Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Friday, 24 November 2023

SHRI R K SINGHJI : IMAGINE SELLING SOLAR POWER @ RE ONE per KWH ? CAN BE DONE

 Dear Shri R K Singhji,

 

In the process of TRANSFORMING INDIA, we need to take, not only decisions which are OUT-OF-BOX , but we need to take these VERY FAST

 

When poverty is rampant and poor people ( 400 million ? ) are dying , either because they have lost their  income due to pandemic or because their huts got washed away in floods, we do not have the luxury of endless ANALYSIS of “ What If “ type of scenarios

 

Sure, we will make mistakes, as we did in the IMPLEMENTATION – STAGES of our earlier BOLD / OUT-of-BOX decisions to TRANSFORM INDIA , such as De-Monetization / GST / E-Comm / Data Protection / CoWin platform etc

 

But, in each of these, we learned our lessons, did “ Course Correction “– and came out stronger

 

We did not allow endless analysis to produce an “ ACTION PARALYSIS “  !

 

I urge you to consider my following suggestions for URGENT IMPLEMENTATION

 

 

With regards,

 

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RcruitGuru.com  /  05 Aug 2021

 

 

 

Choices to Buy :  Choices to Sell  ?

 

 

 

Choices  to  Borrow  ?  Choices  to  Lend  ?

 

 

Context :

Niti Aayog pitches for greater financial autonomy for state-owned discoms  /  Busi Standard / 04 Aug. 21

 

Extract :

In a report titled ' Turning Around the Power Distribution Sector  (  Aug 2021 )  ', Niti Aayog said the performance of state-owned discoms is also determined by the ability of the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC) to revise tariff frequently and adequately.

 

"...For a state-owned utility to succeed, there should be a clear separation between utility and state. The utility should have operational and financial autonomy." it suggested.

 

Noting that discoms have a monopoly in their area of functioning, the think tank suggested that delicensing distribution can introduce competition and enable retail choice for customers.

 

"This reform can be challenging and should be accompanied with careful market design.

 

The total loss is estimated to be Rs 90,000 crore in FY 2021.

 

As long as the markets continue to provide low-cost power, discoms should not sign new expensive long-term thermal PPA," it opined.

 

According to the government think tank, discoms should use time of day (ToD) tariffs to incentivise changes in demand patterns.

"Dynamic tariffs, enabled by advanced metering and a smart grid, can reduce the discoms' power purchase costs and help manage peak loads," it said.

 

According to an official statement, Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat said that this report presents policymakers with a menu of reform options to put the distribution sector on the track of efficiency and profitability.

===================================================================

 

MY  TAKE  :

 

Key recommendations of Niti Aayog are :

 

#    De-licensing of distribution

 

#    Competition among DISCOMS

 

#    Choice for customer ( from whom to buy power )

 

#    Market Design

 

#    No long-term PPA with THERMAL POWER plants

 

#    Time-of-the-Day Tariff ( ToD )

 

#    Dynamic Tariff

 

#    Advanced Metering

 

#    Smart Grid

 

 

 

Some of these, I have listed in my following e-mails to our Policy Makers over past 4 YEARS  :

 

Congratulations, Shri Vijaybhai Rupaniji, ………………………………[ 30 Dec 2020 ]

 

Extract :

[ A ]…………Gujarat Policy :

               GROUP OWNERSHIP for Self-Consumption based on ratio of OWNERSHIP

               My Suggestion :

               ( source : Congratulations , Shri R K Singhji / 19  Nov 2020 ]

 

         #  Introduce “ Co-operative Farming of Solar Power / CFSP “ { call it a kind of “ Contract

             Farming “ }

           ( incorporate this into just released FARM LAWS to encourage setting- up of “ Solar

           Power Farmers Cooperative Society “, along the lines of “Dairy Farmers’  AMUL Milk Cooperative

          Society “)

                     

                #  Under CFSP, provide 30 % Capital Cost Subsidy to companies setting up large ( > 500 MW ) Solar

                         Farms in remote areas ( eg : desert areas of Kutch – Spiti – Lahul – Ladakh etc , which have a

                         potential to generate 315 GW of Solar power )

 

            Read : https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/08/from-ladakh-with-love-and-sun-shine.html

 

                  #   1 MW of ( grid ) solar will need 100,000 sq ft of solar panels ( 1 KW will need 100 sq ft )

 

                  #   The estimated cost of 1 MW solar power plant is approx. Rs 4 - 6 crore.

 

                  #   That works out to approx. Rs 400 - 600 / sq ft of Capital cost for Solar panels

 

                  #  Solar Farm company can “ Sell “ ownership rights of solar panels to individuals in modules of 1000

                      sq ft, ( costing Rs 4- 6 lakh per module ). These rights can be sold / transferred to any buyer, only

                     with prior permission of the Solar Farm Company concerned

 

                #  Each module ( of 1,000 sq ft ) will generate 10 KW of power, which Company will feed into a

                    NATIONAL GRID ( free ) .

 

               #  Each such Co-operative Company can reserve / own by itself, 30 % of Solar Panels for generating

                   power for sale in free market  

 

              #  My nearest DISCOM will supply me those 10 KW, free of cost ( ie: deduct from my monthly usage ) .

                  Any excess over my actual consumption, to be credited to my account

 

              #  Depending upon my usage / need , I as an individual CO-OPERATIVE OWNER , can “ buy “ any

                  number of STANDARD MODULES, and from any number of Cooperative Farming companies or other

                 Co-op Owners

 

             #  This set-up will require NATIONAL SOLAR EXCHANGE in which ALL discoms will be mandated to

                 become members

      

 ================================================================            

[ B ]  … Gujarat Policy :

                    DISCOMs to purchase SURPLUS ENERGY

                    My Suggestion :

                    (source : Congratulations , Shri R K Singhji / 19  Nov 2020 ]

             #    My nearest DISCOM will supply me those 10 KW, free of cost ( ie: deduct from my

                   monthly usage ) . Any excess over my actual consumption, to be credited to my account

===================================================================

[ C ] …………….Gujarat Policy :  

                   This policy will enable any one… who want to generate electricity and sell it after own

                   consumption

                   My Suggestion :

                   ( source : Not Good Enough ! / 02 Dec 2017 )

                   And I hope, it recommends amending Electricity Act whereby , Anyone can generate and SELL

                  electricity, anytime and to anyone and at any price 

  ====================================================================             

 [ D ]  …….  Gujarat Policy  : 

                 LEASE OF ROOFTOP / PREMISES

                 My Suggestion :

                ( source : Not Good Enough ! / 02 Dec 2017 )

                #  For reaching the target of 100 GW of Solar power generation by Nov 2022, we need to

                   install 1.5 GW capacity EVERY MONTH for the next 60 month ( remaining 85 GW after current

                  installations totalling 15 GW )

                                

                #   That would require an investment of Rs 10,000 Crore per monthevery month for the next

                     60  months ! ( @ One Billion dollars per GW )

                 

               #   Part of this investment will have to come from Roof Top Solar projects, to be set up by :

                     

                         *    An Individual home-owner who may also want to sell surplus power to a neighbour )

 

                        *   A Coop Housing Society wanting its huge unutilized terrace to produce solar power, for its

                            members

                         

                       *   A Business which will install these roof-tops at its own cost and is allowed to sell power to

                           the  residents of a building

                                           

=====================================================================

 

 [ E ]   ….. ..Gujarat Policy :

                 POWER AT LOW COST

           Currently, the industry gets power at an average cost of 8 per unit.

           The new policy will help bring it down to 4.5 per unit,..savings for residential units could be in the

           range of ₹ 1.77 to ₹ 3.70 per unitfor industrial units it will be about ₹ 2.99 to ₹ 4.31 per

          unit and for the third party buyers it will be in  the range of 0.91 to ₹ 2.30 per unit.

     

            My Suggestion :

                 ( source :   Solar Power at Rs 1 per Kwh ?  /  29 Jan 2017  )

                 In India , we are planning to add Solar Power to the tune of 100 GW by 2022

               How can we make that happen? And, can we make that happen at Re 1  per Kwh ? or less ?

                We can, if  CAPITAL COST  is  ZERO !  No interest burden !

                How ?

                It can happen if NDA government musters enough courage to implement what I have been

               suggesting for past 2 years, viz :

             

               *  Government declares units belonging to " Solar Power ( Panel Mfr / Power Production

                   & Distribution / Ancillary Mfr  ) " as    a "  SOS " industry

             

              *   Units will need to register as such with Department of Company Affairs ( DIPP )

                   

               *  Units will be exempt  from paying Corporate Income Tax for 10 years , on whatever income they

                  earn ( only those starting operations latest by 31 March 2018 )

 

 

No Godfather for Rooftop Solar ? ……………………………………………..[ 01 June 2021 ]

 

Extract :

 

        Dear Shri R K Singhji ( Minister for Power ) :

Ø    It is high time we stop limiting our SOLAR VISION HORIZON like a “ Frog in the Well “

Ø    It is time to remember that the nomenclature : Roof Top Solar “ , somehow ties us down to the words ROOF TOP , which is only just one of the locations which can be used to harness Solar Energy

Ø    Solar Energy can also be harvested at other locations on Earth, such as FARMS , DESERTS, LAKES, MOUNTAIN TOPS, HIGHWAYS , TRAIN TRACKS, etc., or even through solar panels farms in  SPACE ( low earth orbits ? ), beaming electricity down to Earth-based receivers ( using micro-waves ? )

Ø    We must break loose  from the narrowly defined, Roof-Top Solar / Land-based Solar and latch on to the all-encompassing concept of ,

SOLAR  ENERGY  TRADING INFRASTRUCTURE  (  SETI  )

 

Ø A Tale of Two States …………………………………………………………………..[ 28 Oct 2020 ]

 

Extract :

MY SUGGESTION :

      Out-of-the-Box Concept :

 

In my building, we are 10 flat-owners. Each needs 20 KW of solar – total of 200 KW

 

That would require 20,000 sq ft . But the terrace is no more than 2,000 sq ft . Not enough for all

 

So, I ask :

 

      Why do we need space in our own terrace in a Mumbai building for getting200 KW of Solar Power ?

 

      Why cannot we use 20,000 sq ft of space, 500 Km away from Mumbai, in Kutch desert ?

     

      In a nut-shell, produce solar power in Kutch desert and consume it in Mumbai !

 

      Or produce power in Ladakh and consume it in Kolkata

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