Solar Energy Corp to light up healthcare centres, schools...

 

Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) is working on solutions that will power up remotely located primary healthcare centres and schools starved of reliable power supply. The company has applied for a licence for power trading.

SECI is a nodal agency to implement solar photovoltaic (PV) grid connected and off-grid solutions under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Using solar PV units, it plans to provide healthcare centres with power connection, back-up supply to support critical requirements and possibly hot water using solar heating systems, according to Rajendra Nimje, Managing Director of SECI.

“Incorporated to serve as an executive arm of MNRE, our focus is on facilitating solutions that help power deficit locations. As a part of this initiative, we are in the process of developing solutions that will help light up these PHCs and schools,” Nimje told Business Line.

Referring to the new round of bidding, where 750 MW capacity has been offered, he said half of it is being divided to boost up the domestic sector. The idea is to use the abundant space on rooftops in a remote village hutment, on top of a commercial mall or a public place such as railway or bus station for solar units.

RAJASTHAN PROJECT

Nimje said the Government has initiated a process to set up a 4,000 MW ultra mega green solar power project in Rajasthan through a joint venture.

The Department of Heavy Industry has started work on a site owned by Sambhar Salts Ltd, a subsidiary of Hindustan Salts. The first phase of the project will be implemented through a venture comprising BHEL, SECI, Power Grid Corporation, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd.

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Greenko commissions first phase of Balavenkatpuram wind farm in India...

 

Greenko Group has commissioned the 51.2MW first phase of the Balavenkatpuram wind farm in Anantpur District of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Built with an investment of around €40m, the first phase features enhanced General Electric GE 1.6 XLE turbine, which has the potential to deliver around 30% capacity factor in an average year.

Greenko CEO Anil Chalamalasetty said the company has commissioned the phase one of the Balavenkatpuram wind farm ahead of schedule.

"Our first two wind farms refined our modular approach to wind farm construction, which is now delivering substantial and predictable growth.

"As a result, we should double our generating capacity this financial year to 600MW and remain in line to hit our 2015 target of 1,000MW," added Chalamalasetty.

The company claims construction on the 50MW second phase is currently underway and is using Gamesa's G97 turbine, which has a 90m hub height and 97m diameter blades.

Additionally, the company, which has commissioned the grid connection for the site's 200MW full capacity, has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the state.

The project will benefit from the recently increased tariff as well as from the generation based incentive (GBI), a federal government scheme under which GBI will be provided up to INR10m (€117,942) per MW with the claim period between four years to 11 years.

Early this year, the state government has announced a new tariff regime for renewable energy at INR4.7 per unit, laying the foundations for accelerated growth, investment and job creation.

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Centre plans 4 solar UMPPs, entails investment of Rs 90,000 cr...

 

The Centre has proposed four ultra mega solar power projects (UMPPs) with generation capacity ranging between 2,000 MW and 5,000 MW.

These projects are planned in Rajasthan (4000 MW), Gujarat (4,000 MW), Kargil (2,000 MW) and Ladakh (5,000 MW).

These projects to be developed in phases entail an investment of Rs 90,000 crore.

Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy told reporters at the sidelines of Inter Solar conference that the per megawatt capital cost for proposed UMPPs has been estimated at Rs 6 crore against the existing cost of Rs 7-7.5 crore while the per unit tariff at Rs 5.50.

''The UMPP in Rajasthan will be developed on engineering procurement and construction (EPC) basis.

Six public undertakings including BHEL (26%), Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (22%), PowerGrid Corporation, Hindustan Salt and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (16% each) and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd (3%) will form a joint venture company (JVC) to develop UMPP in Rajathan.

According to Kapoor, BHEL which will be a lead company in the proposed JVC, will manufacture solar panels needed for Rajasthan project.

Kapoor informed that the first phase of 1,000 MW of Rajasthan UMPP is expected to be operational in three years while the entire project in seven years. The land has already been identified. He said the power to be produced from Rajasthan UMPP will be sold to Solar Energy Corporation which will trade it to various distribution companies.

As far as Gujarat UMPP is concerned, it will be developed with five to six companies. However, Kapoor said the Centre has yet to finalise details in this regard. Further, a lot of private developers have desired to develop 1,000 MW to 3,000 MW on their own.

