The Hindu Business Line : Ramco group bets big on captive power — Thermax bags order for 18-MW thermal plant

WITH a total of 105 MW of installed wind energy capacity, most of the companies in the Ramco group, which has interests in cement and textiles, will meet their power requirement either through windmills or from captive power plants.

At the end of the last financial year, the group's wind power capacity stood at 71 MW, which will go up to 105 MW by the end of the current fiscal.

Wind power accounts for 60-86 per cent of the energy requirement of the textile companies in the group now and this will go up above 90 per cent once the additional capacity is installed.

Carbon credits: The idea is to ensure that the companies are insulated against rising power costs, according to Mr A.V. Dharmakrishnan, Senior Vice-President (Finance), Madras Cements Ltd, one of the group companies, which has about 46 MW of wind power capacity.

The group also believes that it has a good opportunity to earn carbon credits, for which a consultant is helping the group go through the necessary procedures.

Carbon credits are derived from reduction in emissions of green house gases achieved through renewable sources and avoiding fossil fuels. One tonne reduction in carbon dioxide is equivalent to one carbon credit. Only projects set up after January 1, 2000 qualify for carbon credits.

For the Ramco group, 70 MW of its total installed wind power capacity was set up after 2000.

Among the group companies, Madras Cements has 46 MW of installed wind power capacity (40 MW in Tamil Nadu and 6 MW in Karnataka), Ramco Industries eight MW, Rajapalayam Mills Ltd 24 MW, Sri Vishnu Shankar Mill Ltd 10 MW, Ramaraju Surgical Cotton Mills Ltd six MW, Thanjavur Textiles five MW, and Sandhya Spinning Mills Ltd five MW.

Besides, Madras Cements' Alathiyur plant has a 36 MW captive thermal power plant and a 20 MW furnace oil-based DG set as standby. The plant requires 28 MW of power.

Delinking from TN grid: The company hopes to delink this unit completely from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board's grid (which will help it save money it pays towards maximum demand charges to the electricity board) and also sell surplus power to the grid.

Thermax Ltd, which set up the captive power plant at Alathiyur, has also bagged the order for setting up an 18 MW captive thermal plant for Madras Cements' Jayanthipuram plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Besides, Madras Cements has invested Rs 22.12 crore in Andhra Pradesh Gas Power Corporation Ltd (APGPCL) by purchasing 16.08 lakh shares. This entitles the company to source six MW power from APGPCL at economical rates compared to the tariffs charged by the power utility in Andhra Pradesh. It also has a 10 MW furnace oil based DG set at Jayanthipuram.

Mr Dharmakrishnan said that Madras Cements' RR Nagar plant in Tamil Nadu requires 14 MW of power, which would be fully met by wind power. There is also a 14 MW DG set at this plant as standby.

The company's Mathodu plant in Karnataka requires about three MW of power, 60 per cent of which would be met by wind power and the rest from DG sets.

He said that Madras Cements uses either imported petroleum coke or coal for its captive thermal power plants. The coal is imported mainly from Indonesia. Since the company carries a decent inventory of coal, it is able to negotiate better prices in the international market. Coal prices too have softened in the last few months, he added.

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