NTPC board has approved the investment proposal for 1,320 MW thermal power project in Madhya Pradesh.
The proposal involves setting up of Khargone Power Project in the State of Madhya Pradesh at an appraised current estimated cost of Rs 9,870 Crs.
However, the approval is subject to Environment Clearance of Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The Board of Directors has also accorded approval to the company's proposal to set up 10,000 MW of renewable energy projects during the next five years.
Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has issued draft regulations for solar rooftop and net metering called as UPERC (Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive System Gross / Net Metering) Regulations, 2015.
As per the draft regulations, the eligible consumers can install rooftop solar systems under both gross & net metering schemes.
Further, the consumers who are availing Accelerated Depreciation (AD) Benefits for their rooftop solar projects will be eligible only for the net metering scheme.
The maximum peak capacity of the grid connected rooftop solar system to be installed by any eligible consumer shall not exceed 90% of the contract demand of the consumer.
Brief of the Regulations:
UPERC has invited comments and suggestions through a public notice, by 1st March 2015. Click here to access the notification.
The Draft Can be accessed here.
Suzlon Group has commissioned wind energy projects having a total capacity of 350 MW in Brazil.
This projects are located in the high wind states of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceara in Brazil.
The installations include 150 wind turbine generators.
These projects will contribute to reducing Brazil's carbon footprint by eliminating approximately 0.54 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.
The 350 MW projects completed are expected to light up one lakh households in Brazil with clean energy.
Suzlon entered the Brazilian market in 2008 and has since created a cumulative installed capacity of approximately 750 MW.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the implementation of the scheme for setting up of 15,000 MW of Grid-connected Solar PV Power projects under the National Solar Mission through NTPC/ NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) in three tranches namely, 3000 MW under Tranche-l under mechanism of Bundling with Unallocated Coal based Thermal Power and fixed levellised tariffs, 5,000 MW under Tranche-ll with some support from Government to be decided after getting some experience while implementing Tranche-l and balance 7,000 MW under Tranche-Ill without any financial support from the Government.
Successful completion of additional 15,000 MW capacity of Grid-connected solar PV power generation projects, mainly in the private sector, with largely private investment, under the National Solar Mission would accelerate the process of achieving grid tariff parity for solar power and also help reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel, which is presently in use to meet the unmet demand.
In Tranche-l, which will be Batch-II of Phase-II of the National Solar Mission, 3000 MW capacity of solar PV power plants will be based on bundling of solar power (3000 MW) with unallocated thermal power (1500 MW) in the ratio of 2:1 (in MW terms), for which the required 1500 MW unallocated thermal power has been made available by the Ministry of Power. The bundled power will be allotted to various States that come forward to (i) provide land for setting up the solar power projects and (ii) purchase a major portion of the bundled solar power for consumption within the State (iii) ensure connectivity to the solar power project. The capacity allotted to each such State will be set up through developers, to be selected through international competitive bidding by NTPC /NVVN. Both private and government companies would be free to bid for projects.
1000 MW capacity out of the 3000 MW under the bundling scheme will be set up on land already identified in Andhra Pradesh. The balance 2000 MW capacity under the Bundling Scheme will be allotted in other interested States that come forward.
It is estimated that implementation of Tranche-l of the scheme will entail total investment of over Rs.18,000 crore, all of which will be met by project developers, mainly private.
A Payment Security Mechanism / Working Capital Fund with an estimated corpus of Rs. 2300 crore to cover 3 months payment for bundled capacity of 3000 MW of Solar Capacity with 1500 MW NTPC Coal Power, will be set up to ensure bankability of PPAs and timely payment to developers. This will be evolved through collaborative efforts of Government of India and Solar Project Developers. The modalities for setting up of Payment Security Mechanism / Working Capital Fund will be finalized subsequently. Accruals from encashment of Bank Guarantees, penalties on developers, etc. will also go into this fund.
Some capacity will be earmarked out of the total procurement under this scheme with provisions of domestically manufactured solar cells as well as modules. The quantity to be fixed with Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) in each tender will be prescribed by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) based on the prevailing market conditions from time to time. Bids received under both the categories (one with DCR requirement and the other without any such requirement) will be evaluated and successful bidders selected independently. Further, this DCR will also be technology agnostic that is applied on both the crystalline silicon and thin film SPV cells and modules.
