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Solarizing India – Fad or Future?

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The new Indian government, elected in 2014, has created a wave of enthusiasm in Indian solar sector with its announcement of an ambitious target to install 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2022. But considering that India had an installed solar PV capacity of only 3.74 GW as of March 2015, achieving this target seems to be a herculean task.

This article is part of a series focusing on solar PV market across selected Asian countries: China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The series closing article Solar Rises in the East examines challenges and opportunities in all four markets, with additional look into Indonesia and
The Philippines.

Market overview

India’s still modest solar PV capacity indicates how ambitious the 2022 target is. The country expanded its cumulative solar PV installed capacity from a mere 35.15 MW in March 2011 to 3.74 GW in March 2015. According to Indian government calculations, the country would need to invest US$110 billion between 2015 and 2022 to achieve the target of 100 GW solar power capacity. While obtaining such funding seems like a challenging task, it seems India has it all sorted out. At RE-Invest 2015 (a renewable energy global investment promotion conference held in New Delhi in February 2015), Piyush Goyal, minister of state for coal, power, and renewable energy, managed to get commitments worth US$200 billion from Indian companies as well as foreign investors. Furthermore, government managed to get commitment to build 166 GW solar installations from several solar developers.

Government is in talks with leading multilateral funding and lending agencies, such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Germany-based KfW, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to raise US$3 billion for solar power projects. In 2014, India received a funding of US$1 billion from US Exim Bank for solar power projects in the country. Announcement of 100 GW solar target has also caught attention of several private equity firms such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, IFC, and Standard Chartered. All of these efforts to secure funding for solar projects allow to hope that the 100 GW target by 2022 is achievable.

As India is blessed with virtually limitless solar energy, such inflow of NREL - Indialarge-scale investment can aid rapid development of solar market in the country. With more than 300 days of sunshine, India ranks among the highest irradiation-receiving countries in the world. Most parts of the country receives solar irradiation between 4-7 kWh/m2 per day (as seen in India Solar Resource Map, sourced from National Renewable Energy Laboratory).

A report, released in November 2014, by Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy estimated the country’s solar power potential at about 750 GW indicating that India has the prospects to become one of the largest solar power markets in the world. As per the report’s estimates, regions of Rajasthan (142 GW) and Jammu & Kashmir (111 GW) have the highest solar power potential in the country. More than 60 GW of solar power potential is estimated for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which are among the largest of the Indian states with large wasteland resources.

Key growth drivers

Rising Energy Gap

India is experiencing unprecedented energy demand from its increasing population (1.27 billion as of 2014) and rapidly developing economy (India’s economic growth rate for fiscal year 2014-15 is estimated at 7.4%). The country consumed 869,000 GW of electricity in 2012, representing 130% increase as compared to electricity consumption in 2000.

India remains a power-deficit country, with 25% of its population not having access to electricity, according to Census 2011. The country suffers from severe shortages of electricity, particularly during peak hours of demand. Moreover, significant dependence on oil imports to meet energy needs poses threat to country’s energy mix. Considering country’s tremendous solar potential, solar power generation can potentially fill in the mounting energy gap of the power-hungry nation.

 

Declining cost of solar power generation

Solar power is becoming increasingly affordable, with cost of solar equipment declining significantly over the last few years as a result of rising competition and technology advancements and innovation.

 

We are already close to grid parity as the cost of modules has come down and the generation cost of thermal and gas plants has gone up due to increase in fuel cost.
– Rajya Wardhan Ghei, CEO, Hindustan Cleanenergy, 2014

In case of utility-scale solar PV projects, solar power generation costs in India have come down from about INR 18 (US$0.28) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2010-2011 to INR 5.25 (US$0.08) in 2014, which is comparable to cost of electricity generation by power plants using imported coal (coal accounted for 59% of total installed electricity capacity in India in 2014, and about 23% of the demand for thermal coal, which is used primarily in power generation, was met by imports in 2014). Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis concluded in 2014 that newly built imported coal-fired power plant would require power purchase agreement of INR 5.4-5.7/kWh (US$0.85-0.9/kWh).

Solar is going to become one of the lowest-cost forms of generating electricity, even cheaper than fossil fuel.
– Pashupathy Gopalan, Head of Indian operations and President-Asia Pacific, SunEdison, 2014

An A.T.Kearney publication in 2013 suggested that solar power would achieve grid parity (grid parity occurs when an alternative energy source can generate power at a cost lower than or equal to the price of purchasing power from the electricity grid) with conventional power between 2016 and 2018. Similarly, in 2014, Bridge to India, a solar consultancy firm, suggested that the grid parity would be achieved by 2018.

In case of roof-top solar PV projects, experts believe that grid parity is nearly achieved. An article published in The Hindu in March 2015 suggested cost of electricity generation through roof-top solar PV was almost at par with cost of conventional power for commercial consumers (rate of electricity in India varies depending upon state of location, e.g. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, etc., and type of consumer i.e. domestic/residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural consumers) in 40% of the Indian states.

As the economic viability of solar power generation continues to increase in India, solar power is expected to gain traction over conventional energy sources, which would further accelerate development of solar market in the country.

Government incentives for solar development

Indian government has taken several initiatives to support solar market growth. Central and state governments offer both tax and non-tax benefits to promote investment in solar power sector.

TABLE I: Tax and Regulatory Benefits (Source: RE-Invest 2015)

Income Tax Holiday
  • 100% for 10 consecutive years – 20% Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to apply (if a company’s income tax in India is less than 18.5%, then it has to pay the MAT)
Accelerated Depreciation
  • Accelerated depreciation – 80% on solar assets
  • Additional depreciation – 20% on new plant/machinery in the first year
Deemed Export Benefits
(“Deemed Exports” refer to those transactions in which goods supplied do not leave country, and payment for such supplies is received either in Indian rupees or in free foreign exchange)
  • Advance authorization from Directorate General of Foreign Trade
  • Deemed export drawbacks on the customs duty paid on the inputs/components
  • Exemption/return of Terminal Excise Duty
Service Tax
  • Services of transmission or distribution of renewable source-generated electricity by an electricity utility are exempted from service tax
Customs And Excise Laws
  • Various duty concessions and exemptions to Renewable Energy (RE) Sector
Reduced VAT
  • Certain states allow reduced value-added tax rates (around 5%) on RE projects
Additional One-Time Allowance
  • 15% additional one-time allowance available in budget 2014 on new plant and machinery
Tax-Free Grants
  • Grants received from the holding company engaged in generation, distribution, or transmission of RE power

TABLE II: Non-Tax Benefits (Source: RE-Invest 2015)

Feed-in-Tariffs
  • Applicable when renewable generators sell to state utilities under the MoU route (MoU route means agreements entered into bilaterally without inviting bids)
Rebates
  • Available on the manufacturing of solar and wind components
  • Targeted at specific types of renewable energy technology
  • Include subsidies and rebates on capital expenditures
Government R&D Programs
  • Improve renewable energy technologies
  • Lead to growing performance, importance, and reducing costs

Government-led measures to create a conducive business environment for solar sector in India are expected to lure new players – local as well as global – and eventually expand the market space to support country’s solar mission.

