Solar thermal plant to come up at Shive

timesofindia.indiatimes.com
21 December 2009

PUNE: A power generation unit, using solar thermal technology, will soon come up at Shive, a village in Khedtaluka, some 45 km from Pune. If the experimental project succeeds, the village will be the first in the country to have its own electricity generation plant. What's more, the Shive model will likely be replicated across the country with public-private partnership.

The project is being set up as a joint venture by the Union government and city-based Thermax Ltd. Unlike the conventional system of power generation, this plant will use solar energy to heat water and the steam will rotate the turbine to generate 250 kW power for the village. The power generation plant will not be connected to the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd grid. Of the total project cost of Rs 15 crore, the Union government will invest Rs 13 crore and the rest will be borne by Thermax.

According to Prithviraj Chavan, Union minister of state for Science and Technology, who laid the foundation stone of the project along with Meher Pudumjee, chairperson of Thermax on Sunday, this project could soon be a model for other such projects in the country. Shive is located on the backWaters of the Bhama-Askhed dam, now under construction, It has a population of 1,000 and receives power only for few hours in a day. The village is a few kilometres from the Talegaon MIDC where multinational companies have their huge set-ups.

Although many farmers use diesel engines to pump water to their farms, it is not feasible for every farmer to follow such a costly way of farming. Chavan said, "Of the total number of families in the country, 56 per cent of them are deprived of an electricity connection. The Union government wants to explore all the available ways of power generation and the solar thermal power generation project is a first step towards this."

The project will begin in the next 18 months, during which time Thermax will set up aluminium mirrors that will track the sunlight for higher heat generation. Of the three acres of land donated by the villagers, 80 per cent of it will be utilised to set up aluminium mirrors. Thermax will also set up a boiler, which will use bio-waste sourced from the village to produce electricity for a maximum two hours. It will work as a power back-up for the village. The total project will supply a minimum of 10 hours of electricity to the village, company officials said.

After commencement of the project, Thermax will maintain and run the project for five years. The government will bear the maintenance cost. A team of 20 people from the company will be deployed at the village for completion of the project.