The Hindu Business Line : Chennai port to set up wind farm

The Chennai Port Trust plans to set up a wind farm in southern Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 75 crore, according to a senior port trust official. The port trust will issue a tender shortly for the project, which would be the firstof its kind. The port's annual power requirement is around 30 million units and it spends about Rs 30 crore on power. Through the wind farm, the port trust would be able to save nearly 50 per cent on power cost, the official said.

It plans to lease or purchase windmills in Tirunelveli or Coimbatore. In the first phase, the port trust plans to have 7.5 MW windmills and the capacity would be doubled later. "We would get back our investment in three to four years," the official said. The port trust would supply power from its windmills to the the State electricity grid and later draw power from the grid whenever required, the official said.

According to the Tamil Nadu's Energy Department's policy note for 2006-2007, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board purchases power generated from wind mills at Rs 2.70 per unit and allows wheeling and banking for captive power use by investors at a concessional rate of 5 per cent each.

According to the port trust officials, being a commercial tariff organisation, port trusts were not allowed to have windmills, which could be owned only by industrial units. However, this regulation was relaxed recently allowing port trusts to set up windmills, the official said.

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