Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India

Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India

India Solar EPC Blueprint

How to Succeed as a Solar EPC in India?

Use Solar Mango’s India Solar EPC Blueprint to understand everything about this fast-growing opportunity.

Wish to become a successful Solar EPC in India?

Read this definitive guide exclusively for upcoming Solar EPCs – written by experts

About the Report

blueprint coverWith solar power growing at a fast pace in India and with the central state governments providing significant thrust and incentives for its growth, many entrepreneurs and businesses are keen to become an EPC. This is a detailed blueprint document for them.

This comprehensive expert report and guide will be invaluable for those keen on entering the solar EPC business in India.

Solar Mango’s India Solar EPC Blueprint, in addition to providing detailed inputs on the business and revenue models, key market segments, key sales strategies and more, also includes important sections on risks and risk mitigation for solar EPC where it clearly spells out the areas of uncertainties, and how adverse effects of each uncertainty can be mitigated.

Who should buy this report?
The India Solar EPC Blueprint is targeted at new and upcoming EPCs and provides them with a strategic framework to take the first steps to becoming a solar EPC. While this guide is intended mainly for new and upcoming EPCs, incumbent EPCs are also likely to find many of the insights useful. The kind of businesses that can gain from such a report are

  • Large corporates and SMEs keen on diversifying to become a solar EPC
  • EPC subcontractors interested in becoming a solar EPC
  • Other solar businesses vertically integrating to the EPC business

Why is it critical to purchase this report?

Due to the low investments required, reasonable profit margins and availability of skilled solar professionals, Solar EPCs are currently an attractive business opportunity in India.

This actionable guide by Solar Mango provides critical data, insights and resources that enable businesses to take their optimal first steps in becoming Solar EPCs.

This report is unique due to the following reasons.

  • This is not a report. This is an action and strategy blueprint for those keen on becoming a solar EPC in India
  • This comprehensive document covers all the critical aspects that will enable you to take your best first steps as a solar EPC in India
  • This report is based on the extensive understanding Solar Mango has of the Indian solar power EPC sector at conceptual and practical levels, and based on the hundreds of interactions we have had with successful EPCs across the country

Why buy this report from Solar Mango?

  • Solar Mango is a leader in the solar energy research, consulting and education domains for the Indian market.
  • This India Solar EPC Blueprint is written by industry experts from Solar Mango with experience in business, technical, operational and financial aspects of the Indian solar energy sector.
  • Our team works with over 30 EPCs from across the country, some of them top tier, and assists them in growing their business.

 

Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India

Obtain a free copy

The Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India is provided complimentary (free) by solar mango. Those Interested in obtaining a copy are requested to send an email to Dharini with the following brief details:

  • Your Name
  • Your role / designation (If Applicable)
  • Email
  • Website (If Applicable)
  • Your Company Name (If Applicable)
  • Your City and country
  • Mobile Number

Please send the above details as an email to dharini@eai.in with the email subject Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India

India Solar EPC Blueprint – List of Contents

1.Introduction +

  1. Solar Potential in India
    • Solar Potential in Various Regions – detailed data and inputs on the solar radiation potential in the various regions of India
  2. Solar Power Growth & Trends
    • Across geographies
      • In specific states
      • In specific regional clusters
    • Across specific segments
      • Rooftop
        • Residential rooftop
        • Commercial & industrial rooftop
      • Ground Mounted
        • Insights for characteristics of and growth opportunities in the ground-mounted power plants of various scales
          • 1-3 MW
          • 5-10 MW
          • 10-50 MW
          • 50+ MW
        • Across business models
          • Captive solar
          • Sale to utility/third party
        • Overview of Central and State Government Solar Policies
          • Subsidies
          • Feed in tariffs
          • Tax holidays and other tax incentives such as accelerated depreciation
          • RECs…
        • Business & Revenue Models for Solar Power Plants in India
          • Business Models

          Characteristics of the two main investment/business models are provided:

          • Capex model
          • Opex model
          • Revenue Models

          Revenue models for ground mounted solar power plants

            • Sale to utility
            • Captive consumption
              • A variation of this is group captive
            • Sale to third party
            • Revenue models for rooftop solar power plants
              • Captive consumption
              • Sale to third party (mainly to utility through specific government programs)

2.Indian Solar Market Segmentation +

  1. Characteristics of the key market segments for solar EPCs, based on:
    • Region
      • Urban
      • Semi-urban
      • Rural
      • State-based segmentation
    • Type of end user
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Industrial
      • Institutions
      • Government
    • Size of the project
      • Offgrid & Rooftop
        • Very small off-grid Projects (a few 10s of W to 1 kW)
        • kW size residential Projects (1-10 kW)
        • Industrial and commercial rooftop solar projects
          • Small-medium (10-50 kW)
          • Large commercial/industrial rooftop (100 kW+)
        • Ground-mounted
          • 1-3 MW
          • 5-10 MW
          • 10-50 MW
          • 50+ MW