Background
The first Phase of the National Solar Mission (2010-2013) had a target of 1100 MW for Grid-connected solar power generation capacity, against which 1685 MW was set up in the country under various schemes. Further capacity addition of 9,000 MW comprising 3,000 MW under Central schemes and 6,000 MW under State initiatives/ other mechanisms was envisaged In the 2nd phase of the Mission (April 2013-March 2017).
Now that sufficient experience is available in India in this field and the Government is keen to expeditiously promote solar power in the country, it is proposed to give a quantum jump to development of solar power in India through market driven approach, wherein the role of subsidies and direct Government support is gradually phased out. Specifically, it is proposed to significantly enhance capacity addition in the 2nd phase itself under Central schemes through various mechanisms.
Avantha Group company CG has bagged a $20 million (approximately Rs 124 Crs) contract from Indonesian firm PT PLN for setting up power transmission infrastructure around Indonesia.
Under the contract, CG has to set up a total of 36 transformer bays around Indonesia.
This project is being funded by IBRD - World Bank and is aimed at enhancing the performance of PT PLN's transmission grid.
The scope of the order includes design, manufacture, supply, construction and installation of transmission equipment in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands of Indonesia.
Lanco Group has approached lenders for restructuring of Rs 1000 Crs debt of two of it gas based power projects in Andhra Pradesh and to reschedule the repayment till January 2018. It has also sought similar reprieve from lenders for some of its power plants under Reserve Bank of India's 5/25 formula.
Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited (LKPL), Lanco Group company, operates three gas based power projects in Andhra Pradesh. Of this, two plants, Unit-II and III, are not able to operate due to lack of gas supplies from KG-Basin. Unit-III is yet to declare Commercial Operation Date.
Between these two units the debt is around Rs 2400 Crs for a capacity of 1100 MW.
The Group is also in the process of approaching lenders to rescheduling of loans of some of its power plants under the Reserve Bank's 5/25 Rule.
This rule enables a bank to extend loans to an infra developer for 25 years with an option to rewrite or reset the terms of the loan or transfer it to another bank or financial institution after five years.
Tata Power has signed an initial agreement with Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK - Russia’s largest coal producer) for tapping opportunities in the energy sector.
Both Tata Power and SUEK will cooperate on identifying and targeting opportunities in the energy sector in Russia and other geographies of common interest in order to develop mutually beneficial transactions.
Tata Power generates about 8,621 MW of power of which 7,407 MW is from thermal power generation.
SUEK delivers coal to more than 30 countries all over the world.
Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), nodal agency of Punjab, has invited Request for Proposal (RfP) on December 24, 2014 for development of 250 MW Solar Projects in the State.
The Projects were to be developed under following categories:
Bid submission and Non financial bid opening were on January 28, 2015.
Total 32 bids (21 in Cat-I, 7 in Cat-II & 5 in Cat-III) were received aggregating to ~388 MW (34 MW in Cat-I, 149 MW in Cat-II & 205 MW in Cat-III)
The financial bids opened on February 10, 2015.
Summary of Bid Results
List of Successful Bidders
| Bidders | Cat-I | Cat-II | Cat-III | Total Capacity (MW) | Levellized Tariff (Rs/Unit) | ||||
| Capacity (MW) | Tariff Rs/Unit | Capacity (MW) | Tariff Rs/Unit | Capacity (MW) | Tariff Rs/Unit | ||||
| ACME | - | - | 24 | 7.16 | 50 | 7.06 | 74 | 7.09 | |
| RatanIndia | 4 | 7.45 | 24 | 7.42 | 50 | 7.56 | 78 | 7.51 | |
| Solaire Direct | - | - | 24 | 6.88 | 30 | 6.88 | 54 | 6.88 | |
| Azure | 4 | 7.33 | 24 | 7.19 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7.21 | |
| Total | 8 | - | 96 | - | 130 | - | 234 | - | |
ACME Group, India’s leading solar power player in India, announced that it has emerged as the largest developer for successfully securing 74 MW of solar PV power projects under the Punjab State Solar PV Tender of 250 MW capacities, issued by Punjab Energy Development Agency.
