Actis sets aside $500 million for renewable energy projects in India
Private equity fund Actis Capital, which has just completed raising $2.75 billion, has earmarked $500 million for investing in India’s wind and solar projects, according to industry sources. Actis completed its fourth energy fund a couple of days back. It had targeted $2 billion, but ended up with $2.75 billion upon oversubscription. In a press release, Actis’s Partner and Co-head of energy business, Mikael Karlsson, notes that “as the leading growth market investor in the energy sector, we have never seen a more compelling market opportunity.” In 2013, Actis had raised $1.5 billion for its ‘Actis Energy 3’. A substantial part of it has been invested in India. In a parallel development, it is learnt that Actis has appointed Gaurav Sood as its CEO. Sood was the Managing Director of SolaireDirect, the French company that made news when it won a 5-MW solar project in December 2011, quoting a then record low price of ?7.49 a kWhr. SolaireDirect has since been taken over by the French utility Engie. Actis is an old hand in India, and has funded several renewable energy projects in the country in the last decade. One of its larger investees is Ostro Energy, which was in the news last month, having won 250 MW of solar in Madhya Pradesh auctions last month, quoting a price of ?3.29 a kWhr, (averaged over 25 years.) Actis is very aggressive in India, said an industry source, who requested not to be named. It intends to build a renewable energy portfolio of 2 GW, mostly solar — in addition to Ostro. Colby Rasmus Jersey
Electricity And Elections In India
Prime Minister Modi’s ‘if electricity is supplied during Ramzan, it should also be supplied during Diwali’ remark during the Fatehpur rally in Uttar Pradesh received considerable flak from all sections of society, for its communal undertones. While of course the PM’s remarks are surprising, but what is unfortunately most amusing is how long ‘providing electricity’ has been on the agenda of political parties – for State and General elections. For a country aspiring to be amongst other developed nations in the world, it is ironic that in so many years since independence, government after government has failed to keep up its promise of providing electricity. Having grown up in a house where elections have always been closely followed and newspapers religiously read, I have during every State and General election heard contestants talk about providing electricity. Two decades later, it’s 2017 and parties are still promising the people of their constituencies the same. Not just local MLAs, but electricity is what even Chief Ministers and the Prime Minister of the country are making promises of in their campaign rallies and speeches. Electricity is a development indicator and critical for India’s economic growth. It is estimated that 7 per cent of the GDP is lost due power cuts, thus it is imperative that to keep the momentum of growth going, the country have uninterrupted power supply. Of the 1.4 billion people in the world who have no access to electricity, India accounts for over 300 million. It is the world’s third largest producer and fourth largest consumer of electricity. Despite poor hydro electricity generation, in 2015, India became a power surplus nation with huge electric power generation capacity, but despite that the country uses only half of what it generates. The provision of electricity is shared responsibility between the central and state governments, with states having considerable freedom to set electricity prices, the average subsidy level and the beneficiaries of the cross-subsidisation. Political parties in the past and for the ongoing State elections have been promising 24 hours of electricity supply in their respective constituencies. PM Modi during his campaign rallies for the 2014 General elections claimed that if elected, he would ensure ‘power for all.’ It was also in this year that the World Bank ranked India as having the world’s largest un – electrified population. While the present government has made some progress towards fulfilling its promise for ‘power for all’, India’s most marginalised citizens still have no access power. At present, 30 per cent of villages are yet to be electrified, with sharp variation across the country. Less than half of the rural households in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Nagaland and Jharkhand receive electricity; while Uttar Pradesh, in comparison to Bihar has more electrified rural households. In other big states such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan almost 75 per cent of rural households have electricity. Part of the explanation for this disparity among states is the varying income levels and population density; with low-income, densely-inhabited states performing worse than average. The AAP’s manifesto for the Punjab Elections too carries promises of cheaper electricity, in the State. While in UP, the SP seeking re-election has promised 24 hours of power supply to domestic consumers in urban and rural settings. There has also been news of the JD (U) planning to contest in the upcoming municipal elections in Delhi, with the hope of cornering AAP on the issue of electricity among others. From the manifestos of the various parties and the points raised during campaign rallies, it is evident how fundamental electricity is to the campaign rhetoric, as well as how it used to garner votes. Thus it is worth pondering upon why despite being a power surplus nation, large parts of the country are yet to be electrified. For over two decades, political parties in India have continued their vote bank politics over electricity, which is not just hitting the common man, but also hampering the GDP of the country. It is also important to note that not just false promises, but also infrastructural deficiencies such as poor metering, inefficient billing and collection, inadequate investment, high transmission and distribution losses and regular power outages are also contributing factors to why several parts of the country remain un-electrified. Theses infrastructural deficiencies are also a key weakness for the country’s energy sector. The World Energy Outlook Special Report (2015) concluded that ‘India’s ties with the international energy systems are set to deepen, intensifying India’s dependence and influence on international markets, through trade, investment, clean technology cooperation and other channels.’ However, these energy systems which are ‘set to deepen’ do not seem to improve within the country. Thus the question arises of whether energy systems in India are incapable of providing electricity for all its systems or is it the lack of political will which hampers the electrification of the entire country. Union Minister of State for Power, Piyush Goyal following the 2017 budget proudly claimed that India has become a ‘power surplus’ nation, despite 30% of rural households remaining un – electrified. It now remains to be seen whether the Narendra Modi led government will fulfil its promise of ‘power for all’ before the 2019 general elections or if electricity for all will continue to remain only an ‘election campaign’ for another two decades.
