RENEWABLES

Timely commissioning of renewable projects key for India to achieve NDC targets: Govt

Delay in the commissioning of non-fossil fuelbased power generation capacities is going to be one of the biggest challenges before India in achieving its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. As per the latest NDC targets, India has committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from the 2005 level and achieving about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

As on March 2023, the installed capacity of the country was 415.4 gigawatts (GW), which comprises 236.68 GW from thermal (211.8 GW coal and lignite and 24.8 GW gas), 6.78 GW from nuclear, 171.8 GW from renewable energy sources (42.1 GW large hydro, 66.8 GW solar, 42.6 GW wind, 4.7 GW small hydro, 4.8 GW pumped storage projects, 10.8 GW bio-power).

But with the onset of the Covid‐19 pandemic, the pace of energy development in the country has taken a hit. While solar projects were worst affected due to this with at least 25 GW of projects still stuck, the story is no different for hydropower projects, which not only face geological issues but also resentment from the locals leading to years of delay. The commissioning deadlines of at least seven hydropower projects have been pushed by a year or more.

National Renewable Purchase Obligation on the cards

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working towards bringing in a National Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) to replace the current state-wise RPOs, which have not been effective.

This has become necessary in the context of the plan to auction 50 GW of wind, solar and hybrid capacities annually, and a change in the method of auction from ‘reverse bidding’ to ‘closed bidding’. The change means that the bidders won’t have to start out-bidding each other after their initial bids are opened, which effectively means that the tariffs at which they sell their power would rise.

It is broadly expected that wind and solar tariffs would rise from the current levels of around Rs 2.90 a kWhr, to around Rs 3.30. The fear is that the electricity distribution companies (discoms), which have become used to buying power at low tariffs, would resist the rise.

Power Minister meets EU delegation, talks held on cooperation in advancing Clean Energy

Union Minister for Power and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh met FransTimmermans, Executive Vice President, European Green Deal, European Union in New Delhi on 26th May 2023 to discuss cooperation under the EU – India

Clean Energy and Climate Partnership. The discussion swirled around subjects like energy efficiency, renewable energy, including solar and offshore wind, green hydrogen, energy storage, diversification of global supply chain for energy sector, the International Solar Alliance, India’s G20 Presidency and how India and EU can collaborate on clean energy transition.

The Power Minister informed the EU delegation that with India growing at a rapid rate, the power demand is accelerating. While the established capacity in India stands at 416 GW, it is going to get doubled by the year 2030. Accordingly, India is adding to its power generation capacity. The minister also highlighted that despite India’s per capita and cumulative emissions being one of the lowest globally, the country has emerged as a leader in Energy Transition and Climate Action.

The Minister said that manufacturing capacity for the most advanced solar cells and panels is coming up. By 2030, India seeks to take total manufacturing capacity to 80 GW.

Power Finance Corp to boost loans to renewable projects

Power Finance Corp plans to increase its loan book exposure to renewable energy projects, including funding new areas such as green hydrogen and ammonia, to 27% (with large hydro) by FY30 from the current 10%, chairman Ravinder Singh Dhillon said.

To achieve the target, the company's disbursements towards renewable energy projects could go up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the next seven years. The state-owned company expects to play a significant role in funding green projects in the future and position itself as the focal agency for energy transition. The company has the advantage of providing funds for longer tenure and at competitive rates and taking larger exposures.

"As for non-performing assets (NPA), it is at the lowest level ever in the last six years for the company. We have the largest lending portfolio in the renewable energy space with a renewable book of Rs 48,200 crore," he said.

India considers cutting solar panel import tax to make up domestic shortfall

India is considering cutting its import tax on solar panels by half and is seeking a rollback in goods and services taxes on the devices to make up a shortfall in local output amid rising demand for renewable energy, three government sources said. India's renewable energy ministry has held talks with the finance ministry to approve its request to cut the import tax on solar panels from 40% to 20%.

The change will come as a boost for Indian solar power giants such as Tata Power, Adani Green and Vikram Solar which won solar power supply contracts by quoting aggressive tariffs but face shortage of local equipment to complete the contracts. India imposed the 40% solar panel import tax in April 2022 and a 25% tax on solar cells to discourage Chinese imports.

Though solar currently makes up over half of India's renewable energy capacity, domestic component supplies have been slow to pick up, and the industry was also spooked by higher import taxes. One of the government officials said India's reliance on solar panel imports in the next two years was "expected to be heavy at nearly 8-10 gigawatts per annum.

Module import curbs to hit solar projects, says industry body

While India aims to install a renewable energy (RE) capacity of 500 GW by 2030, a section of solar developers are worried over the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), which they think have increased prices and reduced the supply of solar cells and modules. Only Indian companies have been listed under ALMM, making it impossible to import cheaper modules.

India‘s RE plan for 2030 includes solar energy of 280GW, and 40 GW of this will come from Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Programme and 30.8 GW under Pradhan MantriKisanUrjaSurakshaevamUtthanMahabhiyan by 2026. The steep levy of duties has impacted plans of commissioning solar plants because of which many plants became unviable.

“Even the Rooftop scheme and KisanUrja schemes are performing badly across the states because the government has not taken into consideration the demands of all stakeholders,” Sunil Bansal, President of Rajasthan Solar Association (RSA) said. As of March 31, 2023, total solar installation capacity in the country is 66.78 GW. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka are the top performing states with an installation capacity of 17.05 GW, 9.25 GW and 8.24 GW respectively.

Hydropower mega-merger proposal likely next month

State-owned hydropower company NHPC Ltd is likely to submit a proposal next month to merge two other public sector hydro companies, THDC India Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corp. Ltd (Neepco) with itself, said Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi, CMD of NHPC.

“The government plans to bring together the diverse and unique expertise of the three hydropower companies to boost the country’s hydropower sector to provide uninterrupted power when solar power is not there. NHPC has the experience of working in remote areas, THDC has the expertise of building large projects and Neepco has the required expertise of working in the northeastern region. The intention is to bring all this experience under one entity," Vishnoi said.

It is anticipated that the combined capacity of the merged entity would be around 20 GW. NHPC’s total installed capacity as of 30 April, according to the company’s website, is 7.097 GW, including hydro, solar power and wind power. NHPC’s share of national hydropower stands at about 14.88% of the country’s total installed hydro capacity of 46.850 GW.

India's SatlujJalVidyut Nigam Limited gets second hydro proj-

ect in Nepal

India's SatlujJalVidyut Nigam Limited has received a permission to develop a second hydropower project in Nepal. Currently, India's stateowned company is developing a 900-mw Arun -III hydroelectric project which is going to complete the construction work by 2024.

Now, the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) has approved the project development agreement (PDA) draft to be signed with India's stateowned SJVN to develop the 669-megawatt (MW) Lower Arun Hydropower project in eastern Nepal which is based on the same river. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, chaired the meeting. The draft is due for approval by the Cabinet.

SJVN—Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's SatlujJalVidyut Nigam (SJVN), is developing the project on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis. SVJN is a joint-venture between the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh.

ISTS charges for offshore wind, green hydrogen, ammonia projects waived off for 25 yrs

In a major decision, the government has decided to waive off ISTS charges for offshore wind projects, Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia projects for a period of 25 years, the Ministry of Power said.

The offshore projects commissioned from January 1, 2033 would be given graded ISTS charges. Offshore wind projects commissioned between January 1, 2033 to December 31, 2033 will pay 25 percent of the applicable ISTS charges, between January 1, 2034 to December 31, 2034 will pay 50 percent of the ISTS charges and between January 1, 2035 to December 31, 2035 will pay 75 percent of the ISTS charges.

Projects commissioned on or after January 1, 2036 will pay 100 percent of the ISTS charges.

The ISTS charges on drawl of energy from energy storage projects, which was earlier granted to the project, will henceforth be available for each individual user of such project. The individual user will get this benefit, if at least 51 percent of the energy utilised by the user for charging the storage system is renewable energy. Earlier the limit of 51 percent was at project level.

Adani Wind Energy Kutchh Five Ltd

will advise the two governments on accelerating manufacture and deployment of clean hydrogen, with a focus on hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells and creating infrastructure and regulations that support these aims, a press release from Indian Prime MinisterNarendraModi's office said.

commissions

130

MW

wind power plant in Kutchh

Adani Wind Energy Kutchh Five Ltd, a subsidiary of GautamAdani-controlled Adani Green Energy, announced the successful commissioning of a 130 MW Wind Power Plant in Kutchh, Gujarat. The plant, operated under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) at a rate of Rs. 2.83/kWh, marks a significant step for AGEL in expanding its renewable energy portfolio.

The newly commissioned plant will be managed by the Adani Group’s intelligent ‘Energy Network Operation Centre’ (ENOC) platform, which has continuously demonstrated and aided AGEL in achieving superior operational performance of its entire renewable portfolio spread across diverse locations in India.

Australia, India to set up green hydrogen task force

India and Australia today agreed to set up an Australia-India Green Hydrogen Task Force to jointly develop green hydrogen resources.

The Indian and Australian governments finalised the terms of reference of the task force, which

"The task force will comprise Australian and Indian experts in renewable hydrogen and report to the Australian-Indian Ministerial Energy Dialogue on the opportunities which are there for Australia and India to cooperate in this important area of renewable hydrogen," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

India’s semiconductor market may reach $64 billion by 2026: Report

The country’s semiconductor market is expected to reach $64 billion by 2026, with significant demand from sectors like consumer electronics, telecom and IT hardware, according to a joint report by Counterpoint Research and the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA).

India’s telecom stack as well as industrial applications are expected to account for two-third of the semiconductor market size, the report said. In 2019, the country’s semiconductor market was valued at $22.7 billion.

In the short-term, components leveraging mature technology chips, which are 28 nanometer and higher, are expected to see significant opportunities as they support India’s growing automotive and industrial sectors, the report said. The government had in December 2021 announced aRs 76,000-crore incentive scheme for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem.