U.S. solar demand could drop 66 pct if trade case succeeds – Report
The U.S. solar industry would see two-thirds of expected demand dry up over the next five years if a trade case aimed at propping up the domestic panel manufacturing industry is successful, a new report said on Monday. The utility-scale solar industry, which accounts for more than half of U.S. installations, would be hit hardest if Washington adopts the hefty remedies sought by bankrupt solar panel maker Suniva. That is because large projects depend on being cost-competitive with natural gas-fired plants to spur buying, research firm GTM Research said in their analysis. “This is arguably one of the biggest downside risks to the future of U.S. solar,” GTM’s associate director of U.S. solar, Cory Honeyman, said in an interview. In April, Suniva filed a rare Section 201 petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission nine days after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the petition, the company asked for new duties on imported solar products to combat a global glut of panels that has depressed prices and made it difficult for American producers to compete. Suniva was founded in Georgia but as of 2015 is majority owned by Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy . It was joined in the petition by another domestic manufacturer, the U.S. division of Germany’s SolarWorld . The German company filed for insolvency last month. Suniva is seeking a duty rate of 40 cents per watt on solar cells and a minimum price on modules of 78 cents a watt for the first year, levels unseen since 2012, according to GTM. Between 2018 and 2022, U.S. solar installations would fall from 72.5 gigawatts to 36.4 GW with a minimum module price of 78 cents a watt, GTM said. If a 40 cent cell tariff were implemented as well, installations would drop to 25 GW during the period. The U.S. ITC will decide by September whether imports are causing harm to domestic producers. If it does find serious injury to the industry, by November the commission will recommend remedies to President Trump, who then makes a final decision. Trump could accept the ITC’s recommedation or do something else entirely. The final outcome could vary greatly from Suniva’s suggested remedies. The Solar Energy Industries Trade Association, the U.S. solar trade group, is opposed to Suniva’s petition. The group said last week that an estimated 88,000 jobs would be lost if the trade protections Suniva is seeking are imposed. LeShaun Sims Authentic Jersey
Relax, GST won’t impact your power bills next month
Electricity tariffs will not rise after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime gets implemented from July 1, power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said 75 industry associations that he met in the day had given unanimous support to the GST rollout from July 1. “We don’t foresee any upward impact on power tariffs from the GST,” he said. “Not a single participant at today’s meeting requested deferment (of GST implementation),” the minister told reporters after meeting industry executives in New Delhi. Goyal said the technical issues about rollout of GST in power, coal and mines sector have been largely resolved, except two issues. He said that these issues would be flagged off in the next GSTN council meet. The minister said one of the unresolved issues concerns fly ash, which is an environmental friendly product, but the ministry was not in favour of a separate classification for it under the GST. The other issue was a dual slab rate structure for cable industry products, which may require a re-look. To a query whether the lower GST of 5% on coal would help reduce power tariffs, Goyal said he would meet the forum of regulators on Friday to discuss ways to transmit the benefits of tax reduction to consumers. Ryan Braun Womens Jersey
Haryana waives off intra-state wheeling charges to promote renewable energy
With a view to promote power generation from New and Renewable energy sources, Haryana government has decided to waive off intra-state “Wheeling Charges” on transmission of electricity generated from solar power plants in the state. This was announced by chief minister Manohar Lal. Wheeling Charges refers to the process of transmission of electricity from one source to another through the transmission lines or grid. The state government, under Section 108 of Electricity Act 2003, had already approved to request the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) for waiving off these charges. This exemption would enable the solar energy sector to transmit power without any charge within the state. Lias Andersson Jersey
Finance Ministry Rejects Rs 20,000-Crore Plan For Local Solar Equipment Firms
