Renewable Energy For India

[Krishnamoorthy K]

PATNA: Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, on Monday, said that the government was ready to make new policies with focus on solar, bio-mass and hydro power. "The ITIs can be roped in for providing training and skills needed for renewable energy projects," he said.

Modi, while attending a business meeting on renewable energy here, said that the government was willing to take suggestions from the renewable energy experts and make changes in its policy, if required. He appreciated the efforts taken by Greenpeace India in this direction.

Greenpeace India organized a business meeting on renewable energy here to discuss the demand for a strong solar policy with mandatory targets for renewable energy (RE) purchase.

Modi also said that there were lots of potential in renewable energy sector in the state. He also said that he would talk to banks for make a hassle-free system for granting loan to budding entrepreneurs.

The deputy CM also said that he would take the help of Greenpeace in making the banking process easier. Modi, who is also holding finance and commercial taxes portfolios, said that he would discuss this issue with bankers in a meet slated to be held on Wednesday.

Energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said, "We need to look for solutions to provide technical support and after-sale service for success of RE projects."

Yadav said that the government has already identified five districts for setting up solar water plants in which the Centre's share would be 50 percent of the total amount while the state government would contribute the 40 percent. The remaining 10 percent would be given by the farmer.

The minister also said that there is lots of potential in husk power system instead of solar-based energy. The geographical scenario is fit for power through husk in the state.

The main purpose of this meeting was to get the renewable energy sector and the government on the same platform to discuss the challenges in the investment towards renewable energy in the state.

The energy experts and policy think tanks requested the government to frame strong policies on RE with focus on solar, biomass and other renewable sources.

The business conference was attended by energy head of World Bank and president (strategy) of Moserbaer, Harish K Ahuja, executive director of Greenpeace Samit Aich, and others.

The renewable industry experts are hopeful that the government will take positive steps in this direction as both the ministers assured to look into the issue.

TOI

Greenpeace for network of microgrids in Bihar
Bihar should develop renewable energy clusters: Greenpeace

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Slightly older news.

Shimla: The State government has advocated for formulating a National Policy for exploitation of Bio- mass energy. Shri. Jai Ram Thakur, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister said this in a conference on Bio-mass energy in which the Ministers of BJP ruled States participated at New Delhi today. He said that Himachal Pradesh has the capacity to produce 260 MW Bio-mass energy.

Shri Jai Ram Thakur said that 8950 sq. kilometres of area in Himachal Pradesh comprises of pine forests and about 146 metric tonnes of pine needles can be collected for producing energy. He said that the State Government had decided to purchase pine needles from the panchayats at the cost of Rs. five per quintal so that it can be utilized for bio energy under Joint Forest Management Exchange Scheme.

The Minister said that to set up bio energy plant the State Government would invite private participation. He said that 7.2 MW bio energy unit had been started in Kala Amb by Ruchira Paper Mill and it utilizes its energy requirements itself.

India Education Diary

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The feasibility of biogas production from sewage waste depends upon, among other factors, size of treatment plants and composition of sewage.

The Delhi Jal Board is upgrading their sewage treatment plants on their own by including production of biogas from sewage sludge.

The biogas production and utilization facilities are being incorporated in the sewage treatment plants at Keshopur, Kondli, Okhla, Rithala and Yamuna Vihar.

The Ministry of Urban Development has so far sanctioned 110 sewage projects under the Urban Infrastructure and Governance component of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 65 cities during 2005-2012. Sludge handling and digestion including biogas generation, is one of the components of sewage treatment plants in many projects.

This information was given by the Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

PIB

[Krishnamoorthy K]

PTI | 01:05 PM,May 16,2012

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Welspun Group, the country's largest solar power developer, has won a contract for the USD 225 million solar photovoltaic project in Madhya Pradesh, a top company official said today. The project will be set up on barren tract of land in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts within 18 months, Welspun Energy Ltd Managing Director Vineet Mittal said here. "We bid Rs 8.05 per unit to bag the 125 megawatts (MW) out of 200 MW that was auctioned by the Madhya Pradesh government," he said. After the formal award of the project, Welspun Solar Madhya Pradesh Pvt Ltd will put up one solar photovoltaic project of 100 MW and another of 25 MW capacity. The project would be funded in 75:25 debt-equity ratio, he said adding typically, a solar power project costs Rs 9-10 crore per MW. "Solar energy will become a game-changer and I expect it will reach grid parity by 2015," Mittal said. Grid parity means solar power tariff equalling that of thermal power. Madhya Pradesh conducted the auction through 'reverse bidding' process under which it would award projects to those who offer to sell power at the best (least) rates. It received bids for 430 MW for its tender for 200 MW, from 12 developers like Azure (which submitted a bid for 5 MW), BGR Energy (10 MW), Essel Infra Properties (30 MW) and IL&FS (50 MW). Mumbai-based Alpha Infraprop Pvt Ltd submitted the lowest bid of Rs 7,900 per megawatt-hour, or Rs 7.9 per unit, for 20 MW of capacity. This is about 13 per cent lower than the global average for a photovoltaic project using crystalline panels. Simplex Infrastructure Ltd and Acme Tele Power Ltd (ATPL) followed with bids of Rs 9.59 per unit and 12.45 a unit. Mittal said Welspun Energy plans to add about 250 MW in the new and renewable energy projects during current fiscal. By 2015-16, it is targetting a portfolio of 1,750 MW, 60 per cent of which will be wind energy and remaining 40 per cent solar power projects. It currently operates 30 MW of solar power plants in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and recently bagged a 50 MW solar power project in Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) bidding. The company plans to set up solar photovoltaic farms with a total capacity of 100 MW in Andhra Pradesh and has signed agreement to set up 500 MW of wind power projects in the state.

IBNLive

Solar energy: Government planning to set up 10,000 water systems
Sunny side up for Kochiites

[Krishnamoorthy K]

BARABANKI: The state got its first megawatt-capacity solar power plant operational on Thursday. Situated in village Sandauli of Barabanki, the 2 MW project was inaugurated by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that the state government would promote the non-conventional source of energy. "The state budget will have provisions that will cater to the sector in all possible ways," said Akhilesh.

The power sector, the CM said, continues to face a crunch, despite all claims. "We still have villages which were though electrified long back, but never got power," he said. The installation of a solar power plant marks a new beginning for the state, he added.

Developed by a private company, the plant spreads over an area of around 17 acre. The cost of the plant is estimated to be around Rs 35 crore. Given the high production cost, the plant would get subsidies from the Central government.

According to sources in UP Power Corporation Limited, in most cases, the production cost at a solar plant ranges around Rs 12 per unit, while the corporation purchases power at the rate of around Rs 5 per unit. "The brighter the Sun, more the power production," said Vishnu Agarwal, chairman of the company that has set up the Barabanki based project.

The plant will supply power to the state grid under a 25 years power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with Madhyanchal distribution company of the UPPCL.

UP, as a matter of fact, is blessed with a good solar irradiation to the tune of 1,800 kilowatt-hour per sqm on an annual average basis. This is necessary for operating a solar photovoltaic power plant.

Vishnu Agarwal said that the successful commissioning and operation of the project would encourage other developers, policy-makers and power utilities to look at UP's solar resource as a possible answer to the state's energy crisis.

To note, under the State Electricity Act, 2003, the various state-level electricity regulators have specified a renewable purchase obligation. Accordingly, a set percentage of power must come from renewable sources. In case of UP it has to be 5 per cent, of which 0.5 per cent has to be from solar energy.

TOI

Pindra Tehsil premises, circuit house to get solar power

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Slughtly old news.

KOLKATA: At a time when the entire world is focusing on non-conventional or renewable sources of energy, it took the eco-friendly Bengal government 10 months to prepare a final draft of the seems little bothered about it. Now after years of neglect, the Mamata Banerjee government has now finally prepared a draft policy on renewable energy policy. The draft was submitted that was sent to the state power minister Manish Gupta last week.

A power department official said that different changes were made after the draft policy was filed.

"We have sent the final draft to the minister last week," said a power department official. Once Gupta approves of it, the draft will need an assent from from the minister, it will require chief minister Mamata Banerjee and a cabinet approval before it can be implemented nod for finalization.

The Bengal government had earlier lost quite a few projects with an investment of over Rs 500 crore as the state did not have any renewable energy policy in place.

The draft was prepared by an expert committee that included S P Gon Chaudhuri, the former advisor to the state government's power department. While PricewaterhouseCoopers acted as a consultant, it was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID). funding and PricewaterhouseCoopers was the consultant for it. An expert committee was formed that included S.P Gon Chaudhuri, the former advisor to the state government's power department. However, the state government made a delay of more than 10 months to finalize the draft.

Bengal, which could have flourished as a renewable energy hub in the past few years, suffered a setback due to the nonchalance on part of both the Left Front government and the present one. The dilly-dallying tactics by the previous and the present state government have driven out many prospective companies who had evinced interest in setting up solar power plants in the state.

The list of companies, which could not do project in the state are - a US-based company Astonfield Renewable Resources, Videocon, Reliance Power and a Germany-based company. All these firms had approached the state government back in 2009 but as the government did not have a proper policy in place, it lost quite a few projects worth about Rs 500 crore. The investments would had crossed Rs 500 crore.

Astonfield had planned to taken up a 10-acre plot in Bankura to for set up a 5 MW solar power project on a 10-acre plot in Bankura, while Videocon had planned a 10 MW solar power plant spreading over some 100 acres at Raghunathpur in Purulia which had a capital outlay of about Rs 200 crore at that time. Though the price of MW renewable energy per unit has come down now, the now. The Videocon project had now could hav e attracted an investment of about Rs 100 crore. "More than Rs 500 crore of investments were lost only because the state did not have any policy on renewable energy and no separate tariff for developing solar energy. At present, one megawatt of solar power plant costs around Rs 8 crore," said SP Gon Chaudhuri, a national expert on renewable energy.

