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The Hindu
4 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
When sustainability and low carbon are targets, a factory near Chennai sets an example
Among the hundreds of industries functioning in the Sriperumbudur industrial belt of Kancheepuram district, one factory seems to stand out as far as efficient use of natural resources of water and sunlight is concerned. A solar panel manufacturer has pioneered the art of saving water through the 'Zero liquid discharge' (ZLD) project, with zero waste generation. First Solar, a US-based wholly owned subsidiary of First Solar, Inc, operating within a water-intensive industry segment, is engaged in the manufacture of solar panels for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) located in the SIPCOT Industrial park of Pillaipakkam near Sriperumbudur. The 3.30 giga watt (GW) solar panel manufacturing factory, spanning more than 130 acres, has actualised the mantra of 'reuse, recycle, and repurpose' in the manufacturing process through efficient use of water and manufacturing waste. N.L. Selvakumar, head, environment and recycling, First Solar, who is in charge of the ZLD system, said the factory floor, spanning more than 24 lakh needs water for two purposes — cooling the factory and manufacturing. The company, which requires almost 3.60 million litres of water per day, had tied up with Metrowater to supply tertiary-treated reverse osmosis (RO) water from the Koyambedu sewage treatment plant for the factory's needs. But subsequently, the company set up their own water treatment facility (ZLD), resulting in the reduction of more than 50% dependence on the sourced RO water from Koyambedu plant. The ZLD system, which has been set up and managed in-house, extracts water from the discharged wastewater, and enables its reuse by producing 'ultra pure water' for the manufacturing and cooling processes, thereby drastically reducing the intake of water requirements. The system has enabled the creation of solar modules in the State with the lowest water footprint in the world, compared to traditional polysilicon-based solar panel production, according to the company. The factory, employing more than 1,400 persons, has also set up a sewage treatment facility, which operates a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) sewage treatment plant that utilises the treated water for watering the garden. Over 80 kilolitres per day of treated water is being generated, Mr. Selvakumar added. Sujoy Ghosh, Country Managing Director, First Solar, says the company's commitment to the environment not only lies in water conservation but also in generating clean electricity. He said as part of this, the company had installed their own captive solar plants of 53.66 mega watt (MW) in southern parts of the State. Mr. Ghosh further said the company's green footprint was 35% renewable energy, and ongoing solar projects promise expansion to 116.80 MW. Unlike the manufacturing waste generated by polysilicon-based solar panel producers, the factory, which generates 2% of industrial wastes, recycles them into minerals to be used again for solar panels and crushed glass.
Business Recorder
10-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Inefficiencies hiking capacity charges highlighted
ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Member (Technical) Rafique Ahmad Shaikh has highlighted inefficiencies in the country's transmission system, which resulted in the payment of Rs 69 billion in capacity charges to three coal-fired power plants despite extremely low utilisation and less relief in tariff for March 2025 under monthly FCA mechanism. Shaikh made these observations in his two additional notes; i.e., on the Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) for the third quarter of FY 2024-25 whereas the second is on FCA adjustment for Discos for the month of March 2025. He also wrote a third additional note on delay in interconnection of the KE's system with NTDC due to which consumers of KE are not getting due relief in tariff. As part of this adjustment, Nepra approved a reduction of Rs 1.55 per unit, providing a total financial benefit of Rs 52.6 billion to consumers of power Distribution Companies and K-Electric (KE) in their electricity bills for May, June, and July 2025 whereas a negative adjustment of Rs 0.29 per unit was approved for Discos consumers. For KE, a negative adjustment of Rs 3.64 per unit has been approved. QTA & MTA: Nepra cuts tariffs for Discos and KE According to Shaikh, the capacity claimed by Distribution Companies (Discos) for the third quarter amounted to Rs 362.395 billion, which is significantly lower than the reference figure of Rs 459.286 billion. During the same period, electricity sales stood at 19,968 GWh—down from the reference figure of 21,846 GWh. He noted that typically, a decline in electricity sales leads to an increase in capacity charges due to the fixed-cost nature of these payments. However, this quarter witnessed the termination of certain Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and other adjustments related to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which helped lower the overall capacity payments, resulting in a negative adjustment. Shaikh emphasised that although the quarterly adjustment saw a significant decrease, improved governance and more efficient operations could have further boosted electricity sales and led to an even greater reduction. To this end, he outlined several areas requiring