State-run  plans to invest around Rs 200 crore to make nearly 1,500 buildings of the government energy efficient, a company official said.

“After successfully implementing our UJALA scheme to distribute LED bulbs at affordable rates across the country and the program to replace street lights with LEDs, we want to take the initiative to a next level by making buildings energy efficient,” EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar told PTI here.

EESL, a joint venture of NTPC, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and PowerGrid, was set up under Ministry of Power to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects.

“We have embarked on a project to make buildings energy efficient. We have already taken up a few projects in Delhi where we are implementing the energy efficiency program in a few government establishments. We are now tying up with the Maharashtra government, where we will make these 1,500 buildings of the PWD department energy efficient,” he said.

EESL will invest nearly Rs 200 crore for the project for upgrading the lighting system, use more efficient and power saving air-conditioners and fans, among others, he said.

“There are around 25,000 ACs in these 1,500 buildings and we plan to replace them with systems which save nearly 40 per cent more energy than the BEE 5-star rated machines. We plan to complete the project in a year.

“We will maintain all these equipment for the entire project period of 3-5 years. We hope we will be able to recover investments during these 3-5 years,” Kumar said.

He said the project will be undertaken under its National Building Program, which will be launched on May 20 this year in the state.

Apart from this, EESL is also implementing a similar project at 900 railway stations across the country, he said.

“We have also embarked on a program where it will retrofit all the lightings in Indian High Commissions based in London. We are implementing this project on a pilot basis and we will be investing nearly 70,000 pounds for this,” Kumar said.

Recently, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal announced that EESL will invest 100 million pound in the UK over the next three years to extend its affordable lighting scheme there.

EESL has so far distributed over 23 crore LED bulbs and 22 lakh street lights have been replaced, which is nearly 20 per cent of the total street lights across the country.

Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/eesl-to-invest-rs-200cr-to-make-pwd-buildings-energy-efficient-2278637.html

Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal who is currently in London launched the Ujala Scheme related to the energy efficient LED bulbs on Saturday evening.

Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal who is currently in London launched the Ujala Scheme related to the energy efficient LED bulbs on Saturday evening, reported news agency ANI. At the event, Goyal asked everyone to be a part of this revolution in energy efficiency. “All should become ambassadors of this revolution on energy efficiency become evangelists who will take this message far & wide,” he was quoted as saying by the agency. He added that this scheme will make London shine and appear as India does on the world map from NASA satellite pictures. “It can actually make London also shine as bright as we see India shining when we see World Map from NASA satellite pictures,” Goyal said.

Earlier in the day, he had said that the government has a “holistic vision” to make it easier to do business in India and was working to ensure that every household in the country has access to energy in two years, reported news agency PTI. Goyal who is London for the India-UK Roundtable on Energy added that he has taken a personal pledge to work towards energy access for every household in India by 2019. “We are working on solutions to hit our targets before 2022, as the Indian government creates the foundations with a 100-year horizon in view,” Goyal said at the UK-India Conclave yesterday.

He had also launched the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation’s rupee-denominated ‘Masala Bond’ on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which has raised around Rs 2,000 crore. “We listed the NTPC Masala Bond at the London Stock Exchange, which is a sign of the scale in India. In the long run, the rupee will be a currency with most stable exchange rate. We are on the path of growth and we want the rest of the world to be our partner in that growth,” he had said on the sidelines of the UK-India Awards on Friday evening.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/piyush-goyal-launches-ujala-scheme-for-energy-efficient-led-bulbs-in-london/667163/

Power Scenario – India

India’s energy consumption is set to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% till 2035 – faster than all major economies of the world. As Asia’s second-biggest and the world’s third-largest energy consumer, its share in global energy demand is expected to rise to 9% by 2035. The country boasts of having the world’s fifth-largest capacity for power generation, with no signs of production slowing down. It also has one of the most diversified power sectors in the world, with both conventional and non-conventional sources being used to meet its energy needs. The total installed power capacity in India, as of March 2017 stands at 326.85 GW.

Electricity consumption in India is expected to rise in the years to come. The expected surge in consumption is most likely to be propelled by a growing economy, demographic expansion, urbanization accelerating the switch to modern fuels and the rise in appliance ownership (an additional 315 million people are expected to live in the country’s cities by 2040). Energy consumption per capita in India is still only one-third of the global average with some 240 million people having no access to electricity. There are hence strong reasons to expect continued growth in rapid demand. India’s need for new infrastructure is driven by a growing demand for energy-intensive goods, rising level of vehicle ownership, increasing industrial energy use buoyed by substantial growth in output of steel, cement, bricks and other building materials, and by the expansion of domestic manufacturing. The Make in India initiative, which aims to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub, will be a leading contributor to this demand because industry-led growth requires at least 10-times more energy per unit of value-added as compared to growth led by the services sector.

The Mushrooming Renewable Energy Sector
India’s current model of energy use relies primarily on non-renewable sources of energy, which have limited reserves. Also the country is, to a large extent, dependent on imports to meet these energy requirements, which has been sticky at nearly 35% of its annual primary commercial energy demand over the last several decades.

Meeting the ever increasing energy demands in the future with such a model will not only be a financial burden but also questionable considering the rapidly dwindling global supply of fossil fuels. When environmental concerns such as carbon emissions and the ecological footprint are also taken into consideration, the viability of this model plunges even further. In such a scenario, India’s renewable energy potential appears promising.4 India’s renewable energy contribution stands at 57.26 Gigawatt (GW), which includes 32.3 GW of wind power. The UN Environment Program’s (UNEP) ‘Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016’ Report ranks India among the top ten countries in the world investing in renewable energy. The Government has set a target to achieve the proposed renewable energy capacity addition of 175 GW by 2022 – 100 GW being from Solar Power alone. This happens to be the largest every capacity addition planned. The country’s aspiration to achieve 40% power installed capacity from non-fossil based energy resources by 2030 has made its nascent solar power industry the destination for global investors, creating growth opportunities for a host of industries.

Harnessing India’s Solar Energy Potential
Solar power has always been an integral component of the Renewable Energy sector. The massive upscaling of the solar power generation capacity target 100 GW by 2022 is likely to act as a catalyst in the manufacturing of equipment, panels, and supply of services and technology used in the industry.

The last two years have witnessed considerable efforts being made to harness India’s solar energy potential.

There has been a 243% increase in solar power capacity addition (6381 MW) during the last two years.
The world’s second largest 648-MW solar power plant, comprising 2.5 million individual solar modules was unveiled in Tamil Nadu in September 2016. This is in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s International Solar Alliance initiative, which was signed by over 121 countries with an aim to improve quality and reduce the cost of solar energy in developing countries.
3,019 MW was the solar capacity addition in 2015-16 – highest ever that India has seen.
At least 50 solar parks with an aggregate capacity of 40,000 MW were sanctioned for 21 states.
A total of USD 154.87 was released to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) dedicated to the solar energy sector. The fund is to provide support to central public sector units to set up over 1,000 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic power projects, establish 25 solar parks each with a capacity of 500 MW and to set up over 300 MW of solar power projects by defence establishments.
31,472 solar pumps were installed in FY 2015-16, much higher than the total number of pumps installed during the last 24 years since 1991.
In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also gave his nod for the utilisation of 400 hectares of uncultivable farm land in Jetsar, Rajasthan, to set up a solar power plant of a capacity exceeding 200 MW.
The Government approved USD 769 Million for the implementation of grid-connected rooftops systems, over a period of five years up to 2019-20 under the National Solar Mission.
A target of 40 GW grid connected solar rooftops to be achieved by 2022 was set. So far, about 500 MW have been installed and about 3,000 MW has been sanctioned, which is under installation. This move is likely to contribute to the long-term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by a reduction in carbon emissions.
With solar tariffs falling to an unprecedented low of INR 2.97/unit, the generation capacity is expected to grow at a faster pace to meet the growing demand for energy.

Increasing demand for energy in the country has prompted the Government to ramp up solar capacity to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and move towards clean energy. India has an estimated renewable energy potential of about 900 GW from commercially exploitable sources, 750 GW being from solar power. According to a study conducted by International Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER), access to solar power will also help water crop fields as well as build cold storages.

To provide a fillip to the sector, various incentives have been announced by the government. Renewable energy projects have been included in priority sector lending norms of commercial banks. Clean environment cess has been doubled to promote use of renewable energy sources. The renewable energy sector has been re-classified as ‘white category’ which implies that setting up of solar and wind power plants will be exempt from seeking environmental clearances from Ministry and consent from State Pollution Control Boards.
With the sector growing at a rapid pace, there is a substantial need to meet the demands of skilled manpower. In May 2015, the government set a target to train 50,000 people to be called ‘Surya Mitras’ in the solar energy sector by 2019-20.

The solar energy sector will drive India’s vision to achieve a green future by ensuring energy security and lower fossil-fuel imports which will also help reduce the fiscal deficit. With India forecasted to become the third-largest solar market this year, it looks like the sun will never set on the country’s solar industry.

Source: http://www.makeinindia.com/article/-/v/pioneering-sustainability-solar-energy

A record of sorts was created on Tuesday when solar power tariffs fell to Rs 2.63 a unit at the state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auction of Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan.

