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VOLUME
19
ISSUE
MARCH/APRIL 2016
Indias Massive
Renewable
Goals
Are they attainable?
Solar:
Wind:
Waste:
Geothermal:
Why CSP is
flourishing in
Africa and the
Middle East.
Innovations to
capture even more
wind energy.
Turning trash
into renewable
energy treasure.
How do you
finance exploration
and drilling?
p. 21
p. 26
p. 43
p. 39
T H E P R E M I E R N E W Y O R K S TAT E E N E R G Y C O N F E R E N C E
It All Comes Together

in New York City
Meet and Network with the Energy Sectors Most Influential Leaders
April 20, 21 & 22, 2016 at Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York City
Advanced Energy 2016 offers a unique opportunity for researchers, educators, executives, financers and policy makers from every
area of the energy industry to exchange ideas, explore collaborations, and find inspiration in a truly synergistic environment.
In brief, it is the one place to be for any individual or business involved in the growth and evolution of energy in America.
32 Individual sessions covering all facets of advanced energy, technologies and deployments
United States Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz is invited

to join an impressive list of industry and government figures
as a keynote speaker at Advanced Energy 2016.
As United States Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz
is tasked with implementing critical Department of Energy
DR. ERNEST MONIZ
missions in support of President Obamas goals of growing the
United States Secretary of Energy
economy, enhancing security and protecting the environment.
Secretary Moniz is invited to address the 2016 Advanced Energy Conference with the strategic
vision of critical national and international energy directions, policies and the underlying
technologies necessary for implementation.
The Conference will feature an ambitious educational agenda, with plenaries, 8 tracks
and 32 sessions that include outstanding scientific leadership.
21st Century Energy in New York State
Electric Utility Industry Plenary
Chair Audrey Zibelman

NYS-DPS
Plenary: Reforming the
Energy Vision (REV) Demos
John Rhodes
President & CEO, NYSERDA
Plenary: The NYS Clean
Energy Fund
Richard Kauffman
Chairman of Energy &
Finance, NYS
OPENING KEYNOTE
Gil Quiniones
President & CEO, NYPA
Plenary: The Future of
Transmission
KEYNOTE
KEYNOTE
Dr. Ellen Williams
Roger Flanagan, PhD
Director, ARPA - E
Managing Director
Lockheed Martin Energy
Demonstrate Your Companys Energy Leadership

As an Advanced Energy 2016 sponsor or exhibitor, you will
have a place of prominence in front of the people who make
the buying decisions and influence energy policy.
Major Sponsors already committed to AEC2016
Future of the Electric Utility Industry Challenges and Opportunities

Moderator: Dr. Cheryl Martin (Harwich Partners)
Panelists:
Mark Lynch, President and CEO of NYSEG & RG&E
David Daly, President and COO of PSEG-LI
Ken Daly, President of New York
Operations, National Grid
James Laurito, President and CEO of
Central Hudson Gas & Electric
For information about Sponsoring, Exhibiting or Registration, call Kathleen Ferrell at 631.216.7114 aertc.org/conference2016
For more information, enter 1 at REW.hotims.com
contents
BIOENERGY
The discarded
bits of leeks help
provide power
to a UK farm.
43
features
21
SOLAR
12
26
WIND
31
STORAGE
Why CSP Resurged in

Africa and the MENA
Region
The Next Generation

in Wind Power
Technology
The Technology
Behind Liquid Air
Energy Storage
In places where natural

gas is not cheap, such as
Africa and the Middle East,
concentrating solar power is
making a nice comeback.
Wind research and

development is helping
the industry harness more
wind, more efficiently and
at lower costs.
A new technology that uses

liquid air could potentially
provide large-scale energy
storage for the grid in a
very big way.
Susan Kraemer
Ray Pelosi
Austen Adams
ON THE COVER
Our big question is our
cover story this issue.
How Will India Meets
its Massive Renewable
Energy Goals?
Credit: Shutterstock.
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD MAGAZINE
MARCH/APRIL 2016
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features
departments & columns
39
Developers have more public

financing options to support
exploration, test and drilling phases.
Jennifer Delony
43
Editors Letter
47 Hydro Here and Now
Renewable Energy Battles
GEOTHERMAL
A Rising Model: Public

Finance in Early Stage
Geothermal
NEW
12
Money Problems
Regional News
48 Resources
From the Global Renewable

Energy Industry
48 Ad Index
The Big Question
49 Last Word
Our Cover Story this issue

asks: How Will India Meet
its Massive Renewable
Energy Goals?
Why Pumped Storage

Hydropower Needs More
Attention in the Energy
Storage Discussion
36 Data Points
European Energy Stakeholders
Rank Important Issues
On RenewableEnergyWorld.com
BIOENERGY
One Mans Trash Is Another

Mans Renewable Energy
From garbage in a landfill to water
that is flushed down the drain,
useful energy remains in the items
we discard.
Jennifer Runyon
RenewableEnergyWorld.com connects you

to news, opinion and technology updates
from the renewable energy industry.
Visit us on the web to:
Read todays featured article
Subscribe to our e-Newsletters
Visit our Facebook page. and Like Us!
See what our bloggers are blogging about
Check out our upcoming and on-demand webcasts
MARCH/APRIL 2016
TH 214-150750
Efficiency turns less

into more.
Siemens Steam Turbines. Powered by efficiency.
For us, efficiency means generating the highest possible

output without using additional fuel. The increasing
demand for reliable base- and part-load supply, combined
with environmental requirements, are all driving the need
for greater efficiency and for reduced start-up times.
Thats why we build a comprehensive range of steam
turbines that make the best possible use of steam from
diverse fuels and heat sources. Reheat technology and
steam solutions for combined cycle conversion are both
smart steps that boost efficiency.
The result: When efficient technology is required that
is easy on resources, Siemens Steam Turbines are the
first choice. Around the world.
Siemens Steam Turbine SST-800

operating in a Swedish biomass
plant.
Siemens Steam Turbine ready

for delivery to the cusomters
concentrated solar power plant.
siemens.com/steamturbines
From t he Editor
PUBLISHER Stephanie Kolodziej

CHIEF EDITOR Jennifer Runyon
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jennifer Delony
PRODUCTION
ART DIRECTOR Kelli Mylchreest
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mari Rodriguez

SENIOR ILLUSTRATOR Chris Hipp
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
MANAGER Emily Martin
AD SERVICES MANAGER Toni Pendergrass
www.pennwell.com
EDITORIAL OFFICES
REW Magazine
61 Spit Brook Road, Suite 401,
Nashua, NH 03060
U.S. Toll Free: 877-650-1782
+1 603-891-0123
Fax:+1 603-891-9351
www.renewableenergyworld.com
ADVERTISING
For information on advertising in future

issues of the magazine, please contact:
PETER ANDERSEN +1 603 891 9385
PETER JANSEN +49 2841 40 999 60
MATT GALLINGER +1 518 560 0179
E-MAIL: REWSales@PennWell.com
PENNWELL MARKETING SOLUTIONS
For assistance with marketing strategy

or ad creation, please contact:
VICE PRESIDENT Paul Andrews
+1 240.595.2352
pandrews@pennwell.com
CORPORATE OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN Robert F. Biolchini

VICE CHAIRMAN Frank T. Lauinger
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER Mark C. Wilmoth
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE

DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY
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AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
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SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE
Renewable Energy World is circulated free

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Professionals outside the renewable
energy industry may start a paid
subscription. For pricing information visit
rew@halldata.com, call +1 847-763-9540,
or fax +1 847-763-9607.
We often hear the words war on coal or war on carbon to describe

the energy revolution that we are in the midst of. While I certainly
dont think of myself as a warmonger, I do think that the comparison
to war isnt that far off. In my video (above) I talk about a day I spent
shadowing a wind project developer who has been trying to get a permit to build a wind farm in New Hampshire for seven years. Thats
how long he has been actively engaged in many small battles that will,
he hopes, eventually result in a 28.8-MW wind project being built. In
our interview, he used war terminology to discuss the project explaining that when it was at first denied it was because the opposition won.
You can read his story here.
Just as the victorious in a battle come home and celebrate so too do
we at PennWell recognize the true grit involved in bringing a project
from concept to reality.
In April, well open up our nominations for our 2016 Project of the
Year Awards. I encourage you to submit your projects to us for consideration for an award. To be eligible, a project needs to have come
online between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016. We are working with
our friends at Generation Hub to help us identify projects but we only
have access to project data for North America. International project
developers, please apply! Editors review all the nominations and select
winners in different categories.
Finally, if you are currently fighting a battle in the renewable energy revolution, please let me know about it by emailing:
jrunyon@pennwell.com. Maybe I can tell your story, too.
Jennifer Runyon, Chief Editor

MARCH/APRIL 2016 5
REGIONAL
news
NORTH AMERICA
Mexicos
Wind Speeds
Below Average,
Vaisala Says
Many regions of Mexico experi-
Hawaii Seeks to Protect

