International Solar Alliance to set up $300 bn fund
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is proposing to set up a $300 billion fund to support clean energy projects in member countries over the next 10 years. “The proposal is to strive for 300 billion dollar global fund over 10 year with contributions from the World Bank … and also from Green Climate Fund to leverage $3,000 billion investment from the corporate sector for meeting investment requirement for solar energy programmes and projects in ISA member countries for the next 10 years,” ISA interim Director General Upendra Tripathy told reporters here. The ISA is an alliance of more than 120 countries. The allocation will be notional and will only be backed with 20 per cent of the amount being budgeted. The risk guarantee premium may be 0.8 to 1 per cent and the World Bank may administer it as a commercial project, Tripathy said. “We are thinking of creating over a period of 10 years 300 billion dollar fund. 300 billion dollar is a big number,” he said. “The idea of ISA is not to ask for cheques not to tell them to deposit money. This…is the cheque of assurance, of commitment, that if somebody has taken the assurance and the claim comes then only you have to settle it…this will attract capital into this sector in the ratio of 1:10.” SA was launched in November 30, 2015, as a coalition of solar resource rich countries jointly by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande in the presence of the then UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the first day of the Paris Climate Conference or CoP21. “If we put one dollar in insurance 10 dollar will come by way of investment. If we put 300 billion dollar, 3000 billion dollar will come,” he said. India is also examining allocating a line of credit of $1 billion for non-African ISA member countries. It is on the lines of a $2 billion line of credit being operated by the Ministry of External Affairs in Africa for solar projects in countries that have signed and ratified the ISA treaty. The ISA along with France and India is proposing to launch a programme for solar mini grids in the near future. Indian firms have submitted expression of interest for setting up of mini grids equivalent to 78 mw in partnering African countries under India’s soft loan related schemes for the continent. The ISA has also proposed setting up a mechanism to lower the risk involved in financing of solar projects. “The ISA programme, ‘Affordable Finance at Scale’, launched in April 2016 offers as its action point to set the ground for establishment of Common Risk Mitigating Mechanism,” Tripathy said. Riley Reiff Jersey
Do not need lower GST rates to grow solar energy in India: Piyush Goyal
Power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal today said the government does not need lower tax rates to ensure the growth of solar power sector in India. Goyal was talking in the context of 18 per cent rate that has been finalised for solar panels by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council. He said GST rates have been brought in to simplify the tax structure. “GST regime is designed to help bring down costs and we are positive it will help reduce corruption and operational difficulties,” Goyal said. The government aims to scale up India’s solar power capacity to 100,000 Megawatt by 2022. This will be part of the 175,000 Mw renewable energy target that the government wants to achieve. The GST Council, in its three-day meeting in Srinagar on Thursday laid out the rates for around 81 per cent of goods. Most of the goods have been kept at or below the 18 per cent tax slab. Coal has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of GST under which the fuel will attract a rate of 5 per cent against 11.7 per cent it used to attract earlier. The new rates under GST are set to roll out from July 1. DJ Chark Jersey
Brighter India: Watch NASA’s map of night-time India highlighted by Piyush Goyal
Power minister Piyush Goyal today highlighted a night-time map of India released by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that shows how large parts of the country are lit against a darker background on the World Map, thanks to the progress of the centre’s village electrification scheme. The map is part of a booklet released here by Goyal in an event today on the status of rural electrification in the country. More than 18,452 villages in India were in darkness even after 68 years of independence forcing them to “live in 17th century lifestyle”, the centre’s information wing Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a twitter update following the event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2015 pledged to complete electrification of these villages within 1,000 days ending 1 May 2018. “The government took this up in mission mode under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY),” PIB said. The scheme has a total outlay of Rs 75,893 crore and more than 13,469 villages were electrified out of the total 18,452 unelectrified villages. The government said this was possible because of the “Power for All” programme signed by all the states leading to rapid urbanization. The DDUGJY scheme includes separation of agricultural feeders, strengthening of the transmission and distribution infrastructure, micro-grid and off-grid distribution network and installing meters for feeders, distribution transformers and consumers. Demaryius Thomas Womens Jersey
Cyber security audits on power transmission communication systems from July
