India's Power Sector

The Technology & Economic Forum is a venue to discuss issues pertaining to Technological and Economic developments in India. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
Mort Walker
BRF Oldie
Posts: 10033
Joined: 31 May 2004 11:31
Location: The rings around Uranus.

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Mort Walker »

Rishirishi wrote: Solar panels only last for 25years. However the rest of the infrastructure (stands, inverters , cables etc last much longer). Solar has little running costs. Once the investment is made, just harvest returns. It is an exellent choice for farmers in dry areas. Inflation eats up much of the costs. Power tarifs may go up, but the costs stays constant and over time, diminish to nothing.
Inverters don’t last forever and most likely you would be changing them out in 20 years. The capacitors will degrade and fail reducing efficiency. Better we switch to DC based compressors and motors to eliminate the need for lots of inverters.
disha
BR Mainsite Crew
Posts: 8243
Joined: 03 Dec 2006 04:17
Location: gaganaviharin

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by disha »

Rishirishi wrote:
Solar panels only last for 25years. However the rest of the infrastructure (stands, inverters , cables etc last much longer). Solar has little running costs. Once the investment is made, just harvest returns. It is an exellent choice for farmers in dry areas. Inflation eats up much of the costs. Power tarifs may go up, but the costs stays constant and over time, diminish to nothing.
None of the above is true.

1. Stands, inverters and cables - all break down. Getting inverters to last beyond 10 years is a challenge. Infact they are warranted only for 5 years and any extension is extra cost.

So to say it has little running costs is a misnomer. All of the solar inverters need to be refurbished at least twice through the solar panel lifecycle

The rest do require regular maintenance.

2. All Solar installations (dry/wet/loamy/sandy/tropical/equatorial/tundra) require an effective grid. Basically, PV energy is generated when Sun is up and not when Sun is down. It is a non-producing dead infrastructure for greater than half the year and sometimes to 3/4th of the year! For it to be effective, it needs to be able to dump energy produced into a grid. Without a grid, it is extremely costly, since you have to have a storage that can soak up energy and release it.
disha
BR Mainsite Crew
Posts: 8243
Joined: 03 Dec 2006 04:17
Location: gaganaviharin

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by disha »

Theo_Fidel wrote: RE is cheaper and is technology based power. It never depletes. It is already cheap will keep getting cheaper. Coal is resource based and as it depletes keeps getting more expensive. Same is true of nuclear. You are fighting a battle you are certain to lose as RE technology keeps improving.
Theo Saar, in your case "RE" (Renewable Energy) includes water (as in Hydro-power projects) or just Solar and other renewables like wind farms?
I said the same thing back in 2006 here on BRF and I have no doubt I will say the same thing here in 2032. Back then Solar was $200 / MWh. And less than 0.01% of generation. Folks would have long reasoned posts on how it will never be 1% of generation. All of them are gone. And by 2032 this round of nay sayers will be gone as well.
Are you looking at data from developed countries where the net energy consumption is flat or are you looking at developing world? India has to grow its per capita consumption at least 10-20x before it starts seeing its net energy consumption growth flattening.

Note I am not including your gas guzzling SUVs or trucks. When world changes over to EVs, the electricity consumption will go up. So the above number of 20x is on the conservative side.
RishiRishi wrote:Spot on. I never understood the anti RE fundametalists. They had an argument when RE was expensiver. But now???? It is almost as if they have decided that the world is a better place with unsustainable solutions.
Rishi'ji, am I an anti-RE fundamentalist? Given below info, I will let you decide.

I have 7.2 Kw PV installation since 4 years powering home and cars.
I have Two (2) EVs, my total miles on both the EVs put together is >50k miles (I think I saved some 1800 gallons of gas). I do not use any gasoline (petrol) cars at all for myself and family.

Further on energy:

I have LEDs throughout. I use 30% less water than the average in my neighbourhood. I also have 1 extinct in wild, 1 very rare and 1 rare plant species in my back yard. That is I try to recycle as much water I can and try to put in energy (via appropriate compost) to grow appropriate plants.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by A_Gupta »

Bloomberg reports:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... osses-rise
Losses by India’s power retailers are set to rise, reversing two years of declines they enjoyed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government unveiled a plan to make the ailing utilities profitable.

Combined losses by state distributors that signed up for the federal government’s reform plan in the first nine months of the fiscal year rose to about 240 billion rupees ($3.4 billion), a 62 percent jump from a year earlier, amid an increase in coal and power costs, according to Ajay Kumar Bhalla, India’s power secretary.
Full-year earnings by the companies, known as discoms, could improve as most states are scheduled to make subsidy payments during the last quarter of the fiscal year, which ended in March, he said.
Supratik
BRF Oldie
Posts: 6470
Joined: 09 Nov 2005 10:21
Location: USA

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Supratik »

Looks like disingenuous reporting. It just means electricity consumption is increasing. Unless we know how much subsidy is being paid in the last qtr we will not know what is the loss.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

It is one of the side effects of the Saubhagya scheme being so successful. The T&D and state run power entities aren't efficient enough to cope with the rapid growth in both last mile connectivity and demand, and this causes financial pressures when they can't keep up with the purchases on one end and billing on the other. Unless we are talking about chronically mismanaged power distribution companies , this would essentially be a temporary problem.
Uttam
BRFite
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Apr 2003 11:31
Location: USA

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Uttam »

There is a lot of chatter in media about solar installation falling below target last year. Some of the lukewarm responses to tenders are blamed to lowered maximum tariff in latest tenders. Here is one example link

I think some of it also to do with massive growth in growth in solar installations over previous two years. In fact, Karnataka issued advisory that they will not tender any solar for next couple of years. Link

India has done very well using the reverse auction process. It has exposed crony capitalists to real competition. The govt. should stay steadfast with this auction mechanism and not relent into letting very high maximum tariffs. That will lead to possible cartels.
Dumal
BRFite
Posts: 315
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Dumal »

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 071_1.html

Inability to raise tariffs, high supply losses (25% actual vs 15% target), power theft (violent incidence @Varanasi on June 9, 2019 :cry: ) and more continue to ail the power sector. BJP states - MH, GJ, UP, etc should really take the lead and show the way.
Katare
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2579
Joined: 02 Mar 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Katare »

This thing will solve itself only after per capita incomes goes well north of $5k. Until than its a compromise between large sections of society without power versus huge public debt. 100% electrification means giving power to people who can’t afford it, which means losses. In long term social uplift and economic growth would cover the losses

Survival is the name of the game
srin
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2509
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:13

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by srin »

In the short-term, if the Centre does a DBT on electricity consumption to farmers, then there is no excuse for states to not charge for consumption.
nandakumar
BRFite
Posts: 1638
Joined: 10 May 2010 13:37

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by nandakumar »

I would say a y DBT transfer would become an entitlement which would be difficult to remove tomorrow. As it is Rs 6000 is here to say. Make it say 8000 to accommodate power bill in no time it would morph into Rs 8000 income support and free power for farmers.
srin
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2509
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:13

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by srin »

True, but there will be a cap - say 1000-2000 rupees, instead of having unlimited free right now. And remove any political excuse for keeping prices low for *all* consumers. Overall, it'd be a net saving.
Prasad
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7793
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 00:53
Location: Chennai

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Prasad »

It is simple accounting jugglery by the states to avoid a big subsidy burden showing up in their finances. DISCOMS debt due to subsidised/free power should reflect in state finances and discoms themselves should be paid to ensure they can function adequately. But that will require honest appraisal as well as the things the article calls out for - proper metering and data to then analyse. Political class will not want such data to come out because then questions will arise and nooo, cannot have that.
Nikhil T
BRFite
Posts: 1286
Joined: 09 Nov 2008 06:48
Location: RAW HQ, Lodhi Road

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Nikhil T »

nandakumar wrote:I would say a y DBT transfer would become an entitlement which would be difficult to remove tomorrow. As it is Rs 6000 is here to say. Make it say 8000 to accommodate power bill in no time it would morph into Rs 8000 income support and free power for farmers.
Agree. The farmer income support scheme is a huge mistake on Modiji's part. The scheme launched hastily for elections and then expanded to all farmers on day 1 of NDA 2.0 is projected to cost Rs 87,000 crores per year per GoI's own estimates - a huge sum compared to our measly development budget.

Farmers need support - no doubt - but a handout is not the solution. Plus, this income support is now to stay for perpetuity. You can bet each election some politician will promise to double the income support if voted to power and the other parties will have to match that offer to stay competitive.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

Doubling farm incomes by 2024 is a stated goal of the government. The farm sector is going through a period of churn where it is no longer even the largest part of rural economy, but still absorbs the largest share of rural workforce, i.e. it has the worst GDP-per-worker ratio of any sector of the rural economy. Without some form of income support to marginal farmers, no other plan of action can be implemented because their situation would remain simply too dire.

Political issues are to be discussed only in the politics thread, but in general, the repeated need for farm loan waivers and income support to farmers is a symptom of the poor per-unit productivity of marginal farmers, and the government has a role to play in supporting them and ensuring that they can be more rapidly absorbed into non-farm economic activities.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

India's renewable energy capacity crosses 80GW-mark: Govt tells Rajya Sabha
India's renewable energy capacity has crossed the 80GW-mark, which includes 29.55 GW of solar energy and 36.37 GW wind power, Parliament was informed Tuesday.

The government has set an ambitious target of having 175 GW of clean energy capacity by 2022, including 100 GW solar and 60 GW of wind energy.

"The Government is regularly monitoring the progress being made to achieve the target of 175 GW by 2022.

"A total of 80.46 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed in the country as on June 30, 2019 which includes 29.55 GW from Solar & 36.37 GW from Wind power," Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Vips »

India readies plan for $4 billion Tesla-scale battery storage plants.

India is putting the final shape on a plan to build at least four Tesla-style giga factories to manufacture batteries with an investment of around $4 billion, as the country prepares to switch to electric vehicles to curb pollution and cut its dependence on foreign oil.

“We are moving ahead with the plan and a cabinet note for the same has been floated," said a senior government official, requesting anonymity. “Why should India import battery storage units when we have the largest market here?"

Aimed at securing India’s energy needs, the plan to set up these factories of 10 gigawatt hours (GWh) each is being helmed by federal policy think tank NITI Aayog and looks to accomplish what Tesla has done at its Gigafactory in Nevada, US.

“The focus on battery storage manufacturing will enable India to develop an electric vehicle ecosystem including manufacturing and R&D, an opportunity the country missed while developing the solar industry," said Rupesh Agarwal, founder of AEM, an electric mobility company.

As part of the plan, the government may offer a raft of incentives to manufacturers such as concessional financing options with around 3% foreign exchange hedge on overseas loans and a fixed 3% interest subvention on loans availed in Indian rupees. In addition, a reduction in minimum alternative tax (MAT) may be offered.

According to information reviewed by Mint, the support extended by the government for advanced chemistry cells and battery manufacturing may also include an investment-linked tax incentive under Section 35 AD, a deemed infrastructure status and a suitable basic customs duty safeguard. It may also offer an output-linked subsidy on kilowatt hour (KWh) of cells sold.

Apart from electric vehicles, such battery storages will cater to the consumer electronics industry and electricity grids, given the intermittent nature of electricity from clean energy sources such as solar and wind.

According to a conservative scenario envisaged by NITI Aayog, India will need six such gigawatt-scale facilities (of 10 GWh each) by 2025 and 12 by 2030. While this doesn’t include the export market potential, the base scenario envisions 11 such giga factories by 2025 and 24 by 2030.

Image

To put this into perspective, each GWh (1,000 megawatt hour) of battery capacity is sufficient to power 1 million homes for an hour and around 30,000 electric cars.

The programme aims to be technology-agnostic, meaning it will be left to the market to determine which technology is best suited for the country, depending on demand and price.

India has become one of the top renewable energy producers globally with ambitious capacity expansion plans. The country has an installed renewable energy capacity of about 80 gigawatts (GW) and is running the world’s largest renewable energy programme, with plans to achieve 175GW by 2022 and 500GW by 2030, as part of its climate commitments.

The government has studied what other developed economies have done to secure their energy needs amid an escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf region and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries-plus arrangement agreeing to extend production cuts for crude oil.

As the world’s third-largest oil consumer, India is particularly vulnerable as it imports more than 80% of its oil requirements and around 18% of its natural gas.

On the demand creation side, the plan involves providing tax credits at the retail level and state-level grants to promote usage of electric vehicles. The GST Council, chaired by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is expected to meet shortly to decide on lowering tax rates for electric vehicles to 5% from 12%.

The Union budget earlier in July also announced tax breaks for setting up mega-manufacturing plants for solar photovoltaic cells, lithium storage batteries and solar electric charging infrastructure.
hgupta
BRFite
Posts: 477
Joined: 20 Oct 2018 14:17

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by hgupta »

It is admirable that India is planning to build Indian versions of Gigafactories. But I feel strongly that India should promote heavily in R&D into battery storages that is not lithium based or chemical based energy storage but in more efficient forms of energy storage, because let's face it, lithium based batteries would never approach the energy density of gasoline let alone equal or supersede the energy density factor. I think India is in an unique position because India has not heavily invested in lithium based battery infrastructure and therefore has no need to recoup the sunken costs in setting up the lithium based infrastructure as the US and China have done.

The think tank NITI Aayog should identify emerging technology trends that could replace lithium based batteries with superior forms that have better energy density and invest in that heavily. Only then India would be world players and dominant in energy storage.
nandakumar
BRFite
Posts: 1638
Joined: 10 May 2010 13:37

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by nandakumar »

Can the government not mandate base load status through statute changes, to enable renewable power generator first claim on the demand for electricity? This could be followed up with an additional directive that State public sector companies in power sector should get out of generation (where private competition is easily achieved) and legally sanction only transmission and distribution. Currently there is a structural problem as public monopolies with a stake in generation are reluctant to subordinate their interest in favour of greater public good. Oourse this would still not solve the problem of personal mobility where storage systems are inevitable.
sudarshan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3018
Joined: 09 Aug 2008 08:56

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by sudarshan »

hgupta wrote:It is admirable that India is planning to build Indian versions of Gigafactories. But I feel strongly that India should promote heavily in R&D into battery storages that is not lithium based or chemical based energy storage but in more efficient forms of energy storage, because let's face it, lithium based batteries would never approach the energy density of gasoline let alone equal or supersede the energy density factor. I think India is in an unique position because India has not heavily invested in lithium based battery infrastructure and therefore has no need to recoup the sunken costs in setting up the lithium based infrastructure as the US and China have done.

The think tank NITI Aayog should identify emerging technology trends that could replace lithium based batteries with superior forms that have better energy density and invest in that heavily. Only then India would be world players and dominant in energy storage.
With all due respect sir, and no hostility intended, but this is easy to say. Do you have suggestions on any such high energy density technologies?

Supercapacitors aren't there yet. Fuel cells have their own problems (and I'm not sure they even provide that energy density). Tata I think tried compressed air for cars, but that is very low energy density, and the pressures need to be enormous (3000 psi or 200 atm.) to get any viable energy storage. Plus the fact that expanding that air in a turbine will produce very low temperatures (think -100 to -150 deg. C), which has its own problems.

What high energy density technologies did you have in mind (short of a fusion reactor)? Not just "India should do it." Maybe there really is no such technology? I could be mistaken of course.
hgupta
BRFite
Posts: 477
Joined: 20 Oct 2018 14:17

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by hgupta »

Sudarshan,

There was a scientific article that I read several months ago but unfortunately I do not have the link for it. The article states that there are battery technology that has better energy densities than the lithium based versions. However the costs and obstacles of making those designs to be economically viable alternatives are very considerable and would require abandonment of the infrastructure set up to produce and support lithium based batteries, something that most companies and governments won’t do because they won’t be able to fully recoup all their investment made in the lithium based batteries. Remember lithium based batteries were not recent phenomenons. They came on the scene during the late 70s and after a decade of R&D they were made into products and that was during the early 90s. Of course further refinements were made to improve the lithium designs. However there’s a diminishing return as to the extra capacity you can derive out of the lithium versions with R&D. The article goes on to state that even Tesla were aware of emerging battery technology but were not ready to take the leap because they didn’t have the necessary capital to create the ecosystem necessary to support the new battery designs. They preferred to remain with the lithium based batteries because there is an existing ecosystem that supports lithium.

So that article got me to thinking if India could set up a scientific team that could identify all the emerging battery technology that has better energy density than lithium versions and perhaps invest in setting up an ecosystem that support these new battery technologies India could leapfrog over US and China in terms of battery storage manufacturing capabilities and establish itself as a dominant player in battery storage.

I do not recall the specific battery technology that has better energy density but I do know it wasn’t lithium it was based on different materials.

And this is not the only article I read about emerging battery technology. Once every month I get an article on how some researchers and scientist make a breakthrough in battery technology but never to hear more about it because they don’t get enough funding or capital to move forward. This could be a good opportunity for India to get into the lead by investing in those new technology and bringing them to fruition.

Just my two cents.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

hgupta: please don't derail the thread with insistent personal opinions. What you propose may have merit, but it is not an either-or choice, and the government's already made a decision. The thread is better served by tracking the progress of this initiative in detail.
ricky_v
BRFite
Posts: 1144
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by ricky_v »

With the production of power, the main variable is the input, for non renewable this is difficult to source at a lower price, many Indian companies now import coal of Australian Indonesian, south African origin because they have less ash content, higher CV against Indian ones.
Natural gas is costly to procure, the reliquified natural gas from middle east is of a magnitude of cost higher than our natural gas which is mainly sourced from coal based methane fields(shahdol in mp).
Renewables are too costly per unit, for eg you can get 3.8 rs/unit from conventional, the per unit cost from renewables can exceed 10 depending on the nature of service.
State units give service to public in areas where the private firms do not venture. Renewables from hydro through are exceeding with Bhutan, Nepal providing services.
hgupta
BRFite
Posts: 477
Joined: 20 Oct 2018 14:17

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by hgupta »

Sudarshan, I couldn't find the article that referenced the difficulty of building an alternative version to lithium based battery. But as for what emerging technology, here is a link to a potential viable alternative: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 105004.htm and a more up to date article on the same technology: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 1918315757. There are several hurdles to overcome and it may not turn out to be viable but iron air technology looks promising. Iron air battery offers good energy density and not only that, India has large reserves of iron that it could exploit.

India does not have large deposits of lithium and would need to import vast quantities of lithium and when that happens, we may not get rid of the issue of sending out massive amounts of cash to another country to secure the energy needs of the country. All we are doing is substituting Argentina and Chile into the place of Saudi Arabia and we are still sending large amount of money outward. Furthermore, lithium based batteries may not have a price point where the average Indian could afford despite mass manufacturing lithium on a huge scale. If you were to chart the cost of lithium based battery technology over time, you would see that the price drop may correspond to an inverse curve, i.e., we may see a floor price of lithium based batteries. I am not sure that the costs of batteries can come down to the point where we can see a mid range $10k electric car with a range of at least 200 miles/300 km. Furthermore, the world may not have enough lithium reserves to satisfy the demands of a 100% EV world market of 100 million vehicles a year. Here's a link to the article discussing this: http://tyler.blogware.com/lithium_shortage.pdf .

So for all the above reasons and others I have not gone into detail, I do not think lithium based battery technology is the answer to our long term goals of energy security and availability. India would be better off in investigating in non lithium based technology such as iron air based technology, etc. and see if we can create better energy technology using our own resources before it fully commits itself to a lithium based ecosystem where it is still dependent on other countries for access to raw materials. So before we blindly follow the global trends of energy storage and sink billions of dollars of tax payers money into lithium based battery technology i.e, setting up gigafactories and creating the ecosystem that comes with it and therefore being stuck with it for at least several decades (to recoup all the investment costs), I believe that NITI Aayog should conduct some research and see if Lithium based technology is the way to go or not before fully committing itself.

Suraj, is this not a forum where people post their opinions? And how was my post insistent? Am I not entitled to defend my views or elaborate on what viewpoint I am advocating? After all Sudarshan was asking me to come up with a more defined answer. Are you saying that I should have remained silent and not defend my viewpoint?
sudarshan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3018
Joined: 09 Aug 2008 08:56

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by sudarshan »

hgupta wrote:Sudarshan, I couldn't find the article that referenced the difficulty of building an alternative version to lithium based battery. But as for what emerging technology, here is a link to a potential viable alternative: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 105004.htm and a more up to date article on the same technology: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 1918315757. There are several hurdles to overcome and it may not turn out to be viable but iron air technology looks promising. Iron air battery offers good energy density and not only that, India has large reserves of iron that it could exploit.

...
That metal-air (specifically iron-air) concept seems interesting, I hadn't come across it earlier. Will look it up.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

hgupta wrote:Am I not entitled to defend my views or elaborate on what viewpoint I am advocating? After all Sudarshan was asking me to come up with a more defined answer. Are you saying that I should have remained silent and not defend my viewpoint?
You're not entitled to derail a thread over a mod note to not do so. It is a moderator imperative to make decisions regarding what it takes to keep a thread focused, and you're obliged to follow such notes, so please do so.
Vivek K
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2931
Joined: 15 Mar 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Vivek K »

Deleted
Last edited by Suraj on 27 Jul 2019 00:19, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Not relevant to power sector thread
sudarshan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3018
Joined: 09 Aug 2008 08:56

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by sudarshan »

sudarshan wrote:
hgupta wrote:Sudarshan, I couldn't find the article that referenced the difficulty of building an alternative version to lithium based battery. But as for what emerging technology, here is a link to a potential viable alternative: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 105004.htm and a more up to date article on the same technology: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 1918315757. There are several hurdles to overcome and it may not turn out to be viable but iron air technology looks promising. Iron air battery offers good energy density and not only that, India has large reserves of iron that it could exploit.

...
That metal-air (specifically iron-air) concept seems interesting, I hadn't come across it earlier. Will look it up.
If Suraj san doesn't want this discussion here, we'll have to take it elsewhere.

But I got to say, your concerns over limited supplies of lithium and cobalt are pretty valid. Recycling is a priority if EVs are to go the Li-ion battery way - more than lithium itself, it seems cobalt would be the limiting resource.

It seems aluminium-air batteries would have better energy densities than iron-air, even exceeding the energy density of gasoline. There seem to have been some recent breakthroughs, but the cynical views are dampeners (like people saying "yet another battery breakthrough...yawn" - meaning these "breakthroughs" always fizzle out).
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

CEA July 2019: Installed power capacity crosses 360GW
Explained: How A Pilot Project Could Power India’s Ailing DISCOMs
It is estimated that DISCOMs would save as much as Rs 2.5 crore per day under this mechanism. Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO); the national load dispatch centre introduced SCED as a pilot programme on 1 April 2019 which would run for six months after a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) order.

Generally, in India, power generators are tied with DISCOMs under long-term power purchase agreements or PPAs (except for captive power plants and merchant power plants) for around 85 per cent of their capacity.

The balance power is free for trading under short-term or medium-term contracts. The long-term arrangement helps generators and DISCOMs balance their demand and supply portfolio and plan accordingly.

Central generators like ISGS (inter-state generating stations) are bound under contract to provide power to state utilities under central allocations (quotas) or entitlements to states.

From a transmission point of view, with synchronisation and formation of one central grid, all beneficiaries (states) are getting their quota of power from around 150 ISGS according to an agreed time schedule.

This creates a complex system where one state gets power from multiple ISGSs and one ISGS supplies power to multiple state utilities.

Although it is a multi-layered, complex system, the robust central transmission system is in place with latest technology and running smoothly through various load dispatch centres without any major hindrances.

However, there exists a possibility of optimisation and merit order dispatch from the ISGSs to the states, to fully utilise the power station availability and in the process, cost saving for the entire system (both for the generator and DISCOMs).

This is the area where POSOCO would like to experiment with the SCED pilot system.
Discoms make a beeline for cheaper power supplied by NTPC under SCED system
A large number of discoms are making a beeline for the power supplied by NTPC under the SCED system which facilitates supply of cheaper electricity on priority, industry sources said.Under SCED (Security Constrained Economic Dispatch), implemented over a year ago, power generating companies raise capacity utilisation of more efficient plants or of those units which are located closer to coal mines and thus have lower freight cost.

As a result, the cost of power production goes down, which benefits both the distribution companies (discoms) and end consumers.

The mechanism then pools supply from selected stations on a national-level 'merit order', under which power is first dispatched from lower fuel cost units whenever any state seeks electricity from the central pool.

There are currently 49 thermal power plants as part of the SCED pilot project with a total installed capacity of 56 GW.

All stations of NTPC are contributing to the central pool. This optimisation scheme has a cost saving potential of around Rs 3,000 crore per year if all coal stations of the IPPs (independent power producers) and state generation companies are brought under its ambit.

The arrangement where POSOCO (Power System Operation Corporation) has been given the flexibility to reschedule power from lower fuel cost units first means that even after adding transmission charges, the final tariff is still lower than most of the contracts signed by these entities.

NTPC is best equipped to offer power at lower cost to the central pool since a number of its units have lower fuel costs and have been operational for decades now, which translates into lower fixed cost as well, another source said.

The gross power generation of the the NTPC Group for 2018-19 was 305.90 billion units (BUs) as against 294.27 BUs during the previous year. The average power tariff of the firm was Rs 3.38 per unit in 2018-19.
sumsumne
BRFite -Trainee
Posts: 53
Joined: 15 May 2004 11:31
Location: Bangalore

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by sumsumne »

Friends,
Have you come across any web site in India where Solar power generation numbers and trends can be tracked?
Like the California ISO site @ http://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.aspx
Thanks
Nikhil T
BRFite
Posts: 1286
Joined: 09 Nov 2008 06:48
Location: RAW HQ, Lodhi Road

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Nikhil T »

Cea.gov.in has monthly reports.
Mort Walker
BRF Oldie
Posts: 10033
Joined: 31 May 2004 11:31
Location: The rings around Uranus.

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Mort Walker »

Nikhil T wrote:Cea.gov.in has monthly reports.
Correct. As of 31 July 2019, solar installed capacity is 30GW. Total installed capacity from all power sources is over 360GW.
Uttam
BRFite
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Apr 2003 11:31
Location: USA

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Uttam »

Bloom Energy seeks government support to push fuel-cell based power generation

IMHO this is a bad idea. If they are financially viable why do they need govt. support. They are asking for GST concessions and Customs duty waiver. On the other hand, India has imposed customs on solar panel. India should not fall for this trap. Yes, Bloom Energy was started by Shridhar, a PIO, but his model has found very limited application in US and else where. Now he is trying to market it in India with "support" from govt.
Mort Walker
BRF Oldie
Posts: 10033
Joined: 31 May 2004 11:31
Location: The rings around Uranus.

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Mort Walker »

Uttam wrote:Bloom Energy seeks government support to push fuel-cell based power generation

IMHO this is a bad idea. If they are financially viable why do they need govt. support. They are asking for GST concessions and Customs duty waiver. On the other hand, India has imposed customs on solar panel. India should not fall for this trap. Yes, Bloom Energy was started by Shridhar, a PIO, but his model has found very limited application in US and else where. Now he is trying to market it in India with "support" from govt.
Fuel cell power generation subsidies should be given more so than battery storage subsidies. An overall policy of fuel cell development should be considered for tax waiver. Bloom Energy is just one company, but other companies should also be given a break in this critical technology area.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Vips »

India’s streetlight replacement programme reduces 1,119.40 MW of peak demand; helps reduce carbon emission,

As part of India’s strategy to combat climate change, one crore smart LED (light-emitting diode) streetlights have been commissioned across the country, thereby helping avoid 1,119.40 megawatt (MW) of peak electricity demand.

Under the world’s largest streetlight replacement programme being implemented by state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), these streetlights are illuminating 2.7 lakh km of roads, resulting in annual energy savings of 6.71 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) and helping reduce 4.63 million tons of carbon dioxide emission.

In an attempt to get urban local bodies on board, it is EESL that makes the entire upfront investment in installing these street lights. Given the revenue model, the municipalities pays EESL from the savings accrued on account of energy efficiency over the seven year contract period that guarantees a minimum energy saving of 50%.

“It is a phenomenal achievement," Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director of EESL told Mint.

India is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, and is among countries most vulnerable to climate change. India plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from its 2005 levels by 2030, as part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.

The Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015, aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional street lights by March, 2019. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is making a strong case urban local bodies such as municipal corporations deliver better services in the backdrop of rapid urbanization.

“Under SLNP, Andhra Pradesh is leading the way amongst the states, with an installation of 28.9 lakhs LED streetlights followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 10.3 Lakhs and 9.3 lakhs respectively. As on date, 1,502 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across India have been enrolled under the programme and out of these ULBs, work has been completed in around 900 Urban Local Bodies," EESL said in a statement.

India’s embrace of energy efficiency measures is perhaps best reflected in its programme to expand the use of LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs. The government’s UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) scheme help cut LED bulb prices. This gave India’s efforts to cut energy use a shot in the arm, and helped dissipate doubts over the country’s ability to run the world’s largest energy efficiency programmes.

“India is a country which does things when it decides to do things…We are creating a new country. A country which is confident. We are building a new identity for ourselves," said power minister Raj Kumar Singh on Tuesday.

India’s energy efficiency market is estimated at $23 billion with a vast potential to grow. The government is working towards giving appropriate price signals for achieving demand- side response. This ranges from perform, achieve and trade (PAT) programme, a market-based energy efficiency trading mechanism for moving towards cleaner cooking fuels. Other measures in the works include redefining India’s mobility architecture through EVs, improving energy efficiency of electrical appliances, motors, agricultural pumps and tractors, and even buildings.

“By March 2020, SLNP aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional streetlights in India with smart LEDs. This ambitious goal will make a tremendous difference, enabling peak demand reduction of about 1500 MW, annual energy savings of 9 billion kWh, and reduction in 6.2 Million tons of CO2 per year. EESL has an ambitious plan in this portfolio for next 4-5 years where it intends to bring investment to the tune of Rs8000 crore by 2024 by covering entire Rural India. It is expected that more than 30 million LED streetlights would be retrofitted/installed by EESL," the statement added.
Rishirishi
BRFite
Posts: 1409
Joined: 12 Mar 2005 02:30

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Rishirishi »

Vips wrote:India’s streetlight replacement programme reduces 1,119.40 MW of peak demand; helps reduce carbon emission,

As part of India’s strategy to combat climate change, one crore smart LED (light-emitting diode) streetlights have been commissioned across the country, thereby helping avoid 1,119.40 megawatt (MW) of peak electricity demand.

