FAQ

The land required for a 1 MW power plant setup is around 4.5-5 acres for crystalline technology and around 6.5-7.5 acres for Thin-Film technology. This is only a rough benchmark and may vary based on technology and efficiency of panels.

The useful life of a typical Solar Power plant is considered to be 25 years. This is the duration for which long-term PPAs are signed and financial models are built. However, Solar Power plants can run beyond 25 years while producing a lower output. Many Solar Panel manufacturers guarantee an output of 90% at the end of 10 years and 80% at the end of 25 years.

The usual benchmark for energy generated from a 1 MW Solar Power plant is considered as 1.5 Million units. This is only a benchmark and should not be considered as the actual output for a given location. The amount of actual energy generated from a Solar Power Plant in a year depends on both internal and external factors. External factors which are beyond the control of a solar developer can include the following:

• Number of sunny days
• Solar Irradiation
• Day Temperatures
• Air Mass

The output also depends on the following internal factors all of which are within the control of a Solar Developer:

• Plant Location
• Usage of Solar Tracking systems
• Quality of equipment used
• Workmanship of the EPC contractor
• O&M activities

The various modes under which a Solar Power plant can be setup depends on the specific requirement. All the following are valid modes and the costs for each kind of system varies based on various factors:

• Off-Grid Captive Consumption for domestic premises.
• Off-Grid Captive Consumption for commercial premises
• Grid Connected (Net Metered) Captive Consumption for domestic premises
• Grid Connected (Net Metered) Captive Consumption for commercial premises
• Sale of Power generated to local Distribution Company (DISCOM)
• Sale of Power generated to 3rd Party consumer (Industry or Commercial entity)

Rooftop Solar Power plants can be broadly categorized into Battery-based and Non-Battery based systems. The benchmark cost set by MNRE for the year 2015-16 for these systems are Rs.70-75 per W for Non-Battery based systems and Rs.120-140 per W for Battery-based systems.

Identifying the Solar Power plant size for your domestic or commercial premises depends on the following factors:

• In case when you need to shift your solar power system one location to another, we are happy to assist you.
• We will do free site inspection in your new location and propose our recommendations for smooth transition.

This depends on the mode of sale of power and the consumer of power.

• In the case of sale of power to DISCOM, the prevailing Average Pooled Power Purchase Cost (APPC) will be applicable.
• Solar Irradiation
• In the case of sale of power to 3rd Party consumer, a mutually agreed price can be agreed upon and accordingly a PPA can be signed.

It is to be kept in mind that several additional charges such as Wheeling Charges, Distribution Charges, Open-Access Charges, Cross-Subsidy Charges are applicable in the case of sale of power to 3rd party. These charges vary from State-to-State and DISCOM-to-DISCOM and even based on voltage levels.

Total project cost per MW would be in the range of Rs.5.5 Crores-Rs.7.0 Crores depending on the kind of technology you are using, whether or not you are using tracking systems, the kind of EPC Contractor you choose for power plant system etc. CERC recently announced the benchmark tariff for setup of Solar PV and Thermal Plants in India. Here are the links to the documents containing more details:

http://www.cercind.gov.in/2014/orders/SO353.pdf

http://www.cercind.gov.in/2014/orders/SO354.pdf

Solar Power Plants need to be Grid-Connected on order to avail REC benefits. Though there have been recommendations on multiple occasions that Off-Grid Solar Power plants be made eligible for RECs, the proposal is still under discussion. Solar Power plants setup under the following 3 modes are eligible for REC benefits.

• Captive Power plants.
• Sale of power to Govt. at APPC
• Sale of power to 3rd party at mutually agreed price.

Captive Power Plants are eligible for RECs subject to the condition that Concessional/Promotional Transmission or Wheeling Tariffs and/or banking facility benefit are not availed. Also, Solar Power plants setup under Preferential Tariff schemes are not eligible for RECs. Check out more information on RECs on REC page here –

http://efficientcarbon.com/services/energy/renewable-energy-certificates

As per the Second Amendment of REC Principal Regulations – 2013, there is no lower limit for Solar Power plants to be eligible for RECs. Though it previously stated that 250 KW is the minimum size for Solar Power plants to be eligible for RECs, the same has been removed as part of the above stated amendment.

Yes. REC Mechanism and CDM are mutually exclusive and hence a power developer can claim CDM benefits (Carbon Credits) also. However, it is to be noted that the current trading prices of Carbon Credits or Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) at the European ETS system is less than 0.7 Euro which are pretty low compared to the 15-20 Euro trading prices a few years back. At these prices, getting a Solar project registered under CDM mechanism does not make any sense as the payback for the expenses in the process itself takes several years. Unless the Solar Power Plant is of size 10 MW or more it does not make financial sense to go for Carbon Credits (CERs).