After the new government came to power, it constituted a separate department for non-conventional energy. But after a few months of operation, the department was merged with the power department.

Also, due to lack of a apresently as there is no separate tariff for West Bengal and the eastern region of the country, solar power projects are not very competitive in the state. Bengal has thus been losing out in the competitive bidding with states like Gujarat and Rajasthan., as solar radiation is lower in the state from states like Rajasthan and Gujarat and Bengal have been losing out to these states in competitive bidding.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

V. Rishi Kumar

Hyderabad, May 14:

Andhra Pradesh has potential to add 1,000 mw per annum of wind power projects but some local issues are holding up their implementation, according to Mr. K. Kasthoori Rangaian, Chairman of Indian Wind Power Association.

The State has potential to develop about 15,000 mw of wind power but lower tariff structure; clearances and need for power purchase agreements are matters that the association and independent power developers are concerned about to harness the potential of this vital renewable energy source.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr. Rangaian said entrepreneurs from Andhra Pradesh have made a mark in all sectors within the country, including power and infrastructure sectors and are setting up plants overseas.

Many of them have set up wind farms in other States but have not implemented them in AP. This is in spite of their keenness to set up projects. But are faced with issues such as lower tariff and need for power purchase agreements.

According to another representative of the association, the State offers a tariff of Rs. 3.50 per unit which is nearly Rs. 2 less than what the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission had recommended.

However, the State Regulatory Commission recently notified renewable power purchase obligation and accreditation of renewable energy generators. This move would enable power producers get renewable energy certifications and later allow them to trade them through exchanges. Thereby enabling them add to revenues indirectly.

BL

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Madhya Pradesh moots a solar park. ZAFAR ALAM KHAN reports

Inspired by the solar park set up in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh is also planning to open a similar park to get rid of the power woes concerning the State. A land bank will be created for the purpose to lay down the solar panels for the park.

As an initial effort, 2,000 hectares of land not suitable for farming or industry will be marked for the purpose.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan discussed the solar park project in detail in the meeting of the energy department on Monday, April 23. Chouhan said, “Solar energy is a futuristic investment. The importance of solar energy will rise in future and there is a need for balanced initiative in this direction.”

The Chief Minister said that land not suitable for agriculture or setting up of industries must be identified for developing infrastructure for the solar park besides studying the solar park set up by Gujarat.

In the meeting it was said, a policy has been made for promoting modernisation of power. Many officials along with Chief Secretary Avani Vaish were present in the meeting.

New and Renewable Energy Minister Ajay Vishnoi told Viva City said, “Our policy for setting up solar parks is under process still we have issued tenders for 200 MW through tradeco, our prices would be finalise by May 10.”

Vishnoi further said that a 50 MW solar power plant has been transferred to NTPC and three 5 MW each plants to private companies. Five districts of Madhya Pradesh come under over 6.2 radiations while half of the State falls under 5.6 radiation levels. Hence there are very good possibilities of solar power generation in the state and “we are thinking of establishing many more solar parks,” he added.

The Madhya Pradesh Power Trading Company released its draft solar policy and Request for Selection document a while ago. The policy, unlike the existing solar policies in other states, has laid out detailed guidelines for most procedures and stands out from the existing solar policies in the country for reasons which make a case for a better and more enterprising policy.

The size of projects to be allocated can vary from 5 MW to as much as the complete capacity to be allotted, viz 200 MW. This is the first time any policy in India has not mandated any upper limit on the size of a plant. This means unlike other policies there is also no mandate on the capacity of projects one company can bid for. Another main deviation from the previous State policies has been on the location of the projects. The MPPTC specifically says the project can be located in any state, provided if it is outside the State of Madhya Pradesh; its capacity must be at least 10 MW.

The commissioning deadline for projects up to 25MW is 13 months. Beyond that different deadlines have been distinctly specified for projects larger than 25MW with a 24 month deadline for 200MW PV projects and 28 months for the solar thermal projects. A capacity based deadline is again, for the first time specified in any policy.

The deviations on the size and location of project, in particular, make this policy lucrative to the larger companies looking to set foot in the Indian industry. This could spark off interest from many larger players who have often expressed concern on the small size of projects offered in case of NSM, Karnataka and Odisha. The flexibility provided with respect to the location of the plant means that a developer can set up a plant in the neighboring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat with a Power Purchase Agreement with the MPPTC.

On the domestic content guidelines unlike the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, it has followed the NSM in this regard. Cells and modules must be sourced locally with the exception for thin film modules; imported thin films will be allowed. For solar thermal too, 30 per cent of the content has to be sourced locally.

