Lower carbon footprints: Sustainability increased in cables
By EPR Magazine Editorial January 7, 2021 10:26 am IST
By EPR Magazine Editorial January 7, 2021 10:26 am IST
Traditional methods of generating electric power include hydro power, thermal power and nuclear power. Nowadays solar power and wind power are becoming popular because of the renewable nature of the primary source and systems that reduce energy bills and enable lower carbon footprints. Whereas with the growth of expectations towards having healthy and safe environment, there has been a high growth in demand for green cables, here are the industry leaders explaining why is green cables very important.
NITI Aayog on adopting a decentralised model of energy
Decentralised energy results in energy being produced closer to where it will be used, rather than at a large plant elsewhere and sent through the national grid. This local generation like a rooftop solar plant reduces transmission losses and lowers carbon emissions. Security of supply is increased nationally as customers do not need to share a supply or rely on relatively few, large and remote power stations. Deepak Chhabria, Executive Chairman, Finolex Cables Ltd says, “There can be economic benefits too. Long term decentralised energy can offer more competitive prices than traditional energy. While initial installation costs may be higher, a special decentralised energy tariff creates more stable pricing.” An increase in demand for the solar generation implies an influx of demand for ancillaries pertaining to its generation, transmission and synchronization. One of the most important ancillaries are solar cables, which are involved in harvest, storage and transmission of Solar Energy. The Government’s focus on adopting a decentralized model of energy promotes energy generation through renewable energy and using localised systems such as Microgrids. Solar energy generation continues to be one of the most viable renewable source of energy in India. The government has taken several initiatives to promote solar energy, such as the National Solar Mission, which aims to achieve installed capacity of 100 GW by 2022. To which Vimal Kejriwal, Managing Director & CEO, KEC International Ltd. mentioned
“KEC’s two fully integrated manufacturing facilities at Vadodara and Mysore in India are well-equipped to manufacture solar cables from Low to Extra-High Voltage ratings, which are involved at various stages of solar energy generation:
Low Voltage: Panels to Combiner Box (DC), Combiner Box to Inverter (DC), Inverter to Transformer (AC)
Medium Voltage: Transformer HV Side to Substation (AC)
HV/ EHV: Substation to Grid (AC)”
Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group when speaking about says, “For power cable manufactures, switching to aluminum sheathed cables in place of lead sheathed is cheaper but due to corrosion of aluminum, the life of the cable may decrease. The use of ROHS-3 compliant material costs more, which may increase the net cost of the product by 5-10 percent.”
Increasing demand for smart and sustainable cables
Although overhead power lines are typically more economical, they are susceptible to damage from wind-borne tree branches, debris and high wind and ice-loading conditions from extreme weather. Chhabria talks about, “Finolex Cables has committed a capex of `200 crore over the year for enhancing the manufacturing capabilities at Urse, Pune.” This capex is directed towards enhancing production capabilities to meet the requirements of the Solar Power Industry and the Automotive Industry, bringing in-house certain value additions which were outsourced earlier and further expansion of the Optic Fiber line. “The company is in the process of setting up a manufacturing plant to produce solar cables using controlled electron e-beam technology for which specialized radiation technology equipment has been procured. The company will also be targeting the construction sector, which accounts for 60 percent of its electrical wires and cables revenue, as it is expected to be poised for strong growth.” added Chhabria.
Kejriwal added, “We are constantly working for developing new products for smart and sustainable cables to meet the increasing demand and quality requirement in the power sector. Some examples include – DC cables of solar applications, Hybrid cables, covered conductor of various voltage grades, ADSS and OFC cables for telecom segments etc. Our cables are designed to meet the continuity and reliability standards defined by the power sector.” Technical improvements in cable technology, wire placement, conduit sizing, grounding methods, directional boring techniques and other aspects of undergrounding power lines have advanced the reliability of underground power.
Latest technologies to increase the operational efficiencies of green / solar cables
Solar power generation in India has seen a rise in demand creating enormous demand for generation and transmission related technologies, equipment, and product, not to mention special kind of wires and cables suitable to solar energy.
“Proper insulation and sheathing in all types of cables is of vital importance on this front. At KEC, we have adopted the latest technological advancements such as Tandem Extrusion and Triple Layer Co-Extrusion to increase the operational efficiencies. The quality of insulation and sheathing obtained from these processes drastically improve physical and electrical properties. Pre-connectorised cables have also contributed to the ease of installation and increase in productivity. Additionally, an all-in-one metal-clad cable solution for connection between combiner box and inverter also increases operational efficiency by many folds.” Kejriwal said.
