RENEWABLES

India can save $19.5 billion annually with shift from coal to clean power: Report

India plans to add 76 gigawatts (GW) of utilityscale solar and wind power by 2025, leading to savings of up to $19.5 billion a year (Rs. 1,588 billion) versus burning coal, according to new research from Global Energy Monitor. The move will also put India in the top seven countries globally in terms of prospective renewable power.

This build-out can avoid the use of almost 78 million tons of coal annually, or roughly 32 GW in coal power plant capacity, which is more new coal capacity than the country has added since 2018.

According to the report, the annual savings in

India can skyrocket if the coal to clean switch matches the country’s ambitions. India plans to add an additional 420 GW of wind and solar power by 2030, which would increase the annual savings from avoiding coal power to more than US$58 billion, with total savings reaching US$368 billion by 2030.

Costs for solar and wind power continue to plummet, and compared to volatile fossil fuel prices, renewables present a far better option for building new energy infrastructure, ," said Shradhey Prasad, Project Manager for the Global Wind Power Tracker.

India is fast emerging as renewable energy equipment manufacturing hub, says power minister

Prompt action on cheap Chinese imports of renewable energy equipment and the central government’s Productivity Linked Scheme (PLI) to encourage local manufacturing have resulted in the country emerging as a major exporter, minister for power & new and renewable energy, Raj Kumar Singh said in DAVOS 2023.

“Up to 80 per cent of the cells and modules were coming from China. They (China) tried dumping their products here. We put anti-dumping duties. When that didn’t work, we put 40 per cent duty and introduced a mechanism for an approved list of models and manufacturers. As a result, the bulk of the country’s requirements for cells, modules, etc., were increasingly being met by domestic manufacturers” he said.

He said the capacity was already 25 GW for modules, with an additional 11 GW capacity expected to be added through polysilicon and module manufacturing. Energy storage is the largest pre-requitite for energy transition. Given the high cost of storage technologies, his ministry had come out with a tender for 1000 MW hours of storage, the largest such bid globally.

In a bid to provide relief to solar power projects stuck amid a shortage of modules, the Centre has extended the deadline for completion of projects for which bids were finalized before the announcement of the basic customs duty on modules.

The ministry of new and renewable energy said the projects for which bids were submitted before 9 March, 2021, can now complete the project by March 2024. On 9 March, 2021, the Centre announced that from 1 April, 2022 imported solar PV modules would attract a basic customs duty (BCD) of 40% and imported solar PV cells would attract BCD of 25%.

The government has also come up with production linked incentive scheme to encourage the domestic solar module industry. However, with the domestic industry yet to pick pace and the high import duty and the Approved List of Modules and Manufacturers (ALMM) have impacted the availability of modules in the country and affected ongoing projects. The solar power industry is already reeling from a sharp rise in module prices in the last two years.

India should take cue form others on solar solutions’

Nobel Laureate AmartyaSen emphasized on the importance of taking a cue from other countries to become more energy-efficient by adopting small-scale solar solutions, while speaking at a panel discussion on “(Em)Powering India, Solar Solutions,” organised by Pratichi Trust at the AmartyaSen Research Centre in Salt Lake.

Centre extends timeline for solar projects’ completion

Sen spoke about lack of awareness in India about use of solar energy. He also said that there was a deficit in supply of natural resources like natural gas and that more awareness was needed on this. Sen said we should see what others were doing in this field and that there was nothing to feel ashamed of, mentioning two ways in which India can decide on making better and more efficient use of solar power. India should do more research on this and learn from others who are ahead of us in this field.

Sen asserted that China and Europe are much ahead in this field. “We shouldn’t shy away from seeking help from other countries, knowledge grows when it is shared and discussed among others,” he said.

Thee floating solar power plants to be set up in MP with investment of Rs 7 500 crore

The work of installing three floating solar power plants in water reservoirs in Madhya Pradesh with a total investment of Rs 7,500 crore will start soon, state officials said.

The work on three floating solar power projects at a total cost of Rs 7,500 crore will start soon, officials said. These projects will be in addition to the 600 MW floating solar power plant in Omkareshwar dam area of Khandwa district.

Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth a total of Rs 16,000 crore in the field of energy and renewable energy were signed at the summit. Madhya Pradesh's New and Renewable Energy Minister Hardeep Singh Dang assured the investors that they will not face any problems if they set up their units in the state.

India added ~11 GW of utility scale solar capacity in 2022; 47% higher than 2021 installations

From January 2022 till December 2022, approximately 13,956 MW solar capacity and 1,847 MW of wind capacity was added in India. This is about 17.5% and 26.6%, respectively, higher compared to 2021.

