China targets 2020 renewable power output of 1.9 trillion kilowatt hour
China is targeting renewable energy output of 1.9 trillion kilowatt hour (KWh) by 2020, accounting for 27 percent of the country’s total power output, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in its latest five-year plan for renewable energy on Friday. The country aims to have installed renewable power capacity of 680 gigawatts (GW) by 2020, NDRC said. China has released a series of plans for its power industry, pledging to limit coal-fired power and further develop renewables supplies. Melker Karlsson Womens Jersey
Andhra Pradesh power utility bags top spot in energy conservation in India
City-based Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP Limited (APEPDCL) bagged the top spot in energy conservation among all 44 distribution companies in the country. The union ministry of power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines announced the results at the National level Energy Conservation Day celebrations held in New Delhi on Wednesday. APEPDCL CMD MM Nayak received the prize from union minister of power Piyush Goyal. Speaking to TOI, Nayak said the discom received the award due to the several energy conservation schemes and measures it has implemented in its jurisdiction. “We have been able to save nearly 626.18 MU (million units) of power since the introduction of those schemes from 2015-16 fiscal. We hope that the savings will cross more than 1,000 MU from the next fiscal. This year, we consumed nearly 12,006 MU of power from April to November against nearly 16,000 MU in previous fiscal,” he said. Meanwhile, a senior official from APEPDCL said, “Distribution of 79.20 lakh LED bulbs to 39.60 lakh consumers in five districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and West Godavari helped us save energy up to 644.10 MU from February 2015 to November 2016. This apart, the discom saved nearly 0.88 MU by distributing 38,730 five-star rated fans to its consumers in Narsapuram in West Godavari district on a pilot basis.” “We now plan to distribute five-star rated fans to eligible consumers in the remaining areas under the discom’s jurisdiction from the next financial year,” Nayak added. Coming to the Rooftop Solar Net Metering programme, Nayak said APEPDCL saved 7,78,320 units of power per month by synchronising 5.405MW of power to the AP Grid. Similarly, the discom saved 20.65 MU by installing 2,978 solar agriculture pump sets in the discom limits. “By installing 1,93,540 LED street lights in five districts, the discom saved 25.35 MU of power in a year,” Nayak said, adding that the discom was still continuing to incur only 5.48% transmission and distribution losses, which is the best in the country. Hines Ward Authentic Jersey
India needs aggressive energy policy for sustained 9-10 per cent GDP growth: Amitabh Kant
India requires an aggressive energy policy that promotes domestic manufacturing and cuts down import dependence to ensure sustained 9-10 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate over years, NITI Aayog Chief Executive Amitabh Kant said. Such a policy is essential to boost the share of the manufacturing sector in the country’s GDP to 25 per cent, he said speaking at an oil and gas industry event. “The need is to grow at 9-10 percent year-on-year for three decades to lift the young above the poverty line. For this, we will have to drive manufacturing sector to about 25 per cent of GDP. We will need a very aggressive energy policy for this,” Kant said. He added the nation needs to work on a consistent, predictable and clear policy framework which stands the test of time to attract investments in the oil and gas sector. “The key pillars of Make in India initiative in the energy sector is discovering oil and gas rather than importing, indigenously manufacturing the equipment used in the sector and developing in-house expertise in our own companies to provide the necessary services, technology and manpower required in this high-tech industry.” India’s indigenous crude oil production fell 3.3 percent to 713 Thousand Tonne (TMT) in the first seven months of the current fiscal as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal. Crude oil imports rose more than 8 per cent to 125 Million Tonne (MT) in the April-October period. Kant also pointed out India’s approach for promoting Make in India in the petroleum sector is to bring global companies to India and make it rewarding to discover oil and gas in the country. “Unless we allow these companies to create wealth, India will not be able to create wealth in this sector,” he said, adding it is very important to create an incentive structure which is at par with international standards. India’s hydrocarbon sector received Rs 677 crore worth of foreign investments last financial year, according to data available with the oil ministry. The investment inflows are expected to grow tenfold in the present fiscal primarily due to the acquisition of Essar Oil and its Vadinar refinery by Russia’s oil major Rosneft. The acquisition is estimated to be around Rs 72,800 crore in value. The NITI Aayog CEO also expressed pleasure at Mumbai developing into an Information Technology centre for global petroleum players including Schlumberger and CGT Petroleum. He said the idea of Make in India for the oil and gas sector will fructify when foreign and Indian companies come together to explore, discover, refine and market oil and gas and tap India’s potential based on suitable and consistent policy framework. Darqueze Dennard Authentic Jersey
