Infrastructure and Energy Sector

[parijataka]

In festive season, TN rural areas go powerless for 14 hrs a day

CHENNAI: Power shortage is worsening in the state with many rural areas going without power for 12 to 14 hours.

Most parts of western Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Salem cities, face long hours of blackout. The whole region did not have power from 9pm on Wednesday until early Thursday. But for a one-hour supply in the morning, there was no supply in the western belt all through Thursday too.

It took a toll on festival shopping in urban centres. Children are among the worst sufferers as they are unable to prepare for mid-term examinations. The state has been over-dependant on wind energy for the past six months. With an installed wind energy capacity of more than 7,000MW, the windmills generated more than 4,000MW on some days and averaged between 2,000MW and 3,000MW all through the season - June to September.

With the wind season ending and alternative supply sources not yet ready, Tamil Nadu has to purchase power from outside to bridge the 4,000MW gap. But grid congestion is hampering such plans.

The TNEB should have foreseen the crisis and speeded up the ongoing projects to commission them before September to tackle the shortage, felt an analyst. Despite trying to insulate Chennai from power shortage, the utility had to impose a two-hour load shedding in the city.

Factors that have worsened the crisis are increased use of airconditioners in offices and houses, pumps by farmers and lighting by the trader community owing to festival shopping. Power managers feel rains alone will bring down the demand and consumption.

"We are hopeful that by the month-end, two thermal projects, Vallur and Mettur, will be ready for generation," said a TNEB official.

TN has to purchase power from outside to meet the 4,000MW deficit. However, grid congestion is hampering such plans.

 

[cloud_9]

India suffers over 11 percent power generation loss in 2011-12: CEA​

NEW DELHI: India suffered a power generation loss of over 11 per cent, in 2011-12, on account of fuel shortage, transmission bottlenecks and equipment problems, a Central Electricity Authority review has said.

"The loss of generation due to non-availability of thermal units due to forced outages during 2011-12 increased to 11.46 per cent," Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said.

All India electricity generation in the country during 2011-12 has been 876.89 BU, the report of the highlights of this review that was released by CEA recently, said.

"The increased forced outages was due to increased forced shutdown of units due to coal supply problem and transmission constraints and equipment problems of some new units," the CEA report said.

The report said 59.87 per cent of the total forced shut downs were of duration of up to 24 hours. Around 39 per cent outages were of duration varying from 1 to 25 days and only 1.45 per cent of shut downs were for more than 25 days.

The total loss of generation (6,574 MU) due to planned maintenance of thermal units and various forced outages was highest in September 2011, the review said.

The generation from gas-based plants had negative growth rate on account of low schedules from the beneficiaries coupled with shortage of gas. "During the year (2011-12), the generation from gas-based plants were 93.22 BU (billion units) in comparison to 99.97 BU," the report said.

Megawatt (MW) is used to refer to generation capacity, while Million Unit (MU) indicates the amount of power or energy produced. For instance, a 500 MW capacity plant running for 24 hours can produce 12 MUs of energy.

Energy loss due to partial unavailability of the thermal generating units operating in the country during 2011-12 had increased to 9.43 per cent of the maximum possible generation during the year in comparison to the 9.34 per cent in 2010-11, the CEa review report.

The coal availability to power stations detoriated due to Telangana crisis during the month of September, 2011.

Telangana crisis hampered the production in SCCL ( Singareni Collieries Company Ltd) mines which had affected coal supplies to many generating stations of Southern Region especially Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

"The increase was mainly attributed to partial unavailability of the thermal generating units on account of backing down of units due to poor quality coal, coal shortage and low system demand," it said.

The review found that 11.6 billion units were lost due to shortage of coal, 17.9 BUs due to poor quality of coal, 15.3 BUs due to backing down or reserve shut down, 3.92 BUs due to transmission constraints and 36.71 BUs due to gas shortage.

It covers the performance analysis of 454 coal based thermal units above 25 MW capacity of 126 thermal power stations aggregating 97,768 MW.

 

[Sridhar]

Crompton Greaves to make Smart Grid products at Banglaore

The deployment of smart grid technologies is expected to rise to keep pace with the increasing complexities of the country's power networks

Offering unprecedented control and efficiency in power supply, a smart grid could go a long way in protecting consumers from the kind of outage Northern India experienced recently.

As of now. pilot projects for Smart Grid technologies are being carried out in several cities, including Bangalore.

This plant will be the base for manufacturing in India the entire range of protection, control and communication products from Crompton Greaves's Automation Business Unit. With the acquisition of ZIV complete, CG gets access to ZIV's Smart Grid technologies, including expertise in grid automation.

domain-b.com : Crompton Greaves to make Smart Grid products at Banglaore

 

[Raj30]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0413878.130585.528658540480556&type=1&theater

 

[Max Mojito]

India developing parts of the Tokamak, which will provide unlimited energy once ( in theory) once it is completed. Its known as ITER and is a collaborative initiate.

"LONDON: India is developing the heaviest and the largest parts of the Tokamak, the machine behind the biggest scientific collaboration on the planet, to produce unlimited supplies of cheap, clean, safe and commercial energy from atomic fusion.

The international nuclear fusion project known as ITER, meaning "the way" in Latin, is based on the 'tokamak' concept of magnetic confinement, in which the plasma is contained in a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel."
Source - TOI

 

[arnabmit]

Hey! my brother in law works there... Previously he used to work in CERN and was part of the team which designed the Alice Gate of LHC.

A Large Ion Collider Experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

India developing parts of the Tokamak, which will provide unlimited energy once ( in theory) once it is completed. Its known as ITER and is a collaborative initiate.

"LONDON: India is developing the heaviest and the largest parts of the Tokamak, the machine behind the biggest scientific collaboration on the planet, to produce unlimited supplies of cheap, clean, safe and commercial energy from atomic fusion.

The international nuclear fusion project known as ITER, meaning "the way" in Latin, is based on the 'tokamak' concept of magnetic confinement, in which the plasma is contained in a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel."
Source - TOI

 

[ladder]

DRDO harnesses wind energy, differently

CHANDIGARH: In a joint project of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), a DRDO laboratory in Chandigarh, and the US army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), a prototype has been developed to harness wind energy, which can overcome ice and snow accumulation on wind turbine structures.

SASE has already installed a10kW capacity wind turbine as a pilot project in Banihal Top, J&K, in which the problems of snow riming and icing (accumulation of snow and ice on structures) were observed. Scientists at DRDO claim that there is no such wind turbine anywhere else at such an altitude.

Higher altitudes are off grid and have diesel as the source of power. However, the terrains are so unfriendly that its gets difficult and costly to transport diesel. "So, wind which is the easily available renewable source of energy is tapped by SASE, which installed wind turbines last year for power generation," said Neeraj Sharma, a scientist working on the project.

He added, "However, we found that during the winters the blades stopped rotating due to riming and icing." To overcome the problem, the team at SASE has come up with a technology, which does not generate electricity through rotation of the turbine. "As the rotation of the blades gets disrupted by riming and icing, we have developed a model on the principle of flutter," explained Neeraj. The new prototype is potentially free from icing and riming problems. The first field tests for the wind belt will be conducted the coming winters.

This implies that the wind belt is stretched in a frame of a particular length, which has a magnet placed atop. As the wind blows, the belt flutters and touches the coil of copper wires placed above the magnet. This induces electromagnetic induction and generates power without rotation of the blades.

Winning edge

60% more efficient

No costly blades, gearboxes, generators

No effect of turbulent winds

http://http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-14/science/39255500_1_wind-turbine-harness-wind-energy-blades

 

[arnabmit]

I Want Urgently!!! Electricity bills going through the roof!

 

[nrupatunga]

Iraq offers 3 oil fields to India on nomination basis

 

[Shatrujeet]

IFC finances Azure's rooftop solar India project

NEW DELHI: IFC, a member of World Bank, is providing $ 3 million loan to independent energy producer Azure Power's rooftop solar India project in Gujarat.

IFC's investment in the subsidiary is expected to help avoid around 3,600 tons of carbon emissions a year, Azure Power said in a statement today.

The company is constructing a 2.5 megawatt rooftop solar project in Gandhinagar that will be connected to the state electricity grid.

"With this, Azure Power has forayed into distributed solar power generation. We are committed to driving down cost of energy for end consumers," Azure Power's Chief Executive Officer Inderpreet S Wadhwa said.

Azure Power is an existing client of IFC and has a current portfolio of about 55 megawatt of solar power projects in India.

"The project will assist the state in introducing public-private participation to generate green energy at the household level. The project supports reduction in greenhouse gas emissions," IFC Infrastructure Director for Asia Anita George said.

Sources : Economic times

 

[Free Karma]

One Nation, One Grid!


Southern power grid connected to national grid; power crisis likely to ease in Tamil Nadu - The Times of India

CHENNAI: In a major relief to South Indian states, the southern power grid was connected to the national grid on Tuesday evening.

The Raichur-Sholapur 765KV single circuit transmission line has been interconnected with the national grid, thereby achieving the one nation-one grid-one frequency system. It cost the Power Grid Corporation Rs 815 crore to set up the system.

With this interconnection, the Indian power system entered a new era and became one of the largest operating synchronous grids in the world with about 232GW of installed power generation capacity, said a press release by the Union power ministry.

