Uncertainty Preventing Investments in Hydel Projects: Power Minister Piyush Goyal

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Power
30-March, 2017 15:24 IST
Steps Taken to Improve The Efficiency of Coal Based Thermal Power Plants

The Government has taken several measures to improve the efficiency of coal based thermal power plants & improve the air quality in the vicinity of these plants. These are as follows:-



i) Supercritical technology has already been adopted for thermal power generation. The design efficiency of Supercritical units is about 5% higher than typical 500 MW subcritical units and these (supercritical) units are likely to have correspondingly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in ambient air. A capacity addition of 39,710 MW based on supercritical technology has already been achieved and 48,060 MW of supercritical is in the pipeline.



(ii) All Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) are required to use supercritical technology.



(iii) Coal based capacity addition during 13th Plan shall be through super-critical units.



(iv) Indigenous research is being pursued for development of Advanced Ultra Supercritical Technology (A-USC) with targeted efficiency improvement of about 10% over supercritical unit. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), NTPC and BHEL have signed an MoU in August 2010 for development of 800 MW A-USC indigenous demonstration plant with main steam pressure of 310 kg/cm2 and temperature of 710/ 720 deg C.



(v) A capacity of about 7751.94 MW of old and inefficient unit has already been retired till date.



(vi) To facilitate State Utilities/IPPs to replace old inefficient coal based thermal units with supercritical units, Ministry of Coal, Government of India has formulated a policy of automatic transfer of LOA/Coal linkage (granted to old plants) to new (proposed) super-critical units.



(vii) Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme under National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency is under implementation by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency). In PAT cycle–II, individual target for improving efficiency has been assigned to 154 thermal power stations.



(viii) High efficiency Electrostatics Preceptor (ESP) are installed to capture Particulate Matters (Fly ash) from Flue gases.



(ix) Low NOX burners are installed for reducing NOx emission from flue gases.



(x) SO2 emission control is achieved through dispersion of flue gases through tall stacks (275 metres) to reduce the concentration of polluting gases at ground level.





This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
02-April, 2017 11:05 IST
Record Capacity Addition of Wind Power of 5400MW in Last Fiscal


Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set another record in the wind power capacity addition by adding over 5400 MW in 2016-17 against the target of 4000 MW. This year’s achievement surpassed the previous higher capacity addition of 3.423 MW achieved in the previous year.

The leading States in the wind power capacity addition during 2016-17 are Andhra Pradesh 2190 MW, followed by Gujarat 1275 MW and Karnataka 882 MW. In addition Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra ,Telangana and Kerala have reported 357 MW, 288 MW, 262 MW, 118 MW , 23 MW and 8 MW wind power capacity addition respectively during 2016-17. These figures are tentative.

During 2016-17 MNRE has taken various policy initiatives in the wind energy sector that includes Introduction of Bidding in Wind Energy Sector, Re -powering Policy, Draft Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy, New Guidelines for Development of Wind Power Projects, etc.

 

[Hindustani78]

President's Secretariat
02-April, 2017 17:23 IST
President of India Inaugurates the 44 Kms Deoghar - Basukinath Solar Street Light Project and Lays the Foundation Stone of STPI Centre; Employees State Insurance Corporation Hospital and Driver's Training Centres At Deoghar

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 44 Kms Deoghar - Basukinath Solar Street Light Project and laid the foundation stone of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Centre; Employees State Insurance Corporation Hospital and Driver's Training Centres at Deoghar, Jharkhand today (April 2, 2017).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Jharkhand played a key role in India’s freedom struggle. The pain and sacrifices of Sidho Murmu, Kanho Murmu, Tilka Manjhi and Birsa Munda are always remembered. The state has made progress on many fronts since attaining statehood in 2000. Its rich deposits of mineral resources, forests and industrial infrastructure etc. have laid down the foundation for all-round development.

The President said that he comes from Bengal. Indeed, Jharkhand, Bihar, undivided Bengal, Orissa and Assam were part of the same Bengal Presidency for a long period in the earlier part of the last century. The area has a shared past and heritage and its shaping in the post Independence era has also been similar.

The President said that the problem of job creation cannot be solved unless people are imparted skills to increase their employability. India has a huge workforce and skill development can help in economic development of this vast country.

The President said that he believes that initiatives launched today such as Deoghar - Basukinath Solar Street Light Project; Software Technology Parks of India Centre; Employees State Insurance Corporation Hospital and Driver's Training Centres will transform the employment landscape of this region.

*****

Solar power plant India One, the biggest project which fuels cooking of over 35,000 meals a day at Abu Road in Rajasthan.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Coal
05-April, 2017 19:05 IST
Shri Piyush Goyal lays stress on the coal sector achieving cost effectiveness, improving viability of mines by effective and efficient mining

Hallmark of CIL should be concern and responsiveness towards the customer: Shri Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, presided over the inaugural session of the day-long Workshop on ‘Quality of Coal’ as Chief Guest here today. The workshop included brainstorming and technical sessions among the stakeholders of the coal and power sectors so as to bring in greater efficiency and self-sufficiency in the two sectors in India.


