Solar energy draft policy of Goa government open to public for comments
The draft of the solar energy policy prepared by the Goa energy developement agency (GEDA) is now open for suggestions and comments from the public and stakeholders. The policy is available on the department of science & technology website, www.dstegoa.gov.in, and on the official government portal www.goa.gov.in. Comments have to reach the member secretary, GEDA, by post or through email: gedagoa@yahoo.com latest by 5.45pm on July 14. “Goa is richly endowed with moderate climate and bright sunshine for almost 8-9 months a year for generating solar power. The state entirely depends on thermal energy generated in other states. Goa being eco-sensitive, no thermal energy generation is possible in the state. To attain self-reliance in power generation and promote clean source of power, solar policy is being adopted. This would result in reduction of carbon emissions, “ the policy states. It goes on to add that the challenge before the state government is not only to meet the ever-growing demand for power, but also to progressively increase the share of renewable sources. Reggie Ragland Womens Jersey
GST shines on renewable energy sector
The renewable energy sector is quite content with GST provisions. Contrary to earlier fears of sale of solar equipment – panels, modules and inverters – being taxed at high rates, the GST on such sales has been set at 5 per cent. “The net effect on solar projects will be 3.5-4.5 per cent,” said Raj Prabhu, co-founder and CEO of Mercom Capital Group, which tracks the segment. “There will be issues with power purchase agreements as they will vary from state to state but 5 per cent GST is much more palatable than the expected 18 per cent.” The only worry is that for very small installations of 100 kw in residential sector, solar inverters used will invite 28 per cent GST. Similarly, in wind segment, sale of turbines and other equipment will attract GST of 5 per cent, the same as VAT did earlier. However, most wind equipment manufacturers also take on the task of setting up projects for developers, and this being a service, will attract 18 per cent GST, up from 12 per cent tax on engineering services earlier. “All engineering services are currently in 18 per cent bracket,” said D V Giri, secretary general, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association. “We have asked for the entire gamut to be brought into 5 per cent slab.” Solar projects involving civil and works contracts will be taxed at 18 per cent. “There will be an increase in solar tariffs to which key contributors will be operation and maintenance, component costs and civil, works contracts,” said Prabhu. A.J. Green Jersey
Germany produced record 35 per cent power from renewables in first half 2017
Germany raised the proportion of its power produced by renewable energy to 35 percent in the first half of 2017 from 33 percent the previous year, according to the BEE renewable energy association. Germany is aiming to phase out its nuclear power plants by 2022. Its renewable energy has been rising steadily over the last two decades thanks in part to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) which was reformed this year to cut renewable energy costs for consumers. Germany has been getting up to 85 percent of its electricity from renewable sources on certain sunny, windy days this year. The BEE reported on Sunday the overall share of wind, hydro and solar power in the country’s electricity mix climbed to a record 35 percent in the first half. The government has pledged to move to a decarbonised economy by the middle of the century and has set a target of 80 percent renewables for gross power consumption by 2050. It aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent in 2020 from 1990 levels and 95 percent by 2050. Reggie White Jersey
Telangana set to generate 5,000 Megawatt solar power by 2019
Telangana is set to cross the 5000 MW solar power generation capacity by 2019 , more than the 1300 MW installed capacity at present. This, officials said, was because the state adopted a distributed development model which is supported by the Centre. Under this system, solar project developers are offered opportunity to develop units based on the demand-supply situation with minimal operational losses. The renewable energy capacity of the state will touch 3000 MW by this year end as projects which have been tendered and are under execution, are expected to be commissioned as per schedule. These projects were awarded during 2015 and are expected to come on stream before December 2017. The state government has signed power purchase agreements for 3800 MW of power from these units and all of them are expected to be operational by March-June 2018. By touching 3000MW-mark, the state will also cross another milestone of achieving over 15% of total energy contribution from renewable energy sector. Currently, Rajasthan, which generates 1300 MW solar power, tops the list in the country with the highest solar power generation. Unlike other states, Telangana has not opted for mega solar parks but has planned for a decentralized model wherein it assesses the extra demand in different parts of the state and floated tenders accordingly. The state government also seeking to encourage setting up of mini solar plants close to transformers so that it could help provide power to agriculture sector with less transmission and distribution losses. “The per capita consumption in Telangana has gone up to 1,390 units per annum as against 1,100 units. Consumption in Telangana ranks high among States. The 24×7 power supply has started giving dividends in the forms of improved living standards and increased industrial production,” D Prabhakar Rao, Chairman and managing director of Telangana Transco and Genco said. Betting high on rooftop solar power installations, the state government recently erected a 900- kilowatt solar power installation at Raj Bhavan, one of the biggest such installations in the state. Incentives are offered to households who opt for rooftop panels to harness solar power which includes subsidy on the panels. Taking advantage of this, scheduled caste development department has proposed to set up 3MW capacity rooftop installations on 230 residential schools maintained by the department. Enthused over the success of its model, state is planning to come out with a new solar-wind hybrid policy to accelerate the growth of the renewable energy sector. Teez Tabor Authentic Jersey