Auctions were carried out for 250 mw of solar power in Bhadla Phase-IV Solar Park, where the base price for the auction was set at Rs3.01 a unit by SECI.

The bidding saw companies quoting historic tariffs, with Phelan Energy (50MW) and Avaada Power (100 MW) bagging projects @Rs. 2.62/unit and Softbank Cleantech winning 100 MW capacity @Rs. 2.63/unit. As many as 27 bidders submitted bids for this 250MW capacity.

“Another milestone towards PM @narendramodi’s vision of clean affordable power for all: Bhadla Solar Park achieves tariff of Rs. 2.62/unit”, tweeted Piyush Goyal, Union minister of state for power, RE, coal and mines.

SBG Cleantech is a joint venture between Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., India’s Bharti Enterprises Ltd and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group. The venture was set up in June 2015 after SoftBank Corp.’s Masayoshi Son pledged to invest at least $20 billion in solar energy projects in India.

Avaada Power is promoted by Vineet Mittal and is his second innings in India’s clean energy space after Tata Power Co. Ltd bought the entire 1.1 gigawatt (GW) renewable energy portfolio of Welspun Energy Ltd for $1.4 billion last year.

State-run Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI), which is also running the bid process for another 500MW of solar power capacity at Bhadla, had set the reserve price at Rs3.01 a unit before the reverse auction began on Tuesday afternoon.

The auction for this 500MW capacity being developed by Saurya Urja Co. of Rajasthan Ltd on 11 May is now eagerly awaited, with experts being of the opinion that the tariffs may fall further. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp. Ltd is a joint venture partner in both parks.

This price discovery assumes significance as this is even lower than the average rate of power generated by India’s largest power generation utility, NTPC Ltd, at Rs3.20 per unit.

SECI is running the bid process for 750MW of solar power capacity at two parks. For the balance 500 MW capacity, the reverse e-auction will be run on 11 May

At Bhadla, Saurya Urja Co. of Rajasthan Ltd is also developing a 500 MW park, with SECI running the auction process for both parks. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp. Ltd is a joint venture partner in both.

The bidders include some first-time participants in India, such as Saudi Arabia’s Alfanar.

The solar space has already seen a significant decline in tariffs from Rs10.95-12.76 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2010-11. The previous low was Rs3.15 per kWh, bid by France’s Solairedirect SA in an auction last month to set up 250MW of capacity at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. This low was preceded by Rs3.30 per unit quoted for a 750MW project at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.

India is all set to become the third-biggest solar market globally in 2017, overtaking Japan, according to the India Solar Handbook 2017 released by Bridge to India (BTI) consultancy on Monday.

Source: https://energyinfrapost.com/rajasthan-solar-auction-bhadla-phase-iv-witnesses-time-low-power-tariff-rs-2-62unit/

India will become the third biggest solar market globally in 2017, says India Solar Handbook 2017 by Bridge to India, a consulting and knowledge service provider in the clean technology market.

With 8.8 gw (giga watt) of projected capacity addition — a growth of 76 per cent over 2016 — India is set to become the third-largest photovoltaic market (PV) market in 2017, which will overtake Japan, the company said in a statement.

As of March 2017, India has already installed 12.2 gw of utility scale solar power, it said.
According to the report, about 79 gw of solar capacity is expected to be added globally in 2017, with Asian countries continuing to dominate and Europe falling by the wayside.

It said India’s solar capacity is expected to touch the 18.7 gw mark by the end of 2017, about 5 per cent of the global pie, growing 89 per cent over the last year.

Total new solar capacity addition in the next 5 years is expected at 56 gw, it said.

Locally, it said Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have emerged as the fastest growing states in India in terms of solar installation and in 2017, nearly 60 per cent of total new capacity addition is expected to come from southern states.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/india-seen-to-become-third-biggest-solar-market-in-2017/articleshow/58578390.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Source: http://epaper.mailtoday.in/1194090/mt/Mail-Today-Issue-May-4,-2017#page/27/2

The government has asked states to stop accepting electricity bill payments in cash and move to digital mode, a move that can be a giant leap towards a cashless economy as power worth lakhs of crore is consumed every year.

The Union power ministry has told state distribution companies to introduce and strengthen online and digital payment mechanism, to begin with in urban areas and gradually to all electricity consumers, power secretary PK Pujari told ET.

Data available with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) showed that 1,134,631 million units of electricity was supplied across states during April 2016 and March this year. Shifting to an efficient digital payment mechanism could generate Rs 340,389 crore, going by a conservative estimate of Rs 3 per unit tariff.

