pManifold as Knowledge Partner to IIES 2011 organized a workshop on ‘Solar PV System “Technology, Risks, Manufacturing, EPC, O&M, Investment”. The workshop was co-chaired with domain experts Mr. Akash, Founder & CEO Indis Energy.
Speakers who participated in this workshop were:
- Rahul Bagdia – Director, pManifold Business Solutions
- Akash – CEO, Indis Energy
- K.E. Raghunathan – MD, Solkar Solar Industries Ltd.
- Adithya – R&D Head, Intelizon Energy Pvt. Ltd.
- Abhijit Chakravarti – AGM, State Bank of India
Topics and brief content covered in the workshop
1. Grid connected (MW Size) Solar PV plants
- What it is & current players
- Key challenges (Land / Technology / Competition)
- Innovation – as a key strategic advantage
- Role of components: Modules, Inverters, Racking, Trackers, Processes. How each of them play a crucial role in Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE)
- India specific challenges & Trends
- PPAs & what are they good for
2. Solar Module Manufacturing
- Different type of Solar Cells
- How mono/multi crystalline modules is manufactured
- Composition of modules
- Machines required for manufacturing
- Process of manufacturing
- Testing of Solar Modules / Standards & Certifications
- Important aspects in Module manufacturing
- Investment and rough estimation on cost of project
- Rough estimate on cost of manufacturing
- Central & State Govt. Incentives – How to choose the right location
3. Financing Solar/RE – Bankers Perspective
- What is the mindset of a Banker (from a risk point of view)
- How should a Project Promoter think towards De-Risking a Project Proposal
- Is there an ideal Equity/Debt mix that is better and more attractive from a Bankers perspective (will increase the financing chances)
- What are the key decision makers / departments in SBI that will handle Renewable Project Finance
- What is the typical timeline associated with a Project Finance Proposal (avg. time between receiving a proposal and release the first tranche of funds)
4. Off-Grid / Rooftop Solar Solutions for Buildings
- Sourcing of components: please outline what are the best sources / companies for buying other (non-PV) components (Racking / Inverters / Cables / Junction Boxes / Monitoring)
- Price trends for 2010-2011 — any geographical trends within India (North India vs. South, East, West)
- Rupees per Watt – how does that change for a 1 KW system vs. 10 kw system vs. 100 KW system
- Should one go for the lowest cost PV panel available in the market
- Prevalent payment terms in the Industry (upfront / on delivery / on installation)
5. Consumer products – applications and potential
- Examples of product
- Current cost per unit installed
- Approximate Breakdown of the cost
- In what circumstances are they economical
- Subsidies, if any
- How easy is the installation process
- Lifetime, Reliability and Servicing issues
- Field Experiences – What Customers say
pManifold Services: The workshop was organized under pManifold’s Initiatives services. Focussed emerging models with potential to solve Indian power sector challenges were selected in categories of Distribution, Conservation and Generation. Relevant stakeholders including service providers, businesses, investors, bankers and professionals including students were brought together to participate in discussions led by domain experts to come with action items to scale respective business models.
Support Partners: Vijnana Bharati in collaboration with MNRE were main organizers of IIES 2011. Vidarbha Industrial Association (VIA) acted as Industry outreach partner. VNIT Nagpur hosted the overall IIES 2011. GTL Limited, SMS and Spanco were workshop sponsors.