During his inaugural address, Shri Goyal encouraged the distinguished gathering of stakeholders of the coal and power sectors to work in a mission mode to make India self-reliant in Coal reserves, bring in transparency, remove corruption and serve every Indian by ensuring Affordable, Quality, 24x7 Power for All. The Minister said that the “Difference between the Possible and Impossible lies in a Man’s determination and I am delighted to see firm determination in everyone in this gathering to achieve the above mission.”


Emphasizing on the importance of high quality coal, Shri Goyal said that the country has achieved an important milestone of adequate quantity of coal, now it is a quest for quality and preventing grade slippages. The Minister informed that there has been a reduction of about 8% in the per unit coal consumption for power generation, which is a significant achievement in India’s coal history.


The Minister said that the Government is fast opening up the coal sector to competition in near future and private miners would be coming into the sector to bring in competition. he also said that we are working towards bring linearity in pricing of coal between lower and higher grades.


Shri Goyal also informed the gathering that after sustained dialogue, the Tamil Nadu government has finally communicated to the Centre its willingness for setting up the Cheyyur UMPP based on domestic coal instead of imported coal. This will lead to a step further in achieving self-reliance on domestic coal based thermal power in India and would generate confidence in our own capacities.


Appreciating the importance of the current session, the Minister said that there is a need to have inclusive brainstorming sessions like this which involve all stakeholders of the coal and power sector, with the focus on the underprivileged section of the society, for whom electricity is a necessity and not a luxury. Shri Goyal added that every stakeholder should keep a picture of this section of society in mind and should work hard to provide Affordable, Quality 24x7 Power for All.


The Minister directed officials of the Ministry to develop a whistleblower mechanism to address the complaints of the coal grade slippages and to rein in corruption in the coal and power sectors. Further, he encouraged all the stakeholders present during the session to take their job as a mission to serve every Indian rather than a performance linked incentive based task.


In his valedictory address, Shri Goyal reviewed the results of the day-long deliberations and gave some action points to all stakeholders present. These include developing responsibility and timelines matrices for the implementation of the action points, quantifying the gains of this process, developing a monitoring mechanism to ensure accountability, bringing out a whistleblower policy to check corruption in the sector, inter alia.


The Minister laid stress on the coal sector achieving cost effectiveness, improving viability of mines by effective and efficient mining, ensuring safety measures, continuing the quality thrust and foremost on customer satisfaction. He strictly directed all the officials to weed out red tape and facilitate rationalization of coal linkages and to clear pending requests for third party sampling from both public and private sector players on a priority basis. Finally, Shri Goyal stressed that the hallmark of CIL should be concern and responsiveness towards the customer.


Speaking in the inaugural session, Secretary, Coal, Shri Susheel Kumar informed the gathering that from 1st April, fresh grades of coal have been issued for each mine and coal dispatch centre. With this step, he said that the grade slippage in coal supplied to consumers will become minimum. In case if the grade slippage exceeds the determined cap, senior officials will be held responsible for it, he added. The ministry is focusing on 4 important areas including safety, quality, environmental protection and diversification into new areas using latest technology. Shri Kumar said that he would be personally tracking progress on these 4 parameters every 15 days and was of opinion that with such preventive measures taken proactively, the country would not need third party sampling after 6 months.


Shri Sutirtha Bhattacharya, Chairman, CIL, during the inaugural session, said that in October 2014 there were many thermal power plants with critical shortage of coal stocks that were enough to meet only 5-6 days of power demand. Today, thermal power plants in the country are coal surplus and have 100 million tonnes of coal stocks which is enough to meet the minimum inventory requirement of 22 days. CIL is working towards a quest for quantity only with the adherence to strictest quality benchmarks, he added.


Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Suresh Kumar, Additional Secretary Coal, Shri R.K. Verma, Chairman CEA, along with senior officials of the Ministries of Power & Railways, CIL, coal producers & consumers and quality rating agencies.


*****

Ministry of Coal
05-April, 2017 18:03 IST
Shri Piyush Goyal encourages stakeholders of Power & Coal sectors to work on a Mission Mode to serve the masses

Corrupt must mend their ways or may resign: Power Minister

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, presided over the inaugural session of the day-long Workshop on ‘Quality of Coal’ here today. The workshop would be holding brainstorming and technical sessions among the stakeholders of the coal and power sectors so as to bring in greater efficiency and self-sufficiency in the two sectors in India.

In his inaugural address , Shri Goyal encouraged the distinguished gathering of stakeholders of the coal and power sectors to work in a mission mode to make India self-reliant in Coal reserves, bring in transparency, remove corruption and serve every Indian by ensuring Affordable, Quality, 24x7 Power for All. The Minister said that the “Difference between the Possible and Impossible lies in a Man’s determination and I am delighted to see firm determination in everyone in this gathering to achieve the above mission.”

Emphasizing on the importance of high quality coal, Shri Goyal said that the country has achieved an important milestone of adequate quantity of coal, now it is a quest for quality and preventing grade slippages. The Minister informed that there has been a reduction of about 8% in the per unit coal consumption for power generation, which is a significant achievement in India’s coal history.

The Minister said that the Government is fast opening up the coal sector to competition in near future and private miners would be coming into the sector to bring in competition. he also said that we are working towards bring linearity in pricing of coal between lower and higher grades.

Shri Goyal also informed the gathering that after sustained dialogue, the Tamil Nadu government has finally communicated to the Centre its willingness for setting up the Cheyyur UMPP based on domestic coal instead of imported coal. This will lead to a step further in achieving self-reliance on domestic coal based thermal power in India and would generate confidence in our own capacities.

Appreciating the importance of the current session, the Minister said that there is a need to have inclusive brainstorming sessions like this which involve all stakeholders of the coal and power sector, with the focus on the underprivileged section of the society, for whom electricity is a necessity and not a luxury. Shri Goyal added that every stakeholder should keep a picture of this person in mind and should work hard to provide Affordable, Quality 24x7 Power for All.

The Minister also directed officials of the Ministry to develop a whistleblower mechanism to address the complaints of the coal grade slippages and to rein in corruption in the coal and power sectors. Further, he encouraged all the stakeholders present during the session to take their job as a mission to serve every Indian rather than a performance linked incentive based task.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Sutirtha Bhattacharya, Chairman, CIL, said that in October 2014 there were many thermal power plants with critical shortage of coal stocks that were enough to meet only 5-6 days of power demand. Today, thermal power plants in the country are coal surplus and have 100 million tonnes of coal stocks which is enough to meet the minimum inventory requirement of 22 days. CIL is working towards a quest for quantity only with the adherence to strictest quality benchmarks, he added.

Secretary, Coal, Shri Susheel Kumar informed the gathering that from 1st April, fresh grades of coal have been issued for each mine and coal dispatch centre. With this step, he said that the grade slippage in coal supplied to consumers will become minimum. In case if the grade slippage exceeds the determined cap, senior officials will be held responsible for it, he added. The ministry is focusing on 4 important areas including safety, quality, environmental protection and diversification into new areas using latest technology. Shri Kumar said that he would be personally tracking progress on these 4 parameters every 15 days and was of opinion that with such preventive measures taken proactively, the country would not need third party sampling after 6 months.

Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Suresh Kumar, Additional Secretary Coal, Shri R.K. Verma, Chairman CEA, along with senior officials of the Ministries of Power & Railways, CIL, coal producers & consumers and quality rating agencies.

*****

 

[Hindustani78]

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal lighting the lamp to inaugurate a workshop on ‘Quality of Coal’, organised by the Coal India Limited in association with Ministry of Coal, in New Delhi on April 05, 2017.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal at the inauguration of a workshop on ‘Quality of Coal’, organised by the Coal India Limited in association with Ministry of Coal, in New Delhi on April 05, 2017.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal delivering the inaugural address at a workshop on ‘Quality of Coal’, organised by the Coal India Limited in association with Ministry of Coal, in New Delhi on April 05, 2017.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal delivering the inaugural address at a workshop on ‘Quality of Coal’, organised by the Coal India Limited in association with Ministry of Coal, in New Delhi on April 05, 2017.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal releasing a publication at the National Conference on “Decarbonising the Indian Railways: Scaling Ambitions, Understanding Ground Realities”, in New Delhi on April 05, 2017.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal addressing the National Conference on “Decarbonising the Indian Railways: Scaling Ambitions, Understanding Ground Realities”, in New Delhi on April 05, 2017.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Coal
06-April, 2017 15:27 IST
Discussion paper for commercial Coal Mining placed in Public Domain

To prepare the modalities for allocation of coal mines through auction for sale of coal by private companies, a discussion paper containing proposed eligibility conditions and proposed methodology has been prepared in the first instance to consult the stake holders. The discussion paper has been placed in the public domain for a specified period of time to solicit public opinion / comments. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

