Developers reel under losses as Rajasthan companies shut off wind power supply
Wind power developers in Rajasthan face losses once again as state distribution companies unplug their supply from the grid, a practice known as backdown. “Every day, 15-20% of wind power is being curtailed,” said an official of the Wind Independent Power Producers Association (WIPPA). “On some days, power has even been switched off completely by the discoms’ state load distribution centres (SLDCs).” Sunil Jain, president, WIPPA, estimated the backdowns in a different way, saying, “In May, on average, there were five hours of backdown per MW of wind, which, given the state’s capacity of around 4,000 MW, would be 20,000 hours.” Rajasthan’s installed wind power capacity is 4,280 MW. It’s a repeated problem and particularly galling for wind power producers, since the pre-monsoon and monsoon period, April-September, is when winds blow the strongest and generate maximum power. “Last year, the problem occurred in May-June and stopped after a while but this year, it began from April itself,” said the WIPPA official. “Discoms are doing it for commercial reasons. They are backing down wind power and taking thermal power instead, which is cheaper.” However, the matter is far from simple. A key characteristic of wind energy is its ‘infirm’ or ‘erratic’ nature. A wind farm’s output can vary considerably depending on the speed at which the wind is blowing. Additionally, wind farms do not store energy, which would increase costs significantly and make tariffs unviable. They transmit all power produced immediately to the grid, which could trip if power supplied is well in excess of the average, as is often the case in the pre-monsoon and monsoon months. Devices to forecast wind power likely to be available are being introduced but are not yet wholly reliable. “Forecasting is an issue,” said BK Dosi, managing director, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation, the state agency handling renewable energy. “If the schedule given to us is not accurate, there will be problems. Due to variations in weather, there are variations of demand as well. But backdowns are not due to commercial reasons.” The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) had, some years ago, directed that wind power be given priority over power from conventional sources — wind has ‘must run’ status. In practice, though, SLDCs often find it more convenient to use power from conventional sources if available, since it is steady and reliable. WIPPA has already appealed to RERC, which has held four hearings. “We will take the issue to higher authorities if not resolved at the earliest,” said Jain. Dosi said, “We have taken up the matter seriously and will be meeting developers and the state principal secretary soon.”? Darryl Strawberry Womens Jersey
U.S. solar demand could drop 66 pct if trade case succeeds – Report
The U.S. solar industry would see two-thirds of expected demand dry up over the next five years if a trade case aimed at propping up the domestic panel manufacturing industry is successful, a new report said on Monday. The utility-scale solar industry, which accounts for more than half of U.S. installations, would be hit hardest if Washington adopts the hefty remedies sought by bankrupt solar panel maker Suniva. That is because large projects depend on being cost-competitive with natural gas-fired plants to spur buying, research firm GTM Research said in their analysis. “This is arguably one of the biggest downside risks to the future of U.S. solar,” GTM’s associate director of U.S. solar, Cory Honeyman, said in an interview. In April, Suniva filed a rare Section 201 petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission nine days after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the petition, the company asked for new duties on imported solar products to combat a global glut of panels that has depressed prices and made it difficult for American producers to compete. Suniva was founded in Georgia but as of 2015 is majority owned by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy . It was joined in the petition by another domestic manufacturer, the U.S. division of Germany’s SolarWorld . The German company filed for insolvency last month. Suniva is seeking a duty rate of 40 cents per watt on solar cells and a minimum price on modules of 78 cents a watt for the first year, levels unseen since 2012, according to GTM. Between 2018 and 2022, U.S. solar installations would fall from 72.5 gigawatts to 36.4 GW with a minimum module price of 78 cents a watt, GTM said. If a 40 cent cell tariff were implemented as well, installations would drop to 25 GW during the period. The U.S. ITC will decide by September whether imports are causing harm to domestic producers. If it does find serious injury to the industry, by November the commission will recommend remedies to President Trump, who then makes a final decision. Trump could accept the ITC’s recommedation or do something else entirely. The final outcome could vary greatly from Suniva’s suggested remedies. The Solar Energy Industries Trade Association, the U.S. solar trade group, is opposed to Suniva’s petition. The group said last week that an estimated 88,000 jobs would be lost if the trade protections Suniva is seeking are imposed. LeShaun Sims Authentic Jersey
