18-07-08 Utility officials in Texas, the US leader in wind power, have given preliminary approval to building billions of dollars worth of transmission lines to bring wind energy from gusty West Texas to urban areas. Supporters say the preliminary approval by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) will make the state a leader in being able to move all that energy to the urban areas that need it.
"We will add more wind than the 14 states following Texas combined," said PUC Commissioner Paul Hudson. "I think that's a very extraordinary achievement. Some think we haven't gone far enough, some think we've pushed too far."

Environmentalist and consumer groups called the move a critical expansion of the "renewable energy superhighway," predicting it will spur wind energy projects, create jobs, reduce energy costs and reduce pollution.
"The capacity for wind generation in west and north Texas is so great that we could position ourselves in Texas to be the world leader in wind and renewable energy in the next 100 years, just as we were the world leader in oil and gas for the past 100 years," Democratic state Rep Mark Strama said earlier.

Texas electric customers will bear the cost of the $ 4.9 bn plan over the next several years, paying about $ 4 more per month on their electric bills. State officials, however, say those increases could be several years away, and the payments would be no different than the current system of paying for new transmission lines from power plants.
Among the private developers a New Delhi-based company, Amalgamated Transpower (I) had all its three hydro power projects, while Gati Infrastructure, Hyderabad; BSCPL-SCL joint venture, Hyderabad; SSNR Super Power (P), Hyderabad; SMEC (India), New Delhi; Coastal Projects, Madhya Bharat Power and Shiga Energy were other developers whose contracts were scrapped.

Of the remaining 16 hydro power projects, the Teesta I and II in North district with a generation capacity of 280 MW and 330 MW for which contracts have been awarded to Himalayan Green Energy, New Delhi and Him Urja Infra, New Delhi, were yet to take off as the local people were opposed to their location.
Another power project at Lachen (210 MW) with NHPC was also facing resistance of the local people, Wangchen said. Efforts are being made to convince the local people that the power projects were in the public interest before the construction works begins at the sites of three hydro projects in the north district.

With regard to 13 other hydro projects, two plants at Dikchu (510 MW) and Rangit II (West District -- 60 MW), were operational, while the work on remaining 11 power projects have already started or the process to complete the formalities was on by the developers, he said.
Sources said that other developers, whose power projects have also been scrapped, might follow the example of the Madhya Bharat Power Corporation by taking the state government to the court over its wholesale scrapping of their projects.

The opposition parties have also joined the chorus of protest, saying their worst apprehensions on the award of contracts to "unknown" companies have come true as the expertise of these companies to generate hydropower was not known.
The scrapping of the hydro projects was bound to happen, the opposition leaders said charging that the Pawan Kumar Chamling government had shown "extra zeal" to go ahead with the award of contracts.