Power Sector thread

[psychedelic]

A ray of light for humanity

Affordable Tesla Generator is now available to the public. Creating environmental friendly, free electricity, the dream and brainchild of Nikola Tesla (who obtained approximately 300 patents worldwide for his inventions), has now become a reality for those who wish to supplement their power needs or move totally off the grid.
In 1934, Nikola Tesla, the “Einstein of Electricity” announced to the world that he had “harnessed the rays of the sun and caused them to operate a motive device.” However, rather than support his new findings as they had so many others, the government actually cut his funding and hushed his ground-breaking discovery. At his death, both his body and his papers mysteriously disappeared. Now that the Freedom of Information Act is in play, some of those important blueprints have resurfaced, and Tesla’s invention for environmental friendly electricity has finally become a reality.
By using some 21st century advancements and Tesla’s original concepts, anyone can now build a Tesla generator and save 60%–100% in home or office energy costs. The smallest device can easily power a cell phone, but the larger models are equipped to handle appliances, media equipment, camping needs and even whole house electricity. In places such as remote cabins, where bringing in electric wiring would be cost-prohibitive, a Tesla generator can become the perfect affordable alternative.
These environmental friendly power units can be built with simple, downloadable plans and less than $100 in electrical components that are readily available at the local hardware store. According to Suzanne Wool of Chicago, Illinois, “This technology is the real deal and it changed our lives…”
As electrical bills continue to rise and speculation about fossil fuel increasingly hangs over everyone’s head, knowing that there is an environmentally friendly way to satisfy your power needs without breaking the bank is cause for celebration. Finally breaking free of the control of big energy companies may seem too good to be true, but satisfied customers have found that they can cut their energy bills in half or even become totally independent of the local electrical company if they so choose.
While solar energy has recently been a promoted as an alternative to high energy bills, installation and adaptation always seem to involve spending a small fortune on solar panels and praying for sunny days. Alternatively, the Tesla generator does not require sunshine. It is simply an innovative method of harnessing some of those 200 billion watts of sun power that shoots towards earth each day. And what’s more amazing is that Tesla’s environmental friendly plans are simple and easy to follow. You can literally download them in minutes and build your own unit within the next couple of days or less, just as soon as you collect the necessary components.
The new caretakers of Tesla’s invention share his desire to help the common man. They have made everything you need to build your own power-generating unit easily available and affordable. But they have even gone one step further. Because they are so sure that you will be overwhelmingly satisfied with this product, they are offering a 60-day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee to anyone who is not absolutely happy with this product. It doesn’t get much better than that. This is a win-win situation for everybody involved. Finally Nikola Tesla is seeing his dream realized. Affordable electricity is available to everyone.

P.S:- it's about time people started seeing the greedy corporations for what they really are. How Tesla's work was suppressed and Edison's was propagated is well known in some cirlces, all that only because Tesla believed in free power. These same corporate lobbies have been responsible for the ban on hemp (not the marijuana we smoke), hemp fuel will eliminate the dependence of human beings on environmentally harmful fossil fuels and it's been around for ages. It's high time people came out of their trance and gaze upon the truth.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/nikola...web5217204.htm

[Toothgrass]

I'll agree with you about greedy companies and crooked politicians but the Tesla generator doesn't sound scientific. Free energy violates the laws of thermodynamics. Perhaps this harvests the power of the Earth's magnetic field, but I wonder why no one's built one or why we haven't heard more about it if this is theoretically possible.

[psychedelic]

The reason we don't hear about free power is because there has been a concerted effort to make people think it's not a viable option. To know more about the Tesla coil and it's practical application, read about Methernitha (a village in Switzerland) and how they have managed to use Tesla's innovation to produce free electricity.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

B.S. Satish Kumar

The intention is to prevent transmission interruption during maintenance
Advances:Manual maintenance results in interruptions in power transmission as transmission has to be stopped in view of safety.— File photo: G.R.N. Somashekar
Advances:Manual maintenance results in interruptions in power transmission as transmission has to be stopped in view of safety.— File photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

Soon you may see the deployment of robots for maintenance of high-voltage power transmission lines by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL), which is the country’s premier transmission utility.

According to a senior technical official in the PGCIL, experiments in this regard had been carried out this year. Refusing to divulge details, he said: “I can only tell you that those experiments have been successful and also the results are encouraging.”

