6,000 MW project faces ‘gridlock’ in Kongu region

Delay in the works for setting up the energy corridor linking Pugalur in Karur district with Raigarh in Chhattisgarh is a cause of worry for Tangedco, which is relying on the corridor to get 6,000 MW power in future.

The project undertaken by the Power Grid Corporation of India is facing delays due to protests in the Kongu districts of Tiruppur, Namakkal, Coimbatore and Erode against setting up the cables overhead. The works started in May 2017 and the project managers were aiming to complete it by 2019. 

Besides helping Tamil Nadu get electricity from northern states, the grid would also provide the high capacity lines to evacuate the surplus wind energy produced in Tamil Nadu. The project will be a boost to wind energy producers in the Kongu region who generate more power during favourable seasons but find it hard to sell the surplus.  

The total distance covered by the 800 kV ultra-high voltage grid is 1,840 kilometres and the distance in Tamil Nadu is 350 kilometres through the districts of Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur and Namakkal to Pugalur. 

Tangedco officials said the protests are continuing despite the Power Grid Corporation providing quick compensation for the land acquired and the delay in the installation would affect the state’s future energy needs and the growth of the wind energy sector. 

The laying of cables with a capacity of 800 MW underground would be costly and such a procedure is not followed even in developed countries. The cost of the project would be 20 times higher and a sub-station should be set up at every 15 kilometre point. 

Tamil Nadu has a wind energy capacity of 7,685 MW and is a primary wind producer in the country. The two-way link with the capacity of 6,000 MW will integrate thermal and wind energy transmission to high consumption centres. During the peak summer season, Tamil Nadu faces power shortage as wind energy generation is negligible and the state has to rely on thermal power, while production of hydro electric power too would be less due to scarcity of water in reservoirs. 

However, after the onset of the southwest monsoon from June, the generation of wind power is high and it remains so until the beginning of the north-east monsoon. 

During this period, the surplus wind power from Tamil Nadu could be transmitted to states in central India, where summer peaks in June-July. The project, which is expected to boost wind energy investments in Tamil Nadu, is partly funded by the Asian Development Bank.