Another high point of this policy is that the penalty clause for delayed project completion has been broken down into a series of delayed deadlines. The Performance Bank Guarantee will be encashed, but in three steps, 20 per cent of PBG after delay by first month, 40 per cent of PBG after second month and 100 per cent after the third month. The policy also specifies the provision for completion of project after the first three months of delay. The party with the PPA can choose to finish the project by paying monthly liquidated damages. A tabulated list shows the maximum delay allowed for a particular project with the LD charged. This is clearly a lesson from the Gujarat Solar Policy and an improvement over it. The deadlines for the project allotted under the second phase of Gujarat Solar Policy were twice extended and eventually led the delayed projects adhere to revised FiTs, much lower than what was offered earlier.

The projects if completed by their stipulated deadlines by end of the next fiscal year will help MPPTC meet its target for Renewable Purchase Obligations for the year 2013. Madhya Pradesh is the one of the largest power consuming States in India with its peak demand of about 8GW with deficit of close to 10 per cent. The State’s RPO demand for solar power is expected to be close to 400MW by 2016. As the State does not have any solar power generation capacity, there is no share of solar power in the power supplied within the State.

The projects will be allocated based on the discounts offered by the bidders against the base FiT of INR15.35 per kWh (INR13.94 per KWh including accelerated depreciation. Based on the discounts offered, the companies will be required to deposit further bank guarantees.

The cost of land in Rajasthan and Gujarat being significantly lower than land cost in Madhya Pradesh, might seem like a very good incentive but setting up plants in another state will also increase the cost of wheeling. Not just that, grid evacuation can also prove to be an issue. Plants usually depend on the nearest 33KV substation which is provided and owned by the electricity board of the State. If a plant outside Madhya Pradesh which has a PPA with MPPTC fails to get an evacuation from its native State, the cost of transmission lines leading to the closest substation owned by MPSEB will have to be incurred by the project owner. MPPTC must lay down the evacuation arrangements and guidelines clearly for such plants to avoid any administration issues in the future.

Daily Pioneer

[Krishnamoorthy K]

IMPHAL, April 26 – Power-starved Northeast States, including Manipur, should initiate steps to replicate the idea of tapping renewable power as in and around Maharashtra’s Nagpur city. This was shared by almost all the 20 journalists from Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh who recently toured Nagpur to witness the various agro-based power projects and others being taken up by Bharatiya Janata Party national president Nitin Gadkari under his Rs 500-crore Purti Group of companies.

“It would not be difficult to start such innovative projects here if we have committed leaders as we’ve enough natural resources,” said Manipur-based journalist Suanlian Tunglung. “It was a wonderful experience ... Gadkari’s leadership quality and vision are worth exaltation.”

Among the major agro-based power projects, the Yash Agro Energy Limited (YAEL) at Kolari village under Chandrapur district, 80 km from Nagpur, has been generating 8MW of power by burning 30 trucks load of rice husk or soya bean husk or dry cotton stem daily since 2008.

“Even the price of rice husk has increased from 50 paise to Rs 2.50 per kilogram after we started generating power,” YAEL managing director Uday Kamath said. “Out of the total power generated, 7MW is exported through the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited while the rest is utilized in-house.”

Gadkari’s other projects, Purti Power and Sugar Ltd, Mahatama Sugar and Power Ltd and Wainganga Sugar & Power Ltd under his Purti Group of Companies, have brought about sea changes in the lives of nearly 2.5 lakh people in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra by manufacturing hundreds of tonnes of sugar besides generating 24.45 MW, 15 MW and 40 MW of power respectively from the left-over crush stems.

The power thus generated is reused for manufacturing ethanol and bio-diesel. Residue materials are used in manufacturing a variety of fertilizers.

“Power generation from waste products and its promotion could be replicated in NE,” feels a journalist from Itanagar. Another TV journalist Tumter Riba also shared a similar sentiment.

The Assam Tribune

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Press Trust of India / Chandigarh May 13, 2012, 20:25

A poultry farm owner in Jhajjar district has shown the way by setting up a 50 Kw capacity poultry litter-based biogas power plant and saving Rs one lakh per month in electricity bill.

Ramehar Singh of Silani village is using poultry waste as feed material for running his 65 KVA (50 Kw) biogas plant for 14 hours a day for the last three months, making him self-reliant in electricity needs.

He has also surrendered his connection from state electricity department.

For 20 long years, Ramehar Singh had been running his poultry farm on power supply from the state electricity board and on diesel genset, paying electricity bill of Rs 45,000 and diesel bill of Rs 1.2 lakh every month.

After installation of the biogas power plant, he now pays diesel bill of Rs 60,000 only and does not draw power from the state electricity board.

The initiative taken to convert litter into fuel for power plant has helped him save about Rs 1 lakh every month.

