Sterling and Wilson, Global Solar firm, to construct 300 MW Solar Photo-voltaic Projects in Egypt under its Feed-in-Tariff Programme for Renewable Energy initiated by Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy. Sterling and Wilson has recently opened its international office at Cairo, capital of Egypt to capitalize on the current opportunities offered by this Program and provide its customized & cost effective Solar EPC Solutions.Bikesh Ogra, President, Electrical & Solar Business of Sterling and Wilson, said, "We at Sterling and Wilson are committed to offering our customized Solar EPC Solutions to internationally renowned Solar Project Developers & IPPs including local Clients. It gives us immense pleasure to be able to execute solar projects across the globe within tight timeframes and costs which are key indicators of our project execution capabilities. We are confident of reaching our target in Egypt and are delighted that we are engaged with Qualified Companies, many of with whom we are already working in South Africa, Jordan, UAE, India, South East Asia, & Latin America"Sterling and Wilson will commission a single 50 MW Solar Photovoltaic power plant in less than 10 months. In completing Projects of targeted capacity, for most of which, construction will run simultaneously, it would like to utilize its ability of localization and an experience gathered in International arena. It believes that Egypt has huge resources and enough Project execution capabilities, to support the timely commissioning of these Solar Power Plants. It also aims to generate a number of employment opportunities locally, involving local talent in Engineering & Project management available in Egypt. It has already engaged Mr. Diaa Eldin Salah Mostafa a Veteran in the Power Generation Industry, as its Country Manager for Egypt. Mr Diaa brings with him rich experience of more than 20 years in Egypt.(BW Online Bureau)
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Union Cabinet is likely to consider this week a proposal to recast Rs 4.3 lakh crore loans of nine state power distribution companies with a view to bring down their liabilities. Sources said the debt restructuring proposal once approved would help the distribution companies in these states to access cheaper loans at an interest rate of around 9 per cent, compared to around 14 per cent that they are presently paying. The total loans to the discoms in the nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand -- add up to Rs 4.3 lakh crore, sources said. The Cabinet, at its meeting on Wednesday, would consider the Finance Ministry's proposal to recast the debt of nine state power discoms so that the companies can repay their debt easily, they added. On account of subsidised tariffs, the state electricity discoms are facing cash crunch and are incurring annual losses of about Rs 60,000 crore. The debt burden has been one of the reasons for state power utilities not going in for new projects to raise electricity generation capacity. The debt liability has also forced them to not buy any additional power from new project, thereby creating peak hour deficit. The NDA government recognises power availability as key to pushing GDP growth rate to 8 per cent. Meetings at the level of the Prime Minister's Office have been held to clear roadblocks to stalled projects in the sector and high debt of state utilities has been identified as the prime reason for the current state of the sector. Sources said after the debt recast, the interest liability of power distribution companies in the nine states will come down besides extension of their loan tenure. According to data by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), country's peak power deficit -- shortage in electricity supply when demand is at its highest -- was 3.2 per cent in March, 2015. The Ministry of Power has set a target of generating close to 1,100 billion units of electricity during the current financial year. Power generation during 2014-15 was 1,048.403 billion units. (PTI)
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Adani Ports and Larsen & Toubro (L&T)on Saturday said they have inked a pact to oversee operations of Kattupalli Port in south-Indian state Tamil Nadu. "Adani Ports (Adani) has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with L&T Shipbuilding (L&T) for evaluating the operations of the port at Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu, with effect from October 2015 for one month," Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said in a filing to BSE. It said definitive agreements in this regard will be entered into later. "Adani shall be responsible for EBIDTA gains and losses arising from the port operation for this period," the filing said. L&T, in a separate filing, said the shipyard will continue to be managed and operated by L&T Shipbuilding. The development comes amid reports that Gautam Adani-led Adani group is likely to take over the operational and management control of L&T Kattupalli International Container Terminal near Chennai to strengthen its presence on the east cost. APSEZ in June got Kerala government's nod for developing the Rs 4,089-crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport project. The Ahmedabad-headquartered group, which already operates the country's busiest port at Mundra in west-Indian state Gujarat, has bagged the order with an estimated cost of Rs 4,089 crore with 4-year timeframe for commissioning of the project. Chairman Gautam Adani had then said, "It is a strategic location being very close to international shipping route and has the potential to become the biggest trans-shipment hub in the region." At present, about one million TEUs of Indian cargo are getting trans-shipped through foreign ports like Colombo. Development of Vizhinjam port will help in cost saving to Indian trade as the boxes can be trans-shipped at a lower cost from Vizhinjam port. APSEZ also operates ports in Mundra, Hazira, Tuna-Tekra (Kandla) and Dahej in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha and specialised coal handling facilities in Mormugao in Goa and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It is setting up a container terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. APSEZ is part of the Adani group, which is one of India's leading business houses with a revenue of over $10 billion. (PTI)
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to help finance a project to increase transmission capacity of an India-Bangladesh power link to allow Bangladesh to better meet sharply rising power demand. ADB’s $120 million loan to Bangladesh will double the capacity of the existing interconnector which links the power grid of western Bangladesh at Bheramara and the grid of eastern India at Bharampur. The two networks were first interconnected in 2013, under a previous project financed by ADB. New transmission capacity will rise from 500 megawatts (MW) to 1,000 MW, ADB said. “There are power surpluses and shortfalls across the region and this project assistance will help these two countries move forward to better utilise their energy generation capacities and to support the broader goal of South Asian regional energy cooperation,” said Anthony Jude, director, energy division, in ADB’s South Asia Department. Bangladesh’s fast-growing economy has soaring energy needs and domestic natural gas supplies cannot keep up with demand, resulting in an increasing dependence on oil and diesel-based plants. To meet its goal of providing electricity for all by 2021, the government is working to increase generating capacity and to source additional supply. The initial linking of the two national grids helped India deliver over 2,000 gigawatt hours of electricity across the border in 2014. Along with ADB’s loan assistance, the government of Bangladesh will provide financing of $63.2 million. The project is expected to be completed in June 2018. (Reuters)
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India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) expects the benefit from reduced gas price to be partly offset by the near 6 per cent rupee depreciation over April-September 2015. The government has reduced the domestic gas prices by 18 per cent to $3.82/mmbtu applicable for 1 October 2015 to 31 March 2016. Thus, the net impact of the reduced domestic gas prices in rupee terms would be nearly 11 per cent-16 per cent. Ind-Ra expects the compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG domestic) end-consumers of city gas distribution entities to benefit from the downward price revision. Over April-September 2015, the price of alternate fuel - diesel - declined by 8 per cent while that of CNG remained unchanged, thus lowering the fuel competitiveness of CNG. Ind-Ra expects the benefits of lower gas prices to continue to be passed on to the consumers. It further expects an Rs2.1/scm-Rs2.3/scm cut in PNG prices and an Rs 2.8/kg-Rs3.0/kg cut in CNG prices. This would make CNG 44 per cent-45 per cent more competitive than diesel, compared with 39 per cent currently. Similarly, PNG would be 1 per cent-2 per cent more competitive than subsidised LPG, compared with negative 8 per cent currently. This is the second domestic gas price reduction and is driven by the decline in average gas prices prevalent at the reference hubs over the period July 2014-June 2015. The first downward price revision was to $4.66/mmbtu (million British thermal unit) from $5.05/mmbtu on 1 April 2015. The average Henry Hub gas prices declined to $3.33/mmbtu from $4.35/mmbtu over January-December 2014. Ind-Ra expects the two major domestic gas producers – Oil India Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited - to face a revenue decline of Rs120 crore-Rs 130 crore and Rs 1080 crore-Rs 1150 crore, respectively, on gas sales during 2HFY16 as the prices have been reduced by 18 per cent. In the mid-stream segment, Gail (India) Limited (‘IND AAA’/Stable) would see Rs 1790 crore-Rs 1900 crore lower trading revenue from the sale of domestic gases during 2HFY16.
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The government on Wednesday (30 September) cut natural gas prices by 16 per cent to $4.24 per unit for the six month period, beginning October 1. Natural gas prices, according to a formula approved by the government in October last year, will fall to $4.24 per million British thermal unit on net calorific value (NCV) basis from the current $5.50 per mmBtu. On gross calorific value (GCV) basis, the new gas price for October 1 to March 31 would be $3.82 per mmBtu as compared to $ 4.66 currently, officials said. Using prevailing price in gas surplus nations like the US, Russia and Canada, the government had in October last year announced a new pricing formula that led to rates rising by about 33 per cent to $5.61 per mmBtu for a period up to March 31, 2015 from the long-standing price of $4.2. The rates, on net calorific value (NCV) basis, dropped to $5.05 per mmBtu for six month period beginning April 1, 2015. The price cut is the second reduction in rates ever — the first being on April 1. While the cut will impact the revenue of producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Reliance Industries, it will bring gains for users in the power and fertiliser sector in the form of lower feedstock cost. As per the mechanism approved in October 2014, price of domestically produced natural gas is to be revised every six months using weighted average or rates prevalent in gas-surplus economies of US/Mexico, Canada and Russia to incentivise exploration in deep-sea that wasn't viable at $4.2 rate. (PTI)
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C.H. UnnikrishnanTulsi Tanti-promoted wind turbine maker Suzlon Group on Tuesday (29 September) said that it has completed the commissioning of a 100.8 MW wind power turnkey project for power generation company CLP India in Rajasthan. CLP India, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Listed CLP Holdings, is currently one of the large wind power developers in the Indian power sector. The new project will provide electricity to over 50,000 homes and help curb some 0.21 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. With the Rajasthan project located at Tejuva in Jaisalmer, Suzlon will offer operations and maintenance for 20 years through an integrated service package contract. It comprises of 48 WTGs (Wind Turbine Generator) of Suzlon’s robust S97- 2.1 MW wind turbines featuring Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) technology. All 48 turbines in this project — which is designed to optimally harness the available wind resources and deliver higher energy, productivity, improved serviceability and higher return on investment (ROI) to customers — have a 90 meter hub height, the company said. “Wind Energy is an integral part of CLP India’s business strategy and is expected to continue making a vital contribution not only to CLP's growth plans for India but also to its commitment to reducing its CO2 emissions,” said Mahesh Makhija, director – Business Development (Renewables) at CLP India. With the successful commissioning of this project, we now have installed wind generation capacity of 874.2MW in the country, he added. According to Suzlon Group chief sales officer Ishwar Mangal, the successful commissioning of this new project demonstrates the group’s strength in being the partner of choice for leading independent power producers. Suzlon also stated in a release on Tuesday that; “Given the positive change in the Indian renewable energy landscape, our focus this year is to cater to Indian market and enhance our market share and the company endeavours to bring down the cost of energy and provide clean and affordable energy for all.” CLP Holdings — one of the leading investor-owned power businesses in Asia at present, is also the top foreign investors in the Indian power sector with a total committed investment of over Rs 14,500 crore. Its investment in India is spread across a diversified and environment-friendly generation portfolio that covers renewable energy, supercritical coal and gas fired power plants, amounting to over 3,000 MW. Entered in India with the acquisition of a 655 MW gas fired power plant at Bharuch, in Gujarat in 2002, ULP also owns and operates a 1,320 MW (2 X 660MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant in Jhajjar, Haryana.
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India will make a $700 million oil payment to Iran on Wednesday, sources said, the first release of such funds after the July deal that sets the roadmap for the lifting of sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear activities. Partial payments of some of Iran's oil dues have been allowed since early 2014 on the basis of a temporary deal that was a prelude to the July agreement, which will eventually end economic sanctions imposed on the country in exchange for curbs to its disputed nuclear programme. Toughened sanctions put in place in early 2012 had halved Iran's oil exports and strangled its oil revenue, crippling its economy and finally bringing it to the negotiating table. The sanctions are widely expected to be terminated in 2016 if Iran complies with terms of deal agreed on July 14. Refiners will be making payment in rupees equivalent to $700 million to the state-run UCO Bank on Wednesday this week, said three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. They said UCO Bank has already bought dollars in the forward markets for payments into the Central Bank of Iran's account with Oman's Bank Muscat. The sources said U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has already approved the banking mechanism and payment of $1.4 billion by Indian refiners in two equal instalments to Tehran. Timing for the second installment is not yet known, the sources said. A U.S. Treasury spokeswoman declined comment. Indian refiners have been depositing 45 percent of their oil payments to Iran in rupees with UCO Bank since 2012. Tehran uses the funds, currently more than Rs 17,000 crore ($2.57 billion), for importing non-sanctioned goods from New Delhi. Refiners have been holding the remainder after a route to pay for oil through Turkey's Halkbank was stopped in 2013 under pressure from sanctions, although payment of some of those funds was allowed after the initial temporary deal. Indian refiners owed about $6.6 billion to Iran as of the end of August. Essar Oil owes about $3.1 billion, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd $2.8 billion, followed by Indian Oil Corp, which owes $581 million. HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) owes $97 million and Hindustan Petroleum Corp has to pay $29 million. Sources said HMEL, which last made purchases from Iran in 2013, has not been participating in the payment mechanism because of a sharp decline in the rupee since then. The remaining four companies will pay Iran amounts in proportion to what they owe, the sources said. HMEL Chief Executive Prabh Das declined to comment. India is Iran's biggest oil client after China, although New Delhi has reduced purchases under pressure from the sanctions. Tehran is now its seventh-biggest supplier, down from the No. 2 spot in the pre-sanctions era.
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