Kerala Solar Policy 2013 - Solar projects can use tribal land in the state...

 

The Kerala Solar Energy Policy, approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, envisages use of tribal land for solar power projects.

The policy proposes a revenue (not profit) sharing mechanism for the landowner besides lease rentals for the land. The willingness of the landowner is mandatory.

(The policy proposals on solar installations on tribal land assume significance in view of controversy over dispossession of the land belonging to tribals in Attappady and installation of wind power units.)

The policy says that the land ownership rights shall continue to fully vest with the original owner (tribal). The developer shall have only rights to set up and operate the project. The landowner will have the right to use land for agricultural purpose. Revenue sharing based on the power generated, possibly in the range not below 5 per cent, is envisaged.

The payment of share of revenue, it adds, shall be made directly to the bank account of the landowner. For this purpose, a tripartite agreement has to be entered into among the developer, landowner, and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). Only lands which do not have an immediate productive use shall be thus identified or permitted.

Developer’s role

It says that the prime responsibility for identifying land for renewable energy shall be with the developer. The government shall endeavour to assess clearly the land suitable for the development of solar installations in the possession of either the government or the private party or tribal individuals.

The policy proposes that the KSEB shall create evacuation facility beyond the pooling station for the projects with a capacity of less than or equal to 10 MW. For higher capacity plants, the KSEB shall construct evacuation facility on deposit work basis.

There shall be no open access charges for solar projects for wheeling power within the State. Wheeling and transmission and distribution losses will not be applicable for the captive solar generators within the State. The energy generated shall be fully exempted from electricity duty.

The Agency for Non-Convention Energy and Rural Technology (Anert) will be the nodal agency for non-conventional energy.

Administration of the policy will be entrusted with a State-level empowered committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary or the Principal Secretary in charge of power.

The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission will notify the normative feed-in-tariff of solar power procurement by the KSEB in case of off-site commercial installations.

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Bids for Small hydro power scheme in Kerala to be announced by month-end...

 

Successful bids for the ambitious BOOT-basis small hydel project (SHEP) scheme promoted by the Energy Management Centre, Kerala, (EMC), will be announced by this month-end.

The bids are to be opened on November 26, as per a revised schedule.

According to the new deadline, proposals can be submitted up to November 25, EMC officials said. EMC had set November 15 as the cut-off date for placing proposals and November 16 for opening the bids.

The deadlines have been extended by 10 days on the request of bidders, EMC director K M Dhareshan Unnithan said.

“We have received around 35 bids so far for 62 SHEPs available under the scheme. The biggest SHEP in the list is a 21-MW one,” he said. Successful bidders can build, own, operate and then transfer (BOOT) the project after the stipulated period. SHEPs - hydel projects up to 25 MW are listed in this class - assume significance against the backdrop of the unofficial ‘ban’ on big hydel projects in the state due to environmental concerns.

Owing to green worries, several of the hydel projects now under development by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) also are SHEPs.

In fact, the 62 projects now available were originally pinpointed by KSEB for development.

“There is a huge potential for panchayats to step into the SHEP sector. They can develop such schemes locally on a cost-sharing basis with the government and interested groups in their locality,” Dhareshan Unnithan said.

The recently published Kerala Perspective Plan 2030 of the State Planning Board also underscores the need for such schemes at the gram panchayat level to supplement the KSEB-centred supply of electricity in the state.

Majority of the SHEPs in the EMC’s BOOT scheme are run-of-the-river projects and are located in Idukki, Ernakulam and the districts further north.

The total capacity of the schemes on offer comes to around 160 MW.

It is estimated that Kerala has a small hydro potential of 700 MW.

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Kerala State Electricity Board plea to regulator...

 

The Kerala State Electricity Board has sought a review of drastic cuts in its expenses on generation of power, purchase of power, and general administration.

The request was contained in an appeal to the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The appeal noted while the Board had projected a revenue gap of Rs 2,758.67 crore in commercial operations in the year 2013-14, the commission had calculated it only to be Rs 1,049.91 crore.

The Commission has meanwhile posted a public hearing on this petition at its office on Tuesday.

The Board also sought a review of the order in which it was allowed a spending of Rs 1,803.81 crore on salaries and pensions against the requirement of Rs 2,551.50 crore for 2013-14.

The sum approved had fallen short by 29.30 per cent, the Board pointed out in the appeal.

 

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NVVN has signed a PPA with KSEB to supply 300 MW Power for three years...

 

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), the trading arm of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to supply 300 MW power for a period of three (3) years.

 

NVVN has won the contract through Competitive Bidding process carried out by KSEB.

 

The period of PPA shall commence from March 2014. It is found that the tariff of the electricity under the PPA will be Rs. 4.50 per unit.

As per the PPA. NVVN has agreed to supply around 7.0 Billion units of power which will be sourced from Chhattisgarh.

 

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Additional Reading...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/ntpc-power-trading-arm-to-supply-300-mw-electricity-to-kerala/articleshow/21162081.cms

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Power crisis: Balan seeks probe into KSEB…

Former Electricity Minister AK Balan has demanded a comprehensive inquiry into what he called the poor planning which led to the crisis in the electricity sector. He told reporters here on Thursday that the KSEB had petitioned the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to permit half-an-hour load-shedding and power cut to high tension and extra high tension industries besides 10 per cent power restriction to LT consumers.

He said the state had received 1380 MW of power as additional Central allocation during this period and several places received summer rains resulting in a decline in demand for power. Still the KSEB is planning to implement power cut, he said.

Balan said that this year the state received enough water for generating 700 million units more compared to the previous year. But, by the first week of March, there was only enough water to generate 400 million unit lesser compared to the previous year.

He said that it was to cover up this lapse in planning that the government had increased the generation from Idukki dam in the name of� Mullapperiyar issue. But water required for only 59 million units was utilised in this regard, he said.

Balan said that instead of storing water during monsoon season, the generation from Idukki had reached the optimum level during August and September months. The excess generation forced the KSEB to sell power at Rs 1.50 to neighbouring state. At the same time, we were buying power at Rs 3.5 from Karnataka, he said.

He criticised the KSEB for the "lack of planning’’ in view of the huge demand for power during the summer. While Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had taken steps in advance to purchase power from the Eastern Grid, Kerala remained idle. The result was non-availability of the transmission corridor linking Eastern and Southern Grids and failure to bring more power from outside, the former Power Minister said.

He said during the LDF Government’s tenure the Central allocation was between 700-800 MW units while the Central allocation for this year was a record 1,380 MW unit.

Now the consumers are forced to pay the cost for the lapses on the part of the Board. The Regulatory Commission had the power to order a probe under Section 94 of the Electricity Act 2003 and initiate action against the guilty, Balan said.

He urged the government to protest against the Central Electricity Authority’s denial of CNG allocation to Kerala. He also urged the government to exert pressure on the Centre to establish a coal-based power plant in Kerala as envisaged during the tenure of the LDF Government.

 

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