The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Coimbatore tops in tapping non-conventional energy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Coimbatore tops in tapping non-conventional energy

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, SEPT. 13. With appreciable participation by local bodies, Coimbatore district has stood first in tapping of renewable energy sources, said the Chairman and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, K. Alauddin.

He was speaking at a workshop for local body representatives aimed at creating awareness of non-conventional sources of energy here recently. Coimbatore was showing the way in tapping wind energy with a number of windmills in the wind course of the Palakkad pass.

Efforts were being made to make the local bodies install windmills at 30 places in the district to generate power.

In addition, captive generation was also being promoted. Four local bodies would be encouraged to set up captive power generation units. In a pioneering initiative, the Kalpana Chawla Women's Self-Help Group at Pedappampatti in Udumalpet started efforts to generate 113 kv of power using firewood. The power generated by this group would be supplied to nearby spinning mills. In Tamil Nadu, steps had been taken to energise 3,400 streetlights using solar energy, of which nearly 400 were in Coimbatore district. Citing the Pondicherry and Madurai examples, he urged the local bodies to set up solar powered crematoriums.

Jatropha cultivation

Efforts were on to make noon meal centres in the district use non-conventional sources of energy for preparing food. People should cultivate jatropha to generate required alternative fuel sources and to bring down expenditure in importing fuel from the Gulf countries. Jatropha cultivation in a big way would help the local bodies generate employment and earn revenue, he said.

The Collector, S. Kosalaraman, urged the local bodies to play a proactive role in promoting and tapping non-conventional energy resources. Keeping in mind the Supreme Court's 1998 verdict, everyone should realise that natural resources should be conserved. They should be carefully used and there should not be any over exploitation, he said.

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