Energy- policy news

Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for implementation of Offshore Wind Energy Projects

The Union Cabinet during June 2024 approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects at a total outlay of Rs.7453 crore, including an outlay of Rs.6853 crore for installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu), and grant of Rs.600 crore for upgradation of two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects.

The VGF scheme is a major step towards implementation of the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy notified in 2015 with an aim to exploit the vast offshore wind energy potential that exists within the exclusive economic zone of India.  The VGF support from the Government will reduce the cost of power from offshore wind projects and make them viable for purchase by DISCOMs. While the projects will be established by private developers selected though a transparent bidding process, the power excavation infrastructure, including the offshore substations, will be constructed by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, as the nodal ministry, will coordinate with various Ministries/Departments to ensure successful implementation of the scheme.

Construction of offshore wind energy projects and its operations also require specific port infrastructure, which can handle storage and movement of heavy and large dimension equipment. Under the scheme, two ports in the country will be supported by Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to meet the requirements of offshore wind development.

Offshore wind is a source of renewable energy which offers several advantages over onshore wind and solar projects, such as higher adequacy & reliability, lower storage requirement and higher employment potential. Development of offshore wind sector will lead to economy-wide benefits by attracting investments, development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, creation of employment opportunities across the value chain and technology development for offshore wind in the country. This will also contribute towards achieving India’s energy transition targets.

The successful commissioning of 1 GW offshore wind projects will produce renewable electricity of about 3.72 billion units annually, which will result in annual reduction of 2.98 million ton of CO2 equivalent emission for a period of 25 years. Further, this scheme will not only kick start the offshore wind energy development in India but also lead to creation of required ecosystem in the country to supplement its ocean based economic activities. This ecosystem will support the development of initial 37 GW of offshore wind energy at an investment of about Rs.4,50,000 crore.

PIB

66 Indian Airports are operating on 100% Green Energy

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has taken initiatives for working towards Carbon neutrality and achieving net zero carbon emission at airports in the country by way of standardising Carbon Accounting and Reporting framework of Indian Airports. For this purpose, airport operators with scheduled operations have been advised to map the carbon emission at their respective airports and to work towards carbon neutrality & net zero emission in a phased manner. MoCA has also advised developers of the upcoming Greenfield Airports and the respective State Governments to work towards achieving Carbon Neutrality & Net Zero which inter-alia includes use of green energy.

With the above efforts of Government of India, Airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have achieved Level 4+ and higher Airports International Council (ACI) Accreditation and have become Carbon neutral. Additionally, 66 Indian Airports are operating on 100% Green Energy.

Source : PIB

Star Labelling Program results in energy efficiency improvement of ACs 

India’s energy efficiency policies have not only led to improvement in overall energy efficiency of Air-Conditioners but also accelerated the deployment of highly Energy Efficient inverter technology. As per the data from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, for split Room Air-Conditioners (RACs), the overall energy efficiency improvement is 43% for 1-Star and 61% for the 5-Star level. On the other hand, the overall energy efficiency improvement for window RACs is 17% for 1-Star and 13% for 5-Star level.

The interventions by the Central Government have also led to increase in the market share of the more efficient, Inverter RACs. In 2015, the market share of variable speed (commonly known as inverter) RACs was less than 1% in the overall RAC market size of 4.7 million units. In June, 2015, BEE introduced a voluntary labelling program for Inverter RACs with a new star rating methodology called Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) which was made mandatory from January 2018.

During the eight years from 2015-16 to 2022-23, the market share of the more efficient, variable speed (Inverter) RACs increased from 1% to 77%, while that of the fixed speed RAC, reduced from 99% to 23% during the same period. The overall market for RACs reached 6.6 million units by 2020-21. This market transformation towards efficient technology was possible due to adoption of variable speed (Inverter) RAC policy, which offers benefits to the consumers in terms of electricity and cost saving.

These interventions are part of the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), which aims to provide an integrated vision towards cooling across sectors encompassing inter alia reduction of cooling demand, refrigerant transition, enhancing energy efficiency and better technology options with a 20-year time horizon. 

Source : PIB

Government declares plan to add 50 GW of renewable energy capacity annually for next 5 years to achieve the target of 500 GW by 2030

The Government has decided to invite bids for 50 GW of renewable energy capacity annually for the next five years i.e., from Financial Year 2023-24 till Financial Year 2027-28. These annual bids of ISTS (Inter-State Transmission) connected renewable energy capacity will also include setting up of wind power capacity of at least 10 GW per annum. 