He installed three biogas digesters at the cost of Rs 30.3 lakh on the plant.

Keeping in view the success of the litter-based power plant and the available potential in the state, the department organised a one-day visit of about 100 poultry farm owners from various districts last week to the farm of Ramehar Singh to get them a first-hand experience of power generation from poultry litter and to enable them to gain from the experience of Ramehar Singh.

A spokesman of the department said that there were about 30 million poultry heads in Haryana.

Since the litter of 100 birds can produce one unit of electricity per day, there is enough potential to produce three lakh units of electricity per day by using poultry litter as the feed.

"Besides, it will help avoid flaring of 100 tonne methane per day into the atmosphere," the spokesman added.

He disclosed that under the Biogas Based Distributed/Grid Power Generation Programme (BGGP), the Union Ministry of New Renewable Energy provided financial assistance to farm owners who were interested in setting up biogas-based power plants ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per kW, depending upon the generation capacity.

Besides, support was also provided for preparation of detailed project report, he said.

BS

[senthilkumark]

[senthilkumark]

Rajasthan’s solar mission delayed- Submission of RfS bid documents postponed till further notice

In February this year, the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission has lowered the tariffs for the purchase of electricity from solar power plants in the State by the state utility.

A solar power producer in the State who completes his project by March 31, 2014, will get Rs 10.12 a unit if he does not claim ‘accelerated depreciation’ and Rs 8.85 a unit, if he also claims accelerated depreciation.

Earlier, these figures were Rs 15.32 and Rs 13.19 a unit for projects that would be put up by March 31, 2012. These downward revisions were announced on January 23, barely 25 days ahead of the February 17 deadline for submitting bids.

Rajasthan had announced a fairly large programme, of 200 MW, equally divided between photo voltaic and thermal then.

Subsequently a top government official involved with the project said, the ambitious solar parks project modeled after the special economic zones would take off the ground as the state government had kick-starting the bidding process for power plants from February 17. The process of finalisation of bids, approval and allocation of land will be completed by June this year, he had added.

Later in February a senior official in the energy department had said that the tender process to install various solar plants of different capacities had already started. “The tender process has already started. These plants will be installed at places like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and other places in western Rajasthan,” said the official.

In a bid to promote solar power, a large number of solar power plants are being installed in the state. Under the project around 100 MW-capacity plant will be installed for small solar photovoltaic projects of 5 to 10 MW capacity. Besides this, two 50 MW capacity plants will also be installed. Under the project, 50 MW solar TV will be installed along with conventional power projects of the same capacity.

Last month it was reported that, India’s Rajasthan state will delay awarding contracts to companies to build 200 megawatts of solar capacity by about two months to August.

The last day to submit expressions of interest is May 18, M.M. Vijayvergia, executive director of the state-run Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp., which is overseeing the process, said then in an interview in Jodhpur.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit bids and the process should be finished around August, he said, without giving a reason for the delay.

With the deadline for submission of expression of interest being tomorrow, Panchabuta has learnt is that Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation has postponed the last date of submission of RfS bid documents indefinitely without giving any reasons.

A number of leading developers and EPC’s that Panchabuta spoke to have said that this is a big set back to Rajasthan’s ambitious plan and have expressed disappointment. A number of multilateral agencies and top consultants have been involved in drafting elaborate plans for the state-considered one of the most ideal in terms of radiation- to set up solar power projects. Further, this state was the chosen destination by a number of developers who had won projects under the National Solar Mission and one that has talked about an ambitious plans of setting up gigawatt scale solar parks.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

BANGALORE: “Biofuel Information Centres will be set up in all the districts in the next three months,” Chairman of the Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board (KSBDB) Y B Ramakrishna said on Saturday.

Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of a Biofuel Research Centre in the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, on the GKVK campus, Ramakrishna said, “In addition to the existing 17 information centres, 13 more centres will be opened in the coming months. Besides providing all sorts of information on biofuels, these centres will be designed to collect different types of non-edible oil seeds, extract oil with 500-600 kg of seed crushing capacity per day and produce 100 to 150 litres of bio-diesel per day,” he added.

The bio-diesel produced will be blended with petrol and diesel and used in several vehicles belonging to board and the university and the de-oiled cake will be used/sold as organic manure, he stated.

He also appreciated the government efforts to promote biofuel.

“At present, Karnataka has the capacity to produce 135 million litres of ethanol from molasses, which will be increased to 200 million litres by this year end. Karnataka is the first state in the country to formulate a biofuel policy, create a task force and constitute a board for the promotion of biofuel,” he explained.

On the occasion, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda inaugurated a national workshop on Rural Agriculture Work Experience (RAWE) Programme and launched the biofuel park website.

The workshop was jointly organised by the UAS, Bangalore, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Biofuel Development Board. Informing about the RAWE programme, Vice-Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences Dr K Narayana Gowda said, “Under the programme, the students are given rigorous orientation on various issues and problems they can expect in the farmer’s fields and provides real time opportunity for them to work on complete crop season through various extension methods.”