Synchronous integration of southern grid with the rest of the national power grid will not only augment the inter-regional power transfer capacity of the southern region but also relieve the congestion being experienced in a few transmission corridors. This will be a great boost for further economic growth of the country. It might take a few more months before power flow in this line was established, the release said.

Power-starved states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were waiting for the line to be interconnected for them to transmit power purchased from surplus states in north and eastern regions. The line has been connected five months ahead of schedule by the Power Grid Corporation of India.

Chief minister J Jayalalithaa had written letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blaming the power crisis the state was facing for the lack of a facility to transmit power from private producers in the north as well as states with excess power to the state grid.

The inter-connection of the southern grid with the central grid is the last among the regions to be connected to the all-India grid. The north, west, east and north-east regions were connected earlier.

"The Sholapur-Raichur line is being connected months ahead of the scheduled date," director Power Grid Corporation I S Jha told TOI. "In the first month, the line may not transmit power to the full capacity and it will take at least four months before the line becomes fully operational," Jha said.

On the charge that the southern grid is the last to be linked with the central grid, Jha said while the transmission lines were not in proper order in other regions, it was much better in the south. That is the reason for concentrating on the other regions, he said. "Moreover, we expected the thermal as well as the Kudankulam nuclear plant to start generating so that the excess power can be transmitted to other states. But Tamil Nadu became a deficit state due to the delay in commissioning of various power plants," the director said.

A separate corridor to evacuate renewable energy and another transmission line between Chhattisgarh and Pugalur in Karur district is also at the planning stage, according to him.

"The interconnection of the southern grid with national grid will declog the transmission line and will enable us to transmit power easily from other states. We hope it is commissioned fully before summer so that we may not have long hours of power cuts," said as Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) official, who didn't want to be identified.

:thumb:

 

[TrueSpirit1]

Hey! my brother in law works there... Previously he used to work in CERN and was part of the team which designed the Alice Gate of LHC.

A Large Ion Collider Experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bengalis ROCKKK, particularly when they have escaped Bengal.

 

[cobra commando]

ONGC to invest $9 billion in producing oil and gas from KG basin


ONGC to invest $9 billion in producing oil and gas from KG basin - NDTVProfit.com

 

[cobra commando]

Prime Minister inaugurates new Terminal 2 at Mumbai airport


Prime Minister inaugurates new Terminal 2 at Mumbai airport | NDTV.com

 

[cobra commando]

India issues global tender for building Navi Mumbai airport

New Delhi: India has asked for interest from global companies to build and operate a new airport in Navi Mumbai, estimated to cost nearly $2 billion initially, in the outskirts of the financial capital to meet growing air traffic. The airport will be built in partnership with the government, and will be expanded over four phases. Air passenger traffic via Mumbai is expected to exceed 40 million by 2017 and more than 100 million by 2030, according to a state agency study. The government released on Wednesday the initial documents for the two-stage bidding process for the airport, which is planned to be operational by 2017. The first two phases are estimated to cost 95 billion rupees, while there will be a pre- development cost of 23.58 billion rupees, the City and Industrial Development Corp. of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO), state agency said. The airport, proposed to be developed over an area of 1160 hectares, will start with a capacity to handle 10 million passengers a year and will have an ultimate annual capacity for 60 million passengers a year, after expansion. Mumbai and New Delhi are the two major international air gateways in India. The existing Mumbai airport, run by a consortium of infrastructure firm GVK and the state-run airport operator, recently increased its passenger-handling capacity by opening a new terminal. The joint-venture company running the Mumbai airport has a right of first refusal for the new airport.

India issues global tender for building Navi Mumbai airport | NDTV.com

 

[feathers]

V.O. Chidambaranar Port gets green gate entry complex - The Hindu


The facility was set up at a cost of Rs.11.02 crore

Union Minister of Shipping G.K. Vasan inaugurated a number of facilities including a modern green gate entry complex, vessel traffic management system and occupational health centre at the V.O. Chidambaranar Port here on Friday.

The modern green gate complex, constructed with four entry and exit points, was established at a cost of Rs.11.02 crore to ensure free movement of cargo and container vehicles. It has radiological detectors, speed camera, swipe-card system, boom barriers and weighbridges. Besides, Port, Customs and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) offices would be housed in the modern complex.

The vessel traffic management system, which has been installed at a cost of Rs.8.77 crore, has radar, VHF and other satellite communication equipment with the latest software for detection, tracking and analysis of all vessels within 48 nautical miles. This facility would enhance the port security.

On the occupational health centre established at the Port Hospital, Mr. Vasan said it was aimed at prevention and management of occupational illness, injury and disability. The new facility would be useful to over 800 workers.

S. Ananda Chandra Bose, Chairman, VOC Port, signed a concession agreement with Transtroy, a Hyderabad-based consortium, for development of North Cargo Berth-III at an estimated cost of Rs.420 crore for handling thermal coal and rock phosphate.

It was proposed to dredge and deepen the area in front of the berth for up to 12.8 meters at an estimated cost of about Rs. 448 crore. "This port has the capacity to handle 33.34 million tonnes of cargo a year and it has been planned to increase its capacity to 85 million tonnes on completion of the inner harbour," he said.

Mr. Vasan announced the establishment of Kendriya Vidyalaya School and added that the VOC Port authorities had volunteered to provide land for it. He presented awards to Port Users for Excellence in Traffic performance for 2012-13 and best export record.

Awards were given to 25 stakeholders under different categories. S.R. Jeyadurai, Tuticorin MP, S.S. Ramasubbu, Tirunelveli MP, and other port officials attended.

At a press conference, Mr. Vasan said the recent meeting of fishermen representatives from India and Sri Lanka ended on a positive note. But the Lankan Navy's arrest of Indian fishermen soon after the talks jeopardised the reconciliation efforts.

 

[feathers]

8-lane Bangalore-Mysore highway planned - The Times of India

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government is planning to make the Bangalore-Mysore road an eight-lane highway with flyovers to ease traffic congestion at key bottlenecks.

In the recent past, the two-and-a-half-hour smooth drive between these two cities has turned into a three-and-a-half-hour nightmare, with drivers forced to negotiate over 100 illegally erected speedbreakers. The traffic density, according to a recent survey conducted by the public works department, has almost doubled in the past decade with the 130-km stretch recording 40,000 passenger car unit (PCU).

When the four-lane was built in 2004, vehicular traffic was 20,000 PCU. "Traffic volume apart, illegal speedbreakers add to the delay," a senior PWD official told TOI.

The eight-lane highway proposal is likely to be presented to chief minister Siddaramaiah and included in the budget to be presented on February 14.

The proposal to build flyovers in five places on the way to Mysore - Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna - has remained a mere promise from ministers and netas representing Mandya, Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts. "Flyovers alone won't reduce traffic density. Wide roads coupled with flyovers will definitely help," the official said.

Asked if it'll be a six- or an eight-lane highway, public works minister HC Mahadevappa said the proposal is before the CM, and didn't disclose the details. Some time ago, the minister had spoken of two proposals - upgrading the road into a six-lane one or a national highway.

Six or eight lanes, widening of the road means acquiring huge tracts of land along the highway, which is seeing huge real-estate action in the past decade. But land losers needn't fret. With the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 passed and notified, land owners are likely to get a good amount - four times the market rate - if they have to part with huge chunks of their land.

 

[feathers]

Mumbai: Terminal 2 of international airport and Sahar elevated road open for public | NDTV.com

The much-awaited Terminal 2 of the Mumbai international airport and the Sahar elevated road corridor was opened for the public today.

The 2.2 km Sahar elevated road that connects Western Express Highway (WEH) with the new Terminal 2 of the International Airport was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today.

"We recently inaugurated the Eastern Freeway, Terminal 2 of the international airport and now the Sahar elevated road. Through these projects we are trying to solve traffic problems of this city, which is the financial capital of our country," Mr Chavan said.

The Rs. 400 crore project which missed several deadlines earlier, offers seamless and signal-free connectivity from Western Express Highway, cutting the travel time by around 30 minutes.

The government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) are working towards commencing some of the delayed transport projects that are aimed at solving traffic woes, Mr Chavan said.

"The first phase of Metro Rail project-Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar- is likely to commence operations next month. Similarly, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road will also be open for vehicles in the next 2-3 weeks.

The work on the third metro-Colaba-SEEPZ, is also likely to start soon," he said.

The state government has sought Rs. 12,500 crore from the 14th Finance Commission for development of infrastructure projects in Mumbai.

"We want to provide all the necessary amenities to the public to make Mumbai an international city," Mr Chavan added.

 

[cobra commando]

Mumbai: Underground Metro work to start in January 2015


Mumbai: Underground Metro work to start in January 2015 | NDTV.com

 

[ladder]

Japan pledges Rs 15,000-cr loan for five Indian projects

Japan on Monday announced a Rs 15,000-crore official development assistance ( ODA) loan for five projects in India, including expansion of Delhi Metro and works related to wind and solar energy. Japan and India signed the ODA loan agreement for five projects totalling more than Rs 15,000 crore.
"This is the largest amount ever signed on a single occasion in the history of Japanese ODA," a Japanese Embassy statement said...................................


Japan pledges Rs 15,000-cr loan for five Indian projects - Business Today