However, it won't be possible as the project will be tendered, he added. According to Kapoor, transmission is a major issue for the development of Kargil and Ladakh UMPPs.

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Luminous Power Tech unveils new Inverter Battery Facility in Tamil Nadu...

 

Luminous Power Technologies unveils bigger plans for South Indian Market.

Luminous Power Technologies, country’s leading power backup solutions provider, unveiled its new Inverter Battery Facility in Tamil Nadu in its endeavour to strengthen its market standing in South India and reaching out to consumers in the region.

This state-of the-art manufacturing plant, located at Hosur, Tamil Nadu, will produce Inverter batteries. It is the first plant to be located outside North India for Luminous.
Spread across an area of approximately 2.5 hectares, the Hosur plant will be invested in two phases to increase capacity.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Manish Pant, Managing Director, Luminous Power Technologies, said, “South India has always been a key market for Luminous Power Technologies and the setting up of production facility here is a critical step strengthening our presence in the region. This step will bring us closer to our customers and be able to service them much faster.”

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MoP proposes to allow the consumers to get power from the power supplier of their choice...

 

In a revolutionary step, the union Ministry of Power (MoP) has proposed for the Nagpur city to separate distribution and supply of electricity. If this model is implemented you may be able to choose your power supplier, the one which offers you the most attractive tariff. This model has been successful in United Kingdom (UK) and there are six supply companies that compete with each other in offering best packages to consumers.

The possible future scenario can be understood by an example. At present, the city is supplied power by MSEDCL and SNDL. However, SNDL is only a franchisee of MSEDCL and its tariff is the same. Their area of operations are different. A SNDL consumer does not have the choice of opting for MSEDCL supply and vice-versa.

If the proposed model is implemented MSEDCL will become only the owner of power network in the city. Various power companies like Tata, Reliance, Torrent, etc will use this network to supply power to consumers. A consumer will have the option of choosing any of them. MSEDCL can also supply power but for that state government will have to constitute a separate power supply company - say Maharashtra State Electricity Supply Company Limited (MSESCL) - that will compete with private players.

The supply companies will provide new connections, install their own meters, issue and collect bills. They will attend to billing complaints. But, the power breakdowns will be attended by the distributor MSEDCL.

If the model is seriously implemented it will break the monopoly of state-run discoms which have become extremely inefficient due to lack of competition. Many of them might improve their services like public sector banks did to survive. Due to poor financial health of these discoms power generation companies too are in a bad shape.

Commenting on the draft amendment power expert RB Goenka said while the step was welcome it had several flaws and grey areas. "The draft proposes to continue cross subsidy. This will come in way of offering a competitive tariff. Instead government should make it compulsory for generating stations and supply companies to provide it certain quantum of power at subsidized rates and then supply it to farmers.

"Secondly, the tariff of the suppliers will be determined by electricity regulatory commissions. This is even more illogical. How can suppliers offer competitive tariff if somebody else decides it for them. I am opposing these provisions in my submission to MoP. Unless these provisions are removed the new model won't be successful," he said.

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Power supply to GESCOM & HESCOM reallocated...

 

The state government has reallocated the supply of power to GESCOM and HESCOM as per the instructions of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission for 2013-14.

The order in this connection was issued recently, Managing Director of GESCOM Pallavi Akurati said here on Wednesday.

She told reporters that GESCOM will get 23.17 per cent of power instead of 26.51 per cent from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). GESCOM has been empowered to purchase 25.46 per cent power on part time basis, she added.

HESCOM has been reallocated 20.94 per cent of power against the present allocation of 17.60 per cent from KPTCL and it has been approved to purchase 29.36 per cent power on part time basis.

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Alstom T&D India wins order worth Rs. 1 billion from Power Grid...

 

Alstom T&D India will help monitor and control India's electricity supply network with two contracts worth 1 billion INR (€12.5 million) awarded by Power Grid Corporation of India.

Alstom will supply its energy management system (EMS) to enable reliable, secure and efficient operation of the electric power system. The scope of the two contracts covers EMS packages for India's Southern and Western Regional Load Dispatch Centres (SRLDC and WRLDC).

The growth in India's electrical grid capacity requires the upgrade to both 765 kV AC transmission and High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission for bulk power transfer. These technologies need to be backed up by equally advanced energy management software. Alstom's EMS ensures overall reliability of the electric power system, through state-of-the-art user interface and situational awareness capacities.

