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Plastics Cluster to set up wind power unit in Idukki district

Staff Reporter

Government's help sought to lay power transmission line

KOCHI: The Aluva Plastic Cluster plans to set up a windmill farm at Ramakkalmade in Idukki district to generate electricity for captive consumption. Land for the purpose has been bought by the consortium, which has 108 units, says K.K. Ibrahim, Managing Director of the consortium.

Work on the tool room of the plastic consortium, which will also have a common facility centre, was inaugurated by Industries Minister Elamaram Karim on Thursday.

Mr. Ibrahim says a raw material bank for the consortium has been inaugurated and as part of the backward integration of the cluster, a plastic reprocessing unit too will be set up with financial help from the Small Industries Development Bank of India.

Since power is a major input for the plastic industry, it has been decided to set up a 5-MW captive windmill facility. The cluster promoters have sought the Government to build a 12-km transmission line so that power generated from Ramakkalmade can be fed to the Kerala State Electricity Board grid.

Mr. Ibrahim says plastic industrial units in neighbouring States use cheap power and without a captive power generation facility, it will be impossible for plastic industrial units to survive in the face of competition from them.

According to him, the State has missed the bus in exploiting wind power because the neighbouring States had already begun production from wind farms. Kerala has been late in forming guidelines on wind power generation.

The cluster promoters have appealed to the Industries Minister to intervene in this and find a solution to the problems faced in setting up of the windmill.

Mr. Ibrahim says the consortium has submitted a project of Rs. 4.6 crores for setting up a common facility centre and tool room. Of this, the State Government has sanctioned Rs. 92 lakhs and the Union Government Rs. 3.15 crores for the project. The promoters of the consortium will pitch in with Rs. 53 lakhs.

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