The Minister further stated that enabling provisions have been made in the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 for allocation of coal mines by way of auction and allotment for sale of coal. The Act provides that Central Government may, for the purpose of granting mining lease in respect of any area containing coal, select through auction by competitive bidding any Government company or corporation or their joint venture or joint venture between Central Government and State government or any company incorporated in India or a company or joint venture company formed by companies that carry on coal mining operations in India for its own consumption, sale or any other purpose according to permit or license or mining lease and the State Government shall grant such mining lease to company as selected through competitive bidding. The definition of 'company' is the same as given in clause (20) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Ministry of Power
06-April, 2017 15:32 IST
Plan for Reduction of Pollution level of Coal based Thermal Power Plants

The Government has taken several steps to modernize and improve the efficiency of coal based thermal power plants and to reduce the pollution level of coal based thermal power plants in the vicinity of these plants. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. These are as follows:-

(i) Supercritical technology has already been adopted for thermal power generation. The design efficiency of Supercritical units is about 5% higher than that of typical 500 MW subcritical units and these (supercritical) units are likely to have correspondingly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in ambient air. A capacity addition of 39,710 MW power based on supercritical technology has already been achieved and 48,060 MW of supercritical technology is in the pipeline.

(ii) All Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) are required to use supercritical technology.

(iii) Coal based capacity addition during the 13th Plan period shall be through super-critical units.

(iv) Indigenous research is being pursued for development of an Advanced Ultra Supercritical Technology (A-USC) with targeted efficiency improvement of about 10% over supercritical unit. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), NTPC Ltd. and BHEL signed an MoU, in August 2010, for development of 800 MW A-USC indigenous demonstration plant with main steam pressure of 310 kg/cm2 and temperature of 710/ 720 deg C.

(v) A capacity of about 7751.94 MW of old and inefficient unit has already been retired till date.

(vi) To facilitate State Utilities/IPPs to replace old inefficient coal based thermal units with supercritical units, Ministry of Coal, Government of India has formulated a policy of automatic transfer of Letter of Assurance (LOA)/Coal linkage (granted to old plants) to new (proposed) super-critical units.

(vii) Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme under National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency is under implementation by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency). In PAT cycle–II, individual target for improving efficiency has been assigned to 154 thermal power stations.

(viii) High efficiency Electrostatics Preceptor (ESP) are installed to capture Particulate Matters from Flue gases.

(ix) Low NOX burners are installed for reducing NOx emission from flue gases.

(x) SO2 emission control is achieved through dispersion of flue gases through tall stacks (275 metres) to reduce the concentration of polluting gases at ground level.

*****

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-sets-aside-compensatory-tariff-to-tata-power-adani-power/article17928722.ece

NEW DELHI: April 11, 2017 20:12 IST
Updated: April 11, 2017 20:12 IST

Court ordered the CERC to go into the matter afresh and determine what relief should be granted to the power generators.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside an Appellate Electricity Tribunal decision allowing power generator giants Adani Power and Tata Power to charge compensatory tariff from their consumers spread across States including Gujarat and Haryana.

The tribunal, in a judgment on April 7 last year, permitted the companies to hike the tariff after Indonesia — where they source coal from to power their plants — decided in 2010 to align its coal export prices to international market prices instead of what they have been charging for the past 40 years.

The companies had argued that the increased coal prices was a ‘force majeure’ event (an unforeseen situation) provided for in the power purchase agreements (PPAs) entered into between them and distributors.

The tribunal had then remanded the case to the Central Electricity Regulation Commission to find out the impact of the ‘force majeure’ event to grant compensatory tariff. On December 6, 2016, the Commission had arrived at a certain determination as to compensatory tariff to be granted on account of force majeure.

Setting aside all past orders of the tribunal and the commission, a Bench of Justices P.C. Ghose and Rohinton Nariman held that a change in Indonesian coal export regulations does not measure up to be a force majeure event for which the consumers have to compensate for.

“The fundamental basis of the PPAs remains unaltered. Nowhere do the PPAs state that coal is to be procured only from Indonesia at a particular price. In fact, it is clear on a reading of the PPA as a whole that the price payable for the supply of coal is entirely for the person who sets up the power plant to bear. It is clear that an unexpected rise in the price of coal will not absolve the generating companies from performing their part of the contract for the very good reason that when they submitted their bids, this was a risk they knowingly took,” Justice Nariman, who wrote the verdict, held in a 65-page judgment.

The court held that “changes in the cost of fuel, or the agreement becoming onerous to perform, are not treated as force majeure events under the PPA itself”.

The court further held that force majeure clause cannot be claimed for change in foreign laws, but only for Indian laws.

The court ordered the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to go into the matter afresh and determine what relief should be granted to the power generators.

 

[Hindustani78]

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being welcomed on his arrival at the inauguration ceremony of the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visiting the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis are also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visiting the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao is also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visiting the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis is also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visiting the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being given a presentation on Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao, the Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis and the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir are also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being given a presentation on Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis are also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurating the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, the Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal and the Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Ramdas Athawale are also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurating the Koradi Thermal Power Station, in Nagpur on April 14, 2017. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis are also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram and the Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal at the dedication ceremony of the wind power plants of NALCO, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on April 15, 2017. The CMD, NALCO, Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand is also seen.

The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram and the Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal presenting the scholarship to school students under NALCO Ki Ladli project, at the dedication ceremony of the wind power plants of NALCO, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on April 15, 2017. The CMD, NALCO, Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand is also seen.

The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram addressing at the dedication ceremony of the wind power plants of NALCO, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on April 15, 2017.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge), Shri Piyush Goyal addressing at the dedication ceremony of the wind power plants of NALCO, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on April 15, 2017. The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram and the CMD, NALCO, Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand are also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Power
17-April, 2017 17:22 IST
Power Purchase Agreement for Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project signed

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, presided over the signing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) between Delhi Metro Railways Corporation (DMRC) & Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company (MPPMC) with Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited, the implementing agency for the ‘world’s largest singlesite solar power project’, the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project (UMSPP, 750MW) in Bhopal today. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information & Broadcasting, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu and Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Naidu said that Madhya Pradesh is a special state having huge resource base that is being harnessed under Shri Chouhan’s leadership. Taking a huge step towards realizing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of 24x7 Affordable, Quality Power for All, Madhya Pradesh has successfully brought down the rate of solar power to Rs. 3.30/ unit, which is a huge revolution in its own right, Shri Naidu noted. The Minister said that seven cities in the State qualified as smart cities in the first round comprising a total of 20 cities. This has been made possible only through people's active participation and the dynamic leadership in the State, Shri Naidu said.

In his address, Shri Chouhan said that the Madhya Pradesh government has set 3 guiding principles of its performance - equitable growth, social empowerment and sustainable development. The Chief Minister noted that a decade ago even water, electricity and roads used to be challenges in the State but now due to the dynamic development model being implemented, the year on year agricultural growth will touch 25% this year and milestones like the cheapest solar power in the country are being achieved in Rewa. Madhya Pradesh has become the leading state in renewable energy sector in India, the Chief Minister said.

Congratulating Shri Chouhan on his unrelenting efforts in the direction of achieving the unprecedented scaling up of the renewable energy sector in the State, Shri Piyush Goyal informed that the Rewa UMSPP had achieved historic results with a record low first year tariff of Rs 2.97 per unit of electricity and a levelised tariff of Rs 3.30 over the term of 25 years, in the marathon online auction, which lasted 33 hours between biggest of the Global solar companies. The Rewa UMSPP becomes the first power project to conduct interstate sale of solar power to Delhi Metro. There would be huge savings to the Delhi Metro because of per unit cost of power reducing from over Rs. 4.50 to Rs. 3.30, Shri Goyal informed.

Shri Goyal also mentioned that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and cooperation of all Chief Ministers of various States, in the last 3 years, renewable energy has seen a growth of over 370 %. As compared to 2,600 MW of installed solar power capacity in 2014, today in India there is a total of 12,200 MW of installed solar power capacity and the country would achieve the 20,000MW solar power capacity target 5 years ahead of schedule by the end of 2017, the Minister noted.

Shri Goyal appreciated the proactive way in which the Madhya Pradesh Government provided financial guarantees to make the Rewa PPAs viable. The Minister further informed that the Rewa PPA has been accepted by the central government as a standard model for all other state governments to emulate and achieve lowest electricity tariff rates through competitive bidding.

Listing out the factors responsible for the success of the Rewa UMSPP, Shri Goyal included partnership of all stakeholders; outcome-oriented decisive leadership; root cause analysis of causes of failure on previous bids; time-bound execution; innovative financial model like partnering with International Finance Corporation (IFC); focus on transparency and technology including green energy corridor for evacuation of solar power; assigning responsibility and fixing accountability of implementation at each step.

Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Ministers in Madhya Pradesh Government, Shri Paras Chandra Jain, Minister for Energy, New & Renewable Energy and Shri Rajendra Shukla, Minister for Mineral Resources, Commerce, Industry and Employment, Overseas Indian Affairs, along with other senior officials of the Union Ministry of Power, State Government, DMRC and IFC.

*****

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
04-May, 2017 15:43 IST
MoAs signed for first wind auction Scheme ; Another wind auction Scheme for 1000 MW announced

The Memorandum of Agreements (MoAs) for purchase of 1000 MW wind power under MNRE’s first wind auction Scheme were signed here today between PTC India, the trading company, and Discoms of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Odisha and Assam. The signing ceremony took place during the two days Conference of Power, New & Renewable Energy & Mines Ministers of States and UTs.

As per MoAs the Discoms of UP to buy 449.9 MW, Bihar- 200 MW, Jharkhand – 200 MW, Delhi – 100 MW, Assam – 50 MW and Odisha – 50MW of wind power for meeting their non-solar RPO.

