Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s Budget announcement on Thursday to offer generation-based incentives to windmill operators will benefit the city-based Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Limited (Campco).
Campco operates two windmill projects in Chikkodi in Belgaum District and Huvinahadagali in Bellary District.
The announcement is a continuation of Centre’s support for green energy initiatives announced earlier, said M. Suresh Bhandary, Managing Director of Campco. “These certificates have helped power producers like us generate additional income,” he said.
Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Bhandary said that since last year, the Central government has been issuing certificates for every 1000 units of wind power generated. Known as carbon credits, they are purchased by industries such as coal energy producers to “offset” the pollution caused beyond a certain limit.
Campco, he said, was generating 52 lakh units of power per annum from the two windmill units.
“Even if we get one rupee per unit generated, we will be getting additional income of Rs. 52 lakh,” he said. Allocation of Rs. 800 crore made in the Budget would give a boost to green energy initiatives, he said.
Another energy-related announcement in the Budget was about supporting municipal bodies for waste-to-energy projects. But the Mangalore City Corporation would wait for the fine print of the budget to know the way it will support its initiatives, said its Environment Engineer Madhu S. Manohar.
The corporation has set up out of its funds a biomethanation plant in Urwa Market to generate power using bio-waste in the market and two wards. Mr. Manohar said the plant was generating 180 cubic metres of methane gas, leading to generation of 250 kW of power.
The corporation is considering generating power or make domestic use of the gas generated at sewage treatment plant in Kavoor, he said.
Sports coaching
Vasanthakumar, District Athletics Coach, stressed the need of an institute for sport coaching in south India, where a number of international sportspersons and Olympians come from. Welcoming the proposed National Institute of Sports Coaching in Patiala, Mr. Kumar said a similar centre should be set up in the south. “Today, coaches are being trained at the four centres of Sports Authority of India, he said
