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					</table>Green energy has become affordable, sustainable, and reliable over the last few years, making it not just a viable option as an energy procurement strategy for businesses but also essential for their profitability and growth, industry experts said at Mercom India’s Commercial and Industrial (C&amp;I) Clean Energy Meet in Noida.
The panelists also highlighted the challenges in creating awareness among micro and small businesses – typically with a turnover of about ₹50 million ($605,102) annually &#8212; which are traditionally focused on their core businesses.
They often lack the bandwidth to interpret government policies and the regulatory environment related to green energy adoption in their states.
The Clean Energy <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">events</a> bring the C&amp;I sector face-to-face with green energy developers and financiers specializing in designing, implementing, and funding renewable energy solutions for businesses.
During the course of these events, MSMEs are exposed to various <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mercoms-awareness-on-cost-savings-increasing-brand-value/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aspects</a> involved in going green, including the technologies available and their suitability to different kinds of businesses, system costs, the return on investment, and the financing options available in the market.
Sanjiv Layek, Executive Secretary, World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (<a href="https://www.wasmeinfo.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WASME</a>) said that micro and small businesses primarily focus on running daily operations and avoid making significant changes due to complex government regulations.
Layek added that platforms like the C&amp;I Clean Energy Meets are essential in bridging the knowledge gap among MSMEs which can enable them to be more decisive in adopting renewable energy.
“MSMEs have tasted success in rooftop solar adoption, and they are coming back as repeat customers in the last 4-5 years. They realize that the savings on energy costs can be diverted towards paying the EMIs on their investment made for the solar systems, making it an attractive option without creating any additional financial burden,” said Shah Masood Jafar, Regional Head-North of Rooftops at <a href="https://www.tatapower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tata Power</a>.
Further, businesses looking at sourcing renewable power in their energy mix have many more options than they did a couple of years ago, which include buying green energy at a premium from the power distribution companies, captive and group captive modes of open access, and rooftop solar, said Vinay Pabba, Chief Operating Officer at <a href="https://www.vibrantenergyholdings.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vibrant Energy</a>.
“Businesses can save 15-30% on energy costs with renewable energy,” Pabba added.
Major corporations in India have seen the adoption of renewables bring in additional incentives when dealing with international export markets, particularly from Europe and the U.S., which are paying a premium for sustainably manufactured products.
“As one of the largest steel producers in the country, sourcing green energy is part of our goals to cut emissions by 2050. At the same time, if we want to export to the world, we must meet their standards on green products,” Corporate Head-CSR at <a href="https://www.jindalstainless.com/#Home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jindal Stainless Limited Group</a> said.
Jindal Stainless recently<a href="https://mercomindia.com/jindal-stainless-pact-renew-power-300-mw-renewable-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> signed</a> a pact with <a href="https://renewpower.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ReNew Power</a> to develop 300 MW of utility-scale captive renewable projects to power its facilities in Jajpur, Odisha.
Financing renewables
The state-owned lenders &#8212; Small Industries Development Bank of India (<a href="https://www.sidbi.in/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SIDBI</a>) and <a href="https://www.onlinesbi.sbi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SBI</a> &#8212; provided the attendees with the full range of financing options available to the businesses.
Hitesh Paliwal, Senior VP &amp; Zonal Head, North Zone, Corporate Banking Group, SBI, said that the green power cost for MSMEs and corporates is usually half of the conventional power at ₹8-9($0.09-0.1)/kWh.
He added that the bank provides about 70% of the loan for captive or group captive projects with 15-30% of the promoter’s equity. When funding a project, the bank evaluates the quality of modules and the health of the offtakers as two of the most important aspects of due diligence.
“Our renewable portfolio is growing very well, especially solar. Fundamentally, we are also aligning with the targets the sovereign has set for itself,” Paliwal said.
Abhishek Kumar, DGM at SIDBI, said that the bank dedicated to MSMEs provides 100% of the project value as loans at an interest rate that ranges from 6.7% to 7.4%.
The Clean Energy events offer deep market insights that help C&amp;I executives make informed data-driven decisions, along with helping the government realize its goal of installing 280 GW of solar by 2030.
Mercom India will <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">host</a> ‘C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet’ series across major cities in the country in 2023.

