[engineer.akash]

Karnataka Grameen Bank planning 80 solar villages

A.J. Vinayak

Mangalore, May 20 The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB), which has financed over 12,000 solar light units under its area of operation, is now planning to make 80 villages solar villages.

Mr K.P. Muraleedharan, Chairman of the bank, told Business Line on Wednesday that the bank wants to make 80 select villages in nine districts under its area of operation as complete solar villages by March 2010.

As many as 20 villages in Belgaum; 10 each in Bijapur, Bagalkot, Haveri, Gadag and Dharwad; four villages in Uttara Kananda; and three each in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts will be made solar villages by March-end.

The bank wants to make more than 10,000 houses in these villages solar houses by the end of the year. The bank will finance 85 per cent of the cost of the solar light unit, and the buyers are free to opt for the company of their choice for solar lights, he said.

Till now, the bank has financed around 12,000 solar lights to the tune of Rs 18 crore.

Considering the need for the maintenance of solar light units, the bank is planning to form farmers’ clubs in these selected villages. Apart from creating awareness about the solar light projects, the members of these clubs will take up maintenance and repair of the solar light units.

Mr Ullas Gunaga, an official from the bank, said such use of solar power would help save considerable amount of grid power. The bank has financed more than 12,000 solar light units till now, which helped save more than 12,000 units of power a day.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/05/21/stories/2009052150901700.htm

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Indian again at the helm of World Wind Energy Association

AHMEDABAD: WIND seems to be flowing in favour of India as far as the world wind energy affairs are concerned. On Monday, Anil Kane was reelected as president of World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) for yet another two-year term during the 8th World Wind Energy Conference 2009 held on the picturesque Jeju island, Korea. This is the third consecutive term for Mr Kane as the president. The WWEA has never repeated its president.

Mr Kane will continue to be at the helm of affairs of world’ most powerful body in wind energy with membership base spread across 90 countries. WWEA’s 400 members, from 91 countries, represent a total membership of more than 50,000 members.

WWEA provides a platform for dialogues among the members worldwide and it advises and influences governments and international organisations in policymaking. WWEA also provides international technology transfer.

Source: ET

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Green projects get VCF energy

NEW DELHI: The power ministry is mooting a venture fund to underwrite investments in new clean energy projects, as it looks to invite fresh players into the sector.

About 50% of its kitty will come from the government directly and the rest from domestic as well as global financial institutions such as IFC, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and private equity firms, according to a ministry official. The proposal has been sent to the finance ministry for approval, the official said on condition of anonymity.

With backing from a government-operated fund, these firms will find it easier to raise bank loans even in the absence of a strong balance sheet or large initial investments from promoters.

“It is extremely important to have such a venture fund in the country. Such a fund would cover the risk of energy services companies and give a big boost to the sector,” The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) executive director Leena Srivastava said.

According to Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) director-general Ajay Mathur, banks often refuse such projects since they find it difficult to understand the business models of energy-efficient projects, which often don’t reveal income projections.

“In such cases, the fund will act as a partial risk guarantee fund and help companies get loans from banks,” he said.

Clean technology projects are mostly based on savings, and hence the risk element is high. “You may either underestimate or overestimate the saving and hence the risk,” Mrs Srivastava said.

According to a recent report of the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) on ‘Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2009’, $155 billion was invested in 2008 in clean energy companies and projects worldwide.

Countries such as China, India, Brazil and Africa contributed almost one-third of it. While China led investments in Asia with an 18% increase over 2007 to $15.6 billion, green energy investments in India grew 12% to $4.1 billion in 2008.

Source: ET

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Ghodawat Group lines up major expansion in renewable energy sector

Maharashtra-based Sanjay Ghodawat group is planning to focus more on renewable enery and agriculture business this fiscal,with major expansion plans in the pipeline.

The group has earmarked an investment of Rs 2,000 crore over the next five years, a major chunk of which will go into the group’s renewable, FMCG and agro business.

The group is also looking at expanding its business network in the eastern and north eastern region, especially in states like West Bengal, Orissa, which have a lot of potential in the renewable energy sector.

“In India of the total 17,000 Mw of installed renewable energy capacity, some 10,000 Mw comes from wind energy alone. We see huge potential in this sector, and we plan to invest heavily in this sector,” said Ghodawat.

Source: BS

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Solar power plant likely at Udangudi

CHENNAI: Udangudi in Tuticorin district may be the site for a 100-megawatt solar thermal power plant. This was mooted during a meeting between Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah and Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami here on Saturday.

In spite of the constraints of the wind power sector the State has been promoting the green energy. As on January 31, 2009, Tamil Nadu accounts for around 42 per cent of the country’s total installed capacity of 9,756 MW of wind energy, the memorandum stated.

The State also sought Central assistance for establishing 17 co-generation plants in cooperative and public sugar mills with a capacity of 234 MW and modernisation of the mills at a cost of Rs.1,500 crore.

Source: The Hindu

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

New state policy of Gujarat to add thrust to green energy sector

Gujarat’s green energy sector is all set to get a major boost if the draft notification relating to the CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission) Regulations 2009 (Terms and Conditions for Tariff determination from Renewable Energy Sources) is approved. The draft offers substantial incentives for future renewable energy projects in the country.

Among other things, it even provides for pre-tax return on equity of 17 per cent per annum for the first 10 years after project completion, and 23 per cent per annum from the 11th year. Sobhana Desai, Deputy Secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals Department, said, “It certainly is a desirable step by the CERC. We are looking into the draft and will send our observations before the deadline ends on the June 15.”

GEDA officials also mentioned that Gujarat, which already has its own Solar and Wind Power Policy in place, is set to gain further as the CERC draft also includes the clause enlisting sharing of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) benefits between the project developer and concerned off-taker. It states that 100 per cent of the benefits will be retained by the developer in the first year, and thereafter, it will be shared by the beneficiaries, increasing by 10 per cent every year till it reaches 50 per cent.

The tariff regulations apply to wind power projects having minimum annual mean Wind Power Density of 200 watt/sq m; small hydel projects of lower than or equal to 25 MW; biomass power projects; and non-fossil fuel based co-generation projects. The tariff determination period under these regulations will be 13 years, and single part tariff will include five fixed components of return on equity, interest on loan capital, depreciation, interest on working capital, and operation and maintenance expenses.

Meanwhile, the existing solar power policy of the state provides for a fixed tariff of Rs 13 per unit for the first 12 years for the sale of energy by those photovoltaic solar projects commissioned before December 31, 2010, and Rs 3 per unit for the remaining 13 years. The tariff fixed for other solar projects commissioned before March 31, 2014 is Rs 12 per unit for the first 12 years, and Rs 3 per unit for the remaining 13 years. With regards to wind power generators, the purchase rate has been increased from Rs 3.37 per unit to Rs 3.50 per unit to attract more investment.

Source: indian express

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

OGP ties up Rs 400 crore for six power plants

Oriental Green Power (OGP), a renewable energy generation company promoted by Chennai-based Shriram EPC, has achieved Rs 400-crore financial closure for six bio-mass based power plants.

Speaking to Business Standard, T Shivaraman, managing director and chief executive officer of Shriram EPC, said the company was planning to invest around Rs 1,100 crore in eight projects, of which financial closure for six projects has been achieved.

“A majority of the lenders are public sector banks, with the only private sector bank being Yes Bank. The banks had come forward to extend debt to the tune of Rs 400 crore,” Shivaraman said.

OGP has set a target to set up bio-mass based power plants, with a generation capacity of 130 Mw by March 2010. The company expects about 20 per cent of its business to come from bio-mass power.

Two plants have already been commissioned at Dindugal and Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu, each entailing an investment of Rs 40 crore. Two more plants – coming up near Vandavasi and at Chibbarbarod in Rajasthan – are likely to commence operations by this September.

Shivaraman said bio-mass power plants had to source agriculture waste – the main raw material – from farmers within 40-50 km radius. The raw material is not available in huge quantities, and hence upgrading or installing power plants beyond 7.5 Mw is not viable, he added.

Shriram EPC is a leading service provider of integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services for renewable energy projects, process and metallurgical plants and municipal service sector projects throughout India and is also a manufacturer of 250 Kw wind turbine generators.

