Horizons V2 Issue 5

1. agneya Volume 2 Issue 5
HORIZONS
29 August, 2012
Off-grid Power
Electricity Generation
Off-grid renewable power projects using wind energy, biomass energy, hydro (MWh per Capita)
power and hybrid systems are being established in the country to meet the 13.1 13.0 13.1
energy requirements of remote locations which are not likely to be electrified
in the near future.
1.8 1.8 2.2
2.6
The need for off-grid Power 0.4 0.9 0.5 1.5 0.6
According to the International Energy Agency, about one third of India’s 2000 2005 2011
population lacks access to electricity. High cost associated with grid India Brazil China US
extension is the primary reason for lower electrification rates in rural India.
Source: CIA World Factbook
Most of rural India is dependent on biomass for fulfilling its energy needs.
However, burning biomass comes with several hazards to personal health Per capita electricity
and the environment. generation in India has been
low compared to other
In July this year, three of India’s regional power grids, the Northern, Eastern countries and has also grown
and North-eastern grids, collapsed due to overdrawal by States. This has at a slower rate in the past
brought additional attention to the need for reducing dependence on decade. With the economy
conventional sources of energy. Off-grid renewable energy applications expected to grow faster than
present a viable alternative for mitigating the country’s energy risk in the face the developed countries, this
of fuel scarcity. disparity needs to be bridged
using a suitable mix of
conventional and renewable
technologies.

2. 2
Off-grid RE capacity
Installed Capacity
(MW)
2
97 106
153
Renewable technologies for off-grid solutions
396
In rural India, energy is mainly required for cooking, lighting and agricultural
activities. Biomass is the main source of energy due to easy availability. To
Waste to Energy
reduce negative impacts of biomass and to increase the production of
Biomass(non-bagasse) Cogeneration
renewable energy, the Government has implemented several programmes.
Biomass Gasifiers For example, the National Programme on Improved Chullahs where more
Aero-Generators/Hybrid systems than 3 crores high efficiency Chullahs have been distributed to replace
SPV Systems (>1kW) conventional ones. Biomass gasifier technology is being used for electricity
generation.
Source: MNRE, July 2012
With the advent of solar hybrid systems, Aero-Generators/
Wind hybrid
urban India too is catching up. In these
Around 87% of the off-grid systems, solar PV modules charge the 1651
installed capacity in the battery during day time while during 849
country comes from biomass monsoon WEGs charge the battery.
(including Waste to Energy). Although current installed capacity of
Solar PV installations have these systems is very low, it is expected 2009 2012
increased rapidly from just 4 that these systems will grow in areas with Cumulative installed Capacity (kW)
MW by 31st January last year good wind potential. Source: MNRE
to 97 MW as of July 2012. Renewable Energy Certificates for off-grid projects
Installations of Financing
Aero-
generators and Hybrid Falling cost of solar energy has stimulated many entrepreneurs who are
systems have also doubled trying to develop scalable and replicable models for deploying solar energy
Commercials
since. Falling prices of in various applications. Mera Gao Power is one such example. It operates
photovoltaic cells in the last micro grids by installing solar PV panels and then transmits energy to
two years have increased the houses who pay about Rs. 40 to connect, with costs thereafter about Rs. 25
Technology
viability of solar energy per week.
projects.
In a recent meeting of the Forum of Regulators, a new model for
incorporating RECs to encourage off-grid energy generation was endorsed.
It has been suggested to the CERC to modify existing regulations to
incorporate off-grid installations. This can give a big impetus to off-grid
installations in the country – we can expect many entrepreneurs taking
interest in setting up off-grid projects. If this happens, we can hope to see the
Gandhian model of self-reliance become a reality in the energy sector.

3. agneya 3
REC Market in August 2012
REC Inventory
REC Trade Clearing Price
Buy Bids Sell Bids Volume Traded
August 2012 Rs. per REC
REC Inventory Aug 2012
IEX 248,168 568,097 248,168 1,500
RE Newsletter
Non-Solar
Solar
PXIL
IEX
35,150
1,728
59,213
310
25,725
129
1,555
12,850 4,43,172
2,73,893
PXIL 603 250 250 12,850
5,67,220
3,97,941
Traded Volume touches new High
The REC trade in August 2012 recorded the highest volume ever transacted in the
REC Markets to date. At 273,893 certificates, the volume of Non-solar RECs traded
was 14% higher than the previous high in June this year. Prices however dropped to
Rs.1500/- with supply far outstripping demand. Source: REC Registry
REC inventory reaches
record high
300 274 3,500
With highest ever RECs issued in
250 236 3,000 the month, REC closing inventory
206 200 2,500 reached a new high in August
200 2012.
172 169 158 2,000
150
Whereas, sell bids in this month
106 112 1,500
96 were almost half of the sell bids
100
71 1,000 in the entire last year, buy bids
46
50 were only about one tenth of the
25 500
total buy bids last year.
- -
Aug Sept Oct 2011 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July August While the Government has
2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012
successfully incentivized sellers
IEX and PXIL Whole Volume Trade in Thousands Price at IEX (RHS) Price at PXIL (RHS) of RECs, further effort needs to
be made to enforce compliance
of RPO.

4. Capacity Registered, MW
600 3500
4
3000
State-wise Registered 500
2500
Capacity, April 2012 to 400 384
335
2000
date 300
287
271 250
1500
State MW 200 172 149 158 1000
Tamil Nadu 310 113 93 106
Maharashtra 206 100 73 62 500
Gujarat 135
Karnataka 102
Madhya Pradesh 21 0 0
Uttar Pradesh 20
Rajasthan 17
Chhattisgarh 12
Himachal Pradesh 3
Punjab 0 Cum. Registered till Date(RHS) Registered
Uttarakhand 0 Source: REC Registry
Kerala 0
J&K 0
Haryana 0 Trade value touched Rs. 41 Crore in August 2012. In total, 61.85 MW of capacity
Total 826
was registered in August, taking the cumulative capacity registered in FY2012-13
to 826 MW.
Source-wise Registered
Capacity, April 2012 to
date
Source MW
Wind 664
Biomass 82
Bio-fuel cogen 58
Solar PV 18
Small Hydro 4
Total 826
agneya
Agneya is promoted by alumni of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore. We provide services in the following areas –
Renewable Energy – advising clients on the best possible portfolio of renewable energy (wind, solar, bio) across tariff regimes,
technology options, electricity sales structuring and availing incentives like REC and GBI.
Renewable Energy Regulations – advising clients on regulatory aspects of electricity market, options for realizing the maximum
value from their energy assets and minimizing costs related to regulatory compliance including addressing RPO.
Carbon & Energy – measuring carbon footprint, current/future energy profiling, and setting up energy management systems to
assess risks and opportunities related to energy security and climate change.
Sustainability – building robust long term foundations for business i.e. managing economic, environmental and social aspects of
business. These include establishing sustainability management framework and reporting as per GRI guidelines.
For further information on Renewable Energy Certificates or other services, please contact us at –
E-mail – rahul@agneya.in | Phone – +91-20-41203800, +91-88 06 07 07 83 | Website – www.agneya.in