“We are well-funded right now, we raised around $1 billion in the last 12 months. We commissioned 100 MW in solar projects from April-September, 2011, and would add 300 MW more through solar in the next nine months,” Moser Baer India Executive Director Ratul Puri said.

These projects would be set up in Gujarat, Orissa, West Bengal and Rajasthan in India, as well as abroad in countries like Germany, Italy, the UK. “It would be half and half, that is, 150 MW projects in India and the same abroad,” Puri said.

The company also has ambitious plans for augmenting its solar power generation capacity to 1 GW, or 1,000 MW, by 2015. The company recently commissioned a 23.8-MW solar farm at Lauta, in Germany. The project has been constructed with long-term debt funding from DKB Bank, Germany, which has also financed its Thuringen and Meissens projects.

Moser Baer Clean Energy also commissioned a 30-MW solar farm, developed at an approximate investment of Rs 465 crore, in Banaskantha district of Gujarat in October this year.

The solar farm, spread over 305 acres of land, is likely to generate about 52 million Kwh of energy, which would provide electricity to nearly 50,000 homes everyday and save about 50,000 tonne in carbon emissions annually.
Agencies

It is not clear if the names of the successful bidders would be announced on Friday. During the Batch-I, it was announced the same day, which helped the Government steer clear of any allegations of ‘inspired leaks’ and earned it accolades for transparency. The process is handled by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), the power trading arm of NTPC, which has been nominated by the Government to handle the Phase-I of the Solar Mission.

Allocation process
As in the ‘Batch-I’ of Phase-I, the project developers will quote a tariff, at which they will sell the power to NVVN for the next 25 years. The quotes will be arranged in the ascending order, so that those who sell the power cheapest will be given the projects first. The allocation process will stop when the total capacity of projects allocated reaches 350 MW.

Last time around, the tariffs quoted were as low as Rs 10.90 a unit, which raised questions on the viability and bankability of the projects. However, the prices of modules – panels that generate electricity when sunlight falls on them – have been falling more steeply than earlier expected.

What was selling at $1.70 a watt is now looking for buyers at 90 cents a watt. Most of the module manufacturers — many of them, Chinese — are bleeding. Against this backdrop, the entire global solar market will be looking at what tariffs the developers quote in the bidding that ends on Friday.
Karnataka bids

Apart from the National Solar Mission, the Karnataka state is also expected to announce the results of a bidding process that concluded last week. The Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd had held back announcement of the names of the successful bidders and the tariffs they quoted, in order not to influence the National Solar Mission bidding.

Karnataka has bid out 80 MW of capacity. That is another Rs 1,000 crore of business. Karnataka is only the second State, after Gujarat, to come out with its own solar policy — another reason why its results will be closely followed.
The Hindu

“This project brings OPIC’s financing for renewable energy in India to more than US $400 million,” said OPIC president and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield. “OPIC is proud to be supporting India’s impressive ambitions to shift to a less carbon-intensive economy.”

Project sponsor Applied Solar Technologies (AST) will use the OPIC loan to supplement cellular towers’ diesel-powered generators with solar hybrid energy systems that use proprietary controllers to integrate and optimize usage through photovoltaic technology, electricity from the electric grid, a battery bank charged by solar panels, and existing generators.

OPIC and other US trade and investment finance agencies played an important role in the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE). This project, as well as support for Husk Power in Bihar, Azure Power in Punjab, the India-wide South Asia Clean Energy Fund, and two recently announced renewable resources investment funds that can invest in India, are examples of the US commitment to to help India reach its clean energy objectives.

Indosolar already has a wafer supply contract with GCL worth Rs 2,700 crore (US $565 million), which was supposed to run till 2014, but with extensive capacity addition planned, Indosolar is planning to close that contract, S. Venkataramani said in an interview.

“We are now in dialogue with GCL…with capacity having gone up to 360 megawatts (MW) by next year, we will drop (the old contract) and renew the contract for a larger volume and longer tenure,” Venkataramani said.

“We are talking in terms of another four years (of wafer supply), that means to cover up to 2016,” he added.