Solar-powered trains are closer to reality than we might think
How can we connect solar photovoltaics (PV) directly to railways to power electric trains? That’s the question my charity 10:10 and researchers at Imperial College’s Energy Futures Lab are trying to answer. Electric trains are by far the best long distance transport mode when it comes to carbon emissions – at least when their electricity comes from renewable sources like solar or wind. But the UK’s ageing power network poses a significant challenges to any bid to decarbonise road and rail that relies on the grid. There are now swathes of the British countryside where it is impossible to plug in any new solar, wind or hydropower without being hit with a whopping bill for the full costs of local network reinforcement. Faced with this constraint, and squeezed by government subsidy cuts, UK solar developers have started to focus on ways to generate power directly for consumption, rather than exporting it to the grid. With the right customers, solar developers can offer lower tariffs than the grid, while still earning more for their power than they would get from exporting it. Solar giant Lightsource, for example, recently signed a 25 year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Belfast airport that underwrote a neighbouring £5m solar farm, using a private wire to supply a quarter of the airport’s electricity needs. Why solar and trains are perfect match As an industrial client with high on-site daytime energy use and a structural reason to stay put, Network Rail has all of the features needed to support this kind of approach. The UK’s electrified rail routes have all of the features needed to support this kind of PPA-based renewable development, and more. Network Rail is the UK’s single largest electricity consumer, with internal decarbonisation targets and a strong incentive to reduce operational energy costs. Alongside Transport for London (London’s largest electricity consumer), these companies spend around £500m every year on traction power for their trains. There are already over 5,500km of electrified tracks in the UK, with a major electrification programme building or converting hundreds more over the coming decades. Early indications suggest it should be possible to connect virtually anywhere on the approximately one-third of this network that uses the direct current (DC) traction power system, unlocking access to thousands of potential new sites that have previously been out of bounds to new renewables. What’s more, the universe apparently wants this to happen: the standard operating voltage of the third and fourth rail DC routes is 630v-750v, while the standard output voltage of a solar PV array tends to be between 600v and 800v. This serendipity makes the engineering challenge of connecting the two look very manageable, and the likely cost of the power interface equipment competitive with typical grid connection costs. Conversion of renewable DC to grid alternating current (AC) results in something like 3% of the electricity being wasted, so supplying DC power direct to trains saves that loss too. Some of these DC routes already suffer from “under-powering”, meaning train operators cannot add more passenger capacity to these routes because the grid cannot supply the extra electricity needed to power the trains. At scale, our innovation could solve this problem as well. Solar trains in India While our project has been driven by the UK context, direct connection of solar to railways will be a world first that has far wider potential application. Globally, most city metros around the world run on rail systems at 750V. If connection to AC overhead lines also proves viable through our work, then the market potential goes well beyond city metros. For instance, analysts have identified inadequate distribution and transmission infrastructure as a key obstacle to realising India’s aggressive target of 100GW of solar PV capacity by 2022. But India already has over 25,000km of electrified tracks, and an electrification target of 2,000km of new tracks every year. If our innovation means India can power its railways directly with trackside solar then we will have made a huge contribution to the global project to keep fossil fuels in the ground. In the UK, if our feasibility study proves successful, the next step will be to prove the concept with a handful of real-world pilot projects. For this, we’re working with members of the Community Energy South umbrella group of renewable energy co-operatives to identify promising sites where they could install a megawatt or two of trackside solar. Our vision here is to bring local people, commuters and rail employees together to crowdfund investment in these pioneering projects, sharing the financial rewards of progress in the low carbon transition as widely as possible. Andrew Whitworth Authentic Jersey
