Renewable Energy For India

[Krishnamoorthy K]

ITC has set up a 14 Mw wind energy project in Tamil Nadu, the power from which will be used for the company's packaging and printing businesses in Chennai, the company said in a statement.

The project has been set up at a cost of Rs 90 crore.

ITC plans to register the project as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. The company said it plans to progressively use more renewable energy to remain carbon positive. Companies which are carbon positive have the option of selling carbon credits to raise money.

ITC’s hotel in Hyderabad – ITC Kakatiya – is already using wind energy as part of its energy portfolio for the hotel.

Source: BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Three public sector companies are planning to set up 60-80 megawatt solar plants with an investment of Rs 1,000-1,200 crore. The projects will come up in Rajasthan, Punjab and the Leh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd (RVPN) would set up a plant at Suratgarh in Rajasthan, while a similar plant would be set up by NTPC at Anta in the state, S Seshadri, member of the Central Electricity Authority, said on the sidelines of a CII-organised conference on power. The state utility of Punjab would set up a solar plant in the state, he added.

However, it was not decided which state-run power company would set up the plant in Leh.

“For the first time, we are planning to tap solar energy in Leh,” said Seshadri.

Capacity of these plants would vary from 15-20 megawatt each, Seshadri said, adding it would cost Rs 16 crore per megawatt.

Each of these utilities would fund the projects individually, added Seshadri.

Source: BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Two major ports in Tamil Nadu are planning to set up captive wind farms at a combined investment of around Rs 82 crore.

While Chennai port has proposed a 7.5 Mega watt wind farm, Tuticorin port will set up a 6Mw farm.

Speaking to Business Standard, Chennai Port Trust chairman Subhash Kumar said the wind farm would come up at Veppilian Kulam in Tirunelveli district. The port has called for bids and hopes to place the order for wind mills by December.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 40.73 crore and would require around 11-12 acre of land, Kumar said. The farm would cater to 50 per cent of the port’s power need, which is around 15 Mw per annum.

Kumar said the port would save around Rs 8 crore on power every year by setting up its own farm. The production cost would be Rs 2 per KwH and savings Rs 4 per KwH.

On the other hand, Tuticorin port has issued a tender for its project and six companies, including Vestas and Suzlon, have participated in the pre-bid. The total project cost would be Rs 42 crore, said G J Rao, chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust.

Tuticorin port requires around 5 Mw per annum. “The project will go on stream by the end of 2010,” said Rao.

Source: BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

National Thermal Power Corporation is to set up two solar power plants of 50 MW each in Gujarat. These power plants will be set up in Banaskantha and Kutch.This was announced by Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki here today.

Read full news on Gujarat Global.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

MUMBAI: Tata Power, India’s largest private utility, has planned a joint equity investment of Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 crore over five years to build joint venture hydropower projects with Norway’s renewable energy firm SN Power. The move signals Tata Power’s interest to increase its presence in hydro power, even as the government eases norms for investment in renewable energy projects.

Read full news on ET.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Logistics and transport major VRL Logistics Ltd (VRL) is looking at exiting its 42.5 Mw wind power venture at Mundargi in Gadag district of Karnataka, because of delayed receivables from the sale of power as well as its high operational costs. The Hubli-based company had forayed into the wind energy business in 2007 by setting up the venture for Rs 250 crore.

Read full news on BS.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

PetroAlgae has signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into an agreement to license its proprietary micro-crop technology to Indian Oil Corporation for future large-scale production of renewable fuels.

Under the agreement and the license agreement to be completed, Indian Oil will build a pilot facility to demonstrate commercial viability of producing renewable fuels from micro-crops in India.

A commercial production facility with 200,000 metric tons a year capacity would then be built under license.

Read more on RECHARGE.

Inventors' high-flying kites harness wind power
Bright Idea: Bringing Eco-friendly Lighting to India's Hinterland

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Suzlon Energy, the world’s third-largest wind turbine supplier, has scaled down its sales forecast for the current year to 1,900-2,100 megawatts (Mw) from the 2,400-2,600 Mw guidance given earlier, owing to delay in execution of orders.