RAWE, which has been a part of the course offered in the 8th semester, henceforth will be offered in the 7th semester and coincide with the Kharif season and the students will be placed in the Raitha Samparka Kendras.

The duration has been extended from four weeks to 12 weeks from next batch, he explained.

The State government has come forward to extend stipend from this year to each student at `1,500 per month besides, extending other facilities for effective implementation of the programme, in addition to `750 given by the university and the ICAR.

express buzz

'Biofuel info centres in all districts soon' - Times Of India

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Electricity from wind farms cheaper than conventional power: Study

The power generated at wind farms was cheaper than conventional energy in Nicagarua and Kenya, according to a new study conducted by research scientists from ETH-Zurich’s Department of Management, Technology and Economics.



The study which has been published in the monthly journal Nature Climate Change, has also found that wind energy was cheaper than solar in Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Thailand.

The study is linked to an agreement made at the 2010 climate change conference in Cancun, in which nations agreed to channel money into southern countries in order to lessen the impact of climate change. The study looked into the best ways to spend money on protecting the climate.

“Our results unveil large cost variations across specific technology–country combinations and show to what extent fossil-fuel subsidies can negatively affect the competitiveness of renewable-energy technologies,” according to an abstract of the study.

Writing about the study in the newsletter ETH Life, Fabio Bergamin said many developing countries should turn to wind power plants because of the lower costs. He added that the ETH scientists compared what it would cost to generate a tenth of the electricity demand with wind power or photovoltaics for the six countries. “The result,” he said, “with one franc or dollar of funding, you can produce more electricity in all the countries examined – Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Thailand – if the money is invested in wind power plants.”

“As the study reveals, not only would a green switch make sense there for climate reasons, but also purely economic ones,” Bergamin said. The report found that average costs over the life cycle of renewable energy systems equalled €69.5 per megawatt-hour (MWh) while the cost for a new coal fired power plant totalled €101 per MWh.

[senthilkumark]

Haryana Raj Bhawan goes green; installs 45 KW solar PV power plant

In what could be termed as an exemplary move, the Raj Bhavan in Haryana has embraced green power by installing a 45 KW grid interactive solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in its premises. The power plant aims to reduce the dependency on conventional power and has been set up by the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA).

According to a senior official from HAREDA, this solar PV power plant had been set up at a cost of Rs 72 lakh with 100 per cent Central financial assistance from the Union ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) under Special Area Demonstration Programme. This plant would be generating about 66000 units of clean electricity annually.

This power plant has been designed to work in a hybrid manner. During the day time, the system would first feed power to the loads from power generated at the solar plant, and would consequently draw the remaining power from main supply to meet the load requirements.

power to the Raj Bhawan would be supplemented through Solar Power Plant. The system was Hybrid one, which would first feed the power to the loads from Solar Energy being produced through this plant and would draw the remaining power from main supply to meet the load requirements of the building.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

After a decade of promise, advanced biofuels makers are entering a crucial make-or-break period with the first of a new generation of production facilities about to come on line.

The new facilities are designed to take biofuels beyond corn-based ethanol and begin to shift the industry to "advanced" fuels made with a lower carbon footprint derived from products that will not compete with demand for food.

Many of the companies are turning to cellulosic plant materials, animal waste and plant oils to churn out millions of gallons of ethanol, diesel, jet fuel or components for gasoline.

Driving the industry are U.S. government targets stretching out a decade that call for fuel suppliers to blend billions of gallons of the new biofuels into the U.S. gasoline and diesel pools, on top of the corn ethanol that already makes up about 10 percent of the gasoline market.

The targets have helped biofuel companies develop strategies and lay out expansion plans, but they do not rely on the tax incentives or subsidies that helped the solar and wind industries.

Aside from the federal volume targets, "these guys in almost all cases are not relying on subsidies," said Rob Stone, an analyst at Cowen & Co in Boston.

But even with the growth and new investments, investors will likely have to wait for the technology to prove itself over the coming years before receiving big payoffs.

Among the most anticipated of the new production plants is KiOR Inc's Columbus, Mississippi, facility. The company expects to begin production in the second half of 2012 and turn wood products into components, or blendstocks, that can be used in gasoline and diesel fuel.

The KiOR plant will process farmed Southern Yellow Pine trees at the equivalent of about $25 per barrel of oil, or about one-quarter the price U.S. crude oil.

Nearly 400 million gallons of new biofuels production is expected to go on line this year in the United States, according to data compiled by industry publication Biofuels Digest.

Another 1.7 billion gallons of additional capacity is forecast to start up from the beginning of 2013 through 2015, bringing total capacity to nearly 2.3 billion gallons.