State-Level Oversight of
Geothermal Development
The Hawaii legislature is consid-
producer to safely and efficient-
ering a bill to ensure that regu-
ly conduct exploration or pro-
lations concerning development
duction activities, leading to an
of geothermal resources are not
increase in the cost of produc-
subject to local restrictions.
tion or loss of investment in the
The bill would clarify that
production of additional geo-
enced wind speeds up to 20 per-
regulation of geothermal
thermal resources. Opponents
cent below average throughout
resources is exclusively reserved
claim the state has a poor record
2015, according to performance
to the state, and would require
of regulating geothermal devel-
maps released in February by
rules regarding geothermal
opment and local rules would
Vaisala. The Oaxacan coast,
exploration and development be
protect residents.
where a majority of operational
uniform throughout the state.
Hawaii Senate Committees on
Supporters of the bill claim
Transportation and Energy; Pub-
wind power projects are located, saw high levels of month-to-
the adoption of county-level reg-
lic Safety, Intergovernmental,
month variability, Vaisala said.
ulations can conflict with state
and Military Affairs; and Water,
regulation and interfere with the
Land and Agriculture recom-
ability of a geothermal energy
mended passage of the bill.
As Mexico moves to add

more wind energy capacity
as much as 10 GW over three
years insight into seasonal
and year-to-year wind variability will be critical for operators,
Vaisala noted.
Vaisalas performance maps
show that in northern and central Mexico, Q1 wind speeds
were 5-20 percent below normal. The trend weakened in
Q2 and Q3, but wind speeds
remained below average. A shift
in weather patterns with elevated wind speeds across much
of northwestern Mexico in Q4
was consistent with the strong
El Nio climate signal as well as
some hurricane activity in the
region, Vaisala said.
6
MARCH/APRIL 2016
EUROPE
UK Government to Review
Tidal Lagoon Energy
The U.K. government on Feb. 10 said it has commissioned an independent review into the feasibility and practicability of tidal lagoon
energy in the U.K.
The Department of Energy & Climate Change said in a statement
that the review will begin in the spring, and that it expects the proposed developers of the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project, and other
industry stakeholders to take part in the review.
In a statement, Keith Clarke, chairman of Tidal Lagoon Swansea
Bay Plc, developer of the Swansea Bay project, welcomed the independent review, saying: In parallel to the review, we have been
asked by government to clarify the financial and

technical viability of Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon
AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
as the pathfinder for this exciting new industry. This is particularly encouraging as it signals
the strength of our offer for Swansea Bay and our
future program of lagoons.
The Swansea Bay proposal includes an energygenerating lagoon with a 320 MW installed capacity and 14 hours of generation daily.
Eaton to Offer AES Energy

Storage Platform in Europe,
Middle East, Africa
Power management company Eaton and AES
Corp. subsidiary AES Energy Storage have agreed
ElectraTherm Delivers
Second Biomass-fuel
Generator in UK
that Eaton will offer AES Advancion energy storage platform as part of Eatons grid-scale, inte-
Waste-to-heat power generation provider ElectraTherm said in February that it has shipped its Power+
generator 4400 to a chicken farm in the U.K.
Slated for a spring 2016 commissioning, the site
uses a combination of biomass and combined heat
and power (CHP) technology, and is the second
Power+ installation in the country.
According to ElectraTherm, its generator uses
AES Advancion Energy Storage Array. Credit: AES.
organic rankine cycle (ORC) and proprietary technologies to generate power from low-temperature
grated energy storage systems throughout
heat ranging from 77-122 degrees C. At this chick-
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
en farm, the operator uses woodchips to heat a
Together, Eaton and AES will be able to great-
600-kW biomass boiler to 116 degrees C. The boiler
ly impact the energy landscape in EMEA, Cyrille
heats water to run the Power+ generator, and pro-
Brisson, Vice President of Marketing, Eaton electri-
duces clean electricity that is sold back to the util-
cal business in EMEA, said in a statement. By pro-
ity. ElectraTherm said that the Power+ system also
viding market-leading, innovative energy storage
acts as a CHP system, and remaining heat from
systems to commercial, industrial and utility cus-
ElectraTherms condenser helps dry wood chips as
tomers, we will be able to mitigate the investment
part of the biomass processing.
needed for, and the charges and emissions result-
The addition of ORC technology is a critical

component of our operations, and the benefits of
ing from, peak demand infrastructure.

Brisson added that the widespread deployment
the Power+ generator are proven with more than 50
of systems enabling peak capacity, flexible genera-
machines in the field and more than 500,000 hours
tion and grid services, coupled with the easy con-
of operational runtime, Mick Jones, director of dis-
sumption of renewables, will help a smarter grid
tributor Woodtek Energy, said in a statement.
meet environmental targets.

MARCH/APRIL 2016
REGIONAL
news
Altitec, Obelisk
Form Wind
Turbine Services
Joint Venture
Australian Fringeof-Grid Solar Project

Receives Funding
Wind turbine blade repair provid-
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) said it is
er Altitec in mid-February signed
providing $8.4 million for Canadian Solar and Scouller Ener-
a five-year joint venture agree-
gy to construct a 5-MW DC solar project near Normanton in
ment with Obelisk, a provider
Queensland, Australia, to demonstrate how integrating solar into
of infrastructure services to the
the grid can improve energy reliability.
ASIA-PACIFIC
global renewable energy, telecom-
Like many regional Australian communities, Normanton is
munications and power markets.
on the fringe of one of our major electricity networks, ARENA
Altitec said the deal enables
CEO Ivor Frischknecht said. Adding renewable energy generation
the two businesses to deliver a
closer to where its needed can provide more reliable and efficient
range of wind turbine blade and
power. This is a key ARENA investment focus for fringe-of-grid
tower services to wind farm own-
and network constrained areas.
ers, operators and original equip-
According to Frischknecht, the Normanton project will be a
ment manufacturers operating in
test case for network provider Ergon Energy to understand the
the South African market.
effects on network losses. The Normanton solar project will be
The South African wind energy market has grown rapidly in
jointly owned by Canadian Solar and Scouller Energy.

The project is scheduled for completion in December.
recent years with 15 new wind

farms totaling 1,200 MW constructed in the last three years,
according to Altitec.
As part of the joint venture
agreement, Altitec is training
new South African rope access
Sunverge Energy, Mitsui

Form Strategic Commercial
Relationship in Japan
technicians to international
Distributed energy storage provider Sunverge Energy and Japan-
standards.
based Mitsui & Co. on February 23 announced that they ha
The range of core certified
formed a strategic commercial relationship that would enable
services delivered within the
the two companies to collaborate on renewable energy initia-
joint venture includes rotor-
tives in Japan.
based inspections based on the
Japan is the second largest market for solar PV growth, which
principles for the monitoring of
in turn is driving demand for intelligent distributed energy stor-
wind turbines, composite blade
age solutions, Ken Munson, Sunverge co-founder and CEO, said
repairs, cleaning and monitoring
in a statement. Mitsui has been a pioneer in renewable ener-
of equipment and wind turbine
gy and has made early strategic investments in energy storage,
tower corrosion protection and
and we look forward to working with them to bring the benefits
repair.
of Sunverges advanced technology to more utilities and energy

users throughout Japan.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
Environment
New nuclear plants are necessary to lessen the worlds dependence on fossil fuels,
to meet the needs of both developed and expanding economies, and to slow the
amount of CO2 emitted into our environment. NuScale Power has developed a
clean, reliable, carbon-free Small Modular Reactor technology. It has the smallest
environmental footprint of the technologies available today generating electricity.
It will play a significant role in meeting future demand in the U.S. and other nations
as part of a diverse energy portfolio. Environment: The Element of Nu.
NuScale Power
@NuScale_Power
@NuScale_UK
2016 NuScale Power, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
nuscalepower.com
REGIONAL
news
According to Sunverge, it
customers or to meet peak energy
growth for two years running,
designs and manufactures intel-
demand for an entire communi-
adding a record 6.9GW of capac-
ligent energy storage systems
ty or service area by linking them
ity in 2013 and 9.6GW in 2014
that allow electric utilities to
into virtual power plants.
of nominal nameplate capaci-
automatically execute demand

response programs for individual
Japan was the worlds second largest market for solar PV
LATIN AMERICA
STI Norland Begins

Construction at 247
MW Chile Solar Project
ty, according to the International

Energy Agency.
Enel to Use
Bifacial Solar
Modules for
Project in Chile
Enel Green Power (EGP) plans to
STI Norland in early February said it has begun construction
build a 1.7-MW solar PV project
activities at the 247-MW El Romero Solar PV plant in Chile.
to help power the La Silla Obser-
The project is located in the III Region of Atacama and is under

development by
Construction at the El Romero solar plant in

Chile. Credit: STI Norland.
vatory in Chile.
According to EGP, the proj-
Acciona. It is expect-
ect will be the worlds first
ed to be connected
industrial-scale solar array to
to the power grid by
combine conventional panels and
mid-2017 at which
bifacial smart modules that cap-
time it will be the
ture solar energy on both sides
largest solar PV in
of the panel. The company said
Latin America and
that the combined use of smart
one of the 10 largest
and bifacial panels is expected to
worldwide. For the
increase generation by 5 percent
project, STI Norland
to 10 percent compared to a tra-
is supplying its STI
ditional solar PV power plant of
F5 fixedstructures,
the same size.
the foundations
execution andthe
The construction of the plant

will cost about $3.4 million. The
mechanical installation for JA Solar and Hareon PV modules. STI
facility, which EGP expects to
said that the project will cover about 280 hectares [691 acres] and
complete in the first half of this
is expected to generate around 500 GWh annually.
year, will be able to generate
According to STI Norland, part of the energy for the facility will
be sold into the Central Interconnected System, and part will be
around 4.75 GWh per year said

