Haryana Government to set up renewable energy project at Jhajjar
While China Light & Power has offered to join hands with the Haryana Government in setting up a Rs 500-crore renewable energy project at Jhajjar, global majors, including United Technologies, Carrier, Everstone Logistics and CISCO have evinced keen interest in making investments in such fields as logistics, development of smart cities and sustainable solutions, and setting up a skill development centre. The offers were made when the chief minister, Manohar Lal, who is leading a nine-member delegation to project Haryana as a preferred investment destination, had one-to-one and back-to-back rounds with captains of industry and leading investors in Hong Kong today, and in Singapore, last night. The delegation has reached Hong Kong from Singapore. A senior level team from China Light & Power comprising CEO Richard Lancaster, chief financial officer, Geert Peters, and managing director India, Rajiv Mishra, met the chief minister in Hong Kong this morning. They discussed a proposal for setting up a renewable energy project at Jhajjar with an investment of Rs 500 crore. They were told that a very good opportunity awaited them to utilize non-arable land in the state for setting up projects. A team from United Technologies also met the chief minister and discussed proposal for developing smart city sustainability solutions relating to building security and controls. Carrier made a proposal to set up a skill development centre in Haryana jointly with the state government for providing skill training to the youth. A high-level Carrier team said work on expansion of their existing facility in Haryana would begin soon, Eric Chu, executive general Manager, HVAC, Hong Kong & Macau; Gary Chuk, director, Building Controls and Integrated Solutions, HMTG; and, Paul Tsui, General Manager Sustainability Solutions, Carrier Hong Kong, attended the meeting. Later, the Chief Minister addressed captains of industry and leading investors at the Invest Haryana Road Show in Hong Kong. It was attended by more than 100 delegates from Hong Kong who belonged mostly to the banking and financial sector. The key sectors which offered vast investment scope included skill development, healthcare, infrastructure, transport, smart cities, renewable energy etc. Later, Sudhir Rajpal, principal secretary, Industries, made a presentation and shared details of the bankable projects with safe returns on investment. He also shared details of the projects like Global City, MRTS between Gurugram Manesar Bawal, Logistics Hub, Aviation Hub, Global Economic Corridor along the KMP Expressway, Smart city Gurugram, Faridabad and Karnal. Jeremy Hellickson Jersey
India’s top energy research bodies come together to develop next-gen fuel resources
In a first of its kind move, India has brought forward its top energy research agencies which are working together to develop the next generation of fuel resources for cutting edge commercial applications. The three state-owned research bodies include the Indian Railways’ alternate fuel arm Indian Railways Organisation for Alternate Fuels (IROAF), Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) Dehradun and National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which are working to develop solar-assisted Biomass Pyrolysis technology for production of methanol as an alternate fuel. In addition, IROAF is separately experimenting with Hydrogen-powered fuel cells for power generation. BIOMASS PYROLYSIS Delhi-based IROAF has been tasked with exploring new avenues to fuel the national transporter which has set a target of reducing its annual energy bill, including electricity and diesel, of over Rs 30,000 crore by Rs 41,000 crore over the next decade. “An alternate route of Methanol production is by using biomass, wood and waste products. Currently, people use the catalytic route (enzymatic route) for this. We aim to do this through biomass pyrolysis,” Ravinder Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer of IROAF told ETEnergyWorld in an exclusive interview. Pyrolysis refers to thermal decomposition of biomass occurring in the absence of oxygen. The process pyrolysis results in by-products including bio-oil and gases like methane, hydrogen, carbon-monoxide and carbon dioxide, among others. “We have formed a joint working group at IROAF with IIP, Dehradun and NISE. We are putting our heads together to develop a solar-assisted biomass paralysis plant in the first stage and eventually look at the possibility of obtaining methanol,” Gupta said. IROAF aims to use solar energy to convert wood and bio-waste into wood-oil and IIP is currently conducting research on how to convert wood-oil into methanol. According to Gupta, the Indian Railways will have to develop a dual-fuel engine for converting existing locomotives to run on Methanol. FUEL CELL The Indian Railways’ fuel arm is also experimenting with hydrogen-powered fuel cells on a pilot basis. A fuel cell is a device in which hydrogen is used to generates electricity through a chemical reaction in the presence of Oxygen with water as a by-product. The device finds application in the electric vehicle industry. “We are also working on fuel cell technology. Hydrogen-run fuel cells have also become affordable. On an experimental basis, we are going to fit a hydrogen fuel cell for powering guard vans attached to trains as a standby. Fuel cells can generate power up to 300 kilowatts,” Gupta said. The use of fuel cells to power electric vehicles has risen of late. Global automobile giants including Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have reportedly leased a few hundred fuel cell-based vehicles over the past three years, and expect to lease over 1,000 in the current year. The Indian auto industry lobby Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has also called for developing the fuel cell technology to meet the government’s target of shifting completely to electric vehicles by 2030. Jerry Hughes Womens Jersey
