Environment and Coal based Power in News

Jindal plans to rely only on domestic source for coal for Ratnagiti !

2011-08-13T21:13:00.001-07:00

India's JSW Energy says Ratnagiri power plant expansion on hold | Agricultural Commodities | Reuters

MUMBAI, July 21 (Reuters) - JSW Energy has decided to put the expansion of its power project in Ratnagiri on hold due to costly imported coal, its chairman Sajjan Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of an annual shareholder meeting.

"In case of imported coal, there is a huge problem. Even if you own mines outside, this coal is to be sold at a benchmark price," he said.

The company plans to rely only on domestic source for coal, he added. (Reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni)

Penalty for environmental offences to be raised

2011-04-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

NAGPUR: The existing quantum of penalty prescribed under the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), 1986 being too meagre and the process of imposing penalty so cumbersome, the quantum of penalty for non-compliance of the environment clearance (EC) conditions for projects is likely to be made sufficiently high and there may not be any ceiling on the quantum of penalty amount for serious offences.

A high-powered committee headed by J M Mauskar, additional secretary (impact assessment), of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), in its report submitted on January 11, has recommended that serious offences may be made cognizable by police and also non-bailable. The process of imposing penalty needs to be made swifter and prompt in terms of payment of penalty.

The panel was set up on December 14, 2009 to streamline monitoring and compliance of conditions for environmental safeguards and there by making it more comprehensive, effective and transparent.

"The government is expected to implement the recommendations in a year. To make EPA violations cognizable and non-bailable, amendment will have to be made in the EPA," Mauskar said. The state pollution control boards (SPCBs) have already adopted alternate mechanisms such as securing of bank guarantee for ensuring compliance of the commitments made by the companies. MoEF is analysing the issue.

The EPA of MoEF is an umbrella Act for protection and improvement of environment. Under the Act, the ministry has brought out several notifications prescribing rules, standards, identification of ecosensitive zones etc.

The MoEF is also proposing to constitute a National Environment Assessment and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA), an independent agency to undertake environmental appraisal of projects under EIA Notification, 2006, and also to undertake monitoring of the stipulated conditions for their effective implementation during the project cycle.

The committee's recommendations are based on basic principles that 'polluter pays' and 'prevention is better than cure' which puts the entire responsibility of operating a project in conformity with the best environmental practices and in compliance with the stipulated conditions.

Since Jairam Ramesh took over, the MoEF, as part of making the whole system of monitoring more transparent, has been asking the project proponents to put the monitoring reports on their website to make it available in the public domain.

"Yet, the existing system of environment monitoring suffers short comings due to procedural and administrative deficiencies, inadequate infrastructure and trained technical manpower and legislative deficiencies," the report said.

In Vidarbha itself, projects especially relating to power sector, highways, irrigation and construction sector have their impacts essentially during construction phase and hence would require rigorous monitoring of EC conditions.

Keeping in view the limitations of the existing system of monitoring and analysis of the EC conditions during different stages of the project, a new approach to monitoring of EC compliance has been envisaged.

The panel has recommended involvement of specialised agencies and institutions in monitoring EC compliance; transparent self-monitoring by project proponent and enabling community scrutiny and verification; enhancement of penalty; putting information in public domain on the website as also on display boards etc.

The report lists out Raigad and Ratnagiri in Western Maharashtra as areas where concentration of developmental activities is more and may prove detrimental to environment. "Such areas should be monitored regularly to assess the environmental matrices of the region in terms of the impact of these activities on air, water, flora and fauna and critical habitats," the report says. However, the committee has ignored Vidarbha, where 85 power projects are being proposed thereby threatening the ecology here.

The committee has also considered assessment of Raigad and Ratnagiri mentioning the areas rich biodiversity and alphanso mangoes. However, there is no mention of Vidarbha which is famous for its oranges.

‘Cut and paste' EIA consultant banned

2011-04-07T06:33:00.001-07:00

(http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1607058.ece)

Priscilla Jebaraj

Five different mining projects in five different villages of Rajasthan all have one thing in common. According to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports that they individually submitted as part of their environment clearance application, each project is surrounded by exactly the same ambient air quality, with identical data for some stations.

They also share a common EIA consultant — R.K. Consultants, Jodhpur.

After the Environment Ministry's committee to appraise mining projects noted the same data appearing in all the reports, the consultant “clarified” that “it was a mistake which had crept in during preparation of report due to cut and paste.” The committee was not amused, and promptly rejected the clearance applications of all five projects, and banned the consultant from the EIA business for the next three years as well.

However, the “cut and paste” technique of the consultant underlines the growing farce of EIAs that are making a mockery of the country's environmental clearance system.

‘EIA key to clearance'

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that a small percentage of the most sensitive projects will soon be subject to EIAs by government-appointed panels. Currently, EIAs are commissioned by the project proponents themselves, using paid consultants.

“The EIA is central to the clearance process. But between the manipulated EIA report and the fixed public hearing, the environment clearance has become a fait accompli,” he admitted.

Massive flaws

With citizens and activists awaking to the massive flaws in the system, widespread protests against projects — including high profile cases such as Posco, Vedanta and Lavasa — then led to the Ministry to constitute its own panels to re-examine environmental impacts.

The Minister noted that some government institutions have also become “thoroughly subverted” by the EIA system. “To my horror, I found that the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education is preparing EIAs for private players. I have put a stop to that,” he said.

Ministry officials claim that another public body, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, is one of the “most notorious EIA consultants.” Some of its reports have been debunked by expert panels, with its evaluation of the Union Carbide gas leak site in Bhopal sparking outrage among residents and activists.

JSW Energy's price hike plea rejected

2011-03-31T21:24:00.001-07:00

But Mahavitaran rejected its petition, after which JSW Energy has moved the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc), seeking a review of the utility's decision.

JSW Energy Ltd has approached Maharashtra's power regulator for permission to increase power tariff after the state government's distribution utility Mahavitaran refused its request. Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Energy wanted to hike tariff after the supply of coal for its 1,200MW imported coalbased plant at Jaigad in Ratnagiri district ran into trouble. It approached Mahavitaran when Indonesia's supreme court cancelled the allocation of a mine to the company by the Indonesian government. But Mahavitaran rejected its petition, after which JSW Energy has moved the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc), seeking a review of the utility's decision.

JSW Energy signed an agreement with Merc in 2009 to supply power at '2.71 per unit. The petition filed with Mahavitaran did not say by how much the company wants to raise it now. Mahavitaran rejected JSW Energy's request, saying the company had quoted the agreed rate after taking all commercial risks into consideration. Mahavitaran's managing director Ajoy Mehta confirmed it has rejected JSW's request, but refused to comment further as the matter is pending before the regulator. An email sent to JSW Energy's spokesman on Tuesday remained unanswered. The company has an operational capacity of 1,730MW and projects worth 1,410MW are under construction.

Half the capacity of the 1,200MW Jaigad plant has already become operational. Imported coal-based projects face a wide range of risks, said Kameswara Rao, executive director of international auditing and consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. "While the price risks are covered in pass-through provisions, there are diverse non-price risks which should be assessed by developers when they plan their sourcing strategy or acquire overseas mines," he said. In many cases, he added, developers are in a rush to acquire resources and so don't prepare their bids well.

Maharashtra to create fund for towns affected by power projects

2011-03-31T21:22:00.001-07:00

In a bid to placate environmentalists and local residents at the sites of thermal power projects that will together produce nearly 20,000 megawatt (MW), Maharashtra is creating a special fund for infrastructure development in towns and villages where such plants are coming up.

The projects either are in the construction phase or are being planned in the state by both public sector as well as private utilities.

The fund will be created by levying a surcharge on value-added tax (VAT) on the sale of electricity collected from power producers and traders, and electricity duty that consumers pay.

State energy secretary Subrat Ratho said discussions are being held on the level of this surcharge and who should pay. “We expect to complete the discussion in two-three weeks,” he said.

State finance and energy minister Ajit Pawar had announced the creation of such a fund during his budget speech earlier this month, without elaborating.

“As the percentage of surcharge is not fixed yet, it’s difficult to make any guess on the amount that we will be able to collect for the development of project-affected localities,” Ratho said. He said this would be the first such fund by any Indian state.

The tariff will rise but not by a significant amount, he said.

The first such pilot project will be implemented in Chandrapur—a district town in eastern Vidarbha with a population of 350,000 and home to the state super thermal power station (STPS) that generates 2,340MW. It’s owned by state power utility Maharashtra State Power Generation Co. Ltd (Mahagenco), India’s second largest power producer after NTPC Ltd. The estimated cost of the pilot project is Rs.250 crore.

“During my recent visit to the STPS, many elected representatives from the area and members of civil society met me and complained that they are suffering from pollution for the sake of entire Maharashtra but they do not have access to basic amenities like good roads and health services,” Pawar said.

“I found their complaints are justified. So we decided to create a special fund to address the needs of the local population. This fund will not only be used for towns and villages where Mahagenco’s projects are located, but also for private power projects which are coming up in a big way in the state.”

Suresh Chopne, a lecturer at Chandrapur College and president of Green Planet Society, a non-profit organization, said pollution from the thermal power plant was an issue, but a greater menace was the traffic congestion and rising pollution due to movement of trucks that go in and out of STPS supplying coal to the plant or ferrying fly ash. “We need better and wider roads, flyovers in our town to ensure smooth movement of vehicles,” he said. He also demanded a super-speciality hospital to treat people suffering from pollution-related ailments.

According to Vivek Bhide, an activist from the Konkan region, where around 10,000MW of thermal power projects are coming up, said the water discharge from JSW Energy Ltd’s 1200MW project at Jaigad in Ratnagiri district contains sodium chloride and has contaminated the groundwater.

An email query sent to a JSW Energy spokesperson remained unanswered.

Shantanu Dixit of Pune-based think tank Prayas Energy Group that specializes in energy-related issues said the government move is welcome, but “we also need to see the impact on the cost of power for consumers”.

According to him, before sanctioning any thermal power projects, environmental-impact assessment should be carried out for the entire region where projects are coming up. Currently, individual projects are being assessed independently, he said.

Seismicity aspect of Jaitapur considered: Ramesh

2011-03-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Seismicity aspect of Jaitapur considered: Ramesh
PTI | 10:03 PM,Mar 16,2011

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Amid concerns over safety of Jaitapur nuclear plant, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said seismicity aspects have been taken care of while giving clearance to it but he was not sure whether tsunami factor had been considered. He said the government was awaiting the results of technical review of atomic plants being carried out by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India before deciding on imposition of any new conditions on Jaitapur plant to be built with French collaboration. "As far as seismicity is concerned... ground level seismicity is concerned... I think, those factors are taken into account," Ramesh told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. Asked about tsunami aspect, he said he could not "recall" if tsunami was factored into the environment clearance process. "I don't think in Jaitapur, a tsunami probability has been taken into account," he added. He underlined that the Government would not deliberately put a power plant at the high seismic zone. He noted that the last tsunami hit the Arabian Sea cost in 1945. To a question, Ramesh said his Ministry's mandate was only look after the enviromental impact and the issue relating to the radio active waste management was the responsibility of the AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) and Nuclear Energy Council. "The internal safety designs, the internal management of the nuclear islands is something that the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board look after," the Minister said. Ramesh said post-Japan tsunami, if there needs to be a relook on some of the safety regions about nuclear power plants, it is the mandate of the AERB. "I am not the competent authority," the Minister said. On imposing additonal conditions in Jaitapur, he said the Government was waiting for the technical review being carried out by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. "Based on the safety review, we will see there is need for additonal studies that need to be done," the Minister added.

NTPC’s coal-based project in MP turned down

2010-10-09T11:43:00.001-07:00

The Hindu : News / National : NTPC’s coal-based project in MP turned down

The Hindu PRESENT DANGER:File photograph of the ash slurry overflow from the NTPC's Simhadri plant in Devada village in Vishakhapatnam in June 2010. The MoEF panel has cited proximity to habitation to reject the NTPC's Madhya Pradesh project.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Environment Ministry noted that the identified land for the power plant seems to be prime agricultural land. "The site comprises a vast portion of double crop agricultural land which is unacceptable," the panel said.

Noting that a thermal power plant near human habitat and on agricultural land was not viable, a Central green panel has refused to give approval to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to set up a 1320 MW coal-based project in Madhya Pradesh.

The Public Sector Unit had proposed 2x660 MW coal based thermal power plant over 1000 acres of land in Jhikoli and Tumra villages in Narsinghpur district.

However, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Environment Ministry at a recent meeting, noted that the identified land for the power plant seems to be primarily prime agricultural land and the project proponent has failed to give more details on it. “The site comprises a vast portion of double crop agricultural land which is unacceptable,” noted the panel.

It also felt that locating a power plant near the main town of Gadarwara was not desirable. Moreover, drawing a huge amount of water (32 cusecs) from the Narmada river was not feasible given the fact that a large number of such power plants with water allocation by the state government from the river have already been submitted for consideration.

The NTPC has proposed land requirement of 1,000 acres, which comprises mainly non-irrigated land and irrigated land while coal requirement of 7.5 million tonnes per annum which was to be obtained from the North Karanpura coal blocks in the state.

Maha MPs want eco-panel to allow development in W Ghats

2010-09-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

Maha MPs want eco-panel to allow development in W Ghats -
The Times of India

PUNE: Twenty-one members of Parliament from six states including Maharashtra have submitted their views and suggestions about the ecology and sustainable development of Western Ghats to the ministry of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh.

The meeting held recently was attended by Ramesh, ministry officials and the Western Ghats ecology experts' panel. The MPs who represented Maharashtra were Sanjeev Naik, Udayanraje Bhonsle, Anand Paranjpe, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil and Anant Geete.

According to the MPs, the areas in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts need urgent development that will generate jobs and alleviate poverty and this should be remembered while declaring no go' areas here.

The panel's aim is identification of no go' areas where no development would be allowed and identify others where development needs regulation.

Chairman of the experts' panel and noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil told TOI that the MPs' main concern was that if a project has already got environmental clearance then it should not be taken up for reconsideration by the ministry.

"But the ministry's circular clearly states that no activity relating to any project covered under the environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification including civil construction except fencing of the site to protect it from encroachment and construction of temporary shed for the guard can be undertaken without environmental clearance,'' he said.

This decision came after representations expressing concern about the environmental impacts and ecological degradation due to many projects being proposed in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts as well as the projects under implementation were received.

This led the ministry to impose a moratorium on consideration of projects under the EIA notification, 2006, received by the ministry or by Maharashtra State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) after August 16, 2010, for terms of reference on environmental clearance from these two districts till December 2010.

Gadgil said that many times the project is started and environment clearance is taken for granted. "The developeers then say they have spent huge amounts. It is absolutely improper, " said Gadgil.

At a meeting with Ramesh in New Delhi on September 7, Gadgil suggested that they have a strategy to regulate developmental activities in a particular location. "Depending on the location, developmental activities may not be permitted, whereas in other places it can be given permission and regulated considering the environmental sensitivity and ecological significance of the region. The minister has agreed and the panel will stick to this,'' he said.

Gadgil said that the MPs' suggestions will be looked into by both the panel and the MoEF.

Read more: Maha MPs want eco-panel to allow development in W Ghats - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Maha-MPs-want-eco-panel-to-allow-development-in-W-Ghats/articleshow/6538400.cms#ixzz0zJtAewVI

Large tracts of fertile land must not be lost in acquisitions for industry: Sonia

2010-09-12T05:55:00.001-07:00

The Hindu Business Line :
Large tracts of fertile land must not be lost in acquisitions for industry: Sonia

The UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Sept. 9

The UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, said a balanced approach is needed while acquiring land for industrial purposes and that this should not lead to a loss of “large tracts” of fertile land.

Amid rising confrontations between agricultural land owners and industrial project developers, Ms Gandhi also said farmers are entitled to “adequate compensation” wherever land is acquired for industrial use.

“New industries and infrastructure cannot be built without acquiring land. This is obvious and there is no argument about it. But land acquisition must be done in a manner that it does not result in the loss of large tracts of fertile and productive agriculture land that is so essential to grow food grains for our people,” Ms Gandhi said here today at a function organised to dedicate the 980-MW second stage of NTPC Ltd's National Capital Thermal Power Project at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

Farmers must be provided adequate compensation and alternative occupation where their lands are acquired, Ms Gandhi said. States such as Haryana had enacted progressive legislations in this regard and other States should emulate it.

“We must protect the environment to ensure sustainable development. In whatever we do, we should not forget the forests and environment. Farmers should be provided adequate compensation,” she said.

The land requirement for large-sized industrial projects varies across sectors. Tata Motors was keen to acquire around 404 hectares of multi-crop land for its small-car factory in West Bengal before the group decided to shift to Gujarat.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd is currently working on plans to acquire 938 hectares for its proposed 6000-MW Jaitapur project in Maharashtra.

For mega Special Economic Zones, the land requirement can go up to 5,000 hectares.

Emphasising the importance of electricity in the fast development and progress of a nation, Ms Gandhi said we need to tap various sources for producing electricity.

Work on the second stage of the NTPC station was completed in a record time of only 39 months and is specifically meant to meet the power requirements of the National Capital Region during the Commonwealth Games. The main plant equipment supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), comprising two units of 490 MW each, feature new units that have been designed for operating at a higher reheat steam temperature of 565 degrees Celsius.

These machines have a better Heat Rate that is expected to result in reduced coal consumption to the tune of 12,000 tonnes per annum per unit. Stage-I of the Dadri project is already producing 840 MW (through four units, each of 210 MW capacity).

List of New Thermal Power Projects Seeking MoEF Clearance – June 2010

2010-09-08T10:33:00.001-07:00

List of New Thermal Power Projects Seeking MoEF Clearance – June 2010 | Energy Industry Monitor

List of New Thermal Power Projects Seeking MoEF Clearance – June 2010
.................................
Project Name : Expansion capacity from 540 MW to 840 MW by installing 300 MW unit of coal based TPP Phase-1 at MIDC Warora,
Project Promoter : M/s Wardha Power Co. Ltd (KSK
Category : Thermal Projects
Village : Warora
District : Chandrapur,
State : Maharashtra
Applied on : Jun 18, 2010

Status : The proposal is likely to be considered in next meeting of EAC as per the chronological order of the receipt
..............................

Project Name : 2×660 MW Adra Super Thermal Power Project
Project Promoter : M/s Ministry of Railway (Railway Board)
Category : Thermal Projects
Village : null
District : Purulia
State : West Bengal
Applied on : Jun 07, 2010

Status : Will be placed in 2nd Meeting of the EAC (T) scheduled during August 9-10, 2010.

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List of New Thermal Power Projects Seeking MoEF Clearance – May 2010
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Simhadri-II Transmission System – Status Update

Addl 300 mw of Ratnagiri plant onstream by Oct

2010-08-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

................................

"Addl 300 mw of Ratnagiri plant onstream by Oct

JSW Energy on Monday said an additional 300 mw of the 1,200-mw Ratnagiri power plant will go on-stream by October this year. The company's first phase (300 mw) power plant is already synchronised with the grid, a top company official said. “Our first phase (300 mw) power plant is synchronised with the grid. We will commission the second phase (300 mw) of our 1,200-mw power plant at Ratnagiri from next month,” company CMD Sajjan Jindal said. Earlier, the environment ministry raised questions about the project after mango growers in the Ratnagiri area complained against the plant. The mango growers had expressed concerns that toxic gases emitted by the thermal power."

See http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Quick-view/674575/

Aging units + scanty rain = power paucity

2010-08-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

Aging units + scanty rain = power paucity
Manu Aiyappa and Senthalir S, TNN, Aug 29, 2010, 11.29pm IST

BANGALORE: Although the situation is still far from normal, there has been a slight improvement of late. The past two months were particularly tiresome owing to sharp decline in power generation because of scanty rainfall in July and August coupled with wet coal and old machinery at the major thermal power plants.

