NTPC hopeful of starting Katwa thermal project in few months...

 

Power major NTPC has expressed the hope that construction of the 1,320-Mw Katwa thermal power plant in the West Bengal would begin construction in a few months.

NTPC Chairman Arup Roychowdhury, who met state's power minister Manish Gupta today, indicated that the company hoped to get the board's nod for the project by February-March.

Gupta, who described the meeting as a courtesy call, said that NTPC assured to begin construction of the plant soon.

Coal linkage was one of the issues before the power major. The captive coal block meant for the project was deallocated by the coal ministry. The state power department would place a proposal to offer coal linkage from its captive blocks before the Cabinet for its consideration in February, Gupta said.

NTPC proposed to construct two thermal units of 660 Mw on 557 acres which it has in its possession. NTPC has also received positive feedback from land owners for 150 acres it required for the ash pond.

A few months ago, NTPC had said that unless 150 acres was not arranged by the state government it was not possible to go ahead with the project.

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DVC begins work on Raghunathpur project - phase II…

 

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) today started work on its 1,320-MW (660MWx2) phase II project for Raghunathpur thermal power plant that would entail a total investment of Rs 10,000 crore.

“We have begun the civil work for boiler of the first unit of 660MW for the second phase of Raghunathpur thermal power project,” Debashis Mitra, Chief Engineer, Raghunathpur Power Plant said.

He said this is just a beginning and it will take not less than two years to complete.

The development holds significance as DVC in November was planning to shift the project from West Bengal after officials were attacked by locals in protest.

Mitra said work had also resumed for ash pond and water corridor which is needed for first and second phase of the project.

The project got stuck and generation could not be commenced as DVC was not able progress with the 10 km water corridor pipeline for the plant due to law and order problem.

DVC has almost completed first unit of 600 MW for first phase 1200 MW (600MW x2) Raghunathpur project.

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Alstom T&D wins orders worth Rs 162 cr for substations in West Bengal...

 

Alstom T&D India on Tuesday said that it has bagged three contracts worth Rs 162 crore (€24 million) from West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (WBSETCL) for projects across the State.

The first two contracts include design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of 220/132 kV gas-insulated substation (GIS) package for Vidyasagar Industrial Park at Kharagpur and 220 kV GIS package at Dharampur. The orders are worth approximately Rs 60.7 crore (€9 million) and Rs 30.9 crore (€5 million), respectively.

As part of the third contract, worth Rs 63 crore (€10 million), Alstom will supply a 400 kV substation and a 220 kV transformer bay at Gokarna, and a 220 kV substation and feeder bays at Krishnanagar.

The 400 kV air-insulated substation (AIS) is constructed to evacuate power from the 1,000 MW Sagardighi Power plant (Phase II). It will be directly connected to the substation of PowerGrid.

“With these orders, Alstom T&D India has secured leadership position with more than 50 per cent market share in eastern India for GIS and AIS substations,” Rathin Basu, Managing Director, said in a statement.

West Bengal has planned major investments in the transmission and distribution sector. The aim is to build the transmission backbone of the State, through which power will be channelled from the eastern part of the country.

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West Bengal Tech Committee approves WBGEDCL's proposal for solar park development in Boudh District...

 

The State Technical Committee (STC) has approved the proposal of the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Limited (WBGEDCL) for establishment of a solar power park at Manamunda Industrial Estate in Boudh district.

The first meeting of the STC held recently discussed the technical details of the project which proposed to generate about 50 MW of solar power with an investment of ` 400 crore.

The detailed project report is under preparation by WAPCOs, a Government of India undertaking providing consultancy services in power and infrastructure, sources in the Energy Department said.The committee also approved GEDCOL proposal of bidding for 20 MW solar power under viability gap funding (VGF) scheme of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched VGF model for the second phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).

SECI has invited tenders for allocation of 750 MW solar power projects under phase-II of JNNSM. Developers will have to specify the funds that they would be seeking, and on the basis of lowest bids, the winners will be selected.

The Centre is offering about `1875 crore in grants and will be providing subsidy to the tune of 30 per cent of the project cost so that projects meet milestones.

According to revised rules of MNRE, a total of 350 MW of projects will be built with the domestic content requirement (DCR) scheme. At the time of bidding, the project will have to opt for DCS or open categories and separate bids have to be submitted for both the cases.

Those opting for DCR will have to source domestically manufactured solar cells and panels for their projects. It is believed that the tariff offered for the DCR projects may be slightly higher than open projects.

Under the viability gap funding scheme, 50 per cent of the amount will be paid on successful commissioning of the projects, and the remaining amount is to be disbursed in 10 percent increments over a period of five years, if generation targets are met.

The STC also discussed the 105-MW solar power project proposal of Nilapuspa Energy Pvt Ltd ((NEPL) and 5-MW project proposal of Keshari Urja Private Limited (KUPL). The committee asked both the developers to submit their proposals afresh as they lacked clarity.

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WBPDCL puts coal import on hold...

 

State-owned power producer West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) has decided to put imported coal on hold for its five thermal power plants.

"The recent board meeting has agreed to put coal import on hold from fiscal 2014-15 and focus on domestic supplies from Coal India and captive sources," a senior WBPDCL official said.

