India favourite destination for clean energy

Source: The Hindu, Special Correspondent, New Delhi, 31 March 2011

Even as Asia continued to be the favourite destination for investors parking money in clean energy projects rising sharply by 33 per cent, India continued its rise as top destination ranking 10th among the G-20 countries and China emerging on the top.

Private investments in clean energy in Asia touched $82.8 billion. In 2009, China led the world with $39.1 billion in private investment. In 2010, private investment grew a further 39 per cent to $54.4 billion — well above the region's growth rate putting China in number one position.

India continued its rise in private investment for clean energy, according to a new research released by The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2010, India attracted $4 billion in private investments, ranking 10th among the G-20 countries. It also ranked 10th for five-year growth rates for renewable energy capacity and seventh worldwide in the amount of installed capacity. With a target of deploying 20,000 MW of solar generating capacity by 2020, the country is poised to further grow its share of this sector, the research pointed out.

Nations like India, China and Germany were attractive to financers because they have national policies that create long-term certainty for investors,” Phyllis Cuttino, Director of Pew's Clean Energy Programme, said in a statement here.

Penalties collected from discoms to help promote wind energy

Source: Economic Times, Sarita C Singh, New Delhi, 14 March 2011

The government will create a corpus out of penalties paid by state-run power distribution utilities to promote wind energy projects of 10 MW or more capacity. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved the fund, its chairman Pramod Deo said.

The renewable regulatory fund would bear charges imposed on states hosting wind projects that fail to comply with their energy supply commitments to the electricity grid, he said.

At presently, wind projects without power sale arrangements with states are required to give declarations forecasting their generation to state load despatch centres. CERC allows 30% deviation in the energy supply commitments beyond which penalties are levied or incentives offered.

Implications of deviation beyond 30% are proposed to be shared among all state distribution companies in ratio of their peak demand met in the previous month.

The states would be compensated for these charges out of the renewable regulatory fund.

"Someone has to bear all these penalties," Deo said. "The fund has been mooted for the same purpose. We introduced this relaxation to wind projects in order to increase share of renewable energy generation projects in the country. Host states will start agitating if they are made to bear all the expenses."

The fund would be in place by January next year, Deo said.

The National Load Despatch Centre has been designated as the nodal agency and has been mandated to carry mock exercises from July this year.

A similar procedure will apply to the grid-connected solar power plants of more than 5MW capacity after 2015. As of now, solar energy producers are not penalised even if they do not supply the promised power to the grid.

These dispensations to solar and wind projects were offered by CERC under the new Indian grid electricity code as it was felt that solar irradiation and wind flow is uncertain.

India has about 13,000 MW wind and 18 MW solar power projects.

Power Grid Corporation of India, the central transmission utility, will install special energy meters to check energy supply out of these wind projects.

NUCLEAR ENERGY FOES SEE WARNING IN JAPAN CRISIS

Source : AFP 13 March 2011


Australian opponents of nuclear power Sunday seized on the reactor accident triggered by Japan's huge earthquake as proof of the terrible danger of nuclear energy, despite its recent global "renaissance." 

A Japanese government spokesman said radioactive meltdowns may have occurred in two reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in eastern Japan, which was badly hit by the 8.9-magnitude quake that hammered the area on Friday. The eyes of the world were anxiously locked on the unfolding emergency after a blast blew off the housing of one reactor after it overheated while a second was also overheating and at risk of exploding. The drama fuelled the arguments of ardent nuclear foes in Australia, which supplies much of the uranium used in the world's reactors, including to the company that runs the stricken Japanese reactors, campaigners said.

"The terrible human cost of the earthquake in Japan is being made even worse by radiation escaping from damaged nuclear reactors," said David Noonan of the non-profit environmental group, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

"Nuclear is a high cost, high risk electricity option that has no place in a sustainable energy future," he said, accusing Australia of "fuelling trouble" by exporting uranium used in nuclear reactors.

Japanese officials were reportedly pumping in sea water to cool the overheating reactors, a move US experts described as an "act of desperation" that could foreshadow a Chernobyl-like disaster. Proponents of nuclear power as a cleaner alternative to coal-fired power stations have been given a major boost as many nations seek energy sources that emit fewer greenhouse gases that scientists say cause global warming. The decades-old debate over whether nations should rely more on nuclear power to feed growing electricity demand has been reignited in countries such as the United States, Germany and Australia as leaders struggle to limit emissions. Germany's parliament decided in 2009 to row back on plans to phase out nuclear power and to prolong its dependency on the energy source, prompting tens of thousands of activists to protest in Berlin on Saturday.

The debate is alive in the United States too, where 20 percent of electricity comes from nuclear power, although no new nuclear power plants have been built in around 30 years. Calls to replace smoke-billowing coal plants with cleaner atomic power stations have become more prominent in Australia, which has no nuclear power stations and where the current government opposes atomic energy at home. Australian Greens party leader Bob Brown said the accident in Japan is a reminder that nuclear energy is outside "the limits of human safeguards".

"It does raise real questions about the nuclear alternative, particularly for a sunny country like this where we don't need it. People don't want it," he told state broadcaster ABC .

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, from the centre left Labor Party, however refused to be drawn into the debate Sunday, saying now was not the time to reopen the debate. But Australia is home to 27 percent of the world's reserves of uranium, which fuels nuclear power plants, most of which is exported to the United States, France and Japan, and its last government supported nuclear power. Officials in Japan were desperately struggling to prevent the two uranium-fuelled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant from melting down and releasing more radioactive material following smaller gas releases that sent locals to hospital.

"Australian uranium is bought and burned by the power company in Japan that runs that nuclear plant," the ACF's David Noonan told AFP. "When things go well we are left with the unresolved management of high-level, long-lived radioactive waste. When they go badly people are left with a disaster," he said.

Japan’s quake threatens U.S. oil prices

Source : 24X7 Updates, by Eligna March 12,2011

As Japan’s earthquake slammed its extensive refining capacity, volatility in oil prices could further increase gasoline prices at American gas-pumps, predict industry experts. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami catastrophe has shattered Northern Japan’s automobile and steel factories, trapped thousands in workplaces, and finally battered the Asian and European financial markets.

 

But, analysts’ worldwide fear the most severe aftermath of Japan’s tremors could be the forthcoming skyrocketing oil prices, which could further hurt the steady global economic recovery. The tremor disaster has compelled the close down of the island nation‘s several oil refineries and nuclear power units. 

Japan’s quake threatens U.S. oil prices

Fuel analysts anticipate that if Japan’s oil refining facilities fail to revive promptly, the country’s demand for jet fuel, diesel and gasoline would surge tremendously. In the wake of arising situation in Japan, many global fuel suppliers, including major Californian refineries, could divert their consignments to Japan, as suppliers earn more profits from exporting fuels to other countries. If the anticipations turn correct, fuel analysts like James DiGeorgia, editor of the Gold & Energy Advisor feared a fuel crisis situation in U.S. DiGeorgia says "The sudden importation of large amounts of distilled products is expensive and it's a heavy logistics burden. That is going to drive up the market price for everything from diesel and gasoline to jet fuel." Sluggish U.S economy can’t bear oil volatility. As per the recent reports, Japan’s two major nuclear power plants are closed down, since the earthquake. The prolonged shutdown may spike fossil fuels demand, expects Bob van der Valk, a fuel-price specialist and consultant. Bob van der Valk, a consultant and fuel-price specialist, also said it can’t be denied that West Coast would amend for the fuel shortage owing to this shutdown.

The current sloppy U.S. economic recovery has tightened up the consumers’ purchasing power and at present Americans could not afford increased fuel prices. As indicated by AAA, the U.S. standard gasoline was $3.54 per gallon, witnessing a 7 cents hike since last week. While in California it stood at $3.94 per gallon. Oil prices volatility unlikely to resolve any sooner. Amid all speculations, crude oil futures slightly plunged to remain near $100 a barrel, on Friday. Due to Japan’s held up economy and disrupted refineries, global oil demand is likely to reduce to ease global petroleum supply, which was continually restrained by the mid-east and Libyan political crisis. But, as soon as Japan’s economy resurges, oil futures will start reflecting global commodity market. The situation makes oil price highly volatile, predict experts. Meanwhile, as fuel prices continue to affect U.S’s reeling economic growth, President Obama on Friday reassured Americans that his administration has been closely monitoring the fuel supply situations.

Obama asserted, "Here at home, everybody should know that should the situation demand it, we are prepared to tap the significant stockpile of oil that we have in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,"