Cabinet May Consider Rs. 17,000 Crore Hydro Power Policy This Month
The Union Cabinet may take up for approval this month the hydro-power policy which aims to provide Rs. 16,709 crore support for stalled 40 hydel projects, entailing 11,639 MW capacity, and to classify all such ventures as renewable energy. “Power Ministry had finalised the policy last month and sent to the Finance Ministry for vetting before placing it for the Cabinet approval,” a source said. The source said: “The policy may be listed this month for deliberation and approval by the Cabinet.” Once it is approved, the distinction between large and small hydro plants would go, which would enable India to achieve clean power capacity of 225 GW by 2022. At present, a hydro power project of up to 25 MW is classified under renewable energy and is entitled to various incentives provided by the government. Projects beyond this capacity are not in this category and hence not entitled to the benefits. Out of the 30 GW installed power generation capacity, 44.59 GW comes from large hydro projects (above 25 MW) and 57.26 GW from other renewable power generation capacities. India has set an ambitious target of adding 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 which includes 100 GW of solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power (up to 25 MW capacity each). Under the policy, the government will provide interest subvention of 4 per cent during construction for up to 7 years and for 3 years after the start of commercial operation to all hydro power projects above 25 MW. It is proposed that the funding for this policy would come from coal cess or national clean energy fund or non-lapsable central pool of resources for Northeastern states for eight years till 2024-25. A Hydro Power Fund would be created under the power ministry for providing funds to the projects under the policy. The policy also provides for Hydro Purchase Obligation (HPO) for hydro projects of over 25 MW capacity. Under this, the discoms would be mandated to buy a proportion of power from these plants. However, this benefit would be available to those hydro power plants, which would be able to begin commercial operations after five years of notification of this policy. The policy would also mandate power ministry to engage with bankers and financial institutions for modifying lending terms and conditions for hydro power projects. Matt Prater Womens Jersey
Renewable Energy: Here Is How To Use Subsidies For Sustained Growth
At present, installed electricity generation capacity in India is about 330GW. About 17.5 % (57.5GW) is through renewable generation (wind: 32.3GW, small hydro:4.3GW, solar:12.5GW and balance biomass generation: 8.1GW). Renewable energy capacity is likely to reach 30% by FY19. The country has set an ambitious target of adding 175GW of renewable generation capacity comprising 100GW solar, 60GW wind and 15GW bio mass, small hydro and others by 2022. The solar capacity target includes setting up of 34 solar parks with around 20GW capacity. Recently, the government has decided to establish another 20GW under solar parks. But wind and solar generation are susceptible to variability, which affects power system operations. In order to integrate high penetration of renewables several actions must be taken such as flexibility in the conventional generation, Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMCs) and augmentation of transmission systems. But to begin with there is no policy framework for electrical energy storage in India. The government should come out with one indicating the target & incentive package to encourage developers. This would facilitate appropriate regulatory framework in the country. Recently, CERC had come out with a discussion paper on storage, but it does not include pump storage, which is the most cost-effective and largest bulk storage source in the world. The national electricity policy mandates that a spinning reserve of at least 5% at the national level should be created to ensure grid security, quality and reliability of power supply. This amounts to almost 16.5GW considering present installed capacity. It is yet to be implemented. At least, 5GW reserve should be implemented on national basis to start with. More important, the country needs a time-based reserve system. Primary reserves (to be available in few seconds) are realised through automatic control of turbine speed governors. All generators must operate with free governor mode of operation (FGMO). As per IEGC/CEA technical standards, in thermal units all governors shall have a droop setting of between 3% and 6%, whereas 0-10% in case of hydro units. Primary reserves could also be provided by hydro pump storage. Secondary reserves (few seconds to 15 or more minutes) involve automatic generation control, which delivers reserve power to bring back the frequency and area interchange to target values. Tertiary reserves (to be available from 15 mins to few hours) for manual change in dispatching and unit commitment to restore secondary control reserve. Forecasting (both load & RE generation) is also essential to ensure resource adequacy. Suitable regulatory framework for forecasting, scheduling and imbalance settlement for RE generators at both inter-state and intra-state level needs to be implemented strictly. Green Energy