Contents TOC o “1-3” h z u ABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc511836676 h 2CHAPTER 1 PAGEREF _Toc511836677 h 31

Contents
TOC o “1-3″ h z u ABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc511836676 h 2CHAPTER 1 PAGEREF _Toc511836677 h 31.INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc511836678 h 31.1.BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT PAGEREF _Toc511836679 h 31.2.AIM OF THE PROJECT PAGEREF _Toc511836680 h 4CHAPTER 2 PAGEREF _Toc511836681 h 52.LITERATURE REVIEW PAGEREF _Toc511836682 h 5CHAPTER 3 PAGEREF _Toc511836683 h 83.1.SOLAR ENERGY SCENARIO PAGEREF _Toc511836684 h 83.2.CHALLENGES WITH SOLAR PHOTO VOLTAIC PAGEREF _Toc511836685 h 15CHAPTER 4 PAGEREF _Toc511836686 h 25

ABSTRACTSolar energy is a boon that is given to the earth. From the very beginning of human civilization, solar energy has been used in various activities and as a part of various raw material industries e.g.: Leather, Fishery, Food processing, House heating and even as weapon against naval targets. The beginning of 20th century saw the rise in use of renewable energy and by the end there is a boom in the same. The boom was a result of the “Oil Crisis of 1970’s” which was a turning point in the research of the renewable technology. The advent of a new wave of green energy and carbon footprint awareness among the general population of world has led to a further boost in the renewable energy sector and for which Solar has been a leading component by providing new method to exploit the limitless source of energy – The sun. India is a tropical, temperate country which is at the region between the tropic of cancer and the equator, thus being at a near ideal region for setting up solar technology due to its abundance of solar power. The current regulations in the solar rooftop policies in India have boosted the renewable energy implementation in the country on a large scale. This increase may be temporary and may not last a long time if there are no regulations which will dictate the appropriate deployment of the same. Such actions need a large bureaucratic support and longer wait times plague the current implementation conditions. The same issues can be overcome by providing technological solutions rather than policy changes. One such issue is the net metering guidelines which have been implemented across all states in India. The current net metering guidelines create a barrier in the installation of Rooftop Solar PV systems due to the longer wait times and a significant number of documentation to be done from both the consumer and producer sides. This work has its major focus on removing those barriers and lowering the time of installation and commissioning of such systems by standardising the equipment and thereby reducing the overall downtime. The concept of standardising the equipment is to provide a standard power to the system which may or may not feed-in to the grid. The system will have solar panels which will provide a cumulative power supply as intended as part of the system. E.g.: The Standardized system which will provide a power of 5 kWp will have PV modules and mounting system with an inverter which at its deliver point will provide 5 kWp to the outer circuit. The thesis focuses on the difference in downtime and realises the requirements for such a system and also address the advantages these systems have over the current residential PV systems.
CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTIONBACKGROUND OF THE PROJECTSolar energy is the most abundant form of energy available in the world which has gained a profound popularity all around the globe as a new and limitless source of energy. Solar energy is envisioned to be a source unparalleled to any in providing energy. Now with the rising problems of pollutions and population in every country, the struggle to survive each day has become tougher. The pollution caused by using conventional sources of energy has put up a significant block in the growth of a country. A developing nation like India with a large availability of solar energy at an annual average of 5.4kWh/m2/day can provide solar utilisation resources to its complete form. With the ambitious implementation of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in 2010 India has catapulted its solar energy goals to a realistic value. India has declared an ambitious goal of 40,000 MWp for RTS by year 2022. Thought the RTS potential was thoroughly researched and declared, there is a significant bottleneck to these is the access to land or roof for the implementation of these projects, thus current solar scenario is lagging behind in fulfilling the assigned solar installation goal. Solar installations in houses are still considered to be a luxury for any households. Though there have been significant installations of Solar Water heaters and Pumps, but PV have not gained such favourable status from the general population. This is due to the lack of awareness and high amount of regulations which make it hard for citizens to invest in the same. One of the major factors which influence the lag in solar installations is the lack of providers or installers for residential solar. There are a large number of EPC companies which specialise in Rooftop Solar, but the high cost of installations discourages the majority of the consumers from installing PV systems which are grid tied or independent. Though there are various subsidies which are provided by the government with sufficient capital compensation i.e., up to 70% in cases of special states, these targets are not being achieved due to the lack of addressing of consumer needs on residential scenario. The installation of a solar PV project faces a lot of challenges technically and bureaucratically due to the large amount of requirements of paperwork to be processed prior and post the installation and commissioning the project.

AIM OF THE PROJECTTo analyse, comprehend and provide a viable solution for the current scenario of power generation for residential sector. The intended effect of the solution is to provide a complete all round solution to the challenges faced by the residential sector relating to PV installation in both the off grid and grid related scenarios.

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CHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEWLITERATURE SURVEY
Ramakrishna Kappagantu and S. Arul Daniel have suggested in their work India is on a growth trajectory in terms of population as well as development. To maintain the pace of development along with environmental and fuel consideration, the country is desperate to explore and implement various emerging features like smart grids, renewable technologies, etc., with the policy of “go green” and several initiatives are being taken by GoI and echoed by respective authorities. The smart grid project in Puducherry is one of such initial pilot project in India. Rooftop solar PV system has been used as renewable sources in this Smart Grid. This paper presents an analysis of rooftop solar PV system implementation barrier in Puducherry smart grid pilot project. A survey has been performed with electricity consumers, considering questions regarding consumption over different period, space availability for roof top PV system and users experience with this technology.
Sivasankari Sundaram, K. N. Sheeba, and Jakka Sarat Chandra Babu have discussed in their work that the thirst for energy has brought out the existence of grid connected solar photovoltaic systems to meet out the reduction in the energy bill, which act as a cost saving methodology with simultaneous gain of incentives from the government for transporting the power to the national grid. Hence the operational objectives and the control strategies employed for its efficient operation are to be well studied. This paper thus discusses in detail about its topology, grid standards, real time challenges and objectives incorporating even the ancillary control schemes. A review is made on the control techniques which are made available for the DC (PV side) and AC side (grid side). A comparative analysis is made on each of the techniques based on the response parameters concluding the suggestion of most appropriate strategy for tolerable operation of grid connected photovoltaic systems.