State slips to 3rd position in solar power generation
After losing its top rank to Rajasthan last year, Gujarat has now slipped further to end at third position in commissioned solar power capacity. Rapid capacity addition by Tamil Nadu helped the state to topple both Rajasthan and Gujarat from their respective top ranks. According to the Union ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), Tamil Nadu has topped the list with solar power capacity of 1,555.41 MW as on October 31, 2016, while Rajasthan stands at second position, with 1,301.16 MW and Gujarat third with 1,138.19 MW. “The capacity addition in Gujarat has slowed down because the state already has surplus power and it has also been able to meet its renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target,” said Pranav Mehta, co-chairman, Global Solar Council. “On the other hand, Tamil Nadu has aggressively installed solar capacity to promote green energy and meet its RPO target,” Mehta said. RPO mandates states to purchase specified amounts of power from solar plants. The RPO for Gujarat is 1.75% of total power demand in state. Tamil Nadu has jumped to top from the fourth position in January 2016 when its capacity at 418.94 MW. The Adani group commissioned a 648 MW solar power plant, said to be the world’s largest at a single location, at Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu in September this year. Gujarat had been the leader in solar power generation for years. It lost the first spot to Rajasthan in 2015. With states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Rajasthan having solar plants with huge capacity under pipeline, Gujarat is unlikely to retain at the top much longer. “Solar power plants with capacity of 3,376 MW are under planning in Karnataka as on date. The capacity of pipeline plants in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan is 2,418 MW, 1,494 MW, and 1,206 MW respectively. While the same is 300 MW for Gujarat,” said KK Bajaj, a city-based energy expert. Experts feel Gujarat can do a lot more in solar space. “Gujarat needs to be more ambitious in this segment of renewable energy as the state has potential to export green power to other states,” said Mehta. James Hurst Jersey
Power Ministry to launch GARV-II app to ensure power access to all
To ensure transparency in implementation of rural electrification programme, the Power Ministry will launch a new app, GARV-II, to provide real time data of all six lakh villages of the country. “Earlier version of GARV mobile phone application used to provide data about rural electrification regarding 18,452 un-electrified villages. The new version GARV-II to be unveiled on Tuesday will provide real time data for all six lak villages in the country,” a senior official told PTI. The official further said, “Besides, the GARV-II will enable the commoners to participate in the development work and can give their input about rural electrification programme. Thus, the rural electrification work would be open to public scrutiny.” Under this facility, village-wise; habitation-wise base line data on household electrification for all states provided by them has been incorporated. Further, village-wise works sanctioned under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) have also been mapped to monitor progress of works in each village. The progress on various works will be updated by the implementing agencies of the states on day to day basis, the official said that a dashboard for Managing Directors and Superintending Engineers of DISCOMs has been provided for online monitoring. In ‘GARV’ the data of only 18452 un-electrified villages has been mapped and 12-stage milestone based monitoring mechanism has been put in place. Under ‘GARV-II’, the data in respect of all villages (about 6 Lakh) with more than 15 lakh habitations has been mapped for tracking progress on household electrification in each of the habitations of these villages. Further, the status of release of funds to the states for projects sanctioned under DDUGJY has also been incorporated in ‘GARV-II’, he added. GARV-II will have a citizen engagement window ‘SAMVAD’to enhance participation. They can contribute in the programme by providing their feedback and suggestions which shall be automatically forwarded to the concerned Managing Directors and Superintending Engineers of DISCOMs through SMS & Email on their dashboard. The official said that the objective of GARV-II is to ensure electricity access to all households as government has already electrified over 11,000 villages out of 18,452 un-electrified villages. Harold Landry Jersey
Power for all in Odisha by March 2019, says CM Naveen Patnaik