Price of solar power may fall further in FY18
Solar power generation costs are set to dip further during third and fourth quarter of 2017-18, helped by expected softening of interest rates and a drop in solar panel prices due to a supply glut in the international market, analysts say. Solar power costs had hit a low of Rs 3.30 per unit last month, which is equal to average generation tariffs of NTPC, which produces bulk of its power from coal. NTPC’s lowest cost of generation from one of its old plant is around Rs 1.80 per unit, but on an average solar power prices are expected to become significantly lower than thermal power as solar generation prices fall further. “Interest rates are expected to soften this year thus bringing down cost of generation of solar power plants. This would thus bring down generation tariffs further from the new low achieved in February,” said Sabyasachi Majumdar, senior vice president at ICRA Ratings. In February, solar tariffs in the country touched a low of Rs 2.97 per unit for the first year of generation and an average tariff of Rs 3.30 per unit at a bidding for solar plants at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. According to analysts, interest rates may fall by at least 25 basis points this year. “Solar module prices are expected to continue declining in 2017 as global supply continues to exceed demand,” said Vinay Rustagi, managing director at Bridge to India. “As the largest supplier and installer of solar modules, China will continue to drive global pricing. Many leading global solar panel suppliers have seen their share prices fall by 30-50% in the last year,” he said. “The second quarter is typically the year’s busiest period in China so we expect to see some hardening in prices in Q2, followed by a steep decline in third and fourth quarters,” Rustagi said. He said India’s demand for solar panels is expected to be 20% lower than in 2016. The country is expected install 28 GW of generation capacity in 2017, down from a record 34 GW in 2016. He said demand for solar panels has been falling in Japan and Europe while the rooftop solar market in the US seemed to be losing steam as tussles with state utilities continue. “This means that even with lower pricing and rapid demand growth in developing countries such as India, global demand is expected to be nearly stagnant in 2017 at about 75 GW even as capacity continues to go up. Several large suppliers have announced significant expansions and we estimate year end global manufacturing capacity at over 100 GW,” Rustagi said. Morgan Moses Jersey
Tata Power-DDL plans to set up 1000 electric charging stations
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd today said it is planning to install 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations in next four to five years in Delhi. The company plans to set up these charging stations at various locations in North and North-West Delhi and is already in discussions with Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for space. “We have already put five of them at our grid stations and plan to put 1,000 of them at various locations (in four to five years),” Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (Tata Power-DDL) CEO and MD Praveer Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of a function here today. “So, we are in discussions with MCD, DMRC for space where the two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers can be parked and charged. I think they (vehicle owners) need space where they can park their vehicles and charge it for six to eight hours,” he said. “We carried out the study (for the proposed 1,000 stations) and also got the mapping done,” Sinha said. Refusing to share investment details, Sinha said it was very difficult to give a number as the proposal was at a very niche stage. However, he said that for setting up a fast charging station the cost involved is around one lakh while for a slow charging station an investment of Rs 50,000 is required. “At present for our five stations we charge normal domestic rate,” he said. The company, he said, has also communicated with the government in this regard. “We told them (government) that we will set up charging infrastructure…They (government) need not worry about charging infrastructure. That we will take care,” he said. Asserting that the sale of electric two wheelers has increased marginally in last one year, Sinha said “we ourselves are very keen that electric vehicles should be promoted.” Tata Power-DDL is a joint venture between Tata Power and the government of Delhi with the majority stake being held by the power firm. Tata Power-DDL distributes electricity in the North and North-West of Delhi. John Jerry Authentic Jersey
Foreign power equipment: Should the domestic industry lobby be worried on grid security?
The domestic power industry lobby has once again raised concerns over the use of Chinese gear in the Indian powergrid projects and electrical power systems. The increasing use of Chinese products and technology is a serious concern at a time when the transmission grid and distribution infrastructure is becoming increasingly intelligent but more vulnerable too, the lobby claims. In a recent letter to the power ministry, New Delhi-based Indian Electrical and Electronics Foreign power equipment: Should the domestic industry lobby be worried on grid security? Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) highlighted what it calls a “security threat” to critical power infrastructure with increased use of foreign automation and communication systems being introduced for operation and management of the electricity grid. “Malware and spyware in these communicable devices can be activated any time even by remote. In the connected systems, intelligent equipment talk to each other and exchange data and information making the system more efficient, but at the same time increasing the vulnerability, if exposed to suspect individuals, companies and nations which may use such access to their advantage,” IEEMA said. This is not the first time the domestic industry has raised the issue. The industry has a long history of flagging such concerns – over issues ranging from low cost and cheap quality to spyware now. The imported equipment may come with spyware with the potential to damage or cause failure or collapse of the entire power grid, the industry body says. These concerns surface on the background of the massive grid collapse faced by India in June 2012. The blackout had reportedly impacted nearly a third of the entire population. The government had later clarified the grid collapse was caused by supply and demand imbalances in the constituent regional grids and was not a result of any cyber attack. So, how do IT systems make a power grid vulnerable? Is the Indian grid infrastructure technologically equipped to counter cyber attacks? And, most importantly, how justified are the industry’s concerns? THE NATURE OF THE THREAT The concerns stem largely from the notion of geo-political rivalry between the two nations (India and China), says Sameer Patil, Director, Centre for International Security at “Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations”, a foreign policy think tank based in Mumbai. “We have border disputes with China. We have issues with the kind of cooperation they have with Pakistan and their activities in the Indian Ocean. So, it is always a possibility that they will bring that rivalry in the cyber domain,” ? Patil told ETEnergyWorld. Foreign power equipment: Should the domestic industry lobby be worried on grid security? Chinese firms are long known for supplying a large chunk of the Indian power generation equipment — including boilers, turbines and generators – and are mostly active at the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) level. Also, in the last two years, a few power utilities in states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Puducherry have awarded projects for implementation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems of 20 towns to a large Chinese firm. Chinese state-owned China Southern Power Grid International (HK Company Ltd) had in January submitted a proposal to build, own and operate power transmission networks in a consortium with CLP India Pvt Ltd. This was in response to bids called for three projects including transmission system for an ultra-mega solar park in Jaisalmer and two inter-regional transmission corridors. In the generation segment, of the total thermal capacity of 48,540 Megawatt commissioned in 11th Plan period (2007-12), main plant equipment for 18,187 Mw was supplied by Chinese manufacturers. During the 12th Plan, too, main plant equipment for 18,770 Mw of the total thermal capacity addition of 46,563 Mw was supplied by Chinese manufacturers. “Out of total thermal capacity of about 87,837 Mw under construction, main plant equipment for about 30,275 MW are being supplied by Chinese manufacturers,” Power minister Piyush Goyal had said in a written reply to a question in parliament last month. The huge presence of Chinese equipment and technology comes at a time the government is focussing on increasing the use of smart grids which use information technology to optimize power use and make the systems more efficient. A US network security company FireEye had last year released information identifying an ‘almost certainly’ Chinese group had attacked websites of more than 70 institutions in India in recent years using a script called “water main”. Foreign power equipment: Should the domestic industry lobby be worried on grid security? HOW DAMAGING COULD BE AN ATTACK ON THE GRID? Among the popular instances of attack on industrial control systems is the one caused by computer worm Stuxnet that attacked the cyberspace in 2010. Of the many countries infected, India had the third-highest damages. According to media reports, of the 10,000 infected Indian computers at the time, 15 were located at what are called ‘critical infrastructure’ facilities. These included the Gujarat and Haryana electricity boards and an offshore oil rig of state-owned petroleum explore Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). “This investigation actually resulted in the eye-opening revelation that India’s industrial control systems are susceptible like that of any other nation. It was indeed a matter of grave concern that the only known and documented attempt to compromise SCADA systems at a widespread scale had a substantial impact on India, including the organizations manning the utilities like power, hydroelectric and gas, etc,” cyber intelligence specialist Pukhraj Singh writes in a note. According to Sameer Patil, such attacks have the potential to damage or disrupt power equipment and shut down critical power grid systems which, in turn, could affect industries and lead to mass power outage. GLOBAL EXAMPLES India is not the only nation dealing with concerns over cyber security of the national grid — countries around the world have faced such threats. Australia had blocked a $7.5 billion deal a few months back to lease its biggest electricity grid to Chinese and Hong Kong investors citing “national security” concerns. China’s State Grid
