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Lanco Infratech is among the top few private power players in India, and has big plans to maintain that position

The control room of the 600-MW Udupi Power Corporation in south Karnataka has a staff of just 20. With the monsoon hitting the Konkan coast, demand for power in the region has fallen sharply. The imported coal-based plant of power and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) major Lanco Infratech is generating only a little over 400 MW. It has also synchronised its second 600-MW unit, which is expected to start commercial operations once the transmission link is ready by end-2011.

The fifth floor of Lanco House in Gurgaon is also sparsely populated. The floor that houses the board room and offices of the top management of the company is lined with waist-high green granite. The off-white walls are peppered with dozens of paintings including M.F.
Husain’s and Souza’s. In 2009, Lanco Infratech did a King George V when it moved its corporate office from Hyderabad to Gurgaon. It shifted 700 employees to the Millenium City. Two years later, almost a quarter of Lanco Infratech’s 7,000 employees are based in Gurgaon. Being close to the power centre is quite important, even if you are a power utility.

The Rs 8,000 crore-Lanco is among a clutch of companies that are investing in expanding India’s power generation capacity. It has an installed capacity of 3,300 MW and will add another 6,000 MW in the next few years. By 2015, it will invest Rs 35,000 crore to add another 6,000 MW, raising the total capacity to 15,000 MW. By then, Lanco will be present across 20 states and is slated to have 20,000 employees.

In contrast, in 2005-06, it was a Rs 152-crore construction company with profits of less than Rs 10 crore. In 2010-11, profits are Rs 446 crore.
Today, Lanco is among the biggest private power companies in India. Rivals include Tata Power (generation capacity 3,120 MW), Reliance Power (1,033 MW), Adani Power (1,980 MW) and Jindal Power (1,000 MW). State-owned NTPC leads with close to 35,000 MW capacity. Lanco, however, believes that for its private sector rivals, power is just another business, while it is focused on the entire power

Can Lanco pull it off over the next four years? It has incurred a net debt of Rs 23,733 crore. Around 85 per cent of the debt is long-term and repayable over 15 years. It is currently setting up eight power plants including at Amarkantak, Anpara, Kondapalli expansion and Vidarbha.
Barring power, EPC and infrastructure, Lanco has identified two new verticals — solar power and natural resources. Infrastructure includes roads, metro rail and port projects. It also plans to enter power equipment manufacturing to counter the restrictions on import of power equipment, and is identifying an international partner for the venture, as have many others

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

It is an established fact that parts of Gujarat, Ladakh and Rajasthan region are the ones which probably receive the maximum global radiation however Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh are not very behind in their quota of radiation. As per the studies the earth receives a radiation of 1600 - 2200 kWh/m2 every year which is equivalent to 6,000 million GWh energy in every year.

Due dense population as well as high solar insulation India leads in generation of wind power because of the perfect amalgamation in solar energy. Several thinkers and researcher have recommended the Indian government to undertake solar power projects in India in order to use this radiation as a renewable source of good energy. India has therefore planned a total of 35,000 km2 area in Thar Desert in order to generate a total of around 2100 gig watts of electricity through this solar project.

Solar projects in India are gathering importance as solar energy is reckoned as one of the most environment friendly resources of energy which are both positive as well as negatives in it. The biggest advantage is that solar energy is renewable, it can easily be restored.

July 2009 witnesses $19 billion solar power project in India with plans leading to generation of 20GW energy by the year 2020. This also made it mandatory to utilize solar energy powered equipment in government offices, hotels, buildings and also hospitals. India also launched National Solar Mission as a part of solar power projects in India which was also a part of the plan on the issue of Climate Change and aimed to produce around 1,000 MW energy by the year 2013.

Percentage of the solar energy generated in the country might just be 0.4% as compared to overall production on energy in the country yet the country ranks first along with US in the
field of solar power and its production capacity. As the price involved in deployment of solar energy it is still not a very popular option that people opt for and can only develop a market with clients if the technology involved gets cheaper.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

It has been universally agreed upon that energy is one of the most important factors for economic growth and human development in any nation. Economic development and energy consumption share a strong two-way relationship. Maturity of an economy, with its global competitiveness, depends on the availability of inordinate, cost-effective and environment-friendly energy sources. The level of economic growth has also been observed to be reliant on the energy demand. In recent years, industrialization and globalization are taking place at a rapid pace in India and that leads to a huge demand on the national infrastructure. Thus, the massive demand for constant power takes place, but India is incapable of generating the amount of electricity required to meet the demand. This is crippling to its economic growth.

Energy is quite competently utilized in the economy though it has started to decrease in recent years. Compared to mature economies, the energy intensity of India is almost double. India’s energy intensity is also a lot higher than the emerging economies such as the Asian countries, which also includes the ASEAN member countries as well as China. One of the key factors that has led to this unprecedented demand for uninterruptable power supply (UPS) is the surge in national population. India ranks fifth in the world in terms of primary energy consumption, responsible for about 3.5% of the world commercial energy demand in the year 2003. Surprisingly, despite the overall increase in energy demand, in India per capita energy consumption is still quite low compared to other developing countries.

Exhaustible and renewable energy resources are available in plenty in India. Coal, oil, and natural gas serve as the three primary commercial energy resources. By far the largest source of energy is coal and it will remain so in the foreseeable future. However, India’s primary energy mix has been changing periodically. Other forms of commercial energy of a much higher quality and efficiency are steadily replacing the traditional energy resources being consumed in the rural sector. But resource augmentation and growth in energy supply has not managed to keep up with increasing demand. This has led to an increased reliance on imports to meet the uninterruptable energy demand. Increasing pressure of population and increasing use of energy in different sectors of the economy is a prime area of concern for India. It is advisable to conserve energy and reduce energy requirements by demand-side management and by adopting more efficient technologies in all sectors.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

It has been universally agreed upon that energy is needed for economic growth, for improving the quality of life and for increasing opportunities for development. There is a strong two-way relationship between economic development and energy consumption. The growth of an economy depends on the availability of inordinate, cost-effective and environment-friendly energy sources. The level of economic growth has also been observed to be reliant on the energy demand. In recent years, industrialization and globalization are taking place at a rapid pace in India which has led to a huge demand on the national infrastructure. Thus, the massive demand for constant power takes place, but India is incapable of generating the amount of electricity required to meet the demand. Resource augmentation and growth in energy supply has not managed to keep up with increasing demand. This has led to an increased reliance on imports to meet the uninterruptable energy demand which would otherwise cripple to its economic growth.

India contains a lot of exhaustible and renewable energy resources. The three main commercial energy sources in the country include coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal is by far the largest source of energy since the burning of coal accounts for almost a half of all electricity generation. Approximately one fourth of all electricity generation in India is through nuclear energy. The remaining resources – hydro and gas – constitute about ten percent of the total electricity output. Currently, India holds the position of the eleventh largest producer of energy, roughly amounting to 2.4% of the total energy output per annum. However, India’s primary mix of power has been periodically changing.

The competitive market scenario of the Indian power industry, the importance of renewable sources of energy for power generation, the different prospects and complications faced by the industry, the significance of the role of the private players and foreign investments, the influence of the political condition, mergers with private participants, new policies and changes in regulating the Oil & Gas sector in India – all these points are covered by the Report on the Indian Power Sector.

The nuclear industry is considered to be an excellent alternative for future power generations due to the rising concern about pollution and global warming. Modern technological innovations and better public awareness regarding nuclear power are critical to the future success of the nuclear industry. Future power reforms are likely be focused on the field of nuclear energy.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

Among the many developments of the bygone century that is all set to change the way we consume natural resources and distribute their output to our benefit is that of the Solar Power consumption. Somewhere along the latter half of the twentieth century, the concept of utilizing the immense natural resources of solar energy was conceived and soon realized in order to tackle the growing shortfall of energy sources. Soon the idea found an open market ready and willing to try out this cost effective method that was soon to change the way we live. More than anything else they seemed to have a profound impact on the economic side of their utility.

What initially started out as another industrial utility soon spread its wings to the diverse functions of home based usage, power driven consumption and even for recharging batteries for cars and automobiles. Today practically all appliances are designed with this much needed system of power supply both in order to counter the problem of saving our natural resources as well as eradicate the cause of environmental pollution. This concept in Solar Power also serves the dual benefits of saving the planet from the gruesome task of global warming in the process.

By far the most long lasting and widespread impact of the Solar Power can be seen in the way it has directly played a significant role in reducing costs and the turnaround time. This idea of saving high consuming electric power on appliances has found an interested market in almost all countries irrespective of their literacy levels. Over the years, specific research has also been invested into in order to make the already user centric features of most solar appliances even more convenient for any type of use by any grade of consumers. Today we have as elementary home appliances as the heater, ovens and gas burners to high-end technical utilities like the steam engines and power supplying sources to factories all running on solar energy.

This system of tapping and then directing the vast quality of sun’s natural light has already been much improved upon and enhanced by scientists still working on the cause of Solar Power. According to rough estimates, the sun is loads of light years away from our planet which is both a blessing as well as a curse for us. In spite of this vast distance, only a small fraction of the sunlight and inherent heat we stand to receive is what provides all this energy. A fraction of an increase or decrease in this volume of sunlight can have even more powerful impacts in the time to come.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

Being the fifth largest around the world, India’s power sector is quite significant in the growth of country’s economy. Investing companies in India are highly dependant on power sector as this is one of the sectors that proffer huge investment prospective depending on the market size as well as the returns presented by the investment capital.

Almost 55% of power projects in India are based on coal that is considered the most commonly used fuel to produce energy. The other 45% is completed by gas, hydro, renewable resources, nuclear power and diesel. These figures are sourced by Government of India through the Ministry of Gas in order to educate the people of India on how the power and energy is produced in the country.

However, the Government’s promise of “power to all” by 2012 seems to be in a tiff, as to fulfill this promise there should be an increased 1,00,000 MW of energy production required along with tariff rationalization. This augmented production is only possible after the proper reformation of the power projects in India in conjunction with the greater involvement of private companies in every division of power sector.

With the increased demand of electricity and power in the different states of India, Government has now started emphasizing on reformation activities that include huge setups renewable sources power plants. Even more development can be seen in the hydro power sector with the increase of around 1% in the total production. However, gas plants are now on hold, as Government feared that due to shortage of gas supply can hamper the additional production plans through gas power projects in India. Higher crude oil cost is the main cause behind the short supply of gas in the country.
Whatever, be the shares of thermal, hydro and gas power plants; the environmentalists have accentuated on the renewable sources as the main fuel for power projects in India. This is because renewable sources create less pollution and does not pose any threat to environment.

India’s need of power projects can be identified with the fact that population is increasing day by day leading to increased consumption of electricity and power. If to go with current status, power projects in India are fewer to generate the energy required to fulfill the needs of the people.
Power projects in India are working efficiently for the benefit of the country, but still there is long way to go. The Government should take proper measures to maintain the existing power plants along with the actions taken to develop new ones. The role of private companies is noteworthy here, as these companies are also working hard to set up new power plants that can produce high volumes of energy that can be available to the people at reduced tariff

Although, needs for electricity have been increasing with an alarming rate, it is also the duty of people living in India to not waste the electricity. We all know that our natural resources are diminishing very fast and little effort to save energy and electricity can contribute a lot.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco