NALCO plans to enter into wind power generation
It is reported that India's largest manufacturer and exporter of aluminum National Aluminum Company is all set to enter into wind power generation and is in talks with the Orissa Renewable Energy Development and Suzlon Energy to set up a wind power plant near its alumina refinery at Damanjodi in Koraput district of Orissa.
Mr BL Bagra director finance of National Aluminum Company said that "It has proposed to set up the wind mills on the Panchpatmali Hills near Damanjodi, where it currently mines bauxite. The location, situated at a high altitude, enhances the chances of getting better volume and velocity of wind." He added that the generation capacity of the environment friendly power plant would depend on the availability and velocity of wind at the location.
Orissa Renewable Energy Development has started collecting data on the volume and velocity of wind on the Panchpatmali Hills during different seasons to assessed viability and generation capacity. The work started 3 months back and will continue for another 4 to 5 months.
Suzlon Energy could set up the project on a turnkey basis or accept a stake for better management as National Aluminum Company lacks the expertise in operating windmills.
National Aluminum Company has currently requires about 60MW of power daily, which is being met through in house generation using coal and waste heat and the proposed wind power project can meet the electricity requirement of the refinery in part or full. At present, it has 8x120MW captive power plant at Angul, which feeds power to its aluminum smelter however, it is facing a crisis due to short supply of coal from the Mahanadi Coal fields. Hence, the proposed wind power project may cut down its dependence on thermal power to an extent while giving it access to a clean source of energy.
« Back
|