NEW DELHI:  Holding consumer driven economies responsible for carbon emissions, Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said the principle of polluter pays must be respected in view of climate change talks.

“Principle of polluter pay seems to have been omitted and it must be respected in view of climate change talks,” Mr Goyal said responding a query on India’s commitment on emission levels in view of forthcoming global talks on climate change.

Addressing a CII conference, Mr Goyal asked developed nations to provide technology and soft loans for promoting renewable energy and reducing emissions in India.

The minister suggested that instead of just talking about green funds, the developed world should provide long term debt through them at lower interest rates.

The Polluter Pays Principle is an environmental policy principle which requires that the costs of pollution be borne by those who cause it.

In its original emergence the Polluter Pays Principle aims at determining how the costs of pollution prevention and control must be allocated.

Referring to the issue of emission he expressed the view that this has happened because consumer driven economies who use cheap power or energy.

India adds just 3 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions and entire South Asia with with one fifth of the world’s population adds only 4-5 per cent, he added.

France will be hosting and presiding the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21/CMP11), otherwise known as ‘Paris 2015’ from November 30 to December 11.

COP21 will be a crucial conference, as it needs to achieve a new international agreement on the climate, applicable to all countries, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

On cooperation among South Asian countries, Mr Goyal said that India will be delighted to offer capital, technology and other required help for improving trade and commerce in the region.

Union Energy Minister Piyush Goyal was addressing a meeting of high level gathering of US companies in the renewable energy development and financing sector, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the American Council on a Renewable Energy (ACORE).

India has appealed to American companies to come up with innovative solutions to address the massive energy needs of the world’s third largest economy, which is set to become the largest clean energy market in the next 10 years. Union Energy Minister Piyush Goyal was addressing a meeting of high level gathering of US companies in the renewable energy development and financing sector, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the American Council on a Renewable Energy (ACORE). 

While acknowledging constraining factors, the Minister urged the US and it’s constituent companies to be a partner in this process and to help come up with innovative solutions so as not to miss out on the tremendous opportunity in India which is set to become the largest clean energy market in the next 10 years, a media release said.

Addressing the concerns and challenges faced by investors in India, Goyal in his remarks laid out the government’s vision for achieving the ambitious target of 175 GW of clean energy by 2022, it said. 

Goyal addressed concerns relating to the fiscal health of distribution companies in India and said that the government was looking for a long term and sustainable solution to the problem which will be implemented soon. A number of stalled projects are also being cleared, he told the investors.

Praising the government’s efforts in scaling up the clean energy sector, Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII said Indian industry stands ready to partner and work with the government to achieve the ambitious target set by the Prime Minister. 

Sumant Sinha, chairman and CEO, Renew a Power Ventures pointed out that USD 150 million of financing is required in the clean energy space of which USD 100 million will be debt and USD 50 million will be equity. “The US can play a big role in this space in India,” he said.

The US companies which attended the meeting included SunEdison, Bank of America, First Solar, Credit Suisse, Apex clean energy, Sun Power and Deutsche Bank. A high powered CII CEOs delegation, including Preetha Reddy, Apollo Hospitals; Kiran Mazumdar Shah, Biocon; Shiv Khemka, Sun Group; Rajan Navani, Jetline Group; Pranav Tanti,Suzlon; Rahul Munjal, Hero Future Energies and Kishore Nair, Welspun Energy also participated in the event. 

CII and ACORE yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help solidify and bolster cooperation in the clean energy sector through facilitation of dialogues between industry experts, the development of platforms to deepen cooperation as well as platforms to exchange policy recommendations and best practices.

Goyal was speaking at the India-US Ministerial Energy Dialogue held at the US Department of Energy here on September 21. The Indian delegation was led by Goyal while the US side was led by Dr Ernest Moniz, the US Secretary of Energy.

India will provide 24×7 power across the country by 2019 by creating cost effective infrastructure which is sustainable and inclusive of clean energy solutions, Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said. 

Goyal was speaking at the India-US Ministerial Energy Dialogue held at the US Department of Energy here on September 21. The Indian delegation was led by Goyal while the US side was led by Dr Ernest Moniz, the US Secretary of Energy.

“Government of India to provide 24×7 power across the country by 2019 by creating cost effective infrastructure which was sustainable and inclusive of clean energy solutions,” the Minister said. 

Goyal emphasised that India is committed to pursue a green path to growth. He also elaborated on India’s ambitious plans for deployment of 175 GW Renewable Power capacities by 2022, including 100 GW of Solar and 60 GW of Wind, which may require investment of around USD 150 billion in the next seven years.

He also stressed on government’s objective of construction of 100 smart cities which would include in its blueprint adequate provisions for power generation, usage of renewables and energy efficiency technologies, comprehensive waste management programme, usage of waste to energy technologies, etc. 

Goyal pointed out that India-US collaboration in the energy sector offer great potential, in view of India’s enormous energy needs and the US’ resources, capabilities and technology.

