Norway’s Statkraft, Bharat Light and Power JV commissions 5 mw solar power project
Statkraft BLP Solar Solutions, a joint venture between Norway’s State-owned utility Statkraft and Bharat Light and Power, has started generation at its 5 mw solar power plant in Karnataka, the company said in a statement Thursday. Statkraft BLP is in pact to sell power from this project to three clients in Karnataka, which include a five-star hotel in Bangalore, a subsidiary of a major German industrial conglomerate and a subsidiary of a German automobile parts manufacturer. The clients will be supplied solar power under the open access mechanism, the company said. The company has a strong pipeline of projects in multiple states in India and several clients are in conversation to procure solar solutions, said Statkraft BLP’s CEO Tejpreet Singh Chopra. The joint venture that was set up in 2015 has since then commissioned rooftop projects along with its first 5 mw solar plant. Statkraft also owns about 300 mw hydel capacity in India in a joint venture with Bhilwara Energy. Carlos Santana Authentic Jersey
NTPC to prepare DPR for 1600 MW thermal power project at Margherita
Assam chief minister Sarbanada Sonowal has asked NTPC to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed 1600 MW thermal power project at Margherita in Upper Assam. Sonwal held a meeting with Coal India Limited, NTPC and Assam Power Generation Company Limited to assess the modalities to set up the project. The state government also decided to engage NTPC to prepare the DPR for the power project. Coal India Limited would provide coal linkage to the project from North Eastern Coalfields. The 1600 MW power project at Margherita will have two units with an installed capacity of 800 MW each. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey
PMO steps in to give Dabhol Power Project new lease of life
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has stepped in to keep afloat Ratnagiri Gas and Power, the second avatar of the jinxed Dabhol power project. It has called a meeting of key stakeholders to resolve issues plaguing the company, convince the Railways to enter into a power purchase agreement, and expedite the demerger of the LNG division. Almost a decade after lenders and public sector companies revived the troubled project, RGGPL, with about Rs.8,000-crore debt, is dealing with a string of issues and PMO’s move can be a shot in the arm. On top of the agenda for the meeting that is scheduled to take place on March 4 is to resolve the issue relating to the power purchase agreement between the railways and the RGGPL which has seen a stalemate due to disagreement over pricing. The PMO may ask the Maharahstra state government to waive off state-wise transmission charges and transmission losses, and also waive off the tax on gas to the project to make the power more viable. The plan for the demerger of the LNG regasification unit from the power unit has been approved by lenders but certain issues raised by Power Finance Corporation and LIC have to be sorted out. The agenda for the meeting seeks PFC, which has loaned Rs.1,200 crore to RGGPL, to approve the demerger scheme and “separately deal with reconciliation issue of past dues”. It will also take up the modification on guarantee for bonds sought by LIC which has an exposure of around Rs.1,400 crore through these bonds. (LIC had funded some of the foreign creditors when the Dabhol account was reorganised by banks) “This is a stressed asset and we feel that now that the PMO has taken it up, the problems may ultimately get resolved and the power plant and LNG terminal would start operating successfully,” a top executive involved in the discussions said. The power pact between RGPPL and Indian Railways hit a roadblock as the latter wanted to pay not more than Rs.5 a unit (including the state-wise transmission charges) which the generator argued was unviable. “The Railways is currently drawing 500 mw from RGGPL and has agreed to continue with the quantity but the two parties are yet to reach a consensus on the tariff,” an executive involved in the negotiations said. The PMO is working on getting both the parties to agree to 500 mw of electricity at Rs.5.50 a unit for the power purchase agreement. Also, it is seeking Maharashtra government’s cooperation to waive off state-wise transmission charges and transmission losses, and value added tax or GST. Steve Nash Womens Jersey
India puts up poor show in generating solar power from rooftop panels
Shadowline: India puts up poor show in generating solar power from rooftop panels The aim is to produce 40 Giga Watt (GW) of energy through rooftop PV (photovoltaics). India has the current rooftop solar capacity of 1.1 GW. According to Credit Rating and Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL), only 11-12 GW of solar capacity would be added to the grid by 2022 at the current rate of its growth. India is set to be the world’s third-largest solar-power producing country this year. But major lacunae still exist in the sector, especially where generation of power from rooftop panels are considered. India’s policymakers hope to raise the country’s solar power capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW), utilising the Grid Connected Solar Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plant Scheme. The scheme was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 25 June 2014. India’s goal is to notch up 40% of the 100 GW through rooftop panels by 2022. But that seems to be a long shot, going by the current growth rate. The contradiction India has indeed made some headway as far as renewable energy is concerned. Consider these: *One location at Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district is expected to produce the world’s cheapest solar energy at Rs 2.97 a unit.The capacity: 750 megawatts. * The country added 9 GW solar power to the grid just about a month ago. *Adani Power recently completed building the world’s biggest solar park at Kamuthi, 90 km from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The rooftop segment though doesn’t share the growth story. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) cells would generate only 12-13 GW by 2022, according to an estimate by analytical firm Crisil. “Rooftop panels are currently generating 1 GW. To reach to 40 GW in 2022, production needs to grow by 36%. This seems highly unlikely under current circumstances,” said Pranav Master, associate director of Crisil Research. What is the bottleneck? The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) cites four reasons for the lack of growth: 1. Lack of awareness 2. Lengthy approval process 3. Frequent policy changes 4. Issues with distribution companies Karnataka has a relatively better record of rooftop PV installation. Even that state has paid for frequent shifting of goalposts by the government. In October 2013, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) announced a tariff of Rs 9.56/unit for rooftop power. It was available only to those who did not take the 30% subsidy provided by the central government. Those who had already benefitted from the subsidy would receive only Rs 7.20/unit. “These high rates attracted the attention of many. KERC was flooded with applications seeking permission to install rooftop solar PVs. However, KERC revised the tariff to Rs 7.08/ unit (without subsidy) and Rs 6.03/ unit (with subsidy) in May 2016. This effectively killed the enthusiasm among the masses,” Ulka Kelkar, a fellow at Climate Change, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) said. “The Union Government provides a 30% subsidy to encourage rooftop solar PVs. But lower tariffs discourage potential producers. As a result, the initiatives of the state and the central governments tend to compete and not complement each other,” Kelkar added. KERC’s rates are still the highest. A state like Uttarakhand doesn’t even have a policy to buy rooftop solar electricity. Madhya Pradesh shells out only Rs 2.5/unit. Is the target achievable? Government officials acknowledged the enormity of the task. However, they maintained that the 40 GW target was achievable. “We are going to make the whole process online. This would end red-tapism associated with installing a rooftop solar PV,” said Hiren Chandra Bora, under-secretary in charge of grid-connected rooftop solar PVs in the renewable energy ministry. “The government is also working towards providing cheap loan for the purpose,” he added. The government is also focusing on thousands of its own offices across the country. It has planned to install rooftop solar PVs over all offices by this month. The first phase of installing solar panels at the Presidential Estate was initiated on 10 February. It is aimed at generating 670 kilowatts solar energy. Will these measures be enough. Perhaps we need to wait for five more years to find out. Dante Pettis Jersey
In Odisha, 3.5 million homes yet to get electricity: Power minister
More than 35 lakh households in the state are yet to have electricity connection, the series of steps taken by both the Centre and state government notwithstanding. State energy minister Pranab Prakash Das on Tuesday informed the assembly that of the families living without power, 15 lakh belong to the below poverty line (BPL) category. He added that there are 984 villages where power connection has not reached yet. The minister said the state government has decided to provide electricity to all homes by 2019. He added that the Centre has given more than Rs 1,224 crore to cover the villages without electricity. Das said Ganjam, Koraput, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Balangir and Puri districts have more than one lakh BPL families who do not have electricity connection. He added that Rayagada district has 187 villages — the highest in the state — that are yet to get power. Kalahandi, Koraput, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts, each with more than 90 villages, face a similar situation. Jharsuguda, Puri, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsingpur, Kendrapada, Khurda and Sonepur are the districts where all villages have electricity. Charles Woodson Jersey
NTPC says generation grew 4.7 per cent so far this year
India’s largest power generator NTPC Ltd’s generation has grown by 4.7 per cent so far this year as compared with last year’s performance. The maharatna’s power generation till February this year stood at 251.036 billion units against 239.845 billion units in the previous financial year. NTPC said in February 2017 Korba stage II and Sipat Stage II achieved more than 100 per cent plant load factor. On 25th and 26th February, four commercial stages of NTPC stations achieved more than 100 per cent PLF on each day and out of 35 commercial stages of coal stations 17 and 14 stages achieved more than 90 per cent PLF respectively during the period. NTPC has total installed capacity of 48,143 Megawatt from its 19 coal based, 7 gas based, 10 solar PV, one hydro and nine subsidiaries and joint venture power stations. The company has capacity of over 23,000 MW under implementation at 23 locations across the country including 4,300 MW being undertaken by joint venture and subsidiary companies. NTPC’s First coal mine Pakri-Barwadih at Hazaribagh became operational in December 2016. First wind power project of NTPC- Rojmal wind energy project 50 MW is being set up in Gujarat. The 250 MW unit at NTPC’s first Power project in Bongaigaon has also has also been test sychronised recently. Brandon Fusco Authentic Jersey
