Ghana: VRA Should Lead In Promoting Solar, Wind Energy Generation-Kalitsi“German businesses have been important cooperation partners of Senegal for a long time. We are thus honored by Mr. Mané’s participation in our discussion”, added Mr. Wagner. Other confirmed panelists are Mrs. Onyeshe Tifase of Siemens, Mr. Tim Gengnagel of the Rwanda Development Board and Mr. Kenneth Reed of the GEA Group. The panel will discuss the business opportunities and possibilities arising post-COVID between Germany and Africa. Germany’s strong capabilities in LNG, petrochemicals, gas to power, biomass, and renewable energy have become central to the African energy agenda, with German expansion through the construction of world class facilities in Senegal, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Angola and other African countries. In 2019, the GABF launched a multi-million Euro funding commitment to invest in German energy startups that focus on Africa. The funding commitment, which pledges funds to German startups with exposure to African energy projects, is the first such intra-regional initiative. It goes in line with Germany’s renewed focus on Africa, with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) providing new stimulus to cooperation with the continent through the Marshall Plan with Africa. To attend, please register under: https://bit.ly/3jtrRGP Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Senegal, Equatorial Guinea Set To Discuss Post-Covid-Investments In Africa With Germany’s Private Sector
The Germany Africa Business Forum (GABF) is organizing an exclusive webinar on the topic “Business in Africa after Covid-19” on August 6th, 2020, at 16:00 Central European Time.
The high-level panel will be expanded with an opening speech by the Minister of Mines & Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Gabriel M. Obiang Lima.
“We are proud to announce that H.E. Gabriel M. Obiang Lima, a true champion of German-African relations, will be enriching our webinar. We are excited that through his expertise and leadership, His Excellency Obiang Lima will bring fresh perspectives to the discussion”, said Sebastian Wagner, co-founder of the GABF.
Further, the GABF is happy to confirm the participation of Senegal’s Director General for Cooperation & Financing, Mr. Ibrahima Mané, as a keynote panel member.
OPEC-Nigeria Talks Discuss Market Recovery After Covid-19
The OPEC-Nigeria Bilateral Meeting that took place last week has sent yet another signal of the strong dialogue and cooperation between OPEC and Africa’s biggest producing country.
Such a dialogue is key for compliance with the OPEC global production cuts deal of April, to which all of OPEC’s African member countries have agreed to.
Nigeria’s support to global market stability and energy cooperation is significant and gives confidence to operators and future investors seeking to do business in West Africa.
“African producers and service companies are the hardest hit when there is volatility in the market. H.E. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo and Dr. Ayed S. Al-Qahtani leading these discussions sends a strong message that collaboration and sticking to the principles of a stable market is good for Nigeria, its producers and the economy at large,” NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber commented in a statement.
“We continue to support the Government of Nigeria, and the country’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources in their effort to improve the environment for investment and getting the industry to rebound post-Covid-19. We believe they are right in making this a priority and we welcome the bold initiatives by Nigeria’s leadership,” he added.
Nigeria’s ongoing Marginal Fields Bidding Round was launched in earlier this year and has already been met with significant success, reportedly attracting hundreds of bidders.
The round is expected to result in a new wave of local content development in Nigeria, a country already widely regarded as the most successful example of local content and capacity building across the continent.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
India Reserves 110 Power Plant Equipment, Services For Local Companies
India’s power ministry has issued an order that will bar non-local suppliers from bidding for contracts for supply of about 110 goods and services to power plants.
The non-local suppliers are manufacturers with less than 20% local content.
These tenders, in respect of which there is sufficient local capacity, will be open to only “class–I local suppliers” or those vendors who have more than 50% local content.
The power ministry has issued public procurement order with separate lists of products with adequate manufacturing capacity in India and those being manufactured locally under technology license from foreign countries.
The ministry’s latest order dated July 28 mandates that tenders for these 110 equipment and works can be awarded only to local companies with high localisation.
The equipment includes transformers, switch gears, cables and insulators, which are imported in large numbers in India despite available local capacity.
