Chennai:
A new study on the crucial role renewable energy can play in the State’s development matrix has set off an old debate on how it compares with conventional energy sources. Called Action Plan For Comprehensive Renewable Energy Development in Tamil Nadu, the study pans Tamil Nadu’s dependence on long-term coal-based power projects, terming them as risky because of domestic coal constraints and price volatility of imported coal.
The study commissioned by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, Confederation of Indian Industry and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, and written by World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE), pointed out that almost all of the State’s long term projects (expected to start generation in 2015 and beyond) are coal-based. The government must evaluate whether the projects would be able to deliver cheap power during their lifetime, it said.
That is a fair point, given that many coal-based power plants in the country are already starved of fuel. Just a few weeks ago, the brand new Vallur thermal power plant had to be shut down a day after it was commissioned because of insufficient coal stock. At the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi on December 27, speaker after speaker, including Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, flagged the fuel crisis, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a report and later issue instructions to address the problem within a specific timeframe.
Blaming it on the Centre’s policy failure, Jayalalithaa had said: “Domestic coal production is stagnant and cannot meet the requirements of even the existing power plants, leave alone the new plants under construction and about to be commissioned. Power plants for an estimated capacity of 25,000 MW in the country are non-starters for want of clearances to link coal mines.”
The report called for a paradigm shift towards renewable energy, but votaries of conventional energy remained unimpressed.
The total installed generation capacity in Tamil Nadu, including State-owned capacity, centrally owned capacity and private sector capacity was 17,686.67 MW as on August 31 this year. It included 7,617.8 MW of thermal (coal, gas and diesel), 524 MW of nuclear, 2,122 MW of hydro and 7,422.84 MW of renewable energy.
Yet, the power deficit situation is so acute that the State is forced to buy high-cost power despite high level of demand curtailment. In the financial year 2011-12, the gross energy consumption was 77,218 million units (MU) of which the State-owned generating stations contributed only 27,941 MU and 42,277 MU was purchased from Central generating stations, wind, open market and exchanges.
Going forward, the State’s conventional capacity addition plans fall under three broad heads: short-term ones totaling 4,356 MW; long-term projects of 5,460 MW; and the Cheyyar 4,000 MW ultra mega power project by 2016-17.
But Coal India Limited has already conveyed its inability to supply coal for some planned phase I and phase II projects, prompting Tamil Nadu to assess plans to import as much as 100 per cent coal for some new power plants. This level of dependence on imported coal is risky not only from the coal perspective but also from the availability angle. Besides, banks too have tightened lending norms to thermal power projects citing over exposure and regulatory uncertainty, the study added.
The focus of energy planning should shift from mere supply-demand matching to an approach guided by long-term energy security and greater optimisation of available resources, said WISE director general G M Pillai.
That may be a good sales pitch for renewable energy, but in real terms solar energy won’t be a viable alternative in the longer run as more land is required to set up such plants, argued S Kabilan, former chairman of Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC). He also recommended a nuclear component in the ideal energy mix for the State.
For generating, say 10 MW of solar power, you need large tracts of land. That is not feasible in the long run because of shortage of land, said Kabilan. Pillai countered, saying there was plenty of wasteland in the State for setting up solar plants.
But would they be feasible since generation of renewable energy such as solar power continues to be more expensive than conventional options because of various reasons, including scale? Pillai agreed that the initial costs may be high, but pointed out that once established, renewable energy plants don’t require much maintenance unlike conventional power stations.
For renewable energy to deliver on its promise, the government needs to build the required infrastructure. Else it would be little more than hype like the National Project on Biogas Development in 1981-82 for family type biogas plants. The project failed miserably and a bid to revive it in 2000-2001 also resulted in failure. Over 60 per cent of the plants remain non-functional and nearly 90 per cent do not have any idea on how to repair the biogas plants, the study said.
For making any business viable, the procurer must make payments on a regular basis. Since the government buys the renewable energy through TANGEDCO, which is already broke, will it be able to make timely payments? There perhaps lies the key for making the sector viable.
Besides, for energy security, perhaps we shouldn’t really be looking through an either-or prism, but work out a judicious mix of conventional and renewable energy. Tamil Nadu has already taken the lead by announcing an ambitious solar energy policy that envisages generation of 3,000 MW by 2015.
Other exciting alternative green power generating technologies like Bloombox are in the works worldwide. It’s time India makes meaningful contribution towards exploring new frontiers of energy generation.
A new study on the crucial role renewable energy can play in the State’s development matrix has set off an old debate on how it compares with conventional energy sources. Called Action Plan For Comprehensive Renewable Energy Development in Tamil Nadu, the study pans Tamil Nadu’s dependence on long-term coal-based power projects, terming them as risky because of domestic coal constraints and price volatility of imported coal.
The study commissioned by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, Confederation of Indian Industry and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, and written by World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE), pointed out that almost all of the State’s long term projects (expected to start generation in 2015 and beyond) are coal-based. The government must evaluate whether the projects would be able to deliver cheap power during their lifetime, it said.
That is a fair point, given that many coal-based power plants in the country are already starved of fuel. Just a few weeks ago, the brand new Vallur thermal power plant had to be shut down a day after it was commissioned because of insufficient coal stock. At the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi on December 27, speaker after speaker, including Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, flagged the fuel crisis, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a report and later issue instructions to address the problem within a specific timeframe.
Blaming it on the Centre’s policy failure, Jayalalithaa had said: “Domestic coal production is stagnant and cannot meet the requirements of even the existing power plants, leave alone the new plants under construction and about to be commissioned. Power plants for an estimated capacity of 25,000 MW in the country are non-starters for want of clearances to link coal mines.”
The report called for a paradigm shift towards renewable energy, but votaries of conventional energy remained unimpressed.
The total installed generation capacity in Tamil Nadu, including State-owned capacity, centrally owned capacity and private sector capacity was 17,686.67 MW as on August 31 this year. It included 7,617.8 MW of thermal (coal, gas and diesel), 524 MW of nuclear, 2,122 MW of hydro and 7,422.84 MW of renewable energy.
Yet, the power deficit situation is so acute that the State is forced to buy high-cost power despite high level of demand curtailment. In the financial year 2011-12, the gross energy consumption was 77,218 million units (MU) of which the State-owned generating stations contributed only 27,941 MU and 42,277 MU was purchased from Central generating stations, wind, open market and exchanges.
Going forward, the State’s conventional capacity addition plans fall under three broad heads: short-term ones totaling 4,356 MW; long-term projects of 5,460 MW; and the Cheyyar 4,000 MW ultra mega power project by 2016-17.
But Coal India Limited has already conveyed its inability to supply coal for some planned phase I and phase II projects, prompting Tamil Nadu to assess plans to import as much as 100 per cent coal for some new power plants. This level of dependence on imported coal is risky not only from the coal perspective but also from the availability angle. Besides, banks too have tightened lending norms to thermal power projects citing over exposure and regulatory uncertainty, the study added.
The focus of energy planning should shift from mere supply-demand matching to an approach guided by long-term energy security and greater optimisation of available resources, said WISE director general G M Pillai.
That may be a good sales pitch for renewable energy, but in real terms solar energy won’t be a viable alternative in the longer run as more land is required to set up such plants, argued S Kabilan, former chairman of Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC). He also recommended a nuclear component in the ideal energy mix for the State.
For generating, say 10 MW of solar power, you need large tracts of land. That is not feasible in the long run because of shortage of land, said Kabilan. Pillai countered, saying there was plenty of wasteland in the State for setting up solar plants.
But would they be feasible since generation of renewable energy such as solar power continues to be more expensive than conventional options because of various reasons, including scale? Pillai agreed that the initial costs may be high, but pointed out that once established, renewable energy plants don’t require much maintenance unlike conventional power stations.
For renewable energy to deliver on its promise, the government needs to build the required infrastructure. Else it would be little more than hype like the National Project on Biogas Development in 1981-82 for family type biogas plants. The project failed miserably and a bid to revive it in 2000-2001 also resulted in failure. Over 60 per cent of the plants remain non-functional and nearly 90 per cent do not have any idea on how to repair the biogas plants, the study said.
For making any business viable, the procurer must make payments on a regular basis. Since the government buys the renewable energy through TANGEDCO, which is already broke, will it be able to make timely payments? There perhaps lies the key for making the sector viable.
Besides, for energy security, perhaps we shouldn’t really be looking through an either-or prism, but work out a judicious mix of conventional and renewable energy. Tamil Nadu has already taken the lead by announcing an ambitious solar energy policy that envisages generation of 3,000 MW by 2015.
Other exciting alternative green power generating technologies like Bloombox are in the works worldwide. It’s time India makes meaningful contribution towards exploring new frontiers of energy generation.
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