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Home , Adani Green Energy, Ather Energy

ENERGY NEWS FEBRUARY-2020

Petroleum Conservation Research Association Sanrakshan Bhawan 10, Bhikaji Cama Place New Delhi 110066

INDEX

S. NO. SUBJECT PAGE

1 TRANSPORT

1.1 -E-Vehicles (EV) 1-8

1.2 -Oil & Gas run vehicles 8-9

2 ENVIRONMENT

2.1 - Air, Water & Sound pollution 10-14

ENERGY CONSERVATION 3

3.1 -Oil & Gas 14-20

4

4.1 -Wind 20-23

4.2 -Solar 24-28

5 OTHERS 28-31

This Energy News contains excerpts of articles picked up from selected daily newspapers & magazines.

Hyundai Likely to Go More Local for EVs

Hyundai Motor , the country's second-largest carmaker, said it was accelerating the localisation plan for its electric vehicles (EV) as the government is set to hike basic customs duties on completely-built as well as knockeddown EVs and components making imports more expensive. “We understand the government’s direction of Make in India. We will look to localise more,” SS Kim, the managing director of Hyundai Motor India told ET. “We are already localising some plastic parts and some interior parts on the Kona.” The company is looking at multiple partnerships to create a manufacturing ecosystem to ensure that EVs become mainstream and accessible, he said. When the company launches more affordable mass-market EVs, it plans to localise as much content as it does for its conventional vehicles, which is over 90%, he said. The company has been talking with potential suppliers to increase localised content. It is also contacting global battery suppliers, including LG Chem, to discuss collaboration for battery cell procurement for the local market. “Even today in the morning I spent one hour with future potential partners in EV ecosystem,” Kim told ET in an interview earlier this month. Hyundai India’s planning division is already conducting customer research to find out how much customers would be willing to pay for its electric vehicles, Kim said. The company’s Indian arm, along with engineers at the Namyang R&D

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Centre in South Korea, has commenced studies to gauge the optimum range and price points for the product. The company has set a timeline of 24-36 months to launch a mass-market EV and aims to ready a concept of the vehicle for the 2022 in Greater Noida. The push for localisation comes as the Centre looks to set up an EV manufacturing ecosystem in India that could compete with the best in the world. As part of the Phased Manufacturing Proposal, customs duty on imports of EV components will be raised in a step- wise manner to encourage a gradual shift to local procurement. Import of knocked-down electric vehicles presently attracts a 10% basic customs duty which is set to go up to 15% from April. ***** Toyota drives in self-charging hybrid Vellfire at ₹79.5 lakh

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Wednesdayunveiled the Vellfire, the new luxurious self-charging hybrid electric multi-purpose vehicle, in India. The company has already sold more than 6,00,000 units globally and is introducing the Vellfire in CBU (completely built unit) form, priced at ₹79.5 lakh ex- showroom. neing a hybrid, the Vellfire combines power with low fuel consumption and carbon footprint. The 2.5-litre 4-cylinder gasoline hybrid engine offers 86 kW (115 BHP) power and a maximum torque of 198 Nmat 2,800-4,000 rpm. The engine, which is coupled with two electric motors and a

2 hybrid battery, con trols emissions. The company is claiming 16.35 km/l mileage under standard test conditions.

For well-being of ecosystem

In addition to the high body rigidity, a new suspension has been adopted for the rear. The Vellfire comes with a 17-speaker JBL audio syatem, and power adjustable seats. Vikram Kirloskar, ViceChairman, said, “The in India is undergoing a profound technologydriven transformation with innovation and creativity defining the overall customer experience. As industry leaders, it is imperative for us to provide customers with new breakthroughs that not only promise comfort, but also contribute to the well-being of the ecosystem.

“...our latest offering, the Vellfire, too embodies our commitment to offering “Ever-Better Cars with Ever-Better Technology for an Ever-Better Environment.”

Managing Director Masakazu Yoshimura said, “...the launch of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice-Chairman Vikram Kirloskar (right) and MD Masakazu Yoshimura at the launch of Vellfire in Hyderabad on Wednesday Vellfire in India marks a significant step in our mid-to-long term plan to achieve zero CO2 challenge.”

Naveen Soni, Senior Vice-President, said that the Vellfire is well-aligned with Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, which encourages us to movetowards a society where people, cars and nature can coexist in harmony. In the first three months, all 180 Vellfire imported as CBUs have been sold out. ***** E-scooter maker Ather Energy to ride into four new cities

Ather Energy recently launched the electric scooter Ather 450X in India. At the time of launch, Ather had confirmed its entry into four new cities beyond Bengaluru and Chennai. With demand pouring in, Ather will be available in four new markets in the next few months, the company said in a statement. In January, the company had confirmed its launch in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune

3 and Hyderabad, based on the demand received for the scooter. Since the national launch, Ather has received thousands of pre-orders from across the country, with key cities like , Kochi, Coimbatore and Kolkata taking the lead. The four new cities will see installation of fast charging infrastructure in the coming months, followed by the delivery of the scooters. Ather 450X can be pre-ordered via the company website for a fully refundable ₹2,500. Ather has also been receiving dealership requests from these cities. Consumers in the new cities can expect meet-ups and test rides in their neighbourhood in the coming months. Ather 450X owners will also receive home chargers, Ather Dot, to charge their scooters at home.

“There’s been an amazing response for the Ather 450X across the country. We have been receiving pre-orders from not just the major metros but also several Tier-II and -III cities. Similarly, there have been more than 2,000 requests for retail partnerships. By the end of this year we will be present in 10 cities and will continue to scale up to more than 30 by 2023. Our focus now is scaling the experience of Ather 450X all over the country” said Tarun Mehta, CEO and co- founder, Ather Energy. ***** Tirupur’s CK Motors in pact with PURE EV

CK Motors, an arm of Tirupur-based ₹800-crore CK Group companies engaged in textiles business, has entered into a joint manufacturing and marketing agreement with PURE EV, an electric vehicle start-up incubated by IIT- Hyderabad. As part of the pact, CK Motors is setting up a factory at an initial investment of ₹50 crores at Coimbatore to manufacture EVs with a capacity of 5,000 electric scooters per month. The factory will be operational in a couple of months. In the second phase, the company aims to invest another ₹50 crores.

“We have developed the necessary eco-system with supplier base in Coimbatore for our electric vehicle manufacturing. We will initially have at least 50 per cent localisation and increase to 100 per cent soon. Our scooters will come with the patented lithium-ion battery technology,” C Guna Sekaran, Business Head, CK Motors Pvt Ltd, said here. PURE EV is reported to have sold

4 more than 2,000 units of its electric two-wheelers that include ePluto 7G, a high speed scooter at a starting price of ₹79,000 (on-road price will be about ₹91,000), ePluto (low speed scooter), priced at ₹71,999, among others. In addition to manufacturing, CK Motors plans to set up at least 50 dealers in in the next few months and will expand to other States in the next phase. Gopinath, Head – Sales & Marketing, CK Motors, said the company would also sell the PURE EV’s patented lithium batteries separately for home inverter/UPS, genset and storage applications as it would provide better benefits when compared to lead-acid batteries. He said the company is also working on introducing electric motorcycle, electric three and four-wheelers this year. CK Motors also showcased electric bicycles that offer a range of 50 km on a single charge and electric moped with 60 km range. ***** Electric cars may get same power specs

In a bid to standardise the various parts of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, several constituents, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), have come together to define standards. The move is primarily aimed at commercial vehicles that will ply with swappable batteries. OEMs like Mahindra & Mahindra, Lucas TVS, Okinawa, Kinetic, GEM, , Exicom, Amara Raja Batteries and Exide are involved in preparation of these specifications. “We have coordinated this effort and did iterations in the documents based on feedback from all different stakeholders,” said Prabhjot Kaur, CEO of the Centre

5 for Battery Engineering and EVs (C-BEEV). The centre comes under the department of electrical engineering at IIT-Madras. The project is spearheaded by professor Ashok Jhunjunwala.

“We don’t want to commit the mistakes of mobile handset companies that did not standardise chargers, etc, when it would have made sense. We will continue to work towards setting up more common standards for the industry,” Kaur The standards are grouped under ‘Lock Smart - Vehicle Battery Charger Cloud Protocol’ (or LS-VBCC). They will act as the cornerstone for EVs. “The batteryswapping industry standard has been designed with a group coming from different segments — charger manufacturers, vehicle OEMs, battery manufacturers and other stakeholders,” Kaur said. The purpose of the standard is to promote interoperability between energy operators, vehicles, batteries and chargers.

“Using Esmito’s platform at C-BEEV in IIT-Madras and several other locations, we have done several three-wheeler and two-wheeler pilots using the standard swapping platform. Esmito is now offering this solution as a SaaS platform for energy/fleet operators,” Kaur said. For example, the standards will involve vehicle identification number (VIN) and battery identification number (BIN) in specified formats that will help identify where the parts were produced, including if the batteries are lead acid, lithium-ion or cobalt-based, among others. ***** Ather Energy to look beyond 2-wheelers in 5 years

Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturing start-up Ather Energy is considering expanding beyond the two-wheeler space that it currently operates in, in the next 4-5 years, said the company’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Tarun Mehta. It is looking at raising more funds through a Series D route after July, once its new product, the 450X, is on the road, he said. The Hero

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Moto Corp Ltd-backed start-up will be directing these funds more towards operations, expansion and sales this time, as opposed to the earlier pronounced focus on research and development, he said. The last round of fund-raising was through the Series C route. The company has raised ₹675 crores through equity funding so far. After focussing on expanding in the premium segment with the 450X, and expanding geographically in the next two years, Ather Energy may look at building a more mass market product, said Mehta. Also, in 4-5 years, it may look at expanding beyond two-wheelers to other categories.

“The reason it makes sense to go beyond two-wheelers is because, ultimately, we see ourselves as a company that is in the energy business — in the long term. Which is why I am super excited about charging, in batteries and the usage of them. (That is), the overall product usage, more than just the manufacturing,” said Mehta.

While he did not comment on the exact electric product category it will be looking at foraying into, he said that trucks are where the real energy consumption happens. He said he is “not that excited about cars”.

“I think we have some really good players in the car space. I don’t think it will make sense for Ather to come four years later with a car — it is unlikely,” he said.

Geographic expansion

The company’s focus for the next two years will be on its geographic expansion than on bringing in products, though the products may get some improvements, said Mehta. Currently, present only in Bengaluru and Chennai, it is looking at being in 10 more cities by the end of FY21, and 24 cities by FY22. It will be adding Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune by July, he said. Every city is likely to get one dealership at least, but cities such as Mumbai and Delhi will get multiple dealerships, he said. It currently has two products, Ather 450 and Ather 450X. The company’s charging stations, called ‘Ather Grid’, will also see an expansion to more than 200 charging points by FY21, and more than 1000 charging points by FY22. Until now, the company was importing cells and motors for its products, but from March onwards, motors are going to be 7 localised. Only the cells will be imported from March, said Mehta. Meanwhile, mainstream internal combustion engine players such as and TVS Motor Company have forayed into the electric vehicle space recently. When asked about this, Mehta said that the anchoring provided by this factor has helped Ather Energy.

“I think legacy players launching EVs really helps with interest and awareness that we otherwise can’t drum up ourselves. It is expensive for us,” he said.

He said the 450X wouldn’t have procured the kind of pre-ordering it did if not for the increased awareness about EVs post the launch of the Chetak by Bajaj Auto. ***** UK to ban new petrol car sales from 2035

Britain will bring forward a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, including hybrids. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make the announcement at an event launching the 2019 United Nations Climate Change conference, COP26, to be held in Glasgow in November. The changes bring forward the ban by five years -- and now include hybrid vehicles. Britain has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, with a mixture of cuts and off-setting pollution measures such as planting trees. At the COP26 launch event in London, Johnson will be joined by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and naturalist David Attenborough. Johnson will urge other countries to join Britain in striving towards the 2050 net zero emissions goal through investment in cleaner technology and efforts to protect natural habitats. Edmund King, president of Britain’s AA motoring association, said the new target on car sales was incredibly challenging.

“We must question whether we will have a sufficient supply of a full cross- section of zero emissions vehicles in less than 15 years,” he said. He also urged the government to cut the sales tax on electric vehicles to make them more affordable. ***** 8

Maruti launches BS-VI petrol Vitara Brezza

India’s largest passenger cars maker India (MSIL) on Monday announced the prices of the all-new Vitara Brezza, priced between ₹7.34 lakh and ₹11.40 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Unveiled at the Auto Expo earlier this month, the new form of the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) will come only with a petrol engine (1.5 litre K-series) now, as the company does not have a BS-VI-ready diesel engine now. The SUV offers enhanced sportiness, bolder looks, stronger stance, premium interiors and a host of new features, the company said, adding that it will come with five-speed manual and advanced automatic transmission systems and Smart Hybrid.

“Vitara Brezza has evolved to become a powerful brand over the past four years. Keeping up with its strong, urban and premium appeal, the all-new Vitara Brezza is bolder, sportier and more powerful,” Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MSIL, said. Launched in 2016 in the BS-IV diesel variant, MSIL has sold over five lakh units of the Vitara Brezza. Its competitors include Hyundai Motor Venue, ’ Nexon and Mahindra’s XUV300. *****

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TERI partners with four cities to launch clean air project in India.

Lucknow and Kanpur in and Pune and Nashik in will launch the ‘Clean Air Project in India’ (CAP India) initiative to improve the air quality in their cities. This project will be implemented by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in partnership with city authorities. CAP India was announced at the World Sustainable Development Summit 2020 held in New Delhi. The CAP India programme will focus on improving data measurement, enhancing capacities of city and State authorities to implement clean air policies and action plans, and raising public awareness for clean air action. These four cities were selected after conducting a scoping study, which considered several factors such as the severity and sources of air pollution, population density and associated health impacts, economic standing of the State, and the readiness or preparedness of the State in terms of policies/regulation etc. Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the long-term project aims to support National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) by demonstrating viable approaches for cities to address air pollution. NCAP was launched in January 2019 with the goal of meeting the prescribed annual average ambient air quality standards across the country. Arvind K Nautiyal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, described in a press statement the state of air quality in India and the progress made under NCAP. “Under the NCAP, State pollution control boards are key stakeholders to address city-level sources of air pollution. We are implementing waste management rules, promoting clean mobility/electric vehicles, and finding alternatives to crop burning to improve India’s air quality.”

During its research phase, the project will review the existing air quality management plans as well as suggest potential technological interventions in each of these four cities for mitigating air pollution. *****

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Tackling air pollution

Amidst the larger national debates on CAA, NRC, Kashmir, rape-related violence, dwindling economy, and several others, which are important matters to debate on, air pollution seems to be dying yet another season. It shall only form a formidable agenda to be actually receiving the needy attention of the official policymakers (read the government) when the AQI (Air Quality Index) readings reach hazardous levels next year during Deepavali, even though we continue to breathe unclean air now. There’s need for a mass revolution, like the most recent one on proving citizenship, demanding from the government that it takes necessary steps throughout the country to provide its citizens better quality of breathable air. Failure to curb the issue of air pollution is primarily due to lack of political will, political negligence and refusal to accept the fact that exposure to poor quality of air does have a negative impact on health Irresponsible statements such as air pollution does not reduce people’s lifespan, made by influential public figures, only trivialises the issue.

Budget allocation- Lack of political will to address this issue also translates to inadequate Budget allocation, which drives home an important point that controlling air pollution is surely not on the priority list for the present government. With a Budget cut of 50 per cent on pollution-control measures (from ₹20 crores in 2018-19 to ₹10 crore in 2019-20), and non-elaboration on financial allocation to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), we can only expect more number of days with hazardous level of AQI readings. Ironically, the BJP government in its manifesto for the 2019 general elections had vowed to ‘work towards substantially reducing air pollution’ as well as ‘completely eliminating crop residue burning’ to tackle air pollution. The present Budget allocation, however, does not point to that. There is ample global evidence now that supports the fact that air pollution is a silent killer. WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during the first global conference on air pollution and health (Geneva 2018) has already declared air pollution as a “silent public health emergency”.

Public health disaster- Air pollution, in fact, is very much on its way to becoming a public health disaster, unless controlled in a timely and sustainable manner. Air pollution accounts for around eight million premature deaths annually 11 across the globe, mostly from the developing counties. According to a joint study by ICMR, PHFI and IHME, which was published in 2017, in India, air pollution is linked to a child’s death every three minutes, and every eighth death in the country is linked to exposure to poor quality of air. Will our policymakers wait for another ‘Great Smog of London’ (which killed more than 10,000 people) to happen in our country before taking concrete action to tackle this menace?

Constant exposure to polluted air is slowly damaging the overall quality of life, more severely that of children. Increased incidence of respiratory illness among children, apart from similar diseases among adults, along with heart disease, diabetes and several other ailments are known to get aggravated due to polluted air. It may not be wrong to say that we would be raising a complete generation of morbid individuals, who will only end up paying for our wrongdoings, in the name of stubble burning, bursting crackers, driving more and more cars, greater dependency on fossil fuel-based energy, and so on. Our future workforce may not be able to contribute its best, as constant exposure to unclean air would have a bearing on their productivity and quality of life. We ought to fight for clean air today for a better tomorrow. The writer is Assistant Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, Sonipat *****

Malaysia should cut down on plastic for cleaner seas: WWF

An analysis of Asia’s worst ocean polluters shows Malaysians are the biggest individual consumers of plastic packaging, green group WWF said on Monday,

12 urging the government to limit single-use plastics and work with companies to fund a recycling push. The WWF report on plastics looked at China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - which contribute 60% of the estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic that enter the world’s oceans each year. It focused on household consumption of plastic packaging - the plastic most likely to end up in seas - and found that 27mn tonnes were consumed across all six nations in 2016, the most recent year for which reliable data was available. Globally the volume of plastic waste going into the ocean is set to quadruple between 2010 and 2050, meaning that the sea could contain more plastic by weight than fish by mid-century, the report noted. Meanwhile, carbon emissions associated with plastic - from production to burning - reached 860mn tonnes in 2019, greater than the annual emissions of Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines combined. Malaysia ranked highest among the six countries analysed in terms of annual per-capita plastic packaging consumption, at about 16.8kg per person, followed by Thailand at 15.5kg. Thomas Schuldt of WWF said Malaysians consumed the most plastic because they were among the wealthiest. ***** Carbon Clean Gets $16m to Grow

Carbon Clean Solutions has raised $16 million in fresh funding from US-based WAVE Equity Partners and Chevron Technology Ventures, and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, as the clean-tech startup shores up capital in a highly competitive and evolving carbon capture industry. The company had earlier raised $6 million from investors such as Blume Ventures and had received grants from the US Department of Energy and UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Carbon Clean said the fresh capital will be used to deliver an existing pipeline of projects globally and develop a containerised solution that it says will bring down the cost of CO2 capture to $30 per tonne by next year. The firm works with industries to help reduce their carbon emissions, with its biggest

13 installation in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, which it says captures CO2 emissions at a cost of around $35 per tonne. “This investment demonstrates the confidence our new investors have in our technology and its commercial scalability. We can now grow our company to a size that can help deliver projects to make a ‘net zero’ emissions world possible,” said Aniruddha Sharma, CEO of Carbon Clean Solutions. In a statement, the firm said it was keen to jointly develop carbon capture utilisation and storage businesses along with Carbon Clean Solutions. The firm was among the nominees in the ‘Top Innovator’ category at The Economic Times Startup Awards 2019. *****

HPCL Dec quarter net trebles to ₹747 crores on inventory gains

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) on Wednesday reported trebling of net profit in December quarter as inventory gains made up for lower refinery margins. Net profit in October-December at ₹747 crores was higher than net profit of ₹248 crores in the same period a year-ago period, HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesk K Surana told reporters here.

“In Q3 of the last fiscal we had an inventory loss of ₹3,465 crores. As compared, we made an inventory gain of ₹343 crores,” he said, adding the inventory gains were partly offset by lower exchange gains. HPCL had a foreign exchange gain of ₹82 crores in the December quarter as compared to a forex gain of ₹557 crores a year back, he said. A company records inventory gains when it buys raw material (crude oil) at a particular price but by the time it is able to process and convert it into fuel, international oil prices have gone up. Since fuel prices are benchmarked to international rates, inventory gains are booked. Inventory losses are booked when the reverse happens. The company earned $1.79 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in Q3 as compared to a gross refining margin of $3.72 per barrel a year back.

“The lower GRM is primarily due to lower cracks of fuel oil and LPG and planned shutdown of secondary units at Visakh refinery,” he said.

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Sales was also lower at ₹74,288 crores in October-December as against turnover of ₹76,884 crores. ***** Access to Petronet, IGL boards key USP for BPCL divestment

Automatic access to the boards of two valued energy firm—Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) and Ltd (IGL)—will be one of the key selling points of state-run Corp. Ltd’s (BPCL) strategic disinvestment, the process for which will start this month, two officials with knowledge of the matter said.

A private investor, by virtue of acquiring ownership of the BPCL, will become one of the promoters in both the PLL and IGL, the officials said requesting anonymity. The petroleum secretary will, however, remain the chairman of PLL, and in the case of IGL, the company’s managing director will be nominated by the other promoter, GAIL (India) Ltd, according to their respective articles of association, they said. The PLL is unique. The government holds 50% equity stake in it through four public sector companies with the petroleum secretary as its chairman. The PLL is treated as a private company because combined equity stakes of state-run firms in it is less than 51%. The four promoters of the PLL are Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC), Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd and BPCL with 12.5% shareholding each. Balance stakes in the company are held by financial institution and retail investors. The IGL is again a public sector-promoted private entity, which is promoted by state-run GAIL and BPCL with equal shareholding of 22.5% each. Balance equity in the company is held by banks, financial institutions and the public. Two people involved in the

15 disinvestment processes said on condition of anonymity that the PLL and IGL are two valued companies and being their promoter would be a major incentive for the prospective buyer. But no private entity would like undue interferences of the government or its nominees at the board level. “Although the IGL and PLL offer great values to prospective private bidders, direct or indirect control of the government is certainly a dampener,” one of the people said. Spokespersons for the Union finance ministry, IGL and PLL declined comments on this matter.

