Tehri work on
despite stiff opposition from many corners, three panels each of two diversion tunnels of the controversial 2,400 megawatt Tehri hydel project were closed in the presence of the district
Search Results
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SC notice to NHPC
GUWAHATI: In a writ petition to the Supreme Court filed recently, the Assam Public Works, a social organization, has opposed the construction of the 2000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydro-electric Project (LSHP) on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and argued that the LSHP would not only destroy the lives and properties of the people living in the downstream areas of the dam but also the ecology. Based on the writ petition of APW, Justice S Kumar and Justice SJ Mukhopadhya of the country’s apex court have issued a notice to the NHPC Ltd and other concerned government departments to give a reply against the APW petition within two weeks.
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Bangladesh State of Environment Report: The Monthly Overview, October, 2013
Environment and forests minister Hasan Mahmud slammed Transparency International, Bangladesh for its recent investigation report on the government’s climate change trust fund utilization. Read more in this October 2013 edition of the Monthly Bangladesh State of the Environment Report published by the South Asia Environment Portal. Read and Share.
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Koel Karo battles on
Tribals have been fighting the Koel Karo dams for the last 20 years the longest struggle against a project. Now, a fresh budget fuels the controversy further
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Hydro generation not tapped for 15 years: CAG
BHUBANESWAR: While the State is reeling under power crisis, the Government has not taken any proactive measures during the last 15 years to add hydro generation capacity despite huge potential.
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The next wave: A bright future for hydro
A quiet revolution is underway in the world of hydropower. An emerging non-dam based hydro industry holds the promise of economically viable technologies that do not deplete resources or warm the planet, and do not wipe out species, ecosystems and cultures.
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Renewables 2010: global status report
<p>This report details trends in the renewable energy sector across the world. Finds that investment in renewable energy power capacity (excluding large hydro) in 2009 was comparable to that in fossil-fuel generation, at around $100 billion each. <br></p>
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Talking Energy - On a lighter note
<p>Every niche has its own lingo and Energy might have one of the most complicated ones around. Just as an example energy can be measured in six different ways! - Joule, Calorie, Tonne Oil Equvalent,
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Clean energy the need of the hour
THE need to generate power from renewable sources of energy is being increasingly emphasised due to growing awareness about climate change. V Subramanian, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, feels the cost of solar power generation would come down over time due to technological improvements. Subsidy to producers of solar power is inevitable at this juncture, he told G Ganapathy Subramaniamin an interview. Excerpts. Why should the government subsidise solar power? The estimated cost of generating solar power is around Rs 15 per kilowatt hour (KWh). This is the cost of supplying photovoltaic power to the grid, without involving any batteries for storage. Since the unit cost of power generated through conventional sources is far lower and the cost at which power is bought by state electricity boards is cheaper, the government has decided to subsidise solar power generation. The incentive is up to Rs 12 per Kwh for electricity generated from solar photovoltaic and a maximum of Rs 10 per Kwh for electricity generated through solar thermal power plants. We need to provide subsidy in order to encourage generation of clean energy. This subsidy is only for power supplied to the grid. It is not applicable for any private supply or captive use. The subsidy component would go down over a period of time. How will the subsidy, once awarded, go down? The initial cost of solar photovoltaic systems is high because raw materials like silicon wafers are imported. We expect costs to come down over a period of time due to advances in technology. In the next four to five years, we expect conversion efficiency of solar power plants to improve to 18% as compared to 14% or 16% now. The industry, on its part, is trying to reduce consumption of silicon wafers. As a result of these measures, cost of solar cells and modules should come down by about 33%. Therefore, the subsidy component can be reduced over a period of time. There is a built-in provision to bring down maximum subsidies by 5% each year for capacities commissioned from 2010-11 onwards if the current programme is not reviewed in 2009-10. Do you believe the subsidy offer would attract a large number of investors? As much as 97% of the power generation capacity based on renewable energy is built on the strength of incentives and government policies. This includes wind energy, power