Key challenges

Inefficient transmission infrastructure

Inadequate transmission infrastructure to connect solar power to the grid is expected to be a major roadblock to country’s 100 GW solar ambition. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry indicated in 2013 that the transmission and distribution losses due to poor grid structure were around 23% of the electricity generated. This clearly shows that a rapid up-gradation of transmission infrastructure would be essential to sustain the envisaged growth in solar power generation.

The solar target is very ambitious. There will be transmission and other infrastructure constraints to contend with.
– Bharat Bhushan Agrawal, Analyst, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2014

India has begun to work on developing high capacity transmission systems to accommodate the projected solar capacity as part of the US$6.96 billion ‘Green Energy Corridor’ project (announced in 2013), under which the government has planned to construct inter-state and intra-state transmission infrastructure across seven states of the country by 2017-2018. KfW, a German government-owned development bank, is expected to lend an initial US$285 million for this project. However, despite availability of funds, not much progress has been noted in the proposed ‘Green Energy Corridor’ project. By early 2015, just two sub-stations were constructed, one each in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, to feed renewable power to the main grid. Power Grid Corporation of India, which is to execute the project, argues that there is not enough renewable energy capacity addition and they are still on wait-and-watch mode. With this approach, the proposed green corridor project is likely not to be completed within the proposed time frame. So, it seems that despite concentrated efforts to improve the transmission infrastructure, the progress has been slow, which will hamper the proposed development plans of solar market in the country.

Difficulties in land acquisition

The challenges and menaces involved in sourcing land for large-scale solar projects is daunting many solar developers in India. Large-scale solar power plants require huge space – construction of a 100 MW solar plant typically require around 500 acres of land. The issue is that, in India, land is very fragmented (according to a media article by The Indian Express in March 2015, the average landholding size in India was three acres). And, as per the Land Acquisition Act (The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013), in order to acquire a tract of land, private companies need to get consent of 80% of the land owners of the particular area, while public-private partnership projects need to get consent of 70% land owners. Thus, it becomes extremely difficult to individually negotiate with all the land owners in an area selected for construction of a solar plant, and convince them to sell their respective portion of land and make a large space available. Furthermore, in India, the records of landholding cannot be easily verified and authenticated and many land owners do not have clear title to the land they possess, which might lead to litigations and disputes over the land at a later stage.

Land titles are usually not very clear [and] even if a land deed is shown to be in one person’s name, another relative can come forward and stake his claim and the matter can be sub-judice for years, if not decades. – Jasmeet Khurana, Solar Analyst, Bridge to India, 2014

Many solar projects have been stalled in the country due to these challenges in land acquisition, which has eventually impacted the project budget and costs.

Challenges faced by Essel Infraprojects in acquiring land for solar power plants

In June 2014, Essel Infraprojects, infrastructure arm of an Indian conglomerate – Essel Group, were nearing the completion of a 20 MW solar power plant in Maharashtra, and only last 10 km of transmission lines were to be set up to connect the INR 2 billion (US$31.5 million) plant to the state electricity grid. However, owners of the land on which the transmission towers were to be erected refused to allow their construction.

Negotiating terms with the land owners resulted in delay of project completion by six days. Though the delay was relatively short, unlike in other large-scale infrastructure projects where the litigations with land owners can go on for years, even the six day delay lead to a considerable loss of INR 500 million (US$7.87 million) in bank guarantees.

Learning from their experience in Maharashtra solar power plant project, for their next solar project (a 30 MW solar power plant in Punjab) Essel Infraprojects first acquired the land for transmission towers. In this case, the company struggled to acquire the land for plant itself. The company had started negotiating land deals at INR 800-900 thousand (US$12,598-14,173) per acre, but during the talks the price demanded by land owners increased, and the company had to settle paying INR 2.5 million (US$,39,370) per acre.

Land acquisition for solar projects has proved to be challenging not only for private companies, but also for state-owned enterprises. In 2014, Mahagenco, Maharashtra state-run power utility company, reported delay in construction of solar projects of 125 MW capacity (100 MW in Osmanabad and 25 MW in Parbhani) due to difficulties in acquisition of land. The land holdings on the proposed construction sites are in small segments and Mahagenco is facing difficulty in convincing all the land owners in that area to sell their respective parcels of land to create a larger land area available for the solar plant. Because of the delay, the state missed its target of installing 313 MW of solar capacity for 2013-2014.

Difficulties in sourcing land for solar projects has resulted in delay of project execution and escalated costs. Government has proposed amendments in the Land Acquisition Act, including removal of ‘consent’ clause, to ease and expedite the process of securing land for reform-oriented projects. But this proposal has been stalled due to immense opposition from most political parties and social activists, who argue that the proposed amendments would weaken the rights of land owners. Unless the issues pertaining to land acquisition process are addressed, the country’s solar ambitions are likely not to be achieved in the desired time frame.

Opportunities for global solar companies

Global solar companies eye India as an emerging market opportunity

Indian government offers favorable policy framework for foreign investment in solar sector. 100% foreign direct investment is allowed under the automatic route, without any approval from the government of India. Further, no approval is required for up to 74% foreign equity participation in a joint venture. Additionally, 100% foreign investment as equity is permissible with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board. Investors are also allowed to set up a liaison office in India.

Apart from this favorable framework, global companies are attracted to Indian market thanks to the promising returns on investments. Bridge to India concluded in 2015 that global utility companies could expect 13-15% return on equity invested in solar projects in India, while return for global solar developers could be expected to be in the range of 15-17%.

India is seen as an upcoming solar investment hotspot. Given the conducive business environment and attractive returns, many global solar firms have announced investment plans in Indian solar market. These include leading global solar developers and utilities such as Acme (joint venture between France-based EDF Energies Nouvelles, Luxembourg-based EREN, and India-based ACME Cleantech Solutions), US-based SunEdison, US-based First Solar, France-based Solairedirect, to name a few.

Insufficient domestic solar PV cells and modules production capacity offers opportunities for global suppliers

Minister Piyush Goyal stated in 2014 that domestic manufacturing capacity of photovoltaic cells (PVCs), which accounts for 60% of the cost of a solar module, is 700-800 MW, which is not sufficient to meet country’s solar ambitions. Indian PVCs manufacturers have also been unable to compete with cheaper Chinese and Taiwanese imports. In 2014, the Ministry of Commerce in India proposed anti-dumping duties of between US$0.11-0.81 on PVCs/modules imported from China, USA, Malaysia, and Taiwan (accounting for about 80% of modules used in Indian solar projects).

