Energetica India Magazine: september 2020

NHPC Inks 400 MW Solar PSA with CSPDCL at Rs 2.55/kWh Tariff Indian Hydropower generation com- pany NHPC Ltd has entered into a power sale agreement (PSA) with Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Ltd (CSPDCL) for the sup- ply of 400 MW solar power at the tariff of Rs 2.55/kWh. As per the agreement signed, the so- lar power will be supplied for 25 years on long term basis. Also, NHPC will earn trading margin at the rate of Rs 0.07/kWh during the contract period. Further, the power supply agreement was signed between NHPC, Gener- al Manager (Power Trading), SP Ra- thour and Manoj Khare, Chief Engi- neer (Commercial), CSPDCL, in the presence of other officers from both NHPC and CSPDCL. Moreover, this agreement has been signed under the 2,000 MW Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) grid connected Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Projects via NHPC Ltd (Intermediary Procurer) under tariff based competitive bidding. Till date, NHPC has signed power sale agreement for the supply of 1.7 GW out of an aggregate 2 GW solar power. However, the company’s power sale agreement for remaining quantum of 300 MW is expected to be signed shortly with Punjab State Power Cor- poration Ltd (PSPCL). NEWS NATIONAL 10 energetica INDIA- September_2020 Hitachi ABB, BHEL Energizes 1st Stage of Raigarh-Pugalur Transmission Link Power technologies leader Hitachi ABB Power Grids India, along with consor- tium partner Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), has successfully energized the first stage of the 6,000 MW +/-800 kV Ultra-high Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) transmission link connecting Raigarh in Central India to Pugalur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. In 2016, the consortium of Hitachi ABB and BHEL had won the order for the Raigarh-Pugalur 800 kV UHVDC trans - mission link from Power Grid Corpora- tion of India Ltd (POWERGRID). Post completion, the approx 1,800 km long two-way transmission line will have the capacity to meet the electricity needs of more than 80 million people in the country. Significantly, when wind strength is low, it will support electricity demand in the South, and when it is in excess, trans- mit clean energy to the North. Commenting on the development, N Venu, Managing Director, Hitachi ABB Power Grids India, said “this is a proud moment for us. We have been involved in this project since 2016. With the com - pletion of the first phase of the 6,000 MW +/-800 kV UHVDC project, braving difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pan - demic, we will enable clean and reli- able power for millions of people in the country. We are strongly committed to supporting the Government’s mission to bring 24/7 reliable power to all.” Moreover, by occupying one-third of the space of a traditional AC trans- mission, HVDC transmission links help to conserve land. In the current case, that amounts to a saving of approx 244 square kilometres – about one-third the area of Bangalore. Besides, the mega project will also feature technologies selected to min- imize the footprint of the transmission stations. This project encompasses design, en- gineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning of complete UHVDC converter terminal stations as well as major equipment supplies including 800 kV converter transformers, con - verter valves, cooling systems and con- trol and protection technology. Raigarh-Pugalur is Hitachi ABB Power Grids’s 6th HVDC project in India and the second UHVDC installation, follow- ing the multi-terminal North-East Agra link.