Client:  Erhardt + Leimer India Private Ltd

Project: Solar Rooftop PV

System Capacity: 50 KW On-Grid Solution

Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat

System Type: Solar Grid-Tie PV

Client Background

The client is a subsidiary of the German Multinational company Erhardt + Leimer GmbH. The company is engaged in the business of control and automation and caters to Industrial customers in Textile, Printing & Packaging, Paper Manufacturing, Rubber & Tyre as well as Corrugation industries in India and neighbouring countries. The firm has been operating in India since 1978.

Project Details

The client has their head office and manufacturing operations in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with sales offices at 7 different locations across India. The firm employs 270 people and has a projected turnover of Rs. 100 crores in 2017. The client was incurring an annual electricity bill of Rs 60 lakhs with the power consumption in summer months being especially very high due to more than 100 KW connected load from the air conditioning units installed in the company. The client therefore decided to install an

50 KW on–grid Solar PV solution in the first phase and expand it subsequently based on the experience.

Solution & Benefits

Solar Hitech was chosen as the consultant for the project. As the primary consultant to the project, Solar Hitech was involved in site survey, selection of space for installation, design of the system including selection and specification of all components of the system. In addition, Solar Hitech assisted the client by monitoring the progress of the project  till implementation.

The project was successfully synchronized with the grid in 2017 and has resulted in average savings of Rs. 50,000 per month or Rs 6 lakhs annually in electricity bills. The project cost will be completely recovered in 4.5 years against a projected life of the Solar PV system of 25 years.

Client Testimonial:

“We engaged Solar Hitech as a consultant because of their knowledge, expertise and promise of savings in electricity costs. We are now able to actually see a saving in our electricity bill. We are happy with the design, installation and commissioning of the system and services delivered by Solar Hitech.”

Client Name: Wheels India

Project Type : Industrial

System Capacity: 1,05,000 Litres per Day (LPD)

Location: Chennai

System Type: ETC System (Radian)

Wheels India – Asia’s first 1 Lakh Litres per Day (LPD) ETC installation

Client Background

Promoted by the TVS Group, one of India’s largest auto component manufacturers, Wheels India, which was established in 1962 is one of largest steel manufacturers in the world. The company has an annual turnover of $ 375 Million (FY 2012-13) and specializes in the car/UV, commercial vehicles, tractors , single piece wheels and construction/earth mover segments.

A partner to various global OEMs like Ford, Hyundai, Tata, Caterpillar, John Deere and more, the Wheels India plant at Padi, Chennai caters to a growing market for forged aluminum wheels worldwide.

Project Background

The automotive component manufacturing processes at the Wheels India plant at Padi, Chennai involve degreasing and hot water washing of conveyorized components for surface treatment purposes. The plant required hot water for the following purposes

• To provide heat energy equivalent to 115 KW Thermal for circulating hot water at 65 deg C @ 33,000/Liter per hour for hot water spray station
• To provide heat energy equivalent to 253 KW Thermal for circulating Caustic solution at 75 deg C @ 72,600/Liter per hour for Degreaser
• To provide heat energy equivalent to 94 KW Thermal for circulating Caustic Solution at 75 deg C @ 27,000/Liter per hour for Degreaser
• To provide heat energy equivalent to 138 KW Thermal for circulating Caustic Solution at 75 deg C @ 39,600/Liter per hour for Degreaser 2

The existing solution at the plant used a furnace oil fired boiler to achieve these hot water requirements, leading to close to 12,000 Litres of fuel usage per month, translating to around Rs. 5 Lakhs of monthly fuel costs.

Solution Design

The energy audit on the client’s premises yielded a total hot water requirement of 1,05,000 Litres Per Day (LPD), which was translated into a design involving 105 numbers of Evacuated Tube Collector (ETC) type solar thermal modules, that operated using a heat transfer liquid circulatory system.

The overall system design consisted of 105 ETC Solar thermal modules, circulation pump, interconnecting piping with insulation, heat exchanger, valves, sensors, hot-dip galvanized structures on rooftop to support the solar tubes/modules and external piping with insulation to the stations of use, with turnkey installation and commissioning services.

Project Implementation & Client Savings

Post design approval, the project manufacture, delivery, installation and commissioning was turned around in under 6 months, delivering savings to the customer almost instantly.

• Installing the solar thermal solution saved the client roughly 380 Litres of furnace oil per month, leading to annual savings of Rs. 48 Lakhs by switching to solar.
• Smart metering in the solution provided the client to track daily/monthly/annual savings on furnace oil and ensure that real time savings were achieved in line with estimations.
• The installed solar asset was eligible for depreciation claims and helped the client save on income tax during the payback period.
• Under the central government subsidy scheme, the industrial solar solution was also eligible for a subsidy of Rs. 3000 per sq. m, giving the client a subsidy saving of Rs. 40 Lakhs on the overall cost of project.
• Once again, the asset lifetime with annual maintenance would exceed 10 years and with a pay back period of under 3 years, the asset became a cash positive investment for the client from 4th year onwards.
• As on date, the project continues to deliver expected savings for the client with other projects being evaluated in other plants/facilities.

Client Name: Sona Koyo Steering

Project Type : Industrial

System Capacity: 35,000 Litres per Day (LPD)

Location: Sriperumbudur, Chennai

System Type: ETC Non-Pressurized System

Sona Koyo Steering achieves savings from fossil fuel with industrial solar thermal implementation

Client Background

Founded in 1987, the Sona group was set up to manufacture components for the automotive industry and has engineering capabilities in the machining and assembly, precision forging, cold and hot forging and heat treatment. The group’s range of products primarily consist of steering and driveline components for the automotive OEM segment, namely passenger cars, utility vehicles, commercial vehicles and speciality vehicles.

Project Background

The Sriperumbudur, Chennai plant of Sona Koyo Steering Systems had a daily requirement of hot water for their automotive . The daily requirement involved the usage of hot water in the degreasing solution spraying process, phosphating solution spray process as well as the passivation solution spray process. The hot water requirement was in the temperature range 65-70 Deg C, which was being met by a furnace oil fed boiler. The incumbent solution involved the use of 3000 litres of furnace oil every month (36,000 litres per year) to fire the boiler and heat water at the requisite temperature for daily process use.

The client provided Solar Hitech a mandate to minimize the use of fossil fuel by replacing the arrangement with a customized solar thermal solution.

Solution Design

The Solar Hitech team performed a detailed energy audit and heat load calculation for the client and analyzed the daily usage of water in the various processes. Post analysis, it was understood that the estimated total heat capacity required for all processes per day was 210 KW, which worked out to 35,000 Litres per Day.

A customized solution involving solar thermal modules connected in series/parallel configuration was proposed, which would harness solar energy and pass it on to a heat transfer fluid, which in turn transfers its heat through a plate heat exchanger to the water circulating in the phosphating, degreasing and passivation process circuits.  The use of circulation pumps in the design ensures that the heat transfer fluid is always circulated to maintain the required temperature.

The solution proposed involved 35 nos of 6 KW Evacuated Tube Collector (ETC) type Solar Thermal collectors, Plate Heat Exchanger, circulating pumps, sensors, valves along with turnkey installation and commissioning.

Project Implementation & Client Savings

The project was designed, delivered and commissioned within 4 months and the savings from the project were visible almost immediately for the client.

• By installing the solar thermal solution, the client saved close to 120 Litres of furnace oil daily, that worked out to an annual savings of Rs. 16 Lakhs.
• The client was able to claim depreciation on the invested asset, that contributed to income tax savings over the life time of the asset.
• Under the central government subsidy scheme, the industrial solar solution was also eligible for a subsidy of Rs. 3000 per sq. m, giving the client a subsidy saving of Rs. 13 Lakhs on the overall cost of project.
• For an asset under annual maintenance with an estimated lifetime of 10+ years, the asset investment paid back in under 3 years, delivering pure savings to the client for the rest of the asset lifetime.
• Inspite of fluctuations in global furnace oil costs, the project continues to deliver significant savings for the client with additional scope for replication in other manufacturing facilities