MonitorsPublished on Jul 26, 2016
Energy News Monitor | Volume XIII; Issue 6

Monthly power news summary: Who destroyed power shortages?

India

Claims by concerned Ministers from the Government that their efforts had reduced power shortages even at the time of peak demand in June continued to grab headlines. According to the various statements by concerned Ministers that were reported in the press, electricity is now available at power exchanges without network congestion at ₹2/kWh. Even during the afternoon peak in June 4144 MW capacity was available at ₹2.13/kWh at the power exchanges. Power generation growth has risen to 9.5% in 2015-16 against 5.64% during the ten year period from 2004-2014. There is more.  Power shortages were reduced by 87% in just two years from 110 million units to 14 million units. 152 villages in 9 States were electrified in the last week of June. Does all this mean that India is now being run by Superman? Not really.

Since the passing of the Electricity Act 2003 and other progressive policies such as the National Electricity Policy 2005, the Tariff Policy 2006, Rural Electrification Policy 2006 and the National Electricity Plan 2012, the role of the private sector in power generation has been increasing. In 1990-91, installed power generation capacity by the private sector was 2.5 GW or 3% of the total. It increased to over 78 GW or 33% of total installed capacity in 2014, representing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 16%. The share of the private sector in generation capacity overtook the share of central sector generation capacity in 2013 and it overtook state sector generation capacity in 2015. Capacity addition by the private sector grew at a GAGR of a phenomenal 37.25% (albeit from a smaller base) between 2003 and 2015 against 13.5% for the central sector and 5.5% for the state sector. As of March 2015, power generating capacity in the hands of the private sector accounted for over 38% of generation capacity compared to roughly 34% for the state sector and 27% for the central sector. However in terms of generation, the central sector dominated with a share of about 38% followed by the state sector with 35% and private sector with 27% as of March 2015. The private sector led with CAGR in generation of 29% followed by 11% for the central sector and 3% for the state sector. If we look at specific generation or the gigawatt hours of electricity generated per megawatt of capacity, a measure of economic efficiency (in terms of capacity utilisation), there is an overall reduction from 7.59 in 2001 to 6.01 in 2015. The reduction is most dramatic for the private sector for which the ratio fell from 4.43 to 2.71 between 2001 and 2015 compared to a fall from 6.37 to 5.45 for the central sector.

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Between 2001 and 2015, growth in consumption and capacity addition were balanced. Power generation capacity grew by about 7% between 2001 and 2015 and consumption grew by about 6%. However, between 2011 and 2015, a mismatch between growth in capacity addition and growth in consumption is revealed. In this period, capacity addition grew by about 12% (led by the private sector which recorded a CAGR of about 31%) while consumption grew by about 7.5%. [Refer to ORF Energy News Monitor Volume XII, Issue 9 (Privatising Power Sector NPAs)].

Like governments always do, the current government is laying claims over developments that materialised before it came to power. But, as a government that continues to operate on electioneering mode, it also claimed that the Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) was supposedly forcing people to live in darkness as it was unwilling to purchase power that the centre had offered at ₹ 2.25/kWh. This statement is factually correct and can easily be used to mobilise anger in cacophonic media debates to garner votes. But those who know the power sector in some depth will know that the travails of the distribution companies in UP and most other States in India cannot be blamed on the current Governments in those States. They do not buy power primarily because their people do not consume much power and are used to living without power. All Indian rulers must take responsibility for keeping people powerless (in every sense of the word!).

There was also news that all States and Union Territories (barring UP) had signed 24×7 ‘Power for All’ (PFA) documents that aimed to provide round-the-clock affordable electricity and adequate power for  irrigation by 2019. The plan calls for a reduction of Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses by increasing the collection efficiency and effective metering so as to achieve financially viable 24×7 power supply. It also emphasises the development of transmission and sub transmission network and replacement of incandescent lamps/CFL bulbs with LED bulbs under Ujala programme.

There was more news on government schemes to electrify 59.8 million un-electrified households by December 2018. While this is positive, the fact that electrification by defining does not include the supply of electricity must be noted. While electrification is handled by the Central Government sponsored rural electrification programmes (with various names under various Governments) the supply of electricity is under the State Government. The utilities that the State governments fully controlled just ten years ago are now increasingly being asked to oblige to market power. All Central government Programmes nudge utilities towards market governance. The market definitely does not want to supply electricity to poor rural households which consume just 100 kWh in a month. The fact that there is a pole and a wire does not incentivise the market to supply power.

NTPC was reported to be trading surplus power from its four thermal power stations including Vidhyanchal and Unchahar and Dadri Power at the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) for the first time. An amendment to the Tariff Policy made it possible for central generating stations such as NTPC (that are scheduled on a day-ahead basis) that were so far unable to trade un-requisitioned and unsold power to trade power at exchanges. There was also an announcement that under the Ujwal Dicsom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme, metres of households that consume more than 500 units of power a month would be replaced with smart metres. It was also reported that the Government had asked Power Grid Corp of India Ltd (PGCIL), the central transmission company that owns and operates 95% of the country’s transmission network to explore the possibility of offloading equity in certain power transmission lines to investors including foreign investors. The plan is to raise additional funds by unlocking value of the constructed transmission lines that generate returns over a period of 30­35 years. This model, followed widely by private companies, is said to be suitable for power transmission infrastructure that offer post tax fixed returns of 16% annually.

The news that the Supreme Court refused to stay an order of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity that allowed Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) to recover ₹10.50 billion (about $150 million) dues from procurer states and Tata Power Distribution Company was not unexpected. Sasan UMPP has been beset with problems including litigation from many — from a US based coal mining contractor to power procurers. UMPPs were conceived at a time when everyone believed that the sky is the limit to power demand in India and every single unit of power generated will be bought at any price.  These assumptions have been proved to be inaccurate and so we are likely to see more legal disputes. Reliance Power, the much celebrated promoter of Sasan UMPP has already announced that it is pulling out of Tilaiya UMPP. It is reportedly hoping to secure a total of ₹ 7.14 billion ($106 million) as bank guarantees and compensation from 18 procurers of Tilaiya UMPP.

Rest of the world

Pakistan is reported to have asked the PowerChina, the Chinese construction company commissioned with the Bin Qasim power plant project, a pilot project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) located 20 km east of Karachi to shorten the construction time by 12 months. Two 660 MW coal fired generators are in the process of construction and more are expected to be built.  This and other projects that are being developed by China in Pakistan must be fuelling frantic analysis that China is encircling India with infrastructure projects. This argument has little or no economic merit. If China wanted to encircle India it is better done with devises designed for the purpose rather than with power or infrastructure projects.  But the idea of encirclement with infrastructure projects appeals to many and so one can expect many a PhD thesis and think tank reports on this.

Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have reported record power generation in June 2016.  This is a surprise given that both countries faced acute power shortages last summer. The Ministry of Water and Power of Pakistan reported that it had achieved a milestone when total electricity generation reached to record 17,272 MW for the first time in the country’s history. It included 6080 MW generated through hydel resources while the IPPs (oil and gas mostly) contributed 11,192 MW. On June 18, at the Iftari time, around 98% of urban areas and more than 90% of rural areas were reported to have been provided interrupted power supply. It was reported that the Government of Pakistan expected an investment of $58 billion in the power sector through 2022 to increase generation capacity to 30,950 MW. Some are expected to be gas based. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is expected to deliver 13.6 billion cubic meters a year (bcm/year) of gas to the country as of January 2020. The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project is also expected to start by June 2018 (2.6 bcm/year) with potential to ramp up capacity to 7.7 bcm/year. Pakistan also aims to inject 20.6 bcm/year of LNG in the domestic gas system by mid-2018, from the current 4.1 bcm/year.

Bangladesh also produced a record 9035 MW electricity, the highest figures so far in mid-June 2016. As many as 29 new power stations are in the pipeline in Bangladesh.  20 are in the process of getting clearance and 8 others are being built. Bangladesh imports 600 MW electricity from India and this is expected to increase to 6500 MW. Meanwhile a US-based think tank issued a report saying that the Bangladesh-India Maitree project for a coal-based power unit to be built near the city of Khulna, close to the Sundarbans mangrove forest (Ramphal project as it is widely known) could effectively end up in a financial mess. There may an element of truth in it as power demand in South Asia may not grow to the extent expected. Another threat to the project are environmental activists within and outside the country. They obviously do not realise that there is a link between the computers and mobile phones that they use to send out damaging reports and an actual power plant that generates the power to light up their computers and charge their phones. Bangladesh is expected to have at least half of an additional 30,000 MW capacity from coal by 2030. Chinese, Japanese and Malaysian funded coal power plants are also coming up in Bangladesh.

Further away in Iran, the completion of a power transmission line and pole which could take 600 megawatts of Iran’s electricity to neighbouring Azerbaijan was reported. In Africa, Nigeria was reported to be reviewing the privatisation policy of the Federal Government on account of failure of power supply in many parts of Nigeria.

In the developed part of the world, the finding that Britain’s electricity suppliers had overcharged customers was reported.  Britain’s largest energy suppliers have now been ordered to cap some of their most expensive tariffs by the country’s competition authority after a two-year investigation that found providers have overcharged customers by billions of pounds. Energy bills have doubled in Britain over the past decade to about 1,200 pounds ($1,640) a year, leading to allegations that utilities were overcharging customers.

NATIONAL: OIL AND GAS

2

Upstream

ONGC boosts operations off India via new, expanded deals worth $60 million

July 18, 2016: Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC) expanded the scope of its operational activities offshore India through new and expanded contracts, amounting to approximately $60 million, with two services providers. Subsea services provider Seamec Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s HAL Offshore, said that the scope of its activities has been expanded to meet ONGC’s tender requirements and it will now deploy additional fleet assets for the contract. The firm will deploy vessel SEAMEC II and a remotely operated vehicle together with personnel for the three-year long ONGC assignment, which is worth around $33.44 million. Fugro Survey (India) Pvt Ltd has bagged a $26 million offshore geotechnical site investigation contract for the KG-DWN-98/2 project offshore the east coast of India, the company said. According to ONGC, a well at Vashishta & S1 field has been in operations for about a month, producing around 17.66 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, which is sold at the government-set domestic natural gas price of $3.06 per unit.

Source: RigZone

RIL close to starting gas production from CBM blocks in Madhya Pradesh

July 17, 2016: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is on the verge of starting commercial production of natural gas from its coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks in Madhya Pradesh. RIL said test gas production from Phase-1 facilities of Sohagpur-West block has commenced while the pipeline that will take the fuel to the consumers is under testing and pre-commissioning. Initial output is likely to be one million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas. A peak production of 3.5 mmscmd is envisaged from the two Sohagpur blocks in the state. RIL holds 3 CBM blocks — 495 square kilometre Sohagpur (East) and 500 sq km

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Sohagpur (West) in Madhya Pradesh and Sonhat in Chhattisgarh. Phase-1 development envisages drilling and completion of 229 wells and installation of 2 gas gathering stations (GGS). RIL had won the twin Sohagpur blocks in the first round of CBM auctions in 2001. It will be the third company in the country to begin gas production from below coal-seams, called CBM. Great Eastern Energy Ltd (GEECL) and Essar Oil Ltd are already selling CBM gas. RIL said natural gas production from its eastern offshore KG-D6 block fell 23 percent in April-June to 8.7 mmscmd.

Source: Business Standard

ONGC, OIL hit by 48 hour oil blockade

July 14, 2016: A 48 hour oil blockade called by the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) in protest against the Centre’s decision to auction 12 marginal oilfields of the state hit production of crude oil and natural gas in Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) establishments in the hydrocarbon belt in upper Assam. Drilling and excavation activities of ONGC were hit hard in Sivasagar district as picketers obstructed vehicles carrying workers to the oilfields. Production and drilling operations of OIL were hard-hit in Dibrugarh district as a result of the blockade.

Source: The Times of India

Essar to invest up to ₹10 billion by FY18 in West Bengal

July 13, 2016: West Bengal is set to get ₹700-1,000 crore investment in ramping up coal-bed methane (CBM) production from Essar Oil at Ranigunj but it could jump significantly if shale opportunity opens up. The company expects to reach production to three million standard cubic metres per day (scmd) by mid of next financial year 2017-18. According to estimates, 8 trillion cubic feet shale gas has been found at Raniganj coal block.

Source: Business Standard

Downstream

MRPL to set up retail outlets in six months

July 19, 2016: Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) is hopeful of opening some of its proposed 115 retail outlets in the next six months. MRPL that applications have been invited to allot 115 outlets, 90 of which are in the State and the rest in North Kerala. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has to take a final call on the allotment, which has to be done on the basis of prevailing reservation norms. MRPL hoped that some of the outlets should come through in about six months. Being a refiner and under the ambit of Competition Commission, MRPL has the advantage of selling fuel — petrol and diesel — at competitive prices.

Source: The Hindu

Transportation and trade

Domestic sales offsetting RIL export slump

July 18, 2016: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) exported less than 10 million tonnes of petroleum products in the April-June period — a first  in  three  quarters — as domestic retail and bulk sales of petroleum products increased. RIL exported 9.8 million tonnes (mt) of petroleum products in the April-June quarter against 8.5 mt in the corresponding period last fiscal year. The company’s export earnings declined 9.4% to ₹33,282 crore during the quarter from ₹36,717 crore in corresponding period of the previous year. Exports of refined products were worth ₹28,610 crore during the first quarter of 2016-17 fiscal against ₹32,352 crore in the previous year’s quarter.

Source: Live Mint

GITL signs transportation agreement with RFCL for 20 years

July 15, 2016: GSPL India Transco Ltd (GITL), a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL), has signed a Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) with Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (RFCL) on July 8, 2016 for a period of 20 years. Under the agreement, GITL will supply two million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of natural gas from Mallavaram of Andhra Pradesh (AP) to RFCL’s plant at Ramagundam in Telangana through Mallavaram-Bhopal-Bhilwara-Vijaipur Natural Gas Pipeline being developed by GITL.