“The main money collection in the power sector is through distribution companies. We have asked the states to take measures so that consumers pay through e-payments as far as possible, which could be through net banking, debit cards or credit cards,” Pujari said.
The power ministry will deliberate on ways to promote cashless electricity bills payment in a meeting this week. Power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to meet power ministers of all states in Delhi in a two-day conference on Wednesday.

The move towards e-payment of electricity bills is in sync with recommendations of the committee of chief ministers on digital payments headed by N Chandrababu Naidu to switch all government sections like insurance, educational institutes, fertilisers, electricity and petroleum to digital payments.

Pujari said the move was in the interest of a cashless economy as well as for efficient electricity bill collection. The power ministry’s Urja portal showed that in urban areas mapped by the Integrated Power Development Scheme for IT enablement, 12.4 per cent of electricity consumers made digital payments for electricity bills. This was a quantum jump from 8.6 per cent digital payments made in October 2016.

“For promotion of digital payments, power distribution companies in the states need to map consumers, their consumption and other details, which indirectly helps in efficient collection and is one of the objectives of the reform,” Pujari said.

Another government official said there will be bandwidth and internet connectivity issues in rural areas for digital payment, but the no-cash acceptance programme can be implemented in all urban areas to start with. “Covering all electricity consumers will take longer, say 2-3 years.

In our interactions, most states have shown willingness to shift to cashless electricity bill collections,” he said.

Source:  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-asks-states-to-accept-power-tariff-in-digital-transaction/articleshow/58484639.cms

When Piyush Goyal took over as the Union Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy in May 2014, he inherited perhaps the worst of the UPA regime’s handiwork.

In October 2014, at least 56 thermal power stations were reporting critical coal stock levels of or less than seven days. India’s power distribution companies, for a decade and a half, were caught in a debt trap and forced into borrowing for funding of everyday operational expenses. Meanwhile, India was reeling from an energy deficit that was peaking at 9 per cent. Power cuts and load-shedding were eating into corporate productivity and average energy production in the country was falling short by a whopping 87 billion kWh.

Now, thermal power stations have enough coal stocks to last them for 27 days. In FY13, the number of critical power plants — those operating with coal stocks of less than seven days — was 21, whereas those deemed ‘super critical’ — the ones with operating stocks of fewer than five days — was 14. Under Goyal, the number of critical and super critical power plants has come down to zero.

In FY17, India, for the first time in history, became a power-surplus country, leaving behind a historical legacy of increasing power deficit. In the April-February period of the current fiscal, it exported around 5,798 MU to Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. As per the Central Electricity Authority, India is likely to end FY17 with 1.1 per cent excess electricity supplies.

In the context of discoms, the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) already has 27 member states that are ushering in operational and financial efficiency within their discoms. Aggregate technical and Commercial Losses (AT&C) have come down from 24 per cent in FY16 to 22 per cent by April 2017. The gap between the average cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realised per unit sale came down to Rs 0.4 per unit by December 2016 from Rs 0.56 per unit in March the same year.

The power, coal and renewable energy sectors have come a long way and the credit for the turnaround goes to Goyal’s no-nonsense approach. Even though there is still a long way to go for India in securing last-mile connectivity and complete electrification, under Goyal, it seems as if a job well begun is a job half done.

Goyal has been at the helm of giving shape to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of generating 175 GW from renewable resources by 2022. Under him, there have been incremental capacity additions of renewable energy over conventional power sources, what with FY17 being another first in Indian ‘power’ history where the total capacity addition for renewable sources exceeded those of conventional power sources. In FY17, the latter saw additions of just 10,328 MW, whereas the former saw an addition of 73,306 MW.

As per the draft National Electricity Plan released by the Central Electricity Authority in December 2016, renewable energy is estimated to contribute 33 per cent to overall generation capacity and will provide for at least 20 per cent of the electricity demand by 2022.

Meanwhile, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana, which focuses on electrifying rural households, has crossed over 70 per cent of its set target of electrifying 18,452 villages in India.

Additionally, Goyal has said that his ministry is looking at setting up Rs 3 per unit as the benchmark rate for power sales, irrespective of its source.

This is an extremely low rate given that in a lot of states, power is being sourced in the range of Rs 4.2 to Rs 4.50 per unit.

However, it is not all smooth-sailing for him. By the looks of it, the fiscal deficit of states under the UDAY scheme is set to balloon in FY18 as debts and interest costs that were kept out of the state’s accounts in FY16 and FY17 will be included in the next fiscal.

… & ANALYSIS
With power, coal, mines and renewable energy, Goyal is in charge of the entire supply chain.
Also, it indicates that a couple of these ministries should ideally merge and become one entity.
Renewable energy is estimated to provide for at least 20% of the electricity demand by 2022.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-india-s-electric-turnaround-powerless-to-power-surplus-2424556