BUSINESS
Tata Power Renewable Energy to set up 150MW solar project in Maharashtra
With this, the total renewables capacity of TPREL will reach 5,786 MW with an installed capacity of 3,877 MW (Solar - 2,949 MW & Wind - 928 MW) and 1,909 MW under various stages of implementation.
BUSINESS
CIL’s capex soars 33% to Rs 7,027 crore in 1HFY23
India faced its worst power crisis in over six years in April 2022 due to higher electricity demand because of a sudden heatwave, despite record production by CIL during the year ended March 2022. Yet, the majority of the thermal power plants had coal stocks at critical levels primarily because of logistical issues in coal transportation.
BUSINESS
KKR to invest $400 million in Serentica to decarbonise Indian industries
Serentica looks to deliver round-the-clock clean energy solutions for large-scale, energy-intensive industrial customers.
ENVIRONMENT
CEA to cap service charges levied by states for EV charging stations: Power ministry
The government plans to roll out public charging station (PCS) on a large scale in two phases - all mega cities with a population of above 4 million as per the census 2011, all existing expressways and important highways connected to these mega cities; and big cities such as state capitals, union territory headquarters and important highways connected with these cities.
ENVIRONMENT
Govt extends bioenergy programme to FY26, to provide Rs 858 crore for Phase-I
The National Bioenergy Programme will include three sub-schemes— Waste to Energy Programme (Rs 600 crore), Biomass Programme (Rs 158 crore) and Biogas Programme (Rs 100 crore)
INDIA
At least 1,600 died during monsoons in India in 2022: WMO
The pre-monsoon period was exceptionally hot in India and Pakistan. The heat caused a decline in crop yields. This combined with the banning of wheat exports and restrictions on rice exports in India are threatening the international food markets and posing risks to countries already affected by shortages of staple foods, the WMO said.
ENVIRONMENT
Coal ministry launches biggest ever coal mine auction of 141 mines
Of the 141 mines that were put up for auction in the sixth round of commercial auctions, 71 were new coal mines. Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi also announced that in the current fiscal, India’s coal dispatch would hit 900 MT for the first time.
BUSINESS
Government identifies 10 states for green hydrogen manufacturing: MNRE officials
The government has identified 10 potential states that could be the key enablers in manufacturing green hydrogen in India to kickstart its National Green Hydrogen Mission, said two officials aware of the development. These include Karnataka, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
POWER
NTPC to award contracts for 4.8GW coal power projects in next three years
The government has asked NTPC Ltd to add capacity in the order of 7,000 plus MW (7 GW). NTPC will be spending about Rs 50,000 crore on these five projects (including Talcher), which comes to an annual CAPEX of about Rs 12,000 crore on coal power projects.
BUSINESS
MC Interview | JSW Energy CEO Prashant Jain says company to add at least 2.6 GW capacity in next 14 months
Thermal coal prices would not fall below $100 for a long period of time, Prashant Jain said, adding that a number of other challenges would be seen in the solar sector, which would push the power tariff higher. Here are edited excerpts from the interview.
ENVIRONMENT
Prices of solar equipment have begun to decline: Tata Power CEO
Similarly, prices of balance of plant including steel, copper and aluminum had gone up in the last three-four months. In fact, their prices now have come down by nearly 25 percent, said Praveer Sinha
ENVIRONMENT
70 million people may not be able to afford electricity; 100 million may give up cooking with clean fuels, warns IEA
In the transition to cleaner energy, ensuring affordability for poor households will be critical to gaining widespread public acceptance and avoiding a social backlash
WORLD
World Energy Outlook 2022: Coal generation, oil imports to peak in India by 2030 despite growth in renewables
Coal generation is projected to expand in absolute terms in the stated policies scenario, peaking around 2030, though its share of electricity generation will fall from below 75 percent to 55 percent over this period.
ENVIRONMENT
Renewable energy faces short-term challenge from global response to energy crisis amid Russia-Ukraine war: International Solar Alliance chief
"I don’t think the freight choke point is going to disappear in the near future. So, I expect the uptick (in solar manufacturing costs) to continue till about 2024-2025.
ENVIRONMENT
Jackson Green joins hands with Rajasthan govt to set up 0.36 million ton green hydrogen plant
The full vision document of the National Hydrogen Mission policy on green hydrogen and green ammonia is likely to be unveiled in the next two months
MCMINIS
COP27: India to push for climate financing
INDIA
For faster coal transportation, ministry take up 68 First Mile Connectivity projects
The ministry has undertaken 51 FMC projects of 522 million tonne per annum (MTPA) capacity at a cost Rs 18,000 crores.
ENVIRONMENT
PFC, REC sign pact to finance 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant in Bihar
The power plant, though not a new announcement, signifies India’s continued reliance on coal for power generation despite the government simultaneously having big ticket renewable energy plans. Another 1,320 MW coal-fired plant will come up in UP's Khurja. Meanwhile, the estimated cost of the Buxar Thermal Power Plant has increased by nearly 17% in over three years
WORLD
Draft 'One Sun One World One Grid' ready, to be approved by steering committee soon: RK Singh
The OSOWOG aims to aid in developing a worldwide grid through which clean energy can be transmitted anywhere, anytime. It also aims to help in reducing storage needs and enhancing the viability of solar projects
ENVIRONMENT
Govt plans to give 'deemed distribution license' to push solar manufacturing: Power minister
Power Minister RK Singh also talked about phasing out low-efficiency solar PV manufacturing, a PLI scheme for grid-scale energy storage systems and a policy to allow setting up of independent storage spaces which can be used by states to bank their excess renewable energy for later use.
POWER
Aggregate losses of discoms climb 66% as several state govts delay releasing subsidy funds
The report also stated that Delhi, Karnataka and Bihar were the top states/union territories which did not release the entire tariff subsidy billed to their respective discoms in 2020-21.
ENDOWMENT
India’s average AT&C losses in electricity sector climbs to 22.32%
The report on “performance of power utilities 2020-21” released by union power minister RK Singh found that both billing efficiency and collection efficiency decreased in the last financial year, resulting in a further increase in the national average AT&C loss.
ENVIRONMENT
Govt scales up tests on blending hydrogen with natural gas for power generation
This is the second MoU signed by NTPC in less than a week for testing such a process and technology, which is aimed at decarbonising power generation in India.
ENVIRONMENT
40 million tonne of coal stock will available with thermal power plants by March: Coal minister
The minister’s announcement is significant because TPPs in India have managed to have a combined reserve coal stock of only about 24-25 million tons, which is enough to generate power for about 10 days.
