Cement Energy and Environment

wheeling. States discourage wheeling and banking for captive and third-party use. Transmission - intra inter-State - is grossly inadequate. While Section 42 of the Electricity Act, 2003 promises open access, it will be far from reality unless significant capacities are created in transmission. Even 15 years after the power reforms policy, no private sector entry in transmission is seen or envisaged in the near future . PGCIL has the sole monopoly. Cross-Subsidy Surcharge for open access by unrelated buyer-seller combines as stipulated by the EA 2003 has not been clearly defined yet. In some cases such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, it is as high as Rs 3.50 per unit sold. In the case of Maharashtra, the MERC has declared this as nil. Some States, such as Madhya Pradesh, have pegged this at lower than Re 1/-. There has been no stable policy from any of the States, though the Act stipulates that the surcharge is to be withdrawn in toto in five years. Given these conditions , how would an MPP sell its output? There is no private market. Conditions are not conducive for development of a private market in the near future. Even if it exists, the cost economics will be dictated by high wheeling charges and the cross-subsidy surcharge, as the States would not give up this creamy layer and would continue to levy high surcharge. Selling to SEBs and discoms (distribution companies) during peak hours and lean season (summer)is a strong possibility. This is already being handled by NTPC and other agencies. There may be a few summers like recently when Maharashtra bought power at Rs 10 per unit. But these are far and few in between and MPPs cannot be set up based on summer demand alone. Trading licenses were encouraged, but effectively there is no trading market, except between State utilities. No private trade has been signed so far, not even for a single unit of electricity. Hitch on Coal The Ministry wants to encourage coal-based MPPs and allocate coal blocks to them. These plants cannot be switched on and off at will. They will require an eight- to ten-hour cycle time to stop and start, and even then the fuel loss is very high. MPPs typically have to supply whenever there is demand. Peaking stations are to operate only in the peak hours. This being so, coal is not a recommended fuel at all for MPPs. Natural gas is the only option. But given the pricing and availability, natural gas-based stations are not feasible unless supplies are assured. With so much uncertainty, who would finance the MPPs? While NTPC, BHEL, etc., alone can put up their balance sheet for these projects; no other private operator is capable of exposing their books for such ventures. Even in the case of NT PC or BHEL, they may set up a few peaking stations near the gas pipelines and but would not go for capacities such as 1000 MW. Thus, given the complexity of the Indian market, the scheme for MPPs may remain a dream unless the market reforms totally and free access is made ave. . able to the consumer for creation of a competitive market. Courtesy: Industrial Cogeneration India, January 2015, Pg. 21-22. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR IN INDIA Dr. Arun K. Tiripathy Along with the government's agenda of "sustainable and inclusive growth", Renewable Energy (RE) in India has emerged an integral part of the solution to meet the nation's energy needs and an essential player for energy access. RE has to play a much deeper role in achieving energy security in the years ahead. Renewable Energy Potential India has an estimated RE potential of about 895 GW from renewable exploitable sources ,,iz., wind: 100 GW (at 80 m mast height); small hydro: 20 GW; bio-energy: 25 GW; and solar power: 750 GW (including 60 GW from grid solar photo voltaic (PV) rooftops assuming 3 per cent wasteland is made available for significant potential from decentralized application. Present Scenario There has been a visible impact of RE in the Indian energy scenario during the last decade. Apart from contributing about 13 per cent in the national grid electricity generation, RE based decentralized and distributed applications have benefited millions of people in Indian villages by meeting their cooking, lighting, and other energy needs in an environment-friendly manner. The social and economic benefits include reduction in 29