"The situation has improved after the government initiated steps to buy 1,000 MW daily and restored some inactive units at major thermal plants," said a senior energy department official. Given the current situation, officials say the power demand in summer may be difficult to meet even if the government gets another 1,000 MW daily. According to figures of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation ( KPTC), power supply in the state has improved in recent times __ from 108.06 million units (MU) daily on August 5 to 121.08 MU on August 21. But, it'll face a shortfall of 15-25 MU in summer when demand is set to cross the danger 140 MU mark.

Generation in the state has been so low that power purchased from private players is much higher than that generated. The inefficient thermal units and the low reservoir levels have hit both thermal and hydropower generation. On August 18, the power generated by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) was 44.3 MU and power purchased from private players was 83.5 MU. On August 20, power generated was 57.2 MU compared to 63 MU purchased from private players.

LOW WATER LEVELS

The authorities are also in panic as water levels in major hydel reservoirs -- Linganmakki, Supa and Mane -- have already started receding due to lack of rain. "Water shortage has already compelled us to reduce generation to 4422 MU, a shortage of 1389 MU,'' sources said.

The levels of hydroelectric generation reservoirs continue to be lesser compared to the corresponding period of 10 years average level and also the previous year levels.

FALLING LEVELS

Reservoir ------ Present -- Last year -- 10-yr avg
Linganamakki -- 1,794.95 -- 1,809.30 -- 1,804.51
Supa -- ------- 1,772.54 -- 1,783.96 -- 1,787.25
Varahi --------- 1,918.64 -- 1,926.67 -- 1,928.14

(All units in ft)

PRESSING PROBLEMS

"Karnataka is facing a power shortage because the investments that ought to have taken place in the public sector did not happen. The Centre, through the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and KPC (Karnataka Power Corporation), failed to undertake the required investments. The impact of those mistakes is being experienced ten years down the line. Having learnt that lesson, investments are now taking place in the public sector too," said former power minister K S Eshwarappa.

KPC managing director S M Jaamdar echoed his view: "The majority of RTPS units are over 25 years old and obsolete. Though they're supposed to generate 500 MW together daily, they generate only 250-300 MW. Reconstruction and renovation of such units cannot be taken up immediately as it will take a maximum of two years and the state is not in a position to lose 250-300 MW of power."

PROJECTS ON PAPER

A dozen projects are in the pipeline, and most will be operational in 3-7 years. "For Karnataka to become power sufficient, there are enough projects in progress but ground-level issues like land acquisition and environmental clearance are a concern. Everybody wants power, but nobody wants a power plant in their backyard,'' said a worried senior minister.

"Karnataka has embarked on an ambitious plan of adding 10,000MW of power before the end of the 12th Plan (2017), and 5,000 MW (of this) would be added in the next four years during the 11th Plan itself," Yeddyurappa said.

NTPC will start construction of its proposed 4000 MW ultra mega power project in Kudgi (Bijapur) with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore by this year-end and expected to be commissioned by 2013-14. "We have already handed over Rs 26.22 crore to the Karnataka government for 3500 acres of land and requested the state government to expedite acquisition," said R S Sharma, chairman, NTPC.

Another project in Chhattisgarh is a joint venture of KPC and the Chhattisgarh government for a Rs 6000 crore, 1,200 MW thermal plant, the first project by KPC outside Karnataka. The Chhattisgarh government has ensured early allocation of land and coal linkage for KPCL under its industrial policy. Karnataka will draw 70% power from the plant with the home state getting the rest, they added.

Karnataka also recently approved gas-based power projects involving over 5,000 MW during the Global Investors Meet in June this year. These include three projects of 700 MW each at Belgaum, Gadag and Davanagere along the 800-km pipeline from Dabhol in Maharashtra to Bidadi near Bangalore.

A 2,000 MW gas-based project at Bidadi to be executed by KPC has also been approved and steps taken to acquire 300 acres for it.

EXPERT OPINION

All these projects along with a dozen of mini power projects will come up. By the time, all these projects are completed, the demand may be much higher and the state still struggling to meet it. We need private participation in the power sector and promotion of renewable energy.

Read more: Aging units + scanty rain = power paucity - Bangalore - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Aging-units-scanty-rain-power-paucity/articleshow/6458219.cms#ixzz0y4q9Gdxs

Aam Vs The Aadmi

2010-08-30T01:18:00.001-07:00

www.outlookindia.com | Aam Vs The Aadmi | ecology: maharashtra

Aam Vs The Aadmi
What’s eating up Ratnagiri’s fruit?
Debarshi Dasgupta

    Fruit And Nut

    * An MoEF-appointed expert claims pollution benefits mango and cashew trees in Ratnagiri
    * Earlier studies show pollution from brick kilns/power plants harms mango trees
    * MoEF stops further projects.

***

Can vehicular pollution benefit trees? In fact, make them healthier than those in non-polluted areas? Perplexing as it may sound, that was the conclusion of an expert appointed by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MOEF) to ascertain the possible impact of pollution from JSW Energy Ltd’s coal-fired power plant in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, on the area’s famed Alphonso mangoes and cashew.

C.R. Babu, head of the Delhi-based Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, had visited the area last November. Since there were no functional thermal power plants there, he chose to study the impact of vehicular pollution instead. And in a report submitted this February, he said the trees in the area under study “are normal and even better than those found near the project site due to the edaphic factor”—that is, the subsoil there has a unique property that enables trees to metabolise sulphur and nitrogen better. Nor did he find any leaf injuries or difference in plant type or physiological parameters.

Babu also observed that the concerned area was close to “tropical seas” (sic) and had an excellent drainage system. It also got high rainfall for at least 4-6 months a year. No winter deviations can be observed in the normal atmospheric properties either. “Self-purification of atmosphere takes place with no build-up of pollution load,” he noted. “Consequently, plantations may not be affected the same way as conceived by local communities.”

A big lie, allege activists. “He (Babu) spent only about a day here, that too a day after Cyclone Phyan hit Ratnagiri (Nov 11, 2009) that uprooted many trees,” says Vivek Bhide of the Ratnagiri Zila Jagruk Manch. Earlier studies, he adds, have shown that carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and other emissions from brick kilns are directly responsible for black tips in mango trees, a disorder that retards the growth of fruit and renders it inedible. The Lucknow-based Industrial Toxicology Research Centre too in its study had attributed a reduction in the quality and quantity of mangoes to SO2 emissions. “Given this, are we to believe that burning 12,000 metric tonnes of coal everyday in the plant will benefit the mango trees?” Bhide asks.

Based on Babu’s report, the MOEF had cleared JSW’s 1,200 mw power plant. But following the public outcry, the ministry in June ordered the creation of a supervisory committee headed by P. Pujari of Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth in Dapoli. A planned 3,600-mw expansion of the plant hasn’t been cleared yet. Opposition has also built up against a planned nuclear plant of over 10,000 MW in Jaitapur (in Ratnagiri district) and mining projects around Kalane (in Sindhudurg district).

Given this spate of public sentiment against existing and planned projects, the MOEF on August 16 issued a moratorium on further proposals in these two districts till Dec 2010, calling for a “regional approach” in the appraisal of these projects. Madhav Gadgil, member of the National Advisory Council and also the chairman of the MOEF’s Western Ghats ecology expert panel, says it has received many submissions expressing concerns about the ecological impact of the growing number of projects. “We certainly plan to take a review in our next meeting on September 27 in Goa,” he says. Having issued a red flag to Vedanta’s mining project, the MOEF finally seems to be restoring its long-lost writ on the country’s other eco-sensitive regions.

Activists Use Legal Weapons to Stop Thermal Power Plants- Pankaj Sekhsaria

2010-08-27T06:36:00.001-07:00

Activists Use Legal Weapons to Stop Thermal Power Plants
(http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52636)
By Pankaj Sekhsaria

HYDERABAD, India, Aug 27, 2010 (IPS) - Green activists have various ways of pushing their causes, from enlisting movie stars to launching protests, but India’s campaigners have also been quietly using legal weapons to try to get the projects they oppose, such as thermal plants, stopped or reversed.

This trend bears watching in the light of two cases where decisions affecting such projects, many of which are on the drawing board in different parts of India, have been made in courtrooms.

In July, the death of two protesters led to the cancellation of the environmental clearance of a thermal power plant project in southern Andhra Pradesh state, a decision that green activists took as victory.

But just a day before the Jul. 14 violence at the Nagarjuna Construction Company Power Projects Ltd project site at Sompeta, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed a petition to stop a similar power plant project in the same district – Srikakulam.

This project by East Coast Energy Pvt Ltd is at Bhavanapadu in the wetlands area of Naupada village.

Lawyer Ritwick Dutta, representing the Paryavaran Parirakshana Sangham and other appellants says that Naupada is recognised by the Bombay Natural History Society and BirdLife International as a key habitat of the endangered Spot-billed Pelican, which breeds only in peninsular India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Dutta had argued the case against the 12,000-crore (2.5 billion U.S. dollar) Nagarjuna project before the quasi-judicial National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA), which eventually cancelled the environmental clearance for the 2,640-megawatt plant.

In fact, the firing by police in Sompeta occurred at about the same time that the case was being argued before the appellate authority in New Delhi.

The results in the Nagarjuna and East Coast cases are different, but highlight how courtrooms are increasingly being asked to decide the fate of these projects – many already with environment clearances – in lawsuits by non-government groups protesting schemes that they say would displace communities and harm sensitive environments.

But Sanjay Upadhyay, a New Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyer, says that the trend of plaintiffs approaching the courts in environmental matters cannot be a long-term solution to deciding policy.

Instead, he says in an interview, internal mechanisms and administrative systems inside the government must be strengthened, so that conflicting issues are resolved before clearances are issued in the first place. "Internal arrangements are very weak and systems can’t be run by courtrooms", Upadhyay pointed out.

According to the 2009 report by the environmental group Kalpavriksh entitled ‘Calling the Bluff: Revealing the state of Monitoring and Compliance of Environmental Clearance Conditions’, the Ministry of Environment and Forests clears 80 to 100 projects every month with a range of environment and social conditions.

Thermal power accounts for more than 70 percent of India’s electricity supply. Its annual per capita electricity consumption has increased from 566.7 kilowatt-hours in 2002-03 to 704 kwh in 2007-08.

Among India’s southern states, Andhra Pradesh has the highest installed capacity in coal-based utilities, which generate nearly 6,700 mw.

State officials explain that thermal power plant projects represent a total investment of up to 85,000 crore rupees (18 billion dollars) in Srikakulam alone, aside from providing 10,000 mw of power altogether.

But former government bureaucrat E A S Sarma, now convenor of the Forum for a Better Visakha, argues that none of these projects should be allowed in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh.

"These are coming up under the policy of the state government to promote merchant power plants, where land is being given cheap to the developers at the cost of the coastal environment and livelihoods of the local people," he said.

A report by the environment ministry notes that the area where the Nagarjuna project was to proceed has significant biodiversity, including medicinal plants and at least 120 bird species. T Rama Rao, vice president of the Sompeta-based Paryavaran Parirakshan Sangham (Environment Protection Committee) that is leading the opposition to the project along with Teera Pranta Matsyaka Aikya Vedika (Coastal Fisherfolk Unity Platform), says nearly 250,000 people from 24 fishing and 40 farming villages would have been affected by it.

At least six thermal plants are planned in Andhra Pradesh. Some, like the 2,630-mw project at Bhavanapadu by East Coast Energy – the subject of the July decision upholding the environment clearance thus far – and the 2,640-mw plant of Alpha Infra Prop Pvt Ltd at Komarada in neighbouring Vizianagaram district already have environment clearances.

The fatal shooting of two protesters in July seems to have inspired other communities to stand up for themselves.

Sarma observed, "It is now clear to people that the government itself is violating the law. They have realised their strength and opposition to projects here has gained strength in the last few days."

"The larger issue is that we have created systems that are guzzlers of energy," he added. "We can’t hope to keep adding megawatts like we have been doing so far. The demand for electricity has been artificially created and we have to work on steps like reducing transmission losses, using more efficient end-use devices, and make our systems more efficient."

Meantime, Nagarjuna’s corporate communications head, P L Murari, said the company "would do anything to address the genuine concerns of the local people regarding setting up of the power plant."

But the NEAA’s order cancelling the Sompeta project clearly states: "The Ministry should undertake survey of all wetlands in Srikakulam district for their ecological sensitiveness as soon as possible and pending this, no project should be cleared in such locations." (END)

Jairam plays Maha obstructionist - The Economic Times

2010-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Jairam plays Maha obstructionist - Politics/Nation - News - The Economic Times

MUMBAI: The work on over a dozen power projects and 55 mines — all in the Konkan region — may come to halt soon with the Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh ordering a status quo on all these projects. “The Union ministry has asked to stay work on these many projects till it receives expert committee’s report on the issue,” a top government official, associated with these projects’ implementation , toldETrequesting anonymity................................

..........Some of the important projects to be affected by the environment ministry’s diktat are: proposed 10,000 mw atomic project at Dhopave in Ratnagiri, 5x800mw imported coal-based ultra mega thermal power project at Girye along with thermal power projects of various capacities at Shahpur, Bhopan, Jaigad, Ranpar, Pavas, Munge and Dhakare. ...................

Moratorium on projects in Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri

2010-08-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Moratorium on project proposals in 2 districts - Pune - City - The Times of India

Dipannita Das, TNN, Aug 21, 2010, 05.11am IST

PUNE: The Union ministry of environment and forests on Friday decided to impose a moratorium on consideration of projects under the environmental impact assessment notification, 2006, received by the ministry or the Maharashtra State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority from Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts after August 16 and till December 2010.

This decision followed concerns raised about the environmental impact and ecological degradation due to the large number of projects being proposed in the region as well as the projects under implementation. The ministry said that there was a need to take necessary regional approach during appraisal of projects.

The matter regarding developmental trends in these two districts was referred to the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel constituted by the ministry for conservation and protection of the Western Ghats region.

The projects were getting cleared in isolation one by one, which was not appropriate, Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the panel, told TOI on Friday. "So the ministry want to take a look at the whole range of developmental activities in these two districts, he added.

Recently, Union minister of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh, who was in Pune, had also pointed out the need to look into the impact on the eco-system due to power projects in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

Gadgil told TOI recently that the ministry had sought views on the projects in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. In his presentation on western ghats, Gadgil says that environmental impact assessments completely ignore impacts of power lines associated with power projects. Destructive development projects are going ahead, despite every gram panchayat in the locality resolving that they do not want such activities.

Archana Godbole, member of the Save the Western Ghats movement core group, said that the moratorium was a welcome step. "It gives more time for NGOs and the people to have a say and stop these developmental projects, particularly the thermal power plant and mining projects in these bio-diversity rich places.''

According to Godbole, the proposed mining projects in Sindhudurg are expected to pose a threat to the forest eco-system. Iron ore mining has been proposed in the villages of Asaniye, Kolzar, Zolambe, Talkat, Dongarpal, Udeli and Galel in the Sawantwadi and Dodamarg blocks.

Godbole, who is also the director of the Applied Environmental Research Foundation, a city-based NGO working in the Konkan region, said that the Western Ghats part of Sindhudurg district included the area from the Amboli reserve forest to the westerly slopes through Sawantwadi and Dodamarg blocks to Tilari in the south, bordering Karnataka. The landscape is about 150 sq km and should be declared as ecologically sensitive.

Recently, the ministry has formed a supervisory committee to monitor the impact of suspended particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide due to the coal-based thermal power plant at Jaigad in Ratnagiri district.

List Of New Power Projects for which Industrial Licenses had been issued in the month of July 2010 – Part II | Energy Industry Monitor

2010-08-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

List Of New Power Projects for which Industrial Licenses had been issued in the month of July 2010 – Part II | Energy Industry Monitor:

Also Read :

Muttemwar urges PM to intervene in power plant coming in city, IBN Live News

2010-08-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

Muttemwar urges PM to intervene in power plant coming in city, IBN Live News

Nagpur, Aug 6 (PTI) Former Union Minister and local MP Vilas Muttemar (Congress) today urged Prime Minister to intervene and direct the Maharashtra Government and Ministry of Environment to shift proposed thermal power plant outside city limits. Muttemwar in a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister said Maharashtra Government has approved a proposal of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to set up a 420 MW Thermal Power plant in city. Nagpur is having a population of approximately 35 lakhs and power requirement is 283 MW as against existing power generation capacity in Vidarbha of 5400 MW. The setting up of a thermal power plant in city will create numerous problems to the people like heavy pollution.The NMC has projected that waste water will be utilised to meet the requirement for electricity generation which was not correct, he said. The authorities will therefore use fresh water which was required actually for the citizens, Muttemwar said in his memorandum, a copy of which was released to press here. The proposed power plant will be consuming 7000 tonnes of coal and 35,000 cubmic metre water and produce 2700 metric tonnes of fly ash and movements of truck will further pollute the environment. About 215 acres of land will be required to dump ash. All this at the cost health of Nagpurians, he said. In this part of Vidarbha region (East), NTPC was setting up 1000 MW super thermal power plant at Mouda (Near Nagpur), Adani Group was setting up 1980 MW plant at Tiroda (Gondia) while capacities of Khaperkheda, Chandrapur are being enhanced. The propriety of setting up new 420 MW power station in the heart of city was being raised, Muttemwar said while expressing his concern, the release added.

Wet coal has hit power generation: Ajit Pawar - Mumbai - City - The Times of India

2010-08-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

Wet coal has hit power generation: Ajit Pawar - Mumbai - City - The Times of India

MUMBAI: Power generation has been affected in the state as the coal utilised by power projects has got wet in the rains, energy minister Ajit Pawar told TOI.

"As a result, the plants could not generate power to its full capacity. Besides, power generation from Koyna project in western Maharashtra has been kept closed as the work of lake tapping is still on. Moreover, one unit of the power generating unit at Dabhol had stopped production,'' said Pawar.

The state has thermal power plants at Parli, Koradi, Bhusawal, Chandrapur and other places. The minister said that the demand for power had gone up to 15,000 MW in peak summer. "With the onset of monsoon, there is no need for water pumps in fields. Besides, people have reduced the usage of air-conditioners and fans. There is a lot of shortfall and we produce around 9,000 MW now,'' said Pawar.

There is still a shortfall of 4,000 MW, while in summer, the shortfall was 6,000 MW.

He said that due to a good rainfall, many dams where hydro-electricity is generated are filled up. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the state electricity board supplies power to Thane, Mulund, Bhandup, Vasai-Virar, Navi-Mumbai, Panvel, Kalyan-Dombivli and Ambernath.

Read more: Wet coal has hit power generation: Ajit Pawar - Mumbai - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Wet-coal-has-hit-power-generation-Ajit-Pawar/articleshow/6263419.cms#ixzz0vpwgtXMd

Chimney Failures: A setback to Indian Power Sector @ www.punjabnewsline.com

2010-08-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Chimney Failures: A setback to Indian Power Sector @ www.punjabnewsline.com

Punjab Newsline Network

Saturday, 31 July 2010

Chimney Failures: A setback to Indian Power Sector
By Jagvir Goyal

Jagvir Goyal
Recent failure of tall RCC Chimneys, one after another, in India has caused a severe setback to ambitious capacity addition plans of the country!

On July 29, 2010, a part of the 275 metre high RCC Chimney being constructed for 2 X 500 MW thermal power plant at Bhusawal in Maharashtra collapsed, burying many people under the debris. The chimney was being constructed by Gammon India Limited, known to be a leading construction company of the country. The two units of this thermal power plant are scheduled to be run for trial operations in August, 2010 and December, 2010. Now the fate of one of the units is unknown. Clearance of debris, ascertaining the reasons behind chimney failure, restoration of work at chimney site and its completion may consume a lot of extra time. Above all that, the big question, whether the chimney is safe or not to serve the power unit for its designed life lurks in the minds of project authorities!

In May, 2010, a 210 m high tall RCC chimney collapsed at Parichha, near Jhansi, in UP. The chimney couldn’t withstand high wind velocities and went down over more than 40 workers, having their lunch under its shadow. The chimney was recently constructed by National Building Construction Company, NBCC, another major giant in construction sector, for a 500 MW power plant being set up by UP Power Corporation Limited. Now, the operation of the two power units to which the chimney was serving as a twin-flue chimney stands suspended for an indefinite period. Suggestions are afloat to utilize the rotor of Parichha Thermal power plant for Chanderpur Thermal power plant where also, power generation of an unit stands stopped since May 7 due to occurrence of some damage to its rotor.