Renewable Experts Decode Ways for MSMEs to Go Green at Mercom India’s Event

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					</table>Mercom India’s recently concluded C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet 2022 in <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/ci-clean-energy-meet-2022-chennai/agenda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chennai</a> addressed commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) consumers’ concerns on the viability of solar open access as an alternative energy source. The event brought developers and consumers face-to-face in a wide-ranging conversation on misconceptions, questions, and challenges faced by the C&amp;I entities in Tamil Nadu.
The clean energy meet comes at a time when Chennai consumers are trying to manage energy prices due to the recent tariff <a href="https://mercomindia.com/tamil-nadu-issues-multi-year-electricity-tariff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hike</a> by the Tamil Nadu government. The retail electricity tariffs for high tension (HT) consumers have increased by 6% and, in some cases, even 18%.
Some of the key takeaways from the Clean Energy Meet included the environmental benefits of going green, open-access solutions in the current regulatory framework, and the best ways to finance clean energy. One of the many themes addressed at the event was the importance of fast decision-making in adopting solar.
&#8220;The decision to go solar should be made today to reap benefits immediately, as the prices keep going up every day. Consumers who made the switch a few years ago have already managed to get the return on investments,&#8221; says Manikkan Sangameswaran, ED and CEO of <a href="https://www.radiancerenewables.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radiance Renewables</a>, an expert panelist.
Another expert panelist, Prashant Choubey, President – HR &amp; BD, <a href="https://avaada.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw-rOaBhA9EiwAUkLV4gmFQj9_mNRgSu1JEo4b1AERXdO8VmnaL8QVQUjKowlLXCFeiqEGFRoC_jwQAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Avaada Group</a>, added, “speed, solution, sustainability, and savings are four big benefits that one C&amp;I consumer gets from open access.”
Karthikeyan V, Head of Business Development (Rooftop Solar) at <a href="https://www.tatapowersolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tata Power Solar</a>, spoke about the advantages of installing rooftop solar systems. He said, &#8220;Rooftop helps give more control as it is on-site; also, the ROI starts showing up in just a matter of a few months.”
Investing in clean energy continues to be the challenge holding back consumers today. The experts at the meeting discussed options under the CAPEX and OPEX model available for consumers to transition seamlessly to clean energy.
The renewable transition rush is primarily driven by energy savings along with the renewable percentage clause put forth by most companies in India and abroad for all their working partners.
“For industries to make the switch, the existing misconceptions and misinformation must go away. The clean energy meet organized by Mercom India has certainly helped close that gap. With more and more people moving towards sustainability, they also must conserve energy and then transition. We have learned a lot of new information through these sessions, which will drive more customers to invest in clean energy,” said Dr. P Dharmalingam, Executive Director of <a href="https://ensaveindia.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EnSave Consultancy and Training</a>, one of the attendees at the event.
Addressing the concerns around the capital for such projects, Anburaj C, DGM, <a href="https://www.sidbi.in/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SIDBI</a> (Small Industries Development Bank of India), said, “SIDBI has launched various lucrative initiatives, especially for companies making the switch to clean energy, with interest rates as low as 6.4% to 7% for loan amounts up to ₹50 million (~$608,706).&#8221;
Talking about the benefits of the C&amp;I consumers transitioning to renewables on the electricity market, Ramakrishnan Subramanian, Head of Business Development, <a href="https://www.vibrantenergyholdings.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vibrant Energy</a>, added, “With VPP distribution system, energy resources help enhance power generation, as well as trading or selling power on the electricity market.”
Given the ease and savings, there is a growing interest among corporates to shift toward renewables. The yearly increase in retail tariffs compared with a long-term contract of clean energy at a fixed price through open access is a benefit most industries are slowly realizing. The event was hosted on October 14, 2022, with the renewable energy sector experts alongside moderators from Mercom India to create awareness of the economic and other intangible benefits of going green.
The C&amp;I Clean Energy meet series organized by Mercom India this year has covered various cities across the country, providing a platform to spread awareness on the benefits of the renewable energy transition for local C&amp;I consumers.
The event attracted C&amp;I entities from various sectors, including manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.
Mercom India events offer deep market insights that help executives make informed, data-driven decisions, along with helping make the government&#8217;s goal of installing 280 GW of solar by 2030 a reality.
Continuing the success of clean energy meets, Mercom is <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosting</a> the next two events in Ahmedabad and Noida.