The Letter of Award (LoA) to the successful wind power developers under the first wind auction scheme have been issued by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on 5 April 2017 and the projects are to be commissioned within 18 months from the date of issue of LoA.

This was the first time such auction process was done in the country for wind power through e-reverse auction and its success can be seen from the fact that a record low tariffs of Rs. 3.46 per kWh was obtained.

With the success of first wind auction scheme, MNRE today launched Scheme for another round of wind auction for 1000 MW capacity wind power projects.

The Scheme is open for all obligated entities purchasing wind power for compliance of their non-solar RPO. The differentiation between windy and non-windy States has been done away with. The SECI will sign Power Purchase Agreements with selected wind developers and back-to-back Power Sale Agreements with buying utilities.

Further, provision of 10% additional capacity for Central Public Sector Entities (CPSEs) has been kept under the Scheme without participation in the bidding, however, they have to supply wind power at lowest discovered tariff through bidding process.

BACKGROUND

Ministry sanctioned a Scheme for setting up of 1000 MW ISTS connected Wind Power Project on 14 June 2016 with the objective to encourage competitiveness through scaling up of project sizes and introduction of efficient and transparent e-bidding and e-auctioning processes.

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Ministry of Power
04-May, 2017 17:59 IST
Two-day State Power Ministers’ Conference concludes in New Delhi

One of the most successful, productive and outcome oriented State Power Ministers conference till date: Shri Piyush Goyal

Next State Power Ministers Conference to be held in Rajgir, Bihar

“Ït has been one of the most successful, productive and outcome oriented State Power Ministers conference till date”, said Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, while addressing the media on the concluding day of the two-day State Power Ministers’ Conference here today.

Informing about the outcomes of the conference, Shri Goyal stated that there was a wide consensus amongst all the Chief Ministers of States/UTs present to achieve the target of 24x7 affordable and quality power for all citizens of the country by December 2018, thereby reinforcing the Vadodara resolution.

Talking about conference as a forum for open minded discussion on issues of the respective sectors, Shri Goyal informed that certain new issues were also discussed during the conference. He informed that the issues included mandatory recycling of waste water from power plants for usage for drinking, better management of Dry Ash by encouraging setting up of cement plants in proximity of power plants for its consumption etc. The Minister said that all the states have collectively decided to work on deriving innovative solutions to the problems of the power and mining sectors.

Talking about discussions on power sector reforms, Shri Goyal informed that the Ministers agreed upon bringing about transparency in the Merit Order Dispatch and said that a mobile app would soon be launched in this regard by the Central Government. The session on Cyber Security included Government persuading the State Governments to encourage payment of electricity bills through the digital mode in order to increase transparency and better compliance.

While informing the media about the deliberations on environmental issues and their solutions through renewable energy, Shri Goyal said that the states have decided to encourage Renewable Power via grid integration, promotion of green energy corridors, energy efficient solar pumps for irrigation etc. The Minister also emphasised on ensuring seamless power to the industries so as to attract foreign investment in the sector. Further, the participants also discussed rationalisation of power tariff structure through better fuel linkages, transparent price discovery and promised to come up with a plan to benefit consumers soon.

Shri Goyal also announced that the next State Power Ministers Conference would be held in Rajgir, Bihar. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri P.K. Pujari, Secretary Power, Shri Arun Kumar, Secretary Mines, Shri Rajeev Kapoor, Secretary MNRE along with other senior officers of State Governments and CPSUs.

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[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Coal
26-May, 2017 15:10 IST
No dearth of coal at Rajmahal OCP to supply Kahalgaon and Farakka Power Stations of NTPC

Rajmahal Opencast Project of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, has set a target of 17 Million Tonne (MT) coal production during 2017-18 at its optimum capacity. Rajmahal OCP produced 14.43 MTs of coal during 2016-17.

With the issue of shifting Bhadotola village being solved in stages with the help of Jharkhand State Government, Rajmahal OCP is fully geared up to supply coal to Kahalgaon and Farakka Plants of NTPC throughout the year. At present 25,000 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes daily production will continue till June 2017 end. From July 2017 onwards further 7 MTs of coal will be made available at Dahernangi patch.

Further, more than 20 MTs additional coal will be made available from Bhadotola which will help Rajmahal OCP to produce 17 MTs during the current fiscal with continued law and order support from Jharkhand Government in shifting Bhadotola village.

At present, the demand of Farakka and Kahalgaon is met by supplying 25,000 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes coal from Rajmahal MGR and remaining from Raniganj Coalfield of ECL through rail which continues during monsoon period also. There will be no dearth of coal at Rajmahal OCP to supply Kahalgaon and Farakka Power Stations of NTPC.