Read full news on BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

India has millions of hectares of desert and barren lands making them attractive for solar farms. The states like Rajastan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra, Madhaya Pradesh, Karnataka have large patches of lands, which don't receive enough rains making them more suitable for solar farms. Both for economic and environment reasons solar is right way for a country like India which receives enough sunshine through out the year.

Andhra Pradesh is leading in attracting investment both in solar farms and solar cell fabrication and manufacturing facilities. Andhra Pradesh has hosted one of the world's popular solar event Solarcon in Hyderabad.

Chief Minister Shri K. Rosaiah has inaugurated Solarcon India 2009, a 3-day ongoing (Nov 9-11 2009) exhibition and conference organized by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International in association with Intersolar. Solarcon is supported by MNRE, and IREDA, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corp (APIIC) and AP Invest. Indian Semiconductor Association is also partner of this event.

The immediate projects initiated by AP govt. include solar farm near Kadiri, Anantapur, a dry place around 100 kms from Bangalore. On the manufacturing side, Hyderabad has provided manufacturing eco for semiconductor IC and solar PV cells, the facility is called Fab City.

The solar semiconductor companies who have already established manufacturing facilities or in the process of setting up in AP include, Moser Baer PV, Solar Semiconductor, Sunborne, Lanco Solar, AES Solar and Titan Energy, and KSK Surya.

The solar technology researcher Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems is also engaged with authorities here to start solar testing centre in Fab City.

The companies gravitating towards Hyderabad is much higher than any other region in India.

Source: EE Herald

[Advait]

Solar cos out to tap $42 billion bounty
Excerpts from original here http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report...bounty_1310439

Several multinationals and scores of Indian companies, many of them start-ups, are following the sun in India for an opportunity the World Bank estimates at over $42 billion over the next 10 years.

But before they put the money on the table, these companies, participating in the first SolarCon conference and exhibition in Hyderabad that concluded on Wednesday, would like to see the fine print of the government of India’s plan to reach its stated objective of generating 20 gigawatts (20,000 mw) of solar power by 2020.

The National Solar Mission (NSM), to be unveiled on Saturday, is thus being watched keenly. According to a draft of the policy, the government wants to see an installed solar generation capacity of 1 lakh mw and 2 lakh mw by 2030 and 2050, respectively. The draft also talks about 4-5 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2017.

The NSP, which clubbed technology for computer chip manufacturing and solar cells in the same basket, given the common raw material requirements and technology, received 17 investment proposals, of which 15 were for solar cell and module manufacturing capacities totalling 3000 mw at a whopping Rs 1.3 lakh crore investment. Of these, 12 received in-principle approval as of June this year.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra too have been proactive in wooing potential investors into the solar space, in anticipation of the new policy. Andhra Pradesh has been at the forefront, thanks mostly to an opportunistic positioning of the FabCity, which failed to attract much of semiconductor investments, but proved ideal for solar photovoltaic manufacturing companies to set up shop. At the same time, the state has just kicked off plans for its SolarCity project to attract companies for setting up solar farms near Anantapur in the state, some 70 km from Bangalore.

While the FabCity has received investment proposals from 25 companies totalling an investment of nearly Rs 10,000 crore in 3-4 years, at least six companies want to set up solar generation utilities at the SolarCity at an investment of Rs 4000-5000 crore over the next 4-5 years, B P Acharya, chairman, AP Investment Infrastructure Corporation, told DNA Money.

It is difficult not to worry if the solar bandwagon will go the semiconductor way.
“That is unlikely to happen. Photovoltaics is not a new kind on the block, unlike semiconductors which did not have a local market,” says SEMI’s Prasad. If you ask him, the NSM couldn’t have come at a better time.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

GUWAHATI, Nov 12 – The Centre has agreed to sanction solar home lighting systems to below poverty line (BPL) households in 5,000 remote and inaccessible villages of Assam not connected by conventional power grid. Most of these villages are located in char (riverine) areas. This was assured by the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah, during a meet with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and senior officials of the State Government on Wednesday, an official release said.

Read more on The Assam Tribune.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

(Source: Datamonitor) Enfinity, a Belgium-based renewable energy developer, and Titan Energy Systems, a manufacturer of photovoltaic modules, have announced their collaboration on developing, financing and constructing 1GWp of photovoltaic installations on 3,000 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh, India in the coming five years.

Enfinity has said that Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), an undertaking of the government of Andhra Pradesh, will allocate in long lease 3,000 acres of land in the villages of Thumalla, Dademavaripalli, Pulikuntapalli, Karimireddypalli and Lokogipalli, and at the industrial park of Amadugur near Kadiri, all in the Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.

Enfinity has said that it will develop and finance the project while Titan Energy Systems will act as a contractor and supplier of the photovoltaic (PV) modules. Enfinity and Titan will establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for this purpose.

Sankar Rao, managing director of Titan Energy Systems, said: "Receiving the allotment letter for 1GWp solar power plant from APIIC is a testimony of Titan's ability and competency in establishing large utility scale solar power plants. Our SPV with Enfinity would be the right vehicle in implementing such large projects."

iStockAnalyst

[Krishnamoorthy K]

With the state announcing sops for biomass-based power plants, projects worth Rs 800 crore have been lined up in Tamil Nadu.

“For the last 18 months, not even one project had come to the state. But, after the tariff for biomass power procurement was increased to Rs 4.50 per unit from Rs 3.15 by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, the state has started attracting investments,” said PR Muralidharan, deputy general manager (bio-mass), Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (Teda). This apart, biomass-based power units have been allowed to sell their produce to third parties.

Tamil Nadu has the potential to produce 500 mega watt (Mw) of power through biomass, of which production of around 200 Mw has already commenced. Teda has received 10 proposals, said R Christodas Gandhi, principal secretary and chairman and managing director of Teda.

Gandhi was speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the Renewable Energy Chennai 2009 conference held in Chennai recently.

Currently, 12 plants with a capacity of 110 Mw are operating in the state. These include one in Kanchipuram, two each in Sivakasi and Pudukottai, and one each in Tiruvanamallai, Dindigual, Theni, Thanjavur, Madurai, Virudunagar and Thiruvallur districts.

While two projects with a total capacity of 17.5 Mw are nearing completion at Tiruvanamalai and Krishnagiri, four projects with 40 Mw are under way in public-private partnership. Nine projects with a capacity of 99 Mw have got the recommendation of Teda and are yet to approach the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. “In all, around 156 Mw of projects are likely to come up in the state, entailing an investment of Rs 5 crore per Mw,” he added.

Stating that Tamil Nadu had become one of the model states when it comes to bio-mass usage for captive purposes, Gandhi said, “Producers of tea and dal and other farmers are using biomass-based captive power for their irrigation purposes. This had led to 100 per cent liberalisation from the power grids.”

According to industry representatives, a 10 Mw-biomass power plant can support around 2,000 marginalised families. They can be employed in collection, transportation, cutting and chipping of biomass, and cultivation of wasteland with energy plants like juliflora.

Of the country’s total installed biomass power capacity of 683 Mw, Tamil Nadu accounts for 147 Mw. However, over the last two years, capacity utilisation had declined sharply due to a steep increase in the cost of biomass fuels, a recent TNEB release said.

“The capacity utilisation, which ranged from 5 per cent to 70 per cent during 2007-08, declined to 3 per cent to 48 per cent during 2008-09. Other users of biomass fuel have been procuring biofuels at a much higher price, making it unviable for biomass-based power plants. This deficiency has been addressed by fixing the fuel cost at double the present rate of around Rs 2,000 per tonne.”

Biomass energy is derived from plant and animal material such as wood from forests, residues from agricultural and forestry processes, and industrial, human or animal wastes.

Source: BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Chandigarh: The delay in land acquisition for the proposed biomass-based power projects in the state has prompted the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (Hareda) to issue notices to the concerned parties to speed up the process.

The 20 biomass-based power projects are expected to generate 183 mw of power at places like Sirsa, Panipat, Karnal, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Nilokheri, Jagadhari, Khanesar and Dabwali.

