MNRE sets solar energy target at 10,000 MW by 2017...

 

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set a target of generation of 10,000 mw of power through solar energy by the year 2017.

The minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah said that the phase I of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) has been very successful wherein 1685 MW of solar power was generated as against the target of 11,000 MW.

Abdullah said that large tracks of land have been identified in Rajasthan, Kargil and Ladakh which have immense potential of generation of solar power. He though cited that the challenge was starting a transmission line in the areas of Kargil and Ladakh so that power could be evacuated to the other parts of the country. He also said that there should be a lot of focus on breakthrough in new research to ensure storage of solar energy for greater time period.

Ratan P. Watal, secretary, MNRE, highlighted importance of development of solar power for meeting the solar requirements of around 40% of the population which lacked access to energy resources. Even providing one unit of power to such houses throughout the year would in itself need a generation of 15,000 MW of solar power.

JNNSM was launched in 2010 with an ambitious target of deploying 20,000 mw of grid connected solar power by 2022. Solar mission has targeted a capacity of grid connected solar power generation of 1000 mw within three years of its launch and to reach installed power capacity of 10,000 mw by the year 2017. The target of 20,000 mw for 2022, which if successful, could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power.

 

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http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-25/news/42394483_1_solar-power-power-generation-nehru-national-solar-mission

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Tata power is developing a 28.8 MW project in satara, Maharashtra to meet solar RPO of its distribution company...

 

Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), the wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power, is developing a 28.8 MW Solar PV Project in the Satara District in Maharashtra.

The plant will be spread over around 130 acre of land.

Electricity from the project will be supplier to the Tata Power's Distribution arm under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 25 years which will enable the distribution company to meet its solar renewable purchase obligation.

The power generated will be routed through Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Limited (MSETCL)'s network.

As said by the Company, Tata Power is committed to generating 20-25 % of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources and is proud to be developing one of the largest solar projects in the country. TPC strives to reduce its carbon footprint.

 

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Tata-Power-to-develop-28-8-MW-solar-power-project/articleshow/23205392.cms

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Maharashtra to seek opinion from CAG/CVC on the proposed tariff hike for UMPPs of TATA Power & Adani Power...

 

The Maharashtra Government has decided to take opinion from the Central Vigilance Commission or Comptroller and Auditor General, regarding the proposed tariff hikes of the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) by Tata Power & Adani Power. 

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has asked Maharashtra to respond to the report prepared by a committee approving the proposed tariff increase for UMPPs of Tata Power & Adani Power in Gujarat.

As said by the GoM, the issue at stake include preservation of a national asset without compromising the contractual obligations of the operators. Compensatory tariff needs to be resolved in a transparent manner to avoid aspersions on the state government.

Apart from Maharashtra, CERC has also asked the power distribution utilities of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab to sign the report as members of the committee.

The states would have to approach their respective cabinets before signing the report. This move could delay revision in electricity tariffs from stations run by Tata Power (4,000 mw) and Adani Power (4,620 mw) at Mundra in Gujarat.

The Parekh committee report recommended compensatory tariff of Tata Power's Mundra UMPP by 45-55 paise per unit and Adani Power's tariff by upto 60 paise per mw.

The panel, appointed by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to suggest tariff hike for the two 4,000-mw projects of Tata Power and Adani Power, submitted its separate reports on the two projects on August 16.

The report has suggested linking the tariffs to global coal prices and the revenue generated from the coalmines that have been bought by the two companies to run the power plants.

Power regulator had in April this year allowed Tata Power and Adani Power to pass on high imported coal costs to consumers. The regulator had appointed the Parekh committee to evaluate a compensatory tariff mechanism.

Tata Power and Adani Power had sought tariff escalation for power citing increasing cost of imported coal from Indonesia since last year. Tata Power and Adani Power claimed annual loss of Rs 1,600 crore and Rs 1,370 crore respectively by running their plants.

 

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/maharashtra-government-seeks-cvc-cag-opinion-for-mundra-tariff-hike/articleshow/23206661.cms

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ADB approved $500 million loan for transmission system of renewable energy projects in India...

 

The Asian Development Bank has decided to provide a $500 million loan for the development of a transmission system for evacuation of renewable energy projects such as solar and wind energy in western India.

 

The loans from the Manila-based bank come at a time when India is looking to boost dollar inflows to prop up the sagging rupee.

 

As said by the ADB, boosting of renewable energy projects for Rajasthan and other parts of India is a way to meet fast growing energy needs in an environment friendly manner and also improve the country's energy security by reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.

 

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http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-27/news/42463964_1_renewable-energy-project-energy-security-adb

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Power Trading Prices are at all time low...

 

Prices of Power/Electricity being traded on the Power Exchanges have been reduced significantly on account of increased power generation, grid congestion and poor financial health of distribution companies.

The Power Trading accounts for nearly 2.5% of the power being transacted in the Country.

In the year 2008, the average Power Trading prices were around Rs. 7 per unit which has been reduced to around Rs. 2 per unit currently.

Further, as per the data on the Power Exchanges such as Indian Electricity Exchange (IEX) & Power Exchange of India (PXI), the power trading price has never crossed Rs. 3 per unit during the current financial year. Since April 2010, average price of electricity on Indian Energy Exchange ( IEX), which dominates market with over 90% share, crossed mark of Rs 5 per unit only once.

 

Average electricity price on IEX came down by 10% to Rs 2.05 per unit in August from Rs 2.28 in July. It attracted sellers for 5200 million units (MUs) in August, substantially higher than buyers for 2899 MUs during the same month.

The similar trend was witnessed on both IEX and Power Exchange of India Limited (PXIL) during July when they witnessed demand for 3040.32 MUs, which was 60% of available 5,111.02 MUs of electricity in the market.

As per the Power Exchanges, the reasons behind this trend are:

• Over supply of electricity in the system
• Inability of some of the buyer to draw power on account of congestion in the network. According to estimates, at least 10% of the electricity trade is not happening due to lack of adequate transmission network.
  
• Inability of the Distribution Companies, on account of poor financial health, to buy power from the exchanges as they have to pay money in advance unlike other sources
  

 

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/electricity-prices-on-exchanges-plunges-to-new-low/articleshow/23202979.cms

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Ujaas Energy received Rs. 13.35 Crores order for roof top solar projects...

 

Ujaas Energy has bagged a Rs 13.35 crore order from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for setting up a 1.75 MW roof top solar panel installation at four cities.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a division of MNRE invited bids for setting up roof top installation in Hyderabad (250 KW), Bhubaneswar (500 KW), Jaipur (500 KW) and Noida/Greater Noida (500 KW).

The company intends to set up these power generation equipment on educational institutions, IT Parks and big industrial roofs the company and it will be executed within 6 months.

The performance of these plants will be directly monitored by the utility and the ministry. The company is also a SP 2A rated company and is an accredited channel partner of MNRE with superior ranking as a system integrator for the off grid and decentralized solar projects under JNNSM.

Ujaas Energy is one of the first companies to install a solar power plant under renewable energy certificate (REC) mechanism in March 2012. The company has started setting up an innovative offering called as 'UJAAS Park ', that provides complete plug & play solution to the investor for putting up a solar power plant at an affordable cost in time.

The services include land identification, registration, EPC, O&M, power sale, identifying third party buyer, REC trading etc.

Ujaas Energy is engaged in manufacturing of distribution transformers, power transformers, furnace transformers and special purpose transformers for more than 3 decades.

The company sells their products to various State Electricity Boards, Public Sector Undertakings, Private sector companies engaged in Generation and Distribution of Electricity and other Industrial undertakings engaged in Steel, Power, Textile, Coal & Mine, Infrastructure, Engineering & Automobile Sectors etc.

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Tata Power's long term corporate credit Rating lowered by Standard & Poor's

 

Long Term Corporate credit rating of Tata Power limited has been reduced from BB to B+ by Standard & Poor's Rating Services. The outlook is negative.

Further, the issue rating on the company's outstanding senior unsecured notes due 2017 has been lowered from BB- to B+ as according to Standard & Poor's, the company's cash flows are likely to remain weak with a ratio of funds from operations (FFO) to adjusted debt at less than 10% over next 12 months.

According to the Standard & Poor's, the primary drivers for Tata Power's lower cash flows on a consolidated basis are less-than-full recovery of fuel costs at a 4,000 megawatt coal-fired project at Mundra and lower returns from investments in Indonesian coal companies because of substantially reduced thermal coal prices.

The fully operational Mundra project exposes Tata Power to volatility in coal prices because the company can only pass through a part of fuel costs to its customers. The project's ability to blend fuel with some low calorific value coal tempers the fuel-price risk.
India's Central Electricity Regulation Commission (CERC) recently issued an order for a full pass through of fuel costs at the Mundra project. A committee set up by CERC also recommended a mechanism for payment of a compensatory tariff to recover fuel-cost related losses at the project.

These measures are likely to improve Tata Power's cash flows. However, the timing and quantum of the tariff remain uncertain. We expect Tata Power's ratio of FFO to debt to be about 7.5% in fiscal 2014 and rise to 10%-14% in fiscal 2015 if the compensatory tariff becomes effective in 2015.