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[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...-sector-in-ts-by-2018-end/article18620568.ece

Telangana Government to spend ₹ 1,300 cr. on transmission & distribution network
The Telangana Government is planning to provide round-the-clock (24-hour) power supply to agriculture sector from 2018-end by strengthening the transmission and distribution network with an investment of about ₹ 1,300 crore.

The decision to provide uninterrupted power supply to farm sector increasing it from the current nine-hours supply was taken by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao last month. According to officials, about 25 lakh agriculture connections were consuming power ranging from 2,500 MW to 3,500 MW depending upon the crop conditions.

It has been estimated that establishing six 400 KV sub-stations, 12 numbers of 220 KV sub-stations, 21 numbers of 132 KV sub-stations, 30 of 33/11 KV sub-stations, 230 power transformers and laying 33 KV conductor lines for 689 km length would be taken up as part of the Government plan to ensure 24-hour power supply to agriculture sector.

“During combined Andhra Pradesh, the allocation for free power supply to farm sector was only ₹ 3,621 crore including the share of ₹ 1,521 crore for Telangana. But, the Telangana Government allocated ₹ 4,485 crore besides spending ₹ 2,541 crore on strengthening the T&D network for giving nine-hour supply”, a senior official of TS-Transco stated.

From the situation of power holidays to industrial sector and unreliable supply to domestic, commercial and agriculture sectors on the day of Telangana State formation on June 2 in 2014, the State Government had turned the tide with short-term, medium-term and long-term plans for improving the power sector and started providing uninterrupted supply to domestic, commercial and industrial categories from December 2014 itself, the official said.

The Government had plans firmed up to make Telangana self-reliant and a power-surplus State by 2020-end. The officials stated that the generation capacity of Telangana including its share in the inter-state generating stations or central generating stations, from long-term suppliers and from renewable sources on the day of State formation was only 6,575 MW with TS-Genco accounting for 4,365 MW. In three years after State formation, it has added another 4,190 MW including 600 MW from Bhupalapally, 1,200 MW from Singareni, 570 MW from private producers (long-term), 178 MW from CGS, 240 MW from Jurala hydro-electric, 30 MW from Pulichintala hydro-electric, 1,273 MW from solar and 99 MW from wind taking up the total installed capacity to 11,689 MW. However, about 4,500 MW of it is non-dependable since its from hydel, solar and wind mills.

Plans for increasing the installed capacity to over 29,300 MW by 2020-end include 800 MW from KTPS-VII, 1,000 MW from Chhattisgarh, 1,080 MW from Bhadradri, 90 MW from Pulichintala, 954 MW from solar, 206 MW from CGS by 2017-end.

Another 1,000 MW more from Chhattisgarh, 1,600 MW from NTPC (out of 4,000 MW), 800 MW from Singareni, 809 MW from CGS, 3,727 MW from solar, 90 MW from hydel would also be added by 2020-end.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Finance
31-May, 2017 17:24 IST
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) sign $100 million loan to finance Solar Rooftop projects

This is the first tranche loan of the $500 million multi tranche finance facility Solar Rooftop Investment Program (SRIP)

India’s solar rooftop market expanding fast with an estimated total capacity potential of 124 GW

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Punjab National Bank (PNB) yesterday signed a $100 million loan — to be guaranteed by the Government of India — that will finance large solar rooftop systems on industrial and commercial buildings throughout India. The PNB will use the ADB funds to make further loans to various developers and end users to install rooftop solar systems.

This is the first tranche loan of the $500 million multi tranche finance facility Solar Rooftop Investment Program (SRIP) approved by ADB in 2016. The financing includes $330 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and $170 million from the multi donor Clean Technology Fund (CTF) administered by ADB. The first tranche loan of $100 million would be financed entirely from the CTF.

“With a sharp drop in the price of solar panels, India has a huge potential to expand its use of solar rooftop technologies,” said Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, ADB Country Director in India who signed the loan on behalf of ADB. “The program will contribute to the government’s plans to increase solar power generation capacity, and also help India meet the carbon emission reduction target in line with its commitment at the recent global climate change agreement.” India’s solar rooftop market is expanding fast with an estimated total capacity potential of 124GW.

“The project is aligned with the goal set by Government of India to increase the country’s solar rooftop capacity by 40 GW by 2022, and would also contribute to Government's efforts to promote solar energy solutions as affordable and sustainable energy sources,” said Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who signed the Guarantee Agreement for Government of India. The loan agreement was signed by Mr. H.K. Parikh, General Manager on behalf of PNB.

The entire Solar Rooftop Investment Program will cost $1 billion, inclusive of ADB $500 million funding, and the projects financed under the program will install solar rooftop system of around 1 GW capacity. This will contribute to the climate change goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 11 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over the typical 25-year lifetime of rooftop solar systems.