It is anticipated that this will enable PowerGrid operators to make fast decisions using advanced visualisation, information storage and retrieval tools.

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Tamil Nadu Govt to promote solar devices among farmers...

 

A pilot project is being conducted among farmers to introduce solar-powered motors, said the state electricity Minister Natham R Viswanathan while visiting the renewable energy exhibition here on Saturday. Farmers will be provided 80% subsidy for the purchase, he said.

The minister said farmers will be provided solar equipment worth over Rs 5 lakh under the scheme which is in its preliminary phase. The buyer will have to invest at least a lakh for the purchase. Subsidy is being provided by the state as well as the centre for buying non-conventional energy devices.

Viswanathan further said the government buildings in the state will gradually run on solar power. Mannaparai Government Hospital, Srirangam, and the Trichy Corporation office are now running with solar power and measures are also being taken to convert the district collectorate, said the minister.

The minister inspected the 73 stalls put up by the solar equipment traders who are showcasing their models. Some stall owners, however, said adoption of solar energy is comparatively less among the farming community since a heavy investment is required. Besides, the disbursal of government subsidy is tardy.

The stall owners are exhibiting a wide array of solar, wind and other cost-effective equipment such as LED lights. A conference on renewable energy was also held here as part of the exhibition.

The exhibition is conducted jointly by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), Chennai, and the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA).

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Green Energy Corp seeks 300 acre land for solar power plant...

 

The Green Energy Development Corporation Ltd (Gedcol), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), has asked the state government to provide 300 acre land in central Odisha for development of solar power plants.

“After the government provides us land, we will create all necessary infrastructure for establishment of power plants and private developers would be invited to install their solar projects,” said Sahadev Khatua, managing director of Gedcol at Odisha Solar Conference  2013, organised by Bhubaneswar chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).

The newly-created corporation has asked the government to provide land in Kalahandi, Bolangir and Boudh districts, where the intensity of sun generated heat is higher.

Apart from using government provided land, OHPC is also planning to use large amount of  unused land available with it for generation of solar energy.

“We have about 700 acres lying unused with us, out of which about 200 acres are in Kalahandi district only. We are planning to develop solar plants on this land with the help of private developers,” Khatua added.

Khatua, however, declined to comment about the amount of solar energy to be generated once all the plans of Gedcol get implemented. As per a policy decision of Odisha government, target has been set at 80 Mw solar power generation by 2014-15.

At present, 13 Mw is produced in the state by small solar power developers. The state government aims to generate additional 10 Mw from its scheme to install roof-top solar power projects, conceived earlier this year.

“We will complete the detail project report for generating solar power from roof top of every government establishments in Cuttack-Bhubaneswar area by December this year. By March 2014, the bidding for the project will be completed and in the next financial year, construction work will start,” said the top official of Gedcol, which is the nodal agency for implementing the project.

If the government initiative to generate roof top solar power becomes successful, the state government would take steps to encourage private players to take up such projects in future, he added.

Renewable energy potential in Odisha has been assessed at 11,820 Mw, with solar energy having the highest potential at 10,000 Mw among all green energy sources. The potential for solar photo-voltaic source is pegged at 8,000 Mw followed by solar thermal and wind power at 2,000 Mw and 910 Mw respectively. Potential for power generation from biomass paddy husk and bio-mass paddy straw has been assessed at 250 Mw each.

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Andhra Pradesh signs PPAs for 142 Mw solar power...

 

Andhra Pradesh power utilities have entered into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with solar power developers for 147 Mw and issued letters of intent (LoIs) for another 142 Mw. The move comes after the state government decided to encourage private entrepreneurs to set up an installed capacity of 1,000 Mw in solar power late last year.

This was informed to Ratan P Watal, secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy at a review meeting. The present installed capacity  in the state is about 61.24 Mw.

A statement by the energy department said the Union Secretary complimented the authorities for eliciting a competitive rate of Rs 6.49 per unit payable to the developers. However, a relatively lower purchase price fixed afterwards dampened the excitement.

In addition to this, a separate policy for the industries either for captive use or third party sale had been announced by the state and a set of clarifications were awaited from the state Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) to realize about 1,483 Mw of solar power under this policy, it said.

