SOLAR ENERGY – now to catch the sun
The recent tenders for setting up and operating solar and wind power generation farms show that the price of renewable power is now approaching that from greenfield coal-based power plants in India. It will not take too long for solar photovoltaics to become the cheapest source of power. But solar power is generated only during the day , that too intermittently.Similarly , wind power is generated during certain months and the power output also varies. If energy storage was inexpensive, one could have dealt with this intermittency by storing excess energy generated to be used when needed. Since grid-connected energy storage continues to be very expensive, generated power needs to be consumed instantly . As the consumer demand for power also varies with time-of-day and season, there is a problem of matching demand to supply , both of which vary independently . One option would be to have excess capacity and get the non-renewable power generators, which are under our control, to back off when needed.However, this strategy has to be adopted judiciously , as it will increase the cost of non-renewable power. Demand management, where the customer is incentivised to use more power when available and consume less when there is a shortage, will help and will, indeed, become necessary . Smart buildings and factories will take us towards implementation of demand management in time. But what would really enable renew able power to become an unfettered dominant supplier is some kind of largescale storage. The electric vehicle (EV) is precisely such an application, where the cost of energy per km, including the cost of its storage, has to be only lower than the corresponding cost of a petroleum-based vehicle, to be economically viable. EVs use distributed storage. Growth of renewable energy in India, thus, has an EV compulsion, as it requires EVs to grow in the country and provide the first large-scale storage that the growth in renewables needs. In energy terms, if all vehicles in India were electric today , they would use up 15-20% of India’s electricity generated. If their batteries are charged intelligently , EVs could help overcome the intermittent nature of renewable-power generation. But are EVs in themselves economically viable in India today? The EV needs batteries to store energy needed for its operation. As battery prices fall steadily and the efficiency of motors grows to deliver higher mileage per unit of energy , there is a crossover point when EVs with sufficient range per battery charge become a more costeffective option than diesel, petrol or CNG based-vehicles. Left to itself, it may take three to five years for prices to fall enough in international markets for EVs configured for use abroad to emerge as a better alternative for consumers in India. This, however, implies that India would be importing EV subsystems from the start, and it will be difficult to establish any kind of technology leadership. We may later see local manufacturing of at least some of the subsystems. Nevertheless, there is the real possibility that the value of imports of EVs and EV subsystems will match the oil import bill today and leave us no better off than today . But there is another option towards large-scale EV adoption. The key elements of EV technology are available today at the right prices for several types of vehicles widely used in the Indian market. With an innovative, coordinated and market-oriented effort by industry and the government, certain EVs can be produced in India today .Adoption can be rolled out rapidly in a fully market-driven manner. In these specific segments, India could attain a globally competitive leadership position in three to five years. This effort will simultaneously encourage local intellectual property (IP) generation and the manufacture of most EV subsystems or substantial parts of them.India can move towards substitution of oil imports with locally produced energy and EVs including subsystems. Apart from these intrinsic benefits of early adoption of EVs, it forces the simultaneous growth of renewable energy production in India. This slew of reasons should drive us to single-mindedly pursue immediate efforts in a mission mode to enable early adoption of EVs in India. A laissez-faire attitude will negatively impact the indigenous manufacturing of India’s future automobiles and subsystems as well as India’s import bill.It will also slow down the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid at scale.Jhunjhunwala is adviser , minister of power , coal, new and renewable energy, and Ramamurthi is director , IIT-Madras Kyrie Irving Authentic Jersey
Govt says renewable energy capacity grew 26 per ccent in Apr-Jan
Generation of renewable energy grew 26 per cent in Apr-Jan 2017 as compared to that of previous corresponding period. Generation of power from renewable sources grew to 55,518.3 units in Apr-Jan as against 70,129.15 units during the same period last year. “Strong focus on renewables is driving up total electricity generation figures. In 2017 alone, for Apr-Jan 17, electricity generation growth was 5.04 per cent excluding generation from renewable sources. However, if renewable generation is included then total generation for the same period became 6.25 per cent,” the government said in a release. During the same period, generation from conventional sources grew over 5 per cent to 922,299.71 units from 968,780.44 units a year back. Conventional sources of energy account for over 70 per cent of India’s current energy mix. In February alone, generation from conventional sources of energy stood at 3.57 per cent. “February 2016 was a leap year with 29 days and February 2017 had only 28 days. The extra generation of 1 day in February 2016 affected the February 2017 figure by 3.57 per cent. Had February 2017 also had 1 extra day the increase in electricity generation from conventional sources would have been 3.52 per cent,” the release said. The government wants to take up the renewable energy capacity of the country to 175 Gigawatts by 2022 with solar alone accounting for 1 GW. Boog Powell Jersey