The main intention behind the efforts to introduce robotic maintenance is to set a new benchmark in service standards by preventing any interruptions in transmission while taking up maintenance on systems that operate at dangerously high-voltage levels. Some of the western countries have already gone ahead with the robotic maintenance of their transmission lines that marks the convergence of Information Technology and power sector reaching a new high.

According to him, the need for the deployment of robots has arisen as most of the recently added transmission lines to the PGCIL’s grid have very high voltage. In fact, the two new power transmission lines, for which the foundation was laid in Raichur recently, have a high voltage of 765 kV.

“The issue is not just about high voltage, but maintaining those high-voltage lines without causing interruptions. The present way of manual maintenance results in interruptions in power transmission as transmission has to be stopped for any manual inspection in view of safety. But we are now thinking of using advance technology, including IT, to take up maintenance without causing interruptions,” he said.

Any interruption in power transmission even for a small duration will have a cascading effect at the ground-level as that would disrupt power supply to consumers. Sometimes, several Sates get affected if a major power transmission line is shut out. The present system of manual maintenance cannot be taken up without shutting out the lines.

Aerial patrolling

The PGCIL is considering introducing aerial patrolling of its vast transmission network which runs into 95,850 circuit km.

It recently conducted aerial patrolling of transmission lines with the help of helicopters. Referring to this, the official said aerial patrolling will be linked to a hi-tech monitoring system. In fact, a fully computerised and automated National Transmission Asset Management Centre is being established for centralised and remote operation of various substations as well as their virtual monitoring, he noted.

Pointing out that manual survey of lines was time consuming and might not be completely accurate, he said the automated and aerial monitoring system would go a long way in reducing the time required for monitoring, besides improving the effectiveness of such a process.

TH

[wO_Ow]

NTPC starts 500 MW unit of Vallur power project in TN

NEW DELHI, NOV 29:NTPC on Thursday said the first unit of 500 MW of the Vallur Thermal Power Project set up by NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Co Ltd has started operations.

The project is a joint venture between NTPC and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).

With this the total commercial capacity of Vallur Thermal Power Project is 500 MW and that of NTPC Group 38,174 MW, the public sector power producer said in a statement to BSE.

Essar Power commissions 225 mw in Gujarat unit

MUMBAI: Essar Power has commissioned the second unit of 255 mw at its Vadinar power project (phase 2) in Gujarat, taking the company's total installed capacity to 3,310 mw, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Essar Power, which is a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange-listed Essar Energy plc, said that it has added 1,710 mw of generation capacity in the last one year.

NTPC commissions Unit III of Indira Gandhi super thermal power project

NTPC has commissioned unit-III of 500 MW of Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project at Jhajjar in Haryana.
The project has been implemented by Aravali Power Company (APCPL) a joint venture of NTPC, Haryana Power Generation Corporation and Indraprastha Power Generation Company. With this, the total capacity of NTPC group has become 39,674 MW.
With the coming of unit-III, the total installed capacity of Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project has become 1,500 MW.

First unit of Koderma Thermal Power commissioned

HAZARIBAGH: Power generation from the first 500 MW unit of the Damodar Valley Corporation's Koderma Thermal Power Station was started at Banjhedih in the neighbouring Koderma district.

"The first 500 MW unit of the proposed 1000 MW plant was switched on at 7.15 pm yesterday and power supply was distributed on trial basis to the Biharshariff grid and the DVC grid," Chief Engineer of the Plant B P Mandal told reporters today.

[wO_Ow]

India suffers over 11 percent power generation loss in 2011-12: CEA

NEW DELHI: India suffered a power generation loss of over 11 per cent, in 2011-12, on account of fuel shortage, transmission bottlenecks and equipment problems, a Central Electricity Authority review has said.

"The loss of generation due to non-availability of thermal units due to forced outages during 2011-12 increased to 11.46 per cent," Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said.

All India electricity generation in the country during 2011-12 has been 876.89 BU, the report of the highlights of this review that was released by CEA recently, said.

"The increased forced outages was due to increased forced shutdown of units due to coal supply problem and transmission constraints and equipment problems of some new units," the CEA report said.

The report said 59.87 per cent of the total forced shut downs were of duration of up to 24 hours. Around 39 per cent outages were of duration varying from 1 to 25 days and only 1.45 per cent of shut downs were for more than 25 days.

The total loss of generation (6,574 MU) due to planned maintenance of thermal units and various forced outages was highest in September 2011, the review said.

The generation from gas-based plants had negative growth rate on account of low schedules from the beneficiaries coupled with shortage of gas. "During the year (2011-12), the generation from gas-based plants were 93.22 BU (billion units) in comparison to 99.97 BU," the report said.

Megawatt (MW) is used to refer to generation capacity, while Million Unit (MU) indicates the amount of power or energy produced. For instance, a 500 MW capacity plant running for 24 hours can produce 12 MUs of energy.

Energy loss due to partial unavailability of the thermal generating units operating in the country during 2011-12 had increased to 9.43 per cent of the maximum possible generation during the year in comparison to the 9.34 per cent in 2010-11, the CEa review report.

The coal availability to power stations detoriated due to Telangana crisis during the month of September, 2011.

Telangana crisis hampered the production in SCCL ( Singareni Collieries Company Ltd) mines which had affected coal supplies to many generating stations of Southern Region especially Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

"The increase was mainly attributed to partial unavailability of the thermal generating units on account of backing down of units due to poor quality coal, coal shortage and low system demand," it said.

The review found that 11.6 billion units were lost due to shortage of coal, 17.9 BUs due to poor quality of coal, 15.3 BUs due to backing down or reserve shut down, 3.92 BUs due to transmission constraints and 36.71 BUs due to gas shortage.

It covers the performance analysis of 454 coal based thermal units above 25 MW capacity of 126 thermal power stations aggregating 97,768 MW.

[barrykul]

That statewide T&D loss is a major issue. Except for the Southern States, the rest are dismal looking, with J&K leading the parade at 58% (i.e. 1 in 2 accounts is free pilfered power). First order of business for the power sector babus in the states is to reduce T&D loss. That would save a bunch of power and avoid power cuts.

Sometimes you wonder what the Union Power Ministry is doing. They don't care about getting the basic done, instead only interested in the tender process, making corruption money and appeasing the pujiya mantriji. These geriatric politicians who infest the Indian Govt need to be purged, yielding to the young energetic visionary leaders (who need to stand for higher political office). By every measure the Govt of India is slipping and regressing, cannot get anything done, gridlock and apathy everywhere, basic infrastructure still lacking and poor.

[InfraNerd]

India's Installed Power Generation Capacity touches 2,10,544 MW; Renewable Energy Contribution Reaches 12.45%

Link

India's Total Power Generation Capacity has reached 2,10,544 MW, says the Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdulla.

This info was shared by the Minister during today's Lokh Sabha session. The Cheer full part of the equation is that, India's Renewable Energy installed contribution has increased to 26,267 MW or 12.45% of the total installed Capacity.

He also added that India's Twelfth Five Year plan period has a target of installing 30 GW of Grid Tied Renewable power capacity addition, comprising 15 GW from wind, 10 GW from solar, 2 GW from small hydro and 3 GW from biomass.

[karkal]

Power bills to rise about 20% as govt looks to make discoms cash positive to push pricing reforms



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/17866003.cms

[wO_Ow]

Kudankulam unit to be commissioned in 2 weeks: AEC

The much-delayed Kudankulam project is set to be commissioned within the next two weeks as nuclear scientists have entered the final lap of a series of tests on its safety and efficacy.

“Within this month 100 per cent. It will take about two weeks,” Ratan Kumar Sinha, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission told PTI in Kolkata on the sidelines of the 100th Indian Science Congress when asked about the commissioning of the first 1,000 MW unit of the project.

Reliance Power's Butibori thermal plant starts power generation

NEW DELHI: Reliance Power has started power generation from its 300 MW second unit of Butibori thermal power plant in Maharashtra.

Power from the plant will be distributed to industrial and distribution utilities and will help reduce the demand-supply gap in Maharashtra.

The first 300 MW unit of the power plant started operating at full capacity in August 2012, an official statement said.

Idle power plants in Andhra Pradesh to get fresh lease of life

HYDERABAD: At least four gas-based power plants in electricity-starved Andhra Pradesh , which have been lying idle for years for want of natural gas from Reliance Industries' KG Basin field, are about to get a fresh lease of life.