Enel Green power.
used to power the Google

Data Processing Center in
Chile.
10
MARCH/APRIL 2016
[Editors note: RenewableEnergyWorld.com publishes news about the

global renewable energy industry daily. Click here to see todays news.]
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The Big Question
Stakeholders weigh in on worldwide renewable energy issues
COV E R S TO RY
What Will it Take for India

to Achieve its Massive
Renewable Energy Goals?
Last year Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the
country would work to install 175 GW of renewable energy capacity
by 2022 with 100 GW of capacity from solar, 60 GW from wind, and
10 GW from small hydroelectric. It is a gigantic goal and some analysts
are skeptical that it is even achievable. Then again, recent funding
announcements and global partnerships are showing that the goal
might not, in fact, be out of reach. For this issues Big Question, we
asked all stakeholders in the Indian renewable energy market what
they thought needs to happen to make that lofty goal a reality.
Read the responses below to gain insight on this issues
big question: What Will it Take for India to Achieve
its Massive Renewable Energy Goals?
WHILE THE FOCUS of my analysis is primarily on

solar since it makes up a lions share of the target, the broad principles touched upon can be
applied to other renewable technologies as well.
Solar tariffs in India have decreased considerably in the last five years and are on target to
Avinash Burra
reach grid parity (approximately 4.5 per kWh or
Founding Partner, US $0.067) by 2018 according to some estimates.
Green Millennium Currently, most medium-sized plant operators find
it challenging to generate healthy rates of return
(IRR) at tariffs below 5 per kWh (US $0.075).
One of the reasons for this is that India has a high prevailing
interest rate environment (upwards of 12 percent annually for
solar plant debt in some cases) and if you use a funding model
in which debt servicing costs are factored into the Levelized
Cost of Electricity (LCOE), it has a very adverse effect on IRRs.
12
MARCH/APRIL 2016
In an effort to incentivize plant operators

and mitigate some of these effects, India created a Renewable Portfolio Obligation or RPO
(similar to the Renewable Portfolio Standards
or RPS in the U.S.) in 2008 to set a floor of 15
percent of total power generated as renewable energy by 2022 and followed that up a
couple of years later by creating a market
based Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)
mechanism. It was left up to the individual states to establish clear RPO policy guidelines and enforce them, and as a result, there
is large variation state-by-state in targets and
enforcement.
Solar RECs are currently traded on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) at a market price
of 3500 per mWh or 3.5 per kWh ($52.23
per MWh or $0.522 per kWh). The lack of uniformity in state-by-state RPO enforcement is
illustrated by the stark disparity in buy and
sell bids for solar RECs. In January 2016, there
were 60x more sell bids than buys.
While the REC market in the U.S. is by no
means perfect, the EPA has comparatively coherent guidelines on how RECs are defined: for
every MWh of electricity generated by a renewable
source, there are two independently monetizable entities (i) the actual electricity itself, which can be sold
at market price to the local utility and (ii) one REC.
Whether the directive comes from the central government or the individual states, more uniformity in
RPO guidelines, enforcement and fines are required
to decrease the disparity in REC sell and buy bids and
ensure interest and engagement at both the plant operator and investor level. If that happens in the near future,
there will be a large uptick in solar power generation
and adoption as it will become very profitable for investors and operators and it will set India well on course to
meet the lofty goal of 175 GW by 2022.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
13
The Big Question
First and foremost, India needs to develop a secure and stable grid infrastructure, which in turn will create a reliable
environment for large-scale renewable energy deployment.
The immediate challenge is grid congestion and the grids
inability to off-take power from either rooftop or utilityscale solar power plants. This is expected to be an ongoing
Vikram Dileepan
challenge as more renewable energy is generated and the
Co-founder and
demand for power increases. Secondly, we need favorable
CEO, SolarTown
tax incentives for both individuals and corporates; extendEnergy Solutions
ing accelerated depreciation benefits would be a good start,
as well as an opportunity for individuals to claim income
tax benefits by investing in solar power. Third, and equally important, is the availability of low-cost debt funding for solar power plants,
which will accelerate the countrys efforts to reach its rooftop targets while
also making it cost competitive.
Dhananjay Sanas, ABB
It does require a vision to announce scaling rapidly to 100 GW of

solar power. Defining time frames and costs for existing utilities to
evacuate power are critical. Single window clearance, government support to
roof tops and utility-scale projects and incentivizing timely closure of projects
are some more important steps required. Funds tend to seek avenues where
returns are a possibility and once the ball rolls, 100 GW could be a distinct possibility. Technology exists today for a smart, decentralized grid and India can
leap frog to the next level of power connectivity with energy efficient, localized
generation, distribution and consumption.
Mel Badheka, Envision Energy
India has great potential to reach its renewable energy goals. The
key is to have a policy environment that supports a free power market that can compete on a national level. As the costs of renewable energy drop
and become highly attractive vs conventional energy, Indian IPPs should consider de-risking their investments by working with developers and OEMs at
the pre-development stage and move away from turnkey projects. This will
allow all stakeholders to perform at the highest levels of transparency and raise
the quality of projects in the future. Quality of credit could also be addressed
if there are equity investments from overseas markets where cost of capital
is lower than Indian capitals markets. Prime Minister Modi has made great
strides and the industry can support him by innovating on business models and
breaking through the ceiling of turnkey, FIT-based renewables marketplace.
14
MARCH/APRIL 2016
ASIA POWER WEEK

3 DAYS 3 SHOWS 1 VENUE
20-22 2016 SEPTEMBER
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Official Publications
The Big Question
What India should strive for is each panchayat all

250,000 of them to have a fully functional, self-sufficient microgrid. It should support all applications from
lighting and fans to refrigerators and induction cookers,
and solar water pumps to streetlights. The microgrids may
interface with the existing grid, where possible, and more
Mahesh P.
important among each other for reliability, resource sharBhave
ing, and superior economics. Microgrids conceived in this
Visiting Professor,
way are a bottom-up solution, ideally managed by entreIIM Kozhikode
preneurial startups with the panchayats administrative
help. Naturally, solar, wind, and biogas plus other renewable technologies would be a part of the solution.
Grid-tied photovoltaics are a well-established business model, a good first
step. So also is rooftop PV. But eventually, given a) the end of natural monopoly, b) lowered barriers to entry, and c) lowered unit costs independent of
scale economics in Electricity 2.0, micro-electric utilities are the solution for
the future. Neither economics nor technology hold back such deployments.
The open questions relate to public policy what foresightful initiatives will
launch a movement toward distributed generation and local autonomy? Will a
few progressive states take the lead aided by supportive national policy?
Editors Note: In collaboration with Renewable Energy World, Mahesh P.
Bhave developed and teaches a comprehensive, data-driven business course
on microgrid project development for professionals.Click Hereto learn more
about the course.
BALAAJI CS, Vivan Solar
In order to realize the intended purpose of this massive RE capacity addition, the following factors needs to be addressed:
1. Where is the grid infrastructure? Equal attention must be paid to
strengthening of the transmission corridor and flexibility in transfer of power
from RE rich states to neighboring states /national grid.
2. Where do we have spinning reserve? It is high time that smart grid,
scheduling & forecasting of RE power as well demand forecast by the respective DISCOMs is implemented to ensure balance and a blend of conventional & RE power into the grid. Even at the present level of RE penetration RE
rich states like Tamilnadu, Rajasthan has been going through a forced curtailment of RE power during peak seasons. If that continues, it would start
churning out NPAs and in the process may turn out to a be non-preferred sector by investors & financial institutions in the long run. Therefor the creation
of adequate spinning reserve, R&D on storage technologies with a perspective on the massive RE capacity addition envisaged to address the inherent
16
MARCH/APRIL 2016
The Big Question
fluctuation/characteristics of RE Power.
3. Are supportive policies in place? Implementation of RPO, friendly policy
for transfer of RE power between states too are also the need of the hour for
sustained growth.
Equal attention must be given to rooftop systems in the domestic and commercial sector because self sufficiency by this sector would greatly reduce
the grid congestion and would offer the much needed flexibility in the march
towards higher RE penetration into the grid and to reach the targeted capacity addition. We need to keep in our mind that this sector contributes around
30-35 percent of Indias power demand and must have a greater role to play
in making Indias ambitious RE Target a reality.
Sydney Lobo, TATA Power
To achieve this massive goal, there are a number of aspects that

need to fall into place. The recent bids for large scale PV plant
power has been very competitive. However, how quickly these projects can
come online remains to be seen. DISCOMS need to stabilize themselves

www.ecolibriumsolar.com 740-249-1877
The Big Question
to procure this power and also recover revenue from the end consumer.
Although the grid is quite strong, surely storage needs to play a significant
role in providing with a competitive LCOE to the DISCOMS.
In addition, other aspects of power evacuation and strengthening of the
southern grid with the rest of the India grid is the call of the moment. At the
end of the day, this gigantic goal can be achieved, but will require innovative
thinking and integration of technology to provide renewable power as prime
power at a competitive LCOE.
Working to such an accelerated development timeline will

