Mumbai: After successfully launching a prestigious educational institute, Samir and Pankaj, nephew and son of public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal have entered the field of power generation .
A month ago, officials of the Armstrong Energy Company floated by them, signed a power purchase agreement with the state-run Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited (MSEDCL) for the supply of 6,000 units per hour. "It is a different kind of experience . After politics and education, we are now into power generation. If we succeed, we will not hesitate to launch more such power plants,'' Bhujbal told TOI.
He has set up a Rs 30 crore, 6 MW biomass nonconventional renewable power plant at village Shilapur near Nashik on the Nashik-Aurangabad road. For Bhujbal, the laying of the 5-km evacuation line from the plant to the MSEDCL was a big task. Significantly, the entire work was completed in a record time of less than six months.
"As we are using agricultural waste, the power plant is environment friendly. Barring the turbine and generator, most of our machinery is indigenous . We procured the two from a Chinabased firm,'' he said.
While 45 persons are employed in the plant, the Bhujbals have embarked on a workshop to train local villagers on procuring agriculture waste in the radius of 50 km from the plant site. There are three similar power plants in Maharashtra , but they are yet to start power. One is in Yeotmal district, while the remaining two are based in Nagpur district.
A senior MSEDCL official said that the state government as well as the Centre should encourage such types of power projects, in the range of six to 10 MWs, as they require less capital and land too. The state government signed an MoU with more than a dozen private organisations four years ago, but so far, not a single one has made any progress. "All the projects are stuck owing to the non-availability of land. These projects had proposed power generation of nearly 8,000 MWs by December 2008 to meet the power crisis. But now it appears to be a distant dream,'' the official added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Bhujbals_son_nephew_make_power_move_/articleshow/3382782.cms
