Making a larger stride in the non-conventional energy sector to address increasing power deficiency in the State, Kerala’s largest wind energy farm with an initial production capacity of 22 MW will be ready in another ten days at the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) industrial park at Kanjikode, near here.
Implemented by private-sector energy major Noida-based Indox Wind, the wind farm has came up on 27.5 acres of land leased out by the State government. Senior company officials told The Hindu that they were awaiting a convenient date of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the formal launch.
Trial run on
Almost all the work is done and the trial run is on, said company representatives.
As per the understanding with State government, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will buy the power generated by the farm as per the tariff fixed by the electricity regulatory commission. Eleven windmills have been installed in the initial phase at a cost of ₹15 crore each. More windmills will be installed later, based on the result from the eleven windmills. Kanjikode is the first project initiated in the State by Indox Wind, which generates 1,600-MW power across the nation.
Company consultant Suku Nair said it was the first major power sector initiative in the State in which the State government was joining hands with a national major in the wind energy sector. The KINFRA industrial park was also becoming the first industrial park in the country to host a wind-energy farm.
Meanwhile, KSEB officials said that over a dozen companies had shown interest in starting wind farms in the eastern regions of Palakkad district as these areas had a large potential to tap wind energy. Units already functioning in the Walayar-Kanjikode belt and Attappady have proven to be successful. Efforts to tap solar energy in the rainshadow region of Attappady are also fast progressing, they said.
A feasibility study conducted by the KSEB said that Attappady region had the potential to generate more than 1,000 MW of power in the non-conventional sector. The board was also considering planting of Jetropha plants in Palakkad district to generate bio-fuel.
The district panchayat has already started work on the Koodal mini-hydel project, and three more mini-hydel projects are in the offing in the district.