undoubtedly place major strain not only on Indias renewable energy industry, but also on the state governments,
utilities and grid operators responsible for upgrading
transmission infrastructure.
China is arguably the only nation to have integrated
Bihag Mehta
renewable energy on the same kind of scale in an equivaDirector, OST
lent timeframe, and reports suggest that the market conEnergy India
tinues to suffer from export curtailments and delays as the
grid network struggles to match the rate of new installations. In Brazil, too, weve seen fully operational projects
sitting idle and unable to export power as they await grid connection.
In India, it is essential that the sector learns from the experience of players
in these other rapidly developing renewable energy markets. Despite the rush
to construct new wind and solar, its absolutely vital that developers, investors and state governments take the time to conduct proper technical due diligence to reduce risk and guarantee the long-term performance and viability
of these early projects.
Cumulative solar installations in India have crossed the 5

gigawatt (5.2 GW) mark as of February this year. There are
currently over 10 GW of solar projects in various stages of
development with another 8 GW to be auctioned over the
next few months. Mercom is forecasting 2016 installations
of approximately 4 GW, almost a 100 percent YoY growth.
Raj Prahbu
Even with these numbers, India needs to install approxMercom Capital
imately 15 GW per year from 20172022 to reach its 100
GW target. No country has installed 15 GW in one year so
far. That said, the goal is not beyond reach and the government, after a slow start, is demonstrating its seriousness in achieving this
ambitious target.
18
MARCH/APRIL 2016
The Big Question
To reach its goals, India needs some important things in place. First, there
needs to be policy certainty and stability that the investment community can
count on to make long-term investment plans. Even the government needs
to meet deadlines and drastically improve its competence when it comes to
execution, which will also boost investor confidence. The government must
fix the finances of utilities and improve their credit ratings, which will help
bring down borrowing costs and reduce risk. With solar auctions, cheapest
is not always the best. Auctions need to be structured to avoid extremely low,
unrealistic bids, which could lead to failed projects and, in turn, can have a
chilling effect on investments. Renewable Purchase obligations need to be
strictly enforced with penalties to get states moving. Lastly and most importantly, consumers need to be educated on the benefits of solar and renewable
energy sources in order for rooftop solar to take off.
India currently has some of the most polluted cities in the world, even
though it is still a relatively small economy with one of the lowest power consumptions per capita. Air pollution will only get worse without renewables.
Nowhere is it more urgent and renewables so important for the future of an
economy than in India.
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SOLAR
Why CSP Resurged in Africa

and the MENA Region
In places outside
of the U.S. where
natural gas prices are
not cheap, concentrating
solar power is making
a nice comeback.
SUSAN KRAEMER, Contributor
The U.S., with low-priced natural gas, is an anomaly. In much

of the world, gas is expensive. So
in sun-drenched Africa, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) with its
cheap thermal energy storage is
competitive.
CSP competes directly with
gas when it stores its solar thermal energy as a dispatchable

renewable, with a high capacity factor (able to work more
hours per year). Parabolic trough is the more bankable original form, but tower can more cost-effectively incorporate
storage. Its thermal energy storage can cycle daily for thirty
years, and if untapped; stays hot for up to two months.
With no cheap gas, CSP is flourishing in Africa and the
MENA (Middle East, North Africa) region.
Morocco is well embarked towards its CSP goal of nearly
2 GW by 2020 double the U.S. total. Namibia has put out
a request for proposals (RFP) to supply what amounts to 20
percent of its grid with CSP. Egypt and Algeria already have
hybrid CSP projects, and have RFPs for more. All depend on
imported natural gas. South Africa has a steady planned
pipeline and the first half-gigawatt of CSP coming online.
In these markets, thermal energy storage was a requirement to replace more expensive imported gas. Morocco offers
a 15 percent premium for solar after sunset. Namibias RFP
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

visits Shams I in Abu Dhabi. Credit:
United Nations.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
21
solar
requires 8 hours of storage.

South Africa offers 2.70 percent of daytime rates in a
carve-out for CSP with storage.
Whether due to fast-growing economies, decrepit coal
plants, or underserved populations, these nations are
also in dire need of additional
generation.
By 2030 blackout-plagued
South Africa must nearly double its electricity capacity, and
plans 42 percent nearly 18
GW from renewables. Its
premium for CSP-with-storage
has created certainty for the
industry.
Unlike the U.S., South Africa is not looking at batteries;
lacking the lure of cheap gas
waiting in the wings to take
over afterwards. The largest
battery in the U.S. at Tehachapi supplies just 32 MWh/day, and

has a three to five-year cycle life. By comparison, South Africas
first five CSP projects alone supply a combined 2,500 MWh/day of
thermal solar storage, and daily cycling for thirty years.
A recent report from Greenpeace and SolarPaces sees CSP
supplying 12 percent of the 2050 grid globally, given the right
conditions.
PV has had a huge deployment in the last 5 to 10 years, but
CSP currently is at a much earlier stage of its deployment curve,
so we expect costs to come down quite a lot, explained SolarPACES Secretary Christoph Richter.
Richter works in Spain, home to CSPs first wave of development. Within just four years, CSP supplied over 2 percent of the
grid, but then Spain reneged on tariffs. No more was built.
Initially, there was a very good political climate, but it wasnt
stable; it was completely cut down after the financial crisis.
Thats detrimental for technologies that rely on industrial development like CSP, he said.
South Africa looks more likely to stick by its policies, developed by a broad group of stakeholders. A steady series of auctions fill specific megawatt requirements of capacity. Achievable
and predictable permitting precedes each bid. Projects get built
because professionalism is a prerequisite.
In order to bid in
South Africa you have to
have a 100 percent commitment on debt and
equity on projects youve
permitted, said SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith.
Altogether weve put
together a funding package close to $4 billion.
SolarReserves projects
are oversubscribed, not
just the Round 3 awarded Redstone tower with
12 hours of storage, but
another near half-gigawatt of permitted bids
SolarReserves Redstone tower CSP with 12 hours of storage in South Africa sited
coming up for Round 4.5
next to their three PV projects, Lesatsi, Lesedi and Jasper. Credit: SolarReserve.
in 2016.
22
MARCH/APRIL 2016
solar
Ivanpah, which was

developed by BrightSource
was heir to Luz, which was
founded by a visionary,
Arnold Goldman, who
imagined a world powered
with pure energy using
just sunlight and water.
Ivanpah uses a direct
steam technology. Credit:
BrightSource.
International Funding
International banking agencies, like the World Bank, OPIC, and
the Ex-Im, have prioritized powering Africa with renewables.
There is a lot of interest in funding into Africa, said Smith.
The key for them is finding good well-structured projects; weve
got a good relationship with both the IFC and OPIC.
Gigawatt Global COO Weldon Turner agreed, saying that as
long as a developer can put together a good financeable project,
there is more money chasing projects in African countries, than
projects seeking funding.
The largest energy importer in the MENA region is Morocco; dependent on imported fossil fuels. It plans 42 percent
solar by 2020.
Morocco just unveiled the first 160 MW of the planned 2-GW
Noor CSP complex at Ouarzazate that will be completed by 2020
at nearly 600 MW.
ACWA Power has begun Noor II and III. A new RFP in January
requests another 400 MW, combining PV and CSP with storage.
Morocco put together $3 billion to finance the 2-GW NoorOuarzazate complex with the World Bank, the Climate Investment Funds Clean Technology Fund, the African Development
Bank, and European financing institutions. Once complete,
Morocco will own and operate the project.

In these nations, CSP is seen
not just as a hedge against
more expensive imported fossil fuels but as a big jobs push
and industrial development
incentive as well.
Moroccos energy is mainly imported and that got really difficult to finance especially when oil prices were so
high, said Richter. So they
started looking at what they
have in abundance; solar and
wind, and also they see a
high potential for job creation
in Morocco.
Equally dependent on
imports, another likely spot
for this kind of international funding is Namibia.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
23
solar
Engineers at its financially

stable state utility NamPower chose CSP to supply a fifth
of its current needs. It has
put out an RFP for 200 MW of
CSP with 8 hours of storage,
after carefully researching
the best options for supplying
its 2 million people.
240
220
CSP 250 MW
8h storage 2600 DNI
OCGT - Open Cycle Gas Turbine
200
180
CCGT - Combined
Cycle Gas Turbine
160
140
120
SCPC - Super Critical

Pulverized Coal
PV utility
20 MW 2200 GHI
100
60
CSP was born in the U.S.

with federal support after
the second oil price shocks
in 1979. Federal tax credits
enabled one visionary pioneer, Arnold Goldman of Luz,
to bootstrap the SEGS trough
project. Its 354 MW developed over time, out of financial necessity, in a series of 9
smaller units.
When oil prices dropped,
the tax credits got cut, bankrupting Luz and shortcircuiting any more U.S.
development.
Next, Spain incentivised
CSP development from 2004,
but then reneged on tariff
agreements, stranding a larger solar industrial sector. This
left behind another 2.3 GW of
CSP on the grid.
A second U.S. round powered by the Obama administration added 1.4 GW.
Two projects were the
heirs to Luz: NextEra Energy had bought up most of
the 9 SEGS units and gained
the experience that enabled
MARCH/APRIL 2016
LCOE, medium fuel prices (/MWh)
80
Boom and Bust cycles
24
Between 2020-2030 renewable technology

will be competitive to all fossil technologies
40
20
0
2010
Nuclear Generation III

2015
2020
Wind on-shore
3000 full load hours
2025
2030
Source: Dii
Desertec industrial initiative (Dii) comparison of cost reductions to build

new renewables compared to new fossil plants. Credit: IEA.
them to develop and now run Californias 250-MW Genesis

trough plant. The engineers behind SEGS regrouped as BrightSource Energy, switching to direct steam tower for Ivanpah
(390 MW).
Abengoa developed two trough CSP projects totaling 560 MW,
Mojave in California, and Solana with storage in Arizona, while
SolarReserve built the first tower with storage, the 110-MW Crescent Dunes in Nevada.
But at least that many more projects failed to clear permitting.
By 2013, as investors feared ITC expiration before a three-year
project could be completed, the four year run ended.
This on-again/off-again support slows the learning process,
making cost declines more difficult. Nevertheless, in just five
projects; prices dropped from 19.7 cents to 13.5 cents per kWh.
By contrast, South Africas certainty is bringing prices down
much faster. Redstone was awarded in 2015 at 12.5 cents, a third
of the price of the first project bid in Round 1, Abengoas Kaxu
Solar One at 32 cents. And at Atacama last year, Abengoa bid a
third of the price of its first Spanish project, Helioenergy 1, the
lowest yet at 11.5 cents.
Now backed by reliable global financial support and more consistent policy, the African resurgence of CSP yet looks likeliest to
meet the Greenpeace prediction.
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WIND
The Next Generation in

Wind Power Technology
Ongoing wind power research and development
will help the industry harness more wind,
more efficiently and at lower costs in the future.
RAY PELOSI, Contributor
Unprecedented Turbine Size
The biggest factors in boosting wind turbine productivity

longer blades and taller towers are fueling much of the nextgeneration research and development push to build a more
powerful, efficient, durable and cost-effective turbine. Other
important innovations are emerging to make turbine manufacturing easier and cheaper; create intelligent turbines that collect
and interpret real-time data; and model and adjust wind plant
flows and turbine configurations to maximize wind harvest.
Perhaps the most ambitious

R&D is seeking to create a
rotor blade longer than 650
feet for a 50-MW offshore
wind turbine. Thats 2.5X longer and over 6X more output
than the largest blades and
turbines now in operation.
The project, led by Sandia
Todd Griffith
shows a 50-meter
blade crosssection that could
be the basis for
50-MW offshore
wind installations.
Credit: Randy
Montoya/Sandia.
26
MARCH/APRIL 2016
The machine at ORNL that will 3D print molds to
Research is being conducted on how to reduce the expense
be used for manufacturing turbine blades. Credit:
of transporting large steel turbine towers such as this one.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Credit: v.schlichting / Shutterstock.com.
National Laboratories, uses

Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor (SUMR) technology in an aerodynamically-sophisticated load
alignment that could substantially reduce peak stress and
fatigue on rotor blades and
make such a gigantic turbine
structurally and economically feasible.
The light, segmented blades
bend in the wind without losing stiffness. This reduces blade stress, so theres
less mass required to stiffen them. In high winds, the
SUMR blades are stowed and
align with the wind direction
so they are less vulnerable to
cantilever force damage. In
low winds, the blades fan out
for maximum wind energy.
Manufacturing and Materials Solutions

The challenge is making larger and taller but not heavier or
costlier turbines that are no less effective and can withstand
the wind stresses that longer blades would encounter. You need
to ramp up the size of these turbines, said John Larson, Director at Dominion Resources, an advisor on the Sandia initiative.
But how do we get the weight reduced and advance turbine
performance?
One approach is to make the bigger blades lighter to lessen
aerodynamic and gravity loads on the other turbine components,
like the drivetrain, and lessen materials costs. GEs answer here
building blades onsite by wrapping very strong architectural
fabric around a metal space frame could generate more power
from slower wind speeds and yield much bigger blades. GE is
using this same principle for a fabric-covered, five-legged lattice
tower as tall as 139 meters.
How to make the blades is changing, too. By exploring ways
in which 3D printing capabilities can benefit wind, were beginning to identify cost and saving options with manufacturing
blades, while improving their design flexibility, said Jose Zayas,
director of the DOEs Wind and Water Power Technologies Office.
Specifically, DOE, Sandia and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are
investigating 3D printing to manufacture turbine blade molds,
MARCH/APRIL 2016
27
Wind
eliminating costs and time in

mold manufacture.
Today, its easier to transport towers by building
them in segments made of
thick, costly steel. But DOE
is researching three simpler,
less expensive possibilities:
using concrete; shipping partially unrolled steel and welding it onsite; and fashioning
corrugated steel segments
onsite which would require
up to 30 percent less metal.
A big barrier to taller towers is that, at some point,
theyre too big and expensive
to transport by land under
bridge overpasses. But the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is collaborating with a company
on a spiral welding process to
build taller steel towers onsite
and bypass the travel and
cost constraints.
Gearbox, Hub and Foundation

Where other turbine components are concerned, NREL
led development of new gearbox technologies that replace
roller bearings with journal
bearings to improve gearbox reliability and lifespan
and reduce size and weight
and use flex pins to increase
load sharing between gears
in a sun/planet configuration.
The wind that hits the
blade hub is wasted, but GE
is developing an ecoROTR
28
MARCH/APRIL 2016
The GE digital wind farm uses embedded turbine sensors that gather and
analyze data in real time on factors such as temperature, misalignments
or vibrations. Credit: GE.
turbine with a dome that covers the midpoint to capture that

wind and deflect it out to the blades. The projected 3 percent performance increase would add up across a wind farm.
To improve offshore foundations, Sandia is studying how to
reduce the support structure costs, including the development of
floating vertical axis machines. Since most of the U.S. offshore
wind supply is in deep water, where large fixed steel piles or lattice structures are impractical, several U.S. companies are developing less-expensive spar-buoy, tension leg and semi-submersible
floating wind platforms that maintain stability and motion control.
Smarter Turbines and Plants

Intelligent wind turbine R&D is centering on enhanced sensing
for loads, turbine condition monitoring, wind farm controls and
smart rotors with active control surfaces that use built-in blade
intelligence to reduce rotor blade loads and turbine costs. Making turbines smarter and able to sense and optimize energy capture while knowing the state of the turbines health if its sound
or damaged will become more important, said Todd Griffith,
lead blade designer on Sandias SUMR research.
For instance, GEs wind farm model pairs 2-MW wind turbines with a digital twin modeling system that can assemble up to
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Wind
20 turbine configurations at
every wind farm pad for peak
power generation. Embedded
turbine sensors gather and
analyze data in real time on
factors such as temperature,
misalignments or vibrations
and relays it to advanced networks that make adjustments
to improve efficiency.
Its not just the turbine
thats getting smarter. NREL
is concentrating on what Daniel Laird, director of NRELs
National Wind Technology Center, calls high-fidelity simulation at the wind plant
level. This uses intelligent
plant-wide controls to operate
the plant as a whole system,
instead of on a turbine-by-turbine basis. If you can yaw a
turbine perhaps a degree or
two off of its default setting,
you could possibly steer the
wake, or turbulence, between
turbines in the next row within the plant rather than directly at another turbine, he said.
Your wind power generation
might decrease slightly for that
particular turbine, but you
may increase production of a
subsequent row in the plant.
NREL hopes to test the theory
on a commercial wind farm.
To better understand how
the wind is blowing for a
plant, DOE is trying to couple regional forecasting and
localized wind resource models. You would make the box
30
MARCH/APRIL 2016
The Carbon Trusts scanning LIDAR technology test was launched in

February 2016. Credit: Carbon Trust.
bigger around the wind plant to really capture some of the interactions between the atmospheric boundary layer and the flow
through the wind plant, said Laird.
Offshore Wind Resource Assessment Without MET Towers

The Carbon Trust launched an ambitious wind resource measurement project in mid-February with a three-month test the
worlds largest ever of scanning Light Detection and Radar
(LIDAR) technology. LIDAR has the potential to migrate calculation of a wind farms potential energy yield away from fixed steel
met masts by giving a more detailed picture of the wind resource
over a larger portion of the wind site. The economic implications
are enormous, since wind measurement accounts for about 45
percent of an average wind farms overall project cost.
In information terms [scanning LIDAR technology] is the difference between taking a still photo compared to having a three
dimensional video with full sound, said Megan Smith, Project
Manager, Wakes Research at the Carbon Trust in a press release.
Project partners include RES, Irish Lights, Leosphere and
Lockheed Martin.
By some estimates, global installed wind capacity could grow
to 2,000 GW by 2030 and meet almost 19 percent of global electricity demand. These innovations will certainly help the wind
energy industry to get there.
E N E RG Y S TO R AG E
A Look at Liquid Air Energy

