Energy News Monitor | Volume XII; Issue 14

[India’s fossil fuel dependency is here to stay]

                             “Renewable energy is propagated as the best way forward for India in the name of climate change and environmental sustainability. This argument is becoming the basis for large projection for renewable energy in the fuel mix for the future. There is no doubt that the share of renewable energy will increase as developing nations succumb to the advise of western nation. But will this wipe out dependence on coal based electricity generation?…”

Energy News

[GOOD]

Replacing old thermal plants of 36 GW with supercritical plants will contribute more carbon reduction than 170 GW of renewable energy!                                   

                                                                                            [BAD]

Will a world that does not value any form of justice offer climate justice to India?

[UGLY]

Power cuts continuing in Orissa when the sector has idling thermal capacity is not different from food grain rotting in storage when millions remain malnourished!

 [WEEK IN REVIEW]

Will Solar Energy defy Marx and yield to Musk using Moore? (Part II)

Lydia Powell and Akhilesh Sati, Observer Research Foundation

Continued from Volume XII, Issue 13

his column observed last week that there are inherent technical limitations in using crystalline silicon to convert electromagnetic radiation from the sun (light) into electricity. This needs to be explored further. The physics behind solar cells is complex but a brief outline of the technology is necessary to grasp the potential of solar energy and to answer the question posed in the title of the article.   

Silicon is converted into solar cells in well established industrial processes that draw on sixty years of semiconductor processing for integrated circuits. There are single crystalline and multi crystalline solar cells.  Higher the crystalline quality higher is the efficiency of charge extraction and power conversion but also higher cost. Single crystalline silicon cells have recorded lab level efficiencies of about 25.6 % while multi crystalline cells have recorded efficiencies of about 20.4 %. Single crystalline cells account for 35 % of the market while multi crystalline cells account for 55 %. Crystalline silicon accounts for 90 % of global photovoltaic (PV) production and it is expected to continue its dominance for the foreseeable future. 

In order to gain some understanding of how PV cells work, it is necessary to understand the concept of band gaps within atoms of materials. In pure materials, electrons can only reside in certain discrete energy bands.  The electronic properties of materials are dependent on the profile of these energy bands and gaps between these energy bands. In semiconductors such as crystalline silicon, the band gap is somewhere between the high band gap of insulators (materials that do not conduct electricity) and overlapping bands of conductors (materials that conduct electricity). To be precise, the band gap of semiconductors such as silicon is too large for it to conduct electricity (allow movement of electrons from one band to another) in their normal state (in the absence of additional energy in the form of light/heat) but small enough for it to conduct electricity when additional energy from sunlight is available for absorption. A solar cell can only absorb photons (light) with energy gap greater than the band gap. The band gap energy is the maximum energy that can be extracted as electrical energy from each photon that is absorbed by the solar cell. One fundamental limitation of crystalline silicon is its indirect band gap (which involves a change in energy and a change in momentum) which leads to weak light absorption and consequently makes thick wafers a necessity. This translates into higher capital costs, low power to weight ratios and constraints on module flexibility and design. Alternatives to silicon wafers such as gallium arsenide, a compound with a direct band gap (only involves a change in energy) are being investigated but those in the field do not see commercially viable alternative to silicon emerging within the next decade. 

Thin film PV technologies that are made by additive fabrication process reduce material usage and capital expenditure account for 10% of global PV production capacity. Commercial thin films use hydrogenated amorphous silicon (non crystalline silicon), cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide. These materials absorb light 10-100 times more efficiently than silicon. This property reduces thickness of material required for light absorption to just a layer of film coated on a support material such as glass. Cadmium telluride is the leading thin PV technology on account of its ability to harvest solar energy with a direct band gap of 1.45 electron volt (eV) compared to the indirect band gap of 1.12 eV for crystalline silicon. Thin film PV technologies use 10 to 1000 times less material than crystalline silicon reducing cell weight per unit area and increasing power output per unit weight. A key disadvantage of commercial thin film technologies is their low average efficiency typically 12-15 % compared to 15-20% for crystalline silicon. Another key problem with thin film technologies is that they often require scarce elements that cannot be replaced easily. This puts a limit on scaling up solar capacity that is dependent on thin films. 

Irrespective of which material is used, improvements in efficiency of industrial processes are likely to bring down costs significantly in the future but this alone will not guarantee the success of solar energy. If solar seeks to displace other fuels that dominate electricity generation today, it needs to perform on other measures as well.  

Indicators of Competitiveness with Grid Electricity

Many in India (and elsewhere) have been led to believe by the media that the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) captured in the tariff of solar electricity is the only indicator that one needs to watch to establish the competitiveness of solar electricity. For example, the bid price of ` 5.05/kWh of solar generated electricity in Madhya Pradesh was captured in headlines that said that solar power will be cheaper than thermal power in 2-3 years. This is not necessarily true. Even if solar tariff bids come down to ` 3/kWh it will not mean that solar electricity is cheaper than thermal power.

LCOE is defined as the rate per kWh of electricity that implies the same discounted present value as the stream of costs. The discount rate used generally varies with project type. Put another way, the LCOE is the minimum price a generator would have to receive for every kWh of electricity output in order to cover the costs of producing this power, including the minimum profit required on the generator’s investment. Many solar projects are financed using a power purchase agreement (PPA) sold to a utility. The PPA shifts risk from the power generator to the power purchaser. One of the many limitations of the LCOE is that it implicitly values all kilowatt hours of electricity generated to be the same regardless of when they are generated.  Another limitation is that the LCOE does not reflect the project’s ability to provide capacity to meet uncertain demand (or ramping up capability). Even if solar capacity increases dramatically in India the need for dispatchable capacity will not be reduced significantly. Capacity credit defined as the solar energy capacity that can be confidently relied upon at times of high demand is low for solar energy. In EU the capacity credit for wind is estimated at 5-10% for wind and 0-5% for solar power. 

to be continued.......

Views are those of the authors                    

Authors can be contacted at [email protected], [email protected]

 

India’s fossil fuel dependency is here to stay

Ashish Gupta, Observer Research Foundation

n recent years, the issue of electrifying households of the rural population has become a regular feature in the Indian media. In the ongoing climate debate rural populations are portrayed as vulnerable to climate change and they are advised to stay away from fossil fuel based electricity. They are told that they can save themselves from climate related disasters if they consume electricity from off-grid renewable sources. The idea appeals to them if grid based electricity is unavailable. Renewable energy is propagated as the best way forward for India in the name of climate change and environmental sustainability. This argument is becoming the basis for large projection for renewable energy in the fuel mix for the future. There is no doubt that the share of renewable energy will increase as developing nations succumb to the advise of western nation. But will this wipe out dependence on coal based electricity generation?

In India, financial sustainability for utilities has become a bigger challenge than environmental sustainability. Growing energy demand and declining public spending are contributing to further changing the roles of the government and private sector. This reallocation of responsibilities creates an uncertain business and political environment with frequently changing and sometimes contradictory regulations and, most often, excessive demands on utilities. The primary responsibility of the utilities is to provide reliable supply of power at affordable rates. Therefore the utilities not only have to provide power which is priced low but at the same time maintain their financial sustainability. Needless to say, this sustainability can only be maintained through cheap fossil fuel based electricity. 

Secondly, renewable power by definition will be concentrated in those areas where the natural resource is available. These natural resources are usually concentrated in certain geographies. Wind power generation is concentrated in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. However the local grid is often unable to absorb intermittent renewable power.

Thirdly, if energy access is to be provided with renewable energy then the whole transmission system will need a makeover. Given the current transmission infrastructure the integration of renewable power is not only difficult but also not viable. To erect such a transmission infrastructure huge investment will be required. As per the Power Trading Corporation of India the renewable sector will need an investment around ` 12 lakh crore (` 12,000 billion) in the next five to seven years. Where will this money come from? This means additional support will come either from the government or from public utilities. This means that the financial burden on tax payers and electricity utilities will increase. They will be burdened twice, first on the investment front and secondly on the payment front. Given the price sensitive nature of Indian consumers, who is going to pay for costly power?  In fact, the more we add renewable power to the grid, the more will be the financial burden of the utilities.

India’s electricity sector is predominantly dependent on fossil fuels. 70% of the primary energy mix is from fossil fuels. Coal is the least expensive fossil fuel for power generation. This will continue and coal will remain the most important fuel for power generation in the years to come. India’s fossil fuel based dependency is not by choice but by compulsion. The best way forward is to improve the efficiency of coal mining, coal conversion and utilization process. Setting targets for energy efficiency and water consumption in the processing steps would result in a more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable coal sector. This will also help conserve coal. Investment in adaptation approach is more important than mitigation approach to address the climate challenge.

Views are those of the author                    

Author can be contacted at [email protected]

Solar Energy for Agriculture Sector

Akhilesh Sati, Observer Research Foundation

State-wise cumulative installation of Solar Pump Systems

As on 31.01.2015 

States	Pumps Nos.
Andhra Pradesh	613
Arunachal Pradesh	18
Assam	45
Bihar	139
Chhattisgarh	240
Goa	15
Gujarat	85
Haryana	469
Himachal Pradesh	6
Jammu & Kashmir	39
Karnataka	551
Kerala	810
Madhya Pradesh	87
Maharashtra	239
Manipur	40
Meghalaya	19
Mizoram	37
Nagaland	3
Orissa	56
Punjab	1857
Rajasthan	11603
Tamil Nadu	829
Tripura	151
Uttar Pradesh	1348
Uttarakhand	26
West Bengal	48
Andaman & Nicobar	5
Chandigarh	12
Delhi	90
Puducherry	21
Total	19,501

Source: Rajya Sabha, Unstarred Question No. 1197. 

NEWS BRIEF

[NATIONAL: OIL & GAS]

September 15, 2015. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has made another discovery in its Bay of Bengal block KG-D5, taking the number of finds in the area to 13. ONGC discovered oil and gas in the well F-1 in the northern part of the KG basin block KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5, which sits next to the flagging KG-D6 block of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). The 7,294.60 sq km deepsea KG-D5 block has been broadly categorised into Northern Discovery Area (NDA - 3,800.6 sq km) and Southern Discovery Area (SDA - 3,494 sq km). The latest discovery has been made in NDA. ONGC plans to develop the discoveries in three clusters -- 14.5 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of gas for 15 years from Cluster-1 comprising of D&E finds of NDA in KG-D5 block and G-4 find in the neighbouring area. Cluster-2A mainly comprises oil finds of A2, P1, M3, M1 and G-2-2 in NDA which can produce 75,000 barrels per day (3.75 million tonnes per annum). Cluster 2B, which is made up of four gas finds -- R1, U3, U1, and A1 in NDA -- envisages a peak output of 14 mmscmd of gas, with cumulative production of 32.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in 14 years. Cluster-3 is the UD-1 gas discovery in SDA. Besides F-1, ONGC had also made a gas discovery in an onland block in Andhra Pradesh. It also found a new pool in Cauvery onland block in Tamil Nadu. (www.businesstoday.in)

September 13, 2015. More than a third of the 69 small and marginal oil and gas fields that the government plans to auction to private firms are in Mumbai Offshore and the biggest of them holds about 15 million tons of oil reserves. Of the 69 idle oil and gas fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) which are to be auctioned, 27 are in Mumbai Offshore while another 15 are in the prolific Krishna Godavari (KG) basin. As many as 10 discoveries in the Assam Shelf are also on offer. The discoveries, which the government says were given up by the two oil companies as they were unable to develop them for varied reasons, include ones made as late as 2012-13. In all, seven marginal discoveries of ONGC date back to less than five years, with 2012-13 Koravaka gas field in KG basin being the youngest. An equal number of finds were made between 2005-06 and 2008-09. While cumulatively the surrendered small and marginal fields hold about 50.8 million tons of oil and 53.45 billion cubic meters of gas, the biggest discovery is the D-18 in Mumbai Offshore that along holds 14.78 million tons of inplace oil reserves. Among the gas discoveries, the largest is ONGC's B-9 find in the offshore Kutch basin that has an inplace reserve of 14.67 billion cubic meters (bcm). While ONGC has surrendered 63 discoveries, OIL has given up six all of whom are in Assam Shelf. (www.businesstoday.in)

September 11, 2015. Oil India Limited (OIL) has got environment clearance for drilling 20 wells in three blocks in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan for production of 1 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) gas at an estimated cost of ` 96 crore. The wells will be drilled in Dandewala, Bagitibba and Tanot mining lease blocks in Tanot village in Jaisalmer. The cost of the project is ` 96 crore and the depth of drilling varies 1,200-2,200 meters. Total expected gas production from well would be 1 mmscmd (million metric standard cubic meter per day). The gas produced from these three blocks would be brought to the common locations for processing at Dandewal Gas Processing Complex. (profit.ndtv.com)

September 15, 2015. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said it will be investing ` 1.75 trillion over the next seven years to expand output by 54 percent to around 100 million tonnes per annum. The investment will increase its total output to close to 100 million tonnes per annum from the present 65 million tonnes. The company will be investing ` 35,000 crore into marketing, ` 15,000 crore for pipelines, ` 35,000 crore into exploration and production, ` 30,000 crore into petrochemical projects, and ` 7,000 crore into gas. On the payments for Iran, IOC has $500 million dollars in pending dues, and the government is discussing the modalities of the payment. IOC hopes that the payment will be done in two or three installments. The country is set to pay Iran $700 million to clear more than one-tenth of the outstanding oil dues, ahead of the expected lifting of sanctions against Tehran. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

September 14, 2015. Essar Oil will shut its 4,05,000 barrel-per-day Vadinar refinery in Gujarat for about four weeks to carry out maintenance work. The refinery, the nation's second biggest, will be shut for the maintenance job around, the company said. The company will upgrade some units during the planned maintenance shutdown. The shutdown was earlier planned for middle of 2015, but was put back to September. (www.business-standard.com)

September 11, 2015. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), India’s second-biggest government-owned refiner and fuel marketer, has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan by spending ` 1 lakh crore between FY17 and FY21. The move would increase the PSU’s refining capacity from about 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) now to 50 mtpa, in addition to expanding fuel marketing network in India and abroad. BPCL has for the first time crossed a net profit of more than ` 5,000 crore in FY15. BPCL  reported a highest ever net profit of ` 5084.51 crore on gross revenues of ` 253,254.86 crores last financial year, a 25% increase from the previous year. Of the proposed ` 1 lakh crore investments, about ` 35,000 has been earmarked for expansion of refinery capacity at Kochi and other joint venture projects at Bina and Numaligarh. Another ` 25,000 crore would go towards upstream activities in Mozambique and Brazil, which it holds through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharat PetroResources Limited (BPRL), while another ` 12,000 crore toward be spend on expanding marketing infrastructures including setting up of new import terminals. For the first time, BPCL is spending ` 4,600 crore to foray into petrochemicals. It is setting up a project at Kochi to produce SAP (super absorbent polymer) and expects revenues from this project to start flowing in by 2019-20. The regulatory clearances for the project are in place and work at the site has commenced. (www.financialexpress.com)

September 10, 2015. Indian refiners have been told to prepare to deposit $700 million with United Commercial Bank in readiness for it to pass on the first instalment of oil payments owed to Iran. The refiners -- Essar Oil, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and HPCL Mittal Energy -- together owe a total of more than $6.6 billion. The $700 million part-payment will be split in line of the proportion owed by each. Indian refiners were asked to be prepared to pay $1.4 billion dollars to Iran in two equal installments. India is Iran's biggest oil client behind China, though New Delhi has reduced purchases under pressure from sanctions. Indian refiners together owe Iran more than half of the bill for crude bought since February 2013, when a route to pay for Iranian oil through Turkey's Halkbank was stopped. (in.reuters.com)

September 15, 2015. Pipeline welding of 12 inch pipeline connecting HFCL Barauni to IOCL Barauni commenced at Barauni, marking the first phase implementation of GAIL (India) Limited's Jagdishpur- Haldia Pipeline, GAIL said. This gas network will supply fuel to major industries such as the Barauni Refinery and the Barauni fertilizer plant, which will be revived to its full glory, besides power and steel plants. The phase -I of pipeline project consists of laying of trunk pipeline from Phulpur (Allahabad) to Dobhi (Gaya) for a length of 341km and spur pipeline connectivity to Barauni and Patna from Dobhi for a length of 228 km. The pipeline will also help in setting up of City Gas Networks in major cities of Bihar including capital Patna. An investment of over ` 2300 crore is expected to be made in Bihar on this project. (energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 10, 2015. The world's top oil exporter Saudi Aramco will open an office in India by the end of this year to help boost its crude sales in the world's fourth largest oil consuming nation. India is one of the biggest markets for Saudi oil. In fact, Saudi Arabia has been the top supplier to the South Asian nation for the past 14 years starting April 2001, according to the government data. Saudi Arabia's share in India's crude intake has, however, dropped to about 18.5 percent in the year to March 2015 from about a quarter a decade ago, while India's refinery capacity has doubled to about 4.6 million barrels per day in the period. India will be the fifth country in Asia where the state-owned oil company Aramco will set up offices after Korea, Japan, China and Singapore. It also has Aramco services company in the United States and Aramco Overseas company in Europe. (in.reuters.com)

September 9, 2015. Rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said completion of the proposed merger of Cairn India with Vedanta Ltd appears "uncertain". The global rating agency placed its 'BB-' foreign currency long-term corporate credit rating on Vedanta Resources on CreditWatch with negative implications. Vedanta's proposed merger will strengthen the company's financial ratios if it can overcome the challenges surrounding the deal, the agency said. The merger could strengthen the firm's financial ratios to levels in line with an "aggressive" financial risk profile in fiscal 2017, it said. (www.dnaindia.com)

September 15, 2015. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has submitted a USD 10 billion integrated proposal to Iran for developing the Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf and shipping the gas to India. A consortium of OVL, Oil India Limited (OIL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) had discovered the 12.8 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in the Farsi block in 2008. The discovery was named Farzad-B. Iran had asked for a plan for developing the field as well as options for taking the gas. Gas produced from the field can either be converted into LNG by freezing at sub-zero temperature and shipping in cryogenic ships to India or transported through a pipeline - either overland passing through Pakistan or sub-sea. Iran and six world powers in July sealed an accord to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in return for ending sanctions, opening prospects of Indian investments in the Persian Gulf field. Indian firms had so far shied away from investing in Iran for the fear of being sanctioned by the US and Europe. OVL in August/September 2010 submitted a revised Master Development Plan (MDP) for producing 60 percent of the 21.68 trillion cubic feet of in-place gas reserves but had not signed the contract because of threat of being sanctioned by the US which is against any company investing more than USD 20 million in Iran's energy sector in any 12-month period. Iran, in February 2012, issued a one-month ultimatum to the OVL-led consortium over the development of a gas field. For more than two years, it did not carry out the threat of cancelling allocation of the Farsi block to OVL. To pressurise India to act, Tehran last year put the field on the list of blocks it wants to auction in future. It has, however, not yet cancelled OVL's exploration licence for the Farsi block which gives it the right to develop the discoveries it has made. OVL said since Indian companies had made the discovery, they naturally had the first right to develop them. Iran has given a draft contractual regime under which Indian firms have to operated. OVL and IOC hold 40 percent interest each in Farsi block, while the remaining 20 percent is with OIL. (zeenews.india.com)

September 11, 2015. BP plc, Europe's second-largest oil company, made a case for extending the marketing and pricing freedom given to operators of marginal and small oil and gas fields to conventional fields like KG basin D6 block. BP India head SashiMukundan welcomed the auction of 69 idle oil and gas fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) to private firms on a new revenue sharing model and liberalised terms, including pricing and marketing freedom. The small and marginal fields are to be auctioned on the basis of maximum revenue an operator is willing to share with the government at low and high end of price and production band. In the marginal field policy, the government will allow companies to sell oil as well as natural gas produced from these fields at market price and with no restriction on who they sell the produce to. While oil is priced at global benchmark currently, a complex international hub based formula determines gas price, which is roughly half of the rate at which India imports gas. (www.ptinews.com)

September 10, 2015. A historic peace accord between Naga groups and the government that promised an end to India’s longest-running insurgency may get derailed if the Centre went ahead with the auction of oil blocks in Nagaland, Chief Minister (CM) TR Zeliang said. The CM said his government would write to the Centre, rejecting the auction of oil fields held by public sector firms in the past, as they were now controlled by Nagaland under a 2012 state policy and were already allotted to private companies. The details of the peace deal signed between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) in the presence of Prime Minister NarendraModi last month, are still being finalised and haven’t been made public yet. Nagaland is forecast to have 600 million tonne of oil and natural gas reserves, which, if fully exploited, could boost India’s onshore oil and gas production by 75%. The state government took over oil fields abandoned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in 1994 — due to protests by Naga groups — under a 2012 rule that has been opposed by the Union petroleum ministry. Though oil exploration is usually governed by the Centre, Nagaland drafted its own policy — The Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulations — in 2012 to wrest control over oil. For this, it used Article 371-A of the Constitution that guaranteed no central law pertaining to “land and its resources” would apply to Nagaland, unless the state’s assembly ratified it. The Union cabinet approved a policy of auctioning oil fields held by government-owned ONGC and Oil India Limited, that couldn’t be exploited for many years. Two oil fields in Nagaland figured in the list of 69 fields identified to be auctioned under the ‘Marginal Fields Policy’, triggering an adverse reaction from the CM. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has opposed the state’s rules since the erstwhile UPA regime. (www.northeasttoday.in)

September 9, 2015. Rajasthan government signed MoUs worth ` 30,530 crore with nine petroleum companies. The MoUs were signed by state's Principal Secretary, Mines and Petroleum, Ashok Singhvi in the presence of union Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and other senior government and petroleum company officials. The MoUs signed included one with Cairn India Ltd for exploration & production in Block RJ-ON-90/1 at an investment of ` 12,500 crore, with Focus Energy Ltd for exploration and production in Block RJ-ON-6 for an investment of ` 3,730 crore, GAIL (India) for the CNG and CGD (city gas distribution) project and PEL (petroleum exploration licence) block with an investment of ` 3,000 crore; with Rajasthan State Gas Ltd. for the development of gas and pipelines infrastructure, CNG & CGD network worth ` 2,700 crore and Indian Oil Corp Ltd. for CGD project and distribution network worth ` 2,300 crore and Deep Industries Ltd. for the development of three onshore marginal fields located at Ghotaru, Bankia and Kharatar in Jaisalmer district for an investment of ` 300 crore among others. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that these MoUs will facilitate city gas distribution, pipeline network and terminals for exploration as well as production activities. (www.business-standard.com)

September 9, 2015. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought independent reports on the availability of domestic cooking gas (LPG) from remote and hilly areas. With states complaining of delays in delivery and problems of availability in some parts, especially remote and hilly areas, he said a third party audit was essential. When Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister wrote to him about problems in availability of LPG in certain districts, the oil companies got hold of local civil supplies officer and district tehsildar to certify that there was no problem. Third party audits, he said, are essential. He asked the members of PathFinders Group, who will bike to India-China border in Ladakh, to collect feedback on supply of LPG as well as auto fuels – petrol and diesel, in the remotest parts. LPG availability has to be increased, he said. The government is planning to launch 2-kg bottles at local kirana stores to provide easy access to the clean fuel for the poor. LPG is traditionally available in 14.2-kg cylinders, which are not very convenient to carry and its cost at ` 418 is considered high for the poor and rural population. A 5-kg cylinder priced at ` 155 was introduced in October 2013. The planned 2-kg cylinder will be easily portable and will cost much less. To begin with, the penetration of 5-kg cylinder will be increased. New subsidised connections of 5-kg cylinders in rural as well as far flung areas will be issued in the first place. Presently, a household is entitled to receive subsidy to buy up to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each or 34 cylinders of 5-kg each every year. (www.diligentia.net.in)

September 9, 2015. With global oil prices halving, India should aggressively scout for acquisition of oil and gas assets abroad, create strategic reserves and step up domestic exploration, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Opportunities emerging from low oil prices were discussed at a meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with business leaders, bankers and bureaucrats against the backdrop of global economic turmoil, he said. Aggressive overseas acquisitions, building strategic oil reserves, stepping up domestic exploration and tying up supplies on favourable terms were some of the suggestions that came up at the meeting, Pradhan said. India, which is 80 percent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs, is a direct beneficiary of oil prices slumping from $115 per barrel to under $50 in last one year. Besides cutting its oil import bill, lower oil prices have also helped cool inflation and cut government's subsidy bill. Participants at the meeting suggested that India aggressively buy oil and gas fields abroad as low oil prices has not just brought down valuation of assets but also led to distress in some others that had borrowed huge funds when oil rates were high. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) agreed to buy 15 percent stake in Russia's second biggest oil field of Vankor from Rosneft for $1.268 billion as Moscow looked to cut risks in low oil price regime. Pradhan said participants also felt that India should use the low oil prices to stockpile oil at near complete underground strategic storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka. Also the capacity should be raised from 5.33 million tons to guard against crude price shocks and supply disruption. India, world's fourth largest oil consumer, should also tie-up supplies from producers in Middle-East, Africa and Latin America on favourable terms, he said. Low oil prices have also led to slump in cost of associated services like drilling rigs, which should be taken advantage of for increasing domestic exploration and production (E&P) activities, he said. PM Modi had set a target of cutting India's oil import dependence by 10 percent to 67 percent by 2022. The target was set keeping in mind the 77 percent import reliance in 2013-14. Import dependence has since risen to 80 percent. (profit.ndtv.com)

 [NATIONAL: POWER]

September 14, 2015. Power projects with total generation capacity of 36,000 MW, which are more than 25 years old, need to be replaced in a phased manner. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which recently held a comprehensive review with states, suggested that utilities need to explore possible options to utilise existing land and other facilities in most effective manner in view of land being scare. CEA has  told states that replacement of old units by new super critical units is being encouraged by the Centre and the necessary guidelines have been issued for automatic transfer of coal linkage from old and inefficient units. CEA has brought to the states' notice that the Centre has proposed capacity addition of 84,600 MW during 13^th plan (2017-22) through super critical units. The retirement, renovation and replacement of old units by super critical units will also contributed towards proposed capacity addition. Some of the states including Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have already expedited the replacement process including terms of reference for the environment clearance obtained from the Union ministry of environment and forests. Haryana for its Panipat unit 1 to 4 (4x110 MW) has received Union coal ministry's recommendation for the transfer of coal linkages for its replacement by super critical units. Punjab has proposed replacement of Ropar thermal units 1 to 4 (4x210 MW) with low PLF by new super critical units. Moreover, Rajasthan has undertaken renovation and modernisation of Kota units 1 and 2 (2x110 MW) while it has proposed similar move for units 3&4 (2x210 MW). As far as Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenco) is concerned, it has sent formal proposal to CEA for the transfer of coal linkage from the decommissioned capacity of 840 MW (at Bhusawal, Parli and Paras) to Koraid units 8&9 of 660 MW each. Further, MahaGenco will submit retirement proposal for Bhusawal units 2 and 3 (2x210 MW) to CEA. In the newly-created Telangana state, the state generation company will submit retirment plan to CEA for Kotha- gudem units 1 to 8 (4x60 MW plus 4x120 MW) and Ramagundam unit (1x62.5 MW). (www.business-standard.com)

September 13, 2015. Thermal Powertech Corporation India Limited (TPCIL), which owns and operates a 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant in Andhra Pradesh's Krishnapatnam has commenced full commercial operation with the completion of its second and final 660 MW unit. The approximately $1.5 billion coal-fired power plant, has completed its first 660 MW unit in February 2015 and is already supplying 500 MW of power to the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana power distribution companies under a 25-year power purchase agreement, the company said. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 12, 2015. Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited (JPVL) said its Vishnuprayag hydro power plant, which was temporarily shut down in June, has started functioning. JPVL is a part of the Jaypee Group. The group is poised to be a 13,470 MW power producer by 2019, according to the company. JSW Energy had said that it will acquire Jaypee Group's Bina thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh, even as it concluded previously announced deal to buy the cash-strapped group's two hydropower projects. (profit.ndtv.com)

September 11, 2015. After acquiring Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) from Lanco Infratech in April, Adani Group is now set to expand the plant’s capacity by 1,600 MW, which is estimated to cost over ₹ 9,000 crore. According to a notification by the Expert Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, UPCL has sought permission to expand the existing 1,200 MW imported coal-based thermal power project to 2,800 MW. Adani had acquired the plant for ₹ 6,300 crore, making it the nation’s largest buy in the thermal power space. (www.thehindubusinessline.com)

