Energy A local body’s way A Tamil Nadu Panchayat invests in wind energy

Awareness about is very high in Tamil Nadu

danthurai Panchayat in Tamil Shanmugam decided to take advantage Nadu’s Coimbatore district had a of this. He formed a committee consisting Otaste of green energy back in of panchayat members and advisers from 1996 when it installed solar street the government to advise on utilisation lighting. So when its ever-increasing of solar and wind energy on a large scale. population required bigger energy plans, The panchayat committee initially it could take the next step in 2006: invest planned to install a hybrid system of solar in a wind , even though this was not and wind energy because a government something panchayats are known to do. scheme provided 90 per cent subsidy to Odanthurai could do it because of the hybrid system. As the system was Odanthurai three reasons. One, its president had withdrawn, the panchayat decided to bought a 350 kW an exposure to developments in the invest in wind mill. sector through energy Wind power company had windmill from a fairs and training programmes. Two, built a near Maivadi, 140 km Suzlon wind government advisers readily guided it on from Odanthurai. In India’s wind farm farm, 140 km the use of renewable energy. Three, the regime, turbine manu facturers take care from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board offered of all aspects of wind farm development panchayat, for power banking option. The major drive —starting from land acquisition, `1.55 crore. It towards renewable energy happened commissioning to operations and pooled some between 2001 and 2009, under the maintenance. leadership of its panchayat president, money and Rangaswamy Shanmugam. Willing bank, enterprising borrowers loaned the rest Odanthurai is located close to the Odanthurai panchayat purchased one of from a bank wind farm regions of Tamil Nadu. Suzlon’s windmills of 350 kW capacity. It

51 State of Renewable Energy in India

ODANTHURAI PANCHAYAT WINDMILL FACTS

Panchayat Odanthurai panchayat located near to Mettupalayam town in Karamadai block of Coimbatore city. It is about 40 kilometers north of city

Wind mill In 2006, panchayat purchased a 350 kW in Maivadi (140 kilometres from Odanthurai) developed by Suzlon

Concept behind Wind turbine would feed power to the grid. Panchayat would investment avail banking and net metering facility provided by TNEB. Panchayat could meet their electricity requirement through this facility and earn revenue from excess power sold to the grid ECONOMICS

Cost of wind turbine `1.55 crores

Source of fund `40 lakhs from panchayat savings. `1.15 crore through a commercial loan from Central Bank of India at 8.5% interest

Repayment of loan Wind turbine can produce 6.75 lakh units a year. This is sold at `2.90 to TNEB. The total revenue amounts to `19.575 lakhs. Revenues from the sale of electricity produced in the period 2006-2013 directly went to bank as repayment of loan The panchayat Post loan repayment Panchayat self electricity requirement 4.5 lakh units/year. estimated it Remaining 2.25 lakhs units of power sold to the board at `2.90 would repay the generating revenue of `6.525 lakh rupees a year

loan in six-seven Source: CSE visit to Odanthurai and Maivadi years by selling electricity and power is about `19.6 lakh per annum. earn a cool ` 6.5 The state electricity board allows lakh a year after banking of power produced by wind mill. The power produced by wind mills is fed repayment to the grid and is credited to the power producer’s account, which can be availed later. Hence the Odanthurai panchayat can avail their banked power as per their requirement. The remaining unutilised power can be sold to the grid. The The windmill transformer house of Odanthurai Panchayat panchayat estimated it would repay the loan in six-seven years. After paying back cost `1.55 crore. The panchayat pooled in the loan, Odanthurai Panchayat could `40 lakh. The rest was obtained as a earn close to `8 lakh per year after commercial loan from the Central bank of meeting its own public electricity India. The loan is paid from the earnings requirements. from sale of electricity to the Tamil Nadu Today, Odanthurai is a role model of Electricity Board board. self-sustained development, attracting The panchayat’s windmill produces the attention of policy makers and about 0.67 million units of electricity a renewable energy enthusiasts. But it is a year. This power is purchased by the model yet to emulated by others. electricity board at `2.90 per unit. So the revenue generated from the sale of ● ● ●

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