Adani Group in race to buy Stemcor India assets...

 

Adani Group, in line with Tata Steel, JSW and JSPL, is planning to participate in the auction of the coal assets of Stemcor India which are valued at around USD 800 Million.

Adani Group, having primary interests in coal, power and port sectors, has already evinced interests to buy Stemcor India assets with Stemcor management in London, said a source close to the development.

Adanis are all set to participate in the auction, slated for the middle of next month.

As said by the company officials, Stemcor India's assets is lucrative for the Adani Group mainly for two reasons. First, it would help the company to foray into the iron ore sector. Secondly, Stemcor India's trading business fits with Adani's existing business domain.

However, arranging funds could be a big issue for the company as it is already saddled with debt and thus, funds may not come easy for the company for carrying out the acquisition, industry sources said.

Meanwhile, with Adani Group in the list, the number of interested parties for Stemcor India's assets now goes beyond a dozen including Essar Steel, Vedanta Group, Adhunik Metaliks and Vale.

 

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More literature on this...

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/adani-grouprace-to-buy-stemcor-india-assets_931402.html

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GE & First Solar to enter into Technology & stake sell and purchase agreement...

 

General Electric (GE) and First Solar have decided to join their competing thin-film solar panel technologies in an effort to improve efficiency and decrease costs.

First Solar is the world's largest producer of thin-film panels and among the world's largest solar farm developers. GE's thin-film technology has performed well in lab tests, but is not manufactured at large scale.

As announced by the companies on 6th August, they will enter into agreements for the technology tie-up and stake purchase.  

As per the agreement contract:

• First Solar will acquire GE's technology for making thin film panels.
• In return, GE will receive 1.75 million shares of First Solar stock. That represents $82 million, and 2 percent of First Solar's outstanding shares.
• First Solar will attempt to incorporate GE's technology into its extensive and well-developed manufacturing process.
• GE will purchase and brand First Solar panels for its own installations.

According to sources, the reason behind this move of GE is the glut of solar panels on the market and falling prices.

Due to this, GE's Denver factor which was having annual capacity of 400 MWs will be shut down along with a research center with around 400 people loosing their jobs.

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More literature on this...

• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/ge-takes-stake-in-first-solar-inc-to-share-technology/articleshow/21672437.cms
• http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2013/08/06/2010823/ge-scraps-nations-largest-solar.html

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NTPC, L&T kin on picking up stake in OTPCL's 2,400 MW Power Project...

 

It seems that National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) as well as Larsen & Toubro (L&T) are interested in picking up stake in the 2,400 MW Power Plant proposed by the Odisha Thermal Power Corporation Limited (OTPCL).

OTPCL, which is a Joint Venture between Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), is developing a 2,400 MW Thermal Power Project at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal District.

The project is being developed on 1969.78 acres of land out of which  987.77 acres is government land, 83.94 acres is forest and 982.015 acres is private land.

The private land is to be acquired in 10 project affected villages Aluajharana (19.68 acres), Annapurnapur (447.30 acres), Bijadiha (20.81 ares), Bhagirathapur Sasana (15.2 acres), Dhobabaheli (5.89 acres), Kateni (84.24 acres), Kantapala (45.55 acres), Kusumajodi (244.04 acres), Mahulapala (24.98 acres) and Anlabereni (74.32 acres).

The company has got the water allocation from the department of water resources. Recently, the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on coal had recommended the Tentuloi coal block with 1234 million tonne reserves in favour of the state PSU.

Entire power generated from the proposed power plant will be procured by Gridco, the state owned bulk power purchaser, as per the tariff determined through the bidding process.

The estimated investment outlay for the project is around Rs. 10,000 Crores.

As said by the OTPCL Officials, the company is considering to offload up to 49 per cent stake in the project for which both NTPC and L&T are kin to pick up.

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More literature on this...

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/ntpc-l-t-eye-stake-in-otpcl-project-113080601152_1.html

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BHEL won 103.5 MW order for Gas Turbine Generator from BPCL for its captive power plant...

 

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) won a contract for supplying the Gas Turbine Generator package from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for its energy efficient and environment-friendly co-generation captive power plant at Kochi Refinery in Kerala

The contract is valued at around Rs. 2650 Million, and envisages supply and supervision of 3 nos. Gas turbines having 34.5 MW each along with the associated auxiliaries and control systems.

The gas turbine will be operated in the cogeneration mode for meeting the power and process steam requirement of the upcoming Kochi refinery expansion project.

