Ministry of Power issued consolidated revised Guidelines for EV Charging Infrastructure in India

The main objective of the revised guidelines is to :-

• Enable faster adoption of EVs in India by ensuring safe, reliable, accessible, and affordable charging infrastructure and ecosystem.

• Provide affordable tariffs for charging station operators/owners and EV owners and proactively support the creation of EV charging infrastructure.

• Promote energy security and reduce the emission intensity in the country.

• Generate employment opportunities to small entrepreneur.

As per the new guidelines, owners may charge their EVs at their residences and offices using their existing electricity connections. An entity will be free to set up public charging stations provided such stations meet the technical, safety, and performance standards and protocols laid down by the Ministry of Power, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and Central Electricity Authority.

The public charging station may apply for electricity connection. The distribution licensee will provide the connection for EV public charging station according to the timelines stated in the Electricity (Right of Consumers) Rules, 2020.

As per the new guidelines, public charging stations will be provided with connectivity within seven days in metro cities, 15 days in other municipal areas, and 30 days in rural areas.

The public charging station will be required to have a tie-up with at least one network service provider to enable advanced remote/online booking for charging slots by EV owners. EV owners will have access to information regarding location, types, the number of chargers installed/available, and service charges of EV charging on the booking platform.

Also, the EV Supply Equipment (EVSE) should have been tested by an agency or lab accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Captive charging infrastructure for 100% internal use for a company’s own or leased fleet will not require installing all types of chargers and having network service provider tie-ups.

Open access power for public charging stations

According to the new guidelines, the public charging stations can procure power from any generating company through open access. Open access will be provided for this purpose within 15 days of receipt of the application. They will be required to pay the applicable surcharge – equal to the current level of cross-subsidy (not more than 20 percent, as per the Tariff Policy Guidelines), transmission charges, and wheeling charges.

Public charging infrastructure for long-range EVs and heavy-duty EVs

Fast charging stations for long-range EVs and heavy-duty EVs (like trucks and buses) will have at least two chargers of a minimum of 100 kW (200-750 V or higher), each of different specifications (CCS/CHAdeMO for above capacity or BIS standards for bus charging station) with single gun connector each. The charging stations will also have appropriate liquid-cooled cables for a high-speed charging facility for onboard fluid-cooled batteries (for long-range EVs).

Fast charging stations for 100% in-house and captive utilization would be free to decide the charging specifications between two charging points.

Location of public charging stations

At least one charging station will be available in a grid of 3*3km. Further, one charging station will be set up at every 25 km on both sides of the highways.

There will be at least one fast-charging station with charging infrastructure at every 100 km, one on each side of the highways for long-range and heavy-duty EVs.

Also, the central and state governments may prioritize existing retail outlets of oil marketing companies to install public charging stations to meet the listed requirements.

Tariff for the supply of electricity to EV public charging stations

The tariff for electricity supply to public charging stations will be a single part tariff and will not exceed the average cost of supply until March 31, 2025. The same tariff will be applicable for battery charging stations.

Also, the tariff applicable for domestic consumption will be applicable for domestic charging. There will be a separate metering arrangement for public charging stations so that the consumption may be recorded and billed as per the tariffs for EV charging stations.

The DISCOMs may leverage funding from the revamped distribution sector program for the general upstream network augmentation necessitated due to the upcoming charging infrastructure in various areas.

State governments to fix the ceiling of service charges

As electricity is being provided at concessional rates and the central or state governments are giving subsidies for setting up public charging stations, the state government will fix the ceiling of service charges to be levied by such charging stations.

Provision of land for public charging stations

As per the new guidelines, land available with the government or public entities will be provided to install public charging stations to a government or public entity on a revenue-sharing basis at the fixed rate of ₹1 (~$0.0135)/kWh.

Priority for the rollout of EV charging stations

The public charging stations will be rolled out in the following phased manner:

Phase I (1 to 3 years): In all megacities with a population of more than four million, all existing expressways connected to these megacities and important highways connected with each of these megacities will be taken up for coverage.

Phase-II (3-5 years): Big cities, state capitals, and headquarters of union territories will be covered for distributed and demonstrative effect. Highways connected with these megacities will be taken up for coverage.

