Is Sun setting on Solar ?

Recent news :

Solar power tariffs hit record low once again

Giriraj Renewables, part of Avaada Energy, emerged as the biggest winner getting 300 Mw at Rs 2.44 per unit.

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Spot power price at eight-year high of Rs 14.08 / unit on higher demand

Government may ask RBI to classify renewable energy projects under priority sector lending 

Wondering what is going on ?

  

I will tell you . It is a mess  !

*  Coal based power projects of approx 40,000 MW are " stressed " with total NPA of Rs

   2 lakh*crores . Those which are struggling to survive , are likely to close down soon .

   They are uneconomical since operating at PLF of under 50 %

*   Those which are efficient / profitable , are starved of coal

*   Safeguard Duty ( 25 % ) has made solar producers to keep away from recent tenders

    Between march and July , some 3900 MW of solar capacity auctions got cancelled – of

    these 1,000 MW have been re-tendered

*   Safeguard Duty is unlikely to help the local ( domestic ) Solar Panel Industry because

    Chinese manufacturers ( exporters ) are expected to drop their prices by 30 % by Dec

    2018 , since their local ( Chinese ) demand has dropped dramatically and they have

    huge capacities which are idling ! They are desperate to sell to India

*   On top of this , Chinese manufacturers are making significant improvement in the

    efficiencies of their Solar PV modules / Panels , so price per Kw is dropping

*   Recent Solar tenders stipulated " Max Price per Kw " - which is keeping our solar

    producers away from quoting 

*  State DISCOMS are backing out of already signed PPA with the Solar producers and

   demanding re-negotiation of tariff  !

*  Many solar projects are ready to deliver power but the Transmission Lines are just not

   there !

*  In all of this confusion , no banker wants to advance loans to projects which may turn

   into NPA even before going on stream !

*  Even for viable Solar projects , bankers are afraid to make commitment for fear of

   being hounded by CBI - RBI - SEBI – etc

As a result of all of these , it seems highly unlikely that we would manage to meet our Solar Power target of 100 GW by 2022 , with current installations of just 23 GW ( - leaving a balance of 77 GW to be achieved in next 51 months ! Nearly 4.5 GW / Qtr )

What is the way out ?

·         Shift focus to Roof Top Solar ( of course , continue with Utility Scale )

·         Why Roof Top ?

     No Govt tendering / No transmission lines / No PPA with DISCOMs / No metering

     / No land cost / Hundreds of small suppliers who will compete / quote / install /

     commission / maintain / service / 30 % Govt subsidy

·         What is holding back the roof top ?

       

            #  Local permissions / Subsidy procedures / Balance 70 % of Capital Cost to be

                borrowed from banks @ 15 % interest ( tedious procedures / guarantees /

                collaterals ) . Individuals stand no chance. Only Coop Hsg Societies benefit

           #   Bribing of electricity suppliers’ officers for “ reverse metering “

          #   Non availability to store the power for use at night ( lack of Storage Batteries )

·         What is required to be done ?

#   Amend Electricity Act ( Anyone can generate solar power , anywhere , any time

     and sell to any one at any price )

#   Create SOLAR BANK ( SPV ) , where BLACK MONEY can be deposited ( Fixed

     Deposits of 5 year maturity which cannot be terminated midway but can be gifted

     to anyone )

#   For depositing BLACK MONEY in SOLAR BANK , no questions by Income Tax Dept

     as to the source / no tax / no penalty / no prosecution ( $ 400 Billion assured  )

#   FD will earn 1 % interest

#   Solar Bank will finance Roof Top projects at 2 % interest rate ( to replace 70 %

     Bank funding of 15 % interest rate ) . 

This will accelerate installations to exceed

     the targets . 

Solar Bank to tie up with India Post Payment Bank to extend such

     loans through its network of 145,000 post offices

               Solar Bank will extend such loans to EV Battery Charging Stations which do not

              draw power from the grid but generate their own solar power

        #   It should be made mandatory for all those 22 million Affordable Houses ( also

             targeted for 2022 ) to have pre-installed Roof Top Solar plants , before handing

            over to the occupants

References :

Roof Top Solar : Better Alternative

Transmission  Capacity is  the  Culprit  !

This  was   Expected  !

Clean Power ?

Solar Roofs ? Why not ?

Solar Power : Internal Rate of Return 

Unsustainable SRISTI ? 

“  Rent – a – Roof “  for  Solar  Power 

Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana 

Roof Top Solar : Stuck at Plinth Level ? 

Green Buildings ? Put Greed to Work ! 

Solar Power at Rs 1 per Kwh ?

