Indian Power Sector

NTPC Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Madhya Pradesh and M.P. Power Trading Company Ltd. on 09-11-2009 for setting up of Gadarwara Super Thermal Power Project of the capacity of 2640 MW (4×660 MW) in the district of Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh. The proposed power project shall be a regional power project for benefits to Madhya Pradesh and other willing States/UTs in Western Region.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Power Trading Corporation (PTC) of India Limited have formed a joint venture company, incorporated on 01.09.2008 in the name of `Barak Power Private Limited` (BPPL), for setting up of a 2×125 MW thermal power plant at Silchar in Assam. However, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited have informed that in-principle clearance from Assam State Government regarding transfer of land is awaited. Techno-commercial aspects and viability of the proposed thermal power project is presently under deliberations.

246 small hydro power (SHP) potential sites with an aggregate capacity of about 1400 MW have been identified in Jammu and Kashmir, of which 63 SHP sites aggregating to 53.72 MW have been identified in the Ladakh region. Solar energy systems/ projects can be setup at any location depending upon availability of space and solar radiation.

So far, 18 SHP projects aggregating to 16.07 MW have been setup and two projects of 3.76 MW are under implementation in the Ladakh region. Two Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) power plants of 140 KW have been installed and 20 more SPV power plants of 580 KW capacity have been sanctioned in the region.

Wind Energy is the fastest growing renewable energy sector in the country. The foreign direct investment inflow has been increasing over the years in renewable energy sector of which wind energy has been the major component. The foreign direct investment in the renewable energy sector during 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 was US$ 2.11 million , US$ 43.15 million and US$ 85.27 million respectively.

The Ministry has recently announced a Generation Based Incentives (GBI) scheme for grid connected wind power projects with the objective of broadening the investors” base by attracting the foreign direct investment and independent power producers.

The Government has been providing central financial assistance for installation of rooftop, stand-alone and tail-end grid connected solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants in rural and urban areas of the country. Under the recently approved Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a target for setting up of 1100 MW grid connected solar power plants and 200 MW of off-grid solar energy applications has been envisaged during the first phase of the Mission, till March 2013.

Biofuels, particularly bio-ethanol and bio-diesel have been identified as non-conventional renewable fuels for supplementing /substituting petroleum in India. In addition, hydrogen is also recognized as the fuel for the future.

A number of initiatives have been taken by the Government for promotion and use of bio-fuels for supplementing petrol and diesel. The initiatives include research, development and demonstration activities on development of superior genotypes of Jatropha and Pongamia for production of bio-diesel and production of ethanol from lignocellulosic materials.Jatropha and Pongamia are being cultivated in about 9 lakh hectares of wasteland by nine states for production of biodiesel. Blending of ethanol with petrol has been made mandatory in 20 States and 4 Union Territories. Procurement price of Rs. 26.50 per litre for bio-diesel and Rs. 21.50 per litre for ethanol have been fixed. A National Policy on Biofuels has been prepared.

The Government is also implementing a broad based research, development and demonstration programme on hydrogen production, its storage and utilization as an alternative fuel for transport and decentralized power generation applications through various academic, research organizations and industry. As a result of these efforts, laboratory scale prototypes of hydrogen operated motorcycles, three-wheelers, small generators and some fuel cell based systems have been developed and demonstrated. A project for use of Hydrogen – Compressed Natural Gas (H-CNG) blends as fuel for automotive vehicles is under implementation through the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, New Delhi; R&D Centre of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Faridabad and five automobile manufacturers. Besides, IOCL has set up two hydrogen production and dispensing stations, one each at Faridabad in Haryana and at Dwarka in New Delhi. These stations are presently being used for providing H-CNG fuel for some demonstration and test vehicles.

The Institute for Plasma Research is engaged in conducting scientific research and technology development related to achieving magnetically confined thermonuclear fusion.Towards this objective the Institute has built a state-of-the art research Tokamak (SST-1) using superconducting magnets and is in the process of commissioning it.In addition, a number of necessary auxiliary advanced technical systems necessary to carry out experiments on the Tokamak have also been developed. These include energetic neutral beam systems, radio frequency heating sources and sophisticated diagnostics

Given below is the list of Ongoing Hydro Projects Allotted to Private players in the Country – Benefits during 11th Plan
(Excluding Projects upto 25 MW Capacity under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a new technology that provides very long life lamps consuming about 2/3rd energy as compared to CFLs at present. However, the cost of LED in the market is about 8 to 10 times more than that of CFLs. BEE has initiated demonstration projects in 23 States for providing LEDs in villages. Moreover, the demonstration projects for use of LEDs in street lighting applications have been approved in 32 States. The objective of BEE is to enhance the demand for LED based lights so that their cost are reduced.

The Bureau for Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has initiated the study on Facilitating Market Transformation of LED Lamps in India. The objective of the study is to facilitate market transformation of LED lighting in India by covering the latest trends and technologies, case studies and suppliers of LED lighting.

NTPC has signed an MOU with Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) on 12th January, 2009 with an objective to plan and implement about 500 MW Wind Farms in Karnataka by NTPC on Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis with state-of-art technology and to ensure long term sustainability of these projects.

Further, NTPC has also signed an MOU with Government of Karnataka and Power Company of Karnataka Ltd. (PCKL) on 12-01-2009, for NTPC to set up a 4000 MW (5×800 MW) coal based thermal power project, at Kudgi, Bijapur District of Karnataka, as a regional power project of NTPC.