10 MW Amritsar Solar Thermal Power Project

DETAILED PROJECT REPORT
5 MW (2 X 2.5 MW) AMRITSAR SOLAR THERMAL POWER

POWER PROJECT
OPTIMISTIC POWER & INFRASTRUCTRE.

PROFIT CENTRE
99-A GOAL HATTI CHOWK, HALL BAZAR
AMRITSAR-143001 (PUNJAB)
Detailed Project Report
5 MW Amritsar Solar Thermal
power Plant
5 MW (2 x 2.5 MW) AMRITSAR SOLAR THERMAL
POWER PROJECT
Detailed Project Report 10 MW Amritsar Solar Thermal power Plant
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
CONTENTS
10 MW (2 x 5 MW) SOLAR BASED THERMAL POWER PROJECT
DIST. AMRITSAR, RAJASTHAN

TITLE PAGE NO.
1. Project : 10 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant in Amritsar,
Rajasthan
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
2. Plant Capacity : 10 MW (2 x 5 MW)
03-04
1 INTRODUCTION 05-06
3. Location : In Amritsar district, Rajasthan
2 NEED OF THE PROJECT AND REQUIREMENT 07-16 OF KEY INPUTS
3 SITE FEATURES, FUEL AND WATER
: Nearest National Highway is NH-15.
17-19 AVAILABILITY
4 TECHNOLGY SELECTION
: Nearest Railway station: Amritsar
20-29
5 PLOT PLAN AND GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
: Nearest Airport is Jaipur.
30
6is KandlaENVIRONMENT CONDITIONS 31
: Nearest Sea Port
4. Site Elevation7: 250 mMANAGEMENT

above MSL 32-34OF PROJECT
AND EXECUTION
5. Climate : 8 FINANCIAL ASPECTS 35-37
Max. Temperature (Daily): 41.7 Deg C
Max. Temperature (Monthly): : 33.8 Deg C
Min. Temperature (Daily): 5.0 Deg C
Min. Temperature( Monthly): 18.4 Deg C
Relative Humidity : 54%
(Annual Mean)
Mean annual Rainfall: 279.8 mm
No. of rainy days in a year:18.7 days
Mean wind speed : 6.9 kmph
Local data for Solar insolation value, air temp, rainfall data
etc.: Enclosed as annex. I as the nearest met
station to the project site.
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6. Land Area requirement :

30 Ha approximately.
7. Source of Water : Indira Gandhi Canal (Kanasar Branch) Located at

approximately 6 kms from site location.
8. Water Requirement : 420 cubic meter/ Day
9. Plant Cooling System : Closed Cycle
10. Source of Energy : Solar
11. Process : Concentric Solar Power (C SP) in combination with

Rankine cycle.
12. Power Evacuation : Power evacuation through nearest 132 KV

substations at Karni.
13. Commissioning : 18 months from Zero date

Schedule
14. Estimated Project Cost : With IDC & Initial Spares - 149.60 Crores.
15. Debt – Equity Ratio : 70 : 30
16. Levellised Tariff : Rs 12.85/kwh
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SECTION-1
1.0 INTRODUCTION
ACME Tele Power Limited (ATPL) is part of ACME group presently operating
in Telecom sector having a current enterprise value of over Rs 12,000 Crore,
while the group’s turnover in 2007-08 was an impressive Rs 1850 Crore with
a PAT of Rs 417 Crore. ACME Tele Power Limited prides itself as a trailblazer
in the development of green technologies which are energy efficient, cost
effective and environment friendly. ACME had its inception in year 2003,
through the vision of its founder, Sri Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, who dreamt of
providing radically new technology solutions across the industry.
ATPL has, in the last five years of its existence, launched a slew of innovative,
patented, passive infrastructure solutions and has made its mark in TSP
services to the telecom industry. The product portfolio includes, Green
Shelters, Nano Cool Shelters, Power Interface Units, Filterless ACs with free
cooling, Thermal Management Systems, Battery Coolers, Heat Exchangers,
hydrogen Fuel Cells and several other products targeted to reduce power
consumption at base transmission sites, thus helping operators to improve
margins and reduce energy costs. Acme’s solutions predominantly assist in

reducing GHG emissions, which contribute to Global warming.
ACME’s clientele includes almost all the leading companies in the Indian and
global wireless telecommunications industry. The Company already enjoys an
international presence through its own establishments, acquisitions, channel

partners and associates in more than 20 countries around the world. ACME is
continually expanding and diversifying its range of products, solutions and
services to offer improved solutions to its customers and continues to invest
heavily in R&D, both in India and abroad. In last five years of operation it has
shown the wide acceptability of its energy efficient products in demand side in
a great way in telecom sector.
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Now in line with its vision, having access & tie-ups with internationally
reputed technology suppliers and in-house R&D facility, ACME group intends
to venture into Green energy business and more specifically in the Solar
power generation, since it believes that solar energy is the only sustainable
form of energy, which can minimize our dependence on imported fuel and will
be cost effective with increasing volume.
ATPL either directly or through a SPV company to be formed exclusively for

purpose of project implementation and operation, plans to set-up a 10 MW
Solar thermal power project in the state of Rajasthan.
2.0 Outline of the Report
2.1 Following salient points shall be covered under the Detailed Project Report.
(a) Justification of project
(b) Study of topographical survey and other data for locating the project.
(c) Study of water requirement and finalization of water system.
(d) Study of power evacuation and connection with the grid.
(e) Details of technology for solar power.
(f) Project implementation schedule showing key milestone activities.
(g) Estimation of the project cost with broad and detailed breakup under
major heads.
(h) Computation of the cost of generation at power station bus.
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SECTION-2
2.0 NEED FOR THE PROJECT AND REQUIREMENT OF KEY INPUTS
• As on Jun 2008, the installed Utility Generation capacity of our country

stands at about 1,45,000 MW and the plan is to almost double this
capacity by end of 12 th plan (year 2017).
• Further going beyond 12 th

plan, with a targeted GDP growth rate of 7-8%
and with estimated energy elasticity of 0.8, the energy growth rate
expected to rise at 5.6 - 6.4 percent per annum. This implies four fold
increase in India’s primary energy demand & 5-6 times increase in