Indian government rejected the proposal to impose anti-dumping duties on import of solar PVCs and modules, explaining that as the domestic solar PVCs and modules production capacity was inadequate to meet the demands of country’s envisaged solar plans, the proposed anti-dumping duties would result in higher costs for solar projects and eventually hinder the growth of solar market in the country. With no protective measures in place to support the indigenous PVC manufacturing industry, India’s dependence on imports of solar PVCs and modules is likely to increase with expansion of solar PV market, creating manifold opportunities for global solar PVCs and module suppliers.

EOS Perspective

Abundance of solar irradiation along with continuously falling solar PV prices have created a distinctive opportunity for electricity-deprived India to bank on solar power generation. Realizing this, Indian government is marching towards the goal of installing 100 GW solar PV capacity by 2022. Favorable policy environment and government incentives would be pivotal for the growth of solar market in India. Government’s dedicated efforts to raise institutional funding and develop other financing avenues to support country’s solar power ambitions have received impressive response from investors across the globe.

However, experts caution that most of the announcements in solar sector are made based on just preliminary commitments or MoUs. It is yet to be seen to what extent these plans materialize over the coming years. Despite challenges, Indian solar market is poised to grow rapidly in the near future owing to the euphoria created by recent announcement of government’s ambitious solar vision followed by private sector’s surge of enthusiasm in the solar market. However, whether the country will be able to sustain the growth stride, remains a question.

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North Africa: Is It The Next Frontier Market For Automotive Manufacturing?

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The article was also published in Automotive World’s Q2 2015 Megatrends Magazine

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Rapid urbanization, growing consumer base with rising disposable income, significant infrastructure investments, and proximity to the EU are some of the key reasons why automotive companies are increasingly attracted towards the North African markets. In spite of the impact of political upheavals on the region’s economy in recent times, the value proposition for global auto manufacturers remains strong.

The North African markets of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia have attracted the eyes of multinational automakers in the last few years, thanks to rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and continuous investments in infrastructure. In recent years, several automotive companies have assessed and entered these markets due to its favorable demographics.

North Africa’s market attractiveness relative to other regions has improved dramatically over the past years. According to E&Y’s Africa Attractiveness Survey of 2014, nearly three out of four respondents believed that Africa’s attractiveness will improve further over the next three years. Morocco and Egypt were seen as the two most attractive countries in North Africa by 55% of the respondents.

Despite several political and economic challenges, there is growing consensus that the region’s growth curve is on an upward trajectory, aptly supported by improvements in the EU economies, steadier inflation rates, and policy reforms undertaken by individual governments to harness growth.

Real GDP North Africa

While the FDI inflow statistics shows a different picture, the trend is expected to change as investors have been encouraged by the gradually restored political stability in these countries, as well as recent government initiatives to create business friendly regulatory frameworks.

FDI

What’s attracting automakers to North Africa?

In the North African region, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia together accounted for a giant share of over 90% of the total new passenger car sales in 2014, as per statistics from International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

These four countries represent approximately 42% of the total African passenger cars market. After witnessing a steep decline in 2013 due to the weak external demand as well as the region’s volatile political environment, new car sales figures picked up in 2014. With the region’s growth back on track, rising investors’ confidence, and uptick in tourism, these sales figures are projected to increase in the next coming years.

For global OEMs, lower labor costs, proximity to Europe, expanding port facilities, various financial incentives, and increasing network of auto parts suppliers and subcontractors are making the region’s value proposition stronger.

North Africa’s strategic geographic location and its skilled labor force at competitive wages, has provided a perfect solution for vehicle manufacturers, allowing easy exports in order to cater to the needs of the European automotive industry. Besides, the region also serves as a gateway to the rapidly growing African and Middle-eastern automotive markets.

The region’s favorable demographics – a young and rapidly growing population, increased urbanization, and rising income levels are attracting many global automotive players. Consumers today in North Africa are more brand-conscious and technologically savvy. Forecasts from the OPEC suggest that car ownership in the Middle-East and Africa will nearly triple to 66 million by 2035, compared to 23 million in 2010, making it among the fastest growing markets in the world over the next few decades.

Individual governments have also played a vital role in the industry’s growth story by creating a favorable investment regulatory framework. Despite economic pressures and tight budgets, governments in these countries have continued to make significant investments towards infrastructure across ports, roads and railway networks. In addition, a range of financial incentives are offered to foreign investors in the auto industry. This includes free trade zones, multiple tax incentives, special land allotment, and partial contribution towards infrastructure expenses for auto industry projects. Further, the government has also invested towards training programs to build a skilled labor force that can fulfill the demands of the growing auto industry.

North Africa’s Big 4 Markets – Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia

North Africa


Morocco has aggressively marketed itself as the new regional automotive hub for global automotive players. According to a 2013 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Kingdom will be the 19th-largest vehicle producer in the world by 2017. Renault, Delphi, Lear, Leoni, Yazaki, Faurecia, Sumitomo, and Hirschmann Automotive are some examples of key investment projects in recent years. These companies are not just providing employment, but, are also supporting a thriving automotive SME sector.

Renault’s operations in Morocco have provided a major boost to its automotive industry, as more than 40% of the parts are sourced locally. Renault aims to further expand its production capacity in Morocco and is also considering setting up an engine production plant to serve the two production plants. This represents large scale potential opportunities for auto parts manufacturers and suppliers. In October 2014, the Moroccan government announced the signing of five MoU deals with leading manufacturers of automotive wiring, vehicles interior & seats, metal stamping, and batteries.

As demand from both local as well as export markets grows, the industry is going to witness higher investment growth in the near future. Further, car makers that enter the Moroccan markets are also able to leverage on the pool of skilled labor and network of more than 40 Tier-1 suppliers.

Algeria’s automotive industry relies heavily on imports from Europe and China, importing approximately 75,000 cars annually. The age of current passenger vehicles plying on Algerian roads and low ownership rates present a significant potential for passenger car manufacturers. The Algerian government has played its part by promoting investments, and creating a business-friendly environment for the auto sector.

Mercedes Benz recently announced that it aims to transfer its investments from Egypt to Algeria in 2015 in order to take the advantage of benefits and facilities provided by Algerian government to foreign automakers. Renault’s production unit that became operational in 2014 has facilitated the development of local subcontracting and network of suppliers to create a local automotive industry. In order to meet the growing demand, Renault plans to triple its production output to 75,000 units by 2019, and has also committed to increase the level of local content.

With an increased interest of OEMs in the Algeria story, several opportunities will arise for suppliers of auto spare parts, plastic injection, paint as well as bodywork facilities.