Solar cables are exposed to harsh climatic conditions of heat, moisture dust etc. Most of the solar cables being used today are with chemical curing of the insulation and sheath. Bishan Jain, Director at Goldmedal Electricals said, “The decision to promote green transmission will be a step towards a greener, cleaner and safer India. The Union Power Ministry and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) are constantly working towards greener options in electric transmission cables.”
This latest curing technology involves acceleration of electrons in the accelerator. Cable is passed under the beam of such accelerated electrons. Exposure to this beam is given in predetermined doses. These highly accelerated electrons penetrate the insulation / sheath. Carbon radicals generated by this cross-links the polymer chains of the material.
This new technology has many distinct advantages over the conventional curing, important ones being:
Chhabria explains, “Our R &D activities, coupled with rigorous test plans, ensure that life of these cables is more than 25 years. External agency certifications provide additional credibility to our cables. These solar cables as manufactured to EN 50618 and TÜV standard 2Pfg 1990/05.12 and are certified by TÜV. Cables as per 2Pfg 1169/08.2007 are also available. Availability of this technology will open the doors for specialised cables like automobile cables in particular. Cables sustaining temperatures as high as 150oC will now be manufactured.”
Solar cables transforming the industrial / commercial lookout
Today, the world is grappling with fast increasing Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has necessitated implementing various steps to mitigate the increase in carbon footprint. As signatories of the Paris Accord we are required to reduce carbon emissions to a specific level. This poses tremendous challenges to a fast developing country like India. It has propelled the need for investing in alternate clean energy resources that can meet our increasing demand for electricity.
Broadly solar power generation can be segmented into-
Utility : Large scale power generation
Non-Utility: Residential, commercial, agriculture, industrial etc.
In India solar energy can be a sustainable source of energy in true sense due to clear availability of sun rays for almost 8 to 9 months of the year. Various government schemes are also giving a boost for setting up solar plants. Success of this policy is evident from the mega solar plants being commissioned in the country. Adding to it Chhabria said, “Additionally, Non-utility segments are also growing. India’s total solar power capacity alone has increased by more than 11 times since the last five years. From 2014 to June 2020, the solar power capacity of India has increased from 2.6 Giga Watts (GW) to 38 GW. The tariff of solar energy has also come down from `8 per unit to `2.44 per unit and it was now cheaper than the cheapest source of energy – thermal power, making India one of most competitive and lowest per unit cost of solar power in the world.”
Although solar energy can still be collected during cloudy and rainy days, the efficiency of the solar system drops. Solar panels are dependent on sunlight to effectively gather solar energy. Therefore, a few cloudy, rainy days can have a noticeable effect on the energy system.
Solar energy has to be used right away, or it can be stored in large batteries. These batteries, used in off-the-grid solar systems, can be charged during the day so that the energy is used at night. He continues, “This is a good solution for using solar energy all day long but it is also quite expensive. Hence, the initial cost of purchasing a solar system is fairly high. This includes paying for solar panels, inverter, batteries, wiring, and the installation.” Nevertheless, solar technologies are constantly developing, so it is safe to assume that prices will go down in the future.
With the increasing global demand for renewable energy generation especially through solar, a significant rise in the demand for solar cables is inevitable. Increasing adoption of the decentralized model, rise in electricity demand due to population growth and supportive government policies have played a significant role in augmenting the demand of solar cables. Kejriwal said, “This growth in demand will also result in an increase in raw material requirement, leading to a more competitive market, thus enabling adoption of technological advancements and improvement in product quality. These developments are expected to bring significant opportunities for the industry, especially for manufacturers like KEC.”
Needless to say, PV solar cables are an important part of these solar plants. Increasing requirements of these cables have led manufacturers to shift their focus on them, upgrade their technologies to manufacture better and better quality cables. These enhanced technologies can be extended to manufacture cables for other applications and /or existing cables to enhance their performance and life.
Technical improvements in cable technology, and other aspects of undergrounding power lines have advanced the reliability of underground power.
Deepak Chhabria, Executive Chairman, Finolex Cables Ltd
The decision to promote green transmission will be a step towards a greener, cleaner and safer India.
Bishan Jain, Director, Goldmedal Electricals
The Government’s focus on adopting a decentralised model of energy promotes energy generation through renewable energy and using localised systems such as Microgrids.
Vimal Kejriwal, Managing Director & CEO, KEC International Ltd.
The use of ROHS-3 compliant material costs more, which may increase the net cost of the product by 5-10 percent.
Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group
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