Believe it or not! Petrol could be below Rs 30 a litre in 5 years
In five years, you could be buying petrol at less than Rs 30 a litre. Emerging technology is going to reduce the world’s dependence on petrol so much that prices will plummet. That’s the prediction by Tony Seba, an American futurist who is famous for predicting a boom in solar power when the prices used to be forbiddingly high, 10 times the prices today. Seba is a serial Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and an instructor in Entrepreneurship, Disruption and Clean Energy at Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program. Seba’s prediction on solar energy came true, but will he be right about the future of oil too? It seems highly likely if you look at what prompts Seba. According to Seba, the rise of self-drive cars would bring down oil demand sharply which could reduce the price of oil to $25 a barrel. “Oil demand will peak 2021-2020 and will go down 100 million barrels, to 70 million barrels within 10 years. And what that means, the new equilibrium price is going to be $25,” Seba said while speaking to CNBC. Seba says people would not stop using the old-style cars but the self-drive electric vehicles will become a much larger part of the sharing economy. These electric vehicles will be cheaper to buy as well as run. Seba had earlier said that by 2030, 95% of people won’t own private cars which would wipe off the automobile industry. He also predicted that electric vehicles would destroy the global oil industry. Recently, Union power minister Piyush Goyal said India was looking to have all-electric car fleet by 2030. He meant not a single petrol or diesel car would be sold in the country after 15 years. If you look at rapid advances in technology and business, you will find Seba convincing. No one doubts that soon electric cars will become a mass trend. Add to this the innovation in travel business such as Uber and rideshare apps. The future these two trends indicate looks like this: most people will prefer shared electric vehicles to owning cars while most of those still buying cars would go for electric ones. “Imagine a Starbucks on wheels. Essentially transportation is going to be so cheap, it’s going to be essentially cheaper for Starbucks to run around and take me to work, which is, you know, 60 kilometers away, and give that transportation for free, in exchange for going to buy coffee in that hour of commute,” Seba said while speaking to CNBC. The dim future of oil will also have a major geopolitical impact: the economies that depend mostly on oil will be hit badly. Many Arab countries will lose much of their influence and power. David Andrews Womens Jersey
India, Japan Joint Venture To Build Gas Import Terminal In Sri Lanka
India and Japan will jointly set up a $250 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Sri Lanka, the first collaboration between the two nations to counter China’s growing influence in the Island nation. Petronet LNG Limited, India’s biggest gas importer, last year proposed to set up a 2-million-tonne (MT) liquefied natural gas import facility on the coast of Sri Lanka to meet its energy needs. Sri Lanka, however, wanted Japan to have a role in it. “An agreement has been reached between the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Japan to set up the LNG terminal as a 50-50 joint venture by Petronet and a Japanese company,” Petronet Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Prabhat Singh said. Japan is yet to identify the company which will form an equal joint venture with Petronet for setting up the terminal. Without giving more details, Mr Singh said the LNG import facility will be set up at Kerawalapitiya on the western coast of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has plans to build a 300 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in Kerawalapitiya, adjoining an existing power plant. The existing plant which uses oil to generate power would also be converted to LNG once the terminal is set up and gas import start. LNG has become significantly cheaper since last year and many countries have begun switching their power plants to LNG. Mr Singh said the LNG terminal, which will import super-cooled natural gas, will take two-and-a-half to three years to build. The LNG terminal in Sri Lanka is part of Petronet’s vision to own 30 MT per annum of LNG import and re-gasification capacity by 2020, Mr Singh said. Petronet already operates a 15 million tonnes per annum import facility at Dahej in Gujarat and has another 5 MT terminal at Kochi in Kerala. Petronet also signed a preliminary agreement to build a 7.5 MT LNG terminal in Bangladesh and is looking at setting up a smaller facility in Mauritius. Mr Singh said Dahej is being expanded to 17.5 MT over the next two years. The India-Japan collaboration comes after a string of Chinese successes in Sri Lanka. China has managed to revive its flagship $1.4 billion Colombo Port City project and is also engaged in expansion of major infrastructure projects it built in the past. These projects include expansion of Hambantota port and Mattala airport. Matthias Farley Authentic Jersey
