Tata's Gopalpur ferro chrome unit to start operation by Mar'15.

The first unit of the 55,000-tonne per annum ferro chrome plant being set up by Tata Steel at Gopalpur in Odisha's Ganjam district is all set to start operations by March 2015. The steel major has already got in-principle approvals from the designated authorities to set up an industrial park at the same location, company officials said. Spread over 2,970 acres of land the industrial park includes a multi-product SEZ over 2,570 acres and an anchor project by Tata Steel over 400 acres. Anchor investments of Rs. 800 crore proposed to be made by Tata Steel at the Gopalpur Industrial Park include the ferro chrome plant, which is under construction after all statutory clearances, said Arun Misra, vice president, Gopalpur project of Tata Steel. The plant is expected to be commissioned by March 2015 with an employment opportunity for about 400 persons both directly and indirectly, he said. "With Gopalpur project being a top priority for the company, we are currently setting up a 55,000 TPA ferro chrome plant. We have recently filed documents seeking environment clearance for establishing another ferro chrome plant at the site," Mishra said.

GAIL to invite EoI soon for Paradeep LNG terminal.

The country's largest natural gas distributor GAIL (India) Ltd. said, it will soon invite expression of interest (EoI) for developing its LNG (liquefied gas terminal) proposed at Paradeep. "We are going to invite EoI next week to select a technical partner for building our LNG terminal at Paradeep. Work on the terminal is expected to commence in a year's time," GAIL (India) chairman and managing director (CMD), B C Tripathi told Business Standard. In October last year, GAIL had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) for setting up of an offshore LNG terminal at the port at a cost of Rs 3,108 crore. The project - floating storage re-gasification unit - will have an initial capacity of four million tonne per annum (mtpa) in the first phase, reaching a peak capacity of 4.8 mtpa, with a storage capacity of 170,000 cubic metres. The first phase of the project is expected to go on stream by 2017. While PPT would invest Rs. 650 crore on breakwater and dredging, GAIL would invest the residual Rs. 2,458 crore. In the second phase, an additional four mtpa capacity will be added (peak capacity- 4.8 mtpa), raising the terminal's overall capacity to 8-10 mtpa. The LNG terminal is expected to position both Paradip and Odisha on the global map of LNG business. It will cater to the requirement of eastern, western and central parts of the country. The re-gasification unit will have a dedicated LNG jetty. The natural gas will be transported through GAIL's Jagdishpur-Haldia and Surat-Paradip pipelines. India is currently the fourth largest consumer of gas and the share of natural gas in the country's primary energy market is poised to reach 22 per cent by 2020 and 25 per cent by 2035. Recently, GAIL had invited EoI to select licensors of coal gasification technology to set up a coal gasification plant at Talcher (Odisha). The plant, to cost Rs. 8,000 crore, will be developed by a consortium consisting of GAIL, Coal India Ltd. (CIL), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers (RCF) and Fertiliser Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL). The selected licensors would be required to have five per cent equity in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by the consortium partners for developing the plant. The gasification plant would produce ammonia synthesis gas to be used as feedstock for production of ammonia, urea and ammonium nitrate.

India a centre for Philips health care expansion.

India seems to be playing a crucial role in the effort of Philips, the Netherlands-based formerly entirely electronics and electricals company, for a global transformation to become a health and wellbeing company. Health care generates 45 per cent of the company's revenue. Philips recently announced Pune as global headquarters for its surgery business. Though the company does not give a further break-up, Ronald Tabaksblat, senior vice-president, Philips Healthcare, said surgery is a significant chunk of this segment. "It is good to have an organisation in the emerging market, as it also brings dedicated focus to that market. The surgery business is a very mature one in the mature economies but a lot of work is happening in the emerging economies. The surgery business is a significant chunk of Philips' health care division," he said. As part of the transformation, Philips changed the name of its health care division in Pune to Healthcare Innovation Centre (HIC) from its earlier Development Manufacturing Centre. For Philips, the Pune-based HIC is the only such centre worldwide. It does have an innovation campus in Banglaore but this caters to all its product ranges, across categories of health care, consumer lifestyle and lighting, and focusing more on the software and services aspect.

ABB wins $800 million order for Scotland’s Caithness-Moray subsea power link

London/Zurich, September 9, 2014 – ABB has won an order worth over $800 million from Scottish Hydro Electric (SHE) Transmission plc to provide the Caithness-Moray high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission link, which will connect the electricity grid on either side of the Moray Firth in northern Scotland. This follows a favorable decision by Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets), an independent National Regulatory Authority, on the need for the link. ABB will design, engineer, supply and commission two 320 kilovolt land-based HVDC Light converter stations, one rated at 1,200 megawatts (MW) at Blackhillock in Moray and another rated at 800 MW situated at Spittal in Caithness. 

ABB’s scope of supply also includes submarine and underground cables covering a total transmission length of nearly 160 kilometers. The link is scheduled to become operational in 2018.

“We are pleased to support this major transmission project that will enable integration of a significant amount of renewable energy into the grid and supply clean, emission-free electricity to millions of people,” said Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. ”ABB pioneered HVDC technology and continues to lead the way through innovation, as seen from several recent breakthroughs.”

SHE Transmission is undertaking a major strengthening of its power network serving the north of Scotland to accommodate the rapid growth in generation of electricity from renewable sources, with around 1,200 MW of wind, wave and tidal energy planned to be connected. With associated reinforcement of the existing onshore network, this project represents the largest investment in northern Scotland’s electricity network since the hydro development era of the 1950s. 

A key enabler for this is the installation of a subsea HVDC cable, capable of carrying up to 1,200 MW of electricity between Caithness and Moray, equivalent to the electricity needs of about 2,000,000 Scottish residents. 

ABB’s HVDC Light solution leads the way in VSC (Voltage Source Converter) technology. The company has delivered 13 of the 14 commissioned VSC links in the world. HVDC Light continues to be a preferred solution for long-distance underground and underwater power transmission links.

HVDC Light technology is increasingly being deployed across a range of applications such as the connection of remote renewables, cross-border interconnections, power-from-shore feeding offshore oil and gas platforms, and city center in-feeds where space is a constraint.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.

Source: http://www.abb.com

Siemens Bags Rs. 411-crore Contract from PGCIL.

Siemens has bagged a contract worth Rs. 411 crore from Power Grid Corporation (PGCIL) for setting up three Static Var Compensators (SVCs), each in Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. The project will be executed on turnkey basis and the scope of the work includes design, engineering, commissioning and installation of SVCs for three of PGCIL's substations in Ludhiana (Punjab), Kankroli in Rajasthan and New Wangpoh in Jammu & Kashmir, a release issued recently said. A SVC is a high-voltage system that dynamically controls the network voltage and keeps it constant. The order is for one of a series of SVC projects planned by PGCIL to improve grid stability across India, the release said.

GlaxoSmithKline looks to set up Rs 1,000-crore health drink units in Andhra Pradesh.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd., the maker of Horlicks and Boost health food drinks, is looking at setting up a large manufacturing facility close to the east coast in southern Andhra Pradesh, a senior bureaucrat said. The GSK Consumer team has shortlisted one location each in Nellore and Chittoor for the plant, which will produce Horlicks and Boost branded products with an investment of up to Rs. 1,000 crore, he said. The company is waiting for clarity on tax incentives before taking a decision. Rival Mondelez India Foods Ltd., formerly known as Cadbury India, has said it is setting up its largest facility in the continent at the Sri City special economic zone Chittoor district, investing about Rs. 1,000 crore. GSK is scouting for about 100 acres of land at the two locations, apart from connectivity to the natural gas grid, and has conveyed plans to produce Foodles, which is its instant noodles product, biscuits and oats under the Horlicks brand, apart from health food drinks, the bureaucrat said. "GSK is also looking at using a part of the production capacities at the proposed greenfield facility to cater to export markets." Refusing to provide details on the company's expansion plans, a GSK spokesperson said, "We do not comment on rumours and market speculation."

Hero MotoCorp to start Gujarat plant construction soon.

The country's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp recently said the company will start construction of its new plant in Gujarat soon and will start production from third quarter next year. The company has earlier announced to spend Rs. 1,200 crore for this plant. "We are starting the construction very soon and production will start by third quarter of next year," Pawan Munjal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, told reporters.

Government to speed up environmental clearance.

A host of policy decisions like faster environmental clearance and speeding-up of auctions would be taken by the Government soon to ensure revival of the steel sector of the country, Syedain Abbasi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel said recently. "Close to 80 steps are being considered by Government and the PMO is directly involved in this," he said. He was speaking at the Steel Round Table: The Way Forward at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce. While terming shortage of raw materials as the main hurdle for the sector, Abbasi said that frequently changing environmental guidelines were unviable and these were hurting the industry. "There is a guideline asking the industry to ensure zero percentage discharge which would put an added burden," he noted. He added: "There is a huge demand of steel in the domestic market, yet the sector is being unable to capitalise on it due to closure of iron-ore mines across the country."Iron ore production in the country fell to 144mt in 2013-14 from 218 mt in 2008-09. The Supreme Court on May 16. The closure of iron-ore mines after a direction of the Supreme Court has led to acute shortage of iron-ore in the country. Expressing concern over the surge of iron-ore export, Abbasi said that if required the government would consider levying an export duty on iron-ore pellets to protect the domestic steel industry. He added that the Commerce Ministry has been asked to revise the duty structure. Despite the challenges, Abbasi said that he expected the steel manufacturing capacity to almost triple to 300 million tonnes by 2030.

ADB to provide $150-m loan for building transmission lines in Rajasthan.

The Asian Development Bank has agreed to give $150-million loan to the Government of India to help build transmission lines for renewable energy in Rajasthan. The Government of India and ADB have signed two loan agreements. The loans form the first tranche of the $500-million Rajasthan Renewable Energy Transmission ‎Investment Program approved by ADB in 2013. The loans will be used to finance high-voltage transmission lines and sub-stations to be built by Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd (RRVPNL). "The transmission investment programme will spur the development of renewable energy in the resource-rich areas of Western Rajasthan and help to deliver more environmentally-friendly energy to the state and national grids," said M Teresa Kho, Country Director of ADB�s India Resident Mission, who signed the loan agreement, on behalf of ADB. The $150-million first tranche is funded from two sources � $88 million from ADB�s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and $62 million from ADB's Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR). The CTF component, a highly concessional loan, has a 40-year term, with a grace period of ten years, and an annual interest rate of 0.25 per cent. The OCR component has a 25-year term, with a grace period of five years, and annual interest set in accordance with ADB�s LIBOR-based lending facility. The State Government will provide counterpart financing of about $127 million to cover the balance of the costs of activities conducted under the first tranche. Projects under the first loan are due to be completed by December 2016.

Ramco Group plans Rs. 1500-cr cement plant in Andhra Pradesh.

The Chennai-based Ramco group is planning to set up a cement plant in Kolimigandla mandal of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh (AP) with an initial investment of Rs. 1,500 crore. By the end of final phase, the total investment in the proposed unit is expected to go up to Rs. 3,000 crore, according to Parakala Prabhakar, State Government�s Communication Adviser. Ramco group is the fifth largest cement producer in the country and currently has eight manufacturing facilities spread over Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and AP with a combined capacity of 15.5 million tonnes per annum.