Among others under construction are Altair's Washington plant, which will produce jet fuel from carmelina, an oily flowering plant; and Diamond Green's facility in Louisiana, which will convert animal fat and used cooking oil into diesel fuel under a joint venture with refiner Valero Energy Corp.

Many of the nascent biofuels companies have been working for years to develop technology that can cheaply turn cellulosic sugars or waste materials into energy and have even attracted investment from the world's top oil companies.

Those advances have come in several areas. Researchers have developed new biochemical catalysts to break down tough cellulosic material, used new techniques to turn solid materials into gas and created advanced 'hydroprocessing' refining methods to break heavy hydrocarbons into lighter, more easily burned fuels.

BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corp and Total SA have all taken stakes in companies that focus on a wide variety of fuels from traditional sugar cane ethanol to gasoline and diesel.

Still other companies, including Gevo Inc and Butamax, a joint venture of BP Plc and Dupont, are building plants to produce biobutanol from corn starches or other agricultural products to produce 'drop-in' components for gasoline or chemicals with a higher energy content than traditional ethanol.

"I think there's room for multiple fuels to contribute to the fuel mix," Butamax CEO Paul Beckwith said in an interview.

Gevo, which is locked in a patent lawsuit with Butamax, expects to start up a converted ethanol plant next month that will produce butanol using corn cellulose as a feedstock. It expects to shift to materials such as switch grass, waste wood products or agricultural by-products such as corn cobs and stalks and sugarcane bagasse in the future.

INVESTORS MAY NEED TO BE PATIENT

Authorized under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, the Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard 2 calls for 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels to be delivered annually by 2022, on top of a target of 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol.

The advanced biofuels target could be reduced if producers fail to bring adequate production on line and oil industry lobby group the American Petroleum Institute has already filed a lawsuit challenging the goal as unrealistically high.

Companies that are required under the EPA rules to buy biofuels to meet the target can instead purchase credits based on actual volumes produced through the Renewable Identification Number system, or RINs. While not a direct subsidy, those RINs can be worth between about $2 to $5 per gallon for biofuel producers, although the RIN market remains in its infancy.

TOI

Biofuels goals 'may lead to food shortages'

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The Planning Commission hailed it as a future fuel and the industry projected it as a viable biofuel crop. But the Union Rural Development Ministry led by Jairam Ramesh feels otherwise.

Citing negative reports, the Ministry has put on hold the Jatropha plantation programme for biofuel purpose. It has thus also put a question mark on the future of the proposed National Mission on biofuels.

The Ministry’s decision to not to go ahead with the plantation programme is based on a government sponsored study conducted in 2010 by The Energy Research Institute (TERI) which pointed out that the plantation of the oil seed plant was not only financially unviable but also poses a threat to food security.

The Ministry was to undertake 300,000 hectare plantation of bio-diesel producing, non-edible oilseeds species on degraded forest land subject to receipt of positive feedback of the assessment of the plantation work already carried out in the country.

However, the negative recommendation by the TERI after making an assessment of the plantations which have already taken place in the country could cast a shadow on the proposed National Mission on Bio-fuels, which is aimed at promoting the crop as an alternate source of depleting fossil fuel. A total of 13 million hectares had to be brought under jatropha plantations by 2013.

The TERI report claimed it did not find Jatropha plantation as viable as has been so far made by various sectors. The report said it is grown on wastelands or un-irrigated lands, the energy that we get back is not commensurate with the expenditure that has gone for the plantation.

“It also says that it is not economically viable and it is not possible for India to convert the agricultural land into Jatropha growing land because we will face a very acute food security problem,” a senior official in the Ministry said on the content of the report.

Treading cautiously, the RD Ministry has decided to adopt wait and watch policy in the matter while referring it to the Cabinet for further decision. “Further plan of action of the Land and Resource Department of the RD Ministry which is a nodal agency for implementing the project will depend on the decision of the CCEA,” the official said.

In view of negative observation by the TERI about non-viability of the demonstration phase, the Department has decided not to go ahead in the direction and hence no budget provision has been kept for 2012-13.

the pioneer

Indian ministry puts jatropha planting program on hold

[senthilkumark]

SHP sector in India witnessed growth, yet challenges remain: ICRA

Even as the total installed capacity of small hydro power (SHP) in India witnessed a significant increase from 1,909 MW as in March 2006 to 3,300 MW as in January 2012, still a considerable amount of potential1 remains untapped across states with favourable SHP potential, says a recent report by ICRA Ratings.



According to the ICRA Ratings- ‘Steady growth in small hydro power; however significant challenges remain…’ the share of SHP in the country‘s total installed renewable energy (RE) capacity accounts to almost 15 per cent. According to an estimate of the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), the total potential of SHP in India is around 15384 MW, whereas
the current installed capacity accounts for 21.5 per cent. Hence a lot of the potential still remains untapped.