Ratnagiri Gas demerger: GAIL to own LNG terminal, NTPC to get power plant
Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt. Ltd (RGPPL) in Maharashtra is in the process of a demerger under which the company’s gas import terminal will be majority-owned by GAIL India Ltd and the power plant by NTPC Ltd, a top GAIL executive said on Tuesday. The project—once owned by US energy giant Enron Corp. which went bankrupt in 2001—in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district is now owned by GAIL and NTPC that hold 25.51% stake each; financial institutions hold 35.47% and Maharashtra State Electricity Board has a 13.51% stake. “The demerger is in the process. The LNG terminal will be led by GAIL and will be a subsidiary of GAIL, and the power plant will be led by NTPC,” B.C. Tripathi, chairman and managing director, GAIL India told reporters. On Monday, GAIL said its March-quarter net profit fell 69% from a year ago due to a Rs 7.83 billion impairment charge on the RGPPL plant. Net profit fell to Rs 2.60 billion in the quarter from Rs 8.32 billion a year ago. “In compliance of Ind AS 36, on impairment of assets, GAIL and NTPC carried out an assessment of impairment of investment in RGPPL as on 31 March considering the restructuring of the business. Accordingly, a provision of Rs 7.83 billion has been made,” the company’s press statement said. Tripathi said GAIL will invest Rs 10 billion in building a breakwater facility for the LNG terminal. RGPPL now receives cargoes only between October and May due to the lack of a breakwater to protect vessels from choppy seas during monsoon months. “Last year, we utilized up to 1.5 million tonnes of capacity and going forward, this would be 2.5 million tonnes and once the breakwater is in place, it will be 4 million tonnes of capacity. For breakwater, we have received the bids already and we would be awarding the contracts in a couple of months from now,” he added. GAIL’s capital expenditure for this fiscal is Rs 30 billion and the company is bullish on the petrochemicals segment. It is also working on a 1.7 million tonnes petrochemical plant in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh where GAIL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd will be partners. This is currently in the developmental stage, Tripathi added. “Last year, we produced 577,000 tonnes of polymer. This was an increase of 40%. This year, we expect to go to almost 750,000 tonnes per annum. The second plant which was running at 40% capacity should go to almost 80-85% capacity this year. GAIL’s subsidiary, Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd in Assam is also running at 85% capacity. In total, GAIL will be marketing 1 million tonnes of petrochemicals this financial year,” Tripathi said. GAIL also plans to spend Rs 15 billion in city gas going forward. GAIL has been authorized to develop city gas supply in seven cities—Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Ranchi, Varanasi, Kolkata, Patna and Jamshedpur. These cities will start getting piped gas supply in the next few years. Kenta Maeda Jersey
Regional air routes: Govt seeks feedback on proposed changes in second round of bidding
The Government is seeking the comments of stakeholders on four changes it plans to bring during the second round of bidding for award of rights to fly under its regional air connectivity scheme (RCS) UDAN. These include whether the minimum distance to be flown to be eligible to fly under the scheme should be changed and whether the exclusivity of flying on a route should be reduced to one year from the current three years. The Government expects to award routes under the second round of RCS in August this year. Comments have also been sought on what should be the minimum number of RCS seats mandated on such flights. Currently, an operator has to offer a minimum of 9 seats at a fare of not more than ?2,500 for a one hour flight. It is proposed that while subsidy on seats will still be on a minimum of 9 seats, an airline will have the flexibility to operate say three flights a day with a four seater aircraft and claim subsidy which is currently not the case. The Government’s argument is that such a move will give greater flexibility to the players to plan the size of aircraft and their operations. Explaining the rationale behind seeking changes in the exclusivity clause, R.N. Choubey, Secretary Civil Aviation gave the example of a point informally suggested by the Maharashtra Chief Minister. “The Chief Minister pointed out that Shirdi airport is likely to commence operations soon. If we put it under RCS scheme then only one airline will get to fly from Shirdi airport. Whereas in the assessment of the State Government there is a far greater potential for Shirdi to have flights,” Choubey said. Asked whether the Government will wait for operationalisation of the flights awarded in the first round of bidding before the second bidding round starts, the Secretary said that the second round of winners will be announced before the first round of bidding is fully operationalised. Of the five airlines which won the right to operate flights under the first round of RCS in April only Alliance Air, the regional arm of Air India, and Trujet have started operations. The other three – SpiceJet, Air Odisha and Air Deccan have not yet started their RCS operations. Choubey was also of the view that the changes in the second round of bidding will not affect those who won routes in the first round. “The changes are prospective and they will not affect the existing players who have already been awarded,” he pointed out. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Civil Aviation Minister, added, “We would like to have suggestions across the board so that we can benefit out of the whole exercise and become better.” Govt may tweak norms in Round 2 of bidding Next round of bidding under UDAN scheme likely in three months, says Jayant Sinha Yannick Ngakoue Womens Jersey
AAI may get additional land for Surat airport soon
If all goes well, Airports Authority of India (AAI) will be allotted additional chunk of land by the state government for immediate expansion of runway up to 3,810 metre by the end of this year. The district administration had set up teams comprising officers from the department of land resources (DLR), mamlatdar and executive engineer to carry out survey for the 63 hectares of additional chunk of land required for the expansion of Surat airport. Sources said AAI requires 63 hectares of land for immediate expansion of runway up to 3,810 metre and another 800 hectares for future development of Surat airport. AAI intends to construct a parallel runway of 1,525 metre. AAI is ready to spend on the expansion of Surat airport. Things are moving at a fast pace after Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha personally urged chief minister Vijay Rupani on the need to allot additional land for the expansion of the runway in March. Official sources said Sinha had met Rupani and urged him to speed up the allocation of additional land, which is required for the expansion of the runway from 2,905 metre to 3,810 metre. Rupani instructed district collector Mahendra Patel to speed up the land allotment, which is lingering on for the last so many years. At present, the total airport land, which includes tarmac, runway and terminal is spread over in 317 hectares. If the state government allocates additional 63 hectares of land, the airport area would total up to around 380 hectares. AAI has taken up expansion of the existing runway from 2,250 metre to 2,905 metre. The work is likely to be completed by June 2017. “We immediately require 63 hectares of additional land from Gujarat government for expanding the runway from 2,905 metre to 3,810 metre in the second phase. With this expansion, Surat will be able to cater to full-fledged international flight operations, like Ahmedabad airport. We have submitted plan details to SUDA for land reservation and things have been set in motion,” said airport director Pramod Kumar Thakre. District collector Mahendra Patel told TOI, “Teams were formed to survey the 63 hectares land required by AAI. We are awaiting the report of the said survey. Once, the report is in, the process of allotting the 63 hectares land will be speeded up.” Jersey
Second phase of RCS to connected unserved routes
The ministry has proposed to expand the regional connectivity scheme to unserved routes in the second phase of regional connectivity scheme. “There are various routes like Lucknow-Varanasi, where there is no connectivity. During the second phase, we are expanding it to unserved routes too,” said aviation secretary R N Choubey. He further added that the routes to be connected will be decided by airlines and not us. “However, the unserved routes can be between two well connected airports too,” he added. The bidding for the second phase of RCS will begin from August and the government plans to take it beyond the 31 unserved routes that will get air connectivity in the first phase. Alex Galchenyuk Authentic Jersey
Haryana government signs five MoUs worth Rs 18,000 crore in Singapore
The Haryana government today signed five agreements with Singapore-based companies to attract Rs 18,000 crore investment in development projects in infrastructure and industrial sectors. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said here the companies will study various aspects of undertaking projects in the state. “We will see investments in infrastructure, industrial sector and other related sectors,” Khattar told PTI. “These five MoUs are worth Rs 18,000 crore of investment in the state,” he said, after attending the signing ceremony and addressing nearly 100 Singaporean businessmen at the venue. The five MoUs were signed with Meinhardt Group, YCH Logistics for Logistics projects, Ascendas Singbridge for Townships/Logistics parks development, Adonis for Wellness projects and equity investor Equis Energy which makes investments in a wide range of projects, including transmission and power distribution among others. The MoUs were signed by Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd’s Managing Director Raja Sekhar Vundru with representatives