CORPORATE PLANNING

A Maharatna Company
Energy Scan Vol. II 2019-20

ES
Issue 39

A House e-Journal of Corporate Planning, NTPC Limited

INSIDE THIS ISSUE SCAN SPEAK

Role of Thermal Plants in India's Many power systems the world over are being reshaped due to increased focus on
Transi on to A High Share of renewable energy. As power systems undertake this transi on, ques ons remain about
Renewables ................................ 1
the fate of coal plants and how their opera ons may change with increasing penetra on
Right two Informa on Act 2005 - levels of variable renewable energy. The idea of using coal plants for grid-balancing is not
Right Perspec ve for PSUs .......... 2 new. Bodies like the Interna onal Energy Agency have been advoca ng it for a few years
now. In countries where the energy mix is highly lted in favour of coal, augmen ng the
flexibility of conven onal power plants represents a major strategy for effec vely
integra ng large shares of renewables. This is especially true for India, which is
characterised by very high shares of exis ng inflexible coal power plants and low shares
of other flexibility op ons. In India therefore, exis ng coal based power plants if made
flexible can play a major role in the transi on to a deeply decarbonised power system.

The Right to Informa on Act, 2005 is one of the most important legisla on of the
Government of India to promote transparency and accountability in the func oning of
the Government and its Ins tu ons. It has empowered ci zens by promo ng
transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority which includes
Public Sector Units. It is an important tool to ensure the democra c func oning of public
ins tu ons. The Right to Informa on lays down the various procedures and frameworks
for explaining the working of the various public ins tu ons in India.

A number of Public authori es have adopted certain prac ces that have resulted in
greater transparency and accountability in their func oning thereby leading to more
effec ve implementa on of the RTI Act.

Against the above backdrop, the current issue of Energy Scan brings you two ar cles:
First, Role of Coal Plants in India's Transi on to A High Share of Renewables ' and second,
'Right to Informa on Act 2005 - Right Perspec ve for PSUs' to evoke your interest in the
topics covered.

The items and the views expressed herein do not purport to be the official news/views of NTPC Management. This magazine is for internal circulation only.
Anything being reproduced or quoted from this magazine will require prior approval of its Editorial Group.
Energy Scan is also available online at NTPC CC Intranet  Departments  Corporate Planning  Energy Scan
A Maharatna Company

ROLE OF THERMAL PLANTS IN INDIA'S TRANSITION TO

A HIGH SHARE OF RENEWABLES
• Deepika Tola, Manager (Digital Ini a ves)
e­mail: [email protected]

Abstract:
Twenty­first century power systems, with higher penetra on levels of low­carbon energy, smart grids, and other emerging
technologies, will favour resources that have low marginal costs and provide system flexibility (e.g., the ability to cycle on and off
to follow changes in variable renewable energy plant output). Ques ons remain about both the fate of coal plants in this scenario
and whether they can cost­effec vely con nue to operate if they cycle rou nely.

INTRODUCTION In India, the net load on the system that needs to be met
from non-variable genera on goes down steeply from 8
What does the future with a much higher share of AM to 1PM. Once when the solar PV output starts to
renewables look like? decline from noon hours into the evening hours, the net
As per CEA report on Flexible Opera on of Thermal load on the system increases steeply. In most power
Power plants, India will have a RE capacity of 175 GW, grids, this steep increase in net load during the evening
and conven onal capacity of around 300 GW (51 GW hours also coincides with the inherent increase in the
Hydro, 217 GW Coal, 25 GW Gas, 10 GW Nuclear) in load on the system at that me. This variability means
2022. Therefore the need for flexibiliza on will be that the remaining sources must respond in real me to
immense. In this transforma on of the Indian power change in renewable output to keep the system
grid, the crucial role of thermal power plants as a source balanced.
of reliable power is indisputable, especially in the A summary of maximum demand, maximum RE
coming few years un l ba ery storage become Genera on and Minimum Thermal Load(MTL) on some
economically viable. significant days (Highest RE Day, Highest Ramp Down
WHY FLEXIBILITY IS NEEDED Day, Highest Ramp Up Day, Lowest MTL Day) of the year
2021-22 is given in Table 1.