Electricity Supply by year 2031-32. This means an estimated that power
generation capacity to reach at 8 lakh MW by that time period.
• In order to meet this energy consumption, we have limited domestic
conventional resources that is depicted in following table:-
• The following table shows the limitation either year-wise or the MW

potential for all forms of conventional fossil based fuels & present form of
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renewable energy sources as estimated in the Integrated Energy Policy –

2006.
Coal Will exhaust by 2050 at 5% increase in production
Lignite Will exhaust by 2045
Oil Will exhaust by 2028
Gas Will exhaust by 2043
Nuclear Uranium Will exhaust by 2057*
Hydro 1, 50, 000 MW – max potential
Wind 45, 000 MW – max potential
Bio Mass 50, 000 MW – max potential
This makes very important to plan and develop feasible technologies to

harness alternative energy through other resources other than the options
mentioned here-in above.
• Unless we plan for an alternative source of energy, we will go on

increasing our energy import bills, thereby forcing our economy to get
controlled in hands of other exporting energy countries. Different supply

and different demand side options have been worked out by Planning
commission, GoI to meet the future energy requirement. These options
included adaptation of different mode of energy efficiency in demand side
and also adaptation of new technologies for exploiting the renewable
energy in large scale. The outcome of the result reveals the alarmic level
of energy dependency, vulnerability of entire country’s economy in the
hands of Oil rich countries. The import of energy could be in the range of
30-60 % under different considered scenarios in IEP-2006. The imports
for Oil, Natural Gas & Coal could be in the range of 315-450 Mtoe, 0-97
Mtoe, 72-462 Mtoe respectively. To give a better understanding the
following table can give the import fuel bill considered at different
imported fuel prices.
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Oil Price Gas Price Coal Price Fuel Import % of GDP

($ /Barrel) ( $/MMBtu) ( $ /T ) Bill (Bn $)
500 80 438 1420 7.7
400 64 350 1136 6.2
300 48 263 852 4.6
135 10 100 72 2.5
• The key imperatives in energy sector in order to fuel the required growth
in Economy have to be essentially derived out of energy sustenance and

going together with ecology and environment around us. In order to
sustain economy, there has to be a paradigm-shift in energy mix with
shifting focus from fossil fuel. The Electricity Act 2003 already stipulates
minimum percentage of energy to be derived out of renewable energy

sources which shall be binding in all states.
o In accordance with the above, many of the State Commissions have

specified a percentage of the total purchases to be made from non-
conventional energy sources. For example, in the northern region the
percentage of power purchase from renewable energy sources provided is

as under:
State % of power purchase from renewable energy

sources as per the prevailing order of SERC
Delhi 1% of the purchased energy translating to 223 MUs by

the FY 2011.
Haryana 10% of the energy consumption by the year 2009-10

translating to approximately 2000 MUs
Punjab 4% of the energy consumption by the year 2011-12

translating to approximately 1900 MUs
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Uttar Pradesh 7.5% of the energy consumption translating to

approximately 2900 MUs
Rajasthan Minimum of 9.5% of the energy consumption by the year

2011-12 requiring a capacity of 2104 MW.
• The Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) for the state of Rajasthan has
been kept at 12% maximum and 9.5% as minimum of total energy

consumption by Discoms from non-conventional energy sources by year
2011-12 as per RERC’s order of 29 th Sept 2006. With 22% of CUF for Wind
and 80% for Biomass the Commission has fixed the upper limit of RE
sources from Wind & Biomass as 2104 MW mainly for Wind and Biomass
by year 2011-12.
• The maximum potential of the state from the present non-conventional

sources viz. wind, biomass & SHP have been estimated as approximately
1100 MW i.e. Wind – 1050 MW, SHP – Nil MW & Biomass – 50-100 MW.
o The commission had fixed the target of 1082 MW of Power plant based on
RE sources by the end of 2007-08 against an installed capacity of 543 MW
(almost 50%) as on 30 th
Apr 2008 as per CEA. This means energy
equivalent to 500-550 MW need to be derived out of other non
conventional energy sources in next 3 years time period as per
Commission’s order.
• It is therefore clear that there is a huge requirement for renewable energy

sources for meeting the RPO obligation and the only source available is
“Solar”
• The solar potential which is unexplored so far is of the order of lakhs of

MW keeping in view of the solar insolation value in North-west of
Rajasthan (Thar desert) and availability of waste land. In addition to meet
the RPO obligation the solar projects would also increase the energy
security for the state
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• India is located in the equatorial sun belt of the earth, thereby receiving
abundant radiant energy from the sun. The India Meteorological
Department maintains a nationwide network of radiation stations which

measure solar radiation and also the daily duration of sunshine. In most
parts of India, clear sunny weather is experienced 250 to 300 days a year.
The annual global radiation varies from 1600 to 2200 kWh/sq.m, which is
comparable with radiation received in the tropical and sub-tropical

regions. The equivalent energy potential is about 5,000 trillion KWh per
year. The highest annual global radiation is received in Rajasthan,
northern part of Gujarat. In those areas also large areas of land are
barren and sparsely populated, making these areas suitable as locations

for large central power stations based on solar energy.
o Solar power also has the inherent quality that the power is produced when it
is most needed and is only form of despatchable Renewable energy contrary
to others. Rajasthan and particularly with a vast availability of waste land

and receiving highest solar insolation value equivalent to DNI of 2185
kwh/m2/annum and it is believed that if 5% of Thar desert is covered with
Solar collectors, it is sufficient to drive the present country’s energy
demand.
In view of above the 10 MW solar based power at Amritsar in Rajasthan is

justified.
2.1 Government Policy for Power Generation/Requirement of input/

clearances
2.2 Requirement of input/clearances
2.2.1 As per Electricity Act 2003, clause 7 stipulates “Any Generating Company may
establish, operate and maintain a generating station without obtaining licence

under this act if it complies with technical standards relating to connectivity
with the grid”.
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2.2.2 GOI guidelines stipulates certain requirements for setting up of power project,
various Inputs/Statutory/Non statutory sanctions are to be tied-up.
Relevant requirements thereof are as follows:-
1. Registration of Company under Companies Act, 1956
ACME Tele Power Ltd is a registered company under Companies Act,

