Dropping Of Mega Power Project Turns A Boon For Andhra Pradesh!

Visakhapatnam: The shelving of the Rs20,000-crore 4,000 MW coal-fired ultra mega power project at Pudimadaka near here in June, 2018 after holding a public hearing and paying the amount for land allotted by AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has finally proved to be a boon in disguise for the people of Andhra Pradesh in general and Visakhapatnam in particular.

The reason for abandoning the project after paying the amount to APIIC for 1,200 acres allotted near the fishermen village of Pudimadaka, in close vicinity of NTPC Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station, Parawada, was the change in the policy of the Government of India to encourage only power plants with coal produced in India. Incidentally, the EIA for the greenfield power project based on imported coal was prepared by Vimta Labs, Hyderabad. Based on this, the public hearing was conducted by APIIC in August, 2015 amid objections from the fishermen and political activists over fears of groundwater contamination and fish-kill.

Subsequently, the site was proposed to be developed as a MSME cluster for steel and allied manufacturing units. After several proposals, finally NTPC formed NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) as its renewable arm to set up India's first Green Hydrogen Hub. It is developed under the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an estimated investment of Rs1.85 lakh crore in over 2,000 acres. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in the presence of AP Governor S Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM K Pawan Kalyan and several others on Wednesday.

"The hub will come up as a joint venture with New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP (NREDCAP) to contribute significantly to India's target to reach net zero emissions. This is in line with the Paris Agreement so that emissions will be slashed by 45 per cent by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2070," a senior government official told Bizz Buzz.

NGEL and New and NREDCAP have already signed a joint venture agreement for development of 20 GW renewable energy project, 1500 TPD green hydrogen and 7500 TPD green hydrogen derivatives (including green methanol, green urea and Sustainable Aviation Fuel), making it one of India’s largest integrated green hydrogen production facilities. The project will generate employment for 57,000 by 2032. The project is expected to provide huge employment opportunities both directly and indirectly while at the same time contributing substantially in achieving India's non-fossil energy capacity target of 500 GW by 2030 and change the industrial landscape of Anakapalle district, part of undivided district. "Anakapalli district has also received the State Government clearance for establishment of a greenfield steel plant near Nakkapalli by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel (India) (AM/NP (India), Anakapalle MP and BJP leader CM Ramesh said. NGEL has also signed a MoU Rajasthan for development of 25 GW of renewable energy projects NGEL is also exploring similar kinds of collaborations with other States.