House on wheels sets off to tell India solar power has arrived
A small house on wheels with all the electrical appliances used in a typical household — but all powered by rooftop solar panels and within approachable budget — the Solar Comet was flagged off on the World Environment Day for a 20-day tour. The solar bus is expected to bust myths and create awareness about solar power. Lit up with power saving LED bulbs, the Solar Comet with its modern fixtures houses mobile charging points, a mixer grinder, an air cooler, a refrigerator, washing machine and even an air conditioner. While the temperature outside soared beyond 40 degrees Celsius, the mini-house with necessary furniture has an ambient environment. “This project fitted with a 2 kilowatt rooftop panel demonstrates how solar power can easily run an entire household — even heavier appliances like air conditioner,” said Pujarini Sen, climate and energy campaigner, Greenpeace India. “Another myth about solar power is that it is expensive. But in the last three years alone the installation cost per kilowatt of such panel has come down from around Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50,000. This is the ideal time to go solar,” she added. Delhi’s total solar potential is 2,500 MW with a residential potential of 1,250 MW. The official target in Delhi is to reach 1,000 MW worth solar installations by 2020 and 2,000 MW by 2025. But as of December 2016, only 35.9 MW have been installed out of which, only 3 MW were residential installations in March 2016. “The Delhi government came up with the city’s solar policy last year. But despite the benefits that it offers, Delhiites haven’t really woken up to the idea. Till now the response has been very low residential sectors,” Sen said. The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) offers a 30% national incentive for installing a solar power panel. Besides this, grid connectivity through net metering allows a consumer to sell the excess amount of electricity generated to the main grid and save up on their power bills. “One can break even on their investment in four to five years. The solar panels have a life of 25 years and require very low maintenance,” Sen added, giving example of Pankaj Rajpal, a senior citizen, who managed to reduce the expenses from Rs 8,500 per month to Rs 1,200 p/m by installing a 5KW solar system in his Kailash Colony residence. Director of Energy Programme at TERI Giritsh Sethi, who flagged off the bus, hoped that by roping in RWAs directly the comet will be able to bring in a change. Roof rights are a common problem faced by people living in apartments, where the rooftop is usually owned by the family living on the top floor. “In such cases, the RWAs can take a collective decision to install a solar power system in the common areas of the colony. Residents of Rishi Apartments in Alaknanda have pledged to install a 21 KW solar system,” said Sen. Junior Seau Authentic Jersey
Petronas’ stake sale of offshore gas asset advances to second round-sources
The sale by Malaysian energy firm Petronas of an estimated $1 billion stake in a local upstream gas project has moved to the second round and is set to attract interest from about half a dozen bidders including Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil Corp , four sources familiar with the matter said. State-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) had kicked off a process to sell a stake of up to 49 percent in the SK316 offshore gas block in Malaysia’s Sarawak state, Reuters reported in February. Prospective buyers are expected to submit second round financial bids this month, and a final decision on the successful bidder is expected later this year, said two sources. Sources said Total, PTT Exploration and Production PCL and some Japanese firms are also among those keen to bid for the asset. The transaction, if completed, would mark Petronas’ biggest upstream stake sale since oil prices started falling more than two years ago. All the sources declined to be identified as discussions between Petronas and the companies are private, adding that terms of the deal could change depending on how the talks proceed. Petronas, which last week maintained a cautious outlook for the rest of the year after reporting quarterly profit more than double a year ago, did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement to Reuters in April, it had said that through its unit, Petronas Carigali, it was seeking partners who could bring the technology and capabilities to explore, develop and efficiently operate the various fields and opportunities in the SK316 offshore gas block. Shell, ExxonMobil and Total declined to comment. PTT Exploration said it was keen to invest in Thailand and Southeast Asia due to its expertise in these markets and as costs and risks were low. “This area is consistent with the company’s expansion strategy, however, the company will consider details of each project before making an investment decision,” PTTEP said in response to a query on its interest in the Petronas asset. Gas from the NC3 field in the SK316 block feeds Malaysia’s LNG export project, known as LNG 9, a joint venture between Petronas and JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp that began commercial production in January. The sale of a stake in the offshore gas block has been clouded by political opposition to the process, but sources said this was unlikely to derail ongoing talks. Opposition party leaders in Sarawak, a key vote base for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak who is likely to call general elections this year, have expressed disapproval in Petronas’ plan to find a partner. One even called for the state to be given the option to acquire all or part of the stake that it proposes to sell. Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari, however, has said the state did not want to take on the risk of developing the gas field as “the project cost billions of ringgit and it is of high risk,” according to state news agency Bernama. He said the state government was in talks with Petronas about the partner-finding process for SK316. Duke Dawson Jersey
‘Petrol pumps, gas agencies to be governed by Centre’s law’
