1. Rooftop Solar Plants
Issues & Challenges

2. State Energy Consumption in MU
RPO Vs RE Target
National Tariff Policy, 2016 notified on 20th Jan mandated RPO percentages as 8% for Solar with 17% total for Solar & Non-Solar by 2022 (excluding hydro consumption)
OERC notified revised RE Compliance Regulation, 2015 w.e.f. 10th Sep. 2015, up to FY (wherein co-generation has been de-recognized under RPO) FY
State Energy Consumption in MU
RPO Percentage (%)
Requirement in MU
Requirement in MW
Year wise Additional
Solar
Non- Solar
Non-Solar
23748
0.5
2.5
118.7
593.7 91
136
138 77
24550
1.5
3.0
368.3
736.5
283
168
145
25500
4.5
765.0
1147.5
588
262
305 94
26500
5.0
1192.5
1325.0
917
303
329 41
27500
5.5
1512.5
1163
345
246 42
30000
8.0
9.0
2400.0
2700.0
1846
616
683
271
State Government in Energy Department notified the Odisha Renewable Energy Policy, 2016 on 25th Nov and envisaged the overall RE capacity addition target as 2750 MW by 2022
Technology
Solar
Wind
Small Hydro
Biomass
WTE
Total
State Target (MW)
2,200
200
150
180 20
2750
National Target (GW)
100 60 5 10
175
As against the target of 100 GW Solar, 40 GW is proposed from Rooftop Solar segment; a stiff target
Out of the 2200 MW Solar, approx MW has been planned from Rooftop by 2022 in Odisha

3. Installed Capacity
Sl. No.
Name of the Scheme
Installed Capacity (MW)
Project Location
PPA/ PSA Executed on
Date of Purchase
Tariff
(Rs. Per Unit) 1
Roof Top PV & Small Solar generation Programme 8
Odisha FY
6.28 2
New Projects Scheme (Bundling Mechanism) JNNSM, Phase-1 (NVVN) 20
5 MW - Odisha
15 MW - Rajasthan
5 MW - Feb. 2012
10 MW - Aug. 2013
5 MW (ST) - Dec. 2014
10.65 3
NTPC (Bundling Mechanism) 10
5 MW - Dadri, UP
5 MW- Faridabad, Haryana
Dadri - Mar. 2013
Faridabad - Mar. 2014
Dadri – 12.94
Faridabad – 9.35 4
Alex Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. (OREDA Scheme, Batch-1) 5
Chingribandh, Patnagarh, Bolangir
Aug. 2014
7.00
ACME Odisha Solar Power Pvt. Ltd. (OREDA Scheme, Batch-II) 25
Mursing / Sikuan, Devgon, Bolagir
June 2015
7.28 6
SECI VGF Scheme (JNNSM, Phase-II, Batch-1) 70
40 MW - Gujarat,
10 MW – Rajasthan
20 MW – Odisha (GEDCOL)
20 MW - Mar. 15
10 MW - June 15
20 MW - Sep. 15
15 MW – Mar. 16
5 MW – June 16
5.50
TOTAL
138
Presently, State has 215 MW of tied up RE capacity, out of which 140 MW is installed within the State. The remaining 75 MW is under Solar category and is sourced from outside the State;
Technology
Solar
Wind
Small Hydro
Biomass
WTE
Total
Capacity (MW) 63 - 57 20
140
Country wide present Rooftop installed capacity is around 750 MW (approx. 5 MW in Odisha) vis-à-vis the cumulative RE capacity of 13.5 GW

4. Issues & Challenges

5. Costly Power
Small scale PV power is more or less expensive than the market price of large conventional generation; This requires some sort of incentives to draw investments
Investment subsidies by the Government
Guaranteed feed-in tariff over a certain period of time
Premium on the market price, or
Net or gross metering scheme
MNRE is providing 30% for NE States & special category States) of benchmark cost to residential, social & institutional sectors and Achievement-linked-Incentives to Government institutions
One of the significant barrier for adoption of Rooftop solar is the high upfront costs of installation

6. Tariff Structure
In the present tariff structure, large/industrial customers are paying higher electricity charges than small/domestic customers due to cross-subsidy
These customer groups will opt for Rooftop PV first, which will shrink Discom’s revenue to some extent
Commercial and industrial customers tariffs to be rationalized with residential tariffs
Long term PPAs may pose significant barrier to large scale RE/PV integration
Restructuring of tariff regime is required to accommodate the changes

7. Utility Cooperation
Passive opposition from DISCOMs and lack of training and process protocols at Utilities add up to the Rooftop PV implementation challenges
Grid operation was earlier taken care exclusively by the Transmission Operator; Decentralized generation now being connected to the Distribution grid, communication link between Distribution Utility and Transmission Operator has to be established and Utility Personnel are to be trained accordingly
Consumer perspective: complexities involved in procedures of various departments to get the project installed, avail CFA, apply for grid connection and follow up on bill settlement by the Distribution licensee; Single Window concept has to be introduced
Sharing of roles and responsibilities between the Developer, Rooftop owner and Utility
Non-availability of skilled and trained manpower for services
Warrantee Realisation; difficult on part of customers to get complete replacement of modules

