Jayas Rs 2k crore giant push for energy sector

CHENNAI: Underlining the need to use Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet Tamil Nadu’s energy requirements, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday announced plans to set up a 500 MW LNG-based power project at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore, utilising the gas to be received through the Kochi-Bangalore LNG pipeline network.  Besides this, a Floating Storage Degasification Unit would be set up along the coastal areas of southern districts at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. The Kochi-Bangalore LNG pipeline network would cover a stretch of 310 km in eight districts, and would be completed at an expense of Rs 1,000 crore.Announcing this in the State Assembly, the CM said the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) would form a joint venture to implement the 500 MW LNG-based power project. This project would be expanded in five years with an investment of `10,000 crore, she added. Through the Salem terminal of the network, pipelines — which would carry six million cubic metre of LNG — would be laid up to Cuddalore at a cost of `500 crore. The 310-km stretch of the Kochi-Bangalore LNG pipeline network would pass through Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. GAIL would supply LNG, required by commercial establishments, transport vehicles and houses, in the urban areas.Stating that TN’s energy needs were primarily met only through coal and petroleum, the CM pointed out that LNG obtained from the Krishna-Godavari basin was being allotted only to Andhra Pradesh. Two LNG import terminals with a capacity to handle five million tonnes of LNG per annum would be required for Tamil Nadu. TIDCO and Indian Oil Corporation had earlier signed an MoU to set up an LNG import terminal at Kattupalli in Tiruvallur district. When this terminal starts functioning in 2016, it could handle five million tonnes of LNG and could provide 18 million cubic metres of LNG per day for power generation and consumption.