In 1947, India’s hydropower capacity accounted for approximately 37% of the total power generation capacity and more than 53% of the power generation. In the late 1960s, coal power generation began to replace hydropower in India, and the share of hydropower in capacity and power generation dropped sharply. In 2019, hydropower accounted for approximately 12% of India's electricity generation and 11% of electricity generation. India has 50 GW (gigawatts) of hydropower (including pumped storage) capacity in 2019, ranking fifth in the world.

Globally, hydropower is by far the main renewable energy source, providing more than two-thirds of all renewable electricity. In 2019, hydropower accounted for approximately 17% of global installed capacity and approximately 15% of power generation. In 2019, clean hydropower generation reached a record 4,306 terawatt hours (TWh), which is the largest contribution of renewable energy. history. The global hydropower capacity growth in 2019 was only slightly more than 1%, which was far below the 2% average annual growth rate required to achieve the goal set by the Paris Agreement. 

Large-scale storage hydropower projects produce low-carbon electricity, but they also bring huge environmental and social costs. They have displaced thousands of people, destroyed river ecology, led to large-scale deforestation, caused the loss of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, and had a negative impact on food systems, water quality and agriculture. These environmental and social costs have led to the dismantling of dams in North America and Europe, which were dam builders before the 1970s. More dams are being demolished in North America and Europe than are being built. Even in developing countries that continue to build dams, most of the best locations have been occupied and other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are monopolizing policy attention and investment, so the pace is slowing down.

In the fragile Himalayas where most of the new hydropower projects in India are being developed, devastating floods and landslides have increased the risk level of hydropower projects. The latest example of this challenge is the sudden flooding of the Dhauliganga, Rishiganga and Alaknanda rivers in the Chamoli region of Uttarakhand in early February 2021, killing more than 70 people and severely damaging the NTPC (National Thermal Power Company) 520 MW (megabytes). Watts) Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam’s 13.5 MW Rishiganga Hydel project, THDC (Tehri Hydropower Development Corporation)’s 444 MW Pipal Koti project (with World Bank assistance) and Jaiprakash Power Ventures’ 400 MW Vishnupray project. Although there are disagreements on the causes (glacier avalanche, avalanche, landslide), it is generally believed that development projects including hydropower projects, roads, railways, and mining are carried out without adequate assessment, and the cumulative impact and disaster potential assessment are ignored , Resulting in the scale of the loss. Project developers are generally indifferent to environmental issues, and regulatory agencies lack reliable supervision and compliance, which greatly increases risk exposure. But this does not mean that hydropower projects must be abandoned. There are some examples of hydropower projects in India that meet the best international standards. The Teesta-V Hydropower Station in Sikkim was rated as a model of international good practice in hydropower sustainability in 2019. The 510 MW power station owned and operated by NHPC (National Hydropower Corporation) Co., Ltd. meets or exceeds all 20 performance standards of international good practice. In order to make India's hydropower planning sustainable, the government and industry must prioritize transparency by involving civil society, especially those directly affected by the project. Studies have shown that modular solutions that combine wind, solar, and hydropower can provide environmentally, socially, and economically satisfactory alternative energy sources. The Hanoi Turbine Park is much less destructive to the dam and produces energy at a much lower cost. In addition to national economic benefits, the economic, environmental and social issues of local and downstream communities can also be considered to develop large-scale "smart" hydropower projects. The technical regulations in smart projects can minimize the impact on aquatic organisms and terrestrial ecosystems. To support hydropower projects, the Indian government recently included large-scale projects over 25 MW into the renewable energy category, and notified the Hydropower Purchase Obligation (HPO) as a non-solar renewable energy purchase obligation (RPO). In order to promote feasibility and rationalization of tariffs, the tariff will be reloaded after extending the project life to 40 years, the debt repayment period will be extended to 18 years, and a 2% tariff will be introduced for the construction of favorable infrastructure (such as roads and bridges) and Flood mitigation services have been launched to provide budget support. 

Compared with other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, the most important advantage of hydroelectric power generation is that it can be quickly dispatched at any time, allowing utility companies to balance the load changes of the power distribution system. In India, the flexibility of hydropower was best demonstrated on April 5, 2020, when the country’s operators restored grid stability after a sharp drop of 31 GW (GW). At that time, most households Turn off the lights for 9 minutes from 21:00 to 21:09. As the incident unfolded, hydropower generation was reduced by more than 68% in a short period of time, otherwise the stability of the grid would be affected.

Pumped water storage (PHS) facilities store energy in the form of water in an upper reservoir, pumping water from another reservoir at a lower altitude. During periods of high power demand, turbines release stored water in the same way as traditional hydropower stations to generate electricity. During periods of low demand, the upper reservoir uses low-cost electricity from the grid to pump water back to the upper reservoir for charging. PHS projects are different from traditional hydropower stations because they are net consumers of electricity, which is due to the water and electricity losses that occur in the circulation from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir. However, these power plants are generally very efficient and can prove very beneficial in balancing the load within the entire power system. Due to peak and off-peak price differences and their potential to provide critical auxiliary grid services, pumped storage facilities can be very economical. Globally, approximately 161 GW of PHS is the world's largest "water battery", accounting for more than 94% of the world's installed energy storage capacity. It supports grid stability and reduces overall system costs and departmental emissions. India has 9 PHS power plants with a total installed capacity of 4785 MW, and two 1080 MW PHS power plants are under construction. Currently, out of the total capacity of 4,785 MW, only five power plants with a total capacity of approximately 2,600 MW are operating in pumped mode. 63 sites have been identified for PHS, with a total potential of approximately 96,500 MW. In 2020, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) completed the world's largest renewable energy storage power procurement bid through a reverse auction. Greenko Group paired solar energy with PHS at a peak electricity rate of Rs 6.12/kWh and won the auction.

Apart from the real and competitive pressures of the market, no energy solutions exist. Although there is no electricity market in India in the strict sense, in the long run, PHS cannot expect success in technical feasibility and environmental benefits. The traditional source of income for PHS is arbitrage: high prices are often used, and low prices are used to draw water. But this relies on a certain degree of predictable variability in the electricity market, and this variability will continue into the future. PHS provides network support services, such as frequency control, inertia and fault level control, which are of increasing value in grids with large amounts of asynchronous solar and wind power generation. As of now, there is no market for these network support services, but in the future, the demand for such services may increase to the extent that the market is willing to pay.

Parliament was informed that due to the impact of COVID-19, coal demand in the current fiscal year may be lower than the initial estimate of 1,085 tons. From April to December of this fiscal year, domestic coal supply was 489.89 metric tons. The demand for coal is higher than the current domestic fossil fuel supply level. In fiscal year 2020, the actual national coal demand is 955.26 tons, and the supply is 706.72 tons. Due to the insufficient supply and reserves of domestic high-quality coking coal, the gap in coal supply and demand cannot be fully compensated. In addition, coal is imported by power plants designed with imported coal, and the high-grade coal required for mixed use is also imported domestically, because the domestic high-grade coal reserves are limited and cannot be completely replaced. The government's focus is to increase domestic dry fuel production by allocating more coal blocks, seeking help from the state government in land acquisition and coordinating efforts with railways to transport coal. In order to increase domestic production, 25% of coal production has been allowed to be used in newly allocated captive coal blocks on the open market. CIL's coal production fell by 4.1% to 60.5 tons last month. In January of the previous fiscal year, CIL produced 63.1 tons of dry fuel. The company's production from April to January was 453.3 tons, which was higher than the 451.5 tons in the same period of the previous fiscal year. CIL accounts for more than 80% of domestic coal production. Coal India-arm Northern Coalfields Ltd will achieve and exceed the production target of 113.25 tons this fiscal year. Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) has set a new benchmark in production, productivity, and the integration of research and innovation. NCL's contribution to domestic coal production is approximately 15%, which is equivalent to more than 10% of national power generation. In terms of domestic coal demand, it will increase in the next few decades to bridge the gap between dry fuel supply and demand, thereby reducing domestic coal imports, increasing the PLF (TPP) of existing thermal power plants and providing support for the upcoming new TPP . NCL's goal is to produce 130 MT by 2023-24 to achieve Coal India's 1 BT production target and make the country self-reliant in the coal industry. As India’s electricity demand reached a new high of 187.3 gigawatts, the rise in coal helped meet the supply of a record-breaking increase in single-day electricity consumption by supporting 78.6% of total electricity generation. The previous high of electricity demand in the country occurred on January 20, when consumption rose to 185.82 GW. About 67% of the country's total coal-fired power generation is fueled by CIL supplies. Of the 199 GW of coal-based electricity planned for power generation, 133 GW is planned to come from CIL-connected coal every day during the ongoing fiscal period.

After Chowgule & Company Private Ltd (CCPL) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Coal, Minerals and Parliamentary Affairs, commercial coal mining will begin at the Shahpur (East) Coal Mine in the Shahdol District of Madhya Pradesh. The Guoan Group won the bid for the coal mine in an electronic auction held in November last year. The Chowgule Group currently has mining operations in Goa and Karnataka, as well as three factories, capable of producing and exporting more than 5 metric tons of the highest quality iron ore and pellets per year.

Fearing an increase in coal transportation through Goa, the Goa opposition MLA wore black armbands and held up black placards on the inauguration day of the state legislative assembly. In the past few months, the coal issue has plagued Goa. The opposition — cross-party — and civil society groups opposed the three central government-supported forest protection area projects. From the port of Ahd Mormugao to the steel plant in the Belari district of Karnataka.

The government is considering opening up coal sales. Currently, CIL production is distributed through a number of different methods, including multiple industry-based auctions and coal linkages based on coalition government recommendations and fuel supply agreements (FSA). In the last fiscal year, India produced approximately 729 tons of coal and imported approximately 248 tons of coal.

IIT (BHU), with the support of Northern Coalfields Ltd, will establish a new research center in the country's oldest mining engineering department under the memorandum of understanding with them, which was established in 1923. The Coal Quality Management and Utilization Research Center will become the first of its kind in India based on the memorandum of understanding between academia and industry. It will be equipped with the most advanced clean coal technology research facilities to improve coal quality and determine the quality and grade of coal for stakeholders and traders.

Japan and Japanese trading companies are accelerating their efforts to move from coal and other fossil fuel assets to the promotion of global decarbonization, and to fulfill the government's ambitious commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Reconsider their long-term strategy around upstream investment. For example, ITOCHU will sell its shares in Columbia coal mines, divest 80% of its thermal coal assets, and will sell the remaining shares in two coal mines in Australia "as soon as possible." After the impairment loss reduced the book value of the equity to zero, Mitsui & Co. also withdrew from a coal mine in Mozambique. Japanese trading companies have stopped investing in new coal-fired power plants, but Marubeni is speeding up its plan to halve its stake in coal-fired power plants by 2030. Mitsubishi has withdrawn from power coal mines, but coking coal and liquefied natural gas are still key profit drivers.

Anglo American has hired Renminbi, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild to advise on the separation and listing of its thermal coal assets in South Africa, aimed at reducing its exposure to polluting fuels. Anglo, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, is expected to list its coal in two years. The overall market value of Anglo is approximately US$47 billion. The value of its coal assets is unclear, as coal prices have soared in recent months and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected previous estimates. Anglo American Group tends to separate its thermal coal business and list it on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. For many years, coal assets have been seen as a simple way to generate cash, and selling coal assets in South Africa has been sensitive, where coal assets employ many people and meet most of the country's electricity needs.

Poland has adopted an energy strategy to 2040, which will provide a compass for the country to seek to get rid of coal. The document has undergone many changes and delays as the government tried to align it with the EU's climate policy and resist opposition from the powerful coal unions. However, the rising cost of carbon emissions and the impact of COVID-19 have forced the government to focus on the strategic allocation of national funds to start the economy. Most of Poland's electricity comes from carbon-intensive coal. It is the only EU country that refuses to commit to climate neutrality by 2050, saying it needs more time and money to complete the transition to zero emissions. Environmentalists say that the government's strategy is not sufficient. In order to prevent the temperature from rising further, the EU and Poland should stop burning coal before 2030. As part of this, the Bank of France will withdraw from coal and limit its exposure to natural gas and oil in its portfolio by 2024. Move to more environmentally friendly assets. By the end of this year, companies that no longer invest in coal revenues that account for more than 2% and whose threshold is reduced to zero by the end of 2024, the current threshold is 10%.

China's coking coal futures fell to their lowest level in two months, dragged down by weak demand for raw materials and easing concerns about supplies from the world's largest steel producer. The most active coking coal contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, which expires in May, fell 2.7% to 1,488.50 yuan (230.48 US dollars)/ton, the lowest level since December 1, and fell for the 10th consecutive trading day. The pressure on Dalian coking coal began on January 19, after reports that China was considering allowing some stranded Australian coal to be unloaded at its ports. China and Canberra are strained over trade, politics and the origin of the new coronavirus, and in December no coal cargo from Australia was allowed to pass through customs. According to ANZ Commodity Strategists, about 70 ships carrying an estimated 6 metric tons of Australian thermal coal and metallurgical coal are stopping off the coast of China waiting to be unloaded.

China did not allow any coal cargo from Australia to pass customs clearance in December last year because it targeted a variety of Australian products with unofficial import restrictions, but the inflow of coal from other countries increased. Thermal coal, which is mainly used as fuel for power plants, and steel-making metallurgical coal from Australia, both dropped to zero in December. But the arrival of coal from other sources such as Indonesia and Russia increased last month because Beijing approved power plants to import coal from countries other than Australia without customs clearance restrictions. Due to a series of disputes over trade, politics and the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, relations between Beijing and Canberra have become increasingly tense. Customs data also shows that the share of Australian thermal coal in China's total fuel imports has fallen from 39.72% in 2019 to 34.19% in 2020. China has granted new quotas in 2021 to allow coal imports to pass customs, but according to trade sources, there is still no sign that restrictions on Australian products are being lifted. According to Refinitiv's trade flow data, at least 62 cargoes carrying 6.14 tons of Australian coal are waiting to be unloaded near Chinese ports, some of which have been waiting since June. China plans to purchase thermal coal worth US$1.467 billion from Indonesia in 2021.

Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corporation predicts that as long as China unusually suspends customs clearance of Australian coal cargoes, the recent rise in coking coal prices will continue. The company is engaged in food production and distribution business and the development of industrial parks in Myanmar, and it is expected that the direct impact of the recent coup will be limited. In 2021, Germany’s hard coal imports may fall by 18.6% year-on-year to 26.7 tons. The lobby group VDki predicts that the reason is that steel manufacturers’ use of the COVID-19 crisis is reduced, and the power generation is not related to natural gas and renewable energy. price competition. The coal importers organization also released preliminary data for the past year. The company stated that the import volume in 2020 has dropped to 32.8 tons, which is 24% lower than in 2019.

According to U.S. data, U.S. coal exports fell to a four-year low of 62.66 tons in 2020, a decrease of 25.6% from 84.23 tons in 2019, and the second lowest figure in the past 11 years, only higher than 54.68 tons in 2016. Export volume Census Bureau data. Approximately 2.63 tons of thermal coal were shipped from the United States in December, which was lower than the 18-month high of 2.98 tons in November, but higher than the export volume of 1.98 tons in the same period last year. India received the largest amount of thermal coal in December, with 989,102 tons, up from 923,271 tons in November and 211,342 tons in the same period last year.

Prodeco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore, will return its mining contract in Colombia after the review found that it was uneconomical to restart the operation of the division. The unit had sought permission to maintain and maintain its mine, but the request was rejected by the Colombian National Bureau of Mines in December. Glencore's coal production in 2020 will drop 24% to 106 tons, and Prodeco's production will drop 76% to 3.8 tons. The Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy-the world's fifth largest coal exporter-estimates that national coal production will fall by 30% to about 54.1 tons in 2020. It hopes that production will increase to 62 tons by 2021.

