India

Lanco Infratech will invest over Rs 13,000 crore in setting up a 2,000-Mw power plant and developing a coal block at Raigarh in Chhattishgarh.

Indian nuclear plants will be able to withstand “extreme natural events” like tsunamis, cyclones, floods and dam breaks, according to a nuclear safety review.

The 600 MW unit-1 of the Anpara 'C' thermal power plant has been shut down to inspect the normal linkages.

The tower erection work of the associated transmission system (ATS) for unit-I and II of the Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), which has seen incessant delays up till now, is now considerably much behind schedule, as per a report by the power ministry. As of June 2011, no more than 510 towers have been erected out of a total of 856 locations for the 400 kV D/C Mundra - Limbdi (Triple Snowbird) line, with 417 CKM of transmission lines yet to be laid out. Further, right of way (RoW) issues and forestry clearance are critical for laying out the remaining 108 CKM of the 764 CKM long Mundra-Bachau-Ranchodpura line. Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO), the agency implementing the ATS for the project, needs to expedite balance pile works and work in the creek area for contingency plan of the ATS while Powergrid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has completed the connection of the Bachchau- Ranchodpura line with Limdi till Ranchodpura section. Pertinently, work is in progress for Bachchau bay extension and Limbdi bays extension. Also, progress is being made on the second transformer at Ranchodpura substation of 2 X 315 MVA. Mundra UMPP, with 2 units of 800 MW capacity each, is a Tata power project located in Gujarat. The project entails an investment of Rs 17,000 crore and is being funded through a debt-equity ratio of 75:25. The executing agencies for ATS are GETCO and PGCIL.

India needs US$ 253 billion as the fund requirement for the power sector during the forthcoming 12th five year plan, from 2012 to 2017.

Reliance Industries Limited's 5 MW solar power plant at Khimsar, Rajasthan recorded the highest net capacity utilization factor at 18.8% among six grid connected solar plants.

A 1MW PV power plant, using 4,400 230 Watts crystalline silicon modules has been installed and commissioned by Tata BP Solar India.

As many as 20 power generating companies have put in their initial bids for executing the 4,000-Mw ultra mega power project in Orissa.

ABB Ltd has won orders worth Rs 16.1 crore to supply turnkey power and automation solutions for three photovoltaic solar power plants with a combined capacity of 11 Mw in India.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission raised power tariff by 6.6 percent for bulk consumers in the country.

Nepal decided to scrap the licence of West Seti Hydropower Limited to construct a 750-MW power project.

Infrastructure India Plc. is acquiring Indian Energy Plc. in an all-stock deal valued at £7.9 million or US $13 million.

The website carries here, a status update on the associated transmission system (ATS) of NHPC's 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo hydro-electric project (HEP), works for which are likely to slip into the 12th plan period. Work on the ATS has commenced, with the transmission lines and substation works having been awarded in two separate contracts (supply and erection & commissioning), which encompass works for 66 kV lines, 66 kV /11kV substations, 11kV lines, LT lines and BPL connections. As per the present status, an approval for the revised cost estimates (RCE) from Rural Electrification Corporation (REC)/Ministry of Power (MoP), which had been submitted to REC in October last year, is currently awaited. Any further delay in the approval of the RCE is likely to now push the completion of the lines and substations to the next fiscal period, since the working period is maximum from April-October.   --It is pertinent to note that a revised RCE had been prepared where the estimates are over 20%, to take into account the substantial increase in the Bill of Quantities particularly for the erection contract. Most of the works will be taken up subsequent to the approval of the RCE and amendment to the contract. The 45 MW project is a run-of-river scheme, planned to harness the hydropower potential of the Indus river, in the Leh district of the state. The project envisages the construction of a 57 m high concrete gravity dam, three 6.3 m long penstocks, with a diameter of 3.3 m, each, and a surface power house with four Francis turbine units of 15 MW capacity, each. The project would afford an annual energy generation of 239 million units (MU), assuming 90% performance.  

The CEA sent a team to review the progress at the 110 MW Guruji combined cycle power project at Dadri in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Vestas will supply, install and commission 51 units of V100-1.8 wind turbines totaling 92MW for an Asia Pacific wind project on a turnkey basis.

The nuclear power complex at Kalpakkam will soon have a nuclear desalination plant, now being built by the Desalination Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, at Rs.40-crore.