As said by the S&P

"We believe lenders to the Mundra project are likely to support the project despite the expiry of a waiver on a bank loan covenant breach in June 2013. We assess Tata Power's liquidity as ""less than adequate,"" as our criteria define the term. Tata Power's weak consolidated cash flows are likely to weaken its ability to pay maturing debt over the next 18 months. Tata Power has large bullet debt maturities totaling about US$670 million due in April 2014, July 2014, November 2014, and April 2015. We believe the company might undertake measures to meet its funding requirements,

The negative outlook reflects the uncertainty regarding the company's plan to refinance its debt maturities over the next 12-18 months, The outlook also reflects uncertainty regarding approvals for the tariff relief at Mundra.

We may lower the rating if Tata Power's liquidity weakens further or if the company faces difficulty in refinancing its upcoming debt maturities in a timely manner. A downgrade could also follow a further deterioration in cash flows, such that the ratio of FFO to debt reduces to 5%-7% on a sustained basis. We believe this could occur if coal prices decline further or remain low for a sustained period, or if approvals for the tariff relief are not available beyond 2015.

We may revise the outlook to stable if Tata Power has a concrete plan to meet its upcoming debt maturities; eliminates its bank loan covenant breaches; and faces no material deterioration in its business."

 

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More literature on this...

• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/tata-powers-rating-lowered-to-b-on-weak-cash-flows-outlook-negative/articleshow/22370033.cms

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Indian Government to initiate bidding of two UMPPs at Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

 

Indian Government seems to initiate bidding of two Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) in the states of Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

As estimated by the Government, the UMPPs will involve investment of around Rs. 40,000 Crores.

However, due to the revised bidding framework conceptualized by the Government, it seems that not many companies will participate in the bidding of these UMPPs. 

The UMPPs are proposed to be set up at Bedhabahal in Orissa and Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu.

Out of these two, the Orissa project will use attached coal blocks whilst the Tamil Nadu project will use imported coal as fuels.

Sites for 10 more such projects have been identified in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

 

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/government-to-bid-two-umpps-worth-rs-40000-crore-in-a-month/articleshow/22028780.cms

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Green Infra acquired majority stake holding in TVS Energy for 50.75 MW Wind Projects...

Green Infra Limited seems to have acquired majority stake in the wind assets of TVS Energy.

TVS Energy has decided to exit from its Wind Energy business which was having around 59.75 MW wind farms in the states of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Green Infra which is a renewable energy arm of IDFC has acquired majority stake in the TVS Energy. With this the operating portfolio of Green Infra has reached to 377 MW.

Thus it seems that the company is on track to reach the capacity plan of 500 MW by March 2014.

Incorporated in April 2008 by the private equity funds of IDFC Alternatives, Green Infra is one of the leading clean energy independent power producer in both solar and wind segment in the country.

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More literature on this...

• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/green-infra-acquires-majority-stake-in-tvs-energy/articleshow/21861760.cms
• http://www.indianpowersphere.com/2013/07/green-infra-seems-to-be-very-close-to.html

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Peak Power deficit in India dropped to 4.5 per cent due to good monsoon...

 

Good monsoon has brought some respite to the power sector as the peak power deficit for the month of July dropped to 4.5 per cent from 5.8 per cent in June.

As per the latest data by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the peak power deficit -- the shortage in electricity supply -- in the month of July when the demand was at its peak, stood at 4.5 per cent.

There was shortage to the tune of 5,745 MW in July. The total demand during the month was 1,28,461 MW and of which 1,22,716 MW was met, the CEA data showed.

Region wise updates:

• North-East Region comprising Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram: deficit of a meager 0.6 per cent as compared to 9.6 per cent in June. The total power demand of the region during July was 1,984 MW, of which 1,973 MW was met.
• Southern Region comprising Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka: Demand was 33,474 MW, of which 30,885 MW was met leaving a deficit of 2,589 MW or 7.7 per cent. The region reported a deficit of 3,372 MW in June.
• Northern region including the national capital: Deficit of 5.8 per cent or 2,553 MW. The total demand of the region was 44,219 MW of which 41,666 MW was the supply. The peak power deficit of the region in July stood at 2,844 MW or 6.4 per cent.
• Western region comprising Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh: situation improved from 2.5 per cent peak power deficit in June to 0.7 per cent in July.
• Eastern Region comprising West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand: Demand supply situation remained the same as earlier with 2.3 per cent deficit.

 

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More literature on this...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/peak-power-deficit-drops-to-4-5-in-july-helped-by-monsoon/articleshow/21757344.cms

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