Gone with the wind: Has solar left wind behind in the renewable energy race?
India may have set for itself a very aggressive and ambitious target to boost renewable energy generation in the country but the industry feels the development and increased focus on solar energy could very well take the wind out of the sails of wind power companies in India. The government plans to take India’s renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022 which comprises 100 GW solar, 60 GW wind, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydro powers. With around 27 GW cumulative wind installations in India, the sector is almost half done with the target. But the developers are now feeling the heat to achieve the other half of the target with uncertainty on extension of generation based incentive (GBI), coupled with unwillingness of state power distribution companies to support costly power. Currently, wind power generation is a step behind as developments in solar override developments in wind, feels Sunil Jain, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Hero Future Energies. “Among other reasons, the delay in signing power purchase agreement and the new draft policy of re-powering the turbines below 1MW capacity, is keeping wind power developers in a dilemma. Close to 550 MW of wind generation capacity is lying idle in Maharashtra as the state has refused to sign power purchase agreement with the producers. Furthermore, the reduction of levelized tariff from 5.92 kwH to 4.78 kwH in the state of Madhya Pradesh for all the wind power projects commissioned this financial year, have made these projects unviable,” Jain said. Additionally wind power technology is fairly matured vis-a-vis solar power, reducing the possibility of significant reduction in cost of generation and/or technological obsolescence. Adding to the industry woes, the new draft wind re-powering policy expects wind turbines below 1 MW of capacity to be replaced. However, the incentives offered on it are insufficient and the overall cost of re-powering is likely to be greater than the cost of setting up a green-field facility, including the cost of power substations. Around 3,300 MW wind power capacity was added in 2015-16 as compared to the previous highest installation of 3,196 MW in 2011, propelled by technology and conducive policy environment for renewable. The growth was way higher than the industry estimates of 30 to 40%. The industry has attracted an investment of over $3.16 billion and the cumulative installations of the sector is about 64% of India’s total grid interactive renewable energy capacity. This is equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by over 58.56 million tonnes per annum or planting over 1.76 billion trees,” Suzlon Chairman Tulsi Tanti said. However, Tulsi noted that to maintain the growth momentum, the government should consider few policy recommendations such as continuation of Accelerated Depreciation and Generation Based Incentive till 2022, earmarking at least 20% finance for renewable energy by banks, supporting SMEs by 5% interest rebate for using renewable energy for captive requirement and improving availability of grid and land infrastructure at state level. On the other hand, solar has continued to receive privileged attention from both the government and investors as there is huge growth potential in the sector compared to wind which has become stagnant over the years. Among the various schemes and incentives to promote the use of renewables in India, the government recently affirmed sanctioning of 30% capital subsidy for rooftop solar installations to residential, government, social and institutional segments. Commercial and industrial entities are excluded from this scheme, ensuring that the funds are made available to those who are genuine need of funds. “The doubling of coal cess in the Union Budget 2016-17 is likely to amass Rs 18,000-20,000 crore annually. Out of these, approximately Rs 5,000-8,000 crore will be diverted to renewable sector, primarily solar, to fund the solar rooftop subsidies, depriving wind energy altogether,” said Sunil Jain. As a result, many renewable energy companies, which were primarily present in the wind sector, are now slowly trying their luck in solar as well. The largest wind energy company Suzlon has recently forayed into solar along with others including CLP India, Mytrah Energy (India) and ReNew Power Ventures. Even investors as big as Japan’s SoftBank have expressed interest towards India’s solar power sector. Jordan Reed Womens Jersey
NHAI awards Rs 2,000 cr proj in Punjab to Ashoka Concessions
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) today said it has awarded a Rs 2,070-crore highway project in Punjab to Ashoka Concessions. The 76 km project under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-V pertains to 4/6 laning of Kharar- Ludhiana Section of NH-95 (new NH-5) in the state of Punjab. “Development of 76 km long Kharar-Ludhiana section involves 6-laning of 54 km and 4-laning of 22 km of national highways,” NHAI said in a statement. The project starts at Kharar town, passes through Morinda bypass, Khamanno town, proposed Samrala bypass and terminates at Ludhiana. It will improve connectivity and faster movement of traffic from industrial hub of Ludhiana to Chandigarh and other parts of North India, the statement said. The project shall also provide alternate connectivity of Chandigarh to NHAI-1 as well as for the traffic from South-West Punjab to the Chandigarh city. “The project will have 2 major bridges, 6 minor bridges, 8 flyovers, 6 vehicular underpasses, 10 pedestrian underpasses, 126 culverts, 46 km long service, 9 major junctions, 253 minor junctions and 8 km long bypass at Samrala,” the statement said. Phil Dawson Authentic Jersey
Rural roads’ construction pace increases to 139km/day