Storage Technology
Large-scale grid storage is seen by some
as the holy grail for large-scale renewable
energy grid integration. A new technology
has the potential to meet that need.
AUSTEN ADAMS, Metalcraft
With traditional coal-fired power stations coming to the end

of their working lives, the challenge to engineers to develop
clean, reliable energy technologies has never been so pressing.
Renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar
power both offer potential solutions but the unresolved issue
has always been consistency of supply and how to store energy generated for use at a later date.
One energy storage solution that has come to the forefront
in recent months is Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES), which
uses liquid air to create an energy reserve that can deliver
large-scale, long duration energy storage.
Unlike other large-scale energy storage solutions, LAES
does not have geographical restrictions such as the need to be
located in mountainous areas or where there are reservoirs,
which could render it more viable for a range of operations.
However, many great ideas in the energy industry abound so
how does new technology

such as LAES make the leap
from the drawing board into
reality and is it effective when
it does?
Highview Power Storage
with project partners, Viridor,
recently received more than
8m [US $11.4m] in funding
from the UK Department of
Energy and Climate Change
for the design, build and testing of a 5-MW LAES technology plant that would be suitable for long duration energy
storage. The site will soon be
operational in the north west
of England.
Our liquid air energy storage technology stores liquid
air in insulated tanks at low
pressure before discharging it as electricity when
required, explained Matthew
Barnett, Head of Business
Transporting LAES tanks is just
one of the many challenges
facing this new technology.
Credit: Stainless Metalcraft.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
31
Development, at Highview
Power. Like all energy storage systems, the LAES system comprises three primary
processes: a charging system;
an energy store; and power
recovery. However, unlike
many other storage systems,
these can be scaled independently to optimize the system
for different applications.
Barnett said that the
technology turns air liquid
through refrigeration (down
to -196C) and storing the very
cold liquid in insulated vessels. When power is required,
liquid air is drawn from the
tanks and pumped to high
pressure, he said. Stored
heat from the air liquefier is
applied to the liquid air via
heat exchangers and an intermediate heat transfer fluid.
This produces a high-pressure gas that is then used to
drive the turbine and create
electricity. With 700 liters of
ambient air being reduced to
just one liter of liquid air, the
storage capacity this offers is
significant, representing GWh
of energy potential.
The technology is also able
to use waste heat and cold
from its own and other processes to enhance its efficiency. Matthew continued: During the discharge stage, very
cold air is exhausted and captured by a high-grade cold
store that can be used at a
32
MARCH/APRIL 2016
later date to enhance the efficiency of the liquefaction process. In

a similar way, we can integrate waste cold from industrial processes such as LNG terminals.
Similarly, the low boiling point of liquefied air means the
efficiency of the system can be improved with the introduction
of ambient heat. The standard LAES system is designed to capture and store the heat produced during the liquefaction process (stage 1), integrating it into the power recovery process
(stage 3). This makes it a great option for applications that have
their own waste heat source, such as thermal power generation
or steel mills.
Highview tested and demonstrated a fully operational
350-kW/2.5-MWh LAES pilot plant at SSEs 80-MW biomass plant
at Slough Heat and Power in Greater London from 2011 to 2014
Storage vessels in
the demonstration
project are
nearly 12 and a
half meters tall,
three meters in
diameter, 13 mm
thick and have an
empty weight of
16,230 kg. Credit:
Highview Power.
E n E r g y S to r ag E
successfully connecting to
the UK grid and complying
with the necessary regulations and inspections.
Now showcasing the 5-MW
pre-commercial demonstration plant at Viridors land-
to hundreds of MWs in power for multiple hours.

Avintrans Stainless Metalcraft business supplied the most
important part of the system: the energy storage vessels.
According to Kelvin Boyce, Technical Manager at Metalcraft,
the company has a track record of working with companies to
bring new concepts to life.
Boyce said the vessels in the demonstration project are nearly 12 and a half meters high,
three meters in diameter and
13mm thick.
With an empty weight of
16,230 kg, working on vessels
this size and bigger throws up
a range of manufacturing challenges, not least of which is find1. Charge
2. Store
3. Discharge
Off-peak or excess
The liquid air is
To recover power
ing production facilities large
electricity is used to
stored in tank(s) at
the liquid air is
enough to house the vessels and
power an air
low pressure.
pumped to high
liquefier, which
pressure, evaporated
their protective scaffolding as
produces liquid air.
and heated. The
high pressure gas
theyre produced, he said.
drives a turbine to
A special welding skill set
generate electricity.
was required to build the vessels correctly since they were
Diagram of the LAES 3-Step Process. Credit: Highview Power.
manufactured from carbon
steel which offers impact energy
fill gas generation site at Pilsabsorption greater than 27J at -20C, according to Boyce.
worth Landfill facility in
The high integral welds were non-destructive tested using
Greater Manchester, the projradiograph techniques at our own, on-site facility, and the comect will operate for at least
pleted vessel was also hydrostatic tested to 12.6 bar g, including
one year, providing energy
allowance for static head as the vessel is around 12 meters tall.
storage as well as converting
The actual test weight of the vessel was 94,000 kg.
low-grade waste heat from
Boyce added that his company will be able to provide in-house
the landfill gas engines from
training to scale up production as the technology is proven and
heat to power.
orders come in.
Building the Supply Chain
Proof of Concept
While the 5-MW/15-MWh

pre-commercial demonstration plant is appropriately sized to demonstrate grid
scale storage, the supply
chain is equipped to provide
components that are scalable
After co-ordinating the delivery and installation of components

from a number of suppliers including GE, Heatric, Siemens,
Nikkiso and Atlas Copco the pre-commercial demonstrator
is now going through the commissioning phase and is due to be
operational in the first half of 2016.
As well as generating power, the project hopes to demonstrate
how LAES can be used to help balance supply and demand on
34
MARCH/APRIL 2016
E n E r g y S to r ag E
Rendering of the potential gigaplant

that Highview Power hopes to
develop should the demonstration
project be successful. Credit:
Highview Power.
the grid during its time in

operation, including Short Term Operating
Reserve (STOR), Triad avoidance (supporting the grid
during the winter peaks), and
testing for the PJM regulation
market in the U.S.
Should all go according to
plan, Highview Power hopes
to build an even larger 200-MW / 1.2GWh that it is calling The Gigaplant.

Barnett said that Highview is selecting components for this larger system. Theres nothing
in the world today available at this scale without
geographical constraints and at such a competitive
cost. We believe that Highviews LAES systems will be
the cheapest, cleanest and lowest environmental impact GWh
scale, locatable storage systems available, he said.
Austen Adams is managing director of Metalcrafts Energy &
Medical division.
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dat
a
poi
nt s
EUROPEAN ENERGY
STAKEHOLDERS
RANK THE ISSUES
<5 Years
The Growing Share of Renewables in the Energy Mix
Energy Storage
Plant Modernisation & Optimisation
Offshore Wind
Transition from Centralised to Decentralised Power Systems
Decarbonisation of the Power Sector
Solar PV
Combating Cyber Security Threats
Onshore Wind
36
Biomass and Waste-to-Energy
10
Electric Vehicles & Related Infrastructure
11
Closer Integration of Heat & Electricity Sectors
12
Capacity Market Mechanisms
13
Big Data Usage
14
Smart Cities
15
Single European Energy Market
16
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
17
Solar CSP
18
Wave & Tidal
19
MARCH/APRIL 2016
Major stakeholders in the European

power sector rank issues in importance
today (during the next 5 years) and in the
long-term (5-20 years).
Electric vehicles, smart cities and energy

storage gain in importance while plant
modernization, decarbonization and
solar PV fall.
5-20 Years
Energy Storage
The Growing Share of Renewables in the Energy Mix
Electric Vehicles & Related Infrastructure
Offshore Wind
Transition from Centralised to Decentralised Power Systems
Smart Cities
Plant Modernisation & Optimisation
Combating Cyber Security Threats
Decarbonisation of the Power Sector
10
Solar PV
11
Big Data Usage
12
Biomass and Waste-to-Energy
13
Closer Integration of Heat & Electricity Sectors
14
Onshore Wind
15
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
16
Solar CSP
17
Single European Energy Market
18
Capacity Market Mechanisms
19
Wave & Tidal
http://www.powergeneurope.com/content/pge/en/index/power-gen-confidence-index.whitepaperpdf.render.pdf
DATA
Confidence
Index
DATA CREDIT:
CREDIT: POWER-GEN
POWER-G
GEN Europe
Europe C
onfid
dence In
nde x
MARCH/APRIL 2016
37
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
19-21 JULY 2016
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Host Utility:
Supporting Association:
G E OT H E R M A L
A Rising Model: Public

Finance in Early Stage
Geothermal Development
Developers now have more public financing options
available to support the exploration and test drilling
phases of geothermal development, where high risk
traditionally has limited funding opportunities.
JENNIFER DELONY, Associate Editor
The physical risks associated with

early-stage geothermal development are constant, and barring some major technological
advancements, theres little to suggest that those risks will change
substantively in the near-term.
Analysts say exploration costs can
account for up to 15 percent of the
capital cost of a geothermal project, and the rate of success in
the early stages can be between
50-60 percent. Despite the
importance of preliminary surveys, exploration and test drilling in the project life cycle, public financing has been focused
most often on later stages of
development. That trend, however, is changing.
Access to certain financial
mechanisms, such as commercial debt, which are available to
other resource developments,
is unavailable to early-stage
Olkaria Geothermal Power Complex, Kenya. Credit: Power Africa.
geothermal development as a result of the high associated risk. Some companies may have access to public equity, and private equity investors could contribute capital with
a promise of a high return. The public sector, on the other
hand, is becoming a secure place for developers to access
funding through, for example, direct funding and loan guarantees. Government development agencies also are a strong
option in the current market.
There are some promising financing developments for
MARCH/APRIL 2016
39
G e ot h e r m a l
the early stages of the project life cycle because public resources are starting to
amass to answer the necessity of participating in early-stage financing, Stephen Morel, climate finance
specialist, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC), said.
According to Morel, finance
tools from development
finance institutions (DFIs),
such as OPIC, have evolved
to help drive more investment into geothermal, and a
lot more public programs are
now available as part of those
tools. OPIC is the U.S. governments sole DFI.
Morel said that national resources are changing.
For example, governments
around the world are demonstrating a stronger will to further geothermal development.
That has resulted in
resource mapping in countries where it didnt exist
before, as well as the availability of fields to private
developers, he said. There
are a lot of success stories now where public entities under government have
completed exploratory drilling and can offer opportunity from the wells to private
developers.
In addition, Morel has
seen an enhanced role by
public entities in providing
40
MARCH/APRIL 2016
contingents and concessionary

products.
That has come from the
strong will of those public entities, he said. A lot of the will
from public entities started
with in-depth research from, for
example, the World Bank and
other multilaterals that wanted to map where geothermal
resources are.
Morel also said that he is seeing a resurgence in geothermal
drilling insurance.
Stephen Morel. Credit: OPIC.
OPIC Around the World
OPIC, which is a development

finance institution that serves
the U.S. governments foreign policy goals, finances and insures
U.S. private sector businesses looking to enter challenging economies around the world and develop projects ranging from small
agriculture, healthcare, and education to large infrastructure.
Charles Stadtlander, a spokesperson for OPIC, said that the
organization has seen a pretty large uptick in renewable energy
in the past five to six years.
He said that OPIC has about a $20 billion overall development portfolio in financing and insurance, supporting 500 active
projects in 100 countries, in impactful sectors like clean water
and sanitation, agriculture modernization, financial inclusion, affordable housing, and new energy access, including from
renewables.
In recent years, overall new commitments from OPIC have
ranged from $3 billion up to more than $4 billion per year, he
said. Of that, about one quarter to one third has been in renewable energy, including more than $6 billion in support to renewable energy over the past five years.
According to Morel, OPIC in the early 90s was active in the
Asia-Pacific Indonesia and the Philippines and more recently provided support for the Olkaria III project in Kenya. Olkaria
was completed with a combination of public and private financing as well as risk mitigation measures.
Geothermal is fantastic for OPIC because it really fits in the
G e ot h e r m a l
wheelhouse of all the aspects

were trying to get to, he
said. It is one of the more
interesting renewables to
support these days because
it is truly base load, which
you dont find with some of
the other renewables that
have become more mature
and have more financing
options,said Morel.
The ability of geothermal
to act as a base-load resource
has been important as a longterm energy plan for a lot of
the countries that OPIC works
with, he added.
Stadtlander noted that
OPIC can collaborate with
other DFIs from around the
world on large infrastructure
projects.
We can work as co-lenders, he said. Were part of a
like-minded community that
helps drive private developers, private capital, and private equity investors in some
of the worlds most challenging economies.
Promising Options
Morel said that the way the
market is adapting is forcing a dichotomy on the private side in that there are
now two types of developers: those that can fund a
project on balance sheet, but
also those developers who
have positioned themselves
to navigate public resources
the multilateral banks, DFIs and regional bodies.

Some of the more interesting public financing is coming
in the form of concessional loans that have conditions more
akin to mezzanine debt, he said. Given the conditions on
those loans, funds are capable of being deployed at an earlier
stage and with concessional rates. That is beneficial to the private developers that are putting a lot of their own equity into a
project.
Also of interest on the public side, he said, are programs that
are providing contingent loans, where funds can be deployed,
and if a drilling program is successful, it remains as a loan; if its
unsuccessful, then it becomes a grant.
On the private side, he added, balance-sheet financing
remains the most effective way to keep down required rates of
return.
If theyre working with other equity institutions that require
a high rate of return, then that makes it a challenge for them, he
said. On balance sheet financing remains one of the most effective ways to address that.
Public-Private Partnerships
According to Pierre Audient senior energy economist at World
Bank Groups Energy Sector Management Assistance Program
(ESMAP), public-private partnerships (PPP) are a growing option
for supporting the risks of early-stage geothermal development.
World Bank in 2013 formed the Global Geothermal Development Plan, which has raised $250 million. ESMAP uses a portion of that funding to finance identification and preparation of
projects as well as other forms of technical assistance required
to structure geothermal advancements in countries. The funding
currently supports programs in seven countries.
PPPs can stimulate private developer funds and reduce the
risks taken on by government or a developer if either were to
develop a project on their own.
Audient said PPPs can take different forms. Under a tolling
agreement, for example, a public entity can develop and operate a steam field, and the steam field is later turned into a power
plant that is owned by a private developer. As an alternative, a
public entity and a private investor can create a joint venture.
Under the joint venture agreement, all aspects of a developed
project are co-owned and co-financed by the public entity and
private investor.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
41
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B I O E N E RG Y
One Mans Trash is Another

Mans Renewable Energy
From garbage in
landfills to water
that is flushed down the
drain, there is quite a bit
of useful energy left in
the items we discard.
Using heat exchanges, anaerobic digestion technology, and

waste-to-energy facilities, the projects here showcase important bioenergy technology that is being used right now to
drive down traditional energy costs and increase renewable
energy installed capacity worldwide.
Gateway (Theater) to the Future Uses

Waste Heat to Lower Energy Costs
JENNIFER RUNYON, Chief Editor
The Gateway Theatre is a 50,000 square foot multiuse public

theater in Richmond, BC. In 2013, the city approved the use
The practical benefits of an
of a sewage wastewater recovery system at the theater to
organic product do not neceshelp meet its greenhouse gas and reduced energy consumpsarily end when it goes down the
tion goals. There was a wastewater treatment plant near the
drain or into the trash. In fact,
theater, which made the project feasible.
there is quite a bit of useful enerEssentially the system, supplied by International Wastegy left in the items we discard.
water Systems, takes raw sewage, processes it and then
extracts heat to process fluid. The fluid is then supplied to the buildings low-temperature heat loop.
The company said that up to 250 gallons per minute
of raw sewage can be pumped through its SHARC
system.
The project was meant to reduce natural gas use
and provide a renewable heat source for the facility. Additional retrogrades were performed, such
as replacing a boiler and couplings and a building envelop improvement. The new technology and
upgrades were projected to reduce natural gas use
at the facility by approximately 45 percent, annual operating costs by $10,800 and drop GHG emissions by 50 tons.
The system was completed in September 2013. The
capital cost for the heat recovery system was $55,000
and when the design, labor, additional upgrades and
replacement were added up, the total project cost
Gateway Theatre in Richmond, BC. Credit: City was just under $200,000 with about half of that met
of Richmond, BC.
through two government grants. Based on the first
MARCH/APRIL 2016
43
Bioenergy
two years of operating costs,

the avoidance savings mean
that the project should have
a payback of 6 years. It is
expected to last for 25.
What is the potential for
this type of technology? The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates
that about 385 billion kWh
of energy is sent down the
drain each year in the form of
waste heat.
Leeks, Onions and

Maize Power Allpress
Farm and the Grid
The Sewage Shark system installed at the Gateway Theatre in Richmond,

BC. Credit: International Wastewater Systems.
While farmers understand

how compost closes the loop
on the organic growth of their
crops, they may not be quite
as savvy when it comes to
harvesting the energy that
is created when those crops
decompose. Thats where companies like EnviTec Biogas, a Germany company with a subsidiary in the UK comes in.
Allpress Farms grows leeks and onions for supermarkets plus
wheat, maize and sugar beets for various other uses. The family-owned farm employs about 100 people and is run by brothers
Nick and Patrick Allpress.
In 2014 the Allpress brothers created Horseway Energy as
a way to diversify revenue streams. Horseway
uses biogas technology to supply power to the
grid. The feedstock for the biogas is a 50-50 mix
of maize and waste from the leeks and onions.
EnviTec Biogas UK installed the 500-kW system, which today generates almost 12,000 kWh
of electricity each day. The digestate, which is the
leftover portion of the waste after it has been processed, goes back to the crops as fertilizer.
Nick Allpress said the total cost for the project
was 2.5 million [US $3.4m], which was financed
through personal loans and private equity. Allpress receives 3.8 to 4.3 pence [US $0.05 to 0.06]
from the grid for each kWh of energy he generates but the largest portion of the revenue from
The waste leeks and beets that are processed in the
the project comes from the feed-in tariff (FIT).
The FIT is a substantial contributor to the projanaerobic digestion takes at Allpress Farms. Credit:
ect income and is guaranteed at 14.63 pence [US
EnviTec Biogas UK.
44
MARCH/APRIL 2016
Bioenergy
$0.20] per kWh, this is also

index linked for 20 years, he
explained.
The project is expected
to pay for itself within eight
years of operation.
A Landfill-based Alternative to Natural Gas