Mohamed A. Eltawil, Zhengming Zhao Traditional electric power systems are designed in large part to utilize large baseload power plants, with limited ability to rapidly ramp output or reduce output below a certain level. The increase in demand variability created by intermittent sources such as photovoltaic (PV) presents new challenges to increase system flexibility. This paper aims to investigate and emphasize the importance of the grid-connected PV system regarding the intermittent nature of renewable generation, and the characterization of PV generation with regard to grid code compliance. The investigation was conducted to critically review the literature on expected potential problems associated with high penetration levels and islanding prevention methods of grid tied PV. According to the survey, PV grid connection inverters have fairly good performance. They have high conversion efficiency and power factor exceeding 90% for wide operating range, while maintaining current harmonics THD less than 5%. Numerous large-scale projects are currently being commissioned, with more planned for the near future. Prices of both PV and balance of system components (BOS) are decreasing which will lead to further increase in use. The technical requirements from the utility power system side need to be satisfied to ensure the safety of the PV installer and the reliability of the utility grid. Identifying the technical requirements for grid interconnection and solving the interconnect problems such as islanding detection, harmonic distortion requirements and electromagnetic interference are therefore very important issues for widespread application of PV systems. The control circuit also provides sufficient control and protection functions like maximum power tracking, inverter current control and power factor control. Reliability, life span and maintenance needs should be certified through the long-term operation of PV system. Further reduction of cost, size and weight is required for more utilization of PV systems. Using PV inverters with a variable power factor at high penetration levels may increase the number of balanced conditions and subsequently increase the probability of islanding. It is strongly recommended that PV inverters should be operated at unity power factor
Komali Yenneti since Independence in 1947, the Government of India has been releasing an array of functional structures to support the growth of solar energy in the country. This paper, while unpacking and illustrating the temporal evolution of policy and institutions responsible for solar energy development, critically reviews the political economy of grid-connected solar energy in India. Findings from this study indicate that the implementation of a range of policies, programmes, and institutions, especially since the initiation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), has been playing a prominent role in India’s solar energy portfolio e building up the sector from less than 10 MW installed capacity in the 2000s to about 3000 MW in 2014. Still, solar energy is not the most popular source of renewable energy in India. The findings of this study also indicate that issues surrounding policy, financial, and social aspects are increasingly becoming impediments to bringing a paradigm shift in the solar sector.

Manasseh Obi, Robert Bass This paper presents a literature review of the recent development and trends pertaining to Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems (GCPVS). In countries with high penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) resources, GCPVS have been shown to cause in advertent stress on the electrical grid. A review of the existing and future standards that addresses the technical challenges associated with the growing number of GCPVS is presented. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), Solar Tracking (ST) and the use of transform less inverters can all lead to high efficiency gain so Photovoltaic (PV) systems while ensuring minimal interference with the grid. Inverters that support ancillary services like reactive power control, frequency regulation and energy storage are critical for mitigating the challenges caused by the growing adoption of GCPVS. .

Aditya Chunekar, Sapekshya Varshney, Shantanu Dixit Residential electricity consumption (REC) has increased by 50 times since 1971 and now constitutes about a quarter of India’s total electricity consumption, up from about 4% in 1971. It is expected to grow further due to rapid electrification, increasing household incomes, and technology development. A better understanding of REC patterns and the factors affecting it is essential for designing effective and credible energy efficiency programmes, optimise planning of capacity addition, and better adaption to the rapidly changing business models and technologies in the Power sector. In this report, we provide an overview of the current understanding of REC in India by analysing data from various sources like the census, surveys, and distribution companies (DISCOM) and reviewing the publicly available literature on the topic. There is a need to collect and publish more data in reliable form and to conduct research across different disciplines to enhance knowledge about REC in India. We make three recommendations to improve the quality of research on REC in India. First, organisations like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), regulators, and the distribution companies should make their REC related data public as much as possible. Second, researchers both academic and non-academic should use the existing data or generate data by conducting local surveys to carry out various disciplinary and inter-disciplinary studies on the REC. Finally, we recommend conducting periodic nation-wide residential energy consumption surveys which gather data on people’s energy (including electricity) usage patterns over the years. This data can be useful to understand the change in usage patterns and track improvement in overall efficiency levels.

CHAPTER 3SOLAR ENERGY SCENARIOGLOBAL SCENARIO
Total global solar PV installed capacity surpassed 300 GW by the end of 2016. 77 GW was added in 2016, a year-on-year growth rate of 34%. China led with 34.5 GW, followed by the USA (14.5 GW), Japan (10.2 GW) and India (5 GW) in fourth place. In 2017, about 79 GW capacity is expected to be added globally, registering marginal growth over 2016. The stagnation is mainly due to policy pullbacks across major markets including China, Japan, the USA and most parts of Europe. Meanwhile, India is expected to continue its rapid growth. With 8.8 GW of projected capacity addition (growth of 76% over 2016), it is set to become the third largest PV market in 2017, overtaking JapanCITATION BRI17 l 1033 1.