Even though around 40% families in the state are yet to get electricity connections, the state government on Friday announced to ensure 24×7 uninterrupted power supply for all households by March 2019. Reviewing the status of rural electrification here, chief minister Naveen Patnaik directed the energy department to complete electricity connections to remaining 1,318 habitations by May 2017. Then power will be supplied to individual households. He also directed the department to ensure electricity connections to all BPL households in next two years. Officials of the energy department informed the chief minister that electricity connection to all villages in Nuapada, Kandhamal, Nabarangapur and Malkangiri districts (the four highly-focused districts of the state government) would be ensured within the next six months. The energy department is working to ensure electricity connections to primary and community health centres and ST/SC hostels on a priority basis, said an official, who attended the meeting. As the state government has already launched a scheme worth Rs 2,600 crore to set up 500 new 33/11 kv substations to strengthen the power distribution network and to provide seamless electricity supply across the state, the chief minister emphasized on timely completion of the sub-stations. Of total 500 sub-stations, 433 are proposed in rural areas, the officer said. Naveen also reviewed the status regarding development of special feeder line for fisheries and agriculture sectors and directed to complete the task by next six months. Dustin Hopkins Jersey
Greenpeace finds support to its anti-coal stance from Central Electricity Authority’s report
Greenpeace Peace has found support to its anti-coal stance from Central Electricity Authority’s prediction of no fresh coal capacity requirement between 2017 and 2027. In a statement released on Thursday, the activist firm Greenpeace India said the CEA’s study corroborates Greenpeace India’s earlier findings on India’s coal power overcapacity, in effect justifying Greenpeace India’s call for an end to new coal power plants. “We welcome the draft plan’s recognition that there is no longer any economic or development rationale for new investments in coal power plants for the foreseeable future,” said Nandikesh Sivalingam, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace India. “With India’s renewable energy sector taking off, it is now possible to reduce poverty, improve living standards and provide ‘power for all’. decentralized renewable energy (DRE) is putting power in the hands of people across the nation and resources must be focused on meeting this goal.” In September, Greenpeace released an analysis of the overcapacity problem plaguing India’s coal power sector, warning that over Rs 3 lakh crore of investment is being wasted on coal power plants that will not be required. The CEA’s study validates Greenpeace India’s key findings, particularly stating there is no need for any new coal power plants to be added to the country’s existing capacity until 2022, it said. Given that there is over 50 GW of coal power currently under construction, which will come online over the next few years, there is as of today, absolutely no requirement for any increase in coal power plants till 2027 at least. The CEA however, stays silent on the coal capacity in pipeline of about 178 GW. These are projects that have yet to start construction but have received permits or are in the process of applying for permits. These projects represent a potential stranded investment of 10 lakh crore and must not be allowed to progress. “Other ministries need to take cognizance of the CEA’s warning, and act now to avoid wasting scarce capital,” said Sivalingam. Data with Greenpeace shows that between January and October 2016, 7,230 MW of coal power commenced construction. Between January 2014 and June 2016, approximately 50,000MW of new coal power was either given final environmental clearance or allowed to start the clearance process by the Ministry of Environment. On coal requirement CEA also projects that coal requirement for electricity by 2027 will be only 901 million tonnes and less than 800 tonnes for 2022, even in a worst case scenario. Despite this, Coal India has been forced to adopt a one billion ton target by 2020, which is resulting in significant loss of forest, displacement of communities and pollution of water and air resources as a result of expanded mining. The CEA’s new projections expose the complete lack of any justification for such destruction. Continued use coal will have catastrophic effects: not just on the economy, but also on our natural resources and habitats, and have adverse effects on the health of millions of Indians due to air pollution. Any future expansion on coal will also threaten the Paris Agreement’s aspiration of restricting temperature increase to 1.5C, which India ratified with much fanfare in October this year .. Matt Tennyson Authentic Jersey
10 states account for 90 per cent of large-scale solar installations: Mercom