1956. However, the project is envisaged to be executed thru a SPV in
line with the current practice and as a requirement for financing from
banker’s prospective. The name of SPV company with due registration
certificate along with its MoA etc will be intimated subsequently.
2. Land availability
The project is proposed to be set up in Amritsar District. Total land

requirement for the 10 MW project will be 30 Ha approximately. The land
is identified is presently identified to be waste, unused and owned by
private owners. The land identified is a plain land and appears to have
good soil bearing strength.
3. State Pollution Control Board Clearance
Solar based thermal power plant does not require any Environment
clearance from Ministry of Environment & Forest and no Environment
Impact Assessment (EIA) study also need to be carried out as per the
EIA notification act of 14 th

Sept 2006. However, the consent to establish
/ NOC from Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) shall be
required and due permission will be obtained before making the plant
operational.
4. Environmental & Forest Clearance from MOE&F/State

Environment Dept.
As stated above, this is not applicable for a Solar project so long as no
forest land is involved. The identified site doesn’t cover any sorts of
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plantation or forest land as per forest record or even otherwise. Hence

this permission is not applicable.
5. Water availability
The source of surface water has been Indira Gandhi canal (Kanasar
branch) at a distance of 6 kms of proposed site. The water has been
used presently for the purpose of drinking, irrigation and for thermal
power stations. It is proposed that upon award / sanction of the project
by RREC/RERC request will be made for allocation of required
consumptive water to the tune of 420 M 3 per day from the Commissioner
office of Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyogana with due supports from Govt of
Rajasthan.
6. Airport Authority Clearance For Chimney Height
Since there is no Chimney involved and also there is no airports nearby,

this clearance is not applicable.
7. Power Absorption Plan
Power generated will be evacuated at 132 KV level to the nearest

Substation at Karni. The power evacuation for the 10 MW will be carried
out through a 132 KV double circuit feeder using AAAC Moose conductor.
The generator voltage will be 10.5 KV which will be stepped up to 132

KV level through use of the generator transformer of 35 MVA capacity
having voltage ratio of 138/10.5 KV (at nominal tap). The generating
transformer will be provided with OLTC for the required voltage
regulation. Map showing the proposed substation is enclosed as annex.
II.
8. Prevailing tariff order and applicable Incentives.
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• MNRE has announced for supporting 50 MW solar projects both for

PV and solar thermal in 11 th Plan by providing generation based
incentive through its notification in Jan/Mar 08. For that purpose it
has decided the nominal base tariff for Rs 15 / kWh for PV and Rs
13/kwh for solar thermal. The subsidy component (max Rs 12
/kWh for PV and Rs 10/kwh for solar thermal) will be the difference
of the highest tariff payable by respective state utility from the
above notional tariff for solar power for a period of 10 years. Under
this scheme 5 MW per developer and 10 MW per state has been
allowed.
• The National Solar Mission as per National Action Plan on Climate
Change mandated for implementation of 1000 MW CSP (solar

thermal) plant and manufacturing for 1000 MW PV components by
12 th Plan. The Policy formulation for implementation for 1000 MW
CSP with preferential feed-in tariff with generation based incentive
from GoI is under discussion of Ministry MNRE.
• The state tariff solar orders announced by Rajasthan through its

Order dated 2 nd Apr 2008 – Rs 15.78 / kWh for PV and Rs 13.78 /
kWh for CSP for 10 MW projects under MNRE scheme. For projects
(upto 50 MW) over & above MNRE scheme the tariff will be as
approved by RERC on cost plus basis.
9. Tariff Policy
The Tariff Policy issued by Ministry of Power, GoI dated 6 th

Jan 2006
under Para 6.4 states followings:
(1) Pursuant to provisions of section 86(1)(e) of the Act, the
Appropriate Commission shall fix a minimum percentage for purchase

of energy from such sources taking into account availability of such
resources in the region and its impact on retail tariffs. Such
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percentage for purchase of energy should be made applicable for the

tariffs to be determined by the SERCs latest by April 1, 2006.
It will take some time before non-conventional technologies can
compete with conventional sources in terms of cost of electricity.

Therefore, procurement by distribution companies shall be done at
preferential tariffs determined by the Appropriate Commission.
(2) Such procurement by Distribution Licensees for future
requirements shall be done, as far as possible, through competitive

bidding process under Section 63 of the Act within suppliers offering
energy from same type of non-conventional sources. In the long-term,
these technologies would need to compete with other sources in terms
of full costs.
(3) The C entral Commission should lay down guidelines within three
months for pricing non-firm power, especially from non–conventional
sources, to be followed in cases where such procurement is not
through competitive bidding.
The CERC has recently evolved a discussion paper on pricing of non-

conventional energy sources through its paper dated 16 th May 2008 for
which the order can be expected in near future.
However in view of the nascent stage of exploitation of solar energy in

Indian context and in the long run interest of making this technology
to become viable, it is absolutely not recommended for opting
competitive bidding for discovering the tariff at this point of time. The
sector has to be essentially nurtured with suitable guaranteed feed-in
tariffs to be decided by the respective Commissions on Cost Plus basis.
All countries which are already planning to develop this sector are
providing preferential feed-in tariff to make this sector attractive
financially. Thus they are creating an environment with guaranteed
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returns where the requisite deployment is possible and inturn which

automatically will reduce the cost.
The cost reductions are only possible when minimum deployment of

solar projects occur, supply chain management get established, local
manufacturing of critical components start in India. Hence till that
time, the tariff is to be decided by the state regulators on Cost plus
basis from the view point of the minimum RPO and its impact on retail
tariff.
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SECTION – 3
3.0 SITE FEATURES, FUEL AND WATER AVAILABILITY
3.1 LOCATION AND SITE DETAILS
Considerations for Site Selection
Siting of a Solar Thermal Power project is primarily governed by

following considerations:
a) Availability of land
b) Solar Insolation
c) Availability of water and proximity to source
d) Proximity to the existing grid
Topographic and site location Map is given in annex. III.
3.2 Land
Land is required primarily for:
a) Solar Field block, Power block comprising of TG building,

Cooling Towers, 132 KV switchyard, stores, workshop and
administration building.
The land required for accommodating the 10 MW Solar power plant is

about 30 Ha.
3.3 Location and Accessibility

The site for the proposed 10 MW project is identified in Amritsar
district. The site is approximately 25 Km from Amritsar and nearest

Na tional Highway is NH15 (Amritsar – Jaisalmer).
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The region is hot and receives scanty rainfall.
3.4 Solar Insolation Level
The direct solar radiation as recorded at Jodhpur which is assumed to

prevail in similar order and the values are placed as below. The
detailed records are enclosed as per annex. I. As seen from here the
DNI value that is of importance for CSP technology is of the order of

2285 kwh/m2 per annum, considered to be an excellent site for
development of CSP projects.
MEAN HOURLY DIRECT SOLAR RADIATION AT NORMAL INCIDENCE (kwh/m2)

Hrs
ending at 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Jan 0.055 0.451 0.678 0.772 0.821 0.837 0.838 0.814 0.752 0.649 0.459 0.112
Feb 0.157 0.521 0.698 0.776 0.816 0.825 0.822 0.793 0.743 0.656 0.47 0.143
Mar 0.274 0.554 0.691 0.755 0.785 0.79 0.786 0.75 0.703 0.614 0.45 0.202
Apr 0.288 0.5 0.625 0.68 0.719 0.727 0.722 0.679 0.611 0.527 0.414 0.233
May 0.278 0.452 0.565 0.628 0.667 0.686 0.681 0.656 0.591 0.513 0.386 0.221
June 0.217 0.339 0.417 0.483 0.533 0.552 0.546 0.521 0.477 0.405 0.31 0.185
July 0.125 0.221 0.28 0.316 0.333 0.351 0.367 0.347 0.326 0.287 0.22 0.125
Aug 0.091 0.194 0.271 0.298 0.315 0.329 0.344 0.34 0.326 0.292 0.217 0.109
Sept 0.199 0.415 0.54 0.608 0.628 0.642 0.64 0.616 0.589 0.534 0.398 0.211
Oct 0.18 0.547 0.714 0.784 0.821 0.838 0.829 0.795 0.762 0.672 0.489 0.173
Nov 0.085 0.534 0.728 0.818 0.853 0.865 0.858 0.828 0.787 0.696 0.51 0.157
Dec 0.119 0.455 0.686 0.805 0.846 0.859 0.856 0.837 0.783 0.676 0.448 0.078
Annual 2285
3.5 Water
Water required in a Solar thermal power station is similar to a conventional

fossil fuel based power stations i.e. for:
a) Circulating water/cooling tower make up.

b) Make up for closed cooling water.
c) Make-up for steam/condensate cycle.
d) Service & Drinking purpose water including for residential Colony
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e) Fire fighting
The break-up of water consumption for 10 MW project is illustrated as
below.
M 3 /hr.
Evaporation Loss in Cooling tower 24

Blowdown for Cooling tower with COC of 5 6
Boiler DM water make-up 1
Service water 0.6
Miscellaneous 2
Residential Colony water 1.4
----------------------
35 M 3 /hr
With plant operation envisaged for 12 hrs, the daily water requirement
would be in the order of 420 M 3
.
3.6 Proximity to Grid
Power Absorption Plan
Power generated will be evacuated at 132 KV level to the nearest Substation
at Karni. The power evacuation for the 10 MW will be carried out through a
132 KV double circuit feeder using AAAC Moose conductor. The generator
voltage will be 10.5 KV which will be stepped up to 132 KV level through use
of the generator transformer of 35 MVA capacity having voltage ratio of
138/10.5 KV (at nominal tap). The generating transformer will be provided
with OLTC for the required voltage regulation. Map showing the proposed
substation is enclosed as annex. II.
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SECTION – 4
4.0 TECHNOLOGY SELECTION
4.1 Basics of Solar Power
There are two ways of producing electricity from solar source i.e. thru Solar
Photo – Voltaic (PV) or Solar Thermal. PV cells convert incident light directly
into electricity as explained in Particle theory of Physics. Incident photons
(light ray) strike on the PV cell (made of special grade Silicon - a

semiconductor) and "knock off" electrons. These "free" electrons start flowing
through a circuit forming an electrical current. Solar thermal uses the heat
component of the solar source. Heat is used directly or through an
intermediate fluid to generate steam which is used in steam turbine to

produce the electricity.
4.2 PV Technology
Flat-plate photovoltaic collectors contain an array of individual photovoltaic
cells, connected in a series/parallel circuit, and encapsulated within a

