Hi-Tech facility for hybrid boxes of solar projects inaugurated in Gurgaon...

 

A hi-tech facility for production of green hybrid boxes for solar projects, part of a joint venture between Slovenia and India, was Tuesday inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The projects are going on at the Fairwood Smart Green Company here.

Slovenia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, the country's ambassador to India Darja Bavdaz-Kuret were present during the inauguration.

"Fairwood Smart Green has taken a significant step by investing in renewable sources of energy which will meet the millennium city's requirement and will transform Gurgaon as the green capital of the country," Hooda said.

"The hilly areas of Panchkula and remote areas of Bhiwani, Rewari and Mahendergarh districts in Haryana will benefit from this technology and the state government will extend all support needed to promote this," he said.

Hooda said that providing better energy at economically viable cost in the State was the priority of his government.

Haryana will soon come out with a state solar power policy, he said.

At present, 195.99 MW of electricity is being produced from renewable sources in the state. These include 73.30 MW from small hydro, 107.20 MW from bio-mass, 4.14 MW from waste, 7.8 MW from solar and 2.74 MW from bio-mass gasification.

Erjavec said this project will provide employment opportunities and strengthen economic ties between India and Slovenia.

He said the production facility will be addressing the problem of unavailability of power in many regions across India.

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NLC to invest Rs 29,239 crore in coal projects; to set up wind and solar projects...

 

Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC) is expected to invest Rs 29,239 crore in coal and power sectors during 12th plan of which a major share of the investment would into development of power projects.

Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of Coal today informed the members of Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his ministry that out of the total investment, Rs 26,728.40 crore will be for development of power projects while Rs 2,510.70 crore will be for coal projects.

During the period NLC has planned expansion of a number of its ongoing projects which also include mines at Neyveli and Barsingsar (Rajashtan) and power plant at Tuticorin (Tamilnadu).

He said that NLC has also planned to setup wind farm with the investment of Rs 364.75 crore and Solar Power Project with the cost of Rs 13,319 crore.

It is already working on the development of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Projects and a UCG project in Raneri, Rajasthan will be taken up through a suitable developer through competitive bidding. UCG projects in Rajasthan and Gujarat will be implemented through a joint venture with ONGC. The government is expecting that the lignite production in the country in 2016-17 is expected to reach 290.16MT.

Participating in the discussion, Members of Parliament (MPs) demanded that during the planning of relief and rehabilitation projects coal companies should consult local elected representatives including the MP.

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BHEL in talks with alstom and foster wheeler for tie-up in CBFC boiler technology...

 

France's Alstom and Switzerland-based Foster Wheeler AG are frontrunners for a possible partnership with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in the circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) boiler segment.

This is a technology where the state-owned equipment firm is not considered as strong as competitors in the domestic market such as Thermax and ThyssenKrupp India.

With distinct commercial advantages in the long run and its credentials as a clean carbon platform, CFBC boilers are expected to be increasingly used for power generation as well as for industrial applications in the future, with a projected domestic market potential of around 8,000 MW per annum.

BHEL officials indicated that the company was in various stages of talks with both Alstom and Foster Wheeler for a partnership in the large CFBC boiler segment.

Unlike in the case of coal that is powdered, pulverised and then burnt in a furnace, the CFBC boilers have the advantage of fuel flexibility.

These boilers can also be operated with non-coal fuel options such as lignite, bagasse and straw.

The advantage accruing from clean-coal platform will be by way of fuel flexibility to burn a variety of fuels — coal, lignite, coal washery rejects, biomass and waste materials — at a low combustion temperature.

While BHEL does have some in-house expertise in commissioning small CFBC sets of 125 MW, the state-owned company hopes to design and develop large-sized CFBC boilers in the technology partnership that it is trying with Alstom and Foster Wheeler.

Early last year, BHEL had commissioned its first unit of 250 MW lignite-powered CFBC boiler at Neyveli Lignite Corporation complex in Tamil Nadu, after having supplied two 125 MW CFBC boiler units for Surat lignite power project through a technical collaboration with Germany's AE&E Lentjes.

Typically, in the CFBC boilers, fluidised beds suspend solid fuels in upward-blowing jets of air during the combustion process, resulting in a stormy mixing of gas and solids.

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Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission order for RPO Compliance...

 

Immediately after the land mark order given by the honorable Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission on the enforcement and strict compliance of the Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) including the Distribution Licensees including  the entire backlog upto FY 2012-13 and for the current financial year FY 2013-14, the honorable Joint Electricity Commission for the state of Goa and UTs (Union Territories) which regulates the Electricity Departments of Goa, Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Pudducherry has also reviewed their previous order in this regard and has given strict instructions to obligated entities to comply with their RPOs by 31st March 2014 and to submit their compliance report by 20.12.2013.
 
