On November 17, 2020 Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the Department of New & Renewable Energy (DNRE), Government of Goa to discuss the implementation of India’s First 100 MW(MegaWatt) decentralised solar convergence project under the newly formed Convergence Energy Services Limited (Convergence) in Goa.
Objective of the Project– To provide clean affordable and reliable power at affordable rates
Key People:
MoU was signed in the presence of R K Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Nilesh Cabral, Power Minister of Government of Goa, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai , Secretary, Ministry of Power and other senior officers of the ministry.
Important Info:
i.Goa is the first state to adopt the concept of amortising the cost of pumps and LED lights into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
ii.Goa is the first state to adopt Convergence.
iii.This model is likely to be adopted by other states
Note
This marks the beginning of EESL’s ‘convergence’ initiative that focuses on delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy.
Provisions of MoU:
- As per the MoU, EESL and DNRE will undertake feasibility studies and implement the decentralized solar energy projects.
- EESL will implement the decentralized ground mounted Solar Power projects on government lands to be used for agricultural pumping.
- This replaces around 6,300 agricultural pumps with BEE(Bureau of Energy Efficiency) star rated energy efficient pumps and install around 16 lakh LEDs(Light-Emitting Diodes) for rural and domestic households
Benefits of the Project:
i.The project will save Rs 2,574 crores to the state over the period of 25 years.
ii.It will enhance the Distribution Company(DISCOMs) and provide clean power.
iii.It will provide clean day time electricity to farmers as well as energy efficient pump sets.
iv.This will minimise the consumption of power and T&D (Transmission and Distribution) that is associated with transmitting power to agriculture and rural feeder networks
v.It will accelerate the use of renewable energy sources, particularly for the agricultural and rural power consumption in Goa.
vi.It will also contribute to minimise the peak energy demand through the deployment of energy efficient pumping and lighting thus contributes to overall sustainability.
About the project:
i.EESL will install solar projects in a first of its kind large scale programme, where vacant or unused land provided by the Gram Panchayats/electricity board will be used.
ii.Near the substation the solar power plant will be installed, with the capacities in the range from 500KW to 2 MW, on the basis of the size of the land.
iii.This will allow DISCOMs to supply power during the day time and minimise the transmission losses.
Key Info:
i.EESL, through its convergence initiative, seeks to connect the independent sectors like Solar Energy, Energy Storage and LED lights to provide solutions that can enable in decarbonisation and affordable energy access.
ii.It is to be noted that, under this programme EESL offers convergent interventions that soles the multiple gap areas in the energy ecosystem.
About Convergence Energy Services:
i.It will implement renewable energy solutions to power agricultural pumps, street lighting, domestic lighting and cooking appliances in villages.
i.It enables the battery-powered electric mobility and its infrastructure and design business models to boost the uptake of electric vehicles in India.
Additional Info:
- Currently EESL is providing solutions like solarised agriculture feeders, LED street lights in local villages and battery energy storage system.
- In order to create a resilient and sustainable rural community in India, EESL leverages the carbon financing mechanism to strengthen the rural infrastructure in a clean and sustainable manner
- The climate financing interventions of EESL include, Gram UJALA, Decentralised Solar and Gram Panchayat Street Lights programmes
Gist about EESL:
i.EESL, a Super Energy Service Company (ESCO) is a joint venture of PSUs(Public Sector Undertakings) namely, NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and POWERGRID.It is world’s largest public ESCO.
ii.It is promoted by the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
iii.It seeks to open the energy efficiency market in India, at a cost of Rs. 74,000 crore, which can result in energy savings of up to 20% of current consumption, through innovative business and implementation models.
iv.It also acts as the resource centre to build State DISCOMs, ERCs(Engineering Research Centres), SDAs, upcoming ESCOs, financial institutions, etc.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 29, 2020 Punjab Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) for a 2 year project on transforming the ease of doing business for MSMEs(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) in Punjab. The agreement is supported by Omidyar Network India (ONI) under its ReSolve Initiative. Dr KP Krishnan, Chair of the GAME Taskforce on MSME, who is a former Secretary, Government of India will lead the project.
ii.On October 27, 2020 Cochin Shipyard Limited and Fincantieri S.P.A. of Italy virtually signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for cooperation in the areas of Design, Ship Building, Ship Repair, Marine Equipment Manufacturing and also for Training & Skill Development.
About Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL):
Founded- 2009
Chairman– Rajeev Sharma
Managing Director(MD) -Rajat Kumar Sud
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
EESL is a Joint Venture of four reputed public- sector undertakings NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation Limited, REC Limited and POWERGRID Corporation of India Limited.