In spite of being one of the smaller countries in the region, the automotive industry in Tunisia boasts of more than 80 companies, employing over 60,000 people, with a turnover of TND 2 billion (US$ 1.02bn) in 2013. The recent MoU signed with Iran for co-operation in car manufacturing will also help the Tunisian automotive industry grow further in the next few years.

Tunisia has a robust network of suppliers in the automobile wiring sector, and an abundant pool of skilled engineers and technicians at its disposal. The bigger benefit is the fact that the cost of hiring such talent is not only one-third the cost of that in the EU, but is also lower than its North African peers. Investment in manufacturing automotive components for exports is a priority sector for the government and in order to attract more investments, the government offers fully integrated sites with industrial, logistics, and infrastructure support to companies seeking to establish their manufacturing operations in Tunisia. There are plenty of opportunities for companies that manufacture automotive electronic, mechanical, and plastic components dedicated for exports to European and African markets.

New passenger cars sales in Egypt posted a solid growth of nearly 25% in 2014. With ongoing government plans to develop and encourage investment in the sector, and the improving tourism industry, new car sales are expected to grow further beyond 2015.

Nissan motors in October 2014 announced that it will invest an additional US$60 million towards expanding its assembly operations in Egypt. The government is also encouraging a vehicle production joint venture between domestic firm Nasr Automotive Manufacturing and Russia’s AvtoVAZ. The deal will not only give automotive production industry a major boost, but, it will also create opportunities for auto parts manufacturers and suppliers. For example, tire market Pirelli signed a MoU to invest US$107 million over a three year period to increase the production capacity in order to meet the growing demand.

Egypt is well poised to see a stronger automotive growth, driven also by very favorable demographics and proximity to the Middle-east.


A Final Word – Immense Scope, Manageable Challenges

OEMs must accept that North Africa will be unable to match the potential of the BRICS, MIST or ASEAN countries; however, given the region’s positive economic growth trend and rising investor confidence, the outlook for automotive industry is upbeat.

Various initiatives taken by individual governments have provided a boost to the automotive industry, and continue to attract global OEMs to establish local presence for both regional and export markets. Region’s favorable demographics, strategic location and competitive wages not only make it an attractive hub for auto exports, but, also a lucrative market for auto manufacturers which seek to tap the potential of African passenger cars markets.

There are a few challenges, political and economic, that need to be managed, in order to encourage OEMs to set up shop in North Africa. On the economic front, it would be imperative to demonstrate an investor-friendly regulatory environment, as well as the willingness to provide tax breaks and similar financial incentives to OEMs to establish production base and export hubs. While on the political front, ensuring stability and managing issues surrounding external factors such as ISIS will be critical to convince automotive companies to invest both monetary and technological resources in the region.

At this point in time, given the political, economic and social dynamics of the North African region, the scope for growth of the automotive sector is immense.

by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Container Shipping Industry – The Need Of The Hour

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Global container shipping industry has suffered through five unprofitable years and still does not seem to see much light. The industry is battling overcapacity, declining freight prices, and stiff undifferentiated competition, and with the new capacity expected to come online, these challenges are likely to persist. But the hurdles also present hidden opportunities for ship liners to improve performance across organizational, commercial, and operational activities. Moreover, extracting more from strategic alliances to include joint procurement and operational benefits can also help the industry in whole.

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As the industry suffers from a host of challenges, it is imperative for the carriers to step up and develop plans that could improve their profits. It is believed that several sound initiatives could potentially elevate these companies’ earnings by up to 15%, which could be enough to can steer them back to profitability.

To realize these benefits, companies need to bring about significant changes in their organizational structure, operational management, commercial management, and nature of alliances. Carriers that manage to introduce these changes will be in a better position to combat the current depression in the business and return to profitability.

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While these changes might be challenging to embrace, the industry has reached a stage where only drastic measures can keep them afloat and profitable. Carriers that can initiate a comprehensive transformation in their operations and organizational structure are likely to be to only ones able to steer ahead of competition.

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The Rising Importance of Private Labels for GCC Retailers

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Despite the recent progress made by several Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) retailers in developing their private labels, the industry is still lagging behind in comparison with western markets. Although regional retailers are well aware of the private labels’ potential, they have not fully leveraged their benefits. As the competition intensifies, regional retailers need to develop optimal private label strategies that can help them further enhance profitability and consumer loyalty.

With the evolving retail landscape, consumer attitude towards private label products has changed dramatically over the years in the GCC region. According to a 2014 Nielsen survey, nearly three-fourth (71%) of the respondents in Middle East and Africa agreed that their perception towards private label products have improved in recent times. Gone are the days when private label products were just seen as cheaper alternatives of national and multinational branded products.

Today, private labels include some innovative products that have no branded equivalent. Some of the premium private label products are superior to branded products in quality. Despite the growth of market share of private label products in recent years, the GCC retail industry is still lagging behind major matured retail markets in terms of private labels presence. Retailers now realize the need for making private labels an integral part of their growth strategies that can help them boost revenues and customer loyalty in the current retail environment characterized by intense competition and consolidation.

GCC - Retail Sales

The retail industry landscape in GCC region is constantly evolving, with the modern trade replacing traditional independent retail trade. As of 2013, the total occupied modern retail sales area was 5.3 million square meters. This is projected to reach 6.6 million square meters in 2018.

Retail industry has witnessed tremendous growth over the last decade and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the region. The growing expatriate population, increased purchasing power of consumers, modern lifestyles, and increasing influx of tourism revenues are fueling growth in the region’s retail sector. According to a 2015 report from Alpen Capital, retail sales in the GCC region are expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% between 2013 and 2018 to reach US$ 284.5 billion. Sales in supermarkets and hypermarkets across the region are expected grow at a CAGR of 9.2% during the same period.


GCC - Supermarket Sales

Given the retail industry’s strong growth outlook, a lot of potential opportunities exist for retailers to grow and differentiate themselves with private label strategies. However, till now retailers have largely failed to capitalize on this. Private label products have started to penetrate and enjoy success only across few product categories such as home care, packaged food, beverages, and hygiene products. Not only there is still an ample room for further growth in these categories, but the market remains untapped for other product categories such as personal care and hygiene products, and food categories including frozen food.

With the increased competition and industry consolidation, retailers need to re-think their strategies that can enable continuous growth and innovation. Therefore, many retailers are increasingly using private label as a strategic weapon to differentiate themselves and outperform competitors. According to SIAL Middle East, a leading event organizer in the region, 88% of the Middle East retailers they interviewed in 2014, were investing in private label expansion. Spinneys UAE recently announced to boost the exports of private labels in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries due to the increasing demand and recent success enjoyed by company’s private label offerings. Similarly Tesco, LuLu, and Carrefour have also announced their plans to further develop their private label offerings in the region within both food and non-food segments.

There are significant opportunities for GCC retailers in the private label space as these products are more profitable than branded products. By cutting the middleman (distributor) out, and by avoiding higher marketing costs associated with branded products, private labels enable retailers to increase gross margins. As today’s price conscious consumers are looking for best value for their buck, private labels offer consumers a wider range, better quality, and fairly priced products, thus creating a win-win option for retailers and customers in the current retail landscape. Moreover, private labels offer retailers with more bargaining power with their suppliers. It also helps retailers to have better control over their product offerings and category management. Although the opportunity for GCC retailers in private labels is clear, retailers in the GCC region have failed to reap their full potential. This is mainly because retailers within the region face an array of challenges.

Firstly, sourcing is a significant challenge for retailers as there are very few manufacturers in the region who have the capabilities to supply a range of high quality private label products. Most of these companies have existing manufacturing contracts with multinational retailers, which prohibit them from creating private label products for regional players. Other manufacturers and suppliers in the region face acute operational issues such as quality and supply chain management deficiencies that automatically make them unfit.

Secondly, the region has a diverse range of consumers of different nationalities, income levels, and other social demographics. Understanding their diverse needs is a challenge for retailers. So far, most of the retailers have focused solely on value, and failed to gauge the exact needs and expectations of these consumers due to lack of customer intelligence and the retailers’ limited ability to customize their private label offerings as per the regional market needs. GCC retailers have also failed to assess the current gaps in their assortment, and how they can utilize their private label offerings to fill these gaps.


Given the retail industry’s robust growth outlook, in order to grow and capture a bigger market share, retailers are using organic as well as M&A strategies. Therefore, M&A activity has also picked up within the industry. In the past few years many deals have taken place that involved region’s leading retailers such as Savola Group, Damas International, LuLu Group, and Al Meera Consumer Goods Co. As the retail landscape continues to consolidate, competition among retailers in the GCC will only get fiercer.

Private label is likely to become one of the key battlegrounds for retailers looking to succeed in these markets. As a first step, retailers should integrate private label with the company’s overall business strategy. Further, in order to succeed, retailers will have to develop a better understanding of the retail market landscape as well as shopping behavior of their target consumer segments. This will help them create targeted private label strategies tailored to shopper needs with optimal private label categories, branding, packaging, and pricing strategies. By collaborating with experienced manufacturers, GCC retailers need to ensure that right products are on the right shelves at the right time and price. It is critically important for retailers to strike the right balance between price and value. Cracking this code will allow retailers to strengthen growth and customer loyalty beyond 2015.

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China’s Solar Power Boom

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Solar power, once perceived as a luxury that only developed nations could afford, is becoming a viable energy source for a broader set of emerging nations, which are leaning towards solar power generation to meet their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, conserve scarce traditional resources, reduce dependence on imports of oil and fuel, or address escalating power demand.

In particular, several emerging countries in Asia are showing signs of intensified solar photovoltaic (PV) development in the coming years. For instance, China and India, the two Asian giants, are aiming for solar revolution with the target of installing 100 GW of solar PV capacity by 2020 and 2022, respectively. Solar energy is gaining popularity in many other emerging countries in Asia as well, such as in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This intensive growth of the region’s solar markets is offering a gamut of opportunities to domestic and global developers, investors, and financial institutions operating in the solar power industry.

This article is part of a series focusing on solar PV market across selected Asian countries: China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The series closing article Solar Rises in the East examines challenges and opportunities in all four markets, with additional look into Indonesia and
The Philippines.

 

Solar PV Installations

Currently, China represents the fastest growing solar market globally. While, in 2014, a total 38.7 gigawatt (GW) of new solar PV capacity was installed globally, China accounted for the largest share (roughly 27%) of this new capacity, adding some 10.6 GW, followed by Japan and the USA.

China’s strengthening position in the global solar power market is a matter of the past few years. At the end of 2010, China had an installed solar power capacity of less than 1 GW, and within three years it became a leading nation in terms of solar PV installations per year. Present outlook for China’s solar market is indicative of its bright future. Amidst burgeoning market growth, global solar companies are exploring diverse routes to benefit from China’s solar boom.

Market Overview

Total grid-connected solar power capacity in China reached 33.12 GW by the end of March 2015, with 27.79 GW from utility-scale solar PV projects and 5.33 GW from distributed solar PV projects. The country continues to add new capacity on an ongoing basis: it added 5.04 GW of new solar PV capacity in the first quarter of 2015 alone and aims to connect a total of 17.8 GW of new solar PV capacity to the grid in 2015.

Utility-scale solar refers to large-scale grid connected solar power generation, whereas distributed generation refers to electricity produced at or near the point where it is to be consumed. In China, solar power generated through rooftop solar PV systems on residential and commercial buildings as well as ground-mounted solar systems on abandoned lands, unused slopes, canopy for agricultural uses, and fish ponds are recognized as distributed solar PV projects.

All of this is just part of a larger plan to increase solar power output in this country, as according to the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), China aims to install a total 100 GW solar power capacity by 2020 (doubled from the target of 50GW set in 2013 under 12th Five-Year Plan, which we mentioned in our Perspectives in January 2015).

Growing solar market is expected to offer ample opportunities for new investments. A report released by Ernst & Young in 2014 indicated that China would require about RMB 737 billion (US$120 billion) of capital investment between 2014 and 2017 to meet its solar targets. About 71% of this capital investment value would be required for development of distributed solar PV projects.

“China’s continued demand for new energy capacity, its ongoing battle against air pollution and energy poverty, and its focus on economic development, meant the 100 GW solar target set in Beijing’s last Five-Year Plan could be treated as the bottom.” – Liansheng Miao, Chairman and CEO, Yingli (world’s second-largest solar panel producer), 2015

Such large-scale investments can be aptly utilized to capitalize on country’s abundant solar power generation potential. World Energy Council 2007 estimated China’s solar power potential at around 19,536,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year. 17% of mainland China receives annual solar radiation of more than 1,750 kilowatt-hours per square meter (KWh/m2) and more than 40% of China receives between 1,400-1,750 KWh/m2.

According to China National Renewable Energy Centre, several provinces in western and northern parts of the country (including Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Gansu provinces) represent more than two thirds of the national solar energy resource potential. Most utility-scale solar PV power plants are concentrated in the northern and western parts of China, while distributed solar PV installation is gaining momentum in eastern parts of the country.

Solar Resource of China – Direct Normal Solar Radiation
Solar Resource of China

Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Key Growth Drivers

Attempts to counteract deteriorating air quality

China became the largest consumer of energy in the world in 2010, with majority of its electricity generated from domestic coal reserves. In 2014, coal accounted for 64% of the total energy consumed in the country. Consequently, air pollution, which impacts public health, is a major problem for China to combat. Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection indicated that nearly 90% Chinese cities did not meet government-recommended standards related to air quality in 2014.

