Cement Energy and Environment

company is facing financial pressure at its parent company. This follows a decision yesterday where the company has decided to merge its three entities and sell more assets. However, Sun Edison's exit on account of its financial health might not have much of an impact in Indian solar market, as other players were also able to come close to the price quoted by SunEdison in the winning bid . Also, the low prices of solar power in these cases has been possible since the project was set up on a solar farm which brings down the cost of integration and risk of land cost and its procurement. But the falling price of solar power should ring alarm bells for conventional power sector players. According to a KPMG report in India, solar prices are within 15% of the coal power prices on a levelised basis. While this may not fully capture costs such as grid integration costs for solar, KPMG feels that even after considering the same, solar prices would be competitive with coal. Solar sector growth is not only restricted to India - it is soon turning out to be a global phenomenon. KPMG says that the growing scale and competitiveness of solar power could impact local coal prices. Change will be visible in 2017 and will accelerate after the year 2020. Coal prices are expected to chase solar prices in future, KPMG said. At Rs 4.63 a unit, solar power is already close to thermal power plants cost. In the last financial year, the average rate of electricity sold by state– run NTPC Ltd's coal-fuelled projects was Rs .3.25 per unit, while the tariff of power from its other projects ranged between Rs 2 and Rs 4.50 a unit. The International Energy Agency has forecast that renewables will produce more power than coal in 15 years' time. If solar power's current rate of growth continues, its output could match world power demand in just 18 years' time. From big banks such as UBS and Citi group, to environmental groups and technology entrepreneurs, everyone is talking of a "solar revolution". Global solar market estimated by Deutsche Bank to be worth a staggering $5 trillion to 2035. Changing technology is rapidly bringing down the cost of solar power equipment and thus the cost of generating solar power. With impact of global warming visible in climate changes, use of fossil fuel is swiftly coming down. Though solar power companies, either generation or equipment supplier is not yet on analyst's radar, its impact can be felt sooner than later. It's only a matter of time before investors will start moving where corporates already have. Courtesy: Business Standard, November 24, 2015, Mumbai, (from Internet) METRO TURNS TO GREEN FOR POWER SAVING With its electricity bill responsible for nearly 15% of the annual ordinary working expenses, Metro Railway is turning to non-conventional sou rces of power to bring down costs. After Mumbai, Kolkata is the most expensive, so far as power tariff charged from the metro is concerned. Metro Railway purchases power from CESC at Rs 7.20 per unit and consumes 300,000 units per day. While the Mumbai metro pays Rs 8.91 per unit, the rates are Rs 6.10 and Rs 4.80 in Delhi and Bengaluru respectively. One of the reasons for the metro's proposing a fare restructuring is the high cost of power in Kolkata. "We are taking several initiatives to 'Go Green'. While we have started tapping solar energy wherever possible, we are also introducing more efficient equipment to conserve energy. The idea is to bring down expenses and protect the environment. Metro is eco-friendly as it doesn't use fossil fuel directly but power plants do. As there is shortage of space, the emphasis is on setting up small capacity roof-top solar plants. Two solar plants of 10 and 20 kWp have already been commissioned. They have generated 3,217 units of power in 2014-15 and brought down costs by Rs 22 ,183. Two more 10 kWp solar power plants will be commissioned in this financial year. The four plants together will generate 5,500 units resulting in savings of Rs 37,000 annually. This may sound modest but it is a good start," said lndrani Banerjee, SrPRO, Metro Railway. In addition to this, larger solar power plants have been planned on roofs. The two 50kWp plants will be installed at Dumdum and Noapara in 2016-17. The metro has also set up a 300 litres/day capacity solar water heater at Noapara carshed. In 2014-15, it saved 3,000 units of power and cut Rs 20 ,500 from the electricity bill. In this