Under the world’s largest streetlight replacement programme being implemented by state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), these streetlights are illuminating 2.7 lakh km of roads, resulting in annual energy savings of 6.71 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) and helping reduce 4.63 million tons of carbon dioxide emission.

In an attempt to get urban local bodies on board, it is EESL that makes the entire upfront investment in installing these street lights. Given the revenue model, the municipalities pays EESL from the savings accrued on account of energy efficiency over the seven year contract period that guarantees a minimum energy saving of 50%.

“It is a phenomenal achievement," Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director of EESL told Mint.

India is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, and is among countries most vulnerable to climate change. India plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from its 2005 levels by 2030, as part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.

The Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015, aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional street lights by March, 2019. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is making a strong case urban local bodies such as municipal corporations deliver better services in the backdrop of rapid urbanization.

“Under SLNP, Andhra Pradesh is leading the way amongst the states, with an installation of 28.9 lakhs LED streetlights followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 10.3 Lakhs and 9.3 lakhs respectively. As on date, 1,502 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across India have been enrolled under the programme and out of these ULBs, work has been completed in around 900 Urban Local Bodies," EESL said in a statement.

India’s embrace of energy efficiency measures is perhaps best reflected in its programme to expand the use of LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs. The government’s UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) scheme help cut LED bulb prices. This gave India’s efforts to cut energy use a shot in the arm, and helped dissipate doubts over the country’s ability to run the world’s largest energy efficiency programmes.

“India is a country which does things when it decides to do things…We are creating a new country. A country which is confident. We are building a new identity for ourselves," said power minister Raj Kumar Singh on Tuesday.

India’s energy efficiency market is estimated at $23 billion with a vast potential to grow. The government is working towards giving appropriate price signals for achieving demand- side response. This ranges from perform, achieve and trade (PAT) programme, a market-based energy efficiency trading mechanism for moving towards cleaner cooking fuels. Other measures in the works include redefining India’s mobility architecture through EVs, improving energy efficiency of electrical appliances, motors, agricultural pumps and tractors, and even buildings.

“By March 2020, SLNP aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional streetlights in India with smart LEDs. This ambitious goal will make a tremendous difference, enabling peak demand reduction of about 1500 MW, annual energy savings of 9 billion kWh, and reduction in 6.2 Million tons of CO2 per year. EESL has an ambitious plan in this portfolio for next 4-5 years where it intends to bring investment to the tune of Rs8000 crore by 2024 by covering entire Rural India. It is expected that more than 30 million LED streetlights would be retrofitted/installed by EESL," the statement added.
I really fail to see the point here. Bulbs eventually burn out. Just replace them with the more efficient LED. Or even better, simply Ban energy unefficient bulbs.
Supratik
BRF Oldie
Posts: 6470
Joined: 09 Nov 2005 10:21
Location: USA

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Supratik »

Inefficient bulbs cannot be banned. Loads of poor people still around. And no point in standing under a street light to find out when its going to burn out. That is impractical from a procurement point of view.
Mort Walker
BRF Oldie
Posts: 10033
Joined: 31 May 2004 11:31
Location: The rings around Uranus.

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Mort Walker »

LED bulbs rely on a rectifying circuit and power supply from AC to DC. To make them cheap, the power supply fails and bulb is no longer good. The life of an LED bulb may not be better than a good quality halogen, Mercury vapor or incandescent bulb. The argument for LED is not environmental, but to reduce the load on the electric grid. The key info here is the reduction of 1,119 MW of load, so this makes sense.
Vayutuvan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12062
Joined: 20 Jun 2011 04:36

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Vayutuvan »

India's total installed capacity is 282 GW

Here is the Wikipedia page on that. Let us talk numbers. At a gross level, assuming that at the peak demand, the entire 282 GW is consumed then we are talking a reduction of 1+ GW at 282 GW. Better calculations can be made, of course.

Even if we cut down the peak demand to 100 GW, then the reduction is 1%. This is peanuts.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: India's Power Sector

Post by Suraj »

India's installed capacity is >360GW as of August 2019.
Post Reply