India poised to become global solar power: World Bank...

 

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Phase-1 (JNNSM) is well-poised to make India a global leader in the development of solar power as its green growth agenda increased the installed capacity of solar power from around 30 MW to more than 2,000 MW, a new World Bank report said on Thursday.

What is significant is that JNNSM has been instrumental in bringing down the cost of solar power to a level that is competitive across the world, says the report. It has reduced the costs of solar energy to $0.15 per kWh, making India amongst the lowest cost destinations for grid-connected solar Photovoltaic (PV) in the world.

The report, ‘Paving the Way for a Transformational Future: Lessons from JNNSM Phase1’ says solar power can reduce India’s dependence on imports of diesel and coal for power generation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to energy security. Growth in this sector will help India increase its share of clean energy and help meet its target of reducing emissions per unit of its GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels.

“In a short span of three years, India has made impressive strides in developing its abundant solar power potential. With more than 300 million people without access to energy and industry citing energy shortage as key growth barrier in India, solar power has the potential to help the country address the shortage of power for economic growth,” Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India said at the release of the report.

However, while India is clearly emerging as a global leader in the area of solar power, to achieve its target of adding 20,000 MW of solar capacity by 2022, “it needs to address the key barriers and constraints that could come in the way of scaling up the solar program”, he added.

“Building on the success of Phase 1, the programme now needs to focus on promoting financing of solar projects by commercial banks, developing shared infrastructure facilities such as solar parks and identifying comparative advantage of Indian manufacturing across the supply chain,” Ashish Khanna, lead energy specialist and one of the authors of the report said.

The report has recommended publicly developed infrastructure such as solar parks to help increase efficiency and lower costs. A solar park in Charanka (Patan district) in Gujarat is now the largest solar park in Asia. Such shared infrastructure facilities helps in developing critical infrastructure, including facilities for power transmission, roads and water, thereby ensuring the rapid development of solar projects as well as local employment generation, the report added. In addition, India’s plans to develop ultra-mega solar projects will help showcase the potential for large scale grid connected solar projects to the entire world, it says.

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Alstom T&D eyes new business opportunities worth Rs 15,000 Crore...

 

Alstom T&D India, an arm of French firm Alstom, today said it is eyeing new business opportunities of close to Rs 15,000 crore in the power transmission space in India in the next 3-4 years.

"A series of projects is coming up and they will require several SVCs, PMUs (grip components) in different parts of India and we at Alstom are more than ready to do it," Rathin Basu, President and Managing Director of Alstom T&D India, told reporters here.

Grid security technology is another great opportunity coming up in the next 3-4 years, Basu said.

Static Var Compensators (SVCs), 1700 Phasor Measurement Unit (PMUs) are used in electricity transmission grids.

He said 30 SVCs and 1,700 PMUs would be required by March 2017 for transmission network strengthening in the country .

Government has already started the tendering process for for SVCs which is a Rs 3,000-4,500 crore business opportunity, he said, adding in the PMUs technology space the opportunity is close to Rs 6,000 crore.

"These devices will make the grid more secure and protected," Basu said.

In the area of providing technology for grid security the potential is about Rs 3,000-4,000 crore, he added.

Basu said: "We have set up factories, we have technical manpower and we can deliver such projects."

Alstom T&D India's share in the transmission equipment and EPC market has risen to 19 per cent from 13.5 per cent in 2007, the company said.

The company's turnover 2012-13 stood at Rs 3,150 crore. The company is investing Rs 100 crore this year for expansion of its Vadodra (Gujarat) facility.

Basu also said that the government's initiative of restructuring the loans of power distribution companies should happen quickly and will benefit his company.

As per the plan, state governments will take more than 50 per cent of the outstanding short-term liabilities of the discoms up to March 31, 2012.

The debt would then be converted into bonds to be issued by discoms to participating lenders, duly backed by State Government guarantee.

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Peak power demand of Odisha to rise to 7,023 Mw by 2021-22...

 

The peak power demand of Odisha is projected to rise to 7,023 Mw by 2021-22 as against 5,237 Mw in the current fiscal. To meet this projected demand, the state needs to have installed capacity of 10,505 Mw, according to the 18th Electric Power Survey (EPS) of India.

On the basis of the survey, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has envisaged the energy requirement of the state to be 42,097 million units (mu) in 2021-22.

The peak demand for 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 will be 5,237 Mw, 5409 Mw 5,594 Mw and 5,786 Mw respectively and the energy requirements will be 32,079 mu in 2013-14, 32,895 mu in 2014-15 and 34,683 mu in 2016-17.