urgent attention:(i) GENCO-II (Guddu Old), GENCO-III (TPS Muzaffargarh), and GENCO-I (Jamshoro Power Company Limited) collectively claimed Rs 1.237 billion in capacity payments— Rs 469 million, Rs 350 million, and Rs 418 million, respectively— despite generating no electricity during the quarter. These plants suffer from high generation costs and low operational efficiency, and are unlikely to receive dispatch orders in the future due to the availability of surplus, lower-cost capacity in the system. Continued payments to these non-operational units place an undue burden on the power sector and end consumers. A strategic review is essential to rationalise these expenditures and enhance sectoral efficiency; and (ii) transmission constraints are also severely limiting the utilisation of several efficient and cost-effective power plants in the southern region, including Port Qasim, China Power, and Lucky Electric. These plants reported utilisation factors of just 1%, 10%, and 0%, respectively, yet collectively claimed Rs 69.09 billion in capacity charges— Rs 26.95 billion for Port Qasim, Rs 30.88 billion for China Power, and Rs 11.26 billion for Lucky Electric. 'Such inefficiencies highlight the urgent need to address transmission bottlenecks and reform dispatch practices to ensure optimal use of the country's available low-cost power generation resources,' he added. Additional Note on FCA: In his additional note on Disco's FCA's determination for the month March 2025, he said serious efforts are being made across various forums to reduce electricity costs, several persistent issues— especially poor governance— continue to drive up electricity prices in Pakistan. The following key challenges have been outlined to help guide relevant stakeholders toward building a more efficient and sustainable power sector: (i) power generation in March 2025 was 8.5% below the reference level, partly due to AT&C-based load shedding. This AT&C based load shedding not only worsens public hardship but also results in underutilisation of 'Take or Pay' power plants, driving up costs. In March 2025, 'Take or Pay' thermal power plants, with a total capacity of 20,248-MW, operated at only 34.29% utilisation. Enhancing governance at the Disco level is essential to effectively eliminate aggregate Technical and Commercial losses; (ii) the continued outage of Steam Turbine Unit 16, ongoing since July 2022, at the Guddu 747-MW Power Plant resulted in Rs. 0.68 billion in losses for March 2025, raising total losses for FY 2024-25 (up to March) to Rs. 6.41 billion; (iii) operating the Guddu 747MW power plant in open cycle mode led to reduced output from this cost effective source, requiring the shortfall to be met through more expensive, marginal-cost plants. This shift added Rs 24 billion in extra costs in March 2025 alone, with total additional costs reaching Rs. 110 billion during FY 2024-25 (up to March). Progress on resolving the damaged steam turbine issue requires accelerated efforts; (iv) Neelum Jhelum 969MW hydropower plant has been out of operation since May 2024. Its non-availability in March 2025 forced reliance on costlier alternatives, resulting in an additional Rs. 4.5 billion in costs compared to March 2024. The total financial impact for FY 2024-25 (up to March) has reached Rs. 28 billion. Resolving the issue requires more concerted and focused efforts; (v) the HVDC infrastructure operated at only 32% utilisation in March 2025, while consumers continued to bear full capacity charges. Among other factors, a key reason for this underutilisation is the delayed completion of the Lahore North Grid Station. Efforts must be intensified to complete the task without any further delay; (vi) Transmission and grid system constraints led to losses of Rs. 0.62 billion in March 2025, bringing the cumulative impact to Rs. 12.31 billion for FY 2024-25 (up to March). Efforts should be intensified to quickly remove transmission constraints that are harming the sector's financial viability; and (vii) Part Load Adjustment Charges (PLAC) amounted to Rs. 2.6 billion in March 2025, bringing the total to Rs. 29.8 billion for FY 2024-25 (up to March). These charges are expected to rise further, as PLAC schedules for some power plants are still being finalized. A study should be conducted to reduce PLAC through effective demand-side management. He further stated that March 2025 FCA includes a negative prior period adjustment of approximately Rs. 3.29 billion. Excluding this, the FCA would have reflected a positive adjustment of Rs. 0.37/kWh. Prior period adjustments, whether positive or negative, are undesirable. To minimise their occurrence and impact, invoicing, verification, and adjustment processes should be improved, with any such adjustments limited to a maximum period of not more than two months. KE's FCA for February 2025: Member (Technical) stated that the successful enhancement of the interconnection between K-Electric and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) to a safe operating limit of 1,600MW is a commendable step. However, efforts to further increase this capacity to 2,000MW and beyond— originally targeted for completion by June 2024— remained incomplete. In February 2025, the fuel cost in KE's generation mix stood at Rs. 20.01/kWh, significantly higher than NTDC's average of Rs. 8.23/kWh. 'If the interconnection capacity had been upgraded as planned, increased reliance on NTDC's lower-cost surplus power could have further reduced the Fuel Cost Adjustment, easing the financial burden on consumers,' he said adding that in light of the current surplus of economical generation within the NTDC system and the high cost of KE's internal generation, it is imperative that the interconnection upgrade be completed without further delay. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
