India Elecrical Power situation ( energy needs )

Five ultra mega power projects limping: Shinde - 1 Aug, 2008,

MUMBAI: The Centre has convened a meeting of Chief Ministers of five states on Monday to expedite the Ultra Mega Power Projects of 4,000 megawatt each in those states.
The states are Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu Orissa and Karnataka.

"We should have had 2,00,000 MW of power by now. But there is a shortage of about 25,000-30,000 MW at present," he said, adding the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12) has made provisions for 90,000 MW.

asr: so new 90,000 MW will be met by Nuclear , these 9 Ultra Mega planets etc..

Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said he would try to "convince" the CMs to rapidly move forward the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) in their respective states.

"There are nine ultra mega projects in the country...a few of them are limping," Shinde told PTI on the sidelines of a function today.

Of the nine UMPPs, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power has bagged Sasan (Madhya Pradesh) and Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) while the Tata Group has bagged the Mundra project in Gujarat.

Asked about the electricity crisis in Maharashtra, Shinde said, "Power is a concurrent subject. It is not just the state of Maharashtra but the entire country that has failed to make up for the shortage of power."



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Adhunik Group to set up 1,000 MW power plant in Jharkhand -4 Aug, 2008

KOLKATA : Adhunik Thermal and Power Ltd, a unit of Adhunik Group, on Monday said it would invest Rs 4,500 crore for setting up a 1,000 MW power plant in Jharkhand.

asr: setup cost of Coal power plants
4500/1000 => Rs. 4.5 Crores /MW is the cost of setting up
4.5 x 10 => Rs. 45 million Ruppes => 45/40 => $1 Million US dollars .
Let us how does this compares to Solar Thermal


The plant, to be located at Kandra in Saraikela-Kharswan district, would come up in two phases. The company has already placed an order for a 2x135 MW unit to be set up in the company premises, Group Managing Director Manoj Agarwal said.

He said the company has been allotted coal mines jointly with Tata Steel and the process of getting environmental clearances and land acquisition is underway.

Describing the expansion plans of the Group, Agarwal said Adhunik Alloys and Power Ltd would also add two waste heat recovery boilers to generate 30 MW (2x15 MW) power out of waste gases, which will save around 11,000 tons of coal per month.

The boilers would help in keeping pollution levels at zero, as well as aid in keeping the steel production cost low, Agarwal said.


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JSPL lines up Rs 12k cr for Raigarh power plant

NEW DELHI: Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) is planning to invest close to Rs 12,000 crore, through a combination of debt and equity, in its proposed 2,640 MW thermal power plant at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. For the new project, which will be operational by 2013-14, the firm would require coal reserves of over 400 million tonnes.

The project would be undertaken by JSPL’s subsidiary, Jindal Power (JPL). JPL has set up a 1,000 MW power plant at the same location in Raigarh out of which 750 MW of power has already been commissioned and the balance 250 MW would be commissioned next month.

“Though we own some land next to the existing power plant, we would further require significant amount of land for the proposed project. We are in talks with the state government and hope to take possession of essential coal blocks and land soon,” said JPL deputy managing director, Sushil Maroo. He added, besides commercial use, the new plant would be used for captive use for steel making.

For setting up adequate infrastructure, the company is in talks with various equipment suppliers across Europe and China besides India and is expected to place orders in the next 3-4 months.

The company has roped in SBI Capital Markets for conducting financial appraisals.

“After the appraisal work gets over, we would approach investors for funds. The debt-equity ratio for the proposed plant would be 70:30,” Mr Maroo added.

The equity portion of the investment will come out of internal accruals and no fresh fund raising is planned as of now. Soon, the company would also lay down dedicated transmission lines to carry power from substations to the national grid.
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Power generation in MP increases by over 3,000 MW in 5 yrs -2 Aug, 2008

BHOPAL: Power generation in Madhya Pradesh has increased by 3,147 MW to 6,138 mw, as compared to merely 2991 MW in 2002-03.

"The power generation has now increased to 6138 MW, registering an increase of 3147 MWs in less than five years", an official release said. Newly commissioned 50 MW unit of Birsinghpur thermal power plant and 210 MW Amarkantak unit have also led to rise in power generation.

During last four years, the state government spent Rs 2,166 crore on purchasing 5,561 million units of power
asr: 2166 cr ruppes for 556 crore units => Rs. 4 per unit
.
During the last three years, round the clock power supply to industries was ensured, it said.

The department has attributed present shortage of power to truant monsoon and global warming. Due to paucity of rains, most of the water reservoirs in the state do not have adequate water and thus power generation work has been affected.

The water level of Indira Sagar stands 11.5 metre below the last year's level. This shortfall is 25 feet in Gandhi Sagar and 9.3 metre in Pench Project.

Another factor of short supply is closure of Central government's power plants Vindhyachal (500 mw), Korba (500 mw) and 210 mw Sanjay Gandhi unit of the state government due to annual maintenance work.

Power is being supplied for 22.30 hours at divisional headquarters, 20 hours at district headquarters, 16 to 17 hours at Tehsil headquarters and 12 to 14 hours in the rural areas, the release added.
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South India reeling under perpetual power shortage -1 Aug, 2008

BANGALORE: It was forced candlelight dinners in Bangalore up to last week, till rains hit the region. A severe power shortage comes haunting every time there is a lag in monsoons. And although showers in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have brought in some respite in the past couple of days, it is still some time till the reservoirs fill up to narrow the power deficit. The problem appears almost as old as mankind. And so is the solution that state governments in south India have routinely adopted: Rationing power to households and industries. This year has been no different.

In south India, bulk of power generation is hydel and is, therefore, linked to monsoons. But monsoons is not the only variable, there are other more predictable parameters that cry for an aggressive supply-side intervention.
- First, there are at least four gas-based power projects in Andhra lying idle for want of fuel linkage.
- Second, since agriculture is dependent on electric pump sets in this region, the crisis impacts kharif season.
- Lastly, demand for power is shooting up with consumer lifestyle changes and industry proliferation.

Sample the data from the Central Electricity Authority for April-June 2008: South India's peak demand for power stood at 26,640 mw and what was met was 25,035 mw, a deficit of 1,605 mw or 6%. According to Union power ministry joint secretary ICP Keshari, the average peak demand shortage in the four southern states is 12-13%. He attributes the situation to "failure of monsoon and a sudden rise (summer-induced) in demand."

But it is also a fact that many thermal plants across the country like Talcher, Himadri, Vindhyachal and Kahalgoan are facing shortage of coal. This is partly an administrative failure and has affected overall power availability in the country. No wonder, most states are drawing from the grid and buying power at spot rates as high as Rs 8-10 per unit.

According to power sector experts, demand side management is no longer a solution to the country's power problems. "Supply side shortfall cannot be made up by demand side management like load shedding. What you really need is additional capacities, getting the idle assets going and aggressive purchases from merchant power plants," says Kuljit Singh of Ernst & Young.

Since coal deposits are more abundant in other parts of the country, south India has historically been dependent on hydel power generation. In fact, for most states here, the thermal-hydel mix is skewed to the latter. The hydel mix often throws supply into a tizzy in the event of deficient monsoons.

As expected, the crisis has galvanised state governments to also look beyond the obvious short-term interventions and announce grand plans. But honourable intentions alone are not enough as any new project will take at least four years to complete if it is thermal and up to eight years in case of hydel. Karnataka has announced the setting up of a 2,000-mw pit-head thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh. Andhra Pradesh will be able to generate 2,000 mw additional power if gas-based independent power projects get the fuel linkage.


-----------------------Bengal to import costly coal for power plants - 1 Aug, 2008
KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has decided to import one lakh tonne of coal at higher rates to fuel the thermal power plants which have not been able to meet the power demand recently for wet and substandard coal.

The resulting rise in the cost of power would have to be borne by the consumers, State Power Minister Mrinal Banerjee said when replying to a motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee in the Assembly today.

State government has been facing a lot of criticism from public for prolonged power cuts caused allegedly by insufficient supply.

