NTPC’s planned invest is Rs. 21,000 Crs during FY12-13; nearly double of FY11-12…

NTPC is expecting to invest around Rs. 21,000 Crore during the current financial year of 2012-13 which is almost two times the actual investment during previous year of 2011-12. 

 

NTPC, which has an installed generation capacity of 37,514 MW, is looking to increase the capacity in the coming years, especially with thermal power projects.

Against the backdrop of acute coal shortages impacting the power sector, NTPC might have reduce capacity addition target for the 12th Five-Year Plan to little more than 50,000 MW from earlier target of 65,000 MW.

Regarding the company's long term strategy in terms of competitive bidding for power projects, Choudhury said that NTPC would always give a bid which is doable.

 

Meanwhile, NTPC is likely to import about 14 million tonnes coal this financial year. This would be much higher than 12 million tonnes imported in 2011-12.

NTPC posted nearly five per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 9,814.66 crore for the year ended March 2012.

 

 

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More Literature on this topic:

• http://profit.ndtv.com/News/Article/ntpc-plans-nearly-rs-21-000-cr-investment-this-fiscal-304614
• http://article.wn.com/view/2012/05/18/NTPC_plans_nearly_Rs_21000_cr_investment_this_fiscal/

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Tata Power is looking for wind assets on sale…

Tata Power seems to be planning to develop the wind power portfolio through acquisitions of existing wind projects and for that purpose it is looking out wind power assets which are on sale.

 

Large no of firms are considering to sale out their wind power businesses which are not the mainstream of their earnings.

 

Recently, wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy sold stake in its wind energy farm to raise Rs 200 crore.

Tata Power, the private sector power company, was earlier also looking for such opportunities, but could not clinch a deal, as the expectations of sellers were high. However as said by Mr. S. Ramakrishnan, Executive Director, Finance of Tata Power, this time around, Tata would offer better prices for purchase of wind assets.

 

Tata Power has around 370 Mw of wind power capacity, and is implementing projects of another 140 Mw, for which it has already ordered equipment. It plans to add 150 Mw a year, along with 25 Mw of solar power.

 

Though, Tata Power’s main focus on Renewables is India, company is also considering to expand its scope overseas.

 

Currently also, Tata Power is having hydro power projects in Bhutan. It is also conducting studies on a geothermal power project in Indonesia and scouting for wind and solar projects in South Africa, in partnership with local mining company Exxaro.

 

Tata Power believes that the African country’s renewable policies offer unique advantages. The selection process lays emphasis on the preparedness of the bidder. For example, vendor support, land, transmission infrastructure commitment, in-principle sanction of loans and equity commitment.

 

However, the company is not too keen on entering a new geography for renewables, as the size of opportunity is not large enough. The Tata group is already present in South Africa, which prompted the company to foray into the African country. In Indonesia, Tata Power owns stakes in coal mines of Bumi Resources.

 

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More Literature on this topic:

• http://business-standard.com/india/news/tata-powerthe-lookout-for-wind-farmssale/474794/
• http://www.infraline.com/News/Tata-Power-On-The-Lookout-For-Wind-Farms-On-Sale-Planning-To-Build-Its-Wind-Power-Portfolio-Through-Acquisit/1/4/1/05_19_2012.htm
• http://smartinvestor.in/market/Compnews-117359-Compnewsdet-Tata_Power_on_the_lookout_for_wind_farms_on_sale.htm

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Adani Power completed nation’s first private HVDC transmission line of 1,000 km…

India’s first private sector high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission system has been completed by the Adani Group and dedicated to the nation.

 

The line will carry power from the coal fired thermal electricity generated at Adani Power’s Mundra plant in Gujarat to Mohindergarh in Haryana which will be having the distance of around 1,000 km.

 

As said by Adani Power, the line is at 500 kV and will be having a 2,500 MW of transmission capacity.

 

The transmission line, completed in 24 months, passes through Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana and will start power supply to Haryana soon.

 

The power will first be transmitted from Mundra to Dehgam via a 400 kV, 430 km long transmission from where it will be transmitted to Mohindergarh using the newly constructed transmission line. 

 

 APL is also developing a dedicated 50-km 400 kV Mohindergarh-Bhivani transmission line for supply of power to the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL), a company official told Business Line.

 

On an average, laying of one-km-long transmission line costs around Rs 5 lakh. Thus, the company invested nearly Rs 50 crore on the HVDC line. Besides, Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd (APML), a subsidiary of APL, is developing a 221-km, 400 kV Tiroda-Warora transmission line as an intra-state transmission licensee to evacuate power from APML’s Tiroda power project.

 

APL, having a target to generate 20,000 MW by 2020, is currently implementing 16,500 MW of power generation projects. At various stages of implementation are its projects at Mundra (4,620 MW), Bhadreshwar (3,300 MW) and Dahej (2,640 MW) – all in Gujarat – Tiroda (3,300 MW) in Maharashtra, Kawai (1,320 MW) in Rajasthan and Chhindwara (1,320 MW) in Madhya Pradesh.

 

The company had synchronized the first supercritical thermal power unit of 660 MW at Mundra in December 2010. APL's Mundra facility comprises five units of 660 MW (total: 3,300 MW) and four units of 330 MW (1,320 MW). All five supercritical units of 660 MW have been designed according to the energy efficient and environment-friendly supercritical technology, an official said.

 

APL had entered into long-term (25 years) power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the State electricity utilities for supplying a total of 7,144 MW. They included Gujarat (2,000 MW), Haryana (1,424 MW), Maharashtra (2,520 MW) and Rajasthan (1,200 MW). However, due to sharp increase in coal prices, the company is making efforts to have these PPAs revised.

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Welspun has plans to develop 500 MW Solar PV Projects by 2017.

 

As said by the rating agency CARE, the Welspun Group is planning to put up around 500 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity by 2016-17.

 

The group currently has a capacity of 30 MW under various special purpose vehicles.

 

Last week Welspun bided and won for a 125 MW solar energy project in a tender floated by the Madhya Pradesh Government, quoting a tariff of Rs 8.05 a unit.

 

In the first two rounds of bidding under the National Solar Mission, Welspun had won 50 MW and 5 MW of solar photovoltaic projects each.

 

The Welspun Group has diversified business interests with a presence in power generation, exploration and production of oil and natural gas, steel pipes, home textiles, retail and infrastructure.

 

In addition to 500 MW of solar projects, the group intends to own 1,000 MW of wind power capacity. The group has said it would invest Rs 15,000 crore on renewable energy in the coming years.

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Solar Power in Space, a valuable source of renewable energy…

As per the recent research being done by University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, solar power from space could be a valuable source of renewable energy.

 

Glasgow University has already tested equipment that would provide a platform for solar panels to collect the energy and allow it to be transferred back to earth through microwaves or lasers.

 

This unique development would provide a reliable source of power and allow valuable energy to be sent to remote areas in the world, providing power to disaster zones or outlying areas that are difficult to reach by traditional means.

 

As said by Massimiliano Vasile, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineer at Strathclyde:

"Space provides a fantastic source for collecting solar power and we have the advantage of being able to gather it regardless of the time of the day or indeed the weather conditions. In areas like the Sahara desert where quality solar power can be captured, it becomes very difficult to transport this energy to areas where it can be used. However, our research is focusing on how we can remove this obstacle and use space-based solar power to target difficult to reach areas. By using either microwaves or lasers we would be able to beam the energy back down to earth, directly to specific areas. This would provide a reliable, quality source of energy and would remove the need for storing energy coming from renewable sources on ground as it would provide a constant delivery of solar energy. Initially, smaller satellites will be able to generate enough energy for a small village but we have the aim, and indeed the technology available, to one day put a large enough structure in space that could gather energy that would be capable of powering a large city."

 

A team of from Strathclyde last month developed an innovative 'space web' experiment which was carried on a rocket from the Arctic Circle to the edge of space.

 

The experiment, known as Suaineadh - or 'twisting' in Scots Gaelic - was an important step forward in space construction design and demonstrated that larger structures could be built on top of a light-weight spinning web, paving the way for the next stage in the solar power project.

 

Vasile added: "The success of Suaineadh allows us to move forward with the next stage of our project which involves looking at the reflectors needed to collect the solar power."

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RPower seek removal of references of Sasan & Tilaiya UMPPs from CAG Draft report…

Reliance Power Limited (“RPower”) has requested Controller & Auditor General (“CAG”) to remove from its draft report the observations about utilization of excess coal from Sasan & Tilaiya projects. 

 

It seems that, RPower’s request was considering the decision of Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on not to review the earlier decision allowing RPower to use excess coal from the Sasan UMPP.

On Tilaiya UMPP, the EGoM has decided that permission for use of surplus coal from Tilaiya UMPP would be governed by a new policy on excess coal usage. The policy would be formulated by the Coal Ministry.

 

In a letter to Comptroller & Auditor General, Vinod Rai, Reliance Power has requested the auditor to "consider dropping the audit para on undue benefits arising out of surplus coal from Sasan UMPP and Tilaiya UMPP".

Excess coal from Sasan UMPP is to be used for Chitrangi project.
As per the letter, Chitrangi project -- where the excess coal from Sasan is to be used -- is still awaiting certain important clearances and hence it may be premature to quantify any benefit due to sale of power using surplus coal.

 

Reliance Power said that as per reported EGoM decision, the permission for surplus coal usage from Tilaiya UMPP would be as per the new policy and "hence it may not be appropriate to quantify losses or make observations on Tilaiya UMPP".

Reliance Power has bagged three UMPPs -- Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Tilaiya (Jharkhand) and Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). UMPPs are generally referred to as projects having generation capacity of 4,000 MW.

 

 

 

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More Literature on this topic:

• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/reliance-power-seeks-removal-of-sasan-reference-from-cag-draft-report/articleshow/13224288.cms

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Hurdles before RPower’s JIPL for Tilaiya UMPP…

Even as land acquisition hurdles are posing a trouble to Jharkhand Integrated Power Limited’s (JIPL’s) 4,000 MW Tilaiya ultra mega power project (UMPP), the Reliance Power wholly owned subsidiary now has to resolve the critical issue of a stupendous Rs 3,131 crore increase in Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) cost over the original pre-bid estimates.

The increase in project cost, on account of the substantially higher R&R expenditure, has led most of the lenders to doubt the bankability of the Tilaiya project.

 

The power utility, to avoid any possible repercussions, has sought in principle approval from the procurers for this additional expense and the complete recovery of the amount.
through the tariff mechanism.

 

During the pre-bid stage, Envirotech and Green C consultants, appointed by Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to assess the extent of R&R involved in the project, had pegged the R&R expenditure at Rs 481 crore for both coal block and power plant areas.

 

Source: Industry Monitor

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KERC dropped transmission wheeling charges for solar energy…

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has decided not to charge any wheeling charges on transmission of solar energy.

 

This is as part of the Commission’s bid to promote solar energy based power generation and transmission through the grid

 

For the wheeling of power, generated from other non-conventional energy sources, within the state, the existing wheeling charges at 5% of the injected energy will continue during 2012-13.

 

Various other relief measures are also in place.

 

At the same time, if energy from renewable sources is wheeled from the state to consumers outside the state, normal wheeling charges ranging from Rs 0.21 per unit to Rs 0.69 per unit will apply.

 

Source: Industry Monitor

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Toshiba JSW Turbine & Generator Pvt Ltd received 1675 Crore order from Meja Urja for supply of supercritical generators…

Meja Urja Nigam Pvt Ltd has awarded an order to Toshiba JSW Turbine & Generator Pvt Ltd for supply of two units of supercritical steam turbine generators of 660 MW each.

 

The said order is worth Rs. 1,675 Crore.

 

The scope of the contract covers engineering, procurement, manufacturing, installation and testing of the steam turbine generator island. Setting up a local manufacturing facility and phased manufacturing programme with technology transfer was a mandatory requirement for the tender, says a press release from the company.

 

Meja Urga is a joint venture of NTPC and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd and is developing the project at Meja in Uttar Pradesh.

 

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More Literature on this topic:

• http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article3405153.ece?ref=wl_opinion
• http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Toshiba-Wins-Rs.1675-crore-order-for-supercritical-steam-turbine-and-generator-island-package/5413810787

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Greenpeach suggests microgrids in Bihar to supply renewable energy to all the areas of state; report released…

As suggested by Greenpeace India, a network of microgrids should be set up in Bihar so that the renewable energy can be provided to all the areas of the state.

 

According to Samit Aich, the Execution Director of Greenpeace India, this model of energy supply will foster inclusive growth and remove the energy poverty in Bihar.

 

Further according to him,  Bihar has enormous energy deficit which is a major challenge for the growth of the state, but it has the potential to become a power surplus state with strong focus on development of renewable energy through right incentives, enabling environment and effective implementation, he said.

 

Microgrids can offer reliable and cost competitive electricity services, besides providing a viable alternative to the conventional top down approach of extending grid services. Greenpeace urged the state government to focus on integrated energy planning based on cluster based development.

 

The energy planning should promote the establishment of a council for rural industrialisation and establishment of related coordination committees at district level.

 

The report prepared by Greenpeace and released by Bihar Energy Minister Mr. Bijendra Prasad can be downloaded (in pdf form) from the below mentioned link.

 

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More Literature on this topic:

• http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/greenpeace-for-network-of-microgrids-in-bihar/999094.html
• http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/report/Empowering-Bihar-Policy-pathway-for-energy-access.pdf

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