Tata Power records 43% increase in generation in FY13...

 

Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power utility, announced crossing over 800 MUs from its Wind Power Projects in FY13. In the span of one year, the Company’s wind farms have generated 813 MUs as against 569 MUs in the previous year, recording an incremental generation of 43% in FY13.

This growth is mainly attributed to the Agaswadi wind farms which had an  increased generation of 85 MUs and Poolavadi with 140 MUs. Tata Power has a total installed capacity of 398 MW in Wind Generation with plants across five states Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which are the leading states in promoting wind power generation in India.

Tata Power has adopted the following technologies In order to optimize its operations:

• Surge protection module in pitch power supply unit for reducing pitching error and convertor errors
• Vacuum type slip ring to increase the maintenance cycle of wind turbines
• Air gap monitoring at bearings to prevent bearing failures
  

Speaking on achieving this milestone, Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Power, said, “Tata Power is developing wind power projects of over 160 MW in India. We are proud to have increased our wind generation capacity by a record of 43%, which proves our commitment towards to generating 20-25 % of our total generation capacity from clean energy sources.”

Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), a 100% subsidiary of Tata Power has recently signed a SPA for acquisition of 100% shareholding in AES Saurashtra Windfarms Pvt Ltd (ASW), a 100% subsidiary of AES Corporation. ASW owns and operates a 39.2 MW wind farm near Dwarka in Jamnagar district of Gujarat. The project which is fully operational since January 2012 has executed a power purchase agreement with GUVNL for sale of the electricity at a tariff of Rs 3.56/kWh for the duration of the project.  The project is registered with UNFCCC as a CDM project and is eligible to receive CERs. The project is also registered under the Generation Based Incentive scheme of MNRE.

The Company international wind presence includes a Joint Venture Company in South Africa with Exxaro, Cennergi (Pty.) Ltd. Cennergi has recently announced financial closure of its 95 MW Tsitsikamma Wind Farm Project and 135 MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm Project The wind projects will be located in Eastern Cape, South Africa and are expected to achieve commercial operations in 2016. Power Purchase Agreements and Implementation Agreements for these projects were signed with Eskom and Department of Energy, Government of South Africa respectively on May 9th, 2013.

Tata Power is also pursuing new environment friendly technologies and has installed micro turbines to understand their performance in Indian conditions. The purpose of this project is to determine the most cost-effective forms of wind energy which can be installed on rooftops or in remote areas where there is sufficient wind energy. Micro turbines of capacities of 2 kW from Windtronics, 5 kW and 12 kW from WePower and 5 kW from Unitron have been installed at the test bed site.

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NTPC Q2 net profit at Rs24929mn...

 

NTPC Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs. 24929.00 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 as compared to Rs. 31423.50 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Total Income has decreased from Rs. 171709.30 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 to Rs. 170594.10 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2013.

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Challenges faced by wind industry...

 

There is a need to move to a more sustainable form of power generation for avoiding the adverse impacts of climate change, in line with the global target of keeping Global Mean Temperature rise below 2 degree C above pre-industrial levels, as agreed by the world leaders.  If we are serious about securing out planet’s future against ill effects of climate change, the displacement of conventional fossil fuel usage with low carbon technologies must be dealt with utmost seriousness.

In the present scenario, Wind energy is techno-economically viable efficient alternative to fossil fuel, due to its zero emission factor and non pollutant nature, as in power generation process it does not emit greenhouse gases.

As of now, the renewable energy accounts for around 13 per cent of total installed capacity, with the largest share from wind energy which stands at around 70 per cent. There are two forces that will drive the growth of wind energy in India. One is the rising energy demand in India and the other is obligations on India’s part to encourage clean development.  There are abundant wind resources available in India; there is institution like Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET) which does regular assessment of wind resources. India also has cost advantage attributed to available indigenous wind technology.  However, the insufficient grid infrastructure, unattractive incentive policies and absence of an integrated policy framework deter the growth of the sector.

Multitude of regulatory agencies, add to the confusion. While the policy environment for renewable energy in India has been improving in recent years, the wind industry is facing challenges in the aftermath of the sudden reduction in tax incentives. 

Domestic advantage

Wind power is a mature and scalable clean energy technology and India holds a domestic advantage in it.  Established and proven wind turbine technology in India led to huge investments in the sector. India is emerging as a major wind turbine-manufacturing hub today. Over 15 existing manufacturers have a consolidated annual production capacity of over around 10,000 mw. Indian companies now export domestically manufactured wind turbines and blades to Australia, Brazil, Europe, USA and a few other countries.