Haryana government proposes lower fuel surcharge on electricity bills
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has proposed to lower fuel surcharge allowance (FSA) on power tariff by 50-60 paise per unit. He said this at the assembly on Monday. An electricity consumer is paying Rs 1.24 to Rs 1.43 per unit as FSA levied by the electricity distribution companies (discoms) – Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitram Nigam(DHBVN), revealed Khattar. FSA component forms one fourth of the electricity bills of the consumers, hence the announcement may bring relief to all sectors. Khattar also said the concerned officials had already taken appropriate steps to reduce the FSA. Nate Schmidt Jersey
Power Finance Corp provides Rs 2,703 crore to West Bengal’s first super critical project
State-run Power Finance Corp today said that it has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 2,703 crore for West Bengal’s first super critical thermal power project in Murshidabad district. “PFC, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) in power sector, has sanctioned a term loan of Rs 2,703.88 crore to West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) for construction of Unit 5 (1 X 660 MW) under phase III of Sagardighi Thermal Power Station in Murshidabad,” the company said in statement. According to the statement, WBPDCL is a company owned by the West Bengal government for generation and supply of electric power in the state. The 660 MW Sagardighi Unit 5 is the first super critical thermal power plant being developed by WBPDCL in the state, which is expected to be commissioned by October 2020 at an estimated cost of Rs 3,862.69 crore. It will generate approximately 4,209 million units of energy to meet the future power requirement of West Bengal. The project is proposed to be funded in the debt equity ratio of 70:30 and the entire debt is proposed to be funded by PFC, it said. The loan agreement was signed between PFC and WBPDCL officials yesterday in Kolkata. State government officials and utilities and senior management of PFC were also present during the signing of the agreement, it added. PFC has a long standing relationship with WBPDCL and has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,290 crore for various existing units of Kolaghat, Sagardighi, Santaldih and Bakreswar thermal power projects. Malcolm Mitchell Authentic Jersey
India announces new licensing policy to boost oil output
India today announced an open acreage licensing policy for oil and gas exploration, allowing bidders to carve out areas where they want to drill as the energy- hungry country looks at greater foreign investment to boost output. The world’s third-largest oil consumer will conduct auction of oil and gas blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) twice a year, with the first round being held in July this year, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here at the influential CERAWeek conference. OALP auction will be held under the overhauled exploration licensing policy allows pricing and marketing freedom to operators and shifts to a revenue sharing model. The July auction will be India’s first major exploration licensing round since 2010, although it had recently awarded 31 small discovered fields mainly to state-owned and local firms under the liberalised Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP). Showcasing HELP, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on March 10 last year, to global investors, Pradhan said the new policy is part of the strategy to make India a business and investor friendly destination and cut import dependence by 10 per cent by 2022. “In the new model, government will not micromanage, micro monitor with producers. Government will only share revenue. It will be an open and regular affair,” Pradhan told reporters on sidelines of the CERAWeek Conference here. India’s domestic crude oil production of 36.95 million tons in 2015-16 barely met 20 per cent of its oil needs. Natural gas output at 32.249 billion cubic metres meets less than half of its needs. OALP will be a departure from the current licensing policy of government identifying the oil and gas blocks and then putting them on auction. It gives an option to a company looking for exploring hydrocarbons to select the exploration areas on its own. This selection can be done based on the seismic and well data that the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons has put in a National Data Repository. NDR offers a total of 160 terabyte data of India’s 26 sedimentary basins. Troy Hill Womens Jersey
GMR-led Delhi Airport ranked No. 2 position in passenger survey
Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd, a GMR led consortium, has announced Indira Gandhi International Airport has become the world’s number 2 airport in the over 40 million passengers per annum category, as per the Montreal (Canada)-based Airports Council International 2016 rankings. DIAL’s score increased from 4.96 in 2015 to 4.99 in 2016 that helped IGIA scale over several other airports and attain the second position globally, only after Incheon, South Korea. Delhi Airport has joined the club of international airports handling over 40 MPPA. I Prabhakara Rao, CEO- DIAL, in a statement, said: “Our focus has always been on enhancing customer’s experience. As we witness robust growth, we look forward to strong collaboration and support of airport stakeholders as well as our passengers. We are now geared to undertake the expansion works at Delhi Airport. IGIA Master Plan-2016 will further enhance the experience of our passengers and create new benchmark for the aviation community worldwide”. Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World, said: “Promoting a culture of continuous service improvement has become a matter of gaining competitive advantage and optimising non-aeronautical revenue performance. ACI recognises these accomplishments and we look forward to seeking more effective, efficient and profitable ways of serving the flying public together.” The ASQ awards are presented to those airports whose customers have rated them the highest over the course of the year. The awards will be presented in Port Luis, Mauritius, October 2017. Delhi Airport is served by 11 domestic and 51 foreign carriers with average of 1124 flight movements a day. DIAL is a consortium comprising of GMR Group, Airports Authority of India and Fraport. Hyderabad airport too flies high Meanwhile, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has secured the first position in Airport Service Quality passengers survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum category for 2016. The survey statistics shows that Hyderabad Airport has steadily improved its score from 4.4 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2016, measured on scale of 1 to 5. Hyderabad Airport has the honour to be the first airport in the country to have been awarded by ACI, The Director General’s Roll of Excellence in Airport Service Quality in 2014 for consistently earning the top five ranking in its category in the ASQ for five years in a row. SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, in a statement said, “We are thankful to our passengers and all stakeholders to be part of this journey and helping us in reaching this milestone, yet again. The efforts put in by our partner airlines, concessionaires, housekeeping and other support staff have played a major role in this achievement.” Kishore, said, “Hyderabad Airport, running in to its 9th year of operations, is designed to cater to 12 MPPA. It has witnessed a growth of more than 20 per cent in the last year with a passenger throughput of close to 15 MPPA in CY 2016. We soon plan to go for expansion of the airport, where it can enhance its capacity to meet 20 MPPA.” The airport, with an initial capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 1,50,000 MT of cargo handling capacity per annum, has the flexibility to increase capacity to accommodate over 40 MPPA in a phased manner. Russell Wilson Jersey
PAC’s study of PPPs to begin with a visit to Delhi airport
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is starting a detailed study on public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the country with a visit to the Delhi international airport on Tuesday. The panel, which has already constituted a sub-committee to discuss the issue, will start its work by studying the PPP between the Civil Aviation Ministry and the GMR Consortium on Tuesday. A source in the panel told BusinessLine that the panel will meet officials of the Airports Authority of India, Civil Aviation Ministry and the GMR on Tuesday. “We will study such PPPs in other sectors like roads, power generation, distribution and use of natural resources such as spectrum and minerals,” the PAC member added. Earlier, during the UPA regime, the panel, then headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, studied the PPP between the AAI and GMR and said the PPP in Indira Gandhi International Airport could be considered a success as there have been significant improvements in services for the travelling public. “It is also noteworthy that the Airports Council International had adjudged the airport as the second best in the world in the category of 25-40 million passengers per annum,” it said, adding that the panel found several lacunae and shortcomings in the operationalisation of the joint venture mode and implementation of Operation, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) and State Support Agreement (SSA). “We will go into the details of measures such as development fees imposed on passengers. We will also study the commercial use of land allotted to the DIAL,” the member added. The panel member said the effort was to ensure that the Comptroller and Auditor General has a role in auditing the PPPs in which the money from exchequer is involved. Steven Matz Authentic Jersey
SPV to free Air India of debt in the works