China’s solar boom is driven largely by a progressive policy framework intended to improve country’s energy mix by generating greater portion of energy from clean and abundantly available renewable sources. This push towards solar power generation is also partly aimed at creating additional demand for domestic solar equipment manufacturers.

China, being the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world (accounting for about 23% of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2014), is committed to move towards cleaner energy sources including solar power, and to cut down consumption of coal for electricity generation. In November 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged in an agreement with the US President Barack Obama to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in China from 9.8% in 2013 to around 20% by 2030. Country’s abundant solar power potential along with a strong commitment to move towards cleaner energy sources for electricity generation has been a contributing factor that boosted development of solar market in China.

The need to support the struggling indigenous solar panel manufacturing industry

China has been the largest manufacturer and exporter of solar PV panels since 2007, producing the cheapest solar PV panels in the world owing to massive subsidies granted by the government. China has been known to export about 90% of its solar panels. In the face of such a heavy reliance on exports, the trade tariffs recently applied by EU and the USA have affected the growth of this industry.

In 2013, EU and China came up with a trade settlement, under which in a given year, Chinese companies are allowed to export to EU solar equipment able to generate up to 7 GW power without paying duties, provided that the price is not lower than US$0.56 per watt. Any solar products sold above the permissible volume quota or below that minimum price would be subject to anti-dumping duties of an average of 47%. Consequently, EU’s share in overall Chinese solar PV module exports reduced from 65% in 2012 to 30% in 2013, and further down to 16% in 2014. At the same time, in December 2014, the USA, which accounted for 3% of the Chinese solar PV module exports in 2014, imposed anti-dumping duty rates of 52% and anti-subsidy rates of 39% on imports of solar panels made in China.

Chinese government’s aggressive efforts to drive significant expansion of domestic solar energy generation capacity is concentrated to spur new demand for solar PV equipment, and thus provide new market opportunity for indigenous solar panel manufacturing industry, dampened by series of anti-dumping duties levied by top export countries.

Favorable policies and generous government incentives for Chinese solar market
Impressive growth rate of Chinese solar market in the recent years has been largely driven by conducive investment and policy environment. The government has introduced several incentive schemes to encourage solar developers to ramp up solar PV installation in China.

Key Policies to Promote Solar PV Installations in ChinaKey Policies to Promote Solar PV Installations in China

While the introduction of subsidies and other solutions to fuel investment and installations of solar power facilities led to considerable positive results and increase in solar power generation capacity in China, the government intends to stop providing subsidies for solar projects by 2020 in line with falling costs of developing and operating solar projects in the country. With advancements in technology, leading Chinese solar companies’ solar PV modules cost decreased from US$1.31 per watt in 2011 to US$0.50 per watt in 2014, representing about 62% decrease in three years. In 2014, Deutsche Bank noted that the solar PV module cost could further decrease by 30-40% in next several years. Moreover, solar power generation cost in China is expected to reach a level comparable with the cost of conventional power generation by 2017. With the decrease of solar panel production costs and the decrease in cost of electricity generation using solar energy, the government will no longer consider subsidies a necessary tool to drive the solar market growth. While generous government incentives are likely to dry out over time, many renewable energy-friendly policies introduced since 2006 remain in place, and continue to ensure a favorable environment for solar power market.

Key Challenges

Lower development of China’s distributed solar PV sector in comparison with utility-scale solar PV generation

Most large-scale utility projects are concentrated in the highly irradiated northwestern regions of China, where the economy is relatively underdeveloped and electricity consumption is limited. Inefficient grid infrastructure in the country poses substantial challenge of power loss in long-distance transmission from northwest China to other regions that are rapidly developing and experiencing shortage of energy.

Considering transmission challenges and costs involved in utility-scale solar PV projects, most observers of China’s solar energy sector suggest that the country should ideally shift its solar PV market, which concentrates primarily on utility-scale solar PV in remote locations, to distributed solar PV in densely populated areas in the north, south, and east. However, as the current subsidy structure favors utility-scale solar PV projects over distributed solar PV projects, the development of distributed solar PV sector is relatively low. As of 2014, distributed solar PV installations connected to the grid accounted for only 16.65% of the total grid-connected solar installed capacity in China.

Current FiT Policy (Introduced in 2013)

Current FiT Policy (Introduced in 2013)

Source: National Development Reform Commission

Furthermore, the market for distributed solar PV in China faces other challenges, such as the possible dearth of rooftops suitable for installations of solar systems. Therefore, solar energy developers continue to be more interested in utility-scale solar PV projects in northwestern regions over distributed solar PV projects in other parts of the country, which leads to great loss of power during long-distance transmission, a challenge that could be overcome only if the grid infrastructure is significantly improved.

 

Rising concerns about the quality of domestically produced solar PV modules

Solar developers, investors, and financial institutions are increasingly concerned about the quality, performance, and reliability of solar PV modules produced in China. General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, a Chinese regulatory agency, indicated in 2014 that about 23% of solar PV modules produced by Chinese companies for the domestic solar market did not meet recommended quality requirements related to panel’s antireflective coating. Findings were based on inspection conducted in the third quarter of 2014 with samples from 30 companies, which represented about half of China’s suppliers of antireflective glass. Flawed antireflective coating may result in gradual deterioration of power output, thus increasing operational inefficiencies in the long-term. Experts suggest that such quality defects may not have immediate effect and can go undetected for two or more years of operation of the solar plant, raising uncertainty among investors and developers.

“A reduction in power generation caused by quality imperfections means declining investment returns or even losses from solar farms.” – Meng Xiangan, Vice Chairman, China Renewable Energy Society, 2015

Quality inspection of 3.3 GW of installed solar PV projects (about 10% of China’s installed solar capacity at the end of 2014) by China General Certification Center in 2014, indicated that a third of 425 utility-scale solar parks surveyed had several defects including faulty solar modules, poor construction, design flaws, and project mismanagement. These solar parks, built in China between 2012 and 2014, are likely to yield lower power output than originally estimated.

In light of recently identified quality issues in the domestically manufactured solar PV modules, investors and developers have increased caution in selection and implementation of solar projects in China. For instance, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, CEO of Sky Solar, a Hong Kong-based solar developer, said that the company plans to invest in China only at a “careful” pace because of quality concerns. This might be indicative of broader industry’s concerns that might hamper the rapid development of solar plants in the country.

 

Opportunities for Global Solar Companies

Global solar developers seek manifold opportunities in China’s expanding solar market

Global solar companies are keen to grasp the opportunities offered by rapidly growing China’s solar market. With the market’s expansion, a surge is expected in demand for imports of certain materials and instruments utilized in solar equipment manufacturing in the country.