Corridor project had envisaged REMC at regional/state-level and it’s implementation should be expedited. There is need for augmenting the transmission corridors in renewable rich states with coordinated transmission planning ahead of installation of renewable generation. Technical standards for RE generation incorporating features such as low voltage ride through, high voltage ride through, frequency thresholds for disconnection from the grid, active and reactive power regulation by RE generators need to be notified and implemented at the earliest. Further, ancillary services need to be put in place as support services for reliable operation of grids. Ancillary Services provide a framework for operationalising the spinning reserves and the modalities of scheduling, metering and settlement of the reserves. It would address congestion management and facilitate optimisation at the regional & national level. CERC has recently ordered technical minimum schedule for operation of central generating stations and inter-state generating stations to be 55% of maximum continuous rating loading or installed capacity of the unit of generating station. This should be brought down to about 40%. Flexibility in existing fleet of conventional generation as well as pumped storage plants, demand side management/demand response may be utilised for meeting changing load profile and maintaining system stability. Time-of-the-day tariff implementation would quickly bring implementation of demand response. Flexibility requirements should encompass the minimum and maximum generation level as well as the ramp up/down rates. Thus, market design of the power sector needs to be dynamic in nature. Renewable energy can now produce power that is even cheaper than coal. Their integration into the power system, therefore, depends on the presence of other technologies. Greg Zuerlein Womens Jersey
NLC Biggest Winner In 1,500-MW Tamil Nadu Solar Auction
India’s latest solar auction, one of the biggest in the country, drew a surprisingly enthusiastic response with a big chunk of the 1,500 MW of projects on offer won by a state-owned mining company. The lowest bid in the auction in Tamil Nadu, where solar radiation is weaker than in Rajasthan, came from Bengaluru-based Raasi Green Earth Energy, which won 100 MW at Rs. 3.47 per unit, according to a list of official winners provided by one of the successful bidders. Officials of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp., which invited the bids, could not immediately be reached for comment. Bids were invited in May and the results were declared on Friday. The corporation got a good response this time after two of its previous tenders were undersubscribed. “The interest in the 1,500 MW tender was largely due to pent up demand,” said Raj Prabhu, cofounder of Mercom Capital Group, which tracks the Indian solar segment. The tariff of Rs. 3.47 is well above the lowest solar bid in the country so far of Rs. 2.44 per unit, made at an auction at the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan in May, but it is a substantial drop from the winning bid of Rs. 4.40 per unit at Tamil Nadu’s auction in February. Apart from weaker radiation in Tamil Nadu, developers have to find land for their projects, unlike Rajasthan’s Bhadla, where companies had assured land. There were 18 winning bids among the 25 put in for the latest Tamil Nadu auction, at tariffs varying from Rs. 3.47 to 3.97 per unit. The tender states that all winners will have to agree to sell the power at the lowest tariff reached or opt out. The biggest winner was public sector mining giant NLC India (formerly Neyveli Lignite), which had bid for the entire 1500 MW, but was awarded 449 MW. The company mines lignite, which is also called brown coal, and generates power. Coal miners in India are concerned about the challenge from green energy and looking for ways to diversify. Coal India, also state-owned, is seeking services of a consultant to prepare for the future as it faces uncertainties due to its carbon footprint and the government’s commitment to the Paris accord on climate change. The response to the tender is encouraging because solar projects in Tamil Nadu have been plagued with problems. “Tamil Nadu has been struggling to generate interest in its solar tenders due to its reputation for curtailing power and inconsistent payments,” said Prabhu of Mercom. These factors were responsible for the poor response to the two earlier tenders. Even in the latest auction, most big solar developers stayed away, the exceptions being NLC India, ReNew Power, which won 100 MW, Shapoorji Pallonji Infra, which sought just 50 MW, and Rays Power Infra, which got 200 MW. “Now that it has got bids at a price it wanted, it will have to be seen how Tamil Nadu executes from here and whether it can regain the confidence of the solar industry,” said Prabhu. Robert Quinn Womens Jersey
Chandigarh cuts line to earn from solar power, says rate high
Even as the Chandigarh Renewal Energy , Science and Technology Promotion Society (Crest) is struggling to meet the target of generating solar power set by the central government, the electricity department has stopped giving connections on gross metering under which the total solar power generated is sold to the department. Reasons: high solar tariff and absence of policy regulating purchase of solar power generated by private plants set up by city residents. The centre had selected Chandigarh to be developed as a “model solar city“. The Crest has to achieve target of generating 50MW of solar energy , both residential and government, by 2022 through net and gross metering. Net metering is an agreement that allows a consumer to sell excess solar energy to the utility. According to the solar tariff for the current financial year, the administration has fixed buying rate at Rs 8.57 per units with an aim to promote solar power. According to senior offi cials, high