Source: BS

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

31 biomass power projects of 338 MW to come up in Punjab

Chandigarh (PTI): State owned Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has finalized the allocation of 31 decentralized Biomass Power Projects with aggregate capacity of 338 MW to private developers.

Stating this in a release issued here on Sunday, Viswajeet Khanna, Secretary, Science and Technology, Punjab said that these power projects are to be set up in the State on Build, Operate and Own (BOO) basis and private investment to the tune of Rs.1450 Crore has been attracted in this sector.

Out of these, 21 such projects having total capacity of 220 MW have been allocated to the private developers. All these power projects are scheduled to be commissioned by September 2010.

He said that in order to encourage cogeneration in the industries, PEDA has also facilitated and commissioned 6 Biomass Cogeneration Projects with a total capacity of 39 MW and 4 such projects of total capacity of 91 MW were under advanced state of execution.

Another 8 Cogeneration Biomass Projects with a total capacity of 71 MW were in the pipeline and MOUs for the same were being signed shortly. With the commissioning of all these power projects direct employment for 1600 skilled persons and indirect employment for 5000 persons would be created in the state.

He said that these power projects being environment friendly would help in abatement of Green House Gases (GHG) emissions responsible for global warming and help the state in earning carbon credits.

The Secretary said that Punjab faces peak power shortage to the tune of 3000 MW and the commissioning of these environment friendly projects would help in supplementing power requirement of the State to the tune of around 26 per cent through renewable energy resources.

He further informed that the State Government was committed to promote renewable power through private sector by providing attractive tariff and fiscal incentives for these projects in order to add 1000 MW capacity to the state grid through renewable resources in the next two years.

Source: The Hindu

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

3 Indian projects get Ashden Awards in London

London: The world's leading green energy awards, the Ashden Awards for this year were given out in London on Thursday evening by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. Three Indian initiatives have won the Ashden Awards for sustainable energy for their work in providing renewable energy solutions to local communities.

The winners, who bagged £20,000 each, include Saran Renewable Energy of Bihar, which provides electricity using biomass and Geres, a French NGO constructing greenhouses in Ladakh.

Source: IBNLive

 

[RajeshRamanujam]

What would be % of renewable energy mix in India

Total power/energy = 130 GW

Wind = 10 GW
Solar = < 0.5 GW
Hydro = 25 GW
biomass = 1 GW ??

assuming hydro to be renewable we are close to 30% which is not bad when we compare to developed nations

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

^^ Whether the above figures are only grid-connected energy or also includes stand alone energy?

Compared to other countries we may be doing well. But, the ideal goal is 100% clean energy (renewable + nuclear) including 100% green transportation. We have to meet all energy demands, with an expected GDP growth of around 9% (?), with a minimum use of fossil energy without harming the environment much.

 

[vvr]

What would be % of renewable energy mix in India

Total power/energy = 130 GW

Wind = 10 GW
Solar = < 0.5 GW
Hydro = 25 GW
biomass = 1 GW ??

assuming hydro to be renewable we are close to 30% which is not bad when we compare to developed nations

According to Wikipedia, the ~10GW of Wind Energy in India represents 3% of the total electricity output. That will put the total at over 300 GW. Not saying that Wiki has accurate #s.

 

[barrykul]

According to Wikipedia, the ~10GW of Wind Energy in India represents 3% of the total electricity output. That will put the total at over 300 GW. Not saying that Wiki has accurate #s.

I think Wiki may be right. Wind energy is intermittent, installed capacity could be 10GW and it is safe to assume that efficiency is < 50% which would compute to ~150GW.

 

[barrykul]

BTW, there is renewable energy conference hosted by Indian Govt in August, 2009 clicky

 

[RajeshRamanujam]

According to Wikipedia, the ~10GW of Wind Energy in India represents 3% of the total electricity output. That will put the total at over 300 GW. Not saying that Wiki has accurate #s.

This gives the more accurate picture from the ministry of power

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_India_by_installed_power_capacity

renewables+hydro+nuclear is at 33%...1/3 of total power

I am trying to visualize what will be the scenario at 2020...a lot of countries have goals set for 2020 and 2050...2050 is too far fetched to have a decent prediction...

at a minimum of 10% growth...we will be at 400 GW by 2020...

of which we have plans for
20 GW of nuclear
45 GW of wind ( think that is the total potential of the country unless we have offshore or newer technologies...)
20 GW of solar...(dont think that is achievable....unless we have far cheaper infrastruture)

still we wont be at 50% renewable....at 400 GW we will be emitting same amount of greenhouse as China today or USA in the nineties...

 

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The goal for renewable energy is to reduce carbon emission, reducel crude oil import bill, reduce coal import bill.

Fossil energy means coal, petrol and natural gas. Out of total electrical energy generated in India 67% is fossil energy consisting of coal & natural gas and 33% is renewable & nuclear.

Electrical energy generated by crude oil is negligible. India uses approximately 130 MMT of crude oil mainly for transportation. (Petrol is also used for agricultural pumps and also for generating industrial by products). If we assume that 100 MMT of petrol needed for transportation in year 2020 then this will be equivalent to approximately 140GW of electrical energy.

If we want to substitute petrol used in transportation by renewable energy option available are electrical (for example reva car) or biofuel. (Solar vehicles may not be an immediate option). Out of 140GW if we assume 100GW to be generated through eletrical power then we need total electrical power of 500GW in 2020. (got by adding another 100GW to 400GW predicted above).

 

[Planning Democracy]

What about wave energy? Any more research on that?

 

[dis.agree]

This gives the more accurate picture from the ministry of power

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_India_by_installed_power_capacity

renewables+hydro+nuclear is at 33%...1/3 of total power

I am trying to visualize what will be the scenario at 2020...a lot of countries have goals set for 2020 and 2050...2050 is too far fetched to have a decent prediction...

at a minimum of 10% growth...we will be at 400 GW by 2020...

of which we have plans for
20 GW of nuclear
45 GW of wind ( think that is the total potential of the country unless we have offshore or newer technologies...)
20 GW of solar...(dont think that is achievable....unless we have far cheaper infrastruture)

still we wont be at 50% renewable....at 400 GW we will be emitting same amount of greenhouse as China today or USA in the nineties...

those are rated capacities. for best sites for wind we could assume 30-35%. but they are already taken. assume only 25%. for solar assume 20%. nuclear & coal plants run nearly at 80% rated capacities.

 

[barrykul]

at a minimum of 10% growth...we will be at 400 GW by 2020...

I think this linear expansion of power is a wrong assumption. The world has to think in terms of reducing per capita power consumption. Excessive use of power needs to be rethought. Already, modern buildings are converting to LEED goals with the idea of reducing power consumption. LED lights can drastically cut down incandescent light bulb power consumed in households. Efficient strategies for energy conservation includes better insulation, design for ambient light, use of alternate energy sources (including solar) at the unit level and all of these strategies goes towards reducing central monolithic power. Low power should be the norm for the entire spectrum of modern appliances too. Dishwashers, washing machines, microwaves, refrigerators, electric appliances all require an overhaul in terms of power consumption. If man can live frugally we can solve most of the daunting issues that confront modern mankind.

 

[RajeshRamanujam]

I think this linear expansion of power is a wrong assumption. The world has to think in terms of reducing per capita power consumption. Excessive use of power needs to be rethought. Already, modern buildings are converting to LEED goals with the idea of reducing power consumption. LED lights can drastically cut down incandescent light bulb power consumed in households. Efficient strategies for energy conservation includes better insulation, design for ambient light, use of alternate energy sources (including solar) at the unit level and all of these strategies goes towards reducing central monolithic power. Low power should be the norm for the entire spectrum of modern appliances too. Dishwashers, washing machines, microwaves, refrigerators, electric appliances all require an overhaul in terms of power consumption. If man can live frugally we can solve most of the daunting issues that confront modern mankind.

Agreed. Energy saved is energy produced. However it is highly unlikely we will have all these overhaul done in the next decade.

Most scientists agree that we (world) has to peak carbon emissions by 2020...if we are still increasing in emissions after that we will have irreversible consequences...

One promising technology is rooftop solar and wind power. Egypt a developing country with very similar climatic conditions like us and is a world leader in rooftop solar.

We have achieved something similar with water harvesting...Though the comparison is not correct there are some parallels. Water harvesting in homes and buildings have greatly improved water tables and reduced the dependency on centralised water supply....

if only we can achieve something like that for electricity !!!