From Ladakh with Love ( and Sun Shine )

Business Line ( 09 Aug ) carries following news :

Single bid planned for storage-linked solar power project in Ladakh : R K Singh

   

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 !

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/07/unlimited-power-and-round-clock.html  }

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

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/03/piyush-goyal-is-visionary.html  }

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 

  

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/10/solarpower.html  }

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

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/11/solarpower-thermalpower-storagebattery.html  }

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.”

{  https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/02/national-energy-storage-mission.html }

10  Aug  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

A tale of two countries

How does India’s  response to Social Media mischiefs , compare with that of China ?

Here is how :

INDIA

Behave responsibly': Government warns internet giants      

Extract :

Maintaining its tough stance against multi-national internet giants, the government on Tuesday warned large platforms to “ behave in a responsible manner “ , to enable users report “ disturbing “ content promptly so that swift action can be initiated

IT secretary , Ajay P Sawhney said that platforms should take pro-active steps to ensure that subscribers develop confidence in them while using their services

Sawhney said that the government takes action against the platforms under the provisions mentioned in the IT Act after violations are noticed

“ we have requested various companies to make sure that flagging of concerns is possible within the platforms ….. If something is disturbing , users should be able to flag off ( such content ) . The platform can take action “

CHINA

Baidu ready to beat Google in China: CEO

In a posting on a private social media account on Tuesday, Baidu CEO Robin Li said if the two companies come head to head, “ Baidu will win again ”.

“Chinese companies today have plenty of ability and confidence” to compete globally, he added.

Apple

has removed hundreds of apps from its Chinese app store in the past year under increasingly strict censorship laws championed by Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Facebook,

whose social media products are banned in China, is also making efforts to enter the restrictive market.

Google,

the world’s biggest search engine, is welcome to return to China as long as it complies with the nation’s laws and right to control the internet within its borders, the People’s Daily said.

“The decision to exit the Chinese market was a huge blunder, which made the company miss golden chances in the mainland’s internet development,” the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party said.

“ Google

  is welcome to return to the mainland, but it’s a prerequisite that it must comply with the

  requirements of the law.”

 

It is true that unlike China , India is a democracy where “ freedom of speech “ is a constitutionally guaranteed right ( - even though some do treat it as a “ license to hurt others through abusive language “ )

May be , we are also more “ polite “ than the Chinese when it comes to welcoming “ foreigners ( - even if “ online “ ) .  Atithi  Devo  Bhav  ! How can we talk back to guests , who are “ Gods “ ?

May be , it takes our Parliament , months and years ,to enact new laws or amend old ones ( since our legislators are too busy rushing into the well of the house or visiting canteen ? )

It took ShriKrishna committee one year to submit a draft of Data Protection Law

Now expect our Parliament ( after 2019 election ) , to take up this for a debate for 6 / 8 months and then pass it in an “ Un-implementable “ manner !

In India , time stands still  !

I urge the Policy Makers to debate my following suggestion – and throw it out if they can come up with something better :

A  Matter  of  Motive

 

Social Media web sites would be “ amenable “ to my suggestion

It seems they are under pressure from all over the World and have, therefore , come up with :

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter Launch   Data Transfer Project 

It comes in the wake of GDPR, which has a requirement for such portability. The European legislation gives individuals the right to “ receive personal data they have provided to a controller in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format ” and request that a controller transmits this data directly to another controller.

=================================

 

Dear  Shri  @RaviShankarPrasadji ,

On this day , 76 years ago , Mahatma Gandhi issued an ultimatum to the British Empire :

Quit India

It is time to tell the Social Media Empire ,

“  Sign up an agreement as envisaged in 

“  A  Matter  of  Motive  “ ,  

or pack up and leave “

 

09  Aug  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Rename it , “ Vehicle Recycle Policy “

Following news appeared yesterday :

Vehicle scrap policy to see another round of consultations with stakeholders: Nitin Gadkari  

Highlight  :

The proposed policy for scrapping 20-year old commercial vehicles will go for another round of consultations with stakeholders as per the PMO directions, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

The proposal aims to pave the way for mandatory scrapping of such vehicles from April 1, 2020. 

He said that after "taking everyone's views" it will be sent back to the PMO for approval, he said 

Once the policy is approved, he said :

“ India could emerge as a hub for automobile manufacturing as key raw material available from scrapping like steel, aluminium and plastic are bound to be recycled, bringing down automobile prices by "20 to 30 per cent."

 

In May 2016, the government had floated a draft Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP) that proposed to take 28 million decade-old vehicles off the road. 

Dear Shri Gadkariji,

I urge you to expedite the release of this policy in view of the following :

#   Old vehicles ( all BS IV  ) do not meet current emission standards and pollute the air

#   They also damage the roads and need heavy / frequent maintenance

#   They cause accidents due to failure of brakes etc

#  Each old car scrapped can yield approx. 0.9 tons of steel scrap

#  Let us assume that , out of those 28 million vehicles to be scrapped , some 20 million are

    Cars . These can yield 18 million tons of steel scrap

#  Steel scrap gets sold for Rs 25,000 per ton as against new CRCA sheets selling for Rs

    51,000 per ton

#  Using steel scrap as input raw material may bring down the cost of production of making

    new CRCA steel sheets and possibly, their prices might drop from Rs 51,000 to  Rs

    40,000 per ton( 25% drop  )

#   To make 1 ton of Steel , we need following inputs :

·          Iron Ore…………….. 1,115  kg

·         Coal……………………..    625  kg

·         Lime Stone……………     53  kg

·         Energy………………….    642  Kwh

·         Oil………………………..     287  litre

    Imagine how much the country can save for 18 million tons of steel  ?

    On top of that there will be enormous saving of foreign exchange by not having to import

    that 6 / 8 million tons of steel scrap that our Steel Industry currently imports  !

I request you to refer to my following earlier emails on how we should go about framing up our ,

VEHICLE   RE-CYCLE   POLICY   :

 

PIYUSH PLAN  ?   ………………………………………… [  27  March  2016  ]

Retiring Old Vehicles - Gadkari Style ? ………. [  30  May   2016   ]

Young or Old ?  ………………………………………………[  27  Aug  2016    ]

From OLD to NEW ?  No , go NEWER !  ……….[  22  Sept   2016   ]

Building Castles in the Air ?   ………………………..[  12  March  2017  ]

Best out of a Bad Bargain ?  ………………………….[  29  March  2017  ]

Car Grave-Yard of World ?  ……………………………[    14  Feb  2018    ]

One door closes  ;  Another opens   ……………..[   27  Feb  2018     ]

Mahindra Accelo : Saluting a pioneer  …………..[  19  June  2018    ]

 

Scrapping Old Vehicles : Swiss Challenge Solution  [  24  July  2018  ]

 

08  Aug  2018

 

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs