Coal fired gencos face stiff competition from RE

Coal fired gencos face competition from RE www.infralive.com 30 Infra LIVE April 15, 2020 court alleging that wind and solar power is being curtailed by Andhra distribution companies despite the court directing them not to do so. The YSR Congress government in the state has been attempting to renegotiate power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renew- able energy developers because it believes the contracts were signed at rates higher than those in other states. APTEL disallows tariff cuts by Andhra Pradesh discoms In a major relief to foreign- funded solar projects worth Rs 4,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh, the Appellate Tribunal For Electricity (APTEL) has directed the state-owned power distribu- tion companies (discoms) to pay Rs 2.72 per unit tariff - the rate discovered in reverse auctions - to the plant developers. Reversing the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Commission's October 2019 order, APTEL said that the state power regulator “ought not to have passed conditional order,” which allowed the state to buy electricity from these solar projects only if tariffs were reduced to Rs 2.44 per unit. Andhra govt plans 10,000 MW solar power project to meet energy needs On February 12, 2020, Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved a government plan to develop 10,000 MW of solar power capacity for meeting the state's energy needs. The project will require a massive investment of Rs 35,000-Rs 45,000 crore. A new company called AP Green Energy Corporation will be incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned power utility AP Genco, for this purpose. This massive solar project is expected to be set up at Donakonda in Prakasham district, where a huge chunk of government land is available. Once the project is commis- sioned, the Green Energy Corpo- ration will sell power to the state power utilities at the rate of Rs 3 per unit for supply to the grid. Green energy parks of 50 GW planned in Rajasthan, Gujarat The government will set up ultra-mega renewable energy parks of a total of 50 giga watt (GW) in Gujarat and Rajasthan, 25 GW each, in what could be the world's largest renewable energy investment programme. In a letter to all solar and wind developers, the new and renew- able energy ministry said land would be made available for setting up solar, wind and wind hybrid plants and that the pro- posed parks have necessary clearances from state govern- ments and the defence ministry. The ministry has identified Khavada in Gujarat. The Rajasthan government has identified land bank of 125,000 hectares in three districts - Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur - for this park. This park would solely be developed by central public sector units engaged in solar power generation. In addition to 25 GW, Rajasthan plans to set up 5,000 MW of solar power plants in next five years. The ministry also said that the power ministry will be requested to strengthen transmission to these locations within 24 months for evacuation of power from these parks. The government is already working on a 50 GW battery storage manufacturing plan. Karnataka plans 3 three more ultra-mega renewable energy parks The Karnataka government plans to set up three more ultra- mega renewable energy parks, each with 2,500 MW capacity, at Koppal, Bidar and Gadag. The state's first ultra-mega solar project in Pavagada has been fully commissioned. However, the existing non-solar capacity in the state is only about 273 MW. Haryana to procure 250 MW of solar power through SECI at Rs 2.54/kWh Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has approved the petition to procure 250 MW of solar power from SECI. Haryana Power Purchase Center (HPPC) had submitted the plea for procuring 250 MW of solar power through the 1,200 MW (ISTS Tranche IV) tender to fulfill its RPO targets. The con- tract will be valid for 25 years. HPPC is a joint forum created by the state's distribution compa- nies to undertake various activi- ties including the signing of agreements on behalf of Haryana discoms. The tariff set for the procure- ment was Rs 2.54/kWh fixed for 25 years. Andhra SLDCs seek review of HC order on renewable power curtailment State load dispatch centres of Andhra Pradesh have moved the state High Court seeking a review of its recent order directing the Union renewable energy ministry to form an experts' committee to check whether state discoms curtailed solar and wind power. SLDCs have filed a review petition because they doubt the impartiality of Posoco (Power System Operation Corporation, the national load dispatch centre under the central government). The Andhra Pradesh High Court had on January 27, 2020 directed setting up of a committee consisting of members from Posoco and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to look into the matter and submit a report on the findings to the court in its interim order on contempt of court petitions filed by renewable energy developers against state authorities. All the large independent power producers (IPPs) had moved the