The construction pace of roads built under the flagship scheme of PMGSY has increased to 139 km per day, a top official said today. “From 2011 to 2014, the roads in rural areas under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) were constructed at 70-75 kilometer per day. And in next two years 2014-16, it increased to 100 km per day. Today the roads are being constructed at 139 km per day,” Secretary, Rural Development, Amarjeet Sinha told PTI. He said while the construction speed was 139 km in the first five months, 133 km will be constructed per day under the PMGSY in 2016-17. Sinha said the Centre has adopted green technologies such as use of waste plastic, fly ash, cold mix, jute and coir geo-textiles, copper and iron slag in the making of rural roads. Earlier, the Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said that the government was working to increase the pace to 133 km/day and was planning to construct an additional 50000 km ruralroads. Rural roads is a state subject and PMGSY is a one-time special intervention of the government to provide rural connectivity by way of single all-weather road connectivity to eligible, unconnected habitations in the core network. The programme envisages connecting all habitations with a population of 500 people and above as per 2001 census in plain areas and 250 people and above as per 2001 census in special category states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. The habitations having a population of 100 and above and identified by Home Ministry as crucial, are also covered under the scheme. The government has also launched the second phase of PMGSY-II which envisages consolidation of the existing rural road network to improve its overall efficiency. Graham Knott Authentic Jersey
India will have seven mega cities by 2030: UN
At present, India is home to five mega ci ties, with over 10 million population, but by 2030 this number will go up to seven. Delhi will continue to be the second most populous city in the world till 2030, adding a staggering 9.6 million people to its population –the most in any mega city . The facts have been revealed in the 2016 World Cities Report issued by the UN’s department of economic and social affairs. The report has not relied on the administrative boundaries of cities but has, instead, preferred to use the concept of “urban agglomeration” which is the “the contiguous urban area, or builtup area”. For example, in the case of Delhi urban agglomeration, the satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon are included. Such inclusion makes sense as people in these contiguous areas are economically and socially integrated with the main city . Around the world, about 500 million people live in 31 such mega cities. That’s about 6.8% of the world’s population or 12% of the world’s urban population.The report calculates that by 2030, the number of mega cities will increase to 41 and their population to about 730 million or 8.7% of the world’s population. Other Indian cities figure in 2016’s mega cities listing in 2016’s mega cities list are Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai. By 2030, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad will join them, as their respective populations would cross 10 million. The UN report shows that only a minority of urban dwellers actually live in mega cities. Nearly 21% of the world’s population stays in cities of population between 500,000 to 10 million, while an even bigger share of 26.8% resides in smaller cities and towns with a population of less than 500,000. By 2030, the world’s population will decisively shift to urban living with 60% of the estimated population living in cities, big or small. Currently, about 54% of the world’s population is urban. Most of the urban growth is happening in developing countries in Asia and Africa. By 2030, as many as 33 of the 41 mega cities will be from the third world. Of the 47 cities that grew by over 6% every year be tween 2000 and 2016, six were in Africa, 40 in Asia (including 20 in China) and just one in North America. Interestingly , not all cities are growing. Out of the 1,063 cities with a population over 500,000, as many as 55 have shown a decline since 2000. Most of these cities are located in Europe and some in Japan.Their decline is mostly due to falling fertility levels, although some have shown a dip in population due to natural calamities like New Orleans (due to hurricane Katrina) and Sendai in Japan (tsunami). Mike Gartner Authentic Jersey
PMO steps into Delhi airport’s dispute with small aircraft operators
The Prime Minister’s Office has intervened in a dispute over the Delhi airport putting curbs on small aircraft operators carrying out maintenance of their own aircraft. The PMO forwarded to the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) a letter written to it by a general aviation operator, which said DIAL’s decision would lead to a spike in cost for general aviation operators. Business jet operators at the Delhi airport were told that they would not be allowed to maintain their aircraft or do self-handling and their vehicle passes were not renewed for air side movement. When contacted, DIAL in an email response, said it has replied to the PMO’s letter. It said the rule to limit ground handling and maintenance of business jets at the Delhi airport to two companies is to maintain quality standards. “It was suggested by a global consultant to have two concessionaires with international presence at Delhi airport in order to provide competitive environment with respect to provision of quality services. Such a structure is prevalent at other international airports also. General aviation community had also opined earlier for similar structure to be implemented in Indian airports,” it said. Earlier, it said, there were multiple agencies working for general aviation and they had deployed more than 100 vehicles, making the sector fragmented and disorganised. Business jet operators also alleged that the treatment being meted out to the small aircraft segment at the Delhi airport contradicts the principles of the Regional Connectivity Scheme under the new Civil Aviation Policy, which aims to ensure economic growth and connectivity in small cities and towns through operations of small aircraft. DIAL, in its response, denied this claim, saying that non-scheduled operators were not allowed to operate under the regional connectivity scheme. Josh Ferguson Womens Jersey
Airport sector to see $6 billion investments: R N Choubey
Investments worth USD 6 billion are expected in the country’s airport sector in five years with around USD 1 billion to be utilised for reviving aerodromes, a senior government official said today. Bullish on future prospects of the domestic aviation sector, Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said passenger growth is anticipated to be more than 30 per cent in the coming years. In the new civil aviation policy, unveiled in June, the government has come out with various measures for improving regional air connectivity and developing airports, among others. Speaking at the inauguration of the GAD Asia conference here, he said India would see investments of “USD 6 billion in five years in airports (sector)”. At current exchange rates, USD 6 billion would translate to nearly Rs 40,000 crore. Out of the estimated total amount, around USD 1 billion would be used for reviving airports while about USD 3 billion would be for upgrading aerodromes owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), he added. As the domestic aviation space is projected to see substantial growth, Choubey said there would be need for around 100 small aircraft in the next three years. Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), the government seeks to revive un-served as well as under-served airports, among others. Presently, around 75 out of 450 airstrips/airports have scheduled operations and revival of the remaining ones would be “demand driven”, depending on firm demand from airline operators, as per the new civil aviation policy. According to the policy, no-frills airports would be developed at an indicative cost of Rs 50-100 crore, without insisting on its financial viability. Patrick Roy Womens Jersey
IATA, BIAL ink agreement to improve airport processes
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in airport operations. The agreement is the first of its kind that the association has signed with an Indian airport. According to the MoU, IATA and BIAL would implement trials of new technologies and processes, and testing concepts at the international airport. “This will place BIAL in the forefront of airport operations. These trials will ensure that global best practice solutions can be appropriately adapted to the Indian environment, and will provide guidance for rolling out the implementation to other Indian airports,” said IATA’s Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific Conrad Clifford. He said India’s passenger traffic by 2035 is forecast to exceed 400 million passengers, more than double that of today. The industry will support 19 million jobs and $172 billion of India’s GDP. “But for this potential to become reality, India’s airports need to have the necessary infrastructure capacity while implementing efficient processes that embrace the latest technologies,” said Clifford, adding that the association is looking forward to a similar cooperation with other like-minded airports in India. The IATA fast travel initiative, passenger facilitation programme and smart security are among the initiatives being considered as part of the MoU, a statement said. The MoU was signed by Clifford and BIAL’s President for airport operations Hari Marar. Sean Davis Jersey
Pentagon clears proposal to make F-18, F-16 frontline fighter jets in India
In a goodwill gesture of defence co-operation between India and the U.S., the Pentagon has endorsed a proposal to produce F-18 and F-16s fighter jets in India. The proposal was forwarded by the respective defence giants — Boeing, which manufactures F-18s, and Lockheed Martin, which manufactures F-16s — as part of their “Make in India” initiative. Pentagon’s endorsement to have a production line in India for F-18 and F-16 frontline fighter jets, along with the requisite transfer of technology and licences, was communicated during the recent meeting between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter in Washington D.C., the Hindustan Times reported. In view of India being designated as a major defence partner of the U.S., an India non-paper on broader export controls was reportedly accepted by the U.S. side. “Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s visit to the US had significant outcomes with Pentagon agreeing to work on the Indian non-paper for easier export controls,” the news outlet quoted a senior official as saying. It makes sense for Boeing and Lockheed Martin to open production lines in India as they would have to invest back 50 percent of the total value of the deal. A single piece of the twin engine, twin seater F-18 fighter jets cost about $100 million and the single engine, single seater F-16’s cost comes around $70 million. J.R. Sweezy Authentic Jersey
Safety concerns trigger clearances from DGCA for defence airbases allowing commercial flights
In what may ensure more stringent implementation of air safety norms, at least 25 defence airbases hosting scheduled commercial flights have been asked to get safety and operational clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by 31 December. This comes in the wake of complaints that some of the runways at these defence airbases are unsafe for commercial flight operations. The clearance requirement from India’s civil aviation regulator follows concerns raised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations’ aviation watchdog. DGCA last month asked the state-run airport developer Airports Authority of India (AAI), and the carriers operating from these airbases, to complete the certification process by the end of this year, officials with knowledge of the development said. AAI manages 125 airports, which include 25 civil enclaves at defence airfields, 81 domestic airports, 11 international airports and eight customs airports. “Currently, defence aerodromes are exempted from licencing by DGCA for commercial operations, but they need to get the required certifications by 31 December this year,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official requesting anonymity. Welington Castillo Womens Jersey
Fuji Electric Forms Joint Venture With Gemco to Expand In Indian Markets
Japanese electric and thermal energy major, Fuji Electric announced it’s Joint Venture (JV) with Faridabad based Gemco Controls Ltd at a press event held today in New Delhi. The JV establishes a new company in India – “Fuji Gemco Pvt.Ltd” with Fuji electric having a 51 per cent stake said the company press release. The JV aims to expand its business operations in India by offering system solutions in sync with its “Innovating Energy Technology” philosophy the statement added. “Fuji Electric is estimating that the industrial power electronics market in India is set to grow at 9 per cent a year between 2016 and 2018. We intend to evolve our operations so as to become a solution provider and manufacturer,” said Kenzo Sugai, Executive Vice President Fuji Electric about the JV. “Fuji Gemco aims to boost sales by providing cost effective solutions, leverage Human Resources to drive growth and technology,” said Shoumitra Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer, Fuji India. Fuji Gemco currently has three Projects in India – Smart grid project to reduce transmition losses by half in Panipat Energy Management System (EMS) for Sail Burmpur plant Energy Management system research with the State of Andhra Pradesh Rickey Jackson Authentic Jersey