Government NEWS

Kumar disconnects the device from the machine to demonstrate how they used to spin ropes manually. Suddenly, clanking sounds echo through a yard that had been so quiet you could hear the bulbuls chirp on the moringa tree there. Earlier, he explains, one person would have to keep spinning a wheel behind the machine; today the solar-powered small motor does the job. Work that would require at least 10 hours of hard labour from a minimum of three individuals is now done by two persons in a little more than half the time.

In a big boost to the state’s energy sector, the Solar Energy Corporation of India has come forward to supply about 9,000 mw to meet the demand of agriculture pumpsets. SECI has promised to supply power at Rs 2.49 per unit, the lowest rate in the country. The state government had recently floated tenders to set up 6,400 mw plants for the agriculture sector. However, the finalisation of bids was delayed due to a pending litigation in the high court. The SECI offer comes at a time when the state government was contemplating to finalise the bids after getting the clearance from the high court. The state government has already identified the land to set up the mega solar parks. The SECI, however, wants the state government to purchase power from the plants to be launched by the agency. The government is expected to take a call on the issue soon.

In a boost to investment in Maharashtra during the pandemic, the state government’s Industry Department on Tuesday signed two MoUs under the Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 initiative with JSW, worth Rs 35,500 crore in the renewable energy sector. As per the MoUs, the company plans to invest Rs 35,500 crore in the state by setting up a hydro-based power project of 1,500 MW power generation in villages like Jammde, Kalbhonde and Kothale near Igatpuri in Nashik district, and wind power projects of 5,000 MW power generation across 1,870 hectares in Kolhapur, Solapur, Satara and Osmanabad. The project, which will take 18 months to start, will supply cheap and green renewable power round-the-clock and help Maharashtra decrease its reliance on non-renewable energy.

Gas prices may be hiked substantially soon. In yet another Zee Business EXCLUSIVE, Chetan Bhutani, while speaking to Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, broke this big news on gas prices on Thursday. The central government is likely to increase the gas prices by up to 70 percent from October 2021, Chetan said, adding that the news will be a game changer for oil and gas sector. He informed that the current APM gas price is USD 1.79 per mmBTU.

In a letter to managing director of the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC), managing director of the Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and chief executive officer of the Alternative Energy Development Board (ARDB), the regulator recalled that last year it had asked for inclusion of “hydropower in the scope and definition of renewable energy in various energy policies, rules and regulations”. “Furthermore, it was desired to make necessary amendments in all relevant documents and include hydropower in the scope of upcoming ARE (Alternate and Renewable Energy) Policy 2019,” said the letter. It said Nepra Chairman Tauseef H. Farooqi raised the issue at various forums and, therefore, a report on the latest status regarding regulator’s advisory issued in June 2020 be submitted at the earliest.

The country’s renewable sector is poised to add about 65 gigawatts capacity over the next four to five years supported by strong project pipeline and government’s policy backing. The renewable energy (RE) sector is likely to see an investment of about ₹2.5 lakh crore to ₹3 lakh crore over the next few years, according to ICRA assessment. Impacted by two Covid waves, the renewable sector is likely to see installation of about 11 GW this fiscal. The economics of battery storage has become a key monitorable for the sector. The key challenges constraining the growth remain on the execution front, mainly associated with land and transmission infrastructure as well as the slow but improving progress in signing of power purchase agreements and power sale agreements by intermediate procurers with State distribution utilities.

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that the Central government is sensitive to fuel price rise while also hinting that the public might get relief (in terms of fuel price) in the upcoming month. "Central Government is very sensitive to this issue (fuel price rise) but it is also very sensitive to see the other responsibilities that we have," Puri said while addressing a press conference. Further, saying that the issue needed to be seen in a larger context, he said, "The central tax on fuel has remained the same at Rs 32, but since the VAT by states is set in percentage, their tax increase as the price of petrol increases internationally."

The Indian government has proposed a new set of rules “Draft Electricity (promoting renewable energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2021” for purchase and consumption of green energy, including the energy from waste-to-energy plants.The proposed rules aim to push for faster adoption of renewable power by addressing various concerns related to the green energy sector. The union power ministry has put the rules online on August 16 and sought comments from all stakeholders within 30 days.

Remote rocky villages of Himachal Pradesh, where snowfall often damages electricity transmission lines for days and breathing kerosene fumes is the only option, are coming out of darkness with the government installing solar lights for individuals and community places. Also it is providing solar-run pump sets, cookers and lamps across the hydropower surplus state. Ram Singh, a villager in the remote Pangi Valley, told IANS over the phone that they had been literally living in darkness every winter. "As electricity remains snapped for days or even weeks with the onset of heavy snowfall, the kerosene lamps are the only option for every villager," he said.

Stressing on the Union government’s initiatives to tap renewable energy sources, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, New and Renewable Energy Bhagawanth Khuba said that the country would meet its target of 175 GW of energy from solar, wind and other renewable sources. “We are already generating 101 GW from renewable sources. Projects with a combined installed capacity of 50 GW are in progress. Work on other projects with a combined installed capacity of 25 GW would begin soon. Keeping the growing energy requirement of the country in mind, we have set a target of 450 GW from renewable energy sources by 2030,” Mr. Khuba said at a media conference at a private hotel in Kalaburagi on August 18. The Minister was in the city to take part in his party’s Janashirvada Yatra.