Southern Districts of TN to get more solar plants

Southern districts will take the lion’s share of new solar power plants to be set up under the State’s Solar Energy Policy. Of the plants approved for 209 megawatt (MW), the south will have 155 MW, of which Ramanathapuram district alone accounts for 97 MW, Tuticorin 33, Sivaganga 17 and Virudhunagar 8.

Capacities of the proposed plants vary from one MW to 10 MW to 23 MW to 60 MW.  In monetary terms, this development means that these districts are likely to see investments to the tune of Rs. 1,240 crore, going by the benchmark capital cost of Rs. eight crore per MW, as set by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

To be established by private firms, the plants have to be commissioned in 10 months, according to one of the conditions laid down by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), which has chosen, as of now, 30 firms. Even though the selection was completed nearly two months ago, the Corporation did not issue Letters of Intent (LOI) in view of a petition in the High Court against the tender. As the petition has since been withdrawn, the TANGEDCO, gave away the LOIs.

Of the plants for the remaining 54 MW, central districts – Karur, Tiruchi and Ariyalur – account for 44 MW; northern districts – Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Vellore – 9 MW and Tirupur in the western region will have 1 MW.

TN: BRIGHT SCENARIO
Region	Districts	Capacity (in MW)
Southern	Ramanathapuram	97
	Tuticorin	33
	Sivaganga	17
	Virudhunagar	08
Central	Karur	44
	Trichy
	Ariyalur
Northern	Tiruvannamalai	09
	Vellore
	Villupuram
Western	Tirupur	01

The price at which the Corporation will buy solar power from the proposed plants will, in the beginning, be Rs. 6.48 per unit. The initial price will be in force till March 31, 2014. From the financial year of 2014-2015, there will be a five per cent increase in the price for 10 years, after which there will be no rise for another 10 years. As per the policy, the Corporation is the agency to administer solar power obligations imposed on certain categories of consumers such as high tension consumers. This is why it has decided to purchase energy generated from the proposed plants through long-term agreements.

Among the important reasons for investors preferring the southern districts are the prevalence of high solar radiance levels and availability of land at cheaper rates. The authorities’ assurance to investors to provide adequate transmission infrastructure is another key factor, says an executive of a firm, which is setting up a plant in Ramanathapuram district.

In respect of land acquisition, representatives osf some of the chosen firms say they do not find it an issue as they have not encountered hurdles in getting land. [In the given instance of the TANGEDCO’s tender, it is for the project developers to acquire land]. As regards funding their projects, the companies will raise resources on their own or go in for loans.

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TN: Government gives nod for first 60MW solar power plant

            A private non-conventional power producer has won the contract to set up a 60 MW solar power plant in Tamil Nadu. Welspun Energy, which got the confirmation letter from the government for setting up the plant, has shortlisted two districts in the state. The government in December last had invited bids from solar power producers to set up projects of as much as 1 gigawatt capacity.

The contract is for 25 years and the company will get 6.49 per unit as tariff in the first year. After this there will be a 5% increase in tariff each year.  Of the 540 crore required to set up the plant, the company plans to source about 400 crore from banks. The New Delhi-based firm expects to raise the funds in two months and commission the plant by March 2014.

Photovoltaic technology, which works on the principle of directly transforming solar energy to electrical energy, will be used at the plant. Due to multiple technological developments the conversion efficiency of sunlight into electricity has increased.  This is the first company to be given the approval for setting up a plant in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu, reeling under an acute power shortage this year, is desperate to increase the installed capacity and become a power surplus state. The AIADMK government, which released a vision 2023 document in March 2012, has plans to increase the installed solar power capacity to 5,000MW in the state by 2020 with an investment of 55,000 crore.