sandwich structure with the front surface being glass or plastic. Solar energy
falls directly upon the photovoltaic cell front surface and produces a small
direct current voltage, providing electrical energy to a load. Unlike thermal
collectors however, the backside of the panel is not insulated. Photovoltaic

panels need to loose as much heat as possible to the atmosphere to optimize
their performance.
Like flat-plate photovoltaic collectors (panels) absorb both energy coming

directly from the sun's disc, and diffuse and reflected energy coming from
other directions. In general, flat-plate photovoltaic panels are mounted in a

fixed position and tilted toward the south to optimize noontime and daily
energy production. However, it is common to see flat-plate photovoltaic
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panels mounted on mechanisms that track the sun about one tilted axis,
thereby increasing the daily output of the panels.
4.3 Solar Thermal Power Generating Technology
Concentrating solar power (CSP), also known as solar thermal power is a

relatively unexploited form of renewable energy. The technology uses
concentrated solar radiation through sun tracking mirrors for electricity
generation in large-scale gird-connected power plants. This fact distinguishes

CSP from many other renewable energy technologies and promise to become
cost-competitive with conventional fossil fuel plants during the next decade. If
approximately 1% of the world’s desert area were covered by solar thermal
power plants, sufficient energy would be generated to meet today’s entire

electricity demand and similarly if 5% of our Thar desert is covered, it can
replace the present electricity produced from all Utility power plants all over
India. India is a sun belt country and receives abundant solar energy
equivalent to 5000 Trillion kWh per year and more importantly it has vast
waste land available not useful for any other purpose.
Despite the few existing solar thermal power plants worldwide and the
meager public awareness, CSP is already a commercially proven and
demonstrated technology. According to the way of concentration, different

CSP concepts turned out for different applications and market segments. It
works on two principles either on line focusing or point focusing mode. Three
popular technologies are available today commercially for large scale
deployment if proper break-through is made in a cohesive manner

overcoming the present bottlenecks in supply chain and removal of entry
barriers for new players in the field. Those are Parabolic tough technology
(PTC), Solar Towers used for utility MW scale power plants and Parabolic Dish
using sterling engines used for KW scale Distributed generation.
4.3.1 Parabolic trough system:
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Parabolic trough power plants are line-focusing Solar Thermal Electric (STE)
power plants. Trough systems use the low iron mirrors of parabolic shape to
focus direct solar radiation on a 70 mm dia absorber pipe running along the
focal line of the parabola. The HTF (heat transfer fluid) inside the absorber
pipe is heated and pumped to the steam generator, which, in turn, is
connected to a steam turbine. The collectors rotate about horizontal north–
south axes through solar tracking system. The major components in the
system are Mirrors, absorber tubes, Collector frames which position the
mirrors & absorber tubes, solar tracking controls, fluid transfer pumps, Heat
exchanger for using the heat in forming steam which is used in conventional
rankine cycle power block consisting of a reheat or non-reheat turbine with
regenerative feed water heaters, deaerators. These types of power plants

can have energy storage system or instead they are coupled to natural gas
fired back up systems. A typical configuration of such systems is shown in
Figure below.
4.3.2 Solar Tower with Central Receiver:
Solar power towers generate electric power from sunlight by focusing
concentrated solar radiation on a tower-mounted heat exchanger (receiver).

Solar tower power plants are point-focusing Solar Thermal Electric (STE)
power plants. In power tower systems, heliostats (A Heliostat is a device
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that tracks the movement of the sun which is used to orient a mirror of field
of mirrors, throughout the day, to reflect sunlight onto a target-receiver)
reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a central tower-mounted receiver
where the energy is transferred through HTF i.e. through hot air, or thru
molten nitrate salt or can be used to direct generate steam. Heliostat field,
the heliostat controls, the receiver, the storage system, and the steam
turbine, which drives the generator, are the major components of the
system.
Solar Receiver Steam Turbine Generator

11.0 MWe
40bar, 250°C
Heliostat field
Storage
Condenser
0,06 bar, 50°C
4.3.3 Parabolic dish systems:
The parabolic dish system uses a parabolic dish shaped mirror or a modular
mirror system that approximates a parabola and incorporates two-axis
tracking to focus the sunlight onto receivers located at the focal point of the
dish, which absorbs the energy and converts it into thermal energy. This
can be used directly as heat for thermal application or for power generation.
The thermal energy can either be transported to a central generator for
conversion, or it can be converted directly into electricity at a local
generator coupled to the receiver (Figure below)
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4.4 Integration with Power Cycles
Because of their thermal nature, all the solar thermal technologies can be
hybridized, or operated with fossil fuel. Hybridization has the potential to
increase the output of CSP plant by increasing its availability and

dispatchability, decreasing its cost (by making more effective use of power
generation equipment), and reducing technological risk by allowing
conventional fuel use when needed. This type of plants are called as
Integrated Steam Combined Cycle System (ISCCS).
4.5 Thermal Storage
In case of Solar Thermal power plant there is potential for producing

electricity, even after sun sets through use of thermal storage of 6-8 hours.
Probably this is one of solar thermal’s biggest strength just as hydel and can
be used for meeting the peak load requirement . Here two tank storage
system is employed with two nos. of molten nitrate salt (60% NaNO3 + 40%
KNo3) which stores sensible heat storage during day time by installation of
additional solar collector fields depending the storage hours of operation.
After sunset the stored sensible heat from the hot molten tank passes to the
cold tank after releasing its heat in the heat exchanger.
4.6 Experience in CSP Industry
- 24 -
a. CSP was first commercialized in mid 1980’s in California in the United

