CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has received a pre-feasibility report from a private consultant on setting up three hydropower stations with a combined capacity of 2,500 MW in Tamil Nadu.
A senior Tangedco official said the corporation had on January 25 asked the consultant to prepare the report to establish 1,000 MW capacity Pumped Storage Hydropower Stations each in Upper Bhavani and Sandy Nalla and a 500 MW unit in Sigur in the Nilgiris.
The consultant recently filed the report on project cost, income and expenditure, civil work, soil suitability, storage of water, and transmission of power. The State power utility would soon prepare a detailed project report and submit it to the State government for approval, the official said.
Another official said Tangedco has also planned to establish new hydropower stations with a total capacity of 7,500 MW in the Nilgiris, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Theni, and Salem districts. While work would be started in the Nilgiris in the first phase, other projects would be covered in the second and third phases. Pre-feasibility reports for these projects would be prepared soon, the official said.
Tangedco is moving towards renewable and clean sources of energy as currently only one-third of the State’s power requirement is being met by its own units and most of the existing thermal stations are old, the official said.
TN hydropower stns can generate 2K MW
The State has 47 hydropower stations with a generation capacity of 2321.91 MW in Erode, Kadamparai, Kundah and Tirunelveli hydro generation circles. Kadamparai is the only pumped storage house