September 10, 2015. Nuclear Power Corporation of India's (NPCIL's) power generation rose four percent to 35,592 million units (MUs) in 2014-15 against 34,228 MUs in 2013-14. The rise was attributed to increase in the fuel supply. The government-run company says capacity utilisation in August was 78 percent and is expected to rise in the coming months, as some units were under a planned shutdown. Kudankulam-I, for instance, has been shut for refuelling since June 24 and is expected to restart generation by the end of this month. Total income rose 2.3 percent to ` 9,263 crore; net income was down four percent to `  2,201 crore in 2014-15 from 2013-14. The company proposes to launch the construction of units three and four at Kudankulam of 1,000 MW by the end of this financial year. Further, to start construction of 2x700 MW heavy water reactors at Gorakhpur in Haryana by March. NPCIL is also pursuing pre-project activities for the Chutka site in Madhya Pradesh. Work is also on at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan and Bhimpur in MP. Also, pre-project work on reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, Chhaya Mithivirdi in Gujarat and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. (www.business-standard.com)

September 10, 2015. Toshiba JSW has bagged an order worth ` 3,436 crore for setting up a 660 MW thermal power plant in Aligarh district from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL). The value of the contract is over ` 3,436 crore (USD 520 million), it said. The Harduaganj Ultra-supercritical Thermal Power Plant of UPRVUNL, located in Aligarh district, is expected to be commissioned in September, 2019. (www.newsnation.in)

September 14, 2015. The Western Railway (WR) is distributing LED bulbs at subsidised rates to its over one lakh employees across all divisions, in keeping with the central domestic efficient lighting programme (DELP) scheme. The move, which was kickstarted by WR, has received a very good response so far, with a large number of employees making a beeline to obtain the LED bulbs at the company's headquarters, WR said. The scheme is aimed at saving electricity and would be completed by October 31, 2015. Under the scheme, a maximum of ten 7-Watt LED bulbs, each of which can replace a 60-Watt incandescent bulb or an 18-Watt Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) at the same illumination level, would be distributed to the WR employees, WR said. LED bulbs are a much cheaper and energy-efficient alternative to other lighting instruments. Thus, the approximate payback period is only one month for the replacement of 60-Watt incandescent bulb and four months for the replacement of 18-Watt CFL, WR said. The cost of an LED bulb for Railway employees has been kept ` 100 only (market price of the same being ` 250 to ` 300). The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will provide maximum ten LED bulbs to each valid identity- holding Railway employee. The Ministry of Power is facilitating the distribution of 7-Watt energy-efficient LED bulbs under the DELP in collaboration with various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Under this scheme, LED bulbs are being procured in bulk and distributed to public at a lower rate. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 12, 2015. Power cuts in Odisha will continue till June 2016 due to shortage of water in various reservoirs in the state, Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das said. The minister said the state is now getting about 1750 MW of hydro power against the usual 2085 MW due to falling reservoir levels. He said that keeping in view the emergent needs and future scarcity, the state government has to be visionary and save maximum energy accordingly. Das said power cuts were a national phenomenon as even states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka were facing load shedding. While the urban areas would experience power cuts of 2-3 hours in a day, rural pockets would have 3-4 hours of load shedding in different phases in a day. Energy secretary Suresh Mohapatra said the peak power demand in the state has touched 4000 MW while it is facing a shortfall of 400-500 MW. (www.business-standard.com)

September 13, 2015. Government is looking to provide LED bulbs at ` 44, which is much lower than current retail price of around ` 300, under its Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) scheme to discourage use of inefficient incandescent bulbs. Under its DELP, the government procures LED bulbs through competitive bidding and provides those to consumers at much competitive rates. At present, these bulbs are sold for ` 275-300 per unit in the market. In the latest round of bidding, a price of ` 74 per unit was discovered, which is way below the initial target of ` 99, the Power Minister Piyush Goyal said. Under the government scheme, consumers also have the option of paying for the LEDs in equated monthly instalments. If all the 77 crore incandescent bulbs sold in India for domestic (household) lighting are converted to LEDs, 25 billion KWh (units) of energy can be saved every year. At present, over 1.35 crore LEDs have been distributed so far. The government has set up a target of distributing 70 crore bulbs procured through bulk orders in the next two years and nine months. Prices of LED bulbs have reduced by more than 75 percent in the last 6-8 months due to the various programmes of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a public sector entity under the Ministry of Power. The national programme is expected to stimulate the market further and push retail prices below ` 150. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the LED-based home and street lighting programme on January 5 this year, describing the LED bulb as "prakash path" (way to light). The DELP initiative aims to replace domestic incandescent and CFL bulbs with LED lights. It will help saving 105 billion KWh (units) energy, thus reducing consumer bills by ` 40,000 crore. Similarly, the Street Light National Programme (SLNP) targets to replace 3.5 crore street lights, manifesting in 9,000 million KWh energysavings and 1,500 MW reduction of installed street light load. The urban local bodies (ULBs) will be able to save ` 5,500 crore through this initiative. The street light programme has already helped in reducing 64,190 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission, while the domestic light programme has achieved a reduction of 4.9 lakh tonnes of carbon emission. Lighting sector accounts for about 20 percent of the total energy consumption in India. At present, most of the lighting need in domestic and public lighting sector is met by inefficient and conventional incandescent bulbs. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 10, 2015. The Power Ministry is at final stages of framing the new tariff policy, which will soon be placed before the Cabinet for approval, Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy Ministry Piyush Goyal said. The central government had approved the Tariff Policy under the provisions of Electricity Act, 2003, in 2006. The minister suggested that the new tariff policy will provide incentives to renewable energy projects as well as efficient use of resources by power generation plants based on conventional source of energy like coal-based thermal projects. He said the proposal provides for incentive coal-based projects using recycled and used water instead of fresh water which can be supplied to a sizeable population. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 9, 2015. Ahead of assembly elections in Bihar, the Union Government has sanctioned coal linkages to Barh power project in the state to halve the cost of generating 1,320 MW of electricity. Besides, an additional allocation of ` 1,850 crore has been made to improve power situation in the state, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said. Bihar will get 1,010 MW out of 1,320 MW power to be generated at state-owned NTPC's Barh plant at a variable cost of ` 2 per unit as compared to ` 4.15 currently. He said that the decision regarding providing coal linkage to the Barh project was taken. NTPC's Barh project's 660 MW capacity was operational. Now the decision will enable the state run utility to operationalise the remaining 660 MW by next month, the minister said. The coal linkage will result in savings of ` 2,000 crore every year out of this Barh project, he said. Goyal informed that 1,010 MW will be given to Bihar from NTPC (Barh) plant. The minister said that against the investment plan of ` 6,106 crore for Bihar under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) the government has approved ` 7,956 crore. He said that ` 1,850 crore (additional amount under DDGJY and IPDS) has been approved for Bihar so that electricity can be provided to the state reeling under outages. Goyal said these decisions are part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to provide 24X7 power in the state and supply power to five crore people who don't have access to electricity. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

 [INTERNATIONAL: OIL & GAS]

September 15, 2015. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) announced that it has discovered gas at the Aradin-I exploration well, located at the Khewari Exploratory License in Pakistan. The well has delivered an output of 5.10 million cubic feet of gas per day through a 20/64 inch choke at a wellhead flow pressure of 2,750 pounds per square inch. The discovery, which is OGDCL’s 104^th, was made together with OGDCL’s joint venture partner Government Holdings Private Limited. This discovery will add to the hydrocarbon reserves base of the company and joint venture partners, bringing significant savings to the country. (www.rigzone.com)

September 14, 2015. Total U.S. shale oil production for October is forecast to decline by 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 5.21 million bpd, compared with 5.29 million bpd in September, according to data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The drop in October - the first in five months not to be bigger than the previous month's - was slightly less than the 80,200 bpd decline in September, data shows. Production in the Eagle Ford is expected to fall for a seventh consecutive month, by 62,000 bpd to 1.42 million bpd, according to the EIA. Oil production from the Bakken region of North Dakota is expected to fall 21,000 bpd to 1.18 million bpd in October. It is the fourth month consecutive declines. In the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, production is forecast to rise 23,000 bpd to 2.02 million bpd, the ninth consecutive month of increases. The lower total shale production comes as rigs become more efficient. New well oil production per rig was set to rise by 2 bpd to 694 bpd in the Bakken, up by 5 bpd to 370 bpd in the Permian and up by 3 bpd to 795 bpd in the Eagle Ford. Natural gas production in the major shale plays was expected to fall 208 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 44.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in October from September. (www.reuters.com)

September 10, 2015. China's state energy giants are reducing output from conventional natural gas fields as demand growth for the fuel eases to a multi-year low, local media and sources said, although shale gas targets are being maintained. Sinopec Corp and PetroChina have restricted production at two major conventional fields - Puguang and Anyue - in the Sichuan gas basin, as a cooling economy curbs fuel use by industries like chemical plants and glass and ceramics makers. By end-August, Sinopec had closed 12 wells at Puguang, one of the country's largest with annual production capacity of 12 billion cubic metres (bcm), and planned to shut in another 15 wells. Sinopec said Puguang was pumping at a daily commercial rate of 10 million cubic metres, which was half the amount at the start of the year, as reported by the paper. The production loss was equivalent to roughly 3 percent of national output. Puguang is competing with rising production at the Fuling shale gas project, China's first and largest commercial shale discovery, as well as at the nearby conventional Yuanba gas field. Petrochina has also capped production at the Moxi block of the Anyue field, which is among the country's largest gas reservoirs tapped onshore in recent years. Data showed China's domestic gas output rose 2.6 percent in the first seven months of 2015, down from 6.9 percent annual growth in 2014, and a far cry from average double-digit growth over the past decade. Despite the reductions at conventional fields, the firms said they remain on track to meet a government-set shale gas target this year, as Beijing tries to replicate the shale boom in the United States. Hundreds of shale gas wells are planned in Sichuan basin this year to build an annual production capacity of about 7.6 bcm by year-end, or roughly 6 percent of China's estimated gas output this year. (www.reuters.com)