States. LUZ Company installed nine such plants between 1985–1991
totaling to 354 MWe capacity. The units are still operating producing
electricity at price even lesser than conventional fossil fuel plants. Though
the plants were commercialized between mid eighties and early nineties
after the experiencing the Oil shock in 1970’s, but subsequent fall of fossil
fuel price and withdrawal of tax credits by US Govt, made the developer
Luz bankrupt and so the whole sector went into dormant state.
b. After a long time gap and with rise in oil/other fossil fuel prices, the
industry has again kick-started; the start was with a 64 MW plant built at
Nevada in US using parabolic trough technologies similar to SEGS plant

and operating since June 2007. Besides another 11 MW plant (PS 10)
using solar tower technology is put on operational in Spain in April 2007.
This makes for a total of 429 MW CSP plant operation at the moment on
commercial basis.
c. In addition to that 370 MW CSP plant are under construction in Spain, with
one unit of 49.9 MW with 7.5 hrs thermal storage at Andasol on parabolic
trough technology and another 20 MW plant (PS 20) using solar tower
technology will come into operation by the end of this year. Besides other
major CSP installations under construction are:-
i. Algeria 130 MW ISCCS with 30 MW CSP.
ii. Morocco 450 MW ISCCS with 30 MW CSP.
iii. Egypt 130 MW ISCCS with 20 MW CSP.
d. Additional 4000 MW CSP projects are under various stages of

development across various countries and mainly in US, Spain, Israel,
Abu-Dhabi, Egypt, North African countries.
4.7 Selected Technology For Rajasthan’s Amritsar Project
- 25 -
The selection of technology for the proposed project is made based on

following points.
• Solar thermal power plants are optimal with Megawatt class power
generation while Solar PV based plants are generally better suited for
distributed power generation application.
• Because of its inherent process of conversion of electricity, PV cells

work better in cold weather conditions with bright sunlight, and Solar
thermal (CSP) technology works best in hot weather condition.
• The efficiency of PV based plants is highest at min ambient temp and

same drops down with increase in ambient temperature. This is
because of increase in junction resistance and accordingly occurrence
of higher internal voltage drop. On the other hand Solar to thermal
efficiency for CSP technology achieves peak value at highest ambient
temperature.
• In case of Solar Thermal power plant there is potential for producing

electricity, even after sun sets through use of thermal storage of 6-8
hours. Probably this is one of solar thermal’s biggest strength just as

hydel and can be used for meeting the peak load requirement.
• PV based plant uses silicon which is presently expensive and needs lots
of innovation & volume to reduce its capital cost to compete with

conventional fossil plant. On the contrary the solar thermal option uses
commonly used glass and steel which have no constraints in today’s
production and more over the power block having boiler and steam
turbine are similar to conventional coal fired power plant. So potential
for effecting capital cost reduction with increase in volume is very high
for Solar thermal plants. Presently the capex of CSP is high because of
limited players and limited users.
- 26 -
In view of strengths of technologies as discussed, size of the plant, location of

proposed power station, potential of cost reduction with volume of
deployment, proveness of technology else where in similar conditions, it is
recommended to go for CSP-Solar Tower Technology . In the solar block

there will be large nos. of flat mirrors (called as heliostats) made of low iron
mirror will be concentrating & converging the direct solar radiation to a single
point (called as receiver) to be located on top of a 45 Meter concrete / steel
tower. The receiver will receive the heat and would make steam out of feed
water. The superheated steam at parameters of 59 bar & at temperature of
427 deg C will be passed through a conventional steam turbine to generate
electricity. The bottoming cycle will be a conventional rankine cycle having
steam turbine with condenser, cooling tower & CW system. The difference
with a conventional coal fired plant would be in regards to coal fired boiler
and its auxiliary plant for coal & ash handling plant which would be replaced
with solar fields giving the requisite heat input. The plant will have no hybrid
i.e. no supporting fuels such as gas or coal and it would have no thermal
storage also. So the plant would be started and would generate during the
day time only and would stop when sun sets. The steam turbine and its
auxiliary system will be designed for daily start and daily stop. During starting
time & during stopping time the project would be drawing the auxiliary power
from the grid as start-up power. A schematic on this is provided as below.

59bar, 427°C
Heliostat field
Storage
Condenser
0,06 bar, 50°C
- 27 -
Configuration details of Rajasthan’s Amritsar project:
The proposed project will have two modular units of 5 MW capacity and the
technology will be based on CSP – Solar tower technology, working on a point focus
technology instead of line focusing technology as adopted in the Parabolic trough
technology. It shall have large nos. of flat mirrors (called as heliostats) made out of
low iron glass, which will be concentrating & converging the direct solar radiation to
a single point (called as receiver) to be located on top of a 45 Meter concrete / steel
tower. There will be 2 nos. receiver towers and 20 nos. towers for cameras for each
5 MW CSP plant. Each heliostats will have own steel supporting structure with
rotating mechanism for two dimensional solar tracking system and a software driven
central control system, which will be sending the signals for the same. Each receiver
tower will have 12180 sq M mirrors out of which half of the mirrors will be positioned
in north side of tower and another 50% mirrors will be located in south of the tower
and all of them will be facing East-West side. Each mirror will be of 1420 mm X
800mm dimension and will have two-dimensional solar tracking system and would
track the sun and concentrate the solar radiation to a receiver at single point both at
front and rear wall of the receiver. Thus each 5 MW plant will have 24,360 mirrors
having very low iron content with very high reflectivity in the order of more than
94% and having very low absorbity. Each receiver will have steaming capacity of
approximately 14 tons per hour and would be joining to a common steam header at
59 bar & at temperature of 427 deg C. The superheated steam at this pressure will
be expanded in a conventional steam turbine having nominal rating of 5 MW. The
steam turbine will have a regenerative and non-reheat type thermodynamic rankine
cycle. The feed water temperature leaving the HP/LP heaters & Deareator will be at
around 135 deg C. The feed water will be sent back to the receivers through a
common feed water header through Boiler feed water pumps and the condensate
extraction pumps.
The bottoming cycle will be a conventional rankine cycle having steam turbine with
condenser, cooling tower & CW system. The difference with a conventional coal fired
plant would be in regards to coal fired boiler and its auxiliary plant for coal & ash
handling plant which would be replaced with solar fields giving the requisite heat
- 28 -
input. The plant will have no hybrid i.e. no supporting fuels such as gas or coal and it
would have no thermal storage also. So the plant would be started and would
generate during the day time only and would stop when sun sets. The steam turbine
and its auxiliary system will be designed for daily start and daily stop. During
starting time & during stopping time the project would be drawing the auxiliary
power from the grid as start-up power. A schematic on this is provided as below.

