Jindal Stainless Partners with ReNew Power to Setup 300 MW Renewable Energy Project
Jindal Stainless, India’s most prominent stainless-steel producer, signed a contract to work with Renew Power, the largest renewable energy company in the country, to create a utility-scale captive renewable energy project to supply power to Jajpur, Odisha. Through a combination of wind and solar technologies, the Project will produce 700 million units annually.
Commenting on the collaboration, MD, Jindal Stainless, Mr Abhyuday Jindal said, “ Our project with ReNew Power is expected to start commercial operations by May, 2024 and will aid in carbon abatement by over 6.5 lakh tonnes per year. Resolutely chasing our ESG goals, we reduced our carbon emissions by 1.4 lakh tonnes in FY22 through various initiatives and are committed to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Founder, Chairman, and CEO, ReNew Power, Mr Sumant Sinha, said, “We are delighted to partner with Jindal Stainless in developing renewable energy sources for the Indian manufacturing sector. We believe this unique model will revolutionise the way power is procured by Corporate India.”
Adani Green Becomes World’s Largest Wind Solar Hybrid Power Developer
Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), the renewables arm of the Adani Group, has commissioned its third wind-solar hybrid power plant at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. The combined operational generation capacity of this newly commissioned hybrid power plant is 450 MW. The plant has Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with SECI at Rs 2.67/kwh for 25 years. This new hybrid power plant, consisting of 420 MW solar and 105 MW wind plants, has been implemented with cutting edge technology. With this hybrid plant, Adani Green Energy now has the largest operational hybrid power generation capacity of 1,440 MW.
With the successful commissioning of this 450 MW plant, AGEL now has a total operational generation capacity of 7.17 GW. This also makes AGEL the world’s largest wind-solar hybrid power farm developer. The newly commissioned 450 MW hybrid power plant is housed in AGEL’s subsidiary, Adani Solar Energy Jaisalmer One Private Ltd.
SECL Tenders 4 MW of Rooftop Solar Projects to be Installed in MP and Chhattisgarh.
South Eastern Coalfields (SECL), Coal India’s coal-producing affiliate, invites bids to install and commission 4 MW of rooftop solar systems that are grid-connected at 14 locations in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Last date for submitting bids is December 31, 2022. The bids will open on January 2, 2023. Tender Value is Rs. 19,55,72,128. Bid Validity is 180 days and the EMD Amount is Rs. 24,44,700.
Bidders must have experience in three similar works costing no less than 20% of project cost or two similar works costing no less than 25%. They could have done a similar job for not less than 40% of what was offered during the past seven years. Joint ventures will only be permitted to participate if the project’s estimated cost is more than Rs 50 million. Bidders average annual turnover of past 3 years should be at least 30% of the project’s estimated cost. SECL stated that 25% of the tender quantity has been earmarked to micro and small enterprise suppliers (MSE).
MERC Denies Amendments To Rooftop Solar Open Access Regulations
Rooftop solar and open access rules for green energy were the subject of a recent petition submitted to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) by an individual, that highlighted several essential changes that are necessary. The modifications included renting rooftops or buildings so that a solar power system could be installed and used with open access. He also requested collective captive solar generation for self-consumption. The appellant has further requested that the Commission instruct the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) to alter the way in which it pays rooftop solar producers. The petitioner claimed that for using electricity in the evening peak hours, users pay an additional price of Rs. 1.10/kWh.
The balance is made up of standard energy prices after paying the additional peak hour charges. In light of this, the petitioner contends that this energy should also be set off that produced by rooftop solar systems. Therefore, it was proposed in the petition that unutilized generation and 30% banking fees be used to balance the evening peak hour usage. The petitioner asked for the capacity restriction on solar system installation to be lifted. He further recommended increasing the network hosting capacity by up to 150% of the transformer capacity.
The petitioner requested 8, 3-hour open access blocks, commencing at 00.00 hours, which will mostly correspond to the peak and off-peak hours of usage.
However, the regulator rejected the petitioner’s request to use stored energy to counterbalance the evening peak. It was observed that only customers covered by the time-of-day rate structure are subject to this obligation. Only off-peak hours may be used to offset any excess stored energy.
TPREL, SJVN Green Energy & SolarArise Bag 500 MW Solar Projects Tendered By MSEDCL
The auction held by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) to purchase 500 MW of power from Phase IX of grid-connected interstate solar projects was won by SJVN Green Energy, SolarArise, and Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL).
In October of this year, MSEDCL announced the tender to purchase 500 MW of solar energy on a long-term basis. SJVN Green Energy got 200 MW by quoting a price of Rs. 2.95/kWh, followed by SolarArise, which offered Rs. 2.90/kWh and earned a capacity of 100 MW. Tata Power Renewable Energy put up a proposal for 300 MW, but after quoting Rs. 2.97/kWh using the bucket-filling method, it was only given 200 MW.
With SolarArise, TPREL, and SJVN Green Energy, MSEDCL would now finalize a power purchase agreement (PPA) lasting 25 years from the anticipated start of commercial operation. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the three winners to make sure that the solar modules used in the project are warranted for peak output wattage, which is required to be not less than 90% at the end of 10 years and 80% at the end of 25 years from the date the project began operating commercially. The reported capacity utilization factor (CUF), which cannot be less than 19% over a year, will be maintained by the auction winners, as well.
