar, told PV Tech that Indian manufacturers had been left with “nothing spectacular” from the Budget and his firm was “expecting much more” in support of local manufacturing.

Indeed government action and rhetoric in months running up the budget had been firmly in favour of supporting 'Make in India' for solar, with heavy Safeguard Duty proposals for PV imports, anti-dumping investigations and a flurry of support announcements.

It's worth noting that India is also one of the countries initially exempt from the US' newly-announced 30% import tariffs.

Solar and wind were largely absent from Finance minister Arun Jaitley’s Budget Speech, although he did note that the government would take steps to encourage distribution companies (Discoms) or licensees to purchase surplus power from farmers’ solar water pumps and other PV systems at “reasonably remunerative rates”. He also mentioned the roll out of rooftop PV in India's Smart City plans, for which 99 cities have now been selected.

Tata Power Solar executive director & CEO Ashish Khanna, said: "In this budget, the Honorable Finance Minister has announced an innovative scheme which will accelerate solar water pumps installations by farmers. Government of India will be taking necessary measures to encourage distribution companies to purchase excess solar power generated by the farmers while harvesting the sun’s energy for the solar pumps. This innovation of combining the usage of solar energy for power needs as well as a source of earnings will be a paradigm shift in the manner solar energy is utilized by majority of farmers in this country.”

Downstream reactions

From the solar development side, there were some mixed reactions to the budget, with some seeing solar is ignored and expressing disappointment at a continued lack of clarity on customs duty for cells and modules, while others took heart in the Smart City announcements:

Gagan Vermani, founder & CEO, of rooftop solar firm MYSUN:

"So eventually the 'election year' has taken the shine away from the 'Sun'. It is disappointing to see that the solar energy sector has been ignored in this year's budget. It was much awaited that the Finance Minister would clear the government's view on customs duty on solar cells and modules, but that has not materialized. Overall, with its overriding focus on farmers, the budget is expected to give a boost to rural consumption which in turn will help India achieve its much higher GDP forecasts for the next year."

Anmol Singh Jaggi, Director, solar O&M and advisory firm Gensol Group:

“A thrust on smart cities and identification of 99 cities under the ambitious Smart city mission will give a major boost to the clean energy sector as Smart Cities have a large component of renewable energy.

"Smart Cities Mission aims at building 100 smart cities with state-of-the-art amenities that incorporates renewable and natural resources with great emphasis. It is a clear indication that the focus on ‘green energy’ is one of the top priorities of the government. It will also boost the solar rooftop industry."

Nikunj Ghodawat, CFO of rooftop PV firm CleanMax Solar:

"This year's budget is in line with expectations, with a focus on all sectors and strata of society. While we are yet to see the copy of the Finance Bill, there seems to be no change in customs duty on solar panels, which is good news for developers like CleanMax Solar and for the growth of the solar industry in India."

■ Kyocera completes work on 21MW PV project in Japan

(Feb 1, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Kyocera TCL Solar, a subsidiary of Kyocera Corporation, has completed the construction of a 21.1MW utility-scale solar power plant in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

The 21.1MW ground-mount installation is comprised of 78,144 Kyocera solar modules and was developed on the land of an industrial waste disposal facility, which was abandoned and later repurposed for the renewable energy project.

The utility-scale project will generate an estimated 23,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year — enough electricity to power around 7,730 typical homes. All electricity generated at the plant will be sold to the local utility — Chugoku Electric Power. This stands as Kyocera TCL Solar’s second-largest PV project following a 25MW plant in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City.

In addition to the completion of the five floating PV projects, Kyocera TCL Solar noted that operations on its completed 13.7MW floating solar power plant on a dam reservoir in Chiba Prefecture are set to begin in March 2018.