Graph 1: Capacity addition in leading International Markets
Globally solar power has enjoyed a year of success in terms of PV system installation. The lowest solar supply contract was signed in 2016 for duration of 25 years at a price of 24.4 USD/MWh. This contract was awarded by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADEWA) for the Sweihan project. CITATION Mic16 l 1033 2

Graph SEQ Graph * ARABIC 2 PPA PRICES FOR SOLAR PV AND WIND ONSHORE POWER PLANTS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES CITATION Mic16 l 1033 2A total of 76.6 GW of solar was installed and connected to the grid in 2016. It’s been the largest amount of solar power which was installed in a year so far with a 50% year-on-year growth over the 51.2 GW added in 2015. This is the third highest rate recorded since the start of this decade which was only exceeding in 2010, when grid connections grew by 115% to 17.4 GW then in 2011, when the market increased by almost 80%. The current installed capacity exactly coincides with the upper end of the optimistic scenario forecasted in the previous Global Market Outlook; this rise can be credited to a number of markets exceeding expectations. CITATION Mic16 l 1033 2China connected 34.5 GW to the grid, a 128% increase over the 15.1 GW which was added previously to the Chinese grid. This strong growth rate was triggered by a feed-in tariff intervention in the middle of the year which led the Chinese developers to install over 20 GW in the first six months of 2016. Post the fall in demand, the decline in the prices of the modules kept up the year round installation of modules in china; resulting in china having a growth rate at half of the complete world growth rate.

Graph 3 EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL ANNUAL SOLAR PV INSTALLED CAPACITY CITATION Mic16 l 1033 2United States of America was the world’s second largest solar power market in 2016. The country’s annual installed capacity was up to 97% year-on-year, resulting in 14.8 GW, compared to 7.5 GW in 2015. In the US, solar power has been the primary source of latest electric generation capacity installed in 2016 with a share of 39%. While the 2016 solar growth was carried on many shoulders – with 22 states each adding more than 100 MW, California remained the largest market with over 5 GW, much ahead of Utah with 1.2 GW. Most of the US solar growth come from utility scale solar, which was even bigger than the years before – reaching around 10 GW or over two thirds of newly added capacity. This was due to an expected expiration of the 30% solar investment tax credit at the end of 2016, which finally did not take place, but resulted in a huge pipeline that was contracted to be online by the end of that year.

INDIAN SCENARIO
India is enormous with a high band of average solar irradiation, with an equivalent energy potential of about 6 billion GWh per year. India is an ideal place for the deployment of solar photovoltaic technologies. The average solar irradiation in India is 5.1 kWh/m2/day CITATION Shu17 l 1033 3. India has a current economic growth rate of 7.1% and solar power growth rate of about eight times than that of 2014 is seen in 2018. However India still hasn’t lost sight of its sustainable growth goals and still has ambitious targets for its renewable energy sectors. The economic support provided for the renewable energy sector has established the nation in the forefront of leading the green energy scenario and also creating a sustainable economy. This action is to ensure power availability and a greater standard of living. The solar market in India is going through a dry spell as of now, but the historical data reports that during 2016-2017 the growth of Solar PV market was very large i.e., New capacity addition for 2017 reached 8.8 GW, a rise of 76% over 2016 and making India the third biggest solar market worldwide. About 12.4 GW of projects have completed auctions and are in execution stages as of now. 7 developers have built up project portfolios exceeding 1 GW markCITATION BRI17 l 1033 1. The new tender announcements has slowed down significantly which has given the developers a breathing space in the market and this helps in raising funds and creating capitals, completing groundwork executions and coping up to the current market status. This new slowing of pace has helped in creating new capital and the same trend will continue over some time and will provide a sufficient monetary base for the future of solar industry in India.CITATION BRI17 l 1033 1 Also there has been a lack in the growth of power demand in India leading to a slower deployment of the same.
States such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have shown a history of high growth over the previous years with as high as 60% in 2017.

Graph 4 Tenders announced and completed v/s Capacity of the same
To counter these slow growth rates and to boost the solar energy scenario the government has come up with a few new schemes in additional to the previous schemes and also replaced a few old ones. These include but are not limited to:
Viability Gap Funding (VGF): SECI has been allocated 4835 MW of solar installation capacity under VGF route to developers, by which means these developers are provided with a capital subsidy based on pre-determined tariffs.

Ten year corporate tax holiday: As of April 2017 the offer is withdrawn but it contained a ten years of tax freedom for companies which supported the development of solar plants.

The government has introduced the concept of solar parks wherein large solar power plants are erected by EPC developers and power companies at selected location over India. This provides a large solar supply for compensation at peak load hours.
Government has launched schemes such as Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –”Saubhagya, which ensure electrification for households all over India, thus providing power for all and boosting the economic and living conditions for people. The scheme requires that a total of 224,773,326 households which are to be electrified by end of year 2018 as a part of the scheme.

Figure 1 Household Electrification status as per Saubhagya
Figure 2: Electrification status National breakup
The above two images suggest the requirements of the saubhagya scheme which ensures power for all in India. The major issues in many of these cases are the inability to extend the power lines from state or national grids to these remote locations and so there is a requirement of provision of a local grid which is powered by renewable energy. The dependence on solar energy due to these conditions have significantly increased.