Similarly, the state's installed capacity required for 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 has been pegged at 7,833 Mw, 8,091 Mw, 8,367 Mw and 8,655 Mw respectively.

For meeting the surging demand of power, the state government has signed about 29 MoUs with the independent power producers (IPPs) for setting up projects with combined installed capacity of 38,000 Mw. Odisha expects to get about 6,200 Mw from this generation.

So far, three IPPs namely Sterlite Energy, Aarti Steel and Power and GMR Kamalanga Energy have commissioned thermal power plants of 2,800 Mw and supplying the state's share out of it to Gridco. NTPC, the largest power generator in the country, has proposed to set up three projects-3,200 Mw plant at Darlipali in Sundergarh district, 3,200 Mw at Gajamara in Dhenkanal and expansion of 1,320 Mw at its Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) in Angul.

While the state owned Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) is contemplating expansion of 1,320 Mw at its Ib Valley complex, Odisha Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (OTPCL), a 50:50 joint venture between Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), is moving ahead with a power project of 2,400 Mw in Dhenkanal district.

The state government is also in the process to formulate a comprehensive Thermal Power Plant Policy for encouraging the genuine developers.

Among others, the state energy department in its annual action plan under Climate Change Action Plan-2013-14, has stated that the government is encouraging the developers to set up critical power plant for lesser coal consumption and higher plant efficiency.

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Indian Power sector hit by less competition: CCI Chief

 

Emphasizing that good competitive environment helps promote business dynamism, CCI chief Ashok Chawla said the lack of competition is hurting the growth of power sector. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) keeps a tab on unfair trade practices at the marketplace.

 

Speaking at the Delhi Economics Conclave, the CCI chairman said, the lack of competition is hurting the Indian power sector.

"Worst hurt is power (sector) where capacity shortages have caused constraints to economic growth." Chawla said.

"The control of the infrastructure, that is the electricity wires, by the dominant firm gives rise to access issues," Chawla added.

According to him, there is conflict of interest when content and carriage is with the same entity.

At present, power distribution companies (discoms) supply as well as manage network that provides electricity for residential and commercial purposes.

The government is working on a proposal where a power supplier would not manage the electricity distribution network.

Meanwhile, Chawla said the competition law has primarily three elements - to act against anti-competitive agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and curb abuse of dominant market position by entities.

So far, the commission has received more than 400 matters related to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance.

With regard to M&As, around 150 proposals have been decided so far, he said.

Chawla also laid stress that good corporate governance is critical for ensuring fair competition.

Bad assets set to rise in infra sector in near-term
State-run India Infrastructure Finance Company today said that it expects a rise in non- performing assets in the near-term but health of the key sector is likely to improve going forward.

"We may see the bad assets ratio going up in the short-term, but things will be better than other institutions working in the same space," Executive Director Harsh Kumar Bhanwala told reporters here.

However, if issues plaguing various infra projects are addressed, things on the bad asset front will certainly improve, he said.

The public sector lender engaged in infra financing had a gross non-performing asset base of around 1.1 per cent by the end of first half of this fiscal. The firm, which has a restructured book of around Rs 3,000 crore as of now, has seen addition of Rs 600 crore in this account in the current financial year.

"We may add around Rs 400 crore of restructured book going ahead," Bhanwala said.

Bhanwala, here to participate in a road-show to promote India Infrastructure Finance Co's tax-free bond, said the issue is getting sound response. India Infrastructure Finance Co is presently in the market to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore through bond sale. It has received around Rs 1,850 crore as of now from investors.

Meanwhile, the infra financing firm said the first disbursements from its infra-debt fund would happen by the end of this month.

India Infrastructure Finance Co has disbursed around Rs 4,000 crore of credit by the end of November and has sanctioned around Rs 1,200 crore as of now.

"We are focusing on the refinancing and take out finance business to drive business growth as new sanctions have slowed down," Bhanwala said, adding India Infrastructure Finance Co would be able to maintain 30 per cent growth in loan book in fiscal 14.

Talking about take-out financing, he said the company sees the share from this segment rising from 10 per cent (around Rs 3,000 crore) of the total disbursed loan book size of Rs 30,000 crore to around 11-12 per cent by fiscal 14-end.

Talking about take-out financing, he said the company sees the share from this segment rising from 10 per cent (around Rs 3,000 crore) of the total disbursed loan book size of Rs 30,000 crore to around 11-12 per cent by fiscal 14-end.