The plan finalized by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) is in accordance with Prime Minister’s announcement at COP26, of achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel (Renewable Energy + Nuclear) sources by 2030.

India currently has a total renewable energy capacity of 168.96 GW (as on 28th February 2023) with about 82 GW at various stages of implementation and about 41 GW under tendering stage. This includes 64.38 GW Solar Power, 51.79 GW Hydro Power, 42.02 GW Wind Power and 10.77 GW Bio Power. 

Considering the fact that Renewable Energy (RE) projects take around 18-24 months for commissioning, the bid plan will add 250 GW of renewable energy and ensure 500 GW of installed capacity by 2030. The Ministry of Power is already working on upgrading and adding the transmission system capacity for evacuating 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil fuel. 

Source : PIB

Government allocates 39600 MW of domestic Solar PV module manufacturing capacity under PLI (Tranche-II)

The Government has allocated a total capacity of 39,600 MW of domestic Solar PV module manufacturing capacity to 11 companies, with a total outlay of Rs. 14,007 Crores under the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules (Tranche-II). Manufacturing capacity totaling 7400 MW is expected to become operational by October 2024, 16,800 MW capacity by April 2025 and the balance 15,400 MW capacity by April 2026. The Tranche-II is expected to bring in an investment of Rs. 93,041 crore. It will also generate a total of 1,01,487 jobs with 35,010 getting direct employment and 66,477 being indirectly employed.

The PLI Scheme has proved to be a watershed event in India's Renewable landscape resulting in around 48 GW domestic module manufacturing capacity within next 3 years. Scheme has boosted Government's efforts to reduce not only the impact of global supply chain shocks but also our import dependence.

A total integrated capacity of 8737 MW was allocated under Tranche-I of the Scheme, in November-December, 2022. Considering the two tranches together, the total domestic solar PV module manufacturing capacity allocated under the PLI Scheme is 48,337 MW, with a cumulative support of more than Rs. 18,500 Crore by the Government. 

Source : PIB

Report on “Assessment of Avoided CO₂ Emissions during Construction and Operation of National Highways” released

India has the 2nd longest road network in the world. Amongst the different types of roads, the National Highways (NH) extending to 1,44,634 km till date has contributed significantly to India’s rapid economic development. Between 2014 and January 2023, more than half of the existing highways (~77,265 km) have been added. This rapid pace of construction of highways is enabling integration of the local economies of far-flung towns and villages into the national economy. Construction and maintenance of roads is known to be a source of CO₂ , which is over and above the CO₂ emitted from fuel operated vehicles on roads. In 2016, about 243 million tonnes of CO₂ was emitted from the operation of fossil fuel run vehicles in India, which is 10.8% of the total national CO₂ emissions.

 The new and improved state of the art NH replacing congested and often circuitous routes, however, can help avoid CO₂ emissions by reducing fuel combustion in vehicles plying on them. The avenue plantations and compensatory afforestation’s (CA) can additionally sequester CO₂ , thus adding to the offset of CO₂ emitted from highway operations as a whole. This summary report presents a methodology for assessing the extent of CO₂ that can be avoided per km of national highways constructed. Further, preconstruction and actual operation and maintenance data of national highways have been applied to quantify the CO₂ avoidance per km of NH constructed.

To see the report, click here.

Cabinet approves National Green Hydrogen Mission

The Union Cabinet on 4th January 2023 approved National Green Hydrogen Mission.  The initial outlay for the Mission will be  Rs.19,744 crore, including an outlay of Rs.17,490 crore for the SIGHT  programme, Rs.1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs.400 crore for R&D, and Rs. 388 crore towards other Mission components.  MNRE will formulate the scheme guidelines for implementation of the respective components. 

The Mission will result in the following likely outcomes by 2030:

• Development of green  hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country
• Over Rs. Eight lakh crore in total investments
• Creation of over Six lakh jobs
• Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports over Rs. One lakh crore
• Abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions

The Mission will have wide ranging benefits- creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives; Decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors; reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock; development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities; creation of employment opportunities; and development of cutting-edge technologies.  India’s Green Hydrogen production capacity is likely to reach at least 5 MMT per annum, with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW.  The targets by 2030 are likely to bring in over Rs. 8 lakh crore investments and create over 6 lakh jobs.  Nearly 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030.

The Mission will facilitate demand creation, production, utilization and export of Green Hydrogen.  Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT), two distinct financial incentive mechanisms – targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of Green Hydrogen – will be provided under the Mission.  The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways.  Regions capable of supporting large scale production and/or utilization of Hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.

An enabling policy framework will be developed to support establishment of Green Hydrogen ecosystem.   A robust Standards and Regulations framework will be also developed.  Further, a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) will be facilitated under the Mission; R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time bound, and suitably scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies.  A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken under the Mission.

All concerned Ministries, Departments, agencies and institutions of the Central and State Governments will undertake focussed and coordinated  steps to ensure successful achievement of the Mission objectives.  Ministry of New & Renewable Energy will be responsible for overall coordination and implementation of the Mission.

Source : PIB

Government of India to expand Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure across the nation

The Ministry of Power issued the revised consolidated Guidelines and Standards for EV charging infrastructure on January 14, 2022. The Government of India has undertaken multiple initiatives to promote the manufacturing and adoption of electric vehicles in the country. With the considerable expansion in the public EV charging infrastructure, the electric vehicles have started penetrating the Indian market.

The Government has made 360-degree efforts to enhance public charging infrastructure by involving private and public agencies (BEE, EESL, PGCIL, NTPC, etc.). Many private organisations have also come forward to install EV charging stations to develop convenient charging network grid to gain consumers’ confidence. Ministry of Power (MoP) has planned that charging stations should be in an area of 3×3 km grid. Currently, India has a total of 1640 operational public EV chargers. Out of which, 9 cities (Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai) account for approximately 940 stations.

The Government has increased its focus initially on these 9 mega cities (with population of over 4 million). The aggressive efforts undertaken by the government through various implementing agencies have resulted in rapid growth in deployment of public EV charging infrastructure. There has been additional installation of 678 public EV charging stations between October 2021 to January 2022 in these 9 cities, which is about 2.5 times of the earlier numbers, during the same period, about 1.8 lacs new electric vehicles. This has exhibited greater confidence among the consumers to shift towards electric mobility. After the saturation of EV infrastructure in these mega cities, the government has plans to expand the coverage to other cities in a phased manner.

The availability of adequate charging infrastructure had been the key impediments for accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in India. In this regard, the Ministry of Power issued "Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles—Guidelines and Standards," describing the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders at the Central and State level for expeditious deployment of public EV charging infrastructure across the country.

The Ministry of Power revised these guidelines and standards on January 14, 2022, with the following amendments:

• To provide an affordable tariff chargeable by public EV charging station operators and owners and Electric Vehicle (EV) owners.
• Enable owners of electric vehicles to charge EVs at their residences or offices using their existing electricity connections.
• A revenue sharing model has been suggested for land use to make a public charging station financially viable from an operational perspective.
• Timelines have been prescribed for providing connectivity to the Public Charging Station (PCS) for faster rollout of EV public charging.
• Technical requirements for public charging stations have been elaborated.

In this direction, the Oil Marketing Companies have announced the setting up of 22,000 EV charging stations in prominent cities and on national highways across the country. Out of 22,000 EV charging stations, 10,000 will be installed by IOCL, 7,000 will be installed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), and the rest of 5,000 will be installed by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL). IOCL has already installed 439 EV charging stations and plans to install another 2,000 EV charging stations over the next year. BPCL has installed 52 charging stations, while HPCL has installed 382 charging stations.

The Department of Heavy Industry has recently sanctioned 1576 nos of Public Charging Stations for 25 Highways & Expressways which shall be located within every 25 km of range on both sides of these expressways & highways.

Source : PIB

Cabinet approves Privatization of Electricity Distribution and Retail Supply Business in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the formation of Company (Special Purpose Vehicle) to privatize the electricity distribution business in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (DNH&DD), sale of Equity Shares of the newly formed Company to highest bidder and formation of Trust(s) for serving employees’ liabilities.

The said privatisation process will fulfill the desired outcomes of better services to over 1.45 lakh consumers of DNH&DD, operational improvements and functional efficiencies in distribution and provide a model for emulation by other utilities across the country. This will further lead to an increase in competition and strengthen the electricity industry and will also lead to recovery of unrealized dues.

In May 2020, Government of India had announced ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, to make India self-reliant through structural reforms. One of the key measures planned was to reform the power distribution and retail supply in UTs through privatization of the power distribution utilities, for leveraging private sector efficiency in electricity distribution.

A single distribution company i.e. DNH-DD Power Distribution Corporation Limited would be incorporated as a wholly owned Government Company and Trust(s) shall be formed to manage the terminal benefits of the personnel transferred to the newly formed company. Transfer of assets, liabilities, personnel etc to the newly formed company will be done as per the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Electricity (Reorganization and Reforms) Transfer Scheme, 2020.

Source : PIB

India takes a step forward towards Decarbonisation and promotion of RE , Hydro PSP and BESS

Ministry of Power has issued order today for extension of the waiver of Inter-State Transmission system (ISTS) charges on transmission of electricity generated from solar and wind sources for projects to be commissioned up to 30th June 2025. Further, the order promotes the development of solar, wind, Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), trading of RE in the power exchanges and seamless transmission of RE power across the states. 

The waiver of inter-state transmission charges on transmission of the electricity generated from solar and wind sources of energy that was available to solar and wind projects commissioned up to 30th June 2023 has now been extended till 30th June 2025. 

The waiver of Inter- State transmission system (ISTS) charges has also been allowed for Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects to be commissioned up 30th June 2025. This will promote the Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects for meeting the balancing requirement of the grid caused due to large scale integration of Renewables in the Electricity Grid ie around 450 GW by 2030.

The waiver of transmission charges has also been allowed for trading of electricity generated/ supplied from Solar, wind, PSP and BESS in Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) and Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM) for two years i.e. till 30th June 2023.

This is expected to encourage the RE trade in the Power Exchanges. The volume of renewable energy trade in the power exchange is expected to increase further. An opportunity to minimise the curtailment of RE as the RE developers will also have the option to sell power in the power exchanges and get instantly paid on the day of delivery of power itself.  The buyers of Renewable energy will also have an opportunity to sell their surplus power in the power exchanges or allow in advance the sellers to sell in the power exchange.

The order is futuristic as it also allows the waiver of transmission charges for RE trade in the Green Day Ahead Market (as part of the integrated Day ahead market). CERC, POSOCO and the power exchanges are working on it in mission mode to operationalise this product in the power exchanges by end of August 2021.

It has also been clarified that an intra-State transmission system which is used for the conveyance of electricity across the territory of an intervening State as well as conveyance within the State which is incidental to such inter-State transmission of electricity, shall be included for sharing of inter- state transmission charges.  Any waiver of inter-state transmission charges that applies to Inter-state transmission systems shall also be applicable to such parts of the Intra-state transmission. The transmission charges of such Intra-state transmission system shall be reimbursed by the CTU as is being done for ISTS system. Concerned Regional Power Committee may through studies identify such lines.

Thus, India paves way for energy transition from Fossil fuel to Non-fossil fuel by giving incentive for power trade from Renewable, Hydro PSP and Energy Storage. This amendment Order will be a boost to renewable energy and also a step forward to achieve the targets of Government of India in meeting the international obligations towards climate change.

Source : PIB

Pan-India Real Time Market in electricity launched

Ministry of Power has launched pan-India Real Time Market in electricity on 03rd June, 2020. This has placed Indian electricity market amongst a league of few electricity markets in the world, which have real time market.

Real time market would be for every 30 minutes in a day based on double sided closed auction with uniform price. The concept of “Gate Closure” has been introduced for bringing in the desired firmness in schedules during the hours of market operation. Buyers/sellers shall have the option of placing buy/sell bids for each 15-minute time block. The proposed real time market would provide an alternate mechanism for Discoms to access larger market at competitive price. On the other hand, generators would also benefit by participating in the real time market with their un-requisitioned capacity. A mechanism has been provided for generators having long-term contract and participating in this market to share the net gains with the Discoms. National Load Despatch Centre-POSOCO is facilitating necessary automation in coordination with power exchanges to ensure faster transactions and settlements in the real time market framework.

The Government of India’s target of 175 GW RE Capacity by 2022 is driving accelerated renewable penetration pan-India. The real time market would help to mitigate challenges to the grid management due to intermittent and variable nature of renewable energy generation and therefore, help to integrate higher quantum of renewable energy resources into the grid.

It is expected that shorter bidding time, faster scheduling, and defined processes (e.g. gate closure) are expected to enable the participants to access resources throughout the all India grid, promoting competition. It would lead to better portfolio management by the utilities with efficient power procurement planning, scheduling, despatch, and imbalance handling.