3.Types of Solar EPCs in India +

  1. EPC with focus on:
    • Rooftop solar power plants
      • Residential rooftop
      • Industrial & commercial rooftop
    • Ground-mounted solar power plants
  2. Turnkey EPCs
  3. EPCs with Local/Regional Focus
  4. EPCs taking up mainly sub-contract work from larger EPCs
  5. Specific functions alone
  6. Pure- play design firms
  7. EPCs with an O&M focus

4.Business Potential Analysis for Solar EPCs in India

 

5.Segment-wise Potential +

  1. Ground mounted
  2. Rooftop Solar

6.Region-wise Potential +

  1. High Potential States – current and future
  2. High Potential Cities & Towns – current and future
  3. Other High Potential Clusters & Regions – current and future

7.Industry-wise Potential (for rooftop & captive) +

  1. Attractive Commercial Sectors
  2. Attractive Industrial Sectors
  3. Attractive Institutional Sectors

8.Costs & Potential Returns for EPCs +

  1. Costs to run solar EPC operations
  2. Margins made by solar EPCs in India
  3. Recommended investments by solar EPCs to get superior margins & returns on investments

9.Growth Opportunities for Solar EPCs +

  1. Vertical integration opportunities for solar EPCs
  2. Value Added Services that can be provided by a Solar EPC

10.Risks & Challenges

 

11.Key Challenges for the Solar EPCs in India +

  1. Infrastructural challenges
    • Land levelling
  2. Project Implementation Challenges
    • Component procurement
    • Evacuation challenges
    • Local skill availability
    • Time and cost over-runs
  3. Financial challenges
  4. Liabilities for a Solar EPC

12.General Risks Associated with Solar Power Plants that EPCs Should be Aware Of +

  1. Project Completion Risks – Most aspects of a solar PV power plant project are well defined and hence there should not be too many delays. However, this section provides inputs on delays that could yet happen owing to approvals, possible issues with grid extension to the substation, etc.
  2. Policy and Regulatory Risks – This section provides detailed inputs on specific risks that could happen, owing to policy, legal and political constraints, some of which are specific to solar PV power plants.
  3. Technology Risks – While most components of the solar PV power plants have achieved technological maturity, for an investor it is critical to know the exceptions when there could be technology failures. This section provides inputs on possible instances of panel or inverter failure, and also possible failures that can occur in other portions of the solar power plant. The section also provides exclusive details on systems that can be installed to both prevent such failures and minimize the damages in the instance of failure.
  4. Operational and Performance Risks – The key uncertainty for a solar power plant performance is the amount of sunlight available; other than this, performance can be significantly affected due to poor monitoring and maintenance. This section provides detailed inputs on the possible results of underperformance owing to poor maintenance.

13.Insights & Recommendations

 

14.Skills and Human Resources Solar EPCs Need +

  1. Project management
  2. Sales
  3. Electrical engineer
  4. Construction engineer
  5. Solar PV design specialist

15.Insights on Marketing, Sales & Distribution +

  1. How long do sales cycles take and how to shorten them?
  2. Ideal partnerships for sales & marketing
  3. Insights on brand building
  4. Critical Recommendations for Sales Strategies

16.Best of Breed Practices +

Best-of-breed practices being adopted by solar EPCs in:

      • Technology
      • Marketing & sales
      • Project management
      • Post-project implementation

Smart first steps to be taken by solar EPCs

      • Identifying niches
      • Identifying key business partners
      • Putting up a web site
      • Having a simple but effective brochure/collateral
      • Evolving a simple but effective positioning and differentiation

Certifications and approvals needed for solar EPCs

Critical Partnerships for Solar EPCs

    • Business partnerships
    • Technical partnerships

17.Opportunities for Innovation +

  1. Technical avenues
  2. Business model avenues
  3. O&M avenues
  4. Other innovation avenues

18.Identifying Profitable Niches +

  1. Technology niches
  2. Market niches
  3. Other niches
  4. What are the key roles expected by solar EPCs?
  5. O&M, Asset Management and Other Value Added opportunities
  6. Other innovation avenues

19.Leveraging Technology +

Insights are provided on how solutions providers in India and worldwide are utilizing a range of technology to win in the market place

  1. Smartphone Apps
  2. Social web
  3. Analytics
  4. CRM
  5. Automation of a number of EPC functions such as proposal generation
  6. Use of software for evaluating a rooftop for solar power

