India’s NTPC tenders for 400MW of solar projects in Telangana

Indian utility National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has issued another tender for 400MW of solar projects to be located in the Indian state of Telangana.

The two requests for selection, which will go through a reverse bidding process, come under India’s National Solar Mission, the country's flagship programme for deploying solar capacity.

The first tender is for 350MW of capacity, made up of ten 35MW projects in the open category. The second is for 50MW made up of ten 5MW projects to come under Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) rules, which require the project developer to use locally produced cells and modules.

It should be noted that in August, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled against India in a long-running dispute instigated by the US over the inclusion of the DCR in its India's national solar programme, however, the ruling has yet to be enforced.

Having procured the power from the private developers, NTPC plans to bundle 2MWh of solar power with 1MWh of thermal power.

In August, NTPC announced plans to build 15GW of solar projects, which will be made more competitive by bundling the electricity produced together with electricity from some of India’s oldest coal-fired power plants.

Jasmeet Khurana, senior consulting manager at analyst firm Bridge to India, told PV Tech: “India now has a healthy pipeline of new allocations and is on its way to become a 5-10GW a year market in the next couple of years. This will provide significant opportunities to new developers as well as help existing developers ramp up their asset portfolios.”

He added that the tally of open tenders in India has now reached 5,120MW.

India targets 100GW of solar capacity by 2022 and recently submitted its INDC aiming to have 40% of its energy mix coming from alternative sources by 2030

Original Post: PV Tech

India Seeks Soft Bank Push for Modi'sSolar Goal

India has closed bids for a third of its target of tendering 15,000 megawatts (MW) of solar projects this fiscal year, a government official said, and is expecting interest from investors such as SoftBank to lift the industry.

The tenders are part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plans to raise solar capacity five fold to 100,000 MW by 2022 to meet India's growing power needs, create jobs and fight climate change without committing to an emission target.

"We are creating the base for big companies like SoftBank and Foxconn to participate," Upendra Tripathy, new and renewable energy secretary, told Reuters on Monday. "We want big players to come in, costs to come down and targets to be met."

Japan's SoftBank this month announced plans to set up a company to invest $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,32,512 crores) in India's renewable energy industry, with Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn and India's Bharti Enterprise as minority partners. SoftBank's executives have met both Modi and Tripathy.

Indian resources conglomerate Adani Group has all but ended a deal with U.S. company SunEdison for a solar equipment plant, only to start talks with Softbank and Foxconn for investments, sources said.

So far this fiscal year India has closed tenders for about 5,000 MW of solar power and is seeking bids for 5,000 MW more, Tripathy said.

Government-controlled companies Solar Energy Corp of India and NTPC Ltd have issued most of the tenders, along with states such as Madhya Pradesh in central India. SkyPower, Acme Solar, Suzlon Energy and SunEdison have been among the winners.

Tripathy said though companies were keen to invest and solar power was already competing with fossil-fuel derived electricity, central and state governments would have to make it easier for businesses to buy land.

Source: NDTV.com

NTPC Eyes Dollar Bidding To Make SolarPower Cheap

State-run generation utility is considering dollar-denominated tariff to bring down cost of power from its solar projects to less than Rs 5 per unit, the lowest that promoters have bid for a project being set up by the Madhya Pradesh government."NTPC is selling solar power at Rs 3.50 a unit, which is currently the lowest in the market. There could be dollar-denominated bidding and the price may come down to Rs 4.50 or so," company chairman Arup Roychoudhury said on Monday before handing over charge to director A K Jha, the senior-most member on the board.Roychoudhury's five-year term ended on Monday after the government denied extension till his superannuation age, first reported by TOI on August 7. Jha will be in charge for three months, or till a new chairman is appointed, whichever is earlier. A search committee under power secretary P K Pujari has been tasked to select Roychoudhury's successor.

NTPC is selling solar power after bundling it with output from its traditional thermal plants. Mauritius-based SkyPower Southeast Asia Holdings has recently offered a tariff of Rs 5.05 a unit to MP Power Management Company, a state government utility. Solar power price has come down to an average of Rs 5.50 a unit due to the government's viability gap funding scheme and other subsidies.The dollar-denominated tariff bidding, first reported by TOI on march 25, is brainchild of coal and power minister Piyush Goyal, and being considered by several entities setting up solar power projects. Under this arrangement, discoms would quote their price in dollars while tying up solar power for 25-year contractsbut charge consumers in rupee."By all indications, we see a tariff in the region of 6 cents, or Rs 3.60 at an average exchange rate of Rs 60 to a dollar, with a normal rate of depreciation. Under accelerated depreciation, this would come down to 5 cents, or Rs 3," one key official involved in the discussions had told TOI.

A 'hedging cost' of 1.5 cents, or 90 paise or so, would then be added to the tariff. This money would be put into an escrow account used to cover depreciation in value of rupee. The final tariff thus would work out to be 7.5 cents Rs 4.50 a unit, which would make it easy for discoms to sell directly or bundle with supplies from traditional sources.The renewable energy ministry expects to generate a 'hedge fund' of Rs 6,000 crore. Sources said the 'hedge fund' would be enough to cover 3% depreciation in value of rupee over the 25-year contract. But, if the rupee devalues by 5% against the dollar, then the money would be good for 15 years.

Source: TOI

NTPC plans solar powerpush

The power firm looks to make solar equipment as part of its strategy to be present across the renewables value chain

Original Post: Utpal Bhaskar, Livemint

India needs as much as $200 billion to meet its target to install 100GW of solar power and 60,000MW of wind power by 2022. Photo: AP

NTPC Ltd is exploring options to manufacture solar equipment as part of the state-owned power producer’s strategy to be present across the green energy value chain.