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[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Science & Technology
08-June, 2017 17:43 IST
India announces mounting of a National Mission on advanced ultra supercritical technologies for cleaner coal utilization

India announces two MI-centric Funding Opportunities in Smart Grid and Offgrid Access at US $ 5 million each

Dr. Harshvardhan led Indian Delegation at 2ndMission Innovation Ministerial and 8thClean Energy Ministerial at Beijing

India announces mounting a National Mission on advanced ultra supercritical technologies for cleaner coal utilisation at a total cost of US $ 238 million and setting up of two Centres of Excellence on Clean Coal Technologies at US $5 million each. In its quest for cleaner fuels, a National Mission on methanol and di-methyl ether is being mounted. A new centre on solar photovoltaic, thermal storage and solar fuels research has been approved ~ US $ 5 million. Funding opportunities have been announced in the area of energy storage, clean coal, waste water treatment amounting to US $ 10 million. This announcement was made at the 2ndMission Innovation Ministerial and 8th Clean Energy Ministerial at Beijing, China.

India also announced two MI-centric Funding Opportunities in Smart Grid and Offgrid Access at US $ 5 million each. Joint virtual Clean Energy Centre with UK and Indian Government funding of UK £ 5 million each has been initiated. Under the Indo – USJoint Clean Energy Research (PACE – R) the new collaborative public – private programme on Smart Grids & Energy Storage has been approved. India has also embarked upon a joint programme on renewable energy with Norway

Energy Ministers from 23 Nations with 80% of Clean Energy Investments and 75% of GHG Emission met on June 6-8, 2017 at Beijing, China to focus on Advancing Clean Energy Cooperation and Implementing Paris Agreement Commitments

The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Science and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Dr. Harshvardhan.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also participated alongwith 4 other Ministers in a roundtable on “Accelerating innovation via public-private synergies, “Getting to the Future Faster: Accelerating Innovation in Clean Energy Technology through Public and Private Collaboration”, which considered the roles of the private and public sectors in the innovation ecosystem, synergies between the two, and successful models for feeding the innovation pipeline and accelerating outcomes.

The Minister held a successful bilateral meeting with US Secretary Rick Perry. Joint collaboration in clean energy was discussed to widen new areas of research cooperation in clean coal, carbon capture and accessible and affordable water. These areas will be in addition to strengthening ongoing partnerships under PACE-R. A new partnership in india-US clean energy was also discussed,

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also led bilateral meeting with Maros Sefcovic, Vice President for European Union, European Commission. Successful ongoing collaborations were discussed on water technology, research& innovation, clean biofuels solar energy etc) . New partnership in clean technologies such as smart grids, water and waste water treatment were also discussed.

Eighteen months ago on 30th November 2015, leaders of 20 countries came together to launch Mission Innovation (MI), a landmark 5-year commitment to accelerate the pace of innovation and make clean energy widely affordable and accessible worldwide. MI now comprises 22 economies and the European Commission, representing the European Union, and collectively accounts for more than 80 percent of the world’s total public financing of clean energy R&D.

Mission Innovation developed and launched 7 Innovation Challenges in November 2016. These Innovation Challenges focus on selected technical area where MI members believe increased international attention would make a significant impact. India is Co-leading three Challenges – Smart Grid, Off Grid Access and Sustainable Biofuels. Minister Harsh Vardhan released the India Action Plan for next 3 years

This week, energy ministers and other high-level delegates from 22 countries and the European Union convened at the Chinese National Convention Center in Beijing for the second Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-2) from 6-8 June. Indian delegation was led by Dr. Harshvardhan.

Energy ministers and other high-level delegates from all MI member governments participated in a business meeting on June 7 to discuss plans, progress, country highlights, and preview a series of public announcements on selected areas of joint cooperation.

Ministers and delegates gave their encouragement to carrying out an MI Action Plan. This Plan highlights a number of priority areas for cooperative work, as identified by MI members who have opted-in, in joint research, business and investor engagement and information sharing.

India informed that two MI-India Workshops were organized on 22-23 May, 2017 on Innovation Challenge (IC#1) on Smart Grids and Innovation Challenge ( IC#2) Offgrid access to electricity at New Delhi., India which identified possible topics of co-operation with MI countries. India also launched MI-India funding opportunity of US $ 5 million each for achieving objectives envisaged in both these Innovation Challenges.

India announced its plan for hosting a MI Sustainable Biofuel Innovation Challenge Workshop in December, 2017 in New Delhi, India in collaboration with Biofuture platform.

The increased focus on Innovation by both public and private sectors is expected to give rise to new and advanced technologies, performance breakthroughs, and significant cost reductions. These, in turn, will create opportunities for new industries and jobs and expand markets for reliable and clean energy – for both production and demand. The lower costs will spur economic growth and accelerate market uptake, enabling the realization of the benefits of accessible, reliable and affordable clean energy worldwide.

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