"National Solar Mission has plans to achieve 20 GW of Solar Power Installation by the year 2020". And as per the plans, these figures are expected to be around 100 GW by 2030 & 200 GW by 2050. Now, when it comes to investment, it is around Euro 2.7 Billion by 2013 (Phase - 1 for 1000 MW) and Euro 8 Billion in 2013-17 (Phase – 2 for 3000 MW).

With 300+ clear sunny days, India offers abundant of opportunities for those who have plans to enter the Indian Solar Energy Sector, such as Engineering Procurement & Construction companies (EPCs), Equipment Suppliers (PV panels, Power Conditioning unit, Mirrors etc) and Technology license holders. Some encouraging factors for Solar Energy Players are:

• Most parts in India receive irradiance of 5-7 Kilowatt hour (kWh)/Sqm/day
• Average power-generation potential of 20 MW/Sq Kilometer (KM)
• States such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat & Rajasthan are some of the key states in India due to high radiation level (5.6 - 6 k Wh/m2/day), availability of land at low rates, infrastructure availability and political support.

"India is the 5th largest wind-power producer in the world, with installations of over 10,386 MW at present". The figure is expected to be around 12,000 MW by the end of 2010. These figures make India as a preferred destination for foreign players with plans to enter the Wind Energy Sector in India. In 2008-09, India’s net export of wind turbines stood at Euro 490 Mn.

Advantages at a Glance:

• Concession on import duty on specified wind turbine parts
• 80% accelerated depreciation over one or two years
• 10 year income tax holiday
• Excise duty relief on certain components
• Wheeling, banking and third party sales, buy-back facility by states
• Reduced wheeling charges as compared to conventional energy
• Clearance of leasing forest land for up to a period of 30 years
• High ROE (Return on Equity) - 19% for initial 10 years
  • Assumption – Debt Equity - 70:30
  • Debt Repayment period - 10 years
  • CUF - 23%

With over 70% of its population in villages, India comes out as a preferred destination for foreign and domestic investors with plans to enter the Bio-Mass sector. The major sources of Bio-Mass are wood-waste and agricultural wastes. Going by the recent trends, Biomass-use is on the rise in India and thus, the Bio-Mass sector offers huge opportunities for the foreign as well as domestic players.

Modern Biomass comes with the potential to penetrate in four segments which are a) Process heat applications in industries producing Biomass waste, b) Cooking energy in domestic and commercial sectors, c) Electricity generation and, d) Transportation sector with liquid fuels.

Small Hydro Sector:

"As a renewable energy source, Hydropower provides over 97% of electricity (produced by the renewable sources)." Since 1991, Indian Government has been constantly encouraging private participation in the sector.

Small Hydro Power: Hydro Power (upto 25MW station capacity) is termed as "Small Hydro Power (SHP)". And the Indian Government has been constantly supporting these projects with Subsidy schemes such as:

• Providing support to States in identifying new sites for SHP
• Providing subsidy for these projects including Public, Private and NGO SHP projects
• Providing subsidy to existing public-sector SHP projects for renovation
• Water Mills

Tecnova India, an international management consulting firm, provides a wide range of services to enable you make the most of opportunities in the Renewable Energy sector in India.

Key Services Offerings by Tecnova-Professionals:

Role in Project Management:

Tecnova's Scope of Work till PPA

Legal Entity Formation

• Name approval of company
• DIN (Director Identification Number) approval
• Company Incorporation

Statutory Approvals for Remittance

• • Permanent account number, tax deduction number
• Bank account opening
• CA certificate for meeting net worth criteria

Site Selection

• Location analysis & finalization of states
• IRR calculation
• Identification of sites
• Application to state industrial corporation
• Obtaining allotment letter from Government
• Payment facilitation & possession of land

Agreement with State Utilities

• Discussion with state transmission & water bodies
• Submission of technology report to above-stated bodies
• Obtaining letter of agreement for power-evacuation & water usage

Arranging Visits for Clients

• Arranging visits to central & state ministers
• Meeting with key-officials responsible for solar projects
  • NVVN
  • MNRE
  • State Industrial Development Corporation
  • State Energy Secretary
  • Transmission Company
  • Water Authority

Identification of Vendors

• Identification of EPC Partners
• Identification of service-vendors/sub-contractors
• Identification of vendors for equipment/product supply

Identification of Financial Partners

• Identification of partner for minority equity participation (strategic/investor/PE)
• Identification of partners for debt-sourcing
• Arranging meetings with short-listed partners
• Negotiation & follow up

• Preparation of feasibility report & detailed project report
• Develop QIM

Assistance in submission of application

• Drafting of EOI & submission
• Preparation for application & timely submission

Tecnova’s Scope of Work: Post PPA

Regulatory Approvals

• Assistance in application for approvals
• Obtaining statutory approvals at central, state & municipal level
  • Pollution control (consent to establish & consent to operate)
  • Ministry of environment & forest
  • Fire & safety
  • Factory license, labor license
  • Construction plan approval etc
• Obtaining approval for pre-construction & post-construction

Recruitment

• Hiring of country manager
• Project managers & start-up team
• Supervisory team

Sourcing

• Evaluation of identified vendors
• Short listing of vendors (auditing & plant visits)
  • Equipment, plant & machinery
  • Service providers – EPC, electrical, operation & maintenance
• Obtaining RFQs from short-listed vendors & negotiation
• Finalization of vendors & order-placement
• Logistics Optimization
• Procurement & receiving of supplies
• Coordination with different vendors & service providers

Start Up

• Selection of 3rd party verification agency for acceptance test
• Obtaining consent to operate certificate from pollution control

Fund Raising at Corporate Level

Structuring the Transaction

• Design the capital structure of the companies
• Ascertain the quantum of equity and debt required at each level
• Work out the valuations for the convertibles under different scenarios

Road Shows

• Draw up a list of potential equity and debt providers and strategic partners
• Draw up a shortlist based on first discussions
• Help in road shows with various equity, debt players and strategic partners

Negotiations

• Preparation of an investment memorandum giving the sector, technology and team updates
• Range of conversions across all companies to enable a "total return swap" transaction
• Exit options
• Timing and IRR growth strategies
• Coordinating due diligence
• Help in preparing various documents like NDA, Exclusivity, MOU and SHA along with lawyers

Scope of Work for EPCs:

• Company incorporation & other regulatory compliances
• Recommendation on India entry (100% subsidiary or JV set up)
• Recruitment of key-executives & start-up team
• Location Analysis & identification of office space
• Introducing EPCs to key-developers & partners
• By conducting road-shows in key locations
• Identification of Indian Partner
• Facilitate in local sourcing of key products for the project commissioning
• Identification & short-listing of service partners (sub-contractors fit out agencies etc)

For Equipment Manufacturers

• Market research & potential study
• Company incorporation & other regulatory compliances
• Recommendation on India entry (100% subsidiary or JV set-up)
• Recruitment of key-executives & start-up team
• Location analysis for Greenfield set-up
• Facilitate in local sourcing & vendor identification
• Conducting road-shows, introducing to potential buyers

With highly-skilled professionals on board, Tecnova has served numerous clients in this domain, enabling them to set-up and develop their operations in India. Some of our valued clients include Ahlstrom Capital (Finland), SunBorne Energy Technologies (US) and Moventas (Finland).