Vedanta’s dream has just begun; to invest $6-7 billion: Anil Aggarwal
Working on creating a natural resources giant anchored in India, Vedanta’s dream has only just begun and it will invest USD 6-7 billion on expanding overall capacity in 3-4 years, metals and mining baron Anil Agarwal said. Vedanta is the world’s 6th largest diversified natural resources powerhouse post Cairn-Vedanta merger, achieving market capitalisation of USD 14 billion. “Our dream has just begun. Faring very well financially during the last fiscal, we are looking for at least 60 per cent capacity addition in our businesses in three to four years,” Vedanta Resources Plc Group Chairman Anil Agarwal told PTI in a phone interview. With the government’s thrust on natural resources, the future is promising, he said. “For expanding capacity by 60 per across segments, on a pro-rata basis we will be spending about USD 6 to 7 billion,” said Agarwal, who is also Chairman Emeritus, Vedanta Limited. At the same time, he said, there should be more natural resources companies anchored in India. India could be a natural resources powerhouse with its abundant natural wealth, he said. “We are far behind on exploration front. Our exploration of natural wealth is minuscule when we compare it with advanced nations like the US and Australia,” he said, adding that government thrust could change the scenario. The company is aspiring to produce 50 per cent of India’s oil production as “it wants to cut on huge import bills”, he said. Vedanta Ltd is also looking at 1.2 million tonnes of zinc capacity and wants to take it to 1.5 MT later, he said. About silver, he said the company wants to double the output to 1,000 tonnes. “We are looking at 3,50,000 barrel of oil and to have 100,000 barrel equivalent to gas,” he said, adding that for aluminium, the company was looking at 3 million tonnes capacity. Tapping the tremendous possibilities of growth in demand for zinc, aluminium and copper, Vedanta managed to be the market leaders for India’s Zinc Industry, primary Aluminium market, and refined copper with market shares of 72 per cent, 40 per cent and 35 per cent respectively. Also, it is India’s largest private sector Iron Ore exporter and operator of 26 per cent of India’s crude oil production. The Chairman said Vedanta has completed a significant portion of its capital expenditure programme, that has equipped it to ramp up production in existing assets and reap benefits of the capex spent. In 2016-17, the company spent USD 0.7 billion capex. Vedanta’s operations span across India, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Liberia, Ireland and Australia. Vedanta Ltd had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,988 crore for the quarter ended March 2017. The company recorded a 5 per cent year-on-year increase in Free Cash Flow (FCF), to Rs 13,312 crore while its “Net Debt/EBITDA at 0.4x, (was) lowest among peers” as per its annual report. Marek Hrivik Womens Jersey
Greece relaunches tender to sell majority stake in natural gas grid
Greece on Monday relaunched a tender for the sale of a majority stake in its natural gas grid operator DESFA, the country’s privatisation agency said. Under its latest international bailout, Greece has agreed to sell state assets including a 66 percent stake in DESFA. It aims to conclude the divestment by the end of the year. Italy’s SNAM has said it was interested in buying the stake. A previous 400 million euro ($448 million) deal to sell the stake to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR fell through last November after Athens raised DESFA’s tariffs by less than SOCAR had expected and SOCAR demanded a lower price. Dalvin Cook Authentic Jersey
Thirteen EU nations back plan for talks with Russia over gas pipeline
Thirteen EU nations voiced support on Monday for a proposal to empower the bloc’s executive to negotiate with Russia over objections to a new Russian gas pipeline to Germany, despite opposition from Berlin. At an informal debate among EU energy ministers, Germany’s partners in the 28-nation bloc spoke out against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline plan to pump more gas directly from Russia’s Baltic coast to Germany. EU nations are expected to vote in the autumn on the European Commission’s request for a mandate to negotiate with Russia on behalf of the bloc as a whole. Germany, the main beneficiary of the pipeline, sees it as a purely commercial project, with Chancellor Angela Merkel last week saying she saw no role for the Commission. The plan taps into divisions among the bloc over doing business with Russia, which covers a third of the EU’s gas