South Asia’s oldest airline, Air India, is seeking to jettison its decades-old debt baggage as part of a programme that would allow the country’s flag carrier to transfer loans to a dedicated company and create a capital structure underpinning its turnaround initiatives. The idea of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which would hold the debt and assets of the airline founded in 1932, was discussed in a meeting called by minister of state for aviation Jayant Sinha in Mumbai last month. Banks and Air India officials attended the meeting, after which the airline has started its spadework on the modalities of asset and debt transfer. Two senior Air India executives confirmed the move to ET and added that details are being worked out. “The SPV idea was proposed and is being discussed and a lot of detailing is still being worked out before it is finalized,” said a senior Air India executive, who did not want to be identified. Air India has debt of about Rs 45,000 crore on its balance sheet: Of the loans,Rs 14,000 crore are aircraft loans, while the rest are working capital funds that include non-convertible debentures of Rs 7,500 crore. The airline has an interest-servicing liability of about Rs 4,000 crore annually. Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani had told ET in recent interviews that it is difficult for AI to become profitable with this debt baggage. “My biggest threat is debt, not Jet. Remove that, and we will beat everyone hollow,” Lohani told ET in January this year. The Air India executive said details such as the duties either Air India or the SPV has to pay to transfer the ownership of assets for AI to an SPV company need to be finalized before the company decides to create an SPV. Analysts said the move will allow Air India clean up its books. “Having SPVs with assets and liabilities, especially for non-aircraft-related debt, is a good idea. As much as possible, nonaircraft-related assets such as land and buildings should be leveraged to clean up the balance sheet,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an aviation consultancy firm, in India. “However, without changing governance and ensuing accountability, nothing strategic will happen. We must not let one or two years of operating profit mislead us to do more tactical and short term changes as AI needs structural changes across the entire enterprise,” Kaul further said. The current SPV plan to transfer debt is likely to be an alternative to the earlier plan to convert a part of the loans of public-sector banks into equity and give them board representation. Official sources in the aviation ministry said the idea did not find favour with the Prime Minister Office (PMO), which had discussed the proposal in a meeting held in January. “The PMO did not like the idea of giving equity to banks in a loss-making airline. It, however, did not reject it either,” said a senior ministry official, who did not want to be identified. Thomas Rawls Jersey
Government okays Rs 4,500 crore project to revive 50 airports, airstrips
The Cabinet approved a proposal to revive 50 unserved and under-served airports as well as airstrips at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore. With the plan, the government is looking to enhance air connectivity to small cities and towns while the revival of such airports and airstrips would be “demand driven”. The proposal was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 4,500 crore. 15 airports/airstrips each would be revived during 2017-18 and 2018-19 each while 20 airports/airstrips would be revived during 2019-20,” an official release said. As many as 50 unserved and under-served airports and airstrips of state governments, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and civil enclaves would be covered. “Small cities/towns shall be connected on commencement of operation of flights to under-served/unserved airports. “It will further boost the economic development in these areas as well as surrounding areas in terms of job creation and related infrastructure development,” the release said. While noting that revival plan would be demand driven, the government said it would depend on firm commitment from airline operators as well as the state governments in terms of providing various concessions. The unserved and under-served airports are to be developed “without insisting on financial viability”, the release said. In the Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced plans for making adequate provisions for revival of unserved and under-served airports. To make flying more affordable, the government has already unveiled the ambitious regional connectivity scheme UDAN (‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik’) under which fares are to be capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights. Devin Funchess Womens Jersey
Cabinet’s nod to the MoU between India and the UAE in Energy Efficiency Services
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Productivity Council, an autonomous body under the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and Al Etihad Energy Services UAE, to provide various services in the field of energy management and conservation. Under the MoU, the NPC will provide the following services: 1. Energy Assessment Services 2. Training & Certification of Energy Auditors 3. Demand Side Management. Meanwhile, Al Etihad ES will provide the following services to all the relevant projects on a case by case basis: i) Customer Support with UAE Government and Private owned organizations in the United Arab Emirates ii) All local support for Field Auditing Professionals in the UAE iii) All local support for Training & Certification of Energy Auditors in UAE iv) All support related to Demand Side Management of industries based in UAE The MoU will enable NPC avail high value opportunities such as energy building and develop institutional mechanism in area of energy efficiency in Dubai and other Gulf Cooperation Council, (GCC) member countries. It will provide recognition and exposure to further build NPC’s capacities and competencies in rapidly changing international business scenario. MoU will be a precedent for engagements with other International collaboration partners and will enhance NPC’s visibility in arena. The MoU will help promote NPC in GCC member countries and will generate business for NPC in the area of energy. Team USA Womens Jersey