Chennai’s C&I Sector Looks to Adopt Solar to Meet Energy Demand as ROIs Improve

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					</table>Companies in the commercial and Industrial (C&amp;I) segment have significantly turned to renewable energy to meet their energy needs and save money on electricity costs. In many states currently, the cost of solar energy is less than the retail electricity tariffs.
The C&amp;I segment has driven the demand for renewables over the past few quarters, mainly rooftop solar and open access installations, which are the most viable options.
Since rooftop solar is easy to install and does not involve transmission or distribution losses, it has become increasingly popular among C&amp;I consumers. Open access has also been on the rise because of its ability to provide consumers with offsite power from projects within and outside their state.
India <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-rooftop-solar-1h-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> over 845 MW of rooftop solar capacity in the first half of 2022. About 35% of installations were in the industrial segment, and 39% in the commercial segment.
Mercom is hosting a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/ci-clean-energy-meet-2022-pune/agenda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet</a> in Pune on August 26, 2022, bringing together solar sector stakeholders and C&amp;I entities on the same platform to discuss the benefits of renewable energy and practical solutions to help lower power costs.
The Meet will include multiple sessions with industry experts to discuss the benefits, real-world installations, and processes of rooftop solar and open access. Experts will share their views on what consumers should look for while opting for rooftop and open access. They will also shed light on costs, choice of developers, financing options, and return on investment of the projects.
Mercom India recently held the C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet 2022 in Bengaluru. C&amp;I entities who were either looking to expand their existing renewable capacities or add new ones <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ci-consumers-switch-clean-energy-save-power-bills/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">benefitted</a> from the views of experts and the experiences of consumers who had already gone solar.
After an overwhelming response in Bengaluru, Mercom India plans to host more industry-focused C&amp;I <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">events</a> in Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Noida.
Mercom India&#8217;s industry events offer deep market insights that help executives make informed, data-driven decisions and help India achieve the goal of installing 300 GW of solar by 2030.

