When asked whether the two entities are looking for other opportunities, Tata Power Executive Director (Finance) S Ramakrishnan said, “Yes, the joint venture is scouting for other opportunities both in India and Nepal… The Tamakoshi hydro power project in Nepal is at an early stage of development and is awaiting government approvals.”

According to him, the commissioning date would be decided after receiving necessary government approvals. Earlier this year, they had bagged the 240 MW Dugar hydroelectric project in Chenab Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Tata Power has an installed capacity of 3,648 MW, out of which 500 MW is from hydro projects.

It is also in a joint venture with the Bhutan government. The company is implementing a 114 MW from Dagachhu hydro project with Druk Green Power Company there. Ramakrishnan said the company has “aggressive plans of generating 25,000 MW by 2017 and intends to have a 20-25 per cent contribution in energy generated at all times from clean power sources, including a mix of hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and waste gas generation”.

However, he did not divulge specific investment figures for renewables. Of Tata Power’s total installed capacity, wind and solar account for 348 MW and 3 MW, respectively, at present.

Ramakrishnan said the company expects to add 30 MW of solar power every year. Tata Power is implementing a 25 MW solar project in Mithapur, Gujarat, which is expected to commence commercial operations this month.

The power utility has partnered with Australia-based Sunengy to build India’s first floating solar plant. “The floating solar plant is a technology development and will be a 13 KW pilot installation. The bench scale testing is in progress to achieve the desired results. It is proposed to have the plant installed by March 2012,” he said.

In the wind segment, Tata Power expects to add 100-150 MW over the next three years, he noted. Ramakrishnan further said Tata Power is also looking for collaboration in clean coal technologies.
Agencies

This has significant implications for India – a country with a growing hunger for energy and faced with  significant shortages in fossil fuels; blessed, however, with plenty of sunshine. While still higher than conventional power cost, which is at Rs 3.50-Rs 4.0/kwh, this development is significant because it shows that prices have declined at a much faster pace than was initially anticipated.

Against the regulated tariff of Rs 15.39/kwh, the median price discovered for 350 MW of projects is Rs 8.5/kwh and the lowest is Rs 7.49/kwh. Last year under a similar auction, the median price discovered was Rs 12/kwh and a lowest price Rs 10.9/kwh.

The steep fall in prices is a result of global demand-supply dynamics in solar panels, which have seen a slump in demand in Europe and new low-cost supplies coming from China. This combined with overseas export credit dollar financing at much lower rates as compared to rupee loans has led to this new price discovery in India.

In May 2011, KPMG released a report on solar sector, The Rising Sun, which projected solar power to achieve grid parity in the next five-six years. Given such aggressive bidding by market players and such sharp fall in prices, it is likely that this expectation will not only be met but will be exceeded.

Most of the players who have emerged successful in this bid have some experience in developing solar projects, thereby giving comfort that the bids are serious.

The lowest bid went to a French company, Solairedirect. Some of the prominent names among Indian companies that emerged successful with large project allocations are Mahindra, Welspun and Azure Power. What this auction process has shown is that solar power can play a much larger share in India’s energy mix in the next decade compared to what was previously thought possible.
Rediff.com

He hoped that proposed Center of Excellence to be set up at the UAF. He said that his country offered various scholarships in fine arts, international relations, social sciences to enhance the capacity of Pakistan’s professionals. He urged Pakistan to make major reforms in a bid to attract foreign investment in the country so the investors may feel friendly environment in the country.
Agencies

Bharat Bhargava, director at MNRE and in-charge of solar power projects, told Solarcon India 2011 here Wednesday that bidding process would be completed by the month end for 350 MW under second batch of projects of first phase of National Solar Mission. The mission is aimed at installing 20 GW of solar power by 2022.

Under the first phase, 1,100 MW power would be produced. Bhargava later told reporters that 218 applications were received for the batch two projects. India had only two MW capacity when the mission was launched in January 2010 and by the end of October 2011, the capacity of 125 MW was on the ground.

“There are 35 projects already functional. This activity started recently. Wait till 2013 for it to really take off,” he said. Besides National Solar Mission, there are policies by various states like Gujarat, Maharashta, Karnataka and Rajasthan. MahaGenco is setting up 125 MW capacity plant in Maharashtra. Tata Power and Reliance are building 40 MW plants each to meet their own requirements.

He said the cost of installation per MW of solar power had come down from Rs.20 crore to Rs.10 crore. He suggested that Andhra Pradesh come up with its own policy as it has a robust manufacturing industry in Hyderabad. On the land allotment for solar power projects, he said Rajasthan had allotted 8,000 acres of land in deserts while Gujarat has allotted 5,000 acres. “The projects are coming up in states where solar radiation is high like Rajasthan and Gujarat, parts of Andhra Pradesh and other pockets of other states,” he said.

Bhargava, however, said land would not be an issue once the cost reduces and rooftop plants are taken up on large scale. He told the conference that the policies of MNRE had created a momentum and fine tuning was being done to provide more concessions to the sector. Solarcon, the third edition of India’s largest event on solar energy, comprises an exhibition, a conference and parallel technical events. The three-day event is certified by the US Department of Commerce, and features an exclusive US Pavilion with 14 leading US companies participating.
Agencies

With an estimated wind potential of 8,591 Mw, Karnataka produces 1,576.2 Mw according to the World Institute for Sustainable Energy. While this places the state behind others like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat where wind energy has taken off on a bigger scale, there are many small producers.

Windmill management is no easy job, however, as industry experts point out, it is a huge investment of financial resources and planning. “Windmill maintenance is a very demanding sector, it is not very easy to get up there and fix problems whenever they occur as there are no lifts,” said Bhagwant Divate. “Windmills need to function for 20 years which is their average life span. During this time they see strain on all their parts due to varied velocities, vibrations and idle time, and lubrication and sealants play an important part,” he added.

The height of the windmill increases each MW of extra power it generates. Some windmills can reach up to 80 m in height with blades that spin up to 22 times per minute. Blade manufacture is a science that ensures proper functioning of the windmill. “A minor crack in the blade before installation can run up a bill of crores in repairs if installed improperly. It is very important to use a proper release agent when manufacturing,” said Gerard Lourduraj, Chem Trend. The release agent helps in freeing the blade from the mould in which it is cast without causing cracks in the blade.

“Proper management of financial resources is essential for small players, they are strained by land expenses, lack of regulatory framework in the state for power sales to other states and inadequate government incentives, investment in proper machinery is very important,” added Divate.
Express News Service.

Obama referenced the international trade case filed by the U.S. division of SolarWorld, which has America’s largest manufacturing operation in Oregon, during an interview with Portland-based KGW NewsChannel 8.

In the clip, news anchor Tracy Barry asks, “SolarWorld is one of our companies in Oregon, and they are accusing China of dumping solar panels in the United States. Would you be willing to look at any kind of actions, tariffs, whatever, to protect those green jobs in the U.S.?”

Obama answered: “We have seen a lot of questionable competitive practices coming out of China when it comes to the clean energy space, and I have been more aggressive than previous administrations in enforcing our trade laws. We have filed actions against them when we see these kinds of dumping activities, and we’re going to look very carefully at this stuff and potentially bring actions if we find that the basic rules of the road have been violated.”

Gordon Brinser, president of Oregon-based SolarWorld Industries America Inc., said Obama’s remarks validated concerns that China has been violating U.S. and world trade laws at the expense of U.S. domestic clean-technology employers and jobs.

SolarWorld filed the trade complaint on behalf of six unnamed American companies. The seven companies now make up the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing.
Renewableenergyworld.com

“We are happy to once again partner with Suzlon for this new project and count on Suzlon’s collaborative approach and time-tested service capabilities to continue our endeavor towards a greener tomorrow,” said Noel Selvanayagam, President, Senok Group.

Suzlon had earlier supplied a 10 Mw wind energy project to the Senok Group and the latest 21 Mw project will come up alongside the existing project site in Puttalm district of Sri Lanka..

Senok Group, is a diversified business conglomerate of Sri Lanka with interests across construction machinery, automotives, infrastructure development, tea, haulage and mining. The Group has an established presence in the clean energy space with its wind portfolio and investments in mini hydro projects.
Agencies

“It is envisaged that a power generation capacity of around 3400 Mw (grid-interactive) and 130 Mw (off-grid / captive) from various renewable energy sources, mainly wind, solar, biomass and small hydro, will be added in the country during the current financial year 2011-12″, Abdullah said in the Parliament.While half of the capital investment would be towards wind energy, investments in solar power are expected to be about Rs 9,000 crore. Other renewable sources like small hydro power and bio-power would have investments of about Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 2,500 respectively.

Additional investment of about Rs. 1,000 crore is envisaged in deployment of decentralised renewable energy systems/ devices like biogas plants, solar water heating systems and SPV lighting systems in remote villages/ hamlets. The Minister also said that the government is taking measures to facilitate participation of private sector in setting up renewable projects.

These include Generation Based Incentives Scheme for wind power and solar power to attract private investment by Independent Power Producers and incentives like capital subsidy and concession on excise duty. The government has also created a contingency fund for solar power projects if state utilities fail to make payments.
Agencies

“The electricity generated from the project will be supplied to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir,” a finance ministry statement said. The tri-party agreement in this regard was signed between the World Bank, Uttarakhand Government and central government.

Uttarakhand government will get a royalty of 12 per cent or about Rs 90 crore ($20 million) per annum.The assistance will be used to build a 65 metre diversion dam in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand to create a reservoir in the Alaknanda river along with a 13.4 km headrace tunnel. The loan will also be utilised to build a 3 km tailrace tunnel that will take all the diverted water back to the river.

“The project is expected to have minimal negative impacts on local communities and environment,” the release said. On the occasion, World Bank Country Director Robert Zagha said that the project was cleared for construction only after the Ministry of Environment and Forests studied the cumulative impacts of hydropower development on the Alaknanda basin.

Economic Affairs Joint Secretary Venu Rajamony said social safeguard measures like planning for afforestation, provision for free electricity for 10 years to affected households, allocation of 1 per cent of project revenues for local area development, have been inculcated in this project.
Agencies

The project will supply power to Reliance Infrastructure-Mumbai at the tariff of Rs 5.37 a unit determined by the state electricity regulatory commission, MERC. The developer will also earn additional revenue of Rs 300 crore from the project over next 10 years in carbon credits. The project will have the flexibility for capacity expansion of up to 200 mw.
Agencies