GAIL to tie up with US firm for new gas power generation technology -Governance Now

GAIL to tie up with US firm for new gas power generation technology

Unlike traditional power generation, this technology uses virtually no water and produces no unhealthy emissions

GN Bureau | August 22, 2016

#GAIL #Bloom Energy #power generation #crude oil #fuel

State-owned GAIL (India) Ltd will tie up with California-based firm Bloom Energy Corp. on Monday to pursue natural gas-based fuel cell power generation, a new technology.

According to a news report published in the Live Mint, an agreement will be signed with the company in the presence of oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, GAIL chairman and managing director BC Tripathi and Bloom Energy chief executive KR Sridhar.

This tie up could help the country move away from relying on fixed power infrastructure, which is prohibitively capital intensive to “capital light and soft” infrastructure. Bloom Energy claims that its technology converts fuel into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process, which can use a variety of fuels including biogas. Unlike traditional power generation, Bloom uses virtually no water and produces no unhealthy emissions.

At present, natural gas accounts for only about 6.5 percent of India’s primary energy mix dominated by coal and crude oil. The government is pursuing private investments into the entire value chain of gas, which is generating interest from firms such as Bloom Energy, the report said.

However, availability of gas is limited in the country and freight cost and currency exchange rate movements add to uncertainty in relying on liquefied natural gas imported from gas surplus countries.

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