Meeting Renewable Targets and Saving Costs Through Solar Adoption in C&I Segment

The <a href="http://www.mahadiscom.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited</a> (MSEDCL) has filed a petition before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://www.merc.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MERC</a>) seeking its approval for the procurement of 500 MW of flexible and schedulable power to fulfill its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).
The MSEDCL wants to procure the power from renewable energy sources along with energy storage facilities for a period of 25 years. The petitioner also seeks the approval of tender documents.
MSEDCL has stated that it has already contracted 9,852 MW of renewable power as on March 31, 2019, and has planned to contract around 8,000 MW of renewable energy especially solar power to meet its RPO targets. By FY 2021-22, around 16,500 MW of renewable power is expected to be fed into the grid, says the petition.
In the petition, the MSEDCL has added that it is facing difficulties in purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) due to the non-availability of adequate quantity of RECs and their increased rates in the market.
“In such a scenario with increasing targets of RPOs on a year-to-year basis, it is necessary that MSEDCL should contract sufficient renewable power through long-term contracts,” states the petition.
It further mentions that whenever there’s low availability of power from contracted generation due to the shortage of either fuel or water or for cost optimization purposes, then power is purchased from the market to meet the consumers’ demand.
“Also, contracted renewable generation for meeting RPO is available during a certain period of the day and is not available round the clock,” MSEDCL states.
The MSEDCL suggests that for the integration of large amounts of renewable energy power into the grid, shifting of agricultural load during the daytime to solar power and  supply of electricity with changed demand pattern will be required. Therefore, to fulfill the RPO target and to meet modified demand pattern, MSEDCL has proposed to procure flexible and schedulable power from renewable source with storage facility on long-term basis for 25 years.
The flexible and schedulable generators may inject power either through renewable generation or pumped storage or batteries. “The construction of these projects may take around three to four years and will be available after FY 2021-22 if the process is initiated now,” states the petition.
Considering the various aspects of such flexible generation, MSEDCL intends to procure 500 MW of flexible generation from renewable sources along with the energy storage system through the competitive bidding process which will also support MSEDCL to fulfill its RPO targets.
The MSEDCL has also prepared tender documents (Request for Selection and draft PPA) for the procurement of power from flexible, schedulable power generators on a long-term basis from renewable energy sources.
The commission has noted that there are deficiencies in the tender document submitted by MSEDCL and there’s no clarity on the location or co-location of the energy storage project.
The commission has ordered MSEDCL to rectify all the deficiencies and errors in its RfS document and refer to the tender document of the Solar Energy Corporation of India issued on a similar concept.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/seci-tenders-solar-wind-storage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercom reported recently that SECI</a> had issued a Request for Selection for setting up 1.2 GW of renewable projects connected with the interstate transmission system (ISTS) and with a guaranteed peak power supply (ISTS-VII). In this tender, a project should have at least two components. One will be the energy storage system component, and the other will be the renewable energy generating component. The RE generating component can be either a solar photovoltaic (SPV) system or a wind energy system or a hybrid system of both technologies.
MSEDCL <a href="https://mercomindia.com/msedcl-wind-expired-agreements-rpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has filed a petition</a> with the MERC seeking its approval to procure power from wind projects whose energy purchase agreements (EPAs) have expired to fulfill its RPO.
After falling short of its solar RPO target, and been warned by the MERC to comply with it. In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/maharashtra-discom-allowed-time-solar-rpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">March</a>, MERC had issued an order to MSEDCL to comply with the solar RPO requirement for FY 2017-18 by March 2020.

Maharashtra DISCOM to Procure 500 MW of Renewables with Energy Storage to Meet its RPO