In shale-gas rich Pennsylvania, there is a lot of natural gas being fracked and
pumped through pipelines to
take advantage of the robust
natural gas market. With so
much natural gas flooding
the market and rendering gas
prices cheap, it comes as little surprise that a market for
renewable natural gas is having a hard time emerging.
With the help of Renewable
Natural Gas credits (RNGCs)
developed by The Energy
Co-op, however, that emerging renewable natural gas
market may get a little boost.
Renewable-energy minded
consumers who live near the Marcellus Shale and may be

opposed to fracking, now have a solution-oriented option
available to them, according to Clay Bedwell, Director of Energy
Operations at The Energy Co-op. The Energy Co-op has just patented the first RNGCs, which it sells to natural gas users to offset their use of traditional natural gas with renewable natural
gas that comes from landfills. We are looking to have a similar effect as RECs. The real objective of the RNGC is to add value
to those organizations that are productively using biogas in a
way that offsets pipeline gas, explained Eric Kravitz, Director
of Business Development. He added: Just like RECs add value
to people operating wind farms or solar farms, RNGCs are a
financial incentive for people to operate and further develop
landfill gas operations.
Landfill gas has a lower BTU count and can be used directly
by industrial users with modified equipment that can run on it.
Landfill Gas To Power in Florida

At the end of an 18-mile transmission line an Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) substation in St. Cloud, Florida receives
power from a 9.8-MW CB&I facility that is powered by landfill gas from Progressive Waste Solutions. The gas comes from
decaying garbage and would otherwise be destroyed by burning off in a flare.
HR Green designed the facility and specified all of the gas
treatment, compression, and generating equipment, which consists of six Caterpillar 3520C low-BTU fueled generator sets.
The gas chilling and compression equipment was provided by
The storage tanks at Allpress Farms. Credit: EnviTec
Exterior intake fans at CB&Is waste-to-energy facility
Biogas UK.
in Florida. Credit: HR Green.

MARCH/APRIL 2016
45
Bioenergy
Landfill Gas Specialties, a

subsidiary of CB&I.
According to Douglas
G.Tholo, President of HR
Greens Energy Business Line
the total project budget was
$18,700,000, which included the electrical interconnect
with OUC. HR Greens portion of the total budget was
$13,900,000 and the project
was brought in under budget
at a total project actual cost of
$14,292,145.
Skip the Landfill Altogether

In late February, energyfrom-waste (EfW) company
Covanta released its 2014 sustainability report that showed that

the company has helped produce 9.8 million MWh of clean energy and reduced waste going to landfills by 20.7 million tons.
One of the ways it has reduced landfill waste is through its
zero-waste-to-landfill initiative, which assists companies in finding ways to reduce materials consumption, re-use materials,
recycle, compost and use anaerobic digestion and then recovering whatever waste is left through EfW facilities.
In September 2014, Rochester-NY based Diamond Packaging achieved zero manufacturing waste-to-landfill status with
Covantas help.
Zero manufacturing waste to landfill is defined by Diamond
Packaging as 100 percent landfill waste diversion through a
combination of recycling and energy recovery solutions. In Diamonds case it accounts for all waste related to the manufacture
of folding cartons, including paperboard, plastic, metal, industrial waste, and regulated waste, with the exception of construction
and demolition (CD) waste.
The UKs largest

renewables event
4-5 May, SECC Glasgow
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Market sectors represented:
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Hydro Here a nd Now
Money problems
Elizabeth Ingram
is managing editor
of Hydro Review and
HRW-Hydro Review
Worldwide magazines
for PennWell Corp.
Hydropower worldwide
faces numerous challenges, and most of these cross
geographic boundaries.
These challenges can range from
opposition to new development from
environmental groups and local
stakeholders to the need for rehabilitation of aging facilities to the
importance of properly managing
cross-border water resources.
But the challenge I see the most:
Coming up with the money.
For example, very recently the
country of Georgia reached out to
its neighbor Iran to invest money
in the construction of hydroelectric plants. Only about 20 percent of
Georgias water supplies are used
to generate power, and more electricity is needed.
The money shortage is even a
problem for hydro projects under
construction. In Zimbabwe, work
halted on the 12-MW Tokwe-Mukosi
plant while the government sought to
raise $60 million needed to complete
the dam and pay contractors. This
isnt the first time work on this facility has been halted for financial reasons; it happened in 2008 as well.
There is money out there, as
recent transactions show. The World
Bank Group is providing a loan of US
$22.5 million to help Nepal implement its Power Sector Reform and
Sustainable Hydropower Project.
And the African Development

Bank approved at least US
$138 million in financing to
develop the 147-MW Ruzizi 3 project
between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But, on occasion, a hydro project just works out to be unprofitable
to develop. This was the case in the
state of California in the U.S., when
the Sacramento Municipal Utility
District announced it would proceed
with construction of the 400-MW
Iowa Hill pumped-storage project.
From initial cost estimates of $520
million in 2007, projected cost had
risen to $1.45 billion in 2016 and
SMUD said, it is likely there will
be more economical alternatives for
satisfying Sacramentos energy storage needs in the long term.
Money is always going to be an
issue, I suppose that will never
change. And if the money needed
to develop the worlds vast hydropower potential, and help ensure
clean electricity for its inhabitants,
isnt available through more traditional channels, there is a need
to change the formula. Thats why
many countries are seeking to
attract private investment funds.
Unfortunately, that shift means the
entire hydropower market must be
even more focused on finances, to
ensure the return on investment
justifies the outlay. But if all of
those important aspects can come
together, I see a bright future for
hydropower worldwide!
MARCH/APRIL 2016
47
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ETA Florence Renewable
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Hydrovision Intl 201620
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capacity) if little energy is generated from renewable sources. As opposed to

thermal power stations, pumped storage power
plants are able to react in the shortest possible
time to grid frequency fluctuations, by generating the required electricity or by absorbing any
excess. Modern systems need only thirty seconds
to start the pumps or turbines up from a standstill. In the event of a black out, pumped storage
power plants can support and control the complex grid restoration process through their black
MARCH/APRIL 2016
REW International 201611

Siemens Ag4
Renewable Energy World Europe

21-23 June 2016
Milan, Italy
[ cont from pg. 49]
48
Power-Gen India & Central

Asia 201625
Solar Energy Trade Shows35

Surrette Battery Co. Ltd.33
Tamura Corporation19
Trojan Battery Company2
The Adveritsers Index is published as a service.
The publisher does not assume any liability for
errors or omissions.
start ability. At present, they are the only available energy storage facilities that have undergone
large-scale technical testing, act as flexible loads
or generators in the grid, and make significant
contributions to grid stability and therefore security of energy supplies.
With the current state of technology, there is
only one possibility for achieving the flexibility
needed for todays grid in an economically viable, large-scale way: with the help of pumped
storage plants.
Last
the
WORD
Why Pumped Storage Hydropower

Needs More Attention in the
Energy Storage Discussion
Heike Bergmann
is a member of
the board of
management at Voith
Hydro responsible for
sales and marketing.
She began her career
in 1996 at ABB Calor
Emag Schaltanlagen
AG. After that, she
became a commercial
director at Areva
Energietechnik until
the company was
acquired by Alstom
Grid.
As most people know, the production and consumption of electricity do

not always match. Both in industrial
and developing countries with a rising need for energy, there are daily
fluctuations in the electricity grid. In
the future, as power generation by
wind and PV increases, electricity
generation will at times be far above
the load (in case of strong wind and
high solar radiation) and, likewise,
far below the load (in case of weak
wind and low solar radiation) in an
increasing number of hours. In addition, it must be expected that upward
and downward jumps of renewable
generation will be rising, especially in the short-term time frame (cloud
movements, wind fronts and calms,
etc), which will be difficult to predict
accurately. Pumped storage power
plants are ideally suited to help even
out these frequent changes between
electricity shortages and surpluses,
thus could significantly prevent the
curtailment of renewable generation.
The principle behind pumped storage is both simple and ingenious at
the same time. Pumped storage power
plants are an energy storage system and a hydroelectric power plant
in one. If there is surplus power on
the grid, the pumped storage power
station switches to pumping mode: an

electric motor drives pump turbines,
which pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher storage basin. If
the demand for electricity in the grid
rises, water is released from the upper
basin via a pressure pipeline to the
bottom. The water causes the pump
turbines to move, which now operate
in turbine mode and are used in turn
to drive the generators. Within seconds, electricity is generated and fed
back into the electricity grid.
Electricity generation dialogue
today assumes that it will be possible
to forego storage by focusing on grid
expansion and the future increase of
production and consumption flexibility. Some experts propose compensating for the volatility of renewable energy by building controllable and highly
flexible new thermal (gas) plants and
by promoting the use of demand side
management, disconnecting consumers in the industrial and private sectors. However, there are two important challenges which have not been
considered enough. One is the availability of sufficient flexibility in the
grid when generation from renewable energies is very high. And the
other is ensuring the system adequa[ cont on pg. 48]
cy (reliable available
MARCH/APRIL 2016
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