News18
07-05-2025
- Business
- News18
PM Modi-Led CCEA Approves Revised SHAKTI Scheme For Allocation Of Coal To Power Plants
The approval was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a move aimed at simplification of the linkage process. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the revised Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India (SHAKTI) for allocation of coal to the power sector to help them meet long-term and short-term coal requirement. The approval was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a move aimed at simplification of the linkage process. The CCEA 'has approved grant of fresh coal linkages to thermal power plants of central sector/state sector/independent power producers (IPPs)," the coal ministry said in a statement. With the introduction of Revised SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) Policy, two windows —coal linkage to central gencos/states at notified price and coal linkage to all gencos at a premium above notified price — have been proposed. The ministry further said 'under coal at notified price' segment the existing mechanism for grant of coal linkage to central sector thermal power projects (TPPs) including joint ventures (JVs) and their subsidiary will continue. Moreover, coal linkage earmarked to states may be utilized by states in its own genco, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to be identified through Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) or existing IPPs having Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for setting up of a new expansion unit under 'coal at notified price' window. Under the 'premium over notified price' segment, any domestic coal-based power producer having PPA or untied and also Imported coal-based power plants (if they so require) can secure coal on auction basis for a period up to 12 months or for the period of more than 12 months up to 25 years. The Central Sector Thermal Power Projects (TPPs) shall continue to get coal linkage on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power, whereas, the linkages earmarked to the States on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power may be utilized by the States in the State Generating Company, the statement added. Allowing flexible linkage for new capacity addition with or without PPA with a tenure ranging from 12 months to 25 years will encourage IPPs to plan new thermal capacities, which will help in achieving the future thermal capacity addition. The revised policy, besides supporting brownfield expansion, will promote setting up of new thermal power projects primarily at pithead sites i.e. nearer to the coal source. With the introduction of SHAKTI Policy, 2017, there was a paradigm shift of the coal allocation mechanism from a nomination-based regime to a more transparent way of allocation of coal linkages through an auction/tariff-based bidding. Nomination based allocation continued only for the central/state Sector power plants. The policy was amended in 2019 on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers and was further amended in 2023. SHAKTI Policy has various paras for allocation of a coal linkage to the various categories of power plants, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria. Central Sector thermal power projects will continue to get coal linkage on nomination basis on the recommendation of the power ministry, whereas, the linkages earmarked to the states on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power might be utilised by the states in the state generating company. The requirement of power purchase pact has been entirely done away for selling the electricity generated through the coal-secured under 'premium over notified price' category, thereby providing the power plants the flexibility to sell the electricity as per their choice. Moreover, the imported coal-based plants can secure domestic coal under 'premium over notified price' segment, subject to the technical constraints of ICB (imported coal based) plants, thereby reducing their import coal dependency. 'The benefits accrued, on account of import coal substitution, would be determined by Appropriate Regulatory Commission and passed on to the electricity consumers/beneficiaries," the statement said.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
CCEA approves revised SHAKTI scheme for allocation of coal to power plants
