This is my final post on the Renewtech India 2011 conference. Click here for details on Day 1 and click here for details of Day 2.
The final day of the event had 3 sessions. The first session was titled “Tidal & Geo-Thermal Energy”. The first speaker was Dr. Ritesh Arya, Hydrogeologist & Groundwater Consulting in Himalayas. He gave a very insightful speech on the topic “Geothermal potential in India – A Review”. He highlighted the fact that India has more than 10 GW potential in the Geothermal space. He made an interesting point that while Solar, Wind and other forms of energy are renewable energy but not sustainable energy whereas Geothermal energy is a sustainable energy. He described how the heat of the magma under the ground can be harnessed to generate steam for heating applications and power generation. He explained his experiences in Ladakh and the Himachal region where there are natural hot springs. He also talked about his experiences in Iceland where geothermal energy is available in abundance. In Iceland, the people even grow tropical fruits like banana in green houses heated by the geothermal energy.
The next speech of the session was by Prof. S. G. Kanitkar, Head-Green Energy Division, Enviro-Abrasion Resistance engineers Pvt. Ltd. His topic was “Tidal Wave energy”. He started off by describing the differences between the Tidal and Wave energy. The current scenario of harnessing these forms of energy were explained by him. He then provided the technological details about how the Wave energy can be harnessed. In particular, he provided the details of the device his team has developed.
The second session of the day focused on “Energy Efficiency”. The following were the speakers
1. Mr. Jens Burgtorf, Director – GIZ-IGEN, Bureau of Energy Efficiency
Our specialty focus areas include 
2. Mr. Martin Wohlmuth of Arqum GmbH – “Resource Efficiency Network India – A Field Report”
3. Mr. G. Gururaja of Avni Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd – “LED Technology: Its Role in Present Scenario for India’s Lighting Requirement”
4. Mr. Dinesh Shetty of Bureau Veritas Certification – BS/EN 16001:2009 – Energy Management Systems for Reduction of Energy Costs/Green House Gases Emission.
As can be seen from the topics of the presentations, the session focused on various aspects of Energy Efficiency.
“Quality and Certification of PV Solar Cells” was the title of the final session of the day. This session had two speakers – Mr. Srinivas Chakravarthy, Country Head – Industry Services, TUV Rheinland(India) and Ms. S. Vasanthi, Director – Technology and Marketing at Websol Energy Systems.
Mr. Chakravarthy of TUV Rheinland spoke about the module certification process in general and TUV Rheinland in particular. He started off by explaining the various environmental influences during the long term operation of PV modules. This includes solar radiation, temperature, mechanical stress due to factors like wind, atmosphere,etc. He explained the different standards for Performance, safety and qualification. Subsequently, he described the different tests conducted for the IEC or other certification. This includes subjecting the modules to high level of different types of stresses(temperature, sunlight, handling, partial shading, wind, UV rays,etc).He concluded by talking about the various services offered by TUV Rheinland and also about the new test facility in Bangalore.
The last speaker of the session was Ms. S. Vasanthi. Her topic was “ Improvement in Crystalline Si PV Modules Through Quality Control and Innovation in Manufacturing Processes”. She explained the various steps in the solar PV cell and module manufacturing process. She described the various quality control measures and some of the common defects like browning of cells. The effect of each of the raw material for a module(metallisation paste, ribbon, flux, encapsulant,etc) on the final quality of the PV module was also discussed.
That concluded the 3rd edition of the Renewtech India conference. The 4th Renewtech India conference is scheduled for 16-18 February 2012 at the same venue – Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregoan, Mumbai.