In a relief to petrol pump and LPG gas operators in the state, the Rajasthan High Court has done away with the system of obtaining licenses and renewing these under the state government’s Rajasthan Petroleum Products (Licensing & Control) order of 1990. The petrol pump and LPG gas operators would now be governed by the Centre’s government’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of supply and distribution) order of 2000, which provides for monitoring and operation of gas agencies as well as petrol pump. The district supply officer (DSO) will, therefore, have the power of search and seizure over these for any violation of law. The single bench of justice M N Bhandari ruled that since clause 14 of the order of 2000 has overriding effect to the 1990 order, the gas agencies/petrol pump can operate after complying with the order of 2000 and not that of 1990. The DSOs were governing the gas agencies/petrol pumps under the order of 1990, even though the state government issued a notification on February 22, 2001 to implement the order of 2000. As such, license were not been renewed on the ground that either the location of petrol pumps/gas agencies/godowns was not as per the master plan or conversion of land had not been done. The high court had earlier settled that such issues could be decided by municipal authorities, UIT or JDA but not by the DSO. The compliance of the urban development laws cannot be enforced by the DSO, the high court ruled in the case of Gulab Kothari versus state of Rajasthan and others in 2004. One Rakesh Dangi and 15 others approached the court requesting that DSOs be directed not to cause interference in the working of petrol pumps/gas agencies unless they flouted the order of 2000. Dangi’s license renewal had been denied, as he had gas agency and petrol pump at the same location that was in violation of the urban development law. The civil supplies department argued that there were many cases in the state where petrol pumps and gas agencies existed with common boundaries and that in case of any unfortunate incident, it may cause serious damage to public life. The high court ruled that petrol pumps/gas agencies/godowns would, however, have to operate in consonance to the judgement in Gulab Kothari case. Bobby Baun Womens Jersey
Hindustan Oil Exploration sees further delays in issue of petroleum mining lease to Oil India
Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd : Anticipate further delays in issue of petroleum mining lease to Oil India. Expect to commence commercial gas sales only during July – Sept quarter, post review of our representation by NBWL Reiterate guidance of exiting Q2 FY 2018 with a production level of 25 million standard cubic feet per day Reiterate guidance of plant capacity to process 36 million standard cubic feet per day Darius Leonard Womens Jersey
ATS launches ops at new storage tank terminal in India
UAE-based ATS, a leading integrated logistics company, has commenced operations at its new storage tank terminal strategically situated in the emerging oil storage and trading location of New Mangalore Port, India. The New Mangalore Port, an ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 certified port, is a modern all-weather port situated at Panambur, Mangaluru (Karnataka State), said a statement from the company. The prominent features of the strategic location are a hassle-free single-window clearance, simplified documentation system, around the clock pilotage, land and marine security and a congestion free port with all-weather navigation, it said. The new storage tank terminal will be under the name of Raftaar Terminals with below state-of-the-art specifications: Complying with Indian PESO, OISD norms and with all international safety and standards. First tank terminal to be constructed in Stainless Steel with a capacity of 316L storage tank and jetty pipeline in Mangalore suitable for all acids. Can handle a wide range of petroleum products Class A, B and C like naphtha, gas oil, motor spirit, para-xylene, methanol and petrochemicals products too. The Raftaar Terminal has adopted the green policy by providing 33 per cent of total land for developing green belt around the terminal, it added. It has LED lights for the complete terminal, VFDs for saving power consumption in machineries, solar energy for lighting system and water heating system, it stated. Kenny Stills Jersey
Pipelines will supply oil and gas to Myanmar for domestic consumption
Some two million tons of oil and two billion cubic metres of gas will be supplied annually for domestic use after the completion of Myanmar-China oil and gas pipelines, the South East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline Co Ltd (SEAOP) and the South East Asia Gas Pipeline Co Ltd (SEAGP) said in a statement. Those oil and gas supply will support Myanmar’s economic growth and improve the livelihood of the people, it added. Six companies are shareholders in the SEAGP: Chinese state-owned oil and gas corporation China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), Daewoo, Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), India-based ONGC Co and India-based GAIL Co. According to the agreement, no more than 20 percent of the total gas production will be supplied for domestic use for the stations located in Kyaukphyu, Yenangyaung, Taungtha and Mandalay. The Myanmar-China Gas Pipeline commenced its operations in July, 2013 and gas has been allocated for domestic consumption at those four stations since April 2014. Gas pipeline is targeted to annually transport 5.2 billion cubic metres of gas in phase one and 12 billion cubic metres of gas in phase two. The Myanmar-China Crude Oil Pipeline began its operations on April 10 this year and it aims to transport annually 12 million tons of oil in phase one and 22 million tons of oil in phase two of the project. The designated amount of oil production for domestic consumption is two million tons per year. An oil jetty with a capacity of 300,000 tons which can store 22 million tons of oil per year has been constructed. The oil pipeline starts from Made island in the west of Myanmar and it passes through two states, Rakhine State and Shan State, as well as two regions, Magwe Region and Mandalay Region, before crossing the border to Yunnan province in China. Willie Snead IV Jersey