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has said it is mandatory for Regional Power Committees to conduct third party cyber security audits on communication systems of electricity transmission towers from July It said the third party audit can be conducted only by CERT-In (India Computer Emergency Response Team). The commission has come out with directives called the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Communication System for inter-State transmission of electricity) Regulations, 2017 that will be effective from July 1. These regulations provide for planning, implementation, operation and maintenance and upgrade of reliable communication system for all communication requirements including exchange of data for integrated operation of national grid. “Keeping in view the importance of the communication system in a vast meshed network at the National, Regional and State level in India, a need has been felt to specify the regulations regarding Communication System for inter-State transmission of electricity,” CERC said. CERC said a communication infrastructure shall be planned, designed and executed to address the network security needs as per standard specified by Central Electricity Authority and shall be in conformity with the Cyber Security Policy of the Govt. of India, issued from time to time. It said that the National Load Dispatch Centre shall monitor cases of cyber security incidences and discuss them at the regional power committee level and then take necessary actions. According to CERC’s notice, these regulations shall apply to the communication infrastructure to be used for data communication and tele -protection for the power system at national, regional and inter-state level and shall also include the power system at the state level till appropriate regulation on communication is framed by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commissions. “All Users, SLDCs, RLDCs, NLDC, CEA, CTU, STUs, RPCs, REMC, FSP and Power Exchanges shall abide by the principles and procedure as applicable to them in accordance with these regulations,” the regulation said. It said CEA will formulate communication planning criterion and guidelines for development of reliable communication system for power system of India duly considering requisite route redundancy, capacity, as well as requirements of smart grid and cyber security. The CERC further said CEA will constitute and notify a Standing Committee for communication system in power sector. The Standing Committee will be responsible for preparing a perspective plan for communication duly considering optimal utilization of transmission assets for communication purposes having regards to the transmission planning carried out by CEA through Standing Committee on Power System Planning. The committee will also monitor and facilitate timely completion of schemes and projects for improving and augmenting the associated communication system along with transmission system in the power sector. Kemal Ishmael Authentic Jersey
Right-wing opposition parties plan to merge in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta
The Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta signed a tentative agreement on Thursday to merge, creating a unified right-wing opposition to the ruling New Democratic Party. The United Conservative Party could provide a serious challenge in the next provincial election, due in 2019, to Premier Rachel Notley’s left-leaning NDP, which was helped by divisions on the right when it swept to power in 2015. Alberta is home to Canada’s vast oil sands and is the largest exporter of crude to the United States. But it has been struggling with a three-year slump in global oil prices and a C$10.3 billion ($7.57 billion) deficit. The energy industry is likely to welcome unification of the right, with the new party eager to develop policies aimed at cutting costs for the oil and gas sector. Jason Kenney and Brian Jean, leaders of the PC and Wildrose parties, have both pledged to scrap unpopular environmental regulations, including carbon taxes and the phase-out of coal-fired power plants. “The first act of a United Conservative government will be the carbon tax repeal act, the first job will be restarting Alberta’s economy, restoring investor confidence, getting jobs back to our province,” Kenney told a news conference in the provincial capital, Edmonton, where he and Jean signed an agreement to start the merger process. Both parties will ask members to vote on the proposed merger in coming weeks. Once approved, the new party will hold a contest to elect a new leader, in which both Kenney and Jean have said they will take part. Some voters in the traditionally right-wing western province say NDP policies like higher corporate taxes and a cap on oil sands emissions have exacerbated the downturn by making Alberta less attractive to potential investors. In recent months, international oil majors have sold off billions in oil sands assets and Canada has not made any progress on building new crude export pipelines. A February poll by Mainstreet/Postmedia showed the Wildrose Party had 38 percent support among decided and leaning voters, while the PC party had 29 percent and the NDP 23 percent. “If the election was today, they (the NDP) would be sunk and defeating a unified conservative party would be very difficult,” said Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary. “Some people are blaming the entire economic downturn on the NDP, even though it was occurring before they were elected.” The PC party ruled Alberta for 44 years until 2015, while the Wildrose Party was formed in 2008 because of dissatisfaction with the PCs. The two parties have a combined 30 seats in the Alberta legislature, versus 55 for the NDP. Any move to scrap the carbon tax would cause tensions with the federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which says it will impose a tax on provinces that do not move independently to meet binding targets set by Ottawa to combat emissions. Robert Alford Jersey