Source: Business Standard

India stocks swing after climbing to 11 month high as ONGC rises

July 13, 2016: Indian stocks swung between advances and losses after the benchmark gauge rallied to an 11-month high. Energy companies climbed while industrials declined. Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) gained the most since August 2015 on a report that the government may allow refiners to increase kerosene prices every month, a move that would ease the subsidy burden borne by the largest explorer.

Source: Bloomberg

Policy and performance

West Bengal government plans for alternative gas line

July 19, 2016: The state government in a bid to provide cheap and natural gas, decided to create an alternative gas supply pipeline through ‘Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corp (GCGSC)’ in six districts in and around Kolkata. In the next three years, the state government will build its own pipeline network through GCGSC and the supplier will be decided on the basis of competitive bidding. The state gas firm has 458 kilometres long gas pipeline in the state which Kolkata, both 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. However, the state government is yet to clarify the source of the gas.

Source: The Times of India

To stop kerosene pilferage, Modi government to roll out DBT scheme

July 19, 2016: In a move to curb pilferage of subsidised (PDS) kerosene, the government will launch direct benefit transfer (DBT) for disbursing the dole to beneficiaries in 38 districts across nine states starting August 1. The Narendra Modi government has urged the states to voluntarily cut their subsidised kerosene quotas and also offered to use the savings on this account to enhance allocation of funds to states. The states where DBT for kerosene will be rolled out from August 1 include Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. Govt to roll out LPG-like DBT scheme for kerosene from April 1Govt to roll out LPG-like DBT scheme for kerosene from April 1. In 2016-17, UP procured the highest volume of subsidised kerosene at 15.57 lakh kilo litre (kl), followed by West Bengal at 9.43 lakh kl, Bihar (7.96 lakh kl), Gujarat (6.57 lakh kl) and Maharashtra (6.26 lakh kl). Karnataka is the first state which has opted for reducing its PDS kerosene quota to 90,000 kl against a sanction of 5.09 lakh kl.

Source: The Financial Express

ONGC, Oil India to pay higher royalty to states

July 18, 2016: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) stock fell nearly 5 percent following the government decision that oil producers would have to pay royalty to crude oil producing states such as Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu at pre-discount rates. The order implies that ONGC and Oil India are faced with an additional royalty burden of more than $1 billion, the oil ministry said. ONGC has appealed in the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court order to pay ₹ 10,000 crore to the state.

Source: The Financial Express

Petrol price cut by 2.25 per litre; diesel by 42 paisa

July 15, 2016: Oil marketing companies (OMCs) cut petrol prices by ₹2.25 a litre and diesel by 42 paise a litre. Petrol will cost ₹62.51 a litre in Delhi from midnight tonight as compared to ₹64.76 per litre, Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest fuel retailer, announced. Similarly, diesel will cost ₹54.28 per litre as against ₹54.70 a litre currently. Petrol price was last cut by 89 paise a litre and diesel by 49 paise a litre on June 30/July 1. Prior to the reduction this month, prices had been hiked on four occasions since May 1. Petrol prices in the four hikes had been raised by ₹4.52 a litre and diesel by ₹7.72 per litre.

Source: Zee News

Gas migration row between ONGC-RIL: Government says Shah Panel can decide on compensation

July 14, 2016: The oil ministry has told the Justice AP Shah committee on the migration of gas from ONGC-held gas blocks to adjacent fields of Reliance Industries that its remit includes deciding on possible compensation, if any, to the government as well over any “unfair enrichment”. That effectively rules out any other remedy under the production-sharing contract (PSC) or the possibility of fresh arbitration between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the government, clearing the way for the single-member committee to issue its report on the matter by the end of July. The oil ministry assured the committee that the government is in fact included under the terms of reference (ToR). RIL also wrote to the oil ministry seeking fresh discussions on the subject. ONGC has sought compensation from RIL for what it says is the loss of more than 18 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas that migrated from its Krishna-Godavari Basin fields as well as the gas left stranded due to allegedly poor reservoir management by RIL. The Shah committee is examining the findings of this report. In its submission to the panel, ONGC said RIL and the regulator had known about the fields being connected more than a decade ago.

Source: The Economic Times

India to hold two roadshows in Houston to promote bidding

July 13, 2016: India will promote bidding of 67 discovered small oil fields in two international roadshows which will be attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan will hold meetings with various think-tanks working in hydrocarbon sector both, in Houston and Washington. He will also visit technology centres working in oil and gas spheres, the oil ministry said.

Source: India Today

ONGC, Oil India shares gain on govt nod to hike kerosene price every month

July 13, 2016: Shares of ONGC and Oil India gained after a business daily reported that oil companies got government nod to increase kerosene price by 25 paise every month till April 2017. As per ICRA estimates, the move to increase retail prices of subsidised kerosene by ₹0.25 per litre per month for ten months from July 2016 to April 2017. The step would lead to overall reduction in gross under-recoveries on kerosene by around ₹760 crore in 2016-17 and ₹ 2040 crore in 2017-18. For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, Oil India reported net profit of ₹469.24 crore, down 14.95 percent, against ₹551.72 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Source: The Financial Express

NATIONAL: POWER

3

Generation

NTPC eyeing 248 billion unit power generation in FY17

July 19, 2016: NTPC said it will strive to generate 248 billion units during the current financial year. The company has a total installed capacity of 47,178 MW at present.

Source: Business Standard

Hydropower station at Sardar Sarovar Dam becomes operational

July 19, 2016: Six main power-generating turbines of Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat have become operational since July 12, producing electricity at its full capacity after 65,000 cusec of water was released from the dam in Madhya Pradesh due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. As much as 57% of electricity generated by the dam is supplied to Madhya Pradesh, 27% to Maharashtra and 16% to Gujarat.

Source: Zee News

Essar to fully operationalise Tori, Mahan power plants

July 18, 2016: Essar Power plans to make its 2×600 MW Tori power plant operational by the next financial year as the company expects to secure new fuel through government’s upcoming coal linkage auction, the company said. The plant, which is 43 percent complete, will be built at an investment of ₹4,100 crore. Essar Power to start 500 MW Hazira gas-based plant in three months.

Source: The Economic Times

Telangana set to build power plants against Centre’s advice

July 15, 2016: Telangana has turned down the advice of power ministry against new capacities and is now determined to go ahead with imported coal-fired and inefficient subcritical thermal plants.

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The state has a capacity of 4365 MW and has proposed to achieve 25,000 MW by the end of 2018, which includes fresh thermal power generation capacity of 4,000 MW that the government promised under the AP State Reorganisation Act, 2014. Power Minister Piyush Goyal recently asked Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to either downsize or drop the state’s proposed power plants, given the surplus power capacities and cheaper availability in the domestic market. Goyal repeated his advice to the Telangana government while assuring that state-run thermal power generator NTPC was ready to set up the projects promised under the Act. Of the promised 4000 MW, NTPC is setting up two units of 800 MW each at Ramagundam and is in talks with the Telangana government for the required land to set up the remaining capacities. But Telangana power and industries secretary Arvind Kumar said the state was neither in favour of trimming down capacities nor dropping the projects.

Source: The Economic Times

Bangladesh, India sign Rampal power plant construction agreement

July 13, 2016: Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement regarding the main construction of the Rampal thermal power plant. The estimated cost of the project is $1.68 billion. The joint venture company Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd (BIFPCL) was incorporated in Dhaka in 2012 pursuant to the signing of a MoU on operations in the power sector between India and Bangladesh on Jan 11, 2010. On Jan 29 2012, the National Thermal Power Corp of India and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed a Joint Venture Agreement to build a 1320 MW coal-fired thermal power plant, known as Maitree Super Thermal Plant, at Rampal in Bangladesh’s Bagherhat district. The cumulative overseas installed capacity of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) manufactured power plants is approximately 10,000 MW, spread across 21 countries.

Source: BDNews24

Transmission, distribution and trade

Coal imports likely to decline to 160 million tonnes in FY17

July 18, 2016: Country’s coal imports have declined 5 percent in the first two months of 2016-17 and the number is expected to reach 160.16 million tonnes (mt) in the ongoing fiscal. On account of increased production by Coal India Ltd (CIL), which produces around 80 percent of coal in the country, the import of fossil fuel has fallen from 217.78 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 199.88 million tonnes in 2015-16. CIL has undertaken a mix of strategies for narrowing the domestic demand-supply gap that address short to medium-term imperatives and also technological and human resource related issues, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said.

Source: India Today

CIL may complete share buyback by October

July 16, 2016: Coal India Ltd (CIL) expects to complete its buyback exercise within the third quarter of this fiscal. CIL approved a proposal to buy back its shares at ₹335 per share payable in cash, for an aggregate sum not exceeding ₹3650 crores. The government holds 79.65 percent of CIL’s equity capital of ₹6316 crores.

Source: The Hindu

Centre plans to triple power transmission capacity by 2020

July 15, 2016: Centre plans to enhance the power transmission capacity in the country by almost three times by 2020, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said. South India has achieved power surplus status due to various initiatives. Stating that gas-based power plants which were lying idle for lack of fuel have now started operations, he said most of these plants are in South India. He said as much as 71 percent of transmission capacity from the Northern and Eastern grids have been connected to South India.

Source: The Economic Times

India’s coal shift a double whammy for Indonesian exporters

July 13, 2016: For many coal miners in Indonesia’s resource-dependent economy, a surprise shift in India’s coal industry — from big importer to potential exporter — could not have come at a worse time. Coal India Ltd (CIL) is opening mines at the rate of one a month and expanding existing ones, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi fast-tracks environmental clearances to double output this decade and meet election promises to provide power to a population of 1.3 billion. That dash for production has left CIL with a stockpile of more than 50 million tonnes of mined coal, but domestic demand is rising more slowly than anticipated, prompting it to start talks to export to neighbouring Bangladesh. Not so long ago, Indonesian coal executives brushed aside concerns about slowing sales to China, citing strong Indian demand – suggesting they have underestimated India’s ability to quickly ramp up production.

Source: Reuters

Policy and performance

India likely to set up LNG fuelled power plant in western Lanka

July 18, 2016: India is likely to set up a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)-fuelled 500 MW power plant at Kerawalapitiya on the Western coast of Sri Lanka as requested by the Lankan government. On environmental grounds, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government is keen on switching over to LNG from coal as fuel for its future power plants. Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had requested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to proceed with the 500 MW coal-fired power plant at Sampur in Eastern Lanka but build a plant using LNG instead. An Indo-Lankan Joint Working Group (JWG) has been working on various options in this regard.

Source: New Indian Express

NTPC saves  5.5 billion per month on coal rationalisation, import control

July 18, 2016: NTPC has achieved savings of approximately 30 paise per unit- approximately ₹550 crore per month — on account of coal rationalisation and reduction in imports of fossil fuel. Further, due to various efficiency measures, including reduction in grade slippage, specific coal consumption in the first quarter of 2016-17 has come down by 2.9 percent as against the same quarter in the previous fiscal, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said. Goyal said the government has taken various measures in order to ensure synergy between power and coal sectors. The coal availability, he said, is regularly monitored at the highest level, resulting in increased supply of domestic coal. The blocks have been allotted to certain power utilities to improve domestic coal availability and 100 percent crushed coal is supplied from Coal India. Coal India, he said, will supply 100 percent washed coal of G10 grade and above from October 1, 2018, as per environment ministry guidelines.

Source: The Financial Express

Supreme Court refuses to stall CERC proceedings on compensatory tariff

July 16, 2016: The Supreme Court (SC) refused to stall the proceedings in the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)’s in compensatory tariff case but said that the order will be subject to its scrutiny. A bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and R. F. Nariman assured the power distribution companies that if they are not satisfied with CERC’s decision, they are at liberty to approach the apex court. Several power distribution companies of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Punjab have moved the apex court challenging the Electricity Tribunal’s decision which had held that power producers are entitled to compensatory tariff and referred the case to CERC for calculating the compensatory tariff. CERC is currently hearing the pleas by Tata Power Co Ltd and Adani Power Ltd in order to determine the amount of compensation under the force majeure or unforeseen circumstances clause of the power purchase agreement. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 15.

Source: Business Standard

CIL workmen unions may go on strike over salary hike

July 15, 2016: Five central trade unions of Coal India Ltd (CIL), representing more than 90% of workmen, may go on strike as CIL management has been delaying negotiations with them over a 50% salary hike demanded in April this year. According to rules, salaries of workmen at CIL is to be negotiated with the management every five years.

Source: The Economic Times

Process to get electricity connection made easier: Power Ministry

July 14, 2016. Power Ministry said it has been mandatory to provide an electricity connection within 15 days of application as part of steps taken in last two years to ease the process of getting connections. It has been made mandatory to provide electricity connection within 15 days to the consumers in normal conditions, it said. A simplified procedure for getting electricity connection has been adopted after detailed discussions with Delhi and Maharashtra Discoms and other concerned agencies. Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has made the necessary changes to allow Low Tension connection up to 150 KVA and had also rationalised the tariff for the same in 2015. The Ministry has stipulated time for each step in providing the connection. Within three days of online form submission for electricity connection, the field inspection of the site will be done, which will lead to the process to estimate preparation, load sanction and intimation for fee deposit to be completed in next four days. After this, installation work including meter and flow of electricity will be done in eight days, thus completing the whole process in 15 days.

Source: The Times of India

Cabinet approves revised cost of Bhutan hydel power project

July 13, 2016: The Cabinet cleared the Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of ₹ 7,290.62 crore for the ongoing Hydroelectric Project (HEP) in Bhutan. India had announced support for Bhutan’s infrastructure building, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. The project will provide surplus power to India and thus augment power availability in the country and would enable project works to proceed smoothly without interruption. The bilateral agreement to execute the Punatsangchhu-II HEP was signed between India and Bhutan in April, 2010 at the approved cost of ₹ 3,777.8 crore with funding by New Delhi as 30 percent grant and 70 percent loan at 10 percent interest to be paid back in 30 equated semi-annual instalments.

Source: The Times of India

INTERNATIONAL: OIL AND GAS

Upstream

Libya suspends Sarir oil output due to Hariga port protest

July 19, 2016: A protest over wages that has shut the eastern Libyan oil terminal of Hariga has forced the operator of the Sarir oil field to suspend production of 100,000 barrels per day.

Source: Reuters

Delek plans to acquire minority stake in $5.2 billion Kraken oil project in UK North Sea

July 19, 2016: Delek Group is in talks with EnQuest to acquire 20% stake in the £4 bn ($5.2 bn) Kraken field development project in the UK North Sea in a bid to further expand its upstream oil and gas assets beyond Israel.

Source: Business Review

Woodside acquires ConocoPhillip’s stakes in oil field in Senegal

July 18, 2016: ConocoPhillips has entered into a binding Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) with Australian oil and gas producer Woodside, under the terms of which Woodside will acquire 100% of the shares in ConocoPhillips Senegal. Completion of the PSA is subject to satisfaction of customary conditions, including Government of Senegal approval and pre-emption and is targeting close by year-end 2016.

Source: EnerData

US shale output drop seen for tenth straight month in August

July 18, 2016: US shale oil production is expected to fall some 99,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, according to a US government forecast released that highlighted the hit to the industry from weak global crude prices.

Source: Reuters

Goldman Sachs sees ‘hidden demand’ for oil in China

July 18, 2016: China’s continued economic expansion, recent stimulus measures and still-growing consumption for some oil products appears to have upped its oil demand, Goldman Sachs said. Goldman said it maintained its outlook for China’s oil demand to grow 350,000 bpd overall this year and to grow 300,000 bpd in 2017.

Source: Reuters

Philex seeks foreign partner to explore for oil and gas in parts of South China Sea

July 15, 2016: Philex Petroleum Corp Chairman Manuel Pangilinan indicated that the firm, which holds a 60.49 percent interest in Forum Energy Plc — the owner of a 70 percent stake in Service Contract (SC) 72 in the Reed Bank offshore west Palawan — needs a foreign partner to explore for oil and gas in the South China Sea following the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that China has breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines with its action in the region. The Philex Petroleum Chairman said no Philippine company has the competence to exploit offshore oil and gas reserves on its own.

Source: RigZone

China’s first-half crude output drops to lowest since 2010

July 15, 2016: China’s domestic crude oil production during the first six months of 2016 fell 4.6 percent from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed, to the lowest level since 2010, as producers cut back output on lower oil prices. Lower output from China, the world’s fourth-largest crude oil producer, has helped ease a global supply glut that led global oil prices to a 75 percent rebound this year after falling to the lowest since 2003 in mid-January. Data showed China pumped 16.58 million tonnes of crude last month, or 4.03 million barrels per day (bpd), down 8.9 percent from June 2015. Output in the first half of the year was 101.59 million tonnes. On a daily basis, China pumped 4.07 million barrels in the first six months, roughly 179,000 bpd less than a year earlier, according to data. Natural gas output for the first half of this year gained 4.1 percent over a year earlier at 69 billion cubic meters, with June output down 0.5 percent on year, the data showed.

Source: Reuters

Energy companies spend big to fight Colorado ballot initiatives

July 14, 2016: Energy companies in Colorado are spending millions of dollars to derail a push by environmentalists to put measures on November’s ballot that would stifle oil and gas drilling in the state.

Source: Reuters

Ivory Coast aims to double oil and gas production by 2020

July 14, 2016. Ivory Coast is planning to roughly double oil and gas output by 2020 and also push for foreign investment in offshore exploration, the state oil and gas company Petroci said.

Source: African News

Pertamina plans an evaluation of Indonesia’s East Natuna Block soon

July 13, 2016: PT Pertamina planned to conduct an evaluation of the East Natuna Block — which holds Asia’s largest gas reserves in the Riau Province, offshore Indonesia — soon, according to the firm.

Source: RigZone

MOL makes oil, gas discoveries in Pakistan

July 13, 2016: MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company B.V. and joint venture partner Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) have made two new onshore discoveries in Pakistan’s Tal Block.

Source: RigZone

Downstream

CNOOC to cap refining capacity at 50 metric tonnes per year amid supply glut

July 14, 2016: China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) said it seeks to reign in total refining capacity and step up building gas stations in the next five years. The oil giant said it will cap crude runs capacity at 50 million tonnes per year, or one million barrel per day by 2020.

Source: Reuters

KPC mulls storage-leasing plan for idled refinery

July 14, 2016: Kenya Pipeline Co. (KPC) said it’s considering leasing out storage tanks at the country’s only oil refinery, and isn’t currently looking at restarting fuel-processing at the idled plant that was acquired by the government this year. KPC has invited bids from advisers to help it decide how best to use the refinery’s assets, which Kenya bought from India’s Essar Oil Ltd. in April. The 80,000 barrel a day Mombasa refinery, previously a joint venture between the government and Essar, hasn’t processed crude since it was converted to an oil-storage facility in 2013.

Source: Bloomberg

Transportation and trade

American gas will be first to transit expanded Panama Canal

July 19, 2016: The first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) set to pass through the newly expanded Panama Canal locks will be American. Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Maran Gas Apollonia vessel is scheduled to pass through the canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans after loading LNG from the US Gulf Coast, according to the Panama Canal Authority.

Source: Bloomberg

Iraq undercuts Saudi Arabia in second-quarter to grab top spot in India oil market

July 19, 2016: Iraq overtook Saudi Arabia for the first time to become India’s top oil supplier in the June quarter, helped by sales of discounted heavy crude that refiners have also been using to make bitumen to build roads in the world’s No.3 oil consumer. State oil firm Saudi Aramco has traditionally been the main supplier to India and Riyadh could face pressure to deepen crude price cuts to regain market share, particularly ahead of the planned listing of Saudi Aramco. Iraqi oil accounted for about a fifth of Indian imports in the second quarter, up from 16 percent a year ago, according to ship-tracking data.

Source: Reuters

BP charters foreign-flagged vessel to transport ANS crude

July 18, 2016: British oil company BP Plc has chartered a foreign-flagged vessel to transport Alaskan crude, the company said. Alaskan North Slope (ANS) is mostly transported to the US West Coast on US-flagged vessels owned by BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

Source: Reuters

Iran targets oil sales to China teapots via Trafigura

July 18, 2016: An Iranian crude cargo loaded by trading house Trafigura is set to arrive in east China this week, heating up the race among oil suppliers to meet the rise in demand for imports from China’s independent refineries, traders said.

Source: Reuters

Peru diversifies crude imports with purchases from Brazil, US

July 18, 2016: Peru has started expanding the sources of its crude imports, slowly introducing US and Brazilian grades to a slate mostly based on oil from Ecuador, Africa and Trinidad and Tobago.

Source: Reuters

Exxon’s $2.5 billion bid for PNG’s InterOil tops oil search

July 18, 2016: Exxon Mobil Corp is doubling down on Papua New Guinea, topping a rival offer for InterOil Corp, a gas explorer focused on the Southeast Asian nation. The energy giant’s offer values InterOil at $2.5 billion, including debt, beating an earlier bid from Oil Search Ltd and Total SA.

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices largely unchanged as market shrugs off Turkey coup bid

July 18, 2016: Oil prices were virtually unchanged in choppy Asian trade following gains as traders shrugged off the impact of attempted coup in Turkey, while upbeat economic data from the United States lent price support. U.S. crude futures fell 5 cents to $45.90 a barrel after ending the previous session up 27 cents, gaining more than 1 percent for the week.

Source: Reuters

Britain facing higher winter gas imports due to Rough outage

July 18, 2016: Even if Britain’s main natural gas storage site manages to resume some withdrawals, the country will need to import up to 1.75 billion cubic metres (bcm) of additional gas this winter, according to analysts. Centrica, the operator of the Rough storage site, warned that a shutdown for tests there would last until March or April, although it held out hope that withdrawals could restart from four wells in November.

Source: Reuters

ExxonMobil declares force majeure on Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil

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July 15, 2016: ExxonMobil subsidiary Mobil Producing Nigeria has declared force majeure on exports of Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil. Nigeria has struggled to maintain its crude oil production following a spate of militant attacks and technical problems that in May pushed production briefly to 30-year lows.

Source: Reuters

California regulator rejects SoCalGas’ North-South pipeline plan

July 14, 2016: The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), said it had rejected Southern California Gas Co (SoCalGas)’s request to build its North-South Pipeline Project.

Source: Reuters

Czech Industry Minister says hopes to save Poland pipeline project

July 14, 2016: The Czech government will talk to Poland to revitalise a gas pipeline project meant to connect the Czech system to a Polish LNG terminal and raise supply security, Czech Industry Minister Jan Mladek said. The planned Stork II pipeline, backed by €62.7 million ($69.7 million) in European Union funding.

Source: Reuters

China’s June oil imports ease to five-month low

July 13, 2016: China’s June oil imports fell to the lowest on a daily basis since February but robust buying by independent “teapot” refiners and stockpiling boosted imports over the first half the year by 14.2 percent from the same period a year ago. China imported 30.62 million tonnes of crude oil in June, or about 7.45 million barrels per day (bpd), up 3.8 percent on year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Source: Reuters

Policy and performance

US gas prices must rise to rebalance market

July 18, 2016. The United States (US) natural gas market is on an unsustainable course as low prices stimulate strong growth in consumption while production is flat or falling. Power producers burned 2238 billion cubic feet of gas between December and February, an increase of more than 11 percent compared with the previous winter.

Source: Reuters

Saudi always reacts to oil supply and demand, watching market: Energy Minister

July 18, 2016: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom always reacts to oil market supply and demand and it would continue to monitor crude markets for any developments.

Source: Reuters

Oil must go to $40 and stay there to buy Russia reforms at last

July 18, 2016: At an oil price of $40 or below, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a flat income tax, built a sovereign wealth fund and delivered speeches to the Bundestag in German. When it was over $100, he fought two wars with neighbours and splashed over $40 billion on a Winter Olympics.

Source: Bloomberg

Argentina will cap gas price increase to 400-500 percent

July 15, 2016: The government of Argentina has decided to introduce a cap on increases in gas prices, limiting the rise in gas bills at 400% for households and 500% for businesses.

Source: EnerData

Japan regulator investigating LNG shipping restrictions

July 14, 2016: Japan’s anti-monopoly regulator is investigating whether clauses in liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts preventing buyers from selling the fuel to third parties hurts competition. The investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is in the early stages and may be completed by the end of year.

Source: Reuters

BP puts 2010 Gulf of Mexico penalties at $62 billion

July 14, 2016: BP estimated costs from its deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill will total $61.6 billion after it agreed to a new $5.2 billion charge it said largely drew claims to a close.

Source: Reuters

US refiners pay price for making too much gasoline

July 14, 2016: US refiners and motor fuel blenders made too much gasoline during the first half of 2016 and now the market is struggling to clear the resulting overhang of gasoline stocks. Gasoline accounted for 46.3 percent of the output from US refineries in April 2016, up from 45.2 percent in April 2015, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Source: Reuters

US regulators propose information sharing on crude-carrying trains

July 13, 2016: US regulators proposed a rule on trains carrying crude that requires railroads to share information on the shipments with local governments and emergency responders, a month after a fiery derailment of an oil train along Oregon’s scenic Columbia River gorge.

Source: Reuters

Brexit could provide boost for Britain’s shale gas

July 13, 2016: Britain’s shale gas industry could get a helping hand from a falling pound and a supportive new prime minister just as it is gearing up for its first production this year, after facing economic and political challenges that slowed its start. The British pound’s weakness since the Brexit vote has made it more expensive to import gas, helping the case for shale gas which had been hurt in the past by weak oil prices and by opposition to planning approval from local campaigners.

Source: Reuters

Huge stocks overhang threatens oil price recovery: IEA

July 13, 2016: The global glut in oil is refusing to ease and acts as a major dampener on crude prices despite robust demand growth and steep declines in non-OPEC production, the International Energy Agency said (IEA). The IEA said it had revised up its forecasts of 2016 and 2017 global oil demand growth by 0.1 million barrels per day (bpd) from last month to 1.4 million and 1.3 million bpd respectively. It said demand was growing thanks to good consumption in India, China and, surprisingly, Europe.

Source: Reuters

INTERNATIONAL: POWER

Generation

Pöyry wins service contract for 510 MW CCGT project in Uruguay

July 19, 2016: Uruguay’s national power group UTE has awarded Pöyry with an extension assignment for the provision of supervisory services during construction and commissioning of its new 510 MW CCGT project in Punta del Tigre, in Uruguay.

Source: EnerData

New nuclear reactor builds fall to zero in first half of 2016

July 13, 2016: Construction starts for new nuclear reactors fell to zero globally in the first half of 2016 as the atomic industry struggles against falling costs for renewables and a slowdown in Chinese building, according to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016.

Source: Reuters

Entergy in talks to sell FitzPatrick nuclear plant in New York to Exelon

July 13, 2016: Entergy Corp said that it is in talks to sell its FitzPatrick nuclear power plant — an 838 MW facility it had flagged for sale or closure last year — to Exelon Corp.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Transmission, distribution and trade

CGNPC connects Fangchenggang-2 nuclear project to the Chinese grid

July 19, 2016: China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) has connected the second unit of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant, located in the Guangxi province, to the Chinese grid, and started supplying power to the network.

Source: EnerData

ADB lends $750 million to upgrade power distribution networks in Azerbaijan

July 15, 2016: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$750 million multitranche program loan facility over six years to upgrade power distribution networks in Azerbaijan.

Source: EnerData

ABB secures contract from Statnett to strengthen Norwegian grid

July 14, 2016: Norway’s transmission system operator Statnett has awarded a contract worth over $30 million to ABB to strengthen its grid.

Source: Business Review

Policy and performance

China plans 1 GW LNG power plant in Sri Lanka

July 18, 2016: China is planning a 500 MW liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant in Hambantota in Southern Sri Lanka, which can be expanded to 1000 MW. China Mechanical and Engineering Company, which designed-built a coal power complex in Sri Lanka is involved in the LNG plant.

Source: EconomyNext

New York PSC proposes subsidy to keep nuclear plants online

July 15, 2016. The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) has proposed to offer up to US$965 mn in subsidies to keep upstate nuclear power plants in service and to meet the state’s CO2 emission reduction target.

Source: EnerData

Cuba’s power consumption jumped 4.8 percent in 2015

July 14, 2016: Cuba’s power consumption jumped 4.8 percent in 2015, data showed. A breakdown of the data showed that residential power usage ballooned 66.5 percent over the last decade, compared with a 9.6 percent rise for the state sector.

Source: Reuters

Poland to spend on boosting its image, defending coal industry

July 13, 2016: Poland’s state-controlled firms will pay $25 million per year to finance a foundation aimed at bolstering its reputation abroad, Treasury Minister Dawid Jackiewicz said. He said one of the foundation’s tasks will be to defend Poland’s coal industry from European Union plans to curb carbon emissions.

Source: Reuters

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS

National

Indian glaciers melting at 5 to 20 metre rate annually: Environment Ministry

June 19, 2016: Most Indian glaciers, including Gangotri, are melting at a rate of 5 to 20 metres per year — at least one of them for over two decades — the union environment ministry revealed. A study on the length and area changes of 82 glaciers located in the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda river basins, using remote sensing, suggests that the area of glaciers decreased from 599.9 sq km in 1968 to 572.5 sq km in 2006 — a net loss of 4.6%. A number of organisations and institutions such as the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Department of Space, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) Dehradun, Kashmir University, Jammu University, Sikkim University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) are engaged in monitoring and conducting research on glaciers. The government has also set up a Centre for Glaciology at WIHG, funded by the department of science and technology, to carry out detailed investigations of glacier masses in the Himalayan region.

Source: Live Mint

Tata Power commits 40 percent renewable power generation by 2025

July 19, 2016: Tata Power plans to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in its power generation mix to 30-40% by 2025, up from an earlier target of 25%. The company currently operates 9,184 MW of power capacity in India, including 647 MW of wind capacity across six states. Its renewable branch, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd has a further 500 MW wind and solar capacity under development in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.

Source: EnerData

Mahagenco seeks more time to control Koradi pollution

July 18, 2016: Residents of Koradi and its nearby areas, including north Nagpur will have to suffer ill effects of pollution for some more months as Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd (Mahagenco) has sought time for installing pollution control equipment at Koradi power plant. An appeal in this regard has been filed with union ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC). MoEFCC, while issuing the environmental clearance for 660 MW new units of Koradi plant had made installation of a flue gas desulphuriser (FGD) mandatory. FGD is necessary to reduce sulphur dioxide (SO2) level in power plant emissions. High level of SO2 in atmosphere leads to acid rain. Mahagenco has sought time till December 2017 to install an FGD or an alternative device.

Source: The Times of India

India doubles down on solar parks after SunEdison setback

July 18, 2016: India will double the target for energy to be generated from solar parks by 2020, as roof-top installations progress slower than anticipated and US company SunEdison’s projects are threatened by its bankruptcy. The solar parks are sought after by companies because the Indian government acquires land for the installations and sets up transmission lines, major attractions in a country notorious for red tape and public opposition to land transfers. SunEdison was one of the first

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companies to be drawn into the programme to encourage solar use, bidding aggressively to win a 500 MW project in Andhra Pradesh state in India’s south last November. Analysts said it was doubtful any rival would pick up the Andhra Pradesh project at the aggressive power prices promised by SunEdison. Once the fastest growing renewable energy developer in the United States, SunEdison beat out 29 other bidders for the solar park with a record-low tariff of ₹ 4.63 per kilowatt-hour.

Source: Reuters

Chandigarh gets floating SPV power plant

July 17, 2016: Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST) has installed a 10 KW peak floating solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plant at Dhanas lake. The plant, which has been set up as a pilot project at a cost of ₹12 lakh, will be commissioned.

Source: The Indian Express

UNIDO prepares roadmap for 100 MW concentrated solar thermal

July 17, 2016: The UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is preparing a road map for 100 MW concentrated solar thermal (CST) capacity for the next five years in India. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) asked the organisation to prepare the roadmap and preparation of it is expected to be completed by the next two months, UNIDO said. According to UNIDO, the project aims to facilitate the installation 45,000 sq.m of installed concentrated solar (CS) collector area through 15-25 demonstration and 60 replication projects. Direct emission reductions from these projects during its five year period are estimated at 39,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide, UNIDO said.

Source: The Times of India

Climate resilient farming on the cards in Maharashtra

July 16, 2016: Maharashtra will undertake for the first time ever a pilot on climate-resilient agriculture in one drought-affected district. The proposal was passed by the State government, and is likely to cost the exchequer about ₹3 crore just to set up basic infrastructure, such as staff and an office for this purpose. The district is yet to be decided. The project, if successful, could help mitigate drought and heat in water-starved Marathwada and Vidarbha. Climate experts are being also being trained under the programme under which the Centre has been spending nearly ₹ 100 crore every year. As part of the experiment in Maharashtra, the government will erect towers with special equipment to measure greenhouse gases produced on farms, and these will be set up in the areas facing drought.

Source: The Hindu

India negotiates on mandatory change of refrigeration technology

July 16, 2016: India will be negotiating at the Montreal Protocol with one hand tied behind its back when the talks begin at Vienna. Countries gathering at Vienna are to decide how and when to phase down the use of refrigerant gases that are less damaging for the ozone holes than the ones used previously but add to global warming. The Montreal Protocol has traditionally dealt with gases and substances that damage the ozone layer. But, with climate change becoming another urgent international concern, the need also arose to address gases are safe for the ozone layer and at the same time don’t add to climate change. While the developed countries are already using these ozone layer-safe but climate changing refrigerants. India is largely supposed to adopt them in coming years.

