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NATIONAL NEWS
by ETNews
Energy Storage PM Modi urges businesses to invest in battery manufacturing and R&D
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 11 delivered the inaugural address to the 95 th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) addressing the industry and business leaders via video conferencing.
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PM stressed that India is faced with many challenges such as COVID-19, cyclone, earthquakes and more but there is a need find a way to convert these challenges into opportunities, and termed ‘self-reliance’ as the key to moving forward in a post-pandemic world.
PM urged the industrial body and businesses to carve out strategies to achieve this goal by increasing investment in R&D and manufacturing across various industries, and especially those which are currently Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 16, announced government plans to launch an incentive scheme for the promotion of new “champion sectors” with a focus on advanced cell battery storage and solar PV manufacturing in an effort towards making ‘Self-Reliant India’ (Aatma Nirbhar Bharat).
The emphasis of this scheme is on cell manufacturing as it aims to reduce India’s reliance on the import of battery cells and substitute it with domestic manufacturing. The plan is to come up with a suitable performance-linked fiscal incentive heavily reliant on imports of goods such as medical equipment, defence manufacturing, coal and minerals sector, electronics and solar panels, batteries and chip manufacturing and the aviation sector.
Speaking of the need for self-sufficiency in renewable sector PM Modi commented, “Invest in R&D and manufacturing of better batteries to increase the power storage capacity of the solar panel in the country. You can do handholding of MSMEs, and other such institutions, that are engaged in this work.”
“In the changing world, solar rechargeable batteries are going to be a huge market. India can become a huge hub in this area,” he added.
Highlighting the work of International Solar Alliance PM Modi program to incentivize advanced cell chemistry (ACC) manufacturing in India, said Aman Hans, PublicPrivate Partnership Consultant at the NITI Aayog and Secretary of the ACC Battery Storage Program.
The minimum size for individual factory under the proposed mission is 5 GWh and the maximum is 20 GWh. The performance-linked incentive scheme is designed such that the government will be giving actual cash incentive to the ACC manufacturers. The subsidy disbursement will be based on the levels of performance specifications (i.e. cell cycle life and energy density) of ACC manufactured and the ability of the firm to make actual sales in the market.
NITI Aayog has also proposed to incentivize the entire national ACC manufacturing by proposing a composite matrix of customs duty
PM Narendra Modi addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Source: ANI news
said, “Efforts are being made to share the benefits that India sees for itself in the field of solar energy with the whole world. I request all the members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce to extend their contribution and investment towards the targets set for renewable energy, solar power generation in the country.”
He also highlighted that there is a need to be “vocal for local” i.e. arts and crafts which are indigenous or locally manufactured need to promoted and he stressed on the need to control the trend of getting the same
Advanced cell battery storage recognized as ‘Champion Sector’ as a part of 'self-reliant' India
goods from abroad. which will be imposed to facilitate trade for upstream components like raw materials and cell component and there will be relaxation in terms of import duties. While for companies importing end component where the domestic value addition is very minimal, there will be higher custom duty. In addition, for investor assurance, the government will be executing a composite agreement that will ensure the bankability of such projects.
The National Mission for Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage will be the implementing agency for the scheme and the application process will be conducted through a transparent bidding process.
The government is in the final stages of evaluating a 50GWh ACC manufacturing proposal of NITI Aayog and official program launch date is yet to be announced.
Renewable Energy
ReNew Power bags India’s first roundthe-clock solar power tender
ReNew Power, a major RE producer in India has bagged India’s first round-the-clock (RTC) solar power tender floated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at a record low tariff of `2.90 per unit.
ReNew Power won the bid for the whole 400-megawatt (MW) capacity by quoting a tariff of `2.90 per unit. As per the tender conditions, the tariff will increase three percent annually up to the 15th year of the 25-year term of the PPA, taking the levelized tariff for the project to `3.59/ kWh per unit.
This tender is a significant leap for India’s renewable energy sector as it is the first tender that mandates developers to supply round-the-clock energy from 100 percent RE-based energy generation sources such as wind and solar PV, combined with storage.
The projects under this tender will be set up under the Build-Own-Operate model and the developer will have the option to build hybrid plant using wind or energy storage systems. The project also offers flexibility in the type of storage used – it could be a battery system or pump storage or any other. Power from this project will be sold to the NDMC and Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, with each entity off-taking capacity of 200 MW. There was no ceiling tariff for the projects, and the developers are free to set up the project on a Pan-India basis.
Other bidders for the 400 MW RTC solar power project included Greenko Energies Pvt. Ltd, HES Infra Pvt Ltd, and Ayana Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd. SECI awarded the tender to ReNew as it quoted the lowest tariff for the entire 400MW capacity.
Recently, ReNew Power also won the auction to supply clean power for peak requirements through the world’s largest renewable-cum-energy storage power purchase tender by SECI through a reverse auction method.
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The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued the draft regulation for tariff determination from renewable energy sources on April 29.
The draft regulation applies to cases where tariff for a grid-connected generating station or a unit commissioned between July 2020 to March 2023 and based on renewable energy sources.
The regulations will come into effect from July 2020 and will remain in force up to March 2023, unless reviewed earlier.
The scope of the draft includes wind power projects, small hydro projects, biomass power project with Rankine cycle technology, non-fossil-fuel based co-generation projects, solar PV power projects, floating solar projects, solar thermal power projects, renewable hybrid energy projects, RE with storage projects, biomass gasifier based power projects, biogas based power projects, municipal solid waste based power projects and refusederived fuel-based power project subjected to fulfillment of eligibility criteria.
The eligibility criteria for renewable energy with storage project is a RE project including renewable hybrid energy project that uses, partly or fully, renewable energy generated from such project to store energy into storage facility which is connected at the same point of interconnection as the renewable energy project.
The tariff for renewable energy with storage project will be a composite tariff determined for energy supplied from the project including the energy supplied from the storage facility, provided that such tariff may be determined for the supply of power on a round-the-clock basis or for time periods as agreed by project developer and beneficiary.
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Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi takes charge as MNRE Secretary
Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi has assumed charge as the new Secretary to the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) on May 11.
An IAS officer of the 1987 batch, Chaturvedi belongs to Jharkhand cadre and succeeds Anand Kumar who took charge as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Culture.
Prior to being appointed as Secretary to the MNRE, Chaturvedi was serving as Additional Chief Secretary and Additional Secretary (Climate Change Department) of the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment & Forest, Government of Jharkhand.
He holds a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT- Kanpur and a P.G. in International Development from Harvard University (USA).
He has worked in the state government of Jharkhand and Government of India at various positions including field and policy level. He has also worked as Joint Secretary or equivalent in PMO, Dept. of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. project in Leh & Kargil The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in May extended the bid submission deadline for the 14 MW solar power plant with 42 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Leh and Kargil to June 30, 2020.
SECI had floated the tender for setting up the plant under Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP) in February this year. The bid submission deadline prior to the extension was June 1, 2020.
In April, SECI extended the bid submission deadline for the project to June 01, 2020, from previously announced April 16, 2020. This is the second extension of the deadline announced by SECI.
`90,000 crore liquidity infusion for cash strapped Discoms
Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on May 13, announced `90,000 crore liquidity injection for power distribution companies (Discoms) as a part of the first tranche of measures to revive the country’s battered economy.
The measures for relief and credit support in the first tranche were focused on businesses and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and were aimed at strengthening Non-Banking Finance Institutions (NBFCs), Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), microfinance, and power sector as well.
As per the announcement the state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification (REC) will infuse the liquidity of `90,000 crore.
This amount will be used by Discoms to pay their dues to the transmission and generation companies.
The FM underscored the Central Public Sector Enterprises and generation companies should give a rebate to Discoms who are passing the benefit to the end consumer as a relief towards their fixed charges.
In additional measures, government also announced a rebate for Discoms in the lockdown period amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 15, the government directed Gencos under the Ministry of Power including their subsidiaries and central public sector transmission company to offer a rebate to Discoms for passing on to the end consumers for the lockdown period.
Central Power Gencos/Central Transmission Companies have been suggested to consider giving rebate of 20-25 percent on power supplied (fixed charges) to Discoms Image for representation only
Bid submission deadline extended for solar+storage Image for representation only
during the this period.
Renewable Energy NTPC and ONGC to set up joint venture for renewable energy business
India’s biggest power generator NTPC along with state-run oil and gas explorer ONGC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a joint venture for renewable energy business on May 21.
As per the MoU, NTPC and ONGC will explore the setting up of offshore wind and other renewable energy projects in India and overseas. They shall also explore opportunities in
the fields of sustainability, storage, e-mobility, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliant projects.
The MoU was signed by Subhash Kumar, ONGC Director (Fin) in-charge Business Development & Joint Ventures and A K Gupta, NTPC Director (Commerce) through virtual conferencing.
NTPC presently has 920 MW of installed renewable power projects in its portfolio and about 2300 MW of RE projects under construction. With this tie-up, NTPC would accelerate its RE capacity addition program and also expand its footprint in offshore wind and overseas renewable energy projects. This will help India's largest power generator achieve its ambitious target of 32 GW of Renewable Energy Projects by 2032.
ONGC has a renewable portfolio of 176 MW comprising 153 MW wind power and 23 MW of solar. This development is expected to help the company's presence in the RE power business and achieve its ambition of adding 10 GW of renewable power to its portfolio by 2040.
MNRE issues draft guidelines for off-grid solar power plant scheme in RESCO mode
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued draft guidelines for the implementation of off-grid solar power plant in renewable energy service company (RESCO) mode.
RESCO model is considered one of the most successful ways to expand solar installation as it is a less capital-intensive solar scheme.
Image for representation only In RESCO mode consumer pays only for the electricity generated, while the solar system is owned by the developer.
As per the guidelines the scheme is applicable only in the Northeast States of India for installation of offgrid solar PV plants through RESCO mode with Central financial assistance (CFA) of 90 percent of the benchmark cost of the system.
The guidelines provide design aspects for both isolated off-grid systems and grid-connected system and tariff estimation for two cases – one, in which subsidy is paid upfront, the levelized tariff discovered is `5.96 per kWh, and two, in which 50 percent subsidy is paid upfront and the balance after completion of five years, the levelized tariff is `9.55 per kWh.
The guidelines propose that under RESCO model the vendor should install and operate the solar power plant of capacity up to 10 kWp for at least 10 years and solar PV plants of capacity above 10 kWp for at least 15 years. Solar power plants will be installed by the RESCO on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis. After completion of this time, the plant will be handed over to the beneficiary in operating condition.
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Terms & ConditionsTerms & Conditions
Electric Vehicles Will expedite vehicle scrappage policy: Nitin Gadkari
The Center on February 25 notified the Battery Waste Management Rules 2020 and sought public suggestions for the same.
As per the draft rules, the government has directed manufacturers and dealers to record and collect used batteries against the new batteries sold, excluding those sold to original equipment manufacturers and bulk consumers.
The notification has four chapters which are divided into eight rules, aimed at fixing the responsibility of battery manufacturers, importers, assemblers, and re-conditioners.
The rules state that it shall be their (manufacturers and others) responsibility to ensure that the used batteries collected back are of similar type and specifications as the new ones sold, and that collection centers must be set up by them, either jointly or individually, at various locations for collection of used batteries from end consumer and dealers.
The rule adds that it must be ensured that used batteries collected are sent only to the registered recyclers, and the necessary arrangements must be made with dealers for safe transportation from collection centers to the registered recycling spaces. The rule further states that they need to ensure no damage is done to the environment during the process of transportation of batteries from collection centers to recycling areas.
The rules include that manufacturers and others must create public awareness through advertising, publications,
Nitin Gadkari Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Gemopai to launch mini to expand its network of smart EV posters and other means as deemed necessary to inform consumers of the hazards of lead, cadmium and mercury and their obligation to return used batteries to dealers or collection centers alone. They should also provide instructions for handling and disposal of the equipment after its use.
The notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the draft will be open to public suggestions and objections for 60 days since the rules were notified, following which the government will bring the notification
e-scooter ‘Miso’ in June
Gemopai Electric Scooters, a joint venture between Goreen E-Mobility and Opai Electric is planning to launch a mini electric scooter ‘Miso’ in India by next month. The company which offers a single-seat option in Miso is calling it “India’s first social distancing mini scooter” that will enable safer mobility amid the COVID-19 conditions.
The Miso mini electric scooter will be available in two variants. One will be equipped with a loading carrier at the rear or luggage rack for use in the commercial fleet segment. The other, will not have a loading carrier, designed for buyers who wish to use Miso for personal mobility.
Gemopai will come with different battery options that will provide a range of 65 km on a full single charge. With the exception of the battery pack, Gemopai Miso will be a wholly ‘made-inIndia’ scooter.
Tata Power to have 700 EV charging stations by March 2021
Private electric utility company and a forerunner in the clean energy sector, Tata Power announced plans into effect.
charging points from around 170 at present to over 700 by end of the fiscal year.
The company plans on enabling EV migration in India by creating a national network of charging infrastructure under the brand name of Tata Power EZ Charge.
According to the company, the growth in demand for EVs is expected to outstrip ICE vehicles after witnessing a prolonged slump. The year 2019-20, recorded a 20 percent jump in volume sales from 1.35 lakh EV sales in 2018-19 to over 1.5 lakh sales.
Tata Power EZ Charge has already installed 170 fast and smart-charging points in various usage environments in more than 20 cities across the country, including major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, and plans to extend the network to more cities by the end of the fiscal year.
The company is also in talks with metro rail authorities and municipal corporations for setting up EV charging stations across the country and plans on expanding its public charging locations at metro stations, malls, theaters, and along national highways.
Tata Power already has signed MoUs with petroleum companies for setting up commercial EV charging stations at fuel outlets and has tie-up with Tata Motors, Jaguar Land Rover to provide entire charging solutions to them including stations at their locations and home charging for the customers. Tata Power is part of Tata uniEVerse (along with other Tata Group companies) – a concept that has been conceived and developed to enable a complete e-mobility ecosystem to provide for future mobility demands strongly anchored on sustainable solutions.
Ather Energy and Bounce announce new bike ownership scheme
Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy announced a new scheme with rental bike platform Bounce that allows Ather 450 owners to rent or lease the e-scooter through Bounce. As per the new tie-up, buyers can earn money per month by listing their Ather 450 purchase through this deal on the Bounce platform. If shared for 8 days in total, you can earn up to `2,500 per month, depending on successful matching. If you share for more days in a month, you can earn more than 2,500 said Ather Energy. The e-scooter comes with a portable charger as opposed to a home Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and MSME, Nitin Gadkari in June said the government is formulating a new policy on import parking charging solution that is made available to other customers. This enables users to charge their Ather 450 anywhere from a regular 5A socket. Further, it also provides free access to Ather Grid, the fast charging public network, for one substitution and India should no longer depend on China.
The announcement by the minister came the wake of escalating tensions at the Ladakh border between India and China.
The union minister was speaking at a webinar on India’s electric roadmap post COVID-19. Mr Gadkari urged that though Indian EV companies earn significant profit by importing parts from China,
year post the purchase in any of the 30 plus locations in Bengaluru.
In order to list your Ather 450 for rent through Bounce, you are required under the Motor Vehicles Act to obtain a commercial permit, Bounce said. The registration fee of the vehicle will be facilitated by Bounce.
The final price of the Ather 450 under this scheme is `1,15,494, inclusive of Ather portable charger, the FAME II subsidy (`26,732), and five-year comprehensive insurance.
The Ather-Bounce scheme is only operational in the city of Bengaluru
Nitin Gadkari urges EV manufacturers not to depend on China
for now. in the long term the country should produce everything locally.
He also stressed that there was a need to focus on research and innovation to ramp up domestic manufacturing in India. He, however cautioned Indian companies saying Chinese companies may give a reasonable concession in the beginning but later as industry production increases, they will hike the charges.
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