Crude imports from points east of India, mainly Malaysia and Australia, surged to 187,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October, the highest since April 2014, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources and compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts.
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Year-to-date, solar installations in India stand at 1,652 MW, with cumulative solar installations in the country totalling 4,816 MW
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CEO attributes delays in the completion of the deal to tough Indian laws, but said he was optimistic due to the support of India's government and the strength of its economy
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Emerging markets accounted for nearly 70 per cent of Gamesa's sales of 2,623 MW in 2014, with 34 per cent in Latin America, 26 per cent in India and 9 per cent in China
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The government of India has set an ambitious target of achieving 100 GW solar power capacity by 2022 compared to China’s 100 GW by 2020
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For India, the RICS rankings have placed Mumbai in the second position and the Delhi NCR in the third position
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Coal shortages will be a thing of the past and India won’t need to import dry fuel by 2017, except to meet requirements of the power plants located near coastal area, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday (16 November).“I have been on record to say that I judged that by 2017, India should not need to import coal except for those coastal plants where it is very difficult to transmit coal. I am fairly confident the era of shortages is over,” Goyal said addressing at a KPMG event ENrich 2015. “At next level of UDAY we are looking at complete ability to exchange coal or to swap coal, complete synergy in the in power and coal sectors so that coal is used most efficiently by the most efficient power plants at the nearest location and power is transmitted rather than coal,” said the Minister for Coal, Power and New & Renewable Energy.Coal imports are declining and they fell for the fourth consecutive month in October by 5.1 per cent to 14.52 million tonnes (MT) over same month year ago. In September the import of dry fuel dropped by 27.16 per cent to 12.6 MT on rise in domestic production. India had imported 212.103 million tonnes of coal worth over Rs 1 lakh crore last fiscal. The government is eyeing to achieve 1.5 billion tonnes of coal production by 2020. India is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US with 299 billion tonnes of resources and 123 billion tonnes of proven reserves, which may last for over 100 years. Later, Goyal tweeted, “A quasi sovereign fund is being launched for renewable energy with an RFP soon for appointing the fund manager.” The minister thinks that the renewable energy capacity target of 175 GW by 2022, is not only doable but necessary also in view of energy security of the country. He said,”Energy has to reach the last man at affordable prices. Way forward is energy efficiency, low power prices.” The minister also said that South India benefited by 5000 MW of additional power in last 18 months and 20,000 MW additional transmission capacity in pipeline. As per the minister’s view with launch of discoms revival schemes UDAY, REC and PFC can lend USD 20 billion for areas like transmission, renewables etc. He also tweeted, “250 million tonnes of coal washeries in pipeline. Standard design of washeries to leverage economies of scale.” Goyal also said that the government is working with the NITI Aayog to draw a blue print for energy policy in the country. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is working on a comprehensive energy policy with NITI Aayog which will elaborate about energy mix of the country till 2050. Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan released a KPMG India report titled ‘The Rising Sun – Disruption on the Horizon’. The report highlighted that solar energy could scale up substantially to be a significant energy source by 2025, with the market penetration of solar power expected to be 5.7 per cent (54 GW) by 2020 and 12.5 per cent (166 GW) by 2025. India aims to reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33- 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels, and solar power is likely to contribute 4 per cent towards this target, the report states. It also talked about how the scale up and competitiveness of solar power could disrupt the traditional generators. The disruptive force is expected to start being felt from 2017 and may accelerate post 2020. In some states, which are promoting solar (and also wind power) aggressively, conventional coal generators could see their Plant Load Factors (PLFs) fall by as much as 10-15 per cent by 2020, as solar replaces coal-fired generation in the daytime hours. This effect may speed up post 2020 with the annual addition of large amounts of solar (estimated to exceed by 20 GW per year by 2022-23). The report also highlights that the price for solar power has seen a decline; today, in India, solar prices are within 15 per cent of the coal power prices on a levelised basis and, it is expected that that by 2020, solar power prices would be approximately 10 per cent lower than coal power prices. The solar rooftop power, today, is already competitive compared to grid power for many consumers and, as per the report, if combined with storage, it could be cheaper than grid power after 2022 for a large section of the consumers and drive a considerable shift to rooftop power. A Solar House that is self-sufficient in energy terms could be a reality within the coming decade. (PTI)
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Arshad Khan As per the latest report released by consultancy firm KPMG, solar power will be a significant source of energy by the year 2025 and the market penetration of solar power is expected to increase form 5.7 per cent (54 GW) by 2020 to 12.5 per cent (166 GW) by 2025. The consultancy firm in its study, ‘Enrich 2015’ state that solar power is likely to contribute 4 per cent in India’s aim to reduce carbon emission by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels. The present NDA government made an announcement last month to reduce the emissions intensity by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels, and achieve 40 per cent of its cumulative electric power of around 350GW installed capacity from renewable power ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Paris in December 2015. “A holistic vision is the need of the hour in order to reach 200 million people who are deprived of electricity at a faster rate. I am personally convinced that any amount of investment in this sector will have a quick pay back. This is possible and achievable and I am confident that the era of shortage is over and we are now in the era of surplus. I am hopeful that you will see the economy picking up rapidly and the benefits would be seen across the nation,” said Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, while releasing the report. The minister also made a new announcement that by 2017, India will not need to import coal except for the coastal regions to meet the demands of thermal plants. The report titled, ‘The Rising Sun – Disruption on the horizon’ specifies that prices for solar power will fall below the thermal power in near future and there will be surplus use of energy in the sector. For example ‘Solar House’ that is self-sufficient in energy terms could be a reality within the coming decade. “Solar power and storage are exponential technologies, meaning they could grow very rapidly and take stakeholders by surprise. The rapid rise is good for India but the sector needs preparation by all stakeholders – power generators need to become flexible, discoms should be efficient and retain customers, and the coal sector has to become cost-efficient and flexible to adjust to the evolving scenarios,” said Santosh Kamath, Partner and Head, Renewable Energy Services, KPMG in India. He added that power sector in the country needs very rigorous long-term planning that prepares for a transformed electricity grid of distributed sources, variable renewable and storage solutions. Key Findings from the StudyØ Solar force is expected to start being felt from 2017 and may accelerate post 2020. Some states which are promoting solar (and also wind power) aggressively, conventional coal generators could see their Plant Load Factors (PLFs) fall by as much as 10-15 per cent by 2020, as solar replaces coal-fired generation in the daytime hours. This effect may speed up post 2020 with the annual addition of large amounts of solar (estimated to exceed by 20 GW per year by 2022-23). Ø Solar power prices would be approximately 10 per cent lower than coal power prices. The solar rooftop power if combined with storage, it could be cheaper than grid power after 2022 for a large section of the consumers and drive a considerable shift to rooftop power. Government has set a target to achieve 40GW power from solar rooftop in the total 100GW which is to achieve by solar energy by 2022. Ø There is a need for the government to significantly strengthen the planning infrastructure and processes, and emphasises the energy sector’s need for a new planning paradigm which takes into account the expected emphasis on renewable energy in India. Ø Conventional generators will need to contribute 60 per cent of incremental capacity needs up to 2025, with solar contributing between 20-25 per cent, and considering another 15 per cent coming from wind. However, these additional capacities will need different attributes from the ones we have seen so far. These attributes are related to flexibility in generation (in terms of ramp rates and minimum thresholds) and low fixed cost, and higher variable cost preference, rather than vice versa.
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