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

India’s ‘absolutely power neutral’ airport to inaugurate 12MWp PV project       

Original Post By Andy Colthorpe 

•  
  Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Airport has 19MW of PV, spread across ground mount, rooftop and carports. Image: SunEdison.
•  
  Kansai Airpot's 11.6MW solar power plant, Japan. Image: Solar Frontier.

An airport in the Indian state of Kerala will become “absolutely power neutral” when it inaugurates a 12MWp solar power plant onsite next week.

Cochin International Airport will unveil its green initiative on 18 August with Kerala’s chief minister, Ooomman Chandy, in attendance, according to local reports.

The commissioning of the PV plant is the third and biggest move so far in this direction by the airport, which installed a 100kWp rooftop plant in 2013 and another shortly after that with 1MWp capacity. According to the airport this was the first megawatt-scale solar PV plant in Kerala.

The latest move adds 45 acres of ground-mounted array, using 265Wp modules by Chinese manufacturer ReneSola and 1MW inverters by ABB India. The project was executed by German engineering company Bosch.

Cochin International Airport’s press release said that the array, when combined with the existing 1.1MW of installed capacity will “technically” make the airport “’absolutely power neutral’”, meaning the PV plants will produce as much electricity as the entire facility demands.  

Other significant airport PV installations in Asia include an 11.6MW PV plant at Kansai Airport in Japan, commissioned in March 2014 and a 19MW plant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

to see more such posts please connect with us on our face Book Page

Connect with Us

2020 Annual Solar Installations To Reach 92 GW (Report)

August 12th, 2015 by Adam Johnston 

Originally published on Solar Love.

Global solar installations will rise by to 2020 to 92 GW yearly, according to a new report from Apricum, compared to 42 GW annually in 2014.

The Berlin-based cleantech consulting firm said most of the 50 GW in annual increases from 2014 until 2020 will come from China, the US, and India, with 36 GW combined.

Image Credit: Queen of the Apostles Solar via Flickr Some Rights Reserved

The Middle East/North Africa/Africa (MENA) region will represent 6 GW, the rest of Asia 5.6 GW, the non-US Americas 4.1 GW, and Europe 3.5 GW.

However, Japan expects to see declines yearly  (-5.2 GW) as it looks to slow its hot growth.

Apricum also notes cumulative installations will reach 604 GW, from 178 GW six years earlier.

In regards to cumulative installations, China will lead with 180 GW, followed by the US (83 GW), Japan (57 GW), Germany (46 GW), and India (41 GW). Concerns over air pollution and climate change will help China with its steady growth.

Meanwhile, the US will see continued growth as more regions hit socket parity and grid parity. Apricum predicts a good 2015, followed by a drop in utility-scale installations as the federal tax credit drops from 30% to 10%, due in 2017.  However, strong rooftop demand, thanks todeclining solar prices will continue to bolster US markets, Apricum suggests. Recent clean power legislation and Hillary Clinton’s plan of reaching 140 GW by 2020 may also have positive effects.

While China, the US, and India remain strong, Apricum’s report points to new “solar boom zones” within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Africa. Insufficient energy will drive African countries towards solar, while MENA countries including Israel, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt are going towards cleaner and cheaper solar energy. Competitive tenders have helped keep prices low (with record lows of 4.9 cents/kWh and 5.84 cents/kWh set within the past year).

Brazil’s strong growth through aggressive auctions and many manufacturers setting up shop there will help push Latin America forward as well. In Q2 of 2015, 363 MW of utility-scale solar energy were added. Brazil was fourth in Q2, behind Honduras, Chile, and Panama, according to GTM Research’s Latin American PV Playbook. While Brazil has potential, recent numbers suggest Brazil will need to do more work to reach Apricum’s fearless predictions.

Europe’s PV market will fall, according to the report. On a positive note for Europe, France is expected to increase renewable energy adoption as it closes its nuclear power plants, which could benefit solar a good deal.

In the future, Europe could see another solar growth period after 2020, when battery storage will reportedly hit grid parity in Italy and Germany. This could help advance residential and commercial installations.

Apricum’s analysis of global markets until 2020 is a unique perspective of where solar energy is heading. However, there are always major X factors which could benefit or detract from the growth. This includes the upcoming Canadian federal election, where the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada is leading the polls narrowly against the Conservative Party. An NDP or Liberal Party government would be more inclined to support renewable energy and climate change initiatives than the current Conservative government.

Nonetheless, hotspots like China, India, and the US will remain good places to invest in solar almost invariably, while Latin America, MENA, and Africa are becoming real contenders in the solar energy game. The future looks bright… if also hot. 

India Releases Detailed Timeline For 100 GW Solar Power Installation

August 15th, 2015 by Saurabh Mahapatra 

Originally published on Solar Love.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in India has shared year-wise capacity addition targets for the ambitious National Solar Mission.

As per the updated targets under the National Solar Mission, India aims to have an installedsolar power capacity of 100 GW by 2022. The original target under the mission was 22 GW by 2022. 100 GW capacity will include 40 GW rooftop solar power capacity and 57 GW utility-scale solar power projects; India had an operational solar power capacity of around 3 GW when the upgraded mission targets were announced earlier this year.

For the current financial year, the ministry has set a target of adding 200 MW rooftop solar power capacity. This is supposed to increase to 4.8 GW in the next financial year (2016–17). In 2017-18, capacity of 5 GW rooftop solar power projects has been envisaged, with a 1 GW additional target up to 9 GW in financial year 2021–22.

The rooftop solar power projects are expected to be commissioned mostly by the state governments through their own solar power policies.

The ministry expects 1.8 GW of utility-scale solar power capacity additions in the current financial year, followed by 7.2 GW in financial year 2016–17. Capacity addition targets for financial years 2017–18 to 2019–20 are 10 GW each, while a total of 18 GW capacity would be added in financial years 2020–21 and 2021–22.

To set up utility-scale solar power projects, the central government as well as the state governments shall organise competitive auctions. These will include auctions for ultra mega solar power projects as well. The government has announced plans to set up 25 such projects, which will have a capacity of up to 4 GW each. They are expected to have a cumulative installed capacity of 20 GW.