CHALLENGES WITH SOLAR PHOTO VOLTAICSolar PV installations have a lot of challenges regarding both the technical and bureaucracy. Long lists of challenges are faced by consumers, installers, developers and DISCOM’s when there is an installation of customized PV system. The agreements, clauses and binding documents cause the PV plant to lose its value over time prior to its installation. Post installation the consumer is bound to clauses wherein the sale of power is limited to a price and amount when the agreement was made and thus advantage of new schemes are not able to reach the common public, in turn killing the opportunity for further market expansion
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
The solar PV systems have a lot of upfront issues when we are considering Grid connected Systems. The performance of such grid-connected PV systems can be evaluated by enumerating the performance ratio (PR), which is defined by the ratio of the system efficiency and the nominal efficiency of PV modules under STC. The average values of PR were found to be 66% for one hundred rooftop mounted PV in Germany, 55–70% for eight grid-connected PV systems in Europe, while it was 63–76% in the Netherlands. These values are dependent on the projects and also the components used in these respective projects.
Considering Grid connected systems where the power generated is send to the grid, the point of interconnection plays a very important role. The figure gives an overall diagram of a grid connected PV system without a storage unit.

Figure 3: Block Diagram of custom PV system without Storage
The figure gives a clearer picture of the functioning of each component. The systems such as Inverters act as sources of power in grid connected systems, by adjusting the current and creating a sinusoidal wave form of power. The voltage of the system cannot be controlled and which can be done so by adjusting the configuration of systems in the interconnection points. The inverter can be setup in accordance with systems that would include MPPT (maximum power point tracking) to maximize the total power that is generated from the Solar PV system by operating the system at most optimal voltage for the system. The system also operates synchronized to the grid which helps in providing a stable system for the transmission of power.
There are three particular topologies of a grid connected PV system as demonstrated in the figure given below, namely:
Central Inverter topology
String topology.
Module topology.

Figure 4: Central Inverter Topology

Figure 5: Module topology

Figure 6: String Topology
Type of PV System topology Centralized Topology String Topology Modular Topology
Type of connection PV panels are interfaced to single, centralized inverter PV panels connected in strings comprise an inverter Each PV module has an inverter integrated to it
Advantages Low specific inverter cost, Robust & easy maintenance with increased system efficiency.

The efficiency of the system is 97.5% 6 Each string can be oriented in directions of maximum power. The introduction of converter separately reduces the inverter functionality.

Each panel can be optimally tracked
Disadvantages High mismatch loss, inverter sensitivity to the voltage on DC side Inverter sensitivity increases. High cost per peak KW power.

Lower efficiency and difficulty in maintenance.

Usage Typically in residential application Typically used in large power plant application Seldom usage
But for power applications up to 200W
Table SEQ Table * ARABIC 1 A direct comparison between Three Topologies CITATION Sun16 l 1033 4The major challenges when considering the situation of renewable energy integration are the issues which are generated due to the randomness and intermittent nature of the source of energy, mostly due to the change in power quality, fluctuation, storage protection issues, optimal positioning of DG’s and Anti-Islanding. CITATION Sun16 l 1033 4Power quality issues
Most of the renewable energy DG’s are integrated to the grid using an electronic converter which adds harmonics into the system. Though IEEE standards allow around ±2.5% of harmonics into the system a small amount of addition to the system can cause issues which can lead to degradation of quality of power which is generated. The issue is caused due to the switching mechanism of these electronic switches which generate a lower quality of power. The easier method of countering this issue was to install soft switching control schemes in inverters and also to put in active and passive filters to the system to lower the harmonics. CITATION Sun16 l 1033 4 Flickering of voltage occurs when there is a disconnection and reconnection to the grid. This can be tackled by supplying appropriate tap settings at transformer which connects the feeder to the grid. This is only viable when there are multiple feeders which are in connection to the grid. But the DG’s are connected to only one of the feeders to the grid. Additionally unbalanced voltage profiles also are created due to a interconnection between single phase source and a three phase load or vice-versa. Unbalanced voltage will further lower the quality of current which is supplied to the system.
Storage
The induction of renewable or PV source in the grid power path, the standard of the grid comes down. The grid may act as a source or sink of power corresponding to the power generated from the DG. In the case if, PV power generation is surplus or deficit in the grid, a battery can be made as a choice of storing the excess power. But introducing a battery to the grid connected PV systems invites issues of sizing and battery current and voltage control. CITATION Sun16 l 1033 4Protection issues
Traditional power systems are protected by over-current/overvoltage relays and circuit breakers. But as energy conversion systems (solar) are introduced the protection of the network becomes more complex. The issues of alteration in the short circuit level, lack of sustained fault current and reverse power flow still persists. CITATION Sun16 l 1033 4Islanding
Islanding is a unique problem of the grid connected PV system. Islanding feature activates on grid failure. A re-closure valve is at the connection point between the grid at the local level and at the external grid. This valve creates a separation between the internal and external grid connections and when either of the grid disconnects, this feature guarantees a protection Else the voltage builds up on power generation without the energy absorption by the grid causing huge voltage unbalance resulting in system deterioration. Thus the anti-islanding control technique came into picture for addressing the above problem. The standard anti islanding control techniques include over-voltage relay, under-voltage relay, over-frequency and under frequency relays. In addition to the standard schemes active and passive schemes are introduced for reducing the probability of islanding. Voltage harmonic monitoring, phase jump detection and slide mode frequency shift, branch out from passive schemes whereas Impedance measurement and active frequency drift come under the active scheme.

POLICY CHALLENGES
One of the major points of concern for grid-connected solar development in India is the complete lack of uniformity in policy and regulatory structures. For instance, Considering the case of Gujarat, where while Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) based state solar policies have been playing an instrumental role, the growth of grid-connected solar under JNNSM has been through a competitive bidding process. The GSPP was announced a year before the JNNSM came into force. The lack of timelines or guarantees from developers to sign PPAs initially attracted many developers to Gujarat, but post the formalisation of JNNSM in December 2009, developers settled to JNNSM due to power purchase guarantee from the central government. The enormous interest from developers led to competitive bidding and eventually a slump in tariffs. The fall of the JNNSM tariff below the fixed tariff of Gujarat resulted in developers’ gaining more interest in Gujarat. The challenges in state policies, such as lack of financial guarantees from utilities and the lack of new policies after 2014, has had a negative result of developers showing concerns over the last year in state policies and higher interest in JNNSM. Both JNNSM and state policies are clear on creating an industrial growth, but at the same time the lack of coordination and differences between JNNSM and state policies have led to a significantly large amount of confusion among the investors. Similarly, the multiplicity of government-led agencies is a factor for ineffective coordination and lack of accountability is another policy issue. For example, while MNRE is responsible for planning and implementation, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) is responsible for research and development. Furthermore, the MoP is responsible for designing legal framework around electricity generation and transmission of grid-connected power (including solar). Each state has different policies with different targets and parameters regarding solar energy projects. This complex governance framework is a big deterrent, as project developers have to negotiate separately with different departments. CITATION Yen16 l 1033 5Period Solar collectors (Million m2) Off grid applications (MW) Utility grid power, inclusive of rooftop Focus of period
Target for Phase-I (2010-13) 7 200 1000=2000 Promotion of off grid and solar thermal to carter energy to villages without access to electricity.

Target for phase II
(2013-17) 15 1000 4000-10,000 Capacity building to scale up the solar energy market in country
Target for phase III
(2017-2022) 20 2000 20,000 Create suitable environment for indigenous solar manufacturing and leadership in country. CITATION Yen16 l 1033 5Table 2 Goals for JNNSM
State Policy name Target (MW) Installed capacity (MW, April, 2014) Operative Period Tariff (INR/kWh) (US$) (Accelerated Depriciation) Nodal agencies Incentives
Andra Pradesh Andra pradesh Solar Policy 2012 NS 131.84 2012-2017 Upto 2011-12; 17.91 (0.27) w/o AD; 14.95 With AD NREDCAP 100% energy banking; no wheeling, transmission, and cross subsidy charges; electricity duty exemption; refund of VAT, and stamp duty and land registration charges
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh State Solar Policy 2012 500-1000 7.1 2012-2017 Upto 2013-2014: 8.69 (0.13); For 2014-2015 7.74 (0.11) CREDA Conditional Energy Banking; exemption on electricity duty, VAT exemption, Stamp Duty and Land Registration
Gujarat Gujarat State Solar Policy 2009 365 916.74 2009-2014 Upto 2014-2015: 8.39 (0.12) (with AD); 9.44 (0.14) (w/o AD) GEDA Electricity, demand cut, and cross subsidy surcharge exemption;
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir Solar Energy Policy 1300 2013-till further notification Draft Tariff for 2014-2015: 6.07 (0.09) (with AD); 6.78 (0.10) (w/o AD) JKEDA Exemption on Entry tax for equipment of plant, stamp duty and court fee for registration of documents; demand cut exemption upto 50% 100% banking
LREDA, KREDA Jharkhand Jharkhand Solar Policy 2013 -draft 500-2017
1000-2022 16 2013-2018 Upto 2010-11: 17.96 (0.27) (w/o AD); 14.98 (0.23) (with AD); No Tariff Notified for 2014-15 JREDA Karnataka Karnataka Solar Policy 2014-2021 2000 31 2014 – 2021 Competitive bidding upto 2018: 8.40 (0.12) (min) and 14.50 (0.22) (max) KREDL Exemption of Stamp duty, land registration fee, entry tax on equipment, and VAT;
Kerala Kerala Solar Power Policy 2013 500; 2500 -2030 2013 till further Upto 2012: 17.91 (0.27) (w/ ANERT o AD); 14.95 (0.23) (with notification AD); No Tariff Notified for 2014 Conditional Energy Banking; no wheeling and open access charges; electricity duty exemption
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Solar Policy 2012 347.1 2012 -2017 Upto 2014: 10.70 (0.16) for upto 2 MW; 10.44 (0.16) for Commissioner above 2 MW; Office of New & Renewable Energy 50% stamp duty exemption on private land purchase; 10-year electricity duty exemption; 4% grant towards wheeling charges; 100% energy banking; exemption of VAT and entry tax for equipment;
Odisha Odisha Solar Policy 2013 30.5 2013 -2017 Upto 2012: 17.80 (0.27) (w/ OREDA o AD); 14.77 (0.22) (with AD); No Tariff Notified for 2014-15 Electricity Duty Exemption
Punjab New & Renewable Sources of Energy Policy 2012 16.8 2012-2017 Upto 2014-2015: 7.72 (0.11) (w/o AD); 6.95 (0.10) (With AD); PEDA Conditional Energy Banking; exemption on electricity duty, VAT, Octroi, Stamp Duty, Land Registration and Entry Tax of equipment
Rajasthan Rajasthan Solar Energy Policy 2011 200-2013 400-2017 730.1 2011-Till further Upto 2013-2014: 8.33 (0.12) (w/o AD); 7.31 (0.11) notification (with AD); RRECL Eligible for incentives under industrial policy electricity duty exemption at the rate of 50% for a period of 7 years from project operation date
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Solar Energy Policy 2012 1000MW-2013 1000MW- 2014; 1000MW -2015 98.3 2012-2015 Tariff Discovered through bidding in 2013-2014: 5.78 (0.08); No Tariff Notified for 2014-15 TEDA Exemption from electricity tax; eligible for tax concessions under Industrial Policy
Uttarakhand Solar Energy Solar Policy of Uttrakhand 2013 500MW – 2017 5 2013-Till further Up to 2013: 11.10 (0.17) (w/ UREDA o AD); 10.15 (0.15) (with notification AD); No Tariff Notified for 2014-15 UREDA VAT and Entry Tax Exemption
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Solar Power Policy 2013 500MW -2017 21 2013-2017 Competitive Bidding only UPNEDA Table 3 Various state Policies till 2014-2015 CITATION Yen16 l 1033 5FINANCIAL AND MARKET CHALLENGES
The genesis unit cost of INR 12 per kWh (US$0.2 per kWh) solar has reached to an average cost of INR 8.7 per kWh (US$0.14 per kWh). This reduction in price and move towards grid-parity, coupled with the fall of global PV costs has increased the share of solar PV in India’s energy mix, still some acute challenges, are still in need of due attention. The eligibility criteria for potential bidder’s to simply have a minimum net worth of INR150 million (approx. US$2.5 million) is creating an atmosphere of lower bids leading to an escalation in the competitive bidding procedure. This minimum eligibility criterion is resulting not only in difficult situations for PV only businesses but also in financially unviable projects (incomplete projects). Though solar energy market in India has immense growth potential, it is important that the issues in unsustainable bid prices are addressed by the government and discourage non-serious players through implementation of stringent measures, such as obtaining bank guarantees for implementation of projects and project developers’ selection after due diligence CITATION Yen16 l 1033 5. India is also one of the world’s favoured destinations for solar energy investments. It is estimated that, from less than $3billion investments in Phase-I, solar energy investments in Phase-II of the JNNSM would reach $20 billion.
INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING CHALLENGES
The classical rooftop photovoltaic system consists of individual purchased parts which are installed by professional installers and has to be registered and approved by an electricity distribution company (DISCOM). The time-consuming process is big factor in Balance-of-System (BoS) cost – all cost of PV system excluding PV panel cost. With panel prices dropping the share of BoS cost is rising. In the future the potential for cost reduction is to a large extend in moving away from the existing installation and commissioning process. The major issue faced by the developers and consumers equally is to maintain the quality of the system which is being installed. For instance, in case of a custom installation the Panels, mounting and remaining components are separately acquired from over different distributors, which lead to chances of procurement of under quality goods from the market and thereby reducing the life of the system.
The flowchart below suggestes the time taken during a standard installation of grid-tied PV system, which is very high even prior to the installtation which is roughly around 6 months. This idle time is leading to a drop in the number of consumers who will want to put up such a custom system in their homes due to the fact that the procedure of aquiring the net metering system is itself tedious and leads to a significant slowdown of the installation.

Figure 7: Flowchart for On Grid System
The EPC developers also tend to provide lower consumer services in cases of residential consumers due to the fact that the overall time of the project is very high and the cost of the project is low. This leads to waste of time and does not have enough monetary gain to support the installation of the project.

CHAPTER 4STANDARD SOLAR PV SYSTEM
After a thorough research on the Indian Solar and Power sector it is understood that the power sector is facing a huge crisis and is unmonitored and unable to reach the targets which has been set for it. With the addition of addition RE into the system the stability of the grid is set to fall over the years and so a solution is to be created which is independent and not feeding into the grid but rather would help supply the residential load and also provide a standby in case of outages. The idea of the product is to be able to be implemented in the market over a large scale but using quality checks so as to provide the product irrespective of the state fulfilling the conditions of the market and having peak quality.
The Standard Solar PV system has to be designed in such a manner so as to be able to face all kinds of stresses and strains in the Indian environment and also be able to provide power and energy for its owners over time. The standard PV system shall be economical viable for the Indian market as a high-priced product will fail to deliver a solution for upscaling the same, essentially an economic evaluation is required aiming towards the cost and cost reduction potential. This system would follow the three concepts of commoditization:
Availability The product is available in a range of standardized packages.

Accessibility The product is backed by a wide network of suppliers and service providers.

Affordability The product is available through easy financing.

Table 4: Standard concepts of commoditization
The Standard PV system is a product which can be plugged in directly to a power socket in households. The major concept of such a PV system can be defined as
“A standard PV system is synchronized (grid forming capability) with the grid but is not feeding into it. The operation of PV Port is in parallel to the distribution grid and can also function in back-up supply mode. The connection is done by plugging/injecting the AC output directly into the socket at household circuit level. Through that and other measures the purchase, connection and installation of those systems can be done by homeowners themselves. The need of involving outside parties to install the system is avoided”
The above given description is provided for a product in its scope by GIZ. Plug-and-play or plug-in photovoltaic systems are primarily distinguished from custom installation systems be due to their mode of connection to the grid. Unlike the regular fitting of an individual circuit these systems are directly plugged into a socket at any location within the residence. But the idea of plug-and-play includes more than just the connection to a socket and definition is varying depending on the source.
A general definition following a market study conducted by Frauenhofer ISE can be concluded as: “The two main components photovoltaic modules and inverters are combined to a compact solution which can be sold as one package”. System design is standardized and independent from the area of installation also individual planning is not a primary requirement. For the installation no changes in components, connections or any in-house installations are necessary except for mechanical fixing and cable routing. Therefore the need for a specialist to build and install the system can be avoided (DIY-solution). The general procedure of requirements of regulations, commissioning and documentation are significantly reduced or eliminated. The possible benefits for the residential sector are:
Taking away the involvement of third parties during the installation and commissioning procedures (DISCOM, Installer).
Quick and easy purchase and installation.
Possibility to offer photovoltaic systems as singular standard product.

Portability as a solution to the tenants.
Reduction in electrical bills.

Backup power during outages and interruptions.
2952754699000279082516954500
-4286885641350Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 8: Standard DIY Solar PV system in string and inverter modes
0Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 8: Standard DIY Solar PV system in string and inverter modes

The above figure 8 will give a basic idea of how a Standard Plug and Play PV works.
HISTORICAL APPROACH ON PLUG AND PLAY SYSTEMS
There have been a few iterations of plug and play system previously attempted by various private companies. This section will elaborate one such product which is Pronto DIY Portable Solar PV system.

