India

Charanaka in north Gujarat is destined to become the state’s hub of solar power generation. Solar panels will be laid on close to 3,000 acres of land in this village , where the state government is going to set up a ' Gujarat Solar Park . at an investment of US$1.77 billion. Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd or GUVNL, is currently in the process of entering into long term power purchase with agreements with 80 solar power project investors to commission almost 1,000 MW of generation capacity. This capacity will help procure 1,700 million units of environment friendly electricity per annum. Many of these 80 developers will set up their generation facilities ranging from 1-45 MW units at Gujarat Solar Park. In first phase, developers will commission 500 MW of generation capacity at the park. The Centre's National Solar Mission aims to install 1,000 MW of grid solar power by 2013, and 20,000 MW by 2022. Interestingly , Gujarat is the lone state which is in the process of inking power purchase agreements to procure 965 MW of solar power from 80 project developers to attract investments of US$3.32 billion in the next couple of years. The state government has already acquired 2,500 acre of land for the park. It is expected to have basic infrastructure in place by December, just ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, 2011.  

India will receive a credit line of around US$9.2 billion to fund supply of two EPR reactors and uranium. This will come from a consortium of French banks and institutions. French energy major Areva will be supplying to the reactors and fuel to the government-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited under two major deals for expanding the country's nuclear power generation base.

India is set to roll over to supercritical coal-based power generation mode this month.

Bharat Forge is fast-tracking plans with Areva for the construction of nuclear forgings plant this month. 

Bharat Forge will invest US$421 million in its joint venture with NTPC. The plans are expected to be finalised by March-April. The company has already secured 100 acres of land in Sholapur to set up a plant with a capacity of 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes per annum. “The Bharat Forge NTPC JV is currently looking for technology partners for manufacturing high pressure pipes, pumps and valves, which are used in thermal power plants,” said Bharat Forge Chief Operating Officer Sunil Chaturvedi. Under the NTPC joint venture the company may have three to four more joint ventures with those technology partners.   

Arshad Sayed has been named President – Peabody Mongolia and India, and will manage all of its business development initiatives.

GE will supply Bagngladesh with four gas turbine rental units that will begin generating commercial power in the first quarter of 2011.

NPCIL’s first pair of indigenously designed 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors at Kakrapar in Gujarat achieved first pour of concrete today.

Austria is planning to extend cooperation to the hydel power and alternate energy development projects in Pakistan.

Bangladesh will allow transport of equipment in its territory for a power plant in India's north eastern state of Tripura.

Reliance Power will double the capacity its coal-fired power project in Rosa, Uttar Pradesh, to 2400MW. An additional US$1.33 billion investment will be made by the company. The plant is expected to be fully complete by March 2012.   According to ifandp.com, the project was originally meant to be a 600MW project, which was then scaled up to 1200MW  to make best use of the land available. The company is now looking to acquire additional land for the additional capacity. R-Power is expected to soon apply to the Indian government for the necessary clearance and finance will come from a consortium of banks led by IDBI Bank.   Power generation from the first 600MW phase of the project is expected to begin in a year’s time. The electricity will be supplied to the Uttar Pradesh Power Company Ltd under a Power Purchase Agreement.  

India scaled down its set target of additional power generation capacity from 20,359MW to 18,600MW for 2010.

Nepal and Bhutan have pledged to export hydroelectricity to Bangladesh.

India is now sixth in the world in terms of number of power reactors after its unit-4 of Kaiga Generating Station achdeived criticality.  Criticality signifies the start of self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction in the reactor core, which leads to the production of power. The unit will be synchronized to the southern grid after carrying out certain mandatory tests early next month. The electricity generated from this unit will be supplied to the beneficiary states – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Pudducherry. Kaiga-4 is the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited’s or NPCIL’s third nuclear power reactor after RAPS unit-5 & unit-6, to have started operation during the current year, raising the nuclear installed capacity in the country from the current 4560 MW to 4780 MW. With Kaiga-4 unit becoming operational, India is now elevated to the sixth rank in an elite club of nations, after USA, France, Japan, Russian Federation and Republic of Korea, to have twenty or more nuclear power reactors currently in operation.

The Jaitapur nuclear project has received its environmetal clearance after  the Expert Appraisal Committee of India's environment and forest ministry.

NTPC will place orders for generators worth $7.2 billion by March 31 as it accelerates capacity addition to help reduce blackouts. The utility will buy nine generators of 660 megawatts each and the same number of 800-megawatt units, according to NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury. NTPC, which failed to meet its capacity addition target in the year ended March 31, aims to speed up construction of plants to meet demand in Asia's second fastest growing major economy. Capacity addition will more than double to 3,150 megawatts this year, with another 5,500 megawatts to follow in the year ending March 2012, Choudhury said. "One of the biggest concerns for NTPC has been the execution of projects," said Harshad Shukla, an analyst at KR Choksey Shares & Securities Pvt.