National Aluminium Company (NALCO) is toying with the idea of putting up a 150 MW capacity wind power plant in Odisha. The investment on the proposed green power project may exceed INR 900 crore as for each MW capacity created in wind energy, INR 6-6.5 crore is needed.
“We are interested in both wind energy and solar power plants in the state. Given the necessary inceptives and facilities, NALCO would proceed on these plans. We have requested the Odisha government to provide land and other clearances for the green power projects”, said NALCO’s chairman and managing director (CMD) Mr T K Chand.
NALCO’s wind power projects in other states of 198 MW capacities were dedicated to the nation on Saturday by Piyush Goyal, Union minister for mines, power and new & renewable energy in the presence of tribal affairs minister Jual Oram. Both Goyal and Oram are in Bhubaneswar to attend the BJP’s National Executive meeting on April 15-16. NALCO’s other wind power plants with a combined capacity of 120 MW are also in the pipeline.
NALCO inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Defence ministry PSU- Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (Midhani) for manufacture of high-end aluminium alloys. Such valued added products which find applications in aerospace and transportation sectors, would act as import substitute alloys, Mr Chand said.
Separately, NALCO entered into a pact with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Bhubaneswar to boost its research activities. NALCO, till now, has earned 29 patents and commercialised five of them.
NALCO is jointly setting up a 2400 MW coal-fired, super critical power plant with NTPC at Gajamara in Dhenkanal with district. In the first phase, 1400 MW will come up, said Mr Chand.
Power generated from this upcoming station being set up at a cost of INR 14,000 crore would cater to NALCO’s brownfield and Greenfield expansion in aluminium.
The navratna PSU is setting up a new smelter at Kamkahyanagar in the vicinity of this power plant a capacity of 0.6 MnT per annum. Besides this, NALCO is also expanding capacity of its existing brownfield smelter at Angul.
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