Ghana: Gov’t Will Pay US$1.4 Billion Owed Independent Power Producers Ending Of 2020- Adu BoahenThe ministry’s order is based on a June 4 order of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) that provides for compulsory purchase preference to local suppliers. The order will apply to procurements made by central and state government companies and on projects funded by Power Finance Corp and REC Ltd. The order has identified another 69 products and services that are being manufactured under license from foreign manufacturers holding intellectual property rights. These can be sourced from class-II local suppliers with localisation content between 20% and 50%. “Only class-I local supplier and class-II local supplier shall be eligible to bid in procurement undertaken by procuring entities, except when Global Tender Enquiry has been issued. In Global Tender Enquiries, non-local suppliers shall also be eligible to bid along with class-I local suppliers and class-II local suppliers,” the order said. The order has advised the state-run entities to revise their tender documents. It has also advised the PSUs to allow participation from only those foreign firms which set up manufacturing base in India. In case of technology partnerships, the PSUs should insist for technology transfer. The power ministry’s July 2 order has put in place an effective ban on imports from prior-reference countries like China and Pakistan, which require permission. All other imports will be tested at government- approved labs. The department of expenditure last Thursday amended its General Financial Rules, 2017, requiring bidders from a country sharing land borders with India to register to be eligible to bid for PSU contracts. In 2018-19, India imported Rs 71,000 crore worth of power equipment, of which Rs 21,000 crore are Chinese. The ministry of power’s July 2 order has mentioned possibilities of cyber attacks on power system through ‘trojans’ embedded in imported equipment, which can have catastrophic effects and the potential to cripple the entire country. Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Saudi Arabia Likely To Cut Sept Crude Oil Prices To Asia
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is likely to cut its September official selling price (OSP) for crude sold in Asia, according to industry sources.
Five sources from Asian refineries on average expect the September OSP for flagship Arab Light crude to fall by 61 cents a barrel, though forecasts range from a cut of $1 to 20-30 cents, a Reuters survey showed.
Slow demand recovery amid the second wave of COVID-19 infections has depressed spot prices for Middle Eastern crude this month, while Asia’s refining margins remained weak, they said.
Although the monthly average of cash Dubai’s premium to swaps dipped by only 6 cents this month, DME Oman and cash Dubai this week turned to discounts to swaps for the first time since May, data compiled by Reuters showed.
Prompt Dubai has flipped from backwardation into contango in late July. The contango structure, where prompt prices are lower than future prices, usually indicates an immediate oil surplus.
Asia’s margins for gasoline, jet fuel and high sulphur fuel oil weakened in July, while cracks for naphtha, gas oil and low sulphur fuel oil showed improvement.
Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month based on yields and product prices.
Saudi Aramco officials as a matter of policy do not comment on the kingdom’s monthly OSPs.
South Africa: COVID-19: Sasol, Anglogold Ashanti, Others Join Forces To Distribute Hand Sanitisers To Communities
Integrated oil and chemical company Sasol, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, and Imperial Logistics have formed a strategic partnership which will see Sibanye-Stillwater distributing hand sanitisers produced by Sasol to schools, health facilities and taxi ranks within Sibanye-Stillwater’s and AngloGold Ashanti’s host and labour sending communities in South Africa.
With infections and COVID-19 related deaths escalating and hospitals facing the challenge of rapidly rising admissions, the partnership is a just-in time intervention by the four companies.
Sibanye-Stillwater CEO, Neal Froneman said; “the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees is our primary concern and our focus of providing a safe working environment is unwavering.
We also recognise the need to work with government to support communities that host our operations in managing the scourge of COVID-19. Our contribution will benefit schools, health facilities and taxi ranks and we welcome the collaboration with Sasol, Imperial and AngloGold Ashanti to support local communities.”
Sasol, AngloGold Ashanti and Sibanye-Stillwater will jointly share the costs of producing the hand sanitisers with Imperial –South Africa’s leading outsourced, integrated freight management, contract logistics company -committing to distribute the hand sanitisers to communities where Sibanye-Stillwater and AngloGold Ashanti operates in the Free State, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and Gauteng provinces. The programme will also be extended to some regions in the Eastern Cape.
Sasol has appointed the toll manufacturer and will also oversee the production, packaging and preparation for safe transportation of 94,550 liters of hand sanitiser.