Participation from foreign solar firms in development of utility-scale solar PV projects in China is increasing in the form of joint development ventures. For instance, in 2014, SunPower, a California-based solar developer, announced plans to develop 3 GW of solar PV in Sichuan province in collaboration with four Chinese partners. SunEdison, another US-based solar energy company, is planning to partner with Chinese companies for development of 1 GW of utility-scale solar project in the country.

Foreign solar developers also see opportunity in China’s distributed solar PV sector. For instance, UGE International, a US-based firm offering renewable energy solutions, has partnered with Blue Sky Energy Efficiency, a Hong Kong-based energy investor, to offer the power purchase agreements (PPA) to customers in China.

“Blue Sky and UGE are bringing an innovative solar energy financing structure to China that will make it possible to rapidly expand use of on-site renewable energy with no money down.” – Rosie Pidcock, Senior Manager of Commercial Solar, UGE International, 2015

According to Solar Energy Industries Association, solar PPA is a financial agreement where a developer arranges for the design, permits, financing, and installation of a solar energy system on a customer’s property (rooftop) at little to no cost. The developer sells the power generated to the host customer at a fixed rate that is typically lower than the local utility’s retail rate. This lower electricity price allows the customer to purchase electricity at a rate lower than when purchased from the grid while the developer receives revenue from selling electricity as well as tax credits and other incentives generated from the system. PPAs are common in the USA, but they will be introduced in China for the first time in 2015. PPA financing structure will provide solar electricity to local and multinational corporations operating in China at a cost lower than conventional electricity without any capital investment. Hence, success of PPA is expected to boost the growth of distributed solar PV in China.

 

Inadequate domestic supply of some materials and instruments used in solar equipment manufacturing will encourage global exporters to strengthen their focus on Chinese market

Foreign companies may explore opportunities to export critical materials and components used in manufacturing of solar equipment to China. According to a report released by CCM in 2015, a Guangzhou-based research firm, China relies on imports for about 40-50% of its polysilicon (a key commodity for solar PV panel production) needs. In 2014, China imported around 93,000 tons of polysilicon worth US$2 billion. Other materials used in production of solar PV modules, including silver paste, TPT back sheets, EVA encapsulant film, and slurry material, are also short in supply in China. Furthermore, huge demand is anticipated for advanced equipment required to separate high-purity polysilicon, including hydrogenation furnaces, large-scale casting furnaces, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) coating equipment, and automatic screen printing presses. China is dependent on imports of these materials and technologies used in solar PV module production, and thus, the ongoing expansion of Chinese solar market will provide great opportunities to global suppliers of these commodities.

 

 

Despite a few challenges, China’s solar market is believed to be set for rapid expansion, at least for the foreseeable future

China is installing solar PV capacity at a breakneck pace. The country is already the largest producer of solar PV modules in the world and if it is able to achieve its solar targets, it might become the largest solar power consumer as well. Chinese government’s support for the development of solar market to achieve its ambitious solar targets by 2020 will serve as a key growth driver. However, China’s ability to establish strong and lasting position as the world’s largest solar power market will be dependent on its ability to efficiently deal with challenges it is facing, challenges significant enough to cause caution amongst private investments. The industry would need to focus on potential quality issues identified in domestically produced solar equipment in order to uphold investors’ confidence. The government’s role must also extend beyond the support for solar generation targets, to include development of distributed solar PV sector, that would need additional stimulus from government to pick up pace.

by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Russia’s Energy Economy Sanctioned

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A host of countries are of the view that Russia is intentionally trying to destabilize Ukraine by allowing infiltration of arms and ammunitions to support Ukraine’s separatist groups. These countries also believe that Russia desires Ukraine to be a part of the newly formed Eurasian Union and be in its circle of influence. This is pinching more to the western group of countries because they, on the other hand, want to integrate Ukraine with the West and make it a member of NATO. Conflicting interests have resulted in the infliction of sanctions from both sides, Russia being the bigger victim.

In order to dilute Russia’s efforts towards annexing Ukraine, western countries imposed sanctions on Russia which initially followed a route of barring entry of people close to the Russian leadership and blocking their assets in those countries, but this strategy proved futile. The result was a series of new sanctions aimed at Russia’s various sectors in an attempt to further pressurize the country by slowing down its economic growth and deteriorating its investment atmosphere.

Russia's Exports

The latest series of sanctions (those released in July and September 2014) were articulated to weaken Russia’s economy by mainly influencing oil production and its exports (in 2013, exports constituted 28.4% of Russia’s nominal GDP, of which oil and natural gas exports had a share of 68%).

Major Russian energy giants such as Rosneft (integrated oil company majorly owned by the Government of Russia), Transneft (world’s largest oil pipeline company), Lukoil (Russia’s second largest oil company), and Gazprom Neft (fourth largest oil producer in Russia) were directly brought under the purview of sanctions.

The ‘energy sanctions’ prohibit western companies to share energy technologies and invest capital in any Russian offshore oil-drilling projects based out of the Arctic regions, Russian Black Sea, and western Siberia’s onshore. In addition to technology constraint, western companies are debarred from financing Russia’s key state-owned banks for more than 90 days in order to build up financial pressure on Russian energy companies indirectly.


Rosneft and ExxonMobil’s Discovery of Oil at the Universitetskaya-1 Well

One of the major projects under the Rosneft and ExxonMobil partnership was to discover oil and gas reserves in Kara and Black Seas through a joint venture established in 2012. The two companies had also agreed on other projects such as an attempt to conquer the Arctic region’s oil and gas reserves through establishment of the Arctic Research and Design Center for Continental Shelf Development (2013), understand feasibility of developing a LNG facility in Russia (2013), and a pilot project for tight oil reserves development in the shale basin of Western Siberia (end of 2013). Talking about some hard cash involved in research and development activities, Rosneft invested US$250 million while ExxonMobil gambled US$200 million.

In September 2014, the two companies announced their success at discovering oil at the Universitetskaya-1 well in the Kara Sea which became Russia’s second offshore Arctic project. This discovery was a big finding and they initiated drilling activities quickly through the West Alpha rig (originally owned by Seadrill subsidiary of North Atlantic Drilling but under a contract with ExxonMobil till July 2016). Till this time, the partners were under the assumption that they won’t be affected by western sanctions imposed on Russia but to their disappointment, the new sanctions restrained ExxonMobil to cooperate (restricted energy technology transfer) with Rosneft on this project any further. To their dismay, drilling came to a halt in October 2014 as Rosneft could not utilize ExxonMobil’s West Alpha rig.