Live Events The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the revised Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India (SHAKTI) for allocation of coal to the power sector to help them meet long-term and short-term coal requirement. The approval was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi , in a move aimed at simplification of the linkage CCEA "has approved grant of fresh coal linkages to thermal power plants of central sector/state sector/independent power producers (IPPs)," the coal ministry said in a the introduction of Revised SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) Policy, two windows --- coal linkage to central gencos/states at notified price and coal linkage to all gencos at a premium above notified price -- have been ministry further said 'under coal at notified price' segment the existing mechanism for grant of coal linkage to central sector thermal power projects (TPPs) including joint ventures (JVs) and their subsidiary will coal linkage earmarked to states may be utilized by states in its own genco, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to be identified through Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) or existing IPPs having Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for setting up of a new expansion unit under 'coal at notified price' the 'premium over notified price' segment, any domestic coal-based power producer having PPA or untied and also Imported coal-based power plants (if they so require) can secure coal on auction basis for a period upto 12 months or for the period of more than 12 months upto 25 Central Sector Thermal Power Projects (TPPs) shall continue to get coal linkage on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power, whereas, the linkages earmarked to the States on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power may be utilized by the States in the State Generating Company, the statement added.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cabinet approves revised 'SHAKTI' policy for coal allocation to power sector, ET EnergyWorld
Advt Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Download ETEnergyworld App Get Realtime updates Save your favourite articles Scan to download App New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi , on Wednesday approved the grant of fresh coal linkages to thermal power plants of the Central Sector, State Sector and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) under the revised 'SHAKTI' approval includes Coal linkage to Central Gencos and states at notified price in 'Window-I' and coal linkage to all Gencos at a Premium above notified price in 'Window-II', according to an official Window-I, the existing mechanism for grant of coal linkage to Central Sector Thermal Power Projects (TPPs) including Joint Ventures (JVs) and their subsidiary will continue, the statement coal linkages will be earmarked to states and to an agency authorised by group of states as per existing mechanism, on the recommendation of Ministry of Power. Coal linkage earmarked to states may be utilised by states in its own Genco, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to be identified through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) or existing IPPs having Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) under Section 62 of the Electricity Act, 2003 for setting up of a new expansion unit having PPA under Section 62, the statement 'Window-II' for premium above notified price, any domestic coal-based power producer having PPA or untied and also imported coal-based power plants (if they so require) can secure coal on auction basis for a period up to 12 months or for the period of more than 12 months up to 25 years by paying premium above the notified price and providing the power plants the flexibility to sell the electricity as per their would be issued to Coal India Limited (CIL)/Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for implementation of the aforesaid decisions. Besides, the concerned Ministries and all the states will also be apprised of the revised 'SHAKTI' policy for further dissemination to the concerned Departments/Authorities and also to the Regulatory Commissions, the statement the introduction of revised SHAKTI Policy , existing eight paras for coal allocation have been mapped to only two windows, in the spirit of ease of doing policy will enable the power plants to plan for meeting their coal requirement depending upon their demand for long-term and Central Sector Thermal Power Projects (TPPs) will continue to get coal linkage on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power, whereas, the linkages earmarked to the States on nomination basis on the recommendation of Ministry of Power may be utilised by the states in the State Generating requirement of PPA has been entirely done away with for selling the electricity generated through the coal secured under Window-II, thereby providing the power plants the flexibility to sell the electricity as per their flexible linkage for new capacity addition with or without PPA with a tenure ranging from 12 months to 25 years is expected to encourage IPPs to plan new thermal capacities, which will help in achieving the future thermal capacity Coal Based (ICB) plants can secure domestic coal under Window-II, subject to the technical constraints of ICB plants, thereby reducing their import coal dependency. The benefits accrued, on account of import coal substitution, would be determined by Appropriate Regulatory Commission and passed on to the electricity consumers/ revised SHAKTI Policy, besides supporting brownfield expansion, will promote setting up of greenfield thermal power projects primarily at pithead sites which are nearer to the coal an aim to reduce the 'landed cost' of coal at thermal power plant end, coal source rationalisation will be done. This will not only ease up railway infrastructure but would also ultimately result in reduced tariff for electricity consumers, the statement revised 'SHAKTI' policy also provides for delegation of powers for enabling minor changes, in the policy, at the level of concerned Ministries. Further, for dealing with operational issues, an "Empowered Committee" comprising Secretary (Power), Secretary (Coal) and Chairperson, CEA is proposed, the statement added.--IANSsps/na
