No new projects in coastal areas, river basins

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

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 !!

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

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

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

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

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.