Coal
Story : Missing Points
---------------------------------
Writing in Times of India ( 16 April 2017 / Dark Side of solar success ) , Shri Swaminathan A Aiyar makes following :
POINTS :
·
The plant load factor ( PLF ) of coal based power plants was 76 % six years ago , but is now just 58 %
·
At today’s PLF of 58 % ,
many coal based power plants are in trouble
·
If average PLF falls below 48 % ( as is likely if Solar capacity soars to 40 GW by 2020 ), then many
coal based projects will go bust
·
High interest costs ( on borrowed capital ) can kill projects when the
PLF falls
·
Around 65 GW of NEW thermal power plants are already in pipeline
·
PLF collapse could bankrupt many projects , hugely burdening lenders.
·
Many banks are already staggering under enormous bad debts and now face
the threat of fresh avalanche
·
The notion that solar power has become cheaper
than coal-based power is an illusion ( though, hopefully it will become reality if costs keep falling )
·
Power storage based on conventional batteries is very
expensive. Hopefully new technologies will cut the cost , but none are in sight yet
·
Solar costs are falling fast, The slower we go, the more solar costs
will fall. So speed is not a virtue
India must plan to match total power
supply with decelerating demand, and aim for a solar-thermal mix that avoids huge idle capacities
MISSING POINTS :
·
Coal requires “ auctioning /
licensing / mining / washing / transporting / storing “ – all of which are
expensive / time-consuming processes .
Coal
prices keep rising whereas sunlight cost remains ZERO for
ever !
·
Sunlight gets delivered directly on every roof-top Solar panel , FREE of cost and 300 days in a year !
·
Our 196 GW thermal power plants produced 805.4 million tons of CO2 in 2015.
Solar
Power produces NIL !
·
Particulate matter emanating from Coal-based power plants is causing 6 LAKH premature deaths in India, EACH YEAR !
Solar
Panels do NOT
produce any particulate matter
·
Thermal power plants consume almost 88 % of the water consumed by ALL industries
put together
Solar
Panels need VERY LITTLE water , for
occasional washing
·
If our current fleet of 200 MILLION petrol
/ diesel vehicles were to get replaced with Electric Vehicles ( government
target is 2030 ), that will require a huge amount of
electric power ( for battery charging stations )
If
that power comes from Coal-based plants , CO2 emission
levels and particulate matters , will get WORSE !
That power has to come from Solar !
·
As far as storing of Solar Power ( generated during the day ) is
concerned, TESLA has made tremendous
progress with its POWERPACK batteries
and even offered the Australian Government to install a 100 MW storage facility , within 100
days !
Read : Not
a Day Too Soon ( 09 March 2017 )
·
Only 2 days back , Japanese Consortium consisting of Suzuki / Toshiba / Denso announced plans to
start manufacture of Li-ion batteries in India by end of this year , at an investment of Rs 1200 crore
Read : India
, the NEW land of the Rising Sun ? ( 01 April 2017 )
·
Solar PV modules are dropping in cost at 22
% per year ( it was 26 % in 2016
)
Read :
Tony
Seba stands vindicated ( 16 March 2017 )
How
cheap can it get ? ( 14 March 2017 )
Solar
Power at Re 1 per Kwh ? ( 29 Jan 2017 )
Sun
: Our Soul ( 02 Jan 2017 )
Sun is
the Solution ( 13 Sept 2016 )
Unlimited
Power : and round the clock ? ( 29 July 2016 )
17 April 2017
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
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