Rosneft is presently on a lookout for a new rig managed by companies located in the East, China, or South Korea. An attempt to find a new rig and then adjust it at the Kara Sea’s well site is going to be a enormous task and expected to delay things at least till mid-2016. Meanwhile, China (through Honghua Group, for instance) is strengthening its chances of getting positioned as a substitute provider of energy sector technology to Russia, but it is doubtful if it will be able to match the capabilities of western companies. It will be a humongous challenge for Rosneft to find a rig provider which has the expertise to ensure safety operations in such a tough part of the world.

The objective of recent western sanctions appears to not only limit present oil production but harm the future of Russia’s energy sector. 90% of current oil production in Russia comes from conventional oil fields such as West Siberian brownfields which do not require highly advanced western energy technologies, but the problem is that these fields are depleting rapidly. Russia, therefore, faces an urgent need of finding new oil sources to retain its position of being one of the main players in the world’s energy sector (3rd largest crude oil producer – 10.44 million bbl/day, 2013; 2nd largest crude oil exporter – 4.72 million bbl/day, 2013; 2nd largest natural gas producer – 669.7 billion cu m, 2013; largest natural gas exporter – 196 billion cu m, 2013).

Delay of the Rosneft project is slowly fading Russia’s aspirations of increasing oil output as tapping of Universitetskaya well’s oil reserves (estimated to be up to 9 billion barrels) could have added approximately US$900 billion to the government coffer over the next 10-12 years. Similar projects might have led to discovery of new oil reservoirs in the Kara Sea where oil reserves are estimated to be around 13 billion tons (way more than Gulf of Mexico’s and Saudi Arabia’s independent reserves). As per Merrill Lynch, Russia might lose US$500 billion of direct investment and US$26-65 billion of budget revenue during the next 10 years, as energy investors from other parts of the world also become uncertain of Russia’s economic stability.

If western sanctions remain at this level, it would make it difficult for Russia to discover and exploit oil resources in areas like Arctic, as it is primarily western companies (BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, etc.) which have the required expertise and technology to do so. Since the Russian energy sector almost single-handedly drives the country’s economy through exports, impact of the western sanctions, which is already impacting various facets of Russian economy, will be felt heavily in the long-term.

by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Fleet Management System Adoption Gathers Pace in Eastern Europe

European truckers, in general, have lagged in the adoption of fleet management technology, which has delivered significant cost benefits to their US counterparts. Within Europe, transport/logistics companies from the established economies have been quicker in realising the technology’s potential, evident from a greater adoption rate (up to 20% in case of Germany) as compared with those based in the developing/emerging economies of Eastern Europe.

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China’s Green Energy Revolution

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China is widely criticized as the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Less noticed, however, has been the fact that the country is also building the world’s largest renewable energy system. China plays a significant role in the development of green energy technologies and has over the years become the world’s biggest generator and investor of renewable energy. As China heads towards becoming the global leader in renewable energy systems, we pause to take a look at the major drivers behind this development and its implications on China as well as on the rest of the world.

Reducing CO2 emissions has become one of the top priorities and the Chinese government has set its eyes on developing sustainable energy solutions for its growing energy needs. To support this objective, China has set forth aggressive policies and targets by rolling out pilot projects to support the country’s pollution reduction initiatives and those which reflect the strategic importance of renewable energy in country’s future growth.

Why has China suddenly become so environmental conscious and investing billions on renewable energy?

  1. Air and water pollution levels have become critical, causing tangible human and environmental damage, which lead Chinese authorities to rethink on the excessive use of fossil fuels. Considering current and potential future environmental hazards of burning fossil fuels, China decided to decrease the use of coal and is actively seeking for greener energy solutions. While serious concerns about climate change and global warming are key drivers towards expanding the use of renewable energy for any country, for China, the motives are well beyond abating climate change; they are creating energy self-sufficiency and fostering industrial development.

  2. China is witnessing a dramatic depletion of its natural gas and coal resources and has become a net importer of these resources. China’s increased dependency on imported natural gas, coal and oil to meet its growing energy demands bring along some major energy security concerns. The current political volatility in Russia, the Middle-East and Africa pose serious challenges not only for China, but, for other countries as well to secure their energy supplies for the future. Not to mention the risks associated with energy transport routes.

Taking into account these geo-political risks and in order to achieve a secure, efficient and greener energy system, China started its journey towards developing an alternative energy system. A new system that reduces pollution, limits its dependency on foreign coal, natural gas and oil was envisioned.

China’s Ambitious Renewable Energy Plans

According to RENI21’s 2014 Global report, in 2013, China had 378 gigawatts (GW) of electric power generation capacity based on renewable sources, far ahead of USA (172 GW). The nation generated over 1,000 terawatt hours of electricity from water, wind and solar sources in 2013, which is nearly the combined power generation of France and Germany.

The country has now set its eyes on leading the global renewable energy revolution with very ambitious 2020 renewable energy development targets.

China’s Renewable Energy Development Targets













In May 2015, we published an article on the solar power boom in China, in which we presented the revised, higher solar power generation targets.

To achieve the 2020 renewable energy targets, China has adopted a two-fold strategy.

  1. Rapidly expand renewable energy capabilities to generate greener and sustainable energy.

    It has significantly expanded its manufacturing capabilities in wind turbines and solar panels to produce renewable electricity. As per data from The Asia-Pacific Journal, China spent a total of US$56.3 billion on water, wind, solar and other renewable projects in 2013. Further, China added 94 GW of new capacity, of which 55.3 GW came from renewable sources (59%), and just 36.5 GW (or 39%) from thermal sources. This highlights a major shift in energy generation mix as well as China’s commitment towards cleaner energy technologies.

  2. Reduce carbon footprint.

    The government has banned sale and import of coal with more than 40% ash and 3% sulphur. Government’s Five year plans have stringent targets on reducing coal consumption as well as CO2 emissions. It is expected that environmental and import reforms will become more stringent along with greater restrictions, which would help accelerate China’s migration to a green economy.

The government has also announced a range of financial support services, subsidies, incentives and procurement programs for green energy production and consumption. Solar PV and automotive industries are good examples.

  1. By supporting domestic production and providing export incentives, China has become the global leader in solar panels. Over the last few years, the government has also financed small-scale decentralized energy projects, deployed and used by households and small businesses, in order to make them self-sufficient in their energy needs

  2. China has also positioned itself as the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles globally. According to Bloomberg, China is mandating that electric cars make up at least 30% of government vehicle purchases by 2016. To achieve this target, the government has started investing on essential infrastructure and providing tax incentives for purchasing of electric vehicles.


China has laid the foundations for a future where renewable energy will play a vital role. The advancements in technology and changes in policies will further enhance the country’s renewable energy landscape and will drive affordable, secure and greener energy. How the Asian giant achieves to balance between its economic, industrial, regulatory and environmental goals with sustainable renewable energy investments will, however, only become clear in the next few years.

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