Vestas said it had contacted Denmark’s State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime in December, but only made that public on Friday.

The company said it approached the prosecutor on the advice of its lawyers after external auditors examined deals Henrik Norremark made with RRB Energy Ltd and its related company RBB.

Norremark’s lawyer, Morten Samuelsson, said in an email to Reuters on Friday that he welcomed the investigation “which we expect will show that there is nothing to come after.”

Norremark resigned in February 2012 after Vestas, the world’s second-largest wind turbine maker behind General Electric (GE.N), issued two profit warnings in three months.

Vestas said Norremark unilaterally released the Indian company from two debt agreements worth a total of 4.4 million euros and also decided to invest 14.5 million euros of Vestas’ funds in a potential project in India.

“By entering into these agreements, the former CFO exceeded his powers as group executive significantly,” Vestas said.

RRB Energy was not immediately available for comment.

Vestas said it had informed Norremark he would be held responsible for losses the company may suffer due to his actions.

It made a 18.9 million euro provision against possible losses last year.

Investigations made by external auditors and lawyers had found that neither Vestas’ board of directors, nor Chief Executive Ditlev Engel, had been involved in, or had any knowledge of the transactions, the company added.

The fraud squad was not available for comment.

The company, which manufactures solar modules and does EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects, is keen on getting into project development as well, the managing director of the company, Gyanesh Chaudhary, said.

The company has already commissioned EPC projects of about 45 MW in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and is close to commissioning another 10 MW project in Rajasthan, and about 2MW of rooftop systems, Chaudhary said. In Tamil Nadu, the company is working on EPC projects of about 60 MW. Vikram Solar offers EPC projects at Rs 7 crore per MW, promising efficiencies of 16% on their modules.The company currently has a module manufacturing unit with annual production capacity of 100 MW at Falta, West Bengal, and the company plans to expand its capacity by 250 MW in phases. “We will initially put up 100 MW and then expand the capacity by another 150 MW,” Chaudhary said. The company is yet to decide whether to put up the new manufacturing unit near Pune or expand their existing plant at West Bengal, he said.

Vikram Solar currently imports solar cells that are required to make the modules, but intends to go down the value chain and also manufacture cells soon, Chaudhary said.

The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) has set an ambitious goal of a one per cent annual increase in renewable energy generation. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNSM) has set its own ambitious target of adding 1GW of capacity between 2010 and 2013 and seeks to increase combined solar capacity from 9MW in 2010 to 20GW by 2022. However, India’s interest and efforts in promoting renewable energy may soon create newer sustainability concerns. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy appears to have overlooked the growing conflict between renewable energy and land.

Land is an already scarce resource in India, with demand from farmers to industrial houses to service institutions and the Government. To this list another claimant has been added; many forms of green energy, especially solar, wind and biomass, rely on huge tracts of land in order to be viable. Setting up renewable energy plants can lead to both direct land transformation that comes with the setting up of the project, and land degradation created by pollutants from fuel and material cycles associated with running these plants.

The increased demand of land is met in many cases through the diversion of land from agriculture and the forestry sector. Indian farmers engulfed in poverty are forced to engage in distress sales or those who have been short-sighted have made it easy for private companies to acquire agricultural land for setting up renewable energy projects. The support extended by Government has also been a common cause.

In Himachal Pradesh, for instance, the hillside forests have been bearing the brunt of the desire to increase the potential of renewable energy.

In the last three decades, more than 6,000 hectares of forests have been destroyed for hydro power projects or for laying power transmission lines.

To put all this in perspective, for solar energy alone, India’s ambitious target is to produce 20GW of power by 2022. The aim was not just to provide an alternate renewable energy option but also to utilise large tracts of wasteland in hot sunny areas.

However, some of JNSM’s initial projects have shown that State governments have helped private companies acquire productive agriculture land to set up solar thermal and photovoltaic units. The dedication of land area near substations for solar cell installations might edge out other necessities that require land.

For example, the generation of electricity from photovoltaic solar panels or the solar tower requires vast amounts of land, and these panels must be built in specific regions in order to achieve maximum efficiency. Typically, a coal power plant requires 2023 sq. m of land per MW for plant installation, whereas the land area required per MW of installed solar power is around 20,234 sq. m.

Most of the wasteland, which could have been utilised to set up solar energy plants, is not connected with roads, and providing connectivity means huge infrastructure costs which inhibit companies from setting up plants there.

In context of bioenergy, the National Biofuel Policy in India has set an indicative target of 20 per cent ethanol and biodiesel in transportation fuel by 2017. The Planning Commission’s ‘Vision 2020’ report called for the plantation of non-edible oil-yielding plants in large areas of waste and degraded land.

Although the Government says no agricultural land or food crops will be diverted for production of biofuel, businesses often target productive farmland.

Instances of farmland, particularly that belonging to small farmers, being diverted for production of biofuel crops like jatropha are not uncommon. This and the possibility of increasing the use of oilseeds and other foodgrains for biofuel, could impact other goals like food security as productive tracts move away from foodgrains production to biofuel generation.

For these reasons, there should be clearly defined policy and mandatory usage of Geographical Information System (GIS) for land use, land cover analysis and identification of wasteland for projects while mapping the renewable energy potential over different regions. The Government could also take into consideration renewable energy resource availability as well as land and water uses. This could further be integrated with other concerns on land acquisition.

As more land per square metre is required for every watt of solar and wind energy produced compared to fossil fuel energy, a policy mandating the dual use of land for such projects should be studied.

Indian Government agencies could draw from their own experiences and those of various other nations that have gone through these stages in their quest for non-fossil fuel-based energy.

At the same time, it is essential to prevent the misuse of the Urgency Clause in the Land Acquisition Act, restricting its application to exceptional cases.

The setting up of an independent and representative regulatory authority at the State level to ensure strict compliance of land use norms could be explored. Regulation could also be used not only to mitigate negative impacts and maximise opportunities, but also to strengthen property rights and greater community consultation.

Economic instruments like a tax on land being bought or claimed for renewable energy, similar to a carbon tax, could be applied. This tax could be calculated on the basis of loss of biodiversity, and possibly other factors, and would create an economic disincentive for increased land use.Although this might have the effect of severely limiting the expansion of some forms of renewable energy such as biomass, it would also force companies to focus their efforts on discovering more land-friendly forms of biomass energy.

Subsidies on purchase of wasteland for setting up renewable energy plants may further incentivise the use of wastelands and lessen the diversion of land from agriculture and forestry.

No coal is all very well, but solar power should not take up productive land.

The Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) has identified two villages in Bastar-Raikot in Tokapal block and Burgum in Bastanar block — suitable for setting up a wind energy power plant, a CREDA official said.

 The official added that the agency’s engineers have already surveyed the area in this connection, and that preparations were on to set up a wind mill farm on an experimental basis. After studying the viability of the project, the department would establish a wind energy power plant in the area.
CREDA’s earlier attempt to establish a similar plant in Kondagaon district of the state had met with failure.

Executive engineer of the agency R.K. Rai said the wind mill farm is expected to reduce the power woes of the people in Raikot and Burgum villages, as well as those living in nearby areas.

Africa, especially South Africa have lot of potential options,” said Rahul Shah, chief of business development and renewables, Tata Power.

Tata Power, the utility business of India’s largest business group, had carved out a separate renewable energy arm, Tata Power Renewable Energy, to build a robust renewables portfolio.

Last year, Tata Power, through its subsidiary Khopoli Investments, and South Africa’s Exxaro Resources had formed a 50:50 joint venture to focus on developing electricity projects in Africa.

“Africa, being a new growth economy has a greater need for power and hence, our risk of doing business is less,” Shah said.

The company has also entered in projects commissioned at Indonesia and Bhutan. “The objective is to enter countries which have an evolved policy structure,” Shah said.

Shah did not divulge the details on investments overseas.

Moreover, for Indian market, the company plans to invest up to R4,500 crore in the next three years under the renewable portfolio, he said. “Company would add 30-50 MW of solar power, 150-200 MW of wind power to its renewable portfolio this year. A similar expansion is projected for the next few years,” he said.

Renewable Energy Ministry had appointed the inter-ministerial committee to enquire into the allegations after a media report last year alleged violation of guidelines in the 1,000 MW solar power project scheme of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). 

The panel has made several suggestions such as refining of the guidelines so as to bring in greater clarity regarding definitions of ‘net worth’ and ‘control’, the ministry said in a release. 

It also recommended more specificity in guidelines regarding selection of EPC contractors besides physical verification of the addresses of the companies and more stringent and specific penalty provisions in case of violation of any clause of the guidelines, the release said.

The ministry said these suggestions and recommendations have been duly noted for incorporation in guidelines for future biddings for projects to be allocated under JNNSM.

The Committee report and its recommendations are currently under examination by the government, the Ministry added. 

Under the National Solar Mission, the government plans to produce at least 20,000 MW solar power in the country by the year 2022. 

Gamesa is present in India as technology provider and wind farm developer. The company has installed over 830 MW and manages capacity of more than 700 MW under O&M agreements. In its capacity as wind farm developer, Gamesa’s pipeline in India stands at 4,300 MW. India represented 12% of Gamesa’s sales in 2012.

The agreement with Greenko, one of India’s leading wind power project developers and operators, encompasses the supply and installation of 100 MW. This agreement might be extended to additional 200 MW, with negotiations and site analysis already underway.

Gamesa will install 50 G97-2.0 MW WTGs (100 MW in total) at two 50 MW wind farms located in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Installation of these turbines is slated for completion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2013. In addition, Gamesa will handle the related O&M services for a five-year term.

Elsewhere, under the contract with CLP India, a subsidiary of CLP Holdings, one of the largest energy investors in Asia Pacific, Gamesa will take on the supply, installation and commissioning of 65 G97-2.0 MW WTGs (total capacity: 130 MW) at the Jath wind farm being developed by Gamesa in the Sangli district of the state of Maharashtra. The scope of this contract extends to the related O&M services for a period of 10 years.

Installation of the first 50 turbines (100 MW) is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2013, with installation of the remaining 30 MW scheduled for the end of the year. The project is expected to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2014. Once operational, this facility will generate enough energy to supply 90,000 households, thereby preventing the emission of 259,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.

While India commenced its anti-dumping probe against import of solar panels in November last year, the European Union (EU) has recently decided to impose anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese imports.

“With these anti-dumping moves, the Chinese manufacturers are looking at entering collaborations with the local manufacturers as the Indian export channel do not attract anti-dumping laws for these products in the US or in the Europe,” Rao SYS Chodagam, founder and managing director of Hyderabad-based Titan Energy Systems Limited, said on the sidelines of a workshop here on Monday.

In fact, a large Chinese player has already approached three Indian companies, including Titan Energy Systems for setting up a 500 Mw capacity, he said, refusing to reveal the name of the company.

Despite the recent boom in the solar power sector in the country, the capacity utilisation at the facilities of domestic manufacturers is still hovering at 10 per cent, according to him. In a latest example of complete domination by the imported equipment, a 900-Mw solar power project executed recently in Gujarat has a share of only 15 per cent domestic equipment while China and the US accounted for 45 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of the equipment supplies, he said.

Domestic players have not been able to compete with the imports also because there is no duty on finished products but at the same time there are duties ranging between 23 per cent and 25 per cent on raw material imported by the local manufacturers in solar photo voltaic power modules and panels, according to the industry representatives.

In Andhra Pradesh, the government had recently unveiled a programme to encourage the establishment of 1,000 Mw installed capacity in solar power by the private sector besides announcing a policy to encourage roof-top solar units.

The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (Nedcap) has requested the state government to extend the current subsidies to 3 KwH from the present 1 KwH for grid-connected roof-top solar units. The move may further encourage people to go for rooftop solar units as they can sell unused power to the power utilities. ” We expect a decision in this regard soon,” Kamalakar, managing director of Nedcap, told reporters.

The five-day workshop is being organised by the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (Germi). It covers areas, including design, technology and applications of the solar power sector.

“The total investment envisaged during the ten year period is around Rs 24,000 crore, to be funded through debt and equity, with equity largely coming from internal resources and joint venture partners,” said R S T Sai, chairman and managing director of the Rishikesh-headquartered company.

Apart from existing projects, the company intends to diversify into renewable energy sources viz solar and wind power, Sai said.

In the core business of hydropower, the company also intends to develop projects through joint ventures and strategic investments as some of the options for future growth, he said.

The total income of THDCIL, with an installed capacity of 1,400 Mw, during the financial year 2011-12 is Rs 20,551 million as against the previous year’s income of Rs 16,893 million. The income has gone up by 21.65 percent. The company has earned a profit of Rs 7,038 million the year 2011-12 as against the previous year’s profit of Rs 6,005 million with a jump of 17.20 percent.

The company generated 4,591.26 MU of energy during the year 2011-12 against the target of 3,334 MU.

The company is working on various projects like Tehri PSP (1000 Mw), Vishnugad Pipalkoti (444 Mw) and others in the hill state. THDCIL has already signed an MOU with the Uttar Pradesh government to set up 1320 Mw Khurja super thermal power plant in Bulandshahar area. This will be the THDCIL’s maiden foray into thermal power business. The company had decided that it would enter into other power businesses besides its core business of hydropower.