needs, despite sanctions against Moscow over its military intervention in Ukraine. In private, EU officials say they hope direct talks with Moscow would delay the project past 2019, depriving Russian state gas exporter Gazprom of leverage in talks over transit fees for Ukraine, the current route for most gas supplies to Europe. Germany, Austria and France – which have firms partnering with Gazprom on the project – declined to take the floor on Monday, EU diplomats said. “We had 13 delegations intervening, with all of them being supportive of the Commission’s approach,” Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic told Reuters by telephone after presenting the EU executive’s case to member states. “I am definitely optimistic about getting the mandate, but I know this is just the beginning of the debate.” The Commission found support from Italy as well as Nordic, Eastern European and Baltic states, EU sources told Reuters. “Germany has commercial interests, but it needs to explain itself,” one senior EU official said. With the pipeline expected to reroute some Russian gas supplies around Ukraine to the north, Italy voiced concerns it would increase gas prices for customers further down the line. Eastern European and Baltic states fear it will increase their dependence on Gazprom and undercut Ukraine. Nordic nations, meanwhile, have security concerns over the pipeline being laid near their shores under the Baltic Sea, where Russia has bolstered its military presence. Demark, which is considering amending its laws to allow it to ban pipeline projects such as Nord Stream 2, welcomed the bid by EU regulators to make the pipeline subject to EU energy rules that prevent energy suppliers from dominating infrastructure. “I am very happy with the decision today that it now shall be examined,” Danish Energy Minister Lars Lilleholt told Reuters. ‘TOXIC ISSUE’ However, many EU nations have yet to take a stand. “It is quite toxic. Many member states are quite wary of advertising their position,” one diplomat told Reuters. There are also differences among EU member states over what aims to pursue in potential talks with Russia. Poland, one of Nord Stream’s most vocal opponents, called on EU nations to reach a common stance and to suspend granting permits for the project while the bloc deliberates. “It’s even more important given that Russia is still subject to EU sanctions,” Poland’s Deputy Energy Minister Michal Kurtyka said. Speaking in Paris on Monday, Ukraine’s foreign minister told Reuters the draft EU proposal did not go far enough to secure guarantees from Russia, warning Nord Stream 2 would have “dangerous consequences” for the bloc. Adding to tensions is the threat of new U.S. sanctions on Russia that would penalise Western firms involved in Nord Stream 2: Uniper, Wintershall, Shell, OMV and Engie. Several EU diplomats said the measures proposed by the U.S. Senate have already backfired against their stated aim of bolstering European energy security. “It’s a divisive measure,” one senior official said. “It’s easy for the U.S. to go after Russian gas of course, they don’t use it. … We are trying to make the best of a bad thing by balancing the interest of different member states.” Patrick Sharp Womens Jersey
These two policies will help achieve PM Modi’s target to reduce oil imports by 10 percent
In a bid to arrest the country’s stagnant crude oil and natural gas production, the oil ministry with the help of the upstream regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) is working on two key policies — Performance Enhancement Contracts (PEC) and a framework to incentivize Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). “Under PEC, we are contemplating on two models; one can be an equity model, where a company undertakes asset optimisation exercises in lieu of an equity share and the other is a standard service contract, where the company will improve the efficiency of the asset in lieu of monetary compensation,” a senior official said. He added that there are various ways through which the potential of an oilfield can be optimised and better asset management and improvement of surface-related facilities also lead to a boost in production. “EOR is just one of the methods which can be used to enhance production. The ministry is trying to formulate a policy for companies which have an appetite and a track record for working on challenging fields, the government will ensure through the policy that rewards outweigh the risks,” the official added. As per the plan, PEC contracts will first apply to nominated fields, after which the policy may be extended to other fields. “EOR and PEC are two different concepts. EOR is one method of increasing the productivity of a field while PEC involves a whole range of things. We have not finalized the policy yet. We need to ensure that the policy helps in creating a level-playing field addressing the interests of all the stakeholders,” a senior oil ministry official said. Analysts say PEC are not unheard of in the world context and many global companies specialize and offer their services to optimize assets in challenging areas. “Leading companies in the oilfield services space include Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Scomi etc who have a broad array of services. The country would be well served by PECs in view of declining production from the old fields, wherein new technological solutions can improve the recovery factor,” K Ravichandran, Senior Vice President at ratings agency ICRA said. According to information provided on the DGH website, there are almost 398 oil fields which have been given on nomination basis to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India till date. In order to ensure increase in production capabilities of National Oil Companies (NOCs), a review committee was recently formed by DGH in May this year for management of Oil and Gas resources of nomination fields of NOCs. The committee, which will convene every three months, has been empowered to give executive orders to NOCs related to surrender, early monetization and change of field development plans of all nominated areas under them. Working on the feasibility of incentivizing EOR, the regulator has already called for stakeholder consultation and has appointed Deloitte to undertake a study on the best practices followed globally around EOR. “We have just had an appraisal meeting with the oil ministry on 20 June. We have received inputs from our stakeholders and after Deloitte finishes the study, we will make our submissions to the oil ministry,” the second official quoted above said. Commenting on the DGH move to seek stakeholder comments on EOR, ONGC Chairman D K Sarraf told ETEnergyWorld a policy to incentivize EOR is much needed and a positive step for the company. “We have given our inputs to DGH. Without incentives, EOR will not be economically feasible due to low price scenario in the oil and gas sector. There is a lot of scope to enhance domestic production by deploying EOR techniques. Deploying EOR is capital and time-intensive process,” Sarraf said. He added that while in the past the industry has taken 10 years to successfully commission EOR projects, ONGC is bringing down the timeframe to five years. Sarraf said EOR techniques have been deployed in most of ONGC’s blocks and the company is now focusing on cost-effective operations in offshore blocks. In order to attract investment and bring new oil fields into production, the government is all set to offer over 85 percent of the country’s 3.14 million square kilometres of hydrocarbon sedimentary area under a new bidding mechanism and a revamped exploration licensing policy in the first major exploration licensing round in seven years in July 2017. James Carpenter Jersey
Pcra And IGL To Launch A Campaign For Good Health, Behaviour And Fuel Conservation For Drivers
Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), the national government agency engaged in promoting energy efficiency in various sectors of economy and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), the largest CNG distribution company of the country engaged in supply of CNG and PNG in Delhi along with adjoining cities of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad have joined hands to launch a mega campaign for public transport drivers of the capital. The campaign is also being supported by Delhi Police. The two month long ‘Swasth Saarthi Abhiyan’ of IGL focusing on providing free preventive healthcare for nearly 5 lakh drivers of Delhi NCR is being inaugurated at a special event in Siri Fort Auditorium on Wednesday, 28th June 2017 along with a ‘Fuel Conservation Workshop’ being organized by PCRA as a part of Saksham 2017 – the mass Oil and Gas Conservation Campaign. Hon’ble Union Minister for Science & Technology, Environment, Forests, Climate Change & Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas (Independent Charge), Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Hon’ble Members of Parliament from Delhi, would be launching the campaign. Wrestling legend, Babita Phogat would also be present on the occasion to lend her voice to the campaign. This was announced by P.K. Pandey, Vice President (Marketing), IGL while addressing a Curtain Raiser on the event for the media. The event is a unique initiative to address the major issues being faced by public transport drivers of the region, with almost all of them being users of CNG. A mega Health Camp is being held on the occasion to provide basic preventive health care needs like Height-weight, BMI and Blood pressure measurement, Vision & Eye checkup, Blood group testing, Counseling, Health Education & First Aid tips. Free basic medicines and spectacles would be provided in cases, where required. The campaign would continue in form of health camps at various CNG stations of IGL till 31st August 2017. Each driver attending the event on 28th June at Siri Fort Auditorium would be provided a free coupon for getting CNG upto Rs 