The finance ministry has rejected an ambitious Rs 20,000-crore plan to prop up local solar equipment manufacturers with incentives and subsidies to help them withstand the flood of Chinese imports, said a source close to the development. The domestic industry is concerned about rising imports of solar equipment, which rose 38 per cent to Rs 21,400 crore in 2016-17, accounting for 90 per cent of the solar cells and modules used by Indian solar developers. The ministry for new and renewable energy (MNRE) began working on the policy soon after an appellate body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) upheld a complaint made by the US against the ‘domestic content requirement’ component in India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in September last year. The solar mission had a provision by which a part of India’s solar capacity target had to be met using locally made solar panels and modules, which the US maintained contravened three separate WTO agreements to which India was a signatory. The September decision was the third time the WTO had upheld the US view, with India having appealed the earlier two decisions in appropriate forums. The renewable energy ministry thus began looking for other ways to support domestic manufacturing, which would be consistent with WTO requirements. That such a policy was in the offing was confirmed by energy minister Piyush Goyal at a media briefing following a Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting in Februray this year. The plan, intended to help Indian solar manufacturers’ lower their costs through various subsidies and thereby enable their products to match global prices, would have cost the exchequer Rs 20,000 crore, said the source cited earlier. The MNRE did not provide any answers when asked about the progress in drafting the proposed policy. Instead, a senior official noted that there were already incentives for solar manufacturing under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS). “Incentives are available for 44 Fe categories of electronic products and product components including solar photovoltaic equipment – polysilicon, ingots and/or wafers, cells, modules and panels,” he said in an emailed reply. “Units across the value chain starting from raw materials to assembly, testing and packaging of these categories are included.” The incentives comprise 20-25 per cent subsidy on investment in capital equipment and reimbursement of countervailing or excise duties on such equipment for units outside special economic zones. But M-SIPS is an initiative of the ministry of electronics and IT and has been in operation since 2012. The proposed solar manufacturing policy was entirely different. Domestic solar manufacturers have sought support because the local industry’s limited size makes it unable to compete on price with imported products, primarily from China. Justin Anderson Womens Jersey
Tata Power Proposes To Sell 51% Equity In Loss-Making Mundra UMPP At Re 1
Tata Power has approached Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) to buy 51 per cent equity in the 4,000 Mw Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) for Rs 1. Adani Power and Essar Power, which also have power projects based on imported coal, are contemplating similar moves. An official said Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal met banks and state government representatives this week to discuss power projects using imported coal and a committee had been set up to look into the fallout of a Supreme Court ruling on compensatory tariffs. “The government has clarified that it will act as a facilitator. Banks and states that are procuring power from these units will take the final decision,” an official said. The State Bank of India will lead a committee of banks to evaluate the assets. The meeting was attended by banks; Power Finance Corporation; REC; the chief secretaries of Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan; and representatives of Tata Power, Adani Power, and Essar Power. In a letter to GUVNL, also marked to the Union power secretary, the chief secretary to the Gujarat government, and the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Coastal Gujarat Power (CGPL) has suggested two options: Renegotiating the power purchase agreement and selling equity. CGPL is the holding company for the Mundra UMPP. “The procurers take over 51 per cent paid-up equity shares of CGPL for a nominal value of Rs 1 and grant relief to the project by purchasing power at a rate to fully address the under-recovery of fuel costs at CGPL,” said the letter reviewed by Business Standard. The letter added: “Tata Power shall continue to operate the plant under an O&M contract and provide all required support the project as a 49 per cent stakeholder.” The Tata Sons board has questioned Tata Power why it went ahead with investments in Mundra when it knew the plant would not be viable at the cost structure available. Sources said Tata Power was also contemplating retrofitting the Mundra plant to use domestic coal to supply power to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh. This is in line with a new coal linkage policy, which offers coal to projects based on imported coal as well. “Certain sections of investors have been informed about the possibility of having to take a full write-off on investments made in the Mundra UMPP. Lenders have expressed their dissent in wanting to fund even the working capital needs of the plant following the Supreme Court order,” said an executive. “Bankers have made a suggestion that if 51 per cent equity is taken over, the procurers will have the advantage of competitive power for the full life of the plant,” said a statement by Tata Power. Accumulated losses of CGPL are Rs 6,547 crore and its paid-up equity is Rs 6,083 crore. In a project outlay of Rs 17,900 crore, CGPL has a total outstanding long-term loan of Rs 10,159 crore and an additional Rs 4,460 crore loan taken by Tata Power to meet cash requirements of CGPL. Tata Power said the project lenders had stopped disbursal of loans beyond what was disbursed due to non-viability of the Mundra UMPP. “Due to continuous cash losses and downgrade from credit agencies, CGPL has lost its ability to arrange from financial institutions its short-term funding/working capital requirements for its day to day operations,” said the letter. The Mundra UMPP and a 1,980 Mw power plant of Adani Power at the same location, which used coal imported from Indonesia, had sought to pass on escalated coal costs due to changed regulations to the state utilities of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. On directions of Appellate Tribunal of Electricity (APTEL) and the Supreme Court, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) computed relief for the two firms in an order in December 2016. But the SC in April set aside the judgments of both the APTEL and CERC, hence quashing any relief. It directed the CERC to “go into the matter afresh and determine what relief should be granted to those power generators who fall within Clause 13 of the PPA as has been held by us in this judgment”. The CERC is yet to compute the relief. Joe Mixon Jersey
MoU Between NTPC And MOP For 2017-18
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the year 2017-18 between NTPC and Ministry of Power, Govt of India was signed on 20th June, 2017. As per the MOU, NTPC has generation target of 250 Billion Units during the year under “Excellent” category. Revenue target from Operations under “Excellent” category is Rs 79,280 Crore. In addition to above, parameters related to financial performance, operational efficiency, CAPEX, projects monitoring and HR Management are also part of MoU in line with guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises. NTPC is the largest power utility company in India with a total installed capacity of 51,635 MW. Company has presence in Coal , Gas , Solar PV, Hydro and Wind Power Generation and Coal Mining. Tyrod Taylor Jersey
C’garh Govt approves new Solar Energy Policy
In a bid to promote production and usage of non-conventional energy in the State, Chhattisgarh Cabinet has on Tuesday approved Solar Energy Policy- 2017-2027 that will be effective till March 31, 2027. The new Solar Energy Policy- 2017-2027 was approved by the State Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh at Mantralaya, Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal told media persons. There have been several technical upgradation in the sector of solar energy and drastic reduction in the investments in solar energy sector. The State Government felt the need to make amends in the solar energy -based sector keeping in mind the huge investments likely in the next few years. According to this policy, any individual, registered person, Central and State Power Production and Distribution companies, public and private sector solar energy project developers and manufacturers of equipments related to this sector, allied sectors are stake-holders and partners. Grid Connectivity facility will be provided up to 10 kilowatt rooftop and solar power plant under this policy. There will be exemptions in electricity charges on the consumption of power by self or inside the State on captive power plants. The exemptions are granted to the solar energy-based plants till March 2027 under the new Solar Energy Policy. Facilities will be provided as usual to non-conventional electricity plants. Chhattisgarh State Store Purchase Rule 2002 of Department of Commerce and Industries Chhattisgarh was amended and approved by the State Cabinet. The amendment was done to make use of GeM (Government e-Market Place) of the Union Government’s DG S and D. The amendment was carried out to felicitate the State Government departments, public enterprises, mandals and janpad panchayats and civic bodies to purchase electronic equipment. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of Chhattisgarh will fix the policies and prices in case of need. Sam Bradford Jersey
IEX eyes new geographic market, strategic investments & alliances with global power exchanges
The IO-bound Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), which is currently involved in the day ahead market (DAM), the term ahead market (TAM) and renewable energy certificates, has drawn up an expansion strategy. It includes entering into new geographic market, strategic investments in and alliances with international power exchanges and develop new products and services in India. In the draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), IEX said it is in the process of developing products for trading in renewable energy contracts such as the ‘green day-ahead market’ consistent with the government’s focus on renewable energy. IEX also plans to initially offer TAM products in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal which are connected at one ore more points with the Indian power grid. IEX managing director and CEO Satyanarayan Goel declined to offer any comment. However, the power exchange in its filing hoped, “The listing of the equity shares will enhance our company’s brand and provide liquidity to the existing shareholders. Our company expects that the proposed listing will also provide a public market for the equity shares in India.” IEX will engage the relevant regulators in India and in neighboring countries to develop collaboration opportunities with the local power grid companies so as to allow participants from these countries to trade on our Exchange. This is aimed to expand into such new geographic markets to increase customer