India

NHPC has resubmitted the detailed project report for the 800 MW Tawang-II hydro-electric project to the CEA after incorporating certain revisions.

Tata Power has 13 projects of capacity worth 5,341 MW under implementation stage which it plans to add to its renewable energy portfolio this fiscal.

India Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has rejected forest clearance to another project, saying it is in “no-go” core area and lacks low-emission super-critical technology.

Torrent Power will avail of the engineering, procurement and construction services Siemens Limited, India and Siemens AG, Germany for setting up two gas based power projects of capacity worth 1600 MW in Gujarat.

Tata Power  completed coal firing in unit 1 of 1050 MW Maithon Right Bank Thermal Power Project in Dhanbad, state of Jharkhand.

Tata Powerhas completed milestones for units 1, 2 and 3 associated with its 4000 MW Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project. Amongst the five units of 800 MW each, units 2 and 3 witnessed maximum progress in first half of year 2011. The boiler hydro test for unit 3 was successfully completed in March and main steam line hydro test was recently finished in May. With the current status of the ongoing activities, the boiler light is expected to be up in August. Furthermore, at unit 1, the steam blowing process that commenced in March was concluded within 3 months. The synchronization is expected to take place in July whereas commercial operations is scheduled to be achieved by September. In the remaining units, engineering, procurement and construction activities are progressing sequentially as per schedule. All four units, except unit 1, are targeted for completion in year 2013. Overall, approximately 83% of the work is complete for Mundra UMPP.  

The World Bank will provide a US$ 648 million loan to THDC India for constructing the Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Plant on the Alaknanda river.

The 17th Electrical Power Survey Reports determined that with a peak load of 152746 MW, the energy requirement stands at 968659 MU.

The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation has again surpassed the 'Excellent' MoU generation target for the period April 2011-June 2011.

The Orissa government has asked state-run NTPC to completely shut down the 2,000 Mw stage-II of Talcher Super Thermal Power Station, amid concerns over fly ash disposal.

Power Grid Corp is racing to build transmission lines for Tata Power’s ultra mega power plant in Mundra, whose first unit is ready to start generation three months ahead.

NTPC is awaiting the transfer of the supercritical 1,600-MW Katwa power plant by the West Bengal government before it can take measures to implement the project.

India's Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah called upon the power ministers of North Eastern states to maximize use of renewable energy. The power ministers from the north-eastern states have requested MNRE for 90% funding for the renewable energy projects in the region and help in preparation of state-specific action plans for renewable energy. Dr. Abdullah has agreed for getting the Resource Mapping for solar, wind and micro/small hydro projects prepared for these states. To note, 3,841 villages, out of 4,965 remote villages that are to be electrified through renewable energy systems in the region, have been provided solar lights, thus far. The state encompasses 160 small/micro hydel projects, worth 275 MW capacity and has over 1,18,000 biogas plants.

The 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station  continues to exceed expectations and has established a new record of 2,650 million units of electricity generation during the first quarter of year 2011.

India will soon enjoy a cooling technology to meet the demand for air-conditioning in a highly efficient and cost effective use of direct solar energy.

The renewable energy-based Smart Mini-Grid system has been jointly commissioned by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy  and Ministry of Power at the the TERI Retreat in Gurgaon. Minister of New & Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, reckons that the smart mini-grids will be very useful for stand-alone projects in villages and inaccessible areas. The minister added that the grid system has been evolved as one of the solutions to the major challenges of enhancing energy-security and energy-access, the country is facing today. Pertinently, advanced sensing, communication and control technologies are used in smart grids these days for not only generation and transmission of power, but also for distribution and utilization of electricity in a more intelligent and effective manner.