According to an analysis by the environmental organization Sierra Club, the U.S. utility company that relies on coal most plans to operate about 75% of its coal-fired power plants for another ten years, which poses a threat to the climate. Sierra Club's analysis of public utility documents found that these companies collectively accounted for 43% of the country's electricity production and pledged to phase out only a quarter of its coal production capacity by 2030. Decommissioning of coal-fired power plants in the United States. Since 2010, 63% of coal-fired power plants in the country have been decommissioned or committed to decommissioning by 2030. Yancoal Australia Limited stated that as global economic conditions improve, demand for coal-fired power generation is expected to rebound in 2021. Following China’s informal ban on coal imports from its main supplier Australia in the second half of 2020, Yancoal has been expanding its customer base and intends to expand its sales in India, Pakistan and South America. It is believed that, as the world's largest coal importer, China implemented the ban in retaliation for Canberra's call for an international investigation into the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. Yancoal warned that the impact of weather on supply and demand and the regional trade environment may cause uncertainty about the direction of coal prices in the first half of 2021. The company has mines and projects in New South Wales and Queensland, and announced an annual saleable coal production of 38 metric tons, reaching the full-year target.

MT: million tons, BT: billion tons, CIL: Coal India Ltd, MoU: Memorandum of Understanding, United States: United States

February 16: As long-term suppliers in the Middle East cut production and demand for gasoline surges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian refineries are turning to spot oil from Africa and North America. Industry consultant FGE stated that starting from 2020, the spot crude oil imports in the world's third largest oil market will increase by 10% to 15% this year. As part of the OPEC+ agreement, India’s major supplier countries (including Saudi Arabia and Iraq) cut production while purchasing volume increased. According to Chief Financial Officer N Vijayagopal, India’s second-largest state-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has increased the proportion of spot crude oil purchases from about 30% under normal circumstances to about 45%. The company plans to keep the spot supply at around 40% at least in the medium term. BPCL increased the operating rate of its refineries to 113% in January, and other major state-owned refineries, the Indian Petroleum Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), have also exceeded production capacity. Although the demand for gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas used for cooking has surged, the rebound rate of diesel has been slow, and since most international routes are still closed, jet fuel consumption is still only half of what it was a year ago. This has led to a shift in where India purchases oil. Middle East oil tends to produce more diesel, while crude oil from North Sea, West Africa, and United States (US) shale fields usually produces more LPG and gasoline. According to government data, crude oil imports from Nigeria in December increased by 68% over the previous year, while US oil purchases soared by nearly 77%. India is one of OPEC's (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) crude oil buyers and has expressed dissatisfaction with production cuts.

February 16: According to Fitch Ratings, continued strength in marketing margins and recovery in demand for petroleum products are supporting Indian Petroleum Marketing Corporation's profitability in the context of weak refining gross margin (GRM), thereby reducing the downward trend in its credit indicators risk. In the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2021 (the third quarter of fiscal year 21), the oil product sales of Indian Petroleum Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) soared From 22% to 23% in the previous quarter, with the exception of jet fuel, domestic transportation fuel demand returned to near normal levels, and the marketing profit margin of automobile fuel remained above the pre-pandemic level. However, due to the decline in inventory gains and the decline in reported GRM, the improvement of the underlying GRM was limited by the weakening of product cracks and the increase in crude oil prices. Fitch expects that BPCL's net leverage, including the full integration of Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, will be lower than its previous estimates during the 21st to 22nd fiscal year, although slightly higher than its consideration of lowering individual credit status. Fitch said that fuel sales and other sources of government revenue (such as goods and services taxes) returned to almost pre-pandemic levels, which will support tax cuts.

February 16: The price of diesel here rose by a record 20 rupees per liter in 10 months, while the price of gasoline rose by 19 rupees, which made motorists and transporters angry. The city rose for the seventh consecutive day as gasoline prices hit a record high of 95.46 rupees per liter, while diesel prices rose to 86.34 rupees. Parbhani's gasoline price broke the retail record at ₹97.63 per liter, which is ₹2.37 below the ₹100 mark. The price of premium gasoline (with additives) at the Parbhani gas station exceeds 100 rupees. Neighboring Thane and Navi Mumbai have higher fuel prices than Mumbai. Gasoline prices are raised to ₹95.58, while diesel prices are raised to ₹86.46. The highest price of diesel in the state is Amravati (87.73 rupees). Aurangabad followed closely with a price of 87.51 rupees. For gasoline, except for Parbhani, the fuel price of Nanded pump is 97.46 rupees. Transporters said that dissatisfaction is growing, and if the government does not abolish fuel tariffs and taxes before the end of the month, many people will be "forced to shut down operations." As the city’s car and bicycle sales have risen in the past few months, interest rate hikes will squeeze the pockets of motorists. The cost per kilometer of a gasoline car during peak hours is now more than 6 rupees. Shiv Sena, MNS and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists recently protested against walking in the Mumbai metropolitan area.

February 16: Former Petroleum Minister SC Mishra stated that since 2020, the economic situation has improved and the central government should provide ordinary people with 12 rupees per liter of gasoline and 14 rupees per liter of diesel fuel. He emphasized the fact that the government raised gasoline taxes by 12 rupees per liter and 14 rupees per liter for diesel twice in March and May 2020 to increase revenue. In detailing the taxes and fees imposed on gasoline and diesel, Mishra said that the actual refinery price of gasoline or diesel is between 30 and 31 rupees per liter. He said that the effective tax rate for gasoline and diesel is about 150% to 200%.

February 15th: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the central government over the rise in the price of LPG or domestic cylinders for cooking gas in Delhi, and said that the government is "predating" the public. The price of domestic LPG cylinders in Delhi has risen by Rs 50/unit. The new price of 769 rupees per 14.2 kilogram (kg) LPG cylinder applies to the capital. This is the second price increase in February. The Petroleum Marketing Company (OMC) raised the price of non-subsidized LPG cylinders in metro cities by 25 rupees on February 4. As the price of liquefied petroleum gas is rising, India's gasoline and diesel prices have reached record highs. Cooking gas comes from crude oil and natural gas.

February 15th: ONGC, India’s largest oil and gas producer, stated that by May this year, it will expand the natural gas production in the KG (Krishna-Godavari) basin block to 2.5-3 mmscmd (millions of metric standard cubic meters per unit). Days) and will reach peak output sometime in 2023-24. The Oil and Gas Company (ONGC) last year began producing natural gas from the US$5.07 billion KG-DWN-98/2 project in the Krishna Godavari Basin on the east coast of India. It is expected that the output of the fiscal year (2021-22) starting from April will average 3.4 mmscmd and 8.5 mmscmd in the next year. ONGC is investing US$5.07 billion to put a series of discoveries in the deep-sea block (also known as KG-D6) into production. The block is adjacent to the KG-D6 discovery zone of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and BP Plc. The project will cumulatively produce approximately 25 million tons of oil and 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas, with a peak output of 78,000 barrels of oil and 15 mmscmd per day. ONGC started the natural gas production of the project as scheduled in early 2020, but the start of oil production was delayed due to the pandemic that disrupted the global supply chain. The KG-DWN-98/2 project involves some of the most advanced oilfield technologies. In the drilling and completion of 34 subsea wells, approximately 425 kilometers of pipelines and 150 kilometers of control umbilicals were laid, with water depths ranging from 300 meters to 1,400 meters. ONGC will produce 22.97 metric tons of crude oil in the next fiscal year, compared to 22-22.5 metric tons in the current fiscal year ending March 31.

February 15: Vedanta Ltd invited its prolific Rajasthan to sell natural gas at a price equivalent to the price of imported LNG (liquefied natural gas) on the spot market or the price of Brent crude oil. The company stated in a notice that Vedanta’s oil and gas division Kane Oil and Gas Company produces approximately 3.5 mmscmd (millions of metric standard cubic meters per day) of natural gas from its main oil-bearing block in Rajasthan. . The output is increasing beyond 5 mmscmd. It invited a two-year 4.5 mmscmd natural gas bid for block RJ-ON-90/1. Natural gas prices will be 14% lower than the average spot price of DES West India LNG or the average price of Brent crude oil last month. Platts West India Marker (WIM) is an assessment of the price of LNG for physical cargo of DES shipped to ports in India and the Middle East. The current rate is US$6.2 per mmBtu (millions of metric British thermal units). The government announces the price of natural gas produced by ONGC (Oil and Gas Company) and Indian Petroleum Co., Ltd. every six months. As of March 31, 2021, the price is currently $1.79 per million British thermal units.

February 13: Petronet LNG, India's largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), plans to increase the capacity of its Dahej terminal by 29% to 22.5 million tons per year (mtpa) to meet growing demand. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) AK Singh said. Indian companies are investing billions of dollars to build infrastructure, including pipelines and new LNG import terminals, because Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to increase the share of natural gas in the energy mix from 6.2% to 15% To help control emissions. He said that the capacity of the Dahej terminal at 17.5 mtpa in western Gujarat will increase in two stages. It will increase by 2.5 mtpa in the first phase in three to four years, and then carry out a similar expansion. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated in its latest report that by 2040, India’s LNG imports are expected to quadruple to 124 billion cubic meters, accounting for approximately 61% of total natural gas demand. In order to meet the country's growing natural gas demand, Petronet is looking for flexible natural gas imports, he said, with a contract period of 10 years or less, rather than a standard 25-year long-term contract. Petronet operates a 5 metric ton/year terminal in Kochi in southern India. He said that as more and more customers connect to the natural gas pipeline, the terminal will operate at about 30% by the end of this year, compared to 20% currently. He said that when the pipeline connecting the Petronet project with the national grid is ready, the terminal's capacity usage will increase to more than 80%.

February 11: The upstream regulator DGH (General Directorate of Hydrocarbons) stated that after the start of production at the KG-D6 oil field operated by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and its partner BP Plc, India’s natural gas production has risen to before the outbreak According to DGH, the country’s natural gas production in February 2020 was 80 mmscmd (millions of metric standard cubic meters per day) and reached 82 mmscmd in January of this year. DGH stated that production levels in the 2021 calendar year may be higher. Although the output of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Petroleum of India Limited (OIL) continued to maintain almost the same level as in November, the total output of natural gas increased due to the start of production from the R series oilfields in the KG-D6 block. According to the operator, the peak output of R-Cluster will be 12.9 mmscmd. The satellite field in the same KG-D6 block that should be output from the third quarter of calendar year 2021 will generate a maximum of 7 mmscmd. The MJ oilfield will start production in the third quarter of 2022, and the peak production will reach 12 mmscmd. According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Group (PPAC) of the Ministry of Petroleum, India's natural gas imports (in the form of LNG) were almost flat between April and December. According to DGH, natural gas accounts for 6.23% of all energy consumption in the country. DGH stated that the government hopes to increase the share of natural gas in the energy basket to 15% by 2030. Realizing this share means that by 2030, India's natural gas consumption must increase from the current 150 mmscmd to 500 mmscmd.

February 10: GAIL (India) Co., Ltd. is expected to stop overseas sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) obtained from the United States (US) from 2023, as local demand increases with the commissioning of new fertilizer plants. GAIL purchases 5.8 million tons (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas annually from projects in the United States. It has signed time and destination swap agreements for some of these transactions in order to reduce landed costs for Indian customers and trade the remainder to overseas markets. GAIL executive director Rajeev Singhal said that last year GAIL sold 2.5 million tons of US-supplied products on the global market. He said that GAIL hopes that this year's trading volume will be less than 2 metric tons of its US trading volume, and may be reduced to about 1 metric ton by 2022. The Ramagundam Fertilizer Plant in southern India is expected to reach full capacity in March, requiring 0.75 metric tons of LNG per year. Fertilizer plants in Durgapur in eastern India and Gorakhpur in northern India require approximately 1.25 metric tons/year and 0.75 metric tons/year of liquefied natural gas, respectively, and will be commissioned later this year. Singhal said that two other plants in Sindri and Barauni in eastern India will be put into operation next year, and each plant will require 0.75 metric tons/year of liquefied natural gas.

February 16: According to a new report from the British clean energy group Ember, India's coal use may reach its peak in 2018. This is earlier than many experts predicted. According to the report, due to the economic slowdown in 2019 and the subsequent recession caused by the pandemic, the share of the dirtiest fossil fuels in India's power structure has fallen for the second consecutive year in 2020. According to the report, if the Indian government achieves its renewable energy targets, coal power may never have to break through 2018 levels again. According to the report, India can accelerate its transformation by suspending new coal-fired power plants and encouraging the closure of old, inefficient facilities. This will require the government to change its current policy, which recently auctioned off new coal mines in November.

February 12: Michelle Manook, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the World Coal Association, said that by 2040, coal is expected to remain the largest single source of electricity in India. She said that coal will continue to play an important role in supporting intermittent renewable energy to support infrastructure development and industrialization. The association represents industry leaders and is committed to building a sustainable future for coal and playing an active role in realizing our global economic and environmental aspirations.

February 16: With the approval of the Assam State Electricity Regulatory Commission to reduce domestic and commercial energy costs by 15 to 20 paisa per kilowatt hour (kWh) starting in April, the state's electricity bill will be reduced. According to the order of the Assam State Electricity Regulatory Commission, the energy cost of the low-voltage household and low-voltage commercial (up to 25 kW) category is reduced by 20 paise per kWh, and the energy charge for all other categories is reduced by 15 paise per kWh. Kilowatt hours. The fixed fee varies for different types of connections, but has not changed. The Cabinet of Assam approved free electricity for all households, which can consume up to 30 units of electricity per month in the three months prior to March.

February 15th: Compared with the 2019-20 fiscal year, the power outages in Andhra Pradesh in the 2020-21 fiscal year have been reduced by nearly 35%, or 140,000. A total of 250,000 power outages were reported in 2020-21, a sharp drop from 391,000 in 2019-20. In order to reduce power supply interruptions, the power company pays special attention to strengthening the state's power infrastructure. Such enhancement attempts include upgrading substations, strengthening the distribution network, and providing additional infrastructure for daytime agricultural needs. According to APTransco, achieving an excellent uninterruptible power supply that is 100% compliant with international standards is the ultimate goal of the state government. At the same time, APTransco recently deployed a day-ahead power prediction model, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict the unit power consumption for the next day.

February 15th: The All India Federation of Electrical Engineers (AIPEF) requires that the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 must be published in the public domain before parliamentary discussions begin. Shailendra Dubey, chairman of AIPEF, said that the bill is not available on the Ministry of Electric Power website. He said that the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 has been included in the list of 20 new bills in the current budget meeting of the Parliament. AIPEF threatened to lightning strike any unilateral action that rushed to pass the bill in Parliament. Dubey stated that the matters reported in the Electricity (Amendment) Act of 2021 are unproven and should be discarded, especially because they are tantamount to introducing a strict policy of separating transportation and content, which has been 20 states refused. The results of the various stakeholder proposals for the 2020 bill have not yet been made public, and the new 2021 draft bill has been leaked to a selected minority. He said that the current practice of the Ministry of Power is opaque and confidential, and it seems that the government is trying to hide the secret key facts.

February 11: From April 1st, all cash counters of MP (Madhya Pradesh) Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Ltd, which provides services to energy consumers in 16 regions including the state capital, Bhopal, will be closed . Starting April 1, consumers must pay monthly online bills online. The company said that as an alternative to cash counters, consumers can choose to pay from MP Online kiosks, public service centers, ATP machines, discom portals, and the Upay app launched by discom (distribution company). The company said that in addition, it will also authorize agents to collect bills at certain designated locations. The company said that online payment will allow users to save 5 to 20 rupees per payment, they will immediately obtain information about the payment, and can make payments anytime, anywhere. The Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that from February to March this month, meter readers have not been authorized to collect payments, so they should not pay meter readers.

February 16: According to a recent report from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), India will need to deploy $500 billion in investment to achieve its 450 GW installed capacity target by 2030. It stated that this would include adding more than 300 GW of new renewable energy infrastructure, consolidating low-cost renewable energy generation, and expanding and modernizing the cost of power transmission and distribution. According to the IEEFA report, of the US$500 billion investment, US$300 billion will be used for wind and solar infrastructure, US$50 billion will be used for grid consolidation investment, and US$150 billion will be used to expand and modernize transmission. The report stated that the country has received more than 42 billion U.S. dollars in investment since 2014. According to the report, a huge global pool of capital is being mobilized to invest in India’s renewable energy (RE) and power grid projects. The driving factors include record low solar power prices, plummeting solar module costs, record low interest rates, and government-backed 25 Security of annual power purchase agreements. According to the report, the Indian renewable energy industry is increasingly dominated by major independent power producers such as ReNew Power, Greenko, Adani Green, Tata Power, ACME, SB Energy, Azure Power, Sembcorp Green Infra and Hero Future Energies , And each has the ability to invest heavily in international debt and stock markets.

February 15th: None of the thermal power plants (TPP) in Maharashtra have installed flue gas desulfurization (FGD), a system used to remove sulfur dioxide (SO2) from emissions, and an independent organization Sunil Dahiya, a research analyst with the center, claims Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA). Dahiya stated that the state-owned and private sector TPP even lags behind NTPC Ltd's factory, which has at least awarded a phased contract for the FGD facility in its Maharashtra state unit. The TPP owned by NTPC in Mouda and Solapur has a capacity of 2,980 MW and has been awarded a contract to install FGD. However, Mahagenco TPP for 9,250 MW in Maharashtra and 7,140 MW for private sector TPP have not yet been contracted, he said. The data collected by CREA indicated that five units of Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station, three units of Koradi TPS and two units of Bhusawal TPS have been tendered for the installation of FGD. The deadline for installation of FGD devices for all TPPs in Maharashtra is from March 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022. Since it takes nearly three years to install FGD devices, all TPPs in the state are likely to miss their deadlines, he said.

February 15: The day after the Uttarakhand High Court (HC) upholds the state’s right to tax hydropower projects in the Himalayas to use the state’s river water for power generation, the companies operating these power plants said, They will challenge the previous order. HC's partition bench. The legal counsel who appeared in court for two of the 11 power projects said they would submit a special appeal shortly.

February 14: Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (ARBL) is building a solar power plant in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, with a total expenditure of Rs 2.2 billion to support its sustainable development plan. It said this will further reduce electricity costs while reducing the company's carbon footprint. In addition, as part of the overall lead procurement strategy, ARBL will build a greenfield lead recovery facility with a production capacity of 100,000 tons. The government has also announced a number of initiatives and production-related incentives (PLI) plans, which will accelerate the growth of the electric vehicle and renewable energy markets.

February 13th: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari stated for the promotion of clean fuels in India that it is possible to establish at least 5,000 bio-compressed natural gas manufacturing units in India. Launching India’s first ever diesel tractor, converted to compressed natural gas and registered under his name, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport, Highways, and Small and Medium Enterprises, also stated that this will not only change the rural economy, but also create huge employment opportunities. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the country may see huge investments to build about 5,000 compressed biogas (CBG) plants across the country. He said that farmers can earn huge incomes by converting CBG into ethanol.

February 10: Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi (Narendra Modi) stated that the path to climate change is through climate justice and called for adequate growth space for developing countries. The above remarks come as a tug-of-war between developed and developing countries on who needs to take more measures to save the environment by reducing emissions. Modi pointed out that the sad reality is that environmental changes and natural disasters have the greatest impact on the poor. He said that climate justice is inspired by the trusteeship vision in which growth is accompanied by greater sympathy for the poorest people. Modi asserted that India’s intentions are supported by concrete actions, and said that, driven by active public efforts, the country is expected to surpass its commitments and goals set at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference.

February 15: Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar said that Iraq is in in-depth negotiations with Chinese state-owned enterprises to discuss the construction of crude oil storage facilities in China as part of a plan to increase oil sales to Asia. Jabbar said that Iraq is still discussing Pakistan's plans to build crude oil storage facilities. Jabbar said that the Iraqi Ministry of Petroleum also plans to establish storage facilities in some other states to "serve the interests of Iraq's oil sales."

February 14: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the global oil market is recovering, and this year's oil price averages US$45-60 per barrel. Novak said that the Nord Stream 2 submarine natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is 95% complete and will be completed despite the United States trying to "stop" it. Brent crude oil is currently trading at a price higher than $62 per barrel. Novak said that during the pandemic-related crisis from April to May, global oil demand was at its lowest level, when it was about 20% to 25% lower than usual. Before the lockdown related to the coronavirus, global oil demand remained at around 100 million barrels per day. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stated that due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, the rebound in global oil demand in 2021 will be slower than previously thought.

February 12: The Democratic senator from New Mexico and the White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy (Gina McCarthy) discussed how Washington can compensate oil-dependent states for the potential loss of revenue during the suspension of new federal oil and gas leases. Said the members. These discussions mark that the administration of President Joe Biden has begun to study the financial and political costs of stopping the new federal oil lease, which is the key to Biden’s comprehensive plan to decarbonize the U.S. (U.S.) economy by 2050 to combat climate change. Elements. To date, New Mexico has been the biggest beneficiary of the federal drilling program because it has vast federal land covering part of the Permian Basin, the world’s most productive oil field. Biden signed an executive order to suspend new oil and gas leases on federal land and waters, which account for approximately 25% of the country’s oil production, pending review of its impact, a move that is widely regarded as he was in his term of office. The first step in the promised permanent injunction. Activity. According to the Department of the Interior, U.S. states received approximately $1.8 billion in revenue from federal land drilling last year to support public schools and other social projects.

February 13: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Virginia Gas Company RGC Resources Inc stated that the joint venture will build a valley gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia worth between US$5.8 billion and US$6 billion, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. project. What other companies involved in the project have said since January decided to abandon national permits covering all river crossings and instead seek personal permits to cross the remaining approximately 430 rivers. MVP (Mountain Valley Pipeline) is one of several oil and gas pipelines that have been delayed in recent years due to regulatory and legal battles with states and environmental organizations. These pipelines have found problems with permits issued by the Trump administration. When construction started in February 2018, the MVP was expected to cost approximately US$3.5 billion and be completed by the end of 2018.

February 12: Royal Dutch Shell's Canadian LNG export project in British Columbia has been approved by health officials. The project will be constructed with improved coronavirus protection measures. Work at this location was reduced by an order from a provincial health official, which applies to five major industrial projects in British Columbia, including Canadian LNG. Canadian LNG said that the coronavirus restart plan includes additional coronavirus testing for workers. LNG Canada is the only large-scale LNG export plant under construction in Canada. It costs about 40 billion Canadian dollars (31.4 billion US dollars) and aims to produce about 14 million tons of liquefied natural gas (mtpa) or 1.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The project is expected to start production in 2024 before the coronavirus postpones the project. However, many analysts now indicate that they expect the project to be commissioned in the second half of 2025.

February 10: British authorities announce that they will review plans for a controversial new deep coal mine in northwest England to more accurately assess its environmental impact. The developer of the coastal project is Australia-owned West Cumbria Mining. The project will be located near the town of Whitehaven and will provide metallurgical coal to steelmakers in Europe and the United Kingdom. A month ago, the government of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson chose to let local authorities approve the country's first new deep coal mine in decades.

February 16: Japan's overly strained power grid may suffer another Arctic explosion in the next few days, which has pushed up wholesale prices and may put pressure on generators because they have difficulty keeping units running after a strong earthquake. Although the world’s third-largest economy is unlikely to experience power outages for millions of people like the United States is currently doing, the country barely avoided power outages in another cold winter last month. Last weekend, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan. The power plant was automatically shut down, causing a short-term power outage of nearly 1 million people, and public utilities and independent power suppliers were once again shaken. The power company restarted some installations after inspecting the earthquake damage. The wholesale electricity price for power supply during peak hours reached a three-week high of 38.80 yen (37 cents) per kilowatt-hour, an increase of more than 40%.

February 15: Burmese security forces fired to disperse protesters outside a power plant in the northern Kachin State. A video broadcast live on Facebook showed that although it is not clear whether they used rubber bullets or fired live ammunition. Hundreds of people gathered outside a power plant occupied by soldiers in Myitkyina. The screen showed that as night fell, riot police accompanied by soldiers rushed to disperse the crowd.

February 10: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated that as state and local governments relax the coronavirus lockdown, electricity consumption in the United States (US) will increase by 1.6% this year. EIA predicts that electricity demand will rise from an 11-year low of 3.803 billion kilowatt-hours suppressed by the coronavirus in 2020 to a two-year high of 3.864 billion kilowatt-hours in 2021 and 3.931 billion kilowatt-hours in 2022. In 2018, it reached a record high of 4.003 billion kWh. EIA stated that with the increase in natural gas prices, the share of natural gas in power generation will fall from 39% in 2020 to 37% in 2021 and 35% in 2022, while the share of coal will rise from 20% in 2020. In 2020, it will increase to 21% in 2021 and 22% in 2022. EIA predicts that residential consumers’ electricity sales will increase to 1,489 billion kWh in 2021, which will be a record high, as the ongoing lockdown has led to more people working from home. Commercial customers are 1,293 billion kWh and 945 billion kWh for industrial use. . In comparison, residential users were 1.469 billion kWh in 2018, commercial users were 1.382 billion kWh in 2018, and industrial users were 1.064 billion kWh in 2000.

February 16: The European Commission is expected to propose reforms to the international energy treaty at the earliest. The European Union (EU) stated that some governments previously said that the EU should consider withdrawing from the agreement because it may threaten climate goals. The Energy Charter Treaty, which was signed in 1994 to protect cross-border investments in the energy sector, has received increasing criticism from environmental organizations and governments, believing that it hinders countries’ efforts to phase out fossil fuels. If changes in energy policy have a negative impact on their investment, the agreement allows foreign investors to seek financial compensation from the government. After three rounds of negotiations failed to make progress last year, some countries have become increasingly impatient. Spain said this weekend that it has sent a letter to EU leaders, calling on the EU to consider withdrawing from the treaty if the treaty cannot be redesigned to support Europe's plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

February 10: Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said that the New Zealand government has approved 22 new low-emission transportation projects, providing additional support to clean up the environment. The community electric bike and car sharing program, additional EV (electric vehicle) charging stations, as well as five hydrogen trucks and a demonstration electric truck are some of the latest projects co-funded by the government. Projects include the Otautahi (Christchurch) Community Housing Trust Fund initiative, which gives tenants the opportunity to share instead of owning transportation through community car or electric bike sharing schemes. LEVCF has funded more than 600 public electric vehicle chargers, of which more than 450 have been put into use.

February 10: According to a new government document, China will force regional grid companies to purchase at least 40% of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 in order to achieve the country's climate goals. According to a draft policy of the National Energy Administration (NEA), grid companies will steadily increase from 28.2% in 2020 to 40% in 2030. Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged last year to be “carbon neutral” by 2060 and stated in December that by 2030, the proportion of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption will increase from the previously promised 20% to around 25%. According to the draft plan, by 2030, the purchase of electricity from non-hydropower renewable energy sources will reach at least 25.9%, up from 10.8% last year. The draft plan has been publicly solicited for the opinions of stakeholders until February 26. These goals indicate that China will rely on solar and wind energy to achieve its renewable energy goals and get rid of the boom in large-scale hydropower projects in recent years. Xi Jinping said that by 2030, China will increase the installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than 1,200 GW.

This is a weekly publication of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). It covers current national and international energy information systematically classified to add value. 2020 is the seventeenth consecutive publication of the newsletter. The newsletter has been registered in the Indian Newspaper Registry under the number DELENG/2004/13485.

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