India now has a total installed large-scale solar capacity of 9,018 MW and a solar pipeline of 14,030 MW as of December 2016, with the top 10 states accounting for approximately 90% of all solar installations and pipeline, Mercom Capital Group has recently estimated. These are Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Tamil Nadu leads with 1,577 MW in-operations. In order to fulfil the state Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) the Tami Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO) recently auctioned 500 MW solar. The state has close to 485 MW of solar under various stages of development. Nevertheless, the state is yet to join the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) which aims at financial turnaround of DISCOMs. Until then, developers will be concerned due to TANGEDCO’s history of payment delays. However, TANGEDCO is tendering another 500 MW. To boost the transmission and evacuation infrastructure in the state, TANGEDCO has begun construction of substations. Currently, four substations are nearing completion and are expected to be completed by June 2017. Due to transmission issues, the state has curtailed solar in the past; “but, not so any more, we are well on track,” an official at TANGEDCO told Mercom. Rajasthan’s position was recently usurped by Tamil Nadu as installation activity in the state has slowed. The state has 1,324 MW of solar in-operation with a project pipeline of 1,206 MW and could reclaim the top spot. Developers told Mercom that in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, they are wary that curtailment might come back to haunt the sector. The distribution companies can be reluctant to purchase solar power due to cost higher than conventional energy. In Rajasthan, curtailment took place earlier this year due to required system parameters. The PPAs have been delayed in the state. Earlier, the state used to sign PPAs at preferential tariffs; the program ended in March of 2016. The state is trying to fast-track the competitive bidding process and solve issues between DISCOMs and developers Mercom has gathered from Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL) officials. The green energy transmission corridor, once developed, will boost the willingness of DISCOMs to sign PPAs, as they can supply to other states and will have more buyers, added the RRECL official. Considering Gujarat has large tracts of land ideal for large-scale grid-connected solar projects and hasn’t faced evacuation and transmission issues, the solar sector in the state has been stagnant with 1,101 MW in-operation and 300 MW under development.Gujarat is a power surplus state and has met its RPO obligations and is not in a hurry to ramp up its solar installations. Andhra Pradesh is the state with the most solar parks. Activity in solar sector has picked up in the state with the completion of Kurnool solar park. At present, Andhra Pradesh has solar projects aggregating 1,009 MW in-operation and 1,494 MW under development. In Andhra Pradesh, transmission losses are its gravest issue and few DISCOMs are reluctant to buy solar beyond their RPO. Nevertheless, the transmission network will be on-grid by February 2017 in the state. Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (APTRANSCO) is currently setting up the infrastructure which would ease sale of power. Telangana has come a long way with its solar policies and programs since its inception as a state. These programs have helped the state leapfrog others to claim the fifth spot with 1,006 MW in-operation and 2,418 MW under development. The state is mired with transmission and grid-connectivity problems. The state has a huge project pipeline, but, developers are concerned about power evacuation once all projects are commissioned. The state also suffers from land availability and grid-connectivity issues. In Telangana, grid is being upgraded and “the state will be able to evacuate all power generated in the future.” The state nodal agency has put an impetus on transmission infrastructure as a lot of projects will be commissioned in the coming years; “the state is gearing up for an industrial boom,” commented an official at Telangana New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation. Madhya Pradesh has transformed itself from a power deficient state to a power surplus state. Rapid implementation of policies and programs has led to a growing solar sector. Currently, the state has 861 MW in-operation and 722 MW under various stages of development. Infrastructure at the Rewa solar park is nearing completion; once tenders are issued, solar is expected to pick up pace. Madhya Pradesh also suffers from transmission and grid issues. Developers in the state have faced curtailment in some cases. The state has also witnessed payment delays. In Madhya Pradesh, the evacuation and grid-connectivity issues are on the verge of being resolved, commented an official at Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL). “None of the state DISCOMs received notification from higher authorities to connect transmission and grid lines. As of now, all details are being distributed to zonal and sub-zonal offices and through interdepartmental deliberations all hurdles will be overcome, added the official at MPUVNL. The largely agricultural state of Punjab has shown progress in terms of fulfilling its power demand. Punjab is ranked seventh with projects in-operation aggregating 569 MW. The state has a project pipeline of 453 MW. In Punjab, DISCOMs do not want to buy expensive solar power to provide subsidized power to farmers. Transmission losses are also an issue in Punjab, furthering developer reluctance. Punjab has already set up canal bank and canal top projects as these take land availability out of the equation. Through implementation of innovative technology and scaling up of the transmission infrastructure, Punjab will remain a sunny state, commented an official at Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA). Karnataka has the largest solar project pipeline of 3,376 MW. The state is facing solar park issues relating to evacuation and transmission which could delay projects. The state is ranked eighth with projects in-operation aggregating 511 MW. Developers are disheartened by the slow progress of solar parks in Karnataka. The DISCOMs in Karnataka are in bad financial shape and
