TN going green as 30pc power generated from renewable energy sources

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu is going green in power generation as nearly 30 to 35 per cent of power supplied to the state is generated from renewable energy sources like wind and solar, according to Tamil Nadu energy secretary Vikram Kapur.

Addressing the 16^th edition of Green Power, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry here on Tuesday, Kapur said that said that against the installed capacity of 29,000MW of power generated, 10,500 MW is from renewable energy.

This also includes 7,800 MW from wind energy and 1,700 MW from solar with rest coming from Biomass and Bagasse cogeneration.

He said the state is planning to add 4,500MW of wind power and 5,000 MW of solar power. A 500 solar power park is now being planned by Tangedco, he said. Kapur said the total demand of power in the state is 13,500 to 14,000 MW.

Kapur also lamented the issue of grid stability when more wind or solar power is evacuated. “A research on this front is required where in more power power can be infused without affecting the grid stability,” he said. He also stressed the need to augment transmission capacity.

Kapur also said that Tangedco is set to break even after suffering huge losses although the cash flow is an area of concern.

Talking about the delay in implementing roof top solar installations, the secretary said that there is a issue of Net metering and pricing. “The regulator has to fix the prices. Once it is done, then the policy will be implemented,” he said.

Ramesh Kymal, chairman of renewable energy council, Confederation of Indian Industry, said that steep reduction in tariffs due to increased competition in solar sector has cut the tariffs by more than 40pc over the last 18 months.

He also said that capacity addition to financial year 2017-18 looks extremely difficult due to stand off in signing of power purchase agreements in several states at Feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme rates determined by respective commissions with valid control periods.

Karnam Sekar, deputy managing director and chief sustainability officer of State Bank of India said that SBI is floating a green bond worth $500 million. He also questioned the drastic reduction of cost per mega watt in solar energy is for real or is it being diluted

Factfile:

--- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is looking at 15GW of power generation from renewable energy sources.

--- It has targeted investment worth Rs 10 lakh crore.

--- Many companies and banks are coming forward and issuing green bonds to raise large sums for investment.

-- Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency has raised Rs 700 crore from green masala bond in March this year.

--- SBI has availed loan of $625m from World bank for lending to viable grid connected rooftop solar photo voltaic projects.