5 MW
59bar, 427°C
Heliostat field
Storage
Condenser
0,06 bar, 50°C
- 29 -
SECTION – 5
5.0 PLOT PLAN AND GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
5.1 Plot Plan
The plot plan will be basically comprised of approximately 30 Ha solar field
containing heliostat, mirrors, receiver and the power block including the
Turbine Building, Cooling tower and associated CW/ACW system will be
inserted at the central location of Solar block for optimization.
The proposed plant and equipment will be located in such a way as to

facilitate extension of the facilities/access etc.
Except for the outdoor solar mirrors, outdoor transformer, and switchyard, all
other equipment shall be located indoors.
Plant roads shall be laid to provide access to various areas of the proposed
station, taking due care for movement of materials. The schematic of plot
plan is attached as annexure - V
- 30 -
SECTION - 6
6.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
Solar based thermal power plants do not use any fuel and therefore do not
contribute to environmental pollution so much so that MOEF has excluded
Solar Power Plants from their purview. No type of air pollution is envisaged
from the proposed power plant while the water effluent handling will not be
a major task in view of no involvement of fly/bottom ash. The plant shall
obtain the No Objection Certificate / Consent to Establish from the State
Pollution Control Board.
- 31 -
SECTION - 7
7.0 MANAGEMENT AND EXECUTION OF PROJECT
7.1 Management
Overall management of the Project will be looked after by the executives

of the SPV project company. They will also look after the overall planning,
coordination, monitoring of the progress of the project, award of contracts
for procurement of plant and equipment and civil works, etc.
The project will be executed on an EPC basis separately for Solar Block
and Power Block and the EPC contract shall be awarded to an experienced
contractor. If required, further split may be done to optimize the capital
cost. Engineering agency will be deployed separately for Power Block and
Solar Block. The engg agency engaged for power block will also act as
owner’s engineer and would be responsible for review / interface design
along with solar block, support supervisory service for site construction
management and would be overall responsible. The project company
shall arrange to carry out the preparation of tender documents, technical

specifications, evaluation of bids, drawing approvals, review of detailed
design and engineering work, inspection of plant and equipment at the
manufacturer/ suppliers works, supervision and quality control during
erection, testing and commissioning and guarantee test of various plant

and equipment at Project site.
7.2 Construction Organization
The construction organisation at site will be headed by a Project Manager

who will be assisted by a number of other executives and supervisory
staff. The construction organisation at site will have three main groups –
one for civil works, one for erection of equipment and one for testing and
- 32 -
commissioning of equipment. Supporting functions such as

administration, planning, finance, accounts, material management, quality
control and supervision during erection, testing and commissioning of the
Project will be provided by the construction organisation including

consultants. Construction of Civil works and erection, testing and
commissioning of the plant and equipment will be got done through
contractors / suppliers of equipment on turnkey basis.
7.3 Infrastructure Requirements
During the construction period, an area of about 500 m 2 is proposed to be
provided for construction of temporary storage sheds and office and open
space for storing of construction material and equipment. Adequate space
is available at the proposed site. Power and water required during
construction, erection, testing and commissioning will t ied up. Approach
road to site will be developed.
Certain open area, outside of plant site, will have to be organised to allow
construction of labour colony and temporary living accommodation for
contractor’s staff.
7.4 Availability of Construction Material
Raw material for the construction of the proposed station, such as stone
aggregate will be available from surrounding areas. Cement and steel can
be purchased from the open market. Kiln burn quality bricks can be
obtained from suppliers within the district. However exact sources of
supplies will have to be tied up.
7.5 Methodology of Execution
The implementation of the project may be got carried out through an EPC
contract. The entire work will be got executed through contracting
- 33 -
agencies under the overall supervision of the construction organisation

and consultants.
7.6 Construction Schedule
The completion schedule will be 18 months from the date of signing of PPA
and obtainment of other clearances, financial closure and possession of
land etc. The broad implementation plan is enclosed as annex. IV.
7.7 Operation & Maintenance
The operation and maintenance organisation will be headed by a Station

Superintendent who will be assisted by adequate number of supervisors,
operators, technicians, helpers etc. The estimated total manpower for
operation and maintenance of the power station is expected to be of the
order of 50.
7.8 Training
For operation and maintenance of thermal power plants of this capacity
the adequate experience and expertise exists in the country. Training of O

& M staff will be arranged through prevalent methods and practices which
will include training by technology suppliers, various audio – visual cards,
a well maintained Library and requisite set up for Training activity. These
will be reinforced by
• In-plant training to the operators at the site itself prior to
commissioning of the plant.
• Continued training of O& M staff through experts and suppliers
staff as part of the in-plant training programme.
• Specialized training at various Training institutes in the country.
• Training at suppliers works and construction activities.
- 34 -
SECTION – 8
8.0 FINANCIAL ASPECTS
The capital cost for the proposed 10 MW project has been estimated based on
a) eSolar’s offer for the Solar field components b) offers received from domestic
sources for the Power Block components & Receiver tower and c) break up as per
our consultant’s database for balance of plant. The complete break-upof capital
cost estimate alongwith operational and financial norms for the project is provided
in Annexure D hereto. The main capital cost, operational and financial norms for
the project proposed by the petitioner is as under for the purpose of calculation of
tariff in a conventional way:
8.2 Funding Sources
The equity capital shall be made up through ACME’s own resources.
The loan capital shall be made up through loans from financial institutions / banks
on the basis of balance sheet of ACME Tele Power Limited.
8.3 Cost of Generation
The levellised cost of generation of electrical power for the proposed 10 MW unit
has been estimated at Rs 12.85 / KWhr on the basis of assumptions given
below:
Plant Capacity 10 MW
Capital cost Rs. 14.96 crores per MW (including the IDC).

Detailed break-up as per annex. D
Debt : Equity 70:30
- 35 -
Tenure of the Debt 10 years with quarterly payment for

installation
Tenure of PPA 25 years
Construction period of the project 18 months
Depreciation 3.6%
Advance against depreciation As per the CERC norm and the salvage value
considered as 10% of the Project cost
Rate of interest on long term loan 12%
Rate of interest on working capital 12%
Working capital • One month O&M Charge
• One month receivables
• 20% of the O&M cost as maintenance

spares
PLF 24%
O&M 0.75% of the project cost
Insurance 0.25 % of the project cost
3% considered as inflation on year to year
Aux consumption 10%
3% additional has been considered for

drawing from the grid during daily start and
stop operation.
Tax Tax holiday for 10 years
MAT @ 11.33%
Corporate tax @ 33.99%
Discount factor 10.49%
Return on Equity 15.5 %
CDM Benefit 100 % passed on to tariff with assumption of
- 36 -
saving of CO2 emmission @ 0.85 kg/kWh and

the carbon credit of Rs 1000 per ton for a
period of 25 years
Grid Power rate for start-up Rs 4 /kwh
8.4 All input costs are considered at current day prices. Provisions have been
made towards escalation in prices of O&M costs.
8.5 Statutory taxes/levies/duties/cess or any other kind of impositions

whatsoever imposed/charged by Central Government/ State Government
and/ or any other local bodies/authorities on generation and sale of

power, including auxiliary power consumption has not been considered.
It can be seen from the following table (listing the cost of executed Plants as have
been reported in public Domain) that our proposed tariff for the solar plant is lowest
among them.
Project Cost Cost Per MW

(Current)
Nevada 64 MW (yr 2007) 262 MUSD 20.46 Cr per MW
Andasol (50 MW) with thermal

storage (yr 2008) 300 Million Euro 40.8 Cr per MW
Andasol (50 MW) without

thermal storage 197 Million Euro 26.79 Cr per MW
(yr 2008)
SEGS unit IV (30 MW) (yr 1989) 90 Million USD 15 Cr per MW
- 37 -

10 MW Amritsar Solar Thermal Power Project

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DETAILED PROJECT REPORT

5 MW (2 X 2.5 MW) AMRITSAR SOLAR THERMAL POWER

OPTIMISTIC POWER & INFRASTRUCTRE.

5 MW (2 x 2.5 MW) AMRITSAR SOLAR THERMAL

DIST. AMRITSAR, RAJASTHAN

4. Site Elevation7: 250 mMANAGEMENT

Max. Temperature (Monthly): : 33.8 Deg C

Min. Temperature (Daily): 5.0 Deg C

Min. Temperature( Monthly): 18.4 Deg C

Relative Humidity : 54%

Mean annual Rainfall: 279.8 mm

No. of rainy days in a year:18.7 days

Mean wind speed : 6.9 kmph

station to the project site.

6. Land Area requirement :

7. Source of Water : Indira Gandhi Canal (Kanasar Branch) Located at

8. Water Requirement : 420 cubic meter/ Day

9. Plant Cooling System : Closed Cycle

10. Source of Energy : Solar

11. Process : Concentric Solar Power (C SP) in combination with

12. Power Evacuation : Power evacuation through nearest 132 KV

13. Commissioning : 18 months from Zero date

15. Debt – Equity Ratio : 70 : 30

16. Levellised Tariff : Rs 12.85/kwh

providing radically new technology solutions across the industry.

margins and reduce energy costs. Acme’s solutions predominantly assist in

international presence through its own establishments, acquisitions, channel

ATPL either directly or through a SPV company to be formed exclusively for

2.0 Outline of the Report

(a) Justification of project

(c) Study of water requirement and finalization of water system.

(d) Study of power evacuation and connection with the grid.

(e) Details of technology for solar power.

(f) Project implementation schedule showing key milestone activities.

(h) Computation of the cost of generation at power station bus.

2.0 NEED FOR THE PROJECT AND REQUIREMENT OF KEY INPUTS

• As on Jun 2008, the installed Utility Generation capacity of our country

• Further going beyond 12 th

increase in India’s primary energy demand & 5-6 times increase in

• In order to meet this energy consumption, we have limited domestic

conventional resources that is depicted in following table:-

• The following table shows the limitation either year-wise or the MW

renewable energy sources as estimated in the Integrated Energy Policy –

Coal Will exhaust by 2050 at 5% increase in production

Lignite Will exhaust by 2045

Oil Will exhaust by 2028

Gas Will exhaust by 2043

Nuclear Uranium Will exhaust by 2057*

Hydro 1, 50, 000 MW – max potential

Wind 45, 000 MW – max potential

Bio Mass 50, 000 MW – max potential

This makes very important to plan and develop feasible technologies to

mentioned here-in above.

• Unless we plan for an alternative source of energy, we will go on

controlled in hands of other exporting energy countries. Different supply

Oil Price Gas Price Coal Price Fuel Import % of GDP

500 80 438 1420 7.7

400 64 350 1136 6.2

300 48 263 852 4.6

135 10 100 72 2.5

in Economy have to be essentially derived out of energy sustenance and

minimum percentage of energy to be derived out of renewable energy

o In accordance with the above, many of the State Commissions have