In December 2015, 195 countries made history when they agreed to the world’s most ambitious pact to limit carbon emissions. The Paris Agreement, so named because that is where the COP21 meeting of nations took place, was a landmark accord, setting the world on course to keep global surface temperatures from rising 1.5 oC above the level they were before the Industrial Revolution.
The renewable energy segment presents an attractive investment opportunity in the power sector with record capacity additions, declining tariffs and growing private sector participation. In 2016-17, 11.3 GW of renewable capacity was added, comparable with thermal capacity additions of 11.5 GW during the year. As of end-October 2017, the installed renewable energy capacity stood at over 60 GW, accounting for 18 per cent of the total installed power capacity.
The Ministry of Coal (MoC) has released the methodology for the rationalisation of coal linkages for independent power producers (IPPs), kicking off the process for private developers. Until now this was only available for central and state-owned power producers. As of March 2018, the rationalisation of around 30.46 mt of coal has resulted in savings of Rs 33.54 billion.
The renovation and modernisation (R&M) of power plants is essential for maintaining their operational performance. Ageing infrastructure and increasing operational stress on the equipment leads to a significant deterioration in plant performance. Besides, in recent times, power plant owners have been preparing themselves for flexible plant operations owing to large-scale renewable energy integration into the grid. Through R&M interventions, the performance of traditional baseload plants can be maintained even under flexible operations. Further, modernisation and upgradation of thermal power projects is required to meet the tightened emission norms. In the hydropower segment, R&M can help in quickly adding capacity and improving plant reliability.
The rooftop solar segment grew by 81 per cent in 2016-17 over 2015-16. As opposed to other rooftop-rich countries that have grown on the back of high capacity addition in the residential rooftop segment, the Indian market has seen greater growth in the commercial and industrial rooftop solar segments. As of March 2017, the installed rooftop solar capacity in India stood at 1,396 MW, of which 42.2 per cent or 590 MW was in the industrial consumer segment, 22.4 per cent or 313 MW in the commercial segment and 21.7 per cent or 303 MW in the residential segment, while the rest was installed on government buildings. Together, the commercial and industrial segments account for 65 per cent of the Indian rooftop solar market.
The past few years have been tough for the gas-based power generation segment and the stress seems far from over. Already struggling with low plant load factors (PLFs) and shortage of natural gas feedstock, power producers will now also need to deal with bidding for gas to secure supplies, as reportedly conveyed by the government recently.
The renovation and modernisation (R&M) of coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs) is crucial, both from an environmental and an economic perspective. As of February 2018, there are a total of 622 coal-based power plant units in the country, of which 197 have been operating for more than 25 years. Given that a large number of generating units are old and have outlived their designed life, R&M has been recognised as a cost-effective option to restore the rated capacities of these plants. It helps improve generation, minimise inefficiencies and extend the life of the plants. Moreover, R&M is required for minimising emissions from the existing fleet of old TPPs, thus ensuring compliance with environmental norms.
Coal India Limited (CIL) is set to implement a coal pricing mechanism based on the gross calorific value (GCV) of each coal consignment from April 1, 2018. A more transparent and reliable methodology will replace the mid GCV-based pricing mechanism across coal grades. This would resolve the long-standing differences over coal quality and grade slippage between CIL and power plant developers.
In a major policy move, the central government has allowed commercial mining of coal by private players. So far, the private sector was allowed to mine coal only for captive use in the power, cement and steel industries. This move, which is being viewed as one of the biggest reforms in the coal sector since its nationalisation in 1973, is expected to improve coal availability and bring efficiency into the sector with an increase in competition, enhanced investment and the deployment of latest technologies.
An important element of the renovation and maintenance strategy of thermal power plants (TPPs) is their compliance with environmental norms. Aimed at regulating the pollution by TPPs, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had revised the standards for emissions from TPPs in December 2015. Existing plants were given two years, that is, up to December 2017, to comply with these revised standards, and plants to be commissioned after January 1, 2017 were required to ensure compliance from the start of operations.
Over the past few years, the techniques for the design, installation, surveying and testing of transmission towers have undergone significant changes. Owing to factors such as increasing urbanisation, limited space availability and the need to quickly scale up transmission infrastructure, developers are looking at towers that require minimum right-of-way (RoW) approvals, enable faster installation and provide cost benefits. To meet the industry’s requirements, tower manufacturers in India are offering towers with advanced design features. A look at the key trends in tower design, testing, installation and surveying techniques…
The share of renewable energy sources, primarily wind and solar, is poised to grow significantly in the Indian power system. The government has set a target of 175 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2022, including 60 GW of wind and 100 GW of solar.
The increase in transmission over long distances, generation of grid-connected variable renewable energy, as well as the synchronisation of an all-India network pose additional voltage and stability problems. Hence, the need to transmit power efficiently has become a key concern for transmission system operators.
Power utilities across the country are undertaking the large-scale adoption of smart meters in their distribution areas with the aim to minimise network losses, improve power supply management and enable consumers to manage their consumption patterns. However, the adoption of smart meters poses a host of challenges like management of data generated from these meters, cybersecurity threats and huge replacement costs.
An important element of the renovation and maintenance strategy of thermal power plants (TPPs) is their compliance with environmental norms. Aimed at regulating the pollution by TPPs, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had revised the standards for emissions from TPPs in December 2015. Existing plants were given two years, that is, up to December 2017, to comply with these revised standards, and plants to be commissioned after January 1, 2017 were required to ensure compliance from the start of operations.
The chemicals industry in India is an important contributor to the economy, sustaining a variety of downstream industries such as textiles and pharmaceuticals. With a market size of $145 billion, India is the seventh largest producer of chemicals worldwide and the third largest producer in Asia, after China and Japan.
The year 2018 saw the power sector delivering a fairly good performance on the back of the achievement of village electrification targets, a revival in power demand, significant growth in renewable energy and the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) under the government’s aggregate power procurement scheme. On the policy front, the resolution of stressed assets remained a high priority. Power Line invited industry experts to comment on the performance of the power sector in 2018 and the outlook for the next year…
Central PSU NLC India Limited (NLCIL), formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, has a long-standing presence in the power sector. Headquartered in Tamil Nadu, the company operates coal- and lignite-based integrated power generation plants.