Thabiet Booley, Senior Vice President of Sasol’s Base Chemicals division said: “Sasol recognises its duty and responsibility to support our customers, communities and society at large in these challenging and uncertain times. Through our strategic partnership with Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, and Imperial Logistics, we are pleased that our internally produced sanitisers will provide Sibanye-Stillwater’s and AngloGold Ashanti’s host and labour sending communities with hand disinfection hygiene support to reduce the risk of COVID-19.”
“The partnership aims to augment the impact of our relief efforts, and importantly, enhancing general hand hygiene, which remains an effective line of defence,” Dr. Bafedile Chauke, AngloGold Ashanti Vice President: Health, said. “As we tackle the current unprecedented health emergency, it is crucial that we protect the most vulnerable in our country.”
“We are united in the mission to keep communities safe from infection,” adds Imperial Group CEO, Mohammed Akoojee. “We are honoured and humbled to play a part in delivering much-needed goods and some peace of mind in these highly uncertain times.”
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
GESS Supports Dubai’s Green Economy Agenda
Dubai is leading the way in pursuit of an aggressive green economy agenda in the Gulf Cooperative Countries (GCC).
Interestingly, Green Energy Solutions and Sustainability (GESS), a Dubai-based company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is supporting the Sustainable Strategies of the Government of UAE and thinks in the same direction.
They do not want history to be written without them.
Headed by an extraordinarily strong and dynamic energy personality as its Chief Executive Officer, Anita Nouri’s organisation has succeeded over the last few years to make a significant impact.
GESS has pursued an agenda to degassed landfill to generate electricity.
Green Energy Solutions & Sustainability has designed, built and operated the first landfill gas to energy project in the region with the cooperation of Dubai Municipality at the Al Qusais landfill.
“We have installed pipes in the ground that are capable of degassing 6,000Ncbm of gas per hour, which has the capacity to generate 12MW of electricity. With Phase 2 and with the expansion, our goal is to connect that power to the grid and be part of the aggressive targets Dubai has set,” Anita Nouri said.
https://www.thebusinessyear.com/dubai-2020/green-solutions/forum
According to Anita Nouri, landfill gas power generation is a stable source of power and is being used all over the world.
“Landfill gas is a harmful GHG (green house gas) that can provide power and contribute to the renewable energy targets in the region,” she explained.
The GCC is changing from a region that is dependent on fossil fuels to one that is diversifying its energy strategy and including renewable energy as a source of power.
Aggressive targets have been set for development here, too, and GESS can provide some insight and solutions.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: MiDA To Set Up Sustainable Energy Service Centers In Three Regions
The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), the entity implementing for Ghana’s Power Compact II, is to institute three new Sustainable Energy Service Centres (SESCs) in three regions in the West African nation.
This will be done in collaboration with the Energy Commission (EC), the energy sector regulator.
The establishment of the SESCs, which would be the first of such centres in Ghana, forms part of activities under the Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management (EEDSM) Project, one of four projects in the Ghana Power Compact Programme, being funded by the United States Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
The SESCs would be hosted by three separate consortia of tertiary educational institutions selected through a competitive process.
A statement issued by MiDA mentioned the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UNER), in consortium with the Sunyani Technical University, Kumasi Technical University and the Energy Foundation; Accra Technical University (ATU), in consortium with the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Center for Renewable Energy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, as the beneficiaries for the centres.
A study by the consultant to the project, Messrs. Development Environergy Services Limited (DESL), reports that the adoption of energy-efficient systems would result in annual savings estimated at 4000GWh.
This represents over 30 percent of the country’s current energy demand.
It is also estimated that a minimum peak load savings of 500MW can be achieved with the adoption of energy efficiency behaviours, thereby, reducing the need for additional investment in generation capacity.
The statement said through the SESCs, the Energy Commission aims at building capacity in energy auditing.
This would ensure that a core of qualified and certified professionals are available in Ghana to assist public and private institutions, industrial and commercial customers to adopt and implement cost-effective energy savings measures.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: 4th Ghana Energy Awards Launched; Nominations Opened
The Fourth Edition of the Ghana Energy Awards has been launched with the nomination opening from July 28 to September 30, 2020.
