MANUFACTURING TURBINE BLADES INDIGENOUSLY

New Delhi, 23 September 2006

NEW DELHI, September 24 (INFA): A facility to manufacture wind turbine blades is being set up by a Chennai-based private sector company.  It is hoping to start production in about six months. The company has estimated that the facility would cost about Rs.35 lakh.

A Denmark company has provided the technology for the facility, which is to be used for the first time outside Europe.

The facility will manufacture 350 sets of blades in the first year and 700 in the second.  The company plans to invest about Rs.65 crore in the second phase of the facility to produce higher capacity turbines.

Local manufacture of the blades would cut costs by 10 to 15 per cent and would also lead to savings in terms of time and transportation.

Lead-time of procuring blades would be reduced from 120 days to 40 days. Furthermore, a turbine has been set up to provide captive power to run the facility.  This will be integrated with other renewable energy devices.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh, which is facing acute power shortage is seriously looking at wind energy to bridge the ever widening gap between demand and supply.

The Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency (NEDA) recently authorized a Chennai-based agency to carry out wind velocity survey in five districts of the State.

The survey which particularly focuses on the high wind velocity districts of Lalitpur, Mirzapur, Mathura, Agra and Jhansi, is expected to be completed soon. The additional power would be produced in the State through a wind-solar hybrid project.

According to NEDA officials, a proposal has been sent to the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Government of India, for generating 1200 to 1500 MW power from wind turbines.---INFA

ANDHRA TOPS IN TOURIST ARRIVALS

HYDERABAD, September 24 (INFA): Andhra Pradesh has emerged number one among the States of the Union in terms of tourist arrivals from within the country.

During 2005, as many as 9.32 crore domestic tourists set foot in the State---higher than in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, which have the largest domestic tourism circuit in India.

The entire credit, however, goes not to its babus, but the Lord of the seven hills, Tirupati.

A whopping 3.06 crore of the 9.32 crore tourists were destined for Chittoor district that houses Lord Venkateswara’s shrine. ---INFA