Iran and India further talks on oil and gas cooperation, Farzad B Gas field
India and Iran carried forward talks on the contentious Farzad B Gas field row with a high-profile delegation from India, headed by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar met with Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh in Tehran on Tuesday to further discussions on oil and gas cooperation. Iran is headed for its first round of presidential elections today and the current President Hassan Rouhani has been trying to attract investor interest in various sectors including oil and gas. The Iranian government has been working on a new framework called the Iran Petroleum Contract that would permit foreign investors to form joint ventures lasting up to 25 years. According to a report by Iran’s news agency SHANA, development of Iran’s Farzad B gas field by India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and its financing model were discussed in the meeting between the Indian and Iranian delegation. “Senior officials from the both countries are firmly determined to finalize talks on development of Farzad B Gas Field by OVL,” SHANA quoted Amir Hossein Zamani-nia, deputy petroleum minister in international affairs and trading, as saying after the meeting. The high level delegation discussed development of the Farzad B gas field in the meeting and it was decided that OVL officials will meet with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) managing director Ali Kardor and his assistant Gholamreza Manouchehri to resolve the various issues on the project. Other highlights of the meeting included working out methods for sending Iran’s natural gas to India. Farzad B gas field was discovered by OVL in the Farsi block about 10 years ago. The project has so far cost the OVL-led consortium, which also includes Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), over $80 million. Iran was initially unhappy with the $10 billion plan submitted by OVL for development of the 12.5 trillion cubic feet reserves in Farzad-B field and an accompanying plant to liquefy the gas for transportation in ships. The field in the Farsi block has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 tcf, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. Eric Fehr Authentic Jersey
HPCL to set up Rs 6 billion bio-ethanol unit in Bathinda
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) has roped in Engineers India Ltd (EIL), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for setting up India’s first second generation (2G) ethanol bio-refinery in Bathinda at a cost of Rs 600 llion. The proposed capacity of the plant will be 100 kilolitres of ethanol per day and may use sugarcane, biomass and other agricultural residues like rice-straw, wheat stubble and maize residue for the production of ethanol. It will also help in reducing CO2 emissions from the paddy straw, which is currently burnt after harvesting. The bio-refinery will also produce about 32,000 tonne of bio-fertiliser per annum which can be used as a soil nutrient. Apart from this, the plant will also yield bio-CNG, which can be used as fuel for cooking and vehicles. The unit is likely to use around 400 tonne of agriculture residue per day or 128000 ton of biomass as fuel to produce around 100 KL ethanol per day. “Since this is the first-of-its-kind project in India, we are taking utmost care to turn it into a reality. We have entrusted EIL for detailed feasibility report. They will submit the report within two months. We have also signed an MoU with DBT-ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology) for supply of technology,” a senior official said. “ICRISAT will conduct a viability study on various sources of ethanol in the state. We are exploring additional sources of ethanol besides sugarcane so as to cut our dependence on one particular source. ICRISAT will explore various sources such as biomass, rice straw, wheat stubble, maize residue and their availability plus viability for producing the ethanol,” he said. In order to reduce dependency on import of crude oil, Ethanol-Blending Programme (EBP) was announced by the Government of India on September 4, 2002. Initially, the mandate was for blending of 5% ethanol in Petrol, which was revised up to 10% on January 2, 2013. Ethanol is produced in India mainly from molasses and foodgrains, but out of total ethanol produced from molasses, only one-third is available for EBP and the rest is consumed by liquor and chemical industries. According to government data, only 3.2% ethanol blending could be achieved during 2015-16. The government is encouraging production of second generation (2G) ethanol from agricultural residues to provide additional source of income to farmers and address the growing environmental concerns and support the EBP programme. Josh Shaw Womens Jersey
ONMy Eco Energy to set up a network of franchise fuel bunks for biofuel Indizel