The Rural Areas Electricity Company (<a href="http://tanweer.om/TenderDetails.aspx?id=1382&amp;MID=36" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tanweer</a>), based in Oman has floated a tender for 146 MW of solar, diesel and storage hybrid projects to be developed at 11 sites.
These sites are &#8211; Madha, Masrooq, Mittan, Al Mazyunah, Farshat Qatbeet, Al Hallaniyat, Hasik, Hitam, Al Khadrah, Al Khuwaimah, and Masirah in the <a href="http://www.omansultanate.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sultanate of Oman</a>.
The bid closing date is September 19, 2019.
An Expression of Interest (EoI) was released by Tanweer seeking bidders in June 2018. Tanweer is the only company in the electricity sector in Oman undertaking five licenses; Generation, Transmission, Distributes, supplies electricity to customers and Desalinated activities. Tanweer is wholly owned by the electricity holding company Nama Group, which is also owned by the Ministry of Finance.
The project capacity requirements include for 48 MW of solar, 70 MW diesel generator and 28 MW of battery energy storage system.
The scope of work states that the successful bidder should undertake the responsibilities of developing the hybrid power projects under the build-own-operate-transfer(BOOT) model.  The scope of work includes the development of two greenfield diesel generation power projects at Madha and Mittan and the replacement and addition of a new diesel generator. The work further consists of developing photovoltaic (PV) power projects and battery energy storage system (BESS) at all the sites.
The initial power purchase agreement (PPA) term is for 15 years.
According to the company, the development of all 11 sites will be given to a single applicant, and the prequalified applicants must submit their bids for all the sites. However, the bidders will not be allowed to select individual sites and opt out of others.
The minimum eligibility requirements state that the interested bidder should have a minimum net worth of $30 million in each of the three fiscal years. The bidder must also have a strong track record of successfully developing large scale solar PV projects and should have handled a single project of at least 16.5 MW. The bidder must demonstrate experience in undertaking independent power producer (IPP) projects with an aggregate capacity of over 120 MW in the Middle East region.
Moreover, an interested bidder should have a track record of successfully undertaking hybrid power systems comprising solar PV and diesel generator sets for an aggregate capacity of at least 5 MW.
The announcement also states that the bidder should have handled solar power projects either through IPP, engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) or operations and maintenance (O&amp;M) basis for an aggregate capacity of 60 MW.
Similarly, the bidder should have an experience of undertaking diesel-generator projects either through IPP, EPC, or O&amp;M basis for an aggregate capacity of over 10 MW.
In July 2019, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/oman-independent-power-producers-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercom</a> had reported about Oman Power and Water Procurement Company’s Request for Selection (RfS) for developing two utility-scale solar PV projects at Manah.
Mercom also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/kuwait-saudi-consortium-wins-500-mw-solar-oman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> recently that a consortium of Kuwait and Saudi Arabian companies won the bid to develop 500 MW of large utility-scale solar independent power projects located at Ibri in Oman, built at an approximate value of $400 million.
Image Credit: IBC Solar

Oman to Develop 146 MW of Solar-Diesel-Storage Hybrid Projects Across 11 Locations

<a href="https://energyvault.com/">Energy Vault</a>, an Idea lab company that has developed a transformative technology to store energy has raised $110 million in Series B funding.
The investment was made by <a href="https://visionfund.com/">SoftBank Vision Fund</a>, which was its first investment in energy storage technology. Energy Vault will use the funds to accelerate the global deployment of its technology, which enables renewables to deliver baseload power for less than the cost of fossil fuels, 24 hours a day.
As part of the investment, Andreas Hansson, Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, will join the Energy Vault’s board of directors.
In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/tata-deploy-energy-storage-35mwh-energy-vault/">November</a> 2018, Tata Power announced that it would deploy a 35 MWh Energy Vault system by 2019.
Energy Vault’s technology was inspired by pumped hydro projects that rely on the power of gravity and the movement of water to store and discharge electricity. The company’s solution is based on the same fundamentals of physics and mechanical engineering used in those projects but replaces water with custom made composite bricks through innovative use of low-cost materials and material science.
“Energy Vault solves a long-standing and complex problem of how to store renewable energy at scale,” said Akshay Naheta, Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.
“The company’s integration of proven technologies with 21st-century material science and machine vision software provides a solution that reshapes the unit economics of renewable energy while being restorative to the environment. Energy Vault is highly complementary to SoftBank’s existing energy portfolio, and we are pleased to further the company’s global development,” he added.
“As we pursue our mission to enable renewable energy to replace fossil fuels 24 hours a day, we’re thrilled to partner with SoftBank Vision Fund as we expand our global presence,” said Robert Piconi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Energy Vault.
“The Vision Fund shares our passion to combat climate change through innovation in energy storage technologies and, with its support as a strategic partner, Energy Vault is well-positioned to meet the large and currently unmet demand for sustainable and economical energy storage worldwide,” he added.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy last month <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-invites-gravity-storage-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> invitations requesting proposals to develop gravity storage projects.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/research-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to Mercom&#8217;s 1H and 2019 Funding and M&amp;A report for Storage Grid and Efficiency</a>, in May 2019, Energy Vault received an investment from CEMEX Ventures, an open innovation and Corporate Venture Capital unit of CEMEX.
Image Credit: Energy Vault

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