The Hindu : Windmills to be set up at 23 more places

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Windmills to be set up at 23 more places

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUNELVELI, FEB. 21. Having set to surpass production of 300 MW in the wind farm sector in the current fiscal, the Tamil Nadu Government is contemplating setting up windmills at 23 more places.

Addressing presspersons after participating in a seminar on `Application of Renewable Energy in Small and Tiny Industries,' the chairman and managing director, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), K. Alaudin, said today that the Government identified 40 locations suitable for producing wind power since the density in these regions was "good." Since wind energy had so far been tapped only at 17 spots, at 23 other areas, including Cumbam Valley, Ramanathapuram, windmills would be set up in future. "Hopefully, the Centre, which stopped subsidy to the State for demonstration windmills, since the concept has already been popularised here, will give the grant once again as we are planning to enter new sites."

Mr. Alaudin also denied reports that power distribution to other parts of the State from the windmills had been hit as the proprietors of these units were permitted to construct the sub-stations on their own, instead of waiting for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) to establish the facility on their premises.

On gasifire power generation units, using firewood as raw material, he said the TEDA had so far received 109 applications to set up gasifire units and 31 of them had been approved. While four of them had already got the TNEB's consent to produce electricity using firewood, 27 units were expected to get the nod soon.

"The new gasifire concept will be introduced in 12 districts and Tirunelveli district will be getting two units — one at Tenkasi and the other in Tirunelveli taluk — with a capacity to produce 14.50 MW of power. The investment required to start a 1 MW gasifire unit is Rs. 1 crore. Though the Centre does not give principal subsidy, it permits 2 to 3 per cent interest subsidy for the units," he said. Tuticorin district will also get two units.

Mr. Alaudin said about 400 remote villages on the Western and Eastern Ghats and Kalraayan and Kolli Hills would get solar lamps at a cost of Rs. 27 crores.

Inaugurating the seminar, the Minister for Industries, Nainar Nagendran, called upon industrialists to encourage the use of solar power in their units to meet the increasing demand for electricity. The State Government had made it mandatory to incorporate provisions for installing solar water heaters in the design of buildings having a plinth area of 1,500 sq.ft.

The Minister for Adi Dravida Welfare, S. Karuppasamy, the Collector, Sunil Paliwal, the Project Officer, P. Ponniah, and the Mayor, A. Jayarani, participated.

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