Banerjee said the government has decided to procure the coal through international auction at the rate of Rs 8,000 per tonne.

He said Coal India Limited supplied 20,436 tonne of coal to the state's power plants till July 27 instead of 33,474 tonne scheduled supply and most of the consignment was wet and muddy owing to monsoon rain.

Attributing the power cuts to an increase in demand including the off-peak periods, the Power Minister said the demand from power utilities like CESC and State Electricity Transmission Company Limited had increased by 350 MW each.

He said 1,100 MW of power was required for five hours daily to operate the Purulia Pump Storage project which generated only 900 MW. Besides the occasional breakdown of power units also worsened the situation.

While the government owed Rs 26,000 crore to the central power units, the CESC owed the government Rs 1,200 crore, the minister said.


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Gujarat wants centre to bend rules on power allocation --2 Aug, 2008,

CHENNAI: The Gujarat government has asked for all the power from the proposed 1,000 MW project in a joint venture with the state-run Neyveli Lignite Corp (NLC) in Tamil Nadu, though the norms are that at least 57 per cent of the electricity generated to be fed to the national grid.

"We have already written to the central government asking for the entire power for consumption in our state. We are waiting for a response," a Gujarat government official who requested anonymity said on phone from Gandhinagar.
NLC too has written a letter to the centre expressing the Gujarat government's desire.

The lignite-fuelled power plant is proposed at Valia in Gujarat where the state-run ( asr: Central govt. ) Tamil Nadu-based NLC has been roped in as 74 per cent partner. The rest of the equity in the Rs.51.4 billion project will be held by the Gujarat Power Corp.

The pact between NLC and Gujarat government was signed two years ago to mine 12 million tonnes of lignite per annum and set up a 1,500 MW power project in two phases.

The first phase proposes to mine eight million tonnes of lignite and build a 1,000 MW power plant.

A senior NLC official explained that by a formula that has been in force for more than two decades, any joint venture with a state-run power company requires 57 per cent of the electricity generated to be supplied to the national grid.

The official, however, cited the case of a similar project between the Andhra Pradesh government and the state-run National Thermal Power Corp in Simhadri where the state was allowed to utilise the entire 1,000 MW generated.

He said even NLC, which is setting up a 250 MW power project in Rajasthan, will supply the entire output to the state, adding that the Gujarat government has the option of roping in the private sector as a partner if its demands were not met.

"The reason why they want to come to us is because we have much better experience in mining and handling lignite-fired power plants," the official said, adding that NLC had a mining capacity of 24 million tonnes per annum and an installed capacity of 2,490 MW.

A joint venture company will be formed once the power allocation issue is sorted out, the official added.

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NEW DELHI: Indian nuclear industry today welcomed the approval of the India-specific safeguards agreement by the IAEA board of governors at Vienna.

"We in the nuclear industry other related industries are thrilled about the outcome as this was a very important step towards nuclear commerce with outside world to improve India's energy scenario," Chairman of Nuclear Power Corporation S K Jain told reporters.

"We welcome the support we got from Board of governors and we look forward for similar support from Nuclear Suppliers group in the coming days," Jain said.

The entire nuclear industry is celebrating and is keeping its fingers crossed "for the entire process is completed soon so that the real ground level activities can be started" he said.

"We expect that Rajasthan units 5 and 6, the two 220 MW pressurised heavy water reactors, the construction of which is completed, can get the imported fuel to start operations," he said.
( asr: built already , waitng for Fuel . so shows urgency on US nuclear deal )

Besides, with the NSG waiver, Rajasthan reactors 3and 4, Narora and Kakrapar units can also get the fuel to operate at full capacity, he said.
( asr: existing ones do not have enought fuel with in counry so waiting for US Deal )

Under the separation plan, six units of Rajasthan plants, two units of Narora, two units of Kakrapar , unit 1 and 2 of Tarapur atomic power station will be under IAEA safeguards.
( asr: 12 units for civil power genartion )

"Of course, two units of Kaiga, two units at Kalpakkam, and units 3 and 4 of Tarapur power reactors and all fast breeder reactors will not be under safeguards as per the separation plan," Jain said.
( asr: research/Milatary purpose )

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HYDERABAD: After IT and pharma, India is on course to emerge as a solar hub. The Centre’s move to offer fiscal incentives to solar cell and photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers coupled with surge in global demand for renewable energy sources has triggered domestic and multi-national companies to set up shop here.

