40 GW
: 70 GW
: 300 GW :
800 GW
Highlights :
#
The government is considering a plan to establish battery making
capacity of 40
gigawatts (GW)
# Even for just FAME
II EV targets, we will require 70 GW batteries in
the next 3 years
# With plans to add
175 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2022 and ensure
that 30 % of India’s vehicles are electrically
powered by 2030, the demand for battery
storage is pegged
at 300 GW
#
There will be 4 plants ( in 4 selected states ) of 10 GW capacity
each ( totaling 40 GW )
# Each 10 GW plant
is expected to cost $ 10 Billion ( total of $ 40 Billion for 4 plants )
# The Centre is
exploring the opportunities on how to make battery manufacturing at
giga-scale happen quickly and in the shortest
possible time because that is the crux of
the entire growth
, be it Electric Vehicles or new and renewable energy sources
=====================================================
This is a very welcome initiative on the part of NITI Aayog
But I have following questions / concerns / reservations :
# 4 States are to be
selected on the basis of the “ incentives “ that they will offer for
setting up this project in their territory.
If
left “ open-ended “, this could well result into
a quagmire of “
permutations / combinations “ , demanding comparison of Apples with
Oranges
!
There will be un-ending disputes re “ arbitrary and non-transparent “ selection
process and
references to Rafale deal !
These disputes will take
months to resolve !
It will be better
if NITI Aayog prescribes a set of incentives with “ Minimum Cut off Limit “
for each incentive
, below which a State’s offer will be rejected
Chosen states
should be expected to enter into an MOU , under which they undertake to
complete each activity ( Hand-over of land /
Connecting the Power – Water Supply /
Issue of Construction Permissions / Exemption
from labour laws / Exemption from
Environment
Pollution Act etc ) by specific dates
# Private companies
( whether Domestic or Foreign ) bidding for the projects, must submit
a PERT
chart for the implementation of the project, and clearly list the
“ Assumptions “
that they have
made in the preparation of the PERT
chart .
No bid should be considered
without this
# Bidding parties
MUST clearly spell out in their bids , how much of the required FUNDS
they will raise from each SOURCE
This is a very
crucial factor while selecting a party , considering that Banks / Financial
Institutions /
Equity Market , are all extremely reluctant to finance any Lithium-ion
Battery
Project since Battery selling prices are continuously falling by as much as 19
%
per year !
{ Projections :
2017 > $ 240/Kwh // 2025 > $ 109 /
Kwh // 2030 > $ 73 / Kwh }
This puts
tremendous pressure on the revenue / profit stream !
# If, neither the
Private Sector has the money ( Rs 80,000
Cr per year , for 10 years in row
!
), nor is NDA 2.0, likely to find Foreign Investors to pump in such huge
amounts by way
of
FDI , then what is the solution ?
As far as I can see, the only way to raise
such huge amounts of LOW RISK ( - and LOW
RETURN
) funds in a QUICK WAY, is concept of :
Government to launch “ Battery
Infra SPV “
· Under Indonesia type “ Black Money Amnesty Scheme “ enable
stashed away Black Money to come out in the official banking channel ( through
deposits made in “ INFRA ACCOUNTS “ – like Jan Dhan Accounts ) . Remember , Indonesia managed to
raise $ 342 Billions !
Read :
· Such
converted ( Black to White ) monies can
only be invested in “ Battery Infra SPV “
Hoping for any other way to raise
such HUGE amounts of “ Risk Free “ and “ Interest Free “ funds , in such a short
time , would only amount to WISHFUL THINKING !
I hope someone has the courage to tell
the public this terrible TRUTH !
It is time to forget all that senile talk of an AMNESTY SCHEME rewarding the dishonest
tax-evaders and punishing the honest / middle class tax payers !
It is time to tell the people : If we want to eliminate air
pollution and save 600,000 premature deaths per year , thenMeans are unimportant ; Ends are !
Releted Reading :
Mobility on the Move – Finally ……………………….[ 09 March 2019 ]