Figure 9: Product Specification of Waaree Portable Solar PV system
The system is provided in five different variants namely Pronto 1k, 2k, 3k, 4k and 5k. Each of these systems as the name suggests provides variable power outputs at 1000w, 2000w, 3000w, 4000w and 4999w respectively. These portable kits are wall hanging or flat mounting kits which can be installed on roofs and can be easily disassembled.

Figure 10: Pronto 1K Solar Module
The mounting structure is independent of major trusses or supports and is probably a wall mounted module which is flexible in terms of adjusting its declination, thereby providing an option to manually adjust the panel as to position of sun.
The major disadvantage of the system is the lack of off grid ability of the system and the unavailability of being a support system. In general a Discom would not encourage a system which would eventually lower the profitability of the Discoms, so they are encouraging an off grid system. Though the system is easily available due to its lower size but it is not able to compensate for its disadvantages which are the functionality of being a support system.
STANDARDIZED SOLAR PV SYSTEM
The standardised Solar PV system is a system which is portable in terms of its specification, but also is sturdy enough to accommodate any further stresses to the system. The system parameters are as follows:
Purchase, connection and installation of those systems can be done by any individual: This implies that the standard solar PV system shall have the features of a Plug-and-play system. In order to achieve this Do-it-Yourself (DIY)-capability the system architecture needs to follow the design principles of a plug-and-play:
Predefined and independent from installation place,
No individual planning is not required,
For the installation no technical changes of components, connections or the in-house installation are necessary except for mechanical fixing and cable routing.

For the mechanical design a frame will be developed, that is quick and easy to mantel without the need for any special kind of tools or machinery. This can be realized with a collapsible structure consisting of ready-to-assemble parts. The PV panels will need to be connected quickly to the mounting structure by clicking them into mounting rails as compared to the normal installation using clamps. Another requirement is easy transportation and purchase; meaning the whole system will need to fit into packaging pellets for logistical convenience. An electrical system that can be installed without the help of an electrician requires all components need to be safe to touch without the risk of surges. This is done so that harm for individuals due to electric surges can be ruled out when connecting the components. In order to achieve this, prefixed or predesigned connections could be used. Such a concept is already realized in typical plug-and-play systems.
Connection by plugging the AC-output into the socket at household circuit level: To achieve this feature essential to plug-and-play systems the AC-output of the solar inverter has to be connectable via a plug to sockets at household level. The system will be equally safe as a system connected via a separate circuit. The plug-in connection also implies that the inverter output is to be single-phased.
Grid synchronized and ability to function as Back-up system but not feeding into the Grid: Those requirements are affecting the inverter choice as it is responsible of fulfilling all three functionalities at once. Off-grid inverters have grid forming capability while on-grid inverters are synchronized with the grid. The standard PV system shall be able to perform in both modes depending on the availability of the grid. Grid-tied inverters can synchronize with the grid and also act as backup internal grid when the grid is unavailable. A system with such back-up capability also incorporates a battery to assure uninterruptible power supply (UPS). As the back-up function the ability to decouple the UPS network from the distribution gird in case of a grid outage is also included in the system. To achieve the not-feeding-to-the-grid-functionality a monitoring of the inverter output and grid input are necessary so that load can be detected and the inverter output set accordingly.
Intelligent Load management for internal and UPS grid: The charging of a battery shall be controllable and programmable giving customers and utilities the possibility of adapting load management measures. Irrespectively of programming load management always follows these three basic principles:
Maximizing self-consumption,
Following a load curve (support for peak hours),
And holding back a reserve for outages.

An additional device is also installed in the system so as to function as an intelligent monitor for the system. This device consists of a processor which will act as a intelligent load monitor and prediction module whereby it helps in maintaining the above principles in complete synchronicity.

Safe to install and operate: Designing a product that is safe to install and operate is essential to product development undertakings. Generally safety is meaning the ability of the system to reliably meet technical functionalities. Precisely to assure imposed requirements for the envisaged operation time, as well as being free of danger for humans and environment. Systems can never be completely free of danger as the reliability of components is limited. Regulations determine an absence of dangers in case of failures (IEC 27000). Prohibitory regulations mean to assure that damages with tolerable risk only occur with fair and small likelihood (DIN EN 61508-1). Safety for products can be divided into four fields:
operational safety – minimize risks in operation,
occupational safety – minimize risks while using the system,
environmental safety – minimize risk of damages to the systems environment,
Reliability – maximize reliability of the system and protection scheme.
Safety regulations establish a state of the art and thereby minimum safety standards. Following those is the typical path to develop a safe product. To achieve a great degree of safety reliability is beneficial. Protective measures have to counteract deterministic and stochastic dangers. Stochastic dangers are failures of components or humans. Following the principle in case of known, recognizable and predictable failures the system has to fall back into a safe status. Deterministic dangers are determined by the system architecture. Deterministic dangers can be prevented direct (system design), indirect (protective measures) or indicative (signs or instructions).
Aesthetic design: Due to the design of houses in India with flatfoots, which are used for multiple purposes (seating, drying cloth etc.), the standard PV system can also be used as a seating area. Consequently it shall provide cover from all weather conditions. To allow standing beneath the solar panels they are raised to a minimum of 1.8 meters. The placement of the battery is also serving the design as a seating area; incorporated into a table in the middle underneath the panels or the batteries are adjusted to the back of the Panel modules providing ample space underneath the port.
POTENTIAL AND MARKET SIZE FOR STANDARDISED PV SYSTEM
The market potential theoretically for the system will be the complete residential PV market of 40 GW which has been determined by the government, but this is just taken as an estimate of the actual value which is possibly a bit lower.
As per the industrial determined values of the backup industry in India the overall UPS potential can be estimated at ? 543.2 billion as of FY’2017-2018.

The major players of UPS industry are:
Ranking Company Revenue (FY’ 2011-2012)(Rs. Million) Remark
1 Luminous Power Technologies 10,700 Home, commercial Solar.

2 Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd 7172.9 UPS, Inverters, Batteries, energy meters etc.

3 Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd 6940 Residential UPS, Solar Inverter etc.
4 Swelect Energy Systems Ltd 6295.3 UPS systems, inverters, stabilisers etc.

5 Microtek International Pvt Ltd 4391.2 UPS systems, Inverters and batteries.

6 Delta Power Solutions India Pvt Ltd 2784.8 100% subsidiary of Delta Electronics PLC (Thailand)
7 Consul Consolidated P Ltd 1120.9 UPS systems, voltage stabilisers, K-rated/isolation
Table SEQ Table * ARABIC 5: Inverter Market Leaders
The graph below shows the number of interruption which is experienced by various distribution companies in India.

Graph 5: Number of Interruptions faced by various states

Graph 6: Average duration of the interruptions
Upon analysis of the above given data we can conclude that there are high interruptions for higher durations in some particular states in India. The potential of the PV port is very high when it is deployed in regions with high interruptions where there would be lack of power and thus it would act as a backup power unit with the installation of battery in its system. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) hypothesizes a technical potential of 352 GW and estimated realistic market potential for rooftop solar PV in urban settlements of India of 124 GW exclusively. Though the limit realised is just a theoretical value which has to be certainly scrutinised significantly to achieve a value which is actual.
IDEAL CONSUMER PROFILE
An ideal consumer would be the one who can afford the product, will have a significant advantage of using the product and is in a bare need of such a solution which can be easily available and would require low maintenance. Considering these factors the first category of Ideal Consumer would be:
Urban region: This segregation is done so as to create a singular variable where in such a system would have an ease of logistical access.

Power Consumption tariff: The tariff of the region plays an important role in solar projects especially when the project will have an IRR and a payback period. The major factor of the IRR and payback is dependent on the tariff which is employed by the state.

Units consumption monthly: The consumption of units over the month also gives a brief picture as to which would be a household with a higher consumption and so would be able to afford and would need such a solution.

Ownership/access to roof: The access to roof also plays a very important role in a solar PV system, but in case of a standard PV system, it can be assembled and disassembled and so only need is for the access to a rooftop so as to provide a medium for it to be mounted.
Roof Area Requirement: The roof area for the requirement of mounting of the system is very necessary. But considering the fact the mounting consumer as low as possible area and that the panels are at least 2 meters above floor, the roof area required for a small system is 1/5th of its original requirement.
Type of roof: The type of roof plays a very significant role, since the system is supposed to be a system with its own vertical mountings, having an inclined roof will not be a favourable type for the system and so it would defeat the purpose.
Profiles of Ideal consumers for theoretical potential
Version 1: 1kW + 2 kWh of Storage
Version 2: 2 kW + 4 kWh of Storage
Version 3: 3 kW + 6 kWh of Storage
Roof Area requirement 5 sq.m10 sq.m15 sq.mOwnership/Access to roof
Type of roof Flat / Inclined Flat / Inclined Flat/Inclined
Electricity consumption >200 units / month >400 units / month >600 units / month
Tariff >6 Rs/kWh >6 Rs/kWh >6 Rs/kWh
Table SEQ Table * ARABIC 6: Ideal Consumer profile for theoretical potential
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
Solar energy is considered an indispensable basis of sustainable energy – cheap and plentiful for India. If India makes a massive switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power to solar energy, it is possible that 70% of its electricity and 35% of its total energy could be solar-powered by 2030. Energy transition through solar energy supplies the necessary requirements for India when the supply of conventional energy fuels collapses. This thesis has presented a review on the challenges and opportunities for solar energy in India. Two major findings have emerged from this review, first the current setup of the residential solar needs to be reviewed and renewed to provide for a larger audience and also there is space for development of further improvements in the residential sector. Second that there is the need for a standardised government regulated PV system for general residential consumers which can be acquired easily and so this method will provide
solar energy at both the central and state levels. However, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and independent state policies have been playing a prominent role in changing India’s solar energy portfolio e bringing up the sector from a nascent stage to one of the largest generation based markets in the world today. The grid interactive solar energy has increased from a mere 2 MW (MW) during the ninth five-year plan to more than 3000 MW during the thirteenth five-year plan. Second, through the perspectives of international industry stakeholders involved in solar energy implementation in India, some policy, market, technological, and socio-environment related challenges with potential opportunities are identified. Addressing these challenges can help expediting the diffusion of solar energy in India, besides creating positive impacts such as reduced carbon emissions, improved energy security, and more jobs. Lessons learned from this experience will be useful for policymakers both in India as well as other nations of the world interested in addressing the challenges in implementing such clean energy policies, and eventually supporting the state-led institutions’ targets for green energy and emission reduction. To conclude, grid-connected solar energy presents a bright spot on India’s economic future. India can ramp up its effort to develop and implement large utility-scale solar energy farms (ex: 216 MW Charanka solar park, Gujarat) to meet the country’s economic development goals. By using solar energy resource, India can also achieve its key social, political, and environmental objectives. All these issues have a direct influence on national security and the health of the Indian economy. Solar energy could be a gamechanger for India: it has the potential to re-energise India’s economy by creating millions of new jobs, achieving energy independence, reducing energy deficit and propelling India forward as a ‘green nation’.

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