Seismic Zoning and Nuke plants

Map below shows the location of operational and under constructional power plants as regrd to the earth quake zoning (seismic zones ).

As seen from above, Jaithapur power palnt falls in zone iv , which had created lot of uproar in the area. Other places are relatively safe if this is accurate enough. India should take detailed study about its site worthiness before venturing into new projects.

India’s Commitment to Shift to More Sustainable Energy Systems

The World Energy Council (WEC) meeting was attended by ministers of Algeria,Cameron, Haiti, India and Canada. Shri Shinde in his speech said that these conferences are good forum to understand the difficulties and potential of each other. He said that before defining the rules and policies we must understand the socio economic problems and developmental priorities of underdeveloped, developing and developed countries. They all have their own peculiar problems. This WEC meeting is on the backdrop of copenhegen. Addressing the gathering Shri Shinde said that this Congress is taking place at a time when the world grapples with two apparently opposing priorities – one to provide more and more energy to half the world’s population and the other to reduce Green House Gas emissions to the largest extent possible. We all need to work together to address these priorities and to move to a new energy trajectory.

The World Energy Council (WEC) is a multi-energy international organization covering all types of energy, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables. Established in 1923, the WEC has now Member Committees established in 94 countries.
WEC has headquarters in London. Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'.

CERC Liberalises Grid Access to Green Projects

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has taken an important regulatory initiative. While the threshold capacity for connecting to inter-State grid will be 250 MW for thermal power stations, the threshold has been reduced to 50 MW for the hydro electric generating stations and other generating stations using renewable sources of energy.

Another important regulatory change has been made to permit connectivity to inter-State grid to stations which have individually installed capacity of less than 50 MW but approach the Central Transmission Utility (POWERGRID) collectively with an aggregate installed capacity of 50 MW and above.

State Transmission Utilities in many stations, particularly in North-eastern states, are not presently in a position to extend connectively to their systems and this difficulty was hindering the development of hydro electric stations and renewable source based stations.

Coal Resources in North-East

As per the latest inventory of Geological Resources of Coal in India by the Geological Survey of India, 1471 Million Tonnes of Geological Resources of coal have so far been estimated in the NE region. Of this, 388, Million Tonnes are in Assam and 576 Milliion Tonnes in Meghalaya. In Assam three opencast mines viz., Tirap OC, Tikak OC and Ledo OC are in operation under North Eastern Coalfields Limited (NEC) of Coal India Limited (CIL). In Meghalaya, coal is being produced by the local people as per the extant customary and tribal land rights.


In Meghalaya, the only lease held by NEC, CIL is Simsang, which had expired in 2008 and its renewal is yet to be received

Coal Sector - a overview

India is bestowed with abundant coal reserves, estimated at an enormous 267 billion tonnes (of which the proven coal reserves are placed at 106 billion tonnes). The proven coal resources of India account for nearly 7.1% of the world’s proven coal reserves. 

The irony is that the country’s most vital primary source of energy is actually quite abundant but between extracting the coal and getting it to the power stations lies a range of hurdles, including environmental and law and order issues and lack of investment.

Growth in the coal sector has historically not been commensurate with the country’s requirements. Peak power shortages have been as high as 14% and, energy shortages, 11-12%. Coal India Ltd has delivered growth of 5% or less, which is half the desired economic growth rate. The coal sector is constrained by supply limitations, inadequate drilling capacity, absence of a progressive regulatory framework, minimal private participation, high turnaround time and long gestation periods in getting clearances for mining projects. There is a need to attract investments in making available dedicated cargo vessels and modern and exclusive deep-sea coal terminals. In addition, the sector has to embark on a phase of climate change related research and development and incorporate clean technologies.

To remove the opaqueness and irregularities surrounding the award of so-called captive coal blocks, the government introduced the Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill for allotting captive blocks to iron, steel, power and cement firms that use the coal for their own plants. Introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, it is yet to be passed.

we should immediately start acquiring coal assets abroad just as China has done, and build coastal thermal plants based on imported coal. Ports and rail links are to be developed for transporting imported coal

The long-term growth of the coal sector requires a confident and renewed mindset in developing coal resources through decontrol of the coal sector, listing of Coal India on the capital markets, establishment of an independent regulator and a level playing competitive environment, which supplements the framework of the holistic energy and infrastructure sector in India.

Renewable Energy

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has already asked state counterparts to notify Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) regulations in order for utilities to meet their renewable purchase obligation (RPO).

The REC mechanism is expected to be an effective tool for meeting RPO and to some extent this tool will also address the problem of renewable energy potential being specific to certain states and regions. States have been allotted different renewable energy purchase obligations because of differences in potential.  

“Some of the SERCs (state electricity regulatory commissions) haven’t specified RPO guidelines so far primarily because of three reasons,” said a renewable energy analyst, who did not wish to be identified. “Firstly, yes, there is relatively lower potential in some states and the SERCs need to ensure that the RPO trajectory specified by them is achievable. Secondly, the SERCs need to assess the impact of the RPO on the retail tariffs. Thirdly, the delay is also due to the REC mechanism, which is in the final stage of implementation.”

Energy Policy - A relook 2

I literally donno , may be coincidence ! Today, I came across another article about Energy security by Shyam saran, on the same lines. Some Excerpts are below

In his address to the US Congress in 2009, President Barack Obama declared, “We know that the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the twenty-first century.”

The history of energy use is a history of burning carbon....This carbon lies congealed in wood, coal, oil and gas. 18th century industrial revolution by wood.. 19th by coal .. 20th by oil & natural gas.. 21st ... should be RE

more important because, "  Energy, like ICT, is a force multiplier since it impacts the entire spectrum of economic activities." These include solar energy, wind power, bio-fuels, wave energy, hydrogen fuel cells and, of course, nuclear energy.

 Diference for past is "is the unmistakable shift towards making them the mainstay of economic activity."


Wind power is being developed rapidly but technological constraints still limit potential capacity. It is, therefore, likely to remain a niche application for the time being.

Bio-fuels have a much larger potential and some promising R&D work is being carried out in countries which have strong capabilities in bio-technology and bio-chemistry. In India, an interesting project involves the cultivation of seaweeds in off-shore rafts to yield bio-fuels.

Nuclear energy is a fully tested technology but potential capacity is limited by the availability of uranium. However, with fast-breeder technologies becoming viable, the waste from each cycle of generation can be reprocessed to create fuel for the next cycle and thus qualify as renewable. India is one of the few countries which have an advanced fast-breeder reactor programme. It is, therefore, well positioned to take a lead.

Despite the promise of these new energy technologies, significant gains in the foreseeable future will have to come from increased energy efficiency.

Concerns over climate change are adding a compelling salience to this trend of enhancing energy efficiency and promoting renewable and clean energy. Climate change and energy are two sides of the same coin.

An ambitious National Solar Mission has been announced targeting 20,000 Mw capacity by 2022. The National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency is designed to release significant energy savings through the promotion of energy efficiency.

There will be need to work through multi-sectoral and cross-disciplinary processes and institutions. In India, both government and corporates still work in relatively isolated compartments permeated with hierarchical mindsets.

Energy Policy - A relook

I  have come across a good article regarding Energy security , which is simple, yet sounds logical which quickly cruises through various needs and issues pertaiing to power.

• The government’s integrated energy policy (IEP) estimates that electricity demand will grow 4-5 times by 2030”. 
• Social stress by power projects  viz conflicting interests ( land, water ) , displacement etc.
• Also a Need to emphasize on energy efficiency and conservation awareness along with increase in production - National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency
• Should Augment with renewable energy resources ( RER )- India has a grid-connected renewable energy capacity of 17GW, which is one-tenth of total power generation capacity.
• Problem with RER – cost – wind power cost 50% than coal – goal of 15% RE in power – price for solar power is nearly six times that of coal and four times that of wind power increase in tariff – pinch on poor
• Need for innovation - National Clean Energy Fund – clean energy technology – RE manufacturing industry – main driver in infrastructure inclusion

Courtesy ( www.livemint.com )