Source: Business Standard

Government in talks with US over solar dispute in WTO: Goyal

July 13 2016: Government is in talks with the United States (US) over a dispute at global trade body WTO on a solar mission and would decide on filing suits against the western country based on the outcome of the talks, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said. Goyal said the government was on the verge of filing seven of the 16 cases initially after receiving the request from the United States for bilateral discussions and consultations. India’s ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was in the eye of a storm after the US filed a case in WTO against the government s support to the programme. The WTO had subsequently ruled that the government’s support to the programme contradicts trade-related investment measures signed by India. The solar mission aims to generate one lakh MW of electricity through solar installations.

Source: DNA

Solar power to light up BSNL offices in Madhya Pradesh

July 13, 2016. All offices of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) in Madhya Pradesh will be lighted up with solar power. Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam signed an agreement for setting up solar power units in all 148 buildings of BSNL in the state. As per the agreement, solar power units of 2615 KW capacity will be installed at 147 office buildings of the BSNL and a 60 KW capacity solar power plant will be developed at the regional head office building of BSNL. The total cost of installing these solar power plants will be around ₹22.22 crore and of it the state government will give a subsidy of ₹3.92 crore while Union government will give ₹5.88 crore as subsidy.

Source: The Times of India

Time to demand climate security act: Rajendra Singh

July 13, 2016: Highlighting the ill effects of climate change, water conservationist Rajendra Singh stressed that it is the time to demand climate security act instead of food and water act. Singh, popularly known as ‘waterman’, claimed that despite good rain last year, 14 States and 327 districts of the country year faced drought and drought-like situation which shows that rainfall is not the deciding factor for occurrence of drought.

Source: The Hindu

Global

EPA study bolsters keeping 2025 US fuel economy targets

July 18, 2016: A highly anticipated report by US regulators buttresses calls for staying the course on fuel economy targets that automakers say are unworkable and want eased. Based on current trends, the average car would get between 50 and 52.6 miles per gallon by 2025, falling short of the original projection of 54.5, according to the draft technical assessment released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the California Air Resources Board. However, the report said automakers can draw on an array of technologies to satisfy the target and it will cost less than expected.

Source: Bloomberg

Vestas receives 131 MW order in US

July 18, 2016: Denmark-based Vestas has secured a firm and unconditional order for 131 MW of production tax credit (PTC) qualifying turbine components. The deal requires Vestas to supply several wind turbine components that can range between 2 MW and 3 MW platforms. The company will manufacture several components at its factories in Colorado, a western US state.

Source: Business Review

Hitachi Zosen builds 22MW energy-from-waste plant in UK

July 18, 2016: Hitachi Zosen subsidiary Hitachi Zosen Inova ZI has built a 22 MW energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Buckinghamshire County, UK. The municipal solid waste for the EfW facility will be sourced from Aylesbury Vale and through waste transfer stations (WTS) from the south of the county.

Source: Business Review

Tunisia seeks $7 billion for renewable energy transition

July 18, 2016: Tunisia estimates that its plans to cover 1/3 of its power supply with renewable energy sources by 2030 to reduce its dependence on gas imports would require US$7 bn in investments. Between 2015 and 2020, around US$1.6 bn will be necessary, including US$685 mn for solar (222 MW), US$680 mn for wind (1.45 GW) and US$ 231mn for biomass (162 MW).

Source: EnerData

Acciona signs 15 year PPA with CFE for 168 MW wind project in Mexico

July 18, 2016: Spanish energy group Acciona has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) of Mexico related to a 168 MW wind project that Acciona will build in Tamaulipas.

Source: EnerData

Canada to introduce national carbon price in 2016: Environment Minister

July 16, 2016: Canada will have a national price on carbon emissions by the end of this year, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said. The federal government will publish an emissions reduction plan this fall that could include expanded, standardised emissions disclosure requirements for companies, McKenna said.

Source: Bloomberg

Cars, vans said to be focus of EU plan for tougher emission caps

July 15, 2016: European Union (EU) regulators are drawing up stricter curbs on carbon dioxide from cars and vans in a bid to counter transport’s contribution to climate change, according to an EU document. The European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, is doing the groundwork for vehicle CO2 caps that would follow on from a 2021 limit set for cars and a 2020 ceiling fixed for vans. The EU has a separate goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 20 percent in 2020 compared with 1990. As part of that plan, the bloc approved laws capping average CO2 emissions by cars at 130 grams a kilometer in 2015 and 95 grams in 2021 and limiting average CO2 discharges by light commercial vehicles to 175 grams a kilometer in 2017 and 147 grams as of 2020.

Source: Bloomberg

BoE’s Carney sees up to $7 trillion invested in renewable energy

July 15, 2016: As much as $7 trillion of investment will flow into clean technologies that can help curb pollution and climate change over the next two decades, Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) Mark Carney said. Companies and investors can take advantage of the shift to low-carbon energy, spurred by government policies, as they prepare for the risks climate change may bring, such as rising sea levels, Carney said.

Source: Bloomberg

Harvesting renewable energy from mobile phone base stations

July 14, 2016: A team of Australian researchers has found a way to harvest renewable or ambient energy from mobile phone base stations to power battery-operated wireless sensors. Lead researcher Salman Durrani from Australian National University said current wireless sensors for buildings, biomedical applications or wildlife monitoring use batteries which are often difficult to replace. The team accurately modelled how much energy it takes to sense and transfer information by wireless sensors. They are working on further ways to analyse the problem. Wireless sensors are used in various aspects of daily life, including usage to measure temperature, wind speed, light, humidity and soil moisture to optimise the growth of crops and sports to collect performance data from athletes. The team found it was feasible to replace batteries with energy harvested from solar or ambient radio frequency sources such as communication towers or other mobile phone base stations, with communication delays typically limited to less than a few hundred milliseconds.

Source: Business Standard

Deepwater Wind proposes offshore wind power for New York’s Long Island

July 14, 2016: Privately held wind power developer Deepwater Wind has proposed supplying Long Island with 90 MW of offshore wind energy, the company said. The 15-turbine project from Deepwater Wind, builder of the first offshore wind farm in the United States, would become the largest in the country when completed, the company said.

Source: Reuters

Insurers, banks and pensions face climate change risk: Global Risk Institute

July 13, 2016: The world’s insurers, banks and pension funds are “inherently susceptible” to threats from climate change and must make adjustments, from shifting investment toward environmentally friendly industries to revamping strategies to reduce risk, the Global Risk Institute said. Climate change poses “a real and potentially devastating risk” to investment portfolios, including $35.4 trillion overseen by the world’s pensions. Global investment portfolios may lose up to 45 percent due to short-term shifts in climate sentiment, the institute said.

Source: Bloomberg

IPM, Partnership fund to invest $100 million in energy projects in Georgia

July 13, 2016: InfraPartners Management LLP (IPM) and Georgia’s Partnership fund plan to invest $100 million in renewable energy-related infrastructure in the ex-Soviet country. The first investment vehicle will provide equity financing for the Eco Green City project in the capital Tbilisi, building medical centers, schools, trade centers and ecologically friendly housing, where 90 percent of the energy will be generated from solar, wind, hydro and biogas energy sources.

Source: Reuters

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