base and also enhance the liquidity of electricity products available on its platform. ”In the longer term, we also intend to explore and pursue strategic investments in and alliances with international power exchanges that will enable us to supplement our internal growth, expand our trading products and related services, advance our technology and take advantage of experience and new developments in international energy markets,”IEX informed. Further, the power exchange plans to increase the number of new participants to help increase revenue but also increase the liquidity of electricity products which will encourage increased trading activity from the existing participants. IEX is in the midst of offering a computer-to-computer link to its trading platform so as to allow members to individually develop their own software which would, in turn, allow their own clients to directly access the trading platform of power exchange. POWER PLANS It plans to offer TAM products in Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, connected at one or more points with Indian power grid The power exchange plans to increase the number of new participants to help increase revenue Rajon Rondo Womens Jersey
Hero Future Energies eyes renewable assets of Equis energy
Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Pawan Munjal led Hero Group is evaluating options for its biggest bet yet in the burgeoning clean energy segment. The company backed by IFC, the private sector investment arm of the World bank is eyeing the renewable energy portfolio of Singapore based Equis Energy, sources familar with ongoing negotiations told ET NOW on the condition of anonymity. Credit Suisse & JP Morgan have the sale mandate for the proposed transaction. “Hero Future Energies has aggressive expansion plans and is amongst the numerous suitors keen on the assets, though no final decision has been taken as yet. The portfolio on sale covers the Asia-Pacific region and the India portfolio would expand their domestic footprint and put them in a different league. If required, they may also bid as part of a consortium, based on deal discussions. Many international power utilities & pension funds are in the race for the deal and an information memorandum will be shortly sent to all prospective bidders,” said a source on the condition of anonymity. “The India portfolio of Equis Energy has a capacity of nearly 700 MW and has an estimate enterprise value between Rs 6000-Rs 6500 crores,” added a second source familar with the proposed transaction. Renewable energy develepor Equis Energy plans to exit the Indian market and has put Energon and Energon Soleq on the block. Energon is focused on wind power projects with 414 mega watt (MW) of operating assets while Energon Soleq works in the solar sector and is developing projects totaling 260MW in Telangana and Karnataka. In response to an email query from ET NOW, Equis Energy Chairman David Russell said “Equis Energy is considering a restructuring of its entire renewable energy business with longer term investors looking to support management’s growth strategy. Equis Energy believes combining its various renewable energy businesses will yield significant synergies and allow the group to continue to provide competitive, low-cost pricing and technology solutions for the long term. The process involves the restructuring of 100% of Equis Energy.” The company added “We don’t have any comment on the identity of parties involved in the restructuring process” and confirmed that Credit Suisse and JP Morgan have been appointed to manage the process. Hero Future Energies said, “The company will like to maintain its policy of not commenting on rumours except as required by law. The company or any of its business unit is not aware of any information supporting these rumours. Hero Future Energies is present nearly 10 states of India with high quality operating asset base of ~500 MW across wind, solar PV (grid connected) & rooftop plants. Equis Energy is headquartered in Singapore is the largest renewable energy IPP in the Asia-Pacific region and operates from 15 Asian offices. As of 30 June, 2017, it owned 97 renewable energy assets, totaling 4.4 GW across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. In addition to our current portfolio of 4.4 GW, Equis Energy has a further 74 assets and 6.7 GW under development. Al Jefferson Womens Jersey
Chinese firm inks deal with Adani, to invest $300 million in Gujarat
India’s Adani Group inked a deal with East Hope Group, one of China’s largest companies, which will invest over $300 million to set up a manufacturing unit for solar power generation equipment in Gujarat. “The MoU signed between the two leading companies from India and China proposes to set up manufacturing units in Mundra SEZ, Gujarat to produce solar power generation equipment, chemicals, aluminum and animal feed, and to put in place East Hope Group’s engineering and industrial integration chain to recycle and economise the product cost at Mundra SEZ,” said a statement. An estimated investment of more than $300 million is expected to be made by East Hope Group in India, as part of the proposed cooperation between the two conglomerates. East Hope Group, a 70 billion yuan company, is one of the largest corporate houses in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, it is among the top 10 aluminium producers in the world, having 150 subsidiaries. Lane Taylor Jersey