"We have decided not to import in normal circumstances.

But it is not banned, we will consider if situation demands," he added.

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NTPC firm on Katwa thermal power plant project...

 

The National Thermal Power Corporation today said it remained committed to Katwa thermal power plant in West Bengal and a detailed roadmap would be revealed shortly.

Saying the proposal will be placed before the board shortly, NTPC chairman Arup Roychowdhury said, " We are committed to respecting the land policy of the state government. How we will do it will be know to you shortly."

He had also met the state power minister Manish Gupta last evening and informed they were planning to begin work on the project.

"He had met me last evening and informed that NTPC was planning to begin work on the project and they have not raised any concerns on land," Gupta told PTI.

The NTPC a few months back had said that unless 150 acre of land is not arranged by the state government it was not possible to go ahead with the project.

But, now NTPC officials have received good response from the land-owners of the 150 acres and the company was has began the process of acquisition of its own without government involvement.

NTPC was planning for 1320 MW thermal power project nad has some 550 acres of land acquired by the previous Left Front government.

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NTPC's Farakka Super thermal power project starts imported coal movement...

 

NTPC rose 0.82% to Rs 154 at 9:35 IST on BSE after the company said that the company's Farakka Super Thermal Power Station in West Bengal had started the movement of imported coal by barges through inland waterway.

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 18 November 2013.

NTPC's Farakka Super Thermal Power Station in West Bengal had started the movement of imported coal by barges through inland waterway.

The first set of 3 barges carrying about 1,500 tonnes each of imported coal has berthed near Farakka station on 13 November 2013. NTPC said it will transport 3 MMTPA of coal through inland waterway to Farakka station for 7 years.

NTPC's net profit declined 20.7% to Rs 2492.90 crore on 0.9% growth in net sales to Rs 16272.27 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.

NTPC, India's largest power company, has presence in the entire value chain of power generation business. The Government of India (GoI) holds 75% stake in NTPC (as per the shareholding pattern as on 30 September 2013).

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JSW Bengal to commence Salboni project with power...

 

With the Rs 35,000-crore integrated steel plant by JSW Bengal failing to take off, the state government has advised the company to venture into power.

"The Chief Minister had suggested that we go in for a power plant as due to the issue of iron-ore no banker was keen for financial closure," JSW Bengal CEO Biswadeep Gupta said.

Gupta said the state government will help in bringing changes in the agreement.

JSW Bengal was planning to setup 660-MW power plant at a cost of Rs 5,000-6,000 cror. The company was unable to get iron-ore linkages for the steel project.

Gupta said in the next to three to four months, the company was expected to get clearances and ground breaking for the power project was expected in April, 2014.

The entire generation was likely to be purchased by the state government.

The company had planned 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) integrated steel project at Salboni, West Midnapore.

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Work in DVC's Raghunathpur project to resume soon: Partha Chatterjee...

 

West Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee said, the state government expected work in DVC's Rs 10,000 crore second phase of Raghunathpur thermal power plant in Purulia to resume in a day or two.

"We had a meeting with the DVC chairman R N Sen and local residents and discussed the contentious issues. We think construction work will resume in a day or two," Chatterjee said here, barely two days after the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) issued a letter threatening to shift the project from the state.

Sen, who was present in the meeting, said the discussions were fruitful and DVC had no intentions to shift the project from the state.

DVC had written to the Purulia district magistrate stating all facts about the delay in implementing the project and said, if necessary action was not taken by the state administration, the company would be left with no other option than to shift the Rs 10,000 crore project from Raghunathpur.

Chatterjee said there were some eight demands of the villagers, of which around four could be met easily.

He also offered an alternate route for the main water supply pipeline to the project, if the present route posed problems with the villagers.

DVC has not been able to commence generation from the first phase of the 1200 MW (600 MW X 2) project due to lack of water and ash pond.

"Construction of the second phase of the 1320 MW (660 MW X 2) project cannot commence unless we excavate 20 lakh cubic feet of soil and complete the ash pond, but we are unable to work due to ongoing agitations," DVC officials said.

The villagers' representatives had blamed DVC for not carrying out adequate CSR activities in the area.

DVC could not progress with the 10 km water supply pipeline as it was forcibly stopped by local residents since October 21 and for the ash pond since June.

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DVC failed to keep its promises over power plant: WB govt...

 

In a bid to put the blame on DVC for the impasse over the Rs 10,000 crore thermal power plant in West Bengal's Purulia district, state Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee today accused the power utility of not keeping their word regarding compensation to land losers.

Referring to the land acquisition process for the plant at Raghunathpur which began in 2007 and when the local residents were promised jobs, Chatterjee said, "Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) should honour the agreement they signed during the Left Front regime".

Reacting to the letter written by DVC chief engineer and project head Debashis Mitra to the Purulia district magistrate, Chatterjee said, "His (Mitra's) primary responsibility is to run the site and resolve the dispute and give weight to the agreement which was signed in 2007, instead of making it an issue time and again threatening to pull out from the project. This is in very bad taste."

Chatterjee's comments came after Mitra said he had written to the DM, Purulia stating facts about the delay in project implementation and if necessary action was not taken by the state administration, the company would be left with no option other than shifting project from Raghunathpur.

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