GCL-Poly is China’s largest producer of polysilicon, a raw material used to make solar cells, and is 20 percent owned by China Investment Corp.

“Pricing can not be a firm pricing, it is linked to some indices…we are working on certain formula, based on certain indices,” Venkataramani said

“In terms of value…it will be US $1.5-US $2 billion,” he said.

Venkataramani said imports of wafers are unlikely to be banned by the government, despite a focus on domestic manufacturing, as apart from Lanco Infratech, no other Indian company has plans to set up significant wafer business.

“That (wafer) is likely to be imported for quite some time to come, there is no real plan in India for anybody to make such quantities of wafers which are required in the entire industry,” he said.

Indosolar is also planning to get into manufacturing of solar modules to meet growing demand in the country’s estimated US $70 billion solar power market.

“We are contemplating to also get into modules to enlarge our footprint in the value chain, so that we are able to offer our customers both cells and also modules, because more and more developers in EPC, they are looking for modules,” he said.

“Immediately we want to do that, because today in India, there is a lot of capacity available for modules.”

India is building an initial capacity of 1 GW of solar power by 2013, enough to power close to 1 million homes. It would then add 3-10 GW by 2017, and hopes to grow that to 20 GW by 2022.

India currently has a peak-hour power deficit of about 14 percent. The renewables sector comprises 6 percent of India’s total power mix.

Indosolar’s capacity is now 160 MW of solar PV cells, which it expects to expand to 360 MW by second half of 2012.

PV modules directly convert sunlight into electricity, and make up the largest chunk of the solar market.

The company initially planned to build the new capacity in 2 phases, but will now build it at one go at its Greater Noida plant on the outskirts of Delhi.

The company has lined up a consortium of banks led by Union Bank of India for loans of about 4 billion rupees for the expansion, Venkataramani said.

The additional project costs of about 2 billion rupees will be used from the cash generated during Indosolar’s initial public offering last year, he added.

Indosolar posted a net loss of 661.7 million rupees for April-June, compared with a loss of 574.4 million rupees for the whole of FY11, but Venkataramani expects the company to start generating cash by FY13.

“There is quite some ups and downs in the industry at this point in time, its very difficult to make a very clear projection. But I think in 2 years from now, we should turn profitable,” he added.
Agencies

Speaking at a seminar on sustainable energy for economic growth organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, state power minister Natham R Viswanathan, said that the state’s wind generation capacity was 6,067 Mw. Of this, nearly 300Mw is not used due to evacuation problems.

To strengthen the grid that carries electricity generated from wind, the government is planning to set up sub-stations and transmission lines at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore. “We have private players in generation. Now we are planning to involve them in transmission and distribution too,” he said.

Viswanathan invited companies to invest in Tamil Nadu without fear of power shortage. He said that the state will have surplus power after 2012. He said that in the next five years, 23,000 Mw will be added to the grid. The power demand in the state was growing at 7 per cent, but there was no proportional growth in the generation sector. The installed capacity is 10,237 Mw and generation is 8,000 Mw. The demand is 10,500 Mw. “Our government has formulated short, interim and long term plans to solve the power crisis in the state,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) chairman Hans Raj Verma has asked private players to set up coastal power generation plants in the state. Verma said Tamil Nadu had a long coastline and many ports, so it would be easy to import coal from Indonesia and Australia. He said the proximity of the sea would ensure that the thermal plants did not face shortage of water. “Tamil Nadu does not have a coal mine, but coal can be imported as we have good ports,” said Verma.

He said private firms can play a role in wind power evacuation. Tamil Nadu has a wind power generating capacity of 6,012 Mw and there is still potential for producing more. But the challenge is to carry the generated power to distribution points without wastage. “If the grid infrastructure can be strengthened, we can utilise every unit generated,” said Verma.

State energy secretary Ramesh Kumar Khanna said 4,640 Mw will be added to the grid by the end of 2012. The state is also gearing for a capacity addition of 8,900 Mw. Khanna said the state will soon come up with a renewable energy policy which would include solar power. “We are also trying to reduce transmission loss from 18.5 per cent to 18.1 per cent,” he said.
Times of India

Renjini Liza Varghese

Save energy save the country is one of the most popular and cliché lines. However the newer steps include energy efficiency and turning to green or in our terms know as the renewable energy. This category has solar, wind, small hydro, bio gas etc. Hydro projects, the first form of grid connected electricity generation in the country constitutes close to 25 per cent of the total electricity generated in the country. Solar, wind and bio-mass, though was part of the county’s electricity generation map for last two decades, failed to scale up and tap the existing potential to the fullest. All agree that, the country has more hydro potential which is yet to be explored. But considering the geographical, logistical hassles and the environmental clearances, experts are of the opinion that the country should look at developing small hydro projects.

Solar Power
The untapped renewable energy potential in the country still makes headlines. Though government has come out with ambitious projects like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) last year, the experts are still divided on the implementation of its first phase. The target is to have 20,000 Mw of grid connected solar energy by 2022, a off –grid target of 2,000 Mw, and 2 lakh rural solar lighting system by 2022. The first phase target includes 1,000 Mw solar power by 2013.

The country over the last six months has witnessed some of the grid connected solar plants.  Tata’s Mulshi solar project is one such example which went on grid recently. The state, the developers are looking at establishing larger solar plants.  “It is too early to assess the JNNSM. Successful implementation of the first phase is crucial in achieving the set 2022 targets. Given the solar potential in the country with more than 300 sunny days, it is a very achievable target,” said Jason A Donovan, First Secretary, Energy, US Embassy. He added that phase one will pave the way for the framing the phase two guidelines.      

Wind Power
The state like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat has gone far ahead in comparison to the other states in terms of setting up wind farms. Tamil Nadu is the first state to come out with guidelines for wind developers. The scene is changing rapidly with more states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan etc are looking at developing more wind farms to meet the energy requirement and also to meet the renewable energy purchase obligation (RPO).

Renewable Energy Certificates (REC)
Trading of REC certificates indeed a major step in the power trading segment has enabled the power entities to purchase it to meet their RPO. When the trading of RECs first started in March saw a lot of demand for both solar RECs and non solar RECs.  REC is a market based instrument which provides evidence that a generator has produced a certain quantum of power from a renewable energy resource which has been consumed. This also reflects the environmental attributes of the source of generation and can therefore be traded in the markets.

According to Satyajit Ganguly, VP and head business operations of PXIL, the exchanges pays a crucial role in developing green energy market in India. He also added that the structural issues should be addressed a) distribution utilities are not inclined to enhance their ARRs  b) only sixteen states had come up with their RPO prior to REC mechanism c) Even with REC Mechanism only about 15 states have come up with REC orders. d) States with less RE potential are shying away and even for the states with higher RE potential, issues arising out of the infirm nature of power need to be addressed e)Lack of incentives to develop renewable portfolio for better capacity utilization for eg. development of biomass generation linked to fuel costs. The decline in demand for REC in the last month resulted in a dip of clearing prices. However, this is preventing the participants from exploiting the market in a major way and also allowing them to understand the market clearly.

The set RPO by CERC for power discom is 10 per cent by 2015. There are couple of states which are already meeting the 10 per cent bench marking. And there are states which are still away from even meeting a 2 per cent RPO. The steps by the state and the central regulatory commissions in the form of RPO and trading of RECs through the exchanges, definitely is  going to empower the renewable energy market.

The capacity addition will come from a 25-Mw project at Gujarat’s Mithapur slated for commission in December, 2011 and the rest is equally divided between expanding at Mulshi and installing capacities on rooftops of buildings, he added.The ramp-up on both solar and wind energy is partly necessitated by regulatory environment which asks a power distribution company to source a certain percentage from cleaner sources, Ramakrishnan said.

TPC’s distribution arm operates in Mumbai and New Delhi. Ramakrishnan said though the power generated will go into a central grid, it has entered into necessary agreements, under which the power supplied is added to the distribution company’s share from clean power.
Under regulatory guidelines, TPC will be required to source 10 Mw from solar power by FY12-end, he said.
Agencies

The government has allocated huge amounts of money to enable solar power to become a main source of power generation.

The Indian government, by granting incentives and by taking the lead in the production of cost-effective quality solar products including system components other than the solar PV modules, is planning to make India a solar power hub. The execution of Special Incentive Package (SIP) policy by the Indian government is aimed to encourage the setting up of photovoltaic production plants and the domestic production of silicon material. The government is taking steps to encourage the SME segment to support the manufacture of a range of components required for solar power systems.

The IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency) supports the solar power generation in India by granting soft low-interest loans for solar power expansion, for introduction of advanced technologies and for use as working capital.

Agencies

“There is very strong case for introducing cross subsidy by charging a cess on polluting energy specifically in order to subsidise non-polluting energy,” Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwlia told a conference on Climate Change.
Ahluwalia said, “Unless we make it (non-polluting energy) self sufficient, the promotion of clean energy like wind and solar will all become subject of the actual amount of subsidy that can be provided in the budget.”

The government, he said, “has taken a very important step in this direction last year by introducing a five per cent cess on coal whether imported or domestic to create green energy fund which will be used to support either research or implementation of such projects.”  According to him in the absence of such cess on polluting energy like petrol and diesel, the clean energy initiatives in the country would have to be dependent on government subsidy. In that case it had to compete with plethora of subsidies in other areas.

“We have a lot of humane social subsidy requirements for health, livelihood and education. If we add on an additional subsidy requirement for climate change…We will not get the full amount,” he pointed out.  Ahluwalia also stressed on the need for aligning country’s energy prices with the global rates and said, “Because the climate change is ultimately caused by the use of fossil fuels, one critical issue is that we must have correct energy prices.”

“The underpricing of energy based on fossil fuels in whatever form is only an encouragement to use more energy. It would be impossible in my view to achieve the objective of (programmes on) climate change, if they are not embedded in overall policy framework where energy prices are not subsidised.” Ahluwalia also stressed on the need for raising user charges on water for activities like its recycling and treatment.
Agencies

The power unit will be a subsidiary of the group’s listed entity, Konark Synthetics, which is into yarn and garments.  Konark has received an allocation of 5 Mw in Gujarat.  Land has been identified in Kutch and the company has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Government, which has assured Rs 15 a unit for the first 12 years and Rs 5 a unit for the next 13 years, said Shonit Dalmia, Director, Konark Group.

Dalmia said the State has also promised to back the PPA with a letter of credit. The project is expected to be completed this year-end with the use of imported thin film technology.

Konark has also tied up with the Rajasthan Government for 50 Mw of solar power generation. About 410 acres near Jodhpur has been allocated by the State at 10-20 per cent of the ready reckoner value as an incentive to attract the investment. Land will cost no more than Rs 2 crore, said Dalmia. The State has also accorded an evacuation certificate to Konark for 50 Mw, as a comprehensive legislation for renewable energy is awaited.

“We are committed to becoming a renewable energy IPP and are deploying international technology partners for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). We are also in advanced stages of finalising wind power projects with installations in the southern and western parts of India,” he said.

Wind farms in Tamil Nadu

Efforts are on to set up wind farms in Tamil Nadu. A consultant has been appointed and his proposal is awaited. “The target is 45-50 Mw and we are confident of commissioning 10 Mw of wind power along the Tamil Nadu coastline in the 12-15 months,” he said.

The Konark Group is looking at a 25:75 equity debt ratio for the Rs 1,000 crore renewable energy initiatives. For the Rs 250-crore equity part, the promoters intend to invest Rs 150 crore from cash accruals of the group and would try to source the balance from private equity funds.

Over the past few months, the group has been evaluating the potential in the power sector and is now bullish on the future prospects of the renewable energy generation. In the first stage, the group plans to set up infrastructure to generate power through solar and wind energy projects. The group has already submitted proposals to Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra to begin operations in the sector.

 Dalmia said, “The power industry represents an important opportunity for the group and we are committed to becoming a renewable energy IPP. We are executing solar energy projects in Gujarat & Rajasthan by deploying international technology partners for EPC. We are also in advanced stages of finalising wind power projects with installations likely in the southern and western parts of India.”

Konark expects the power division to substantially add to its turnover over the next few years. The group is also exploring opportunities to generate power through other clean-tech models.

Business Line