Growth in capacity addition has been moderate, although in line with targets. The pace of the capacity has picked only recently, especially in the 11th Plan, supported by favourable fiscal policies such as: accelerated depreciation benefit, tax holiday under section 80 IA soft loans by Indian Renewable Energy Development Authority (IREDA), state level incentives, financial support from MNRE, improving tariffs and CDM revenues.

ICRA envisions an increase in the demand for SHP given the support now available from improved fiscal and regulatory measures. The Government of India‘s National Action Plan for Climate Control (NAPCC) has set the minimum share of RE in the overall energy procurement of utilities at 10 per cent by 2015 and 15 per cent by 2020. Thus, even if SHP were to maintain its current 15 per cent share of the total RE capacity, the additional demand in the medium
term would be significant. Also, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has come out with several measures, including: generic tariff norms for SHP projects; norms and pricing framework for RE certificates; and an amended grid code to ensure smoother offtake and transmission of RE power by utilities.

However, there are certain barriers that need to be tackled for the sector to grow at a steady pace. Some of the barriers that hare hampering the growth of the sector include remoteness of the SHP sites, delays in getting clearances from government organisations, problems in land acquisition, lack of transmission infrastructure, lack of consistency in SHP tariff norms across states, high wheeling and open access charges in some states, and the reluctance of financial organisations in funding the projects.

[senthilkumark]

Secretariat building in Odisha to derive power from rooftop solar power plant

Living up to its promise of popularizing use of renewable energy, the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA), is setting up solar panels for a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) power plant on the secretariat building in Bhubaneswar.

According to sources, the government is tentatively planning to inaugurate it on June 5, the World Environment Day, and send a signal that the government is focusing on green sources of energy.

The work of installing the solar panels is almost in the final stages and the secretariat building is all set to draw a portion of its power needs from solar energy soon. According to OREDA chief executive Anirudha Rout, the work is almost over, and the plant is expected to be commissioned in the first week of June. The trial commissioning will be done within a week.

An estimated Rs 1.12 crore is being spent on the new source of energy. The OREDA chief said that the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has given a subsidy of 30 per cent while the Odisha energy department has given the rest of the cost from the energy conservation fund. The MNRE under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) provides subsidies for installation of solar power projects for direct use/diesel replacement in public buildings, institutions and villages.

According to a government officer, the 50 kilo watt plant will be directly connected to the secretariat grid. Given that the three-to-five storied building has an average electricity demand of 4.5 MW to 5 MW daily, it will only draw a small percentage of its power from the rooftop solar panels. The building with a connected load of 800 kilovolt ampere (KVA) has an installed capacity of 4x500kVA. A major part of energy consumption is the building’s air-conditioning. This includes 156 ACs of 1.5 ton, 152 of 2 ton, 84 of 1.5 ton, 14 of five ton.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Chennai, May 24:

The country’s first solar ‘Renewable Energy Certificates’ were issued today.

NSE and BSE-listed M and B Switchgear Ltd was issued 249 RECs by the National Load Despatch Centre in New Delhi.

RECs are generation-based ‘certificates’ awarded (electronically, in demat form) to those generating electricity from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, hydro and solar, if they opt not to sell the electricity at a preferentially higher tariff.

These certificates are tradeable on the power exchanges and are bought by ‘obligated entities’ that are either specified consumers or electricity distribution companies. These obligated entities may be required to purchase a certain quantum of either green power or RECs.

The obligations are split into non-solar and solar — which means the obligated entities have to purchase either power from solar power projects or RECs generated by them.

M and B Switchgear, headquartered in Indore, is a manufacturer of transformers. In 2010-11, the company’s turnover was Rs 37 crore on which it made a net profit of Rs 77 lakh. For the first nine months of 2011-12, its turnover was Rs 18 crore, and net profit, Rs 32 lakh. M and B’s shares closed on the CSE on Wednesday at Rs 76.85.

The company also has a 2 MW solar photovoltaic power plant. In 2012-13, this plant is expected to generate close to 3,250 RECs, says Mr Vishal Pandya, Director, REConnect, M and B Switchgear’s consultants for REC-related matters.

The government fixes the floor and ceiling prices of RECs for a specified period. The minimum and maximum prices for solar RECs for 2012-17 are Rs 9,300 and Rs 13,400 respectively. Therefore, if M and B’s solar plant generates 3,250 RECs, the company could be richer by anywhere between Rs 3 crore and Rs 4.35 crore.

Getting the certificates is a two-step process — first ‘registration’ with the state load despatch centre and then ‘accreditation’ by NLDC. While M and B Switchgear is the only one to be accredited so far, four other solar power developers have been registered for RECs. They are: Jain Irrigation – 8.5 MW Maharashtra; Kanoria Chemicals – 5 MW, Rajasthan; Gupta Suns – 0.5 MW, Madhya Pradesh; and Numeric Power Systems – 1.0555 MW, Tamil Nadu, according to information provided by REConnect.

BL