India

NPCIL’s first pair of indigenously designed 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors at Kakrapar in Gujarat achieved first pour of concrete today.

Austria is planning to extend cooperation to the hydel power and alternate energy development projects in Pakistan.

Bangladesh will allow transport of equipment in its territory for a power plant in India's north eastern state of Tripura.

Reliance Power will double the capacity its coal-fired power project in Rosa, Uttar Pradesh, to 2400MW. An additional US$1.33 billion investment will be made by the company. The plant is expected to be fully complete by March 2012.   According to ifandp.com, the project was originally meant to be a 600MW project, which was then scaled up to 1200MW  to make best use of the land available. The company is now looking to acquire additional land for the additional capacity. R-Power is expected to soon apply to the Indian government for the necessary clearance and finance will come from a consortium of banks led by IDBI Bank.   Power generation from the first 600MW phase of the project is expected to begin in a year’s time. The electricity will be supplied to the Uttar Pradesh Power Company Ltd under a Power Purchase Agreement.  

India scaled down its set target of additional power generation capacity from 20,359MW to 18,600MW for 2010.

Nepal and Bhutan have pledged to export hydroelectricity to Bangladesh.

India is now sixth in the world in terms of number of power reactors after its unit-4 of Kaiga Generating Station achdeived criticality.  Criticality signifies the start of self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction in the reactor core, which leads to the production of power. The unit will be synchronized to the southern grid after carrying out certain mandatory tests early next month. The electricity generated from this unit will be supplied to the beneficiary states – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Pudducherry. Kaiga-4 is the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited’s or NPCIL’s third nuclear power reactor after RAPS unit-5 & unit-6, to have started operation during the current year, raising the nuclear installed capacity in the country from the current 4560 MW to 4780 MW. With Kaiga-4 unit becoming operational, India is now elevated to the sixth rank in an elite club of nations, after USA, France, Japan, Russian Federation and Republic of Korea, to have twenty or more nuclear power reactors currently in operation.

The Jaitapur nuclear project has received its environmetal clearance after  the Expert Appraisal Committee of India's environment and forest ministry.

NTPC will place orders for generators worth $7.2 billion by March 31 as it accelerates capacity addition to help reduce blackouts. The utility will buy nine generators of 660 megawatts each and the same number of 800-megawatt units, according to NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury. NTPC, which failed to meet its capacity addition target in the year ended March 31, aims to speed up construction of plants to meet demand in Asia's second fastest growing major economy. Capacity addition will more than double to 3,150 megawatts this year, with another 5,500 megawatts to follow in the year ending March 2012, Choudhury said. "One of the biggest concerns for NTPC has been the execution of projects," said Harshad Shukla, an analyst at KR Choksey Shares & Securities Pvt.

The 285-kilometre India-Sri Lanka power link has been commissioned. Power Grid Corporation of India will likely to sign an MOU for developing the Rs 2,500-crore project with Sri Lanka by next month.

All thermal power projects and transmission systems will be awarded on competitive tariff bidding and trading in renewable energy certificate by 2011. This was announced by India's power sector regulator, according to the India Times.

NTPC has added a 500 MW coal fired unit at Korba in Chhattisgarh.

India gave environmental clearance for a nuclear power plant to be built in collaboration with French firm Areva. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said the go-ahead for the Jaitapur plant in Maharashtra state, which will use nuclear reactors supplied by Areva, was granted with 35 conditions and safeguards.

ADB will inject up to $40 million in two new private equity funds that supports clean energy development.

India’s ONGC will invest US$109.4 million on research and development of non-conventional energy sources. According to the Business Standard, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation chairman and managing director R. S. Sharma stated that India has only 0.5 per cent of the world's hydrocarbon reserves and will find it difficult to meet its growing energy demand without utilising alternative and renewable sources.

Bangladesh will lease two gas-fired power plants from UK firm, Agbeko.