8. Operational Issues
Uniform standard/model/code for RE/PV schemes have to be made and updated as Network, Policy and Technology etc. changes
Code of practices for different class of import, export meters and generation meter
Requirement of standard Net-meter/Bi-directional meter specifications, specifically with respect to 1 Ph. connections
Clarity on role of different entities in bilateral/ tripartite arrangements in project developed by owner/ third party
These have to be reflected in the National/State Renewable Energy Policy taking into account the planned expansions
Generally, distribution grids are designed for uni-directional power flow, from generator- transmission grid-consumer. Reverse flow of power at rising capacity is a problem
Voltage and Frequency rise and protection against overcurrent, short-circuit etc.
Overloading of assets like DTRs, lines & cables at low load/demand areas
Injection of Harmonics, DC supply & Flicker etc. to the Grid beyond the prescribed limits
Safety aspects

9. Technology Solutions
Often overloading of assets and overvoltage appears at similar level of PV penetration. Some of the proposed measures to resolve voltage & loading issues are;
International experience and simulation studies in India shows that up to 75% of PV penetration at DTR level has no significant impacts of reverse power flow
Voltage rise has to be handled with voltage control features in PV inverters (i.e. operating at non-unity power factors) and shunt compensators
Automatic voltage regulation of on-load tap changing transformers and remote monitoring and operation
Frequency rise has to be dealt with gradual demand reduction/staggered disconnection of PV
Protection settings have to be recalculated taking into account the reverse power flow, i.e. overcurrent, short-circuit etc.
Capping PV inverters at a certain percentage of installed panel/inverter power
Deployment of Battery storage for self-consumption and peak curtailment
Remote operation/disconnection of PV for mitigating Grid overloading/voltage dips
Demand side management to increase demand during PV peaks (e.g. Agri Pumps)

10. Policy Intervention Policy interventions such as;
Offering Rooftop PV at higher RPO credit can incentivize the Utilities
Involvement of Utilities as a party to the PPA between the Developer and the Consumer to reduce the consumer credit risk and ensuring timely payment for solar power
Market transformation; focusing on capacity building and raising awareness about the technology
Self-replication; wherein enablers are reduced to minimum and the market drives to increased number of installations with optimized technologies
Development of Service Providers; B2B (Business-to-Business) & B2C (Business-to-Consumer)

11. State Initatives

12. Key Highlights – Net-metering Order by OERC (Aug. ‘16)
Cumulative solar energy capacity at distribution transformer level from the earlier 30% of transformer capacity to 75% of transformer capacity
The maximum Solar PV installation capacity has been limited to the sanctioned load/contract demand of the respective consumer instead of earlier ceiling of 1 MW.
The system may be roof-mounted or ground-mounted, connected to the Distribution network, will be treated as a project on the consumer side of metering and will be allowed for net- metering.
This view is reinforced after taking into account the experience of DISCOMs.
It is also a fact that most of the solar energy generated by a consumer is self-consumed or consumed in the immediate neighborhood.
Thus, the distributed generation and local consumption of such Solar Energy will reduce the technical losses pertaining to respective Distribution network, particularly in the LT segment. This will also help DISCOMs in improving their commercial efficiency by way of reduction of input energy.

13. 4 MWp Rooftop Solar Project in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack
To develop a market for grid connected rooftop solar projects, Odisha is undertaking a pilot project of 4 MW on net metering model on Govt. buildings in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack cities through PPP route on BOO basis
Broad Objectives;
Firming up of policy and regulatory framework for net metered solar PV rooftop projects
Facilitate self-replicable consumer-driven electricity generation
Leverage solar resources to increase the renewable energy mix
Improve the capacity of State Discoms in implementation of Solar Rooftop Projects
Attract third party investment in grid tied solar rooftop segment
GEDCOL is the Nodal Authority for implementation of the project
International Finance Corporation (IFC) was appointed as lead transaction advisor to assist GEDCOL in the project.
OERC issued Net Metering regulations in Nov for implementation of the project.

14. Project Scope
Setting up of photovoltaic solar power plants on the rooftops of the selected Buildings
Solar power generated shall be utilized by the occupants
Any surplus power not consumed by the Facility/Building to be banked with CESU, subject to a maximum of 90% of total consumption in a FY
25 year term (excluding 12 months commissioning period)
Minimum 4 MWp of rooftop based solar power to be generated on facilities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack
Bhubaneswar
# buildings
Cuttack
Capacity (KWp)
No of buildings (nos.)
126 73
2,890.72
No of consumer accounts (nos.) 62
1,751.40

15. Geographic spread of Rooftop solar sites
Overview of sites in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack
Sample Site view

16. Leasing & Coordination
Developer entering into separate lease agreement with each building/department on standalone basis would have been cumbersome
In order to reduce time & issues related to multiple leasing, prior to floating the tender, consents letters were initiated by the governing body of the buildings
GEDCOL was appointed as single point of contact;
On behalf of Energy department, was mandated to sign Lease Agreement for all Government buildings
On behalf of Autonomous Bodies/Universities/Educational Institutions etc., authorized by way of Board Resolutions to sign the Lease Agreements

17. Roles & Responsibilities
GEDCOL
Ensure signing of lease agreement; allow unhindered rooftop access to Operator
Facilitate Net metering Applications by Consumers; Facilitate Signing of Connection Agreements
Make the following payments to Operator
Capital Subsidy
Project Payments - i.e. Retail Tariff + Generation Based Incentive (Gap of Quoted tariff & RST)
DEVELOPER
Performance Standards : Maintain minimum annual CUF (13% for 1st 15 years; 10% later)
CESU
Execute Connection Agreements with Consumers through GEDCOL
Approve, position, install and seal Net Meter and Solar Meter for each Consumer in accordance with the OERC Net Metering Order
Take meter readings of Net Meter and Solar Meter on Monthly basis

18. Participants & Contractual Structure
Developer
CESU to act as collection agent
Retail Tariff for net purchase from utility plus solar energy consumed
Solar Payment- i.e., Retail Tariff for solar energy consumed + Capital Subsidy + GBI
Consumer
CESU
GEDCOL
Solar Payment
Tripartite Project Implementation Agreement (PIA) between GEDCOL, Developer and CESU
Lease Agreement between GEDCOL & Developer
Connection Agreement between CESU and Consumer
Funds Flow

19. Progress
Already Rooftop installations of 1.5 MW capacity has been completed
In the 1st Phase 224 KW capacity installed in Utkal University campus
In the 2nd Phase 813 KW capacity installed on Odisha Secretariat, Jaydev Bhawan, Nirman Soudh, OUAT, Ramadevi University and State Museum
In the 3rd Phase installations of around 500 KW is completed and another 2 MW capacity is under progress
Project is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 2017
Ramadevi

20. Replication of BBSR-CTC Rooftop Solar Project
The Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Rooftop Solar project is being replicated in 15 more cities in Odisha, viz.;
Sambalpur, Burla, Hirakud & Rourkela
Puri & Khurda
Berhampur, Chhatrapur, Jeypore, Koraput, Sunabeda & Nabarangapur,
Balasore, Bhadrak & Baripada.
GEDCOL has executed FASA with IFC as the Transaction Advisor for implementation of the project.
The total Rooftop Project capacity is expected to be around 10 MW in these 15 towns
Survey has been completed by M/s Deloitte and DPR is under preparation

21. Way forward
GEDCOL is further looking forward to extend the Scheme to the Central Govt. buildings and State Govt. Residential Quarters in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack.
GEDCOL has already conducted Knowledge Sharing & Dissemination workshop for different stakeholders (all Discoms, Consumers & others) to sensitize on the ongoing Rooftop solar project as well as elements to be considered for further replication.
For the private and individual buildings/consumers, a Process map starting from registration of application till installation of Rooftop SPV system has been developed with the support of OREDA & CESU.
OREDA has selected 12 nos. Channel Partners, who shall execute the projects on behalf of consumers.
OREDA is also facilitating the release of subsidy from MNRE to the individual consumers.

22. Germany Learnings

23. Key factors for RE growth
German experience shows, the market growth happened in 10 years; that to with all incentives, feed-in-tariff and availability of cheap loans in place
India has set ambitious target of 40 GW Rooftop within next 5 years ( ); around 7.9 GW per year
Geographical advantages like, low dust & constant wind; resulting less module cleaning & better CUF
Integrated manufacturing, recycling facility and O&M service providers
Focus on E-mobility (Electric vehicles) technology & allied infrastructure

24. Diversity in the Energy market

25. Renewable Energy Integration
Number of large conventional generators are making losses due to back-down
Number of projects provide balancing services; thereby providing additional revenue stream
Power market development is key to integrate large scale RE
Firms providing dedicated energy storage services by participating in the market balancing
Utilities now focusing on Net-Load (Demand – RE generation) to maintain grid stability; software developed to forecast net load
100% RE operated villages
Operation of conventional power plants at lower rated capacity; impact on power plant efficiency is negligible
System evolves from “top down” to “bi-directional” as decentral structures materialize
Separate codes and respective requirements for different network voltage levels

26. Power Trading Power market in Germany highly developed
Power trading platform tracks scheduling, balancing, energy forecasting
All the power is traded through power markets
Balancing products are also available – primary, secondary and tertiary
Cross border electricity trade is currently based on bilateral arrangement; full integration under planning

27. German Experience
Instantaneous penetration of solar PV in the German system reaches up to 50%, and almost all German PV is distributed and roof mounted (70 % of capacity connected to the low voltage grid)
Most PV is installed in Southern rural areas, not in the urban industrial load centers
Distribution grid PV penetration routinely exceeds 100%, with power being fed back to the transmission grid
With the adequate technical solutions and requirements in the grid code, this is possible!

28. Thank You