To start with, India’s largest power generator is evaluating a plan to set up a 1,000-megawatt (MW) per annum manufacturing capacity, which may require an investment of Rs.5,000 crore.

The plan stems from the fact that NTPC has to set up 10,000 MW of solar power capacity on its own, along with buying 15,000MW from solar project developers, on behalf of the ministry of new and renewable energy.

“We are evaluating the opportunity. We want to be present across the value chain—from polysilicon to solar panels. We have the money, and the present costs can be reduced. Silicon and quartz are available in abundance in the eastern part of India. A presentation on the subject has been made,” said an NTPC executive, requesting anonymity. The plan is at a preliminary stage.

There has been considerable interest in the solar-equipment manufacturing space in India, with US-basedSunEdison Inc. announcing its plans to establish a joint venture (JV) with Adani Enterprises Ltd to build a solar, photovoltaic manufacturing facility in India at an investment of about $4 billion.

US-based First Solar Inc. and China’s Trina Solar are among companies that are considering plans to set up manufacturing facilities in India.

With an installed capacity of 45,048MW, NTPC has around a 17% share of India’s power-generation capacity of 272,593MW, and has set itself a target of becoming a 128,000MW power producer by 2032. It plans to raise the contribution of renewable energy to 28% of its planned capacity by then.

“It is the right time to go for manufacturing. We have a large solar power generation commitment on ourselves. Also, in due course, NTPC has the target to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel sources,” said the executive cited earlier. “With a focus on renewable, solar is a viable solution.”

The government has pushed renewable energy to the top of its energy security agenda and is looking to provide green power at less than Rs.4.50 a unit.

While the current installation cost of a solar project is around Rs.6 crore per MW, economies of scale are expected to drive down the cost to Rs.4.5 crore per MW.

India needs as much as $200 billion (Rs.12.75 trillion) to meet its target to install 100GW of solar power and 60,000MW of wind power by 2022.

Analysts expect solar power tariffs to fall.

“Solar power is likely to become cheaper than, or equivalent to, conventional thermal energy prices over the next two to three years and reach Rs.4-4.5/kWh by FY18,” India Ratings and Research, the domestic arm of Fitch Ratings, said in a 22 July report. “This will be driven by a decline in capital costs (solar modules and other balance of plant), an increase in efficiency, a shift towards large solar photovoltaic projects, leading to the economies of scale and lower return expectations by developers,” the report added.

Queries emailed to spokespersons of NTPC, ministry of new and renewable energy, SunEdison and Adani remained unanswered till press time.

The emphasis on solar and wind power is also expected to strengthen India’s standing at global climate change negotiations that culminate in a summit in Paris in December.

The government’s focus on renewable energy is aimed to minimize India’s dependence on coal-fuelled electricity.

While there has been a growing interest from overseas and domestic investors in the Indian renewable-energy space, concerns are being raised over its viability in the backdrop of state electricity boards (SEBs) increasingly showing a reluctance to buy power on account of their poor financial health. With a debt of Rs.3.04 trillion and losses of Rs.2.52 trillion, SEBs are on the brink of financial collapse.

Russia’s OAO Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, is exploring a huge investment in solar energy in India, Mint reported on 14 July.

Also, SoftBank Corp., with Bharti Enterprises Ltd andFoxconn Technology Group of Taiwan, in June proposed to invest at least $20 billion in solar energy projects in India through a joint venture, SBG Cleantech Ltd.

NTPC invites bid for 

100 mw solar plant in UP

Original Post: Debjoy Sengupta, ET Bureau

• 

(In UP, the state government…)

KOLKATA: NTPC has invited global bids for its 100 mw (10x10 mw) solar capacity project in Uttar Pradesh under the National Solar Mission, a project that equipment supplier has been eyeing since March.

In UP, the state government has joined hands with NTPC to develop a 375 mw solar power park in Jalon district at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore. The state government plans to hand over about 750 hectares to NTPC on a nominal rent for developing the solar park in a phased manner.

The project is part of the state-run company's plans to set up 10,000 mw of renewable energy projects by 2020. The government has appointed NTPC to act as the nodal agency for implementing 15,000 mw of solar projects under the National Solar Mission Phase II Batch II in three tranches - 3000 mw in 2014-17, 5000 mw in 2015-18 and 7000 mw in 2016-19.

In Andhra Pradesh, NTPC is developing the world's largest solar power project at single location - the project in Anantapur district is targeting 1000 mw capacity. This project is proposed to be executed in three phases of 250 mw, 500 mw and 250 mw. During the current financial year, the company has approved an investment of Rs 1,779.25 crore for the Anantapur Solar PV Project, Stage-I.

NTPC, as per its corporate plan, envisages capacity addition of 128 gigawatts with a diversified fuel mix: 56% coal, 16% gas, 11 per cent nuclear, 8 per cent hydro and 9 per cent renewable energy sources. The company has already commissioned seven solar power projects aggregating 110 mw.

Half of this capacity is located on the spare land available at its thermal power stations. The remaining include 5 mw at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and 50 mw at Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh.

NTPC is also planning to set up solar projects in Madhya Pradesh (750 mw), Rajasthan (1000 mw) and Telangana (500 mw). Discussions are in progress in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Pondicherry, which have shown interest in joining hands with the company and providing it land to develop solar projects.

The company also intends to set up rooftop solar panels at all its upcoming thermal plants. It is estimated that panels to produce roughly 1 mw can be installed at each station.