India Infrastructure Finance Co said it is awaiting government nod to increase the loan tenure in case of take-out financing, a way of providing finance for longer duration projects.

Meanwhile, India Infrastructure Finance Co today said S B Nayar has taken over the charge of Chairman and Managing Director of the company.

Prior to this, he was managing director of of IFCI, India Infrastructure Finance Co said in a statement.

India Infrastructure Finance Co has disbursed around Rs 4,000 crore of credit by the end of November and has sanctioned around Rs 1,200 cr as of now.

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J&K Government floats RFQ for setting up of 23 mini hydro power projects...

 

Set to harness hydro power for augmenting supplies in rural and remote areas, Jammu and Kashmir government has floated tenders for 23 mini and micro hydro electric power projects in seven districts of State.

Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) has come out with Request for Qualification (RFQ) from experienced and capable companies with necessary technical competence and financial strength for developing 23 Micro and Mini Hydro projects up to a capacity of 2 MWs each as Independent power producer (IPP) for a period of 40 years.

The RFQ has been floated as per the 'policy for Development of Micro and Mini Hydro Power Projects-2011'.

Twenty three Mini and Micro Hydro projects with a capacity of 35.7 MWS would come up in 7 districts.

Of these projects, the highest 6 projects would be developed in Anantnag district of South Kashmir followed by 5 in Poonch district, 4 each in Ganderbal and Kishtwar district, 2 in Ramban district and one each in Baramulla and Budgam districts.

As per the RFQ, aggregate capital costs must not be less than Rs 0.75 crore per MW for the bidding company or consortium.

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SunEdison Rural Energy Fund Recognized As 501(c)(3)...

 

California-based solar energy services firm SunEdison says its SunEdison Rural Energy Fund (SREF) nonprofit has received Internal Revenue Service recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity.

SREF focuses on providing solar energy to hospitals, schools and other institutions in rural and remote areas that cannot afford the upfront costs of a photovoltaic installation.

"We are combining our efforts to help provide electricity to rural populations with not-for-profit organizations," says Ahmad Chatila, president and CEO of SunEdison, citing one program to install solar-powerd water pumps to villages in India. “Supporting SREF allows us to extend our reach to other geographies where there are people in need."

SREF's SunFarmer provides long-term financing and technical assistance to health clinics and schools that can benefit from solar, but can't afford the upfront cost.

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TNERC to announce charges related to Open Access and others for wheeling of solar power in 2 months...

 

Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) will in two months announce the wheeling and banking, open access and cross subsidy charges to be levied on solar power.

Speaking at a conference here on Wednesday, Commission Member S.Nagalsamy said work was under way in this regard and an announcement from TNERC could be expected in a couple of months. These tariffs, he explained, would pave the way for wheeling of solar power to the grid.

He was participating in a session at a conference on solar power generation organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Helping producers

The charges – or no charges as is the case in neighbouring Karnataka – would be crucial in terms of helping solar power producers give shape to their strategies besides determining the cost of power for consumers.

The solar policy of the State government, unveiled last year, Mr. Nagalsamy said, laid a great thrust on tapping the potential.

The emphasis stemmed from the change in the power scenario in Tamil Nadu – from surplus in early last decade to a deficit State.

The situation last year, he added, was the worst with some areas experiencing power cuts in excess of 12 hours a day, he added.

A theme paper, prepared for the CII by PwC said the Tamil Nadu Solar Energy Policy 2012 envisages a solar capacity addition of 3,000 MW through utility scale, solar roof top projects and the REC (renewable energy certificate) mechanism in 2015. Investments within the sector were likely to gain momentum once the regulator announces the open access charges, the paper said.

Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy said every State was in a position to emulate what Gujarat had done in the field of solar power production.

The land acquisition process, for the utility scale solar power projects, however, was a constraint and needed to be addressed.

Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency chairman and managing director Sudeep Jain said the organisation had floated a tender for supply, installation and commissioning of grid tied solar rooftop power plants under the Chief Minister’s solar rooftop capital intensive scheme for 10,000 domestic consumers. The bids would be opened on January 3.

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Good response to TN solar policy...

 

The state solar policy has elicited positive res­ponse across the board with the industry also responding positively, said Sudeep Jain, chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu En­­ergy Develo­p­ment Ag­e­ncy (TEDA).

“Many innovations ha­ve been built into the rooftop systems for the solar-powered ‘green’ houses provided to the below poverty line (B­PL) families and these systems have come out to be very well desi­gned,” Jain said spe­aking at the ‘Confe­r­ence on Solar Power Generation’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Ind­u­stry (CII) on Wednesday.

Tracing the salient points of the Tamil Na­du Solar Energy policy, Jain said powering 60,000 houses in Tamil Nadu with solar energy was the largest such pro­gramme in the cou­ntry. Recalling another initiative that involved conversion of 20,000 streetlights to solar every year, he said 20W LED lights have rep­laced incandescent bul­bs, tube-lights and CFL

Also, clusters with a centralised solar plant has also been formed which have remote mo­nitoring units, giving performance data every 30 minutes on the website, he informed.

The next step, Jain said, will be to move away from the need for battery backup, the we­akest link in the rooftop solar systems. He hoped that challenges such as maintenance of rooftop units, training of manpower, and durability of the solar systems would be overco­me through industry tie-ups.

Dr Amita Prasad, principal secretary, energy department, government of Karnataka,  req­u­ested the industry to make solar solutions affordable. Karnataka has identified Hu­bli, Dharwar and Mysore which have immense potential for solar based power generation and the state government had set a target of  2000 MW generation capacity  by 2020.

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Multiple legal challenges hurting Tamil Nadu’s solar plan...

 

Multiple legal challenges are hurting Tamil Nadu’s ambitious plan of adding 3,000 megawatt of solar power by 2015, two state officials have said.

Tamil Nadu, facing one of its worst-ever power crises, is betting big on solar. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s administration has drawn up an ambitious plan to add 3,000 megawatt through this route by 2015, 1,000 megawatt every year starting 2013.

Toward this, the state had floated a 1,000 megawatt tender, India’s single biggest tender, late last year. But the going has not been smooth. “The 1,000 megawatt tender is delayed because it is hit by legal cases. We are confident of getting it cleared,” said Sudeep Jain, chairman and MD of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, the nodal agency for solar projects, addressing a Confederation of Indian Industry conference.

Starting 2013, Tamil Nadu’s solar policy mandates, many classes of commercial buildings and factories need to meet at least 3% of their power requirements through solar. This has proved to be a controversial clause for industry.

“Some customers have gone to court against the solar purchase obligation,” said S Nagalsamy, member of Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, the only member on board at the State regulator.

He said there have been doubts about whether the twin targets – of 3,000 megawatt of solar power in three years as also the solar purchase obligation in two years – are achievable. “Unfortunately it could not take off, but government has earnestly taken steps,” he said.
He also said cases have also been filed against the alleged discrimination between different classes of consumers. While the solar purchase obligation is a requirement for high-tension and low-tension commercial consumers, other classes such as domestic consumers are exempt.

According to a report by Mercom Capital Group, under the state tender, 52 developers have signed letters of intent (power purchase agreements are yet to be signed) for setting up solar plants with 700 megawatt of capacity. Developers have 10 months to commission these projects from the date of signing the agreements.

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Welspun Energy partners with Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI) to set up solar research lab...

 

Welspun Energy Ltd. (WEL) is partnering with Gandhinagar based Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI) for the advancement of solar technology in India.

The organization will be setting up a lab at GERMI where different solar technologies will be studied for their performance in Indian terrain and climatic conditions.

The MoU was signed with Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), during the recently held Vibrant Gujarat’s International Conference for Academic Institutions (ICAI) 2013.

The organization will also be working closely with students. Welspun Energy will be designing & offering internship programs to students of PDPU’s Solar Program. With WEL’s large solar and wind projects under development, it is expected that students participating in this internship program will be able to witness the entire project development cycle of a clean energy power plant. Skilled manpower in this field is scarce and through such initiatives the organization will be able to help students transform into specialized resources.

Mr. Vineet Mittal, Co-Founder & Managing Director Welspun Energy stated “Solar energy industry in India is still young, with some amount of research carried out in India for standardization & technology selection. However, we need to be ready for the next phase of growth and that calls for a greater focus on research and building relevant skill sets in our young. As an extension to society, we want to support leading institutions in India and foster indigenous capability.”

A student exchange program has also been initiated by WEL with the Singapore Managment Univesity. Through the corpus, scholarships will be awarded to PDPU’s select meritorious students to study at Singapore’s leading university.

Simultaneously, Welspun Energy has also committed to making PDPU a green energy institute by commissioning a 25 KW rooftop solar system.

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