Implementation mechanism for rollout

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) will be the central nodal agency for EV public charging infrastructure rollout. All relevant agencies, including CEA, will support the central nodal agency.

Every state government will nominate its own nodal agency for setting up the charging infrastructure. The state DISCOM will be the nodal agency for such a purpose.

Earlier in 2020, the Ministry of Power had issued an amendment to its guidelines and standards for the charging infrastructure of electric vehicles (EVs). The Ministry of Power issued the guidelines in 2018, and it was revised in October 2019.

Source:- Mercomindia

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Mono Vs Poly:- Which Panel Technology to go for your upcoming Solar Project ?

The Mono-crystalline PERC market is gaining traction worldwide. In India, as well developers have begun to seriously consider mono perc modules as they come with several important advantages.  The introduction of passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) cell technology has markedly increased the efficiency of monocrystalline cells, making them an economically attractive option for many projects.

Difference in MONO and POLY Technology:-

Both Polycrystalline and monocrystalline modules are made from silicon. When producing a Polycrystalline cell many fragments of silicon are melted together to form a wafer. Due to the presence of many crystals in each cell, there tends to be less space for electrons to move within the cell, resulting in an overall lower efficiency of the cells. Continue Reading

Rooftop Solar is MUST to meet the target of 100 GW.

The country has set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power. 

Out of 100 GW solar capacity target, 40 GW is likely to be achieved by installation of rooftop solar projects. Rooftop solar is the fastest growing renewable energy sub-sector in India but installations must rapidly accelerate if the nation is to meet its ambitious renewable energy target by 2022. India has installed 28 GW of solar capacity, a four-fold increase in less than three years. Despite this strong growth, India has achieved only 10 per cent of its 40 GW rooftop solar target. This is well below the run-rate anticipated by government. To achieve the 2022 target, India will have to greatly accelerate the pace of new solar rooftop installations.

Some 70% of the market growth has been driven by commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers, clearly incentivised by the very high tariffs applying to these two sectors. (India has a very heavy cross-subsidy from C&I to residential and agricultural users, which in turn acts as a key incentive making self-generation for C&I immediately cost effective.) The balance of 30% is split equally between government and residential consumers. The top five states account for 54% of total rooftop solar capacity in India according to Bridge to India. 2 Maharashtra has the highest installed capacity of rooftop solar (473 MW) followed by Tamil Nadu (312 MW), Karnataka (273 MW), Rajasthan (270 MW) and Uttar Pradesh (223 MW). The increased adoption of rooftop solar in Indian states can be attributed to high retail tariffs for C&I consumers, favourable net metering policies, corporate social responsibility programs and increased consumer awareness.

Despite strong growth, India has to-date achieved only 10% of its target capacity addition of 40 GW by financial year (FY) 2022. To achieve the 2022 target, India will have to accelerate the pace of new solar rooftop installations, while the rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) segments including C&I, government and residential must be mobilised and encouraged for large scale adoption.

To assist the Government of India achieve its ambitious 2022 target, the World Bank is providing US$625m in financial support for a grid connected rooftop solar project. The project supports the shift to renewable energy by financing the installation of at least 400 MW of grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (GCRSPV) units across India, providing discounted, long tenor finance to both the suppliers of solar PV units as well as consumers wishing to install them. The World Bank is implementing the scheme with the State Bank of India (SBI) and up to 31 December 2018, it included approved credit of around US$123m to support more than 235 MW of rooftop solar capacity to be added to the grid. The World Bank and SBI are further accelerating the process by developing new credit instruments. 3 Further international financial assistance includes concessional loans of around US$750m from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the New Development Bank (NDB). These have been made available to the SBI, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) and the Canara Bank for rooftop solar projects. 4 The German state development bank KfW is also extending €200m in financial support for rural solar deployments,5 and is considering a US$1.1bn loan support program for rooftop solar in India.

The rooftop solar market holds huge growth potential across India and should be exploited to help meet the growing energy requirements of the population. Rooftop solar PV can meet the electricity needs of consumers, and given the government’s push for induction cooking, it can also enable people to switch from imported kerosene or biomass to clean, sustainable domestic cooking solutions. With declining PV module and storage costs, rooftop solar can provide a quality and reliable electricity supply in a cost-effective way.

#Rooftopsolar