This year’s awards ceremony is under the theme: “Excellence in crisis: The Energy Sector In A Covid-19 Era’.
The Awards is being organised by Energy Media Group, in partnership with CH-Business Consulting Ghana.
The Ghana Energy Awards is an industry-led initiative that aims to recognise the efforts, innovation and excellence of individuals and organisations within the energy sector and also celebrate the tremendous work of the players who compete under various categories of the awards.
Speaking at the launching, Chairman of the Ghana Energy Awards, Dr Kwame Ampofo noted the decision to hold this year’s event has not been an easy one considering the coronavirus pandemic which has ravaged over 655,000 lives across the globe, thereby, forcing organisers of major events to postpone them.
He noted that the energy sector had not been spared of the virus, noting that oil prices have collapsed.
“In Ghana, reports have indicated that the sector has been hit as companies have had to shut down because several workers have tested positive for the virus.
The Petroleum Commission forecasts that there would be several job losses due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Tullow Ghana, Aker Energy, Halliburton and Schlumberger are all reported to have reduced their workforce and more are yet to be sent home,” he observed.
Dr Ampofo argued that the organisers still found it possible to organise this year’s awards despite the impact of virus, which has forced oil companies to suspend their drilling campaigns, thus, freezing US$324 million projects which would have injected life into the country’s economy.
Ing. Henry Teinor, who is the organiser of Ghana Energy Awards, stated that they have put in place more strict measures to ensure adherence to all the prescribed protocols in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of industry players.
He said before the closing of the nomination, the organising team would pay courtesy calls on the various stakeholders in the industry for briefing on the major happenings in the sector during the 2019-2020 review period.
The 2020 Edition of the Ghana Energy Awards was launched by renowned Evangelist Dr Lawrence Tetteh who is also a member of the award panel.
To nominate, applicants should visit the awards website for information on categories and the nomination process at www.ghanaenergyawards.com.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Abigail-Joseph FPSO Vessel Returns After Repair Works In Singapore
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited ( First E&P) have announced the arrival of the Abigail-Joseph Floating Production Storage and Offloading, FPSO, unit to the shores of Nigeria.
A statement issued by First E&P said prior to her sail-away, the FPSO underwent upgrading, refurbishment and life extension works in Keppel Shipyard, Singapore.
The statement said the activity was to meet specified standards and specifications, noting that “the excellent partnership between NNPC, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, First E&P, Yinson and Keppel Shipyard, helped ensure these critical pre-deployment activities for the FPSO were completed in record time.”
Ghana: Association Of Oil Marketing Companies Seeks Review Of Tax PolicyAccording to the statement, a team of young Nigerian professionals were part of the successful extension works in the Keppel Shipyard and they will form an integral part of the FPSO operations team in the production phase. It added that the FPSO is a 274 metres long converted Suezmax trading tanker. It is self-propelled with 11 cargo storage tanks, two slop tanks and six dedicated water ballast tanks including fore and aft peak tanks. “The FPSO will be deployed in the Anyala and Madu fields, offshore Nigeria as part of OMLs 83 & 85 field development, Nigeria’s first wholly indigenously-executed integrated oil and gas project in the shallow offshore. The processing system on the FPSO includes facilities for oil separation, stabilisation, produced water treatment, gas treatment and compression. “The processing and storage capacities include oil processing of 50,000 barrels of oil per day, produced water treatment of 20,000 barrels of water per day, gas handling of 39 million standard cubic feet per day and cargo storage capacity of 700,000 barrels. The FPSO will be operated on behalf of First E&P by Yinson. “The ongoing development drilling campaign in the Anyala field is focused on drilling and proving expected oil reserves for development. A total of seven development wells have been planned and approved by DPR,” the statement said. Anyala field will be developed along with the nearby Madu field (OML 85) through a shared production facility. The produced oil will be processed through the Abigail-Joseph FPSO. Associated gas and non-associated gas developments will be fully integrated into a gas-integration hub designed to feed an export line for the local gas market. Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Oil Crisis: Saudi Arabia Books $29Billion Deficit In Second Quarter 2020
Saudi Arabia booked a deficit of $29 billion for the second quarter of the year because of the continued slump in oil prices and oil demand, which affected revenues.
