Tuticorin: The State Government plans to establish small hydropower projects in the hilly areas along the Western Ghats to augment power capacity with the help of available renewable or alterative energy sources.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Friday, A Elangovan, Chairman and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, said plans were on to establish these projects in places where thin or small streams run downhill.

"The recently developed prototype engines will be used for power generation," he added.

Under the remote village electrification programme (RVEP), 94 villages in the State would be electrified during this fiscal, using solar streetlights and solar home lights.

"So far, 154 villages in the State have been electrified using renewable energy sources under RVEP," he added.

The programme was meant for the villages where electrification through grid extension was not feasible or cost effective.

On augmentation of installed renewable power capacity, he said the government planned to add 650 MW during the current fiscal to the existing 3,400 MW, comprising wind, biomass and solar power.

"Of the 650 MW to be added, 500 MW would be generated through wind energy and the rest by means of biomass and solar energy sources," he said.

N P Singh, advisor, Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Government of India, said that as part of efforts to promote the use of renewable energy, the Ministry was extending loan subsidy to those who came forward to set up solar water heaters in their buildings.

"We are offering two per cent interest subsidy to those who set up solar heaters in domestic buildings, three per cent to the ones coming up in commercial edifices and five per cent for those fitted in industrial firms," he added.

On other projects, Mr. Singh said a total 25,000 villages out of the 1,00,000 villages identified for electrification under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidhyuthukaran Yojana would be electrified using renewable energy sources.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu