High operation cost leaves biomass projects at stake
Updated: Jun 09, 2014 02:24:05pm
New Delhi, Jun 9 (KNN) A number of biomass power projects have been facing problems in operation due to continuous rise in biomass prices and the revision of tariff for biomass based power by State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) which has not kept pace with the increasing costs.
“In the current scenario, financial institutions have displayed reluctance in financing biomass power projects, thereby posing problems for new investments in the sector,” said New and Renewable Energy Secretary Upendra Tripathy in a workshop on ‘Regulatory and Financial Barriers and Challenges in Power Generation from Biomass’ here yesterday.
The workshop was organised by MNRE under the Biomass Power Project and jointly funded by the ministry and UNDP/GEF to provide a platform for all the related stakeholders to get together, discuss and deliberate, and utilize the collective knowledge in addressing the concerns of the sector and to remove the barriers faced by the biomass sector to provide it the much required and necessary impetus.
Tripathy appealed to the SERCs to help in effecting reforms by taking cognizance of the revised regulations recently notified by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and pass on the benefits to the biomass power producers so that their plants can run economically.
“The existing inconsistencies in values of the certain parameters have to be harmonised and taken into account by SERC’s for determination of tariff,” he said.
Distribution companies which are key to the off take of biomass power have also not been pro-active. They could play a more proactive and encouraging role in order to promote the sector, he added.
Emphasising the importance of biomass based power generation, Tripathy said that it plays a very important role among various renewable sources due to its high Plant Load Factor (PLF), affordable unit cost of generation, potential to provide large scale productive employment and the other economic benefits to farmers who are main producers of biomass.
The workshop was attended by the chairpersons and members of CERC, SERCs, as well as senior officials of state energy departments, state nodal agencies, and distribution companies from more than 15 states across the country for having responded to our request to attend this workshop.
Officials from UNDP, financial institutions, Indian Biomass Power Association and Biomass Project Developers participated in the event. The deliberations mostly focussed around the changes required at the state level, in the regulatory and financial regime in order to provide an impetus to the biomass power sector. (KNN/ST)
“In the current scenario, financial institutions have displayed reluctance in financing biomass power projects, thereby posing problems for new investments in the sector,” said New and Renewable Energy Secretary Upendra Tripathy in a workshop on ‘Regulatory and Financial Barriers and Challenges in Power Generation from Biomass’ here yesterday.
The workshop was organised by MNRE under the Biomass Power Project and jointly funded by the ministry and UNDP/GEF to provide a platform for all the related stakeholders to get together, discuss and deliberate, and utilize the collective knowledge in addressing the concerns of the sector and to remove the barriers faced by the biomass sector to provide it the much required and necessary impetus.
Tripathy appealed to the SERCs to help in effecting reforms by taking cognizance of the revised regulations recently notified by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and pass on the benefits to the biomass power producers so that their plants can run economically.
“The existing inconsistencies in values of the certain parameters have to be harmonised and taken into account by SERC’s for determination of tariff,” he said.
Distribution companies which are key to the off take of biomass power have also not been pro-active. They could play a more proactive and encouraging role in order to promote the sector, he added.
Emphasising the importance of biomass based power generation, Tripathy said that it plays a very important role among various renewable sources due to its high Plant Load Factor (PLF), affordable unit cost of generation, potential to provide large scale productive employment and the other economic benefits to farmers who are main producers of biomass.
The workshop was attended by the chairpersons and members of CERC, SERCs, as well as senior officials of state energy departments, state nodal agencies, and distribution companies from more than 15 states across the country for having responded to our request to attend this workshop.
Officials from UNDP, financial institutions, Indian Biomass Power Association and Biomass Project Developers participated in the event. The deliberations mostly focussed around the changes required at the state level, in the regulatory and financial regime in order to provide an impetus to the biomass power sector. (KNN/ST)
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