Strenuous efforts needed to boost NTPC’s performance: Parliament panel
Parliamentary panel asked the government to make strenuous efforts to improve the performance of state-run power giant NTPC in the backdrop of lower capital expenditure of Rs 2.19 lakh crore projected in the 12th Plan period (2012-17). The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy chaired by Virendra Kumar also asked the government to take “pre-emptive steps so that lesser expenditure during the 12th Plan should not result in truncated target for NTPC for capacity addition during 13th Plan.” In a report tabled in the Parliament today, the committee noted that a projection of Rs 2,19,613 crore was made as Plan outlay for NTPC for the 12th Plan. However, the committee found that the actual expenditure (cumulative for 4 years of 12th Plan) is expected to be around Rs 89,000 crore. The panel also noted that it is expected that at the end of the 12th Plan, Rs 1,20,700 crore will be utilised as one more year is still to go in the Plan period. It found that even if the expected expenditure of Rs 1,20,700 crore at the end of the 12th Plan is achieved, there will be a huge shortfall of Rs 98,913 crore which stands for 45 per cent of the target. The Power Ministry, besides other reasons, has attributed scrapping of projects worth Rs 26,646 crore by NTPC to the less planned expenditure during the 12th Plan period. It also observed that NTPC has been assigned a target (of adding) 11,920 MW of generation capacity during 12th Plan and against this, 9,550 MW has already been achieved. It is expected that the target will be surpassed by the end of 12th Plan. The committee, noting that financial expenditure and physical performance have a direct correlation, asked the Power Ministry to explain as to how capacity addition targets have been fully achieved despite incurring only half of the expenditure (targetted). As per the report, the Power Ministry has indicated that un-utilised expenditure is related to the projects meant for 13th Plan period. “In this context, the committee expresses its unhappiness with the financial performance of NTPC during 12th Plan. The excuse that the planning in regard to expected expenditure by NTPC was done much before the start of the 12th Plan is not acceptable. “A deviation of 15-20 per cent in any plan is justified, but shortfall of almost half of the target compels the committee to infer that either the planning was flawed or there were lapses in its execution,” the panel said. It also said that NTPC should not lose its share of capacity addition to the private sector in power generation due to short term demand fluctuation. Rather, it should endeavour to compete well with the private sector which, despite all odds, has performed outstandingly. Womens Jersey
Government to take over 75% of discoms’ loans
In a major relief to about 80 lakh domestic and 21 lakh agriculture power consumers, the Telangana government has decided to take over 75 per cent of loans raised by two power companies -TS northern discom and southern discom. This will have two spin-off benefits: One cushions the consumers from any proposed power tariff hike and the other takes care of Rs 500 crore interest burden on the discoms. CM K Chandrasekhar Rao gave a formal approval and an announcement in this regard will be made soon. “The chief minister has directed the government to take over 75% of loans of discoms. This will reduce over Rs 500 crore interest burden on discoms every year,” D Prabhakar Rao, chairman and managing director of Telangana Transco and Genco, told TOI. The financial restructu ring plan prepared by TSTransco, which is part of the centrally-sponsored Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), has been approved by the government. The government will also pump additional funds to improve transmission and distribution network to service 1.05 crore consumers. Prabhakar Rao said that power tariff hike proposals, power tariff hike proposals, which have been submitted to Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission recently, would see a revision to benefit domestic and agriculture consumers. Though UDAY was launched in 2015, Telangana raised several objections and kept away from the scheme.UDAY scheme does not envisage taking over of loans rai sed to provide public lighting, energy-saving equipment and augmentation of transmission and distribution network. After agreeing to join UDAY, the Telangana government prepared a new financial restructuring plan in which additional funding for the expansion of distribution network and introduction of energy-saving equipment was also included. Donovan Smith Authentic Jersey