Oilprice.com quoted Reuters report as saying that the Kingdom’s oil revenues for April to June were down 45 percent on the year, with total budget revenues down 49 percent from a year earlier.
Saudi Arabia has taken some austerity steps already in an attempt to rein in public spending and mitigate the impact of the oil crisis on its economy, but it seems more would be needed.
“A pullback in spending is essential for containing the deficit,” Reuters quoted Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, as saying.
“The proactive stance of the government was already reflected in the austerity measures announced in April. However, these will dampen the recovery outlook.”
So far this year the Saudi government has announced a cut in 2020 budget expenditures of $13.2 billion through “a partial reduction in some items with the least social and economic impact,” along with a tripling of value-added tax to 15 percent from 5 percent and a suspension of the so-called cost-of-living allowances for all Saudi public servants, who are the majority of Saudis in employment.
The problem with these austerity measures is that they may slow down the economy’s recovery once the crisis is over. And the fact that the Kingdom also plans to borrow a lot to get through the worst of it is not helping, either, because loans need to be repaid. For now, there is a strong interest in Saudi debt, but if we are indeed past peak oil demand, this may change before long. So far this year, Riyadh has borrowed almost $13 billion on the international and domestic markets.
The IMF expects Saudi Arabia’s economy to contract by 6.8 percent this year. The Kingdom itself has called the figure pessimistic.
India Is World’s Second Most-Polluted Country-Report By Energy Policy Institute
India is today the world’s second most-polluted country, and almost all of India’s population lives in areas where the annual average particulate level exceeds the WHO guidelines.
This is according to a report on Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, USA.
According to the report, 84 per cent Indians live in areas which exceed India’s own air quality standard.
“A quarter of India’s population is exposed to pollution levels not seen in any other country, 248 million residents of northern India on track to lose more than 8 years of life expectancy, if the pollution levels persist”, the report said.
Lucknow, which is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, is found to have the highest levels of pollution in the country with the pollution being 11 times greater than the WHO guidelines.
Ghana: Kwaku Agyemang-Duah Speaks On Impact Of COVID-19 On Oil Trading Business; Wants Gov’t To Fast-track Petroleum Hub AgendaThe report said India’s capital city Delhi is also highly polluted, noting the residents of Delhi can prolong their lives by 9.4 years if the pollution in the capital were to reduce to meet the WHO guideline, and 6.5 years if the pollution met India’s national standard. According to the report, air pollution in India shortens the life expectancy of an average India by 5.2 years relative to what it could be if the guidelines of WHO are met. It decreases by 2.3 years if the country meets its own standards. It said that the high pollution levels in Delhi could limit the lives of people by 9.4 years while those living in UP could see a decrease of 8.6 years, which also happens to be the most polluted Indian state. “Since 1998, average annual participation pollution has increased 42 per cent, cutting 1.8 years off the life of the average resident over these years,” the report said. Developed by the University of Chicago’s Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics Michael Greenstone and his team at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), the AQLI is based on research that quantifies the causal relationship between long-term human exposure to air pollution and life expectancy.
Ghana: Gov’t Spends GH¢4.7 Billion In Over Three Years To Ensure Stable Power
Ghana’s Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta says that the Government of Ghana has spent in excess of GH¢4.7 billion to ensure stable supply of electricity in the past three and half years.
The West African nation experienced power crisis between 2012 and 2016 creating discomfort for residential consumers and also resulting in the collapse of businesses.
The five years’ power crisis which started easing in the last quarter of 2016 led to many employees being thrown out of jobs.
According to a research findings by the Institute of Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, the country lost about GH¢3 billion as result of the power crisis.
The findings which covered between 2012 and 2015 revealed the negative impact of the power crisis on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in particular.
It was established that 885 SMEs lost GHc250m, while 55 folded up with its attendant job losses.
The previous government brought in the Ameri Power and Karpowership and signed contracts with other Independent Powers Powers in an attempt to address the power situation.
However, upon assumption of power, this government, led by President Akufo-Addo raised concerns with some of the deals accusing his predecessor of signing questionable deals.
The government claims it has been paying over 2.5 billion annually for power it does not consumer.