September 10, 2015. US hydrocarbon producer Anadarko plans to invest US$30 mn in exploration drilling off the coast of Ivory Coast within the next three years. The company has signed an agreement with the government for a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) on deepwater block CI-527 in which it holds 90% (10% Petroci); Anadarko is also operating three other deepwater blocks, namely CI-529, CI-528 et CI-103. (www.enerdata.net)

September 9, 2015. Saudi Arabia's crude oil production fell slightly by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, but still maintained historically high output levels in line with a strategy of defending market share. The world's top oil exporter pumped 10.26 million bpd in August, while crude supplied to the market was at 10.18 million bpd, down by about 78,000 bpd from July. The kingdom's level of crude production was likely to stay around current levels in the fourth quarter as a decline in domestic crude burning for electricity would be offset by rising global demand. Saudi Arabia's crude production for July stood at 10.36 million bpd, according to OPEC. The United Arab Emirates' crude production in August was 3.026 million bpd, and Kuwait's output was 2.890 million bpd. (www.reuters.com)

September 9, 2015. Investment in U.K. North Sea oil and gas projects could drop as much as 80 percent by 2017 as the collapse in oil prices forces the industry to cut back. Capital investment across the industry of 14.8 billion pounds ($22.8 billion) last year will probably decline by 2 billion to 4 billion pounds annually to 2017, Oil & Gas U.K., an industry lobby group, said in its annual economic report. The decline in crude prices of more than 50 percent over the past year has forced the oil industry to review projects and reduce operating costs. The U.K. North Sea is one of the world’s most expensive areas to operate and resources that were first tapped in the 1960s are depleted. The industry has become more efficient as prices declined, leading to an estimated 22 percent cut in the cost of operating existing assets by the end of next year, the report said. Average operating cost per barrel across all fields will fall from about $26 a barrel this year to $23 by the end of 2016. Oil output from the North Sea rose in 2014 and is expected to rise again this year, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), as projects approved when prices were above $100 a barrel come online. The current gains are a temporary relief for an industry facing long-term decline and the IEA expects output to fall again in 2016. The U.K. has recently set up an oil regulator, the Oil & Gas Authority, to lay out a plan for improving the competitiveness of the North Sea. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 15, 2015. Moroccan oil refining company SAMIR (Société Anonyme Marocaine et Italienne de Raffinage) plans to increase its capital by MAD 10bn (US$1.04 bn) in an attempt to solve its financial difficulties. The company had more than MAD 24bn (US$2.5 bn) of debts at the end of 2014, a cash-flow deficit of MAD 11bn (US$1.14 bn) and its bank accounts have been seized by the tax administration due to a MD 13bn (US$1.3bn) claim. SAMIR has decided to halt operations at its 200,000 bbl/d Mohammedia refinery. (www.enerdata.net)

September 14, 2015. Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina said it plans to restart production at the troubled Trans Pacific Petrochemicals Indotama (TPPI) refinery early next month once administrative matters are resolved. The multi-billion dollar refinery in Tuban, East Java, came online in 1994, but has stopped output several times since then due to legal, financial and other issues. The planned restart is in line with Indonesia's push to upgrade its existing refineries and build new ones with a target to double fuel output by 2023 and cut down on expensive imports. The TPPI refinery's initial output after the restart is expected to be around 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) of either petrochemicals or fuel, ramping up to 50,000-55,000 bpd later, Pertamina said. As the complex includes a 100,000 bpd condensate splitter that can process naphtha or condensate, its restart could stoke demand for both the light product and super light crude. Indonesia's fuel needs are rising 5 percent a year from around 1.6 million bpd, of which Pertamina supplies nearly half from its six domestic refineries. The country is currently the top importer of gasoline and diesel in Asia. The state energy firm targets to build three new refineries and upgrade four existing facilities locally, increasing domestic capacity to 2.3 million barrels of crude per day from 1 million barrels at present. Pertamina said it expects its Cilacap RFCC unit to commence commercial operation in October, several months behind an earlier target. (af.reuters.com)

September 14, 2015. U.S. commercial crude stocks are still close to their highest levels in over 80 years, but operational requirements prevent refineries filling on-site storage facilities to their maximum capacity. An increasing proportion of U.S. crude oil stocks is held in off-site tank farms, some owned or leased by refiners themselves, but many owned or leased by marketers and traders. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which surveys storage capacity every six months, total crude in storage at the end of March was 475 million barrels, and the country had capacity to store up to 660 million. Only 182 million barrels of storage capacity, around 28 percent, was on site at oil refineries. The rest was off site at tank farms or in pipelines, railroad tank cars, barges and oilfield tanks. Most of the crude at refineries and tank farms is stored in giant cylindrical tanks with a roof that floats directly on the surface of the oil. Storage tanks need to be kept filled to a minimum of around 20 percent to support the roof and operate the pipes and other equipment. Adjusted for these tank bottoms, the effective or “working” capacity of refinery storage tanks was 150 million barrels, according to the EIA. But at the end of March, U.S. refineries were storing only 104 million barrels, equivalent to just 69 percent of their maximum working capacity and 57 percent of the total storage volume. (www.reuters.com)

September 13, 2015. China’s crude processing rose as strong gasoline demand encouraged higher refinery output and amid a boost in the country’s oil product exports. Refiners processed 44.34 million metric tons of crude in August, up 6.5 percent from the same month last year, data from the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. That’s about 10.48 million barrels a day, 1.8 percent higher than July and the most since June’s record 10.59 million barrels a day. China’s apparent gasoline consumption was near a record high in July at 2.73 million barrels a day, up 17 percent from a year earlier, government data showed. Robust demand of the motor fuel has been supporting Chinese and broader Asian refining margins, Energy Aspects, a researcher, said in report this month. The increase in refining runs in August also coincided with a jump in China’s net-exports of oil products to the highest since October, signaling weakening domestic demand for other fuels such as diesel. The country’s industrial output rose 6.1 percent last month from a year earlier, the NBS said, below the 6.5 percent median estimate of economists surveyed. China produced 18.17 million tons of crude oil and 10.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas last month, data show. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 9, 2015. Poland's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Baltic Sea will be ready for commercial exploitation in the second quarter of 2016, Polskie LNG said. The state-run company which is responsible for the project said that Poland and the construction consortium led by Italy's Saipem signed an annex to the contract, which said the construction would be completed this year. Polskie LNG also said that the contractor's fee has not been changed and still amounts to 2.4 billion zlotys ($635.8 million). (af.reuters.com)

September 15, 2015. France's Total, an investor in Ugandan oilfields, said it is considering a pipeline through Tanzania as a possible way to export Ugandan oil, challenging Uganda's proposal of a Kenyan route which has raised some security concerns. Kenya and Uganda announced a decision to link Uganda to Kenyan oil finds and then to Kenya's north Lamu coast, a move that had been seen as helping oil firms make their investment decisions. Experts say that linking Kenyan and Ugandan fields could prove cheaper as all developers would share one pipeline. But the northern Kenyan route has also raised security concerns as it lies near Somalia, from where Islamist militants have launched attacks on Kenya. One alternative idea has been for a pipeline further south in Kenya that would end in the port of Mombasa, while another route would run from Uganda to neighbouring Tanzania. (www.reuters.com)

September 15, 2015. Turkmenistan, keen to diversify its natural gas exports, will start building a long-delayed, $10 billion gas pipeline to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan in early December, Turkmen government said. The Central Asian country holds the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves but remains dependent on gas exports to China after Russia cut back gas imports in the past few years. The TAPI project, supported by the United States and the Asian Development Bank, has been touted by Turkmenistan since the 1990s. But starting work on the pipeline has been delayed because of the problem of crossing Afghanistan. The pipeline will allow Turkmenistan to find new consumers in Asia and cut its dependence China, which buys 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually. Russia, which imported more than 40 bcm of Turkmen gas in 2008, will buy no more than 4 bcm this year. Moscow says the development of gas fields elsewhere has made purchases of Turkmen gas unprofitable. Neighbouring Iran also buys small volumes of Turkmen gas. State gas monopoly Turkmengas was selected in August to lead the TAPI pipeline consortium, named after the countries which it is designed to cross. Turkmengas will be joined by international energy companies at a later stage. It is expected that the construction of the pipeline will take three years. The pipeline is designed to last for 30 years. The 1,735 kilometre pipeline, with a proposed annual capacity of 33 bcm of gas, will run more than 700 km across Afghanistan on its way to Pakistan and India. Turkmenistan plans to fill the pipeline with gas from its mammoth Galkynysh field, the world's second-largest reservoir of natural gas. (www.reuters.com)

September 14, 2015. Iraq aims to export a record volume of Basra crude from its southern terminals in October as it ramps up production, adding to a global oil supply glut. The oil surplus combined with weakening demand has depressed global crude prices and pitted members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) against each other in a battle for market share. Iraq, the largest OPEC producer after Saudi Arabia, plans to export 3.68 million barrels per day (bpd) of Basra crude, traders said, citing a preliminary loading program. The volume, if realized, would beat a previous monthly record of 3.064 million bpd set in July. Iraq's decision to split its output into two grades, Basra Heavy and Basra Light, resolved quality issues, enabling the producer to ramp up output. However, the country tends to allocate more volumes than it can supply each month to avoid disrupting production as it has limited storage capacity to keep excess oil. Iraq is unlikely to export more than 2.35 million bpd of Basra Light in October while the volume of Basra Heavy would not exceed 850,000 bpd. Some of the October cargoes are also expected to be lifted in November instead. (www.reuters.com)

September 15, 2015. BP Plc asked federal regulators to reverse an administrative judge’s ruling that it had manipulated natural gas markets in Texas in 2008. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) brought a case against London-based BP in August 2013. Traders at BP’s Southeast natural gas desk were accused of a scheme to lower next-day, fixed-price natural gas prices at the Houston Ship Channel hub from Sept. 18 through Nov. 30, 2008, to boost physical and financial bets. Agency staff proposed a $28 million penalty against BP. BP has contested claims that its trading and transportation around the Houston Ship Channel for those 83 days was manipulative, the company said in the appeal. FERC Administrative Law Judge Carmen Cintron in Washington affirmed the agency staff’s findings that the BP traders engaged in a manipulative scheme in a non-binding ruling issued Aug. 13. The judge’s decision will be voted on by FERC’s five-member commission, which will issue a final ruling on the case. BP can appeal a final order to a federal court. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 15, 2015. The Canadian energy regulator National Energy Board (NEB) has granted Repsol's subsidiary Saint John LNG Development a 25-year export licence from its under-utilised Canaport LNG import terminal in New Brunswick. The company has been allowed to import as much as 312 bcf/year (8.8 bcm/year) of gas by pipeline from the United States, convert it into 6 Mt/year of LNG at a new liquefaction terminal and to export it. The project is estimated to cost US$2-4 bn. (www.enerdata.net)

September 15, 2015. Mexico will require royalty payments of 30 to 36 percent for companies that win rights to produce oil in the nine shallow-water fields up for auction this month, the country’s finance ministry said. Companies that win production sharing contracts to drill in the Gulf of Mexico will have to pay a rate that varies depending on the obligation of each field. Mexico won’t require companies to pay an additional royalty for the investment that goes into production and development of each field, known as the work program. The announcement of the minimum financial requirements prior to the awarding of the contracts is one of several adjustments made by the Mexican government to attract more bids than in July, when only two of 14 blocks were awarded to private companies. In the country’s first auction of oil blocks to private companies, Mexico announced the required financial terms on the day of the bidding, resulting in several offers falling short of the minimums set by the government. Mexico has modified the bidding process to encourage more participation from private companies after terms of the first auction were thought to be “very rigid,” according to National Hydrocarbons Commissioner Juan Carlos Zepeda. The Hydrocarbons Commission lowered the financial guarantee required to bid on the fields to $1 billion from $6 billion to respond to current market conditions and the more than 50 percent slide in international crude prices, Zepeda said. Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell has said the government will consider it a success if 30 to 50 percent of the areas are sold in the country’s first round bidding process, which will also include onshore and deep water auctions. Chevron Corp, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and CNOOC International Ltd are among the 20 companies qualified to bid on Sept. 30. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 14, 2015. Kuwait and Iran have cut their crude oil prices to Asia to multi-year lows against top exporter Saudi Arabia as the battle for market share among producers pits member of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) against each other. Kuwait, one of the lowest-cost producers, cut its October price to Asia by 60 cents compared with the previous month, undercutting a reduction for a similar Saudi grade. This pulled Kuwaiti oil to its biggest discount to Saudi crude in over a decade, at 65 cents a barrel. Iran cut the quarterly price differential for its flagship light crude against Saudi's Arab Light to the lowest in three years. The price cuts come as Asia's economies slow and amid discussions for next year's supplies between producers and refiners. Also, Iran is looking to elbow its way back into its previous market share once sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program are lifted, expected by the middle of next year. The discounts highlight that there is not only a battle for market share between OPEC and other exporters such as Russia and North America, but also within the Middle East. The cuts are also a response to expensive Oman and Dubai crudes, which are seen to have failed to reflect ballooning global oversupply. Middle East producers from OPEC have pledged to maintain high output in a fight to defend market share against rising competition. So far, they have stuck to their decision despite calls by other OPEC members such as Venezuela for the Middle East to cut excessive output. (www.reuters.com)

September 14, 2015. North Dakota's oil regulators said they may allow more wells to be temporarily abandoned, a step that would permit producers to delay fracking beyond the typical one-year window and prevent even more crude from flooding onto global markets. The change would fuel massive savings for oil producers in the state who have amassed a backlog of almost 1,000 wells that have been drilled but not completed with processes needed to get the oil flowing. The delays are designed solely to ride out the roughly 50 percent drop in crude prices since last year. Any regulatory change in North Dakota also would assuage market concerns about supply continuing to outstrip demand at a time when Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members show little sign of curbing their own output. (www.reuters.com)

September 11, 2015. Goldman Sachs said it expects oil prices to tumble further this year on rising OPEC production and recovering non-OPEC supply, which is expected to outstrip demand. Oil prices have declined sharply over the past month to our $45 per barrel WTI Fall forecast. While this decline was precipitated by macro concerns, it was warranted in our view by weak fundamentals, a report from the influential Wall Street firm said. The bank cited rising OPEC production and economic concerns associated with China as the main reasons that triggered the downward revision in price forecasts. The bank said the oil market was more oversupplied than it had expected and that it forecasts the surplus to persist in 2016. The U.S. investment bank cut its 2016 WTI forecast to $45 a barrel from $57 and expects a 2015 WTI average price of $48.1 per barrel. Its prior forecast was $52. Goldman also trimmed its average 2015 Brent price forecast to $53.7 per barrel from $58.2 and its 2016 forecast to $49.5 a barrel from $62. More than 10 major international financial institutions have cut their oil price forecasts over the last month citing weak market fundamentals and the recent slowdown in the Chinese economy. Crude oil prices fell as a stronger dollar, Saudi Arabia's dismissal of a producer summit and a lower price forecast by Goldman Sachs weighed, with prices headed for a weekly loss despite rallying in the previous session. (www.reuters.com)

September 11, 2015. Lower oil prices will force non-OPEC producers including the United States (US) to cut output by the steepest rate in more than two decades next year, rebalancing an oversupplied oil market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The IEA, which advises the world's biggest economies on energy policy, said global oil demand was poised to climb to a five-year high this year thanks to lower prices. It steeply revised its outlook for demand for oil from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The report is one of the most bullish for OPEC since the group shocked markets last year by deciding against cutting production, choosing to fight for market share and depress the output of higher-cost producers such as the United States. The projected drop in output would be the largest since 1992, when non-OPEC supply contracted by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from the previous year, with the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The IEA said it now expected U.S. light, tight oil production to shrink by 0.4 million bpd next year after expanding by a record 1.7 million bpd in 2014. Meanwhile, global oil demand growth is expected to climb to a five-year high of 1.7 million bpd or 1.8 percent in 2015, before moderating to a still-above-trend 1.4 million in 2016 - 0.2 million more than in the previous IEA report. In 2014, growth stood at a five-year low of 0.8 million bpd. As a result, the world would need much more crude from OPEC, the IEA said. It estimated that the group would need to pump around 31.3 million bpd in 2016 - 0.5 million bpd more than the forecast in the previous IEA report - to balance the market. In the second half of 2016, OPEC would need to pump some 32 million bpd - the first time the world would require more oil than the group currently produces. OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, has been pumping much more oil than the market needed over the past year, resulting in global oversupply and a price crash. (www.reuters.com)

September 9, 2015. The Obama administration has thrust itself into the debate over Israel’s contentious natural gas policy, calling and texting lawmakers to support a proposal that would benefit an American company. Some legislators disapprove of what they see as a double standard. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has come up against fierce resistance to its proposed regulation for offshore fields that could power the nation for decades. The U.S. administration, which has been critical of the Israeli leader’s efforts to sway Congress against the Iran nuclear deal, has entered the fray in support of Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., the lead partner in the consortium developing the two largest reserves. Noble and Israeli partners headed by Delek Group Ltd. have invested $3 billion in the exploration and development of the Tamar and Leviathan fields. They say they’ve been unfairly targeted by a populist campaign that’s discouraging more foreign companies from investing in Israeli gas. Egypt’s recent discovery of an offshore field about the size of Tamar and Leviathan combined has made movement on Israel’s regulatory front all the more urgent for its investors. The two Israeli reserves contain a combined 32.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to Delek data. Israel plans to export 40 percent. Netanyahu’s campaign to get the plan approved has been complicated by antitrust efforts to quash it and his own politically weakened position. Netanyahu’s dream for Israel to become a gas exporter has become a political nightmare. The plan suffered another setback when the government, lacking enough support in parliament, was forced to cancel a crucial vote that would have removed the remaining obstacle. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 9, 2015. Argentina’s ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli obtained the support of the governors of oil-producing provinces ahead of Oct. 25 elections at a summit in Neuquen province, the home of the Belgium-sized shale deposit Vaca Muerta. Scioli, his vice presidential candidate Carlos Zannini and governors of nine out of 10 oil provinces signed a document to support the continuity of energy policies if he leads the next government starting Dec. 10. The document includes pledges to keep the benefits for shale producers, offshore drilling projects as well as conventional production in a bid to curb energy imports. The pledge of support from governors including Neuquen and Chubut province, is a key sign of support from fellow Peronists and provincial parties in Scioli’s attempt at succeeding President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Since seizing YPF from Spain’s Repsol SA in 2012, the government has set the domestic price for oil at $77 a barrel and natural gas prices well above international levels to stimulate investment and production. (www.bloomberg.com)

 [INTERNATIONAL: POWER]

September 15, 2015. Qatar's Nebras Power has signed an agreement with Indonesian utility PT PLN (Persero) to study the feasibility of building a power plant, it said. Plans call for the natural gas-fired plant to produce 500 MW of electricity and be commercially operational by 2019, Nebras said. As part of the agreement, the companies will also study the feasibility for constructing a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for liquefying natural gas to supply to the plant, which aims to cover part of the electricity needs of North Sumatra, it said. (www.arabianbusiness.com)

September 15, 2015. Kenya Power plans to connect 6.9 million Kenyans to the national grid by the end of next year financed by 29.2 billion shillings from the African Development Bank. This is under the last mile connectivity project that is expected to start after the African Development Bank board approves the deal. Phase one which is to cost Ksh 13.5 billion is set to begin in by end month. Phase two that targets to connect 310,000 households is also set to kick off by March next year at a tune of Ksh 15.7 billion in which the African Development Bank will finance 87.4% and government 12.6%. When the two projects are completed next year, the number of electricity customers would increase to 6.9 million from the current 3.9 million. Already, construction of Kenya and Tanzania  570km 400kv Transmission line between Suswa and Arusha which the African Development Bank is also financing at a tune of KSH 35 billion is to commence early next year. High power connection fees has for decades held back the country’s dream to ensure every household has electricity, which has seen some areas lag behind in development. It is this year that the government made a bold announcement of reducing electricity connection charges to Ksh 15,000 from as high of Ksh. 75,000. (www.kbc.co.ke)

September 15, 2015. Colombia's power transmission company EEB plans to double its electricity transmission network by 2020, extending its 230 kV grid from the current 1,505 km to 2,360 km by 2020 and by adding 720 km of 500 kV lines. The company is currently investing US$1 bn in ten projects, including the construction of a 500 kV substation and the strengthening of transmission lines in south-western Colombia. EEB is also investing US$171 mn in a 500 kV transmission line and related substation to evacuate power from the Sogamoso hydropower plant in the Santander department. (www.enerdata.net)

September 9, 2015. The European Commission (EC) and US Department of Justice  have approved General Electric’s (GE) proposed deal to acquire power generation and transmission assets of Alstom for €12.5bn ($13.9 bn). With the approval, the transaction, which already secured around 20 approvals, entered into final phase. The deal could leave only two major players in the heavy duty market, including the merged entity and Germany's Siemens, which could lead to higher prices and electricity cost. (utilitiesnetwork.energy-business-review.com)

September 14, 2015. China has ordered nationwide safety checks on nuclear facilities, weeks after 173 people died in deadly explosions at a Tianjin warehouse in the country's worst industrial disaster in years. The safety checks will proceed until November to ensure nuclear facilities, nuclear equipment makers and uranium ore mines are free of safety hazards, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. China currently has more than 50 nuclear power generating units in operation or under construction. (zeenews.india.com)

September 9, 2015. A federal appeals court has refused to halt the Obama administration's new clean air standards for power plants while opponents wage a legal challenge. The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., rejected an emergency request from 15 states and Peabody Energy Corp. to temporarily block the sweeping plan that would require states to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants. West Virginia and other coal-reliant states have been leading opposition to the plan, which would mandate a 32 percent cut in emissions nationwide by 2030. The Environmental Protection Agency and the White House have said they believe the limits are legal and rejected an earlier request to put them on hold. (news.yahoo.com)

 [RENEWABLE ENERGY / CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS]

September 15, 2015. The world is well aware of the challenge of climate change and needs to be made aware about the principle of climate justice, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said. Modi met the heads of delegations of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), for a two-day meeting in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, scheduled later this year. Modi said there was a need to counter the atmosphere being created by certain groups, including those in developing countries, that development and growth were enemies of the environment - and all those who pursue development and growth were therefore guilty. He said that the world needs to be convinced that developing countries were not enemies of environment. Modi suggested that there should be a common school syllabus on environmental subjects across the world, both in developed and developing countries, so that the younger generation grows up with common goals in the battle against climate change. He laid emphasis on the need for the developed world to fulfil its commitments on sharing clean technology, and providing financial assistance to help the developing world combat climate change while also simultaneously meeting its legitimate development aspirations. The prime minister said that the developed countries should have targets for emission cuts and developing countries should work on initiatives towards renewable energy and green buildings, while also calling for a change in lifestyle to reduce energy consumption. He said India stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the LMDCs on climate issues. (www.newkerala.com)

September 15, 2015. The Indian government is expecting a whopping ` 36,000 crores investment in green energy corridors across the country. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Secretary Upendra Tripathi said the Ministry would send ` 1,074 crores to Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan for setting up of green energy corridors. The Ministry would evolve "A New Solar or Renewable Zone Policy in which the land acquisition would be effectively done by developers in consensus with farmers and that the Centre will perform the role of a third party in such process," he said. (www.businessinsider.in)

September 15, 2015. Power and automation technology firm ABB India has won orders worth around ` 119 crore to provide electrification, automation and substation solutions for solar power plants in the country. Spread across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, these projects will connect more than 850 MW of solar energy to the grid and will be among the biggest solar projects worldwide, the company said. The most significant of these projects is Adani Group's 648 MW solar plant in Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu. (profit.ndtv.com)

September 14, 2015. Climate change would be in focus at the India-Africa Forum Summit this October with India proposing that the 54 African countries join a Solar Group of nations to tap the sun’s rays for energy while forming another grouping with the coastal countries to harness ocean wave energy. As the October 26-30 mega diplomatic event draws near, officials are busy working on the details of the proposed Solar Group, that will include around 100 countries situated between the two tropics — of Cancer and Capricorn. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been stressing on boosting the production of solar energy, which he has described as the ultimate solution to India’s energy problem. India has set an ambitious target to generate 100 GW of electricity from solar energy by 2022. While the UN climate conference in Paris is slated for December, India will be looking at long-term cooperation with the African countries in sustainable development. The Solar Group will comprise countries like India that could tide over their perennial energy needs by making optimum use of their abundant sunshine — and the whole of the African continent falls in this category. Africa, whose economic growth rate has shown remarkable resilience despite the global slowdown and is blessed with abundant natural resources, minerals and fossil fuels, is struggling with a crippling power crisis. According to the International Energy Agency, some 622 million people in Africa — or around half the population — are without electricity. While the Solar Group is a mega concept, India has been helping to light up African homes using solar energy over the years through its novel concept of Solar Grandmothers. India has, through the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan, trained many African women from rural areas to become solar engineers and set up solar electricity units and maintain them. The women, when they return home, impart the knowledge to others, thus helping bring solar lighting to distant homes in Africa. The solar grandmother project — fully funded by the government of India — has been one of India’s major success stories in developmental assistance in Africa. The Barefoot College, started by social activist and educator Bunker Roy in 1971, has set up several solar grandmother training centres in Africa. (www.navhindtimes.in)

September 13, 2015. A Pune-based entrepreneur has developed a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) generator fueled by biogas that can be used for domestic as well as commercial purposes. Siddharth Mayur, founder president of h2e Power Systems Inc, developed the generator using biogas produced by the breakdown of organic material like waste from fields in absence of oxygen. A fuel cell is equivalent to planting 500 trees per farmer per year. Power generation through fuel cell is cheaper than that of Tata and Reliance, he claims. The company has for manufactured fuel cell of 10KW to 500 KW capacity. A 1 KW power generator costs ` 2.5 lakh. A three-bedroom house normally consume 15 to 16 units per day and 1 KW fuel cell produces 24 unit per day. SOFC technology combines hydrogen and oxygen in an electro-chemical reaction to generate electricity, with the only by-products being water vapour, heat and a modest amount of carbon dioxide. Hydrogen can be supplied from hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas, which is widely available for domestic and public buildings. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 12, 2015. The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), a global forum studying climate change, recommended that there should be zero emission of greenhouse gases by 2100 to avoid further rise in temperature, according to R.S. Sawant, Training Superintendent and Chairman, Public Awareness Committee, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, Nuclear Power Corporation of India limited. He said currently the largest proportion of power generated in India is by burning of carbon-based fuels (fossil fuels), which emits green house gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. To reduce emission of green house gases, it was essential to have a reliable alternate source of energy, he said. (www.thehindu.com)

September 10, 2015. Delhi Power Minister Satyendra Jain released a Delhi Solar Energy Policy 2015 draft aimed at generating 1,000 MW solar power in the next five years. The minister said a tender for 5 MW solar power generation had been floated. The draft policy outlines a combination of regulations, mandates, incentives, and tax breaks for the growth of roof-top solar power in the capital. The draft policy promotes net metering for all solar plants above 1 kW based on the net metering regulations issued by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission in 2014. The policy mandates the deployment of solar plants on all government-owned roof-tops in the next five years and requires DISCOMS to meet at least 75 percent of their solar renewable purchase obligation within Delhi. It also provides a generation-based incentive of ` 2 per solar energy unit in the domestic segment for three years. (www.business-standard.com)

September 9, 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government adopted a policy for India’s offshore wind industry, paving the way for developments as much as 200 nautical miles into the surrounding seas. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the National Institute of Wind Energy were authorized to start allocating blocks offshore for wind developments, according to the government. The decision is part of Modi’s effort to tap cleaner forms of energy, balancing the need to extend power to rural communities against pressure from the United Nations to curb pollution as part of a global deal on climate change. The rules put in place a framework of regulation developers need to start planning projects, though the high cost of installing turbines in the water may limit the spread of the technology for now. The program will allow developments in India’s exclusive economic zone. It will also allow research work in Indian waters. India currently has 23 GW of onshore wind capacity, which the government plan to expand to 60 GW, part of a target to get 175 GW of clean energy by 2022. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 9, 2015. Renewable energy firm SunEdison said it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu (TN) government to develop 2 GW of wind and solar power projects in the state in the next five years. The 2 GW are part of SunEdison's larger plan to develop 15.2 GW of renewable energy in the country by 2022. SunEdison is a global renewable energy development company and is transforming the way energy is generated, distributed, and owned around the world. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

September 15, 2015. The California assembly has passed a bill to raise the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) from 33% by 2020 to 50% by 2030. Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) impose a minimum production from renewable sources. By 2020, California's power utilities are expected to meet 45% of their RPS requirements with solar power. The bill requires a doubling of 2030 energy efficiency targets for building; however, the proposal to halve the consumption of petroleum by cars and trucks was rejected. (www.enerdata.net)

September 15, 2015. The Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) is seeking bidders for the development of the Phase III of its US$3.3 bn Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar power projects in the United Arab Emirates. The project, developed on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, is developed in three phases, with the first one of 13 MW commissioned in 2013. The second phase of 200 MW will be commissioned by 2017. The third phase is expected in 2018. In the long term (by 2030), the park's capacity could be raised to 3,000 MW. Dubai aims to raise the share of renewable energies in its power mix to 7% by 2020 and 15% by 2030. The Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 seeks to diversify energy sources to include 71% from natural gas, 15% from solar energy, 7% from clean coal, and 7% from nuclear power. (www.enerdata.net)         

September 12, 2015. Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif said that Quaid-e-Azam solar power plant’s average output is 18.5 MW and cost of plant is ` 13 billion. Solar power is the cheapest source of production of electricity, he said. Production of electricity decreases during night time while increasing at day time hours, he said. The average output of solar projects is 19 MW worldwide. He said that in Punjab there are lesser opportunities to build hydroelectric power stations while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir there are more locations. He said that multiple projects are being setup to counter the energy crisis. (dunyanews.tv)

September 11, 2015. BHP Billiton has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saskatchewan-based electricity provider, SaskPower to jointly accelerate development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to boost coal demand. As per the deal, the partners will launch a global knowledge centre in a bid to promote research and reduce the cost and risk related to the new CCS projects. The new center will use the data, information and lessons learned from the SaskPower's $1.4 bn CCS project, an addition to the Boundary Dam power plant near Estevan, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Boundary Dam CCS Project rebuilt a coal-fired generation unit with carbon capture technology to make technical, environmental and economic case for the continued use of coal for power generation with low emission. The coal-fired generation unit with carbon capture technology was developed last year by SaskPower to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1 million tons per year, which amounts to about 90% of the Boundary Dam power plant's emissions. The Boundary Dam CCS project is designed to captures CO₂ emissions and transports the gas through a steel pipeline into storage deep underground. The MoU comes in line with BHP's plan to promote usage of fossil fuels to generate cleaner power and also to promote the renewable power technologies. (fossilfuel.energy-business-review.com)

September 11, 2015. Limiting fossil-fuel supplies to combat climate change may be more attractive for governments than trying to negotiate a global emissions cap, according to Andy Howard, an adviser to Critical Resource Strategy & Analysis Ltd. Nations producing coal, oil and natural gas could protect revenue by applying “supply-side discipline” such as handing out fewer drilling licenses, Howard said. London-based commodities consultant Critical Resource set up a panel headed by former BP Plc chief executive officer John Browne to advise the fossil-fuel industry on United Nations climate talks. The heads of Europe’s largest oil and gas companies in June called on governments to put a price on carbon at the United Nations climate summit in December as part of efforts to limit greenhouse-gas emissions. Talks to reach a global agreement in Paris may fail partly due to a lack of progress on aid to help poorer countries deal with the consequences of climate change, French President Francois Hollande said. Capping emissions through carbon markets, where companies trade government-issued rights to release greenhouse gases, may be difficult as current low prices won’t be enough to compensate nations that adopt clean energy, Howard said. President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan gives U.S. states the option to set up their own markets to cut emissions. China may start a national trading program in 2016. China and India could use money supplied through institutions such as the Green Climate Fund, which directs funds from developed to developing nations, to embrace solar technology, Howard said. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 10, 2015. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has more investments in renewable energy than in thermal power generation for the first time. The London-based development bank invested € 4 billion ($4.5 billion) in renewable energy generation between 2006 and 2014, compared with € 3.65 billion for thermal power. About 34 percent of its total investments in 2014 were in sustainable energy and climate change projects, up from 15 percent in 2005. The institution poured € 16.4 billion into this industry between 2006 and 2014 and intends to bring sustainable energy financing into the mainstream through the bank’s projects. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 10, 2015. Trina Solar Ltd., the world’s biggest supplier of photovoltaic panels, said it’s suffering delays in subsidy payments from facilities it operates in China and that it’s concerned the issue will damage the industry. China’s wind and solar developers are getting much less than they anticipated in the handouts because of complicated application procedures and a mismatch between incentive levels and surcharges slapped onto electricity bills to fund the subsidies. The issue, left to continue, could constrain the nation’s capacity to generate power from nonpolluting sources and eat into cash flows of developers. China has poured huge amounts of money into clean forms of power generation, vowing by 2030 to get 20 percent of its energy from renewables and nuclear. Investment in China’s renewables industry rose 15 percent from a year ago to almost $28 billion in the second quarter this year. That’s more than double level in the US. China is targeting 100 GW of solar power by 2020, triple the 33 GW it had at the end of 2014, data shows. Both the central and local governments have promised various subsidies to help achieve the target, spurring companies including Trina and JinkoSolar Holding Co. to invest more in building their own power projects. The move also helped panel producers to broaden sources of revenue and soak up some of the manufacturing capacity. Trina operated about 200 MW of solar farms at the end of 2014 and saw another 700 to 800 MW coming on stream by the end of this year. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 10, 2015. Kuwait signed a contract worth 116 million dinars ($385 million) with Spain’s TSK Group for a 50 MW solar energy project as part of its renewable energy drive. The oil-rich Gulf state has a multi-billion-dollar plan to meet 15 percent of power demand from renewables by 2030. Electricity and Water Minister Ahmad Al- Jassar said the target is to produce 4,500 MW from solar and wind energy by 2030 when demand is expected to rise to 30,000 MW from the current 12,000 MW. The latest project is due to start production in December 2017, Salem Al- Hajraf, head of energy research at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, said. Two smaller projects of 10 MW each, which were signed earlier, are expected to come on stream in May and July next year, Hajraf said. The first three projects have been funded by the government but future ones will be awarded to the private sector as Build- Operate-Transfer schemes, he said. Production is expected to reach at least 2,000 MW by 2025, Hajraf said. (news.kuwaittimes.net)

September 9, 2015. Acciona Energía and its partners have commissioned the 138 MW Gouda wind power plant in the municipality of Drakenstein around 100km north-west of Cape Town, South Africa. The project features 46 wind turbines of Acciona, which is capable of generating around 423GWh of clean electricity per year, meeting energy requirement of 200,000 South African households. Expected to eliminate 406 million tons of CO₂ emissions, the power plant is said to be the Acciona's first wind farm in the country. Acciona also operates 94.3MWp Sishen photovoltaic plant in the country since 2014. The Gouda and Sishen projects secured the Department of Energy approval in the second round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) which intends at increasing the renewable energy use in the South African energy mix. The company plans to bid in the next rounds of the REIPPPP in an effort to boost its activity and implement other renewable projects in South Africa. (wind.energy-business-review.com)

September 9, 2015. The U.K. government took another step toward reducing the support it pays for solar energy by tightening rules on when developers can lock in electricity prices. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said that starting Oct. 1, companies can no longer “pre-accredit” for feed-in tariffs, the rates paid for power sold to the grid. Under the current system, developers can nail down a price during the planning stage for new projects. Now it will be determined when the plant begins working. The Solar Trade Association said the move will damage the industry by leaving developers vulnerable to any reduction in the subsidy rate that happens during construction. With less certainty on rates, developers will be less able to finance new projects, the group said. The U.K., which has become among the most lucrative solar markets in Europe, in part due to government support, wants to keep a boom in installations from driving up electricity bills. Payouts for renewable energy are due to exceed the Treasury’s budget even after subsidy cuts that were announced in July. (www.bloomberg.com)

September 9, 2015. Suncor Energy Inc. expects greenhouse-gas emissions from its operations to increase 28 percent in five years as it expands oil-sands production. Emissions including carbon dioxide will rise to about 26.2 million metric tons in 2019, from 20.5 million last year, the company said. Emissions in 2014 declined 0.3 percent to 20.5 million tons, a level little changed since 2012. Suncor and other oil-sands producers have struggled to lower their carbon emissions as they expand production with new bitumen mines and in-ground steaming operations that use natural gas to process the thick fossil fuel. Suncor is building its C$13 billion ($9.8 billion) Fort Hills mine with production expected to begin in 2017. Alberta, home to Canada’s oil companies, plans to introduce a new climate strategy before the end of the year and is considering all the options to help reduce emissions, Environment Minister Shannon Phillips has said. The oil sands are Canada’s fastest-growing source of the climate-changing gas and Alberta is the country’s largest emitter. (www.bloomberg.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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