In September, 2009, an RCC Chimney of a 2 X 600 MW power plant being set up by Bharat Aluminium Company limited (BALCO), a subsidiary of Sterlite Industries limited, at Korba near Raipur in Chhattisgarh state had collapsed, killing scores of workers under its debris. The incident had sent shock waves all over the world. The setting up of the 1200 MW power plant had been assigned by BALCO to Shandong Electric Power Corporation Limited, a Chinese company who had further entrusted the construction work of 275 meter high chimney to Gannon Dunkerley Company Limited.

India has already mastered the art of tall chimney construction. Many tall RCC chimneys are now dotting Indian map, a number of them constructed and completed in record short periods. The equipment is available, the materials are available, skilled manpower is available and the design modules are available. Then why all these failures, one after the other?

The design of each such chimney that fails needs to be checked thoroughly, specially against occurrence of resonance phenomenon under high velocity storm conditions. Such a phenomenon occurs when more than one chimneys are constructed in a thermal project and their frequencies are not mistuned. If the design of chimneys is found safe then clearly, lack of supervision, use of sub-standard materials in construction, non-adherence to the quality control norms and inconsistent checking procedures are behind all these failures.

Chimneys are special structures and need special attention during their construction. Their construction technique is special which requires the concrete to be specifically designed to meet certain of its requirements. During construction of chimneys, a sharp eye has to be kept on verticality, tilt and twist of chimney. One factor ignored and a chimney may come falling down!

A power unit can not be commissioned unless its chimney has been completed and is available to pass the thousands of tones of smoke at a designed height in the atmosphere. Stringent environmental pollution prevention norms have increased the minimum height of chimneys to plus 200 metres, that is more than 3 times the height of Qutab Minar. How can engineers go lax in construction of such important structures?

A plus 200 metre high twin flue chimney consumes more than 2 years for its completion. India, planning to add 100,000 MW to its power map by the year 2012, can’t afford to delay the commissioning of its power units by such a long period!

-Er.Jagvir Goyal is author, Books on Tall Chimney construction

No chemical project to come up in coastal Konkan region, IBN Live News

2010-07-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

No chemical project to come up in coastal Konkan region, IBN Live News:

Mumbai, Jul 27 (PTI) Maharashtra Finance Minister Sunil Tatkare today assured that no chemical projects would be allowed to come up in coastal Konkan region in the backdrop of opposition from locals to some of the proposed power projects in the area. "No chemical projects would be allowed to come up in Konkan. It is necessary to check that water does not get polluted and farming and orchid don't get affected while accepting industrialisation," Tatkare informed the Legislative Council while replying to a discussion over Konkan region. There are 27 thermal power projects proposed in the region of which five would come up in first phase, Tatkare said. The Government has ensured all the affected people to compensate their lands with market value, he said. "The affected people due to upcoming Tata power plant would get Rs 20 lakh per acre, employment to one of the family members and free training from the industry coming there," the minister said. He also hoped that the proposed Jaitapur project would generate 10,000 mw of power and help to curb down the shortage. In order to boost tourism in the region, Tatkare said the Public Works Department has been instructed to join 720 km long coastal route with highways to attract more tourists.MORE PTI SSG AT

Leopard on the prowl in Goregaon, Mulund - Mumbai - City - The Times of India

2010-07-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Leopard on the prowl in Goregaon, Mulund

Simit Bhagat, TNN, Jul 22, 2010, 12.17am IST

MUMBAI: Residents of New MHADA Colony, Goregaon (E) have been hosting an unusual guest these days. For the past few weeks, a leopard has been regularly straying into the residential area, hunting for stray dogs.

On Monday, the leopard entered Sankalp Siddhi society, Dindoshi, on the periphery of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), and was spotted sitting near the compound wall at 2 am.

Residents said the watchman, Jamil S, first spotted the leopard and alerted them. It was around 2 am that I saw the leopard in the lane near the society. I immediately alerted one of the society members, who was standing right besides me, Jamil said.

The leopard was sitting near the lane for more than couple of hours. Amit Lotlikar, a nature lover and resident of Sankalp Siddhi Society said, This is not the first time the leopard has been spotted in the area. We have been spotting the big cat along with its three cubs for nearly one year. It seems to be injured and is limping.

Interestingly, on Sunday, another leopard was spotted by a group of residents in Rock Garden society in Yogi Hills, Mulund around 9 pm. There too, the cat was first spotted by the watchman of the society, who warned residents not to step out of their homes. The residents immediately informed the police control room and the cops reached the site quickly, but by then the leopard had vanished into the forest.

However, people living in these areas are now living under the fear of moving out of their homes late in the evening.

As Suresh Rajyaguru, chairman of Sankalp Siddhi society said, These days the big cat has been straying into the area a bit too regularly. It is scary.

Animal Vs Man

l Between 2001 and 2004, there were 89 incidents of leopard attacks on humans. But that has come down drastically. In 2007 and 2008, there were only one and two injuries respectively to humans due to leopard attacks

l The forest department trapped around 22 leopards in areas like Powai, Aarey Colony, Borivli and Thane in

2004-2005, and shifted them to other forest areas in Maharashtra. It also carried out awareness drives among locals and ran a mobile squad for regular patrols to monitor animal movements

l Though attacks on humans have come down, sightings of the big cat in peripheral areas of the SGNP have gone up. In February 2010, a leopard was spotted on two days by security guards of Siddhachal Phase VI Complex in Thane. Earlier, in November 2008, a leopard was spotted at a factory in Kolshet area of Kapurbawadi in Thane

New worry for power utility, 8 old units unviable

2010-07-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

New worry for power utility, 8 old units unviable:

Vivek Deshpande Posted online: Sun Jul 18 2010, 03:06 hrs

Nagpur : Even as Maharashtra races against time to plug the ever-increasing demand-supply gap, it is facing another crisis that may push its deadline for zero loadshedding to a later date.

At least eight units of Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco), more than 30 years old, are leading to losses to the extent that Mahagenco has decided to shut them down. Parali units 1 and 2, Paras unit 2, Bhusaval and Koradi units 1 to 4 together posted losses worth around Rs 150 crore in 2009-10. As a result, Mahagenco shut down four units of Koradi Thermal Power Station days ago.

“However, with the Maharashtra State Power Transmission Company (Mahavitaran) agreeing to buy power at merchant (commercial) rates, Mahagenco has decided to restart the units and is mulling forming a separate company to run the vintage units on merchant basis if Mahavitaran or Reliance is ready to buy power from them at merchant rates,” managing director Subrata Ratho told The Sunday Express.

Ratho, replying to a question whether Mahagenco had restarted the units under pressure from some local politicians who want them to run to favour a contractors’ lobby, said, “Not at all.” “We were talking to Mahavitaran whether we can run the plants on merchant basis in October-November. Because of Dabhol generation dipping suddenly by 1,000 MW and restrictions on Koyna generation, Mahavitaran has written to us stating they are ready to buy power at merchant rates. That’s why we decided to restart these units,” he added.

Asked if these units getting old meant new units and plants being built would maintain the present production instead of adding to it, Ratho said, “the original idea was to run them till adequate capacity is created, but the losses have become too heavy. So, we have to see if they can be run on merchant basis....”

Chhattisgarh case against Jindal Power - India - The Times of India

2010-07-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

Chhattisgarh case against Jindal Power - India - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Jindal Power Ltd (JPL) could be in for more trouble with the Chhattisgarh government filing legal proceedings against the company for illegally starting work on its 2,400 MW thermal power project in the state.

The proceedings have been launched by the Chhatisgarh Pollution Control Board after it was found that the company, whose board is chaired by Congress MP Naveen Jindal, had begun construction at the site without prior environmental clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) as per the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1976.

The Rs 13,410-crore project faced roadblocks when on June 18 MoEF retracted the terms of reference (ToR) granted for the expansion of the project from 1,000 MW to 2,400 MW. The retraction came in the wake of a complaint from an NGO alleging illegal construction without requisite clearance.

On May 22, the ministry sent an inspection team and found rampant construction for the proposed facility within the premises of the existing one which was in violation of Section 2 of the EIA Notification, 2006, under the EPA, 1976.
JPL had applied for the expansion phase of the plant in April 2007, while the 1,000 MW plant was still under construction. The expansion was to be of 1,320 MW and located adjacent to the 1,000 MW plant. The land requirement was pegged at 750 hectares. The ToRs were granted in July 2007.

In August 2008, the company proposed another expansion of 1,600 MW. It was granted TORs in December 2008. JPL revised the proposal yet again in early 2009, and fixed the new expansion capacity at 2,400 MW. This time around, it required 1,041 hectares of land. The state government ordered a public hearing under the EPA on April 5, 2010, but JPL allegedly had begun construction on the expansion way ahead of the processes that precede environmental clearance.

Jindal pays for flouting law | Down To Earth

2010-07-16T05:12:00.000-07:00

Jindal pays for flouting law | Down To Earth

JINDAL Power Limited (JPL), the power bigwig of the private arena in India, is making news.

In the spotlight is the 2,400 MW expansion of the company’s existing 1,000 MW coal-based thermal power facility at Tamnar village in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.

The Rs 13,410-crore project hit a roadblock on June 18 when the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) retracted the terms of reference (TOR) granted for the expansion. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) is done based on these TORs. The retraction came in the wake of a complaint from an NGO alleging illegal construction; illegal because the company did not obtain the requisite environmental clearance (see: Attention, environment minister). .......................................................read more

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Solar Cheaper than Nukes | RenewablesBiz

2010-07-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

Solar Cheaper than Nukes | RenewablesBiz

Solar Cheaper than Nukes

Bill Opalka | Jul 15, 2010

The last time I caught up with NC WARN the group caused quite a stir with its call to eliminate coal-fired generation in North Carolina in 15 years.

The group, whose moniker stands for waste awareness & reduction network, is at it again with a new report that said a "historic crossover" has occurred between the costs of building solar installations and new nuclear plants. The report said that the state's utilities have rejected solar energy in favor of nuclear plants that require massive public subsidies and additional transfer of financial risks to electricity customers and taxpayers.

"North Carolina should be leading, not lagging, in the transition to clean energy," said John Blackburn, the former chancellor of Duke University and emeritus chair of its economics department.

He also said the fast-growing worldwide solar industry is poised to bring thousands of manufacturing and installation jobs to North Carolina.

Clean energy advocates point out that solar photovoltaic (PV) for home systems, rooftop installations on businesses and utility-scale plants have fallen rapidly in recent years and that trend is expected to accelerate over the next decade. WARN also said that delays and design issues still dog nuclear plants.

Blackburn said an "apples to apples" cost comparison, net of incentives for both technologies, was based on interviews and published reports of solar trends and cost estimates to build nuclear plants.

Blackburn, who produced the report for clean energy nonprofit NC WARN, was assisted by Sam Cunningham, a master's candidate at the Duke University Nicholas School for the Environment. The authors emphasized that solar prices should be compared to new nuclear plant costs, and that electric rates will rise much less with a clean-energy approach.

Jindal power plant risk to alphonsos | Down To Earth

2010-07-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

Jindal power plant risk to alphonsos | Down To Earth: "Jindal power plant risk to alphonsos"

Jindal power plant risk to alphonsos

0 Comments

Author(s): Reshma Jathar

Issue: Jul 31, 2010

Tags: News, Air Pollution, Environment, Maharashtra, Mango, Ministry Of Environment And Forests (MOEF), Power Industry, Ratnagiri (D), Thermal Power Plants

It can function without treating SO2, says environment ministry

SO2 emissions can char mango flowers (Photo: Satyajit Chavan)THE Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has bent backward to commission the 1,200 MW thermal plant in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, promoted by the Jindal group.

The ministry has agreed to let the plant function without the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) unit needed to remove sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the flue gas emitted by burning coal. The company, JSW Energy Limited, has been given three years to install the unit.

JSW had approached the ministry on June 21 seeking permission to operate the plant without the FGD unit costing Rs 527 crore. The ministry agreed and ordered the constitution of a supervisory panel to monitor SO2 levels. The panel, headed by P Pujari, horticulture professor at Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, will identify mango orchards for installing SO2 monitoring stations. Their data will be uploaded on JSW’s website. The plant in Jaigad tehsil is surrounded by alphonso mango orchards.

Farmers and activists have opposed the project from the outset. “At least 900 hectares (ha) near the plant are under mango cultivation. The quality of alphonso mangoes here is very high and they are exported to developed countries that have strict quality certification,” said Vivek Bhide, a mango orchard owner in Malgund near Jaigad. “If the plant is commissioned, we will face difficulties in getting export certification,” he added.

The Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth has been studying the possible impact of the project on alphonso mangoes in the area for the Jindals for a year. Pujari said the report cannot be made public till it is completed. Asked about the commissioning of the plant without the FGD unit, Pujari said the ministry’s permission is conditional. He said the plant’s impact on mango orchards would be known only when monitoring begins. JSW spokesperson Rouhan Sharma refused to comment.

Experts said the emissions will affect the orchards. “Mango flowers are very delicate. They can get charred by air laden with SO2. The emissions can also cause acid rain; even acidic dew drops can affect the flowers,” said P R Arun, an environmental consultant in Mumbai. The Delhi High Court had earlier asked the ministry’s expert appraisal committee to re-examine the project’s environmental clearance. The committee while favouring the plant’s commissioning had said the emissions would benefit the mango orchards (see “Coal emissions nourish trees’, Down To Earth, February 28, 2010).

“It took us almost 10 years to get an FGD unit installed at the 500 MW Dahanu thermal power station in Thane district despite a Supreme Court order,” said Michelle Chawla of Tamarind Tree, a non-profit in Dahanu. “Even after the unit was installed, there is no study on its effectiveness,” she said.

Some more EIA lies | Down To Earth

2010-07-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

Villagers nail EIA lies | Down To Earth: "Villagers nail EIA lies"

Draft report says:

The EIA project consultant, Shiva Test House, says project land is barren
Dwells on the population within a 10 km radius to hide the population density near the site
Shows Roksa village at 3 km distance from site; mentions a river Baya
Project will draw 300 cubic metre groundwater daily but does not show what impact it will have on people

Ground reality:

The site and its adjoining farms grow mangoes, lychees, wheat, rice, seasonal vegetables and mustard
The site is surrounded by eight schools and eight villages with populations ranging from 8,000 to 20,000.
Roksa is 600-700 metres from the site; there is no river Baya in the area
No surveys conducted for preparing baseline data

Coal emissions nourish trees. :)

2010-07-08T04:35:00.000-07:00

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) | Down To Earth: ‘Coal emissions nourish trees’
Author(s): Nidhi Jamwal
Issue: Feb 28, 2010
Environment ministry pushes Jindal power plants in Konkan

An expert� panel of the Union environment ministry has justified the setting up of coal-fired power plants in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. It has said the thermal power plants may prove beneficial for mango plantations as the trees could draw sustenance from the oxides of sulphur and nitrogen emitted by them. Ratnagiri is famous for its Alphonso mangoes and farmers here export their produce to Europe."

47new power plants in Vidarbha- 33000MW

2010-07-08T04:32:00.000-07:00

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) | Down To Earth: "

47 power plants in Vidarbha
Author(s): Aparna Pallavi
Issue: Feb 28, 2010
Why set up thermal plants when the region is power surplus?

Maharashtra’s target is to generate 33,000 MW from 47 new thermal power plants. This is a measure for its power-starved western part; some of it would go to the Nor-thern Grid. Vidarbha, in eastern Maha-rashtra, is power surplus; the region produces 67 per cent of the total power in the state. A chunk of this is already supplied to western Maharashtra. Why then is the state keen on 47 more power plants?"

New policy gets tough on PILs against projects

2010-07-01T10:30:00.001-07:00

New policy gets tough on PILs against projects

Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN, Jul 1, 2010, 12.52am IST

s:projects|SC|PILs

NEW DELHI: Petitioners contemplating PILs against ongoing projects on environment grounds might want to do a rethink. The government's new litigation policy calls for petitioners to be slapped with costs for stoppage of projects that are in public interest.

This approach is a prominent part of the National Litigation Policy (NLP) announced recently by law minister Veerappa Moily and is a response to PILs that lack merit. Though a majority of PILs challenging projects are ultimately dismissed, they succeed in delaying work.

The NLP drafted by attorney-general G E Vahanvati says, "PILs challenging public contract must be seriously defended. If interim orders are passed stopping such projects, then appropriate condition must be insisted upon for petitioners to pay compensation if the PIL is ultimately rejected."

The policy, the government argues, is meant for those petitioners who rush to courts with PILs to merely get publicity immediately after a controversy over a social, political or legislative issue. Critics, however, are likely to argue that the policy will curb public spirited actions.

"It must be recognized that several PILs are filed for collateral reasons, including publicity, and at the instance of third parties. Such litigation must be exposed as being not bonafide," the NLP stressed.

However, NLP does not envisage all PILs as ill-intentioned or bad in law and talks about the need for government to adopt a balanced approach. "On the one hand, PILs should not be taken as a matter of convenience to let the courts do what government finds inconvenient," it said.

A good example of the government turning to the courts to bail it out was the reference on the Ayodhya issue sent by the President to the Supreme Court, immediately after the December 6, 1992 demolition of the disputed shrine. The reference sought an opinion on whether a Ram temple pre-existed the Babri mosque.
The SC had returned the reference without offering an opinion.

The NLP recognizes that an increase in the number of PILs in high courts and the Supreme Court stemmed from a perception that the government was not doing what it was supposed to do or due to a lethargic bureaucracy. "This perception must be changed," it says. The proposal to link costs with dismissal of PILs is, however, bound to be controversial.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Env Ministry to look into power plant's impact on mango crop

2010-06-30T02:17:00.000-07:00

Press Trust of India / New Delhi June 29, 2010, 15:09 IST

Taking serious note of complaints of Alphonso mango growers, the Environment Ministry has warned power producer JSW Energy Ltd that it will have to shut down its proposed plant in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra if its operations have adverse impact on fruit production.

The Ministry has also set up a panel to monitor the impact of the JSW group's 1200 MW coal-based plant operation, which is yet to be started, on the fruit production in the horticulture zone, Environment Ministry officials said.

With the locals expressing concerns that the plant will emit toxic gases spelling disaster to the fruit production, the ministry has asked the power firm to strictly follow the schedule for commissioning Rs 527 crore worth Flue Gas Desulfurisation (FGD) technology. FGD is a environment-friendly technology used for removing sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the exhaust flue gases of fossil fuel power plants using coals.

The ministry has made it clear to the company that it will reduce the power generation and change to a fuel with low sulphur content or close the power plant if SO2 emissions exceed the prescribed standards.

The three-member panel constituted by the ministry is headed by horticulturist P Pujari from Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth with a mandate to identify stations to monitor sulphur dioxide (SO2) in the region.

The other members include Girish Sant, Prayas Pune and member Secretary of Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board.

The other mandate of the committee include identifying the range of variations of SO2 levels that are safe for various phases of the plants such as vegetative, flowering and fruiting.

The committee, which will be funded by the project proponent, to execute its work has also been asked to monitor the yield potential and quality of the Alphonso mango as well.

According to a study by scientists from the Lucknow-based Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, published in the Journal of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology in December 1999, SO2 reduces the quality and quantity of mangoes.

Ratnagiri farmers had approached the Mumbai High Court too fearing that the flyash and SO2 pollution will spell disaster for the mango orchards as well other crops in the region that, in 1997, was declared a horticulture zone.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Environment Ministry had given clearance to the thermal power plant located in Jaigad in May 2007

See .Env Ministry to look into power plant's impact on mango crop

Prized India Mangos May Curb JSW Energy's Power Project Plans in Heartland - Bloomberg

2010-06-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

Prized India Mangos May Curb JSW Energy's Power Project Plans in Heartland - Bloomberg

Prized India Mangos May Curb JSW Energy's Power Project Plans in Heartland

By Natalie Obiko Pearson - Jun 29, 2010

JSW Energy Ltd., an affiliate of India’s third-largest steelmaker, may have to scale back or shut down its biggest planned power project if pollution threatens mango crops near the plant, the Environment Ministry said.

JSW Energy plans to build a 1,200-megawatt, coal-fired power plant in Ratnagiri, the heart of an agricultural zone where India’s prized Alphonso mangos are grown.

“If at any point of time adverse impacts on mango orchards are noticed or established, the plant shall be shut down,” according to a letter to the company dated June 28, posted on the ministry’swebsite and verified by ministry spokeswomen Kalpana Palkhiwala in New Delhi by telephone.

The company was notified of changes to the environment clearance awarded to the project on April 16 in response to concerns that sulfur dioxide emissions may harm nearby mango crops.Sulfur dioxide is produced when coal is burned and can lead to acid rain, smog and haze, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Sharmila Banerjee, a spokeswoman for the JSW Group, didn’t answer phone calls or immediately respond to an e-mail requesting comment.

India accounts for more than half of the world’s mango production, according to theAgricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. The Asian nation’s export of the fruit rose 33 percent to 1.7 billion rupees ($36 million) in the year ended March 31, 2009, according to the agency.

JSW Energy has told the ministry it will reduce output, change to a cleaner-burning fuel or close the proposed plant if it exceeds prescribed sulfur-dioxide emission levels, according to the letter.

The company’s current capacity is 1,000 megawatts, Managing Director Sajjan Jindal said Nov. 17. The utility plans to add at least 2,800 megawatts, of which the Ratnagiri plant is the biggest single project, according to its website.

JSW Energy is an affiliate of JSW Steel Ltd. based in Mumbai.

To contact the reporter on this story: Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai atnpearson7@bloomberg.net.

1500 MW Pollution-free TPP at Guhagar? !. !!!!

2010-05-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

Coming soon...First time ever !!! Pollution free Thermal power projects !! Is it a new ploy to cheat people ??!!!
--- Arun

Tiana Group to set up 90 power projects across India � INDOLINK Consulting’s blog – Your business blog to India

Tiana Group to set up 90 power projects across India

May 14, 2010 — INDOLINK Consulting (es)

Mumbai/ Pune: The Government of India has approved in-principle to let Tiana Group set up, operate and maintain 90 power projects across the country in hydro, thermal, solar, wind and nuclear power segments along with Mitsubishi, Japan. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the same will signed in the coming ten days between the companies.

The Tiana Group, a new entrant in the power segment is committed to supplying low cost power to Indian consumers and wants to contribute to effort of pollution control in India. Along with Mitsubishi, the company will take steps in limiting pollution caused by the Groups’ thermal power projects.

“The Group’s thermal power projects in Guhagar and Anjarle (Ratnagiri, Maharashtra) will be free of pollution thanks to the German technology. These projects will not be harmful nor pollutants in any way. We will in fact try to process, use and reuse sea water in the thermal power generation. Our projects will generate employment, protect environment and improve the standard of living of the local people. We have already announced that the Group will offer land owners educational and medical facilities free of cost and will offer these facilities for others at concessional fees,” Mohammedi Fatehi, director, Tiana Group of Companies said.

The power plant at Guhagar is 1500 mega watt while the one at Anjarle will be 2000 mega watt capacity. Tiana Group which registered itself in August last year as a power projects’ company has an investment budget of close to Rs 70 crore out of which Rs 30 crore will be for projects within Maharashtra and the rest Rs 40 crore are reserved for power projects outside the state. Tiana and Mitsubishi Groups will also work together in areas such as infrastructure development including construction of roads bridges and residential, automotive, airlines, railways, shipping, cement, oil and gas, banking and financial services and electronics.

Source: Business Standard, May 13, 2010

Green panel refuses nod to Tata Power expansion in Dhanbad - The Times of India

2010-05-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

Green panel refuses nod to Tata Power expansion in Dhanbad - Pollution - Environment - Home - The Times of India

Printed from

Green panel refuses nod to Tata Power expansion in Dhanbad

PTI, May 5, 2010, 07.45pm IST

NEW DELHI: An environment panel has refused nod to expansion plan of Tata Power in Dhanbad in Jharkhand citing a moratorium imposed on construction activities in the critically polluted areas till August in the country.

The Tata Power Company had proposed expansion by addition of two units of 660 MW coal-based thermal power plant from existing two units of 525 MW at Maithon in Dhanbad District which has been identified as the most polluted city in Jharkhand as per a government survey.

The expansion proposal had come up before the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for determination of terms of reference (ToR) for undertaking environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study as per provisions of EIA notification 2006.

However, the EAC dropped the project after noting that the area is located in critically polluted areas identified by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and for which the Environment Ministry has issued a circular on moratorium of projects until August.

The CPCB in collaboration with IIT Delhi had surveyed the pollution levels of 88 industrial clusters across the country of which 43 were found to be "critically polluted."

The polluted areas or industrial clusters were given a moratorium till August so that CPCB in consultation with the respective State Pollution Control Boards and the industrial bodies can draw a time-bound action plan for reducing the pollution level in these areas.

Till then no environment clearance will be given to any project proposal in these areas.

PIB Press Release- IMPORTED COAL BASED POWER PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

2010-05-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

PIB Press Release

Press Information Bureau, Government of India

Monday, May 03, 2010

IMPORTED COAL BASED POWER PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

In order to bridge the gap between demand and indigenous coal availability, Government has proposed to run some of the thermal power plants in the country by blending imported coal with indigenous coal subject to technical limitations of the boiler design. In addition to this, some power plants have also beenproposed/identified to operate on imported coal.

In addition to Trombay Thermal Power Station (1250 MW) of Tata Power, which has been conceived to operate on imported coal, the Thermal Power Stations (TPS) identified in Maharashtra for blending imported coal are as under:

1. Koradi TPS (Mahagenco) 1040 MW

2. Nasik TPS (Mahagenco) 880 MW

3. Bhusawal TPS (Mahagenco) 475 MW

4. Parli TPS (Mahagenco) 1170 MW

5. Khaperkheda TPS(Mahagenco) 840 MW

6. Dahanu TPS (Reliance Energy Ltd). 500 MW

Apart from this, JSW Energy is setting up a Thermal Power Station with a capacity of 4x300 MW inRatanagiri District of Maharashtra based on imported coal for commissioning during the 11^th Plan.

This information was given by Shri Bharatsinh Solanki, Minister of State for Power in a written reply inRajya Sabha today.

PRA/SKK

Rs 30000 Crs to upgrade 115 power plants

2010-04-29T23:00:00.001-07:00

Spark's Power Play: Rs 30000 Crs to upgrade 115 power plants ! ! !
By Spark
Renewable Energy Links - India. Renewables Sites, Rajasthan EDA, Gujarat
EDA, Maharashtra EDA, Indian Wind Power, Wind Power India, INWEA,
Renewables Ministry ... The government has set aside upwards of Rs 30000
crore for the upgrade and maintenance of almost 115 hydro and thermal
power generating units, including some thermal stations commissioned as
early as 1968. About 20 of those thermal units were built before 1980
and had been slated for retirement before local and ...
<http://sparkspower.blogspot.com/2010/04/rs-30000-crs-to-upgrade-115-power.html>

Spark's Power Play

Videocon plans Rs.30000 crore 6000 MW power foray

2010-04-29T22:59:00.001-07:00

Videocon plans Rs.30000 crore 6000 MW power foray
Little About
The Videocon group has an ambitious plan to set up four thermal power
generating ... at Asansol in West Bengal and a third one at a location
in Maharashtra. ...
<http://www.littleabout.com/news/92908,videocon-plans-rs30000-crore-6000-mw-power-foray.html>

Videocon plans Rs.30000 crore 6000 MW power foray
Thaindian.com
With its Rs.5000-crore 1200 MW thermal power generating facility coming
up at ... at Asansol in West Bengal and a third one at a location in
Maharashtra. ...
<http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/videocon-plans-rs30000-crore-6000-mw-power-foray_100349945.html>

State to seek additional supply from center

2010-04-29T22:38:00.001-07:00

State to seek additional supply from center
Sakaal Times
The approximate power deficit for Maharashtra currently is of 6000 MW.
"The delegation will ask for 1000 MW power from National Thermal Power
Corporation ...
<http://www.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalTimesBeta/20100427/4630678347406199617.htm>

Maharashtra teeters on the brink of power supply collapse - dnaindia.com

2010-04-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

Water shortage is causing major power plants to shut down. Should we import water too for our upcoming megathermal power plants ??

Arun

-------------

Maharashtra teeters on the brink of power supply collapse - dnaindia.com

Maharashtra teeters on the brink of power supply collapse

DNA, Friday, April 16, 2010 0:50 IST

Maharashtra’s power generation slid further on Thursday because of low availability of water for the thermal, gas, and hydel power plants in the state, creating a bigger gap between demand and supply.

Power generation by Mahagenco, the state-owned power generation company formed by breaking up the earlier Maharashtra State Electricity Board, continued to fall from its installed capacity of 9,996mw as all thermal power plants suffered from the shortage of water. The situation is grave, a source in the know said.

The state is drawing power from the central grid to bridge the gap, but the problem is set to grow over the next fortnight to an unprecedented level, the source warned.

Together from Mahagenco, private projects, and the national grid, the state was drawing 10,501mw of power while demand had shot up to 14,681 — a gap of 4,180mw.

The biggest deficit is from the Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) where three of the six units have been shut over the past fortnight.

With a total installed capacity of 2,340mw, the plant on Thursday generated just 1,068mw of power, staggered by receding water levels in the Irai dam from where it receives water.

The dam is left with about 7% of water supply, according to the irrigation department. With water scarcity looming in Chandrapur town and neighbouring areas, the district administration has sought to reserve the remaining water for human consumption.

Top officials at the CSTPS said the energy department and Mahagenco officials would review the situation early next week and draw up a plan to mitigate the power shortage, particularly if all units of the Chandrapur plant have to be shut down

Campaign against thermal power plants to be launched (19 Apr 2010 00:00)

2010-04-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

Campaign against thermal power plants to be launched (19 Apr 2010 00:00- The Hindu)

Campaign against thermal power plants to be launched

Special Correspondent

A fact-finding panel to be constituted

Oppose Coal Power Group holds two-day meeting in Bangalore
Fact-finding panel to explain faults in the integrated energy policy

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Oppose Coal Power Group, an organisation extending support to the people fighting against establishment of thermal power plants that cause damage to environment and bring in other problems, would launch a nation-wide awareness campaign.

This was decided during the two-day meeting of the organisation at Bangalore a few days ago. The group decided to constitute a national-level fact-finding committee and support the anti-thermal power plant struggles every where. It would explain to the people the huge loss of land to the people, huge displacement, severe damage to environment, threat to food security and other dangers due to thermal power plants. It would also explain the faults in the integrated energy policy. It was found that many thermal power plants were coming up all over the country but most of them are in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka and Chattisgarh.

At the Bangalore meeting, B.M. Mohan (Sivaji) of the Paryavarana Parirakshana Samiti of Sompeta, an organisation leading the agitation against establishment of a super thermal power plant, explained about the impending danger due to that plant and also the 73 power plants proposed along the Andhra coast.

A former engineer of Karnataka State Electricity Board Shankar Sharma explained the impact of excess production of power. Maitreyi Dasgupta and Preethi Sarman of the Green Peace organisation organised the two-day programme.

People for Social Cause Blog: Vidarbha: Dirty technology in the guise of development?

2010-04-14T00:55:00.000-07:00

People for Social Cause Blog: Vidarbha: Dirty technology in the guise of development?

The government of Maharashtra plans to allow 43 new private and public thermal power plants in Vidarbha, a region that’s suffered years of neglect and is home to thousands of distressed, suicidal farmers. Is the government justified in sacrificing Vidarbha to the power needs of the rest of the state/country?.....................................

Tiana Group, Mr. Mohammedi, Business Wire India, Press Releases

2010-04-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

Tiana Group, Mr. Mohammedi, Business Wire India, Press Releases: ","

................Mr. Mohammedi A Fatehi said Tiana Power Projects Pvt. Ltd. would also be setting up a Thermal Power Plant at Anjarle in Ratnagiri district with an estimated investment of Rs. 6,000 Crores generating 1,500 MW of power. The thermal plant would be spread over 2,500 acres and would be completed within three years, depending on the timely clearances from the government. He said the thermal plant would be utilizing coal as its raw material and might be brought in from Indonesia as its ash percentage is about 13 percent as compared to the 37 to 39 percent from Indian coal.

The third power plant preferably with gas as its raw material would be set up at Dabhol. Investment would be approximately Rs. 9,000 Crores for 2,000 MW. With the three plants in operation, a total of 4,000 MW approximately would be the power generation which would be handed over to the MSEB..........................

Coal mining

2010-04-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

A third of coal belts will be off mining limits
Thermal projects may hit roadblock
Kalyan Ray, New Delhi, April 2, DH News Service :
The country's ambitious thermal power generation targets over the next few years to meet the acute shortages as well as the rapidly growing demand may hit an environmental roadblock.

The reason: the coal deposits may be there in abundance but it may not be possible to mine the fuel. Almost one-third of the country's top grade coal reserve would not be available for mining as these areas are now considered to be ecologically too fragile to allow mining. New coal mines can come up in the remaining areas but even here automatic approval may not be possible any longer. Before getting the required nod for mining, the mine-owners have to come up a good remediation plan for the surroundings which would be damaged by the mining activities. Further, if the mining involves displacement of forest-dwellers, rules under the forest rights act would have to be satisfied before getting the environment and forest clearances. The environment clearance will come from the Centre whereas the forest clearance would be given by the state concerned. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who surveyed nine major coalfields recently, informed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week that 35 per cent areas would be "no-go" areas for mining. In these areas mining must not be allowed under any circumstances, he told the Prime Minister. Mining activity can go on only in the remaining 65 per cent areas. The nine coal fields are: North Karanpura, IB Valley, Singaurali, Talcher, West Bokaro, Wardha, Mandraigarh, Hasdeo and Shoagpur. They are located in six states – Chhattishagrh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The Cabinet has been informed that henceforth coal mining projects would get the approval based on the ultimate production capacity thereby obviating the need for repeated clearances when expansion takes place. Ramesh has claimed that Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal was on board with the new plan and officials from environment ministry would be a part of the approval process when Coal India allocates new blocks for mining. India's coal demand is set to rise as the country will be adding 50,758 MW capacity during the 11th plan, out of which 15,208 MW has already been installed. The new projects include the five ultra-mega power plants as well. The 12th plan targets are equally ambitious as the Union power ministry has worked out a scheme to add another 78,700 MW out of which more than 50,000 MW would be thermal. Ramesh has, however, felt that blocking 35 per cent of coal-bearing areas would not be a limiting factor if the required forest clearance for new mines came quickly from states. This, however, remains a bottleneck. Jharkhand, for instance, is notorious in delaying forest clearance.

Maharashtra govt may not be able to meet 2012 power target - dnaindia.com

2010-03-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

Maharashtra govt may not be able to meet 2012 power target - dnaindia.com

Mumbai: The government has been claiming a load-shedding free Maharashtra by 2012, but the provision in the budget indicates otherwise.

Three of its major power generation plants, with consolidated generation of more than 4,000mw, are expected to be commissioned not before 2014-15, the budget document states.

The government expects 1,200mw power from Uran Gas Project, 1,320mw from a thermal power project in Dhule, and 1,600mw from a thermal power project in Ratangiri by 2014-15.

Though it has claimed that land acquisition is underway for the thermal projects, the ground reality is otherwise.

The acquisition has been facing resistance from the locals, and the department has no clarity on the other administrative aspects of the project.

Thermal power in Konkan -ebooks

2010-03-29T02:29:00.000-07:00

Thermal power in konkan ebook Download

thermal power in konkan ebook Download

(http://www.toodoc.com/thermal-power-in-konkan-ebook.html)

PFC moving ahead for ultra mega Girye power plant	Download
5x800MW imported coal based ultra mega thermal power project at Girye in Maharashtra by the month end.... to have engaged Konkan Agricultural University to conduct a study on the possible effects of thepowerplant ...
TAG power plant pfc protests locals crops thermal power project india's power power finance corporation qualification coal maharashtra fear konkan agricultural university agencies expressions of interest ntpc reliance energy aditya birla birla power

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The fuel cost and output power cost from thermal. power stations even in low load period ... In Andasolthermal power plant in Spain a heat. exchanger system consisting of two storage ...

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dues on coal transported to Thermal Power stations of UPSEB with the traction bills ... freight dues on coal transported to Thermal Power stations of UPSEB with the traction ...

JSW Energy – Ratnagiri Power Station	Download	View
1200 MW thermal power station being set up by JSW Energy Ratnagairi Limited. at Jaigarh in ... The Delhi High Court in its order directed that the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to re-examine the approval already granted after considering the reports. of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli (KKVD) on the ...
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Of late the Konkan coast is in. news for all the wrong reasons. The ... Konkan. Thermal power stations are proposed in a. massive scale along the Konkan coast. ...

BOMBAY HIGH COURT	Download
The Konkan Railway alignment passes through different terrain in ... Mr. Grover submitted that the agriculturists in this region have erected timber sluice gates which operate under tidal power to control the inflow of tides. The low-lying Khazan paddy fields which lie below the sea level in the ...

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capacity and the highest thermal installed capacity. amongst all the State Power Generation Utilities in. India. In terms of installed capacity, it is the second. highest generation company in the Nation after ... newpowerprojects of 6,380 MW, has been planned. It will be seen that from the year 2005 ...
TAG tps power stations installed capacity hydro power uran plant bhusawal gas paras chandrapur power projects

Microsoft Word - Rufford Report 2008 -1	Download	View
the MoEF to reject the proposal for expansion of the extisting thermal power ... Thermal power stations are proposed in massive scale in Maharashtra especially along. the Konkan coast which includes Jaigad TPP. The cumulative ...

NMPT looks out for BOT partners for new projects	Download
port has planned 4 berths for a thermal power station of Udupi Power Corporation, windmill power station for Suzlon Energy ... Development Company Limited, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited and Southern Railway. ...

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in the form of power or electricity, 69% is from coal or thermal power, 25% is from hydel power, ...Thermalpower stations are located mainly in the big industrial regions and coal fields. ...
TAG energy resources oil country natural gas electricity ch1 fuel sources of energy petroleum cng plants mw project tamilnadu

Birla Power to invest Rs 5000 cr in thermal & solar power projects

2010-03-18T05:26:00.001-07:00

Birla Power to invest Rs 5000 cr in thermal & solar power projects
Economic Times
According to him, his group will set up 600 mw of thermal power plant
capacity in Maharashtra and 125 mw solar power capacity in Andhra Pradesh,
Rajasthan, ...
<http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/Birla-Power-to-invest-Rs-5000-cr-in-thermal-solar-power-projects/articleshow/5695818.cms>

India Power Companies’ Coal Imports May Fall Short of Target - BusinessWeek

2010-03-10T00:58:00.000-08:00

India Power Companies’ Coal Imports May Fall Short of Target - BusinessWeek

By Dinakar Sethuraman

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Indian power companies’ coal imports may fall short of a 47 million metric-ton target in the year ending March 2011, according to a report by a shipbroker.

“This is a stretched target and actual imports in 2010-11 may be only to the tune of around 38-40 million tons,” InterOcean said in a note today.

That compares with targeted purchases of 28.7 million tons in the previous fiscal year, InterOcean said, citing data from the Central Electricity Authority, India’s regulator. Actual imports may be lower at 23 million tons, it said.

India, the world’s second-most populous nation, will import 76 million tons of thermal coal and coking coal for steelmaking in the 2010 fiscal year, according to mjunction Services Ltd., a Web-based trader backed by the country’s biggest steel producers, in January. That’s up from 59 million tons in the previous period. Imports will rise to 110 million tons in 2012.

State utilities including National Thermal Power Corp. and some private units such as Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. may account for as much as 35 million tons of targeted coal purchases in fiscal 2011 while other non-state units including Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., Adani Power Ltd., Torrent Power Ltd. and Lanco Infratech Ltd. may import 12 million tons, according to the report.

National Thermal Power, India’s biggest generator, has a coal import target of 13.9 million tons for fiscal 2011 followed by Maharashtra State Power Generation Ltd. at 3.35 million tons, according to the report.

India’s power sector may consume 452 million tons of coal in fiscal 2011 of which about 388 million will be supplied from domestic mines, it said.

--Editors: Jane Lee, Ang Bee Lin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at dinakar@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell at crussell7@bloomberg.net.

Steep rise in coal imports required to power India

2010-03-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

Moneylife : Steep rise in coal imports required to power India

The power ministry has estimated coal imports of 48 million tonnes in FY10-11, sharply higher than the expected imports of 28mt in the current fiscal, as domestic supply shrinks due to issues like environmental clearance and Naxalite threats

India’s coal imports for power production are likely to rise to 48 million tonnes (mt) in the next fiscal, sharply higher than the expected imports of 28mt for FY09-10. Both private and public power utilities are likely to contribute to this high figure. Despite India being a coal-rich country, delay in mining activities at captive coal blocks, inferior quality of coal and hindrances in domestic coal transportation has increased power utilities’ dependence on imported coal.

According to the HS Brahma, secretary, ministry of power, public and private power utilities will together import 48mt of coal in the next fiscal. The import volume has been planned to ensure regular fuel supply to Indian power plants. Australia, Indonesia and South Africa are the major countries catering to India’s coal demand.

As per a PTI report, the total coal requirement during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) is expected to touch 700 million tonnes, and the demand from power companies is likely to be at 550 million tonnes. A major portion of this requirement is likely to be met through coal imports.

The constant increase in coal imports by Indian power utilities is ironical, given that India has the fourth-largest reserves of coal in the world. However, effective utilisation of these reserves has hit roadblocks like environmental clearances, rehabilitation issues and the Naxalite movement.

Power utilities are increasingly looking at coal imports as an easier option to ensure coal linkages for their plants. With a large of number of captive coal blocks stuck in various pre-implementation stages, companies are more comfortable with their dependence on coal imports.

Coal blocks allotted for captive use to various power utilities as early as 2008, are still in the environmental clearance stage. The coal block allotted to GMR Energy in Orissa is one of the many examples. It is still in the environmental clearance phase, but company officials claim the coal linkage for the project has been secured and the plant will go on steam as scheduled, despite the delay in mining activity.

Similarly, Adani Group’s power plant in Tiroda (Maharashtra) hit a roadblock after two of its coal blocks in Lohara were refused environmental clearance.

Pramod Menon, chief financial officer, JSW Energy Ltd, confirms the necessity of imported coal. “Domestic coal has its own challenge; if we want to ramp up capacity, there are issues. We have tried to enter the space very differently, with a mix of domestic coal and imported coal. We generally take three to five years for exploration after allocation of a coal block. A lot of capacity is coming in, but we have to wait and watch out for the challenges which these capacities will face in procuring domestic coal. The reason for this is that we are not seeing a huge amount of coal capacity actually coming on-stream,” he said.

Coal linkages through imports have become extremely important for power utilities to ensure timely commissioning of their planned power capacities. An excellent example of this is the Videocon group. It has been able to achieve financial closure for its Gujarat power project due to assured coal linkages through imports. However, a second power project of the same group in Chhattisgarh still awaits financial closure. The coal supply for this plant will depend on captive coal blocks which have not been allotted. The group is confident that the Gujarat plant will be completed on schedule, but it refused to provide a timeline for the Chhattisgarh project as the coal linkages have not yet been secured.

Operational power plants in the country are also under constant threat of irregular coal supply due to mining and transportation issues. According to the Central Electricity Authority data, around 22 thermal power stations (TPS) were in the critical list with less than seven days of coal supply. Of these, 13 TPS are in the super-critical list with less than four days of coal supply. The number of TPSs in the critical list has been constant for several months, with no improvement in the coal supply scenario. The main reasons cited for the coal shortage are delay in coal imports or reduced coal supplies from the captive coal blocks for these plants.

India’s major coal reserves lie in the ‘red’ belt or the Naxal-affected regions of the country. Power plants fuelled by coal blocks in these regions face issues like irregular supply. Coal India Ltd, India’s largest coal supplier, is also seriously looking at the coal import option. CIL officials had earlier admitted to transportation problems from coal mines in the Naxal-affected regions of Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC), which is India’s largest power producer, plans to import coal in large quantities from Australia, despite the fact that domestic coal blocks have been allotted to each of its projects. It has already imported 9mt of the targeted 12.5mt during the current financial year (2009-10). NTPC’s thermal power stations at Farakka and Khalagaon have been on the super-critical list for several months due to inadequate coal supply.

Two TPPs okayed, Dhopave not considered

2010-03-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

Steel Guru : Environment nod for 2 thermal power projects in Maharashtra:

"Mr Jairam Ramesh minister of state for environment and forests (independent charge) informed the Lok Sabha that government of Maharashtra has submitted two proposals namely 1600 MW Imported Coal based Thermal Power Plant at Dhopawe and 3x660 MW expansion/ replacement of units of Koradi Thermal power plant at Koradi for seeking Environment Clearance.

The Environment Clearance for expansion/replacement of units at Koradi Thermal Power Plant has been granted. The project at Dhopave could not be considered for environmental clearance due to incomplete information provided by the State Government."

Adani Power plans to set up 1,320 MW plant in M.P.

2010-02-24T03:21:00.001-08:00

Source : http://www.blonnet.com

After more than doubling its planned power production capacities since its IPO last year, Adani Power Ltd (APL), a subsidiary of the $5-billion Adani Group, is planning to set up a 1,320 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh.
At the time of its IPO, APL had planned to produce only 6,600 MW that included 4,620 MW at Mundra, Gujarat, and 1,980 MW at Tiroda, Maharashtra. Later, it included 1,320 MW at Kawai, Rajasthan, and 2,640 MW at Dahej, and an additional 1,320 MW at Tiroda, to ramp up total capacities to 11,880 MW, involving investments of nearly Rs 59,400 crore.
Its latest foray in Madhya Pradesh, with 2x660 MW, will increase the capacities further to 13,120 MW, involving investments to the tune of nearly Rs 65,600 crore (at the rate of nearly Rs 5 crore per MW), according to a senior company official.

To read full story please CLICK Here

Bajaj Hindusthan to ventures into thermal power generation

2010-02-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

Bajaj Hindusthan to ventures into thermal power generation: "Bajaj Hindusthan, the country’s biggest sugar producer is planning to venture into thermal power generation with an investment of Rs. 60,000 million to generate 1200 MW of power. The company has identified Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra to set up plants based on indigenous coal. Its current captive power plant stands at 430 MW and with growing demand, it plans to have a bigger presence in the power sector. It also plans to venture into hydel power and scouting for suitable opportunities."

Thermal Power transforming Vidarbha into Pollution hotspot

2010-02-21T02:08:00.000-08:00

Coal based thermal power plants to pollute Vidarbha region

(For full article see http://vidarbhatimes.blogspot.com/2010/02/coal-based-thermal-power-plants-to.html)

In next 10 to 20 years, the Vidarbha will be the most polluted region of the country because the coal based 49 thermal power plants are coming up in the region and as per the study, coal based power plants are considered biggest sources of air pollution and emit huge quantity of Fly Ash, toxic metals like Mercury, radio activity, Sulphur di oxide and Carbon di Oxide, a green house gas a major contributor to Global warming , which means that coal based power plants can pollute entire region and contribute to global warming..........Read full article at Vidarbha Times blog

List of Ultra Mega Power Projects in India

2010-02-20T21:27:00.000-08:00

List of Ultra Mega Power Projects in India

(Source: http://emergingyouths.com)

Ultra Mega Power projects (UMPP) are Nine coal based thermal power projects which were planned by government of India.The capacity of each project is 4000 Megawatts or above.The coast of each project is approximately Rs.16,000 crore.The Ministry of Power has already awarded 3 UMPPs to Reliance power and 1 UMPP to Tata Power.Both the companies has started work at these four projects.These are the total 9 UMPP Special purpose vehicles in India.

Ultra Mega Power Projects in India

(1) Sasan Power Limited (Sasan, Madhya Pradesh),awarded to Reliance Power.

(2) Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (Mundra, Gujarat),awarded to Tata Power.

(3) Coastal Karnataka Power Limited (Tadri, Karnataka)

(4) Coastal Andhra Power Limited (Krishnapatnam, A.P.),awarded to Reliance Power.

(5) Coastal Tamil Nadu Power Limited (Cheyyur, T.N.)

(6) Coastal Maharashtra Power Limited (Girye, Maharastra)

(7) Orissa Integrated Power Limited (Sundergarh district, Orissa)

(8) Jharkhand Integrated Power Limited (Tilaiya, Jharkhand),awarded to Reliance Power.

(9) Akaltara Power Limited (Aklatara, Chattisgarh)

47 power plants in Vidarbha

2010-02-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

47 power plants in Vidarbha !
Down to Earth (subscription)
Maharashtra's target is to generate 33000 MW from 47 new thermal power
plants. This is a measure for its power-starved western part; some of it
would go to ...
<http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20100228&filename=news&sec_id=4&sid=3>

Towards Sustainable Green Energy

2010-02-15T04:55:00.000-08:00

Printed from

Renewables can ensure energy security
15 Feb 2010, 0619 hrs IST, G M Pillai,

Peak oil has been around for a while now. Energy specialists in India, specially those working in the renewable energy space, are now talking the

same about coal: not quite peak coal but an increasing likelihood that coal will not always be available to run power plants.

Will this mean that development as we know will come to a halt, given that energy production and consumption are regarded internationally as a major cause for climate change? For India, a net importer of fossil fuel, including gas, and increasingly of coal, energy security is a compelling reason to go green, G M Pillai, director general, World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) believes.

Development cannot stop and it needs energy but the conventional sources of energy , oil and coal are fast running out. So, renewables are the only option. And, they are also green. So the primary objective of going for renewable energy, notes Mr Pillai, should be to secure the country’s growing energy needs. Solar energy can be a source for our growing energy needs, but what advancements have been made to store it?

Storage technology has been developed to the level that it can be stored for six-seven hours. In states such as Maharashtra, where peak power demand is at night, the stored power can be used. Which means that the grid will have to have a mix of hydro, biomass , solar and a proper dispatch.

The hybrid format grid allows using existing thermal power with an RE source. There is already one such at Singrauli in UP. The transition has begun, but the obsession with ultra mega power projects continues. And these projects are being sanctioned without assessing the security of fuel supply for the next 30 years. And, that is where issues over peak coal arise, as Indonesia, a major exporter , gradually caps these.

This will mean that India would have to compete with the US and China, for global coal from the one big exporter, Australia. Will we be able to compete with international buyers?

The worrying aspect is that some power companies have taken a short-term view, says Mr Pillai. They expect to achieve payback in five years on their projects, hence they are unconcerned about fuel supply for the plant for the rest of its life. How can renewable energy impact our lives?

Concentrated solar thermal (CST) units, for instance, can be retrofitted on low-rise buildings — those with up to five floors. Wind mills on buildings to power street lights in a large housing complex too can be considered. Of course, renewables will require that we change the way we do business . While renewables could power households , what about industry and metros?

Powering industry using renewables remains a big question. But, smaller, distributed units can reduce the burden on the grid for housing and even agricultural needs. Industry requires those large power plants. “We have 2.13 lakh sq miles of desert in Gujarat and Rajasthan, half of which the government owns. This region can power the country’s industry and metros, with huge solar power plants being set up there.

As water is required to cool turbines and that would pose a challenge in the desert, the solution lies in using air cooling systems.” Nevada, in the US, has attempted solar thermal generation. It began with 40MW generation, which is now at 394 MW and can go to 500 MW. The use of deserts to locate such power generation units is best exemplified by the International Renewable Energy Agency, located in Abu Dhabi. The west Asian countries are taking measures with peak oil looming large.

Renewables will change the power scene. Over 5-6 years, low-rise buildings could have their own solar-thermal units to take care of at least some of the power needs of the inhabitants there. Software technology firms that have large terraces could be among the first to install such units.

Or malls, where the structures are not usually very tall. What else will change through a widespread deployment of renewable energy? Urban planning is one. Tall buildings of over 100 metres cannot be powered by renewables. So, ideas about city development will have to change. What about financing these projects?

Mr Pillai pointed out Maharashtra’s four paise per kilowatt hour green cess on conventional power production for industrial and commercial units generates about Rs 100 crore annually. It has been converted into seed money for the Urja ankur nidhi a corpus used solely for the development of renewable energy. The government of Karnataka has also announced a similar cess.

MoEF's Green Signal - Doomsday for Alphonso !

2010-02-14T22:42:00.000-08:00

Green signal for power project in middle of alphonso orchards
(http://www.livemint.com/2010/02/14233811/Green-signal-for-power-project.html)

Posted: Sun, Feb 14 2010. 11:38 PM IST

The move has potentially put not just a key export but also the livelihood of local farmers atrisk, say activists Padmaparna Ghosh and Utpal Bhaskar
New Delhi: The Union government has approved the setting up of a controversial power generation project in the middle of a prime growing area for India’s world-famous alphonso mangoes, potentially putting not just a key export but also the livelihood of local farmers at risk.
The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has given the green signal to JSW Energy (Ratnagiri) Ltd, or JSWEL, a Jindal South West (JSW) group company, to commission a 1,200MW coal-based power plant at Jaigad in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. The clearance has come despite a court order asking the ministry to study the impact of the project in more detail.
Environmental activists said fly ash produced by the plant will affect agriculture, and a local farmers’ collective has vowed to appeal against the clearance. While issuing the clearance, the ministry put a year-long moratorium on JSWEL’s proposal to add an additional 3,200MW capacity to the power-generation plant. It has also imposed some conditions on the plant—such as taking adequate mitigation measures to desulphurize emissions, providing dense plantation as a buffer and 100% utilization of the fly ash it generates. “Even if there are negative impacts, the impacts are restricted within (a) 5km radius of the project site which harbour poor quality orchards which are a few in number, suggesting that there will be no reduction in mango production,” the site report reviewed by Mint stated.
But Maitree Dasgupta, a campaigner on climate and energy with international activist group Greenpeace, doesn’t agree.
“Fly ash from power plants is known to affect agriculture. For instance, in Parli, Beed district, Maharashtra, we have seen that sugar cane production is getting affected. Power plants make ponds for fly ash outside, which can contaminate surrounding areas later,” Dasgupta said. Questions emailed to a JSW group spokesperson on 8 February were not answered.
With an average annual shortage of 5,000MW, Maharashtra is India’s largest power-deficit state. The shortage is likely to grow, with demand projected to rise by 7-10% every year. The JSWEL project first received environmental clearance in May 2007, which was upheld by the National Environment Appellate Authority a year later.
But the Delhi high court, acting on a petition filed by local farmers, stayed the commissioning of power generating units in September. It asked the ministry to study the effects of the power plant on cultivation and reassess its environmental clearance. The ministry had sent a team to the site for a review. Its report, listed in the minutes of the meeting of an expert appraisal committee on thermal power projects, suggested that alphonso mangoes are more tolerant to high levels of sulphur dioxide than previously believed.
In July 2008, the ministry had also asked state-funded agricultural university Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli (KKVD), to carry out a four-year impact study on alphonso mangoes. The project would be allowed to expand only after that, it said. The university was asked to monitor ambient air quality, the marine and estuarine environment, plant health parameters and fisheries during the entire operative life of the plant, with periodic evaluation by an independent panel of experts nominated by the ministry.
“We will appeal against this clearance again,” said Vivek Bhide, a local mango farmer and president of the Ratnagiri Zilla Jagruk Manch, a farmers’ collective. “This (the clearance) doesn’t seem to follow the high court order, which said to carefully analyse all studies. But the KKVD study is yet to be completed,” he said. This is not the first electricity generation project that has threatened alphonso farmers in Maharashtra. An ambitious power project at Girye had to be dropped due to protests by local mango growers.
India exports around 13,000 tonnes of alphonso mangoes every year. According to the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board, mango cultivation in Ratnagiri is across 62,836 ha that yield production of 115,939 tonnes yearly.
padmaparna.g@livemint.com

Adnani's Mundra unit gets CDM certification !

2010-02-02T22:27:00.001-08:00

Posted On Thursday, January 21, 2010
United News of India
Mumbai, Jan 21:
The first two 660 MW unit of the Adnani Power (APL) in Mundra in Gujarat has been certified as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Project by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The unit is the first one in the world to get CDM certification for super-critical technology based power project authorised under Kyoto Protocol to register such projects after elaborate and stringent scrutiny.
APL is setting up power plants to the tune of 9,240 MW, including 4,620 MW at Mundra in Gujarat, 3,300 MW at Tiroda in Maharashtra and 1,320 MW at Kawai in Rajasthan. Nearly 85 per cent of the project was based on environment friendly super-critical technology. The first two super-critical units of 660 MW each at Mundra, which are expected to be commissioned in 2010-11, have received this distinction.
Currently in India, sub-critical coal fired power generation is the commonly used technology with no super-critical or advanced super-critical plants in operation. The efficiency of super-critical coal fired power plant is quite high compared to sub-critical coal fired power plants. Enhanced plant efficiency reduces emissions of CO2 and all other pollutants by consuming less fuel per unit of electricity generated. The efficiency improvements and thereby reduction in CO2 Green House Gas (GHG) using super-critical technology leads to registration of such Thermal Power Project as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project and earning of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) through the CDM under the Kyoto Protocol.
APL in a release here said ''A complex and grueling process of project evaluation involves Host Country Approval (HCA) from Ministry of Environment and Forest in India, evaluation by Independent Validator of the Project Concept Note and Project Design Document, followed by review of Independent Validator's report by Committee Members of UNFCCC with final queries being raised by UNFCCC committee members which needs to be replied by the company with supporting documentation. During the 51st Executive Board of meeting of UNFCCC held at Copenhagen, Denmark between November 30 and December four, 2009, the committee members had reviewed the replies and various documents submitted by APL and approved this project as CDM project.
As per the calculations made in line with the guidelines of the UNFCCC under the ACM013 methodology applicable to this project, Mundra 2x660 MW TPP will be eligible to generate 18,39,560 CER per annum for 10 years from the first year of generation.
Adnani Group chairman Gautam Adnani commenting on the achievement said the company remained committed to Clean Development in its pursuit to be one of the largest private sector power generation companies.

35,700 Mw power projects for green nod

2010-01-14T02:29:00.001-08:00

Environment panel to look into green nod for power projects

Environment panel to look into green nod for power projects
Sanjay Jog / Mumbai January 11, 2010, 0:35 IST

In a bid to give a big push for the development of coal- and gas-based power projects in the country, the expert appraisal committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) will take up proposals for terms of reference and environment clearances for 31 projects with a total generation capacity of 35,700 Mw.

The committee is scheduled to meet on January 11 and 12, for the first time this year, where it will discuss projects ranging from a minimum generation capacity of 54 Mw to the ultra mega power projects of 4,000 Mw. The committee would also consider a terms of reference for 60.9 Mw non-fossil fuel-based power plant by Seksaria Biswan Sugar Factory in Uttar Pradesh.

“The ministry, headed by Jairam Ramesh, is bringing a lot of transparency for providing environment and forest clearances expeditiously to power, mining, industrial, coal and other infrastructure projects. The ministry is also aware of the long time taken in these clearances. The issue has been take up by ministries of power and coal in particular,” informed sources told Business Standard.

Sources recalled that at a meeting convened by the power ministry on November 15 last year, various states had sought the ministry’s intervention for environment and forest clearances without inordinate delays. Besides, the coal ministry and the country’s largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd, had brought to the Centre’s notice that it takes two to four years to get environment and forest clearances for coal mining projects. EAC, in its communication to project developers, clarified that it would consider the proposal for environment clearance subject to confirmation of fuel and water linkage.

Some of the major projects to be considered by EAC include the 4,000-Mw ultra mega power project by Tatiya Andhra Mega Power Ltd, 2,640-Mw Bhavanapadu Thermal Power Project by East Coast Energy Pvt Ltd (both in Andhra Pradesh), four thermal projects of 300 Mw each by JSW Energy at Jaigad near Ratnagiri for review of environment clearance, and four thermal power projects of 800 Mw each by JSW Energy at Chiefari near Ratnagiri (both in Maharashtra) for terms of reference.

A large number of mango and cashew nut growers from Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra and non-government organisations have raised objections against these projects. A committee of MoEF had recently visited the project sites to get a first-hand information.

Hold the Public hearings in seriousness- Court to MoEF & GSPCB

2010-01-03T21:06:00.001-08:00

Printed from

Hold GSPCB hearings seriously: Delhi HC

PANAJI: The Goa State Pollution Control Coard’s six simultaneous public hearings on five different mines at Sanguem in 2007, has led the Delhi high court to ask the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to take corrective steps and hold the hearings in seriousness.

NGO Utkarsh Mandal had approached the court and sought the quashing of an order issued by the MoEF in 2007 granting environment clearance to Panduranga Timblo Industries (PTI) for renewal of its mining lease at Rivona. During the hearing the scheduling of public hearings by GPSCB in respect of five mines (including that of PTI) on January 31, 2007 at 11 am at Vithal Devasthan at Sanguem came under the court’s scrutiny.

While setting aside the order passed by MoEF granting the environmental clearance to PTI, a division bench comprising chief justice Ajit Prakash Shah and justice S Murlidhar observed, “We find from the notice of the public hearing in the present case that as many as six public hearings were scheduled in regard to the projects (including PTI) by GPSCB on the same date and time and at the same venue.” The court also noted that it is a matter of concern that the requirement of public hearing under the EIA notification has been taken so lightly by the MoEF. “We expect the MoEF to immediately issue necessary instructions in this regard so that public hearings in terms of the EIA (environment impact assessment) notification dated 14th September 2006 take place with the seriousness which they deserve.”

Hanakon thermal power plant project shelved

2010-01-03T03:44:00.001-08:00

Hanakon thermal power plant project shelved
The Hindu - Correspondent
---------------------------------------------------------

Activists opposing the project and IBTPL hold press meet
Ind-Bharath Thermal Power Company Limited was supposed to set up the thermal power plant
Company and protesting activists to withdraw cases each had filed against the other

--------------------------------------------------------
Karwar: Ind-Bharath Thermal Power Company Limited (IBTPL) which had proposed to set up a thermal power plant at Hanakon near Karwar has decided not to go ahead with the project following opposition from environment activists and the general public.
A joint press conference was held here on Friday by Executive Director of the IBTPL Vasurao and members of the Anti-Thermal Power Plant Samiti Satish Sail, Kishore Desai and K.D. Naik.
The decision of IBTPL and the samiti has come as a surprise to many. The samiti members hurriedly called the press conference and declared that they would withdraw all the criminal cases of forgery and cheating that they had filed against IBTPL. Mr. Vasurao said that IBTPL would withdraw the cases filed against the samiti members. The samiti leaders who had been accusing the company all along for using money and muscle power to curb the agitation against the proposed thermal power plant, lauded IBTPL for deciding against the project. Samiti leaders and Mr. Vasurao said that there was a misunderstanding and communication gap because of which there were problems.
Blaming the forest officials for providing the wrong information about the distance between Hanakon and Curtogoa Wildlife Sanctuary, Mr. Vasurao said that IBTPL relied on their report and went ahead with the project. He said IBTPL had no role in the atrocity committed by the police on the agitators on July 30, and said the guilty should be punished.
Asked whether it was a “give and take arrangement” between IBTPL and the few leaders of the samiti, Mr. Vasurao said there was nothing murky in the whole deal and it was done purely in the interests of the people of Karwar. The samiti offered full cooperation to IBTPL if it sets up an “eco-friendly” industry.
Mr. Vasurao said IBTPL would chalk out an alternative plan to develop the land it had purchased in Hanakon. Later, the samiti leaders and Mr. Vasurao went to the Deputy Commissioner’s office and signed an agreement with regard to the decision not to set up thermal power plant in Hanakon.
The sudden decision of some of the leaders of the samiti has created resentment among the other leaders who stayed away from the press meet. Some leaders who were imprisoned in Bellary Central Jail during the agitation were found arguing outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office with those who signed the pact with IBTPL without informing others.
A committee member, seeking anonymity, said that some leaders who were out to take the political mileage out of the agitation had called the press meet without knowledge of others. He said only the leaders from the Congress party were present and other leaders belonging to different other parties were informed in the last minute deliberately so as to keep them away from the press conference.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

Adani Power plans expansion at Tiroda

2009-11-05T01:21:00.001-08:00

Adani Power plans expansion at TirodaThursday, 05 Nov 2009
Adani Power has reportedly decided to expand capacity at the under
construction 1,980 MW thermal power project in Tiroda, Maharashtra, to
3,300 MW.

The change in scope of capacity envisages a total investment of nearly
INR 14,000 crore.

The project is being implemented by Adani Power Maharashtra a subsidiary
of the company.
The power plant is expected to use coal from captive mines at Lohara and
Lohara extension coalfields. The company expects to generate power from
Tiroda by end 2010.

(Sourced from Project Today)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/11/05/MTE4OTQ0/Adani_Power_plans_expansion_at_Tiroda.html

Energy unlimited

2009-11-04T22:31:00.001-08:00

Energy unlimited

SUHRID SANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY

Coal India has set itself a target of producing 520.5 million tonnes of
coal for 2011-12 and 664 million tonnes for 2016-17.

PICTURES: BY SPACIAL ARRANGEMENT

Drilling the coal face in an underground mine.

COAL India Limited (CIL), a Navratna company headquartered in Kolkata,
is the single largest coal producer in the world. It is also one of the
world's largest corporate employers, with over 4.04 lakh employees. The
CIL, a holding company under the Ministry of Coal, was formed as a
public sector undertaking (PSU) in November 1975 with the mandate to
reorganise nationalised coal mines and ensure integrated development of
the coal sector. The CIL has eight subsidiaries: Eastern Coalfields Ltd
in West Bengal; Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, Central Coalfields Ltd and
Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd in Jharkhand; Northern
Coalfields Ltd in Madhya Pradesh; Western Coalfields Ltd in Maharashtra;
South Eastern Coalfields Ltd in Chhattisgarh and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd
in Orissa. The mines of North Eastern Coalfields in Assam and Meghalaya
operate directly under it. The CIL operates in 81 areas and 473 mines
spread over eight States. Its products include raw coal (coking and
non-coking), washed coal, middlings, soft coke and hard coke, coal tar,
coal gas and coal chemicals.

As the CIL turns 34 this year, it has adopted a multi-pronged strategy
to make itself globally competitive by introducing state-of-the-art high
technology and building capacity that encompasses different facets of
the industry such as equipment utilisation, manpower deployment,
introduction of modern management tools in marketing and human resources
practices...............
.................
http://www.frontline.in/stories/20091120262311000.htm

Study the impacts first!

2009-10-28T03:06:00.001-07:00

ENVIRONMENT REGULATION
Study the impacts first!
The Delhi High Court rules that a proposed thermal power plant cannot come up unless its likely impact on the growth on alphonso mangoes is studied first. Kanchi Kohli reports.

"Natural resources like air, water, forest, vegetation etc., are of great importance to the people as a whole and should not be subjected to private ownership or commercialisation, when public interest suffers a greater damage due to over exploitation of the nature. Lastly, Laws of Nature have to respected and for the benefit of people and human race require observation and compliance."

- text of 18 September 2009 order of the High Court of Delhi related to the environment clearance of M/s JSW Energy (Ratnagiri) Ltd.

14 October 2009 - This does not read like a court decision, but is more like a sermon. Nonetheless, this homily is what the JSW Energy (Ratnagiri) Ltd (JSWREL) received on 18 September 2009 - the High Court of Delhi asked the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to re-examine the environment clearance given to JSWERL's 1200 MW thermal powet plant located in Jaigad in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, in May 2007. In effect, this amounts to a stay on any further construction on the project. This surprise decision came from a two-judge bench comprising of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

Let's rewind a year back, when things were very different. Back then, the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) based in New Delhi had taken an anti-environment stance in its ruling in favour of JSWREL (see this earlier article). The NEAA is the body before which an aggrieved person can challenge environment clearances granted to industrial or infrastructure projects. But the meticulous contentions filed by a local farmer Balchandra Bhikaji Nalwade (through pro-bono lawyers Ritwick Dutta and Rahul Chaudhary) were written off by the members of the NEAA in favour of the company.

A range of contentions had been raised on the procedures and quality of envrionment assessments. These include the fact that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report was not made avaiilable to the locally affected people 30 days prior to a public hearing, as is mandatory. Another point was that the EIA report did not duly assess the impacts on the ecologically sensitive areas and mangroves in the area. The district is also known for its famous alphonso mangoes, which are very susceptible to decline in yield and quality due to pollution from the thermal plant. This too was not addressed. Further, the project authorities did not put forward any alternate sites for their project, as required by law.

None of this made an impact with the NEAA, which ruled that the large gap between energy demand and supply in the state warranted environment clearance to the project (more details on the NEAA judgement are at this link). Nalwade and the advocates challenged this ruling before the Delhi High Court soon after. The High Court heard the matter over several hearings reserved its judgement on 21 April 2009. The final decision, pronounced on 18 September 2009, reversed the NEAA's verdict.

For the NEAA, this is another reminder of how far it has fallen in its work. Its reputation has been so marred since its founding that even the Government is now thinking of creating a different institution (see this article).

The High Court's words quoted above reflect a paricular aspect of the case which troubled the judges. At the time of the hearing for environment clearnace, the EAC was aware that a case against the project was pending before the Bombay High Court, filed by the Ratnagiri Zila Zagruk Manch in which the issue relating to impact of the project on alphonso mango plantations had been raised. JSWREL informed the EAC that a preliminary study was carried out by the Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (Agricultural University), Dapoli (KKVD). The minutes of the meeting further show that the full report would be available in six months' time. The right thing to do would have been to wait for this work to be completed.

But the EAC chose not to wait six months. Rather, the committee ruled, "... it appears that the activities to be undertaken by JSWERL ... are not likely to affect horticultural plantation and mango plantation, as well as marine life, significantly provided JSWERL strictly maintains its adherence to its commitments made for preventing environmental pollution from time to time in long run." Based on this line of thinking and other facts the EAC recommended the project for environment clearance, but added a condition that while the project can be granted clearnace, the assessment of impact on alphonso mangoes should be carried out alongside.

What if a study after 2 years were to reveal irreparable damage to the mangoes? Would JSWERL give up its construction or operations? The EIA took no view on this - in effect its ruling appeared to assume that any study to assess the potential impact of the plant on mangoes in the area would not find anything adverse to the project. One is tempted to ask, why carry out impact assessments then, if the EIA can itself take a view on what those assessments might find?

Fortunately, the High Court has take a dim view of this stance. In its order, the High Court noted that "any final assessment would require a detailed study for a period of four years to evaluate the impact on mango plantations and the marine life/fisheries ...". The court observed that the March 2007 decision of the EAC was not based on the complete report of the KKVD but only on its preliminary findings, which were in turn based on the Rapid EIA prepared by a consultant paid by the JSWREL itself.

The High Court has now sent the matter back to the EAC, asking them to review their decision based on the final report of the KKVD and the data collected and analysed by the insitution. The order states, "the Expert Appraisal Committee will not be prejudiced and influenced by their earlier clearance or the order passed by NEAA. Re-examination exercise will be completed expeditiously, and preferably within a period of three months from today. While re-considering the matter the Expert Appraisal Committee will keep in mind the principle of sustainable development as explained and propounded by the Supreme Court."

The court's order is also clear that until specific approval is granted by the Expert Appraisal Committee, the thermal power plant will not be made operational and integrated with the power grid." The order also says that the environment clearance, if granted again, will be appealable before the NEAA.

This is an exemplary decision, especially because it quotes several critical environmental principles related to natural justice and also interprets sustainable development in a way where pollution and damage to the ecosystem and environment must not exceed nature's carrying capacity.

However, even this welcome judgement is dissapointing on a few counts. One of them is the fact that the original application had brought to notice that the project authorities had not even made an attempt to locate alternate sites other than Jaigad. Unfortunately, the High Court has gone by the company's explaination that they did not do this because the proposed site was ideal due to its accessibility by road, availability of table top barren land, availability of sea water for cooling, potential for unloading of imported coal and exporting fly ash. Also there were no rehabilitation and resettlement issues as the area was not inhabited.

In effect, the company argued that the advantages of the present location were so great that it had done away with looking for an alternative. It seems to have escaped the company's attention that there is no waiver in the law for such advantages - if that were the case, every project developer would argue that his chosen location is simply the best. The High Court's inaction on this front has allowed the company a free pass with this view.

Irrespective, the two-judge bench has taken a very strong decision. It is for us to see how the EAC, which is already looking at the environment clearance for the expansion of the same power plant, will redeem itself of the deeply faulty decision it gave in the first place. And as for any remote, residual faith in the NEAA, the less said the better. ⊕

Kanchi Kohli
14 Oct 2009

Kanchi Kohli is based in New Delhi and a member of the Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group.

Indiabulls to supply 1,000 Mw to Tata Power

2009-10-12T02:00:00.001-07:00

*BUSINESS_STANDARD*

*Indiabulls to supply 1,000 Mw to Tata Power
BS Reporter | 2009-10-09 01:20:00
*
Indiabulls Power Ltd has inked a long-term power purchase agreement
(PPA) with Tata Power for sale of 1,000 Mw of power. The agreement with
the company was signed in June this year. The power will be supplied
from Indiabulls Power's Amrawati Phase-I power project in Maharashtra.
"The PPA is for a term of 25 years from the date of commercial
production of the first unit. We are expecting to start supply from the
year 2012," said Ranjit Gupta, chief exectutive officer, Indiabulls
Power Ltd.Apart from this, the company has also entered into memorandum
of understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution
Company Limited (MSEDCL). As part of the agreement, Indiabulls Power
intends to supply 1,000 Mw of power from Amrawati Phase-I project, which
requires an investment of Rs 6,888 crore.It has also tied-up with
Chattisgarh State Electricity Board for the sale of 65 per cent of power
proposed to be generated from Bhaiyathan power project in
Chattisgarh.Though we have signed PPAs with some of the existing players
in power sector, the company is also focused on supply of power through
competitive bidding. "The company will also participate in bidding for
supply of 3,000 Mw of power to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL)", he
added.Currently, the company has five coal-fired thermal power projects
under various stages of development. Of the five coal-based power
projects having generation capacity of 6,615 Mw, three are in
Maharashtra and remaining in Chattisgarh. The total investment for the
development of these projects is around Rs. 31,000 crore, for which the
company is coming out with initial public offer.The company has
agreements with the governments of Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh to set
up power projects. It is evaluating options to set up a 1,320 Mw thermal
project in Jharkhand and a 2,640 Mw one in Madhya Pradesh. The company
is already developing four medium-sized hydropower projects in Arunachal
Pradesh aggregating to 167 Mw.

No new projects in coastal areas, river basins

2009-09-26T10:07:00.001-07:00

No new projects in coastal areas, river basins
Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, September 18, 2009

The environment ministry has decided not to allow any new projects in the coastal parts of India, river basins of Teesta and Ganga and ecological hotspot of Western Ghats, till damage caused by existing projects is assessed.

It is for the first time that the ministry has put a moratorium on construction of new projects and implementation of the pending projects in the environmentally sensitive areas.

“We have decided that no new projects in 24 critically polluted areas and major river basins and no new coastal ports will be allowed till we find out whether local environment can cope with the additional burden that will be caused by these projects,” Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh said.

This means that work on four powers projects in Teesta river basin in Sikkim, National Thermal Power Corporation’s 600 MW plant in Lohari Nath Pala (Uttrakhand) and three power projects in Western Ghats (Karnataka) has been stopped.

Construction of at least seven new port projects has been stopped. No new industrial units are being allowed in polluted industrial areas like Vapi Akhileshwar in Gujarat, Tromboy in Maharashtra, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and Raichur in Karnataka.

The first protest came from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. “The environment ministry’s decision of moratorium is unacceptable,” he said at a meeting in the Planning Commission. “The state economy thrives on ports, whose construction and expansion has been banned.”

The moratorium is likely to stay till end of November.

HC questions environmental clearance to Jaigarh plant of JSW

2009-09-26T01:13:00.001-07:00

Print : 676141 : HC questions environmental clearance to Jaigarh plant of JSW

Indopia

September 25,2009
Source: PTI
HC questions environmental clearance to Jaigarh plant of JSW

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has questioned the environmental clearance granted to JSW Energy to set up a power plant at Jaigarh, which falls under the ecological belt famous for growing premium alphonso mangoes.
A bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah directed the a committee formed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to reconsider the approval granted to the company to set up a 1,200 MW thermal power plant Jaigarh in Maharashtra. The court asked the panel to submit its report in the next three months.

JSW Energy in a statement today said that the"order does not prohibit the company to continue the implementation of the project nor undertaking tests and operational trials".

"We direct that the expert appraisal committee will re- examine the approval already granted after considering the report of KKVD on the basis of the data collected and analysed by them,"the court said.

The Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, (KKVD), which carried out project's impact assessment survey, had said that the upcoming 1,200 MW power plant at Jaigarh in Maharashtra will"not have a irreversible adverse impact on environment."

The court also said till the expert committee submits its reports, the plant"will not be made operational and integrated with the power grid". However, it allowed the company to undertake test and trials at the plant.

Finally a Farmer's victory over Thermal power plant !!

2009-09-24T02:11:00.001-07:00

Alphonso grower's plea holds up JSW power plant
Rakesh Bhatnagar / DNA
Thursday, September 24, 2009 2:39 IST

New Delhi: Power-starved Maharashtra has suffered another jolt with the Delhi high court ordering JSW Energy Limited not to make its 1,200MW thermal power station at Jaigad in the alphonso mango beltof the Konkan operational until it is cleared by an expert appraisal committee (EAC).

"While reconsidering the matter, the EAC will keep in mind the principle of sustainable development," a bench ofchief justice AP Shah and justice Sanjiv Khanna said. The bench ordered the committee to do the job quickly.

The order came on a writ petition filed by mango grower Bhalchandra Bhikaji Nalawade, who said his livelihood was endangered by the project. Nalawade said the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board gave permission to the plant without assessing its environmental impact.

JSW said the project was set in motion only after various environmental authorities granted approval and it was due to become operational in four months. The Bombay high court is also seized of the matter in another petition but hasn't stayed the project.

The company said the aspects relating to gaseous discharges and suspended particulate matter had been dealt with in environmental assessment reports and discussed by the National Environment Appellate Authority and the EAC.

The company said mango plantations within 10km of the plant account for just 1.07% of the area of 31,381 hectares. It also stressed the need for early execution of the project in view of Maharashtra's power crisis. But the court emphasised the need to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental protection.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) had signed a memorandum of understanding with JSW to supply 300MW from the plant. "This power was expected to start flowing into the state's grid only from October next year," an MSEDCL official said.

With inputs from Shwetaa Rahul in Mumbai

No load-shedding in two years, promises BJP

2009-09-21T05:19:00.001-07:00

No load-shedding in two years, promises BJP
Sakaal Times - Pune,India
“After all, what's there to giving boost to a private power plant? ...
himself in the process of building a Rs 15000 crore private thermal power
plant said. ...
<http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/09/20222435/No-loadshedding-in-two-years.html>

JSW Energy nears coal-supply linkage deal in Indonesia

2009-08-25T21:11:00.001-07:00

Printed from

JSW Energy nears coal-supply linkage deal in Indonesia
26 Aug 2009, 0624 hrs IST, Pradeep Pandey, ET Bureau

MUMBAI: Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Energy is close to finalising a coal-supply linkage pact in Indonesia and is also exploring options of acquiring

coal mines in South Africa and Australia, to secure coal supplies for its forthcoming power projects. The company is in the final stages of completing due diligence for a 50-million tonne coal linkage in Indonesia, according to a person close to the development.

JSW Energy has already identified a coal mine in South Africa and is in talks with Australian miners to tie-up fuel linkages for its proposed power plants and for JSW Steel. If the deals are finalised, JSW Energy would get additional coal linkage of 250 mt. Currently, JSW Energy has access to limited coal reserves in India and is largely dependant on imports. Besides making full-fledged acquisitions, JSW Energy is also in talks with the South African government for jointly developing coal mines.

When contacted, joint MD SS Rao said: “We are open to all available overseas options.” He declined to divulge further details as the company has filed a regulatory draft with the Sebi for its forthcoming IPO that aims to raise around Rs 3,000 crore. It has targeted to commission 3,140 mw by the end of 2010. “We may enter the capital market by the end of October , depending on the regulatory approval,” Mr Rao added.

JSW Energy will deploy the proceeds from IPO for developing identified generation and transmission projects, mining ventures and to service debt. It currently generates 560 mw of power from a plant in Karnataka and has 3,090 mw of generating capacity at various stages of implementation. The company has also entered into long-term power purchase agreements with the governments of Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

JSW Energy has plans to import 13 mt of coal for its upcoming power plants at Ratnagiri and Vijaynagar, Karnataka. The company has also secured coal supplies from a block in Orissa where it has a JV with Mahanadi Coalfields, where it would be able to procure around 90 mt in the long term.

Gujarat leads India's power drive, adds 2,211 mw in 2 yrs

2009-08-21T03:19:00.001-07:00

Sachin Kumar / DNA
Friday, August 7, 2009 9:28 IST

Ahmedabad: Thanks to the proactive and investor-friendly policy of the Gujarat government, the installed power capacity in the state leapfrogged from 8,079 MW in February 2007 to 10,290 MW in June 2009. This 27% rise in power generation capacity is the highest in the county in the past two years.

Between February 2007 and June 2009, the state increased its power generation capacity by 2,211 megawatt, leaving behind even Maharashtra, the largest producer of electricity in the country. Karnataka stood second with an additional 1,854 mw added during the same period while Tamil Nadu grabbed the third spot by adding 1,667 mw to its capacity.

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data indicate that Gujarat, which ranks third in power generation, had an installed capacity of 8,079 mw in February 2007. This grew to 10,290 mw by June this year. The state sector's contribution to power generation stood at 5,701 mw while the private sector generated 4,591 mw. If the central government's 2,583 mw is taken into consideration, the total installed capacity of the state stands at 12,875 mw.

In June 2009, India had a total installed capacity of 1,50,323 mw, of which a major chunk (around 64%) is thermal power. The contribution of hydro power was 24.6% while the rest came from nuclear and other renewable sources of energy.

Experts give credit to the Gujarat government for the achievement in power sector. "The government had foreseen the enhanced power requirement of the state and had framed investor-friendly policies which attracted investment in private sector," said PK Mishra, chairman of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission. "The Vibrant Gujarat summit is one of the government's initiatives to woo investors for the power sector."

The state's private sector power producers agree. "The investor-friendly approach of the state government is the main reason why investment in the state's power sector has flown in," said RK Gupta, director, Adani Power Limited.

JSW Energy to go public with Rs 3k-cr IPO

2009-08-15T04:45:00.001-07:00

The Financial Express
(http://www.financialexpress.com/news/jsw-energy-to-go-public-with-rs-3kcr-ipo/502260/2)
Posted: 2009-08-15 23:59:15+05:30 IST, Updated: Aug 15, 2009 at 2359 hrs IST

Mumbai: JSW Energy, a part of Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to enter the capital market with an initial public offering (IPO) of equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a price (including a share premium) aggregating up to Rs 3,000 crore to fund the proposed capacity addition of 12,000mw. The issue, which is to be decided through a 100% book-building process, comprises a net issue of equity shares to the public and a reservation of equity shares for eligible employees.

The company's move comes close on the heels of oversubscription of state-run NHPC's IPO for 24 times and Adani Power's Rs 3,000-crore issue for over 21 times.

The company earlier had to defer its plans to go for an IPO to raise around $1 billion and dilute 10% stake owing to the slowdown and volatility in the stock markets.

According to a company release, at least 60% of the net issue will be allocated on a proportionate basis to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), out of which 5% will be available for allocation on a proportionate basis only to mutual funds. The remainder will be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to all QIBs, including mutual funds. The company may consider participation by anchor investors in the QIB portion in accordance with applicable Sebi guidelines. Further, not less than 10% of the net issue will be available for allocation to non-institutional bidders on a proportionate basis and not less than 30% of the net issue will be available for allocation to retail individual bidders on a proportionate basis.

Currently, Raj West Power Ltd (RWPL), a subsidiary of JSW Energy Ltd, is executing a 1000mw lignite-based plant at Barmer, Rajasthan. Another subsidiary, JSW Energy (Ratnagiri) Ltd (JSWERL) is currently engaged in the implementation of a 1200mw coal-fired plant at Jaigad in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. JSW Energy (Vijayanagar) Ltd (JSWEVL) is executing a 2 X 300mw power plant at Toranagallu, Bellary. JSWEL has also signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to implement a 1000mw plant in Junegarh district.

Further, the company proposes to execute power projects in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. It is also actively pursuing plans to enter into the hydro sector in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The company also plans to enter the transmission sector.

The company has been awarded the operation & maintenance contract of the 100mw captive power plant at JSW Steel. The O&M contracts for the captive plant and the 2 x 30mw power plant at SISCOL being executed by JSW Steel Ltd will also be entrusted to JSW Energy after declaration of their commercial operation.

SPM touches alarming levels in Chandrapur

2009-08-10T01:06:00.001-07:00

SPM touches alarming level in Chanda: Report - Nagpur - City - NEWS - The Times of India
Proshun Chakraborty, TNN 9 August 2009, 02:44am IST

NAGPUR: With the suspended particulate matter (SPM) touching alarming levels in Chandrapur, living in this otherwise forest area has made life difficult. Thanks to the Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station, air pollution has once again become a cause of concern for the citizens.

A survey conducted by the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (MPCB) revealed that last year's SPM levels were far higher than they were in the past. As per figures provided by the MPCB, the SPM levels in Chandrapur last year touched 924 micrograms. Notably, the levels should not be more than 100 micro-grams.

The pollution levels in sensitive areas, which house schools and hospitals, too have surpassed the permissible limit. Rampant industrialisations, apart from fumes emitted by the power station and other industries, is being attributed to the problem. Ahir claimed that in the recent past, over 65% of forest areas in the district have vanished. Starting from Ballarpur to Warora, many jungles have disappeared due to set up of new industries. However, the MPCB has failed to keep check on pollution norms, he alleged.

A senior MPCB officer said 150 mg/Nm3 was the permissible limit for any increase could prove hazardous for health. "Besides power station and new coal mines in and around Chandrapur is responsible for high levels of pollution," said Chandrapur MP Hanshraj Ahir.

Citing examples of violation of pollution norms by CSTPS, Ahir said in 2008 the unit has allegedly exceeded its permissible limits of releasing suspended particulate matter. On March 4, 2008, Unit 2 had exceeded its permissible limits by generating 924 SPM. Similarly, another unit on the same day (March 4, 2008) had recorded 536 SPM. Likewise, over 20 times, the SPM has exceeded over 200 mg/Nm3, said the MP. Ahir said, "This is an issue which needs to be tackled seriously. It's high time that something concrete is done."

Power companies charged up as fund tap opens

2009-08-06T23:19:00.001-07:00

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/power-companies-chargedas-fund-tap-opens/366246/

PB Jayakumar / Mumbai August 07, 2009, 0:58 IST

J Suresh Kumar, chief financial officer of the Hyderabad-based Lanco Infratech, says the lull in raising funds in the past few months is now a distant memory. “The power sector has always been rosy. There were only some temporary problems in the past few months due to liquidity issues in the global markets. That phase is over. At least 15,000 Mw of projects worth over Rs 70,000 crore will achieve financial closure in 2009-10,” he said.

Tata Power profit doubles to Rs 396 cr

2009-08-06T07:53:00.001-07:00

The Hindu Business Line : Tata Power profit doubles to Rs 396 cr

Tata Power profit doubles to Rs 396 cr

Our Bureau

Mumbai, July 31 Tata Power has registered a 108 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 396 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, up from Rs 190 crore in the same period last year.

This was on account of a revenue adjustment of Rs 232 crore and reduction in expenses.

The adjustment is linked to the Maharashtra State Electricity Regulatory Commission tariff orders last year and the Appellant Tribunal’s judgment for electricity received this fiscal.

Operating income fell marginally to Rs 2,015 crore (Rs 2,026 crore). Sales volume of electricity units was up a tad to 4,180 million units (MUs) from 4,115 MUs.

The Trombay thermal power station generated 2,778 MUs during the year, from 2,669 MUs in the previous year. The generation was 803 MUs (784 MUs) at the Jojobera facility and 107 MUs (92 MUs) at the Belgaum plant. Implementation of the 4,000-MW Mundra project is on track and overall project progress is 26 per cent, said a press release.

The 1,050-MW Maithon Power Ltd, a 74:26 venture between Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation, has achieved 54 per cent completion. The first unit is scheduled to be commissioned by October 2010 and the second by April 2011.

On Friday’s trade, the Tata Power stock on the BSE closed at Rs 1,302.5, up from the previous close of Rs 1,293.90.

Coal shortage in TPPs

2009-07-02T03:38:00.001-07:00

Coal shortage at major thermal plants of the country continues
VINOD KUMAR GUPTA
Wednesday, 01 July 2009

Lehra Mohabatt plant has three days coal stock
CHANDIGARH: There seems to be no end in sight for coal supply shortages for major thermal power stations across the country including Punjab.

According to sources 30 thermal stations were facing critical coal stocks levels, which can sustain operations in these plants for less than seven days. More deplorably, the coal stock position in 12 large stations has been found to be super-critical, with stocks expected to last less than four days.

In the northern region 920 MW Lehra Mohabatt thermal plants in Punjab comes under super critical category. The coal stock at Lehra Mohabatt thermal plant 55170 MT and is just sufficient for three days. 1260 MW Ropar thermal plant is amongst those plants where coal stock is critical as the coal stock is 119936 MT sufficient for five days.

According to a senior official normally before the onset of monsoon the coal stock at thermal plants should be sufficient for one month. The coal transportation to thermal plants is hampered in the rainy season and flooding of coal mines.
In the neighboring Haryana 1360 MW Panipat thermal plant has coal stock of 134000 MT sufficient for five days. In Rajashthan Kota and Suratgarh thermal plants have coal stock of 4 days.

According to sources factors such as lower coal production by Coal India Limited, inadequate linkages and unloading constraints, among others have been, predominantly, responsible for such precarious conditions at a number of thermal plants in the country.

Some of plants facing super-critical stock levels include super-thermal station like NTPC`s 3000 MW Talcher station in Orissa. On the other hand, NTPC`s 1840 MW Kahalgaon plant in Bihar, DVC`s 1340 MW Mejia power station in West Bengal and Reliance Power`s 500 MW Dahanu power plant in Maharashtra are having to put up with critical coal stock levels.

Meanwhile the coal requirement during the year 2009-10 has been pegged at some 404 million tones. Out of this 404 MT coal requirement CEA has presumed that about 399 MT of coal would be supplied indigenously .However the actual domestic availability has been pegged at 363 MT by Coal India Ltd. leaving a gap of 36.8 MT. The balance coal quantity is likely to be imported by power utilities.

Source: http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/17498/38/

Mahagenco to set up 1,320 mw thermal project near Dhule

2009-06-12T05:22:00.001-07:00

News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Mahagenco to set up 1,320 mw thermal project near Dhule
12 Jun 2009, 0130 hrs IST, Pradeep Pandey, ET Bureau

MUMBAI: In a move that could reduce power shortage in Maharashtra, the state power generation company Mahagenco has decided to set up a 1,320
mega watt greenfield thermal power project at Dondaiche near Dhule. Confirming this, Mahagenco managing director Subrat Ratho told ET that the power generation firm has submitted a proposal to this effect to the state government. He said that the construction work will start by March next year.

“We have started acquisition of land. We are in the process of finalising consultants for the project. The tenders will be called in September for the supply of boilers, turbines and other equipment,” he added. Mahagenco will
acquire 842 acres for the project.

According to another Mahagenco official, who did not wish to be named, the investment for the project, including development of infrastructure as well as coal mines at Chedipada in Orissa, is pegged at Rs 8,580 crore. Energy experts, however, are of the opinion that the number is on the higher side and it might be revised downward, if the government decides so. The plant will require about 6.88 metric million tonne of coal per annum at its full capacity.

With two units of 660 MW each, the project that will be based on super critical technology is expected to start commercial operations in 2014. The same Mahagenco official said the debt-equity ratio of the project is estimated to be 80:20. The required debt will be raised from the Power Finance Corporation and the Rural Electrification Corporation, while the state government will chip in towards its equity contribution.

Currently, it produces around 10,000 MW from a handful of coal, gas and hydro power plants, and plans to add another 2,000 MW next fiscal through its upcoming projects at Kapaskhera and Bhusawal in Maharashtra. Further, the proposed projects at Chandrapur and Dondaiche will scale up its capacity by another 3,000 MW to 15,000 MW in 2014.

Maharashtra is witnessing a shortfall of power of around 4,500 MW in the peak summer season. However, the scenario may improve after the proposed addition of capacity by Mahagenco and some other private players, including Ratnagiri Gas Power Project. Ratnagiri Gas Power Project has raised its generation capacity to 950 MW from earlier 600 MW. It will scale it up further to 1,900 MW by March 2010.

Power from water in state takes a dip - Mumbai - Cities - The Times of India

2009-06-08T22:07:00.001-07:00

Mumbai - Cities - The Times of India

Power from water in state takes a dip
9 Jun 2009, 0124 hrs IST, Chittaranjan Tembhekar, TNN

MUMBAI: Though Maharashtra's power generation from coal (thermal power) has gone up manifold, the power being generated from water (hydro power)
and natural gas has dipped considerably. Several such units are being phased out slowly, thereby increasing the gap between the installed capacity and the actual generation. This has resulted in a scenario in which the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) has had to buy almost double electricity from the power producers outside the state in 2008 than it bought in 2007.

The scenario may remain grim if more power is not provided by private players. Of the eight private power projects sanctioned in the state a few years ago, only one has started generation. Except one that may start generation in September this year, the remaining six companies are yet to start the work because of red tape. This was revealed in Maharashtra's economic survey--released by the state government last week.

Against the installed power-producing capacity of 21,654 MW, actual generation capacity comes to around 11,450 MW.

The performance of many suppliers has been dipping. The Maharashtra State Electricity Generation Company Ltd generated hydro power of 4606 MKWH (million kilo watt per hour) power in 2008 against 5651 MKWH in 2007. Similarly, it generated 3730 MKWH power in 2008 against 4028 MKWH in 2007.

Tata Power Company also seem to have lost generation capacity of its hydro and natural gas units. It produced 1489 MKWH hydro power in 2008 against 2137 MKWH in 2007. Its power generation through natural gas was 1339 MKWH in 2007 against 1337 MKWH in 2008.

So, the amount of power MSEDCL bought has gone up along with the cost. It had to purchase 78836 MKWH electricity during 2008 at a cost of Rs 15262 crore as against the 49710 MKWH power in 2007 by spending Rs 11,706 crore. This is considered the biggest power purchase by any state in the country.

Except for Ratnagiri Gas Power Project Ltd's (RGPPL) addition of nearly 500 MW, the scenario may not improve unless the private companies come up with their units.

The economic survey says that of the total eight private players who are setting up power units in the state, the 1500 MW capacity plants of Tata Power in Deharand and Trombay have just started producing 250 MW from March 2009 while the Jindal Power Corporation's Jaigad unit promises commissioning of 300 MW in September this year. The remaining proposed six power generation units have still not got land acquisition and clearances to actually start construction work.

simpler eco clearance norms for infrastructure projects

2009-06-03T07:54:00.001-07:00

Panel suggests simpler eco clearance norms for infrastructure projects

Clearances under numerous rules can take years to come

Our Bureau

New Delhi, June 2 A high-power Finance Ministry panel has recommended that infrastructure projects should be subjected to much simpler environmental clearance rules.

Currently, apart from the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, projects need to get numerous clearances from rules under Sections 3, 6 and 25 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. The process can take several years sometimes.

The panel suggested that industrial/infrastructure projects should be allowed to bypass these rules and that the EIA Notification should be comprehensive enough to cover all the other rules.

The report was submitted to the Prime Minister before the election. Mr Jairam Ramesh is entrusted with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

The panel says that the Ministry does not grant the required clearances within the prescribed timeframe. To speed up things, it has come out with a large number of recommendations.

Thus, it has called for bringing in Standardised Terms of Reference (ToR) to minimise the time taken at the ‘scoping’ stage for repetitive projects.

This would apply to construction of berths and jetties, widening of national highways and construction of thermal power plants of capacity less than 1,000 MW.

Another recommendation is that all expansion of roads and highways should be exempted from public hearings.

Similarly, the expansion projects of major ports, which do not require additional land acquisition, should be exempted.

The panel suggested that data requirements should be relevant to the location of the project. Also, these should be identified and the onus of proof of correctness of the information should be placed upon the applicant.

It suggested a penalty, of cancellation of the project, if the information submitted is incorrect. This, it is expected, will reduce the scope for wrong information being filed.

In what may just be a coincidence, India eased import restrictions on scrap metals this week.

A few thousand tonnes were held up with the Customs, awaiting environmental clearance after they were found to be mildly radioactive.

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Mundra Thermal Power Plant Set To Commence Operation In Gujarat

2009-05-15T05:24:00.001-07:00

First Unit Of Adani Power’s Mundra Thermal Power Plant Set To Commence Operation In Gujarat - Energy Business Review : News

First Unit Of Adani Power’s Mundra Thermal Power Plant Set To Commence Operation In Gujarat

Published:14-May-2009

By Staff Reporter

Adani Power Limited (Adani Power), an ancillary of the Adani Group, has announced that the first unit of its Mundra thermal power station is ready to commence operation on May 20, 2009 in Gujarat. The company is prepared to produce 330 megawatts (MW) out of 4,620 MW total capacity in the Mundra power facility. The power station will reach completion by the end of 2012. Adani Power has already entered into power purchase agreements with the Gujarat administration.

In later phases, the plant will supply power to Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra.

For removal of power from Mundra power plant, Adani Power has established a 413 km, 400 kV dedicated transmission line.

Siemens AG has been awarded a contract to establish this transmission line.

China has supplied the equipment and technology for the project.

At least 10,000 workers including laborers have been hired at the project site, with Chinese workers representing 10%.

Adani Power’s goal in the next five years is to achieve 9000 MW power generation with a 100% growth inputs in each stage.

First unit of Gujarat’’s Mundra power plant ready for operation

2009-05-15T05:19:00.001-07:00

Duniyalive.com » First unit of Gujarat’’s Mundra power plant ready for operation

First unit of Gujarat’’s Mundra power plant ready for operation
Posted on May 14th, 2009 in Latest India News

Mundra (Gujarat), May 14(ANI): The first unit of Mundra power plant in Gujarat is set to start by May 20.

first-unit-of-gujarats-mundra-power-plant-ready-for-operation

The Adani Power, an ancillary of the Adani Group, is ready to generate 330 MW out of 4620 MW capacity in Mundra power plant.

The country’’s largest and world’’s third largest thermal power plant, the Adani power plant will be completed by the end of 2012.

“At Mundra power project, the total capacity is 4620 MW. It is in four stages wherein the first unit is likely to be commissioned on May 20. And thereafter, all units will be commissioned one after the other every three months. These four units are basically meant for supplying 1000 MW power which we have committed through the PPA to Gujarat,” said Rajkumar Gupta, director, Adani Power Limited.

The company has already signed Power Purchase Agreements with the Gujarat Government. The project will also give power to Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan at later stages.

The company has also set up a 413 km, 400 KV Mundra-Dehgam dedicated transmission line for evacuation of power from Mundra power station.

The contract to set up the transmission line was taken up by the Siemens, a German company.

The technology and the equipment for the project are from China.

At least 10,000 workers including labourers are employed at the site. Ten per cent of the employees are from China.

At the Adani Power, 9000 MW power generation is targeted in the coming five years with a 100 per cent growth inputs in every phase.