tariff rate is the main bone of contention between the electricity department and Crest. The electricity department has been turning down the applications for gross metering move by residents on the grounds that the high tariff will increased the power purchase cost. “The power purchase cost is passed on to consumers. For the benefit of a few residents, it will be unfair to pass any increase in cost to all consumers,“ said a senior official. The department has been pressing for framing a policy . The department caters to 2.15 lakh consumers, of which 1.75 lakh are in the domestic category . The Crest, on the other hand, has decided to move a petition before Joint Electricity Regularity Commission (JERC) seeking direction to the electricity department for resuming gross metering connections. The standoff with the power department is hurting Crest, which is already struggling to meet the target due to shortage of space in the city, which is spread in an area of just 114 sq km. The Crest in last three years has generated 20.36 million units (MU), equivalent to reduction of 1,410 metric tonne of CO2 and planting a total of 15.3 lakh trees. Of 20.36 MU, bulk of power has been produced by plants on government buildings. So far, the response from private sectors has not been impressive. K’Waun Williams Womens Jersey
Power Minister Piyush Goel Approves Rs 450 Crore For Power Sector In Gurugram
Union Ministry of Power has accorded principle approval of Rs 450 crore for the Rs 1,350-crore scheme aimed at the development and modernisation of power sector in Gurugram. An amount of Rs 272 crore has already been approved under the scheme. This was disclosed by union minister of State for power, coal, new and renewable energy, Piyush Goyal while interacting with the media persons soon after the meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal in New Delhi late last evening. He said that commendable work has been done towards strengthening the power sector in Haryana. In reply to a question, Manohar Lal said the process for the improvement in power sector would be continued in a planned manner and all out efforts would be made to achieve all the targets set by Ministry in this regard in a time bound manner. Piyush Goyal said that the Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses in Haryana last year have only been 5 per cent. Apart from this, both the power production and distribution sectors in the State are running into profit. The power cuts in urban areas have been reduced up to the extant of 75 per cent, he added. He said Haryana is the first state in the country to expedite the process of installation of smart meters. This year Haryana has set a target to reduce line losses up to 20 per cent, he said. Earlier in the meeting, the chief minister and union minister Piyush Goyal discussed in detail various important issues regarding strengthening and modernisation of power sector in the State. Discussion were also held on various works so far been done in this direction. They also discussed the issue of purchase of coal. Nat Berhe Authentic Jersey
Local solar manufacturers seek ‘Safeguard Duty’
Badly hit by a shrinking market and idle capacity, local manufacturers of solar cells and modules have decided to approach the government again seeking to impose a ‘safeguard duty’ on imported equipment. They had petitioned the Ministry of Trade and Commerce in early June seeking an anti-dumping duty on solar imports but have not received any response so far. They now plan to petition the Director General of Safeguards in the same ministry to impose a duty of 10 US cents (RS6.50) per watt on imported cells and modules. Solar manufacturers are getting desperate as they say they have been marginalised in the country’s ambitious solar energy programme. In 2016-17, as much as 5,525 MW of solar projects were set up in country, but about 90% of the solar cells and modules used were imported, mainly from China, Malaysia and Taiwan. Thanks to the scale of the manufacturing units in those countries and supportive government policies there, they can provide solar cells and modules at prices 10-20% cheaper than their Indian counterparts. India’s imports of solar cells and modules rose 36% in 2016-17 to $3.2 billion. Total domestic module manufacturing capacity is 8,113 MW of which 5,286 MW are operational. But actual manufacturing in 2016-17 was 1,000-1,500 MW, due to lack of demand. Previously, the local industry was guaranteed at least partial off-take thanks to the ‘domestic content requirement’ (DCR) in theNational Solar Mission, under which some solar projects had to be compulsorily built using local cells and modules, with higher tariffs permitted for the power they produced. But with the WTO having ruled last year that DCR amounted to an unfair trade practice, no fresh DCR projects are being initiated. Imposing anti-dumping, or safeguard, duty on imports will raise the cost of solar installations and thereby increase tariffs. Solar tariffs have been falling steeply in the past two years, and protective steps may reverse the trend. But, local manufactures see the impact to be limited. “If, say, a 20% safeguard duty is imposed, it will add about 11% to the total project cost, raising the tariff from `2.44 to around `2.70-3 per kwH, which is not all that much,” said a leading manufacturer, defending the petition. “Safeguard duty is allowed for a maximum of five years, which will give local industry time to find its feet.” Overseas manufacturers, as well as solar developers, do not agree. “Dumping is an unfair trade practice, and if it is taking place, local manufacturers have a right to petition against it,” said Sujoy Ghosh, India CEO of US-headquartered First Solar, which makes solar equipment and sets up projects. “But safeguard duty creates entry barriers for global manufacturers even when they are transacting in a fair manner.” George Iloka Authentic Jersey