Solar, like many other renewable energy sources is “infirm”. We cannot install a 1 MWp solar plant and generate 1MW at will any time we want. It purely depends on sunshine, and whenever sun is low – due to shadow or rain or whatever, the generation will be low. So, when we design a solar system – what should we design with? Maximum generation or minimum generation? Conventional Load-Max wisdom says it should be built with lowest generation in mind. That means, let us say we build a solar heating system for supplying 30 Lakhs KCAL a day (or roughly 3500 units a day – or roughly 1Lakh litres of water heated from 30 degrees to 60 degrees). In January in Chennai, it will require about 700 KW solar to generate the same. In April in Chennai, it will require only 550 KW to generate that.. Should we put a 550 KW or 700 KW? Conventional wisdom and load max principle will build a 700 KW, or even higher – like 800 KW with a factor of safety. Is that right for solar? Conventional energy sources are mostly variable – Diesel – we only pay for diesel consumed, and if the load is less, less diesel is consumed – at least lesser by some extent. Same with electricity, LPG, CNG, – any conventional fuel. But, solar – it is mostly capital equipment, and very less – near zero – running cost. Putting up higher capacity means – we make it very expensive initially, and since there is near zero running cost, we pay for the full generation whether or not we use it. So, if 800 KW is put up as capacity – in April – it will generate 20% more than required – but we still we pay for it. In January, it meets our requirements. So, we essentially design it with a nearly 20-30% energy waste every year. That is where our design principle comes in. That is why we always have believed in hybrid systems – Hybri-Heat, where we design with optimum capacity. When the infirm solar generation is insufficient, the conventional heat source should kick in. We design with a fundamental that “Not a KWHr of solar generation should be lost!” That is what we call as SolarMax principle. ~ Bhoo

  WWF – World Wildlife Conservation fund for nature and Industrial Process Heat.  What a seemingly remote connection! But, as explained by Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO of WWF India at the Climate Solver Award function at New Delhi on 1st August 2014, WWF looks not just at direct ways of conservation but all the indirect ways to conserve world resources. Climate Solver – a very apt name indeed, if we conserve resources by conserving the climate effects of pollution and burning resources, we can naturally and easily conserve nature! Innovations like what we do in B2B space in industries, often go unnoticed by wider public.  WWF, through this innovative platform – has provided us a great recognition.  While the whole world is pitching solar as a “conserve future” and “green” kind of a platform, we try to sell on immediate economical nbenefits.  In this transformation – we have very often forgotten the  immense contribution that we are creating for the protection of environment. Our receiving Climate Solver award gives us an increased impetus to continue doing what we do.  The incredible combination of “green” ecological benefits with “green-backs” in the form of immediate economical benefits is recognized by this frum.  Our unique credo of Fast Forward to the Solar future stems from the fact that without immediate economic benefits – adoption of green solutions will but be slow. We are happy that WWF climate solver award will make us even faster.  We are energized by this recognition and will accelerate our company and solution even faster. Lets Rev Up!

I get lot of enquiries about “solar inverters” and solar as a “backup” for power outages. Solar, wind, tidel, hydro – all these kinds of renewable energy sources are what people call as “infirm power”. Why is it called “infirm power”? Because, we cannot control how much is produced at any point in time. It is for nature to decide. Take solar – it is confirmed to be zero every night. But, will it be 199% during the day? No. Depends on the day – intensity, timing, angle of sunlight on the module collector, temperature – everything varies every minute. So, it is not firm – hence the term – infirm. Compare it against conventional generators – say a coal power plant. As long as coal is available, the plant can be run at full capacity any time. Usually, all of these have a high initial investment, and near zero ongoing costs. And, once we make investments, we cannot control how much it produces. Thus, solar cannot be a backup – but, it can be a “complementary” source of power. I am often asked – even after investing on solar power or solar heating plant, I cannot replace or remove the conventional source – be it a diesel genset, or a boiler or a hot-water generator. Then what is the use. Let’s understand this: Conventional energy sources have usually very low upfront capital costs, but have a very high running cost. Many coal based power plants running today have all depreciated fully with hardly any capital value left.  But, the cost of running it by consuming coal is what makes it expensive. Boilers or hot water generators are relatively very low cost upfront. But, running costs are very high. Against this, solar has high upfront costs, but is very low – almost nil – costs of running it. Maintenance is the only cost, and fuel is free. This is a fundamental design principle of solar.

On June 23rd, Aspiration Energy, hosted a webinar on Funding options for, “Solar Thermal Systems for Industrial Heating” A pioneer in the “Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO)” model for solar industrial heating in India. Supported by its partners – Tata Cleantech Capital, OPC leasing and other investments consultants such as Barclays bank, AEPL has come up with a few funding models. Our funding models comprises of: Outright Purchase PAYS – Customer Owns PAYS – TPO Lease Finance The advantage of these models is that they can be flexibly customized to suit the customer requirement in terms of payment tenure, down payment, risk / reward sharing, depreciation / tax benefit, operation & maintenance etc. S.Gopthree ACA Principal Consultant, Capita Consultants spoke on FUNDING MODEL – Debt + Equity Full Investment M C Karthikeyan Assistant VP – Tata Cleantech Capital spoke on FUNDING MODEL – PAYS- CO V Balakrishnan Senior VP – OPC Asset Solutions spoke on FUNDING MODEL – Lease Finance Bhoovarahan Thirumalai CEO, Aspiration Energy Pvt. Ltd spoke on FUNDING MODEL – TPO Under each funding model these topics were covered. Who Does It Suit? Ownership – Depreciation and Tax Benefit Performance Risk and Reward Monthly fee payable Down Payment / Security Deposit Payback period comparison and sample project values The webinar came to an end, when Bhoo apprised on all financial models and the advantages on each model.  Questions posed by the participants where addressed by the speakers.  Promising to come up with another interesting webinar topic, the webinar came to an end.  

Join us on our webinar on \”Funding models for Solar Thermal systems used in Industrial heating\” Date: July 23, 2014 Time: 3 PM IST Registration link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/987990360 Applications for CEOs, CFOs and Senior Finance Professionals in the manufacturing sector The webinar will explore various innovative funding options that combine 100% accelerated depreciation and \”Pay as you Save\” utility payment models. Speakers: M C Karthikeyan, Asst Vice President, Tata Cleantech Capital Topic: Customer owned Pay As you Save Model V Balakrishnan, Sr Vice President, OPC Asset Solutions Mr. V. Balakrishnan. Senior Vice President and Head, Southern Region  at OPC Asset Solutions Private Limited.  He is a chartered accountant by profession, with 22 years of experience.   Topic: 5 Years Lease Financing Model S Gopthree, FCA Principal Consultant, Capita Consultants Debt + Equity Full Investment model Bhoovarahan Thirumalai, CEO, Aspiration Energy Third party owned Pay As you Save Model For further information please contact info@aspirationenergy.com