Demonetisation helps discoms recover Rs2,875.42 crore in dues
Customers rushed to pay electricity bills in old currency notes in the days after the demonetisation move, helping power utilities clock an aggregate 13.6% increase in collections between 10 November and 15 December. According to information collated by state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and reviewed by Mint, total collections by India’s 55 electricity distribution firms or discoms during the period was Rs25,116.86 crore—Rs3,007.57 crore more than the Rs22,109.29 crore collected a year ago. Interestingly, of the total collections, Rs2,875.42 crore was paid to settle arrears. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 November invalidated Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes, which made up 86% of the currency in circulation by value, as part of his government’s fight against black money, counterfeiting and terror finance. However, power utilities were allowed to accept payments in old Rs500 notes till 15 December. (In the case of utilities in the national capital region, there is 10-year-old cap of Rs4,000 on cash payments). Some discoms saw a sharp spike in collections, as high as 251% in the case of North Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha and a 204% jump in collections for North Bihar Power Distribution Company. Also, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation and Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd saw a 97% increase in collections each. “There has been a sharp jump in the collections during the period and brought some relief to the discoms which have been under huge financial distress,” said a government official, requesting anonymity. Mint reported on 25 November about power distribution companies becoming unexpected beneficiaries of the move to demonetise large currency denominations with consumers rushing to pay their dues in old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes. “The collections by the discoms during the demonetisation period was good as the arrears have been paid,” said a senior PFC executive, who too requested anonymity. Ashok Haldia, managing director and chief executive officer of PTC India Financial Service Ltd, a lender to power sector said that UDAY has in general had a positive impact on the financial health and liquidity conditions of discoms. The payment track record of these has improved post UDAY, excepting of a very few. One needs to, however, wait for some more time for UDAY to impact performance improvements of discoms on a sustainable basis, said Haldia. State electricity boards have accumulated losses of around Rs3.5 trillion as on 31 March 2015, according to a second central government official, who too asked not to be named. Discoms are making turnaround efforts under UDAY, a debt restructure and efficiency improvement scheme launched in November 2015. UDAY mandates strict vigil on the finances and operations of SEBs. Queries emailed to the spokespersons of PFC and India’s power ministry on 26 February remained unanswered. Jakub Kindl Womens Jersey
Unit-4 at Mundra plant runs for record 600 days: Adani Power
Adani Power today claimed that its thermal unit at its 4,620 MW Mundra power plant has created a national record by running continuously for 600 days and generating 4,142.56 units of electricity. A unit of NTPC’s Vindhyachal power plant ran for 559 days previously, Adani Power said in a statement, citing industry data. At the time of going to press, the unit is still operational and continues to create a new generation record, it said. A comprehensive operational excellence and maintenance programme was institutionalised at all the plants to improve availability and reliability of the units and it has resulted in the uninterrupted operation of unit 4 for 600 days, the company said. “The continuous operations of the thermal unit without any interruption for such a long time is a huge feat considering the complexity of technology and scale of operations involved in it. “This goes out to reflect our commitment towards nation building by providing quality uninterrupted power supply. Given the performance track record, we are confident of achieving many such accomplishments in the coming future,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group in the statement. “A comprehensive Operational Excellence and Maintenance Programme has been institutionalised at all our plants to improve availability and reliability of the units and this has resulted in the uninterrupted operation of Unit 4 for 600 days. “Strict adherence to standard operating procedures, systematic skill development of operations team through training, knowledge sharing and implementation of best in class maintenance processes and technology were the key factors which have resulted in this achievement,” Vneet Jaain, CEO, Adani Power said. The Mundra power plant operates nine units out of which five are supercritical units of 660 MW each and four are sub-critical units of 330 MW each taking the total generation of the power plant to 4,620 MW. Danny Shelton Jersey
Wind power auction: PTC India to facilitate 1,000 Mw electricity trade
PTC India Ltd, India’s largest power trading company, will act as the trading partner for sale and purchase of power from wind power projects selected through the government’s first-ever auction of wind power projects of 1,000 Megawatt capacity. PTC will be the nodal entity for supplying power to utilities after entering into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with successful bidders. With the just concluded wind power auction fixing the tariff at Rs 3.46 per unit for 25 years, the stage is now set for wind power to emerge as a credible renewable power source in the country, PTC said in a statement. The auction will allow non-windy states to get wind based power from states that are rich in wind resources. The competitively discovered price at Rs 3.46 per unit is an outcome of expected optimization in project cost, machines efficiency and payment counter party risk. The projects are expected to be commissioned in eighteen months. Solar Energy Corporation (SECI), which conducted the auction, is expected to allow 1,050 MW at the cut-off price and issue Letter of Interest (LoI). “We are the nodal trading partner for renewable resources based power generation, which is the energy for the future. We expect the share of renewables in overall power generation to steadily rise in the coming years as more and more solar and wind projects start producing power. The competitively priced wind power will encourage consumers to switch to cleaner sources of energy,” said Deepak Amitabh, Chairman and Managing Director, PTC India. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had formulated the scheme for procurement of power from large wind power projects in June 2016 to enable non-windy States to meet their non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) by buying wind power connected to inter-state transmission grid, thereby enlarging the wind power market. Unlike conventional power, where fuel charges escalate each year, the discovered tariff in the wind auction is constant throughout the life of the projects, around 25 years. Looking at the attractive tariffs, a few state utilities have expressed interest in purchasing wind power under this scheme. Riley Sheahan Jersey
Modi govt plans Buy Indian policy
To promote its flagship Make In India programme, the government is proposing its own version of the US’s Buy American policy through a national government procurement policy, according to a government official familiar with the plan. The policy being considered involves purchases of Rs2 trillion a year but doesn’t include defence equipment. Under the proposed policy, the central government will provide special preference to companies producing in India; this could be in the form of a relaxation in turnover and experience conditions as well as price preference in products and services it is buying for its own use. The purchases could range from mobile phones and computers to stationery and medicines, and even steel or aluminium for government and railway projects. When implemented, the scheme, which is compliant with the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), will incentivise companies to manufacture in India, given the scale of government purchases. The central government estimates that the purchases could be around Rs2 trillion a year. That number will grow once state governments, municipal bodies and government educational institutions start doing the same. A group of secretaries, headed by commerce secretary Rita Teaotia, made the recommendation earlier this month and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is believed to have signed off on it. The commerce ministry is now giving final touches to the policy, after which the expenditure department in the finance ministry will notify it. “The recommendation to the prime minister was that the Make In India policy has to be government-wide and that one of the tools (for this) is government procurement. We have a powerful tool (for this) which is compliant with WTO rules,” added the government official who asked not to be identified. Under WTO rules, if government is buying for itself and not for commercial purpose, then it may provide preference to domestic products. In the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission case which India lost to the US at the WTO, the country was planning to impose mandatory local content requirements on solar power developers who would sell power on commercial basis. The US follows a similar policy under the Buy American Act, 1933, under which it prefers US-made products for government purchases. The new e-market platform GEM (Government e-Market) which is used to procure goods and services for the government in a transparent manner will be used to roll out the new policy. “We can emphasize preference for domestic products in government procurements and we can monitor its implementation across ministries through the GEM platform,” the official said. Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman, Hero Corporate Service Pvt. Ltd, described the plan as “bold” and said it would help create “100 million jobs”. “ It is a big boost for Make in India,” he added. Both Indian companies and multinationals which have been in India for some time and have significant manufacturing facilities in the country would benefit, said Venugopal Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Industries. “In consumer durables, production is largely happening in Thailand and they get imported here at zero duty. With this move, they will be forced to manufacture them here in order to supply to the government. It seems like the Modi government is standing by its objective of promoting local industry,” he added. Daniel Sedin Authentic Jersey