NEAA dismisses appeal againstShahpur project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. URL for this article : http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/content_mail.php?option=com_content&name=print&id=25899 @ Copyright 2008 India Today Group.