As per the RFP document, ACME would be signing two PPAs of 24 MW and 50 MW capacity, at a tariff of Rs. 7.16/ kwh and Rs. 7.06/ kwh respectively.
Commenting on this momentous occasion, Mr. Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Founder & Chairman, ACME said ,”We take pride in announcing our partnership with the Punjab State Government as the largest solar power developer in the State and help them in their endeavor to fuel the Solar Revolution in the country. We thank the Punjab Electricity Development Agency and offer our complete support to achieve their mission to bring down the GHG emissions through using renewable energy resources. Through our expertise, we shall bring to the state the success of renewable energy similar to that the country witnessed in the telecom sector.”
This project would entail an estimated investment of Rs 600 crore.
Punjab has the advantage of 300 sunny days and estimated potential of solar energy at 4-7 KWh/Sq.mtr of solar insolation levels. The state government aims to tap this resource for strengthening power infrastructure in the State by setting up Solar Energy based power projects so as to save the depleting resources for our future generation and to combat global warming, fast depleting conventional sources of energy and resultant increased environmental pollution and combat climate change
The “Report India’s Renewable Electricity Roadmap 2030—Toward Accelerated Renewable Electricity Deployment” was released at the Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo (RE-INVEST 2015).
The report was brought out by NITI Aayog with support of CII, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and RAP (Regulatory Assistance Project), a global non-profit group, talks about the current scenario of renewable energy in India and what needs to be done for its accelerated deployment to address energy security concerns.
Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Coal, Power and New & Renewable Energy, lauded NITI Aayog for the report and said that it has instilled a lot of hope for following more ambitious targets. “We need to create an enabling environment with respect to clearance, land acquisition and other regulatory support.”
The Minister suggested that the land owners, who provide their land for setting up renewable energy projects, could be given a stake in the projects as an incentive. He urged NITI Aayog to help in creating some innovative model for the RE sector. He addressed the panelists while sitting in the audience.
Commenting on the launch of the report, Smt Sindhushree Khullar, CEO, NITI Aayog- Govt of India stated that this is the first initiative of the Aayog. “Energy and renewable energy is a core area in India. We need to see actual movement on whatever the report suggests about,” said Smt Khullar.
Mr Deepak Gupta, Senior Programme Manager- Power, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, said that the report suggests possible roadmap to achieve ambitious targets in the renewable sector after assessing several best practices around the world.
The panelists were of the opinion that India needs to keep renewable energy as a matter of national importance. They suggested that the need of the hour is to move away from the current practice and make RE as an integral part of the power sector. For this a comprehensive national policy framework would be required for smoother renewable projects development in the country.
Mr Mackay Miller, Technology Innovation Analyst, NREL, congratulated the Indian government for its ambitious RE targets and intent to attain that goal. He suggested that there is need to think about policy and financing mechanism so that investments take place.
Smt Varsha Joshi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, lauded the report terming it as a good effort by the compilers. “It’s time that India has to look at RE as a resource across the states. There are a lot of things to be learned and a lot to be done,” she said.
Shri Sumant Sinha talked about thinking ‘out of the box’ to operationalise the issues highlighted in the report. “Why can’t we make renewable energy as the backbone of India’s electricity generation? We have to re-think our entire reliability on coal. Discoms are reluctant on buying renewable power against highly subsidised conventional power,” Shri Sinha noted.
Getting fund is seen as one of the major challenges. However, Shri Rajat Misra, VP, SBI Capital Markets Ltd is of the opinion that funding is not a constraint if there is good policy in place.
Shri SK Soonee, CEO, POSOCO, raised the issue of grid as one of the major hurdles in increasing renewable potential. The experts stressed that renewable energy could be the backbone of Indian power scenario provided existing issues are addressed. They objected to having coal as the preferred power choice just because it is available beneath the earth.
Smt Khullar stated that there is misconception in India that renewable energy is for rich. She asked everyone to be a part of this movement in renewable energy. “We are starting this journey with great hope and we should walk together to make it happen,” Smt Khullar concluded.