My Eco Energy plans to set up a network of franchisee operated fuel dispensing stations for its non-petroleum based fuel Indizel, which the company states can be safely used in diesel vehicles. The Indizel is made from renewable vegetable oils at a refinery in Singapore from inputs from Indonesia and Malaysia. This will be sold through a network of franchisee stations, Santosh Verma, Co-Founder of My Eco Energy, a Mumbai-based company, said. Addressing a press conference, Verma said, “Indizel is made from biodegradable products. It is not only a better alternative to conventional diesel but economical and suitable for vehicles as it offers better fuel efficiency, smoother ride and will be about Rs. 2 cheaper than the conventional diesel sold in fuel bunks.” The company, which has thus far invested about Rs. 500 million in the venture, has come up with innovative models for fuel dispensing stations, which includes traders, supermarkets, hotels and malls among others. The company fuel station models are multi-funtional and can be set up in their existing business premises or at a standalone facilities. It has different models for Urban, Semi-Urban and Highways for dispensing stations, he said. The fuel made of vegetable oils has low sulphur content of about 10 ppm (parts per million) as against higher ppm in conventional petroleum based fuels. “As we expand out network into some select States in the country and the volumes go up, we will look at potential of processing the fuel locally,” he said. Indizel meets European EN 590 Euro 6 and BIS (IS 1460) Bharat Stage VI fuel quality norms collating with World Wide Fuel Charter requirements, Verma said. Dallas Goedert Authentic Jersey
India’s Second-Biggest Gas Retailer Plans Buyouts for Expansion
The sole city gas distributor in India’s capital city is looking to buy out its partners in two joint ventures as it seeks to expand beyond New Delhi and its suburbs. Indraprastha Gas Ltd., which owns 50 percent in Central UP Gas Ltd. and Maharashtra Natural Gas Ltd., plans to wholly own both the joint ventures, Managing Director E.S. Ranganathan said in an interview. Indraprastha Gas plans to buy out its partners in the joint ventures — state-run GAIL India Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. — to drive the company’s expansion in western and central India. GAIL and BPCL officials weren’t immediately able to comment. “Our strategy consultant has suggested this as a first step, which will be presented to the board next week,” he said. “If these come through, then the expansion in western India can be through MNGL, central India by CUGL and northern India will be done by IGL,” he said. The acquisitions will help the country’s second-biggest gas distributor tap into a widening market as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration seeks to increase the share of the cleaner fuel to 15 percent by 2020 from 6.5 percent. The company is aiming to add a record 300,000 new piped gas customers in the year ending March as India pushes more urban households to use natural gas and help free up liquefied petroleum gas for rural users. Indraprastha Gas expects the acquisitions to boost sales volumes by 2.5 million cubic meters a day, against the 4.5 million it sells now in Delhi and its adjoining suburbs. The company aims to complete one of the acquisitions this year, Ranganathan said. It will fund the purchases with cash generated from existing operations. Indraprastha Gas has about 8 billion rupees ($123 million) in spare cash. “We have enough cash right now and we may not need to borrow,” he said. Noel Acciari Womens Jersey
Stage set for land pooling: Delhi government makes 89 villages urban areas
In a major development, the Delhi government has declared 89 villages here as urban areas which will help the authorities develop infrastructure projects in those localities. The Urban Development Department of the Delhi government issued a notification in this regard yesterday, after Lt Governor Anil Baijal approved the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) Land-Pooling Policy (LPP). The policy was stuck for around two years. After the approval of the LPP for the 89 villages, the Delhi government won’t need to buy land from the DDA for developing facilities such as electrical sub-stations, stadiums, industrial areas, old-age homes, hostels, schools, etc. The LPP is aimed at getting individuals or a group of land-owners – living in urban villages on Delhi’s periphery – to pool their land and hand it over to the DDA. The DDA will develop public infrastructure like roads on part of the pooled land and return a substantial portion of the plot to the owner. The returned portion of the land will have its value increased due to the development of infrastructure nearby. Sultanpur Dabas, Bazidpur Takran, Mukhmelpur, Neb Sarai, Baprola, Bakkarwala, Goela Khurd, Neelwal, Salahpur Majra are among the villages which have been declared as urban areas by the AAP government. The policy’s implementation assumes significance as the DDA’s Master Plan Delhi (MPD) 2021 proposes construction of 25 lakh housing units by 2021 for which 10,000 hectares of land will be required. As per DDA estimates, 2.5 lakh houses, including 50,000 EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) units, will require 1,000 hectare of land. Providing relief to small farmers, self-penalty on DDA for delays, and flexibility to farmers to trade their land or tie up with developers for land-pooling are some of the important features of the policy. Welcoming the move, BJP MLA and Opposition Leader in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta said the “historical” move would accelerate the process of providing affordable housing to 20 lakh families. “It would fill up Delhi’s infrastructural deficit that has led to cropping up of unauthorised colonies. The notification comes due to direct cognisance taken by the Delhi L-G,” Gupta said. Vadim Shipachyov Womens Jersey