CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is restructuring its renewable energy administration, with the state granting approval to the Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL) to create five new Non-Conventional Energy Source (NCES) zones across the state to speed up the implementation of wind and solar power projects, Electricity Minister C T R Nirmalkumar said on Friday.
The move comes shortly after the closure of the NCES circles at Tirunelveli and Udumalpet and the recent suspension of a superintending engineer and an executive engineer.
The restructuring is looking to improve administrative efficiency and speed up the execution of wind and solar power projects. The new zones will coordinate, monitor and implement renewable energy projects under the supervision of assistant executive engineers. Additional project monitoring and implementation responsibilities have also been created at the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board headquarters in Chennai.
The five new zones will be headquartered in Chennai, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Madurai, with each covering multiple electricity distribution regions. The Chennai zone will cover Chennai, Kancheepuram, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai; Tiruchy will oversee Tiruchy, Villupuram and Thanjavur; Tirunelveli will cover its own distribution region; Coimbatore will cover the Coimbatore region; and Madurai will include Karur, Erode and Madurai.
The new system would help reduce delays in granting approvals for renewable energy projects. It will also facilitate the repowering of old windmills, technical studies, coordination of power evacuation infrastructure and project monitoring. Investors are expected to benefit from transparent single-window services for project clearances, the minister said.
The five zones will also oversee key green energy initiatives, including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), PM-KUSUM 2.0, the PM Rooftop Solar Scheme, Model Solar Village projects, solar installations in government buildings and upcoming floating solar projects.
