Mega power plants in AP…

Andhra Pradesh's effort to create 3,700 mw of new power capacity through two mega power projects is being stymied by delays. Both the 1,600 mw Krishnapatnam coal-fired project and the 2,100 mw Karimnagar gas-based power project are running nearly a year behind schedule. Andhra Pradesh Power Development Corporation, an equal joint venture between Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Co. and IL&FS, is implementing both the projects.
Speaking to Projectmonitor, P.K. Reddy, Advisor - Electrical, APPDCL, said that while the developer for the Krishnapatnam project would be finalised by March this year, the fate of the 3x700 mw Karimnagar project was uncertain given the inability in securing gas supplies. Reddy said that although Reliance Industries Ltd had assured gas supplies from its KG basin discovery, which goes into commercial production this year, the formal gas supply agreement had been pending for around eight months now. With the result, APPDCL is not in a position to finalise the developers for the project.
As of now, companies like Bhel, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Tata Projects, Reliance Energy, Alstom, Sumitomo and Siemens have submitted their technical bids. APPDCL cannot invite financial bids till the gas supply agreement is in place. Reddy added, without elaborating, that negotiations were on with other gas suppliers also. The project is taking shape at Nedunoor village in Karimnagar district.
Meanwhile, the 2x800 mw Krishnapatnam project in Nellore district is hopeful of seeing its developers finalised by March, albeit with a delay of nearly a year. When bids for the EPC contract were invited in late-2006, APPDCL had targeted to finalise the contract by May 2007. The bidding process faced a piquant situation when Bhel ended up being the only contender to submit the financial bid.
The project, which will use supercritical technology, had generated interest from international players like Alstom and Toshiba at the RfQ and technical bidding stage. On advice of the power ministry, the EPC tendering process was cancelled and a three-stage bidding process was recently adopted. APPDCL will now award the contract in three packages - boiler, turbine and generator and balance of plant. Bids for the first two packages will close on January 31. Four contenders - Bhel, L&T, Toshiba and Reliance Energy - are in the fray. The BoP package will be tendered in February 2008. The project has made sufficient progress in terms of land acquisition, financial closure, securing environmental clearance etc.
Both the projects were targeted for commissioning within the 11th Plan (before March 2012), but the current status at least is suggestive of the contrary.

…and wind power in Orissa

Orissa's attempt at constructing a 2-mw demonstration wind power project by March 2008 is facing delays. This project is now expected to be commissioned only by September or October 2008, R.N. Patra, a spokesperson of Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency, told Projectmonitor. The project is significant given that it marks a formal beginning to the state's endeavour of realising its huge wind power potential, estimated at 1,700 mw.
Currently, OREDA is working out the power purchase agreement and the land-use agreement with public sector National Aluminium Co. Ltd. The wind power project is coming up in Nalco's bauxite mining region in Damanjodi Hills in Koraput district, Patra explained. Once these agreements are finalised, OREDA will approach the ministry of new and renewable energy for formal approval. The project is expected to cost Rs 11 crore, out of which Rs 4.2 crore will be assistance from MNRE. The remaining would be raised through loans. The agreements will be in place by March 2008, and construction is expected to start shortly thereafter. "Once grounded, the project will take six to eight months to complete," Patra said.
At least five sites, including Damanjodi, Paradip, Chandipur and Puri, have been identified as high-potential zones for wind energy in the state. In fact, Chennai-based Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET) had estimated that Damanjodi Hills alone has wind power potential of around 80 mw, he added. The 2-mw demonstration project is expected to be a stepping stone for further wind power capacity in the region.
Private players have begun to show interest in Orissa's wind power sector, which today remains almost entirely untapped. Suzlon Energy, it is learnt, has set up wind-monitoring stations at several locations including Puri and Damanjodi.
Retracing the history of wind energy in the state, Patra said in the 1980s, OREDA had commissioned a few wind energy projects with Danish collaboration near Puri beach. These projects developed technical snags, resulting in a general slowdown in wind energy projects. The 2-mw Damanjodi Hills demonstration project will be a welcome revival of interest in Orissa's wind energy sector, Patra opined.
India is estimated to have a gross wind power potential of 45,000 mw and a technical potential of 12,875 mw. As of September 2007, installed capacity stood at 7,660 mw implying unrealised technical potential of 40 per cent. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra account for nearly 70 per cent of total installed wind power capacity.