In terms of cumulative installations, according to the data released by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) till December 2022, India’s RE installation capacity reached 120.85 GW. Solar energy contributes for approximately 52% share in the total RE segment, making it the major contributor followed by wind energy (35%), Bio Power (9%) and Small Hydro (4%). Share of solar has increased by 5 percentage points in last 1 year.

From Jan-Dec 2022, about 11.3 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity was added in India. Compared to Jan-Dec 2021 period, installations are about 47% higher.

In the rooftop solar segment, about 1.9 GW is added in the last 12 months, this is about 42% lesser than 2021 installations. While in offgrid/ distributed solar segment, nearly 700 MW was added which is about 50% lesser than 2021 installations.

3 Hydro power plant units start functioning again after 4 years

Jaipur - Three units of the hydro power plant at RanaPratapSagar Dam in Rajasthan that submerged nearly four years ago have been made operational by the Rajasthan RajyaVidyutUtpadan Nigam Ltd (RVUNL). The department is generating 30-lakh units of electricity per day after making these units operational.

In 2019, the power units were completely submerged in Chambal water and it was considered impossible to generate power again from these 50-year-old units. However, after engineers put untiring efforts, power generation started. One more unit having a capacity to generate 10.32 lakh units of electricity per day will be started soon, a senior official said.

RanaPratapSagar Hydroelectric Power Station is the oldest power station in Rajasthan. The 172 MW (43 MW x 4 units) hydroelectric power station was established on Chambal river in 1968 under the joint Chambal Valley Project of two states, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

11 GW hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh

India is planning a hydropower project on the strategically important Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh of 11,000 MW capacity, people aware of the matter said. The purpose of the project, apart from generating electricity, is also to con- trol floods, state-owned NHPC Ltd has submitted a pre-feasibility report for the Upper Siang Multipurpose Storage project.

The project, spearheaded by the ministry of jalshakti, will aim at live storage of 9 billion cubic meters of water. The report on the project has been sent to the Central Electricity Authority for approval.

The cost of setting up a hydroelectric project is generally 6-10 crore/MW, and the gestation period for such projects is usually over nine years, depending on the size and the works. Siang is the most important river in Arunachal which also forms the main trunk of river Brahmaputra

Torrent Power eager to buy 1.1 GW of wind, solar from ReNew –Report

Indian power producer Torrent Power is keen on buying a 1.1-GW portfolio of wind and solar projects from compatriot ReNew Energy Global Plc. Two sources familiar with the matter have said that Torrent Power has made a non-binding offer for 350 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and 750 MW of wind projects at an equity value of USD 450 million (EUR 422.8m) or an enterprise value of USD 1.2 billion. Talks regarding the valuation are reportedly still in progress.

ReNew’s gross renewable energy portfolio across India amounted to 13.4 GW at the end of September 2022, including commissioned and committed projects.

In November 2022, the Mint wrote about the company’s plan to divest its operational, clean energy capacity under an initiative aimed at gathering funds for the construction of new green energy plants.

India aims high as hydrogen power alternatives get boost

India has been pushing for alternative fuels and has repeatedly declared its desire to adopt hydrogen in order to meet the net-zero emission goal. With enormous potential to generate green hydrogen, India can become the market leader. As per the Centre India is prioritizing production of green hydrogen from biomass, hydrogen from water and from organic waste.

India, with the contribution of private players, can achieve 25GW of manufacturing capacity of electrolysers by 2028. A NITI Aayog report says that India can stop putting out 3.6 gigatons of CO2 by 2050 by using green hydrogen. Therefore, it is crucial for both the Indian government and the private sector to explore green hydrogen options to manufacture vehicles.

British-origin company Morris Garages, or MG, unveiled India's first ever hydrogen car and has confirmed that they were ready to mass produce hydrogen vehicles and were waiting for the government's go-ahead.

India Aims To Become Key Semiconductor Supplier For World: Union Minister AshwiniVaishnaw

Sensing a huge opportunity in the global semiconductor market, India has set in motion an ambitious plan to become a key supplier for the world with the government itself putting in USD 10 billion, Communications Minister AshwiniVaishnaw said. The minister said there is a very large market that requires semiconductor and India has a huge potential in terms of infrastructure, talent pool and technology.

We see a huge potential for India to become a key semiconductor supplier for the entire world, that too for the latest requirements including for electric vehicles and for all cutting edge technologies. We are convinced that the demand is going to be huge," he added.

"The industry is going to double in size to USD 1 trillion in the next 6-7 years with the growth rate set to accelerate in a big way," he added.