NEYVELI LIGNITE CORPORATION LIMITED (NLC)
- NLC was registered as a company on November 14, 1956. The mining operations in Mine-I were formally inaugurated in
- NLC has been conferred with “Navratna” status since April 2011.
- NLC presently operates 4 open cast lignite mines viz., Mine I, Mine IA and Mine II in Tamil Nadu and Barsingsar Mine in Rajasthan, aggregating to a total capacity of 30.6 MTPA and four thermal power stations, TPS-I and TPS—I Expansion and TPS II with a capacity of 2740 MW located in Tamil Nadu and Barsingsar TPS in Rajasthan.
- TPS—II expansion at Neyveli (500 MW) and coal based NTPL (1000 MW) are under implementation.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
- The gross installed capacity of grid interactive renewable power in the country stood at about 7 GW as on 31st March 2014.
- India occupies the fifth position in the world with a wind power installed capacity of 1 GW.
- The Ministry has taken up a new initiative for implementation of wind resource assessment in new areas under the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF).
- Preliminary assessments in India indicate prospects for development of offshore wind energy along the coastline of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
- Biomass power projects with an aggregate surplus power generation capacity of about 5 MW have been successfully commissioned.
- Biomass Gosifier based 1MW power plant has been commissioned in Haryana and installation of 50 biomass gosifier and combustion based power projects with installed capacity of 8.54 MW are under installation in different States.
- Small hydro projects with a capacity of 1711 MW have been commissioned during the year.
- Solar power projects installations have witnessed phenomenal growth with over 1,684 MW capacity solar power plants using solar photovaltaics and solar thermal technologies being commissioned during the year.
GRID-INTERACTIVE RENEWABLE POWER
- By March 2012, renewable power has reached approximately 25 gw, contributing around 12% of the country’s electric installed capacity.
- Wind energy accounts for around 70% of installed capacity (17.4 GW) and is the fastest growing programme with the investment almost entirely coming through private sector investments.
- It is followed by small hydropower (3.4 GW), biomass power (3.2 CW) and solar power (941 MW) that has just started registering its presence.
- In terms of electricity generation, the renewable power installed capacity contributes around 6% in the electricity mix. The National Action Plan on Climate Change mandates increasing share of renewable power in the electricity mix to 15% by the year 2020.
POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
- The most important legislative development which has stimulated the growth in renewable power is the Electricity Act, 2003.
- The Act recognizes the role of renewable energy technologies for supplying power to the utility grid as well as in stand-alone systems.
- The Act empowers the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) to specify percentage of the total consumption of electricity from renewable energy sources, known as “Renewable Purchase Obligation” (RPO).
- In addition, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) seek to address the mismatch between availability of renewable sources and the requirement of the obligated entities to meet their renewable purchase obligation.
- Over 165 million RECs have been issued and around 1.5 million RECS have been redeemed.
- The Government is encouraging foreign investors to set up renewable power projects on a ‘Build-Own and Operate’ basis with 100% foreign direct investment.