The distribution companies would be able to manage their power purchase portfolio optimally and need not tie up excess capacity. It would lead to cost optimization of power purchase and serving the consumers with reliable supply as any last minute requirement of power can easily be bought from the Real Time market. Earlier regime of managing the grid by load shedding due last minute changes can be easily avoided. Thus, it is win win for all stakeholders generators having opportunity to sale their surpluses, better management of variability of RE generation, better utilization of transmission systems, discoms opportunity to buy or sell power and finally consumer getting reliable power supply.

Source : PIB

Emission norms for L7 (Quadricycle) category for BS VI notified

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued notification GSR 308(E ) dated 22nd May 2020 regarding the emission norms for L7 (Quadricycle) category for BS VI. These norms are applicable from the date of notification. This notification completes the process of BS VI for all L, M and N category vehicles in India. The emission norms are in line with EU with WMTC cycle. The procedure for testing is laid down in AIS 137-Part 9.

Source : PIB

India’s first biofuel powered flight undertakes maiden voyage

A historic flight powered by indigenously produced aviation biofuel based on patented technology of CSIR-IIP Dehradun made its maiden voyage from Dehradun airport to Delhi.

Spicejet - as the lead organization for the demonstration flight - and Chhattisgarh Biofuel Development Authority- the supplier of the jatropha oil for the flight, sourced from over 500 farmers, received considerable policy and regulatory support from the MOPNG Working Group on Biofuels and the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) in making this flight happen.

With this maiden flight India joins the exclusive club of nations using biofuel in aviation.The use of bio jet fuel, apart from reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 15 percent and sulfur oxides (SOx) emissions by over 99 percent, is expected to provide indigenous jet fuel supply security, possible cost savings as feedstock availability at farm level scales up, superior engine performance and reduced maintenance cost for the airline operators.

Source : PIB

Government declares national targets for off-shore wind power

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy recently invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the first 1 GW offshore wind project in India, which has evoked keen response from the industry both global and Indian. Now to give confidence to the wind industry, the Ministry has declared medium and long term target for off-shore wind power capacity additions, which are 5 GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030. While this may look moderate in comparison to India’s on-shore wind target of 60 GW and its achievement of 34 GW and solar target of 100 GW by 2022, this would still be challenging considering the difficulties in installing large wind power turbines in open seas. It may be mentioned that offshore wind turbines are of much larger dimensions and capacities than onshore turbines.

Offshore wind power would add a new element to the already existing basket of renewable energy for the country.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy had notified National Off-Shore Wind Policy in October 2015 to realize the offshore wind power potential in the country. Preliminary studies have indicated good wind potential for off-shore wind power both in southern tip of Indian peninsula and west coast. Two regions where preliminary studies are conducted are off coast of Gujarat and that of Tamil Nadu. For precise wind quality measurements one LiDAR has been installed near Gujarat coast which is generating data about quality of off-shore wind since November, 2017. Encouraged by quality of off-shore wind, a private sector player has also installed LiDAR in Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat for offshore wind resource measurements. Plans are afoot to install more of such equipment in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Surveys to understand the oceanographic and sea bed condition within identified zones off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have been planned. Globally there has been installation of about 17 to 18 GW of off-shore wind power led by countries such as UK, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands & China. Recent years have witnessed fall in off-shore wind tariff in some of these markets.

Source : PIB

Diu becomes first UT to run 100% on solar power

The harnessing of solar energy has made Diu the country’s first energy surplus Union territory and a model for an effective way for people to harness this renewable energy source. In just three years, Diu has made rapid progress in solar power generation. The Union territory has an area of just 42 square kilometres. Despite scarcity of land, solar power plants have been installed over more than 50 acres.

Diu generates a total of 13 megawatts of electricity from solar power generating facilities daily. Around 3 MW is generated by rooftop solar plants and 10 MW by its other solar power plants. Three years ago, the people of Diu consumed electricity supplied from the power grid owned by the Gujarat government, resulting in huge line losses. Once the local power company started generating electricity from solar energy, the electricity loss was significantly reduced.

Source : Economic Times

Solar Energy Scheme for Small Powerloom Units

Government has approved a new scheme to provide financial assistance/capital subsidy to small powerloom units, for installation of Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) plant, in order to alleviate the problem of power cut/ shortage faced by decentralized powerloom units in the country.

Under the Solar Energy Scheme, the plants have two options:

• On-Grid Solar Power Plant where power cut/shortage is negligible and power tariff is high
• Off-Grid Solar Power Plant in areas where there is power shortage & on-grid power is not continuously available.

Financial assistance/capital subsidy to be given under the scheme is as follows:

The Scheme came into force with effect from 01.04.2017.

Source: PIB