This project is much bigger than the Ultra Mega Power Plants (UMPP) set up across the country.

Power generation in the country is steadily improving every year. (ANI)

Coal in place, GMR plans 2,000-Mw thermal plant

2009-05-13T07:29:00.001-07:00

Coal in place, GMR plans 2,000-Mw thermal plant

Coal in place, GMR plans 2,000-Mw thermal plant
Mahesh Kulkarni & Ravi Menon / Bangalore May 12, 2009, 1:12 IST

GMR Energy, a subsidiary of Bangalore-based infrastructure company GMR Infrastructure Ltd, is planning to set up a 2,000-Mw thermal power plant near a port on the west coast. The company has already tied up coal supplies by acquiring a mine for $100 million in Indonesia last year.

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A Subbarao, chief finance officer, GMR Group, said total investments in the power project were yet to be ascertained. “The investments will be decided on the basis of the capacity of the power plant. Typically, a 1,000-Mw thermal power plant requires an investment of Rs 4,500 crore,” he told Business Standard.

Although the company has not finalised the location of the plant, it would like to have it close to key consumption centres in Maharashtra and Gujarat, where demand for power is high.

GMR Energy is in the process of identifying prospective locations along the east coast for the proposed plant.

“The Indonesian coal firm, which we acquired, will be ready for coal extraction in two years and we want to be ready with a project to utilise the raw material,” Subbarao said.

This mine has reserves of 100 million tonnes (mt) and is spread over 25,000 hectares in southern Sumatra. The licence provides GMR with a 30-year mining lease over two separate coal blocks.

GMR Energy has two power projects in operation in Chennai and Mangalore with a cumulative capacity of 420 Mw, and is setting up greenfield projects (thermal and hydro) with a cumulative capacity of 3,130 Mw. These projects are spread across Uttarakhand, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The board of directors of GMR Group, at their meeting in Bangalore on Saturday, decided to seek shareholder approval to raise up to $1 billion to fund growth plans, which include road and power projects.

“We are competitive in our tariff. We are yet to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with any government for the new thermal power plant. Once we finalise the location, we will sign the PPA,” Subbarao said.

He said the company was not looking at roping in a partner for the thermal power project.

JSW Energy to invest Rs 8k cr in two projects

2009-05-10T21:57:00.001-07:00

JSW Energy to invest Rs 8k cr in two projects- Power-Energy-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

JSW Energy to invest Rs 8k cr in two projects
11 May 2009, 0051 hrs IST, Pradeep Pandey, ET Bureau

Print EMail Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
MUMBAI: The JSW group-promoted JSW Energy is planning to invest Rs 8,000 crore to build two thermal power projects of a combined capacity of over
2,000 megawatts in Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the current fiscal year, a senior executive said.

"These projects would use coal from the existing reserves in the area, as they are pithead projects," JSW group chairman Sajjan Jindal told ET. The group is looking for coal mines in Chhattisgarh and Orissa and is in talks with the respective governments, he added. "We've already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chhattisgarh government and are in the process of acquiring land for the proposed project of 2X660 MW unit, in Orissa, we would be proceeding post election."

The financial closure for these projects would be completed by the end of the current fiscal year, along with the group's other projects in West Bengal and Jharkhand, where land acquisition has been completed, said Mr Jindal. The debt-equity ratio for the projects will be 3:1 and the funds may be lined up with a consortium of domestic banks led by SBI. JSW Energy has also entered into tie-ups with China's Shanghai Electric and Dong Fang of Korea to supply power equipment for the power plants.

The group has plans to build thermal power projects across the country and a hydro power project in Himachal Pradesh. For these projects, the group had envisaged investment of about Rs 16,500 crore in the previous fiscal year.

JSW projects at various places, excluding those in Rajasthan and Karnataka, were delayed by one year, as the group had put on hold its expansion plans due to the global financial crisis. JSW Energy was planning to raise about Rs 4,000 crore through an initial public offer last year. However, its power projects in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan will be fully commissioned by 2010. The combined capacity of these three projects is 3,600 MW. SS Rao, joint managing director of JSW Energy, said: "Last month, our two units at Vijayanagar, each of 135 MW, have already started operation. Another unit of 300 MW along with first unit of 8X135 at Barmer will start in July."

Green manifesto to save Western Ghats

2009-05-08T22:26:00.001-07:00

Green manifesto to save Western Ghats

Green manifesto to save Western Ghats

Dhanya Matsa
First Published : 07 May 2009 03:19:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 07 May 2009 07:58:55 AM IST

CHENNAI: Candidates contesting from the 32 parliamentary constituencies that fall under the Western Ghats region in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala would now have to sign a letter promising to take up measures to protect the Western Ghats.

An initiative of the Tamil Nadu Green Movement, Wildlife Association of Rajapalayam (WAR), and the Organisation for Social Awareness and Illumination (OSAI), Coimbatore, several non-governmental organisations and wildlife enthusiasts have drafted a manifesto on the Western Ghats to garner the support of policy makers, who will decide on these issues in their constituencies for the next five years.

Joint Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Green Movement, S Jayachandran, said: “The importance of issues such as protection of forests need to be emphasised among candidates so that they raise these issues at the national level.’’

He said that the manifesto detailed the connection between the protection of forests in the Western Ghats and ensuring water security in South India through the protecting the rivers such as Cauvery, Tungabhadra and Krishna.

The manifesto enumerates the danger of implementing various projects like mega thermal power plants, which were under consideration for implementation in places such as Konkan and the Western Coast.

The representatives of these organisations told Express that they would present the candidates with the manifesto that would enumerate the danger of constructing dams in the Western Ghats and emphasised on the need for a review of the existing dams in the Ghats to enable MPs to make an informed decision.

“The depleted forest cover occupies only less than 36 per cent, while it needs to have at least 66 per cent of the total geographical area of the Ghats. Also, rampant monoculture of exotic species should be discouraged, and instead, indigenous plants and trees should be grown to conserve the ecology of the Ghats. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve should be developed into a modern reserve. This will ensure ecological security for the three States,’’ said T S Subramaniyaraja, naturalist, Wildlife Association of Rajapalayam.

These demands were made after consultation meetings of over 85 organisations working towards saving the Western Ghats and S Jayachandran hoped that major political parties and their candidates would endorse these demands.

NEAA dismisses appeal againstShahpur project

2009-03-16T04:52:00.001-07:00

522308 : Business : NEAA dismisses appeal against Maharashtra Energy Generation

NEAA dismisses appeal against Maharashtra Energy Generation

Published: March 12,2009

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New Delhi, Mar 12 The National Environment Appellate Authority has dismissed the appeal filed by a farmers&aposassociation challenging environment clearance order for the Shahpur project of Maharashtra Energy Generation Ltd, a Reliance ADAG group company.
The appeal was filed by Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti, which challenged the environment clearance for setting up a 4,000 MW natural gas and coal based power project at Shahapur district, Raigad.

The appeal was filed on the ground that the environment clearance order was based on misleading information, it did not take note of the Environment Protection Act and would lead to acute water logging problem in adjoining villages.

Besides, the gas based thermal power plant is unviable without standby fuel, while the order permits only two types of fuels namely coal and gas. Meanwhile, acute water problem was also envisaged in Alibag Taluka because of the proposed Thermal power plant.

The project, proposed to be implemented in two phases, requires 919 hectare.

Estimated project cost is Rs 12,000 crore which includes Rs 218 crore for environmental protection measures.

SEAC minutes- Excerpt on Finolex TPP at Ranpar, Ratnagiri

2009-03-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

Minutes of the 8th meeting of the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC)
Date : 7th March, 2009
Present
1. Shri P.M.A. Hakeem - Chairman
2. Shri GK Deshpande - Member
3. Dr. Kishore Bhoir - Member
4. Dr. SB Chapekar - Member
5. Dr V.R. Gunale - Member
6. Dr. SK Padole - Member
7. Dr. TG More - Member
8. Shri GN Warade - Member-Secretary
S.No. in the agenda

Name and addresss of the project proponent with brief details of the project: Finolex Industries Ltd.43 MW Thermal Power Project (Captive) at Ranpar, Ratnagiri ENV-08/C.R 175/C.R1
Category: B-2
Decision of the Committee:
Before the presentation was made by the project proponent, two representatives of Pawas Golap Dashahkroshi Janhit Samiti who wanted to make representation against the project were heard. They pointed out that there would be adverse impact on the environment of the district, particularly on mango trees and fisheries, if various proposed power projects (including the proposed captive power plant) to the tune of many thousands of MW are installed. They also stated that till various studies on the environmental impact of all such projects are carried out, approval to the project should be held up. The project proponent then made a detailed presentation on the need to set up the power project, as the steady power availability to their PVC project has become uncertain and the various proposed measures to substantially reduce the environmental impact of the project. They explained the various measures proposed to be taken to allay the fears of the people who have raised objection to the project and confirmed that the various measures promised to be taken by them in the public hearing would be implemented. After discussion, it was decided to recommend grant of prior environmental clearance to the project subject to the project
proponent complying/furnishing the following:
(i) Boiler capacity, exact quantity of ash to be generated, metal content of ash and physico-chemical characteristics of coal to be indicated.
(ii) Initiate steps to implement the assurances given in the public hearing to determine protocol/modalities to be followed on arrival of ships.
(iii) Indicate the proposed precautions to collect and treat surface drainage from the plot to ensure that water in the adjoining plots is polluted.
(iv) Explore the option of waste heat recovery.
(v) Details of the arrangement for the complete utilization of fly ash.
(vi) Explore the possiblility of providing flue gas desulphurisation considering the emission of sulphur dioxide or hydrogen sulphide in the exhaust.

Activists oppose nuclear, thermal plants in Konkan

2009-02-11T01:20:00.000-08:00

Activists oppose nuclear, thermal plants in Konkan | Sindh Today

Activists oppose nuclear, thermal plants in Konkan
Feb 10th, 2009 | By Sindh Today | Category: India

Panaji, Feb 10 (IANS) The Save Western Ghats (SWG) movement, comprising of environmentalists and nature-lovers from throughout the country, has decided to form an action plan to oppose the setting up of thermal power plants and a nuclear power-plant along the Konkan coast.

The decision was taken following SWG’s national consultative workshop attended by over 100 delegates from seven states. The workshop was also attended by international delegates from Japan, Holland and Britain.

“We have decided to prepare a ‘State of the Western Ghats’ report, which will analyse the health of the environment in the Sahyadri region. We will also hold a series of meetings in the Western Ghat’s hotspots, where the ecological balance is likely to be threatened with the proposed developmental projects,” Kumar Kalanand Mani, one of the organisers of the SWG movement, told reporters late Tuesday.

“We will oppose the setting up of thermal power plants in the Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg regions of the Konkan and the nuclear power plant at Jaitapur,” he said.

Jayant Parulekar, who represents the SWG in the Konkan region, told IANS that the thermal power projects, which were proposed to salvage the deteriorating power scenario in Maharashtra, would severely affect the ecological balance of the Western Ghats, regarded as a prime ecological hotspot in the world.

“It is feared that the thermal plants would generate nearly 100,000-tonne fly ash every day, which will virtually choke the Western Ghats,” Parulekar said.

He warned that with the setting up of a nuclear plant in Jaitapur in Maharashtra and with the already existing nuclear plant at Kaiga in northern Karnataka, Goa would be right in the middle of a nuclear sandwich.

“Despite the best of precautions, the Chernobyl fiasco happened. With the setting up of the Jaitapur nuclear plant, Goa would be virtually nuclear-sandwiched,” Parulekar said.

Pandurang Hegde, founder of the Appiko movement, which is the southern equivalent of the Chipko movement in the Himalayas, said with the rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers, the Sahyadris would in the near future be the only cushion against global warming.

“Protecting the Sahyadris is no longer an option. It is now a compulsion,” he said.

The Western Ghats are spread over a 1,600 km narrow strip of land on the western coast of India stretching from Dhule in Maharashtra right up to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

The SWG first shot into focus when a group of 3,000 green activists marched through the length of the Western Ghats in 1988 creating awareness about preserving the region.

JSW to snap ties with Maytas, cancel two township contracts

2009-01-29T05:13:00.001-08:00

Printed from

JSW to snap ties with Maytas, cancel two township contracts
28 Jan 2009, 2209 hrs IST, PTI

MUMBAI: Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group today said it would cancel the Rs 96-crore township project given to Maytas Infra, a company run by the
family of tainted Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju.

"We will change the contractor (Maytas Infra) for our two projects -- Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Vijayanagar in Karnataka," JSW Steel Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal told reporters here.

The diversified conglomerate said it would not like to do business with a company involved in a "scam".

"We would not like to do business with a company that is involved in any scam. There is no one in that company anymore to whom we can complain in case of a slowdown (in work). So (it is) better to change the contractor," Jindal said.

The decision to cancel the contracts comes barely a fortnight after the JSW Group expressed confidence in the beleaguered firm and said it was "happy" with the progress on the projects.

JSW Group had given the Rs 53.60 crore order to build a township at Vijaynagar in Karnataka in September 2007, by way of competitive bidding, to the infrastructure company. Maytas Infrastructure bagged another order worth Rs 42.91 crore to construct the township in Ratnagiri in August 2008.

For the Ratnagiri project, JSW did not pay any advance while for the twonship contract in Karnataka it has paid less than the work done by Maytas, he said.

"One contract which is for our energy company at Ratnagiri has not started and we have not made any payment. They (Maytas) had not even given the bank guarantee and unless they give a bank guarantee we can not pay them advance," he said.

"For the township project in Vijayanagar, advances paid by us are less than the work Maytas has done," he said.

JSW to examine ties with Maytas

2009-01-26T22:29:00.001-08:00

Indian Express
Priyadarshi Siddhanta Posted online: Jan 27, 2009 at 0119 hrs

New Delhi : Barely days after the Orissa government decided to put activities of beleaguered IT giant Satyam’s infrastructure arm Maytas Infra under the scanner, Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW has now decided “to review” its ties with the company in view of various reports about the company in the media.

Maytas had bagged orders worth about Rs 100 crore to build two townships for employees of JSW Steel in Vijaynagar (Karnataka) and for JSW Energy worth Rs 53.60 crore and at Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) worth Rs 42.90 crore. “In view of the reports coming in about Maytas, we intend to review our ties with it next week,” JSW Group chief financial officer and JSW Steel director (finance) Seshagiri Rao told The Indian Express. Reports say Maytas had completed about 35 per cent work in Vijayanagar, where JSW Steel is expanding its capacity to 7 MTPA. In Ratnagiri the group has a 1,200 MW power project. The project in Vijayanagar was awarded to Maytas in September 2007 after competitive bidding.

The Naveen Pattnaik government in Orissa too has asked KVK Nilachal Power company to make it clear by next week whether it wants to continue to partner with Maytas Infra or would go alone on developing the 1,200 MW power project in Cuttack district of the coastal state. The state has also asked the firm to spell out in detail on how it intends to raise the money for the same if it preferred to go alone.

“We had extensive interactions with representatives of KVK Nilachal Company here (Bhubaneswar) yesterday and asked them whether they wanted to continue with Maytas in developing the power project or would they prefer to go alone. In either case they will have to spell out the ways through which they intend to raise resources for executing the project,” Orissa energy secretary P K Jena had said. According to reports emanating from Orissa, KVK Nilachal is not averse to going alone on the project in case Maytas was out of it. “They (KVK Nilachal) said they will have express deliberations with Maytas officials and let us know by next week,” he pointed out. Maytas is hogging the limelight as never before and recently its CEO P K Madhav quit the company recently in view of his attention and energy being used to address the legal matters pertaining to the Nagarjuna Finance case.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/story_print.php?storyid=415546

New CERC guidelines gladden power generators

2009-01-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

domain-b.com : New CERC guidelines gladden power generators

New CERC guidelines gladden power generators news
22 January 2009

To the approval of the power generation industry, the Central Electricity Regulatory Committee (CERC) has issued a new notification that deals with the tariff computation for the years 2009-10 to 2013-14.

The new rules increase the return on equity for the period between 2009 and 2014 from 14 per cent to 15.5 per cent. The enhanced returns for generation companies would flow directly to the bottom line, as tariffs for power generation and transmission companies are fixed based on the sum of certain specified fixed and variable costs, to which the permissible return on equity is added.

In addition, projects that are completed on time will get an extra incentive of 50 basis points, or 16 per cent ROE. However, the regulation that only 30 per cent of the capital cost of a project may be funded by equity remains unchanged. The rest has to be funded by debt.

Under the new norms, the depreciation rate goes up to 5.28 per cent from the earlier 3.6 per cent, which will improve generating companies' top lines as well.

The irritating 'advance against depreciation' (AAD) clause has also been removed. AAD was introduced mainly to ensure that higher fixed costs are recovered in the earlier years so as to enable the project developer to repay loans.

In a move to encourage efficiency, fixed cost recovery would now be based on 85 per cent plant availability factor (PAF), as against the earlier 80 per cent plant load factor (PLF). The latter is an indication of demand, which is generally not within the control of the producer.

Though these steps will bring immediate benefit only companies that are subject to CERC, there may also be indirect benefits to private players in the future, as state governments will tend to follow the central guidelines. However, each state has a different timeline for this - Maharashtra's is 2009-10, while Gujarat is aiming at 2010-11.

The immediate beneficiaries would be the National Thermal Power Corp, Neyveli Lignite Corp, and Powergrid Corp. Prasanna Kumar, chairman and managing director of Neyveli, said in a TV interview that profits will increase and there will be incentive for generators to produce more power. He sees additional profit for future projects at Rs 32.5 crore, and is of the view that the additional depreciation will not impact bottomlines.

Sanjiv Goenka of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corp (CESC), an RPG group company, said that the CERC guidelines are equally good for private companies and it is up to state regulators to implement them.

NPCIL-NTPC joint venture idea for nuclear power

2009-01-21T01:27:00.000-08:00

AEC endorses NPCIL-NTPC joint venture idea for nuclear power
PTI
Mumbai, January 21, 2009

State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation and NTPC have moved a step closer towards setting up a joint venture for nuclear power production, with Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) endorsing the idea of synergy between the two.

"NTPC and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) had already signed an MOU late last year for the joint venture with a holding of 51 per cent by NPCIL and 49 per cent by NTPC. The joint venture proposal of these two undertakings was taken up for discussion on Monday by AEC which endorsed the idea," sources told PTI.

If India has to speed up the nuclear capacity to its ambitious target of 60,000 MW by 2030, it was important to take advantage of vast experience of NTPC, predominantly engaged in thermal power production, sources said.

"With nuclear expertise of NPCIL and NTPC's experience in power production, a long-term perspective of the synergy was favourably considered by the AEC," they said.

The AEC will deliberate upon the proposal in due course to work out details of terms and conditions, safeguards and other issues for the smooth functioning of the joint venture.

After working out the details, the proposal will go for cabinet approval and once approved, this will be the first joint venture to set up nuclear power plants in India.

NTPC has a good track record of producing over 27,000 MW of thermal power using mostly coal, and is in an advantageous position in terms of distribution and transmission of power and a wide networking with state electricity boards, sources said.

At present, 17 nuclear plants are run by NPCIL, an undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy.

NPCIL has nuclear power plants at Tarapur (Maharashtra), Kakrapar (Gujarat), Kaiga (Karnataka), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Kota (Rajasthan) and Narora (Uttar Pradesh) with a total capacity of 4120 MW and with six more plants under advanced stages of completion, it would go up to 7280 MW in the next year. Experts feel that if the JV is approved by the Centre, it would pave the way for private sector in nuclear power generation.

However, it is unlikely for private sector to enter this area, at least in the next five to six years as it required amendments in Indian Atomic energy Act besides working out nitty-gritties of the 123 agreement and India specific safeguards agreements with IAEA.

Already companies like Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Tata Power, Reliance Infrastructure, GMR, Jindal group, Hindujas, BHEL have evinced interest in setting up nuclear power plants.

Also, last week, US power major Westinghouse signed an MoU with L&T for fabrication and construction of a nuclear reactor in India. L&T is already supplying critical components for the construction of nuclear power plants to NPCIL besides providing civil work.

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