Presenting the 2020 mid-year budget on the floor of Ghana’s Parliament, on Thursday, July 23, 2020, Ghana’s Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said the power crisis is now a thing of the past.
“We have relegated ‘dumsor’ to the past. It is clear to our fellow Ghanaians by now that we have enjoyed three and half years of reliable and cheaper power. We have spent in excess of GH¢4.7 billion on capacity payments, not only to ensure that we keep the lights on, but also pay for power we do not use under very questionable contractual obligations we inherited,” he told Ghanaians.
Ghana: Breaking News: Transport Fares To Be Reduced By 10% On August 1
Transport fares in the Republic of Ghana are expected to be reduced by 10 percent from Saturday, August 1, 2020, energynewsafrica.com can confirm.
The reduction follows pressure from the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) and others including Editor of energynewsafrica.com, Michael Creg Afful, who waged social media campaign for the reduction in fares.
Transport fares went up between 15-30 percent as part of efforts to enable transport operators to recoup losses they were making following a directive by President Akufo-Addo to reduce the number of passengers onboard in adherence to social distancing, which is part of the Coronavirus safety protocols.
Ghana: Students of Mampong Akwapem Presbyterian SHS, Teachers, Others Flee As Gas Tanker Catches Fire (Video)However, during his 14th address to update Ghanaians on the Coronavirus in the West African nation, the President announced lifting of the restrictions on public transport. Per his directive, public transport operators have now returned to picking full capacity of their vehicles. National Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Kwame Kumah confirmed it on Asempa FM, a local radio station, not too long ago. Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, who also spoke on the same network, commended the GPRTU and other transport unions for heeding to the call for reduction in transport fares.
India: Reserve Bank Boss Wants Investment In Renewable Energy Sector Moved To Next Stage
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das says India now needs to move to the next stage of investment and manufacturing in the renewable energy sector.
He said that investment should be done in solar and wind energy installations, and also in creating domestic manufacturing capacity for solar panels.
“I think we need to move now to the next stage of investment and manufacturing. Having sufficient domestic capacity to manufacture solar panels is something which the country can certainly achieve,” said Das while addressing the national council of the Confederation of Indian Industry in a virtual conference.
According to D K Srivastava, chief policy advisor, EY India, there is a clear scope for taking advantage of progressive cost reductions and substituting imports of solar panels from China by creating domestic capacity.
Das said that a major factor driving the shift in energy mix has been the steep fall in generation cost of renewable energy and as a result, renewable power generation technologies have become the least cost option for new capacity creation in almost all parts of the world.
According to the RBI Governor, the weighted average cost of addition to renewable capacity in India was one of the lowest in the world in 2019, which has now started exerting significant downward pressures on spot prices also for electricity.
“Going forward, this landmark progress could result in a significant overhaul of the power sector, encompassing deregulation, decentralisation, and efficient price discovery. Policy interventions in the form of renewable purchase obligations for discomes, accelerated depreciation benefits, and fiscal incentives such as viability gap funding and interest rates subvention will have to go through a rethink,” Das added.
He said that India’s changing pattern of energy production is in favour of renewables and India’s progress in addressing the demand-supply balance has been remarkable. “India has now become a power surplus country and is exporting to other countries,” said Das.
He said that while India’s power demand grew at an average rate of 3.9 per cent during the period between 2015-16 and 2019-20, supply grew at an average rate of 4.5 per cent and installed capacity grew at an average rate of 6.7 per cent in this period.
The share of renewable energy in the country’s total installed capacity has doubled to 23.4 per cent in march 2020 from 11.8 per cent in march 2015. This shows that the share has gone up from 11.8 per cent in March 2015 to 23.4 per cent by March 2020, the RBI chief mentioned.
Reforming retail distribution of electricity is also a compelling necessity, according to Das.
“A nationwide grid integration can take supply from renewable sources as and when generated. And that is something which is also necessary. Now these dynamic shifts in renewables could help increase India’s per capita electricity consumption, which is currently among the lowest in the world,” he added.
Citing NITI Aayog estimates on infrastructure investment, Das said that the country needs $4.5 trillion investment in the sector by 2030 and added that the gap on the infrastructure front remains large, making a strong case for stepping up investments in the sector to revive the economy.