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to allow several power stations operated by the GVK, GMR and VBC groups to run on imported liquefied natural gas to meet electricity demand during peak seasons, power secretary Mrutyunjay Sahoo said.

"Based on the interest shown by industry bodies for buying relatively expensive power produced through LNG, the government has recommended to the regulator to allow the IPPs to produce power using alternative fuel," Sahoo told ET.

[ankushgupta]

Originally Posted by psychedelic

A ray of light for humanity

Affordable Tesla Generator is now available to the public. Creating environmental friendly, free electricity, the dream and brainchild of Nikola Tesla (who obtained approximately 300 patents worldwide for his inventions), has now become a reality for those who wish to supplement their power needs or move totally off the grid.
In 1934, Nikola Tesla, the “Einstein of Electricity” announced to the world that he had “harnessed the rays of the sun and caused them to operate a motive device.” However, rather than support his new findings as they had so many others, the government actually cut his funding and hushed his ground-breaking discovery. At his death, both his body and his papers mysteriously disappeared. Now that the Freedom of Information Act is in play, some of those important blueprints have resurfaced, and Tesla’s invention for environmental friendly electricity has finally become a reality.
By using some 21st century advancements and Tesla’s original concepts, anyone can now build a Tesla generator and save 60%–100% in home or office energy costs. The smallest device can easily power a cell phone, but the larger models are equipped to handle appliances, media equipment, camping needs and even whole house electricity. In places such as remote cabins, where bringing in electric wiring would be cost-prohibitive, a Tesla generator can become the perfect affordable alternative.
These environmental friendly power units can be built with simple, downloadable plans and less than $100 in electrical components that are readily available at the local hardware store. According to Suzanne Wool of Chicago, Illinois, “This technology is the real deal and it changed our lives…”
As electrical bills continue to rise and speculation about fossil fuel increasingly hangs over everyone’s head, knowing that there is an environmentally friendly way to satisfy your power needs without breaking the bank is cause for celebration. Finally breaking free of the control of big energy companies may seem too good to be true, but satisfied customers have found that they can cut their energy bills in half or even become totally independent of the local electrical company if they so choose.
While solar energy has recently been a promoted as an alternative to high energy bills, installation and adaptation always seem to involve spending a small fortune on solar panels and praying for sunny days. Alternatively, the Tesla generator does not require sunshine. It is simply an innovative method of harnessing some of those 200 billion watts of sun power that shoots towards earth each day. And what’s more amazing is that Tesla’s environmental friendly plans are simple and easy to follow. You can literally download them in minutes and build your own unit within the next couple of days or less, just as soon as you collect the necessary components.
The new caretakers of Tesla’s invention share his desire to help the common man. They have made everything you need to build your own power-generating unit easily available and affordable. But they have even gone one step further. Because they are so sure that you will be overwhelmingly satisfied with this product, they are offering a 60-day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee to anyone who is not absolutely happy with this product. It doesn’t get much better than that. This is a win-win situation for everybody involved. Finally Nikola Tesla is seeing his dream realized. Affordable electricity is available to everyone.

P.S:- it's about time people started seeing the greedy corporations for what they really are. How Tesla's work was suppressed and Edison's was propagated is well known in some cirlces, all that only because Tesla believed in free power. These same corporate lobbies have been responsible for the ban on hemp (not the marijuana we smoke), hemp fuel will eliminate the dependence of human beings on environmentally harmful fossil fuels and it's been around for ages. It's high time people came out of their trance and gaze upon the truth.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/nikola...web5217204.htm

Another victim of Internet hoax.

[psychedelic]

Your words don't make a difference since you wouldn't recognize the truth if it slapped you in the face. You're yet to rise above your silly nationalistic (as is evident from your display image) bs, forget pondering the larger questions. Forever trapped in the illusion created for you by your puppeteers. Now run along child.

[ankushgupta]

I am hijacking the thread but I have to ask, Are you a member of Methernitha Christian Alliance or Flat Earth Society?

[tall_dreams]

Originally Posted by psychedelic

A ray of light for humanity

.....Because they are so sure that you will be overwhelmingly satisfied with this product, they are offering a 60-day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee to anyone who is not absolutely happy with this product. It doesn’t get much better than that. This is a win-win situation for everybody involved. Finally Nikola Tesla is seeing his dream realized. Affordable electricity is available to everyone.