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Hearing in MERC on the petition filed by vidarbha industries against MSEDCL on billing issue...

 

Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) will on November 13 hear a petition filed by industries against illegal bills issued by MSEDCL in September. Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) too has filed the petition on behalf of all industrial associations in Vidarbha.

MERC in August had allowed MSEDCL to levy six surcharges from September. However, MSEDCL levied them in August bills itself in violation of Commission's order. In spite of protests by industrialists, MSEDCL did not provide any relief. The surcharges have increased electricity bills by 20%.

The industrialists have contended that while it does not matter to residential and commercial consumers whether they start paying surcharges from August or September, industries had suffered heavy losses. The reason is that industries had fixed the price of their goods on the basis of power tariff prevailing in August. Had they known the power rates would increase by 20% they would have increased price accordingly. However, they had sold their products at lower prices in August but the input cost had increased which caused them losses.

Nineteen industries and VIA have filed similar petition and hence MERC has clubbed them. They have demanded that the Commission should register case against MSEDCL officials under Section 142 & 146 of Electricity Act for violating MERC's directives. An organization or official convicted under these sections can be fined up to Rs 1 lakh.

The industries have also prayed that MSEDCL be directed to issue corrected bill for August 2013 without surcharges. They have also demanded that only three surcharges instead of six should be levied in September and corrected bills for this month should also be issued. All consumers should be refunded excess amount with interest.

This is the first step by industries and consumers to fight high handed behaviour of MSEDCL. They also plan to challenge MERC's order on six surcharges in Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (ATE) and lodge a complaint against MSEDCL in Competition Commission of India for misusing its power in a monopoly situation.

Many industrialists had earlier decided not to pay August bills but this was opposed by textile industries and this form of protest was dropped. Now the industries are concentrating on legal measures and taking up the issue with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. The industrialists have also joined hands with other consumers to expose MSEDCL and Mahagenco. MSEDCL's inflation of farmers' bills has become a major embarrassment for the distributor while Genco is at pains to explain its extremely high cost of generation.

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RPower knocks PFC’s doors again for funding the samalkot ant Tato Projects...

 

Reliance Power Ltd (RPower) has once again approached Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) for loans totalling Rs 5,000 crore for its two projects — Samalkot (Andhra Pradesh) and Tato-II (Arunachal Pradesh).

The Anil Ambani group company has sought Rs 2,500 crore for the 2,400-MW Samalkot gas-based station and Rs 2,584 crore for the 700-MW Tato-II hydro power project.

“The Tato-II case was discussed by PFC Board on November 8, while the one for Samalkot is under examination,” an official privy to the development told Business Line.

But no final decision has been made till now, he added.

RPower had, in the past, too, approached PFC for funding for the Samalkot project. But for want of a bank guarantee it was not accepted. PFC had asked RPower to furnish a bank guarantee, as there was uncertainty over availability of domestic natural gas.

“Reliance Power did not give the bank guarantee at that time,” the official added.

POOLING MECHANISM

Though the situation as far as availability of gas is concerned has not changed much, PFC is still considering the loan request, as RPower has cited the Government’s initiative to make gas available through pooling mechanism for power projects that are stalled.

The company has also requested the Power Ministry for its support while seeking these loans.

“No special dispensation will be given while considering their request. Every lender will appraise the project and fund it based on commercially viable decisions,” a senior Power Ministry official told Business Line.

RPower did not respond to Business Line’s queries seeking details on the loan applications.

The Samalkot power station will cost nearly Rs 11,000 crore. Of this, Rs 3,300 crore will be equity funding and the remaining Rs 7,700 crore will be debt. Till now, RPower has tied up loans of about Rs 3,000 crore.

The Tato-II hydro project would cost about Rs 7,400 crore, comprising Rs 2,200 of equity and the balance in debt.

CONSOLIDATED DEBT

“Reliance Power has a consolidated debt of Rs 27,000 crore as of March 2013. The company has a net debt-equity ratio of 1.3, while gross debt-equity ratio of 1.5,” said Rupa Shah, Research Analyst (Institutional Equities) at Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd.

“Till net debt-equity ratio of 1.5 is reached, not much concern would be raised,” Shah added.

It is believed that RPower is also seeking loans of more than Rs 4,500 crore from Rural Electrification Corporation.

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