He also welcomed US-based companies to invest in the Indian energy sector and invited them to also participate in India’s unconventional hydrocarbons sector, especially in the field of exploration and exploitation of alternate energy sources such as shale oil, shale gas and gas hydrates.

During the Dialogue, presentations were made on progress made under various joint research programme like Partnership to Advance Clean Energy – Research (PACE – R), including in the field of solar energy, energy efficient buildings and biofuels.

Substantial headway has been made for the development of new technologies for distributed power generation through solar thermal route and development of new tools for improved building energy efficiency codes. It was also agreed to explore addition of smart grids and energy storage for grid application as the fourth stream under PACE – R.

Presentations were also made on various aspects of integration of clean energy sources into existing energy infrastructure in India, as well as mechanisms for promoting financing for clean energy and cleaner fossil energy sources. Avenues for advancing off-grid clean energy access was also discussed in depth during the Dialogue.

TALCHER:  Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal today inaugurated a multi-skill development centre in the premises of NTPC’s power plant at Kanhia.

“The multi-skill development centre is a long standing requirement of Odisha. It will provide skill training in different trades keeping in view the requirement of local Industries,” Mr Goyal said, adding that the centre would be funded by the central government.

It will train 40 youths in one batch, he said, adding, the centre would provide immense opportunity to young entrepreneurs to enhance their skill and help them raise their earning for themselves and the people employed by them.

Odisha has planned a Rs. 1,050 crore ITI (industrial training institute) and skill development centres for imparting training to local youths. While the central government has agreed to spend Rs. 660 crore, the state government would spend remaining Rs. 390 crore in the project, officials said.

Accompanied by Union Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Coal Minister visited NTPC’s power plant in Talcher.

He would visit the coal mine of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd at Bharatpur and review the proposed Kalinga-Angul rail link.

After the review, Mr Goyal would lay the foundation stone of the proposed Rs. 500 crore Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre at Talcher.

Earlier, after reaching the state capital, Mr Goyal said keeping with the substantial rise in the production of coal in Odisha in recent months, the Centre will make efforts to further increase its productivity.

During his two-day visit to Odisha, Mr Goyal is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tomorrow and discuss on enhancing the coal production in the state.

Piyush Goyal categorically said “No it will not be aligned with international prices. Those prices keep on fluctuating and they may even go up in the future. It will be aligned to the GCV of the coal so the station heat rate of the power plant or the consumers in the other sectors get coal at a rational price.”

The Centre needs to rationalise the prices of certain grades of coal as per gross calorific value (GCV) but there is no need to align them to international rates, Union Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Friday. “Indian coal prices were never linked to international prices. They were by and large set to Indian requirement and kept very reasonable over the years. And therefore the fall in prices internationally has not really affected the country’s coal prices. “However, a lot of stakeholders, particularly consumer organisations and my own studies show that certain grades of coal are not being priced properly. So we need to rationalise the prices to make them linear based on the gross calorific value,” he told reporters here.

Goyal was speaking on the sidelines of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s flagship event “The Environment and Energy Conclave” here. “The price rationalisation (of coal) is not any effort to give any benefit anybody,” he said. Asked whether the rationalisation of coal prices would be aligned to that of the international market, Goyal categorically said “No it will not be aligned with international prices. Those prices keep on fluctuating and they may even go up in the future. It will be aligned to the GCV of the coal so the station heat rate of the power plant or the consumers in the other sectors get coal at a rational price.”

On whether Coal India  was aiming to arrest the falling profitability factor, Goyal said “I do not think the effort in this is to address the profitability issue. “Profitability has to be resolved by efficiency, by growth in output, productivity, technological innovation and we are working towards that. The price rationalisation is not any effort to correct any or give any benefit in price,” he added.

The Narendra Modi government believes that ownership is not an important factor to determine whether an organisation or a body or a government is run well, he said adding that “it is leadership and vision which define the success of an organisation”.

Government is working on a sustainable plan to revive Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) by ways of cutting losses and finish incomplete projects, Union Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Friday. “Things were not done properly for over the years because of which DVC has become a loss making company. DVC is not able to complete its ongoing programmes…It is unable to do as much as it should have done. But the good news is that in the last few months we have a focussed effort to set DVC right,” Goyal told reporters on the sidelines of a programme of the BCC&I here.

He added, “This year we will bring down the losses significantly. We are working on a sustainable plan on how these incomplete projects can be completed and their interest burden and the losses can be brought down. How it can embark on improving its technologies in the plant.”

The Narendra Modi government believes that ownership is not an important factor to determine whether an organisation or a body or a government is run well, he said adding that “it is leadership and vision which define the success of an organisation”.

“I can assure you that the Centre is providing leadership and a vision to DVC to make it a very strong organisation. Its ownership is of the government and will continue in the foreseeable near future,” Goyal said.

Talking about NTPC  ‘s involvement in reviving DVC, Goyal said the two organisations are in talks with each other. “And I can assure you that they are all working as an organic entity to support each other’s long term interest and problems… Very soon you will hear from us.” DVC will once again become a jewel of India and not only become profitable but serve the people in a much better fashion, he said.