NTPC commissions 45 MW capacity at Rajasthan solar project
State-run power giant NTPC today announced commissioning of 45 MW solar capacity at Bhadla in Rajasthan taking the total installed capacity of the project to 160 MW. “The 45 MW of Bhadla solar power project of NTPC in Rajasthan has been commissioned today. With this, the installed capacity of Bhadla solar power project has become 160 MW and that of NTPC’s solar power projects has become 520 MW,” a senior official said. Last month, NTPC had commissioned 115 MW capacity out of the 260 MW Bhadla solar power project. NTPC has planned capacity addition of about 1,000 MW through renewable resources by 2017. The official further said that with commissioning of this additional solar capacity of 45 MW at Bhadla, the total installed capacity of NTPC Group has reached to 48,188 MW, NTPC has 10 solar PV projects. In Dadri it is of 5 MW, The Andaman & Nicobar project is of 5 MW, Ramagundam (10 MW), Talcher Kaniha (10 MW), Faridabad (5 MW), Unchahar (10 MW), Rajgarh (50 MW), Singrauli (15 MW), Anantapuram (250 MW) and Bhadla (160 MW). NTPC intends to become a 130-GW company up to 2032 with a with diversified fuel mix and a 600 billion units company in terms of generation. The company wants share of renewable energy (including hydro) to be 28 per cent. Last year in January, solar power tariff had dropped to a new low with Finland-based energy firm Fortum Finnsurya Energy quoting Rs 4.34 a unit to bag the mandate to set up a 70 MW solar plant under NTPC’s Bhadla solar park tender. Last month, lower capital expenditure and cheaper credit had pulled down solar tariff to a new low of Rs 2.97 per unit in an auction conducted for 750 MW capacity in Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh. In November 2015, the tariff had touched Rs 4.63 per unit following aggressive bidding by US-based SunEdison, the world’s biggest developer of renewable energy power plants. NTPC has total installed capacity of 48,188 MW from its 19 coal based, 7 gas-based, 10 solar PV, one hydro and 9 subsidiaries/Joint Venture power stations. Marquette King Jersey
Government to attract $62 billion investment from Indian and foreign companies
The government, along with Invest India, its investment promotion agency is talking to almost 300 companies, incuding Indian and foreign both, so that they can be convinced to invest $62 billion (over Rs 4 lakh crore) in India, while also creating over 17 lakh jobs. Chinese companies are already planning to invest around $32 billion in India, therefore nearly half the flows that the indian government is looking at are from China. This is also expected to slow down the massive flow of imports from the neighbouring country. One of the companies, the one that is on top of India’s list is Sany, with a possible investment of nearly $10 billion in the wind power space. Other than that, there are real estate and construction companies like Dalian Wanda Group, SAIC, Lifan Motors and Fosun Pharma. DIPP , in the recent past, has contacted over 150 companies for investments, some of which have little or no presence in the country, while some, like Cisco and H&M , have a foothold in India that can be strengthened. Because of the Chinese economy slowing down, Chinese investors are thinking of India as a possible investment destination that could reap profits. Craig Anderson Jersey
Rs 2,000 crore for energy; focus on solar panels
With a focus on solar energy, the Delhi government has allocated Rs 2,194 crore for the energy sector in its Budget for the coming fiscal year. Out of the total expenditure for the next fiscal, Rs 1,600 crore has been set aside for power subsidy to domestic consumers, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday while presenting the Budget. Under the subsidy scheme, in the last two years, domestic consumers consuming electricity up to 400 units per months are getting electricity at half rate. According to the Delhi economic survey tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday, power consumption in the national capital has recorded an annual growth of approximately 3.39 per cent. “Due to limitation of space in Delhi, a massive programme for developing rooftop solar power capacity has been launched. Delhi is targeting for 1,000 MW solar photovoltaic installations in 5 years and 2,000 MW till 2025,” Mr Sisodia said. The government has introduced generation-based incentive of Rs 2 per unit (kWh) for domestic consumers for installation of solar photovoltaic power plant. In another environment-friendly measure, it has made mandatory for all public buildings having rooftop area more than 500 square meters to install solar panels. Waste-to-energy plants with a total capacity of 52 MW have been approved at Okhla, Ghazipur and Bawana to overcome the problem of disposal of municipal solid waste. A waste-to-energy plant of 16 MW is already operational at Okhla. It is India’s largest integrated waste management project with a capacity to dispose and process 2000 tonnes garbage per day, Mr Sisodia said. Jean-Francois Jacques 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. Shea Weber Womens Jersey