20.Parameters on Which Solar EPCs are Evaluated by Prospects +

  1. For rooftop projects
  2. For ground-mounted solar power plants

21.Profiles & Case Studies +

  1. Profiles of the Prominent Solar EPCs in India
    • Profiles of large, medium and small EPCs will be provided
  2. Key Mistakes to Avoid
    • Infrastructure mistakes
    • Technology mistakes
    • Operational mistakes
    • Human resources mistakes
    • Contractual mistakes

22.Solar Power Plant Reference Details

 

23.Land and Infrastructure Requirements for Setting up the Solar Power Plant +

  1. Land Details – Area required, and other pre-requisites for the land
  2. Details will also be provided for what portion of land is required for what purpose.
  3. Instructions on how to evaluate your land
    • Region in Which the Land is Located
    • Characteristics of the Location in the Context of a Solar Power Plant– Includes details on
      • Evacuation infrastructure required
      • Access to location through roads
      • Availability of water
      • Data on relevant environmental aspects such air pollution.

24.Estimating Generation from Your power plant +

  1. Detailed instructions on estimating the generation from your solar power plant. Variables used for this estimation include
    • Type of panels used
    • Types of inverters used
    • Plant layout
    • Region in which the power plant is located
    • Grid uptime
    • Panel degradation
  2. Suggestions and recommendations to significantly increase the output from your solar power plant. These are based on real life inputs collected by the Solar Mango team from across India.

25.Technical Features and Equipment for the Solar Power Plant +

  1. Overview of Solar Power Plant Technologies
  2. Panels
    • Details of types of panels and their specifications
    • Details of lifetimes and warranties
    • Crystalline silicon or thin film silicon panels
    • Checklist for solar panel selection
      • Checklist based on efficiency, grade, Tier, temperature coefficient, anti- PID and more
    • Mounting Structures
      • Details of mounting structures, materials made of
      • Details of lifetimes and warranties
      • Checklist for mounting structure selection
    • Inverters
      • Central or string inverters
      • Details of types of panels you plan to use, their specifications
      • Details of lifetimes and warranties
      • Checklist for inverter selection
    • Trackers
      • Details of single and dual axis trackers
      • Details on components of a tracker and how to choose the right tracker
      • Checklist for tracker selection
    • Other Balance of Systems Monitoring Systems
    • AC Side Electricals Such as Transformers, Switchgear, Cables…
    • Details of Substation Required for Evacuation
      • Details of distance from solar power plant to sub-station and how it affects costs
      • Details of the substation requirements – load capacity and related data
    • Details of Load Flow Study Required for Your Solar Power Plant
    • Civil and Architectural Requirements

26.Financial Analysis of Rooftop & Ground-mounted Solar Power Plants +

Comprehensive financial analyses are provided for a number of scenarios. This section will critically aid you and your team to fully evaluate the financial feasibility of investing in a solar power plant.

  1. Base Data and Assumptions
    • Generation including yearly degradation
    • Debt-Equity ratio
    • Estimated cost of financing
    • Additional fund requirement during the plant’s lifetime, if any
  2. Cost Components
    • Capital Cost for the Project – detailed break-up of the capital costs
    • Operating & Maintenance Costs
    • Interest costs
    • Total Cost of Power Generation
    • Illustrations for levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) estimates
  3. Revenue Components
    • Year by Year Revenue for 25 years based on tariff assumptions
  4. Comprehensive Project Cash Flow Analysis
  5. Payback Period and IRR
  6. Scenario Analysis – this is a critical aspect, as investors are keen to know about the uncertainties involved in the project and how the project financials would perform under best and worst case scenarios
  7. Summary of Financial Analysis and Inferences

27.Annexure +

  1. Details of latest solar policies in India, both central government policies and policies for various states.
  2. Line Diagram and Schematic Diagrams for the Solar Power Plant
  3. Project Implementation Schedule
  4. List of key component suppliers – for Panels, Inverters, Cables, Mounting Structures, Monitoring Systems
  5. Price estimates for the various components and trends for these in the last few years

28.Summary, Inferences & Recommendations

 

Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India

Obtain a free copy

The Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India is provided complimentary (free) by solar mango. Those Interested in obtaining a copy are requested to send an email to Dharini with the following brief details:

  • Your Name
  • Your role / designation (If Applicable)
  • Email
  • Website (If Applicable)
  • Your Company Name (If Applicable)
  • Your City and country
  • Mobile Number

Please send the above details as an email to dharini@eai.in with the email subject Blueprint for Solar EPC Opportunity in India

India Renewable Energy Expert