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Jyotsna Bhatnagar
Ahmedabad, July 11: In a major initiative to tap the vast potential of tidal waves, the ministry of power has decided to set up a committee comprising officials of the ministry of non-conventional energy sources (MNES), NTPC, the hydel power major NHPC, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) as well as the Gujarat government to re-examine the languishing 900 mw Hansphal creek project in the Gulf of Kutch. As per available indications, the Centre may well go in for international bidding for the mega project.
Highly placed sources in the Gujarat government told The Financial Express that power minister P Kumaramangalam had convened a meeting to discuss the issue earlier this week with representatives of the PSUs concerned as well as senior officials of the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) and the state government.
According to sources, the minister has decided to take a fresh relook at the project, which has been languishing with the ministry of non-conventional energy sources for someyears. He was there to participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony of phase II of NTPC's Jhanor-Gandhar project at Bharuch a month ago. On the occasion, Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel had exhorted the power ministry to expedite setting up of tidal wave power projects on the Gujarat coastline given their immense potential to generate power. The Gujarat government had recently sent a list of demands too to the Centre including tax exemptions to facilitate speedy implementation of the project.
The Gulf of Kutch project had long ago been identified as one of the tidal wave projects with the highest generating potential anywhere in the world. This is because the difference between the high and low tide in the region is a relatively high 8 to 11 metres.
Following this, extensive geological surveys and hydrology studies had been conducted in the area with the assistance of French power giant EDF which has the sole operational tidal wave power facility in the world. At that time, the CEA hadestimated the cost of the tidal wave project in Hansphal creek to be around Rs 1,300 crore in 1987 which was later revised to Rs 3,000 crore in 1991. Subsequently, when the National Hydroelectric Power Company (NHPC) was asked to take a look at the project two years later, the PSU had pegged its cost at a whopping Rs 6,000 crore.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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