Bengaluru: Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the process and formalities of the fourth round of coal block auctions are in the last stage.

“The central government is preparing for the fourth round of coal auctions. The process and formalities of the coal blocks are at the last stage,” he told reporters after meeting officials of state energy department and energy minister D K Shivakumar here.

The first three rounds of coal block auctions had fetched state governments Rs 3 lakh crore spread over 30 years.

Mr Goyal said the central government had given coal block to Karnataka to continue supplies to its power plants, despite objections from Maharashtra.

“In the first round of coal block auctions, six critical coal blocks were all allotted to Karnataka, despite a lot of objection from Maharashtra,” he said.

However, Mr Goyal said Maharashtra can submit an application in the next round for consideration.

Asked if it is right for WTO raising concerns about foreign and domestic investments in solar projects, Mr Goyal said, “Let me examine the order and will see what steps could be taken on the issue.”

On transmission-related issues dogging Karnataka, Mr Goyal said, “There is transmission constraint in Karnataka… and certain transmission corridors need to be set up within the state so that we can evacuate more power to different regions. We are hoping to expand the transmission.”

Meanwhile, Karnataka can buy power from Chattisgarh and Maharashtra for power requirement, especially when power at power exchanges is available at the cheapest of rates, Mr Goyal said.

“Enough power is available in Northern India. Chattisgarh and Maharashtra are the states from where Karnataka buy power. In fact the power is available at the lowest price at power exchanges,” he said.

He said that power tariffs in the exchanges have fallen by more than 50 per cent after the Narendra Modi government came to power.

Asked why Karnataka was facing power shortage if there is surplus power in the country, Mr Goyal said it is because of the transmission problems in the state. Moreover, it takes four to five years to set up transmission lines.

“Transmission plants cannot be set up in 14 months. It takes four to five years to set up transmission lines. What this government has done is to expedite the long-delayed projects. This government has added 22,100 circuit km of transmission lines in India which is a record in Indian history,” he said.

Mr Goyal said that with a capacity of 2,000 MW, a solar project will come up on 10,000 acres in the parched Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district.

Guwahati , Aug 8 (ANI): Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal said that Don Bosco Institutions have embarked upon a journey to educate, engage and empower the young. It is ceaselessly consecrated to the cause of the poor youth in India. The Minister was speaking at the Don Bosco Bicentenary educational seminar atGuwahati today.

Piyush Goyal said that education must aim at providing future leadership and it should aim at the pursuit of excellence. Education must produce good citizens able to serve the country at all times and in all circumstances, he added.

The Minister further said that education would reduce the disparities in wealth and power by providing young people with skills and competence to make them find a valued place in society. On Good Governance the minister said that it is the shared responsibility of Educators, Political Class, Artists, Business, etc; to bring Good Governance to society. Goyal said,

Educatio’s prime aim is to make every individual Self Reliant. On Extremism, Piyush Goyal said that the root cause is attributed to Poverty, illiteracy and ignorance. It is the bounden duty of educators to eliminate/ eradicate the above through quality education to all specially to the unreached sections of society.

The Minister said “we must preach and practice the Preamble to the Constitution of India which gives equality to all citizens in faith and in truth. (ANI)

PATNA: Even as Nitish Kumar government today claimed improvement in power scenario in Bihar through full page advertisements in newspapers, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal trashed it saying the poll-bound state’s power production is nothing but “zero”. 

“Not a single MW or unit of electricity is generated by Bihar government owned power plants. The entire power supply to Bihar is being met by the Centre,” Goyal said. 

“The Centre has been providing 2800 MW electricity to illuminate the state on day-to-day basis. Of which, 484 MW is not even the allocated share of Bihar,” he said. 
“The ground reality belies all those claims being made by the Nitish Kumar government about improvement in power situation in Bihar,” the Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy told reporters here. 

Throwing a gauntlet to Kumar to speak out about the ground reality of power scenario in Bihar, Goyal asked him for how long the production will remain zero in the state. 

On the state government’s claim that it has identified 2500 acre land for construction of an Ultra Mega Power Project in Banka district, he said identification of land was not enough and it has to be acquired by the state government. 

The Centre has allotted a dedicated coal mine for the said project, but construction work was delayed as the state government has not acquired land, Goyal said. 

Raising questions about transmission infrastructure of the state, the Union minister reminded Kumar about his promise in 2012 to people that if he failed to improve electricity condition he would not come to seek vote in 2015 election. 

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of power scenario in Bihar, Kumar said on last Sunday that all villages would be electrified within a year and it should not be confused with electrifying every household. 

The transmission infrastructure comprising 628 power stations and 98 grid power sub-stations was not enough to provide electricity to all villages of Bihar, Goyal said. 

Despite the state government’s claim about improved power scenario, the per capita electricity consumption in Bihar is only one-fifth of national ratio at 200 units against 1000 units at the national level, he said. 

He also expressed concern at the ‘unacceptably high’ transmission loss rate of 46 per cent. 

Hinting at corruption in the power department, Goyal said a staggering 46,000 transformers had to be changed in the state over the past five years due to their poor quality.