Many of the older low-capacity (500 kw) wind turbines installed more than 10 to 12 years ago occupy some of the best wind sites in India. These turbines need to be replaced with more efficient, larger capacity machines for generating more power from such sites. A study on repowering potential conducted by ‘Wise’ for the ministry of new and renewable energy estimated India’s current repowering potential at approximately 2,760 mw. Due to lack of policy guidelines and incentives, states are not willing to repower the old wind machines, as concerns are raised on a number of subjects including disposal of old machines, fragmented land ownership in existing wind farms, clarity on the feed-in tariff offered to newly repowered projects and constrained evacuation of the extra power generated.

Wind energy technology helps prevent the adverse effects of climate change as well as boosting the low carbon economy. Established and proven wind turbine technology in India has led to huge investments in the sector. Increased domestic demand and expansion of the in–house manufacturing capacity of the Indian wind industry has resulted in attracting many new manufacturers into the fray.

Historically the Indian wind energy sector has met and occasionally exceeded its allocated target. However, the modest pace of utilisation of the country’s wind power manufacturing and resource potential in the recent times could be attributed to several factors which include inadequate grid infrastructure, land acquisition, high rate of interest, etc. There is need to create an adequate grid and transmission infrastructure across the states with significant wind potential so that the state distribution utilities are able to evacuate ever-increasing amounts of wind power. There has to be attractive incentive policies and an integrated policy framework in place to encourage investment in the sector. Land clearance for wind power installation and land conversion issues are very time taking and need to be made smooth.

The 12th Plan envisions installing 100 gw of new capacity of which 30 gw is projected to come from Renewable Energy Sources, of which wind would account for 15 Ggw The country is seeing about 3 GW in annual installations under the 12th Plan target. With right policies in place and proper incentive schemes, there is no doubt that the target could be met.

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In a first, NTPC to ship imported coal via waterways...

 

In a strategy aimed at cushioning the impact of expensive imported coal, power major NTPC Ltd is in final stages of launching an ambitious plan to move this coal from the high seas to its generating stations through inland waterways, starting with its Farakka plant in West Bengal.

The very first consignment for Farakka — a ship bearing 69,060 metric tonnes (MT) of imported coal — has already arrived at Sandheads, the transshipment point in the Bay of Bengal, on October 15.

Inland water transport (IWT) is widely acknowledged as among the cheapest form of transport for goods and is used extensively in countries such as China, Germany and the US by utilities for transporting bulk cargo.

The Farakka plant is set to begin import coal movement by inland waterway shortly through a tripartite agreement that it has in place with the Inland Waterways Authority of India and Jindal ITF Ltd, the operator for the project.

The pact entails supply commitments of 3 million MT per annum of coal to be transported to Farakka plant through inland waterway over the next seven years. The Farakka plant has been operating since 1986 but has been using a mix of rail and road transport to supply coal.

Under the inland waterway transport plan, Jindal ITF will unload and transport imported coal from high seas to the Farakka plant, for which the operator has created infrastructure, including a mid-sea transfer point, all the way to the NTPC coal stock yard.

The other facilitators include a transhipper, 19 barges of 2,000 MT that have been procured by JITF, unloading arrangement at Farakka waterfront, a conveyor from the jetty to Farakka coal stockyard.

While Jindal ITF has made the entire investment of some Rs 650 crore for the project, the payments for the coal transported by it shall be made by the imported coal supplier to be appointed by NTPC from time to time.

NTPC has also floated a second tender for a 10-year contract to haul 3 MT of imported coal a year through inland waterways to its power project at Barh in Bihar.

India is estimated to have nearly 14,500 km of navigable inland waterways, even though the exploitation of IWT sector has remained neglected, with most waterways requiring constant dredging on account of heavy silting and draft available only seasonally.

Besides, not many entrepreneurs are willing to invest in inland vessels, which have resulted in under utilisation of whatever infrastructure is created, thereby putting brakes on the development of sector.

In China, navigable inland waterways total more than 100,000 km and there are a large number of inland port facilities with berths for large vessels. IWT accounts for almost 10 per cent of the freight tonnage. In neighbouring Bangladesh, about 35 per cent of the freight movement is by inland waterways, according to figures from the Asian Development Bank.

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NHPC revises its strategy, to focus on thermal projects...

 

The state-owned hydropower company NHPC Ltd has decided to also focus on developing thermal power plants in India in a move that will put it in direct competition with another state-owned company, NTPC Ltd. The main reason would seem to be the long-gestation period of hydropower projects as well as delays in clearances.