of the five companies. “We aim to promote Haryana as a vibrant and competitive destination internationally. We want to offer the state as a corporate capital, as an industrial destination, as a residential and entertainment centre, whereas at the same time, retaining its edge in manufacturing, services and knowledge sectors,” the chief minister added. “It is indeed going to be ‘Destination Haryana’ all the way during the coming years. A clear vision, political will, good governance, empathy, empowerment, partnerships and creativity will be the keywords to drive the future success of Haryana,” Lal said. Meinhardt Group, an infrastructure and civil engineering group headquartered in Singapore, has signed three agreements with Haryana. “The MoUs are for developing Aviation Hub, Smart Cities and Industrial Townships,” said Shahzad Nasim, Group Executive Chairman of the Meinhardt Group. The Meinhardt Group will do feasibility studies on the proposed development over the next three to four month, following which it would carry out logistics and financial evaluation of the projects. “We will then discuss various options, including land availability for progressing with the projects,” added Nasim. Manohar Khiatani, Deputy Group CEO of Ascendas-Singbridge said, “We chose Haryana because of its strategic location and its position as a fast-growing economic powerhouse in India”. “We are optimistic about the growth potential of Haryana, and are happy to sign this MOU with the Haryana government to facilitate more investment opportunities and business collaboration,” Khiatani said. International Enterprise Singapore, a trade and business export promoting agency, has identified Faridabad, Gurugram and Karnal key cities to be developed as model smart cities for the state. “This MoU will see Meinhardt partner Haryana on smart city solutions, industrial townships and an integrated aviation hub,” said IE Singapore. YCH is already present in over 50 locations across India. Margaret Toh, Executive Director, YCH Group, said, “Haryana is a focus state for us, especially with the upcoming GST implementation in India”. “We will continue to work closely with IE Singapore and the Haryana government to expand our presence in the state and develop warehousing assets and supply chain solutions. This MoU will facilitate our interests in securing strategic warehousing projects in Gurugram,” he said. Mark Barron Authentic Jersey
Purvanchal expressway: UP government to cancel tenders to 6 firms to develop expressway
The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to cancel the tenders awarded to six firms during the previous Samajwadi Party regime to develop the 354-km long Purvanchal Expressway between Lucknow and Ghazipur. Sources confirmed that the state government will soon table a proposal in the Cabinet to cancel the tenders and start afresh the process of selecting construction companies to execute the project. Cabinet Minister for Industrial Development Satish Mahana said that the previous tenders will be cancelled because the required land for the project was not available so far. He added that hardly 33 per cent land had been purchased for the project when these tenders were finalised. “Fresh tendering exercise will be done when required land is available. Also, cost of the project will be reduced,” said Mahana. The board of UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) approved the proposal on Tuesday, confirmed sources. The Purvanchal Expressway project, launched by then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was proposed to connect Lucknow with Ghazipur via Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh and Mau. The cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 19,000 crore, of which Rs 12,000 crore was allotted for construction work and the remaining Rs 7,000 crore for acquiring land. The project aims to reduce travel time between Lucknow and Ghazipur by around five hours. A senior official of the department said that the previous government had started the bidding process for the project in November 2015. By the end of last year, it had selected six firms — NCC, Ashoka Buildcon, PNC, Gayatri Constructions, Afcons and Larsen & Toubro — through tendering to develop eight stretches of the expressway. “These companies were shortlisted for the project through tendering process. But by the time contracts could be awarded, the model code of conduct came into effect for Assembly elections. After elections, the new government has decided to cancel these tenders and hold a fresh tender exercise with revised conditions,” said the official. “Tendering should ideally be done when the government has around 90 per cent of the required land area in its possession… In future, tenders will be awarded only when 90 per cent of the land is in possession,” the official added. Officials said the state government was in the process of purchasing land from farmers and the fresh tendering process was expected to begin in the next few months. Last month, when asked to comment on the Adityanath government’s decision to order a probe into the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Akhilesh had said, “They should also cancel the tender of the Purvanchal Expressway, where work is going on. They should restart the work if they are finding problems.” Jordan Berry Jersey