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WISE-USAID Study for Performance Evaluation and O&M for Solar PV

WISE-USAID Study for Performance Evaluation and O&M for Solar PV

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​Year Of Completion: 2018

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported WISE to execute a two-year project to prepare a comprehensive best practices standard for performance evaluation and O&M in the solar PV segment.

The outcome of the project was the ‘Best Practices Handbook on Performance Evaluation, Operation and Maintenance of Solar PV Plants’ brought out by WISE, which bridges the knowledge deficit gap on O&M for both, rooftop as well as ground-mounted solar PV plants. The Handbook has been very well received, and the International Solar Alliance has uploaded it on its website for ease of access to member countries.

WISE carried out a detailed survey, held extensive stakeholder consultations and expert interactions, and undertook on-site visits to multiple solar power plants all across India to map the prevalent performance evaluation parameters and O&M practices. The visits helped the team to identify gaps in current institutional benchmarks and market practices with respect to best-in-class standards. As part of the project, WISE also conducted three stakeholder training programmes to sensitize key stakeholders to best practices in solar O&M and performance evaluation.

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Addressing challenges to RE manufacturing in India

Addressing challenges to RE manufacturing in India

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The key objective of this project was to assess the key challenges facing wind and solar manufacturing in India and suggest policy measures for supporting India’s ambitious target of 160 GW RE by 2022. Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation funded WISE and CSTEP jointly to undertake this project.

WISE focused on identifying and addressing the challenges facing wind power manufacturing (CSTEP focused on solar energy). To this end, it consulted diverse stakeholders including wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, wind technology importers/exporters, policymakers and experts from other sectors to map the key barriers to wind turbine and component manufacturing in India. WISE also reviewed key supply chain components and developed a short to medium term sourcing strategy (import or manufacture) for these components, based on macro-economic criteria, material and resource constraints, techno-economic feasibility and international market dynamics. One long-term strategy included recommendations on specific policy measures in finance, science and technology, technology standards and IPR to facilitate 100% indigenization.

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Enabling A Circular Economy for E-Waste in Pune City

Enabling A Circular Economy for E-Waste in Pune City

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The US Consulate General, Mumbai, organised a joint US-India conference in 2017, announcing a grant competition for waste management innovation in India. The focus of the competition was to assess the current status of waste management in India—under any one of the different waste management topics presented—and explore innovative solutions that could be tested and adopted in the country, sharing global best practices and experiences in the process. WISE was awarded the seed grant for the project, which was evaluated and monitored on behalf of the US Consulate General, Mumbai, by The Ohio State University.

WISE worked on developing a participatory, e-waste management implementation strategy for Pune city with the objective of capturing 60% of the e-waste generated in the next two years. To this end, WISE undertook extensive stakeholder consultations with players at every level of the waste ecosystem, right from rag pickers to government functionaries, and assessed key technical and operational challenges, as well as institutional and administrative gaps. The findings and insights from the exercise were then contextualized with global best circular economy models in the waste management space taking into consideration the health and environmental impacts of possible circular economy strategies.

WISE proposed an innovative circular economy-oriented business model for Pune city for e-waste management. It detailed a comprehensive action plan (short-term and long-term) to implement the recommended model, create base-level awareness, build the capacity of concerned stakeholders and strengthen institutional mechanisms for e-waste management in Pune city in the coming years.

The Action Plan was disseminated through a variety of channels including WISE and OSU websites, stakeholder websites, email blasts, and social media. Additionally, focus group meetings were held to ensure the feasibility of plan implementation. The final report of the WISE project has met with wide acceptability among city officials and key stakeholders across the value chain. In particular, the WISE team briefed the Joint Municipal Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, PMC, Dnyaneshwar Molak, and other key stakeholders, and received an enthusiastic response. The recommended Strategic Action Plan is expected to pave the way for more informed decisions by policy-makers and e-waste chain participants, leading to development of a circular economy in Pune.

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WISE to assess the feasibility of meeting Kerala’s 100% energy demand with by 2050

WISE to assess the feasibility of meeting Kerala’s 100% energy demand with by 2050

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The project sponsored by WWF Norway and administered by WWF India was the state version of the  WWF Global’s ambitious report on 100% RE for the world. The project required WISE to assess the feasibility of meeting Kerala’s 100% energy demand with by 2050.

WISE carried out detailed stakeholder interaction in Kerala with the state’s topmost stakeholders and experts in the energy and environment domain. The study also assessed the renewable energy potential (wind and solar) of the state using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and high-resolution datasets of land use land cover, topography and resource layers.  The project team used an open-source modelling tool to design different energy demand scenarios and model impacts on energy utilization through energy conservation, energy efficiency and energy substitution (renewable energy use) strategies. The energy model covered electricity, industrial heat and transport energy and recommended specific interventions in each sector to meet the 100% RE goal.

The report was widely disseminated and some of the recommendations from the report were implemented by the state electricity department and the state nodal agency. The state requested WISE to undertake a follow-on project focusing on Palakkad district in Kerala. Both the reports were well appreciated and, on the request of the state, were also translated into the local language Malyalam for enabling wider dissemination.

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Energy Efficiency Policy Framework and support to the State Designated Agency in Kerala

Energy Efficiency Policy Framework and support to the State Designated Agency in Kerala

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The project supported by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation entailed conducting a comprehensive review of the implementation of the energy efficiency programme in India, along with policies, administration procedures, and institutional framework. The study also required WISE to provide specific implementation support to a state designated agency for supporting energy efficiency programs at the state level.

WISE evaluated impacts of major sectoral initiatives in the energy efficiency space including PAT, ECBC, Standards and labelling standards, and demand side management schemes for agriculture and municipal sectors. The study included extensive primary and secondary research, administering stakeholder surveys and interviews. The study also reviewed and evaluated the funding mechanism for the existing energy efficiency programmes, institutional framework in India, and the potential of energy efficiency in mitigating climate change. It also looked at the structure and role of State Designated Agencies (SDAs) as per the Energy Conservation Act, and taking a hands-on approach, worked with state designated agency in Kerala, the Energy Management Centre (EMC), Thiruvananthapuram to provide guidelines and specific action points for implementation and roll out of new energy efficiency programs. WISE carried out two workshops under the program and provided guidance to the stakeholders on energy efficiency improvements for other industries.

The study provided many insightful recommendations in the area of scheme design, scheme implementation (PAT/ECBC/Standards and Labelling), institutional strengthening and energy efficiency financing. The work with the state designated agency assessed program dissemination and success and suggested some innovative government support schemes and user engagement strategies that went beyond normal electricity consumer categories to also include transport energy use. The team also provided guidance on institutional strengthening and administrative process changes to improve program delivery and information dissemination. To enable wider dissemination of the study outputs, the reports and other deliverables were converted to local language Malyalam.

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Facilitating Offshore Wind in India (FOWIND)

Facilitating Offshore Wind in India (FOWIND)

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The EU Delegation to India in close cooperation with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, awarded a €4 million grant to a GWEC-led consortium under the Indo-European Cooperation on Renewable Energy programme. The FOWIND project sought to facilitate India’s transition towards low carbon development by supporting the implementation of national policies and programmes for offshore wind, with a special focus on the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

As part of the consortium, WISE was entrusted with assisting and coordinating offshore wind development with the state government of Gujarat and it played an instrumental role in bringing the Government of Gujarat as co-grantor for the project. WISE also developed a project management office on its premises in Pune for this purpose and supported the consortium lead, GWEC, and other technical partners on key project deliverables, including preparation of pre-feasibility and final feasibility reports for 500 MW offshore wind capacity and associated offshore policy briefs and other technical papers on manufacturing, supply chain, grid integration, etc. On the implementation side, WISE took the lead in implementing project activities related to LIDAR selection, offshore structure selection, government coordination for offshore permits, and site visits and installation of LIDAR for measuring offshore wind resources in the Gulf of Cambay, Gujarat. The LIDAR was installed in 2017 and the wind resource readings are expected to provide valuable guidance to the on-site installation of the first offshore wind power project in India.

The project helped create more visibility and acceptance for offshore wind among policymakers and regulators. The project report deliverables in the areas of technology integration, supply chain, policy and grid infrastructure spurred new interest and investments in the field of offshore wind in India.

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