Table 1 Characteris cs of important days in 2021­22, as per CEA report

Case Characteristic Day RE Total Expected Ramp Rate required

Generation Demand MTL

I Highest ever RE 21.07.2021 108.9 GW 192.3 GW - -

generation (12:00 hrs)

II Day of lowest 27.07.2021 108.1 GW 181.2 GW 25.7% +305 MW/min (4 PM)

Minimum Thermal (12:00 -310 MW/min (9 AM)
Load (MTL) hours)

III Day of Maximum 03.02.2022 75 GW 200 GW 53% +379 MW/min

Ramp Up Rate

IV Day of Maximum 13.03.2022 75 GW 185 GW 48% -422 MW/min

Ramp Down Rate

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Figure 1 Typical low MTL day curve in 2021­22

CAN THE THERMAL POWER PLANTS PROVIDE THE REQUIRED FLEXIBILITY?

Table 2 Projected ramping capacity in 2021­22

Capacity Capacity Assumed Ramp

S.N Unit Size utilization on bar ramp rate

MW % MW Rate (%) (MW/Min)

1 <150 40 4073 1% 41

2 200/210 80 25824 1% 258

3 250-360 80 30885 1% 209

4 500 80 37276 1% 373

5 600-800 82 86043 1% 860

Total 184100 1841

RAMPING CAPACITY: as most of the state genera ng companies are not

maintaining 55% minimum thermal.
As can be seen from Table 2, if a ramp of 1% per minute is
achieved in thermal power plants, the ramping capacity Thus, having a lower technical minimum load appears to
seems to be adequate for 2021-22, i.e. 1841 MW/min, be a bigger challenge than achieving adequate ramping
subject to the condi on that the units are on bar. This is capacity. This needs to be tackled by lowering the
because the highest ramp rate requirement will be -422 technical minimum capability of coal based units.
MW/min (Case IV, Table 1) Relaxing the constraint on coal plant minimum
genera on levels has a greater impact on reducing
MINIMAL THERMAL LOAD: curtailment compared to increasing coal ramp capability
As per Case II, Table 1, the Minimum Thermal Load and other aspects of coal flexibility. Changing minimum
required by 2022 may be as low as 26%. As per CERC plant genera on levels has the largest impact on annual
no fica on, under sec on 79(1) h of the Indian cost savings INR 2000 crore savings result from reducing
Electricity Act,2003, technical minimum load of thermal 70% to 55%, and INR 640 crore savings result from
unit is 55%. This is not the present situa on of Indian grid reducing from 55% to 40% minimum genera on level.

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WHICH UNITS TO MAKE FLEXIBLE?

The most daun ng challenge for the flexibiliza on of
Coal-based power plant is unarguably one of the thermal power plants is the CAPEX and OPEX required
cheapest and most scalable solu on for achieving large- for this transi on. A typical 500 MW unit will require an
scale flexibility, as of today. This is also suitable for addi onal capital expenditure of 13.5 to 17.5 Crore INR,
mee ng all types of flexibility needs such as ramping, for lower technical minimum load, frequent start stops
daily balancing and seasonal balancing. The ques on is, and higher ramping rates.
which units to make flexible first?
The addi onal OPEX is much more difficult to assess.
A basic cost-benefit analysis and considera on of While one study suggests 28 ps/kWh for opera on at
environmental and affordability factors tells us that the 40% minimum load, another recent study puts a range of
first target for flexibiliza on should be the subcri cal 94 – 127 ps/kWh to a minimum loading of 30% [for
non-pithead plants. Indian power plants. Costs are slightly higher for smaller
units (200 MW) than for larger units (500 MW). OPEX is
Exis ng plants have to be targeted as building new
majorly a ributable to increase in Heat Rate and
capacity for flexibiliza on will add huge costs to the
Auxiliary Power Consump on. increase in O&M due to
system.
reduc on in life of components, and to increased Oil
Supercri cal and Ultra Supercri cal power plants have consump on due to frequent start/ stops.
higher efficiency, and thus are suitable for baseload
Further, there might be unrealized costs due to possible
opera ons from an environmental perspec ve.
reduc on of life of power plants due to con nuous
Pithead plants avoid the transporta on of coal – thus cycling, despite the retrofits and OPEX.
providing low-cost power with avoided emissions owing
However, above are only the costs inside a power plant.
to coal transporta on. Such power is cri cal to meet the
There are substan al system costs that will have to be
“Reliable and Affordable Power for ALL” vision of the
borne in order to absorb the variable renewable energy
country. Thus, these are also suitable for baseload
on account of higher requirement of load frequency
opera ons.
control, need for scheduling of ter ary reserves, cost of
STEPS FOR ENHANCING POWER PLANT FLEXIBILITY ancillary services, need for enhanced transmission
BY NTPC. network and its under-u liza on, and high RE variability
across States.
In 2017, CERC reduced the technical minimum
requirements of coal-based power plants from 70% to One of the key challenge is to develop adequate
55%. NTPC is already tes ng its machines for achieving mechanisms to appor on the costs to RES genera on.
even lower technical minimums and higher ramping Several policy ini a ves and regula ons already have
rates. Some pilots/studies are: started to move in this direc on. However, the
robustness and scalability of such solu ons need to be
1. Pilots: con nuously evaluated for a aining long-term stability.
o Load reduced at Dadri (500 MW) upto 40%.
o Condensate thro ling for higher ramp rate at POLICY INTERVENTIONS:
Dadri implemented Policies already in place
2. Study for cost implica ons, based on past data: • Part-load compensa on allowance has been
o At Ramagundam (500 MW) and Jhajjar (500 MW) provided for opera on of units at low PLF. However,
by USAID this may not be sustainable in long-run when daily
thermal plant cycling will be as high as 50%.
o At Farakka (500 MW) and Dadri (210 MW) by
Engie Labs • Reserve Regula on Ancilliary Services (RRAS) and
m a r ke t r e s p o n s i v e D e v i a o n S e l e m e n t
3. Studies under planning: Mechanism (DSM)have been implemented for grid
balancing. More ancillary services instruments and
o At Mouda [500 MW] with BHEL for opera on at
contracts are required for primary, secondary,
40% minimum load
ter ary reserves.
o At Vindhyachal Sta on, by J-Coal

CHALLENGES OF POWER PLANT FLEXIBILIZATION:

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• Further, the 2019-24 tariff regula ons by CERC OTHER SOURCES OF FLEXIBILIZATION:
s pulate a reduc on of 0.25% in Return On Equity
(RoE) for not achieving Ramp rate of 1% per minute. Demand Side Management:
For incen vising higher ramp rates in thermal power This refers to ini a ves that help end-users to op mize
plants , addi onal RoE at the rate of 0.25% for every their energy use and reduce their electricity costs by
incremental ramp rate of 1% per minute over and adjus ng their me and quan ty of use. Measures
above the ramp rate of 1% /min subject to ceiling of expected to contribute in improving the flexible power
addi onal RoE of 1%. This shall come into effect scenario from the demand side are Time of Day Tariff,
from 01.04.2020. Open Electricity Market, Demand response from High
• Renewable power obliga on for all States has been Voltage industrial consumers, Supply of electricity to
already no fied. Many states are no fying devia on agriculture sector by dedicated feeders.
se lement norms for solar and wind. While this is a high poten al and low cost op on, lack of
• Mechanism for Flexibility in Genera on & appropriate incen ves, poor data, low awareness, and
Scheduling of Thermal Power Sta ons under which other policy and market barriers have been a roadblock
coal based plants are free to meet their schedule in its more widespread adop on. This solu on will be
from renewable energy has been no fied in 2018 by able to contribute to daily balancing, thus reducing the
Ministry of Power. This will share the responsibility required MTL, although it may have limited impact on
of balancing with generators. catering to ramping needs or seasonal balancing.

Policy Interven ons required Pumped-hydro Storage (PHS) and Gas realloca on:

• Expenditure incurred for making coal based plants These together have a capability to improve the MTL by
more flexible through retrofi ng should be a pass providing 6-10 GW of flexible power. The ability of PHS
through in the tariff. technology to absorb power during the a ernoon and
supply it in the evening and morning peak would provide
• Market re-design required with focus on minimizing major flexibility to the Indian power system. There is
levelized system cost of electricity rather than ~4800 MW of installed PHS capacity and another 1200
looking at RE tariff in isola on. MW is under construc on.
• Factors other than Energy Charges (ECR) may be Gas plants are very suitable for balancing and ramping
considered for deciding Merit Order ra ng, such as requirement of the grid because of their quicker start
CO2 emission rates and compliance to emission and stop me. Around 30 minutes are required by the
norms. unit for either start-up or shutdown. Therefore, these
plants are suitable to cater the variability of Solar &Wind
• Crea on of ancillary markets to pool surplus RE
genera on. Op miza on studies have shown that for
power and development of a pla orm that would
integra ng renewables of 175 GW by 2021-22 and to
enable RE resource surplus and deficit states to
meet the peaking and ramping requirement of the
trade and balance their RE targets.
system, PLF of gas based capacity during 2021-22 is
• Se ng up RE Load Dispatch Centres at the regional likely to be around 37% compared to around 22% at
and central levels to assist in power balancing across present. The gas requirement is of the order of about
a greater geographical area and support banking of 45.27 MMSCMD. Though India has a total installed gas
excess RE power generated by RE rich states and power capacity of ~25 GW , less than 6 GW is being
real- me tracking of excess RE power genera on. scheduled on an average daily due to shortage of gas,
thus limi ng the scope. More gas alloca on can greatly
• Green transmission corridors are needed between enhance the flexibiliza on capabili es.
RE-rich & Thermal-sta ons rich states to enable
export-import of power for balancing. Resul ng cost Ba ery Storage:
of low transmission u liza on needs to be loaded to
Flexibility from storage is cri cal for primary control
RE assets and waiver of transmission cost must be
ancillary services [very fast response within seconds].
done away with as the market for solar and wind has
However, although ba ery storage is rapidly declining in
already picked up.
cost with scaling up of manufacturing capacity, it is s ll

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very expensive and unviable for handling the References:

daily/seasonal balancing needs. Currently, solar-plus-
storage is not compe ve with coal and with the further 1. Central Electricity Authority's report “Flexible
reduc on in cost due to innova on and technological Opera on of Thermal Power Plant for Integra on Of
advancement in the ba ery costs, experts expect Renewable Genera on”, January 2019
renewable energy to gain an advantage and ba ery 2. Research reports by Energy Transi ons Commission
storage may be a part of the Indian power system in the and Climate Policy Ini a ve, London
coming 10 years.
3. Consulta on Paper by U S A I D – Regulatory
CONCLUSION: Perspec ve on Compensa on Mechanism for
Flexibiliza on by few players is not enough. All Flexible Opera ons of Coal Based Power Plants in
generators will have to become flexible and policies will India
have to be directed to adequately incen vize thermal 4. CERC Tariff Regula ons 2019-24 and other Policy
generators to adopt to flexibiliza on. papers
Further, other sources of flexibiliza on such as pumped- 5. In-house NTPC reports and MIS
storage, ba ery storage, gas realloca on, demand side
management are cri cal in order to make possible a
smooth transi on to a robust grid with a substan ally
high share of renewables.

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RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005 - RIGHT PERSPECTIVE FOR PSUs

• Shan moy Nandan, CPIO & AGM(CP) NTPC
e­mail: [email protected]

Abstract:
RTI Act 2005 is hailed as one of the most progressive and ci zen friendly legisla ons that have ever been enacted in the country. It
has been successful in our country and is proving to be potent tool in the hands of common people.
But the awareness level and the strategy to comply with the law by the public authori es (PA) need to be updated with me. The
fine balancing of complying with the statute as a good corporate en ty and safeguarding company interest is an art. “RIGHT TO
INFORMATION ACT 2005 ­ RIGHT PERSPECTIVE FOR PSUs” is a delibera on in that direc on.

INTRODUCTION  MAIN OBJECTIVES

It has been over a decade since the Right to Informa on Transparency

(RTI) act came into being. It has definitely lived up to the
Accountability
expecta on of being one of the most progressive and
ci zen friendly legisla on ever in the country. Ci zens Corrup on minimisa on
who hitherto had no way of ge ng informa on from the
Government turned into RTI ac vists and started asking  WAYS TO ACHIEVE
ques ons to those in power. The act is s ll in a state of Objec vely responding to query
evolu on and ci zens should find ways of making the
best use of this sunshine legisla on. Empathise with applicant

RTI ACT 2005 “A WIN­ WIN PROPOSITION” Check whether the query falls under exempted category

Both the Public (Ci zens) and Public Authority (PA) Gain Public sector dilemma:
from the ACT.
“Whether to work for the interest of the company or
Public Authority Gains comply with the statutory compliance of RTI should be
given precedence”
• It provides a mirror to measure the transparency of
processes, procedures and systems of PAs. The solu on: Ask a simple ques on “who is the owner
of the PSU ?”
• It helps to minimise corrup on by subjec ng PAs to
con nuous audits and scru ny by public. The reply is simple “THE GOVT”, and if the owner
wants the PA to comply the statute the RTI should be
• It may be used as an informal feedback of public the ma er of precedence by default.
percep on of the en ty.
Each PSU need to fine balance the compliance of RTI
• It helps to gauge the public expecta ons. and safeguarding its commercial interests. Every
Public Gains business survives through safeguarding its trade secrets,
patents and Core competence. All these are exempted
• It is a powerful tool in the hands of ci zens by virtue under sec 8(1)(d) of RTI Act 2005. Hence each company
of which right to informa on can really be should iden fy and pre declare the sensi ve informa on
established as a fundamental right. and display them in company's website (as approved list
by management). This helps in convincing the Chief
• It reminds the public servants about their
I nfo r m a o n C o m m i s s i o n e r ( C I C ) . O t h e r w i s e
responsibility towards ci zens of the country.
exemp ons are seldom permi ed for every sundry
• It provides convenient and easy access to ma er in CIC appeal.
informa on and documents, which at mes help in
legal trials.

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Ten commandments of RTI informa on. This helps to build a transparent image
of Public Authori es.
1. Timely Reply : In RTI, mely reply proves the
sincerity of Public Authori es in responding to the 8. Sta s cally analyse the database of RTI. Take the
RTI. Any delay beyond the s pulated period is route of pro-ac vely disclosing the public
construed as avoidance, or trying to hide informa on for the Dept./Areas for which RTI is
malprac ces, hence whatever is the response having a Year on Year (YOY) or Month on Month
should be rendered within the me frame. (MOM) increasing trend.
2. Compulsory reply against RTI: Each and every RTI 9. Benchmark and adopt the prac ces of informa on
needs to be responded. No response against any RTI sharing by the PAs which has direct interac on with
for whatsoever reason is liable to be heavily public. For example PSUs may adopt CBSE prac ces
penalised. Hence one needs to compulsorily for recruitment, Bank prac ces for PF holders,
response to each RTI. Special interac ve website for PAP and land oustees
etc.
3. Avoidance of wrong informa on: Wrong or false
informa on furnished against RTI is a cardinal sin. PSU CONCERNS
Any amount of penalty can be imposed against false
informa on. It should be avoided at any cost. i) Techno commercial informa on leakage
Whatever informa on is available should be Although India is very proud of its most recent legal
provided else declara on should be made that “No reform i.e RTI ACT 2005 but CPSUs which are in
informa on available.” manufacturing or service sector have some
4. Exemp ons to be taken ra onally based on facts concerns regarding safeguarding their techno-
and merits. Almost all RTIs can be avoided by public commercial interests and core competence.
authori es taking one or more exemp ons. For RTI 2005 has provided exemp ons for these ma ers
example, one may consider the pay slip to be private u/s 8(1)(d), but more o en than not it is very difficult
informa on going by lay man approach but the to prove that the informa on sought falls in the said
Earnings part of pay slip being public money is a category by CPIOs & APIOs in the court of CIC.
public informa on hence needs to be furnished in
response to RTIs. ii) Addi onal work load

The default mode of PA (Public Authority) should be PSUs compe ng with private en es find RTI to be
sharing of informa on and not taking exemp ons. addi onal burden in their corporate func oning,
which is an u erly wrong perspec ve. One should
5. Ac ve Grievance Redressal mechanism: A always bear in mind that the owner of the CPSUs is
substan al por on of RTI (around 50%) are filed by the Govt. of India and hence the INDIAN CITIZENS.
aggrieved stake holders like employees, ex-
employees, vendors, contractors, consumers, etc. If the owner of the firm has rendered a tool (RTI
Hence an ac ve and user friendly Grievance ACT) to empower the masses and bring about
Redressal system helps to minimise the number of transparency in its opera on, it's a sacrosanct duty
RTIs. of the PSU to comply with the statutory provisions
so made.
6. Classifica on of Informa on: In order to effec vely
apply the exemp ons, a well-defined system of iii) Disciplinary proceedings have become difficult
classifica on of informa on helps in a great way. If
In PSUs almost each disciplinary proceedings are
the documents and informa on concerning a public
followed up by a series of RTIs by affected and
authority is classified as confiden al, commercially
aggrieved employees, vendors and other persons.
sensi ve and rela ng to third party, it is very easy to
convince CIC for taking exemp ons. Hence PSUs need to build up the documenta on for
the cases on facts, figures and legal provisions to
7. Regular upda ng of website: Pro-Ac ve disclosure
defend the ac ons. And the same case briefing
of informa on as given in Sec on 4(1)(b) of RTI Act-
needs to be furnished in different forums like CIC,
2005 needs to be done. Disclose as much
Courts or tribunals.
informa on as can be iden fied as public

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Exemp ons available u/s 891) of RTI act Myth:3

Sec on 8 (1)  RTI is not my primary assignment, it may wait to any
extent, why should I bother?
A. If disclosure would affect the sovereignty and
integrity of India. Reality:
B. If disclosure forbidden by a court/tribunal.  The act s pulates response within 30 days. Any
delay beyond this is liable to penalty @ Rs 250/- per
C. If disclosure would cause breach of privilege of day limited to Rs 2500/- .
Parliament/State Legislature.
 The penalty is liable to be levied on deemed CPIO as
D. Informa on including commercial confidence, trade per sec on 5(5).
secret or intellectual property.
 RTI being a ma er of public interest has been
E. Informa on available in fiduciary capacity. accorded highest priority as per the law of land and
F. Informa on received in confidence from foreign it goes a long way to build up public image of the
Govt. authori es concerned.

G. If disclosure would endanger life or physical safety or Myth:4

iden fy source of informa on or assistance given in  As my allegiance is to PSU, I should try to restrict the
confidence. informa on as much as possible taking recourse to
H. If disclosure would impede process of inves ga on. exclusions as per different sec ons.

I. Cabinet papers including records of delibera ons of Reality:

Council of Ministers/ Secretaries/other officers.  As an APIO/CPIO one has greater responsibility
J. Personal Informa on. towards public informa on needs. One needs to
work out a balance between discharging du es as
Some Myths associated with RTI responses in PSU an APIO/CPIO and interests of the employer
Myth:1 applying the exclusions ra onally and judicially on
case to case basis depending on the merit of the
 RTI erodes away the compe ve edge or exposes informa on being sought.
core-competency of commercial en es like a PSU.
Myth:5
Reality:
 More I take the me more I get the opportunity to
 Government has provided excep ons under sec on refine my reply.
8 (1)(d) to safeguard the commercial interest, trade
secrets or intellectual proper es but many a mes Reality:
the concerned authori es themselves fail to iden fy  The more the delay in replying the more it becomes
and take adequate safeguards regarding this. adhoc under me pressure.
 Use of 8(1)(d) for all and sundry reduces the Myth:6
credibility and confidence of the authority.
 It's be er to avoid a query if complete set of related
Myth:2 documents are not available.
 All informa on related to any employee can be Reality:
denied as “Personal Informa on” u/s 8(1) (j) .
 As a policy, it is be er to provide whatever
Reality: documents are available and declare the rest as not
 Only such informa on which has no rela onship to available. It is also prudent to guide where from one
any public ac vity or interest or which would cause can access those documents. This helps in
an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the establishing transparency.
individual concerned is exempted from disclosure.