from waste, bagasse co-generation and biomass conversion programmes. For the sake of clean energy, incentives have been provided. We are confident of the solar power scheme since it is a direct, upfront subsidy. The programme would be implemented through IREDA and there is no chance of bureaucratic red tape coming in the way of the delivery system. State electricity boards will not feel any disincentive since they are buying power at commercial rates, similar to what is paid to other electricity producers. Moreover, we are also providing state electricity boards with an incentive of 10 paise per unit sourced from solar power generation. How much progress have we made in generating renewable energy? By the end of 2007, installed capacity of solar photovoltaic systems in the country has increased to 125 MW in various applications like lighting, rural telecom and offshore oilwell-head platforms. We have street lighting systems, lanterns, home lighting and pumping systems run on solar power, apart from stand-alone units. Installed capacity in the case of wind energy has increased to 7,092 MW, followed by 1,975 MW in the case of small hydro projects, 615 MW in the case of bagasse co-generation, and 524 MW in the case of biomass conversion. In the short-tomedium term, we can generate more power from renewable sources as compared to nuclear power. We have set the ball rolling with the subsidy scheme for solar power and the initial response is very positive. There are people who do not want their investments restricted to 50 MW, but we have kept in mind the need to keep the window open for opportunities from various parts of the country. Can we quantify the projected benefits from the subsidy for solar projects? Every solar plant with 1 MW capacity would produce 2 million KW of electricity, taking care of 5,000 families if we go by the government's commitment of providing at least 1 KW of power to each rural household. Apart from this, each of these plants would create 25 to 40 jobs directly and another 400 indirectly.
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CURRENT CRISIS
In a desperate bid to salvage the country's energy crisis, the Sri Lankan authorities stopped late night television shows to encourage people to consume less power at night. Besides, a daily
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Micropowerful
A microhydel project a day. Communities snatch the initiative from the government to electrify rural Nepal
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MONEYMAKERS
algae wonder: Hyderabad-based New Ambadi Estates Pvt Ltd is planning to launch in July-August a cosmetic using the algae spirulina. The product can be used to treat allergies, remove pimples and
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Technology roadmap: energy storage
According to this new IEA report China, India, the European Union and the United States alone should invest at least USD 380 billion in new electricity storage capacity by 2050 to support decarbonisation.
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Tata Power to invest 5kcr in wind energy
TATA Power that aims to produce at least 25% of its total power generation from clean sources by 2017, will invest around . 5,000 crore in wind energy alone, said a top company official. "We have set ourselves a target to achieve 25% of our total generation from clean sources by 2017. These will comprise wind, solar, hydro, geo-thermal and gas.
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Alternative energy needs a renewed push
India generates 13,878.58 MW grid-interactive power from renewable sources like from wind, small hydro, solar, biogas co-generation and biomass. It amounts to 9% of the total installed generation capacity. It has been enabled by the provision of government incentives like capital and interest subsidy, accelerated depreciation and concessional excise and customs duties.
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Rely more on indigenous power resources: panel
The committee on reduction in the cost of power has suggested to rely more on the indigenous fuel and resources such as coal and hydro instead of naphtha or LNG while planning new projects. "
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The wrong climate for big dams
Africa is the least electrified place in the world. An estimated 550 million Africans have no access to electricity. Nearly half of African countries have a power crisis. Solving this huge problem is made more difficult by widespread poverty, and because most Africans live far from the grid, greatly adding to the cost of bringing electricity to them.
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Arunachal enters into joint venture for hydel project
Arunachal Pradesh Government has entered into a joint venture with the Jindal group to develop the 4,500 mw Etalin multi-purpose hydro-electric project, the biggest in the country.
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Off the level
Is the government s handling of northeast floods off track?
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Economic rationale for cooperation on international waters in Africa: a review
Transboundary river basins cover 62 percent of Africa's total area and, with the exception of island states, every African country has at least one international river in its territory. Thus, transboundary