I urge Minister for New and Renewable Energy , Shri R K Sighji , to consider my suggestions

20  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Jio Hubs : Entrepreneurs Apply

RIL plans to set up Reliance Jio Hubs in smaller towns 

Extract :

The aim is to leverage the strengths of units  Reliance Retail Ltd’s physical stores and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s digital infrastructure  to boost sales in smaller towns, which have largely been untouched by modern retail and online shopping.

The Jio Hubs project is in line with Ambani’s vision to bring together telecom, retail and e-commerce to become a technology platform.

Reliance Jio Hubs could showcase what is available and act like experience centres.

Most importantly, these hubs could also hold inventory and act as warehouses as it satisfies the 100% India owned requirement under the draft e-commerce policy

The company plans to set up close to 800 such Reliance Jio Hubs which will sell all consumer items under Reliance

The plan to reach local markets, know local merchants and local customers assumes significance given a large chunk of Indian population still shops offline.

A few weeks ago , I conceptualized  the Reliance game plan as far as retail is concerned

In my following blog , I covered specific STRATEGIES  that Reliance could be expected to execute in respect of :

{  for details , read :  MA = DA x 4,000,000  }

·         SALES

          All of your merchandize will be available for selection / ordering on our ONLINE web

          portal 

         This online presence of your merchandize will expand / extend your " reach " to

         thousands of consumers in your neighbourhood

·         SUPPLY 

      

            We will deliver to your store , all merchandize on " Consignment " basis

           This means , you do NOT need to pay us for what we deliver to you store !

·         INVENTORY

         On a continuous basis , our web server will keep a track of each and every item of

         merchandize sold from your stores

         Our Server will calculate , your " Stock Movement " 

·         DELIVERY

         Not only we will deliver the merchandize to your store , but we will also pick up "

         ordered Items " ( for ONLINE orders only ) , from your store and deliver the same to

         your customers  !

·         

FINANCE 

         As explained earlier , you will have a bare minimum need for " Working Capital " ,

         since all of your stock will be on " Consignment " basis

         We will collect the " ONLINE  PAYMENTS " directly from the customers and " Credit "

         the same to your " online sales account " with us  

·         MARKETING 

          Not only will we carry out all marketing for your ONLINE sales , we will help you

          With your OFFLINE marketing , through introduction of the following technology-

          enhanced features :

       

       ====================================================

And then I added ( I assure you , I have no inside information  ) :

Reliance has plans to take on lease , thousands of premises and offer the same to " unemployed graduates ( preferably , tech savvy )" to set up such retail shops 


Without need for " fixed " or " working " capital , we hope to be able to attract many to become our franchisees 

Of course , it is not going to be a “ walk over “ for Reliance, what with ,

·         Amazon buying out Birla’s retail outlets “ More “

·         Amazon planning 3000 cashier-less Go stores by 2021

Dear young unemployed Indians,

Seize this opportunity .  Rush your profile to Reliance Retail  !

care@jio.com  /  shop@jio.com  /  enterprisecare@jio.com  /  jiofibercare@jio.com  /

mukesh.ambani@ril.com

jyoti.jain@ril.com

 info@ril.com

20  Sept  2018

www,hemenparekh.in / blogs 

Brittany Kaiser : You are right

You are absolutely right when you say :

If privacy is truly a thing of the past, then people should at least profit off their own personal information  

“ Privacy doesn’t exist  in a post-Facebook crisis era,” Kaiser said at the Bloomberg Sooner Than You Think summit in Singapore.

“The digital assets that you produce every day are your own human value. You should be able to own them and you should be able to share in the monetization of that.”

From a personal perspective, real ownership and control of data means having all your information -- from political leanings and product preferences to medical records -- in one place, so people can decide who gets to access it and on what terms.

{  See details of how this can work at :

   A Matter of Motive   ………. [  04  Aug  2018  ]  }

That could mean anything from selling it to granting limited use in exchange for a free service ( such as Facebook ) -- or keeping it completely private.

[  source : 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-06/if-privacy-is-dead-some-argue-people-should-sell-their-own-data  ]

For over an year now , that is precisely what I have been advocating , as can be seen from my following blogs ( sent as 41 EMAILS to India’s Cabinet Ministers / Supreme Court / NITI Aayog / PM’s Economic Advisory Council etc ) :

Data Privacy Law : a Pandora’s Box ?  …………[  15  July  2018  ]

 

 

We can choose to hide our head in the sands but that won’t make the storm go away  !

 

I urge Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji to consider my suggestion while framing the Data Protection Law

 

19  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs