The cyclone has left two people dead so far

The coastal districts of Tamil Nadu were hit by Cyclone Nilam this evening. With wind speeds of up to 100 km/hour, it severely affected many areas in Tamil Nadu, as well as Andhra Pradesh. According to PTI reports, the cyclone left two people dead. Most industrial houses, schools and offices in the coastal districts were closed on Wednesday. Heavy winds damaged roads here, as well as those in other coastal areas. Power cuts were also reported. Initial estimates pegged economic losses from the storm at Rs 70-80 crore. Government officials said the figure was expected to rise.

The Rs 3,550 cr project would help the state, which is currently facing 3000 Mw power shortfall

The trial run of the 600 Mw Mettur Thermal Power Station (MTPS) in Mettur, Tamil Nadu today achieved full capacity, according to a senior official from the BGR Energy System, the private firm which is building the station for Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation officials (TANGEDCO). BGR's Spokesperson confirmed and said “our plant constructed for Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB's) generation and distribution arm TANGEDCO at Mettur achieved full load successfully during the trial on.”

Spic Electric Power Corporation (SEPC), a subsidiary of Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd (TPL), has decided to revive its 523-Mw thermal power plant at Tuticorin, shelved 11 years earlier.

The Rs 2,300-crore project was conceived in 1995 but put on hold in 2001 due to a land dispute. In its annual report, SEPC said the V O Chidambaranar Port Trust (formerly Tuticorin Port Trust) has agreed to give alternative land to start work on the project. SEPC had already got environmental clearance, the company said in its annual report. It had,it said, held a fruitful discussion with the Port Trust officials and sought permission for various facilities.

Situation continues to be tense, violence spreads to villages of Uvari, Tiruchendur and parts of Tuticorin

The anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) agitation is now spreading to other parts of the Southern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. While, the protesters (the local fishing community) have started the 48 hrs fasting at Idinthakarai, fishermen from Rameswaram, one of the largest fishing hub in the country, decided not to go the sea in support to Idinthakarai protesters.

Cost of wind power is now on a par with price of coal-fired energy

Anyone thinking of setting up coal-based power projects may want to think again. The stratospheric rise in the price of imported coal and the shortage of the fossil fuel at home have given rise to a scenario once thought impossible: For the first time, the cost of wind power is now on a par with the price of coal-fired energy in some parts of India.

Beta had earlier planned to set up the proposed farms in Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Theni

Beta Wind Farm Pvt Ltd is planning to invest Rs 1,857 crore to set up a wind energy farm each in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, according to the subsidiary of Orient Green Power Company Ltd, owned by the Shriram Group. Beta was earlier planning to set up the proposed farms with the same total capital in Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Theni , but it later decided to split the 300-megawatt endeavour and go for two more states, stating certain bottlenecks in Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu government is planning to set up two 500-Mw LNG-based power plants to address the electricity shortage in the state.

One of the plants would be set up near the five-million-tonne-per-annum Indian Oil Corporation terminal that was set up after a memorandum of understanding was signed. The second plant plans to take advantage of GAIL’s Kochi-Bangalore LNG pipeline, which passes through Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to promote agri-allied industry, to treble small and marginal farmers’ income in five years.

As with industry bodies elsewhere, those in Tamil Nadu say the central government’s proposed land acquisition bill unduly favours farmers at their expense, a sentiment shared in government policy m

In the times of Bhatta-Parsaul, Singur and Nandigram crises, the way Tamil Nadu has gone about land acquisition for industry could be a lesson for all states.

Whose land is it anyway?