The commission has also stated that if the licensees / OEs fail in the compliance the commission shall be constrained to proceed under Regulation 4 of the JERC (Procurement of Renewable Energy) Regulations, 2010 against the licensees/ OEs. In case of default the Obligated Entity has to deposit into a separate fund, to be created and maintained by State Agency, such amount as the Commission may determine on the basis of the shortfall in units of RPO and the forbearance price. Moreover the Obligated entity is also liable for penalty as may be provided by the Commission under Section 142 of Electricity Act, 2003.
 
This order is seen as a major initiative towards compliance of RPO and will boost the confidence of the RE investors especially in Solar and the bankers and financers in the REC mechanism.
 
The main point to be noted here is that CED (Chandigarh Electricity Department) is perhaps the only Electricity Distribution Company which has as per the provisions of the regulations has purchased Solar RECs towards an attempt to comply with their shortfall in Solar RPO.
 
Based on this order if the distribution companies come forward to comply with their deficit Solar RPO by the mean of purchase of Solar RECs this will lead to a demand of around 2.5 Lakh Solar RECs. This will clear almost 50% of the REC inventory from both the power exchanges.
 
The Joint Secretary Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Mr. Tarun Kapoor has personally shown major interest in the compliance of the Solar RPO and promotion of Solar Energy in the country and has also urged regulatory commission to suitably revisit their regulations in respect of the solar RPO from the period of 2013-14 to 2021-22 and suitable revise the same upwards and also take appropriate steps to ensure that the obligated entities comply with the stipulated target set in the regulations notified by the commission for solar RPO.
 
On this occasion Mr. Vikalp Mundra, Joint Managing Director, Ujaas energy Limited has expressed his happiness and said that the initiatives like consensus by the Forum of Regulators on the need of stricter action against non-compliance of RPO targets, need of invoking
provisions in the regulation in the form of imposing non-compliance charges in case of default and then these orders will help in boosting the investments in this sector.
 
Ujaas Energy Limited formerly known as M and B Switchgears Limited which is the first company to have a solar power plant under REC mechanism and is pioneer in the field of Solar REC has installed more than 60 MW of solar power plants under REC mechanism for themselves and for their various clients in India and is in process to install 100 MW more by March 2014.
 
Mr. Mundra further says that compliance of RPO should not be done only because of the regulations and should not be treated as a burden on the Obligated Entity or on the consumers. The biggest challenge faced today by the humanity is the global warming and the impact of the climate change and we need to mobilize our national energies and resources in meeting climate change. OEs must recognize the adverse impact of the climate change and the need to address this issue a major step needs to be taken in letter and spirit by the means of compliance of the RPO. All these initiatives are taken in larger public interest. Based on the same other regulators should also come forward with similar orders and should ensure the compliance of the RPOs by the Obligated Entities.

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AEG Power Commissions 5.8 MW Solar Project For Nahar Group In India...

 

AEG Power Solutions has commissioned a 5.8 MW photovoltaic power project with the Nahar Group in India.

 

The Nahar Group is a textiles manufacturer and exporter that has recently expanded into renewable energy generation with solar and wind projects.

Located in Bikaner, Rajasthan, the project is connected to a 33 kV grid.

In addition to project development, AEG provided its Protect PV.630 inverters supported by a skytron energy monitoring system.

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1,200 power users return to RInfra from Tata Power...

 

There has been a reverse migration of 1,200 high-end power consumers from Tata Power to RInfra after the latter began implementing MERC's multi-year tariff order from September 1.

This was disclosed by RInfra officials after announcement of the quarterly results on Monday. A RInfra source said the 1,200 consumers comprised a combined load of around 130 MW and the migration took place over the past one-and-a-half months. RInfra has a total of 29 lakh customers in Mumbai.

A RInfra spokesperson said, "Consumers, accounting for 20% of power load, who had moved to Tata Power have switched back to RInfra. Our tariffs are most competitive across categories post the MERC order."

Reacting to this, Tata Power issued a statement that read: "The MERC through its order has approved RInfra multi-year tariff. The order has targeted a new changeover economics leading to higher cost for Tata Power distribution HT consumers (high-end) who have switched over, and lower tariffs for the residential category. As a result, the reverse migration is as conceptualized by the MERC."

A source said that major industries like L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra and other high-end users, including retail garment store chains, a couple of five-star hotels, film studios and two big malls in the suburbs, chose RInfra as a service provider.

"RInfra has commenced recovery of regulatory assets and cross-subsidy surcharge. The company has added 38,000 new consumers in its Mumbai Distribution business between April and September," said an official. "These additions are completely new to RInfra's consumer base and excluding those who have returned to RInfra from Tata Power Company."

"Another recent MERC order that made 9 lakh low-end consumers Tata Power's direct customers may put burden on its (Tata Power's) high-end consumers. This could further lead to reverse migration," said power expert Ashok Pendse said. Tata officials said they were studying this order.

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CESC’s Maharashtra project to go on stream in December...

 

CESC Ltd, the flagship company of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, will make operational the 300 MW first phase of its Rs 3,300-crore Chandrapur (Maharashtra) project next month. The second phase, with another 300 MW capcity, will be operational by April next year.

The company has inked a pact with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (100 MW). “Discussions are in an advanced stage with two private utilities. But I cannot reveal details,” said CESC Chairman Sanjiv Goenka.

He further said Spencer’s, the group’s fully-owned retail business, has pared losses and reported increased earnings. It reported a nearly 5 per cent increase in monthly sales per sq ft to Rs 1,363 during the September quarter, against Rs 1,300 in the previous-year period.

CESC reported a nearly 26 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 171 crore for the quarter ending September 2013. It had reported a net profit of Rs 136 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

A 3 per cent sales rise and a 3 per cent reduction in power purchase from the West Bengal State Electricity Board contributed to an improvement in its top-line.

Net sales stood at Rs 1,611 crore, up nearly 22 per cent.

“Plant load factor (utilisation of own capacities) increased by 1 per cent, which also improved profits,” Goenka said.

PLF at CESC’s three plants in West Bengal stood between 97.1 and 99 per cent. CESC shares closed at Rs 391.45, down 0.87 per cent, on the BSE on Tuesday.

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BVRIT, Engineering College of Andhra Pradesh goes solar...

 

An engineering college has taken the clean energy route to power its sprawling campus and meet the energy demands.

Padmasri Dr B.V. Raju Institute of Technology in Narsapur, about 50 km from Hyderabad, has installed and commissioned a 100 kWp solar photovoltaic rooftop plant. The project is the first-of-its-kind among all the JNTU-affiliated colleges in Andhra Pradesh. It will harness solar power to the tune of 100 kWp from this month. The plant consists of a total 400 PV modules - each 250Wp - supplied by SIRIUS Solar Energy, Hyderabad, a press release from the Institute said. It was executed by Solaris Innovations & Systems, Hyderabad

“The Rs 1.3 crore project is installed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase-III programme through New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP). Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), provided a subsidy of 30 per cent,” said Jagadishwar Reddy, Chief Executive Officer of the company.

A few students of BVRIT were involved right through the installation and commissioning and gained hands-on experience in putting together the different modules of the rooftop solar power plant, the release added.

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Wipro, Infy score big on carbon footprint disclosure...

 

Concern for the environment among Indian industry is definitely on the rise, says a new report by the UK-based non-governmental organisation, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

This year more companies have got high disclosure scores on the organisation’s Climate Disclosure leadership Index or CDLI.

Wipro leads the Indian bandwagon with an impressive score of 98, followed by Essar Oil and Infosys Ltd, both scoring 92.

“A high disclosure score signals that a company provided comprehensive information about the measurement and management of its carbon footprint, its climate change strategy and risk management processes and outcomes,” the CDP report, India 200 Climate Change Report 2013, said.

While the report analysed top 200 Indian companies, 55 companies have responded to CDP in 2013, compared with 53 in 2012. Of these, 20 companies made it to the CDLI this year. Last year only 16 made it to the list.

“Indian companies have shown increasing confidence in disclosing their GHG emissions, targets, commitments and associated progress towards targeted reductions,” the report notes.

On a positive note, the report says, “Nearly, two thirds of the responding companies perceive indirect risks of climate change affecting their supply chain, especially changes in customer behaviour.”

However, despite increasing consciousness, the report noted that Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions had increased in the past three years, which is inverse to the trend observed among the top 500 global companies.

Scope 1 emissions have increased to 178.4 million tonnes CO2 in 2013, from 89.4 million tonnes CO2 in 2012.

Scope 2 emissions in 2013 have gone up to 10 million tonnes CO2 against 6.4 million tonnes CO2 in 2012.

According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, scope 1 emissions are defined as direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, while scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.

The report suggests that Indian companies are increasingly looking at energy efficiency to drive greenhouse gas emissions reductions

According to CDP, the initiatives taken by companies save around 2.54 million tonnes CO2, which translates into an annual saving of Rs 800 crore for a one-time investment of Rs 4,000 crore.

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Godawari Solar Thermal Plant Generates Above Expectations...

 

Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd.’s solar-thermal plant, Asia’s biggest, is generating more power than expected, allaying criticism that the technology was failing in India, a government official said.

Godawari’s 50-megawatt project is at times generating 10 megawatts more than its stated capacity, said Tarun Kapoor, head of solar policy at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
“People were saying that solar thermal was not going to work out in India,”

Kapoor said at the Intersolar conference in Mumbai today. “That has now been proven wrong.”

Godawari’s plant is the first of seven solar-thermal generators planned in India. The remaining six have had their deadlines extended to February from May, Kapoor said. Plants by Reliance Power Ltd. (RPWR) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd. should be finished soon, he said.

Solar-thermal technology focuses sunlight on liquids to produce steam to run conventional turbines. The other way to generate power from sunlight is to use photovoltaic panels to convert the rays directly to electricity.

To contact the reporter on this story: Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai at npearson7@bloomberg.net

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Power demand set to double in Karnataka by 2022...

 

Electricity consumption in Karnataka, which is currently some 63,000 million units annually, is set to double by next decade. Keeping this in view, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has suggested the state government to invest heavily in power generation over the next few years to match the imminent demand.

Addressing a seminar jointly organised by Indian Institute of Science and Civic here recently, KERC chairperson M R Sreenivas Murthy said: "The demand for power in the state is expected to touch 1.10 lakh million units annually by 2022. Therefore the government really needs to pull up its socks to meet that demand "

He said factors like increasing economic activity, wealth and population, an improved standard of living and infrastructure developments are all expected to underline a continuous increase in demand for power in the next decade. "It is high time the government pulled up their socks and focus on power sector to take the state forward in power generation," he added

Keeping in view of the poor response to grievance meets of escoms and meetings seeking objection over power tariff hike by the KERC, Murthy said they have also suggested all escoms to set up power consumer groups in each district of the state and hold frequent meeting with them to get necessary feedback. "Feedback from public is essential for the improvements in power sector. But unfortunately not many people are showing keen interest in giving the suggestions," he added.

Bangalore was the first city in India to get electricity. In 1906, the city was electrified with the setting up of a hydroelectric plant in Shivanasamudra. Unfortunately today we just not only lag behind in power generation but also in transmission and distribution compared to other developed states," said Sreenivas Murthy. He also said the Karnataka Electricity Act of 2003 clearly says the escoms are private companies and the government has no control over them but chief minister and energy minister are still part of the board as the chairperson and vice-chairperson respectively.

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Intersolar India: Auction for 4GW mega solar project to start ‘in months’...

 

At Intersolar India 2013, the joint secretary for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Shri Tarun Kapoor, said invitations for tenders for the 4GW mega solar project in India will begin in a few months.

Tarun Kapoor said the first 1GW phase is scheduled for completion in three years, and tenders will be invited “in the next three to four months”, The Economic Times reported from the conference yesterday.

The mega solar project’s main aim is to “bring down the cost of power to nearly INR5 (US$0.078) per unit,” said Tarun Kapoor. Currently solar power is around INR6 (US$0.094) per kWh for large projects in India.

Finance for the project was also mentioned as Tarun Kapoor said the project will be gaining “viability gap funding” for up to INR1,000 crore (US$157 million).

The Solar Energy Corporation will be the “sole authority” selling the solar power generated from the mega project, with the entire 4GW project expected to be completed in seven years, Tarun Kapoor reportedly said.

The initial phase is to be developed at Sambhar Lake on more than 7284 hectares of land from Hindustan Salts. The entire project's estimated of INR30,000 crore (US$4.7 billion), the equivalent of INR7.5 crore per MW (US$1.2 million), said Tarun Kapoor. When fully completed, the 4GW project will produce 6,000 million kWh per year to supply the country with energy through the national grid.

The first 1GW phase was announced in September, and is being undertaken by a joint venture between electrical equipment manufacturers, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and SSL, the Solar Energy Corporation of India, the Power Grid Corporation of India and the government run hydro-electric power plant developer, SJVN. The joint venture plans to issue the remaining 3GW of tenders in 500MW blocks.

According to Intersolar’s website, Tarun Kapoor also said with the second phase of the national solar mission underway, the Indian PV market will “grow even more rapidly in the future,” continuing that India has an installed photovoltaic capacity of 1.1GW, and India intends to increase this “nine-fold” to 10GW by 2017.

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