Business Line ( 09 Aug ) carries following news :
The Centre is in the process of coming
out with a SINGLE BID for setting up a storage linked solar power project in Ladakh.
“Ladakh has the highest potential, of
about 35,000 MW, for solar power in India.
So we are talking about coming out with
one bid of 25,000 MW with storage,”
said Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Renewable Energy, RK
Singh.
He was speaking at a NITI Aayog
conference on government and business partnership on fast tracks for the 2030
agenda: Water, Energy and Green Industry and said:
the power generated from this proposed
project will be delivered at Nagpur.
Congratulations , Shri @RKSingh !
After many months of somewhat depressing news about
Solar Power projects , your announcement comes as a “ ray of hope “ !
In the past , nothing like what you are attempting ,
has ever been tried anywhere in the entire World
I doubt if such a project will ever get attempted in
the future .
Naa Bhooto , Naa Bhavishyati !
That raises following questions :
·
Assumptions
I suppose the total
project will consist of 50 packets of 500 MW each , with their own 500 MW grid
scale Battery Storage each , to be compositely quoted
by the bidders
Government will take care
of installing / commissioning , the
required transmission and distribution network , well before
the first solar plant comes up
Current problems of the
States going back on already signed PPA , will
be sorted out
In this project , this is
all the more important since LADAKH power will flow through several States and feed them all
Recently levied Safeguard Duty ( 25 % ) will be waived for this
mega-project , in order to make it competitive for all the bidders ( foreign +
domestic )
·
Funds
Required by the Bidders
For 25,000 MW of Solar
Generation Plant………………… $ 25 Billion ( Rs
175,000 Cr )
For 25,000 MW of Grid
Battery Storage…………………… $ 12.5 Billion (
Rs 90,000 Cr )
·
Who
will bid ?
There will be many foreign
bidders . Among these , companies from China / Japan / America , will dominate
since these countries are the main manufacturers of both , the Solar Panels and
the Grid Scale Battery Storage
America > Buying from USA will make Trump very happy !
China > Chinese will be the cheapest since
# they
have over-capacity
#
recent huge drop in their local demand
# find it difficult to export to USA due to
Trump imposing 25 % duty
But it is unlikely that
Chinese companies will get any financial backing,
either from their bankers or from their
government (both are stressed )
Japan
> Earlier, Japan( JICA ) has
given us a loan of Rs 80,000 cr ($ 13 billion )
at 2 % interest and payable over 50 years with
10 year grace period
And Japan has an experience
of 40 years in Solar Power generation
I think , we would be best placed to split the total
project among bidders from all the three countries , in order to make them
compete with one another on tariff / quality / delivery / funding / maintenance
etc
I also strongly suggest incorporation of following
clauses in tender documents :
·
Cost (
Rs / kwh ) de-escalation whereby tariff will
drop by 2 % each year
·
Liquidated Damages clause / Risk
Purchase Clause
·
Bonus – cum – Penalty clause
for completion by target dates ( earlier – later )
For a few related issues , you may want to refer to my
following earlier emails :
Way back in July 2016 , I wrote :
Nearly 20 % of the World's surface is receiving Solar Energy ,
at all times , including on vast tracts of sea / desert / forests or other
un-inhabited regions , where there is no local demand / consumption of power
Installing Solar Power generating panels in such regions can
generate , a huge amount of power
And , without bothering to " store " such power into
storage batteries , it can be exported to other regions of the World , which
are facing night and have no capacity to " store " whatever solar
power it may have produced during its own day-time
MNRE is examining a proposal submitted by the Power Grid Corporation
of India , to generate Solar and Wind power in the deserts of Rajasthan / Kutchh / Lahul and Spiti / Ladakh
These deserts have , between them , the potential to
generate 315.7 GW of Solar
plus Wind power !
Then in March 2017 , I wrote :
Please expedite your approval of the proposal submitted by the
Power Grid Corporation of India , to generate 315.7 GW of Solar power in
the deserts of Rajasthan / Kutchh / Lahul
and Spiti / Ladakh
Make a beginning with 10 GW
That will enable you to provide power to homes / offices and
factories all over India at Rs 1.0 per Kwh
!
Then challenge Elon Musk , to set up 100 BATTERY STORAGE
SYSTEMS ( of 100 MW each ) all over India , using his POWERPACK batteries ,
the way he plans to do in Australia
In Oct
2017 , I wrote :
Of course , there would be additional investment in GRID SIZE power storage batteries ( the kind TESLA is currently
installing in Australia ) , to supply power to a process plant , around
the clock
I hope the new Minister for Renewable Energy , Shri R K Singhji , would give a push to
the proposal submitted by the Power Grid Corporation of India
In November
2017
, I wrote :
Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy – MNRE - is examining a proposal submitted by the Power Grid Corporation
of India , to generate Solar and Wind power in the deserts of Rajasthan / Kutchh / Lahul and Spiti / Ladakh
These deserts have
, between them , the potential to generate 315.7
GW of Solar plus Wind power, compared with our present installed
capacity of 331 GW
But , how to
“ Store “ all that huge amount
of Solar generated electricity and use it round the clock when Sun is not
shining ?
This ( storage of solar generated power ) was not possible till
yesterday
But it just became possible !
Only yesterday , Elon Musk ( TESLA ) completed installation of
a 100 MW / 129 MWh , Lithium-ion Battery Storage facility in Australia ,
for a cost of $ 50 million
All within 100 days – ensuring no more “ black outs “ in South
Australia !
To store that 316 GW ( 316,000 MW ) of solar power
generated in our deserts , we
will need 3160 Storage Batteries of the size ( 100 MW ) installed in Australia
That would cost , $
158 Billion ( Rs 11.15 lakh*crore )
In all , we need to raise :
For 316 GW solar power projects in
our deserts…………$ 316 Billion
For 3160 Mega Storage
Batteries………………………………..$ 158 Billion
A Total of …………………………………………………………………………… $ 474 Billion
Where / how can we raise such funds ?
A small country like Indonesia managed to raise nearly $ 330 Billion of stashed away Black Money
( out of an estimated $ 851 Billion ) within 6 months under a tax amnesty
scheme ( just pay 2 % tax / no penalty ! ) – all for investing in
infrastructure
Finally ,
in Feb 2018 , I wrote :
Speaking at an industry event, Minister of State (Independent
Charge) for Power and Renewable Energy RK Singh said,
“ We need a viable commercial plan for storing
renewable energy and we will be able to significantly cut down import of fossil
fuels once the storage of renewable energy is commercially viable.”
10 Aug
2018
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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