100/- filled at any CNG station of IGL. In addition, they would also be provided a first aid kit and LED torch. The drivers becoming a part of Swasth Saarthi Campaign subsequently through health checkup camps at CNG stations of IGL till 31st August would be given free coupons worth Rs 50/- per driver for getting CNG. A web application is also being launched on the occasion, which would enable the drivers who have undergone health checkup in the campaign to access their health records online from anywhere. PCRA would be conducting a special workshop during the event, where message on fuel conservation and good driving habits would be disseminated to the gathered drivers. Such workshops have already been conducted across various cities as a part of Saksham 2017. Delhi Police is supporting this event through its Road Safety Cell and Women Safety Cell. The messages of road safety, responsible behavior towards passengers, especially women and elderly would be disseminated through interesting skits and street plays at the event. A host of cultural performances have also been lined up for the event with famous standup comedian Sunil Grover “Gutthi’ being highlight of the day. Musical performances with known singers and a dance troupe will continue till evening. Public transport drivers form one of the biggest stakeholder groups of IGL with almost all of them being users of CNG and making almost daily trips to CNG stations. Welfare of this group finds a prominent place in the CSR programme of IGL. Joe Kelly Jersey
From July 1, Oil Companies To Carve Out Their Own Exploration Areas
July 1 will not only be about the biggest indirect direct tax reform — the Goods and Services Tax — but also about a new kid on the block in India’s hydrocarbon space: Open Acreage Licensing, which allows companies to cherry-pick their own areas for exploration. Like GST, OAL, another policy initiative of the previous UPA government, will be offered under the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy. OAL will also mean the end of the story for the existing auction mechanism, the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Officials associated with the process say that if the trial run is anything to go by, OAL has already attracted the Exxons of the world, who have been keeping India low on their oil and gas exploration priority list. However, a question being asked is why the government is going ahead with OAL now, when blocks awarded under NELP, including the controversial Reliance Industries-BP Krishna Godavari Basin-D6 block, are showing results? Since NELP was introduced in the late 1990s, 314 blocks have been offered, of which 254 have been awarded. Besides, at present, most of the producing blocks in the country are those that have been offered before NELP or after NELP. OAL is intended to cut the red tape and plug the gaps in the NELP model, a senior official in the Ministry for Petroleum and Natural Gas told BusinessLine. A prerequisite for OAL is the National Data Repository (NDR) to be unveiled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on June 28. “All the data will be made available on NDR, which will be the backbone of OAL. To be manned by the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons, OAL will offer 2.7 million sq km of Indian sedimentary basin out of the total 3.14 million sq km available in NDR,” the official added. The NDR will be made operational immediately and OAL will roll out from July 1, on expression of interest basis. “Companies will be allowed to submit their EoI (expression of interest) till November 15, and within a month, the notice of inviting offer will be put out. Then, in a month or so, bids will be invited. The bid evaluation will be based on minimum-work programme and revenue-sharing model,” the official said. Contracts could be awarded in March-April next year and May 2018 is the target to sign the contracts. OAL is an ongoing cycle, so when the first lot goes out, parallely the companies would be looking at other areas. However, there will be a cap on the number of areas they can carve out. With OAL, the government also hopes to win back the trust of the companies in the business as it will allow the players to choose their own areas and carve out their own blocks with pricing and marketing freedom. However, they will have to work under the revenue-sharing model, unlike NELP, which was based on cost recovery. When asked what happens to the blocks that have already been contracted for under NELP and prior to the NELP regime, the official said those contracts would co-exist with OAL. Only those areas that have been surrendered or not already awarded are being put on offer in OAL. Stating that enough checks and balances have been put in place to ensure data security, the official said the server will be physically in DGH hands and there are enough firewalls. To access the data, the companies will have to pay a nominal price, which will be announced once the NDR is unveiled. Manti Te’o Jersey