“Preliminary processes for divesting government’s entire 53.29% equity stake in the BPCL, minus its subsidiary NRL (Numaligarh Refinery Ltd), have been completed. An EoI (expression of interest) is expected very soon,” one of the officials mentioned above said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on November 20 gave in-principle approval to strategic disinvestment in five state-run companies, including a sale of the government’s entire stake in the BPCL, while retaining its ownership of NRL through another public sector company. The four other companies in which the cabinet approved strategic stake sales are Shipping Corp. of India Ltd (SCI), Container Corp. of India Ltd (Concor), Tehri Hydro Development Corp. India Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corp Ltd.BPCL’s disinvestment is expected to fetch ₹60,000 crores. ***** India’s dependence on fossil fuels will continue to remain high

Every country has to find its own solutions to bring down its dependence on fossil fuels, and India is no different. The country’s dependence on fossil fuel will remain high and the Indian subcontinent will experience the world’s greatest growth in LNG over the next 30 years.

“While we forecast the global dependence on fossil fuels will come down to 50 per cent from the current 80 per cent by 2050, India’s dependence will be higher at 65 per cent by 2050,” said Liv Astri Hovem, Chief Executive Officer, Oil & Gas, DNV GL. Hovem, who was recently in India for the World Energy Policy Summit, said, “Solutions for energy transition depend on what natural 16 resources are available and the historical infrastructure available in a country. This enables developing an easier route for transition to cleaner energy.” Norway-headquartered DNV GL provides integrated technical assurance and advisory services to operators, suppliers and regulators across the oil and gas value chain, from project initiation to de-commissioning.

Liv Astri Hovem, Chief Executive Officer, Oil & Gas, DNV GL

“What we see in India is that still 65 per cent of the energy demand will be met through fossil fuel in 2050 compared to 80 per cent today, while globally the split between fossil fuels and renewable energy will be 50-50 by mid-century. And the reason for this will be the high growth in energy demand, which India has,” she told BusinessLine. Globally, according to DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook, the demand for energy will peak in the mid-2030s — meaning the world will need less energy, mainly due to electrification and increased efficiency. India will not see similar decline due to its growth. Hovem is quick to point out that there is an increasing understanding that it is very difficult to jump quickly to a 100 per cent carbon free energy system. “Our Energy Transition Outlook takes a practical look at world energy supply and demand over the next three decades. Our model is based on the thinking that, in the longer run, it is cost that will decide which energy sources will be used,” she said. “Of course, there is an element of energy security and geopolitics, but if we take these away and look at the costs, then our Outlook reveals that in 2050 about 50 per cent of the world’s energy system will be composed of fossil fuels, a big shift from today’s reality. Globally, we forecast that the only energy sources that will be in higher demand in 2050 than they are today are natural gas and variable renewables: wind and solar.” ndergoing huge growth from 11 per cent today. It predicts a close to four-fold increase in consumption of natural gas in real terms to 2050 in the region, as coal and oil demand declines.

Non-fossil sources- “We have also done survey with senior industry professionals for the year ahead. Asked what they think about investing outside oil and gas, 66 per cent of leaders in India said they will do so. Wind and solar were the favoured non-fossil based energy sources to invest in. Of course in India there will still be huge investments in gas and oil,” she said. The Outlook

17 forecasts that India will experience the world’s greatest growth in import of LNG (liquefied natural gas) over the next 30 years. ***** Government permits faster monetisation of oil and gas discoveries

The government has allowed companies to monetise oil and gas discoveries without undergoing the time-consuming procedure of government approvals for field development plans and other bureaucratic process. “There are no restrictions on monetization of discovery at an early stage within these timelines (provided under the contracts); rather it would be in public interest that a discovery is monetized early as a step towards energy security of the country,” the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) said in guidelines on early monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries. The contracts give licensees up to eight years to explore. Following a discovery, licensees undertake appraisal, development and production sequentially. The new guidelines will help cut this sequence, save time and bring in early revenues for licensees as well as the government, according to an industry executive. A company will be able to start production and sale from a discovery even during the exploration phase “The contractor may develop and monetize such early stage discovery/discoveries before completion of appraisal, declaration of commerciality (DoC) and submission of development plan (DP)/ field development plan (FDP) etc. in blocks under exploration period,” the DGH said. This will, however, be subject to a few conditions. The contractor will have to submit to DGH its plan to develop that specific discovery, along with estimated cost and production profile. It will also have to seek petroleum mining lease (PML). The output from such discoveries shall be treated as commercial production and the contractor will be expected to pay all levies as well as the share of profit petroleum or revenue as per the contract. *****

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AGR risk remains for GAIL, and Power Grid, says Fitch Ratings

The three non-telecom companies — GAIL (India) Ltd, Oil India Ltd and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd — are planning to appeal against the Supreme Court’s verdict on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue, according to a brokerage report. India’s telecom-related regulatory dispute is still event risk for GAIL, OIL and Power Grid, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court of India has allowed the companies to withdraw their clarification applications on February 14 and resolve their dispute with the Department of Telecommunications outside the court. This is in stark contrast to the court’s decision to demand immediate payments from the telecom companies that are also involved in the dispute, it said.

“We expect the three companies to eventually resolve the dispute, although resolution timing is uncertain. A speedy solution is important to prevent disrupting the companies’ investment plans and damaging their performance.”

“We understand that they have the option to resolve the matter through alternate dispute-resolution mechanisms available to State-owned enterprises. This is in addition to the legal options available to telecom licence holders in general,” it said.

The DoT has issued demand notices to GAIL, Oil India Ltd and Power Grid seeking dues of ₹1.83-lakh crore, ₹48,000 crore and ₹22,000 crore, respectively. The notices include licence fees on non-telecom revenue and

19 additional interest and penalties on the licence fees. However, the three companies’ telecom-related revenue is insignificant, at around ₹50 crore, ₹1 crore and ₹2,300 crore, respectively, for the same time period of the demand notices, it added. The three companies have created telecom infrastructure for internal use and have obtained National Long Distance and Internet Service Provider licences to rent out spare capacity. They maintain that their licences differ from the Unified Access Licence held by telecom companies, hence, the court’s decision on the AGR for telecom companies does not apply to them. ***** End in sight to wind energy sector’s plight

The wind energy sector has just been pulled back from the brink of the precipice. It had got to a situation where the chronicler was about to write the last chapter titled, ‘And then there was none’, but now the government, finally, has taken a step that will keep the undertakers away. For now, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to remove the upper limit for tariffs in capacity auctions, bids above which would not be considered for award of capacity. This has been one major tripwire. The government had been adamant on keeping the cap in order that energy prices were kept low; it has taken no less than four failed auctions under SECI’s 9th round for the

20 government to reconsider its stand, for which the cap had been set at ₹2.93 a kWhr. With 7 paise mark-up for the SECI — the government company that offers capacity on auctions — discoms would buy power at ₹3 — a price way below the average price any discom paid for the electricity it purchased. The Ministry, however, is said to have implicitly cautioned the industry against cartelisation in future auctions; it has told them if the prices discovered through auctions were unacceptable, the bids would still be cancelled. But even with this caveat, the industry is relieved, if not happy. Prices will rise somewhat and projects could begin to get off the ground. The cap was helping nobody. While the government took an unhelpful stand saying, “I did not ask you to bid such low prices”, competitive forces depressed prices, which only helped discoms cover up their inefficiencies, because they were getting ultra-cheap power without having to work for it. The energy companies were tottering on the brink of viability, projects were not getting executed and no consumer — industrial or individual — was benefiting from the low tariffs. Cap apart, a few good things are happening. The issue of reopening PPAs (power purchase agreements) in , which had red-lighted investors, appears to be easing. The AP government has also begun paying developers ₹2.43 a kWhr — the tariff the government is okay with, even as the agreed higher tariff is being examined by the court. And, there is some forward movement on allocation of land, particularly in , where bulk of the projects are coming up. Sources say that Gujarat has cleared land allocation for projects won through SECI I to SECI IV. If the State government gives land for the rest of the rounds too, the wind industry is in for a boom. Anand Kumar, Secretary, MNRE, is said to have assured the industry that there would be auctions worth 10 GW every year. The industry has requested the Ministry that the auctions should be evenly spread out through the year, with visibility about when each auction would be tendered out, so that the players could organise land, connectivity and finances. Industry insiders, such as DV Giri, Secretary-General of the wind industry’s body, the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers’ Association (IWTMA), believe that 2020-21 could see a pick-up in installations — a figure of 4 GW may not be too optimistic; in contrast, the Scan & Share current financial year would be lucky to end with 2.3 GW. This, in turn, would mean revival of fortunes of several players who are down in the dumps today, such as Suzlon

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Energy. So, has the wind industry taken a decisive turn for the better? It would seem so, but for the industry to realise its full potential, experts have called for some measures.

Re-look at the auction method- Data on implementation of projects awarded through auctions shows how poor the implementation track record has been. The reasons are known — low tariffs have inevitably made developers flock to the two windy States, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the former more than the latter. Gujarat, seeing its best lands taken away for projects that would supply power to other States, baulked at giving the lands to such projects. The industry has been asking for State-wise, or sub-station-wise auctions, to avoid bunching of projects in one State or region.

Payment security- Developers are not getting their dues paid by discoms, which is pushing some into the red (for example, Orient Green Power). Efforts of the federal government to force State-owned discoms to open letters of credit as payment security mechanism have not quite worked, due to the reluctance of the State governments and the costs associated with LC, as naturally banks charge more to stand guarantee for sick discoms.

Open access charges- Wind companies can sell directly to consumers — as do many solar companies — but they have to contend with high charges associated with it. It is fair to ask them to pay for the transmission infrastructure they use, but there are several hurdles. Research and ratings company ICRA observes that “projects in the open access market face challenges in the form of delays in securing open access approvals from the state utilities, risk of revision in open access regulations and imposition of cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge.”

Further, in the recent past, some of the States put restrictions on availability of banking facility for projects, which leads to mismatch between supply and demand, given the seasonal nature of wind power generation, says ICRA. Discoms fear that OA (open access) developers will walk away with their well-paying customers, but developers feel that they should not be penalised so that the discoms could be fine.

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Bundling with thermal power- MNRE has floated draft guidelines proposing blending of renewable energy and thermal power, so as to supply ‘bundled’ power round-the-clock. This has by and large been welcomed by the industry, particularly by companies such as Adani Green and Sembcorp, which belong to groups that have both renewable and thermal power capacity. However, for pure-play renewable energy companies like Hero Future Energies and ReNew Power, it is a hassle to find a thermal power partner who would supply power whenever needed at viable prices. The industry has therefore suggested that such ‘bundling’ may be done by large thermal power companies, like NTPC, which can easily buy green power directly from developers and bundle it with its own thermal power to supply to discoms. Today’s technology allows thermal power stations to be quickly ramped up or down, to complement green power. IWTMA observes that modern super critical coalbased projects have a high ramp-up rate — 50 MW in 15 minutes — which can be used to provide RE- blended round-the-clock power. RE-blended power works out cheaper to the discoms, by 20-30 paise a kWhr, says IWTMA. In sum, there are lots of low hanging fruits to nourish the wind industry. Fundamentally, a tariff of around ₹3.10 a kWhr is viable — a price that lets the developer be in business and is also cheaper than what the discoms otherwise buy. This price level has become viable because of technology. A recent ICRA study found that a sample set of projects commissioned over the past one to two years indicates that there are projects that have been able to achieve annual PLF in the range of 33-38 per cent, “thus providing a comfort on PLF assumption which is critical for the viability of projects bid at tariffs lower than ₹3 per unit. Such projects typically have higher hub height and rotor diameter of more than 100 meters and are concentrated at windy locations in the States of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.”

Thus, the message is clear. Now that the cap irritant is gone, just tweak things a little — the industry has little option but to flourish. *****

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Despite headwinds, MNRE targets 14,380 MWof capacity addition

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has fixed a high capacity addition target of 14,380 MW for the renewable energy sector for this fiscal amid Covid-19-related uncertainties.

The target for FY20 was 11,802 MW.

In the current fiscal, the fast-growing solar segment is expected to add about 11,000 MW (9,000 MW from ground mounted projects and 2000 MW via rooftops), while wind power segment is expected to bring in about 3,000 MW. The remaining will be added by small hydro, biomass /captive power and waste- to-power categories. The higher capacity addition target for FY21 comes at a time the renewable energy sector has been struggling to add new capacity.

Solar growth- The past two years saw the segment adding only 8,000plus MW per year though solar remains the major driver of new capacity addition. Industry analysts see a challenging environment where things are changing on a day-to-day basis. The lockdown disrupted the supply chain, while currency related fluctuations made component costs unpredictable. Rooftop solar installations also severely affected due to lockdown.

“We are cutting our solar demand forecast by about 40 per cent to 5 GW from our previous estimates based on the Covid effect on the market,” according to Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

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Government backing- But, according to MNRE Minister RK Singh, the government had taken several measures in the past few months to enhance confidence of investors. The Ministry was continuing auctions amid lockdown and recent tariff finalisation for Corporation of India’s 400 MW project and NHPC’s 2,000 MW solar projects reflected investor confidence in the renewable growth story.

During the first two months of this fiscal, the renewable sector has added 306 MW, including 176 MWof ground-mounted solar units and 111 MW of rooftop projects.

Industry representatives also admit that there has been a thrust on renewables by the government particularly on domestic manufacturing of equipment in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been identified as a priority area as part of Indian government’s ‘Atmanirbhar’ or self-reliance vision. But analysts warn that any protectionist move could make solar power costly and curb demand, and/ or create uncertainty for projects under construction.

Level field- Meanwhile leading solar manufacturers, including Webel Solar, and Renewsys wrote to the Prime Minister seeking a level-playing field to all manufacturing units. They pointed out that the Ministry of Finance’s proposed move to impose basic customs duty (BCD) on solar manufacturers located within the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) may pose a threat to the viability of the units, and thereby impacting the indigenous production of solar cells and modules *****

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Adani Green Floats Solar Power JV with Total

Billionaire Gautam Adaniled Adani Green Energy has entered into a pact with French energy major Total Gas & Power Business Services SAS (TOTAL) for an investment of around $510 million (₹3,633 crore) for a 50% stake and other instruments in a solar power joint venture, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. The JV will house 2,148 MW currently owned by the company. Adani Green shares rose almost 5% to ₹202 on Thursday on the . In the past three months, the shares of the company gained 124% on bourses, outperforming the BSE benchmark Sensex that rose 2% in the period. Adani Group chairman said: “This is a pivotal step in our journey towards building the world’s largest solar power company by 2025 and the world’s largest renewable power company by 2030.”

Adani Green Energy has a project portfolio of 6 GW, which includes projects that are under construction. The company aims to scale up its capacity to 18 GW by 2025. The transaction for the solar power JV is subject to customary approvals and definitive agreements. This is the second such deal between the two groups. In October, Adani Gas said it was in pact with Total SA, which would buy 37.5% stake in the company, including a public offer to shareholders to buy a further 25.2%; such that both partners eventually hold 37.4% each. They plan to invest in infrastructure and assets worth over $1 billion, which span LNG 26 infrastructure and marketing and fuel retail business. This deal is likely to be closed by March. Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanné, said: “Total is fully engaged in the energy transition and (committed) to supporting India, a key country in the fight against climate change, in diversifying its energy mix through partnerships in natural gas and now in solar energy. This interest in over 2 GW of solar projects represents a real change of scale of our presence in India’s renewable energy sector, which has a very significant growth potential in the coming years.”

He said this investment is a part of the company’s strategy to deploy 25 GW of renewable energy by 2025. On Wednesday, Adani Green reported higher losses in third quarter of 2019-20 to ₹129 crore as compared to ₹118 crores a year ago, dented by an exceptional cost. ***** Total buys 50% in Adani’s solar biz for $510 million

French energy giant Total SA has agreed to acquire 50% in Adani Group’s solar assets for $510 million, in one of the biggest transactions in India’s clean energy industry. Total will own half of a joint venture company that will house the solar assets of Adani Green Energy Ltd, which has a 2,148MW solar project portfolio across 11 states, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. Adani Green Energy will own the balance 50% in the joint venture. The transaction, the second major proposed investment by the French energy major in a company controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, comes amid a tough phase for India’s clean energy sector. The renewable energy industry is facing a tight lending environment, mounting dues from utilities and record low tariffs. The low solar and wind power tariffs have made banks wary of lending to renewable energy developers as they suspect the viability of the projects. Overall, Adani Green Energy has a renewable energy project portfolio of 6GW, including under-construction capacity. It is also a successful bidder in state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd’s tender of 8GW manufacturing-linked development project for setting up solar power capacity.

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“We are delighted to extend our long-term partnership with Total to our renewable energy business,” Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said in the statement. He was referring to Total’s plan, announced in October, to buy a 37.4% stake in Adani Gas for around ₹5,700 crores. India is running what will become the world’s largest clean energy programme with an aim of having 175GW of clean energy capacity by 2022 as part of its global climate change commitments. The country plans to add 100GW of solar capacity by 2022, including 40GW from rooftop projects.

“Total is fully engaged in the energy transition and to supporting India, a key country in the fight against climate change, in diversifying its energy mix through partnerships in natural gas and now in solar energy,” Total’s chief executive officer (CEO) Patrick Pouyanne said in the statement.

“This interest in over 2GW of solar projects represents a real change of scale of our presence in India’s renewable energy sector, which has very significant growth potential in the coming years. It will contribute to our ambition to deploy 25GW of renewable energy by 2025.”

Total sells lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in India. In 1998, it commissioned a fully integrated LPG import terminal at Mangaluru. ***** Turning the wheels of mobility clean and green

India, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), faces many challenges. To achieve some of its objectives under these, and specially to fulfil its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs under the Paris Agreement), an ‘India Roadmap on Low Carbon and Sustainable Mobility (Decarbonisation of Indian Transport Sector)’, was unveiled last week. The collective effort of 45 professionals from 36 organisations, the report took some 24 months to complete, with the help of some of the best in the sector, from government, industry, voluntary organisations and logistics specialists. What they came up with is a blueprint which, if taken seriously, could help India reduce significantly the current 18 per cent of CO2 emissions from road transport. The 28 report envisaged an integrated approach for best results and drew up “actionable recommendations” for the future, breaking them into the short term (up to 2022), medium term (2022 to 2030) and the long term (2030 to 2050).

So, what are the recommendations, the challenges to be overcome? What will it take to achieve such ambitious goals?

In the short term, the report suggests that a national Transport Authority be established with Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities for metros and a task force that would be a Citizens’ Charter for Urban Mobility.

This will act at a strategic, tactical and operational level, adopting an integrated approach to building modern railway stations, bus ports, air and seaports through a systems approach and encourage transit-oriented development. It also emphasises a change in the permit system and the introduction of ‘one country one permit’ to incentivise inter-State shared public transport. The role of the RTO would also be redefined with automation of licensing and fitness certificates, among others. In the medium term, the report supports setting up an integrated National Logistics Systems, with an increased use of coastline and inland waterways for passenger and freight movement. It suggests a Public- Private-Partnership (PPP) mode for multimodal logistics solutions. For effective governance, there is emphasis on enforcing congestion charging in large metros, implementing the vehicle scrap policy and setting up scheduled services and app-based services for public transport. In the long term, the report favours investment in advanced technologies for electric mobility and intelligent transport systems. It envisages that, by then, 100 per cent EV stations will be powered by renewable energy through decentralised mode or through PPAs with developers. The focus will also be to ensure implementation of all advanced bio fuels as envisaged under the National Policy on Biofuels and work on alternatives for lithium-ion batteries — such as sodium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and thermal batteries. The roadmap, which was unveiled recently by Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Transport and Highways, has been brought out by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and supported by WWF-India, Paris Process on Mobility and Climate (PPMC) and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation. At the presentation, the minister assured 29 stakeholders that the government will play the role of a facilitator and support the private sector in its initiatives to develop sustainable transportation systems. The government believes the industry should consider sustainable transportation that comprises low-carbon fuels, electric vehicles, water transportation, conversion of diesel vehicles to LNG and CNG, use of ethanol, methanol and hydrogen fuels for vehicles. It wants the industry to reach out to concerned State governments and ministries and suggest changes in policies to develop implementable and economically viable projects. According to Patrick Oliva, Co-Founder, PPMC, the economic viability of projects is an important aspect to develop a low-carbon and sustainable transportation system. The private sector needs to invest in such ventures, with FICCI and the government playing a facilitative role.

8 distinct components- To achieve the goals, the report highlights eight distinct components. These include an urban transformation for healthier, inclusive cities; a low-carbon energy supply strategy; optimising supply chains to manage freight transport emissions; discouraging using personal transport for commuting, shopping and accessing services; providing low-carbon solutions for rural populations. And last of all, accelerating action on adaptation in transport sector, with large-scale deployment of economic instruments and leveraging of finance. When focusing on public transportation, the India Roadmap proposes to shift the paradigm to the movement of people, rather than the movement of vehicles, as the effective means to reduce congestion, air pollution, and vehicle kilometres. This would mean transporting optimal number of people with minimum transport. For this, it suggests an integrated approach of governance and institutions, infrastructure and technology for different modes towards sustainability.

Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, believes “The Roadmap is an opportunity for stakeholders in government, business, urban and transport planning to integrate low-carbon and sustainable options into their strategic decisions.”

As for infrastructure development, the report suggests creation of a national grid of common battery-charging infrastructure, development of bus and multi- modal terminals across the country on the lines of airports, build multi-modal logistics parks around major manufacturing and production centres with 30 seamless rail and road connectivity to nearby ports, inland waterway terminals, and distribution centres. It urges the government to earmark budgets for sustainable mobility for integrated transport systems and not just for specific projects such as metro, BRT or city bus projects. It suggests that a substantial part of the road project budget be allocated towards developing public transport infrastructure, such as multi-modal terminals, surface ports, bus stations, highway amenity centres and multi-modal logistics parks. To encourage the private sector, the report argues for extended incentives for manufacture and use of EVs and biofuels. A key suggestion is the establishment of ‘Green Taxonomy’ to facilitate asset-backed securitised deals through diversification of green bonds into the sustainable mobility sector. And dedicated funds to provide viability gap funding and partial risk sharing facility to build a new green economy. *****

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