Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL),, the corporate entity of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), is all set to increase power production to 20.6 MW from the Sinter Cooler Waste Heat Recovery Project implemented under New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) Green Aid Plan of Japan. The facility is producing 10 to 12 MW at present.
Even as Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during his Japan tour is expected to explore replicating NEDO project elsewhere in the State, RINL, which launched the initiative, had signed an MoU with NEDO along with the Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Finance in 2009 for implementing the project. It is the first steel industry to launch the project.
The NEDO model was grounded under Green Aid Plan of Japan, involving a cost of Rs. 300 crore in July. It will generate 20.6 MW shortly by using the waste heat without burning fossil fuels. Conventionally, the hot sinter is cooled by sinter blower fans and available energy gets lost in the process. The project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the extent of 2.20 lakh tonne annually, says RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director P. Madhusudan.
RINL, at present, has the capacity to generate 286.5 MW and with the expansion up to 6.3 million tonne being completed involving an expenditure of Rs.12,300 crore and upgrade of the existing units, the captive power generation will increase to 523 MW. Various units under expansion are now being ramped up for production. Captive power generation will make RINL self-sufficient, by reducing its dependence on the State grid.
The company is installing a 120 MW gas-based captive power plant, utilising 100 per cent blast furnace gas for power generation with an expenditure of Rs. 677 crore.