With projects that will generate 3,808.5 megawatts (MW) delayed due to issues such as disputes between states, geological surprises and resistance from the local population and no new projects coming its way, NHPC is in talks with the Bihar government to jointly develop two coal-fuelled projects of 1,320 MW, each requiring an investment of around Rs.14,000 crore.

“We are planning to set up thermal power projects in a big way. As part of this exercise we have already acquired Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative’s (Iffco) stake in a 1,320 MW project in Chhattisgarh, where we have a 74% stake. We are doing this as no new projects are being allotted to NHPC as states have allotted projects to the private sector,” said A.B.L. Srivastava, director, finance, at NHPC.
While executing a hydropower project is a time-consuming and tedious process, taking around seven years for execution, thermal projects can be commissioned in around three years.

“We are looking at two more projects in Bihar. These are Bihar government projects of 1320 MW each. We are in talks for the same for a majority stake,” Srivastava said, without elaborating. NHPC, formerly the National Hydroelectric Power Corp., has a generation capacity of 5,702 MW, including joint venture projects. Executing a hydropower project requires a thorough survey and investigation, detailed project report preparation, relocation and resettlement of the affected population and infrastructure development.

NHPC’s plans will take it head on with NTPC Ltd, India’s largest electricity generator with an installed capacity of 41,684 MW from 15 coal-fuelled plants.

While NHPC had earlier set itself a target of becoming a 10,000MW utility by 2010, a majority of NHPC’s hydropower projects that are under construction have been delayed. These include Teesta Low Dam-III (66 MW), Uri-II (240 MW), Parbati-III (520 MW), Teesta Low Dam-IV (160 MW), Subansiri Lower (2000 MW) and Parbati-II (800 MW). And projects such as Chamera-III (231 MW) and Chutak (44 MW) were commissioned way past the deadline set at the time of the company’s listing.
“Led by execution delays at each of its projects under construction and higher implementation time required for hydro projects, 30% of NHPC’s FY13 balance sheet is represented by surplus cash that earns just 6-7% RoE (return on equity) and 18.5% by CWIP (Capital Work in Process) that earns no RoE. This depresses its RoE. We expect its RoE to remain subdued at about 8% for the next several years,” Credit Suisse said in an 1 August report on NHPC.

Companies and experts have expressed their reservations regarding India’s hydropower sector.

India’s moribund hydropower sector isn’t expected to change trajectory in the next two years, Hubert Lienhard, president and global chief executive officer of Voith GmbH, which makes electro-mechanical equipment said in December last year.

Hydropower holds the key to meeting the country’s peak shortage, but hydropower capacity comprises only 17.43%, or 39,623.40 MW, of India’s installed power generation capacity of 227,356.73 MW. Some 641 hydropower units are operational at 184 power stations across the country. With state-owned firms such as NHPC Ltd, SJVN Ltd, THDC India Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corp. Ltd (Neepco) failing to meet capacity addition targets, even the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has criticized the functioning and performance of the firms. According to the CAG report, while hydropower capacity addition was initially set at 11,813MW in the 11th Plan period (2007-2012), even the revised target of 6,794MW couldn’t be met due to project delays.

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Sical Logistics wants to handle coal at Ennore port for TNEB...

 

Sical Logistics continues to explore opportunity to handle thermal coal at Ennore port as an alternative cargo for its iron ore terminal lying idle for nearly two years due to a ban on export of the ore.

The company has invested Rs 475 crore on the terminal and spends Rs 4 crore a month to service the principal, interest and other expenses, the company said.

Sical, a part of the Bangalore-based Coffee Day, hopes to make the investment productive by handling coal for Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. It has obtained necessary approvals of the Ennore port. The final approval for conversion is pending from the Shipping Ministry . “We continue to work with the ministry to make it happen,” the company said.

Sical, which originally belonged to the Chennai-based M.A. Chidambaram Group, was also awarded the project to develop a mechanised iron ore handling at the deep draft berth No 14 of the New Mangalore port on a build, own and transfer basis. It is facing a similar situation there due to the ban.

The company has not invested much of its resources at the facility there. To complete the project, the company has approached the port authorities seeking permission to handle multiple cargoes.

An official of Ennore Port Ltd said since a competing facility operated by the Chettinad group is handling coal at the port, it is not possible for Sical to handle the same cargo. However, it is up to the Shipping ministry to take the final call.

Sical Iron Ore Terminals Ltd, a special purpose vehicle to manage the project, developed a six million tonnes terminal at the country's first corporatised port. The terminal, for which the company has signed an agreement with Ennore Port in July 2006, was developed on a build-operate-transfer, revenue-sharing contract with Ennore Port for 30 years, including the construction period.

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