New Delhi-based Star Wire India has already acquired 14 acres in village Baragudha in Sirsa for a 8 mw project at a cost of around Rs 38 crore. “It’s in the process of finalising the plant and machinery and has got the environment impact assessment (EIA) approvals as well. The company in totality had bagged four projects of 8 mw each and one project of 5 mw,” the official added. Another firm Sri Jyoti Renewable Energy has purchased a 20 acre plot for a 7.5 mw project in Bhiwani.

Source: FE

[Krishnamoorthy K]

By Joydeep Gupta

New Delhi: India has put off until 2022, from the targeted 2020, its plan to produce 20,000 MW from solar power, even as it postponed Saturday the launch of the country's ambitious solar energy mission.

A key financing strategy in the plan has also been dropped, according to a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change, after the ministries of coal and power opposed a proposal to levy a cess of four paise a tonne of coal mined for research and development on solar energy.

In his Independence Day speech this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised that the solar energy mission would be launched Nov 14. But an official spokesman said Friday night: "The mission will be launched as soon as the approval of the government to the recommendations has been obtained, which is expected shortly."

He was referring to recommendations by members of the PM's council when it met Oct 26 to approve the solar energy mission.

"The recommendations of the mission have been finalised and an implementation plan has been formulated after a series of consultations within government as well as other stakeholders," the spokesman added.

Bureaucrats are now talking of Nov 19 as a probable launch date for the mission, whose highlight is to increase hundredfold the current output of 200 MW through solar energy.

Two major changes have been made since the last draft of the mission document was made public, members of the council said on condition of anonymity. One was to push back the target date for generating 20,000 MW a year from solar power to 2022 from 2020, to bring it in line with India's five-year plan cycle.

More important, the section on putting a cess on coal used for power generation in order to fund the solar mission has been dropped, more than one member of the council told IANS. "Without this, how are we going to finance this mission?" one of them wondered.

The main bottleneck in spreading solar energy today is cost. While it costs Rs.3-4 to generate one unit of electricity from coal, it costs Rs.14 to do so from solar photovoltaic cells. If various subsidies given to the coal industry now are removed, the cost will go up to Rs.5-6, still well below the cost from solar power.

This does not take into account the other costs of using coal -- respiratory diseases caused by pollutants released when coal is mined and then burnt, the destruction of soil associated with the mining, the effects of climate change caused by coal burning in terms of reduced farm output and more frequent and more severe droughts, floods and storms.

While there is no official calculation of these costs, an environmental economist has estimated them to total Rs.4 per unit. That would bring the real cost of producing electricity from coal to Rs.9-10 per unit, still below the cost of doing so from solar power.

But solar power technology has been improving rapidly. Till a few years ago, it cost Rs.27 to produce one unit of electricity from solar photovoltaic cells.

While the renewable energy industry is excited about the mission, it is not happy with the planning process.

"We are being asked to increase solar energy production hundredfold in the next 13 years, from 200 MW to 20,000 MW by 2022, but we have not been consulted on how it is to be done," a senior executive of a firm making solar photovoltaic cells told IANS.

(Joydeep Gupta can be contacted at joydeep.g@ians.in)

Source: SamayLive

ONGC may look at setting up nuclear power plant: Sharma

[Krishnamoorthy K]

A technology that converts rice husk into electricity is gaining ground in Bihar. Some 100,000 households in the state already use electricity produced from biomass and their number is steadily growing.

According to an estimate, 44 percent of India's population still live without electricity, making this biomass-based power generation technology indispensable in energy-starved states like Bihar.

Though this technology has been in use for the past 50 years in India, Husk Power Systems (HPS), a rural electrification company, has modified it to create a cost-effective operational model.

Today, HPS supplies power to 50 off-grid villages in the state. Each village has a population between 2,000 and 4,000. By 2012, HPS plans to cover 2,000 villages in the state.

Rice husk is traditionally discarded in India. However, when it is heated, it releases a gas that HPS uses to run modified diesel engines to generate electricity.

"We heat rice husk to a point at which they turn into gas and that gas runs an engine," said Chip Ransler, chief strategy officer of HPS. The power is supplied through a grid that HPS operates.

The rice husk is procured from farmers and mill owners, and each biomass gasification plant is run by trained mechanics.

"Roughly 1.5 kg of rice husk yields 1 KWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity," Ransler said.

"Electricity is generated via an alternator and delivered in three phases at 220 volts. We set up grids that are specially suited according to the size of the villages. The setup is completely decentralised," he added.

The villages that have benefited include Tamkuha, Dhanaha, Rupahi, Madhubani, Inarawa, Sarisawa and Majhoulia. All are located in West Champaran district.

However, the company wants to keep its electricity rates confidential.

"We don't share the price. But villagers save 50 percent of what they were spending on kerosene and diesel, and they're getting much larger output from the investments in HPS," Ransler said.

Simon Desjardins, an analyst with Shell Foundation, a Britain-based NGO that provides financial and technical aid to HPS, said electricity shortages can directly impede the economic development of a village, apart from the environmental pollution caused by the use of diesel and kerosene.

"Today, Bihar represents a viable market for modern energy services. The rural communities are willing to pay for reliable electricity," he said.

Ransler said HPS initially provided electricity to 15 villages with support from the Shell Foundation. Now it has 10 biomass plants with capacity ranging from 35-100 KW. It has also created jobs opportunities for the locals.

Biomass gasification plants are eco-friendly as they replace diesel and kerosene with carbon-neutral biomass-derived electricity.

Ransler said each HPS plant offsets roughly 80-100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Source: DHNS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The Indian petroleum minister Murli Deora recently convened a meeting with fuel retailers and sugar millers for seeking their support in its ethanol-blending policy. The move comes in the wake of government asked the petroleum ministry to ensure that oil companies compulsorily sold petrol mixed with 5 per cent ethanol and which was not being followed citing ethanol shortage.

Read more on WheelsUnplugged.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

A worker arranges the photovoltaic cell components of a solar module panel at a factory near Bangalore.

The Indian cabinet approved a plan on Thursday that sets out to increase energy production from solar technology to 20 gigawatts by 2022, up from six megawatts today. The government will spend about 43 billion rupees ($922 million) in the first of three phases of the program. The total cost for all three phases could approach $20 billion.

Source: The New York Times

India unveils plans for massive solar power boost

[Krishnamoorthy K]

It is reported that India and Japan will soon be jointly setting up new and renewable energy parks in various parts of India using Japanese know how and latest technology.

A taskforce of the apex industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India had visited Japan in July this year and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Japanese firm for transfer of technology to set up renewable energy parks.

The MoU was signed between ASSOCHAM and Oskak NGO that develops technologies in renewable energy, designs energy parks and promotes non-conventional energy worldwide.

Mr Hideaki Domichi Japanese Ambassador in India said that “India is a big market for Japanese technology and investment as recently India has surpassed Japanese investment than in China. Now, India would be destination for us and relationship would be strengthened as India is a special country for us.”

Japan ranks fifth in terms of cumulative FDI equity inflow into India. Japan’s FDI in India is estimated to be around USD 5.5 billion over 5 years from 2006 to 2010.

Both the countries will combine their resources together to set up NRE parks by March next year. These parks will showcase latest New and Renewable Energy technologies including solar, wind, clean coal and fossil, the Japanese ambassador said and added that an energy park will be set up in Meghalaya and other places will be finalized soon.

The parks will be set up with the help of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Environment in India and the Japanese Government. India and Japan will explore more ways and means to further cooperation in the field of New and Renewable Energy sources and other sectors.

Source: Steelguru

[Krishnamoorthy K]

As a part of its wind power foray, the company has plans to invest Rs 6,000 crore over the next five years and is targeting to produce nearly 1000 mw of wind energy for which it will come up with wind farms in states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala. "We are in the final stages of commissioning the turbine manufacturing facility that will produce around 300 turbines per annum. The assembly shop would be ready by December," said GFL's director and group head for corporate finance, Deepak Asher. The company has set up a separate subsidiary, Inox Wind Ltd for manufacturing the turbines. However, the wind farms would be managed by GFL itself.

Read more on BS.