[

http://www.prweb.com/releases/nikola...web5217204.htm

Are they demanding money? This sounds like those suspicious internet ads which promises to sell you something that would change your lives.

[GJ10]

Its a very common internet scam where gullible conspiracy theorists pay for an ebook containing "secrets that the govt and corporations dont want you to know".

[wO_Ow]

Salman Khurshid says Areva nuclear is close: report

PARIS: India and French group Areva are close to agreement on a contract for Areva to build a nuclear power station on the west coast of India, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said in a newspaper interview on Friday.

The project is for two European pressurised reactors (EPR) at Jaitapur 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Mumbai.

The talks had reached a "very advanced stage", the minister told the Le Figaro newspaper.

"We have to settle the questions of safety raised by the tsunami in Japan and this has an effect on the unit price of energy produced," he said.

This was being studied by experts but "a final agreement is within reach," he said.

The reference to Japan concerned a disaster at Fukushima in Japan in March last year when a tsunami caused by an off-shore earthquake overwhelmed a nuclear power station built on the coastline.

The flooding causing a meltdown and widespread disaster which focused attention worldwide on the safety of nuclear power stations and particularly on where they are sited.

Areva said merely that it was in advanced talks without indicating when an agreement might be signed, after a two-year delay.

In December 2010, Areva an agreement with India to build the country's first two reactors of the new-generation EPR type at Jaitapur with an option for four more reactors.

But following the disaster in Japan, many projects around the world were frozen, delayed or abandoned. The negotiations with India slowed down.

The Indian authorities indicated that they were waiting for the results of various additional audits on safety issues in relation to the EPR reactors, in the light of the disaster at Fukushima.

There has been opposition to the project locally mainly over concerns about the risk of seismic activity in the area.

The minister also took a positive line earlier in the day regarding negotiations by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault to sell 126 Rafale fighter planes to India.

French President Francois Hollande is to visit India in the middle of February.

Kudankulam Unit 1 to be commissioned within a fortnight

The much-delayed first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) will be commissioned within the next fortnight, an Indian Atomic Energy Commission official said.“Within this month 100 per cent. It will take about two weeks,” Ratan Kumar Sinha, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission told PTI. “They (technical staff at Kudankulam) have done the hot pressurisation based on certain observations. They want to be very sure that all the processes are perfect,” Sinha told the news agency.

The Kudankulam units comprise of 1,000 MW reactors of the VVER-1000 model being constructed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Russia’s Atomstroyexport company, a Rosatom subsidiary.


India signed a contract with the Soviet Union to build the Kudankulam plant in 1988, while the actual construction started only in 1997 due to due to the political and economic upheaval in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The construction of the first two units of the power plant was halted in September 2011 over protests by local residents who demanded the scrapping of the Indo-Russian project citing the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
Protesters had blocked all roads to the plant and would not allow the workers to enter. The work resumed in March 2012

[karkal]

BHEL to be categorised as Maharatna

Asian power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) will be accorded Maharatna status with the Committee of Secretaries clearing the proposal, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel Wednesday.

Addressing employees of BHEL’s boiler plant at Tiruchirapalli, Patel said that BHEL was amongst the finest companies, not only in India but in the world. A company statement quoted the minister as saying that BHEL’s 49,000 strong technical, educated and committed workforce hailing from all parts of the country was one of the biggest assets the nation could have.

The minister was on a visit to BHEL’s high pressure boiler and seamless steel tube plants at Tiruchirapalli, around 320 km from here.

He called upon BHEL to look at new avenues for growth and to tap all opportunities including new business sectors like solar energy by thinking in futuristic terms.

The Maharatna status will give BHEL the freedom to invest up to Rs.5,000 crore in a joint venture or in a wholly-owned subsidiary without government’s permission.

Currently there are five Maharatna government companies — Coal India, NTPC, Indian Oil Corporation, ONGC and SAIL.

[azzi282]

India's $2 billion NTPC share sale likely February 7: sources

Reuters) - India's plan to raise about $2 billion selling a stake in power producer NTPC Ltd (NTPC.NS) will likely take place on February 7, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

The government, which owns 84.5 percent of NTPC, plans to sell a 9.5 percent stake worth $2.3 billion at current prices through an auction as part of efforts to cut its fiscal deficit.

A floor price for the auction will likely be announced a day ahead of the offering, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media before a public announcement.

The Department of Disinvestment, responsible for handling government sales of stakes in companies, was not available to comment.

Earlier this month, it picked Citigroup (C.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley (MS.N), and SBI Capital Markets to run the share sale.

A marketing roadshow for NTPC, which started this week, was expected to end next week after which the advisors will make their recommendation on a floor price, two sources said.

Selling down its shareholding in companies is a central plank of the government's plan to cut its fiscal deficit to 5.3 percent of GDP in the current financial year from 5.8 percent in 2011/12.

India's hefty fiscal deficit has triggered warnings of a potential credit rating downgrade.

The government aims to raise 300 billion rupees ($5.6 billion) selling shares in its 2012/13 fiscal year to March.

It got a boost from a $1.1 billion issue of miner NMDC Ltd (NMDC.NS) last month. Before the NMDC share sale, the government had raised $148 million in the current year in a process hit by volatile markets and wrangling among government officials.

NTPC shares fell 0.6 percent to 159.35 rupees on Friday in a positive Mumbai market

LINK

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Smart grid sector gets $434 m in VC funding: Mercom

Richa Mishra

Only one M&A transaction in India

New Delhi, Feb 4:

Subsequent to last year’s northern grid collapse, smart grid in India has become a focal point for discussions in the power sector.

The recently released Mercom Capital Group’s report on funding and mergers & acquisition activity for the smart grid sector during 2012 reveals that there was only one Indian transaction – the $183 million acquisition of smart grid and automation solutions provider ZIV Group by electrical transmission and distribution equipment company Crompton Greaves.

Mercom's report shows that after a slow start, venture capital funding in the smart grid sector globally came in at $434 million in 40 deals compared with $377 million in 50 deals in 2011.

Average deal size

There were a total of 66 investors that invested in 2012 compared to 92 investors in 2011. Only six of the 40 deals were early stage transactions compared to 16 in 2011, the report states.

The average VC funding round in 2012 was $10.9 million compared to $7.5 million in 2011. The $136 million raised by Alarm.com skewed the average deal size upward in 2012, it said.

The clean energy communications and consulting firm's findings reveal that despite struggles, home and building automation companies continued to raise a majority of the funding ($198 million in nine deals); followed by demand response ($82 million in 10 deals), grid optimisation ($76 million in nine deals) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) companies ($63 million in eight deals).

"It is fascinating to see these three distinct sectors, solar, smart grid and healthcare IT, converge into a single offering - the ‘Connected Home’," said Raj Prabhu, Managing Partner of Mercom Capital Group.

M&As

There were some huge mergers & acquisition transactions in smart grid in 2012, the report states, adding that "though none of them was pure play smart grid companies. They all have smart grid product and service lines."

A total of 23 merger and acquisition transactions were executed in 2012, amounting to almost $17 billion against 30 transactions for almost $5 billion in 2011 and 40 transactions for $1.3 billion in 2010. "The mergers and acquisition activity has been slowing down over the last few years as exits have been sparse," the report says.

The top merger & acquisition transaction in 2012 was the $11.8 billion acquisition of Cooper Industries, a grid and equipment company, picked up by Eaton.

[wO_Ow]

2,500 MW hydro projects get forest clearance

India’s hopes of tapping its hydro power potential has received a boost from the Forest Advisory Committee, which has granted clearance to projects worth 2,500 mega watts (MW) across various States.

The projects that have received approval from the Committee, under the Ministry of Environment and Forest, include the 800-MW Tawang-II hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh, the 520-MW Teesta-IV project in Sikkim, to be executed by NHPC Ltd and Luhri project (775 MW) in Himachal Pradesh to be executed by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd.

The National Board for Wild Life has also accorded wildlife clearance to Vishnugad Pipalkoti hydroelectric project (444 MW) in Uttarakhand to be executed by THDC India Ltd. However, this project will also have to receive clearance from the State Board of Wild Life.

Further, the Ministry recently granted Stage-I forest clearance to eight transmission projects and Stage-II forest clearance to two transmission projects of the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.

Earlier this month, the Ministry had passed an order exempting linear projects, such as transmission lines, road projects and gas pipelines, from seeking consent from gram sabhas. This was done to ensure faster clearances for such projects.