CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation (TNGEC) is planning to set up power plants under the small hydropower policy announced recently on key rivers such as Cauvery and Vaigai and waterbodies in southern and western districts.
The corporation is also exploring the possibility of building such plants on small rivers like the Adyar and the Cooum to utilise the run-off water flowing in these rivers during monsoon season. It is also planning to conduct a feasibility study on various riverbeds for setting up hydropower plants with capacity ranging from 100 kilowatt to 10 megawatt.
The proposals have been initiated after the Tamil Nadu government, in a bid to reduce carbon emission, approved three green energy policies on August 13. An official order with full details of the three policies is expected in the next two days.
A senior TNGEC official said, “We plan to build plants with a combined capacity of 20,000 MW by 2030. Our teams have suggested that apart from major rivers, small rivers like the Adyar and the Cooum could also be explored. The initiative seeks to encourage private companies to generate electricity for their own use.
Tangedco has nearly 1,000 substations across the state to transmit power from generation points to consumers. Currently, these facilities are sufficient to meet the demand. Going forward, however, it will be necessary to build more substations to maintain grid stability. The utility, therefore, must assess the possibility of establishing additional substations.”
Once the details of the three policies are made public, TNGEC will execute the plan in full swing, the official said.
Highlighting renewable energy projects, another official said, “TNGEC is also concentrating on building new solar plants under a hybrid system. This approach allows developers to build wind and solar power plants on the same land. If the state can build power plants with at least 5,000 MW capacity each year, reaching the 20,000 MW target in next six years is possible.”
The official said TNGEC plans to build solar plants with a capacity of 10,000 MW and hydro plants to generate 1,050 MW by 2030. The state must allocate more space for solar plants in all districts, he said.
At present, the state has 47 hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 2,321.90 MW, and solar units, including rooftop plants, that could generate 7,995.53 MW.