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It is an old saying “Grab a BULL by the horns”. To tame To grab the bull by the horns one needs to develop ART.
BACTERIA POWERED SOLAR CELLS
the RTI bull it should be confronted directly. Any
avoidance or reluctance may land the PSU, from which
The ART for RTI is-

informa on is sought in trouble. Some mes it may lead A - Analyse

to penalty and ul mately loss of fame for the PSU. R - Reduce
Hence from the PSU perspec ve it is be er to have a T - Transfer
team to make the RTI func oning effec ve in the
organisa on. This can be achieved through- Conclusion:
1) Knowledge Sharing: A portal in the intranet should In Summary the strategic method to be adopted is to
be dedicated for sharing of updates of recent RTI cases integrate and assimilate RTI in core func ons to bring
and CIC decisions. In this way awareness level of about transparency, accountability and quality in all
employees can be raised. business processes. The ART of RTI needs to be adopted
in totality by the organisa ons.
2) Sta s cal Analysis: Sta s cal Analysis of trends in
RTI helps to locate the areas where the business process References:
is ge ng non-transparent or opaque. Once the areas are
iden fied, correc ve and proac ve ac ons can be taken 1. h ps://cic.gov.in/
2. Kaleidoscope (SCOPE JOURNAL)
to mack the business processes more transparent 3. RTI ACT 2005

Researchers from University of Bri sh Columbia (UBC) ,Canada have come up with a low-cost,
sustainable biogenic solar cell made with dye-producing bacteria. It works as well in dim light, like
cloudy or overcast skies, as in bright light, like full sun.
Biogenic (Biogenic" simply means something made of or produced by living organisms, in this case
E. coli bacteria) cells using dye have been produced before, but they entail costly, complex
processes that use toxic solvents to extract the dye, plus the dye can be lost making the cells less
effec ve.
The new UBC approach leaves the dye in place, which makes it higher yielding and about 10 mes
cheaper. It also uses a nano-coa ng of tania (or tanium dioxide) to enhance electrical
produc on. (Source: h ps://www.imnova on-hub.com/energy/solar-pv-cells-based-living-
bacteria/)

HONORARIUM OF ` 2000/- WILL BE PAID TO THE AUTHOR OF EACH PUBLISHED ARTICLE

A Maharatna Company

Patron : A.K. Arora, GM (CP)

EDITORIAL GROUP

Chief Editor : R.K. Joshi, AGM (CP)

Editors : S. Nandan, AGM (CP) • Md. Ashfaq, AGM (CP) • A. Choudhuri, DGM (CP)
7th Floor, Core 6th, SCOPE Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Phone : 011-24363902, Fax : 011-24369518, Email : [email protected]
CIN No.: L40101DL1975GOI007966
10
Energy Scan : A House e-Journal of Corporate Planning, NTPC Limited
 A Maharatna Company

GRAVITY CENTRIC ENERGY STORAGE

Energy Vault, a gravity-centric energy-storage solu on company headquartered in Switzerland, has

TATA Power as its first client.
The gravity towers are based on the same principles as hydroelectricity, but without the need for
water. Instead, they use "custom-made concrete bricks" that will not degrade over me. These
bricks are li ed when there's excess energy and are given a controlled drop when energy needs to
be generated. Energy Vault claims its system can deliver a capacity between 10 MWh and 35 Mwh.
Energy Vault claims the round trips of a given brick are 90 percent efficient when it comes to power
use. Even be er, gravity towers could be placed virtually anywhere if there is land and open sky.

HONORARIUM OF ` 2000/- WILL BE PAID TO THE AUTHOR OF EACH PUBLISHED ARTICLE

A Maharatna Company

Patron : A.K. Arora, GM (CP)

EDITORIAL GROUP

Chief Editor : R.K. Joshi, AGM (CP)

Editors : S. Nandan, AGM (CP) • Md. Ashfaq, AGM (CP) • A. Choudhuri, DGM (CP)
7th Floor, Core 6th, SCOPE Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Phone : 011-24363902, Fax : 011-24369518, Email : [email protected]
CIN No.: L40101DL1975GOI007966
11
Energy Scan : A House e-Journal of Corporate Planning, NTPC Limited