According to BHEL, the  equipment will be supplied from Hyderabad & Bangalore plants.

 

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More literature on this...

http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/BHEL-wins-contract-from-BPCL/5752195834

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R-Power & Tata Power opposes the proposed changes in the Standard Bidding Documents for Power Projects...

 

Reliance Power Limited & Tata Power have opposed the recent changes proposed by the government over Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs).

 

According to both the leading private power sector companies any drastic changes in SBDs would make it difficult for them to put competitive bids under proposed new norms.

 

As per the Reliance Power

• The new proposed SBDs come with drastic changes which are not adopted even in developed economies and is completely out of sync with the current market realties.
• In a developing economy such as ours, where capital is constrained, the SBD need to address the concern of all stakeholders including developer, lender, off taker, etc, which is substantially missing in the new SBD.
• The new formulation crafts a strict, prescriptive and rigid policy framework along with arbitrary price caps and pre-determined escalation factors that seemingly attempts to foresee market dynamics and other aspects of power plant development and operation through the life of the project.

As per the Tata Power:

• The proposed changes are too superficial and too little to correct the core conceptual shift.
• Government should come out with a framework that serves the development aspect more predictably.
• The current draft model power purchase agreement (MPPA) does recognize the impossibility of passing the long term fuel risks to the project developers, but puts forward some very complex structures and offers differential treatments on the basis of ownership and location of coal assets.
• Similarly, the fixation of imported coal price, the segmented treatment between coal procured from captive mines overseas and coal procured from open international market defy logic and was not based on market realities.
• The qualifying criterion set in the document in terms of qualifying investments appears to be too stringent. Besides, the recommendation to short list only 7 to bidders for the RFP stage could be very restrictive and such a stipulation may restrict development of new qualified developers and therefore affect the sectoral growth.

The assertion by the two leading private sector players in the power sector comes close on the heels of the objections raised by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) over the new SBDs. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is scheduled to meet on August 8 (Thursday) to give a final shape to the SBDs to kick off the second round of ultra mega power projects (UMPPs).

 

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More literature on this...

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/reliance-power-and-tata-power-warn-against-wholesale-changes-to-sbds/article4999656.ece

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Wind Developers demands better grid before following to CERC's forecasting regulations...

 

Wind power producers who were recently directed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) to give day-ahead forecast for power generation have asked the Power Ministry to first resolve the issue of grid stability and build required transmission infrastructure for evacuation of wind power.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has recently issued regulations to wind power producers to issue day-ahead forecast for wind power generation. There is penal action amounting to at least 15% of the revenues in case of incorrect predictions.

However, large nos of wind power producers have opposed the move.

Companies like, ReNew Wind Power and Tata Power have requested to the power ministry to develop better grid infrastructure and suggested that scheduling and forecasting mechanism should be instituted at a consolidated SLDC (State Loading Dispatch Centre) level instead of the level of the substation.

Independent Power Producer's Association of India has already filed for an injunction in the Delhi High Court against this decision. Indian Wind Power Association has also written to the CERC to postpone this decision, as wind farms are unable to proceed with forecasting and scheduling of wind power.

 

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More literature on this...
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/wind-power-producers-want-government-action-before-following-cerc-order/articleshow/21666642.cms

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UP Government to invest Rs. 2,300 Crores for solar projects with eight firms...

 

Uttar Pradesh Government is planning to enter into agreements worth Rs. 2,300 Crores with eight firms for the solar power projects in the state.

The New & Renewable Energy Development Authority (NEDA) which is a state nodal agency for the renewable energy development has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) for a 100 MW Solar Project in Jalaun.

As the MoU, the  NHPC will be required to set up a joint-venture within three months. While NEDA will provide the land and contribute in terms of equity, the power company will be responsible for power generation. The proposed project is also slated to be the largest single solar plant unit in the country, till date.

The government will also sign pre-purchase agreements (PPAs) on August 8 with seven power companies for total power generation of 130 MW. With rates of bidding ranging between Rs 8.01 to Rs 9.33 per unit, the state government will also, as part of the PPA, agree to purchase power for 12 years.

According to the agreed arrangement, the state government will bear the cost of transmission infrastructure, while the remaining overheads will have to be borne by the production companies. All power generated by the companies will be bought by the UP government for the first 12 years of setting up the generation plants.

 

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More literature on this...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/UP-to-sign-Rs-2300cr-deals-for-solar-power/articleshow/21663707.cms

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