Leading the pack is home-grown Moser Baer, followed by US-based Signet Solar and Solar Semiconductor. More are set to join.

Moser Baer, a leading optical storage manufacturer, is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh government to acquire 100 acres in the Fab City — the chip-making hub.

The company was among the first to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary - Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Limited — in 2005 to focus on the high-growth solar energy segment. It also plans to build an Rs 330 crore silicon PV manufacturing facility (near Delhi) and has tied up with Applied Materials Inc for technology transfer.

US-based Signet Solar, on its part, has drawn up an ambitious $2 billion investment plan to set up three photovoltaic production facilities in the country. It is also looking at an R&D base here. The company is already in talks with the Andhra government to set up two manufacturing facilities here. Solar semiconductor — another photovoltaic manufacturing company — has lined up an initial $40 million investment to set up two production units.

The company has already started building a 30MW per annum plant near Pochampalli. The second one — with a capacity of 40 MW — is being readied in the Fab city. ”We are looking at garnering another $330 million from private equity firms,” said Solar Semiconductor CEO Hari Surapaneni.

The company has also signed supply agreements with two European companies. Global demand for solar PV products and services is expected to grow from $14 billion in 2006 to over $100 billion by 2015. Political and environmental concerns have triggered many countries to shift to solar energy. Globally, solar energy panels come with a capacity of 1.7 giga watt. Nearly 70% of it is in Europe.

The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) fellow (renewable energy technology application) Shirish S Garud attributes the new found rush for solar PV facilities to the semiconductor policy announced by the Centre in February this year.
The incentive for these units is in the form of a 20% capital subsidy and an exemption from countervailing duty on imports.

Over the last few years, developed countries are also encouraging the use of solar energy. The PV market worldwide is growing at about 40% and solar energy production is set to top 1,000 MW per year.

“However, these companies may find it tough to sell it in the domestic market as the cost of producing solar energy is high. The cost of production ranges from Rs 15 to Rs 30 per unit compared to around Rs 2 to Rs 6 per unit for thermal energy. Developed countries are ready to pay the cost while the Indian government is still mulling over it,” he said.
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Suzlon's order book position stands at Rs 16,500 crore -- 31 Jul, 2008

MUMBAI: Leading wind-turbine generator Suzlon Energy has orders worth Rs 16,500 crore on hand, company Chairman and Managing Director Tulsi Tanti said here.

"We have a good order pipeline with export orders of Rs 15,000 crore and domestic orders of Rs 1,450 crore as on June 30, 2008. The export order includes
Rs 7,000 crore from the US,
Rs 2,500 crore from China,
Rs 2,200 crore from Australia,
Rs 3,200 crore from Europe and
Rs 1,450 crore from DLF in India," Tanti said here today.

Our 3,000 MW capacity expansion plan is progressing on track. Most of the orders would be executed in the current financial year, while some US orders will be executed in the next fiscal year, Tanti said.

The company is hopeful of growing at 50 per cent compared to 20-25 per cent growth worldwide.
( asr: it is going twice compared to other world wind mill manf. )

"The oil price hike and climate change concerns have increased the demand of wind energy. The opportunity for renewal energy is immense with the increasing cost of fossil fuels and its diminishing supplies," he said.

There is a huge demand for Suzlon's products worldwide. "During the first quarter of this fiscal, we have received 200 MW order from US, 200 MW order from China and 106 MW order from DLF in India," Tanti said, adding that "in India, we have a large customer base and having good negotiations pipeline."

Meanwhile, Suzlon reported 42 per cent growth in revenues in the first quarter of this fiscal. The company registered consolidated sales revenue of Rs 2,760 crore in Q1 FY 09 as compared to Rs 1,944-crore in the Q1 FY 08.